• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.231-236
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• 2015

A 17-year-old girl presented with complaints of headache and decreasing vision of one month's duration, without any history of fever, weight loss, or any evidence of an immuno-compromised state. Her neurological examination was normal, except for papilledema. Laboratory investigations were within normal limits, except for a slightly increased Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR). Non-contrast computerized tomography of her head revealed complex mass in left frontal lobe with a concentric, slightly hyperdense, thickened wall, and moderate perilesional edema with mass effect. Differential diagnoses considered in this case were pilocytic astrocytoma, metastasis and abscess. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) obtained in 3.0 Tesla (3.0T) scanner revealed a lobulated outline cystic mass in the left frontal lobe with two concentric layers of T2 hypointense wall, with T2 hyperintensity between the concentric ring. Moderate perilesional edema and mass effect were seen. Post gadolinium study showed a markedly enhancing irregular wall with some enhancing nodular solid component. No restricted diffusion was seen in this mass in diffusion weighted imaging (DWI). Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) showed increased lactate and lipid peaks in the central part of this mass, although some areas at the wall and perilesional T2 hyperintensity showed an increased choline peak without significant decrease in N-acetylaspartate (NAA) level. Arterial spin labelling (ASL) and dynamic susceptibility contrast (DSC) enhanced perfusion study showed decrease in relative cerebral blood volume at this region. These features in MRI were suggestive of brain abscess. The patient underwent craniotomy with excision of a grayish nodular lesion. Abundant acid fast bacilli (AFB) in acid fast staining, and epithelioid cell granulomas, caseation necrosis and Langhans giant cells in histopathology, were conclusive of tubercular abscess. Tubercular brain abscess is a rare manifestation that simulates malignancy and cause diagnostic dilemma. MRI along with MRS and magnetic resonance perfusion studies, are powerful tools to differentiate lesions in such equivocal cases.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.141-149
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• 2018

The structure of the coacervate can dramatically influence deposition on the hair. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of coacervate with a relatively fine and uniform structure on the surface properties of hair and its influence on hair damage. In this study, coacervates of different sizes were explored in 10% shampoo solutions; one solution contained coacervates with non-uniform sizes ($10-300{\mu}m$ average), and the other solution formed a coacervate with a fine and uniform ($1-3{\mu}m$) structure. To study the effect of shampoo on the physical properties of hair and damage to the hair, the hair breakage characteristics, color changes, friction properties, lipid contents and hair surface were examined after using two different types of shampoo. The results clearly show that the relatively fine and uniformly sized coacervate was evenly deposited over the surface of the hair. As a result, the coacervate system can substantially influence the surface properties of the hair such as hair friction, breakage characteristics, and color. The frictional force was dramatically reduced. The use of a fine and uniformly sized coacervate can notably improve hair surface properties. Consequently, hair breakage decreased, and the effect of the coacervate on hair damage was remarkably high.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.557-560
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• 2008

The micelle process was developed for pre-purifying paclitaxel from plant cell cultures of Taxus chinensis, giving a high purity and yield. The approach in this work was to transfer paclitaxel in the crude extract to an aqueous surfactant solution as a micelle, allowing organic solvents to be used for removal of lipids and non-polar impurities. In this work, the effects of various surfactants such as CPC, CTMAC, LTMAC, SDS, AOT, Tween, PEG, and Triton were examined on the yield, purity, and phase separation time in micelle process. Among these surfactants, CTMAC (5%, w/v) gave the best result in terms of paclitaxel yield (${\sim}99%$), purity (${\sim}21%$), and phase separation time (30 min). The use of micelles in the pre-purification process allows for rapid and efficient separation of paclitaxel from interfering compounds and dramatically increases the yield and purity of crude paclitaxel for subsequent purification steps.

