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Quality and Nutrition Labeling Study of Domestic Fruit (Plum) (국내산 청과물 (자두)의 품질 영양표시에 관한 연구)

  • Jung, Jun-Gyo;Yu, Yeon;Kim, Suk-Kyung;Lee, Hye-Ryun;Choi, Jong-Uck;Lee, Sang-Han;Ahn, Hong;Chung, Shin-Kyo
    • Food Science and Preservation
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    • v.13 no.6
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    • pp.669-674
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    • 2006
  • In order to develop a model on the quality and nutrition label of Korean fruit plum, we first examined the quality and nutritional characteristics of Korean Plum, ChooHee. The contents of moisture, crude protein, crude fat, crude fiber, crude ash and N-free extinct were 92% 0.74% 0.64% 1.65%, 0.32% 4.29% respectively. Thus the total calorie of the sample was 32 kcal/100 g. The content of sugar, acidity and Vitamin C were $33{\pm}0.85 Bx^{\circ}$, $1.08{\pm}0.12%$ and $7.037{\pm}0.317mg%$ respectively. The principle minerals were S, K, Ca, Na, and Mg. Major free sugars were fructose, glucose and sucrose and major organic acid were succinic acid, malic acid and citric acid. The difference of contents of total phenols between peel and flesh pare were considerable. The total phenolic contents of whole fruit were $75.55{\pm}0.73mg%$. On the above results, the quality and nutrition label of Korean plum were developed in the first time. We expect that this study on labeling could play an important role to the quality control and marketing of Korean agricultural products.

Real-Time Monitoring of Mitochondrial ATP Synthesis and Hydrolysis by Surface Infrared Spectroscopy

  • Yamaguchi, Ryo-Taro;Hirano-Iwata, Ayumi;Aonuma, Yuki;Yoshimura, Yuya;Shinohara, Yasuo;Kimura, Yasuo;Niwano, Michio
    • Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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    • 2013.02a
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    • pp.108-109
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    • 2013
  • Mitochondria play key roles in the production of cell's energy. Their dominant function is the synthesis of adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) from adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and phosphate (Pi) through the oxidative phosphorylation. Evaluation of drug-induced mitochondrial toxicity has become increasingly important since mitochondrial dysfunction has recently been implicated in numerous diseases including cancer and diabetes mellitus. Mitochondrial functions have been monitored via oxygen consumption, mitochondrial membrane potential, and more importantly via ATP synthesis since ATP synthesis is the most essential function of mitochondria. Various analytical methods have been employed to investigate ATP synthesis in mitochondria, including high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), bioluminescence technique, and pH measurement. However, most of these methods are based on destructive analysis or indirect monitoring through the enzymatic reaction. Infrared absorption spectroscopy (IRAS) is one of the useful techniques for real-time, label-free, and direct monitoring of biological reactions [1,2]. However, the strong water absorption requires very short path length in the order of several micrometers. Transmission measurements with thin path length are not suitable for mitochondrial assays because solution handlings necessary for evaluating mitochondrial toxicity, such as rapid mixing of drugs and oxygen supply, are difficult in such a narrow space. On the other hand, IRAS in the multiple internal reflection (MIR) geometry provides an ideal optical configuration to combine solution handling and aqueous-phase measurement. We have recently reportedon a real-time monitoring of drug-induced necrotic and apoptotic cell death using MIR-IRAS [3,4]. Clear discrimination between viable and damaged cells has been demonstrated, showing a promise as a label-free and real-time detection for cell-based assays. In the present study, we have applied our MIR-IRAS system to mitochondria-based assays by monitoring ATP synthesis in isolated mitochondria from rat livers. Mitochondrial ATP synthesis and hydrolysis were in situ monitored with MIR-IRAS, while dissolved oxygen level and solution pH were simultaneously monitored with O2 and pH electrodes, respectively. It is demonstrated that ATP synthesis and hydrolysis can be monitored by the IR spectral changes in phosphate groups in adenine nucleotides and MIR-IRAS is useful for evaluating time-dependent drug effects of mitochondrial toxicants.

