• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.159-167
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• 2014

In eukaryotes, proteins that are secreted into ER are post-translationally modified by N-glycosylation, the patterns of which are significantly different between plant and animal cells. Biotechnology industry has already produced a number of therapeutic glycoproteins in plant cells. However, the aberrant glycosylation of therapeutic recombinant proteins in plant systems can cause immune problems in humans. Therefore, it is important to develop strategies for producing non-glycosylated forms to preserve biological activity and native conformation by a peptide: N-glycanase (PNGase). In this study, we try to isolate PNGase T gene from tomato, which can use as a platform plant for biotechnology industry. We isolated a cDNA (GenBank Accession number KM401550) from tomato leaves with 1,767 bp, which encoded a polypeptide of 588 amino acids with a predicted molecular mass of 65.8 kDa. We also investigated the expression patterns of PNGase T during fruit ripening of tomato. The transcripts of PNGase T, which were constitutively induced in tomato fruit from green stage, were significantly increased and reached a peak at orange stage. After which, those transcripts were continuously reduced. The expression pattern of PNGase T was coincided well with transcripts profiles of metacaspase gene, LeMCA, and senescence-related gene members of ACC synthase, LeACS2, LeACS4, and LeACS6, for ethylene biosynthesis during fruit ripening. These results suggest that PNGase T is involved in a de-glycosylation process associated with senescence and fruit ripening.

• BMB Reports
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.161-169
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• 1998

TThe reactive oxygen species oxidatively modify the biological macromolecules, including proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids. Iron- and heme-mediated Fenton-like reactions produce different pro-oxidants. However, these reactive products have not been clearly characterized. We examined the nature of the oxidizing species from the different iron sources by measuring oxidative protein modification and spectroscopic study. Hemoglobin (Hb) and methemoglobin (metHb) were oxidatively modified in $O{\array-\\\dot{2}}$ and $H_{2}O_{2}$ generating systems. Globin and bovine serum albumin (BSA) were also modified by iron, iron-EDTA, hematin, and Hb in an $O{\array-\\\dot{2}}$ generating system. In a $H_{2}O_{2}$ generating system, the iron- and iron-EDTA-mediated protein modifications were markedly reduced while the Hb-and hematin-mediated modifications were slightly increased. In the $O{\array-\\\dot{2}}$ generating system, the iron- and iron-EDTA-mediated protein modifications were strongly inhibited by superoxide dismutase (SOD) or catalase, but heme- and Hb-mediated protein modifications were inhibited only by catalase and slightly increased by SOD. Mannitol, 5,5-dimethyl-l-pyrroline-N-oxide (DMPO), deoxyribose, and thiourea inhibited the iron-EDTA-mediated protein modification. Mannitol and DMPO, however, did not exhibit significant inhibition in the hematin-mediated modification. Desferrioxamine (DFO) inhibited protein modification mediated by iron, but cyanide and azide did not, while the hematin-mediated protein modification was inhibited by cyanide and azide, but not significantly by DFO. The protein-modified products by iron and heme were different. ESR and UV-visible spectroscopy detected the DMPO spin adduct of the hydroxyl radical and ferryl ion generated from iron-EDTA and metHb, respectively. These results led us to conclude that the main oxidizing species are hydroxyl radical in the iron-EDTA type and the ferry I ion in the hematin type, the latter being more effective for protein modification.

• Proceedings of the Microbiological Society of Korea Conference
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• 2007.05a
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• pp.120-122
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• 2007

