• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제17권5호
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• pp.840-846
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• 2007

Human prostate-specific antigen(PSA), a 33 kDa serine protease with comprehensive homology to glandular kallikrein, is secreted from prostatic tissue into the seminal fluid and enters into the circulation. The level of PSA increases in the serum of patients with prostatic cancer and hence is widely employed as a marker of the disease status. In particular, an enzymatically active PSA that is a form cleaved at the N-terminal seven-amino-acids prosequence, APLILSR, of proPSA may play an important roll in the progression of prostate cancer. Thus, the presence of the active form would selectively discriminate the cancer from benign prostatic hyperplasia. In this study, we developed a convenient purification method for the acquisition of active PSA and proPSA. Recombinant proPSA and active PSA were expressed directly in Escherichia coli, easily and efficiently isolated from inclusion bodies, refolded, and purified. Moreover, the enzymatic activity of the recombinant active PSA was confirmed as serine protease using chromogenic chymotrypsin substrate. This purified active PSA could be further applied to scrutinize the biological or conformational characteristics of the protein and to develop specific diagnostic and/or therapeutic agents against prostate cancer.

• Current Optics and Photonics
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• 제5권4호
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• pp.351-361
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• 2021

Speckle imaging is capable of dynamic data acquisition at high spatiotemporal resolution, and has played a vital role in the functional study of biological specimens. The presence of various optical scatterers within the tissue causes alteration of speckle contrast. Thus structures like blood vessels can be delineated and quantified. Although laser speckle imaging is frequently used, an optimization process to ensure the maximum speckle contrast has not been available. In this respect, we here report an experimental procedure to optimize speckle contrast via applying different combinations of varying polarization of the illuminating laser light and multiple analyzer angles. Specifically, samples were illuminated by the p-polarization, 45°-polarization, and s-polarization of the incident laser, and speckle images were recorded without and with the analyzer rotated from 0° to 180° (Δ = 30°). Following the baseline imaging of a solid diffuser and a fixed brain sample, laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI) was successfully performed to visualize in vivo mouse-brain blood flow. For oblique laser illumination, the maximum contrast achieved with p-polarized and s-polarized light was perpendicular to the analyzer's axis. This study demonstrates the optimization process for maximizing the speckle contrast, which can improve blood-flow estimation in vivo.

• Current Optics and Photonics
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• 제5권4호
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• pp.421-430
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• 2021

The multifocal multiphoton microscopy (MMM) enables high-speed imaging by the concurrent scanning and detection of multiple foci generated by lenslet array or diffractive optical element. The MMM system mainly suffers from crosstalk generated by scattered emission photons that form ghost images among adjacent channels. The ghost image which is a duplicate of the image acquired in sub-images significantly degrades overall image quality. To eliminate the ghost image, the photon reassignment method was established using maximum likelihood estimation. However, this post-processing method generally takes a longer time than image acquisition. In this regard, we propose a novel strategy for rapid noise reduction in the MMM system based upon Monte-Carlo (MC) simulation. Ballistic signal, scattering signal, and scattering noise of each channel are quantified in terms of photon distribution launched in tissue model based on MC simulation. From the analysis of photon distribution, we successfully eliminated the ghost images in the MMM sub-images. If the priori MC simulation under a certain optical condition is established at once, our simple, but robust post-processing technique will continuously provide the noise-reduced images, while significantly reducing the computational cost.

• Plant Biotechnology Reports
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• 제5권3호
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• pp.225-234
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• 2011

Arabidopsis mutants with T-DNA insertion in seven calmodulin genes (CAM) were used to determine the specific role of CAM in the tolerance of plants to oxidative stress induced by paraquat and hydrogen peroxide ($H_2O_2$) treatments. Arabidopsis calmodulin mutants (cam) were screened for seedling growth, seed germination, induced oxidative damage, and levels of ${\gamma}$-aminobutyric acid (GABA) shunt metabolites. Only the cam5-4 and cam6-1 mutants exhibited an increased sensitivity to paraquat and $H_2O_2$ during seed germination and seedling growth. In response to treatments with $3{\mu}M$ paraquat and 1 mM $H_2O_2$, only the cam5-4, cam6-1 mutants showed significant changes in malonaldehyde (MDA) levels in root and shoot tissues, with highly increased levels of MDA. In terms of the GABA shunt metabolites, GABA was significantly elevated in root and shoot tissues in response to the paraquat treatments in comparison to alanine and glutamate, while the levels of all shunt metabolites increased in root tissue but not in the shoot tissue following the $H_2O_2$ treatments. GABA, alanine and glutamate levels were significantly increased in root and shoot of the cam1, cam4, cam5-4, and cam6-1 mutants in response to paraquat (0.5, 1 and $3{\mu}M$), while they were increased only in the root tissue of the cam1, cam4, cam5-4, and cam6-1 mutants in response to $H_2O_2$ (200 and $500{\mu}M$, 1 mM). These data show that the cam5-4 and cam6-1 mutants were sensitive to the induced oxidative stress treatments in terms of seed germination, seedling growth, and oxidative damage. The accumulation of GABA shunt metabolites as a consequence of the induced oxidative stress treatments (paraquat and $H_2O_2$ treatments) suggests that the GABA shunt pathway and the accumulation of GABA metabolites may contribute in antioxidant machinery associated with reactive oxygen species and in the acquisition of tolerance in response to induced oxidative stress in Arabidopsis seedlings.

