• Genomics & Informatics
• /
• v.8 no.2
• /
• pp.63-69
• /
• 2010

Monofunctional biosynthetic peptidoglycan transglycosylase (MBPT) catalyzes the formation of the glycan chain in bacterial cell walls from peptidoglycan subunits: N-acetylglucosamine (NAG) and acetylmuramic acid (NAM). Bifunctional glycosyltransferases such as the penicillin binding protein (PBP) have peptidoglycan glycosyltransferase (PGT) on their C terminal end which links together the peptidoglycan subunits while transpeptidase (TP) on the N terminal end cross-links the peptide moieties on the NAM monosaccharide of the peptide subunits to create the bacterial cell wall. The singular function of MBPT resembles the C terminal end of PBP as it too contains and utilizes a similar PGT domain. In this article we analyzed the infectious and non infectious protein sequences of MBPT from 31 different strains of bacteria using a variety of bioinformatic tools. Motif analysis, dot-plot comparison, and phylogenetic analysis identified a number of significant differences between infectious and non-infectious protein sequences. In this paper we have made an attempt to explain, analyze and discuss these differences from an evolutionary perspective. The results of our sequence analysis may open the door for utilizing MBPT as a new target to fight a variety of infectious bacteria.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.45 no.3
• /
• pp.331-348
• /
• 2022

The main goal of this article is to develop the finite element formulation based on the nonlocal strain gradient and the refined higher-order deformation theory employing a new function f(z) to investigate the static bending and free vibration of functionally graded porous (FGP) nanobeams. The proposed model considers the simultaneous effects of two parameters: nonlocal and strain gradient coefficients. The nanobeam is made by FGP material that exists in un-even and logarithmic-uneven distribution. The governing equation of the nanobeam is established based on Hamilton's principle. The authors use a 2-node beam element, each node with 8 degrees of freedom (DOFs) approximated by the C¹ and C² continuous Hermit functions to obtain the elemental stiffness matrix and mass matrix. The accuracy of the proposed model is tested by comparison with the results of reputable published works. From here, the influences of the parameters: nonlocal elasticity, strain gradient, porosity, and boundary conditions are studied.

• Journal of Dental Rehabilitation and Applied Science
• /
• v.22 no.2
• /
• pp.137-148
• /
• 2006

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of various metal surface treatments on the shear bond strength between titanium denture base and relined resins. The surfaces of commercially pure(cp) titanium were sandblasted with $50{\mu}m$ $Al_2O_3$ for 20 seconds and each group was treated with MR $Bond^{(R)}$, Alloy $Primer^{(R)}$, and Super-Bond $C&B^{(R)}$ accordingly. The specimens were completed by application of relining resins. The specimens were stored in room temperature. And the shear bond strength of the specimens were measured with the MTS universal testing $machine^{(R)}$. The results were as follows: 1. In comparison with the relining materials, $Kooliner^{(R)}$ groups showed statistically higher shear bond strength than Tokuyama Rebase $II^{(R)}$ groups(p<0.05). 2. Comparing shear bond strength, according to surface treatment, Super-bond $C&B^{(R)}$ groups showed the highest bond strength and were significantly higher than the other three groups(p<0.05). Alloy $Primer^{(R)}$ groups showed no significant difference with the MR $Bond^{(R)}$ groups, but was significantly higher than the sandblasting-only groups(p<0.05). 3. Comparing surface treatment in each groups, for two types of relining resin, the group which applies $Kooliner^{(R)}$ and Super-bond $C&B^{(R)}$ showed the highest bond strength and showed significant difference compared to the other groups(p<0.05). When using Tokuyama Rebase $II^{(R)}$, Super-bond C&B group showed the highest bond strength, but there were no significant difference compared to the Alloy $Primer^{(R)}$ group. In this limited study, applying $Kooliner^{(R)}$ and Super-Bond $C&B^{(R)}$ after sandblasting is considered to be advantageous for relining of titanium base dentures.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.8 no.6
• /
• pp.695-701
• /
• 1998

This study was carried out to investigate levels of the components of microsomal mixed function oxidase (MFO) system and activities of the hepatic microsomal cytochrome P45O (P45O)-dependent monooxygenases of grass snake (Natrix tigrina Lateralis) and to compare with those of rat. The levels of P45O and cytochrome b$_{5}$, (b$_{5}$) of snake were much lower than those in rat. NADPH-cytochrome c reductase activity in the snake was also only 40% of that in the rat. Activities of 7-ethoxycoumarin 0-deethylase (ECOD) and benzphetamine N-demethylase (BPDM) of snake hepatic microsomes, when compared with those of rat, were markedly low. But, aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase (AHH) and testosterone hydroxylase (TSH) activities were nearly the same or higher than those of the rat. Of the P45O-dependent TSHs measured, 7$\alpha$-hydroxylase activity was the highest in snake, whereas, 6$\beta$-hydroxylase activity was the highest in rat. However, stereoselectivity of the enzyme from the snake to C2 and C6 positions of testoste-rone was the same as rat. The result of radioimmunoassay (RIA) for the identification of five P45O isozymes with MAbs shows that relatively high content of ethanol-inducible P45O isozyme, CYP2El, exists in the rat, whereas MC-inducible P45O isozyme, CYP2A1/1A2, does in the snake. From the analyses of SDS-PAGE and RIA of partially pu-rified P45O, we suggest the possibility of the presence of a certain P45O isozyme(s) in hepatic microsomes of snake different from those of rat.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.27 no.12
• /
• pp.2094-2103
• /
• 2017

