General trends of atmospheric mercury concentrations in urban and rural areas in Korea and characteristics of high-concentration events

Han, Y.J.,Kim, J.E.,Kim, P.R.,Kim, W.J.,Yi, S.M.,Seo, Y.S.,Kim, S.H. Pergamon Press ; Elsevier [distribution] 2014 Atmospheric environment Vol.94 No.-

Long-term measurement of speciated Hg concentrations is the first step toward identifying the seasonal and spatial characteristics of Hg concentrations; however, atmospheric Hg research is scarce in Korea. In this study, total gaseous mercury (TGM), gaseous oxidized mercury (GOM) and particle-bound mercury (PBM) were measured in urban (Seoul) and rural (Chuncheon) areas over a more than 3 year period in order to improve the understanding of speciated Hg transport. The mean concentrations of TGM, GOM and PBM were 3.72 +/- 2.96 (0.19-149.84) ng m<SUP>-3</SUP>, 11.3 +/- 9.5 (0.9-57.3) pg m<SUP>-3</SUP>, and 13.4 +/- 12.0 (2.1-64.3) pg m<SUP>-3</SUP> at the Seoul site and 2.12 +/- 1.47 (0.26-10.75) ng m<SUP>-3</SUP>, 2.7 +/- 2.7 (0.1-16.9) pg m<SUP>-3</SUP>, and 3.7 +/- 5.7 (0.1-30.0) pg m<SUP>-3</SUP> in Chuncheon. Both long-range transport and local sources caused high TGM concentration events, while local coal combustion was a main cause of enhancing the GOM and PBM concentrations in Seoul. However, there was no correlation between the pollutants emitted from coal combustion and the speciated Hg concentration in Chuncheon, indicating that other mechanisms were involved in the Hg increase. We found a positive correlation between the GOM and the O<SUB>3</SUB> concentrations and a negative correlation between the GEM and the GOM concentrations, especially on foggy days, suggesting that the oxidation of GEM was an important source for GOM in Chuncheon. In addition, the ratio of PBM/GOM was inversely proportional to the atmospheric temperature and directly proportional to the relative humidity, which suggests that the in-situ formation of PBM through gas-particle partitioning of GOM was important in rural areas.

Phase II study and biomarker analysis of cetuximab combined with modified FOLFOX6 in advanced gastric cancer

Han, S-W,Oh, D-Y,Im, S-A,Park, S R,Lee, K-W,Song, H S,Lee, N-S,Lee, K H,Choi, I S,Lee, M H,Kim, M A,Kim, W H,Bang, Y-J,Kim, T-Y Nature Publishing Group 2009 The British journal of cancer Vol.100 No.2

<P>This prospective study was conducted with the Korean Cancer Study Group to evaluate the efficacy and safety of cetuximab combined with modified FOLFOX6 (mFOLFOX6) as first-line treatment in recurrent or metastatic gastric cancer and to identify potential predictive biomarkers. Patients received cetuximab 400 mg m<SUP>−2</SUP> at week 1 and 250 mg m<SUP>−2</SUP> weekly thereafter until disease progression. Oxaliplatin (100 mg m<SUP>−2</SUP>) and leucovorin (100 mg m<SUP>−2</SUP>) were administered as a 2-h infusion followed by a 46-h continuous infusion of 5-fluorouracil (2400 mg m<SUP>−2</SUP>) every 2 weeks for a maximum of 12 cycles. Biomarkers potentially associated with efficacy were analysed. Among 38 evaluable patients, confirmed response rate (RR) was 50.0% (95% CI 34.1–65.9). Median time-to-progression (TTP) was 5.5 months (95% CI 4.5–6.5) and overall survival (OS) 9.9 months. Eleven patients having tumour EGFR expression by immunohistochemistry with low serum EGF and TGF-<I>α</I> levels showed a 100% RR compared to 37.0% in the remaining 27 patients (<I>P</I><0.001). Moreover, ligand level increased when disease progressed in seven out of eight patients with EGFR expression and low baseline ligand level. No patient exhibited EGFR amplification or K-ras mutations. Gastric cancer patients with EGFR expression and low ligand levels had better outcomes with cetuximab/mFOLFOX6 treatment.</P>

Effect of low concentrations of hydrogen peroxide on the contractile responses of rat detrusor smooth muscle strips

Han, J.H.,Lee, M.Y.,Lee, S.Y.,Chang, I.H.,Kim, H.J.,Kim, W.,Myung, S.C. North-Holland ; Elsevier Science Ltd 2010 european journal of pharmacology Vol.638 No.1

