• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.288-297
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• 2004

Objective : This study was undertaken to investigate how Bombycis corpus (BC) effects the development and progress of complications occurring in Diabetes Mellitus (DM). Methods : Laboratory rats were seperated into three groups; normal, rats with DM and treated with BC, and rats with DM and not treated. In this study DM was experimentally induced through injection of streptozotocin. The BC treated group was given BC extract p.o. for 15 days. Then, The activities of glucose phosphatic enzymes and polyol pathway channels were observed. Results : The blood glucose level greatly increased in the DM groups after injection of streptoztocin, but it significantly decreased in the BC treated group. Significantly enhanced levels of serum insulin levels were seen in the BC treated group, while supressed levels were seen in the untreated DM group. Weight was recovered by the BC treated group, matching the normal group. Decreased enzyme activity of aldose reductase, sorbitol dehydrogenase and glucose-6-phosphatase were seen in BC treated diabetic rats. Increased enzyme activity, of the glucokinase and hexokinase were seen in BC treated diabetic rats. Conclusions : This study suggests that BC normalized the blood glucose and serum insulin levels destablized by DM. Because increased activity of glucose phosphatic enzymes, glucokinase and hexokinase, and decreased glucose-6-phosphatase activity, and suppression of polyol pathway enzymes, aldose reductase and sorbitol dehydrogenase, were all seen, these observations suggest that BC suppresses blood glucose levels and prevents complications due to DM.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.17
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• pp.271-280
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• 2001

We report on the applicability oj a method recently developed in our laboratory for measuring the antioxidant potential of isolated chemicals and extracts derived from natural products. Peroxyl radicals generated by thermal homolysis of 2,2'-azobis-amidinopropane (ABAP) oxidize $\alpha$-keto-${\gamma}$-methiolbutyric acid (KMBA) to ethylene, which is monitored by gas chromatography. Inhibition of ethylene formation in the presence of antioxidants that compete with KMBA for peroxyl radicals is the basis of the Total Oxyradical Scavenging Capacity Assay (TOSCA; Winston et al., 1998). Antioxidative activities of water-soluble extracts of American green tea, the anti-hepatotoxic flavonolignan from milk thistle (Silybum marianum) silybin, Ginkgo biloba extract EGb 761, and a series of naturally occuring sesquiterpene lactones (all ger-macranolides found in in fungi, liverworts, and plants) were studied. The specific TOSC value per $\mu$M silybin was 5.2, which is essentially comparable to that of Trolo $x^{ⓡ}$, a water-soluble vitamine E analog. Tea and Ginkgo extracts exhibited potent peroxyl radical scavenging capacity with values, respectively of =1700 and 1000 $\mu$mols Trolo $x^{ⓡ}$ equivalent per gram dry matter. The known anti-inflammatory activity of some germacranolides prompted study of their antioxidant capacity. None of the lactones exhibited antioxidant capacity toward peroxyl radicals comparable to Trolo $x^{ⓡ}$; costunilide, the most lipophilic, had a TOSC value = to glutathione. The potential role of peroxyl radicals in lipidperoxidation, other cellular damage, and var-ious disease states suggest a possible preventive role for silybin, green tea and Ginkgo biloba in oxidative stress caused by these free radical species.ecies.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2013.02a
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• pp.130-131
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• 2013

Nanostructured oxides are widely used in heterogeneous catalysis where their catalytic properties are closely associated with the size and morphology at nanometer level. The effect of particle size has been well decumented in the past two decades, but the shape of the nanoparticles has rarely been concerned. Here we illustrate that the redox and acidic-basic properties of oxides are largely dependent on their shapes by taking $Co_3O_4$, $Fe_2O_3$, $CeO_2$ and $La_2O_3$ nanorods as typical examples. The catalytic activities of these rod-shaped oxides are mainly governed by the nature of the exposed crystal planes. For instance, the predominant presence of {110} planes which are rich in active $Co^{3+}$ on $Co_3O_4$ nanorods led to a much higher activity for CO oxidation than the nanoparticles that mainly exposed the {111} planes. The simultaneous exposure of iron and oxygen ions on the surface of $Fe_2O_3$ nanorods have significantly enhanced the adsorption and activation of NO and thereby promoted the efficiency of DeNOx process. Moreover, the exposed surface planes of these rod-shaped oxides mediated the reaction performance of the integrated metal-oxide catalysts. Au/$CeO_2$ catalysts exhibited outstanding stability under water-gas shift conditions owing to the strong bonding of gold particle on the $CeO_2$ nanorods where the formed gold-ceria interface was resistant towards sintering. Cu nanoparticles dispersed on $La_2O_3$ nanorods efficiently catalyzed transfer dehydrogenation of primary aliphatic alcohols based on the uniue role of the exposed {110} planes on the support. Morphology control at nanometer level allows preferential exposure of the catalytically active sites, providing a new stragegy for the design of highly efficient nanostructured catalysts.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.1267-1274
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• 2004

