• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
• /
• v.14 no.4
• /
• pp.380-385
• /
• 1999

This study was performed to investigate the contents of sulfites in 2, 770 dried marine products in Seoul Chung-Bu market from March to October in 1999. Sulfites of the samples were determined by Zn powder reduction method and Monnier-Williams's modified method. Eight samples of 2, 770 (0.29%) were detected over 30ppm in SO2 contents by Monnier-Williams's modified method. In samples detected over 30ppm, six dried filefishes(130.2~573.4ppm) were imported from Vietnam, same kind of other one(114.2ppm) was from China and the other one Alaska pollack(196.3ppm) was domestic. By Zn powder reduction method, 259 dried marine products (259/2, 770=9.35%) were positive reaction (1-30ppm). These were 93 dried shrimps, 53 filefish meats, 34 dried squids, 33 slices of dried pollacks and 17 sea mussel meats. So sulfites must be use commonly to prevent black spot and preserve for many dried shrimps, filefishes meats, dried squids etc. According to results, the quality test for the imported dried marine products must be reinforced to supply safety food for the citizens.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.21 no.12
• /
• pp.1330-1335
• /
• 2011

N-Acyl homoserine lactones (AHLs) serve as the vital quorum-sensing signals that regulate the virulence of the pathogenic bacterium Erwinia carotovora. In the present study, an approach to efficiently restrain the pathogenicity of E. carotovora-induced soft rot disease is described. Bacillus thuringiensis-derived N-acyl homoserine lactonase (AiiA) was projected onto the surface of Pseudomonas putida cells, and inoculation with both strains was challenged. The previously identified N-terminal moiety of the ice nucleation protein, InaQ-N, was applied as the anchoring motif. A surface display cassette with inaQ-N/aiiA was constructed and expressed under the control of a constitutive promoter in P. putida AB92019. Surface localization of the fusion protein was confirmed by Western blot analysis, flow cytometry, and immunofluorescence microscopy. The antagonistic activity of P. putida MB116 expressing InaQ-N/AiiA toward E. carotovora ATCC25270 was evaluated by challenge inoculation in potato slices at different ratios. The results revealed a remarkable suppressing effect on E. carotovora infection. The active component was further analyzed using different cell fractions, and the cell surface-projected fusion protein was found to correspond to the suppressing effect.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
• /
• v.26 no.6
• /
• pp.545-552
• /
• 2001

Nondestructive methods such as ultrasonic and magnetic resonance imaging systems have many advantages but still much expensive. And they do not give exact color information and may miss some details. If it is allowed to destruct a biological object to obtain interior and exterior informations, 3D image visualization model from a series of sliced sectional images gives more useful information with relatively low cost. In this paper, a PC based automatic 3D visualization system is presented. The system is composed of three modules. The first module is the handling and image acquisition module. The handling module feeds and slices a cylindrical shape paraffin, which holds a biological object inside the paraffin. And the paraffin is kept being solid by cooling while being handled. The image acquisition modulo captures the sectional image of the object merged into the paraffin consecutively. The second one is the system control and interface module, which controls actuators for feeding, slicing, and image capturing. And the last one is the image processing and visualization module, which processes a series of acquired sectional images and generates a 3D volumetric model. To verify the condition for the uniform slicing, normal directional forces of the cutting edge according to the various cutting angles were measured using a strain gauge and the amount of the sliced chips were weighed and analyzed. Once the 3D model was constructed on the computer, user could manipulate it with various transformation methods such as translation, rotation, and scaling including arbitrary sectional view.

• Journal of KIISE:Software and Applications
• /
• v.36 no.10
• /
• pp.825-835
• /
• 2009

The advance in medical technology has decreased death rates from diseases such as tubercle, pneumonia, malnutrition, and hepatitis. However, death rates from cardiac diseases are still increasing. To prevent cardiac diseases and quantify cardiac function, magnetic resonance imaging not harmful to the body is used for calculating blood volumes and ejection fraction(EF) on routine clinics. In this paper, automatic left ventricle(LV) segmentation is presented to segment LV and calculate blood volume and EF, which can replace labor intensive and time consuming manual contouring. Radial threshold determination is designed to segment LV and blood volume and EF are calculated. Especially, basal slices which were difficult to segment in previous researches are segmented automatically almost without user intervention. On short axis cardiac MRI of 36 subjects, the presented algorithm is compared with manual contouring and General Electronic MASS software. The results show that the presented algorithm performs in similar to the manual contouring and outperforms the MASS software in accuracy.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
• /
• v.55 no.5
• /
• pp.244-247
• /
• 2014

