• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• 제21권10호
• /
• pp.1001-1011
• /
• 2011

To explore bacterial diversity for elucidating genetic variability in acylhomoserine lactone (AHL) lactonase structure, we screened 800 bacterial strains. It revealed the presence of a quorum quenching (QQ) AHL-lactonase gene (aiiA) in 42 strains. These 42 strains were identified using rrs (16S rDNA) sequencing as Bacillus strains, predominantly B. cereus. An in silico restriction endonuclease (RE) digestion of 22 AHL lactonase gene (aiiA) sequences (from NCBI database) belonging to 9 different genera, along with 42 aiiA gene sequences from different Bacillus spp. (isolated here) with 14 type II REs, revealed distinct patterns of fragments (nucleotide length and order) with four REs; AluI, DpnII, RsaI, and Tru9I. Our study reflects on the biodiversity of aiiA among Bacillus species. Bacillus sp. strain MBG11 with polymorphism (115Alanine > Valine) may confer increased stability to AHL lactonase, and can be a potential candidate for heterologous expression and mass production. Microbes with ability to produce AHL-lactonases degrade quorum sensing signals such as AHL by opening of the lactone ring. The naturally occurring diversity of QQ molecules provides opportunities to use them for preventing bacterial infections, spoilage of food, and bioremediation.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
• /
• 제37권4호
• /
• pp.247-253
• /
• 2020

Background: Parkinson's disease(PD) affects not only motor symptoms, but also nonmotor symptoms. This study is a clinical trial to determine whether Qigong and acupuncture affect nonmotor symptoms of PD. Methods: A 2-arm parallel and randomized trial was performed with 21 participants who had received either Qigong meditation only [control group (CG)] or acupuncture and Qigong meditation [experimental group (EG)]. The participants' levels of the discomfort in nonmotor symptoms from Parkinson's disease were evaluated by using the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scales (UPDRS 1) and Test of Smell Identification (TSI) before and after 12 treatments at baseline and 1 month after 12 treatments. Results: The both CG and EG showed improvements in the UPDRS 1 score after treatment by 5.6 ± 5.15 (p= 0.003; 74%) and 4.8 ± 3.80 (p = 0.004; 79%), respectively. The both CG and the EG did improvements in the TSI after treatment by 10.3 ± 4.37 (p < 0.001; 84%) and 12.6 ± 1.77 (p = 0.022; 100%), respectively. However, statistical differences were not observed between the CG and the EG using the UPDRS 1 and the TSI scores. Conclusion: The combination of Qigong and acupuncture and Qigong alone was shown to improve the nonmotor symptoms and olfactory function of PD. In the future, large-scale clinical studies on alternative treatment for PD and studies on mechanisms affecting nonmotor symptoms of acupuncture and Qigong are needed.

• Natural Product Sciences
• /
• 제17권2호
• /
• pp.130-134
• /
• 2011

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the therapeutic potential of naturally occurring aldose reductase (AR) inhibitors isolated from Korean native plants. The MeOH extract and stepwise polarity fractions of dandelions were tested on rat lens AR inhibition in vitro. Of these, the EtOAc fractions from the leaves of dandelions (Traxacum coreanum, T. officinale, and T. ohwianum) exhibited an AR inhibitory activity ($IC_{50}$ values, 2.37, 1.73 and 2.68 ${\mu}g/ml$, respectively). A chromatography of the EtOAc fraction from the leaves of T. coreanum led to the further isolation of two flavonoids identified as luteolin and luteolin 7-O-glucopyranoside. These compounds exhibited strong AR inhibitory activity, with $IC_{50}$ values of 0.15 and 1.05 ${\mu}M$, respectively. These results suggested that luteolin is a potent AR inhibitor within dandelions and that it could be a useful lead compound in the development of a novel AR inhibitory agent against diabetic complications.

• 영재교육연구
• /
• 제25권1호
• /
• pp.1-19
• /
• 2015

본 연구는 교사의 소속 학교급과 영재교육 경험에 따라 융합교육에 대한 집단적 교수효능감과 장애요인의 인식은 차이가 있는지 조사하였다. 241명의 초 중등교사가 집단적 교수효능감 및 융합교육의 장애요인에 대한 인식을 묻는 설문에 응답하였다. 본 연구는 소속 학교급과 영재교육 경험에 따른 집단적 교수효능감 및 융합교육 장애요인에 대한 교사인식의 차이를 조사하기 위하여 이원분산분석과 상관분석을 실시하였다. 연구결과, 소속 학교급과 영재교육 경험에 따른 집단적 교수효능감은 통계적으로 유의한 차이가 나타나지 않았다. 이에 비해 융합교육의 장애요인에 대한 교사인식은 소속 학교급 및 영재교육 경험에 따라 유의한 차이가 나타났다. 초등교사가 중등교사보다, 그리고 영재교사가 일반교사보다 융합교육을 교육현장에 적용함에 있어 그 장애요인을 인식하는 것으로 나타났다. 이에 본 연구는 융합교육의 현장정착을 위하여 소속 학교급과 영재교육 경험에 따라 고려해야 할 점과 방향성을 제안하였다.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
• /
• 제43권1호
• /
• pp.154-160
• /
• 2019

Background: Compound K (CK) is an active metabolite of ginseng saponin, ginsenoside Rb1, that has been shown to have ameliorative properties in various diseases. However, its role in inflammation and the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. In this report, the antiinflammatory role of CK was investigated in macrophage-like cells. Methods: The CK-mediated antiinflammatory mechanism was explored in RAW264.7 and HEK293 cells that were activated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or exhibited overexpression of known activation proteins. The mRNA levels of inflammatory genes and the activation levels of target proteins were identified by quantitative and semiquantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and Western blot analysis. Results: CK significantly inhibited the mRNA expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase and tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$ and morphological changes in LPS-activated RAW264.7 cells under noncytotoxic concentrations. CK downregulated the phosphorylation of AKT1, but not AKT2, in LPS-activated RAW264.7 cells. Similarly, CK reduced the AKT1 overexpression-induced expression of aldehyde oxidase 1, interleukin-$1{\beta}$, interferon-${\beta}$, and tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$ in a dose-dependent manner. Conclusion: Our results suggest that CK plays an antiinflammatory role during macrophage-mediated inflammatory actions by specifically targeting the AKT1-mediated signaling pathway.

