• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.305-314
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• 2005

Diabetes mellitus is associated with vascular complications, including an impairment of vascular function and alterations in the reactivity of blood vessels to vasoactive substances in various vasculature. In the present study, the authors have observed endothelin-B ($ET_B$) receptor agonist-induced relaxation in precontracted mesenteric arterial segments from streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats, which was not shown from control rats or in other arterial segments from diabetic rats. Accordingly, the goal of this study was to investigate in what way STZ-induced diabetes altered reactivity of the mesenteric arterial bed and to examine the causal relaxation, if any, between this $ET_B$ receptor-mediated relaxation and endothelial paracrine function, especially nitric oxide (NO) production. The relaxation induced by $ET_B$ agonists was not observed in mesenteric arteries without endothelium. The relaxation to $ET_B$ agonists was completely abolished by pretreatment with BQ788, but not by BQ610. $N_{\omega}-nitro-L-arginine$ methyl ester and soluble guanylate cyclase inhibitors, methylene blue or LY83583 significantly attenuated the relaxant responses to $ET_B$ agonists, respectively. When the expression of eNOS and iNOS was evaluated on agarose gel stained with ethidium bromide, the expression of eNOS mRNA in diabetic rats was significantly decreased, but the expression of iNOS was increased compared with control rats. Furthermore, the iNOS-like immunostaining was densely detected in the endothelium and slightly in the arterial smooth muscle of diabetic rats, but not in control rats. These observations suggest that $ET_B$ receptor may not play a role in maintaining mesenteric vascular tone in normal situation. However, the alterations in $ET_B$ receptor sensitivity were found in diabetic rats and lead to the $ET_B$ agonist-induced vasorelaxation, which is closely related to NO production. In the state of increased vascular resistance of diabetic mesenteric vascular bed, enhanced NO production by activation of iNOS could lead to compensatory vasorelaxation to modulate adequate perfusion pressure to splanchnic area.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.265-271
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• 2009

Nitric oxide (NO) has both neuroprotective and neurotoxic effects depending on its concentration and the experimental model. We tested the effects of NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), a nonselective nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitor, and aminoguanidine, a selective inducible NOS (iNOS) inhibitor, on kainic acid (KA)-induced seizures and hippocampal CA3 neuronal death. L-NAME (50 mg/kg, i.p.) and/or aminoguanidine (200 mg/kg, i.p.) were administered 1 h prior to the intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) injection of KA. Pretreatment with L-NAME significantly increased KA-induced CA3 neuronal death, iNOS expression, and activation of microglia. However, pretreatment with aminoguanidine significantly suppressed both the KA-induced and L-NAME-aggravated hippocampal CA3 neuronal death with concomitant decreases in iNOS expression and microglial activation. The protective effect of aminoguanidine was maintained for up to 2 weeks. Furthermore, iNOS knockout mice ($iNOS^{-1-}$) were resistant to KA-induced neuronal death. The present study demonstrates that aminoguanidine attenuates KA-induced neuronal death, whereas L-NAME aggravates neuronal death, in the CA3 region of the hippocampus, suggesting that NOS isoforms play different roles in KA-induced excitotoxicity.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.163-169
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• 1993

The acute toxicity of lAS-Na(Linear Alkylbenzene Sulfonate-Na) and MES (ASME, Alpha-Sulfo fatty acid Methyl Ester), surfactans, was eyaluated in ICR mice for 14 days. Mice aging 6 weeks were administered orally with 0, 1,000, 1,320, 1,780, 2,280, 3,000 mg/kg of lASNa or 0, 1,000, 1,560, 2,450, 3,830, 6,000 mg/kg of MES in saline. The body weight of the treated animals was not significantly different from the controls. The main clinical signs of animals treated with lAS-Na or MES were diarrhea, decreased motor acthity and piloerection. The congestion in small intestine was only gross finding in dead animals treated with two sulfactants. In this study, $LD_{50}$ values of lAS-Na and MES were eyaluated 1,319 mg/kg in male and 1,402 mg/kg in female mice, 2,040 mg/kg in male and 2,548 mg in female mice, respectiyely.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.24 no.8
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• pp.1123-1132
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• 2014

This study evaluated the growth and nutrient removal ability of an indigenous algal consortium on real untreated municipal wastewater in a high rate algal pond (HRAP). The HRAP was operated semicontinuously under different hydraulic retention times (HRT: 2, 4, 6, and 8 days). The average removal efficiencies of chemical oxygen demand, and total nitrogen and phosphate of real municipal wastewater were maintained at $85.44{\pm}5.10%$, $92.74{\pm}5.82%$, and $82.85{\pm}8.63%$, respectively, in 2 day HRT. Algae dominated the consortium and showed high settling efficiency (99%), and biomass and lipid productivity of $0.50{\pm}0.03g/l/day$ and $0.103{\pm}0.0083g/l/day$ (2day HRT), respectively. Fatty acid methyl ester analysis revealed a predominance of palmitate (C16:0), palmitoleate (C16:1), linoleate (C18:2), and linolenate (C18:3). Microalgal diversity analyses determined the presence of Chlorella, Scenedesmus, and Stigeoclonium as the dominant microalgae. The algal consortium provides significant value not only in terms of energy savings and nutrient removal but also because of its bioenergy potential as indicated by the lipid content (20-23%) and FAME profiling.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.194-200
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• 1998

