• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.33-38
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• 2012

Germanium biotite, a natural mineral, has been used as a feed supplement to reinforce innate immune ability. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of germanium biotite on the adsorptive and inhibition of growth abilities against Escherichia (E.) coli and Salmonella spp. in vitro. Two strains of enterotoxigenic E. coli and four strains of two Salmonella serotypes (Salmonella Derby and Salmonella Typhimurium), major bacterial diarrheal pathogens, were used for this experiment. The absorptive ability of germanium biotite against most Salmonella used in present experiment was observed weakly. The germanium biotite, however, showed significant effect of bacterial growth inhibition in most experiment bacteria. These results suggest that the use of the germanium biotite as feed supplement could alleviate diarrhea following inhibition of bacteria growth. It is also presumed that antibiotics usage for farm animals, considered as causes of antibiotic residue in meat and emerging antibiotic resistance, could be reduced through the use of germanium biotite as a feed supplement, in place of antibiotics used for the prevention of diarrhea.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.227-233
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• 2015

Two recombinant arabinosyl hydrolases, α-_L-arabinofuranosidase from Geobacillus sp. KCTC 3012 (GAFase) and endo-(1,5)-α-_L-arabinanase from Bacillus licheniformis DSM13 (BlABNase), were overexpressed in Escherichia coli, and their synergistic modes of action against sugar beet (branched) arabinan were investigated. Whereas GAFase hydrolyzed 35.9% of _L-arabinose residues from sugar beet (branched) arabinan, endo-action of BlABNase released only 0.5% of _L-arabinose owing to its extremely low accessibility towards branched arabinan. Interestingly, the simultaneous treatment of GAFase and BlABNase could liberate approximately 91.2% of _L-arabinose from arabinan, which was significantly higher than any single exo-enzyme treatment (35.9%) or even stepwise exo- after endo-enzyme treatment (75.5%). Based on their unique modes of action, both exo- and endo-arabinosyl hydrolases can work in concert to catalyze the hydrolysis of arabinan to _L-arabinose. At the early stage in arabinan degradation, exo-acting GAFase could remove the terminal arabinose branches to generate debranched arabinan, which could be successively hydrolyzed into arabinooligosaccharides via the endo-action of BlABNase. At the final stage, the simultaneous actions of exo- and endo-hydrolases could synergistically accelerate the _L-arabinose production with high conversion yield.

• The Journal of Advanced Prosthodontics
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.402-408
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• 2013

PURPOSE. The aim of this study was to evaluate the surface properties and in vitro bioactivity to osteoblasts of magnesium and magnesium-hydroxyapatite coated titanium. MATERIALS AND METHODS. Themagnesium (Mg) and magnesium-hydroxyapatite (Mg-HA) coatings on titanium (Ti) substrates were prepared by radio frequency (RF) and direct current (DC) magnetron sputtering.The samples were divided into non-coated smooth Ti (Ti-S group), Mg coatinggroup (Ti-Mg group), and Mg-HA coating group (Ti-MgHA group).The surface properties were evaluated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The surface roughness was evaluated by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Cell adhesion, cell proliferation and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity were evaluated using MC3T3-E1 cells. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis was performed. RESULTS. Cross-sectional SEM images showed that Mg and Mg-HA depositionson titanium substrates were performed successfully. The surface roughness appeared to be similaramong the three groups. Ti-MgHA and Ti-Mg group had improved cellular responses with regard to the proliferation, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, and bone-associated markers, such as bone sialoprotein (BSP) and osteocalcin (OCN) mRNA compared to those of Ti-S group. However, the differences between Ti-Mg group and Ti-MgHA group were not significant, in spite of the tendency of higher proliferation, ALP activity and BSP expression in Ti-MgHA group. CONCLUSION. Mg and Mg-HAcoatings could stimulate the differentiation into osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells, potentially contributing to rapid osseointegration.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.375-382
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• 2008

In order to investigate shape of synaptic vesicles of the tooth pulp afferent boutons and their presynaptic endings (p-endings), and the neuroactive substance of the p-endings in the trigeminal nucleus principalis, rat incisor tooth pulp afferents were labeled by the horseradish peroxidase (HRP) and quantitative ultrastructural analysis and postembedding immunogold labeling were performed. Labeled tooth pulp afferent boutons contained clear, spherical synaptic vesicles (diameter: $45{\sim}55\;nm$) and occasionally dense core vesicles(diameter: $80{\sim}120\;nm$). They formed symmetrical synapses with unlabeled axon terminals (p-endings) containing pleomorphic synaptic vesicles. The ratio of short to long diameter (form factor) of synaptic vesicles of pulp afferent boutons was 0.6 to 0.99, whereas that of p-endings was 0.25 to 0.99. In addition, most of the p-endings showed GABA-like immunoreactivity. These results indicate that the shape of synaptic vesicles is quite different between the tooth pulp afferent boutons and p-endings, and the p-endings may contain GABA as a neuroactive substance in the trigeminal nucleus principalis.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.8-15
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• 2014

