• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.79-89
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• 1997

Purpose : Neonatal bacterial meningitis is the disease which clinical manifestations are nonspecific and several neurologic complications may occur. We studied neonatal bacterial meningitis, particularly in treatment and prognosis according to causative organisms -gram positive and gram negative bacteria- to assist in treatment of neonatal bacterial meningitis. Methods : We analysed twenty-four cases retrospectively who had been admitted in NICU or pediatric ward in Chung-ang Gil hospital from Jan. 1991 to Jun. 1996, and who had proven causative organisms in culture or latex agglutination[n test in CSF. Results : 1) The ratio of male to female was 2.4: 1. The mean birth weight and gestational age in cases with gram positive bacterial meningitis were $2.91{\pm}0.79kg$ and $38.4{\pm}2.74$ weeks and those in cases with yam negative bacterial meningitis were $3.30{\pm}0.90kg$ and $37.7{\pm}3.33$weeks respectively. There was no significant difference between the two groups. 2) The perinatal predisposing factors were pematurity, mecoinium staining amnionic fluid, matemal diabetes and pregnancy-induced hypertension, etc. The clinical manifestations Were fever, seizure, poor oral intake and fontanel bulging, etc. There were eleven cases with early onset bacterial meningitis(four cases by gram positive bacteria, seven cases by gram negative bacteria), and thirteen cases with late onset bacterial meningitis(seven cases by gram positive bacteria, six cases by gram negative bacteria). There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of onset. 3) There were eleven cases with yam positive bacterial meningitis and they were coagulase-negative staphylococci(three cases), group B streptococci(three cases), Staphylococcus aureus(two cases), Streptococcus viridans(two cases), and enterococci(one case). And there were thirteen cases with gram negative bacterial menir gitis and they were Escherichia coli(seven cases), Klevsiella pneumoniae(three cases), Pseudomonas aeruginosa(one case), Acinetobactor(one case) and Enterobacter(one case). 4) The initial CSF WBC counts in cases with yam negative bacterial meningitis were significantly higher than those in cases with gram positive bacterial meningitis but the CSF protein and glucose levels were no significant difference in the two groups statistically. 5) The number of cases with abnormal findings in brain ultrasonography was seven in gram positive bacterial meningitis and ten in gram negative bacterial meningitis. 6) There were relatively high sensitivity to penicillin derivatives, the first generation cephalosporin and vancomycin in gram positive bacteria and to the third generation cephalosporin and amikacin in gram negative bacteria. 7) The mortality rate was 20.8%(5 cases were expired or discharged hopelessly). There was no significant difference between the two groups in prognosis. Conclusions : We recommend active treatment in noenatal bacterial meningitis to improve prognosis because the prognosis is poor.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.16-24
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• 2011

A method was established for the simultaneous determination of sugar alcohols, erythritol, xylitol, sorbitol, inositol, mannitol, maltitiol, lactitol and isomalt by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). The sugar alcohols were converted into strong ultraviolet (UV)-absorbing derivatives with p-nitrobenzoyl chloride (PNBC). HPLC was performed on Imtakt Unison US-$C_18$ column, using acetonitrile: water (77:23) as a mobile phase and UV detection (260 nm). The calibration curves for all sugar alcohols tested were linear in the 10~200 mg/L range. The average recoveries of the sugar alcohols from three confectioneries spiked at 100 ppm of eight sugar alcohol standards ranged from 81.2 to 123.1% with relative standard deviations ranging fromo 0.2 to 4.9%. The limits of detection (LODs) were $0.5{\sim}8\;{\mu}g/L$ and the limits of quantification (LOQs) were $2{\sim}17\;{\mu}g/L$. Reproducibility of 8 sugar alcohols was 0.28~1.97 %RSD. The results of the analysis of confectioneries showed that 89 samples of 130 were detected and the sugar alcohols content of samples investigated varied between 0.4 and 693.7 g/kg. A method for the simultaneous determination of eight sugar alcohols will be used as basic data for control of sugar alcohols in confectioneries, and quality control in food manufacturing.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.97-105
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• 2008

