• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2003

Purpose: To investigate the relation of the gastric epithelial cell proliferation, apoptosis and genotypes of H. pylori in children. Methods: Histologic grading by updated Sydney system, PCNA immunostaining, TUNEL method and the genotypes (cagA, picB and iceA) by PCR were performed in H. pylori positive (N=20) and negative (N=20) gastric biopsy specimens. Results: PCNA index was significantly different between H. pylori positive children ($77.4{\pm}13.12$) and H. pylori negative children ($52.3{\pm}12.20$) (p=0.000). There were positive correlations between PCNA index and H. pylori density (r=0.624, p=0.000), polymorphonuclear neutrophil activity (r=0.460, p=0.005) and chronic inflammation (r=0.433, p=0.009). Apoptosis index of H. pylori positive children ($0.70{\pm}0.411$) was significantly higher than of H. pylori negative children ($0.14{\pm}0.201$) (p=0.000). Positive correlations between apoptosis index and H. pylori density (r=0.691, p=0.000), polymorphonuclear neutrophil activity (r=0.585, p=0.000) and chronic inflammation (r=0.535, p=0.001) were noted. As PCNA index increased, apoptosis index significantly increased (r=0.527, p=0.001). The positive rates of genotypes were cagA 90%, picB 75%, iceA1 60% and iceA2 15%, respectively. There were no significant correlations between the status of the genotypes and PCNA index, apoptosis index, the endoscopic findings and the histologic findings. Conclusion: PCNA index and apoptosis index in H. pylori positive children were higher than in H. pylori negative children but were not related to H. pylori genotypes. This study suggested that correlatively increased gastric epithelial cell proliferation and apoptosis are important to pathogenesis of H. pylori infection in children.

• Journal of Embryo Transfer
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.25-33
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• 2005

This study is a part of research that development of effective genetic resources preservation system using the in vitro spermatogenesis, in vitro insemination and culture system. We aimed for establishment of in vitro culture system with in vitro activated porcine oocytes. The porcine oocytes were matured for 48 hours in $TCM199+10\%$ FCS and activated with $7\%$ ethanol. The activated oocytes were cultured for 7 days in $TCM199+10\%$ FCS or $NCSU23+0.4\%$ BSA medium. The activated oocytes were not developed to the blastocyst stage in $TCM199+10\%$ FCS medium. However in $NCSU23+0.4\%$ medium, those were developed to blastocyst with $3\%$ of treated oocytes. We extended maturation duration of porcine follicular oocytes fur 48, 52, 56, 60, 64, 68, and 72 hours and activated with $7\%$ ethanol and cultured using $NCSU23+0.4\%$ BSA medium. The six percents of activated oocytes were developed to blastocyst in 48 hours and $10\%$ in 52 hours with comparatively low rates suggested to be not fully activated by regenerated MPF. Maturation durations from 56 hours to 68 hours supported to develop upto $11.9\~18.3\%$ of blastocysts. However the developmental rate was declined to $7.2\%$ at 72 hours of maturation duration because of cytoplasmic deterioration. The assumed time window for activation will be $56\~68$ hours of maturation duration. When the matured oocytes were activated with electric pulse of 1, 1.2, 1.4, 1.6, 1.8 and 2.0kV/cm for $80{\mu}s$, although appling the electric current once was not enough for activation, appling twice with 1.6kV/cm for $80{\mu}s$ was shown the highest developmental rate with $11.3\%$. When those were compared with activating methods, $15.7%$ of blastocyst rate was obtained in the $7\%$ ethanol. That was higher than those in electric pulse with $9.5\%$ and calcium ionophore method with $5.8\%$. In this experimental condition, the $7\%$ ethanol treatment was the most effective method for activating porcine oocytes.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.61 no.4
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• pp.366-373
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• 2006

