• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.118-127
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• 2017

Elevated serum uric acid and resting heart rate are risk factors and predictors of metabolic syndrome. However, few studies have examined the optimal cutoff value for serum uric acid and resting heart rate to predict metabolic syndrome in Korean adults. Subjects for this study were 22,302 adults (average age 45 years old), who underwent health screening examination from January 2010 to December 2012 at the Health Promotion Center of one hospital in Gyeonggi-do for general health check-up. The uric acid and resting heart rate cutoff values were calculated by ROC analysis for metabolic syndrome. Elevated serum uric acid and resting heart rate were associated with an increased prevalence of metabolic syndrome in Korean adults. The optimal cutoff value for uric acid level to predict metabolic syndrome in adults was 4.95 mg/dL (male 6.35, female 4.55) and optimal cutoff value for resting heart rate to predict metabolic syndrome was 68 beats per minute (male 66, female 68). However, serum uric acid and resting heart rate were found to have limitations for the diagnosis of metabolic syndrome.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.181-187
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• 2012

Objectives: Serum uric acid levels have been reported to be associated with a variety of cardiovascular conditions. However, the direct association between uric acid levels and metabolic syndrome remains controversial. Thus, we evaluated the association of serum uric acid levels and metabolic syndrome in a community-based cohort study in Korea. Methods: We performed cross-sectional analysis of baseline data of 889 males and 1491 females (aged 38 to 87) who participated in baseline examinations of the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study: Kanghwa study. Blood samples were collected after at least an 8 hour fast. Uric acid quartiles were defined as follows: <4.8, 4.8-<5.6, 5.6-<6.5, ${\geq}6.5$ mg/dL in males; and <3.8, 3.8- <4.3, 4.3 - <5.1, ${\geq}5.1$ mg/dL in females. Metabolic syndrome was defined by the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III Criteria with adjusted waist circumference cutoffs (90 cm for males; 80 cm for females). The association between serum uric acid quartiles and metabolic syndrome was assessed using multivariate logistic regression. Results: The odds ratio for having metabolic syndrome in the highest versus lowest quartiles of serum uric acid levels was 2.67 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.60 to 4.46) in males and 2.14 (95% CI, 1.50 to 3.05) in females after adjusting for age, smoking, alcohol intake, body mass index, total cholesterol, HbA1c, albumin, ${\gamma}$-glutamyltransferase, blood urea nitrogen, and log C-reactive protein. The number of metabolic abnormalities also increased gradually with increasing serum uric acid levels (adjusted p for trend < 0.001 in both sexes). Conclusions: Higher serum uric acid levels are positively associated with the presence of metabolic syndrome in Korean males and females.

• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.252-255
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• 2004

A pfl ldhA double mutant Escherichia coli strain NZN 111 was used to produce succinic acid by overexpressing the E. coli malic enzyme gene (sfcA). This strain, however, produced a large amount of malic acid as well as succinic acid. After the analyses of the metabolic pathways, the fumB gene encoding the anaerobic fumarase of E. coli was co-amplified to solve the problem of malic acid accumulation. A plasmid, pTrcMLFu, was constructed, which contains an artificial operon (sfcA-fumB) under the control of the inducible trc promoter. From the batch culture of recombinant E. coli NZN 111 harboring pTrcMLFu, 7 g/L of succinic acid was produced from 20 g/L of glucose, with no accumulation of malic acid. From the metabolic flux analysis the strain was found under reducing power limiting conditions by severe reorientation of metabolic fluxes.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.64-67
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• 2006

To enhance the stability of ascorbic acid, the glycosylation of ascorbic acid was studied using the transfructosylation activity of levan fructotransferase. When levan was used as glycosyl donor, a novel fructoside (ascorbic acid 2-ffuctoside) was formed by the transfructosylation activity of the levan fructotransferase. The production of ascorbic acid 2-fructoside was highly affected by the concentration of the fructosyl acceptor (ascorbic acid). When $35\%$ of ascorbic acid and $2\%$ of levan were incubated with LFTase of 0.5 unit/glevan at $37^{\circ}C$ for 85 h, a maximum 52 g/l of AA-2F was produced.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Bioinformatics Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.251-257
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• 2003

