• Journal of Photoscience
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.201-204
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• 2002

Epidermal cells produce a panel of antioxidants as well as cytokines after UVB irradiation, which counteract reactive oxygen species, however, how these antioxidants might regulate melanogenesis is unclear. An important constituent of the cellular antioxidant buffering system which controls the redox state of proteins is thioredoxin (TRX), a 13-kD protein that catalyzes thiol-disulfide exchange reactions, regulates activation of transcription factors, and possesses several other biological functions similar to cytokines. TRX suppressed the UVB-induced production and secretion of $\alpha$-melanocyte stimulating hormone ($\alpha$-MSH) and of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), and also suppressed proopiomelanocortin (POMC) mRNA expression by normal human keratinocyte (KC)s. Further, L-cysteine, N-acetyl-cysteine, $\alpha$-tocopheryl ferulate showed suppressive effect on UVB-induced POMC mRNA expression. However, TRX released from UVB-irradiated KCs stimulated melanogenesis by up-regulating MSH receptor expression and its binding activity in melanocyte (MC)s. UVB-induced KC derived cytokines such as IL1, IL6, and ET1 upregulated MSH-receptor binding ability as well as MCl-R mRNA expression in cultured normal human MCs. MCl-R has a tendency to be upregulated by UVB-induced KC-derived cytokines as well as by direct UVB irradiation. These results suggest that antioxidants such as TRX suppresses UVB induction of POMC, but in the case of MCl-R, this gene can be mainly in the trend of upregulation by UVB-induced KC-derived factors including TRX.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.515-520
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• 2007

Vaginal lactic acid-producing bacteria of 80 pre-menopausal women were studied by isolation on Blood and DeMan-Rogosa-Sharpe agar, PCR with group-specific primers for Lactobacillus-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), and PCR with specific primers for V3 region in 16S rRNA-temporal temperature gel electrophoresis (TTGE). Conventional isolation method on media detected only one lactobacillus (Lactobacillus brevis) while TTGE detected only Lactobacillus sp. DGGE detected seven Lactobacillus species; L. coleohominis, L. crispatus, L. iners, L. reuteri, L. rhamnosus, L. vaginalis, and Leuconostoc lactis. L. acidophilus and L. gasseri, which are prevalent in Western women, were not detected in Korean women. Furthermore, L. rhamnosus, Leuc. lactis, L. coleohominis, and Weissella cibaria, which were not previously reported in the vaginal microbiota of Korean women, were detected. The five most prevalent LABs in vaginal microbiota in Korean women were L. iners, Enterococcus faecalis, L. crispatus, Leuc. lactis, and W. cibaria.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.46 no.6
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• pp.937-946
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• 2004

Duroc is widely used to improve the meat quality and productivity. To elucidate the phylogenetic relation and the sequence specificity for the maternal property, the complete sequence of mitochondrial genome was determined and the population diversity of Duroc was investigated in this study. The length of mtDNA tested is 16,584-bp. There are several insertion/deletion mutations in the control region and coding regions for tRNA and rRNA, respectively, but not in peptide-coding regions. Four peptide-coding genes(COⅡ, COⅢ, ND3 and ND4) showed incomplete termination codon sequences such as T--, and two(ND2 and ND4L) did alternative initiation codons(AIC), respectively. Especially, the initiation codon sequences of ND2 gene were polymorphic in this population. Polymorphisms were detected in 11-bp duplication motif within control region as well as ND2 and CYTB. Variation patterns observed from the tests on three mtDNA regions were linked completely and then two haplotypes obtained from combining the data dividing this population. Duroc mtDNA is observed at the European pig cluster in the phylogenetic tree, however, the results from the population analyses supported previous opinions. This study suggests that the breed Duroc was mainly originated from the European pig lineage, and Asian lineage was also used to form the pig breed Duroc as maternal progenitors.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.465-474
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• 2005