Background: Effect of nitric oxide on the hyperalgesia induced by inflammation is controversial. We attempted to find out the peripheral effects of nitric oxide (NO) on hyperalgesia induced by Freund's complete adjuvant (FCA) induced inflammation. Methods: Male Sprague Dawley rats were divided into three groups; control, low dose NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME, 500 ug), high dose L-NAME (5 mg). Inflammation was induced by injecting 0.1 ml of FCA intraplantarly, which shows typical hyperalgesia within twelve hours after injection and maintained for about one week. Drugs were injected 2 hours before, just before, and 3, 6, 9, 12 hours after the injection of FCA. Effect of L-NAME on hyperalgesia was assessed by measuring mechanical hyperalgesia and spontaneous pain for 3 days. Results: When injected at the site of inflammation, L-NAME caused dose dependent reduction of spontaneous hyperalgesia. Mechanical hyperalgesia was also reduced by high dose L-NAME (p<0.05). After systemic injection of high dose L-NAME in the back, no significant difference was noticed. Conclusions: This suggest that L-NAME reduces FCA induced hyperalgesia via peripheral action.

• Proceedings of the KSAR Conference
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• 2001.03a
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• pp.88-88
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• 2001

소 난포란을 체외에서 성숙, 수정시킨 후, 2~8 세포기 수정란을 체외배양액인 CR$_1$aa에 일정량의 nitric oxide scavenger, Hb와, inhibitor인 L-nitro - L- arginine methyl ester (L-NAME)를 첨가 배양하여 체외발육에 미치는 영향을 검토하고자 실시하였다. 체외수정 후 체외배양 48시간에 난구세포의 제거 유.무에 따라 CR$_1$aa 배양액에 hemoglobin을 0, 1, 5$\mu\textrm{g}$/$m\ell$를 첨가한 구의 상실배기이상 체외발육성적은 난구세포를 제거한 구에서 23.8%, 33.3% 및 26.8%였으며, 난구세포를 제거하지 않은 구에서는 각각 39.5%, 54.8% 및 48.8%로써 난구세포를 제거하지 않은 구에 Hb를 1$\mu\textrm{g}$/$m\ell$를 첨가한 구가 여타구 보다 통계적으로 높은 결과를 얻었다(P<0.05). 체외수정 후 체외배양 96시간 후 난구세포를 제거 유.무에 따라 Hb를 0, 1, 5$\mu\textrm{g}$/$m\ell$를 첨가하였을 때, 상실배기 이상 체외발육성적은 난구세포를 제거한 구에서 각각 28.6%, 46.2% 및 39.1%였으며, 난구세포를 제거하지 않은 구에서는 각각 33.9%, 67.2% 및 46.0%로써, 난구세포를 제거하지 않은 구에 Hb를 1$\mu\textrm{g}$/$m\ell$첨가구가 여타구에 비해 통계적으로 유의하게 높게 나타났다( P<0.05).CR$_1$aa배양액에 L-NAME를 0, 10, 50 및 100mM을 첨가한 구에서 상실배이상 발육된 체외발육성적은 각각 55.6%, 64.9%, 58.8% 및 66.7%로써 L-NAME 첨가구가 무첨가구에 비해 커다란 차이가 나타나지 않았다(P>0.05). 본 실험의 결과로 볼 때, nitric oxide scavenger인 hemoglobin의 첨가는 체외수정 후 체외배양 96시간에 1$\mu\textrm{g}$/$m\ell$ 첨가하는 것이 체외수정란의 체외 발육율을 향상시켰으며, nitric oxide inhibitor인 L-NAME는 첨가 농도에 관계없이 체외수정란의 체외발육율에 영향을 미치지 않는 것으로 나타났다. 본 실험에서 생산된 배반포기 체외수정란의 세포수에는 커다란 차이가 인정되지 않았다.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2007

