• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.313-318
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• 2012

Acanthamoeba is an opportunistic pathogen known to cause granulomatous amoebic encephalitis and amebic keratitis. Acanthamoeba exhibits life cycle consisting of trophozoite and cyst, and the cyst is highly resistant to variable antibiotics and therapeutic agents. To understand the encystation mechanism of Acanthamoeba, the expression profiles of trophozoite and cyst were compared by gene ontology (GO) analysis. Ribosomal proteins and cytoskeletal proteins were highly expressed in trophozoite. In cyst, various protease, and signal transduction - and protein turnover - related proteins were highly expressed. These results correlated with eukaryotic orthologous groups (KOG) assignment and microarray analysis of Acanthamoeba trophozoite and cyst ESTs. The information of differential expression profiles of trophozoite and cyst would provide important clues for research on encystation mechanism of cyst forming protozoa including Acanthamoeba.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.319-323
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• 2012

In recent years, egg allergy has been raised as the most prevalent food hypersensitivity in the pediatric population. One of the major egg allergens is ovalbumin (OVA) which is the major protein in egg white, comprising 54% of its total protein content. Parthenolide isolated from Tanacetum partheniumb has been used to treat many chronic diseases for many years. In the present report, we present biochemical evidence that parthenolide inhibits the nuclear factor-${\kappa}B$ (NF-${\kappa}B$) activation induced by OVA. Parthenolide also inhibits OVA-induced cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression. These data suggest new approaches for the efficient alleviation of the allergic symptoms.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.324-327
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• 2012

Acanthamoeba is a free-living amoeba that causes human infections, and recently the incidence of amoebic keratitis has increased among contact lens wearers. In order to investigate Acanthamoeba contamination of contact lens storage cases, a short survey was performed on 57 contact lens wearers, and Acanthamoeba was found in one contact lens storage case. To diagnose Acanthamoeba, the 18s small subunit ribosomal DNA (18s rDNA) gene was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and subsequently, the isolate was identified as A. lugdunensis. This species was originally isolated from a freshwater pool in France, and was reported recently to be a cause of amoebic keratitis. This observation indicates the need for a large survey to investigate the extent of Acanthamoeba contamination, and suggests that contact lens wearers be aware of the importance of hygiene and of the implications of Acanthamoeba infection.

• Journal of Digital Contents Society
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.131-137
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• 2008

The salient features of interactive art development through the participation of spectators in the late 20th century could be creativity and possibility of future growth by biological factors. With the development of artificial life studies, Interactive art holds a position in the biological developmental stage, but relevant studies have not been active. This study analyzes three representative case studies located in the emergent stages of development and examines the traits closely so that the foundation of developmental direction of emergent property would be clarified.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.55-63
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• 2018

Microbes and their toxins can be bioweapons that bioterrorists use them to commit bioterrorism and biocrime. Due to the potential and relative ease of the bioattack, life-threat pathogenic agents (bacteria, viruses, and toxins) as bioweapon revealed the need for a new field of microbial forensics. Microbial forensics is a new scientific discipline combining microbiology and forensic science, which is focused on characterization of evidence from a bioterrorism, biocrime, and an inadvertent release of biothreat agents. The sophisticated analytical tool and knowledge of microbial forensics can provide investigative leads and help determine who was responsible for the biocrime, the source of the bioweapon, and how and where the bioweapon was produced. Among the fields of microbial forensics, this paper will briefly describe evidence collection, handling, packaging, transportation, storage, analytical methods of evidence, and review microbial forensics as a response to bioterrorism and biocrime.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.73-79
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• 2017

Pulse pressure is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The aim of the present study was to assess the association between pulse pressure and metabolic syndrome in Korean men. The study subjects were 8,439 adults aged 40 to 64 years, who underwent health screening examination from January 2012 to December 2014 at the Health Promotion Center of one hospital in Gyeonggi-do for general health check-up. They include the metabolic syndrome absent group (Absent, n=3,078), the pre-metabolic syndrome group (Pre-MetS, n=4,242) and the metabolic syndrome group (MetS, n=1,119). Progressive increase in pulse pressure was demonstrated for increasing components of the metabolic syndrome (P<0.001). The pulse pressure according to the degree of the metabolic syndrome was higher in the pre-MetS and MetS groups compared to the Absent group (P<0.001). Systolic and diastolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, triglyceride, fasting glucose, and abdominal obesity positively correlated with pulse pressure (P<0.001).

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.138-143
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• 2017

To investigate the efficacy of extract of Ginkgo Biloba seeds in high fat diet (HFD) in mice, the Ginkgo Biloba seeds extract (GSE) was orally administered to mice with a HFD at 300 mg/kg/day for 4 weeks. Our results show that GSE significantly inhibited fat accumulation. Moreover, GSE markedly reduced the final body weight with a decrease in epididymal adipose tissue mass and adipocyte size compared with the untreated HFD-induced group. Additionally, GSE ameliorated serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. The results show that Ginkgo Biloba seeds possesses hypocholesterolemic effect through down regulating lipid metabolism. Further studies are required in this area to strengthen the anti-obesity effects of GSE with active component, and it can be used a pro-drug instead of whole extract.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.34-38
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• 2017

To investigate the efficacy of extract of Tartary buckwheat (F. tataricum Gaertn.) in high fat diet (HFD) in mice, the F. tataricum Gaertn. extract (FTE) was orally administered to mice with a HFD at 300 mg/kg/day for 4 weeks. Our results show that FTE significantly inhibited fat accumulation. Moreover, FTE markedly reduced the final body weight with a decrease in epididymal adipose tissue mass and adipocyte size compared with the untreated HFD-induced group. Additionally, FTE ameliorated serum total cholesterol, triglyceride, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. The results show that Tartary buckwheat possesses hypocholesterolemic effect through downregulating lipid metabolism. Further studies are required in this area to strengthen the anti-obesity effects of FTE with active component, and it can be used a pro-drug instead of whole extract.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.141-146
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• 2009

Paclitaxel, an antimicrotubule agent, binds to beta-tubulin in the microtubule and stabilizes the polymer, thereby repressing dynamic instability. Here, we have demonstrated that microtubule cytoskeletal architecture involved in regulation of the COX-2 expression in chondrocyte treated with paclitaxel. Paclitaxel enhanced COX-2 expression and prostaglandin E2 production, as indicated by the Western blot analysis, reverse transcriptase PCR(RT-PCR) and immunofluorescence staining, and $PGE_2$ assay, respectively. In our previous data have shown that paclitaxel treatment stimulated activation of ERK-1/2 and p38 kinase(Im et al., 2009). SB203580, an inhibitor of p38 kinase, blocked the induction of COX-2 expression by paclitaxel. Also PD98059, an inhibitor of ERK-1/2 kinase was blocked the induced COX-2 expression. These results indicate that activation of ERK-1/2 and p38 kinase is required for COX-2 expression induced by paclitaxel in rabbit articular chondrocytes.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.105-112
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• 2009

The screening of the anti-cancer activity of the chemical library provided 2-thio-4-aminopyrimidine as the initial hit. The confirmation of structure and biological effect of hit was performed by synthesis and biological evaluation. The optimization of hit was performed by derivatization of substituents while keeping the core structure. The evaluation of growth inhibitory activity was carried out using SRB assay against 6 human cancer cell lines and human fibroblast. The growth inhibitory activity of compounds showed substituent dependency and more than 5 compounds showed complete growth inhibition of cancer cell lines at 10 ${\mu}M$ concentration. Chemical library screening followed by synthetic modification provided possibility that 2-thio-4-aminopyrimidine can be used as a new scaffold for the development of anti-cancer agent.