• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.605-616
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• 2004

Subinhibitory concentrations (sub-MICs) refer to concentrations below minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs). The antimicrobial agents may be present at relatively high concentration, at least higher than bacterial MIC and thereafter be deserted off a surface and function at sub-MICs, perhaps by interfering with bacterial metabolism. Consequently, the aim of this study was to determine the effects of growth, in the presence of sub-MICs of antimicrobial agents, on the cell surface properties and virulence factors of mutans streptococci and to investigate the efficacy of a chemical approach in vitro. Streptococcus mutans Ingbritt and Streptococcus sobrinus 6715-7 were used. Eight antimicrobial agents (Sanguinaria extract;SG, Chlorhexidine digluconate;CHX, Fluoride;F, Propolis;PP, Hydrogen peroxide;HP, Triclosan;TC, Sodium dodecyl sulfate;SDS Cetylpyridinium chloride; CC) were diluted serially in broth to determine MICs and to compare the growth rate, acid production, hydrophobicity, adhesion activity to saliva coated hydroxyapatite, glucan synthesis and cellular aggregation of experiment groups (in the presence of sub-MICs) with those of control (in the absence of antimicrobial agents). Sub-MICs of antimicrobial agents affected the growth of cells, hydrophobicity, and adhesion of bacteria to saliva coated hydroxyapatite and glucan synthesis. They also resulted in a significant reduction in pH after 12 hours (p<0.05). By cells pretreated with proteinase K, either the aggregation induced by antimicrobial agents was completely inhibited or the aggregation titers were markedly increased. According to the results of the present study, each antimicrobial agent at sub-MICs could affect similar as its known action mechanism and could continually inhibit cariogenic bacteria at such concentrations. Thus, the use of these antimicrobial agents would be one of the effective methods to prevent dental caries.

• Food Science and Industry
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.278-301
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• 2018

Although more than 80% of living organisms are found in marine ecosystems, only less than 10% of marine resources have been utilized for human food consumptions and other usages. It is well known that marine resources (fish, shellfish and algae) have exceptional nutritional properties; however, their functional characteristic has not been completely discovered. It is believed that metabolites (organic compounds, proteins, peptides, lipids, minerals, etc.) play an important role to show its biological properties. Marine proteins and peptides are considered to be future drugs due to their excellent biological activities with a fewer adverse side effect. Marine peptides show several biological activities, including antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anti-viral, anti-tumor, anti-diabetic, anti-hypertensive, anti-coagulant, immunomodulatory, appetite suppressing and neuroprotective effects. Therefore, the pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and cosmeceutical companies have been paid attention to the marine peptides to commercialize into products. This current review mainly focused on the above mentioned biological activities of marine peptides and protein hydrolysates as a functional food and pharmaceutical applications. To commercialize these materials in industrial level required large quantity in high-purity level, and it is complicated to produce huge quantity from the marine resources due to insufficient raw materials, unavailability of raw materials through a year, hinder the growth with geographical variations, and availability of compounds in extreme small quantities. The best solution for these issues is to introduce new modern technologies such as artificial intelligence robots, drones, submersibles and automated raw material harvesting vessels in farming industries instead of man power, which will lead to 4th industrial revolution.

• Journal of Appropriate Technology
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.174-182
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• 2020

The permissible limit of ammonia concentration in drinking water recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) is 1.5 mg/L. However, in the case of groundwater in Kathmandu, Nepal, the concentration of ammonia fluctuates dramatically from 0 to 120 mg/L at different locations and groundwater depths (Chapagain et al., 2010). Such a high concentration of ammonia causes aesthetic problems in drinking water, such as bad taste and odor; hence, prior treatment is required. In Kathmandu, half of the population utilizes groundwater, which is also employed for drinking water, but owing to a lack of knowledge of household water filters, residents of Kathmandu tend to depend greatly on commercially available jar water than on the installation of a proper household filtration method. Thus, in our study, we employed adsorption and reverse osmosis (RO) as two of the most viable decentralized/household treatment options to address the issue of high contamination of ammonia in drinking water. We evaluated their performances from technical and the economic perspectives using synthetically prepared groundwater at varying ammonia concentrations (50 mg/L and 15 mg/L). Consequently, it was found that adsorption via ion exchange (IE) resin was a comparatively better ammonia removal technology than RO, with 100% ammonia removal even after regeneration; the removal by RO was limited to up to 90%. Furthermore, our study suggests that IE is the most suitable ammonia removal technology for places with lower water consumption (< 50 L/day), whereas RO seemed to be a cost-effective technology for places with higher water consumption, where the daily water demand exceeds 50 L/day. Lastly, these assessments suggest that installing a suitable household treatment system would be more efficient and sustainable from both technical and economic points of view than purchasing commercially bottled water.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.225-236
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• 2019