This study was designed to determine how the contractility of rat detrusor smooth muscle strips changes in the presence of low concentrations of hydrogen peroxide (H<SUB>2</SUB><SUB>2</SUB>. The strips were dissected from the base of Sprague-Dawley rat bladders and their contractile responses to a cumulative increase in H<SUB>2</SUB><SUB>2</SUB>concentration (3x10<SUP>-6</SUP>3x10<SUP>-2</SUP>%) were measured. How the duration of exposure to the fixed concentration of 3x10<SUP>-4</SUP>% H<SUB>2</SUB><SUB>2</SUB>affected contractility was also examined. Moreover, the effect of 3x10<SUP>-4</SUP>% H<SUB>2</SUB><SUB>2</SUB>pretreatment on the response to cumulative increases in the concentrations of phenylephrine or acetylcholine (10<SUP>-8</SUP>10<SUP>-4</SUP>) was assessed. To elucidate the mechanism by which H<SUB>2</SUB><SUB>2</SUB>induced contraction, we examined the effect of pretreatment with 10nM Y-27632, 10μM indomethacin, 10μM SQ29548, 10μM verapamil, 10μM vitamin E, or 1μM Bay-K 8644 on the contractile responses generated by cumulatively increasing the concentration of H<SUB>2</SUB><SUB>2</SUB> H<SUB>2</SUB><SUB>2</SUB>induced contractile responses in Ca<SUP>2+</SUP>free physiological solution were also examined. Low concentrations of H<SUB>2</SUB><SUB>2</SUB>increased the contractile responses of the strips in a dose-dependent manner but increasing treatment duration decreased these responses. H<SUB>2</SUB><SUB>2</SUB>pretreatment significantly augmented the contraction induced by phenylephrine (P<0.05) but had no effect on the response to acetylcholine. Pretreatment with Y-27632, indomethacin, vitamin E, verapamil, and Bay-K 8644 significantly inhibited the H<SUB>2</SUB><SUB>2</SUB>induced contraction (P<0.05). SQ 29548-pretreatment had no effect. H<SUB>2</SUB><SUB>2</SUB>could not increase the contractile responses in Ca<SUP>2+</SUP>free physiological solution. Thus, low concentrations of H<SUB>2</SUB><SUB>2</SUB>may directly affect detrusor smooth muscles and thereby induce detrusor overactivity.

In vitro and in vivo antifungal activities of decursin and decursinol angelate isolated from Angelica gigas against Magnaporthe oryzae, the causal agent of rice blast

Yoon, M.Y.,Kim, Y.S.,Ryu, S.Y.,Choi, G.J.,Choi, Y.H.,Jang, K.S.,Cha, B.,Han, S.S.,Kim, J.C. Academic Press 2011 Pesticide biochemistry and physiology Vol.101 No.2

Blast is considered the most important fungal disease of rice due to its wide distribution and destructiveness under favorable conditions. Development of new effective and environmentally benign agents against the causal pathogen, Magnaporthe oryzae, is of great interest. In the course of a search for natural antifungal compounds in medicinal plants, we found that the methanol extract of Angelica gigas roots showed a potent control efficacy against rice blast caused by M. oryzae. We isolated antifungal coumarins from the extract, and they were identified as decursin and decursinol angelate. Antifungal activities of these compounds, along with kasugamycin, were tested on M. oryzae in vivo and in vitro. In an in vivo assay, the three compounds effectively suppressed the development of rice blast at concentrations more than 100μg/mL. Coumarins showed relatively weak inhibitory effect on fungal mycelial growth when compared to kasugamycin. However, they strongly inhibited M. oryzae spore germination, which was not observed in kasugamycin treatments. This is the first report demonstrating that decursinol angelate can provide control against rice blast and that the two coumarins inhibit M. oryzae spore germination. In addition, the wettable powder formulation of the crude extract of A. gigas prohibited the development of blast symptoms on rice plants more effectively than liquid concentrate formulation of kasugamin, a commercial fungicide. Based on our study, we propose that coumarin compounds as well as the A. gigas root crude extract can be used as natural, benign fungicides for controlling rice blast.