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Effects of Melatonin on the Meiotic Maturation of Mouse Oocytes in vitro (생쥐 난자의 체외 성숙에 미치는 Melatonin의 영향)

  • Ahn, Hee-Jin;Bae, In-Ha
    • Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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    • v.31 no.3
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    • pp.155-168
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    • 2004
  • Objective: Melatonin, which is secreted by pineal gland play an important role in the regulation of ovarian function via seasonal rhythm and sleep in most mammals. It also has a role in the protection of cells by removing toxic oxygen free radicals brought about by metabolism. In the present study, effects of melatonin on the mouse oocyte maturation were examined using two different culture conditions provided with 5% or 21% oxygen concentration. Material and Method: Immature mouse oocytes were obtained from the ovarian follicles of $3{\sim}4$ weeks old ICR strain mice intraperitoneally injected with 5 I.U. PMSG 44 hour before. Under stereomicroscope, morphologically healthy oocytes with distinct germinal vesicle (GV) were liberated from the graafian follicles and collected using mouth-controlled micropipette. They were then cultured for 17 hour at $37^{circ}C$, 5% $CO_2$ and 21% $O_2$ (95% air) or 5% $CO_2$, 5% $O_2$ and 90% $N_2$. New modified Hank's balanced salt solution (New MHBS) was used as a culture medium throughout the experiments. Effects of melatonin were examined at a concentration of $0.0001{\mu}M$, $0.01{\mu}M$ or $1.0{\mu}M$. For the prevention of spontaneous maturation of immature oocytes during culture, dibutyryl cyclic AMP (dbcAMP) and/or hypoxanthine were included in the medium. Results: Under 21% oxygen condition, oocytes cultured in the presence of $0.01{\mu}M$ melatonin showed a significantly higher maturation rates, in terms of germinal vesicle breakdown (95.0% vs 89.0%) and polar body formation (88.1% vs 75.4%), compared to those cultured with $0.0001{\mu}M$ or $1.0{\mu}M$ melatonin. However, no difference was observed in oocytes cultured under 5% oxygen whether they were treated with melatonin or not. In the presence of $0.01{\mu}M$ melatonin, oocytes either cultured under 21% or 5% oxygen exhibited no difference in the polar body formation (85.6% vs 86.7%). However, in the absence of melatonin, oocytes cultured under 21% oxygen exhibited lower polar body formation (74.7%). When oocytes were cultured in the presence of dbcAMP alone or with varying concentrations of melatonin, those treated with both compounds always showed better maturation, i.e., germinal vesicle breakdown and polar body formation, compared to those cultured with dbcAMP alone. At the same concentration of melatonin, however, oocytes exposed to 21% oxygen showed poor maturation than those to 5% oxygen. Similar results were obtained from the experiments using hypoxanthine instead of dbcAMP. Conclusion: Based upon these results, it is suggested that melatonin could enhance the meiotic maturation of mouse oocytes under 21% oxygen concentration, and release oocytes from the meiotic arrest by dbcAMP or hypoxanthine regardless of the concentration of oxygen, probably via the removal of oxygen free radicals.

Antioxidant Constituents from Melothria heterophylla; Regulation of Matrix Metalloproteinase-1 Expression in Ultraviolet A-irradiated Human Dermal Fibroblasts (백렴으로부터 항산화 물질의 분리와 자외선이 조사된 사람 섬유아세포의 Matrix Metalloproteinase-1 발현에 미치는 영향)