BACKGROUND: Hydroponics is one of the methods for evaluating plant production using the inorganic nutrient solutions, which is applied under the artificial light conditions of plant factory system. However, the application of the conventional inorganic nutrients for hydroponics caused several environmental problems: waste from culture mediums and high nitrate concentration in plants. Organic nutrients are generally irrigated as a supplementary fertilizer for plant growth promotion under field or greenhouse conditions. Hydroponic culture using organic nutrients derived from the agricultural by-products such as dumped stems, leaves or immature fruits is rarely considered in plant factory system. Effect of organic or conventional inorganic nutrient solutions on the growth and nutrient absorption pattern of green and red leaf lettuces was investigated in this experiment under fluorescent lamps (FL) and mixture Light-Emitting Diodes (LEDs). METHODS AND RESULTS: Single solution of tomatoes (TJ) and kales (K) deriving from agricultural by-products including leaves or stems and its mixed solution (mixture ration 1:1) with conventional inorganic Yamazaki (Y) were supplied for hydroponics under the plant factory system. The Yamazaki solution was considered as a control. 'Jeockchima' and 'Cheongchima' lettuce seedlings (Lactuca sativa L.) were used as plant materials. The seedlings which developed 2~3 true leaves were grown under the light qualities of FL and mixed LED lights of blue plus red plus white of 1:2:1 mixture in energy ratio for 35 days. Light intensity of the light sources was controlled at 180 μmol/㎡/s on the culture bed. The single and mixture nutrient solutions of organic and/or inorganic components which controlled at 1.5 dS/m EC and 5.8 pH were regularly irrigated by the deep flow technique (DFT) system on the culture gutters. Number of unfolded leaves of the seedlings grown under the single or mixed nutrient solutions were significantly increased compared to the conventional Y treatment. Leaf extension of 'Jeockchima' under the mixture LED radiation condition was not affected by Y and YK or YTJ mixture treatments. SPAD value in 'Jeockchima' leaves exposed by FL under the YK mixture medium was approximately 45 % higher than under conventional Y treatment. Otherwise, the maximum SPAD value in the leaves of 'Cheongchima' seedlings was shown in YK treatment under the mixture LED lights. NO₃-N contents in Y treatment treated with inorganic nutrient at the end of the experiment were up to 75% declined rather than increased over 60 % in the K and TJ organic treatment. CONCLUSION: Growth of the seedlings was affected by the mixture treatments of the organic and inorganic solutions, although similar or lower dry weight was recorded than in the inorganic treatment Y under the plant factory system. Treatment Y containing the highest NO₃-N content among the considered nutrients influenced growth increment of the seedlings comparing to the other nutrients. However effect of the higher NO₃-N content in the seedling growth was different according to the light qualities considered in the experiment as shown in leaf expansion, pigmentation or dry weight promotion under the single or mixed nutrients.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.112-120
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• 1998

This study was performed to investigate the synergistic effect of chitosan and sorbic acid as a new food preservative. So it was performed to investigate inhibitory effect on growh of E. coli 0157:H7, gram negative pathogenic food borne disease bacteria and of S. aureus, gram positive food borne disease bacteria in chitosan, sorbic acid and combination of chitosan and sorbic acid. Minimun Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) of chitosan in E. coli 0157:H7 was 500 ppm at pH 5.0, 250 ppm at pH 5.5, 500 ppm at pH 6.0, and 2000 ppm at pH 6.5, while in Staph. aureus 31.25 ppm at pH 5.0 and 62. 5 ppm at more than pH 5.5. also, MIC of sorbic acid in E. coli 0157:H7 was 500 ppm at pH 5.0, 1500 ppm at pH 5.5, and 2000 ppm at more than pH 6.0, while in Staph. aureus 1500 ppm at pH 5.0 and more than 2000 ppm at more than pH 5.5. Due to the effect of pH in E. coli 0157:H7, MIC of combined chitosan and sorbic acid was 500 ppm of chitosan with 500 ppm of sorbic acid at pH 6.5, but 250 ppm of chitosan with 31.3 ppm of sorbic acid at pH 5.0. In Staph. aureus, there was great effect of chitosan, but neither effect of pH nor sorbic acid. When E. coli 0157:H7 were treated with 500 ppm of chitosan with 500 ppm of sorbic acid and 250 ppm of chitosan with 250 ppm of sorbic acid at pH 6.5, they were inhibited. But, they were increased at the initial concentration of bacteria at 1000 ppm of chitosan in 18 hours, at 500 ppm of chitosan in 36 hours. There was no effect of growth inhibition with sorbic acid but great effect with chitosan on Staph. aureus. The correl~tions between MICs of chitosan and sorbic acid in E. coli 0157:H7 accoding to pH were higher than those in Staph. aureus. R values in E. coli 0157:H7 were 0.95 (p<0.01), 0.99 (p<0.01), 0.97 (p<0.01), and 0.99 (p<0.01) at pH 6.5, 6.0, 5.5, and 5.0 respectively. The synergistic effect of chitosan and sorbic acid in E. coli 0157:H7 could be confirmed from the result of this experiment. Therefore, it was expected that the food preservation would increase or maintain by using sorble acid together with chitosan, natural food additive that did no harm to human body.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.229-239
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• 2018