• 대한한의학회지
• /
• 제43권3호
• /
• pp.16-26
• /
• 2022

Objectives: Traditional Korean medicine (TKM) has been supplied as part of a national health care system in South Korea under a dual medical system, however it has been difficult to mix western medicine and TKM medical practices in existing hospitals. For the objective of innovative integration between them, Comprehensive and Integrative Medicine Hospital were founded in Daegu, South Korea. Here, we discussed the clinical outcomes of cancer patients who received integrative cancer treatment (ICT). Methods: A total of 678 patients previously diagnosed with cancer were retrospectively checked in our institution for 2 years. After applying inclusion/exclusion criteria, 573 patients were eligible for the final analysis. The overall survival (OS) of these patients in the aftercare period were determined. We looked at how clinical factors and treatments including chemotherapy, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), and TKM affected the OS. Results: At the first visit, 212 subjects had no evidence of disease after tumor resection and 355 ones with advanced cancer, who receiving ICT including chemotherapy, CAM, and TKM showed better OS compared to the CAM including TKM or the best supportive care (median OS = 216, 78, and 46 days, respectively). The median OS was not reached in TKM only, even though the sample size was small (N=12). Even after adjusting for clinical factors associated to liver, renal, and hematologic manifestation, ICT still remained significant. Conclusions: We demonstrated that ICT might be beneficial for advanced cancer regardless of the performance status, liver and renal function, since it positively affected the OS.

• 한국동물학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 한국동물학회 2006년도 제61회 한국생물과학협회 정기학술대회
• /
• pp.19-19
• /
• 2006

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• 제15권17호
• /
• pp.7079-7083
• /
• 2014

The International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) is often used as an interview sheet for assessing lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) at the time of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing during population-based screening for prostate cancer. However, the relationship between prostate cancer detection and LUTS status remains controversial. To elucidate this relationship, the cumulative probability of prostate cancer detection using IPSS in biopsy samples from patients categorized by serum PSA levels was investigated. The clinical characteristics of prostate cancer detected using IPSS during screening were also investigated. A total of 1,739 men aged 54-75 years with elevated serum PSA levels who completed the IPSS questionnaire during the initial population screening in Kanazawa City, Japan and underwent systematic transrectal ultrasonography-guided prostate biopsy between 2000 and 2013 were enrolled in the present study. Of the 1,739 men, 544 (31.3%) were diagnosed with prostate cancer during the observation period. The probability of cancer detection at 3 years in the entire study population was 27.4% and 32.7% for men with $IPSS{\leq}7$ and those with $IPSS{\geq}8$, respectively; there was no statistically significant difference between groups. In men with serum PSA levels of 6.1 to 12.0ng/mL at initial screening, the probability of cancer detection was significantly higher in men with $IPSS{\leq}7$ than in those with $IPSS{\geq}8$. There were no significant differences in clinical characteristics between groups of patients stratified by IPSS. These findings indicate that the use of IPSS for LUTS status evaluation may be useful for prostate cancer detection in the limited range of serum PSA levels.

• 지식경영연구
• /
• 제15권4호
• /
• pp.223-247
• /
• 2014

A large number of tasks being executed by individuals now are in a central requirement of the creative solutions consolidated with associates' multiple skills, knowledge bases and efforts who are capable of entertaining various viewpoints. Followed by such a variation, teams or groups were gradually settled in a major form of the enterprise's creative revelations. However, in spite of the consistent augmentation of team's application, researches of a group's ability that utilizes individual creative competence effectively are now in the excessively insufficient manner. Accordingly, this research is to verify mutual relationship between individual creativity and group creativity, and furthermore, to present integrative capability and knowledge sharing of the group as a distinctive variable to observe the mechanism of how the individual creativity becomes aggregated with the group creativity through a process. As a result, the relationship between the individual creativity and the group creativity was so significant that it showed that the integrative capability and knowledge sharing were mediated in the connection of the two variables. This research contributes to the comprehension of the relationship between individual and group creativity through the role of a group's integrative capability and knowledge sharing. In addition, further research direction with in-depth idea is presented to develop research on creativeness from the practical standpoint implicated in this research.

• Natural Product Sciences
• /
• 제17권4호
• /
• pp.367-371
• /
• 2011

Effects of the extract and fractions from Parasenecio pseudotaimingasa on rat lens aldose reductase (AR) inhibition have been investigated. Among them, the n-BuOH fraction was exhibited good inhibitory potencies ($IC_{50}$ value 1.42 ${\mu}g/ml$). Phytochemical constituents were isolated from the n-BuOH fraction by open column chromatography. Their structures were elucidated as luteolin-7-O-rutinoside (1) and luteolin-7-Oglucoside (2) on the basis of spectroscopic analysis. Compounds 1 and 2 exhibited strong AR inhibitory activity, with $IC_{50}$ values of 2.37 and 1.05 ${\mu}M$, respectively. This is the first report on the isolation of compounds 1 and 2 from P. pseudotaimingasa. These results suggest that P. pseudotaimingasa could be a useful material in the development of a novel AR inhibitory agent against diabetic complications.