Vinclozolin (VCZ) is a systemic fungicide commonly used in fruits, vegetables and the wine industry. VCZ and its metabolites, butenoic acid (M1) and enanilide (M2) derivatives, act as anti-androgens through actions on the androgen receptor. Although there is growing body of evidence that VCZ's action as an endocrine disrupting chemical (EDC) in male reproductive physiology and pathphysiology, no evidence on the VCZ's EDC action in female is available yet. Previously we found that the prepubertal VCZ exposures could effectively delay the onset of puberty in female rats, suggesting the postponed or weakened activities of hypothalamus-pituitary-ovary (H-P-O) reproductive hormonal axis. The present study was performed to examine whether the VCZ administration affects the transcriptional activities of reproductive hormone-related genes in the same animal model. VCZ (10 mg/kg/day) was administered daily from postnatal day 21 (PND 21) through the day when the first vaginal opening (V.O.) was observed. To determine the transcriptional changes of reproductive hormone-related genes in hypothalamus and pituitary, total RNAs were extracted and applied to the semiquantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). As a result, treatment with VCZ significantly lowered the transcriptional activity of nitric oxide synthase-2 (NOS-2) which is known to adjust gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) secretion in the hypothalamus (p<0.01). Similarly, the mRNA levels of KiSS-1, G protein-coupled receptor 54 (GPR54) and GnRH were significantly decreased in hypothalamus (p<0.01) from VCZ-treated group. As expected, the transcriptional activities of luteinizing hormone-${\beta}$ (LH-${\beta}$) and follicle stimulating hormone-${\beta}$ (FSH-${\beta}$) in the anterior pituitary from VCZ-treated group were also significantly lower than those from the control group. The present study indicates that(i) the inhibitory effect of VCZ exposure on the onset of puberty in immature female rats could be derived from the reduced transcriptional activities of gonadotropin subunits and their upstream modulators such as GnRH and KiSS-1 in hypothalamus-pituitary neuroendocrine axis, and (ii) these inhibitory effects could be mediated by NO signaling pathway.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.61 no.1
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• pp.83-91
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• 2018

Advances in bacterial and fungal genome mining uncover a plethora of cryptic secondary metabolite biosynthetic gene clusters. Guided by the genome information, targeted transcriptional derepression could be employed to determine the product of a cryptic gene cluster and to explore its biological role. Monascus spp. are food grade filamentous fungi popular in eastern Asia and several genome data belong to them are now available. We achieved transcription activation of a cryptic fungal polyketide synthase-nonribosomal peptide synthase gene Mpfus1 in Monascus purpureus ${\Delta}MpPKS5$ by inserting Aspergillus gpdA promoter at the upstream of Mpfus1 through double crossover gene replacement. The gene cluster with Mpfus1 show a high similarity to those for the biosynthesis of conjugated polyene derivatives with 2-pyrrolidone ring and the mycotoxin fusarin is the representative member of this group. The ${\Delta}MpPKS5$ is incapable of producing azaphilone pigment, providing an excellent background to identify chromogenic and UV-absorbing compounds. Activation of Mpfus1 resulted in a yellow hue on mycelia and its methanol extract exhibit a maximum absorption at 365 nm. HPLC analysis of the organic extracts indicated the presence of a variety of yellow compounds in the extract. This implies that the product of MpFus1 is metabolically or chemically unstable. LC-MS analysis guided us to predict the MpFus1 product and to propose that the Mpfus1-containing gene cluster encode the biosynthesis of a desmethyl analogue of fusarin. This study showcases the genome mining in Monascus and the possibility to unveil new biological activities embedded in it.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.19 no.8
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• pp.378-384
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• 2018

$C_9H_7NHCrO_3Cl$ was synthesized by reacting $C_9H_7NH$ with chromium (VI) trioxide. The structure of the product was characterized by FT-IR (Fourier transform infrared) spectroscopy and elemental analysis. The oxidation of benzyl alcohol by $C_9H_7NHCrO_3Cl$ in various solvents showed that the reactivity increased with increasing dielectric constant(${\varepsilon}$) in the following order: DMF (N,N'-dimethylformamide) > acetone > chloroform > cyclohexane. The oxidation of alcohols was examined by $C_9H_7NHCrO_3Cl$ in DMF. As a result, $C_9H_7NHCrO_3Cl$ was found to be an efficient oxidizing agent that converts benzyl alcohol, allyl alcohol, primary alcohols, and secondary alcohols to the corresponding aldehydes or ketones (75%-95%). The selective oxidation of alcohols was also examined by $C_9H_7NHCrO_3Cl$ in DMF. $C_9H_7NHCrO_3Cl$ was the selective oxidizing agent of benzyl, allyl and primary alcohol in the presence of secondary ones. In the presence of DMF with an acidic catalyst, such as $H_2SO_4$, $C_9H_7NHCrO_3Cl$ oxidized benzyl alcohol (H) and its derivatives ($p-OCH_3$, $m-CH_3$, $m-OCH_3$, m-Cl, and $m-NO_2$). Electron donating substituents accelerated the reaction rate, whereas electron acceptor groups retarded the reaction rate. The Hammett reaction constant (${\rho}$) was -0.69 (308K). The observed experimental data were used to rationalize hydride ion transfer in the rate-determining step.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.74-83
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• 2016