  • Cho, Young-Ho;Kim, Jin-Hui;Sim, Gwan-Sub;Lee, Bum-Chun;Pyo, Hyeong-Bae
    • Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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    • v.31 no.4 s.54
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    • pp.323-327
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    • 2005
  • Although many studies have been performed to elucidate the molecular consequence of ultraviolet irradiation on an aging, little is known about the effect of natural products. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) we known to play an important role in (a) photoaging. Hete we investigated the effect of $1,2,4,6-tetra-O-galloyl-{\beta}-{_D}-gluco- pyranose (1)$ and 3,4,5-trihydroxybenzoic acid (2) on the expression of MMP-1 in UVA-irradiated human skin fibroblasts (products), (on the) activity of MMP-1, and (on the) scavenging activities of free radicals. Compounds 1 and 2 were isolated from Melothria heterophylla (Cucurbitaceae). These compounds were found to scavenge free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS) and were measured to have the $SC_{50}$ values of $3.9{\mu}M\;and\;13.3{\mu}M$ against the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals and $4.3{\mu}M\;and\; 4.0{\mu}M$ against superoxide radicals in the xanthine/xanthine oxidase system, respectively. Compounds 1 and 2 showed a dose-dependent inhibitory effect on the e):pression and activity of MMP-1 in the UVA-irradiated human skin fibroblasts. Therefore, we concluded that compounds 1 and 2 significantly inhibited MMP-1 expression at the protein level. Also, these compounds were determined to have a potent antioxidant activity. From these results, we suggest that these compounds nay be used as (a) new anti-aging agents for the photo-damaged skin.

A Study on the Effect of Artificial Cutting Slot on the Fragmentation and Vibration Propagation in the Full-scaled Concrete Block Blasting (콘크리트 블록 발파 실험을 통한 인공 슬롯 자유면이 진동전파 및 파쇄효과에 미치는 영향에 관한 연구)

  • Oh, Se-Wook;Min, Gyeong-Jo;Park, Se-Woong;Park, Hoon;Noh, You-Song;Suk, Chul-Gi;Cho, Sang-Ho
    • Tunnel and Underground Space
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    • v.28 no.6
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    • pp.692-705
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    • 2018
  • Ground vibration is one of the remarkable issues in tunnel blasting. In recent studies, to improve the fragmentation with reduction of ground vibration in tunnel blasting, a vibration-controlled blasting method with artificial cutting slot near the center-cut holes has been suggested. This study examines the effect of the different arrangement of artificial cut-slot on the vibration reduction and fragmentation by performing the full-scaled concrete block blast experiments and the numerical simulations with 3D-DFPA. The results show that the existence of artificial slot contributes to the improvement of vibration reduction, blast fragmentation and the efficiency of the cutting slot blast. It can be explained that the artificial slot play a free surface role and should decrease the burden between the cut holes. Crater volumes of the blasted concrete blocks were measured by 3-dimensional digital image analysis and compared with the ideal standard crater volume which can be calculated by theoretical standard blast design method. As a result, the ratio of burden and hole diameter which should achieve the standard crater in the cut-hole blasting were suggested.

The Role of Attitude Importance in Cultural Variations of Cognitive Dissonance (인지부조화의 발생에서 문화 차이의 의미: 태도 중요도의 역할)

  • Sangyeon Yoon;Shinhwa Suh;Hyunjeong Kim;Taekyun Hur
    • Korean Journal of Culture and Social Issue
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    • v.19 no.1
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    • pp.69-86
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    • 2013
  • The recent findings proposed and found that people from Eastern cultures could experience strong cognitive dissonance only when certain conditions, such as other-related choices, normative attitudes, were fulfilled. Even though such interesting findings are intuitively convincing on the basis of common understanding of individualist and collectivist cultures, the psychological mechanisms underlying the cultural variations of cognitive dissonance remain untested. The present study examined the role of attitude importance in cognitive dissonance by using the free-choice paradigm. After completing a pretest of individualism-collectivism scales, 60 college students ranked their preference to 10 items of either beverage or traffic regulations twice. Between the two ranking tasks, they were asked to engage in behavioral selection among their 5th and 6th preferred items. They also rated the personal importance of the preference. The results showed that attitude importance was positively correlated with attitude change and it could play a major role in experiencing cognitive dissonance beyond cultural orientation and situational factors. The current findings were discussed in universality of cognitive dissonance across cultures.