Objective : The aim of this study was to evaluate the microanatomy and histological features of the central myelin in the root exit zone of facial nerve. Methods : Forty facial nerves with brain stem were obtained from 20 formalin fixed cadavers. Among them 17 facial nerves were ruined during preparation and 23 root entry zone (REZ) of facial nerves could be examined. The length of medial REZ, from detach point of facial nerve at the brain stem to transitional area, and the thickness of glial membrane of central myelin was measured. We cut brain stem along the facial nerve and made a tissue block of facial nerve REZ. Each tissue block was embedded with paraffin and serially sectioned. Slices were stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E), periodic acid-Schiff, and glial fibrillary acid protein. Microscopy was used to measure the extent of central myelin and thickness of outer glial membrane of central myelin. Thickness of glial membrane was examined at two different points, the thickest area of proximal and distal REZ. Results : Special stain with PAS and GFAP could be differentiated the central and peripheral myelin of facial nerve. The length of medial REZ was mean 2.6 mm (1.6-3.5 mm). The glial limiting membrane of brain stem is continued to the end of central myelin. We called it glial sheath of REZ. The thickness of glial sheath was mean $66.5{\mu}m(40-110{\mu}m$) at proximal REZ and $7.4{\mu}m(5-10{\mu}m$) at distal REZ. Conclusion : Medial REZ of facial nerve is mean 2.6 mm in length and covered by glial sheath continued from glial limiting membrane of brain stem. Glial sheath of central myelin tends to become thin toward transitional zone.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
• /
• v.4 no.4
• /
• pp.275-281
• /
• 2000

Cholecystokinin (CCK) is a gastrointestinal hormone which plays an important role in satiety and gastric motility. It is also widely distributed throughout the central nervous system, where it appears to be involved in the central control of anxiety, feeding behavior and nociception. Two distinct CCK receptor types, $CCK_A$ and $CCK_B,$ have been found in the brain. Both CCK receptors coexist in the rat nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS), which is the primary center for the coordination of peripheral and central activities related to gastrointestinal, cardiovascular and respiratory functions. In order to study ionic actions of CCK on each type of receptor, we investigated the effects of CCK-8S on neurons located in the NTS of the rat using whole-cell patch-clamp recordings in brainstem slices. Application of CCK-8S, under current clamp, produced a membrane depolarization accompanied by action potential firing. This CCK-evoked excitation was dose-dependent $(10\;nM{\sim}10\;{\mu}M)$ and observed in more than 60% of NTS neurons. Under voltage clamp conditions, CCK-8S induced an inward current with a notably increased spontaneous excitatory synaptic activity. However, CCK-8S did not significantly change the amplitude of pharmacologically isolated and evoked EPSP(C)s. Using selective $CCK_A$ and $CCK_B$ receptor antagonists, we observed two different effects of CCK-8S, which suggest $CCK_A$ receptor-mediated inhibitory and $CCK_B$ receptor-mediated excitatory effects in the NTS. These results may help to explain the ability of CCK to modulate gastrointestinal and other reflex systems in the NTS.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
• /
• v.16 no.5
• /
• pp.343-348
• /
• 2012

Blocking or regulating $K^+$ channels is important for investigating neuronal functions in mammalian brains, because voltage-dependent $K^+$ channels (Kv channels) play roles to regulate membrane excitabilities for synaptic and somatic processings in neurons. Although a number of toxins and chemicals are useful to change gating properties of Kv channels, specific effects of each toxin on a particular Kv subunit have not been sufficiently demonstrated in neurons yet. In this study, we tested electro-physiologically if heteropodatoxin2 ($HpTX_2$), known as one of Kv4-specific toxins, might be effective on various $K^+$ outward currents in CA1 neurons of organotypic hippocampal slices of rats. Using a nucleated-patch technique and a pre-pulse protocol in voltage-clamp mode, total $K^+$ outward currents recorded in the soma of CA1 neurons were separated into two components, transient and sustained currents. The extracellular application of $HpTX_2$ weakly but significantly reduced transient currents. However, when $HpTX_2$ was added to internal solution, the significant reduction of amplitudes were observed in sustained currents but not in transient currents. This indicates the non-specificity of $HpTX_2$ effects on Kv4 family. Compared with the effect of cytosolic 4-AP to block transient currents, it is possible that cytosolic $HpTX_2$ is pharmacologically specific to sustained currents in CA1 neurons. These results suggest that distinctive actions of $HpTX_2$ inside and outside of neurons are very efficient to selectively reduce specific $K^+$ outward currents.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
• /
• v.39 no.5
• /
• pp.360-365
• /
• 2006

