The role of direct contact in forming peace-oriented international relations of a divided country: Focusing on the division of the Korean Peninsula.

BACKGROUND: The division of the Korean peninsula involved many neighbouring countries in the Korean War. The relations with those countries have since been reorganised due to active exchange. This study examined how the quantity and quality of contact with traditional alliance (US and Japan) and strategic partner (China and Russia) countries affected their national images. METHODS: To this end, this study analyzed the relation with the national image by measuring the quantity and quality of contact of an individual with each country. The quantity of contact included an evaluation of the individual's subjective amount of contact, contact path, and contact status, and the quality of contact was measured as an evaluation for the pleasure, competitiveness, intimacy, spontaneity, and necessity when contacting each country's culture. A total of 387 participants were divided into two groups based on the presence of direct contact and the quantity and quality of their contact and national images were examined. The participants were followed by a completion of the self-questionnaires including the Culture Experience Questionnaire, National Image Questionnaire, and demographic information questionnaire. RESULTS: The results of this study are as follow: first, regardless of the type of country, the national image was highly correlated with the degree of subjective contact evaluated by individuals, but there was a weak tendency with contact quality. Second, there was no significant interaction between the country type and contact status for national image, however, different national images for each country were detected. In other word, for contact quantity, contact groups showed more positive national images compared to non-contact groups in Russia, but not Japan, China, and the US. For contact quality, the positive contact experience group showed more positive national images compared to the negative contact experience group, but only in traditional alliance countries. CONCLUSION: This study highlights the importance of implementing different strategies for countries to maintain peaceful international relations.

Korean ginseng extract ameliorates abnormal immune response through the regulation of inflammatory constituents in Sprague Dawley rat subjected to environmental heat stress.

BACKGROUND: Increases in the average global temperature cause heat stress-induced disorders by disrupting homeostasis. Excessive heat stress triggers an imbalance in the immune system; thus protection against heat stress is important to maintain immune homeostasis. Korean ginseng (Panax ginseng Meyer) has been used as a herbal medicine and displays beneficial biological properties. METHODS: We investigated the protective effects of Korean ginseng extracts (KGEs) against heat stress in a rat model. Following acclimatization for 1 week, rats were housed at room temperature for 2 weeks and then exposed to heat stress (40°C/2 h/day) for 4 weeks. Rats were treated with three KGEs from the beginning of the second week to the end of the experiment. RESULTS: Heat stress dramatically increased secretion of inflammatory factors, and this was significantly reduced in the KGE-treated groups. Levels of inflammatory factors such as heat shock protein 70, interleukin 6, inducible nitric oxide synthase, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha were increased in the spleen and muscle upon heat stress. KGEs inhibited these increases by down-regulating heat shock protein 70 and the associated nuclear factor-κB and mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathways. Consequently, KGEs suppressed activation of T-cells and B-cells. CONCLUSION: KGEs suppress the immune response upon heat stress and decrease the production of inflammatory cytokines in muscle and spleen. We suggest that KGEs protect against heat stress by inhibiting inflammation and maintaining immune homeostasis.

Identification of crizotinib derivatives as potent SHIP2 inhibitors for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

SH2 domain-containing inositol 5'-phosphatase 2 (SHIP2) is a lipid phosphatase that produce phosphatidylinositol 3,4-bisphosphate (PI(3,4)P2) from phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-triphosphate (PI(3,4,5)P3), and is involved in many diseases such as neurodegenerative diseases. A recent report demonstrating that SHIP2 inhibition decreased tau hyperphosphorylation induced by amyloid ß and rescued memory impairment in a transgenic Alzheimer's disease mouse model indicates SHIP2 can be a promising therapeutic target for Alzheimer's disease. In the present study, we have developed novel, potent SHIP2 inhibitors by extensive structural elaboration of crizotinib discovered from a high-throughput screening. Our representative compound 43 potently inhibited SHIP2 activity as well as GSK3ß activation in HT22 neuronal cells. It was also shown that 43 has favorable physicochemical properties, especially high brain penetration. Considering SHIP2 is one of key signal mediators for tau hyperphosphorylation, our potent SHIP2 inhibitor 43 may function as a promising lead compound for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

Ginsenoside Rg5 prevents apoptosis by modulating heme-oxygenase-1/nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 signaling and alters the expression of cognitive impairment-associated genes in thermal stress-exposed HT22 cells.

Our results suggested that thermal stress can lead to activation of hippocampal cell damage and reduction of memory-associated molecules in HT22 cells. These findings also provide a part of molecular rationale for the role of ginsenoside Rg5 as a potent cognitive impairment preventive compound in blocking the initiation of hippocampal damage.