• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.206-212
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• 2019

Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes) lives in the hair follicles and pores, and it uses cell debris, sebum and metabolic byproducts of surrounding skin tissues as energy and nutrients. Increased production of sebum due to sebaceous hyperplasia or blockage of the follicle can cause growth and proliferation of P. acnes. The rapid growth of P. acnes in follicles produces cell damage, metabolic byproducts and bacterial chips, which can cause inflammation. In this study, we examined the possibility of Senecio iscoensis Hieron. (S. iscoensis) extract to regulate P. acnes-induced inflammatory signaling pathways. We observed that S. iscoensis extract effectively inhibited P. acnes-induced pro-inflammatory cytokine expressions such as IL-$1{\beta}$, TNF-${\alpha}$, and iNOS in mouse macrophage cell line Raw 264.7. The inhibitory effect of S. iscoensis in pro-inflammatory cytokine levels was accompanied by the inhibition of the transcription factors NF-${\kappa}B$ and NF-AT. However, S. iscoensis did not alter the P. acnes-induced MAPK signaling pathways. This study first suggests the potential of using S. iscoensis extract as an alternative agent for the treatment of acne.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.21-33
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• 2019

This study performed to simulate the watershed storm runoff using data of S-band dual-polarization radar rain, GPM (Global Precipitation Mission) satellite rain, and observed rainfall at 21 ground stations operated by KMA (Korea Meteorological Administration) respectively. For the 3 water level gauge stations (Sancheong, Changchon, and Namgang) of NamgangDam watershed ($2,293km^2$), the KIMSTORM2 (KIneMatic wave STOrm Runoff Model2) was applied and calibrated with parameters of initial soil moisture contents, Manning's roughness of overland and stream to the event of typhoon CHABA (82 mm in watershed aveprage) in $5^{th}$ October 2016. The radar and GPM data was corrected with CM (Conditional Merging) method such as CM-corrected Radar and CM-corrected GPM. The CM has been used for accurate rainfall estimation in water resources and meteorological field and the method combined measured ground rainfall and spatial data such as radar and satellite images by the kriging interpolation technique. For the CM-corrected Radar and CM-corrected GPM data application, the determination coefficient ($R^2$) was 0.96 respectively. The Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) was 0.96 and the Volume Conservation Index (VCI) was 1.03 respectively. The CM-corrected data of Radar and GPM showed good results for the CHABA peak runoff and runoff volume simulation and improved all of $R^2$, NSE, and VCI comparing with the original data application. Thus, we need to use and apply the radar and satellite data to monitor the flood within the watershed.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.32 no.8
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• pp.1161-1171
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• 2019

Objective: The current study aimed to replace soybean oil in broiler diets with linseed oil, which is rich in omega-3 fatty acid supplemented with pomegranate peel extract (PPE) and measured its effect on broiler performance, carcass traits, lipid profile, as well as fatty acids composition, phenols and flavonoids content of broiler muscles and immunity of broiler chicks. Methods: A total of 300 1-day-old Cobb chicks were randomly allotted into six experimental groups, T1 fed on basal diet with soybean oil without any additives, T2 fed on basal diet with soybean oil with addition of 0.5 g/kg diet PPE, T3 fed on fed on basal diet with soybean oil with addition of 1 g/kg diet PPE, T4 fed on basal diet with linseed oil without any additives, T5 fed on basal diet with linseed oil with addition of 0.5 g/kg diet PPE and T6 fed on basal diet with linseed oil with addition of 1 g/kg diet PPE. The PPE supplementation with 0.05% improved final body weight with either soybean oil ration or linseed oil ration. Results: The PPE improved carcass dressing percentage in comparison with the control groups. Body fat levels decreased with increasing PPE levels, especially with a linseed oil diet. Replacing soybean oil with linseed oil decreased the total cholesterol and triacylglycerol levels in broiler serum. The PPE supplementation decreased serum total cholesterol levels and increased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. The content of the breast muscle alpha linolenic acid improved after replacement of soybean oil with linseed oil in broiler diets. PPE supplementation increased the phenol and flavonoid content in broiler meat and increased lysozyme activity. Conclusion: Replacing soybean oil with linseed oil in broiler diets with the addition of PPE enriched muscle meat with omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants and improved broiler immunity and their serum lipid profile.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.391-402
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• 2021

