• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.33-42
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• 1977

Asparagine biosynthesis by soybean sprouts grown under the dark conditions has been demonstrated. The amount of free asparagine synthesized in ten day-old soybean sprouts increases to 22.7% on the dry weight base. The effects of nitrogen compounds such as $NH_4Cl,\;(NH_4)_2SO_4$ and urea on asparagine synthesis during the sprouting were examined and the results showed that urea was more effective than other two compounds. Glutamine-dependent asparagine synthetase was partially purified (8.6 folds) through ammonium sulfate fractionation, followed by Sephadex G-150 gel filtration. The enzyme was very labile and required protection by thiol groups or high level of glycerol. The mixture of ATP and $Mg^{++}$ ion also stabilized the enzyme activity. The enzyme utilized glutamine more effectively than ${NH_4}^+$ as an amide donor for the formation of asparagine. The enzyme required L-aspartate (Km=3.1 mM), L-glutamine, ATP and $Mg^{++}$. It showed pH optimum of 7.5 and catalyzed the formation of ${\beta}-aspartyl$ hydroxamate in the presence of L-aspartate, ATP, $Mg^{++}$ and $NH_2OH$ in the reaction mixture.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.29 no.8
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• pp.888-894
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• 2019

Cartilage diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA), are associated with the loss of chondrocytes and degradation of articular cartilage. Recent studies revealed that inflammatory reactive oxygen species (ROS) and age-related oxidative stress can affect chondrocyte activity and cartilage homeostasis. We investigated changes in the levels of intracellular antioxidants during cellular senescence of primary chondrocytes from rat articular cartilages. Cellular senescence was induced by serial subculture (passages 0, 2, 4, and 8) of chondrocytes and measured using specific senescence-associated ${\beta}$-galactosidase ($SA-{\beta}-gal$) staining. ROS production increased significantly in the senescent chondrocytes. In addition, total glutathione (GSSG/GSH) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) expression increased in senescent chondrocytes induced by serial subculture. Analysis of changes in intracellular antioxidant levels in articular cartilage from rats of different ages (5, 25, 40, and 72 wk) revealed that total glutathione levels were highest after 40 wk and slightly decreased after 72 wk as compared with those after 25 wk. SOD and HO-1 expression levels increased in accordance with age. Based on these results, we conclude that intracellular antioxidants may be associated with cartilage protection against excessive oxidative stress in the process of chondrocyte senescence and age-related cartilage degeneration in an animal model.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.14-20
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• 1979

For accurate and easily shielding irregular shaped organ, its minimized penumbra region and a low melting point alloy 'Lead Y' and synchronizing instrument have been developed. The 'Lead Y' is the quaternary eutectic alloy and it is composed of Lead 30.0% Tin 11.5% Bismuth 48 5% Cadmium 10.0% The density of its at $22^{\circ}C$ is $9.8g/cm^3$ and the melting temperature has $40^{\circ}C\;to\;68^{\circ}C$. The thickness of 'Lead Y' for perfect shielding of Co-60 gamma ray and LINAC 10MeV x-ray is 6cm and 7cm respectively. The 'Lead Y' shielding block is casted directly on the styrofoam from which is cut with hot wire of synchronizer device. The special features and advantages of the Lead Y shielding block could be summarized as follows; 1. The shielding block for radiotherapy is rapidly processed only with boiling water and styrofoam. 2. It is not injure one's health and not danger of a fire, because of not generating of any metals vapor and evil smelling. 3. It is very effective to minimize secondary penumbra for the protection of healthy tissue from unnecessary ionizing radiation regardless of the magnification source to skin distance. 4. The HVL of the Lead Y is 1.2cm for Co-60 gamma ray and it's shielding effect is almost same as the pure lead block. 5. The hardness of Lead Y is 1.5 times higher than lead block. 6. It's reavailability is higher than lead block and then one block of Lead Y is reavailable about 30 to 40 times. 7. It is usefull for shielding of x-ray, gamma ray, beta-ray, electron and neutron radiation. 8. The materials for Lead Y are easy to acquire with reasonable price and tractable.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.5-12
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• 2013

