• Toxicological Research
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.181-185
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• 2013

Aluminum nanoparticles (Al-NPs) are one of the most widely used nanomaterial in cosmetics and medical materials. For this reason, Al-NP exposure is very likely to occur via inhalation in the environment and the workplace. Nevertheless, little is known about the mechanism of Al-NP neurotoxicity via inhalation exposure. In this study, we investigated the effect AL-NPs on the brain. Rats were exposed to Al-NPs by nasal instillation at 1 mg/kg body weight (low exposure group), 20 mg/kg body weight (moderate exposure group), and 40 mg/kg body weight (high exposure group), for a total of 3 times, with a 24-hr interval after each exposure. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) analysis indicated that the presence of aluminum was increased in a dose-dependent manner in the olfactory bulb (OFB) and the brain. In microarray analysis, the regulation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) activity (GO: 0043405), including Ptprc, P2rx7, Map2k4, Trib3, Trib1, and Fgd4 was significantly over-expressed in the treated mice than in the controls (p = 0.0027). Moreover, Al-NPs induced the activation of ERK1 and p38 MAPK protein expression in the brain, but did not alter the protein expression of JNK, when compared to the control. These data demonstrate that the nasal exposure of Al-NPs can permeate the brain via the olfactory bulb and modulate the gene and protein expression of MAPK and its activity.

• BMB Reports
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.86-91
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• 2008

The full-length cDNA of CaAbsi1 encodes a presumptive protein of 134 amino acid residues that has homology to a putative zinc finger protein in its C-terminus. The deduced amino acid sequence has 50% homology to Oryza sativa NP001049-274, the function of which is unknown. Expression of CaAbsi1 was reduced in response to inoculation of non-host pathogens. On the other hand it was induced one hour after exposure to high concentrations of NaCl or mannitol, and six hours after transfer to low temperature. Induction also occurred in response to oxidative stress, methyl viologen, hydrogen peroxide and abscisic acid. Our results suggest that CaAbsi1 plays a role in multiple responses to wounding and abiotic stresses.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.7.1-7.11
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• 2023

The gram-positive bacterium Listeria monocytogenes is an important foodborne intracellular pathogen that is widespread in the environment. The functions of hypothetical proteins (HP) from various pathogenic bacteria have been successfully annotated using a variety of bioinformatics strategies. In this study, a HP Imo0888 (NP_464414.1) from the Listeria monocytogenes EGD-e strain was annotated using several bioinformatics tools. Various techniques, including CELLO, PSORTb, and SOSUIGramN, identified the candidate protein as cytoplasmic. Domain and motif analysis revealed that the target protein is a PemK/MazF-like toxin protein of the type II toxin-antitoxin system (TAS) which was consistent with BLASTp analysis. Through secondary structure analysis, we found the random coil to be the most frequent. The Alpha Fold 2 Protein Structure Prediction Database was used to determine the three-dimensional (3D) structure of the HP using the template structure of a type II TAS PemK/MazF family toxin protein (DB ID_AFDB: A0A4B9HQB9) with 99.1% sequence identity. Various quality evaluation tools, such as PROCHECK, ERRAT, Verify 3D, and QMEAN were used to validate the 3D structure. Following the YASARA energy minimization method, the target protein's 3D structure became more stable. The active site of the developed 3D structure was determined by the CASTp server. Most pathogens that harbor TAS create a crucial risk to human health. Our aim to annotate the HP Imo088 found in Listeria could offer a chance to understand bacterial pathogenicity and identify a number of potential targets for drug development.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.32 no.12
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• pp.4171-4175
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• 2011

Bio-functionalized gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), which bio-specifically interact with biotin-(strept)avidin, were investigated in this study. AuNPs were functionalized with a synthetically-provided biotin-linked thiol (BLT), which was synthesized by amidation of the active ester of biotin with 2-mercaptoethylamine. The BLT-attached AuNP was bio-specific for streptavidin, making it potentially useful for biosensor applications. To test the bio-specific interactions, the colors, absorption spectra and TEM images were investigated for proteins such as streptavidin, cytochrome C, myoglobin and hemoglobin. The colors and absorption spectra changed when streptavidin was added to the BLT-attached AuNP solution. However, the color and spectra did not change when the other proteins were added to the same solution. These results show that the AuNPs provided a colloidal solution with excellent stability and highly selective absorption characteristics for streptavidin as a target molecule. Proteins were also screened in order to identify a general strategy for the use of optical biosensing proteins based on AuNPs. In addition, TEM images confirmed that streptavidin led the BLT-attached AuNPs to aggregate or precipitate.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.81-86
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• 1976

Soybean has been considered as an important source of food protein in many countries. This experiment was attempted to determine the effect of mineral nutrition on growth and amino acid composition of soybean by using the methods developed for other plants. The results showed that S was more effective than P on the growth of soybean when the amount of cation was not changed. Among cations investigated K was more effective than Mg and Ca on its growth. However, higher amounts of Ca resulted in toxic effect. In general, the content of amino acid hydrolyzed by HCl decreased in NS and NP as well as KCa and KMg groups. Amino acids, i.e., proline, cystine, aspartic acid, lysine and histidine were not detected in NS and NP in addition to KCa and KMg groups eventhough control group showed considerable amount of these amino acids.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.44-49
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• 2015

