Seismic Performance Evaluation of Corrosion-Damaged Reinforced Concrete Columns Controlled by Shear Based on Experiment and FEA.

It is extremely important to investigate the effect of the seismic performance of corrosion-damaged reinforced concrete (RC) members, in terms of strength and deformability, on the seismic performance of the entire building. This will allow a more accurate assessment of the seismic performance of RC structures with corroded members, including beams and columns. However, current methods of evaluating the seismic performance of RC structures fail to fully consider the influence of reinforcement corrosion and other performance deterioration of RC members.

Hydrogen Peroxide- and Nitric Oxide-mediated Disease Control of Bacterial Wilt in Tomato Plants.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation in tomato plants by Ralstonia solanacearum infection and the role of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and nitric oxide in tomato bacterial wilt control were demonstrated. During disease development of tomato bacterial wilt, accumulation of superoxide anion (O2 (-)) and H2O2 was observed and lipid peroxidation also occurred in the tomato leaf tissues. High doses of H2O2and sodium nitroprusside (SNP) nitric oxide donor showed phytotoxicity to detached tomato leaves 1 day after petiole feeding showing reduced fresh weight.

PCR-RFLP-based typing for differentiation of Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) genotypes from infected host plants in Korea.

A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using two sets of primers designed from published Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) genomes was developed to distinguish from the TYLCV-IL groups. The specificity of the two sets of primers was proven by testing against control TYLCV genomes and the symptomatic leaves of 34 different tomato cultivars naturally infected with TYLCV in greenhouses. One set for TYLCV-IL strain-specific primers (TYLCV-UNI-F and TYLCV-UNI-R) amplified full-length genome fragments from all the 34 tomato cultivars.

Cryptotanshinone from Salviae miltiorrhizae radix inhibits sodium-nitroprusside-induced apoptosis in neuro-2a cells.

The root of Salvia miltiorrhiza (Salviae miltiorrhizae radix), a herbal medicine has widely been used for the treatment of pain, miscarriage and oedema. In this study, we evaluated the neuroprotective effect of cryptotanshinone (CRT) from Salviae miltiorrhizae radix on sodium-nitroprusside (SNP)-induced apoptosis in neuro-2a (N2a) cells, and further investigated its action mechanism in signalling pathways. The effects of CRT against SNP-induced toxicity, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) changes, and oxidants/antioxidant defences and apoptotic signalling pathways were investigated in N2a cells.

Inhibitory effects of the root extract of Dipsacus asperoides C.Y. Cheng et al T.M.Ai on collagen-induced arthritis in mice.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Dipsaci radix, the dried root of Dipsacus asperoides C.Y. Cheng et al T.

25-Methoxyhispidol A, a novel triterpenoid of Poncirus trifoliata, inhibits cell growth via the modulation of EGFR/c-Src signaling pathway in MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells.

The fruit of Poncirus trifoliata (Rutaceae) has been used a medicinal food and traditional medicine. Recently we reported the isolation of 25-methoxyhispidol A (25-MHA) as a novel triterpenoid from the immature fruit of P. trifoliata with the potential growth inhibition of cancer cells.

Genetic diversity of tomato-infecting Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) isolates in Korea.

Epidemic outbreaks of Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) diseases occurred in greenhouse grown tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) plants of Busan (TYLCV-Bus), Boseong (TYLCV-Bos), Hwaseong (TYLCV-Hwas), Jeju Island (TYLCV-Jeju), and Nonsan (TYLCV-Nons) in Korea during 2008-2009. Tomato disease by TYLCV has never occurred in Korea before. We synthesized the full-length genomes of each TYLCV isolate from the tomato plants collected at each area and determined their nucleotides (nt) sequences and deduced the amino acids of six open reading frames in the genomes.

Pinoresinol from the fruits of Forsythia koreana inhibits inflammatory responses in LPS-activated microglia.

The activation of microglia plays an important role in a variety of brain disorders by the excessive production of inflammatory mediators such as nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) and proinflammatory cytokines. We investigated here whether pinoresinol isolated from the fruits of Forsythia koreana Nakai inhibits the inflammatory responses in LPS-activated microglia. Pinoresinol inhibited the production of NO, PGE(2), TNF-alpha, IL-1beta and IL-6 in LPS-activated primary microglia.

Growth inhibition and G1 cell cycle arrest mediated by 25-methoxyhispidol A, a novel triterpenoid, isolated from the fruit of Poncirus trifoliata in human hepatocellular carcinoma cells.

Poncirus trifoliata (Rutaceae) extracts have been known to possess anti-allergic, anti-inflammatory and antiviral activities. However, other biological activities, especially, the anticancer potential of extracts of P. trifoliata or its constituents, have not been fully investigated yet.

Antithrombotic effects by oral administration of novel proteinase fraction from earthworm Eisenia andrei on venous thrombosis model in rats.

A novel proteinase fraction, SPP-501, was purified from the earthworm, Eisenia andrei, and its antithrombotic effects compared with those of urokinase and t-PA (tissue type-plasminogen activator) in a thrombosis model, induced by the insertion of a stainless wire coil into the inferior vena cava. SPP-501, urokinase and t-PA were administrated once a day for 14 days. On the oral administration of SPP-501, as well as urokinase and t-PA, the thrombus weight was dramatically decreased.