• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.319-328
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• 2020

Purpose: To examine the prevalence and clinical manifestations of eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) in Korea children. Methods: The study was designed as a 1:2 matching case-control study. Using information from the endoscopic database of a tertiary center, we retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients aged 18 years or younger who underwent upper gastrointestinal endoscopy between January 2014 and December 2017. A total of 21 patients were diagnosed with EoE based on current diagnostic criteria. In addition, 42 controls with normal esophageal biopsy findings matched to each EoE case by sex, age (±1 months), and season were randomly selected during the study period. Results: The mean age of EoE diagnosis was 12.1±4.0 years and the male-to-female ratio was 2:1. The proportion of allergic diseases in patients with EoE (28.6%) was higher than that in the controls (6.8%) (p=0.04). Most EoE patients tested for allergy were positive for at least one antigen, which was significantly different to the controls (88.2% vs. 47.4%, p=0.01). Characteristic endoscopic findings of EoE were noted in 19 patients (90.5%), but 2 patients (9.5%) showed normal esophageal mucosa. The clinical symptoms of EoE were improved by a proton-pump inhibitor in 10 patients (50.0%), and by an H₂ blocker in 9 patients (45.0%). Only one patient (5.0%) required inhaled steroids. Conclusion: While EoE is rare in the Korean pediatric population, the results of this study will improve our understanding of the clinical manifestations of the disease.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.241-247
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• 2016

Natamycin is a widely used antifungal antibiotic. For natamycin biosynthesis, the gene pimE encodes cholesterol oxidase, which acts as a signalling protein. To confirm the positive effect of the gene pimE on natamycin biosynthesis, an additional copy of the gene pimE was inserted into the genome of Streptomyces gilvosporeus 712 under the control of the ermE* promoter (p_ermE*) using intergeneric conjugation. Overexpression of the target protein engendered 72% and 81% increases in the natamycin production and cell productivity, respectively, compared with the control strain. Further improvement in the antibiotic production was achieved in a 1 L fermenter to 7.0 g/l, which was a 153% improvement after 120 h cultivation. Exconjugants highly expressing pimE and pimM were constructed to investigate the effects of both genes on the increase of natamycin production. However, the co-effect of pimE and pimM did not enhance the antibiotic production obviously, compared with the exconjugants highly expressing pimE only. These results suggest not only a new application of cholesterol oxidase but also a useful strategy to genetically engineer natamycin production.

• Journal of Radiopharmaceuticals and Molecular Probes
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.61-68
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• 2020

Aggregated neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) are a pathological hallmark in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and many radiopharmaceuticals targeting NFTs have been developed so far. Among these, [¹⁸F]flortaucipir (TAUVID^TM) is the first approved radiopharmaceutical in the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to image tau pathology. In the present study, we describe the optimized radiosynthetic method for the routine production of [¹⁸F] flortaucipir using a commercialized automation module (i.e. GE TRACERlab^TM FX_FN pro). [¹⁸F]Flortaucipir was prepared by nucleophilic substitution from its N-tert-butoxycarbonyl protected nitro precursor, tertbutyl 7-(6-nitropyridin-3-yl)-5H-pyrido[4,3-b]indole-5-carboxylate, at 130℃ for 10 min in dimethyl sulfoxide. The mean radiochemical yield was 20 ± 4.3% (decay-corrected, n = 47) with the molar activity of 218 ± 32 GBq/µmol at the end of synthesis. The radiochemical purity was determined to be above 95%. The overall production time including quality control is approximately 100min. The final produced [¹⁸F]flortaucipir injection meets the USP criteria for quality control. Thus, this fully automated system is validated for clinical use.

• Journal of Animal Reproduction and Biotechnology
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.225-235
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• 2023

Background: Largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) is introduced species that has caused aquatic ecology activity both in vitro and in vivo were investigated for the possibility of application of the bass extract as an alternative feed ingredient. Methods: The bass oil was extracted using a 1-L supercritical extractor, while the protein was extracted from 250 g of bass dry matter, which was dissolved in 1 mL of H₂O at 50℃. Both oil and protein extracts were evaluated antioxidant activities and the level of DPPH radical scavenging assay and nitric oxide (NO) production assay with lipopolysaccharide response. Oral administration of 6.6 µL/g bass protein and 5.38 µL/g bass oil conducted for investigating serological and physiological effect. Results: DPPH radical scavenging showed similar radical scavenging ability of 50 µM of ascorbic acid at 200 ㎍ of protein and 10% of oil treatment. NO concentration was diminished by the treatment of bass oil. Oral administration of both bass oil and proteins to mice showed that the body weight increase rate of the bass oil treated group was significantly reduced by 1.55 g compared to the other groups. The number of white blood cells (WBC) was increased by 4.52 k/µL in the bass protein-treated group and 4.44 k/µL in the bass oil-treated group compared to the control group. However, the serum IgG level did not show a significant difference between the bass extract-treated groups and the control group. Conclusions: These studies demonstrate that both bass oil and proteins extracted from the bass not only provide excellent effects of antioxidant and immune activity but can also be used as functional food supplements.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.12-18
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• 2005