A two-step broad-range PCR method detecting gram-negative bacteria at the level as low as 2 CFU was developed by using primers of GNFI and GNRI and then semi-nested primer of GNF2 and GNRI. The nucleotide sequences of the primers were determined based on l6S rRNA gene. The DNA fragments of 1173 bp and 169 bp were amplified in one-step PCRs with primer sets of GNFI-GNRI and GNF2-GNRl, respectively, using template DNA from seven strains of gram-negative bacteria including Escherichia coli, Enterobacter aerogenes, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas spp., and Acinetobacter baumaii but not from Achromobacter lyticus, Alca/igens faecalis, and five strains of gram-positive bacteria. DNA fragments of 180 bp were amplified from LTLT-pasteurized milk and UHf-pasteurized milk in the two-step PCR. The DNA fragments were amplified from LTLT-pasteurized milk which was added with Pseudomonas j/uorescens and subsequently heated at 65 $^{\circ}C$, 80 $^{\circ}C$, and 100 $^{\circ}C$ for 30 min but they were not amplified from the milk autoclaved at 121$^{\circ}C$ for 15 min. It was suggested in PCR that Pseudomonas fluorescens heated at 65 $^{\circ}C$ for 30 min in milk was more sensitive to DNase treatment than viable bacteria.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.151-156
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• 2002

This study was performed to obtain the thermostable $\beta$-glycosidase producing bacteria from hot spring of volcanic area at Atagawa in Japan. KNOUC 202 was selected because it showed thermostable $\beta$-glycosidase activity in sodium phosphate buffer(pH 6.8) at $70^{\circ}C$ for 4h, and it was identified. The strain was aerobic, asporogenic bacilli, immobile, gram negative, catalase positive, oxidase positive, and pigment-producing. Optimum growth was at $70~72^{\circ}C$, pH 7.0~7.2, and it could grow in the presence of 3% NaCl. The main fatty acids in cell were iso-15:0 and iso-l7:0. 16S rRNA sequence of KNOUC 202 showed 99.9% similarity with that of Thermus thermophilus ATCC 27634(HB8). Based on morphological, physiological, biochemical characteristics, cellular fatty acids profile and 16S rRNA sequence analysis, KNOUC 202 was identified as Thermus thermophilus.

• Korean Journal of Breeding Science
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.163-168
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• 2010

This study was carried out to determine the chromosomal localization of the 5S and 18S-26S ribosomal DNA(rDNA) genes by means of fluorescence in situ hybridization(FISH) techniques, and the constitutive heterochromatin detected by means of Gimsa C-banding technique in rye(Secale cereale L.). The somatic chromosomes number was 2n=14. The karyotype consists of four pairs of metacentrics(chromosomes 1, 2, 3, and 7) and three pairs of submetacentrics(chromosomes 4, 5, and 6). Secondary constrictions appeared in the short arm of chromosome 1. The 5S rDNA genes have been located on two pairs of chromosomes 1 and 5, and 18S-26S rDNAs genes have been located on one pair of chromosome 1. 5S rDNA genes were detected on the distal region of the secondary constrictions in nucleolus organizer regions(NOR) in chromosome 1, and other detected on the intercalary region in the short arm of chromosome 5.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.37-45
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• 2024

Purpose: This study aimed to examine the clinical features and determinants of macrolide-unresponsive Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (MUMP) and to assess the differences in the time to fever resolution between doxycycline (DXC), tosufloxacin (TFX) and corticosteroid (CST) as second-line treatment. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of patients under the age of 18 who were admitted to Nowon Eulji University Hospital between July 2018 and February 2020, diagnosed with mycoplasma pneumonia. Macrolide resistance was confirmed by detecting point mutations in the 23S rRNA gene. MUMP was clinically defined by persistent fever (≥38.0℃) lasting for 72 hours or more after the initiation of macrolide treatment. In cases of MUMP, patients were treated with an addition of CST, or the initial macrolide was replaced either DXC or TFX. Results: Out of 157 cases of mycoplasma pneumonia, 83 cases (52.9%) did not respond to macrolides. Patients with MUMP exhibited significantly higher C-reactive protein (CRP) levels (3.2±3.0 vs. 2.4±2.2 mg/dL, P=0.047), more frequent lobar/segmental infiltrations or pleural effusions (56.6% vs. 27.0%, P<0.001; 6.0% vs. 0.0%, P=0.032), and a higher prevalence of 23S rRNA gene mutations (96.4% vs. 64.6%, P<0.001) when compared to those with macrolide-susceptible M. pneumoniae pneumonia. In terms of second-line treatment, 15 patients (18.1%) responded to CST, 30 (36.1%) to DXC, and 38 (45.8%) to TFX. The time to defervescence (TTD) after initiation second-line treatment was significantly shorter in the CST group compared to the DXC (10.3±12.7 vs. 19.4±17.2 hours, P=0.003) and TFX groups (10.3±12.7 vs. 25.0±20.1 hours, P=0.043), with no significant difference observed between the DXC and TFX groups (19.4±17.2 vs. 25.0±20.1 hours, P=0.262). Conclusions: High CRP levels, the presence of positive 23S rRNA gene mutation, lobar or segmental lung infiltration, and pleural effusion observed in chest X-ray findings were significant factors associated with macrolide unresponsiveness. In this study, CST demonstrated a shorter TTD compared to DXC or TFX. Further, larger-scale prospective studies are needed to determine the optimal second-line treatment for MUMP.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.919-927
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• 2007

