• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
• /
• v.6 no.2
• /
• pp.153-160
• /
• 1999

Animal models can provide a useful tool for the study of some aspects of psychiatric disorders and their treatment. The four criteria for the evaluation of animal models of psychiatric disorders are as following : 1) similarity of inducing conditions 2) similarity of behavioral state 3) common underlying neurobiological mechanisms 4) reversal by clinically effective treatment techniques. Several animal models have been proposed for schizophrenia : phenylethylamine model, L-dopa model, hallucinogen model, cocaine model, amphetamine model, phencyclidine model, noradrenergic reward system lesion model, reticular stimulation model, social isolation model, conditioned avoidance reaction, catalepsy test, paw test, self-stimulation paradigms, latent inhibition paradigms, blocking paradigms, prepulse inhibition of the startle reflex, rodent interaction, social behavior in monkeys, hippocampal damage, high ambient pressure, and models using selective breeding. Among them, animals with bilateral lesion of the hippocampus may provide an adequate animal model for several symptoms of schizophrenia, and ketamine model can reproduce negative symptoms and cognitive deficits as well as positive symptoms of schizophrenia. In conclusion, no model of schizophrenia is entirely representative of the disease, and findings gleaned from model systems must be cautiously interpreted. Furthermore, the process of developing and validating animal models must work in concert with the process to identify reliable measures of human phenomenology.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
• /
• v.44 no.3
• /
• pp.148-152
• /
• 2001

This study investigated the role of excitatory amino acid systems in the initiation of organophosphate-induced seizures and brain damages in rats through quantitative in vivo microdialysis. Microdialysates were collected from the hippocampus of rat brain, treated with diisopropylfluorophosphate (DFP; 2.67 mg/kg, s.c.) alone, and/or atropine sulfate (15 mg/kg, i.m.) and procyclidine (30 mg/kg, i.m.). The protective effects of atropine, a muscarinic blocker, and/or procyclidine, a N-methyl-D-aspartate and cholinergic antagonist, against DFP were examined. DFP treatment increased the levels of aspartate (Asp) and glutamate (Glu) significantly in the hippocampal persuate with the induction of seizures. Treatment of procyclidine could effectively block the increase of Asp and Glu levels. Atropine treatment showed no significant anticonvulsive effects against DFP-induced seizures. The increases of Asp and Glu levels by DFP were also completely blocked through the combined treatment of atropine and procyclidine. Histopathological findings on the hippocampus confirmed the above results. More effective protection was observed through the treatments of procyclidine alone or of both procyclidine and atropine than atropine alone against DFP-induced brain damage. Procyclidine was shown to be effective in DFP-induced seizures.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
• /
• v.48 no.1
• /
• pp.23-33
• /
• 2005

Agricultural sciences field in South Korea has many strong points such as numerous researchers, establishment of research infra-structure, excellence in research competitiveness and high technological level. However, there are also many weaknesses including insufficient leadership at related societies and institutes, deficiency of the next generation research group, and insufficiency in research productivity. There are many opportunities including increasing the importance of the biotechnological industry, activating international cooperation researches, and exploring the multitude of possible research areas to be studied. However, some threats still exist, such as pressure from the government of developed countries to open the agricultural market, the decrease of specialized farms, and intensification for researches to gratify economic and social demands. To encourage research activities in the agricultural sciences field in Korea, the following actions and systems are required: 1) formulation of a mid- and a long-term research master plan, 2) development of a database on the man power in related fields, 3) activation of top-down research topics, and associated increase of individual research grants, 4) development of special national programs for basic researches in agricultural sciences, 5) organization of a committee for policy and planning within the related societies, and 6) system development for the fair evaluation of the research results.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
• /
• v.48 no.1
• /
• pp.1-15
• /
• 2005