The Transverse rectus abdominis musculocutaneous (TRAM) flap has been commonly used for autologous breast reconstruction. Despite these clinical usefulness, the TRAM flap is prone to partial flap or fat necrosis in especially pedicled flap. To improve flap survival, the surgical delay procedures and pharmacological treatments have been developed. In many studies for the pharmacological treatment, Lipo-$PGE_1$ has demonstrated a marked ability to improve flap survival and it's effect has been proved similar to surgical delay procedure. The purpose of this study is to determine the most effective route of Lipo-$PGE_1$ administration as a pharmacological treatment in TRAM flap of the rat. Fifty male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 300-350 gm were divided into five groups, One week before flap elevation, Lipo-$PGE_1$($2{\mu}g/kg$) was injected three times in a week and than the left inferior epigastric vessel based TRAM flap ($5.0{\times}3.0cm$) elevated; group I: no procedure before flap elevation; group II: intraperitoneal injection; group III: intravenous injection; group IV: subcutaneous injection; group V: topical application. A flap was assessed at postoperative 7 days by comparison of flap survival rate, vessel counts(H-E stain), and vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF) protein expressed by Western blot. The results demonstrated that the mean percentages of the flap survival area in group III were significantly higher than that of any other group(p<0.05). The vessel counts of all experimental groups were statistically higher than that of control group(p<0.05). Only in group III, the VEGF protein expression was increased significantly than control group and there are no difference in other experimental groups. In conclusion, the intravenous administration of the Lipo-$PGE_1$ is the most effective on flap survival, and the VEGF induced by Lipo-$PGE_1$ has some positive effects on new vessel formation and flap survival.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.27-35
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• 2022

Objectives : 3-Acetyl-11-keto-𝛽-boswellic acid (AKBA) is a major active compound in Boswellia serrata. We investigated the arthritic changes following AKBA administration in monosodium iodoacetate (MIA)-induced osteoarthritis rats. Methods : All rats were randomly divided into five groups: Normal, Control, INDO (indomethacin 2 mg/kg treated), AKBA30 (AKBA 30 mg/kg treated), and AKBA60 (AKBA 60 mg/kg treated); drugs were given 2 weeks before MIA injection. For all groups except the normal group, 50 µL of sterile saline with MIA (80 mg/mL) was injected into the right knee joint 2 weeks after drug administration. The drug administration was continued for 4 weeks from 1 week after osteoarthritis induction. The histomorphological changes of knee joint cartilage were observed by H&E staining. Also, the levels of glycosaminoglycan (GAG), cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP), 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX), 5-LOX-activating protein (FLAP), and leukotriene B₄ (LTB₄) in the knee joint were determined by the ELISA kits. The expressions of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs), inflammatory cytokines, and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) in knee joint were detected by Western blot. Results : Data show that levels of 5-LOX, FLAP, LTB4, and COMP were downregulated significantly in the AKBA treated groups when compared to those in the Control group. On the other hand, GAG levels were significantly elevated. As a result of Western blot, the AKBA-treated groups significantly inhibited phosphorylation of MAPKs. In addition, significant downregulation of the expression of inflammatory cytokines and MMPs was found in the AKBA-treated groups. Conclusion : Our findings suggest that administration of AKBA could exert better chondroprotective and anti-inflammatory effects for MIA-induced osteoarthritis rats.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.56-63
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• 2004

This study was carried out to find out the effect of by-product gypsum(phosphogypsum, PG) application on enhancement of turf quality. For the first experiment, 10 ton $ha^{-1}$ PG was applied to 1m${\times}$10m (width${\times}$length) Plots with 4 replicates on a sloping area of fairway where turf(Zoysia japonica L.) was grown. Both top- and sub-soil samples were collected before and after treatment and were analyzed for pH, EC(e1ectrica1 conductivity), Ca and Mg contents. At the same time when soil samples were collected, specific color difference sensor value(SCDSV) that represented chlorophyll contents, fresh and dry weight of the turf were determined to find out the effect of PG treatment on turf growth. SCDSV of turf from PG treated plots measured at 98 and 147 days after treatment were significantly higher than those from control. Considering higher fresh and dry weight of leaf per unit area from PG treated plots than that from control, it was concluded that the elevated Ca and S level of the PG treated plots resulted in vigorous leaf growth of turf. For the second experiment 2, 5 and 10 ton $ha^{-1}$ PG were applied to 1m${\times}$10m(width${\times}$length) Plots with 3 replicates at a closer location as was used for the first experiment to find out the appropriate PG application rate. Before and after treatment soil and plant samples were collected and were analyzed by the same way as the first experiment. The pH of all the soil samples collected from PG treated plots at 38 days after treatment was lower than that from control. This trend changed as time passed. However, the pH of the soil from 10 ton $ha^{-1}$ PG treated plot was lower than that from control during the whole period of the second experiment. SCDSV, fresh and dry weight of leaf from PG treated plots at all 3 rates were higher than those from control for the second experiment. PG application to turf will be beneficial for both mass consumption of by-product gypsum and enhancement of turf quality.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.57 no.3
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• pp.151-164
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• 2024