In order to improve the sour taste and foul odor of fermented soymilk, bacteria were isolated from kimchi and identified. Of the 89 bacterial strains isolated from kimchi, 3 isolates produced fermented soymilk with a sour taste and foul odor. The selected bacterial strains R53, R83, and R84 were identified by morphological, biochemical, and 16S rRNA analyses as Weissella koreensis. The strain R83, which produced fermented soymilk having the mildest sour taste and foul odor, was selected for further investigation and named W. koreensis KO3. The optimum culture condition for the fermentation of soymilk by W. koreensis KO3 was at $30^{\circ}C$ for 12 h. When soymilk was fermented under the optimum culture conditions, the viable cell count reached up to $8.71{\times}10^8CFU/ml$ and pH and acidity reached as low as 6.02 and as high as 0.33%, respectively. Twenty-seven amino acids and their derivatives were detected in fermented soymilk. The amounts of serine, glycine, threonine, alanine, and aspartic acid, which contribute to a sweeter taste, increased during fermentation. Orinithine, which was not detected before fermentation, increased during fermentation. Sensory evaluation showed that W. koreensis KO3-fermented soymilk has improved bean, roasted nut, and sour flavors as well as an enhanced mouthfeel, appearance, preferability, and overall acceptability compared with those of standard fermented soymilk. With further study and development, soymilk fermented by W. koreensis KO3 could serve as a health-promoting food with favorable sensory qualities.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.96-105
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• 2018

This study aimed to improve the method for detecting eight secondary aliphatic amines (SAAs), so as to measure their concentrations in fresh water and tap water samples. NaOH (8 mL, 10 M) and benzenesulfonyl chloride (2 mL) were added to a water sample (200 mL), and the mixture was stirred at $80^{\circ}C$ for 30 min. An additional NaOH solution (10 mL) was added and the stirring was continued for another 30 min. The pH of the cooled mixture was adjusted to 5.5-6.0 by adding HCl (35 %), and the SAAs were extracted using dichloromethane (50 mL). This extraction was repeated once. The extract was then washed with $NaHCO_3$ (15 mL, 0.05 M) and dried over $Na_2SO_4$ (4 g). The extract was finally concentrated to 0.1 mL, of which $1{\mu}L$ was analyzed for SAAs by GC-MS. The linearity of the spike calibration curves was high ($r^2=0.9969-0.9996$). The detection limits of the method ranged from 0.01 to $0.20{\mu}g/L$, and its repeatability and reproducibility (expressed as relative standard deviation) were both less than 10 % (6.6-9.4 %). Its accuracy (measured in percentage error) ranged between 2.4 % and 6.1 %. The established method was applied to the analysis of five surface water and 82 tap water samples. Dimethylamine was the only SAA detected in all the water samples, and its average concentration was $0.79{\mu}g/L$ (range: $0.20-2.54{\mu}g/L$). Therefore, this study improved the analytical method for SAAs in surface water and tap water, and the regional and seasonal concentration distributions were obtained.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.1-15
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• 2005

