• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.217-224
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• 2017

Purpose: Although it is well known thatmortality and morbidity due to cardiovascular diseases are higher in salt-sensitive subjects than in salt-resistant subjects, their underlying mechanisms related to obesity remain unclear. Here, we focused on salt-sensitive gene variants unrelated to monogenic obesity that interacted with sodium intake in humans. Methods: This review was written based on the modified $3^rd$ step of Khans' systematic review. Instead of the literature, subject genes were based on candidate genes screened from our preliminary Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS). Finally, literature related to five genes strongly associated with salt sensitivity were analyzed to elucidate the mechanism of obesity. Results: Salt sensitivity is a measure of how blood pressure responds to salt intake, and people are either salt-sensitive or salt-resistant. Otherwise, dietary sodium restriction may not be beneficial for everyone since salt sensitivity may be associated with inherited susceptibility. According to our previous GWAS studies, 10 candidate genes and 11 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with salt sensitivity were suggested, including angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE), ${\alpha}$-adducin1 (ADD1), angiotensinogen (AGT), cytochrome P450 family 11-subfamily ${\beta}$-2 ($CYP11{\beta}$-2), epithelial sodium channel (ENaC), G-protein b3 subunit (GNB3), G protein-coupled receptor kinases type 4 (GRK4 A142V, GRK4 A486V), $11{\beta}$-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type-2 (HSD $11{\beta}$-2), neural precursor cell-expressed developmentally down regulated 4 like (NEDD4L),and solute carrier family 12(sodium/chloride transporters)-member 3 (SLC 12A3). We found that polymorphisms of salt-sensitive genes such as ACE, $CYP11{\beta}$-2, GRK4, SLC12A3, and GNB3 may be positively associated with human obesity. Conclusion: Despite gender, ethnic, and age differences in genetics studies, hypertensive obese children and adults who are carriers of specific salt-sensitive genes are recommended to reduce their sodium intake. We believe that our findings can contribute to the prevention of early-onset of chronic diseases in obese children by facilitating personalized diet-management of obesity from childhood to adulthood.

• Journal of the Optical Society of Korea
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.228-236
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• 2015

Fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) is a well-established method commonly used to measure the diffusion of fluorescent solutes and biomolecules in living cells or tissues. Here a fiber-optic-based FRAP (f-FRAP) system was developed, and validated using macromolecules in water and agarose gels of different concentrations. We applied f-FRAP to measure the site-specific diffusion of fluorescein (NaFluo) in peritoneal membranes (PMs) on the liver, cecum, and kidney of a living rat during peritoneal dialysis. Diffusion of fluorescein in PM varied in a time-dependent manner according to the type of organ ($D_{PM\;on\;Liver}/D_{NaFluo}=0.199{\pm}0.085$, $D_{PM\;on\;Cecum}/D_{NaFluo}=0.292{\pm}0.151$, $D_{PM\;on\;Kidney}/D_{NaFluo}=0.218{\pm}0.110$). The proposed method allows direct quantitative measurement of the three-dimensional diffusion in local PM in vivo, which was previously inaccessible by peritoneal function test methods such as peritoneal equilibration test (PET) and standardized PM assessment (SPA). f-FRAP is promising for local and dynamic assessments of peritoneal pathophysiology and the mass transport properties of PMs, presumed to be affected by variation of tissue structures over different organs and functional changes of the PM with years of peritoneal dialysis.

• Journal of Integrative Natural Science
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.99-106
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• 2021

A mixture of alcohol and water is commonly used as antifreeze, liquor, and the fundamental solvents for the manufacture of cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and inks in our daily life. Since various properties of alcohol water mixtures such as density, boiling or melting point, viscosity, and dielectric constant are determined by their mixing ratio, it is very important to know the mixing ratio to predict their properties. One of simple method to find the mixing ratio is measuring the density of the mixtures. However, it is not easy to predict the mixing ratio from the density of the mixtures because the relationship between mixing ratio and density has not been established well. The relationship is dependent on the relative sizes of solute and solvent molecules, and their interactions. Recently, an empirical model to predict the density of glycerol water mixture from their mixing ratio has been introduced. The suggested model is simple but quite accurate for glycerol water mixture. In this article, we investigated the applicability of this model to different alcohol water mixtures. Densities for six different alcohol water mixtures containing various alcohols (e.g., ethylene glycol, 1,3-propane diol, propylene glycol, methanol, ethanol, and 1-propanol) were simulated and compared to experimentally measured ones to investigate the applicability of the model proposed for glycerol water mixtures to other alcohol water mixtures. The model predicted the actual density of all alcohol water mixtures tested in this article with high accuracy at various ratios. This model can probably be used to predict the mixing ratio of other alcohol water mixtures from their densities beyond 6 alcohols tested in this article from their densities.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.811-823
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• 2021