A SUPER-JUPITER MICROLENS PLANET CHARACTERIZED BY HIGH-CADENCE KMTNET MICROLENSING SURVEY OBSERVATIONS OF OGLE-2015-BLG-0954

신인구,Y.-H. Ryu,A. Udalski,M. Albrow,S.-M. Cha,J.-Y. Choi,S.-J. Chung,C. Han,K.-H. Hwang,Y. K. Jung,D.-J. Kim,S.-L. Kim,C.-U. Lee,Y. Lee,B.-G. Park,H. Park,R. W. Pogge,J. C. Yee,P. Pietrukowicz,P. Mroz 한국천문학회 2016 Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society Vol.49 No.3

We report the characterization of a massive $(m_p=3.9\pm 1.4 M_{\rm jup})$ microlensing planet (OGLE-2015-BLG-0954Lb) orbiting an M dwarf host ($M=0.33\,\pm 0.12 M_\odot$) at a distance toward the Galactic bulge of $0.6^{+0.4}_{-0.2}\,$kpc, which is extremely nearby by microlensing standards. The planet-host projected separation is $a_\perp \sim 1.2\,\au$. The characterization was made possible by the wide-field ($4\,\rm deg^2$) high cadence ($\Gamma = 6\,\rm hr^{-1}$) monitoring of the Korea Microlensing Telescope Network (KMTNet), which had two of its three telescopes in commissioning operations at the time of the planetary anomaly. The source crossing time $t_*=16\,$min is among the shortest ever published. The high-cadence, wide-field observations that are the hallmark of KMTNet are the only way to routinely capture such short crossings. High-cadence resolution of short caustic crossings will preferentially lead to mass and distance measurements for the lens. This is because the short crossing time typically implies a nearby lens, which enables the measurement of additional effects (bright lens and/or microlens parallax). When combined with the measured crossing time, these effects can yield planet/host masses and distance.

Satisfaction with mammography in the National Cancer Screening Programme participants of age 40s in Korea

JEON, B.Y.,LEE, H‐,Y.,PARK, E‐,C.,CHOI, K.S.,JUN, J.K.,KIM, Y.,HAN, M.A.,YOON, N‐,H.,KIM, E.J.,JEON, S.M. Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2011 European journal of cancer care Vol.20 No.6

<P>JEON B.Y., LEE H‐Y., PARK E‐C., CHOI K.S., JUN J.K., KIM Y., HAN M.A., YOON N‐H., KIM E.J. & JEON S.M. (2011) <I>European Journal of Cancer Care</I><B>20</B>, 803–809</P><P><B>Satisfaction with mammography in the National Cancer Screening Programme participants of age 40s in Korea</B></P><P>The aim of this study was to evaluate satisfaction with the National Cancer Screening Programme of mammography in Korea and to examine the association between subscales of satisfaction and general satisfaction. We conducted a cross‐sectional telephone survey for women who had obtained a National Cancer Screening Programme mammographic screening at general hospitals between May and October 2008. The present study included 2005 women in their forties. We performed multivariate linear regression using dependent variable as general satisfaction and independent variables as subscales of satisfaction, such as pre‐screening information transfer, staff interpersonal skills, physical surroundings and results reporting. Participants were stratified according to the result of their mammogram as negative or positive. Mean score of satisfaction was above 2.5 of 4 for all subscales. Women who received positive results were less satisfied with all of subscale factors. Staff interpersonal skills were the most important factor that contributed to general satisfaction. Future efforts such as staff training programme of communication/attitude skills, ensuring privacy and explanation of possible discomfort of the screening would be needed.</P>

Antiviral activity of KR-23502 targeting nuclear export of influenza B virus ribonucleoproteins

Jang, Y.,Lee, H.W.,Shin, J.S.,Go, Y.Y.,Kim, C.,Shin, D.,Malpani, Y.,Han, S.B.,Jung, Y.S.,Kim, M. Elsevier/North-Holland 2016 ANTIVIRAL RESEARCH Vol.134 No.-

