• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.118-123
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• 2009

Keratin contains regulatory molecules that can enhance neuronal cell activity. We fabricated keratin/ PLGA films using 0, 10, 20, and 50 wt% of keratin using solvent casting method. We measured the contact angle of each film and cell proliferation was assayed by counting the cells attached on the film. Adhered cell morphology was confirmed by scanning electron microscope. RT-PCR was conducted to evaluate the gene expression of NF, NSE, and S-100, the Schwann cell markers. The keratin content of 20 and 50 wt% provided higher wettability than PLGA. The 20 wt% keratin was better in cell adhesion and proliferation of SCs than other keratin/PLGA films. The phenotypic stability of SC was maintained with the keratin content of 10 and 20 wt%.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.631-636
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• 2019

A new nitric oxide-induced (NOI) gene was isolated by screening ESTs from a cDNA library of dehydration-treated fibrous roots of sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas). The 720 bp cDNA fragment, IbNOI, was sequenced, from which a 77 amino acid residue protein was deduced. A search of the protein BLAST database identified significant similarity to other plant NOI protein sequences. Quantitative RT-PCR analysis revealed diverse expression patterns of IbNOI in various tissues of the intact sweetpotato plant, and in leaves exposed to different stresses. The IbNOI gene was highly expressed in storage roots and suspension-cultured cells. In leaf tissues, IbNOI showed strong expression during sodium nitroprusside (SNP)-induced NO accumulation and chemical stress treatments. Expression of IbNOI was also induced under various abiotic stress conditions, such as dehydration, salt, and bacterial pathogen infection. These results suggest that IbNOI is involved in plant responses to diverse abiotic stresses and pathogen infection through a NO-related pathway.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.601-609
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• 2018

Microcystis aeruginosa, a freshwater cyanobacteria species known to be one of the most predominant species responsible for cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (CyanoHABs). It has been frequently associated with the contamination of neurotoxins and peptide hepatotoxins, such as microcystin and lipopolysaccharides-LPSs. CyanoHABs control technologies so far put in place do not provide a fundamental solution and cause secondary pollution linked with the control measures. For this study, algicidal peptides, which have been reported to be non-toxic and to have antimicrobial properties, were employed for the development of novel eco-friendly control against CyanoHABs. The four peptides (CMA1, CMA2, HPA3P, and HPA3NT3) selected in this study showed significant algicidal effects against M. aeruginosa cells inducing cell aggregation and flotation. Moreover, the newly generated peptides (K160242-5) with certain modifications also displayed high algicidal activity. The algicidal activity of the peptides was found to depend on the concentrations and structures of each of amino acid. The results of this study suggested a novel possibility of CyanoHABs control using the non-toxic algicidal peptides.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.520-526
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• 2021

Microbial protein is one of the sources of protein in the rumen and can also be the source of glutamate production. Glutamic acid is used as fuel in the metabolic reaction in the body and the synthesis of all proteins for muscle and other cell components, and it is essential for proper immune function. Moreover, it is used as a surfactant, buffer, chelating agent, flavor enhancer, and culture medium, as well as in agriculture for such things as growth supplements. Glutamic acid is a substrate in the bioproduction of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). This review provides insights into the role of glutamic acid and glutamic acid-producing microorganisms that contain the glutamate decarboxylase gene. These glutamic acid-producing microorganisms could be used in producing GABA, which has been known to regulate body temperature, increase DM intake and milk production, and improve milk composition. Most of these glutamic acid and GABA-producing microorganisms are lactic acid-producing bacteria (LAB), such as the Lactococcus, Lactobacillus, Enterococcus, and Streptococcus species. Through GABA synthesis, succinate can be produced. With the help of succinate dehydrogenase, propionate, and other metabolites can be produced from succinate. Furthermore, clostridia, such as Clostridium tetanomorphum and anaerobic micrococci, ferment glutamate and form acetate and butyrate during fermentation. Propionate and other metabolites can provide energy through conversion to blood glucose in the liver that is needed for the mammary system to produce lactose and live weight gain. Hence, health status and growth rates in ruminants can be improved through the use of these glutamic acid and/or GABA-producing microorganisms.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.75-84
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• 2021

In this study, we investigated inhibitory effect of Tripeptide against particulate matter (PM)-induced damage in human keratinocytes. PM-induced cell death was inhibited by Tripeptide and the activity of aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) also inhibited by Tripeptide resulting in reduced expression of its downstream targets, cytochrome P450 family 1 subfamily A member 1 (CYP1A1) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), which are responsible for toxic metabolites production and inflammation. Furthermore, PM-induced expressions of pro-inflammatory cytokines, matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) and apoptosis-related factors were decreased by anti-oxidant activity of Tripeptide. From these results, it has been shown that the Tripeptide has protective effect against PM-induced skin damage not only through the inhibiting of keratinocyte death but also through the inhibiting the secretion of several damage-inducing factors to adjacent skin tissue. And the results suggested that Tripeptide with anti-pollution effect could be applied as a new functional cosmetic material.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.69-77
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• 2022

