• Anatomy and Cell Biology
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• v.55 no.4
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• pp.452-458
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• 2022

Student Team Achievement Division (STAD) is a co-operative learning approach premised on a group learning activity that emphazises learning as a social exchange of knowledge between students, in which each student is accountable for his or her own learning and is also encouraged to assist others in achieving their goals. It promotes the cognitive, psychomotor, and emotional growth of students involved in the team. By random sequencing, 60 participants were allocated to interventional group (n=30) and control group (n=30). The participants of the interventional group were subjected to STAD strategy and participants of the control group were instructed to do a conventional self learning on the ventricles of brain. The outcomes were statistically analysed. It was found that the performance of the students is far better with STAD approach than conventional self learning. Our study has shown that Students team Achievement Division can be used as an effective tool for Peer assisted Co-operative Learning in Anatomy. Further studies can be done to investigate the contribution of STAD to teaching other disciplines of Anatomy and other basic medical sciences.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.453-459
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• 2016

Agarases are classified into α-agarase and β-agarase that produce agarooligosaccharides and neoagarooligosaccharides, respectively. Neoagarooligosaccharides have whitening effect of skin, delay of starch degradation, and inhibition of bacterial growth etc. Hence, the object of this study was to isolate a novel agarase producing marine bacterium and characterization of its β-agarase. A novel agar-degrading bacterium was isolated from seashore of Namhae at Gyeongnamprovine, Korea and purely cultured with Marine agar 2216 media. The isolated bacterium was identified as Simiduia sp. SH-4 after 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The enzymatic sample was obtained from culture media of Simiduia sp. SH-4. Enzymatic activity was highly increased from 20(30% relative activity) to 30℃ (100%) and decreased from 30 to 40℃(75%) and so more. Relative activity was 100% at pH 6 while those were about 91% and 59% at pH 5.0 and 7.0, respectively, meaning the enzyme possesses narrow optimal pH range. Hence, the enzyme exhibited the maximal activity with 120.4 units/l at pH 6.0 and 30℃ in 20 mM Tris-HCl buffer. Thin layer chromatography (TLC) analysis showed that Simiduia sp. SH-4 produces β-agarase, which hydrolyze agarose to produce biofunctional neoagarooligosaccharides such as neoagarotetraose and neoagarobiose. Hence, broad applications would be possible using Simiduia sp. SH-4 and its enzyme in the food industry, cosmetics and medical fields.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.106-114
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• 2008

One bacterium, which showed strong antagonistic activity against H. pylori KCCM 41756, was isolated from kimchi. The strain NO1 was designated as Lactobacillus plantarum NO1 based on Gram staining, biochemical properties, and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The culture medium $(2{\sim}4{\mu}g/ml)$ of Lb. plantarum NO1 reduced $(40{\sim}60%)$ the urease activity of H. pylori KCCM 41756. Lb. plantarum NO1 inhibited the binding of H. pylori to human gastric cancer cell line, AGS cells, by more than 33%. Lb. plantarum NO1 exhibited high viability (maintained initial viable cell count of $10^9CFU/ml$) in 0.05 M sodium phosphate buffer (pH 3.0) for 2 h, in artificial gastricjuice for 2 h and in 0.3%, 0.5% oxgall for 24 h. Hemolysis phenomena did not observed when Lb. plantarum NO1 was incubated in the blood agar media. We concluded that Lb. plantarum NO1 can be a good candidate as a probiotic, harboring anti-H. pylori activity.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.25 no.12
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• pp.1399-1407
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• 2015