<P>The spiro compound 5,6-dimethyl-3H,3'H-spiro(benzofuran-2,1'-isobenzofuran)-3,3'-dione (KR-23502) has antiviral activity against influenza A and more potently B viruses. The aim of this study is to elucidate its mechanism of action. Subcellular localization and time-course expression of influenza B viral proteins, nucleoprotein (NP) and matrix protein 1 (M1), showed that KR-23502 reduced their amounts within 5 h post-infection. Early steps of virus life cycle, including virus entry, nuclear localization of NP and viral RNA-dependent RNA replication, were not affected by KR-23502. Instead it interrupted a later event corresponding to nuclear export of NP and M1 proteins. Delivery of viral ribonucleoprotein (vRNP)-M1 complex has been known to be mediated by the viral nuclear export protein (NEP) through interaction with cellular chromosomal maintenance 1 (CRM1) protein. In this study, we experimentally demonstrated that the compound targets the nuclear export of vRNP. Moreover, a single mutation (aspartate to glycine) at amino acid position 54 in M1 [M1(D54G)] was detected after 18 passages in the presence of KR-23502 with a 2-fold increase in 50% effective concentration indicating that this compound has a relatively high genetic barrier to resistance. Interestingly, it was observed that proteasome-mediated degradation of M1 (D54G) was attenuated by KR-23502. In conclusion, we suggest that KR-23502 shows its anti-influenza activity by downregulating NEP/CRM1-mediated nuclear export of influenza vRNP and M1. KR-23502 provides a core chemical skeleton for further structure-based design of novel antivirals against influenza viruses. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.</P>

MOA-2010-BLG-073L: AN M-DWARF WITH A SUBSTELLAR COMPANION AT THE PLANET/BROWN DWARF BOUNDARY

Street, R. A.,Choi, J.-Y.,Tsapras, Y.,Han, C.,Furusawa, K.,Hundertmark, M.,Gould, A.,Sumi, T.,Bond, I. A.,Wouters, D.,Zellem, R.,Udalski, A.,Snodgrass, C.,Horne, K.,Dominik, M.,Browne, P.,Kains, N.,Br IOP Publishing 2013 The Astrophysical journal Vol.763 No.1

<P>We present an analysis of the anomalous microlensing event, MOA-2010-BLG-073, announced by the Microlensing Observations in Astrophysics survey on 2010 March 18. This event was remarkable because the source was previously known to be photometrically variable. Analyzing the pre-event source light curve, we demonstrate that it is an irregular variable over timescales >200 days. Its dereddened color, (V - I)(S),(0), is 1.221 +/- 0.051 mag, and from our lens model we derive a source radius of 14.7 +/- 1.3 R-circle dot, suggesting that it is a red giant star. We initially explored a number of purely microlensing models for the event but found a residual gradient in the data taken prior to and after the event. This is likely to be due to the variability of the source rather than part of the lensing event, so we incorporated a slope parameter in our model in order to derive the true parameters of the lensing system. We find that the lensing system has a mass ratio of q = 0.0654 +/- 0.0006. The Einstein crossing time of the event, t(E) = 44.3 +/- 0.1 days, was sufficiently long that the light curve exhibited parallax effects. In addition, the source trajectory relative to the large caustic structure allowed the orbital motion of the lens system to be detected. Combining the parallax with the Einstein radius, we were able to derive the distance to the lens, D-L = 2.8 +/- 0.4 kpc, and the masses of the lensing objects. The primary of the lens is an M-dwarf with M-L,M-1 = 0.16 +/- 0.03 M-circle dot, while the companion has M-L,M-2 = 11.0 +/- 2.0 M-J, putting it in the boundary zone between planets and brown dwarfs.</P>

다운증후군의 산전진단을 위한 다양한 선별검사의 기여율 비교 - 산전 및 신생아때 진단된 96 례 분석 -

한정열(J . Y . Han),김문영(Y. M . Kim),조준형(J . H . Cho),안현경(H . K . Ahn),류현미(H . M . Ryu),김진미(J . M . Kim),김영미(Y . M . Kim),박소연(S . Y . Park),한혜경(H . K . Han),이영호(Y . H . Lee),양재혁(J . H . Yang) 대한산부인과학회 2000 Obstetrics & Gynecology Science Vol.43 No.10