Earthworms play an important role in soil fertilization, interacting continually with microorganisms. This study aims to demonstrate the existence of beneficial microorganisms living in the earthworm's immune system, the coelomic fluid. To achieve this goal, a molecular identification technique was performed, using cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) barcoding to identify abundant endogenic earthworms inhabiting the temperate zone of Rabat, Morocco. Then, 16S rDNA and ITS sequencing techniques were adopted for bacteria and fungi, respectively. Biochemical analysis, showed the ability of bacteria to produce characteristic enzymes and utilize substrates. Qualitative screening of plant growth-promoting traits, including nitrogen fixation, phosphate and potassium solubilization, and indole acetic acid (IAA) production, was also performed. The result of mitochondrial COI barcoding allowed the identification of the earthworm species Aporrectodea molleri. Phenotypic and genotypic studies of the sixteen isolated bacteria and the two isolated fungi showed that they belong to the Pseudomonas, Aeromonas, Bacillus, Buttiauxella, Enterobacter, Pantoea, and Raoultella, and the Penicillium genera, respectively. Most of the isolated bacteria in the coelomic fluid showed the ability to produce β-glucosidase, β-glucosaminidase, Glutamyl-β-naphthylamidase, and aminopeptidase enzymes, utilizing substrates like aliphatic thiol, sorbitol, and fatty acid ester. Furthermore, three bacteria were able to fix nitrogen, solubilize phosphate and potassium, and produce IAA. This initial study demonstrated that despite the immune property of earthworms' coelomic fluid, it harbors beneficial microorganisms. Thus, the presence of resistant microorganisms in the earthworm's immune system highlights a possible selection process at the coelomic fluid level.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.53 no.6
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• pp.583-595
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• 2020

Purpose: This study examined the effects of Sargassum horneri extracts on palmitic acid (PA)-induced endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress in HepG2 cells. Methods: HepG2 cells were treated with varying concentrations of S. horneri extract or PA, and the cell viability was measured by water soluble tetrazolium salts analysis. The effective induction of ER stress and the effects of S. horneri were investigated through an examination of the ER stress-related genes, such as activating transcription factor 4 (ATF4), X-box binding protein (XBP1s), C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP), and 78-kDa glucose-regulated protein (GRP78) by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. The expression and activation levels of unfolded protein response (UPR) associated proteins, such as inositol-requiring enzyme-1α (IRE1α), eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2 alpha submit (eIF2α), and CHOP were examined by western blot analysis. Results: The treatment with PA increased the expression of UPR associated genes significantly and induced ER stress in a 12-hour treatment. Subsequent treatment with S. horneri reduced mRNA expression of ATF4, GRP78, and XBP1s. In addition, the protein levels of phosphate (p)-IRE1α, p-elF2α, and CHOP were also reduced by a treatment with S. horneri. An analysis of sirtuin (SIRT) mRNA expression in the S. horneri and PA-treated HepG2 cells showed that S. horneri increased the levels of SIRT2, SIRT6, and SIRT7, which indicates a possible role in reducing the expression of ER stress-related genes. Conclusion: These data indicate that S. horneri can exert an inhibitory effect on ER stress caused by PA and highlight its potential as an agent for managing various ER stress-related diseases.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.38 no.6_2
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• pp.1709-1722
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• 2022

The rise in temperature induced by global warming caused in El Nino and La Nina, and abnormally changed the temperature of seawater. Rainfall concentrates in some locations due to abnormal variations in seawater temperature, causing frequent abnormal floods. It is important to rapidly detect flooded regions to recover and prevent human and property damage caused by floods. This is possible with synthetic aperture radar. This study aims to generate a model that directly derives flood-damaged areas by using modified U-NET and TerraSAR-X images based on Multi Kernel to reduce the effect of speckle noise through various characteristic map extraction and using two images before and after flooding as input data. To that purpose, two synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images were preprocessed to generate the model's input data, which was then applied to the modified U-NET structure to train the flood detection deep learning model. Through this method, the flood area could be detected at a high level with an average F1 score value of 0.966. This result is expected to contribute to the rapid recovery of flood-stricken areas and the derivation of flood-prevention measures.

• Korean small business review
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.173-209
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• 2021

Start-up accelerators are a new type of investor that provide mentoring, education and seed capital to start-ups for a fixed duration and receive a certain stake in them in return. They help start-ups achieve successful commercialization. With increase in performance visibility, the number of private and public sector accelerators rose across domestic and international markets. Private sector accelerators are established and operated by private entities while public sector accelerators are established and operated by the government. Both play complementary roles that are becoming increasingly important to start-ups. Therefore, this study aims to examine the differences in major operational goals and investment determinants between private and public sectors and to understand their implications. The results show that the private sector prioritizes profit generation through the investment, while the public sector aims to contribute to the development of high-growth start-ups, and create region-specific and technology-specific start-up ecosystems. Additionally, both groups consider customer needs the most important determinant. Public groups are more conservative in investments and tend to place importance on objective indicators such as patents, partners, mentors, and co-founders. Conversely, private groups value the capabilities of founders and their ease of collaboration with accelerators. These findings can help start-ups get support from public or private accelerators more easily. It will also help public and private accelerators refine the criteria for selecting start-ups.

