• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.48 no.7
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• pp.779-788
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• 2005

Purpose : Echinacea, a traditional plant medicine has been used as immune-stimulant. Recent studies have revealed that extract of Echinacea has immunostimulatory effects on human blood mononuclear cells. This study was designed for the purpose of screening the genes associated with immunologic effects of Echinacea on monocytes and dendritic cells using a cDNA microarray chip. Methods : $CD14^+$ monocyte cells were cultured for one day with Echinacea extract(final concentration : $50{\mu}g/mL$) in experiment 1, but were cultured without Echinacea in experiment 2. The gene expression of these cultured monocytes was analyzed using the cDNA microarray chip. Dendritic cells produced from $CD14^+$ monocyte were cultured for five days with GM-CSF and IL-4, and then cultured for one day with Echinacea in experiment 3, but were done without Echinacea in experiment 4. Results : In experiments 1 and 2, there were 17 significantly expressed genes with average expression ratios above 2.5, including interferon gamma-inducible protein 30(IFI 30), CDC(cell-division-cylcle)-like kinase 2(CLK 2), syndecan binding protein(syntenin), superoxide dismutase 2, etc. In experiments 3 and 4, there were 24 gene, with significantly expressed genes were 24 genes, which were insulin-like growth factor 2(somatomedin A), methyl-CpG binding domain protein 3, IFI 30, small inducible cytokine subfamily A, member 22, etc. The genes encoding CD44, IFI 30, mannose receptor C type 1(MRC 1), chemokine receptor 7(CCR 7), CLK 2, syntenin and cytochrome C oxidase subunit VIII were significantly expressed in both monocytes and dendritic cells cultured with Echinacea. Conclusion : This study employed a cDNA microarray chip to elicit the immune-associated gene profile; the expression was enhanced by Echinacea in CD14+ monocytes and dendritic cells. Thus we laid the basis for the quantitative and functional analysis of genes induced by Echinacea in monocytes and monocyte-derived dendritic cells.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.377-382
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• 2009

Viral safety is an important prerequisite for clinical preparations of all biopharmaceuticals derived from plasma, cell lines, or tissues of human or animal origin. To ensure the safety, implementation of multiple viral clearance (inactivation and/or removal) steps has been highly recommended for manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals. Of the possible viral clearance strategies, Ultraviolet-C (UVC) irradiation has been known as an effective viral inactivating method. However it has been dismissed by biopharmaceutical industry as a result of the potential for protein damage and the difficulty in delivering uniform doses. Recently a continuous flow UVC reactor (UVivatec) was developed to provide highly efficient mixing and maximize virus exposure to the UV light. In order to investigate the effectiveness of UVivatec to inactivate viruses without causing significant protein damage, the feasibility of the UVC irradiation process was studied with a commercial therapeutic protein. Recovery yield in the optimized condition of $3,000\;J/m^2$ irradiation was more than 98%. The efficacy and robustness of the UVC reactor was evaluated with regard to the inactivation of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis A virus (HAV), bovine herpes virus (BHV), bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV), porcine parvovirus (PPV), bovine parvovirus (BPV), minute virus of mice (MVM), reovirus type 3 (REO), and bovine parainfluenza virus type 3 (BPIV). Non enveloped viruses (HAV, PPV, BPV, MVM, and REO) were completely inactivated to undetectable levels by $3,000\;J/m^2$ irradiation. Enveloped viruses such as HIV, BVDV, and BPIV were completely inactivated to undetectable levels. However BHV was incompletely inactivated with slight residual infectivity remaining even after $3,000\;J/m^2$ irradiation. The log reduction factors achieved by UVC irradiation were ${\geq}3.89$ for HIV, ${\geq}5.27$ for HAV, 5.29 for BHV, ${\geq}5.96$ for BVDV, ${\geq}4.37$ for PPV, ${\geq}3.55$ for BPV, ${\geq}3.51$ for MVM, ${\geq}4.20$ for REO, and ${\geq}4.15$ for BPIV. These results indicate that UVC irradiation using UVivatec was very effective and robust in inactivating all the viruses tested.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.33 no.9
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• pp.662-669
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• 2011