As customers pay more attention to choosing food that will support their health, many people in the academic and industrial world have focused on developing foods made with bioactive components. Thus, the use of bioactive components rather than synthetic materials has increased. Because there are no limits to how bioactive components can be used, customers assume they are highly reliable and healthy to consume. In the present study, imitation crab stick samples were made from Alaska Pollack with breast recovered protein from spent laying hens and silkworm cocoon powder (10 g) (T1), Alaska Pollack with breast recovered protein from spent laying hens and silkworm cocoon powder (5 g) + cordyceps powder (5 g) (T2), and Alaska Pollack with breast recovered protein from spent laying hens and cordyceps powder (5 g) + conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) (5 g) (T3). The pH and shear force increased after 2 weeks of storage in all three samples. Shear force was significantly higher in the T3 sample in comparison to the T1 and T2 samples. In meat color, redness ($a^{\ast}$) and whiteness (W) increased as the storage periods increased in all three samples, whereas yellowness ($b^{\ast}$) decreased during storage. The T2 sample was significantly higher in redness ($a^{\ast}$), yellowness ($b^{\ast}$), and deformation than the other two samples. The addition of bioactive components did not influence the texture properties in any of the samples. Lipid oxidation (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances [TBARS]) and microorganism count (total plate count [TPC]) were significantly higher in the T1 sample than the two other samples, whereas protein degradation (volatile basic nitrogen [VBN]) was higher in the T2 sample than the other samples. Total amino acid content decreased in the T1 and T3 samples as the storage period increased. Consequently, the T3 sample of Alaska Pollack with breast recovered protein from spent laying hens and cordyceps powder (5 g) + conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) was found to have the necessary functionality to be considered for use in making imitation crab sticks.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.72-77
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• 2004

Previously, we synthesized a novel Cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor, MCS-5A. Also, we investigated the involvement of cell cycle regulatory events during MCS-5A-mediated apoptosis in HL-60(+p16/-p53) cells with up-regulation of p16 protein expression. In contrast, apoptosis was not observed in A549(-p16/+p53) cells. Therefore we propose that $p16^{INK4A}$ is a key enzyme for inducing apoptosis. In the present studies, we have explored the mechanism of $p16^{INK4A}$ -mediated cytotoxicity and the role of p16.sup INK4A/ overexpression in the induction of apoptosis in human tumor cells. The tumor suppressor gene $p16^{INK4A}$ is known as a cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor (CKI) and cell cycle regulator. We expressed wild type $p16^{INK4A}$ in pcDNA3.1 vector and then transfected into non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell expressing different statue of p16$^{INK4A}$, p53 gene〔A549(-p16/+p53), H1299(-p16/-p53) and HeLa(+pl6/+p53) cell line〕. TUNEL assay (including propidium iodide staining following transfection of these cell line with pcDNA3.1-pl6) indicate that p16$^{INK4A}$-mediated cytotoxicity was associated with apoptosis. This is supported by studies demonstrating an induction of caspase 3 cleavage due to the transfection of A549, H1299 and HeLa cells with pcDNA3.1-pl6. These results suggest that p16$^{INK4A}$ has a new function of inducing apoptosis which is not related with the function of tumor suppressor gene p53.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.259-268
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• 2008