Objective : This is a cadaver study to assess the accuracy of three cervical screw insertion techniques; the blind technique [Group I], the laminotomy technique [Group II], and the funnel technique [Group III]. Methods : Ten human cadavers embalmed with formaldehyde were prepared. After exposing the spinous processes, the laminas and the lateral masses, titanium alloy transpedicular screws were inserted from C3 to C7. A total of 100 pedicles were ramdomly assigned to one of three techniques [the blind technique : 31 screws, the laminotomy technique : 51 screws, the funnel technique: 18 screws]. Axial computed tomography with 1-mm slices, and sagittal and coronal reformation were performed to identify the accuracy of the screw insertion and the anatomic relationships. Results : In Group I, 9 screws [29%] were either contained within or penetrated less than 1mm, which were rated as successful. In Group II, 24 screws [47%] were successful. In Group III, 16 screws [89%] were successful. In the multiple comparison, there was a statistically significant difference between Groups I and III and between Groups II and III [$X^2$ test and Bonfenoni test]. Conclusion : The funnel technique can help a surgeon's understanding about the cervical pedicle more precisely than the other two techniques. The funnel technique is less dependent on lateral soft tissue retraction state.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
• /
• v.38 no.4
• /
• pp.265-268
• /
• 2005

Objective : With the increasing popularity of pedicle screw fixation devices for several indications, the safety and reliability of screw insertion in the small pedicle has become a major issue. Many studies have investigated the accuracy of screw placement after pedicle screw fixation using various method. The reported displacement rates have been very different. The purpose of the study is to investigate the proper placement of pedicle screw insertion in the lumbar spine on 26 consecutive patients. Methods : Between September and December 2003, 26 consecutive patients [16women and 10men] were analyzed after transpedicular screw fixation of the lumbar and lumbosacral spine. After pedicle screw fixation in this study, 2-mm slices of CT scan were performed in all patients to detect caudal and cranial deviation of screw and medial and lateral deviation. Pedcile screw placement related complication was evaluated clinically. Results : A total of 144 inserted pedicle were analyzed in 26patients, and 58pedicle screws [40.3%] were detected to be improper placement. There were 14level [9.0%] of caudal or cranial deviation and 44level [30.6%] of medial or lateral deviation to the pedicle. Extra-pedicle placement was found on 4levels [2.7%] with only lease of neurologic injury. Conclusion : Proper screw placement, though complication rate is low, is important not only for clinical symptom but also for biomechanics. Further study for screw placement related biomechanical changes is needed.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
• /
• v.7 no.4
• /
• pp.567-574
• /
• 2006

This paper focuses on lossy medical image compression methods for medical images that operate on three-dimensional(3-D) irreversible integer wavelet transform. We offer an application of unbalanced tree structure algorithm to medical images, using a 3-D unbalanced wavelet decomposition and a 3-D unbalanced spatial dependence tree. The wavelet decomposition is accomplished with integer wavelet filters implemented with the lifting method. We have tested our encoder on volumetric medical images using different integer filters and 16 coding unit size. The coding unit sizes of 16 slices save considerable dynamic memory(RAM) and coding delay from full sequence coding units used in previous works. If we allow the formation of trees of different lengths, then we can accomodate more transaxial scales than three. Then the encoder and decoder can then keep track of the length of the tree in which each pixel resides through the sequence of decompositions. Results show that, even with these small coding units, our algorithm with I(5,3)filter performs as well and better in lossy coding than previous coding systems using 3-D integer unbalanced wavelet transforms on volumetric medical images.