Pathogens, insects and weeds have significantly reduced agricultural productivity. Thus, to increase the productivity, synthetic agricultural chemicals have been overused. However, these synthetic compounds that are different from natural products cannot be broken down easily in natural systems, causing the destruction of soil quality and agricultural environments and the gradually difficulty in continuous agriculture. Now agriculture is faced with the various problems of minimizing the damage in agricultural environments, securing the safety of human health, while simultaneously increasing agricultural productivity. Meanwhile, plants produce secondary metabolites to protect themselves from external invaders and to secure their region for survival. Plants infected with pathogens produce antibiotics phytoalexin; monocotyledonous plants produce flavonoids and diterpenoids phytoalexins, and dicotylodoneous plant, despite of infected pathogens, produce family-specific phytoalexin such as flavonoids in Leguminosae, indole derivatives in Cruciferae, sesquitepenoids in Solanaceae, coumarins in Umbelliferae, making the plant resistant to specific pathogen. Growth inhibitor or antifeedant substances to insects are terpenoids pyrethrin, azadirachtin, limonin, cedrelanoid, toosendanin and fraxinellone/dictamnine, and terpenoid-alkaloid mixed compounds sesquiterpene pyridine and norditerpenoids, and azepine-, amide-, loline-, stemofoline-, pyrrolizidine-alkaloids and so on. Also plants produces the substances to inhibit other plant growths to secure the regions for plant itself, which is including terpenoids essential oil and sesquiterpene lactone, and additionally, benzoxazinoids, glucosinolate, quassinoid, cyanogenic glycoside, saponin, sorgolennone, juglone and lots of other different of secondary metabolites. Hence, phytoalexin, an antibiotic compound produced by plants infected with pathogens, can be employed for pathogen control. Terpenoids and alkaloids inhibiting insect growth can be utilized for insect control. Allelochemicals, a compound released from a certain plant to hinder the growth of other plants for their survival, can be also used directly as a herbicides for weed control as well. Therefore, the use of the natural secondary metabolites for pest control might be one of the alternatives for environmentally friendly agriculture. However, the natural substances are destroyed easily causing low the pest-control efficacy, and also there is the limitation to producing the substances using plant cell. In the future, effects should be made to try to find the secondary metabolites with good pest-control effect and no harmful to human health. Also the biosynthetic pathways of secondary metabolites have to be elucidated continuously, and the metabolic engineering should be applied to improve transgenics having the resistance to specific pest.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
• /
• v.29 no.2
• /
• pp.212-218
• /
• 1986

Proteins in Korean rapeseeds, as in many other plantseeds, are usually bound to phytate molecules. These phytate-bound proteins are of little value as foodstuffs because of their poor solubility in digestive systems. Therefore it is necessary to remove phytates from proteins in order to convert these proteins io a useful foodstuff. In the work, an efficient procedure for removal of phytates from defatted Korean rapeseed was found. The influence of pH on the solubility of protein and phytate of rapeseed flour showed that the former was the lowest at pH 5.0 and began to increase as pH further raised. Meanwhile, the latter was the highest at pH 6.0, however, it was decreased abruptly at alkaline pH, especially to content of 1.3% at pH 11.5. The solubility cf protein was relatively high in NaCl aqueous solution at $pH\;6.0{\sim}8.0$, and did not male any noticeable difference depending on NaCl concentration. On the other hand, the solubility of phytate was high at pH of below 6.0 showing an abrupt decrease at pH of above 6.0. The solubility of protein in $CaCl_2$ aqueous solution was highest at $pH\;6.0{\sim}8.0$, however, there was no significant change at the whole range of tested pH of the solution. A maximum solubility of phytate was shown at $pH\;3.0{\sim}4.0$. And it was decreased abruptly at a higher pH of the above range and also decreased at a lower pH with higher $CaCl_2$ concentration. The solubility of phytate in $Na_2SO_3$ aqueous solution was highest at $pH\;5.0{\sim}8.0$. As the concentration goes up the maximum value of solubility was found to move to higher pHs. Depending on the concentration of $Na_2SO_3$, the decreasing pattern was changed in an alkaline solution. The solubility of phytate in the solution containing low concentration of $Ca^{2+}$ ion was low in all treatments at pH of above 7.0 and showed the maximum value at low pH as $Ca^{2+}$ ion concentration increases. The solubility of protein at pH 11.5 showed the highest value in $1mM\;Ca^{2+}$ ion solution.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
• /
• v.40 no.4
• /
• pp.371-379
• /
• 2012