• Journal of Crop Science and Biotechnology
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.181-186
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• 2008

To assess the potential as biofortified rice varieties, new endosperm and grain mutant lines were selected from $M_4$ generation seeds of the rice cultivar Shindongjin, which were either $\gamma$-irradiated or treated with N-methyl-N-nitrosourea(MNU) and lipid, sugar, and tocopherol content were analyzed. Amylose content in non-waxy mutants ranged from 8.8% in SM-4, a dull-type mutant, to 29.5% in SM-51, compared to 18.9% in the parental variety, Shindongjin. SM-23, a floury-type mutant, contained 0.09 ${\mu}g/g$ $\alpha$-tocopherol(40.9% of total tocopherol), was three times higher than in the parental variety. SM-32, a giant embryo-type mutant, had a 2.2-fold higher total tocopherol content, 2.1-fold higher $\alpha$-tocopherol, and 5.5-fold higher $\delta$-tocopherol content(47.3% of total tocopherol) than the parental variety(0.13 ${\mu}g/g$). Total free sugar content was elevated in all selected mutants and 1.2-8.6 times higher than in the parental variety(11.38 ${\mu}g/g$). These increased sugar levels were due to increase in sucrose concentration. SM-23(floury-type mutant) and SM-51(high amylose-type mutant) had 4.6 and 7.0 times more sugar, respectively, than the parental variety(11.38 ${\mu}g/g$). With relatively high concentrations, most mutants showed elevated fatty acid content in the SM 32(giant embryo-type) and SM-51(high amylose-type) mutants, at 124.56 and 89.59 mg/g, respectively. All selected mutants displayed valuable characteristics for the development of new varieties in rice-breeding programs.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.33 no.11
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• pp.847-854
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• 2011

To deal with issues from global climate changes, renewable bioenergy has become important. Algae have been regarded as a good resource for biorefinery and bioenergy, and also have potential capability to remove nutrient and non-decompositional pollutants for wastewater advanced treatment. Although algal-bacterial ecological interaction would be a crucially important factor in using algae for wastewater advanced treatment and resource recovery from wastewater, very little is known about ecological interaction between algae and bacteria in a real wastewater environment. In this study, under a real municipal wastewater condition, we characterized wastewater pollutant treatability and bacterial communities in response to growth of Ankistrodesmus gracilis SAG278-2, which can grow in wastewater and has a high lipid contents. The growth of algal population using the wastewater was inhibited by increase in wastewater bacteria while bacterial survival and cellular decay rate were not influenced by the algal growth. Removals of recalcitrant organic matters and total nitrogen were improved in the presence of algal growth. According to T-RFLP and statistical analysis, algal growth affected time-course changes in bacterial community structures. The following 16S rRNA gene amplicon, cloning results showed that the algal growth changes in bacterial community structure, and that bacterial populations belonging to Sediminibacterium, Sphingobacterium, Mucilaginibacter genera were identified as cooperative with the algal growth in the wastewater.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.26-34
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• 2014

Due to the rapid energy consumption and fossil fuel abundance reduction, the world is progressively in need of alternative and renewable energy sources such as biodiesel. Biodiesel from microalgae offers high hopes to the scientific world for its potential as well as its non-competition with arable lands. Taking consideration to reduce the cost of production as well as to attain twin environmental goals of treatment and use of animal waste material the microalgal cultivation using piggery manure has been tested in this study. Unialgal strains such as Chlorella sp. JK2, Scenedesmus sp. JK10, and an indigenous mixed microalgal culture CSS were cultured for 20 days in diluted piggery manure using Small Scale Raceway Pond (SSRP). Biomass production and lipid productivity of CSS were $1.19{\pm}0.09gL^{-1}$, $12.44{\pm}0.38mgL^{-1}day^{-1}$, respectively and almost twice that of unialgal strains. Also, total nitrogen and total phosphorus removal efficiencies of CSS was 93.6% and 98.5% respectively and 30% higher removal efficiency compared to the use of unialgal strains. These results indicate that the piggery manure can provide microalgae necessary nitrogen and phosphorus for growth thereby effectively treating the manure. In addition, overall cost of microalgal cultivation and subsequently biodiesel production would be significantly reduced.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.434-446
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• 2020