In this study, the antioxidative effects, inhibitory effects on tyrosinase and elastase and components of Castanea crenata leaf were investigated. The free radical (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical, DPPH) scavenging activity ($FSC_{50}$) of extract / fractions of Castanea crenata left was in the order: 50% ethanol extract ($13.6{\mu}g/mL$) < ethyl acetate fraction (6.2) < aglycone fraction (2.1). Reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging activities ($OSC_{50}$ of extract / fractions from Castanea crenata leaf extract / fractions on ROS generated in $Fe^{3+}$-EDTA/$H_2O_2$ system were investigated using the luminol-dependent chemiluminescence assay. The order of ROS scavenging activity was in the order: aglycone fraction (0.8) < 50% ethanol extract (0.5) < ethyl acetate fraction (0.3). The scavenging activity ($IC_{50}$ for ${O_2}^{{\cdot}\;-}$ (superoxide anion radical) generated by NBT method was in the order: ethyl acetate fraction (145.5) < aglycone fraction (65.5). The protective effects on the rose-bengal sensitized photohemolysis of human erythrocytes were investigated. The ethyl acetate fraction exhibited the most prominent cellular protective effect (${\tau}_{50}$, $191.9{\pm}12.2\;min$ at $10{\mu}g/mL$). The inhibitory effect of aglycone fraction ($9.1{\mu}g/mL$) on elastase was higher than oleanolic and ($13.7{\mu}g/mL$). And the inhibitory effect of aglycone fraction ($21.6{\mu}g/mL$) on tyrosinase was higher than arbutin ($226.2{\mu}g/mL$). But 50% ethanol extract rarely exhibited the inhibitory activity on tryosinase and elastase. Flavonoids were contained in Castanea crenata left (96.3 mg / 100 g dried Castanea crenata leaf). And flavonoids contained in ethyl acetate fraction were kaempferol, quercetin, quercitrin, and so on. Quercitrin is the most abundant component. These results indicate that extract / fractions of Castanea crenata can function as antioxidants in biological systems, particularly skin exposed to UV radiation by scavenging free radical and ROS, Castanea crenata leaf extract/ fractions could be used as new cosmeceutical for whitening and anti-wrinkle products.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.30-40
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• 2009

Statistical optimization of the production medium was carried out in order to find an optimal medium composition in itaconic acid fermentation process. Itaconic acid utilized in the manufacture of various synthetic resins is a dicarboxylic acid biosynthesized by fungal cells of Aspergillus terreus in a branch of the TCA cycle via decarboxylation of cis-aconitate. Through OFAT (one factor at a time) experiments, six components (glucose, fructose, sucrose, soluble starch, soybean meal and cottonseed flour) were found to have significant effects on itaconic production among various carbon- and nitrogen-sources. Hence, using these six factors, interactive effects were investigated via fractional factorial design, showing that the initial concentrations of sucrose and cottonseed flour should be high for enhanced production of itaconic acid. Furthermore, through full factorial design (FFD) experiments, negative effects of $KH_2PO_4$ and $MgSO_4$ on itaconic acid biosynthesis were demonstrated, when excess amounts of the each component were initially added. Based on the FFD analysis, further statistical experiments were conducted along the steepest ascent path, followed by response surface method (RSM) in order to obtain optimal concentrations of the constituent nutrients. As a result, optimized concentrations of sucrose and cottonseed flour were found to be 90.4g/L and 53.8g/L respectively, with the corresponding production level of itaconic acid to be 4.36 g/L (about 7 fold higher productivity as compared to the previous production medium). From these experimental results, it was assumed that optimum ratio of the constituent carbon (sucrose) and nitrogen (cottonseed flour) sources was one of the most important factors for the enhanced production of itaconic acid.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.80-86
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• 2016

High Ni content layered oxide materials for the positive electrode in lithium-ion batteries have high specific capacity. However, their poor electrochemical and thermal stability at elevated temperature restrict the practical use. A small amount of $Al_2O_3$ was added to the mixture of transition metal hydroxide and lithium hydroxide. The $LiNi_{0.6}Co_{0.2}Mn_{0.2}O_2$ was simultaneously doped and coated with $Al_2O_3$ during heat-treatment. Electrochemical characteristics of modified $LiNi_{0.6}Co_{0.2}Mn_{0.2}O_2$ were evaluated by the galvanostatic cycling and the LSTA(linear sweep thermmametry) at the constant voltage conditions. The nano-sized $Al_2O_3$ added materials show better cycle performance at elevated temperature than that of micro-sized $Al_2O_3$. As the added amount of nano-$Al_2O_3$ increased, the thermal stability of electrode also enhanced, but the use of 2.5 mol% Al showed the best high temperature performance.