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Jaeumgeonbi-Tang (JGT), a traditional herbal medicine, has been used to treat dizziness and vertigo in Korea and China for hundreds of years. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the pharmacological properties of JGT in chronic subjective dizziness (CSD) patients. A randomized, double-blind, parallel-group and placebo-controlled trial was performed with a total of 50 CSD patients. The patients were randomly assigned to one of two groups: JGT or placebo (n = 25 for each). All participants received the treatment (placebo or JGT, 24 g/day) for 4 weeks. We analyzed the serum levels of oxidative stressors, antioxidants, and stress hormones. Serum levels of lipid peroxidation, but not nitric oxide, were significantly decreased in the JGT group. JGT not only prevented the decline of serum total glutathione contents and total antioxidant capacity, but it also increased superoxide dismutase and catalase activities. Serum levels of stress hormones including cortisol, adrenaline, and serotonin were notably normalized by JGT treatment, but noradrenaline levels were not affected. Regarding the safety and tolerability of JGT, we found no allergic, adverse, or side effects in any of the participants. JGT showed beneficial effects on CSD patients by improving redox status and balancing psycho-emotional stress hormones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tropical cyclone formation close to the coastline of the Asian continent presents a significant threat to heavily populated coastal countries. A case study of Tropical Storm Mekkhala (2008) that developed off the coast of Vietnam is presented using the high-resolution analyses of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts/Year of Tropical Convection and multiple satellite observations. The authors have analyzed contributions to the formation from large-scale intraseasonal variability, synoptic perturbations, and mesoscale convective systems (MCSs). Within a large-scale westerly wind burst (WWB) associated with the Madden-Julian oscillation (MJO), synoptic perturbations generated by two preceding tropical cyclones initiated the pre-Mekkhala low-level vortex over the Philippine Sea. Typhoon Hagupit produced a synoptic-scale wave train that contributed to the development of Jangmi, but likely suppressed the Mekkhala formation. The low-level vortex of the pre-Mekkhala disturbance was then initiated in a confluent zone between northeasterlies in advance of Typhoon Jangmi and the WWB. A key contribution to the development of Mekkhala was from diurnally varying MCSs that were invigorated in the WWB. The oceanic MCSs, which typically develop off the west coast of the Philippines in the morning and dissipate in the afternoon, were prolonged beyond the regular diurnal cycle. A combination with the MCSs developing downstream of the Philippines led to the critical structure change of the oceanic convective cluster, which implies the critical role of mesoscale processes. Therefore, the diurnally varying mesoscale convective processes over both the ocean and land are shown to have an essential role in the formation of Mekkhala in conjunction with large-scale MJO and the synoptic-scale TC influences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To lead the world's fifth-generation mobile communication networks (5G) market, China introduced several policies to support 5G industry development that will impact telecommunication operators, the main implementers in this industry. Thus, this study examines the impact of the government's 5G policy announcements on telecommunication operators' firm value in China, where the state exerts a strong influence on industry development. We find that government policy announcement in general affects telecommunication operators' stock returns negatively, and when the government announces policies with a higher level of interference, the decline in firm value is more pronounced. To understand the comprehensive impact of 5G technology on telecommunication operators, we also examine the effect of institution-driven corporate technology R&D and investment activities on firm value. We find that the firms' 5G activities also decrease their firm value, and this effect is more significant than government policy announcements. These results imply that the market has a negative evaluation of the introduction of 5G technology due to its immaturity and uncertainty. This study provides a basis for understanding the market's views on 5G technology and development policies. • Telecommunication policies exert significant influence on telecommunication operators. • Impact of the Chinese government's 5G development policy announcements on firm value is analyzed. • Policy announcements negatively affect telecommunication operators' stock returns. • More restrictive policies lead to a more pronounced decline in firm value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the sedimentary pollution by persistent toxic substances (PTSs) and their potential impacts on the macrobenthic faunal community in the Geum River Estuary, South Korea. Sediment and benthic macrofauna samples were collected from eight sites every two months during the period of February to December in 2015. Target PTSs encompassed metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, and Zn), one metalloid (As), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and alkylphenols (APs). The significant difference to the environment of the inner and outer parts of the estuary (p < 0.05) was found with relatively high concentrations of