• Journal of Embryo Transfer
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.355-365
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• 2016

The cryopreservation of sperm has become the subject of research for successful artificial insemination technologies. Antifreeze proteins (AFPs), one of the factors necessary for effective cryopreservation, are derived from certain Antarctic organisms. These proteins decrease the freezing point of water within these organisms to below the temperature of the surrounding seawater to protect the organism from cold shock. Accordingly, a recent study found that AFPs can increase the motility and viability of spermatozoa during cryopreservation. To evaluate this relationship, we performed cryopreservation of boar sperm with AFPs produced in the Arctic yeast Leucosporidium sp. AFP expression system at four concentrations (0, 0.01, 0.1, and $1{\mu}g/ml$) and evaluated motility using computer assisted sperm analysis. DNA damage to boar spermatozoa was measured by the comet assay, and sperm membrane integrity and acrosome integrity were evaluated by flow cytometry. The results showed that motility was positively affected by the addition of AFP at each concentration except $1{\mu}g/ml$ (p<0.001). Although cryopreservation with AFP decreased the viability of the boar sperm using, the tail DNA analyses showed that there was no significant difference between the control and the addition of 0.1 or $0.01{\mu}g/ml$ AFP. In addition, the percentage of live sperm with intact acrosomes showed the least significant difference between the control and $0.1{\mu}g/ml$ AFP (p<0.05), but increased with $1{\mu}g/ml$ AFP (p<0.001). Our results indicate that the addition of AFP during boar sperm cryopreservation can improve viability and acrosome integrity after thawing.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.59 no.3
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• pp.259-268
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• 2016

Objective : Accumulation of advanced glycation end-products (AGE) and mitochondrial glycation is importantly implicated in the pathological changes of the brain associated with diabetic complications, Alzheimer disease, and aging. The present study was undertaken to determine whether sildenafil, a type 5 phosphodiesterase type (PDE-5) inhibitor, has beneficial effect on neuronal cells challenged with AGE-induced oxidative stress to preserve their mitochondrial functional integrity. Methods : HT-22 hippocampal neuronal cells were exposed to AGE and changes in the mitochondrial functional parameters were determined. Pretreatment of cells with sildenafil effectively ameliorated these AGE-induced deterioration of mitochondrial functional integrity. Results : AGE-treated cells lost their mitochondrial functional integrity which was estimated by their MTT reduction ability and intracellular ATP concentration. These cells exhibited stimulated generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), disruption of mitochondrial membrane potential, induction of mitochondrial permeability transition, and release of the cytochrome C, activation of the caspase-3 accompanied by apoptosis. Western blot analyses and qRT-PCR demonstrated that sildenafil increased the expression level of the heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1). CoPP and bilirubin, an inducer of HO-1 and a metabolic product of HO-1, respectively, provided a similar protective effects. On the contrary, the HO-1 inhibitor ZnPP IX blocked the effect of sildenafil. Transfection with HO-1 siRNA significantly reduced the protective effect of sildenafil on the loss of MTT reduction ability and MPT induction in AGE-treated cells. Conclusion : Taken together, our results suggested that sildenafil provides beneficial effect to protect the HT-22 hippocampal neuronal cells against AGE-induced deterioration of mitochondrial integrity, and upregulation of HO-1 is involved in the underlying mechanism.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.388-396
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• 2020

Purpose: Impaired intestinal mucosal integrity may affect the gastrointestinal function, especially in relation to nutrition, absorption, and barrier function. The purpose of this study was to measure the prevalence of impaired intestinal mucosal integrity in presumed healthy children aged 1-3 years and assess the effects of zinc, glutamine, fiber, and prebiotic supplementation in them. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 200 children aged 1-3 years in Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta, Indonesia. A randomized double-blind parallel group method clinical trial was then performed to assess the effects of zinc, glutamine, fiber, and prebiotic supplementation. Results: Elevated calprotectin was found in 91/200 subjects (45.5%) at the onset of the study. After 10 months, 144 subjects completed the study: 72 subjects received the trial formula, whereas the other 72 received the standard formula. A transitory decrease in fecal calprotectin (FC) was observed after 6 months in the subgroup with normal FC levels, who were fed the test formula (p=0.012). Conclusion: The prevalence of impaired intestinal mucosal integrity in this group of Indonesian children aged 1-3 years was high. Supplementation with zinc, glutamine, fiber, and prebiotics during 6 months reduced FC only in those who had low levels at baseline but not in those with impaired integrity.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 2002.05a
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• pp.373-378
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• 2002