• 한국의학물리학회지:의학물리
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• 제27권1호
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• pp.37-45
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• 2016

양성자 치료 시 양성자 빔의 특성을 이용하여 치료 부위에 국부적인 선량을 부여하고 정상조직에 불필요한 선량을 줄이기 위해서는 인체 내 양성자 빔의 비정을 실시간으로 확인하는 것이 중요하다. 이를 위해 본 연구팀은 24개의 섬광검출기 배열 및 24채널의 신호 처리 시스템으로 구성된 즉발감마선 카메라 모듈을 개발하고 있다. 본 연구에서는 다채널의 섬광 검출기 신호를 처리하기 위하여 이중모드 다채널 신호 처리 모듈을 개발하여 그 성능을 평가해보았다. 성능을 평가한 결과 에너지 교정 모드를 통해 다채널의 섬광검출기에 대하여 동시에 에너지 교정이 가능함을 확인하였고, 이를 통하여 정확하게 3 MeV에 해당하는 측정 하한 값을 결정할 수 있었다. 고속 데이터 획득 모드를 통해 45 MeV 양성자 빔에서 발생한 즉발감마선 분포를 측정한 결과 $3{\times}10^9$개의 양성자 빔에서도 양성자 선량 분포와 유사한 결과를 얻을 수 있었고, 빔 비정을 평가한 결과 $17.13{\pm}0.76mm$로 EBT film을 통하여 측정한 비정인 16.15 mm와 굉장히 밀접한 관련이 있음을 확인하였다.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• 제17권4호
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• pp.275-285
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• 2013

목적: 본 연구의 목적은 자화감수성 영상 (SWI)에 나타난 정상 노인의 뇌조직을 픽셀 별로 분석하기 위해 사용되는 다듬질 (smoothing)의 핵심 크기 효과를 보는 것이다. 대상과 방법: 이십 명의 정상 지원군 (평균 나이${\pm}$ 표준 편차 = $67.8{\pm}6.09$세, 여 14명, 남 6명) 이 실험에 대한 동의와 함께 본 연구에 참여하였다. 이 지원군 각각의 자화감수성 영상을 만들기 위해 일차원 혈류흐름 보상 삼차원 경사자장 에코 시퀀스를 이용해 크기과 위상 영상을 얻었고, 영상 처리와 영상 내 조직 분할에 사용되는 자화준비 급속획득 경사자장 에코 (MPRAGE) 시퀀스를 이용한 삼차원 시상면 T1 강조영상을 얻었다. 자화감수성 영상은 다시 위상영상을 이용하여 상자성 (paramagnetic) 물질의 존재 여부를 강조하는 PSWI (위상 영상에서 양수 값을 강조한 자화감수성 영상)과 반자성 (diamagnetic) 물질의 존재 여부를 강조하는 NSWI (위상 영상의 음수 값을 강조한 자화감수성 영상) 영상을 만들었다. 오직 뇌조직 부분만 나타나도록 조직이 아닌 부분을 차폐 (masking) 하는 과정을 거쳤다. 마지막으로 뇌조직 PSWI와 NSWI는 등방성의 0, 2, 4, 8 mm의 다듬질 핵심 크기를 이용하여 다듬질 되었다. 또한 각각의 다듬질 핵심 크기로 다듬질된 PSWI와 NSWI를 쌍 비교 t검정을 실행하여 각 픽셀 별로 비교하였다. 결과: 통계 분석의 중요도는 다듬질의 핵심 크기가 커질수록 증가하였고, 영상의 시그널 세기는 NSWI가 PSWI보다 컸다. 또한 영상의 픽셀 별 비교 분석에 가장 최적화 된 다듬질의 핵심 크기는 4였으며 쌍 비교 t검정 결과 뇌의 양쪽에서 차이가 난 뇌 조직의 위치와 범위는 뇌의 여러 지역에서 발견되었다. 결론: 상자성 물질을 강조한 PSWI는 자화감수성이 높은 뇌 여러 영역의 시그널 크기를 감소시켰다. 부분적인 부피효과와 큰 혈관의 기여도를 최소화 하기 위해서는 뇌 조직만 뽑아낸 자화감수성 영상의 복셀 별 분석이 사용되어야 하겠다.