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) play an important role in innate immunity against pathogenic infections. AMPs exterminate pathogenic bacteria by disrupting cell membranes or inhibiting intracellular molecules. NK-2, first identified in pigs and derived from NK-lysin, has antimicrobial effects against bacteria and parasites. In this study, chimeric peptides (cpNK) of chicken and pig NK-2 and cpNK-derived peptides (cpNK-a1 and cpNK-a2) were synthesized, and their antimicrobial effects against various pathogenic bacteria such as Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp., Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) were investigated. The structure of chimeric peptides from chicken and pig NK-2, cpNK, include α-helix like NK-2 and peptide net charge was +9 like porcine NK-2. The cpNK peptide showed powerful bactericidal effects against most bacterial species, including MRSA, especially against gram-negative bacteria. Furthermore, cpNK-derived short peptides, cpNK-a1 and a2 also showed bactericidal activity, but the effects were weaker than those of cpNK. Therefore, we conclude that cpNK- and cpNK-derived short peptides have the potential to be used as antibiotic alternatives.

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.17-25
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• 2021

The recent surge in consumption of traditional liquor related to health, the results of analyzing the chemical characteristics and antioxidant activity by creating Kwaha-ju and Baekhwha-chun, which use Godubab as a method of treating glutinous and normal grains, are as follows. Kwaha-ju is mainly made of glutinous rice, 5.21~12.52% alcohol content, 1.07~2.47g/L in reducing sugar content, 3.22~3.77% pH, Baikhwha-chun alcohol content was 3~5%, except for some experimental groups, and pH was low. As a result of the spectrum analysis of traditional liquor, 50% of the experimental group in Baikhwa-chun is located in the negative area of PC1 such as overload, and some amino acids such as lactic acid, isoleucine, and choline are the main ingredients of glucose, xylose, and maltose. Therefore, the chemical properties and antioxidant activity of Kwaha-ju and Baikhwa-chun, which show similar composition ratio of traditional liquor materials, and use them as basic data to identify and manufacture traditional liquor fermentation through mutual analysis.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.38 no.6
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• pp.1568-1576
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• 2021

Here, we conducted the study on the possibility of using FK-13, a short analog of human-derived antibacterial peptide LL-37, as a cosmetic preservative to discover a natural cosmetic preservative that is safe for human body. For the purpose, FK-13 composed of 13 amino acids was synthesized by solid-phase peptide synthesis, and purified using reversed phase-high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). The purity and molecular weight were confirmed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis. FK-13 showed high antimicrobial activity on the three gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, and Staphylococcus epidermidis), the three gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa), and also even the fungus Candida glabrata. FK-13 had a broad spectrum of antibacterial activity, showing a suitability as a cosmetic preservative. In addition, FK-13 showed high thermostability and higher antibacterial activity in a comparative test with existing natural herbal cosmetic and chemical preservatives. Therefore, as FK-13 is a safe material and has high antibacterial activity at a low concentration, it is likely to be applied as a peptide natural cosmetic preservative that can replace existing chemical preservatives.

• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
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• v.27 no.8
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• pp.49-59
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• 2022

In this paper, we designed a new enzyme function prediction model PSCREM based on a study that compared and evaluated CNN and LSTM/GRU models, which are the most widely used deep learning models in the field of predicting functions and structures using protein sequences in 2020, under the same conditions. Sequence evolution information was used to preserve detailed patterns which would miss in CNN convolution, and the relationship information between amino acids with functional significance was extracted through overlapping RNNs. It was referenced to feature map production. The RNN family of algorithms used in small CNN-RNN models are LSTM algorithms and GRU algorithms, which are usually stacked two to three times over 100 units, but in this paper, small RNNs consisting of 10 and 20 units are overlapped. The model used the PSSM profile, which is transformed from protein sequence data. The experiment proved 86.4% the performance for the problem of predicting the main classes of enzyme number, and it was confirmed that the performance was 84.4% accurate up to the sub-sub classes of enzyme number. Thus, PSCREM better identifies unique patterns related to protein function through overlapped RNN, and Overlapped RNN is proposed as a novel methodology for protein function and structure prediction extraction.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.481-487
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• 2010

The nutritional components, antioxidant, and neuroprotective effects of water and a 50% methanol extract from litchi fruit pericarp were investigated. The most abundant mineral, amino acid, and fatty acid were K, proline, and palmitic acid, respectively. In addition, the total water phenolics and 50% methanol extracts were 8.02 and 12.28 mg/g, respectively. The DPPH, ABTS radical scavenging activities and ferric reducing antioxidant power of the water and 50% methanol extracts showed dose-dependent antioxidant activity. In a cell viability assay using MTT, almost all extracts showed a protective effect against $H_2O_2$-induced neurotoxicity, and lactate dehydrogenase leakage was also inhibited by the pericarp extracts. In particular, the 50% methanol extract showed a higher cell membrane protective effect than the water extract at the highest concentration. Consequently, these data suggest that litchi fruit pericarp can be utilized as an effective and safe functional food substances for natural antioxidants and may reduce the risk of neurodegenerative disorders.