Objective: Eggshell color is an important indicator of egg quality for consumers, especially for brown eggs. Various factors related to laying hens and their environment affect brown eggshell coloration. However, there have been no studies investigating hepatic functions of laying hens with variable intensity of brown eggshell color. Therefore, this study was aimed to identify potential factors affecting brown eggshell coloration in aged laying hens at the hepatic transcriptomic level. Methods: Five hundred 92-wk-old Hy-line Brown laying hens were screened to select laying hens with different intensity of brown eggshell color based on eggshell color fans. Based on eggshell color scores, hens with dark brown eggshells (DBE; eggshell color fan score = 14.8) and hens with light brown eggshells (LBE; eggshell color fan score = 9.7) were finally selected for the liver sampling. We performed RNA-seq analysis using the liver samples through the paired-end sequencing libraries. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) profiling was carried out to identify their biological meaning by bioinformatics. Results: A total of 290 DEGs were identified with 196 being up-regulated and 94 being down-regulated in DBE groups as compared to LBE groups. The Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) analysis revealed that these DEGs belong to several biological pathways including herpes simplex infection (toll-like receptor 3 [TLR3], cyclin-dependent kinase 1, etc.) and influenza A (TLR3, radical S-adenosyl methionine domain containing 2, myxovirus [influenza virus] resistance 1, etc.). Genes related to stress response (ceremide kinase like) and nutrient metabolism (phosphoenolpyruvate carboxy-kinase 1, methylmalonic aciduria [cobalamin deficiency] cblB type, glycine receptor alpha 2, solute carrier family 7 member 11, etc.) were also identified to be differentially expressed. Conclusion: The current results provide new insights regarding hepatic molecular functions related to different intensity of brown eggshell color in aged laying hens. These insights will contribute to future studies aiming to optimize brown eggshell coloration in aged laying hens.

• Metals and materials international
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.1394-1402
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• 2018

This study investigates the mechanism of MnS precipitation on $Al_2O_3-SiO_2$ inclusions during the solidification of non-oriented silicon steel, especially the influence of the phase structures and sizes of the oxides on the MnS precipitation, by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive spectrometry. The investigation results show that MnS tends to nucleate on submicron-sized $Al_2O_3-SiO_2$ inclusions formed by interdendritic segregation and that it covers the oxides completely. In addition, MnS can precipitate on micron-sized oxides and its precipitation behavior is governed by the phase structure of the oxides. The MnS embryo formed in a MnO-containing oxide can act as a substrate for MnS precipitation, thus permitting further growth via diffusion of solute atoms from the matrix. MnS also precipitates in a MnO-free oxide by the heterogeneous nucleation mechanism. Furthermore, MnS is less prone to precipitation in the $Al_2O_3$-rich regions of the $Al_2O_3-SiO_2$ inclusions; this can be explained by the high lattice disregistry between MnS and $Al_2O_3$.

• Metals and materials international
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.1376-1385
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• 2018

Ultrasonic melt treatment (UST) was applied to an A390 hypereutectic Al-Si alloy in a temperature range of $750-800^{\circ}C$ and its influence on the solidification structure and the consequent increase in strength was investigated. UST at such a high temperature, which is about $100^{\circ}C$ above the liquidus temperature, had little effect on the grain refinement but enhanced the homogeneity of the microstructure with the uniform distribution of constituent phases (e.g. primary Si, ${\alpha}-Al$ and intermetallics) significantly refined. With the microstructural homogeneity, quantitative analysis confirmed that UST was found to suppress the formation of Cu-bearing phases, i.e., $Q-Al_5Cu_2Mg_8Si_6$, $Al_2Cu$ phases that form in the final stage of solidification while notably increasing the average Cu contents in the matrix from 1.29 to 2.06 wt%. A tensile test exhibits an increase in the yield strength of the as-cast alloy from 185 to 208 MPa, which is mainly associated with the solute increment within the matrix. The important role of UST in the microstructure evolution during solidification is discussed and the mechanism covering the microstructure-strengthening interrelationship of the ultrasonically treated A390 alloy is proposed.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.31 no.12
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• pp.1852-1862
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• 2018