Aging is associated with distinct changes in immune cells and a decline in immune function, leading to increased susceptibility to infection and reduced responses to vaccination. Certain strains of lactic acid bacteria exert beneficial effects on the immune system. Previously, we reported that Weissella cibaria JW15 isolated from kimchi possesses immune stimulatory activity in vitro. In the present study, we further investigated whether oral administration of JW15 improves immune function in aged mice. Eighteen-month-old female mice were administered JW15 daily at low (JW15-L; $1{\times}10^8CFU/mouse$) or high dosage (JW15-H; $1{\times}10^9CFU/mouse$), or with Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) using oral gavage. Two-month-old female mice were included as healthy young mice. After 4 weeks, the mice were euthanized and immune profiles were analyzed using whole blood and spleen. In complete blood count analysis, the numbers of white and red blood cells were significantly increased in the JW15-L group compared with those in the old mouse (OM) control group. In addition, administration of either JW15 of LGG resulted in higher numbers of splenocytes in comparison with the OM group. Furthermore, proliferative potentials were higher in all probiotic groups than OM. Cytokines such as IFN-${\gamma}$ and IL-6 were secreted at higher levels in splenocytes isolated from JW15-fed mice than in OM control mice. Similarly, mRNA expression of various cytokines was altered in the JW15 groups. Collectively, these results suggest that JW15 supplementation induces immunomodulatory effects in aged mice and indicate JW15 as a potential probiotic strain to improve immune function in aged animals.

• Proceedings of the Plant Resources Society of Korea Conference
• /
• 2001.11b
• /
• pp.25-32
• /
• 2001

Potatoes have been recognized for a long time as one of the major food crops as well as horticultural crops. Potato production as a table food has been decreased in developed countries, while it has been steadily increased in the third world countries for it importance as food source. It is a new trend to look for the food, not only as a feeding crop but also healthy food. It is also time for the potato producers to look for the potato having high economic value as found in medicinal plants. There are great diversities in potato species, indicating that valuable compounds can be found in different amounts, depending on potato species. We screened the cultivars, breeding clones, and germplasms based on the vitamin C, Vitamin E, antioxidant compounds, diverse sugar types, important amino acids, and other valuable compounds. We could select the breeding clones KC003, 98Wl17, 99j717, and Vally 8 (A group) due to their high levels of antioxidant compounds, and it can be said that most of the red and purple colored potato clones belong to the A group. In the contents of essential amino acids, ‘Taebook Valley’,‘Summer Valley’ and other breeding clones were found to be high in amount. We also made crosses between breeding clones with high biological function and low agronomic traits and low biological function with high quality in agronomic characteristics . The patterns of genetic trends of these offsprings in comparison with their parents will be reported as well. And the potential of using potato as antibody production of anti-cancer will be discussed.

• Speech Sciences
• /
• v.1
• /
• pp.237-259
• /
• 1997

Cleft Palate speech appears to have hyper/hyponasality with velopharyngeal insufficiency and articulation disorders. Previous studies on Cleft Palate speech have shown that speech tends to have lower airflow and air pressure. To examine the aerodynamic characteristics of Cleft Palate speech, Aerophone II Voice function Analyzer was used. We measured sound pressure level, airflow, air pressure and glottal power. Three Cleft Palate adults and five normal adults participated in this experiment. The test words are composed of: (1) the sustained vowel /o/ (2) /CiCi/, where C is one of three different stop consonants in Korean (3) /bimi/. Subjects were asked to produce /bimi/ five times without opening their lips. All the data was statistically tested by t-test for Cleft Palate patients before operation groups and control groups and paired t-test for Cleft Palate patients before and after operation groups. The results were as follow: (1) Cleft Palate patients generally speak with incomplete oral closure and lower oral air pressure. As a result, the SPL of Cleft Palate before operation is 3 dB lower than control groups. (2) Airflow of Cleft Palate in phonation and articulation is lower than that of control groups. However, it increased after operation. Lung volume and mean airflow in phonation are significantly increased (p<0.05). (3) Although velopharyngeal function (velar opening rate) of Cleft Palate is poor in comparison with control groups, it was recovered after operation. In this event maximum flow rate and mean airflow rate are significantly increased (p<0.05). (4) Air pressure of Cleft Palate in speech is lower than that of control groups. In general, the air pressure of Cleft Palate increased after operation. In this event air pressure of glottalized consonant is significantly increased (p<0.04). (5) Glottal Power(mean power, mean efficient and mean resistant) of Cleft Palate patients is lower than that of control groups. But mean efficient and mean resistant of Cleft Palate patients increased significantly (p<0.05) after operation.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
• /
• v.33 no.2
• /
• pp.85-91
• /
• 2006