Pathogens, insects and weeds have significantly reduced agricultural productivity. Thus, to increase the productivity, synthetic agricultural chemicals have been overused. However, these synthetic compounds that are different from natural products cannot be broken down easily in natural systems, causing the destruction of soil quality and agricultural environments and the gradually difficulty in continuous agriculture. Now agriculture is faced with the various problems of minimizing the damage in agricultural environments, securing the safety of human health, while simultaneously increasing agricultural productivity. Meanwhile, plants produce secondary metabolites to protect themselves from external invaders and to secure their region for survival. Plants infected with pathogens produce antibiotics phytoalexin; monocotyledonous plants produce flavonoids and diterpenoids phytoalexins, and dicotylodoneous plant, despite of infected pathogens, produce family-specific phytoalexin such as flavonoids in Leguminosae, indole derivatives in Cruciferae, sesquitepenoids in Solanaceae, coumarins in Umbelliferae, making the plant resistant to specific pathogen. Growth inhibitor or antifeedant substances to insects are terpenoids pyrethrin, azadirachtin, limonin, cedrelanoid, toosendanin and fraxinellone/dictamnine, and terpenoid-alkaloid mixed compounds sesquiterpene pyridine and norditerpenoids, and azepine-, amide-, loline-, stemofoline-, pyrrolizidine-alkaloids and so on. Also plants produces the substances to inhibit other plant growths to secure the regions for plant itself, which is including terpenoids essential oil and sesquiterpene lactone, and additionally, benzoxazinoids, glucosinolate, quassinoid, cyanogenic glycoside, saponin, sorgolennone, juglone and lots of other different of secondary metabolites. Hence, phytoalexin, an antibiotic compound produced by plants infected with pathogens, can be employed for pathogen control. Terpenoids and alkaloids inhibiting insect growth can be utilized for insect control. Allelochemicals, a compound released from a certain plant to hinder the growth of other plants for their survival, can be also used directly as a herbicides for weed control as well. Therefore, the use of the natural secondary metabolites for pest control might be one of the alternatives for environmentally friendly agriculture. However, the natural substances are destroyed easily causing low the pest-control efficacy, and also there is the limitation to producing the substances using plant cell. In the future, effects should be made to try to find the secondary metabolites with good pest-control effect and no harmful to human health. Also the biosynthetic pathways of secondary metabolites have to be elucidated continuously, and the metabolic engineering should be applied to improve transgenics having the resistance to specific pest.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.46 no.12
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• pp.1224-1229
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• 2003

Purpose : Bacterial meningitis is a serious disease, especially in the neonatal period, and it carries a significant degree of mortality and morbidity. Group B streptococcus(GBS) is a common cause of neonatal bacterial meningitis. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical manifestations, treatment results and complications of GBS meningitis. Methods : We analyzed 29 cases retrospectively who had been admitted to the pediatric ward or NICU in Asan Medical Center from May 1990 to January 2002. They had proven GBS in culture or latex agglutination test in CSF. Results : The male to female ratio was 1 : 1.9. There were two cases of early onset type and 27 cases of late onset type. All cases had normal birth weight with full term at delivery. The perinatal predisposing factors were premature rupture of membrane(two cases), and maternal colonization(two cases). The most common presenting symptoms were fever and irritability. Associated diseases were GBS sepsis(21 cases). There was relatively high sensitivity to penicillin derivatives. There were abnormal brain CT or MRI findings in 16 cases(64%), such as infarction, encephalomalatic change, effusion, hydrocephalus, hemorrhage and abscess. The intensive care unit admission rate and the incidence of DIC were higher in the group with complications. Two cases were discharged against advice. Conclusion : We recommend early detection and active treatment in Group B streptococcal meningitis to improve the prognosis.

• The Korean Journal of Pesticide Science
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.302-309
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• 2003

Disease control activities of 230 triazolyl quinoline derivatives were investigated against six plant diseases such as rice blast, rice sheath blight, tomato gray mold, tomato late blight, wheat leaf rust (WLR) and barley powdery mildew (BPM). New triazolyl quinolines, KSI-4315 and KSI-4317 exhibited a great in vivo control activities against WLR and BPM, and then were selected for further tests such as preventive, curative, systemic, and persistence against WLR and BPM. The KSI-4315 and KSI-4317 contained MeS moiety and MsO moiety in carbon 4-position, respectively. They possessed both preventive activity and curative activity against WLR and BPM. KSI-4317 showed the better control activity than KSI-4315 against BPM, while KSI-4315 represented the better antifungal activity against WLR. Good persistence of KSI-4315 and KSI-4317 were also observed against WLR and BPM. Persistence of KSI-4315 was similar to that of KSI-4317 on WLR, but KSI-4317 was superior to KSI-4315 on BPM in its persistence. Systemic disease control of KSI-4315 and KSI-4317 was investigated by examining translaminar activity from leaf-under-surface to leaf-upper-surface, systemic activities by leaf to leaf movement and the effect of drenching treatment. Systemicities of KSI-4315 and KSI-4317 were not observed in wheat, but KSI-4317 showed more predominant systemicity than KSI-4315 in barley. These results suggest that KSI-4317 would potentially control WLR and BPM in the fields.