All living organisms use numerous signal-transduction pathways to sense and respond to their environments and thereby survive and proliferate in a range of biological niches. Molecular dissection of these signalling networks has increased our understanding of these communication processes and provides a platform for therapeutic intervention when these pathways malfunction in disease states, including infection. Owing to the expanding availability of sequenced genomes, a wealth of genetic and molecular tools and the conservation of signalling networks, members of the fungal kingdom serve as excellent model systems for more complex, multicellular organisms. Here, we employed Cryptococcus neoformans as a model system to understand how fungal-signalling circuits operate at the molecular level to sense and respond to a plethora of environmental stresses, including osmoticshock, UV, high temperature, oxidative stress and toxic drugs/metabolites. The stress-activated p38/Hog1 MAPK pathway is structurally conserved in many organisms as diverse as yeast and mammals, but its regulation is uniquely specialized in a majority of clinical Cryptococcus neoformans serotype A and D strains to control differentiation and virulence factor regulation. C. neoformans Hog1 MAPK is controlled by Pbs2 MAPK kinase (MAPKK). The Pbs2-Hog1 MAPK cascade is controlled by the fungal "two-component" system that is composed of a response regulator, Ssk1, and multiple sensor kinases, including two-component.like (Tco) 1 and Tco2. Tco1 and Tco2 play shared and distinct roles in stress responses and drug sensitivity through the Hog1 MAPK system. Furthermore, each sensor kinase mediates unique cellular functions for virulence and morphological differentiation. We also identified and characterized the Ssk2 MAPKKK upstream of the MAPKK Pbs2 and the MAPK Hog1 in C. neoformans. The SSK2 gene was identified as a potential component responsible for differential Hog1 regulation between the serotype D sibling f1 strains B3501 and B3502 through comparative analysis of their meiotic map with the meiotic segregation of Hog1-dependent sensitivity to the fungicide fludioxonil. Ssk2 is the only polymorphic component in the Hog1 MAPK module, including two coding sequence changes between the SSK2 alleles in B3501 and B3502 strains. To further support this finding, the SSK2 allele exchange completely swapped Hog1-related phenotypes between B3501 and B3502 strains. In the serotype A strain H99, disruption of the SSK2 gene dramatically enhanced capsule biosynthesis and mating efficiency, similar to pbs2 and hog1 mutations. Furthermore, ssk2, pbs2, and hog1 mutants are all hypersensitive to a variety of stresses and completely resistant to fludioxonil. Taken together, these findings indicate that Ssk2 is the critical interface protein connecting the two-component system and the Pbs2-Hog1 pathway in C. neoformans.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.12-16
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• 2004

Recently the measurement of biophoton emission has attracted increasing attention in the study on physiological state of biological systems. We report the measurements of biophoton emission from the mouse fatty liver induced by carbon tetrachloride, CCl$_4$. The hepatotoxin, CCl$_4$ in olive oil, was injected intraperitoneally into two groups of ICR mice which were made of 6 mice in each group. The control groups corresponding to the treated groups were prepared with the injections of olive oil only. After the injections, livers of two groups were extracted and measured biophoton emission in 24 hours and 72 hours later, respectively. We also extracted the plasma in the blood and measured the transaminase activity. Results show that biophoton emission from the livers in 24-hour treated group is 69.3${\pm}$21.2 counts/min/$\textrm{cm}^2$, which is two times more larger than that in 24-hour control group, 29.5${\pm}$5.9 counts/min/$\textrm{cm}^2$ Biophoton emission from the livers in 72-hour treated group is 37.0${\pm}$14.8 counts/min/$\textrm{cm}^2$. These biophoton results correlate with those of the biochemical assays. We conclude that biophoton emission can be used as a biomarker of mouse fatty liver induced by CCl$_4$.

• Journal of KIISE:Computer Systems and Theory
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.184-193
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• 2010

This paper proposes a biological iridescence BRDF(Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function) compression and rendering method. In the graphics technology, iridescence sometimes is named structure colors. The main features of these symptoms are shown transform of color and brightness by varying viewpoint. Graphics technology to render this is the BRDF technology. The BRDF methods enable realistic representation of varying view direction, but it requires a lot of computing power because of large data. In this paper, we obtain reflection map from iridescence BRDF, analyze color of reflection map and propose representation method by several colorfully concentric circle. The one concentric circle represents beam width of reflection ray by one normal vector. In this paper, we synthesize rough concentric by using several virtually optical normal vectors. And we obtain spectrum information from concentric circles passing through the center point. The proposed method enables IBR(image based rendering) technique which results is realistic illuminance and spectrum distribution by one texture from reduced BRDF data within spectrum.

• Journal of Korean Physical Therapy Science
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.99-119
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• 2006

Endothelin (ET) is a 21 amino acid peptide with multifunctional effects on the vasculature as well as a variety of other cell types such as respiratory, gastrointestinal, urogenital, endocrine, central nervous systems, and others. Endothelin has emerged as a modulator by autocrine and paracrine actions for many cellular activities, including vasoconstriction, cell proliferation, hormone production, neurotransmitter and/or neuromodulator. The endothelin family consists of three closely related peptides, ET-1, ET-2, and ET-3 derived from separate genes, such as chromosome 6, 1, and 20, respectively. ET-1 is the predominant isoform produced in the cardiovascular system and about which most is known. Endothelin receptors are seven-transmembrane GTP-binding protein-coupled receptors, which are classified into endothelin-A (ETA) and endothelin-B (ETB) receptors. Interestingly, recent evidence is accumulating to suggest that ET -1 may contribute to a variety of pain states such as allodynia and hyperalgesia in animals and humans. Therefore, in this review the biological characteristics and contraction-related mechanism of endothelin-1 in mammalian cells will be summarized. Especially, we focus on multifunctional roles for ET-1 in noxious stimulation-induced pain for the study of pain specialized physical therapy.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.594-599
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• 2012