This study was conducted to biologically convert methane into methanol. Methane contained in biogas was bio-catalytically oxidized by methane monooxygenase (MMO) of methanotrophs, while methanol conversion was observed by inhibiting methanol dehydrogenase (MDH) using MDH activity inhibitors such as phosphate, NaCl, $NH_4Cl$, and EDTA. The degree of methane oxidation by methanotrophs was the most highly accomplished as 0.56 mmol for the condition at $35^{\circ}C$ and pH 7 under 0.4 (v/v%) of biogas ($CH_4$ 50%, $CO_2$ 50%) / Air ratio. By the inhibition of 40 mM of phosphate, 50 mM of NaCl, 40 mM of $NH_4Cl$ and $150{\mu}m$ of EDTA, methane oxidation rate could achieve more than 80% regardless of type of inhibitors. In the meantime, addition of 40 mM of phosphate, 100 mM of NaCl, 40 mM of $NH_4Cl$ and $50{\mu}m$ of EDTA each led to generating the highest amount of methanol, i.e, 0.71, 0.60, 0.66, and 0.66 mmol when 1.3, 0.67, 0.74, and 1.3 mmol of methane was each concurrently consumed. At that time, methanol conversion rate was 54.7, 89.9, 89.6, and 47.8% respectively, and maximum methanol production rate was $7.4{\mu}mol/mg{\cdot}h$. From this, it was decided that the methanol production could be maximized as 89.9% when MDH activity was specifically inhibited into the typical level of 35% for the inhibitor of concern.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.29 no.12
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• pp.1381-1389
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• 2007

Wastewater discharged by industrial activities of metal finishing and electroplating units is often contaminated by a variety of toxic or otherwise harmful substances which have a negative effects on the water environment. The treatment method of heavy metal-cyanide complexes wastewater by alkaline chlorination have already well-known($1^{st}$ Oxidation: pH 10, reaction time 30 min, ORP 350 mV, $2^{nd}$ Oxidation: ORP 650 mV). In this case, the efficiency for the removal of ferro/ferri cyanide by this general alkaline chlorination is very high as 99%. But the permissible limit of Korean waste-water discharge couldn't be satisfied. The initial concentration of cyanide was 374 mg/L(the Korean permissible limit of cyanide is 1.0 mg/L max.). So a particular focus was given to the treatment of heavy metal-cyanide complexes wastewater by $Zn^{+2}/Fe^{+2}$ ion and coprecipitation after alkaline chlorination. And we could meet the Korean permissible limit of cyanide(the final concentration of cyanide: 0.30 mg/L) by $Zn^{+2}/Fe^{+2}$ ion and coprecipitation(reaction time: 30 min, pH: 8.0, rpm: 240). The removal of Chromium ion by reduction(pH: 2.0 max, ORP: 250 mV) and the precipitation of metal hydroxide(pH: 9.5) is treated as 99% of removal efficiency. The removal of Copper and Nickel ion has been treated by $Na_2S$ coagulation-flocculation as 99% min of the efficiency(pH: $9.09\sim10.0$, dosage of $Na_2S:0.5\sim3.0$ mol). It is important to note that the removal of ferro/ferri cyanide of heavy metal-cyanide complexes wastewater should be employed by $Zn^{+2}/Fe^{+2}$ ion and coprecipitation as well as the alkaline chlorination for the Korean permissible limit of waste-water discharge.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.288-295
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• 2010

