• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.209-216
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• 1995

Recently, a new tailored RF gradient echo (TRFGE) sequence was reported. This technique not only enhances the magnetic susceptibility effect but also allows us to measure local changes in brain oxygenation. In this study, a phantom and cat brain experiments were performed on a 4.7 Tesla BIQSPEC (BRUKER) instrument with a 26 cm gradient system. We have demonstrated that the signal intensity (SI) of the TRFGE sequence varies according to the concentration of susceptibility contrast agent. Three capillary tubes with different concentrations of Gd-DTPA (0.01, 0.05, 0.1 mMOI/l) were placed at the middle of a cylindrical water phantom. Using both TRFGE and conventional gradient echo (CGE) sequences, phantom images of the slices which contain all three tubes were obtained. For the animal experiment, cats were anesthetized and ventilated using halotane (0.5%) and a $N_2O/ O_2$ mixture (2:1), and blood pressure and heart rate were monitored and kept normal. For the observation of tue first pass of Gd- DTPA, imaging was started at t = 0. At t = 8 ~ 12s, 0.2 mMol/Kg Gd-DTPA was manually injected in the femoral vein. The imaging parameters were TRITE = 25/10 msec, flip angle = $30^{\circ}$, FOV = 10cm, image matrix size = $128{\times}128$ with 64 phase encodings and the image data acquisition window was 10 msec. SI-time curves were then obtained from a series of 30 images which were collected at 2 sec intervals using both CGE and TRFGE pulse sequences before, during, and following the contrast injection.

• Proceedings of the KAIS Fall Conference
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• 2010.11a
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• pp.495-499
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• 2010

The biocatalytic capture of $CO_2$, and its precipitationas $CaCO_3$, over bovine carbonic anhydrase (BCA) immobilized on a pore-expanded SBA-15 support was investigated. SBA-15 was synthesized using TMB as a pore expander, and the resulting porous silica was characterized by XRD, BET, IR, and FE-SEM analysis. BCA was immobilized on SBA-15 through various approaches, including covalent attachment (BCA-CA), adsorption (BCA-ADS), and cross-linked enzyme aggregation (BCA-CLEA). The immobilization of BCA on SBA-15 was confirmed by the presence of zinc metal in the EDXS analysis. The effects of pH, temperature, storage stability, and reusability on the biocatalytic performance of BCA were characterized by examining para-nitrophenyl acetate (p-NPA) hydrolysis. The $K_{cat}/K_m$ values for p-NPA hydrolysis were 740.05, 660.62, and $680.11M^{-1}s^{-1}$, respectively, where as $K_{cat}/K_m$ for free BCA was $873.76M^{-1}s^{-1}$. The amount of $CaCO_3$ precipitate was measured quantitatively using anion-selective electrode and was found to be 12.41, 11.82, or 11.28 mg $CaCO_3$/mg for BCA-CLEA, BCA-ADS, or BCA-CA, respectively. The present results indicate that the immobilized BCA-CLEA, BCA-ADS, and BCA-CA are green materials, and are tunable, reusable, and promising biocatalysts for $CO_2$ sequestration.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.137-142
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• 1998

We examined mRNAs, isolated from the rat brain, to ascertain if there is any polymorphism for S-100 beta protein gene. As templates for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) the reverse-transcribed cDNA from the rat brain or phage DNAs isolated from the rat brain cDNA libraries were used. Although PCR products turned out to be exactly same as the expected size based on the previously reported mRNA sequence a single base substitution (CAT to CAC) was identified at nucleotide level. This change was considered as polymorphism since it did not cause any change of the primary structure for S-100 beta protein. This result should facilitate the understanding of the overall structure of the gene for S-100 beta protein.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.161-164
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• 2012