This study was designed to explore new nutraceutical and cosmetic resources possessing biological activities from the plant kingdom. To fulfill this purpose, we analyzed the anti-oxidative, anti-melanogenic, and anti-inflammatory activities of Zanthoxylum schinifolium extract (ZSE) and its solvent fractions using in vitro assays and cell culture model systems. Three kinds of ZSE treated with methanol, ethanol, and water exhibited potent anti-oxidative activities through DPPH radical scavenging capacity, and inhibited in vitro DOPA oxidation. Furthermore, Z. schinifolium methanol extract (ZSME) inhibited the ${\alpha}$-melanocyte stimulating hormone, which induces melanin contents in B16F10 cells. Its anti-melanogenic activity originates from the inhibition of tyrosinase enzyme activity and melanogenesis related protein expression. Moreover, lipopolysaccharide induced nitric oxide production in the RAW 264.7 cell line was also ameliorated by ZSME treatment in a dose dependent manner. Among the four solvent fractions of ZSME treated with dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, n-butanol, and water, three fractions, except water, showed significant anti-melanogenic and anti-inflammatory activities. Taken together, these results provide important new insights into Z. schinifolium, indicating that it possesses numerous biological activities such as anti-oxidative, anti-melanogenic, and anti-inflammatory activities. Therefore, it may well serve as a promising material in the field of nutraceuticals and cosmetics.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
• /
• v.34 no.4
• /
• pp.304-313
• /
• 2016

One of the issues currently facing nuclear power plants is how to store spent nuclear waste materials which are contaminated with radionuclides such as $^{134}Cs$, $^{135}Cs$, and $^{137}Cs$. Bioremediation processes may offer a potent method of cleaning up radioactive cesium. However, there have only been limited reports on $Cs^+$ tolerant bacteria. In this study, we report the isolation and identification of $Cs^+$ tolerant bacteria in environmental soil and sediment. The resistant $Cs^+$ isolates were screened from enrichment cultures in R2A medium supplemented with 100 mM CsCl for 72 h, followed by microbial community analysis based on sequencing analysis from 16S rRNA gene clone libraries(NCBI's BlastN). The dominant Bacillus anthracis Roh-1 and B. cereus Roh-2 were successfully isolated from the cesium enrichment culture. Importantly, B. cereus Roh-2 is resistant to 30% more $Cs^+$ than is B. anthracis Roh-1 when treated with 50 mM CsCl. Growth experiments clearly demonstrated that the isolate had a higher tolerance to $Cs^+$. In addition, we investigated the adsorption of $0.2mg\;L^{-1}$ $Cs^+$ using B. anthracis Roh-1. The maximum $Cs^+$ biosorption capacity of B. anthracis Roh-1 was $2.01mg\;g^{-1}$ at pH 10. Thus, we show that $Cs^+$ tolerant bacterial isolates could be used for bioremediation of contaminated environments.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
• /
• v.19 no.1
• /
• pp.8-34
• /
• 2014

We reviewed foreign evaluation systems based on the macrobenthic and macroalgal communities and developed a system, composed of a set of ecological indices able to evaluate the functionality (FI, Functional Index; estimation of stability and productivity) and maturity (MI, Maturity Index; comparisons with biological parameters of natural reefs) of artificial reefs by comparing the status in the adjacent natural reefs in Korean coastal waters. The evaluation system was applied to natural and artificial reefs/reef-planned areas (natural reefs), established in the 5 marine ranching areas (Bangnyeong-Daechung, Yeonpyung, Taean, Seocheon and Buan) in the west coast of Korea. The FI ranged between 31.6 (Bangnyeong-Daechung) and 72.5% (Buan) and MI did between 53.1 (Seocheon) and 76.9% (Taean) in average. The evaluation of artificial reefs by the two indices, showed the most appropriate status in Taean. The FI between the adjacent artificial and natural reefs were in significant linear relationship ($r^2=0.83$, p=0.01). This indicated the local status of biological community may be critical in determining the functionality of the artificial reefs. We have suggested an integrative but preliminary evaluation system of artificial reefs in this study. The output from the evaluation system may be utilized as a tool for environment/resource managers or policy makers, responsible for effective use of funds and decision making. Given the importance, we need to use the options to enhance and improve the accuracy as follows: (1) continuous validation of the evaluation system and rescaling the criteria of indicators, (2) vigorous utilization of observation and experience through the application and data accumulation and (3) development and testing of brand-new indicators.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
• /
• v.43 no.1
• /
• pp.13-20
• /
• 2010