Flavanone 3$\beta$-hydroxylase (FHT) is an enzyme acting in the central part of the flavonoid biosynthesis pathway. FHT catalyses the hydroxylation of flavanone to dihydroflavonols in the anthocyanin pathway. In this paper we describe the cloning and expression of the genes encoding the flavonoid-biosynthetic enzyme FHT in Gypsophila paniculata L. A heterologous cDHA probe from Dianthus cavophyllus was used to isolate FHT-encoding cDHA clones from Gypsophila paniculata L.. Inspection of the 1471 bp long sequence revealed an open reading frame 1047 bp, including a 190 bp 5' leader region and 288 bp 3' untranslated region. Comparison of the coding region of this FHT cDHA sequence including the sequences of Arabidopsis thaliana, Citrus sinensis, Dianthus caryophyllus, Ipomoea batatas, Matthiola incana, Nierembergia sp, Petunia hybrida, Solanum tuberosum, Vitis vinifera reveals a identity higher than 69% at the nucleotide level. The function of this nucleotide sequences were verified by comparison with amino acid sequences of the amino-terminus and tryptic peptides from purified plant enzyme, by northern blotting with mRHA from wild type and mutant plants, by in vitro expression yielding and enzymatically active hydroxylase, as indicated by the small dihydrokaempferol peak. Genomic southern blot analysis showed the presence of only one gene for FHT in Gypsophila paniculata.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
• /
• v.22 no.4
• /
• pp.611-620
• /
• 2021

The maintenance industry is mainly progressing based on condition-based maintenance after corrective maintenance and preventive maintenance. In condition-based maintenance, maintenance is performed at the optimum time based on the condition of equipment. In order to find the optimal maintenance point, it is important to accurately understand the condition of the equipment, especially the remaining useful life. Thus, using simulation data (C-MAPSS), a prediction model is proposed to predict the remaining useful life of a turbofan engine. For the modeling process, a C-MAPSS dataset was preprocessed, transformed, and predicted. Data pre-processing was performed through piecewise RUL, moving average filters, and standardization. The remaining useful life was predicted using principal component analysis and the k-NN method. In order to derive the optimal performance, the number of principal components and the number of neighbor data for the k-NN method were determined through 5-fold cross validation. The validity of the prediction results was analyzed through a scoring function while considering the usefulness of prior prediction and the incompatibility of post prediction. In addition, the usefulness of the RUL prediction model was proven through comparison with the prediction performance of other neural network-based algorithms.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
• /
• v.13 no.3
• /
• pp.224-230
• /
• 2010

Growth hormone (GH) is known as one of the main osmoregulators in euryhaline teleosts during seawater (SW) adaptation. Many of the physiological actions of GH are mediated through insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), and the GH/IGF-I axis is associated with osmoregulation of fish during SW acclimation. However, little information is available on the response of fish IGF-II to hyperosmotic stress. Here we present the first cloned IGF-I and IGF-II cDNAs of marine medaka, Oryzias dancena, and an analysis of the molecular characteristics of the genes. The marine medaka IGF-I cDNA is 1,340 bp long with a 257-bp 5' untranslated region (UTR), a 528 bp 3' UTR, and a 555-bp open reading frame (ORF) encoding a propeptide of 184 amino acid (aa) residues. The full-length marine medaka IGF-II cDNA consists of a 639 bp ORF encoding 212 aa, a 109 bp 5' UTR, and a 416 bp 3' UTR. Homology comparison of the deduced aa sequences with other IGF-Is and IGF-IIs showed that these genes in marine medaka shared high structural homology with orthologs from other teleost as well as mammalian species, suggesting high conservation of IGFs throughout vertebrates. The IGF-I mRNA level increased following transfer of marine medaka from freshwater (FW) to SW, and the expression level was higher than that of the control group, which was maintained in FW. This significantly elevated IGF-I level was maintained throughout the experiment (14 days), suggesting that in marine medaka, IGF-I is deeply involved in the adaptation to abrupt salinity change. In contrast to IGF-I, the increased level of marine medaka IGF-II mRNA was only maintained for a short period, and quickly returned a level similar to that of the control group, suggesting that marine medaka IGF-II might be a gene that responds to acute stress or one that produces a supplemental protein to assist with the osmoregulatory function of IGF-I during an early phase of salinity change.