The Hawaiian beet webworm (Spoladea recurvalis) is one of the serious insect pests found on red beet (Beta vulgaris var. conditiva) in Korea. The study was conducted to investigate the development period of S. recurvalis at various constant temperatures, 15.0, 17.5, 20.0, 22.5, 25.0, 27.5, 30.0, 32.5 and $35.0^{\circ}C$, with $65{\pm}5%$ RH and a photoperiod of 16L:8D. The developmental period from egg to pre-adult was 51.0 days at $17.5^{\circ}C$ and 14.6 days at $35.0^{\circ}C$. The developmental period of S. recurvalis was decreased with increasing temperature. The relationship between the developmental rate and temperature was fitted well by linear regression analysis ($R^2{\geq}0.87$). The lower developmental threshold and effective accumulative temperature of the total immature stage were $10.4^{\circ}C$ and 384.7 degree days, respectively. The nonlinear relationship between the temperature and developmental rate was well described by the Lactin model. The relationship between the cumulative frequency and normalized distributions of the developmental period for each life stage were fitted to the Weibull function with $R^2=0.63{\sim}0.87$.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.159-167
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• 2014

In Korea, July 2012, the law as called 'Act on Safety Control of Radioactive Rays Around Living Environment' was implemented to control the consumer product containing Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM), but, there are no appropriate database and effective dose calculation system. The aim of this study was to develop evaluation technique of the exposure dose with the use of the consumer products containing NORM and to understand the characteristics of the exposed dose according to the radiation type and energy. For the evaluate of exposure dose, the ICRP reference phantom was simulated by the MCNPX code based on Monte Carlo method, and the minimum, medium, maximum energy of alphas, betas, gammas from the representative NORM of Uranium decay series were used as the source term in the simulation. The annual effective doses were calculated by the exposure scenario of the consumer product usage time and position. Short range of the alpha and beta rays are mostly delivered the dose to the skin. On the other hand, the gamma rays mostly delivered the similar dose to all of the organs. The results of the annual effective dose with $1Bq{\cdot}g^{-1}$ radioactive stone-bed and 10% radioactive concentration were employed with the usage time of 7 hours 50 minute per day, the maximum annual effective dose of alphas, betas, gammas were calculated 0.0222, 0.0836, $0.0101mSv{\cdot}y^{-1}$, respectively.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.330-338
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• 2019

Chronic infection with intracellular Brucella abortus (B. abortus) in livestock remains as a major problem worldwide. Thus, the search for an ideal vaccine is still ongoing. In this study, we evaluated the protective efficacy of a combination of B. abortus recombinant proteins; superoxide dismutase (rSodC), riboflavin synthase subunit beta (rRibH), nucleoside diphosphate kinase (rNdk), 50S ribosomal protein (rL7/L12) and malate dehydrogenase (rMDH), cloned and expressed into a pMal vector system and $DH5{\alpha}$, respectively, and further purified and applied intraperitoneally into BALB/c mice. After first immunization and two boosters, mice were infected intraperitoneally (IP) with $5{\times}10^4CFU$ of virulent B. abortus 544. Spleens were harvested and bacterial loads were evaluated at two weeks post-infection. Results revealed that this combination showed significant reduction in bacterial colonization in the spleen with a log protection unit of 1.31, which is comparable to the average protection conferred by the widely used live attenuated vaccine RB51. Cytokine analysis exhibited enhancement of cell-mediated immune response as IFN-${\gamma}$ is significantly elevated while IL-10, which is considered beneficial to the pathogen's survival, was reduced compared to control group. Furthermore, both titers of IgG1 and IgG2a were significantly elevated at three and four-week time points from first immunization. In summary, our in vivo data revealed that vaccination with a combination of five different proteins conferred a heightened host response to Brucella infection through cell-mediated immunity which is desirable in the control of intracellular pathogens. Thus, this combination might be considered for further improvement as a potential candidate vaccine against Brucella infection.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.119-125
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• 1994

Steroid $\Delta^1$-dehydrogenase purified from hydrocortisone-induced cells of Arthrobacter simplex converted various 3-ketosteroids into their corresponding $\Delta^1$-dehydrogenated products. The transformation efficiencies depend upon the chemical structure of the steroids, especially length of the side chain at 17 position and hydroxyl groups at 11 and 17 positions. The Km values for androstenedione, the most favorable substrate examined, and hydrocortisone were 74 ${\mu}M$ and 294 ${\mu}M$, respectively. The optimum temperature and pH of the enzyme reaction were 35$^{\circ}C$ and pH 9, respectively, and the enzyme was relatively stable at the range from 20 to 35$^{\circ}C$ and from pH 5 to 10 after one hour of incubation. The enzyme activity was markedly inhibited in the presence of $Cu^{2+},\;Fe^{3+},\;Hg^{2+},\;Mo^{6+}$ ions, and somewhat inhibited by $Zn^{2+}$ and $Fe^{2+}$. $\alpha,\alpha'$-Dipyridyl that inhibits 9$\alpha$-hydroxylase and accumulates 1,4-androstadiene-3,17-dione from sterols revealed no inhibitory effect on this enzyme. EGTA showed inhibitory effect. $\beta$-Estradiol competitively inhibited the enzyme activity. Chemical modifications of the enzyme were attempted with several reagents. p-Hydroxymer-curibenzoate showed inhibition of the enzyme activity and protection of the substrate. This suggests that cysteine residue may be involved in the active site of the enzyme.

