• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.63-68
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• 2007

The response of silkworm, Bombyx mori L. to phytoecdysteroid (PE) when administered at different ages of $5^{th}$ instar was studied in the popular bivoltine ($CSR2{\times}CSR4$) and multi${\times}$bivoltine ($PM{\times}CSR2$) silkworm hybrids, reared on the Victory-1 variety of mulberry leaves. PE was administered to $5^{th}$ instar silkworm per os at a rate of $250{\mu}g$ per 100 larvae to different batches of silkworm at 0, 24, 48, 72, 96, 120, 144 hrs and at the onset of cocoon spinning when a few larvae were ripe. The larval and mounting duration, cocoon yield and cocoon characters were influenced by PE. The intensity of influence was dependent on the time of application. The larvae treated at the beginning of the instar, improved the economic traits significantly with a marginal increase in larval duration. In the larvae treated at the middle of the instar, larval duration was shortened remarkably but the economic traits were adversely affected. This particular treatment can become a good management strategy in the case of mulberry leaf shortage or disease incidence. In the larvae treated at the onset of cocoon spinning, the mounting duration was substantially reduced without much effect on the cocoon traits which would be a big benefit in commercial sericulture. The physiological significance of varied response of silkworm to PE administration is discussed.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.127-133
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• 2007

Metformin is a drug used to lower blood sugar levels in patients with type 2 diabetes via activation of adenosine monophosphate (AMP)-activated protein kinase (AMPK). The primary objective of this study was to investigate whether metformin at the pharmacologically effective concentrations affects the expressions of ${\gamma}$-glutamylcysteine synthetase and phase II antioxidant genes in the H4IIE cell. Treatment of the cells with either metformin or 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide riboside (AICAR) abrogated tert-butylhydroxyquinone (t-BHQ) induction of ${\gamma}$-glutamylcysteine synthetase, a rate limiting enzyme of GSH synthesis. The ability of t-BHQ to induce glutathione S-transferases (GSTs), a major class of phase II detoxifying enzymes that playa critical role in protecting cells from oxidative stress or electrophiles, was also inhibited by the agents. Transcriptional gene repression by metformin was verified by the GSTA2 promoter luciferase assay. Moreover, either metformin or AICAR treatment significantly decreased t-BHQ-dependent induction of other GSTs (i.e., $GST{\mu}$ and $GST{\pi}$ forms). Taken together, our data indicate that metformin treatment may result in the repression of ${\gamma}$-glutamylcysteine synthetase and glutathione S-transferase genes possibly via AMPK activation.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.899-902
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• 2005

Peptide assimilation by Helicobacter pylori was investigated using L-phenylalanyl-3-thia-phenylalanine (PSP) as a detector peptide; the release of thiophenol upon enzymatic hydrolysis of PSP was spectrophotometrically detected with the aid of 5,5'-dithiobis[2-nitrobenzoic acid] (DTNB). By adding PSP to whole-cell suspension, thiophenol was produced progressively, resembling that found in Esherichia coli or Staphylococcus aureus. Interestingly, the rate of thiophenol production by H pylori in particular was markedly reduced when cells were pretreated with trypsin, indicating surface exhibition of peptidase. According to the competitive spectrophotometry using alanyl-peptides, H pylori did not appear to assimilate PSP through the peptide transport system. No discernible PSP assimilation could be ascertained in H pylori cells, unless provided with some additives necessary for peptidase activity, such as $Ni^{2+}\;or\;Mg^{2+}$ and an appropriate concentration of potassium or ammonium salts. These observations strongly suggest that, regardless of a presumptive peptide transport system, peptide assimilation of H. plori appears to be highly dependent upon milieu conditions, due to unique peptidase exhibition on the cell surface.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.1397-1401
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• 2005

Bone morphogenetic protein-4 (BMP-4) is a signaling homodimeric molecule that acts as a morphogen to influence cell fate in a concentration-dependent manner. The limited supply of a pure preparation of BMP-4, due to very low level of their expression in vivo, makes it difficult not only to study the biological activities of BMPs, but also to use them as a clinical tool. For a large-scale production of BMP-4, human BMP-4 cDNA was expressed in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells by a recently development vector system, which confers position-independent stable expression of the foreign genes. The CHO cell line expressing recombinant human BMP-4 (rhBMP-4) at the level of $7\;{\mu}g/ml$ could be obtained after stepwise selection with methotrexate. This level of expression is about 70 times higher than those previously reported. The partially processed form of BMP-4 as well as mature form could be detected, when the aliquots of culture media were analyzed by Western blot. The glycosylation pattern and biological activity of the rhBMP-4 were determined by glycosidase treatment and the induction rate of alkaline phosphatase in mouse osteoblastic cells.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.323-332
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• 1995

The horizontal compression test of some selected corrugated fiberboards was performed to determine the cushioning properties of them. Creep behavior of the corrugated fiberboard boxes, which have been widely used in rural area for packaging fruits and vegetables, was tested. The flute crushing stress of the corrugated fiberboard depended upon mainly the basic weight of the corrugated medium, comparing with the combined basic weight of corrugated fiberboard. When moisture content of the corrugated fiberboards was increased about 8% (d.b.), the flute crushing stress of them was decreased at the rate of 44%~64%. The cushion factor of the sample fiberboards showed much higher value at the lower moisture content of them. These trends appeared to be more obvious at the lower applied stress levels. Also, the cushion factors of the double wall corrugated fiberboards(DW) were observed to be little higher than those of the single wall corrugated fiberboards(SW). The creep behavior of the sample boxes was found to be highly moisture and static load dependent. The creep behavior of the corrugated fiberboard boxes could be well analyzed by the asymptotic slope derived from the creep model.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.442-449
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• 2000