Background: Paraquat is extremely toxic chemical material, which generates reactive oxygen species (ROS), causing multiple organ failure. In particular, paraquat leads to irreversible progressive pulmonary fibrosis. Exaggerated cell deaths exceeding the normal repair of type II pneumocytes leads to mesenchymal cells proliferation and fibrosis. This study examined the followings; i) whether or not paraquat induces cell death in lung epithelial cells; ii) whether or not paraquat-induced cell deaths are apoptosis or necrosis; and iii) the effects of N-acetylcysteine, dexamethasone, and bcl-2 on paraquat-induced cell deaths. Methods: A549 and BEAS-2B lung epithelial cell lines were used. The cell viability and apoptosis were evalluated using a MTT assay, Annexin V staining was monitored by fluorescence microscopy, The level of bcl-2 inhibition was examined by establishing stable A549 pcDNA3-bcl-2 cell lines throung the transfection of pcDNA3-bcl-2 with the mock. Results: Paraquat decreased the cell viability in A549 and BEAS-2B cells in a dose and time dependent manner. The Annexin V assay showed that apoptosis was the type of paraquat-induced cell death. Paraquat-induced cell deaths was significantly inhibited by N-acetylcysteine, dexamethasone, and bcl-2 overexpression. The cell viability of A549 cells treated with N-acetylcysteine, and dexamethasone on the paraquat-induced cell deaths were increased significantly by 10 ~ 20%, particularly at high doses. In addition, the cell viability of A549 pcDNA3-bcl-2 cells overexpressing bcl-2 was significantly higher than the untransfected A549 cells. Conclusion: Paraquat induces apoptotic cell deaths in lung epithelial cells in a dose and time dependent manner. The paraquat-induced apoptosis of lung epithelial cells might occur through the mitochondrial pathway.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.42 no.11
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• pp.1717-1726
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• 2013

Fermentation characteristics and health functionalities of kimchi by inoculating kimchi lactic acid bacteria (LAB) starters were studied. We manufactured single LAB starter kimchi (Lactobacillus plantarum pnuK, Lactobacillus plantarum 3099K, Leuconostoc mesenteroides pnuK), mixed LAB starter kimchi (Lb. plantarum pnu/Leu. mesenteroides pnuK, Lb. plantarum 3099/Leu. mesenteroides pnuK) with inoculum size of $10^6$ CFU/g, as well as naturally fermented kimchi (NK), and fermented them for 6 days at $15^{\circ}C$. The pH and acidity of the early phase of fermentation were not different, but kimchi with the starters showed rapid changes in the pH and acidity from 2 days of fermentation. As the fermentation progressed, the level of total aerobic bacteria and Lactobacillus sp. increased similarly with or without Lb. plantarum (LP) inoculation. However, the level of Leuconostoc sp. was high in kimchi inoculated with Leuconostoc sp. starter. In the sensory evaluation test, kimchi with starters received higher overall acceptability scores than those of NK; mixed starter added kimchi earned the highest score. In DPPH and hydroxyl radical scavenging activity, kimchi with the starters exhibited higher activity than that of NK. In the MTT assay of HCT-116 and HT-29 human colon cancer cells, NK showed inhibition rates of 63.4 and 51.9%, but LPpnuK achieved 77.1 and 68.8%, respectively. This study showed that inoculating starters in kimchi increased in vitro antioxidant and anticancer activities, and single starter (LP) added kimchi revealed higher functionality than the kimchi with mixed starter. Kimchis with the starters effectively up-regulated the gene expressions of the pro-apoptotic gene of Bax, but down-regulated Bcl-2. They promoted expressions of p53 and p21, and suppressed expressions of inflammation-related genes, iNOS and COX-2, compared with NK. Taken together, it is expected that using starters may help manufacture kimchi with improved sensory quality and health functionality.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.46-54
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• 1993

On the purpose to increase the cultivation stability of the hulless waxy barley which is unstable in the northern region of Korea, the effects of genes of hulled /hulless and waxy /nonwaxy on seedling emergency was studied by using four isogenic lines of hulled -waxy, hulless -waxy, hulled -nonwaxy and hulless -nonwaxy barley. The germination rates of hulless lines lowered by four to six percent compared with those of hulled counterparts with one day's rainfall just before harvest, and were much deteriorated with raining prolonged. The gaps between emergency rates of hulless lines and their counterparts were greater than those of germination rates, and the differences increased as the seeding depths were deepened. The emergency rates of hulless lines were affected in the order of seeding depth, rotation speed of thresher and preharvest rainfall. Waxy endosperm gene did not show any significant effects on the damage of grain during threshing. It seems that the embryos of hulled lines were less damaged than those of hulless ones during threshing due to the protecting effects by husks. When grains were threshed with thresher of 600rpm or 900rpm and dehulled with dehuller of 750rpm, any significant depreciations such as broken seeds and decreased germination rate did not occured in hulled lines. But the grains of hulless lines received some damages with the rotation speeds, especially germination rates decreased seriously when the rotation speed of de huller was high. Prehavest sprout rates of the lines incorporated with the waxy genes were higher than those with nonwaxy genes whereas the genes of hulled and hulless did not give any significant effects.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.247-254
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• 1996