Klebsiella pneumoniae is found in the normal flora of the skin, mouth, respiratory tract, urinary tract, and intestines in human. However, the stain is opportunistic pathogen, which is the causative agent of community acquired pneumonia. Corn silk has been known to be effective for antimicrobial activity against pathogenic bacteria, including K. pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Shigella spp., Salmonella spp., Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, et al. In this study we focused on the antimicrobial properties of con silk water extract of K. penumoniae. K. pneumoniae isolates K. pneumoniae ATCC 13883 and broad-spectrum β-lactamase (BSBL), exteded-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL), carbapenemase-producers. Antimicrobial susceptibilities were determined by the disk diffusion method. Searches for bla genes were performed by PCR amplication and direct sequencing. MacConkey agar plate medium was prepared using the corn silk extracts (50% or 100%) instead of distilled water for antimicrobial activity test. The microbial growth inhibitory potential of K. pneumoniae was determined by using the MacConkey agar plate spreading method, and the plate was incubated 18 hr at 37℃. Genes encoding β-lactamases including SHV-1 (n=8), SHV-2a (n=8), SHV-5 (n=2), SHV-11 (n=2), SHV-12 (n=18), TEM-1 (n=10), CTX-M-3 (n=2), CTX-M-14 (n=2), CTX-M-15 (n=1), GES-5 (n=5), KPC-2 (n=6), KPC-3 (n=4), and NDM-1 (n=2) were detected. The corn silk extract showed significantly antimicrobial activity against K. pneumoniae ATCC 13883, but BSBLs, ESBLs, and carbapenemase producers were not. Therefore, corn silk extract is thought to be able to assist in the prevention and rapid recovery of infectious disease caused by K. pneumoniae.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.735-741
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• 2011

Bealmijang is a short-term fermented regional product that is prepared with soybean and extra ingredients. In this study, starter strain candidates were screened from Bealmijang for fermented soybean paste products. Twenty one bacterial strains producing extracellular enzymes (amylase, cellulase, protease, xylanase and lipase) were isolated from Bealmijang, buckwheat sokseongjang. The isolates were assessed for fibrinolytic and antibacterial activities, and salt tolerance. Strain HJ18-4, identified as Bacillus subtilis (AB601598) by biochemical properties (89.6%) and 16S rDNA sequencing (100%), showed the highest enzymatic, fibrinolytic, and antibacterial activities among the isolates. Although the growth of HJ18-4 was inhibited by the increase of NaCl concentration, the growth still exceeded that of B. subtilis KACC 10114 at 5% and 10% NaCl. These results suggest that B. subtilis HJ18-4 is suitable as a starter for soybean paste manufacture.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.127-133
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• 2010

The purpose of this work was to investigate the antibacterial activity derived from a lactic acid bacterium, Lactococcus lactis HK-9, isolated from the feces of a 2-day newborn infant. We characterized the physiological and biochemical properties of this strain. Both the BIOLOG system and phylogenetic analysis using 16S rRNA sequencing were utilized for identification, and the strain was assigned to the Lactococcus lactis species, designated as L. lactis HK-9, and registered in GenBank as [GU936712]. We monitored growth rate, production of lactic acid and acetic acid as metabolites, and pH during growth. The maximum concentrations of lactic acid and acetic acid reached 495.6 mM and 104.3 mM, respectively, and the initial pH of the cultures decreased from 7.0 to 4.1 after incubating for 60 h. HPLC was used to confirm the production of lactic acid and acetic acid. Significant antibacterial activity of the concentrated supernatant was demonstrated against Gram-positive (e.g., Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, Listeria monocytogenes, MRSA) and Gram-negative (e.g., Escherichia coli, Salmonella enteritidis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Shigella sonnei) bacteria by the plate diffusion method. The antibacterial activity was sensitive to protease, and the molecular weight of the presumed bacteriocin molecule was estimated to be about 4 kDa by tricine-SDS-PAGE.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.555-560
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• 2006

A bacterium producing novel lipolytic enzyme was isolated from house sewage and identified as Acinetobacter sp. BD5 based on physiological characterization and 16S rDNA sequencing. The lipolytic activity of Acinetobacter sp. BD5 was tested using an EL agar medium and CE agar medium supplemented with 1% tributyrin and olive oil, respectively. The formation of a clear zone around the colony was detected by agar medium supplemented with 1% tributyrin and olive oil, respectively and Acinetobacter sp. BD5 formed powder-like zone around the colony on LB agar medium containing Tween 20. The quantitative lipolytic activity was determined by using p-NP butyrate as substrate. Acinetobacter sp. BD5 secreted the lipolytic enzyme during exponential growth phase, reaching a maximum amount after 6 hours of incubation. The lipolytic enzyme was found to be optimally active at $60^{\circ}C$ and retained more than 70% at $70-80^{\circ}C$. It displayed a high degree of activity in a pH of 7.0 to 10.6, with an optimal pH of 9.0.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.308-315
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• 2011