The waterproofing system's performance is known to show a determining by complex interaction of material factors, design details, and the qualify of construction, and the waterproofing integrity of waterproofing membranes is determined by the bond to the deck and the amount of damage to the waterproofing membrane. In this research, the basic properties of waterproofing membranes on market and the tensile adhesive characteristics of waterproofing systems of concrete bridge deck have also been investigated in the view of the damages frequently reported from job site. As a results of tensile adhesive strength of waterproofing system, tensile strength is decrease with surface moisture contents except for inorganic-elastomeric liquid waterproofing membrane, and increase with strength of deck slab. Also tensile adhesive strength is generally increase in case of moisture curing of specimen because of pore structure and surface leveling. The after asphalt concrete paving tends to increase more than before those. The results of the liquid waterproofing membranes are upside-down, and the more concrete has strength, the more strength of tensile adhesive increase. The ambient temperature and the rolling temperature of asphalt concrete when application of the waterproofing membrane has considerable influence on the performance of waterproofing system.

• Journal of Photoscience
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.9-14
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• 1994

Exposure of isolated intact mitochondria to near UV to visible light resulted in not only loss of respiration, the most well-documented phenomenon regarding phototoxic effects in the respiring organelles, but also lipid peroxidation of membranes and mitochondrial swelling; these turned out to be O$_2$-dependent and thus prevented by anaerobiosis, enhanced by a partial deuteration of the suspension medium, and suppressed by the presence of a singlet oxygen ($^1O_2$) scavenger. Measurements of the spectral dependence of such detrimental effects of light on mitochondrial structure and function revealed that all the resulting spectra bear a significant resemblance to the action spectrum for photogeneration of $^1O_2$ from mitochondrial membranes, which in turn carries the spectral characteristics of light absorption by mitochondrial Fe-S centers. Futhermore, destructing the Fe-S centers by a mercurial treatment of mitochondria brought about a striking reduction of the light-induced membrane peroxidation and swelling of mitochondria. These results are consistent with the suggestion that the impairment of functional, structural integrity of mitochondria caused by strong irradiation is directly related to the production of $^1O_2$ in mitochondria, photosensitized by the Fe-S centers. This paper also presents kinetic data which indicate that, among various membrane-bound protein systems associated with mitochondrial energy metabolism, the respiratory chain is the primary target for photodamage.

• Journal of the Society of Naval Architects of Korea
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.451-456
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• 2011

To ensure structural integrity of membrane type LNG tank, the rational assessment of the sloshing impact responses of tank structures should be preceded. The sloshing impact pressures acting on the insulation system of LNG tank are typical irregular loads and the resulting structural responses show very complex behaviors accompanied with fluid structure interaction. So it is not easy to estimate them accurately and immense time consuming calculation process would be necessary. In this research, a simplified method to analyse the dynamic structural responses of LNG tank insulation system under pressure time histories obtained by sloshing model test or numerical analysis was studied. The proposed technique based on the concept of linear combination of the triangular response functions which are the transient responses of structures under the unit triangular impact pressure acting on structures. The validity of suggested method was verified through the example calculations and applied to the dynamic structural response analysis of a real Mark III membrane type insulation system using the sloshing impact pressure time histories obtained by model test.

• Journal of Plant Biology
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.265-274
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• 1989

The effect of Ca2+ on auxin-induced ehtylene production in etiolated mungbean (Vigna radiata W.) hypocotyls was studied. Auxin-induced ethylene production by mungbean seedlings which had been germinated in the presence of 5-10mM Ca2+ (High Ca2+ ; HC) is greater than that by seedlings which had been germinated in distilled water (Low Ca2+ ; LC). The effect of Ca2+ on auxin-induced ethylene production was greatly increased after 12hr of incubation period. The stimulation of auxin-induced ethylene production by Ca2+ was specific, since divalent cations, such as Mg2+ and Mn2+ did not enhance auxin-induced ethylene production. Calcium also promoted ethylene evoluation induced by methionine and 1-Aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid(ACC). The effect of Ca2+ on auxin-induced ethylene production was not caused by increase in free IAA or ACC contents of hypocotyl tissue. Dimethyl sulfoxide and Triton X-100, that disrupts the emembranes, inhibited ethylene production to a greater extent in LC segments than in HC segments. Addition of Ca2+ to the incubation medium for LC segments resulted in enchancement of ethylene production probalby because the membrane integrity is supported under these conditions. Comparison of activity of Ethylene Forming Enzyme(EFE) in LC and HC hypocotyl segments indicated that the enzyme activity of HC was about 2 times higher than that of L.C. It is suggested that Ca2+ increases the activity of plasma membrane-bound EFE through its stabilizing effect onn the membrane, which in turn brings about promotion of ethylene production.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.243-248
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• 1999