In water treatment plants supplying potable water, the management of chlorine concentration in water treatment processes involving pre-chlorination or intermediate chlorination requires process control. To address this, research has been conducted on water quality prediction techniques utilizing AI technology. This study developed an AI-based predictive model for automating the process control of chlorine disinfection, targeting the prediction of residual chlorine concentration downstream of sedimentation basins in water treatment processes. The AI-based model, which learns from past water quality observation data to predict future water quality, offers a simpler and more efficient approach compared to complex physicochemical and biological water quality models. The model was tested by predicting the residual chlorine concentration downstream of the sedimentation basins at Plant, using multiple regression models and AI-based models like Random Forest and LSTM, and the results were compared. For optimal prediction of residual chlorine concentration, the input-output structure of the AI model included the residual chlorine concentration upstream of the sedimentation basin, turbidity, pH, water temperature, electrical conductivity, inflow of raw water, alkalinity, NH₃, etc. as independent variables, and the desired residual chlorine concentration of the effluent from the sedimentation basin as the dependent variable. The independent variables were selected from observable data at the water treatment plant, which are influential on the residual chlorine concentration downstream of the sedimentation basin. The analysis showed that, for Plant, the model based on Random Forest had the lowest error compared to multiple regression models, neural network models, model trees, and other Random Forest models. The optimal predicted residual chlorine concentration downstream of the sedimentation basin presented in this study is expected to enable real-time control of chlorine dosing in previous treatment stages, thereby enhancing water treatment efficiency and reducing chemical costs.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.43 no.10
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• pp.1500-1509
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• 2014

The object of this study was to investigate the inhibitory effects of chios mastic gum (MG) on gastric acid secretion in an ethanol-induced SD rat model and primary parietal cells. Rats were randomly divided into four groups: Vehicle (normal group), Control (treated with ethanol), MG50 (treated with ethanol and mastic gum at 50 mg/kg b.w), MG100 (treated with ethanol and mastic gum at 100 mg/kg b.w). Groups treated with both MG50 and MG100 showed attenuation of gastric mucosal injury, sub-epithelial loss, hemorrhaging, and gastric juice secretion. We also examined the acidity of gastric juice during gastric injury. Oral administration of both MG50 and MG100 significantly decreased acidity of gastric juice by % and %, respectively. To examine the stimulatory factors related to gastric acid secretion, mRNA expression levels of H2r, M3r, CCK2r, and $H^+/K^+$ ATPase were measured by real-time PCR. Compared with a vehicle group, mRNA expression levels of H2r, CCK2r, and $H^+/K^+$ ATPase clearly increased in the control group. However, levels of H2r, CCK2r, and $H^+/K^+$ ATPase slightly but significantly decreased in MG-treated groups compared with control. Blood level of histamine significantly decreased in MG-treated groups, which indicates the involvement of MG on in histamine-related acid secretion. To identify the mode of action of MG in regulating histamine-related pathways, intracellular level of cAMP and mRNA levels of H2r, M3r, CCK2r, and $H^+/K^+$ ATPase were measured in primary parietal cells. While mRNA levels of M3r and CCK2r remained unchanged, levels of H2r and $H^+/K^+$ ATPase significantly decreased upon MG treatment. Subsequently, intracellular levels of cAMP decreased. These results suggest that mastic gum has the ability to inhibit gastric acid secretion by regulating a histamine-related pathway.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.341-348
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• 2016

This study aimed to develop a microbial process for producing aminolevulinic acid (ALA) using crude glycerol. In the culture of ALA-producing cells (Escherichia coli/pH-hemA) in a medium containing crude glycerol, the cell density and production were 1.8-fold and 1.2-fold lower than those obtained from pure glycerol, respectively. However, the cell growth and production were improved by supplementing the medium with trehalose (30 or 100 g/l). Engineered cells (E. coli/pH-hemA/pS-otsBA) were constructed to express otsBA and their culture performance was compared with that of control cells (E. coli/pH-hemA/ pSTV28). The effects of isopropyl β-D-1-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG) concentration and the time of induction were examined to improve the cell growth and ALA production in engineered cells cultured using crude glycerol. When 0.6 mM of IPTG was added at the beginning of the exponential growth phase, the ALA produced by cells was 2,121 mg/l, which was comparable to that from pure glycerol. The results demonstrate that otsBA expression endowed cells with the capacity to tolerate the toxicity of crude glycerol for direct use.