Differentiation of invasive strains of Entamoebn histolytica according to their pathogenicity has been a topic of long debate, but now the pathogenic species only is regarded as E. histolytica while the non-pathogenic species is E. dispar. The present study applied immunoblot to differentiale infections of the two species among microscopically- detected cyst-passers in Korea. The crude extract of 5. histolyticn separated in 5-20% gradient gels, revealed many fractions of 94. 81. 71, 50. 44, 38.5. 37.5, 29, 19. and 18 kDa when the cysteine proteinase inhibitor. E64, was supplemented. The serum IgG antibody of 3 proven E. histolytirc cases reacted loth the antigenic fractions of 117. 110. 99.68,66,60.54.52, 46. and 45 kDa. Sera of PCR confirmed 3 cases of E. disper reacted only to the 117 kDa fraction or the E. histolytica crude extract which was regarded as non specific. To the antitigen of monoxenic E. dispar. sera or E. dispar and E. histolytica cases showed the same immunoblot reactions. The serum IgG antibody reacted with several antigenic fractions of both E. histolytica and E. dispar. but IgM and IgE antibodies showed no reaction to either antigen. Sera of 24 symptomless amebic cyst-passers were screened with the E. histolytica alltigen; two were found to be infected by E. histolytica and 22 were by E. dispar. The present findings suggest that in Korea most of asymptomatic cyst passers of E. histolytica are carriers of E. dispar. Immunoblot using E. histolytica antigen is a good technique for the differentiation of E. histolytica and E. dispar infections.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.106-112
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• 2015

Purpose: The long-term administration of antibiotics interferes with bacterial culture in the middle ear fluids (MEFs) of young children with otitis media with effusion (OME). The purpose of this study is to determine whether molecular diagnostics can be used for rapid and direct detection of the bacterial pathogen in culture-negative MEFs. Methods: The specificity and sensitivity of both polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) to the lytA gene of Streptococcus pneumoniae were comparatively tested and then applied for pneumococcal detection in the clinical MEFs. Results: The detection limit of the PCR assay was approximately $10^4$ colony forming units (CFU), whereas that of LAMP was less than 10 CFU for the detection of S. pneumoniae. Both PCR and LAMP did not amplify nucleic acid at over $10^6$ CFU of H. influenzae or M. catarrhalis, both of which were irrelevant bacterial species. Of 22 culture-negative MEFs from children with OME, LAMP positivity was found in twelve MEFs (54.5%, 12/22), only three of which were PCR-positive (25%, 3/12). Our results showed that the ability of LAMP to detect pneumococcal DNA is over four times higher than that of PCR (P<0.01). Conclusions: As a high-resolution tool able to detect nucleic acid levels equivalent to <10 CFU of S. pneumoniae in MEFs without any cross-reaction with other pathogens, lytA -specific LAMP may be applied for diagnosing pneumococcus infection in OME as well as evaluating the impact of a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine against OME.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.43-50
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• 2015

