Abstract. Gastrodia elata Blume (GEB) is a traditional herbal plant that has been used in Asian countries for centuries as an anticonvulsant, analgesic, and also as a sedative for treating general paralysis, epilepsy, vertigo, and tetanus. Although numerous reports have addressed the effects of GEB against degenerative diseases, no previous study has examined the possible gastroprotective effects of GEB. Here, we examined the effects of pretreatment with GEB (0.02 ml/g, p.o.) in a mouse water immersion restraint (WIR) stressinduced gastric lesion model. Our results revealed that mice pretreated with GEB had significantly fewer gastric lesions than their respective controls. Moreover, GEB-treated mice showed significant decreases in serum and gastric nitric oxide (NO) levels to 50 and 28%, respectively. To examine one possible mechanism underlying this effect, we used reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to examine NOS mRNA expression in gastric lesion tissues. Our results revealed that the mRNA expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) was reduced by ~50% in GEB-pretreated mice versus the controls, whereas the mRNA expression levels of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) remained unchanged. These findings collectively suggest that GEB significantly protects the gastric mucosa against WIR-induced gastric damage, at least in part by decreasing NO levels via suppression of iNOS mRNA expression.

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During the rapid economic growth in Korea since the 1970s, many underground facilities were constructed such as under passes and railways. Seismic design has been mandated in 1988, but the structures built before 1988 were not reflected on the seismic design. Accordingly, these underground structures require effective seismic reinforcing methods to ensure safety when the earthquake happens. By these reasons, in this study, using the proposed pre-flexed members, RC box structure was analyzed for seismic reinforcement of the corner. This method is based on a principle that enlarging the resistance against the external force by installing the pre-flexed member to the box structure corner. To evaluate validity, a newly developed member with CornerSafe was compared with traditional type reinforcement using experiments and finite element analysis. In finite element mode, nonlinearity of steel was modeled based on J2 plasticity model and concrete was based on CEB FIP MODEL CODE 1990. Also, composite ratios of box and pre-flexed member were computed for design application. The reinforcement and box structure were analyzed under the bond condition completely attached by the tie, and the results of experiment and finite element analysis were same in the force-displacement curve.