Thermostable enzymes derived from Thermotoga maritima have attracted worldwide interest for their potential industrial applications. Structural analysis and docking studies were preformed on T. maritima β-glucosidase enzyme with cellobiose and pNP-linked substrates. The 3D structure of the thermostable β-glucosidase was downloaded from the Protein Data Bank database. Substrates were downloaded from the PubCehm database and were minimized using MOE software. Docking of BglA and substrates was carried out using MOE software. After analyzing docked enzyme/substrate complexes, it was found that Glu residues were mainly involved in the reaction, and other important residues such as Asn, Ser, Tyr, Trp, and His were involved in hydrogen bonding with pNP-linked substrates. By determining the substrate recognition pattern, a more suitable β-glucosidase enzyme could be developed, enhancing its industrial potential.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.1082-1086
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• 2014

A multi-channel microchip electrophoresis (MCME) method with parallel laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) detection was developed for rapid screening of H1N1 virus. The hemagglutinin (HA) and nucleocapsid protein (NP) gene of H1N1 virus were amplified using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The amplified PCR products of the H1N1 virus DNA (HA, 116 bp and NP, 195 bp) were simultaneously detected within 25 s in three parallel channels using an expanded laser beam and a charge-coupled device camera. The parallel separations were demonstrated using a sieving gel matrix of 0.3% poly(ethylene oxide) ($M_r$ = 8,000,000) in $1{\times}$ TBE buffer (pH 8.4) with a programmed step electric field strength (PSEFS). The method was ~20 times faster than conventional slab gel electrophoresis, without any loss of resolving power or reproducibility. The proposed MCME/PSEFS assay technique provides a simple and accurate method for fast high-throughput screening of infectious virus DNA molecules under 400 bp.

• Korean journal of food and cookery science
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.220-228
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• 2010

This study was designed to examine the effectiveness of an unused tunnel as a rice storage place. The physicochemical changes of rice grains were investigated during 8-months of storage in the tunnel located at Kyungnam province, Korea. Two kinds of tunnel stored rices, NP(rice grown with no pesticides) and LP(rice grown with less pesticides) were compared with $5^{\circ}C$ stored rice as a control. The peroxidase activities, as an index of freshness of rice grains, gradually decreased and NP appeared to be fresher than LP. Whiteness, grain wholeness, and chalkyness were less desirable for the tunnel stored rice than the control, with no significant difference of physicochemical properties, including the broken, damaged, colored rice, and contents of moisture, protein, and amylose. Palatability dropped below 70 in all three groups at later phase. The sensory evaluation showed that overall preference was slightly higher for the control but not significantly different from the other two groups. From all the evidences shown, unused tunnels may be an effective place for a long-term rice storage, since the average temperature inside the tunnel was maintained very constantly around $14.3^{\circ}C$ and relative humidity was optimal for rice storage, especially during spring and summer seasons.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.81 no.6
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• pp.1436-1447
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• 2020

Purpose To investigate the clinical and CT features at admission to predict the progression to necrotizing pancreatitis (NP) in patients initially diagnosed with interstitial edematous pancreatitis (IEP). Materials and Methods Patients with IEP who underwent contrast-enhanced CT at admission and follow-up CT (< 14 days) were included (n = 178). Two radiologists performed a consensus review of follow-up CT scans and diagnosed the type of acute pancreatitis as IEP or NP. Laboratory findings at admission were recorded. Clinical, CT, and laboratory findings were compared between the IEP-IEP group and IEP-NP group using the chi-square test and the t-test. Multivariate analysis was also performed. Results There were 112 and 66 patients in the IEP-IEP and the IEP-NP groups, respectively. The proportion of patients with alcohol etiology was significantly larger in the IEP-NP group. Among the CT findings, the presence of peripancreatic fluid and heterogeneous parenchymal enhancement were more frequently observed in the IEP-NP group. Among the laboratory variables, serum C-reactive protein levels and white blood cell counts were significantly higher in the IEP-NP group. Multivariate analysis revealed that the presence of peripancreatic fluid and heterogeneous parenchymal enhancement were significant findings distinguishing the two groups. Conclusion CT findings, such as the presence of peripancreatic fluid and heterogeneous pancreatic parenchymal enhancement, may be helpful in predicting the progression to NP in patients initially diagnosed with IEP.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.23-29
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• 2020

Background: Neuropathic pain (NP) is considered a clinically incurable condition despite various treatment options due to its diverse causes and complicated disease mechanisms. Since the early 2000s, multipotent human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) have been used in the treatment of NP in animal models. However, the effects of hMSC injections have not been studied in chronic post-ischemia pain (CPIP) mice models. Here, we investigated whether intrathecal (IT) and intrapaw (IP) injections of hMSCs can reduce mechanical allodynia in CPIP model mice. Methods: Seventeen CPIP C57/BL6 mice were selected and randomized into four groups: IT sham (n = 4), IT stem (n = 5), IP sham (n = 4), and IP stem (n = 4). Mice in the IT sham and IT stem groups received an injection of 5 μL saline and 2 × 10⁴ hMSCs, respectively, while mice in the IP sham and IP stem groups received an injection of 5 μL saline and 2 × 10⁵ hMSCs, respectively. Mechanical allodynia was assessed using von Frey filaments from pre-injection to 30 days post-injection. Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) expression in the spinal cord and dorsal root ganglia were also evaluated. Results: IT and IP injections of hMSCs improved mechanical allodynia. GFAP expression was decreased on day 25 post-injection compared with the sham group. Injections of hMSCs improved allodynia and GFAP expression was decreased compared with the sham group. Conclusions: These results suggested that hMSCs may be also another treatment modality in NP model by ischemia-reperfusion.