Metal exposure experiments using polychaete (Perinereis nuntia) as a bio-indicator of trace metals contamination were conducted to evaluate the bioaccumulation and the biomarkers responses such as metallothionein-like protein (MTLPs) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) which was simultaneously exposed to Cadmium (Cd) and Copper (Cu). Cu and Cd concentrations in polychaete were enhanced with increasing exposure time and their concentrations of aqueous medium. Initial accumulation of Cd was higher than that of Cu. Our results showed that the bioaccumulation of Cu and Cd were prohibited, especially at higher Cu levels, suggesting the different cellular uptake mechanisms when Cu and Cd are co-exist. Net accumulation rate of Cu was declined with exposure time but it did not show any significant change for Cd. Although the highest MTLPs concentration was observed at 6 hr of exposure time, it did not show any significant change related to exposure times and metals concentrations. An increase of GST activity tended to increase as a function of exposure time and metals concentrations. And GST activities in P. nuntia have similar tendency with bioconcentration factors in high concentration of Cu (treatment group IV) at post 24 h of exposure. Our results provide new information of the bioaccumulation and biomarker responses to understand the effects of co-existing contaminants (Cu and Cd) using polychaete. Further studies are required to elucidate the bioaccumulation and biomarkers responses for various contaminants.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.657-665
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• 2017

This study is for checking the possibility of Lotus Rhizome and node of Lotus Rhizome as cosmetic materials. For this we carried out biological active evaluation about anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-wrinkle by using ethanol extract of Lotus Rhizome and node of Lotus Rhizome. We extracted Lotus Rhizome and node of Lotus Rhizome with 95% ethanol and then in order to evaluate anti-oxidant activity we treated samples by concentrations (100, 500, 1000) ${\mu}g/mL$ and carried out 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging and The activity of 2, 2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) cation radical scavenging. Also, in order to evaluate effect of anti-wrinkle we carried out evaluation of Elastase inhibitory activity. To evaluate effect of anti-inflammatory we evaluated toxicity of samples through MTT assay with a macrophage (Raw 264.7 cells) and measured nitric oxide production inhibitory activity. As a result, DPPH radical scavenging activity of Lotus Rhizome and node of Lotus Rhizome at $1000{\mu}g/mL$ was 66.7% and 99.5%, respectively and ABTS + radical scavenging activity was 51.2% and 98.3% at the same concentration, respectively. Elastase inhibitory activity results showed that the nodes of the Lotus Rhizom extract excellent anti-wrinkle efficacy than Lotus Rhizom. Node of Lotus Rhizome showed higher anti-wrinkle activity than the positive the control group BHT at $1000{\mu}g/mL$ concentration. According to the result of nitric oxide production inhibitory activity, Lotus Rhizom showed 55.8% effect and nodes of the Lotus Rhizom showed 66.6% effect respectively. This showed that effect of anti-inflammatory was greater in nodes of the Lotus Rhizom extracts. As a result it suggests that Lotus Rhizome and node of Lotus Rhizome extracts can be used as natural substance of cosmetics which are safe in antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-wrinkle.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.263-272
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• 2018

The object of this study was to measure the bioactivity and lipid peroxidation inhibition activity of peel from Gardenia jasminoides Ellis fructus (GJE) in Namhae Korea. The amount of phytic acid was also determined. Extraction was performed using three solvents, CM (choloform:methanol, 2:1, v/v), n-butanol and 70% ethanol. To investigate by the solvent extract of total phenol content and value as a functional food ingredient of GJE peel through nitrogen oxide scavenging activity, antioxidant activity, reducing power and lipid peroxidation inhibition were performed. The bioactivities of the extract solvents increased significantly with increasing concentrations (0.2, 0.4, 0.6 mg/mL, p<0.05). The total phenol contents of GJE peel extracts were highest in CM ($39.74{\pm}0.15mg\;CAE/g$) extract. The order of total phenol contents, antioxidant activity and reducing power of the solvents in the GJE peel were the same, in the analysis of nitrogen oxides scavenging activity and lipid peroxidation inhibition, it was confirmed the results were inconsistent. As a result, the GJE peel showed excellent bioactivities. Considering the extraction yield and various physiological activities, it is considered that efficiency is better when extracted from CM and 70% ethanol extracts.