Ribosomal Crystallography: Peptide Bond Formation, Chaperone Assistance and Antibiotics Activity

  • Yonath, Ada
    • Molecules and Cells
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    • v.20 no.1
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    • pp.1-16
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    • 2005
  • The peptidyl transferase center (PTC) is located in a protein free environment, thus confirming that the ribosome is a ribozyme. This arched void has dimensions suitable for accommodating the 3'ends of the A-and the P-site tRNAs, and is situated within a universal sizable symmetry-related region that connects all ribosomal functional centers involved in amino-acid polymerization. The linkage between the elaborate PTC architecture and the A-site tRNA position revealed that the A-to P-site passage of the tRNA 3'end is performed by a rotatory motion, which leads to stereochemistry suitable for peptide bond formation and for substrate mediated catalysis, thus suggesting that the PTC evolved by genefusion. Adjacent to the PTC is the entrance of the protein exit tunnel, shown to play active roles in sequence-specific gating of nascent chains and in responding to cellular signals. This tunnel also provides a site that may be exploited for local co-translational folding and seems to assist in nascent chain trafficking into the hydrophobic space formed by the first bacterial chaperone, the trigger factor. Many antibiotics target ribosomes. Although the ribosome is highly conserved, subtle sequence and/or conformational variations enable drug selectivity, thus facilitating clinical usage. Comparisons of high-resolution structures of complexes of antibiotics bound to ribosomes from eubacteria resembling pathogens, to an archaeon that shares properties with eukaryotes and to its mutant that allows antibiotics binding, demonstrated the unambiguous difference between mere binding and therapeutical effectiveness. The observed variability in antibiotics inhibitory modes, accompanied by the elucidation of the structural basis to antibiotics mechanism justifies expectations for structural based improved properties of existing compounds as well as for the development of novel drugs.

The Fabrication of the Single Crystal Wire from Cu Single Crystal Grown by the Czochralski Method and its Physical Properties (Czochralski법을 이용한 금속 단결정의 성장과 구조적, 전기적 성질에 관한 연구)

  • Park, Jeung-Hun;Cha, Su-Young;Park, Sang-Eon;Kim, Sung-Kyu;Cho, Chae-Ryong;Park, Hyuk-K.;Kim, Hyung-Chan;Jeong, Myung-Hwa;Jeong, Se-Young
    • Korean Journal of Crystallography
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    • v.16 no.2
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    • pp.141-148
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    • 2005
  • It is well known that the general metals have a lot of grain boundaries. The grain boundaries play a negative role to increase the resistivity and to decrease the conductivity. The small resistivity and the large conductivity have been a goal of the material scientists, and no signal noise, perfect signal transfer, and the realization of the real sound are the dream of electronic engineers and audio manias. Generally, oxygen free copper (OFC) and Ohno continuous casting (OCC) copper cables have been used for the purpose of the precise signal transfer and low noise. However they still include a lot of grain boundaries. In our study, we have grown the single crystal by the Czochralski method and succeeded to produce single crystal wires from the crystal in the dimension of $0.5{\times}0.5{\times}2500mm$. The produced wire still possesses very good single crystal properties. We observed the structure of the wire, and measured the resistance and impedance. Glow Discharge Spectrometer (GDS) was used for analyzing the compositions of copper single crystals and commercial copper. Current-Voltage curve, resistance, total harmonic distortion and speaker frequency response were measured for comparing electrical and acoustic properties of two samples.