• 한국노년학
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.429-442
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• 2020

The purpose of this research was to examine changes in the physical fitness, activities of daily living performance, and cognitive status of the frail elderly by combined exercise programs. The combined exercise program consisted of an aerobic exercise for the elderly and a four-color ladder exercise for improving of cognitive ability and physical fitness. Twenty-one frail elderly participated in this study, they were divided into 12 exercise groups and nine control groups. The exercise group conducted the combined exercise program of 60 minutes, twice a week, for10 weeks, while the control group maintained their normal lives. Strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, ADL and MMSE-K were measured. Exercise group showed significant improvement in grip strength compared to control group. In addition, ADL showed significant improvement only in the exercise group. The results of this study showed that participation in the combined exercise program of the el derl y was effective in improving the grip strength, and in preventing various physical functions and cognitive conditions decline.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.353-375
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• 2022

No systematic review to date has examined histopathological parameters in relation to native liver survival in children who undergo the Kasai operation for biliary atresia (BA). A systematic review and meta-analysis is presented, comparing the frequency of native liver survival in peri-operative severe vs. non-severe liver fibrosis cases, in addition to other reported histopathology parameters. Records were sourced from MEDLINE, Embase, and CENTRAL databases. Studies followed the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines and compared native liver survival frequencies in pediatric patients with evidence of severe vs. non-severe liver fibrosis, bile duct proliferation, cholestasis, lobular inflammation, portal inflammation, and giant cell transformation on peri-operative biopsies. The primary outcome was the frequency of native liver survival. A random effects meta-analysis was used. Twenty-eight observational studies were included, 1,171 pediatric patients with BA of whom 631 survived with their native liver. Lower odds of native liver survival in the severe liver fibrosis vs. non-severe liver fibrosis groups were reported (odds ratio [OR], 0.16; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.08-0.33; I²=46%). No difference in the odds of native liver survival in the severe bile duct destruction vs. non-severe bile duct destruction groups were reported (OR, 0.17; 95% CI, 0.00-63.63; I²=96%). Lower odds of native liver survival were documented in the severe cholestasis vs. non-severe cholestasis (OR, 0.10; 95% CI, 0.01-0.73; I²=80%) and severe lobular inflammation vs. non-severe lobular inflammation groups (OR, 0.02; 95% CI, 0.00-0.62; I²=69%). There was no difference in the odds of native liver survival in the severe portal inflammation vs. non-severe portal inflammation groups (OR, 0.03; 95% CI, 0.00-3.22; I²=86%) or between the severe giant cell transformation vs. non-severe giant cell transformation groups (OR, 0.15; 95% CI, 0.00-175.21; I²=94%). The meta-analysis loosely suggests that the presence of severe liver fibrosis, cholestasis, and lobular inflammation are associated with lower odds of native liver survival in pediatric patients after Kasai.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.27-37
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• 2023

Objectives: Moroccan Arbutus unedo is an essential medicinal plant; however, little is known about the biological properties of its leaves mentioned in Moroccan traditional medicine. Methods: Various standard experiments were performed to evaluate the phytochemical, antidiabetic, antioxidant, antibacterial, and acute and sub-chronic toxicity characteristics of A. unedo leaves. Results: Phytochemical screening led to the identification of several phytochemical classes, including tannins, flavonoids, terpenoids, and anthraquinones, with high concentrations of polyphenols (31.83 ± 0.29 mg GAEs/g extract) and flavonoids (16.66 ± 1.47 mg REs/g extract). Further, the mineral analysis revealed high levels of calcium and potassium. A. unedo extract demonstrated significant antioxidant and anti-diabetic activities by inhibiting α-amylase (1.350 ± 0.32 g/mL) and α-glucosidase (0.099 ± 1.21 g/mL) compared to the reference drug Acarbose. Also, the methanolic extract of the plant exhibited significantly higher antibacterial activity than the aqueous extract. Precisely, three of the four examined bacterial strains exhibited substantial susceptibility to the methanolic extract . Minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC)/minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values indicated that A. unedo harbor abundant bactericidal compounds. For toxicological studies, mice were administered with A. unedo aqueous extract at single doses of 2,000 and 5,000 mg/kg. They did not exhibit significant abnormal behavior, toxic symptoms, or death during the 14-day acute toxicity test and the 90-day sub-chronic toxicity test periods. The general behavior, body weight, and hematological and biochemical status of the rats were assessed, revealing no toxicological symptoms or clinically significant changes in biological markers observed in the mice models, except hypoglycemia, after 90 days of daily dose administration. Conclusion: The study highlighted several biological advantages of A. unedo leaves without toxic effects in short-term application. Our findings suggest that conducting more comprehensive and extensive in vivo investigations is of utmost importance to identify molecules that can be formulated into pharmaceuticals in the future.