To evaluate the efficacy of ronidazole for treatment of Tritrichomonas foetus infection, 6 Tritrichomonas-free kittens were experimentally infected with a Korean isolate of T. foetus. The experimental infection was confirmed by direct microscopy, culture, and single-tube nested PCR, and all cats demonstrated trophozoites of T. foetus by day 20 post-infection in the feces. From day 30 after the experimentally induced infection, 3 cats were treated with ronidazole (50 mg/kg twice a day for 14 days) and 3 other cats received placebo. Feces from each cat were tested for the presence of T. foetus by direct smear and culture of rectal swab samples using modified Diamond's medium once a week for 4 weeks. To confirm the culture results, the presence of T. foetus rRNA gene was determined by single-tube nested PCR assay. All 3 cats in the treatment group receiving ronidazole showed negative results for T. foetus infection during 2 weeks of treatment and 4 weeks follow-up by all detection methods used in this study. In contrast, rectal swab samples from cats in the control group were positive for T. foetus continuously throughout the study. The present study indicates that ronidazole is also effective to treat cats infected experimentally with a Korean isolate of T. foetus at a dose of 50 mg/kg twice a day for 14 days.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.135-144
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• 1996

This study was carried out to clarify the genetic constitution of biochemical polymorphic loci controlling blood protein and enzymes as genetic rnarkers in Korean native chicken(KNG) population Blood samples were collected from 230 KNG representing three colored-lines(reddish-, yellowish- and blackish- brown) raised in Daejeon branch of National Livestock Research Institute. Eight blood marker loci, transferrin(Tf), post-albumin(Pas), albumin(Alb), amylase-1(Arny-1), es-terase-1(Es-1), alkaline phosphatase(Akp), catalase(Cat) and hemoglobin(Hh) were analyzed by using starch, agarose and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Based on the gene frequencies of polymorphic marker loci, the genetic characteristics of KNF population was analyzed, and the genetic ariability within population was quantified. The genetic relationships between KNC and other native fowls or improved breeds were also estimated. The gene frequencies of Tf, Pas and AIb loci were similar to those of improved breeds among the seven biochemical polymorphic loci, while gene frequencies of Cat and Es-i loci were remarkably different between KNC and improved breeds. Gene frequencies of amy-i and Akp loci were similar to those of New Hampshire and Rhode Island Red and White Leghorn, respectively. However in comparison with other improved breeds, great differences were observed in gene frequencies of these loci The average heterozygosity, effective number of alleles and homogeneity index for the seven loci combined were estimated to be .334, 1.639 and .373, respectively. Based on the dendrogram and genetic distances, the KNC was genetically closer to New Hampshire, Plymouth Rock and Rhode Island Red breeds than to the White Leghorn breed.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.525-532
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• 2014

This study was designed to elucidate the effect of ozone exposure on the bacteria counts and oxidative properties of ground Hanwoo beef contaminated with Escherichia coli O157:H7 at refrigeration temperature. Ground beef was inoculated with 7 Log CFU/g of E. coli O157:H7 isolated from domestic pigs and was then subjected to ozone exposure ($10{\times}10^{-6}kg\;O_3h^{-1}$) at $4^{\circ}C$ for 3 d. E. coli O157:H7, total aerobic and anaerobic bacterial growth and oxidative properties including instrumental color changes, TBARS, catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity were evaluated. Ozone exposure significantly prohibited (p<0.05) the growths of E. coli O157:H7, total aerobic and anaerobic bacteria in ground beef samples during storage. Ozone exposure reduced (p<0.05) the CIE $a^*$ value of samples over storage time. The CIE $L^*$ and CIE $b^*$ values of the samples fluctuated over storage time, and ozone had no clear effect. Ozone exposure increased the TBARS values during 1 to 3 d of storage (p<0.05). The CAT and GPx enzyme activities were not affected by ozone exposure until 2 and 3 d of storage, respectively. This study provides information about the use of ozone exposure as an antimicrobial agent for meat under refrigerated storage. The results of this study provide a foundation for the further application of ozone exposure by integrating an ozone generator inside a refrigerator. Further studies regarding the ozone concentrations and exposure times are needed.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.487-492
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• 2013

