• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.33 no.7
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• pp.492-500
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• 2011

Antibiotic resistant microbes were isolated in catfish, trout, eel and loach aquaculture effluent. The distribution of antibiotic resistant microbes in aquaculture effluent and the disinfection efficiency of antibiotic resistant microbes by electron beam irradiation were investigated. It was shown that the multi-drug resistant bacteria were Aeromonas sp., Citrobacter sp., Bacillus sp., Marinobacter sp., Pantoea sp., Pseudomonas sp. and Enterobacter sp. in aquaculture effluent. 41.7% of total strains showed the resistance against one antibiotic agent, and 58.3% of total strains showed the resistance against more than two antibiotics. It was evidently shown that the toxicity and physicochemical properties of antibiotics can be estimated using Quantitative Structure Analysis Relationship (QSAR). Electron beam irradiation was very effective for the disinfection of antibiotic resistant bacteria from aquaculture effluent, in which the disinfection efficiency was approximately 99.9% with electron beam of 1 kGy.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.139-144
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• 1993

Microencapsulation of acyclovir, an effective antiviral agent which acts as a specific inhibitor of herpes DNA polymerase, by carbopol-gelatin complex coacervation has been carried out to develop an oral controlled release preparation, which could improve the absorption characteristics in GI tract. After dissolving carbopol and gelatin separately in distilled water at $40^{\circ}C$, gelatin solution was mixed with carbopol solution while stirring at the same temperature. The pH of the mixture was lowered gradually by dropwise addition of 10% HCI with continuous stirring, and then, at pH 3.5, positively charged gelatin molecules were attracted to negatively charged carbopol. These coacervation processes were observed by optical microscopy during preparation. Plasma concentrations of acyclovir in rats after an oral administration of microcapsule suspension were assayed by HPLC, and pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated based on the model-independent analyses. Two standard formulations, oral solution and intravenous bolus injection, were used as references to compare the bioavailability. It has been revealed that $C_{max}$, $T_{max}$, and MRT of microcapsule suspension were greater than those of oral solution, which results in about two-fold increases in bioavailability. Therefore, in conclusion, the carbopol-gelatin microcapsule of acyclovir might be evaluated as an effective oral controlled release preparation which could increase the bioavailability of acyclovir.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.185-190
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• 2001

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is known to cause cervical cancers. Human papillomavirus-like particles (VLP) have been studied as preventive vaccines of cervical cancers. To develop VLP as a therapeutic gene carrier, we studied the method to encapsulate cytokine genes in virus-like particles. HPV type 16 capsid L1 genes were amplified by polymerase chain reaction and cloned into T vector. L1 gene was then inserted into baculovirus transfer vector. The clone of baculovirus encoding L1 gene was isolated and used to express L1 protein in Sf 21 insect cells. VLP were purified by CsCl density gradient and ultracentrifugation. VLP were disassembled to capsomer units by treatment of a reducing agent. Given that interleukin-2 (IL-2) genes have been used in anticancer gene therapy and as a molecular adjuvant, IL-2 cytokine plasmids were chosen as a model gene. IL-2 plasmids were incubated with the disassembled capsomer suspension. To reassemble the particles, the mixture of capsomers and cytokine plasmids was dialyzed. The disassembly and reassembly of VLP were confirmed by transmission electron microscopy. The entrapment of cytokine plasmids in reassembled VLP was tested by the stability of plasmids against DNase I. After treatment of reassembled virus-like particles with DNase I, discrete IL-2 DNA band was observed. Our results indicate that IL-2 cytokine plasmid (3.5 kb size) can be encapsulated in the virus-like particles, suggesting the potential of VLP as a gene delivery system. Moreover, VLP containing the adjuvant cytokine plasmids might function as more effective subunit vaccines.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.279-286
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• 2016

Caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE), derived from honeybee hives, is a bioactive compound with strong antioxidant activity. This study was designed to test the neuroprotective effect of CAPE in 3-nitropropionic acid (3NP)-induced striatal neurotoxicity, a chemical model of Huntington's disease (HD). Initially, to test CAPE's antioxidant activity, a 2,2'-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) antioxidant assay was employed, and CAPE showed a strong direct radical-scavenging effect. In addition, CAPE provided protection from 3NP-induced neuronal cell death in cultured striatal neurons. Based on these observations, the in vivo therapeutic potential of CAPE in 3NP-induced HD was tested. For this purpose, male C57BL/6 mice were repeatedly given 3NP to induce HD-like pathogenesis, and 30 mg/kg of CAPE or vehicle (5% dimethyl sulfoxide and 95% peanut oil) was administered daily. CAPE did not cause changes in body weight, but it reduced mortality by 29%. In addition, compared to the vehicle-treated group, robustly reduced striatal damage was observed in the CAPE-treated animals, and the 3NP-induced behavioral deficits on the rotarod test were significantly rescued after the CAPE treatment. Furthermore, immunohistochemical data showed that immunoreactivity to glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and CD45, markers for astrocyte and microglia activation, respectively, were strikingly reduced. Combined, these data unequivocally indicate that CAPE has a strong antioxidant effect and can be used as a potential therapeutic agent against HD.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.22
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• pp.9997-10001
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• 2014

Background: Curdione, one of the major components of Curcuma zedoaria, has been reported to possess various biological activities. It thus might be a candidate anti-flammatory and cancer chemopreventive agent. However, the precise molecular mechanisms of action of curdione on cancer cells are still unclear. In this study, we investigated the effect of curdione on breast cancer. Materials and Methods: Xenograft nude mice were used to detect the effect of curdione on breast cancer in vivo; we also tested the effect of curdione on breast cancer in vitro by MTT, Flow cytometry, JC-I assay, and western blot. Results: Firstly, we found that curdione significantly suppressed tumor growth in a xenograft nude mouse breast tumor model in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, curdione treatment inhibited cell proliferation and induced cell apoptosis. Moreover, after curdione treatment, increase of impaired mitochondrial membrane potential occurred in a concentration dependent manner. Furthermore, the expression of apoptosis-related proteins including cleaved caspase-3, caspase-9 and Bax was increased in curdione treatment groups, while the expression of the anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 was decreased. Inhibitors of caspase-3 were used to confirm that curdione induced apoptosis. Conclusions: Overall, our observations first suggested that curdione inhibited the proliferation of breast cancer cells by inducing apoptosis. These results might provide some molecular basis for the anti-cancer activity of curdione.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.2533-2539
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• 2012

Annona muricata L (Annonaceae), commonly known as soursop has a long, rich history in herbal medicine with a lengthy recorded indigenous use. It had also been found to be a promising new anti-tumor agent in numerous in vitro studies. The present investigation concerns chemopreventive effects in a two-stage model of skin papillomagenesis. Chemopreventive effects of an ethanolic extract of A. muricata leaves (AMLE) was evaluated in 6-7 week old ICR mice given a single topical application of 7,12-dimethylbenza(${\alpha}$)anthracene (DMBA 100ug/100ul acetone) and promotion by repeated application of croton oil (1% in acetone/twice a week) for 10 weeks. Morphological tumor incidence, burden and volume were measured, with histological evaluation of skin tissue. Topical application of AMLE at 30, 100 and 300mg/kg significantly reduced DMBA/croton oil induced mice skin papillomagenesis in (i) peri-initiation protocol (AMLE from 7 days prior to 7 days after DMBA), (ii) promotion protocol (AMLE 30 minutes after croton oil), or (iii) both peri-initiation and promotion protocol (AMLE 7 days prior to 7 day after DMBA and AMLE 30 minutes after croton oil throughout the experimental period), in a dose dependent manner (p<0.05) as compared to carcinogen-treated control. Furthermore, the average latent period was significantly increased in theAMLE-treated group. Interestingly, At 100 and 300 mg/kg, AMLE completely inhibited the tumor development in all stages. Histopathological study revealed that tumor growth from the AMLE-treated groups showed only slight hyperplasia and absence of keratin pearls and rete ridges. The results, thus suggest that the A.muricata leaves extract was able to suppress tumor initiation as well as tumor promotion even at lower dosage.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.2943-2948
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• 2012