• BMB Reports
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• v.50 no.8
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• pp.391-392
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• 2017

Overexpression of mammalian 2-Cys peroxiredoxin (Prx) enzymes is observed in most cancer tissues. Nevertheless, their specific roles in colorectal cancer (CRC) progression has yet to be fully elucidated. Here, a novel molecular mechanism by which PrxII/Tankyrase (TNKS) interaction mediates survival of adenomatous polyposis coli (APC)-mutant CRC cells was explored. In mice with an inactivating APC mutation, a model of spontaneous intestinal tumorigenesis, deletion of PrxII reduced intestinal adenomatous polyposis and thereby increased survival. In APC-mutant human CRC cells, PrxII depletion hindered PARP-dependent Axin1 degradation through TNKS inactivation. $H_2O_2-sensitive$ Cys residues in the zinc-binding domain of TNKS1 was found to be crucial for PARsylation activity. Mechanistically, direct binding of PrxII to ARC4/5 domains of TNKS conferred vital redox protection against oxidative inactivation. As a proof-of-concept experiment, a chemical compound targeting PrxII inhibited the growth of tumors xenografted with APC-mutation-positive CRC cells. Collectively, the results provide evidence revealing a novel redox mechanism for regulating TNKS activity such that physical interaction between PrxII and TNKS promoted survival of APC-mutant colorectal cancer cells by PrxII-dependent antioxidant shielding.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.55-58
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• 2004

The fruit and seeds of Butea monosperma (Lam) Kuntze (Fabaceae) are useful in piles, anthelmintic, eye diseases, and inflammation in the Indian system of medicine. Hence, we have evaluated the anti-inflammatory activity of the fixed oil, mixed fatty acids, and unsaponifiable matter of B. monosperma against carrageenan-induced paw oedema and cotton pellet-induced granuloma in rats. The fixed oil, mixed fatty acids, and unsaponifiable matter of the oil exhibited significant anti-inflammatory activity on the tested experimental animal models. The unsaponifiable matter of the oil produced higher protection compared to fixed oil and mixed fatty acids. Phytochemical analysis of the fixed oil revealed the presence of steroids and terpenoids while unsaponifiable matter of the oil showed the presence of ${\beta}-sitosterol$. Also, four fatty acids were identified in the fixed oil by gas liquid chromatography. The anti-inflammatory activity of the fixed oil may be due to unsaponifiable matter or combination of unsaponifiable matter and mixed fatty acids.

• Proceedings of the Korean Environmental Health Society Conference
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• 2005.06a
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• pp.306-310
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• 2005

Exposure to UVB radiation can cause diverse biological photodamage to skin. Eeb 761 and Korean red ginseng are the major and most effective natural drug against a variety of oxidative damage. But, the protective effects against UVB radiation have not been clearly identified. In this study, we investigated the protective effect of topical EGb 761 and Korean red ginseng on pigmentation by UVB radiation. Pro-inflammatory cytokines($IL-l{\beta}$, IL-6 and $TNF-{\alpha}$) and melanogenesis proteins(tyrosinase, TRP-1 and TRP-2) mRNA were measured by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR) analysis. The in vivo protection against pigmentation was calculated using chromameter. The mRNA level of IL-lf and TNF-a were increased by UVB irradiation in treated and non-treated group, while no significant changes were observed in IL-6 level. Topical treatment with EGb 761 and Korean red ginseng remarkably reduced expression of tyrosinase, TRP-1 and TRP-2 in the non-irradiated and irradiated skin. Application of EGb 761 and Korean red ginseng significantly protected the WB-induced skin pigmentation and Korean red ginseng was more effective. Our study suggests that topical ECb761 and Korean red ginseng can regulate melanogenic proteins and protect UVB radiation on skin pigmentation.