In this study, single PCR and multiplex PCR tests were examined for identification of four types of squid species (giant squid, cuttlefish, octopus, beka squid) purchased from fish market as well as aquatic processed products in Busan. To design the specific primers against each species, the nucleotide sequences of the mitochondrial 16s rRNA gene of Architeuthis dux, Todarodes pacificus, Enteroctopus dofleini, Enteroctopus megalocyathus, Uroteuthis chinensis, Uroteuthis duvauceli, Uroteuthis edulis groups were analyzed for the identification of each species registered in the GeneBank (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) and have been used for comparative analysis. In order to obtain the size variation of amplified fragments on multiplex PCR, we designed KOJ-F, OJ-F, OCT-F, HAN-F, ALLR primers for each species. The optimal PCR conditions and primers were selected for four types of squid species to determine target base sequences in its PCR products. In the case of single PCR, giant squid was only amplified by KOJ-F/ALLR primer; cuttlefish was only amplified by OJ-F/ALLR primer; octopus was only amplified by OCT-F/ALLR primer; and beka squid was only amplified by HAN-F/ALLR primer. For multiplex PCR, the mixture of four kinds of genomic DNA (giant squid, cuttlefish, octopus, beka squid) been prepared as a template and used together with the mixture of KOJ-F/OJ-F/OCT-F/HAN-F/ALLR primers in the reaction. By the multiplex PCR, it is confirmed that four samples are correspond to multiple simultaneous amplicon. Finally, we validated the established methods of multiplex PCR in the aquatic processed products. Although the mitochondrial 16s rRNA primers used in this study was useful as a marker for detection of each species among them, the study indicated that the established multiplex PCR method can be more useful tool for monitoring the processed products.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.74-83
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• 2016

In order to improve the sour taste and foul odor of fermented soymilk, bacteria were isolated from kimchi and identified. Of the 89 bacterial strains isolated from kimchi, 3 isolates produced fermented soymilk with a sour taste and foul odor. The selected bacterial strains R53, R83, and R84 were identified by morphological, biochemical, and 16S rRNA analyses as Weissella koreensis. The strain R83, which produced fermented soymilk having the mildest sour taste and foul odor, was selected for further investigation and named W. koreensis KO3. The optimum culture condition for the fermentation of soymilk by W. koreensis KO3 was at $30^{\circ}C$ for 12 h. When soymilk was fermented under the optimum culture conditions, the viable cell count reached up to $8.71{\times}10^8CFU/ml$ and pH and acidity reached as low as 6.02 and as high as 0.33%, respectively. Twenty-seven amino acids and their derivatives were detected in fermented soymilk. The amounts of serine, glycine, threonine, alanine, and aspartic acid, which contribute to a sweeter taste, increased during fermentation. Orinithine, which was not detected before fermentation, increased during fermentation. Sensory evaluation showed that W. koreensis KO3-fermented soymilk has improved bean, roasted nut, and sour flavors as well as an enhanced mouthfeel, appearance, preferability, and overall acceptability compared with those of standard fermented soymilk. With further study and development, soymilk fermented by W. koreensis KO3 could serve as a health-promoting food with favorable sensory qualities.

• Korean Security Journal
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• no.9
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• pp.99-131
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• 2005

Terrorism which became today's common phenomena over the world is one of the most serious threats the world confront. Although International society make and operate outstanding anti-terrorism system, terror would never end without solving fundamental problems. The main body of terrorism converts from nation to organization and from organization to cell, which makes it difficult for us to recognize the main body. Since the target of today's new terrorism is many and unspecified persons, terrorists will never hesitate to use mass destruction weapons such as nuclear, biological, chemical weapons, and also use cyber-technique or cyber-terrorism. So, effective counter-terrorism measures should be performed as follows. First, it must be better for international society should make long-time plan of solving fundamental problems of terrorism other than to operate directly on terror organization and its means. Second, preventive method should be made. The most effective method of eradicating terrorism is prevention. For this, it is necessary to remove environmental elements of terrorism and terrorist bases, and to stop inflow of money and mass destruction weapons to terrorists. Third, integrated anti-terror organization should be organized and operated for continuous counter-terrorism operations. Also international alliance for anti-terrorism should be maintained to share informations and measures. Fourth, concerned department in the government should prepare counter-terrorism plans in their own parts as follows and make efforts to integrate the plans. - Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs : conventional terror - Ministry of Health and Welfare : bio-terror - Ministry of Science and Technology : nuclear-terror Especially, they should convert their policy and operation from post-terror actions to pre-terror actions, designate terror as national disaster and organize integrated emergency response organization including civil, government, and military elements. In conclusion, pre-terror activities and remedy of fundamental causes is the best way to prevent terror. Also, strengthening of intelligence activities, international cooperations, and preventive and comprehensive counter-measures must not ignored.