Colostrum contains various kinds of cytokines including TGF-$\beta$ that has potent regulatory effects on cells of the immune system. We compared the levels of TGF-$\beta$1 and TGF-$\beta$2 in bovine and human colostrum. Based on the isoform-specific ELISA, bovine colostrum collected on day 1 post-delivery retained $53.71{\pm}29.55\;ng/ml$ of TGF-$\beta$1 and $40.41{\pm}21.78\;{\mu}g/ml$ of TGF-$\beta$2 (n=4), while in human, $381.45{\pm}158.24\;ng/ml$ of TGF-$\beta$1 and $41.47{\pm}9.63\;ng/ml$ of TGF-$\beta$2 (n=5). Thus, dominant TGF-$\beta$ isoforms were completely opposite between human and bovine colostrum samples. The concentrations of both isoforms declined as lactation proceeded. Biological activities of the colostrum samples were determined using an MV1LU cell line. Consistent with the result from the immunoassay, TGF-$\beta$1 in human and TGF-$\beta$2 in bovine colostrum were responsible for the anti proliferative activity against MV1LU cells. Furthermore, bovine colostrum increased IgA secretion by LPS-stimulated mesenteric lymph node (MLN) cells, and this effect was abrogated by either anti­TGF-$\beta$2 antibody or combined anti-TGF-$\beta$1/$\beta$2 antibody, but not by anti- TGF-$\beta$1 antibody alone. Similarly, TGF-$\beta$2 in bovine colostrum enhanced the Ig germ line (GL) promoter activity, which is the earliest event toward IgA isotype switching. Taken together, these results suggest that TGF-$\beta$ isoforms, differentially expressed in human and bovine colostrum, may promote IgA isotype production in the neonatal intestine.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.51-57
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• 1985

Delta-endotoxin in Bacillus thuringiensis var. finitimus, HD-1, HD-9 and HD-73 strains were isolated by NaBr, CsCl and Renografin density gradients. The purity of the toxin was about 98%. The purified o-endotoxin was analyzed by SDS-PAGE, electron microscopic observation and bioassay. According to SDS-PAGE, the molecular weight of subunits of the o-endotoxin were about 66,000 and 130,000 daltons. The shapes of the crystal toxin observed by TEM except finitimus strain were bipyramidal. When the purified endotoxin was bioassayed against tobacco horn worm, the entomocidal activities ($1{\mu}g/ml$) of HD-1 and HD-73 strains were, respectively, 60% and 100% at nine days after treated. The molecular weights of the plasmids isolated from B. thuringiensis were various from 0.5 to 120 Kb. The numbers of plasmids in HD-1, HD-9 and HD-73 strains were 12, 3 and 11, respectively, but B. thuringiensis var. finitimus strain had no plasmid.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.8 no.6
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• pp.685-691
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• 1998

Baculovirus Hyphantrin. cunea nuclear polyhedrosis virus (HcNPV) insecticide containing the insecticidal protein (ICP) gene from Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki HD1 was constructed using a lacZ-HcNPV system. The ICP ($\delta$-endotoxin) gene was placed under the control of the polyhedrin gene promoter of the HcNPV. A polyhedrin-negative virus was derived and named ICP-HcNPV insecticide. Then, the insertion of the ICP gene in the ICP-HcNPV genome was confirmed by Southern hybridization analysis. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) analysis of the Spodoptera frugiperda cell extracts infected with the ICP-HcNPV showed that the ICP was expressed in the insect cells as 130 kDa at 5 days post-infection. The ICP produced in the cells was present in aggregates. When extracts from the cells infected with the ICP-HcNPV were fed to 20 Bombyx mori larvae, the following mortality rate was seen; 8 larvae at 1 h, 10 larvae at 3 h, and 20 larvae at 12 h. These data indicate that the B. thuringiensis ICP gene was expressed by the baculovirus insecticide in insect cells and there was a high insecticidal activity. The biological activities of the recombinant virus ICP-HcNPV were assessed in conventional bioassay tests by feeding virus particles and ICP to the insect larvae. The initial baculovirus insecticide ICP-HcNPV was developed in our laboratory and the significance of the genetically engineered virus insecticides is discussed.

• Proceedings of the Korea Society of Environmental Toocicology Conference
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• 2003.05a
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• pp.193-193
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• 2003

Recent industrial society has human widely exposed to PAHs that are coming from the incomplete combustion of organic material as widespread environmental contaminants. Biological activities of PAHs are not known although PAHs are considered as carcinogens. The mechanism of action of PAHs has been studied extensively, however it is not clear how PAHs turn on CYPlAl in human breast cancer, Our laboratory have been studied the effect of PAHs in the human breast cancer cells, MCF-7. In this study, we examined the ZR-75-1, human breast cancer cells, as a new system to evaluate bioactivity of PAHs and to compare the PAHs action with that of MCF-7 cells. ZR-75-1 human breast cancer cell line is responsible to estrogen and progesterone. We have been able to establish long term culture system of this cells then used for the study to the effect of 13 different PAHs and environmental samples. We demonstrate that PAHs induced the CYP1A1 promoter and 7-ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD) activity in a concentration-dependent manner. RT-PCR analysis indicated that PAHs significantly up-regulate the level of CYP1A1 mRNA. Some of PAHs showed stronger stimulatory effect on CYP1 gene expression than TCDD Apparently, ZR-75-1 cells have Aryl hydrocarbon receptors (AhR), therefore it would be a good experimental tool to study the cross-talk between PAHs and steroid actions.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.483-489
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• 2004