Ultrasonic wave technology was employed to improve filtration performance and ethanol production in a bioreactor equipped with an internal ceramic-membrane filter module. The filtration performance was found to depend on the power and the pattern of ultrasonic wave irradiation. Under the optimized conditions (irradiation time: 25 see, period: 5 min, and ultrasonic power: 60 W), the flux was improved with the periodic-pause method by 200-700％ compared with the control (with no irradiation), while the improvement was only 30 to 90％ without the periodic-pause method. The final ethanol concentration also increased slightly. However, in a more severe condition (irradiation time: 2.5 min, period: 5 min, and ultrasonic power: 110 W), the irradiation of ultrasonic waves was observed to disturb cell integrity and viability, and thus to decrease ethanol production.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Applied Pharmacology
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• 1996.04a
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• pp.181-181
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• 1996

The (Na, K) ATPase is a membrane ion transporting ATPase composed of an ${\alpha}$ catalytic subunit and a ${\beta}$ glycoprotein subunit. The topology of the rat ${\alpha}$1 and ${\beta}$1 subunits has been studied by insertion of epitope(s) : at the NH2-terminus and COOH-terminus and between Glu117 and Glul18, Lys828 and Arg829, Gln900 and Trp901, and Va1939 and Phe940 of the ${\alpha}$ subunit; and at the NH2-terminus and COOH-terminus and between Glu228 and Tyr229 of the ${\beta}$ subunit. The epitope-tagged ${\alpha}$l, constructs were expressed in HeLa cells to select for stable cell lines expressing a functional (Na, K)ATPase. All constructs, except for the one tagged between Gln900 and Trp901, resulted in ouabain-resistant colonies indicating that modified proteins retained functional integrity. The epitope-tagged ${\beta}$ constructs were transiently expressed in Cos-7 cells. The orientation of the epitopes with respect to the cell membrane was revealed by indirect immunofluorescence performed on permeabilized and non-permeabilized cells expressing the (Na, K)ATPase chains. The results indicate that the ${\alpha}$ subunit has 4 transmembrane segments in the COOH terminal membrane bound domain between residues 760 and 938, and that both the NH2-terminus and the COOH-terminus are in the cytosol; it was not determined whether there are more transmembrane segments between residue 938 and the COOH-terminus. The ${\beta}$ subunit has only one transmembrane spanning region with the NH2-terminus in the cytosol and the COOH-terminus on the extracytoplasmic surface of the plasma membrane.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.265-271
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• 2011

This study was undertaken to find out the effect of methyl-beta-cyclodextrin (MBCD) on cold shock and membrane cholesterol quantity of sperm during the freezing process in miniature pigs. For this study, semen ejaculated from PWG M-type miniature pig was diluted that freezing solution (with egg yolk group) and m-Modena B (without egg yolk group) treated with 0, 1, 5, 10 and 20 mM MBCD before freezing process. The diluted semen was monitored sperm ability at room temperature, after cooled until $5^{\circ}C$ and after forzen-thawed for cold shock test of spermatozoa. Also, membrane cholesterol of sperm was extracted by folch solution at the same time sperm ability was assessed for viability and acrosomal status. The membrane cholesterol quantity was measured by thin-layer chromatography (TLC) method. The result, viability and acrosome integrity in semen diluted without egg yolk groups were decreased at all temperature range by increasing of MBCD concentration. In particular, sperm of egg yolk group was showed that significantly higher viability and lower acrosome damage when treated with 5 mM MBCD (p<0.05). The results of TLC experiment, cholesterol amounts were increased with MBCD cocentration in egg yolk, and decreased with MBCD concentration in m-Modena B. In cryopreservation efficiency, there was no significant difference at viability, and acrosomal state of sperm in 5 mM MBCD concentration was significantly lower in acrosome damage than other groups (p<0.05). Therefore, the addition MBCD in egg yolk was protected spermatozoa from cold shock injury. This protective effect of MBCD may be due to addition of sperm membrane cholesterol.