Cytochrome P450 4A11 (CYP4A11) is a fatty acid hydroxylase enzyme expressed in human liver. It catalyzes not only the hydroxylation of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, but the conversion of arachidonic acid to 20-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (20-HETE), a regulator of blood pressure. In this study, we performed a directed evolution analysis of CYP4A11 using the luminogenic assay system. A random mutant library of CYP4A11, in which mutations were made throughout the entire coding region, was screened with luciferase activity to detect the demethylation of luciferin-4A (2-[6-methoxyquinolin-2-yl]-4,5-dihydrothiazole-4-carboxylic acid) of CYP4A11 mutants in Escherichia coli. Consecutive rounds of random mutagenesis and screening yielded three improved CYP4A11 mutants, CP2600 (A24T/T263A), CP2601 (T263A), and CP2616 (A24T/T263A/V430E) with ~3-fold increase in whole cells and >10-fold increase in purified proteins on the luminescence assay. However, the steady state kinetic analysis for lauric acid hydroxylation showed the significant reductions in enzymatic activities in all three mutants. A mutant, CP2600, showed a 51% decrease in catalytic efficiency ($k_{cat}/K_m$) for lauric acid hydroxylation mainly due to an increase in $K_m$. CP2601 and CP2616 showed much greater reductions (>75%) in the catalytic efficiency due to both a decrease in $k_{cat}$ and an increase in Km. These decreased catalytic activities of CP2601 and CP2616 can be partially attributed to the changes in substrate affinities. These results suggest that the enzymatic activities of CYP4A11 mutants selected from directed evolution using a luminogenic P450 substrate may not demonstrate a direct correlation with the hydroxylation activities of lauric acid.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.562-568
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• 2012

Cytochrome P450 BM3 (CYP102A1) from Bacillus megaterium is a self-sufficient monooxygenase that consists of a heme domain and FAD/FMN-containing reductase domain (BMR). In this report, the reduction of 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) and 5-cyano-2,3-ditolyl tetrazolium chloride (CTC) by BMR was evaluated as a method for monitoring BMR activity. The electron transfer proceeds from NADPH to BMR and then to BMR substrates, MTT and CTC. MTT and CTC are monotetrazolium salts that form formazans upon reduction. The reduction of MTT and CTC followed classical Michaelis-Menten kinetics ($k_{cat}=4120\;min^{-1}$, $K_m=77{\mu}M$ for MTT and $k_{cat}=6580\;min^{-1}$, $K_m=51{\mu}M$ for CTC). Our continuous assay using MTT and CTC allows the simple, rapid measurement of BMR activity. The BMR was able to metabolize mitomycin C and doxorubicin, which are anticancer drug substrates for CPR, producing the same metabolites as those produced by CPR. Moreover, the BMR was able to interact with CYP1A2 and transfer electrons to promote the oxidation reactions of substrates by CYP1A2 and CYP2E1 in humans. The results of this study suggest the possibility of the utilization of BMR as a surrogate for mammalian CPR.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics and Information Engineers
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• v.54 no.6
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• pp.72-79
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• 2017

In this paper, we present a new saliency detection algorithm using the mutual information of wavelet subbands. Our method constructs an intermediate saliency map using the power operation and Gaussian blurring for high-frequency wavelet coefficients. After combining three intermediate saliency maps according to the direction of wavelet subband, we find the main directional components using entropy measure. The amount of mutual information of each subband is obtained centering on the subband having the minimum entropy The final saliency map is detected using Minkowski sum based on weights calculated by the mutual information. As a result of the experiment on CAT2000 and ECSSD databases, our method showed good detection results in terms of ROC and AUC with few computation times compared with the conventional methods.

• Clean Technology
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.62-67
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• 2024

In this study, an alkali metal Na was introduced into iron-based catalysts used in the carbon dioxide-based Fischer-Tropsch process by wet impregnation and physical mixing methods to compare their performance. The as-prepared catalysts were evaluated for reactivity at 3.5 MPa, 330 ℃, feed ratio of H₂/CO₂ = 3 with a space velocity of 4,000 mL h^-1 g_cat^-1. Comparing the two catalysts, it was found that Na was uniformly distributed throughout the catalyst when wet-impregnated, but Na for physically mixed catalyst was relatively located on the surface of the catalyst. In addition, the wet-impregnated catalyst showed higher liquid hydrocarbon (C₅₊) yield and lower CO selectivity. In conclusion, the effect of Na distribution in the catalyst on the reaction was identified and can be controlled by the introduction method.