The purpose of this work was to examine the antimicrobial activity derived from the lactic acid bacterium, UK-3 isolated from the vaginas of women of childbearing age. Various physiological and biochemical properties of this strain were characterized. Both the BIOLOG system and phylogenetic analysis using 16S rRNA sequencing were utilized for identification, and the strain was designated as Lactobacillus plantarum UK-3, and registered in GenBank as [JK266589]. Growth rate, production of organic acids (e.g., lactic acid and acetic acid), and pH during growth were monitored. The maximum concentrations of lactic acid and acetic acid were approximately 684.11 mM and 174.26 mM, respectively, and pH changed from 7.0 to 3.7 after 72 h of incubation. High performance liquid chromatography was used to confirm lactic acid and acetic acid production. Significant antimicrobial activity of the concentrated supernatant was demonstrated against various Gram-positive (e.g., Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, Neisseria species., Listeria monocytogenes), Gram-negative bacteria (e.g., Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus mirabilis), and yeast (e.g., Candida albicans) by the plate diffusion method. As a result, the concentrated L. plantarum UK-3 cultures had lower acidity and inhibited the growth of all microorganisms tested, whereas the growth of L. acidophilus was not affected.

• Journal of Chitin and Chitosan
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.285-292
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• 2018

In this study, for the purpose of decomposing food waste, the strain was screened from traditional fermented food and soils. The enzyme activity (protease, amylase, cellulase, lipase) experiment was carried out using the paper disc method in 212 strains isolated from 5% NaCl media. Among them, only the strains having enzyme activity of more than 2 (soil) or more than 4 (traditional fermented food) with the halozone of enzyme activity of 15 mm or more were selected first, and microorganism identification through 16S rRNA sequencing was performed. Finally, were identified such as Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, Bacillus siamensis, Bacillus licheniformis, Bacillus aquimaris, Bacillus megaterium, Bacillus koreensis, Bacillus stratoshericus, Bacillus aryabhattai, Bacillus safensis, Marinobacter hydrocarbonoclasticus. 11 species of mixed strains were confirmed that the culture time was 24 hours, the incubation temperature was $30^{\circ}C$ and the optimum pH was 7.0. In order to confirm the degree of decomposition of standard food wastes (100 g) by treating 11 kinds of mixed strains (25%), solid content of more than $2000{\mu}m$ was determined to be 103 g for the sterilized water group and 18 g for the mixed strains group. And the rest was decomposed to a size of less than $2000{\mu}m$.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.151-161
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• 2001

Background: Inactivation in p53 tumor suppressor gene through a point mutation and deletion is one of the most frequent genetic changes found in human cancer, with 50% of an incidence. This high rate of mutation mostly suggests that the gene plays a central role in the development of cancer and the mutations detected so far were found in exons 5 to 8. Mutation of p53 locus produced accumulation of abnormal p53 protein, and negative regulation of cell proliferation and transcriptional activation as a suppressor of transformation were lost. In addition, inhibition of its normal cellular function of wild-type by mutant is an important step in tumorigenesis. Method: 4 colon cancer cell lines (SNU C1, C2A, C4, C5) were examined for mutation in exons 5 to 8 of the p53 tumor suppressor gene by PCR-SSCP analysis and expression pattern by western blotting and immunoprecipitation. p53-mediated transactivation ability were examined by CAT assay and base substitution of p53 in SNU C2A cell were detected by DNA sequencing. Results: 1) SNU C2A cell and SNU C5 cell were detected mobility shifts each in exon 5 and exon 7 of p53 gene by the PCR-SSCP method, implicating being of p53 mutation. 2) 3 colon cancer cell lines (SNU C1, SNU C2A, SNU C5) expressed wild type and mutant type p53 protein. 3) In northern blot experiment, SNU C2A and SNU C5 cell expressed high level of p53 mRNA. 4) Results of p53-mediated transactivation in colon cancer cell lines by CAT assay represented only SNU C2A cell has transcriptional activity. 5) DNA sequencing in SNU C2A cell showed missense mutation in codon 179 of one allele, histidine to arginine and wild type p53 in the other allele. Conclusion: Colon cancer cell lines showed correlation with mutation in p53 gene and accumulation of abnormal p53 protein. Colon cancer cell SNU C2A retained p53-mediated transactivation as heterozygous p53 with one mutant allele in 179 codon and the other wild-type allele.