Pseudomonas sp. S-47 is a bacterium capable of degrading benzoate as well as 4-chlorobenzoate (4CBA). Benzoate and 4CBA are known to be degraded via a meta-cleavage pathway characterized by a series of enzymes encoded by xyl genes. The meta-cleavage pathway operon in Pseudomonas sp. S-47 encodes a set of enzymes which transform benzoate and 4CBA into TCA cycle intermediates via the meta-cleavage of (4-chloro )catechol to produce pyruvate and acetyl-CoA. In the current study, the meta-pathway gene cluster was cloned from the chromosomal DNA of S-47 strain to obtain pCS1, which included the degradation activities for 4CBA and catechol. The genetic organization of the operon was then examined by cloning the meta-pathway genes into a pBluescript SKII(+) vector. As such, the meta-pathway operon from Pseudomonas sp. S-47 was found to contain 13 genes in the order of xylXYZLTEGFlQKIH. The two regulatory genes, xylS and xylR, that control the expression of the meta-pathway operon, were located adjacently downstream of the meta-pathway operon. The xyl genes from strain S-47 exhibited a high nucleoside sequence homology to those from Pseudomonas putida mt-2, except for the xylJQK genes, which were more homologous to the corresponding three genes from P. stutzeri AN10. One open reading frame was found between the xylH and xylS genes, which may playa role of a transposase. Accordingly, the current results suggest that the xyl gene cluster in Pseudomonas sp. S-47 responsible for the complete degradation of benzoate was recombined with the corresponding genes from P. putida mt-2 and P. stutzeri AN10.

• Advances in environmental research
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.45-69
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• 2014

The groundwater has been a major source of water supply throughout the ages. Around 50% of the rural as well as urban population in the developing countries like India depends on groundwater for drinking. The groundwater is also an important source in the agriculture and industrial sector. In many parts of the world, groundwater resources are under increasing threat from growing demands, wasteful use and contamination. A good planning and management practices are needed to face this challenge. A key to the management of groundwater is the ability to model the movement of fluids and contaminants in the subsurface environment. It is obvious that the contaminant source activities cannot be completely eliminated and perhaps our water bodies will continue to serve as receptors of vast quantities of waste. In such a scenario, the goal of water quality protection efforts must necessarily be the control and management of these sources to ensure that released pollutants will be sufficiently attenuated within the region of interest and the quality of water at points of withdrawal is not impaired. In order to understand the behaviour of contaminant transport through different types of media, several researchers are carrying out experimental investigations through laboratory and field studies. Many of them are working on the analytical and numerical studies to simulate the movement of contaminants in soil and groundwater of the contaminant transport. With the advent of high power computers especially, a numerical modelling has gained popularity and is indeed of particular relevance in this regard. This paper provides the state of the art of contaminant transport and reviews the allied research works carried out through experimental investigation or using the analytical solution and numerical method. The review involves the investigation in respect of both, saturated and unsaturated, porous media.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.614-622
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• 2013

Daqu, a traditional fermentation starter, has been used to produce attractively flavored foods such as vinegar and Chinese liquor for thousands of years. Although Bacillus spp. are one of the dominant microorganisms in Daqu, more precise information is needed to reveal why and how Bacillus became dominant in Daqu, and next, to assess the impact of Bacillus sp. on Daqu and its derived products. We combined culture-dependent and culture-independent methods to study the ecology of Bacillus during Daqu incubation. Throughout the incubation, 67 presumptive Bacillus spp. isolates were obtained, 52 of which were confirmed by 16S rDNA sequencing. The identified organisms belonged to 8 Bacillus species: B. licheniformis, B. subtilis, B. amyloliquefaciens, B. cereus, B. circulans, B. megaterium, B. pumilus, and B. anthracis. A primer set specific for Bacillus and related genera was used in a selective PCR study, followed by a nested DGGE PCR targeting the V9 region of the 16S rDNA. Species identified from the PCR-DGGE fingerprints were related to B. licheniformis, B. subtilis, B. amyloliquefaciens, B. pumilus, B. benzoevorans, and B. foraminis. The predominant species was found to be B. licheniformis. Certain B. licheniformis strains exhibited potent antimicrobial activities. The greatest species diversity occurred at the Liangmei stage of Daqu incubation. To date, we lack sufficient knowledge of Bacillus distribution in Daqu. Elucidating the ecology of Bacillus during Daqu incubation would enable the impact of Bacillus on Daqu to be accessed, and the quality and stabilization of Daqu-derived products to be optimized.