• Clinical and Molecular Hepatology
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.384-391
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• 2018

Backgrounds/Aims: The objective of our study was to determine the epidemiological, laboratory, and serological characteristics of patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and normal transaminases. The study also aimed to evaluate liver damage by measuring the liver fibrosis (LF) grade and to identify possible factors associated with the presence of fibrosis. Methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted in patients with chronic HBV infection and classified as inactive carriers or immune-tolerant. Epidemiological variables of age, sex, immigrant, alcohol consumption, and body mass index (BMI), as well as virological variables (HBV DNA) and transaminase level were collected throughout the follow-up. The LF grade was evaluated by transient elastography. The cutoff value for significant fibrosis (SF) was liver stiffness ${\geq}7.9kPa$. Results: A total of 214 patients were included in the analysis, and 62% of them had a BMI ${\geq}25kg/m^2$. During follow-up, 4% of patients showed transaminase elevation (<1.5 times normal). Most patients had a viral DNA level <2,000 IU/mL (83%). Data on LF were available in 160 patients; of these, 14% had SF, 9% F3, and 6% F4. The variables associated with the presence of SF were transaminase alteration during follow-up, as 23% of patients with SF had elevated transaminases versus 3% of patients without SF (P<0.005), and BMI, as the vast majority of patients with SF (88%) had a BMI ${\geq}25kg/m^2$ versus 56% of patients without SF (P<0.05). Conclusions: In patients with chronic HBV infection and normal transaminases, liver damage does not seem to be related to DNA levels, alcohol consumption, or immigrant status. SF seems to be associated with transaminase alteration during follow-up and elevated BMI. It is therefore recommended to measure LF grade with validated non-invasive methods in such patients.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2017.06a
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• pp.81-81
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• 2017

The origin of wild corn (teosinte) is distributed in the Northwest coastal pacific area of Central America, including Mexico, which is a wetland area of 5 to 6 months per year. Depending on these climate characteristics, wild corn is genetically resistant to flooding condition. In order to evaluate the availability of flooding resistant genes of these wild corns, we examined the physiological responses after the flooding treatment in the early stages of the growth of various wild corns. The difference of chlorophyll content between flooding untreatment and flooding treatments (untreated chlorophyll content - humidified chlorophyll content) was the highest in chlorophyll content in the case of B73, the common corn. In the middle leaf, $\underline{Zea}$ mays subsp. Parviglumis, Zea mays subsp. Mexicana, Zea mays subsp., Zea perennis decreased significantly. In the lower leaves, Zea mays sub and Zea nicaraguensis showed the lowest content compared to B73. PCR analysis was performed using 34 primers divided into two groups, top and bottom. In the wild corn, pyruvate decarboxylase 2 in root and alcohol dehydrogenase 1 in shoot showed the difference in the reaction.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.794-801
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• 2013

This paper reports the production and characterization of crude xylanase from the newly isolated Humicola sp. Ly01. The highest (41.8 U/ml) production of the crude xylanase was obtained under the optimized conditions (w/v): 0.5% wheat bran, 0.2% $KH_2PO_4$, and 0.5% peptone; initial pH 7.0; incubation time 72 h; $30^{\circ}C$; and 150 rpm. A considerable amount of the crude xylanase was induced using hulless barley bran or soybean meal as the carbon source, but a small amount of the enzyme was produced when supplementary urea was used as the nitrogen source to wheat bran. The crude xylanase showed apparent optimal cellulase-free xylanase activity at $60^{\circ}C$ and pH 6.0, more than 71.8% of the maximum xylanase activity in 3.0-30.0% (v/v) ethanol and more than 82.3% of the initial xylanase activity after incubation in 3.0-30.0% (v/v) ethanol at $30^{\circ}C$ for 2 h. The crude xylanase was moderately resistant to both acid and neutral protease digestion, and released 7.9 and 10.9 ${\mu}mol/ml$ reducing sugar from xylan in the simulated gastric and intestinal fluids, respectively. The xylooligosaccharides were the main products of the hydrolysis of xylan by the crude xylanase. These properties suggested the potential of the crude enzyme for being applied in the animal feed industry, xylooligosaccharides production, and high-alcohol conditions such as ethanol production and brewing.