Antagonistic fluorescent pseudomonads isolated from rhizospheric soil of rice were characterized by 16S rRNA amplicon and fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) analyses. Antagonistic isolates were grown in the fermentation media, and production of antibiotics was confirmed by thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Production of fungal cell-wall-degrading enzymes such as protease, cellulase, pectinase, and chitinase was determined. Dendrogram based on the major and differentiating fatty acids resulted into 5 clusters, viz., cluster I (P. pseudoalcaligenes group), cluster II (P. plecoglossicida group), cluster III (P. fluorescens group), cluster IV (P. aeruginosa group), and cluster V (P. putida group). Characteristic presence of high relative proportions of cyclopropane (17:0 CYCLO w7c) was observed in antagonistic bacteria. Data revealed biodiversity among antagonistic fluorescent pseudomonads associated with the rice rhizosphere. Results presented in this study will help to identify the antagonistic isolates and to determine their mechanisms that mediate antagonism against fungal pathogens of rice.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.29 no.12
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• pp.1969-1974
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• 2019

A Gram-staining-negative, aerobic, light brown pigment bacterium, designated strain CE80^T was isolated from marine sponge Callyspongia elegans in Jeju Island, Republic of Korea. Strain CE80^T grew optimally at 25℃, in the range of pH 5.0-11.0 (optimum 7.0-8.0), and with 1.0-5.0% NaCl (optimum 1-3% (w/v)). Phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene sequence showed that strain CE80^T belonged to the genus Labrenzia and was closely related to L. suaedae YC6927^T (98.3%), L. alexandrii DFL-11^T (96.6%), L. aggregata IAM 12614^T (96.6%) L. marina mano18^T (96.5%) and L. alba CECT 5094^T (96.2%). The major fatty acids of strain CE80^T were C_18:1 ω7c, and summed feature. The polar lipids were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylmonomethylethanolamin, one unidentified aminolipid, one phospholipid and four unidentified lipids. The DNA G+C content of strain CE80^T was 55.9 mol%. The major respiratory quinone was Q-10. DNA-DNA relatedness between strain CE80^T and L. suaedae YC6927^T was 56.1±2.8%. On the basis of physiological and biochemical characterization and phylogenetic and chemotaxonomic analysis, strain CE80^T represents a novel species of the Labrenzia, for which the name Labrenzia callyspongiae sp. nov., is proposed. The type strain is CE80^T (=KCTC 42849^T =JCM 31309^T).

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.237-241
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• 2015

To develop a new anti-inflammation agent for cosmetics, we investigated the anti-inflammatory activity of Fallopia sachalinensis RonseDecr. fruit extracts (FSR). FSR inhibited the pre-inflammatory cytokines ($1L-1{\beta}$, IL-6, TNF-${\alpha}$) and reduced NO production of RAW 264.7 macrophage cells in a dose-dependent manner and decreased the activity to about 51% at a concentration of $100{\mu}g/mL$. FSR suppressed not only the mRNA expression of iNOS and COX-2, but also the protein expression of iNOS and COX-2 in macrophage. The results suggested that FSR has considerable potential as a cosmetics ingredient with an anti-inflammatory effect.