Effects of in vitro immune stimulation by ginsenoside Rb1

  • Kim, Ji-Young;Han, Eun-Hee;Jeong, Hye-Gwang
    • Proceedings of the Ginseng society Conference
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    • 2006.05a
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    • pp.57-58
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    • 2006
  • Red ginseng is a classical traditional Chinese medicine. Among Chinese herbs, red ginseng has been considered as one of the tonics. Many studies indicated that red ginseng could enhance immune function of the human body. Red ginseng total saponin, ginsenoside, the most important active constituents identified in red ginseng can protect against myocardial ischaemia damage and protect endothelium against electrolysis-induced free radical injury. Macrophages play a significant role in host defense mechanisms. When activated, they inhibit the growth of a wide variety of tumor cells. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of pure ginsenoside Rb1 on immunostimulatory activity such as murine macrophage phagocytosis and proliferation of splenocytes. Furthermore, we investigated the effects of ginsenoside Rb1 on the production of nitric oxide (NO), reactive oxygen species (ROS) and proinflammatory cytokines (IL-1beta, IL-6, and TNF-alpha) in murine macrophage, RAW 264.7 cells. ROS have emerged as important signaling molecules in the regulation of various cellular processes. Ginsenoside Rb1 significantly increased production of ROS in dose dependent manner. As NO plays an important role in immune function, ginsenoside Rb1 treatment could modulate several aspects of host defense mechanisms due to stimulation. Treatment with ginsenoside Rb1 to macrophages induced the production of NO and proinflammatory cytokines and expression levels of these genes in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, incubation of RAW 264.7 cells with ginsenoside Rb1 showed a dose dependent increased phagocytosis activity and lymphocyte proliferation of splenocytes. Therefore, these results suggest that ginsenoside Rb1 has promising potential as a natural medicine for stimulation of the immune system.

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The Activity of Hypertension-related Protein Kinase C and the Relationship of Physical Therapy (고혈압-연관 단백질 부활효소 C의 활성과 물리치료의 상관성)

  • Kim, Jung-Hwan
    • The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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    • v.20 no.3
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    • pp.61-68
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    • 2008
  • Purpose: Protein kinase C (PKC) is a member of a family of serine/threonine kinases that are activated by diacylglycerol (DG) and PKC stimulants. PKC play a key role in signal transduction, including muscle contraction, cell migration, apoptosis, cell proliferation and differentiation. However, the mechanism relating mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) and PKC, especially in the volume-dependent hypertensive state, remains unclear. Methods: In the present study, I investigated the relationship between PKC and MAPKs for isometric contraction, PKC translocation, and enzymatic activity from normotensive sham-operated rats (NSR) and aldosterone-analogue deoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA) hypertensive rats (ADHR). Results: Systolic blood pressure was significantly increased in ADHR than in NSR. Physiological salt solution (PSS)-induced resting tension and the intracellular $Ca^{2+}$ concentration ([$Ca^{2+}{_i}$]) were different in the ADHR and NSR. The expression of PKC$\alpha$, PKC$\beta$II, PKC$\delta$, PKC$\varepsilon$ and PKC$\xi$ were different between the cytoplasmic and membranous fractions. However, expression of the PKC isoforms did not differ for the ADHR and NSR. The use of 12-deoxyphorbol 13-isobutyrate (DPB, a PKC stimulant) induced isometric contraction in $Ca^{2+}$-free medium, which was diminished in muscle strips from ADHR as compared to NSR. Increased vasoconstriction and phosphorylation induced by the use of 1 ${\mu}$M DPB were inhibited by treatment with 10 ${\mu}$M PD098059 and 10 ${\mu}$M SB203580, inhibitors of extracellular-regulated protein kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) and p38 MAPK from ADHR, respectively. Conclusion: These results suggest that the development of aldosterone analogue-induced hypertension is associated with an altered blood pressure, resting tension, [$Ca^{2+}{_i}$], and that the $Ca^{2+}$-independent contraction evoked by PKC stimulants is due to the activation of ERK1/2 and p38 MAPK in volume-dependent hypertension. Therefore, it is suggested that PKC activity affects volume-dependent hypertension and the need to develop cardiovascular disease-specialized physical therapy.

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