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate a single step genome-wide association study (ssGWAS) for identifying genomic regions affecting reproductive traits in Landrace and Large White pigs. Methods: The traits included the number of pigs weaned per sow per year (PWSY), the number of litters per sow per year (LSY), pigs weaned per litters (PWL), born alive per litters (BAL), non-productive day (NPD) and wean to conception interval per litters (W2CL). A total of 321 animals (140 Landrace and 181 Large White pigs) were genotyped with the Illumina Porcine SNP 60k BeadChip, containing 61,177 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), while multiple traits single-step genomic BLUP method was used to calculate variances of 5 SNP windows for 11,048 Landrace and 13,985 Large White data records. Results: The outcome of ssGWAS on the reproductive traits identified twenty-five and twenty-two SNPs associated with reproductive traits in Landrace and Large White, respectively. Three known genes were identified to be candidate genes in Landrace pigs including retinol binding protein 7, and ubiquitination factor E4B genes for PWL, BAL, W2CL, and PWSY and one gene, solute carrier organic anion transporter family member 6A1, for LSY and NPD. Meanwhile, five genes were identified to be candidate genes in Large White, two of which, aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 family member A3 and leucine rich repeat kinase 1, associated with all of six reproduction traits and three genes; retrotransposon Gag like 4, transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily C member 5, and LHFPL tetraspan subfamily member 1 for five traits except W2CL. Conclusion: The genomic regions identified in this study provided a start-up point for marker assisted selection and estimating genomic breeding values for improving reproductive traits in commercial pig populations.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.133-139
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• 2021

Objectives : Parkinson's disease is a neurodegenerative disease caused by a decrease in the dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra. The abnormal expression of solute carrier family 6 member 4 (Slc6a4) has been reported in patients with Parkinson's disease. Methods : In this study, we used MPTP to examine the changes in the expression of Slc6a4 in the brain of mice with Parkinson's disease and investigate its effect on dopaminergic neuronal cell death. Results : In the examination of the Slc6a4 expression in the substantia nigra of MPTP-treated mice for 4 weeks. The gene expression was increased compared to the normal group. To investigate the relationship between Slc6a4 and dopaminergic neurons, we performed a study using siRNA of Slc6a4 in the dopaminergic neuronal cell line SH-SY5Y. Using the siRNA of Slc6a4 to evaluate gene expression, it revealed that the tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) expression increases when Slc6a4 decreases. Moreover, this confirms its effects on the dopaminergic neurons. Additionally, through the evaluation of factors related to apoptosis, in particular, it was established that the value of bax/bcl2 decreased and was affected. These results suggest that a decreased Slc6a4 expression induces an increase in TH expression, providing a mechanism of action for dopaminergic neurons regulated by Slc6a4 expression. Conclusions : Slc6a4 is deemed to be involved in the regulation of dopaminergic neurons, suggesting that an increased Slc6a4 expression induced by MPTP may influence a reduction of dopaminergic neurons.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.645-658
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• 2021

Porins are essential for the viability of Gram-negative bacteria. They ensure the uptake of nutrients, can be involved in the maintenance of outer membrane integrity and define the antibiotic or drug resistance of organisms. The function and structure of porins in proteobacteria is well described, while their function in photoautotrophic cyanobacteria has not been systematically explored. We compared the domain architecture of nine putative porins in the filamentous cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. PCC 7120 and analyzed the seven candidates with predicted OprB-domain. Single recombinant mutants of the seven genes were created and their growth capacity under different conditions was analyzed. Most of the putative porins seem to be involved in the transport of salt and copper, as respective mutants were resistant to elevated concentrations of these substances. In turn, only the mutant of alr2231 was less sensitive to elevated zinc concentrations, while mutants of alr0834, alr4741 and all4499 were resistant to high manganese concentrations. Notably the mutant of alr4550 shows a high sensitivity against harmful compounds, which is indicative for a function related to the maintenance of outer membrane integrity. Moreover, the mutant of all5191 exhibited a phenotype which suggests either a higher nitrate demand or an inefficient nitrogen fixation. The dependency of porin membrane insertion on Omp85 proteins was tested exemplarily for Alr4550, and an enhanced aggregation of Alr4550 was observed in two omp85 mutants. The comparative analysis of porin mutants suggests that the proteins in parts perform distinct functions related to envelope integrity and solute uptake.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.703-710
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• 2011

As the spacer in the membrane module provide the channel space to flow the feed solution smoothly and induce the flow turbulence, it could help to reduce both the concentration polarization and to take the long-term operation of membrane modules with high permeate flux by mixing the accumulated contaminants on the membrane surface into the bulk solution. In this study, the concentration distribution in membrane module with respect to the spacers which have the cross-sectional shapes of circle, cross, diamond and hexagon, the angles of spacer configuration, solute rejection and permeate flux were interpreted and optimized numerically using the "COMSOL Multiphysics" software. The concentration on the membrane surface was kept the lowest level for the cross-shape among the above four types of spacers. Also the 30 degree spacer configuration was showed as the most efficient case. The concentrations on the membrane surface at the module outlet for without spacer and the cross shape with the 30 degree spacer configuration were 2.09 and 1.29 times higher than those at inlet, respectively. The reduction effect of concentration polarization increased rapidly as the permeate flux increased.