Acid mine drainage (AMD) from abandoned mine sites typically has low pH and contains high level of various heavy metals, aggravating ground- and surface water qualities and neighboring environments. This study investigated removal of heavy metals in a biological treatment system, mainly focusing on the removal by adsorption on a substrate material. Bench-scale batch experiments were performed with a mushroom compost to evaluate the adsorption characteristics of heavy metals leached out from a mine tailing sample and the role of SRB in the overall removal process. In addition, adsorption experiments were perform using an artificial AMD sample containing $Cd^{2+}$, $Cu^{2+}$, $Pb^{2+}$ and $Zn^{2+}$ to assess adsorption capacity of the mushroom compost. The results indicated Mn leached out from mine tailing was not subject to microbial stabilization or adsorption onto mushroom compost while microbially mediated stabilization played an important role in the removal of Zn. Fe leaching significantly increased in the presence of microbes as compared to autoclaved samples, and this was attributed to dissolution of Fe minerals in the mine tailing in a response to the depletion of $Fe^{3+}$ by iron reduction bacteria. Measurement of oxidation reduction potential (ORP) and pH indicated the reactive mixture maintained reducing condition and moderate pH during the reaction. The results of the adsorption experiments involving artificial AMD sample indicated adsorption removal efficiency was greater than 90% at pH 6 condition, but it decreased at pH 3 condition.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
• /
• v.33 no.2
• /
• pp.147-153
• /
• 1990

To investigate the effect of spice oils on the nitrite role in processed meat products, eight spice oils, ascorbic acid, and nitrite at different combinations were added to marcerated pork, and cooked at $70^{\circ}C$ lot 30min or $121^{\circ}C$ for 15min. The cooked sample were stored at $5.5^{\circ}C$ for 12days and pH, residual nitrite, redness, TBA value, and antimicrobial activity were analyzed. pH of the uncooked samples were stable at $5.6{\sim}5.8$ except in samples with nitrite alone, anise, ascorbic acid, and black pepper in which pH increased to $6.7{\sim}7.8$ after 5 days of storage. The pH of the cooked samples were stable at $5.9{\sim}6.1$ during the storage. Residual nitrite decreased rapidly on the first day of storage in each model. Residual nitrite decreased rapidly on the first day of storage in each model. The nitrite reducing effect was greatest in sample with ascorbic acid, followed by clove eugenol and thyme, but was small with peppermint. The redness of the sample was increased with ascorbic acid, colve, eugenol, thyme, anise, black pepper, coriander and rosemary except peppermint, specially samples with ascorbic acid, clove and eugenol were prominent. The TBA values of the samples with cloves, eugenol and ascorbic acid, stored after nine days, were $4{\sim}6.5$ lower than that of nitrite added sample and indicated strong antioxidant activity. The antimicrobial activity determined by inhibition zone, was strong in samples with clove, eugenol, peppermint, thyme, coriander, black pepper, rosemary and anise had antimicrobial activity to the Penicillium sp. Specially with clove, eugenol, peppermint and thyme, while all the samples showed $7{\sim}10mm$ inhibition zone to the Salmonella sp. The above results suggest that addition of eugenol, clove and thyme oil to the processed meat may increased the antioxidant, antimicrobial activity, and redness of the product so that could provide a way of reducing nitrite addition into meat products.