PTSs in sediment from the inner estuary. The concentrations of Cu and Zn exceeded the sediment quality guidelines of Korea representing a potential risk to aquatic organisms. The primary source of PAHs was by-products of diesel and gasoline combustion (37%), followed by a coke oven (32%) and oil-burning (31%). The macrofaunal community was spatially distinguished between the inner and outer parts of the estuary (p < 0.05), regardless of the season. In the inner part of the estuary, the density of the macrofaunal community was high, due to the increased opportunistic species and/or some indicator species (organic polluted or enrichment), implying that the given environment was disturbed. Among the environmental parameters analyzed by the distance-based linear model (DistLM), salinity, chlorophyll-a, and nutrient concentrations were found to be key factors controlling the changes in macrofaunal community structure. Such changes in the closed estuary system would indicate that each taxonomic group had to adjust to lower salinities and alternative food sources. Overall, the distribution of PTSs and macrozoobenthic communities in the Geum River Estuary collectively reflected the environmental gradients caused by surrounding activities in the inner part of the estuary together with direct effects by the irregular inflow of freshwater., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Apigenin, an aromatic compound, exhibits antioxidant, anti‑inflammatory and anti‑viral effects. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of apigenin on cell proliferation and apoptosis of human melanoma cells A375P and A375SM. Therefore, melanoma cells were treated with apigenin to determine its anti‑proliferative and survival effects, using wound healing and MTT assays. The results revealed that melanoma cell viability was decreased in a dose‑dependent manner. Furthermore, chromatin condensation, indicating apoptosis, was significantly increased in a dose‑dependent manner, as demonstrated by DAPI staining. In addition, increased apoptosis rate following treatment with apigenin was confirmed by Annexin V‑propidium iodide staining. The changes in the expression levels of apoptosis‑related proteins in A375P and A375SM melanoma cells were subsequently detected using western blot analysis. The results demonstrated that the protein expression levels of Bcl‑2 were decreased, whereas those of Bax, cleaved poly ADP‑ribose polymerase, cleaved caspase‑9 and p53 were upregulated in a dose‑dependent manner in apigenin‑treated cells compared with those noted in untreated cells. In addition, in apigenin‑treated A375P cells, phosphorylated (p)‑p38 was upregulated and p‑extracellular signal‑regulated kinase (ERK), p‑c‑Jun N‑terminal kinase (JNK) and p‑protein kinase B (Akt) were downregulated. However, in A375SM cells, apigenin treatment increased p‑ERK and p‑JNK and decreased p‑p38 and p‑Akt protein expression levels. Subsequently, the inhibitory effect of apigenin on tumor growth was investigated in vivo. Tumor volume was significantly reduced in the 25 and 50 mg/kg apigenin‑treated groups compared with the control group. Additionally, a TUNEL assay was performed to detect apoptotic cells. Immunohistochemical staining also revealed elevated p‑ERK expression in the apigenin‑treated group compared with the control group. Overall, the findings of the present study indicated that apigenin attenuated the growth of A375SM melanoma cells by inducing apoptosis via regulating the Akt and mitogen‑activated protein kinase signaling pathways.

Known genetic loci explain only a small proportion of the familial relative risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). We conducted a genome-wide association study of CRC in East Asians with 14,963 cases and 31,945 controls and identified 6 new loci associated with CRC risk (P = 3.42 × 10(-8) to 9.22 × 10(-21)) at 10q22.3, 10q25.2, 11q12.2, 12p13.31, 17p13.3 and 19q13.2. Two of these loci map to genes (TCF7L2 and TGFB1) with established roles in colorectal tumorigenesis. Four other loci are located in or near genes involved in transcriptional regulation (ZMIZ1), genome maintenance (FEN1), fatty acid metabolism (FADS1 and FADS2), cancer cell motility and metastasis (CD9), and cell growth and differentiation (NXN). We also found suggestive evidence for three additional loci associated with CRC risk near genome-wide significance at 8q24.11, 10q21.1 and 10q24.2. Furthermore, we replicated 22 previously reported CRC-associated loci. Our study provides insights into the genetic basis of CRC and suggests the involvement of new biological pathways.

Analyses of randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) were performed in an effort to distinguish between two different origins of Pinellia ternata. To determine whether the origin of Pinellia ternata is in China or Korea. RAPD analysis was carried out using ten 20-mer random primers. Although the coefficients of similarity between the DNA of Chinese and Korean accessions of Pinellia ternata were high, distinguishable band patterns were observed in the reaction performed using primer numbers 3, 6 and 10. Primer 3 produced one (410 bp) and primer 6 produced four (410 bp, 350 bp, 300 bp, 250 bp) Chinese Pinellia-specific fragments. Primer 10 produced one (900 bp) Korean Pinellia rhizome-specific fragment. In addition, using PCR-RFLP analysis, different fingerprints were obtained from Korean and Chinese Pinellia ternata respectively. These results suggest that the analyses with RAPD and PCR-RFLP can be used to authenticate the relevant Chinese and Korean herbal medicines.