연구의 목적은 다운증후군을 산전진단하기 위한 다양한 산전선별검사 (나이; 35세 이상, 임산부 혈청 marker를 이용한 triple test, 초음파; 비정상 소견, 후경부 투명대 (nuchal translucency), 후경부두께 (nuchal fold thickness))의 기여율를 비교하기 위한 것이다. 1990년 1월부터 1999년 9월까지 본원에서 산전 및 산후에 진단된 례는 총 96례 이었다. 산전 및 신생아기에 진단된 다운증후군의 빈도는 각각 68례 (71 %), 28례 (29 %)였다. 다운증후군 태아를 임신했던 임산부의 평균연령은 33±5.7세이다. 다운증후군의 1,000분만당 연도별 빈도율은 1990년부터 1999년까지 각각 0.4, 1.3, 0.7, 0.7, 1.6, 0.7, 1.2, 2.2, 2.0, 그리고 2.3 (Y=0.28±0.18 year, P=0.01)이었다. 산전진단된 다운증후군의 비율 (%)은 지난 10년간 각각 0 (0/2), 43 (3/7), 50 (2/4), 25 (1/4), 56 (5/9), 100 (5/5), 71 (5/7), 78 (14/18), 78 (14/18), 그리고 89 (17/19) (Y=12.9±8.9 year, P=0.000) 이었다. 다운증후군을 산전진단하기 위한 다양한 산전선별 검사에 따른 기여율은 35세이상의 연령에 의하면 30.2±5.6 %, triple test의 경우 18.2±3.4 %, 초음파에 의한 경우 51.7±6.3 % 이며, 초음파에 의한 산전 선별 검사가 통계적으로 유의하게 연령이나 triple test에 의한 경우 보다 다운증후군의 산전진단에 기여율이 높았다. (P=0.008) 결론적으로 본 연구에 의하면 지난 10년 동안 다운증후군을 산전 진단하기 위한 여러 선별 검사방법의 적용은 효율적이었으며, 특히 초음파에서 다양한 소견을 이용한 다운증후군의 산전선별검사는 연령이나 triple test 보다는 더욱더 의미가 있다고 추론된다. Objective : The purpose of this study was comparison of the contribution rate for prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome using various screening methods (Age: greater than or equal to 35 years old, Serum markers: Triple test, Ultrasonography: abnormal sonographic findings, nuchal translucency, nuchal fold thickness).Methods : Total 96 cases of Down syndrome, prenatally or postnatally diagnosed between Jan. 1990 and Sept. 1999, made up the study population. We got the contribution rate of various prenatal screening methods of down syndrome, and obtained the efficiency of various screening program applied for last 10 years. Results : The frequencies of Down syndrome confirmed in prenatal and postnatal were 68 (71%) and 28 (29%) in respectively. The mean age of mother of Down syndrome fetus was 33.0±5.7 years old. The frequency rate of Down syndrome was 0.4, 1.3, 0.7, 0.7, 1.6, 0.7, 1.2, 2.2, 2.0 and 2.3 a 1,000 deliveries from 1990 to 1999 (Y= 0.28+0.18 year, P=0.01). The percentage of Down syndrome diagnosed prenatally was 0 (0/2), 43 (3/7), 50 (2/4), 25 (1/4), 56 (5/9), 100 (5/5), 71 (5/7), 78 (14/18), 78 (14/18) and 89 (17/19) from 1990 to 1999 (Y= 12.9+8.9 year, P=0.000). The contribution rate of prenatal diagnosis for Down syndrome was 30.2±5.6% by age, 18.2±3.4% by triple test and 51.7±6.3% by ultrasonography, and was significantly difference among each screen methods (P=0.008). Conclusions : This study shows that our prenatal screening program is highly effective to detect Down syndrome and especially ultrasonographic findings (abnormal sono findings, Nuchal translucency, Nuchal fold thickness) may be more important than that of age or Triple test to detect the Down syndrome prenatally.

Effects of catalpalactone on dopamine biosynthesis and L-DOPA-induced cytotoxicity in PC12 cells

Huang, H.S.,Han, X.H.,Hwang, B.Y.,Park, J.I.,Yoo, S.K.,Lee, H.J.,Lim, S.C.,Lee, M.K. Elsevier Science B.V 2008 Environmental toxicology and pharmacology Vol.26 No.1

The effects of catalpalactone on dopamine biosynthesis and L-DOPA-induced cytotoxicity in PC12 cells were investigated. Catalpalactone at 5-30μM decreased intracellular dopamine content with the IC<SUB>50</SUB> value of 22.1μM. Catalpalactone at 5-20μM, but not 30μM, did not alter cell viability. Catalpalactone at 20μM inhibited tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and aromatic-l-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC) activities. Catalpalactone also decreased cyclic AMP levels and inhibited TH phosphorylation. In addition, catalpalactone at 20μM reduced the increases in dopamine levels induced by L-DOPA (20-50μM). Catalpalactone (5-30μM) associated with L-DOPA (50-100μM) enhanced L-DOPA-induced cytotoxicity at 48h, which was prevented by N-acetyl-l-cysteine. These results suggest that catalpalactone inhibited dopamine biosynthesis by reducing TH and AADC activities and enhanced L-DOPA-induced cytotoxiciy in PC12 cells.