The bioremediation is an economic technology to remove the organopollutants from soil. It is often found that the remediation could not remove the compounds below the levels determined by vigorous extractions as required by regulatory agencies. The reason for the reduced bioavailability with increasing time of aging has been accredited to the sequestration of the compounds in remote sites within or between soil particles. Then, the aging could be defined as the time-dependent sequestration. Partitioning and entrapment have been suggested as mechanism for aging. The rate and extent of the sequestration varies among dissimilar soils. The bioavailability of aged pollutants in soil could be measured by bioassays, mild solvent extraction, and soild-phase extractions. The sequestration could be affected by many factors including various soil properties, wetting and drying cycle, and the presence of cosolutes and NAPLs etc. The bioavailability and sequestration should be considered to determine the environmentally acceptable endpoint.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.133-138
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• 1995

In vitro antimutagenic activity of methanol extract from brrwn rice and its physico-chemical characteristics were investigated using Salmonella typhimurium reversion assay and SOS chromotest. Methanol extracts of brown rice were not mutagenic compared with direct and indirect, mutagenicities of 4NQO (4-nitroquinoline oxide), 2NF(2-nitrofluorene), Trp-p-1(3-Amino-1,4-dimethyl-5H-pyrido-[4,3-b]indole), and Trp-p-2(3-Amino-1-methy-5H-pyrido-[4,3-b]indole). Antimutagenic activity against the indirect mutagenicties induced by Trp-p-1, Trp-p-2 and AFB1 (aflatoxin B1) was found in methanol extract. Even though antimutagenic activity showed dose-dependent, it remained constant at inhibition rate ranging 60~90% when the concentration was abov 3mg/plate in the S. typhimurium reversion assay and 0.2~0.6 mg/assay in the SOS chromotest. The antimutagenic activity of the methanol extracts was stable at various pH (2, 7 and 10), temperatures (60, 80 and 10$0^{\circ}C$)and heation times (2, 4, 6, 8, 10 min at 10$0^{\circ}C$).

• Journal of Korean Institute of Industrial Engineers
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.23-34
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• 1993

Although there are numerous studies that address the problem of optimal machine grouping and part family classification for cellular manufacturing, little research has been reported that studies the conditions where cellular manufacturing is appropriate. This paper, in order to evaluate and compare the job shop with the GT cellular shop, the performance of those shops were simulated by using SIMAN. We tested the effect of independent variables including changes of product demands, intercell flow level, group setup time, processing time variability, variety of material handling systems, and job properties (ratio of processing time and material handling time). And also performance measures (dependent variables), such as machine utilization, mean flow time, average waiting time, and throughput rate, are discussed. Job shop model and GT cellular shop written in SIMAN simulation language were used in this study. These systems have sixteen machines which are aggregated as five machine stations using the macro feature of SIMAN. The results of this research help to better understand the effect of production factors on the performance of cellular manufacturing systems and to identify some of the necessary conditions required to make these systems perform better than traditional job shops. Therefore, this research represents one more step towards the characterization of shops which may benefit from cellular manufacturing.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.722-727
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• 2007

Mucilage containing ${\gamma}-polyglutamic$ acid (PGA) was efficiently generated by the solid-state fermentation (SSF) of soybean grit by Bacillus firmus NA-1. B. firmus NA-1 was shown to be a glutamate-dependent strain for PGA production. The SSF of soybean grit was optimized in order to produce mucilage with a fortification of 5% glutamate, resulting in higher levels of mucilage production (6.14%) and a higher consistency index ($1.1\;Pa\;sec^n$). The sticky mucilage was comprised of 38% PGA, 7% levan, and some biopolymers. With regard to the viscoelastic properties of the mucilage solution, the viscous modulus (G") obtained from soybean grit fortified with 5% glutamate was approximately 64 times higher titan that of the mucilage solution obtained without glutamate. Although the addition of glutamate in the SSF of soybean grit influenced the rate of PGA production, the molecular weight of PGA remained unaltered, and was detected in a range between 1,400-1,440 kDa.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.48 no.6
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• pp.580-587
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• 2005

New evidence is emerging that airway smooth muscle(ASM) may act as an immunomodulatory cell by providing pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, polypeptide growth factors, extracellular matrix proteins, cell adhesion receptors and co-stimulatory molecules. ASM can promote the formation of the interstitial extracellular matrix, and potentially contribute to the alterations within the extracellular matrix in asthma. In addition, extracellular matrix components can alter the proliferative, survival, and cytoskeletal synthetic function of ASM cells through integrin-directed signaling. Increased ASM mass is one of the most important features of the airway wall remodeling process in asthma. Three different mechanisms may contribute to the increased ASM mass : cell proliferation, increased migration and decreased rate of apoptosis. The major signaling pathways of cell proliferation activated by ASM mitogens are those dependent on extracellular signal-regulated kinase and phosphoinositide 3'-kinase. The key signaling mechanisms of cell migration have been identified as the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase and the p21-activated kinase 1 pathways. ASM cells contain ${\beta}2$-adrenergic receptors and glucocorticoid receptors. They may represent a key target for ${\beta}2$-adrenergic receptor agonist/corticosteroid interactions which have antiproliferative activity against a broad spectrum of mitogens.