Metabolic engineering has become a new paradigm for the more efficient production of desired bioproducts. Metabolic engineering can be defined as directed modification of cellular metabolism and properties through the introduction, deletion, and modification of metabolic pathways by using recombinant DNA and other molecular biological tools. During the last decade, metabolic flux analysis(MFA) has become an essential tool fur metabolic engineering. By MFA, the intracellular metabolic fluxes can be quantified by the measurement of extracellular metabolite concentrations in combination with the stoichiometry of intracellular reactions and mass balances. The usefulness and functionality of MFA are demonstrated by applying to metabolic pathways in E. coli. First, a large-scale in silico E. coli model is constructed, and then the effects of carbon sources on intracellular flux distributions and succinic acid production were investigated on the basis of the uptake and secretion rates of the relevant metabolites. The results indicated that succinic acid yields increased in order of gluconate, glucose and sorbitol. Acetic acid and lactic acid were produced as major products rather than when gluconate and glucose were used carbon sources. The results indicated that among three carbon sources available, the most reduced substrate is sorbitol which yields efficient succinic acid production.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.169-173
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• 2017

Butyric acid (C4 carboxylic acid) is used as an important compound in food, pharmaceutical, and chemical industries. Currently, butyric acid is mainly produced at the industrial scale through the petrochemical processes. Bio-based butyric acid has also gained attention, because the consumer prefers the food and pharmaceutical ingredients that are produced through fermentation. Clostridia is one of the well-known butyric acid producers, and massively engineered for enhanced production of butyric acid. In this paper, we reviewed the metabolic pathway of clostridia, especially Clostridium acetobutylicum and Clostridium tyrobutyricum, and summarized the metabolic engineering strategies of the strains for enhanced production of butyric acid.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.571-577
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• 2003

The intracellular metabolic fluxes can be calculated by metabolic flux analysis, which uses a stoichiometric model for the intracellulal reactions along with mass balances around the intracellular metabolites. In this study, metabolic flux analyses were carried out to estimate flux distributions for the maximum in silico yields of various metabolites in Escherichia coli. The maximum in silico yields of acetic acid and lactic acid were identical to their theoretical yields. On the other hand, the in silico yields of succinic acid and ethanol were only 83% and 6.5% of their theoretical yields, respectively. The lower in silico yield of succinic acid was found to be due to the insufficient reducing power. but this lower yield could be increased to its theoretical yield by supplying more reducing power. The maximum theoretical yield of ethanol could be achieved, when a reaction catalyzed by pyruvate decarboxylase was added in the metabolic network. Futhermore, optimal metabolic pathways for the production of various metabolites could be proposed, based on the results of metabolic flux analyses. In the case of succinic acid production, it was found that the pyruvate carboxylation pathway should be used for its optimal production in E. coli rather than the phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylation pathway.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.595-604
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• 2016

It has been reported that the increased uric acid level is associated with metabolic syndrome risk factors in both male and female. However, there has not been enough studies to investigate gender differences of this association in Korea. To evaluate relation between serum uric acids and metabolic syndrome markers, anthropometric and biochemical analyses data was obtained from National Health Examination 2005 and 5,523 (M=3,097; F=2,426) data was analyzed. Results by quartile of serum uric acid levels in females showed that increased serum uric acid level was associated with elevated levels of total-. LDL-cholesterol, and triglycerides, whereas association between serum uric acid and total cholesterol levels was not observed in male subjects. In both female and male, higher quartile of serum uric acid level were linked with lower levels of HDL-cholesterol. In regression analysis, association of serum uric acid levels with fasting glucose levels was significant in female subjects only. In conclusion, higher serum uric acid levels were associated with metabolic syndrome indices, however gender differences were existed for total cholesterol.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.311-318
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• 2010

Lactic acid bacteria display a relatively simple metabolism wherein the sugar is converted mainly to lactic acid. The extensive knowledge of metabolic pathways and the increasing information of the genes involved allows for the rerouting of natural metabolic pathways by genetic and physiological engineering. In this contribution, the lactic acid bacteria as an efficient cell factory for different (food) ingredients will be presented. The emphasis will be on some successful examples of metabolic engineering and on the physiology of these bacteria, which makes them so suitable as a cell factory.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Inherited Metabolic disease
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.65-71
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• 2015

Since the secretion of specific chiral isomers in urine (or plasma) is very crucial to diagnose some inborn metabolic disorders, clinical application of dual column achiral differential method has been performed for the absolute configuration of chiral compounds. Extracted from the acidified urine with diethyl ether, carboxylic functional group of organic acid (stereoisomers of the volatile) was derivatized with (-)-menthylation or (S)-(+)-3-methyl-2-butylation and followed by O-trifluoroacylation. Each of the enantiomers was accurately separated from the library matched double column (achiral) with a retention index (I). In various inborn metabolic disease urines, absolute chirality was identified correctly in the urine (10 patients) with inborn metabolic disease (including secretion of D, L- lactic acid, D, L-3-hydroxybutyric acid, and D, L-2-hydroxyglutaric acid). In this study, we identified and isolated the volatile diastereomer as a useful diagnostic marker, this successful application to urine specimens may be useful for diagnostic classification of inherited metabolic disorders.