The chemical and rheological properties of deproteinated porphyrans from laver Porphyra yezoensis were investigated to obtain basic data for the production of food materials with biological functionality. Deproteinated porphyran was prepared by acid extraction (pH 4.0, $80^{\circ}C$, 4 hr) and successive hydrolysis with 0.5% Alcalase and 0.5% Flavourzyme. The porphyran constituted 10.7% of the dry laver and consisted of 0.6% protein, 14.8% ester sulfate, 3.2% 6-O-methyl galactose, 16.0% 3,6-anhydro-L-galactose, and 67.3% galactose. The effects of concentration and temperature on the apparent viscosity were examined by applying the power law and Arrhenius equations. The porphyran solution showed the typical behavior of a pseudoplastic liquid and the flow behavior index decreased with increasing concentration. The activation energy of the deproteinated porphyran solution at a 1,000 L/s shear rate also increased from $1.4954{\times}10^{4}\;to\;1.9544{\times}10^{4}\;J/kg$ mol with the concentration.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.641-647
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• 2016

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a progressive disease characterized by vascular remodeling of pulmonary arteries (PAs) and increased vascular resistance in the lung. Monocrotaline (MCT), a toxic alkaloid, is widely used for developing rat models of PAH caused by injury to pulmonary endothelial cells; however, characteristics of vascular functions in MCT-induced PAH vary and are not fully understood. Here, we investigated hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction (HPV) responses and effects of various vasoconstrictors with isolated/perfused lungs of MCT-induced PAH (PAH-MCT) rats. Using hematoxylin and eosin staining, we confirmed vascular remodeling (i.e., medial thickening of PA) and right ventricle hypertrophy in PAH-MCT rats. The basal pulmonary arterial pressure (PAP) and PAP increase by a raised flow rate (40 mL/min) were higher in the PAH-MCT than in the control rats. In addition, both high $K^+$ (40 mM KCl)- and angiotensin II-induced PAP increases were higher in the PAH-MCT than in the control rats. Surprisingly, application of a nitric oxide synthase inhibitor, L-$N^G$-Nitroarginine methyl ester (L-NAME), induced a marked PAP increase in the PAH-MCT rats, suggesting that endothelial functions were recovered in the three-week PAH-MCT rats. In addition, the medial thickening of the PA was similar to that in chronic hypoxia-induced PAH (PAH-CH) rats. However, the HPV response (i.e., PAP increased by acute hypoxia) was not affected in the MCT rats, whereas HPV disappeared in the PAH-CH rats. These results showed that vascular contractility and HPV remain robust in the MCT-induced PAH rat model with vascular remodeling.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.303-309
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• 2012

Keratinases are of particular interest because of their action on insoluble keratins and generally on a broad range of protein substrates. Alkalophilic and neutrophilic actinomycete strains isolated from different soil samples, rich in keratinaceous substances were screened for keratinolytic activity. An alkalophilic isolate, TBG-S13A5, was found to possess good keratinolytic activity and was able to utilize feather as the sole carbon and nitrogen source. TBG-S13A5 exhibited an off-white aerial mass color with a rectus-flexibilis type of spore chain. The morphological, microscopical and biochemical characters were comparable with that of Streptomyces albidoflavus. Fatty acid methyl ester profiling (FAME) and 16S rDNA sequence analysis confirmed its identity as a strain of S. albidoflavus. Under submerged fermentation conditions, maximum protease production was recorded on the $5^{th}$ day of incubation at $30^{\circ}C$, using basal broth of pH 9.0 with 0.25% (w/v) white chicken feather. This strain could affect feather degradation when the initial pH was 8 and above and maximum protease production was recorded when the initial pH was around 10.5. The effectiveness of the crude enzyme in destaining and leather dehairing were also demonstrated.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.75-81
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• 2014

Methanotrophic denitrification under a non-aerated condition (without external supply of oxygen or air) was investigated in a bioreactor coupled with a membrane diffuser. Batch experiment demonstrated that both methane consumption and nitrogen production rates were not high in the absence of oxygen, but most of the nitrate was reduced into $N_2$ with 88% recovery efficiency. The methane utilized for nitrate reduction was determined at 1.63 mmol $CH_4$/mmol $NO_3{^-}$-N, which was 2.6 times higher than the theoretical value. In spite of no oxygen supply, methanotrophic denitrification was well performed in the bioreactor, due to enhanced mass transfer of the methane by the membrane diffuser and utilization of oxygen remaining in the influent. The denitrification efficiency and specific denitrification rate were 47% and 1.69 mg $NO_3{^-}-N/g\;VSS{\cdot}hr$, respectively, which were slightly lower than for methanotrophic denitrification under an aerobic condition. The average concentration of total organic carbon in the effluent was as low as 2.45 mg/L, which indicates that it can be applicable as a post-denitrification method for the reclamation of secondary wastewater effluent. The dominant fatty acid methyl ester of mixed culture in the bioreactor was $C_{16:1{\omega}7c}$ and $C_{18:1{\omega}7c}$, which was predominantly found in type I and II methanotrophs, respectively. This study presents the potential of methanotrophic denitrification without externally excess oxygen supply as a post-denitrification option for various water treatment or reclamation.