The objective of this study was to determine the processing conditions for salt dried rockfish Sebastes schlegeli by sun drying and cold-air drying, as measured by alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and acetaldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) activity. We processed salt dried rockfish samples. The salinity of rockfish samples was within 1% following salting with 25% salt brine for 3 h. The moisture content of salt dried rockfish was found to reduce linearly from 70.12 to 39.5 g/100 g over the same time interval. The water activities of salt dried rockfish by sun and cold-air drying were 0.94 and 0.87, respectively, after three days of drying. Acid values (AV) were 10.71 and 5.96 mg KOH/g, respectively, after the three day drying period. The ADH activity in a water extract from salt dried rockfish following sun and cold-air drying for 24 h was 228.5% and 226.1% at 13.3 mg/mL, respectively, and was higher than that when drying lasted for 48 and 72 h. The ALDH activity was not affected but both ADH and ALDH activity tended to decrease as the drying time increased from 24 to 72 h. The conditions of processing for the best quality of salt dried rockfish were determined to be drying with a cold-air system for 24 h. These results indicated that water extracts from salt dried rockfish have valuable biological attributes owing to the metabolizing of alcohol and can provide useful information for the design of drying systems for salt dried rockfish.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.83-91
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• 2018

Media (bio-stone), aquatic macrophytes (Oenanthe javanica) and herbivorous cladoceran (Daphnia similoides) have been used in artificial floating island (AFI) systems for water pollution control. Efficiency in chl-a concentration controlling of AFI was tested using different combinations of each device: G-BD-mixture bio-stone and Daphnia similoides, G-OB-mixture Oenanthe javanica and bio-stone, G-BOD-mixture bio-stone, Oenanthe javanica and Daphnia similoides, and the out-put water quality improvement was compared with G-C-control (no device was applied). We analyzed removal efficiency of chl-a concentration and nutrient concentrations in the artificially eutrophic water in the laboratory experimental facility. The results showed average removal rates of Chlorophyll a, TN and TP for different four groups: 69.24%, 16.61%, -0.61%; 68.39%, 14.11%, 10.52%; 78.30%, 6.69%, 25.09%; 35.42%, -3.47%, -25.18%, respectively. The results have suggested that the mixture of media, plants and zooplankton is the most efficient combination for Chlorophyll a control, while the mixture of macrophytes and bio-stone have better efficiency nutrient control.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.34 no.2 s.94
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• pp.106-118
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• 2001

The chemistry of porewater and exchangeable nutrients of sediment was determined to define potential influence of sediment nutrients on the water quality and the phytoplankton growth in Taechong Reservoir in March and May of 2000. The sediment-water interface showed almost anoxic state, < 0.5 mg $O_2/l$. Conductivity of the porewater was higher 1.9${\sim}$2.6 fold than that of sediment, and its variation was greater in the shallow water. Eh ranged from -12mV to -148 mV and bulk density from $1.17\;g/cm^3$ to $1.30\;g/cm^3$ and they did not differ among stations. The water content in the sediment ranged from 58% to 72% and organics from 8% to 13%, and they were higher toward the lower part of reservoir. Soil texture was in the order of sand>clay>silt and sandy sediment accounted for 97% of the total sediment. The total bacterial numbers and diatom abundance were high in the downstream of the reservoir. In porewater and exchangeable nutrients of sediment, nitrogen and phosphorus were mostly consist of the particulate form. Inorganic nitrogen was mostly composed of $NH_4$. Nitrogen of porewater was mostly an inorganic form while exchangeable nutrients were composed an organic form. However, phosphorus was composed of dissolved organic fraction in the porewater while inorganic fraction in the exchangeable nutrients. Silicon content of sediment was much exchangeable nutrients with 63%, and it was higher than in the porewater. In summary, the sediments of Taechong Reservoir were mostly composed of organics and assessed to be a eutrophic state.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.130-134
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• 2008

Modern automated culture systems have increased the isolation rate of microorganisms and shortened the time to detection, reducing experimental errors in diagnosis of infecting agents. BacT/ALERT 3D system is based on the colorimetric detection of $CO_2$ produced by the growing microorganisms. In order to evaluate the efficiency of the detection system, sterility test were performed using 6 bacteria. With standard aerobic and anaerobic bottles containing the liquid media, both three aerobic bacteria (P. aeruginosa, M. luteus, B. subtilis) and a facultative bacterium S. aureus were detected up to 1 CFU in 31.44 hr. In addition, growth of anaerobic C. sporogenes was recognized up to 1 CFU in 15.96 hr. The slowly growing bacteria P. acnes was detected up to 10,000 CFU in 129.36 hr. In comparison with conventional culture method, BacT/ALERT 3D automated culture system was more sensitive and saved detection time up to$2\sim10$ hr. Therefore, this automated culture system enables to efficiently detect bacteria in clinical samples and biological medicines.