Arsenic exposure is a serious health hazard worldwide. We have previously established that it may result in immune suppression by upregulating Th2 cytokines while downregulating Th1 cytokines and causing lymphocytic death. Treatment modalities for arsenic poisoning have mainly been restricted to the use of chelating agents in the past. Only recently have combination therapies using a chelating agent in conjunction with other compounds such as anti-oxidants, micronutrients and various plant products, been introduced. In the present study, we used T11TS, a novel immune potentiating glycopeptide alone and in combination with the sulfhydryl-containing chelator, mono-iso-amyl-dimarcaptosuccinic acid (MiADMSA) as a therapeutic regimen to combat arsenic toxicity in a mouse model. Results indicated that Th1 cytokines such as TNF-${\alpha}$, $IFN{\gamma}$, IL12 and the Th2 cytokines such as IL4, IL6, IL10 which were respectively downregulated and upregulated following arsenic induction were more efficiently restored to their near normal levels by T11TS alone in comparison with the combined regimen. Similar results were obtained with the apoptotic proteins studied, FasL, BAX, BCL2 and the caspases 3, 8 and 9, where again T11TS proved more potent than in combination with MiADMSA in preventing lymphocyte death. The results thus indicate that T11TS alone is more efficient in immune re-establishment after arsenic exposureas compared to combination therapy with T11TS+MiADMSA.

• Current Photovoltaic Research
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.173-176
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• 2014

We have investigated the seed layer formation of front side contact using the inkjet printing process. Conductive silver ink was printed on textured Si wafers with 80 nm thick $SiN_x$ anti reflection coating (ARC) layers and thickened by light induced plating (LIP). The inkjet printable sliver inks were specifically formulated for inkjet printing on these substrates. Also, a novel method to prepare nano-sized glass frits by the sol-gel process with particle sizes around 5 nm is presented. Furthermore, dispersion stability of the formulated ink was measured using a Turbiscan. By implementing these glass frits, it was found that a continuous and uniform seed layer with a line width of $40{\mu}m$ could be formed by a inkjet printing process. We also investigated the contact resistance between the front contact and emitter using the transfer length model (TLM). On an emitter with the sheet resistance of $60{\Omega}/sq$, a specific contact resistance (${\rho}_c$) below $10m{\Omega}{\cdot}cm^2$ could be achieved at a peak firing temperature around $700^{\circ}C$. In addition, the correlation between the contact resistance and interface microstructures were studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). We found that the added glass particles act as a very effective fire through agent, and Ag crystallites are formed along the interface glass layer.

• Proceedings of the Korea Contents Association Conference
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• 2007.11a
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• pp.121-125
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• 2007

This paper proposes automatic generation method of proxy client code to automation of web service selection process through a monitoring agent. The technique of this paper help service consumer to provide source code of proxy client as it bring an attribute value of specific element of WSDL document using template rule. Namely, a XSLT script file provide code frame of dynamic invocation interface model. The automatic code generation technique need to solving starvation status of selection architecture. It is required to creating request HTTP message for every service on the result of search. The created proxy client program code generate dummy message about services. The proposed client code generation method show us a possibility of application in the automatic generation programming domain.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.292-296
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• 2014

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to assess the potential of St. John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum) to prevent obesity and abnormalities in lipid metabolism induced by ovariectomy in a rat model without stimulatory activity on uterus. MATERIALS/METHODS: Ovariectomized (OVX) rats were treated for 6 weeks with 70% ethanol extracts of Hypericum perforatum [HPEs: whole plant (WHPE) and flower and leaves (FLHPE)], ${\beta}$-estradiol-3-benzoate at a dose of $50{\mu}g/kg/day$ (E2) or vehicle (distilled water). RESULTS: As expected, OVX increased body weight gain and adiposity and showed higher food efficacy ratio. OVX also increased the serum cholesterol as well as insulin resistance, while reducing uterus weight and uterine epithelial proliferation rate. HPEs (WHPE and FLHPE) showed estrogen-like effect on body weight gain, adipose tissue weight and food efficacy ratio in OVX rats. HPEs prevented hypercholesterolemia induced by OVX more effectively than E2. E2 increased uterus weight and epithelial proliferation rate in OVX rats, while HPEs maintained them at the level of the sham-operated animals. CONCLUSIONS: Our finding demonstrates that HPEs can be considered as an effective agent to prevent OVX-induced obesity without stimulatory activity on uterus.