• The Korean Journal of Malacology
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.359-369
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• 2011

Twelve species of food microalgae were investigated to clarify the digestion index of Crassostrea gigas larvae using epifluorescence microscopy to choose an appropriate diet for artificial seed production in hatchery. An experiment was conducted using 1 (D shaped stage), 4 (Early umbo stage), 8 (umbo stage) and 12 (Full grown stage) days old larvae. larvae were stocked in 1 L flasks at 5 individuals/mL and fed $10{\times}10^4$ algal cells/mL of each species individually. Prior to larvae were fed for 3 h and then were observed under the microscope to detect ingestion; larvae were then sieved and replaced in 1 L flasks containing filtered seawater and were observed after 3, 5 and 8 h to analyse the digestion index. Values of digestion indices were specific for each alga. No evidence for the ingestion of Thalassiosira weissflogii was evident at all larval development stages tested. Digestion indices of others microalgae were 0.8-99.7% at 4 stage of larval development stages: Chlorella ellipsoidea (0.8-5.4%), Nannochloris oculata (1.4-5.0%), Isochrysis galbana (99.1-99.5%), Pavlova lutheri (99.1-99.5%), I. aff. galbana (99.4-99.5%), Cheatoceros calcitrans (0.0-99.2%), C. gracilis (0.0-99.7%), C. simplex (0.0-95.9%), Phaeodactylum tricornutum (0.0-99.6%), Tetraselmis tetrathele (0.0-99.7%) and Dunaliella tertiolecta (0.0-99.6%), respectively. Therefore, it is assumed that food microalgae showing the high digestion such as I. galbana should be supplied to the early umbo stage larvae, and then after the umbo larval stage, the mixed microalgae with diatoms and light green algae should be supplied to the full grown stage larvae to increase the digestion of their larvae.

• The Korean Journal of Malacology
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.73-80
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• 2008

Numerous morphological studies on N. samarangae have been well conducted over the last ten years. In this context, we have attemtped to do molecular phylogenetic analysis by using metallothionein (MT) gene from N. samarangae. To this end, we cloned the full length cDNA of MT from cDNA library of N. samarangae. The complete cDNA sequences were obtained from the expressed sequence tag (EST) sequencing project of N. samarangae, The coding region of 195 bp gives an amino acid sequence of 65 residues including methionine. There are 5' (61 bp) and 3' (48 bp) untranslated region at both ends of the Ns-MT cDNA sequence. The combined results from BLAST analyses, multiple sequence alignment and molecular phylogenetic study of Ns-MT cDNA indicate that N. samarangae has similarity to land snails such as Helix pomatia, Helix aspersa and Arianta arbustorum.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.153-165
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• 2017

Objectives : Recent neuroimaging studies focus on dysfunctions in connectivity between cognitive circuits and emotional circuits: anterior cingulate cortex that connects dorsolateral orbitofrontal cortex and prefrontal cortex to limbic system. Previous studies on pediatric depression using DTI have reported decreased neural connectivity in several brain regions, including the amygdala, anterior cingulate cortex, superior longitudinal fasciculus. We compared the neural connectivity of psychotropic drug naïve adolescent patients with a first onset of major depressive episode with healthy controls using DTI. Methods : Adolescent psychotropic drug naïve patients(n=26, 10 men, 16 women; age range, 13-18 years) who visited the Korea University Guro Hospital and were diagnosed with first onset major depressive disorder were registered. Healthy controls(n=27, 5 males, 22 females; age range, 12-17 years) were recruited. Psychiatric interviews, complete psychometrics including IQ and HAM-D, MRI including diffusion weighted image acquisition were conducted prior to antidepressant administration to the patients. Fractional anisotropy(FA), radial, mean, and axial diffusivity were estimated using DTI. FMRIB Software Library-Tract Based Spatial Statistics was used for statistical analysis. Results : We did not observe any significant difference in whole brain analysis. However, ROI analysis on right superior longitudinal fasciculus resulted in 3 clusters with significant decrease of FA in patients group. Conclusions : The patients with adolescent major depressive disorder showed statistically significant FA decrease in the DTI-based structure compared with healthy control. Therefore we suppose DTI can be used as a bio-marker in psychotropic drug-naïve adolescent patients with first onset major depressive disorder.