Objectives: The cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI) and ankle-brachial index (ABI) are non-invasive methods to evaluate cardiovascular disease and arteriosclerosis. This study investigated the relationship between CAVI, ABI, and factors related to arteriosclerosis. Methods: This study included 535 healthy adults who underwent health examinations in 2019. We analyzed the correlation between CAVI, ABI and clinical variables. Multiple regression analysis was performed on the independent clinical variables associated with CAVI and ABI. Results: The correlation analysis of CAVI showed that body mass index (BMI) and HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C) had a negative correlation, and the other variables had a significant positive correlation. The correlation analysis with ABI on the right side showed that age, diastolic blood pressure (DBP), gender, and LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C) had a significant positive correlation, while HDL-C had a significant negative correlation. There was no statistical significance on the left. In the multiple regression analysis, DBP, age, BMI, gender, and HDL-C were proved to be independent factors in CAVI (right) (R²=0.365); DBP, age, gender, BMI, fasting blood sugar, and total cholesterol in CAVI (left) (R²=0.357); and age, gender, DBP, and systolic blood pressure in ABI (right) (R²=0.133). There were no statistically significant factors in ABI (left). It could be inferred that smoking and drinking are determinants that play an important role in CAVI. Conclusion: CAVI showed a high correlation with gender, age, and blood pressure. A significant correlation between CAVI and serum lipid values could be observed, but this showed a low correlation coefficient. ABI showed a high correlation with age and DBP. These results support the use of CAVI and ABI as primary diagnostic devices in medical treatment.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.46 no.5
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• pp.544-548
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• 2014

This study was conducted to investigate the nutritional components and quality characteristics of the root of Allium hookeri grown in Korea and Myanmar. The root of A. hookeri grown in Hadong, Korea (KR), contained higher levels of carbohydrate, crude ash, and crude lipid, but the root of A. hookeri grown in Shan, Myanmar (MR), contained higher levels of crude protein and crude fiber. The free sugar and organic acid contents were higher in KR than in MR. Fructose, glucose, and sucrose were the major free sugars and arginine was the major free amino acid. KR contained higher amounts of essential amino acids, non-essential amino acids, ${\gamma}$-amino butyric acid, and citrulline than MR. Potassium was a prominent mineral constituent in both KR and MR, and KR contained higher mineral content than MR. KR contained twice the amount of sulfur and crude saponin, relative to MR.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.79-84
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• 2011

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of oral administering kefir on blood glucose levels in diabetic mice. Kefir($10\;m\ell/kg$ body weight) was orally administered to diabetic mice twice daily for 45 days. Diabetic mice fed saline or 10% skim milk were used as a control. No significant difference in feed intake and weight gain were observed among the treatments. Compared to the saline-fed or skim milk-fed group, blood glucose in the kefir-fed group decreased significantly at 45 days(p<0.05). At 45 days, serum triglyceride and non-esterified fatty acid concentrations in diabetic mice fed kefir decreased significantly compared to those of the saline and skim milk groups(p<0.05). Both high density lipoprotein and low density lipoprotein concentrations were not significantly different among the three treatment groups. In conclusion, the symptoms of diabetic mice improved when kefir was fed for >45 days.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.40-49
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• 2018

Purpose: The number of patients with dyslipidemia have been increasing steadily over the past few decades in South Korea. The association between the chromium level and chronic disease has attracted considerable interest, but few studies have been conducted on the Korean population. The aim of this study was to identify the dietary and non-dietary correlates of the toenail chromium level, and evaluate the association between the toenail chromium level and dyslipidemia. Methods: The baseline data of an ongoing prospective cohort study in Yeungnam area in South Korea were analyzed. A total of 500 participants aged 35 years or older who completed questionnaires on their demographics, lifestyle characteristics, and medical information were included. The toenail chromium level was analyzed by neutron activation analysis. The dietary intake was assessed using a validated 146-item semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. The blood lipid profiles were obtained from medical examinations conducted by the Korean National Health Insurance Service or medical institutions. Results: Higher chromium levels were associated with the residential area (urban), higher education level, higher intakes of noodles and vegetables, and lower intake of fruits. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that the toenail chromium levels were not associated significantly with the prevalence of dyslipidemia (odds ratio: 0.99, 95% confidence interval: 0.61 ~ 1.60). Conclusion: This study is the first study in Korea to determine the independent correlates of the toenail chromium levels and the association between chromium exposure and dyslipidemia. These findings provide useful scientific evidence for the development of chromium intake guidelines for the Korean population.