• 대한핵의학회지
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• 제31권1호
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• pp.90-101
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• 1997

FDG-PET의 반정량적인 당대사지표인 pSUV, aSUV, $TBR_{51}$과 $TBR_{area}$는 비관혈적으로 악성과 양성 연부조직 병변을 감별하는 데 모두 높은 정확도를 나타내었다. FDG-PET은 연부조직 종양의 평가에서 MRI와 상호보완적인 역할을 할 수 있을 것이다. 또한 FDG-PET은 악성 연부조직 종양환자들의 전이의 발견과 치료 후 추적관찰에도 도움이 될 것으로 생각되며 이에 관한 연구가 계속되어야 할 것이다.

• 대한핵의학회지
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• 제29권1호
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• pp.48-53
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• 1995

Rb-82 dynamic PET과 이중적분법에 의한 국소 심근 혈류측정 연구를 시행하고자 실험 개를 이용한 심근 혈전증 모델에서 좌심실 입력함수에 의한 정상 및 관류결손 심근에서의 혈류를 측정하였다. 이중적분법이 선형회귀모델에 의한 혈류측정방법에 비하여 실현이 간단하고 심근내 혈류가 선형적인 가정을 배제할 수 있어 더욱 정확한 방법이 될 수 있음을 확인하였다.

• 대한본초학회지
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• 제28권6호
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• pp.119-127
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• 2013

Objectives : ${\beta}$-Asarone (BAS) is an active ingredient in Acori Rhizoma. This study investigated anti-neuroinflammatory and memory ameliorating effects of BAS in systemic lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated C57BL/6 mice. Methods : BAS was administered orally at doses of 7.5, 15, and 30 mg/kg for 3 days prior to LPS (3 mg/kg, intraperitoneal) injection. Pro-inflammatory cytokine mRNA, including tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$ (TNF-ㅍ), interleukin (IL)-$1{\beta}$ and IL-6, was measured in hippocampus tissue using real-time polymerase chain reaction at 4 h after the LPS injection. An ameliorating effect of 30 mg/kg BAS on learning and memory impairment in the LPS-treated mice was verified using the Morris water maze test. Results : BAS significantly attenuated up-regulation of TNF-${\alpha}$, IL-$1{\beta}$, and IL-6 mRNA in hippocampus tissue of the LPS-treated mice. In acquisition training test, BAS improved learning performance of the LPS-treated mice with a significant decrease of escape latency to the platform. In memory retention test, BAS also ameliorated memory impairment of the LPS-treated mice with a significant increase of swimming time in zones neighboring to the platform, number of target heading, and memory score. Conclusion : The results suggest that inhibition of pro-inflammatory cytokines and neuroinflammation in the hippocampus by BAS could be one of the mechanisms for BAS-mediated ameliorating effect on learning and memory impairment in LPS-treated mice.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• 제22권7호
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• pp.1077-1086
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• 2021

Objective: To investigate the diagnostic performance of quantitative ultrasound (US) parameters for the assessment of hepatic steatosis in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) using magnetic resonance imaging proton density fat fraction (MRI-PDFF) as the reference standard. Materials and Methods: In this single-center prospective study, 120 patients with clinically suspected NAFLD were enrolled between March 2019 and January 2020. The participants underwent US examination for radiofrequency (RF) data acquisition and chemical shift-encoded liver MRI for PDFF measurement. Using the RF data analysis, the attenuation coefficient (AC) based on tissue attenuation imaging (TAI) (AC-TAI) and scatter-distribution coefficient (SC) based on tissue scatter-distribution imaging (TSI) (SC-TSI) were measured. The correlations between the quantitative US parameters (AC and SC) and MRI-PDFF were evaluated using Pearson correlation coefficients. The diagnostic performance of AC-TAI and SC-TSI for detecting hepatic fat contents of ≥ 5% (MRI-PDFF ≥ 5%) and ≥ 10% (MRI-PDFF ≥ 10%) were assessed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. The significant clinical or imaging factors associated with AC and SC were analyzed using linear regression analysis. Results: The participants were classified based on MRI-PDFF: < 5% (n = 38), 5-10% (n = 23), and ≥ 10% (n = 59). AC-TAI and SC-TSI were significantly correlated with MRI-PDFF (r = 0.659 and 0.727, p < 0.001 for both). For detecting hepatic fat contents of ≥ 5% and ≥ 10%, the areas under the ROC curves of AC-TAI were 0.861 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.786-0.918) and 0.835 (95% CI: 0.757-0.897), and those of SC-TSI were 0.964 (95% CI: 0.913-0.989) and 0.935 (95% CI: 0.875-0.972), respectively. Multivariable linear regression analysis showed that MRI-PDFF was an independent determinant of AC-TAI and SC-TSI. Conclusion: AC-TAI and SC-TSI derived from quantitative US RF data analysis yielded a good correlation with MRI-PDFF and provided good performance for detecting hepatic steatosis and assessing its severity in NAFLD.