Helicobacter pylori-induced gastric inflammation includes induction of inflammatory mediators interleukin (IL)-8 and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), which are mediated by oxidant-sensitive transcription factor NF-${\kappa}B$. High levels of lipid peroxide (LPO) and increased activity of myeloperoxidase (MPO), a biomarker of neutrophil infiltration, are observed in H. pylori-infected gastric mucosa. Panax ginseng Meyer, a Korean herb medicine, is widely used in Asian countries for its biological activities including anti-inflammatory efficacy. The present study aims to investigate whether Korean Red Ginseng extract (RGE) inhibits H. pylori-induced gastric inflammation in Mongolian gerbils. One wk after intragastric inoculation with H. pylori, Mongolian gerbils were fed with either the control diet or the diet containing RGE (200 mg RGE/gerbil) for 6 wk. The following were determined in gastric mucosa: the number of viable H. pylori in stomach; MPO activity; LPO level; mRNA and protein levels of keratinocyte chemoattractant factor (KC, a rodent IL-8 homolog), IL-$1{\beta}$, and iNOS; protein level of phospho-$I{\kappa}B{\alpha}$(which reflects the activation of NF-${\kappa}B$); and histology. As a result, RGE suppressed H. pylori-induced mRNA and protein levels of KC, IL-$1{\beta}$, and iNOS in gastric mucosa. RGE also inhibited H. pylori-induced phosphorylation of $I{\kappa}B{\alpha}$ and increases in LPO level and MPO activity of gastric mucosa. RGE did not affect viable H. pylori colonization in the stomach, but improved the histological grade of infiltration of poly-morphonuclear neutrophils, intestinal metaplasia, and hyperplasia. In conclusion, RGE inhibits H. pyloriinduced gastric inflammation by suppressing induction of inflammatory mediators (KC, IL-$1{\beta}$, iNOS), MPO activity, and LPO level in H. pylori-infected gastric mucosa.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.10 no.5
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• pp.289-295
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• 2006

Sodium fluoride (NaF) has been shown to be cytotoxic and elicit inflammatory response in human. However, the cellular mechanisms underlying NaF-induced cytotoxicity in periodontal tissues have not yet been elucidated. This study is aimed to investigate the mechanisms of NaF-induced apoptosis in human gingival fibroblast (HGF). NaF decreased the cell viability of HGF in a dose- and time-dependent manner. NaF gave rise to apoptotic morphological changes including cell shrinkage, chromatin condensation, and DNA fragmentation. However, NaF did not affect the production of ROS. In addition, NaF augumented cytochrome c release from mitochondria into the cytosol, and enhanced caspase -9 and -3 activities., cleavage (85 kDa fragments) of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) and upregulation of voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC) 1. These results demonstrated that NaF-induced apoptosis in HGF may be mediated with mitochondria. Furthermore, NaF elevated caspase-8 activity and upregulated Fas-ligand (Fas-L), suggesting involvement of death receptor mediated pathway in NaF-induced apoptosis. Expression of Bcl-2, an anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 family, was downregulated, whereas expression of Bax, a pro-apoptotic Bcl-2 family, was not affected in NaF-treated HGF. These results suggest that NaF induces apoptosis in HGF through both mitochondria- and death receptor-mediated pathway mediated by Bcl-2 family.

• 한국정보디스플레이학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2004.08a
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• pp.41-43
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• 2004

Plasma polymerized para-xylene ($PP_PX$) deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) was used as the barrier layer on the polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate to improve lifetime of the flexible organic light-emitting diodes (FOLEDs). The $PP_PX$ barrier layer deposited on top of the PET substrate with plasma power of 30 W at deposition pressure of 0.2 torr showed transmittance spectra good enough to be applied in FOLED on PET substrates. FOLEDs with the $PP_PX$ barrier layer (barrier-FOLEDs) showed similar I-V and B-V characteristics to FOLEDs without the $PP_PX$ layer (control-FOLEDs). The lifetime of barrier-FOLED was two times longer than that of the control-FOLED. With $PP_PX$ passivation layers, lifetimes of both control and barrier-FOLEDs were improved by more than 4 times. These results show that PECVD deposited $PP_PX$ layers can be used as barrier layers for FOLEDs on plastic substrates as well as passivation layers for general OLEDs.

• 대한치주과학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2005.11a
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• pp.223-223
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• 2005

• 한국정보디스플레이학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2003.07a
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• pp.889-892
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• 2003

Effects of $N_{2}$ plasma treatment of the Al bottom cathode on the characteristics of top emission inverted organic light emitting diodes (TEIOLEDs) were studied. TEIOLEDs were fabricated by depositing an Al bottom cathode, a tris-(8-hydroxyquinoline) aluminum $(Alq_{3})$ emitting layer, an N,N'-diphenyl-N,N'-bis(3-methylphenyl)-1,1'-diphenyl-4,4'diamine (TPD) hole transport layer, and an indium tin oxide (ITO) top anode sequentially. The Al bottom cathode layer was subjected to $N_{2}$ plasma treatment before deposition of the $Alq_{3}$ layer. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy suggested that the existence of and the amount of $AIN_x$ between the $Alq_{3}$ emitting layer and the Al bottom cathode significantly affect the characteristics of TEIOLEDs. The maximum external quantum efficiency of the TEIOLED with an Ai bottom cathode subjected to $N_{2}$ plasma treatment for 30 s was about twice as high as that of the TEIOLED with an untreated Al bottom cathode.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.230-237
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• 2015

This study investigated the impact of microalgal oil (MO) on body weight management in C57BL/6J mice. Obesity was induced for 8 weeks and animals were orally supplemented with the following for 8 additional weeks: beef tallow (BT), corn oil, fish oil (FO), microalgal oil (MO), or none, as a high fat diet control group (HD). A normal control group was fed with a normal diet. After completing the experiment, the FO and MO groups showed significant decreases in body weight gain, epididymal fat pad weights, serum triglycerides, and total cholesterol levels compared to the HD and BT groups. A lower mRNA expression level of lipid anabolic gene and higher levels of lipid catabolic genes were observed in both FO and MO groups. Serum insulin and leptin concentrations were lower in the MO group. These results indicated that microalgal oil has an anti-obesity effect that can combat high fat diet-induced obesity in mice.