• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.856-860
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• 2000

Cloning technology continues to capture widespread attention by the international news media and biomedical and agricultural industries. The future uses of this technology could potentially contribute to major advances in biomedical and agricultural sciences. Cloned transgenic dairy cattle possessing milk promoters directing transgenes will produce pharmaceutical proteins in their milk faster, more efficiently and less expensively than transgenic cattle created using microinjection techniques. Additionally, cloned transgenic fetuses and animals may become a source of cells, tissue and organs for xenotransplantation. Lastly, but maybe most importantly, enhanced production traits and disease resistance may be realized in animal agriculture by utilizing these new technologies. The recent advances in the cattle cloning technology are important but there are still major obstacles preventing widespread commercial use of this technology. The type of donor nucleus, recipient cytoplasm, and cloning procedures used will impact the potential number of clones produced and the uses of the technology. In addition, the new advances in cloning methodology have not improved the relatively low pregnancy rates or reduced the incidence of health problems observed in cloned offspring. These problems may require novel techniques to decipher their cause and new methods of preventing and/or diagnosing them in the preimplantation embryo. The commercial potential is enormous for cloning technology; however, little has been done to improve the efficiencies of the procedure. Improving procedural efficiencies is a critical developmental milestone especially for potential uses of cloning technology in animal agriculture.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.209-212
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• 1999

For the classification of B. burgdorferi sensu lato strains, PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis was performed. PCR was carried out with B. burgdorferi sensu lato specific primer set (BB uni set), and amplicons of 470-bp DNA were digested with Alu 1. The Alu I restriction polymorphism of the amplicons provided a useful tool for identifying B. burgdorferi sensu late strains. Both amplicons from B. burgdorferi sensu stricto and B. garinii except HPI strain showed identical RFLP pattern (50 bp, 70 bp, and 150 bp), but amplicons from B. afzelii and B. garinii showed two types of subgroups, respectively. The result of PCR-RFLP using extracted DNAs from ticks was similar to those patterns of B. burgdorferi species including B. afzelii.

• Biomaterials and Biomechanics in Bioengineering
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.23-32
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• 2015

Facile immobilization of growth factors in hyaluronic acid (HA) hydrogels using dual enzymes is reported in the paper. The hydrogels were formed by using horseradish peroxidase (HRP) and hydrogen peroxide ($H_2O_2$) and transforming growth factor-${\beta}3$ (TGF-${\beta}3$) was covalently conjugated on the hydrogels in situ using tyrosinase (Ty) without any modifications. For the preparation of hydrogels, HA was grafted with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), which was modified with a tyrosine. The gelation times of the HA hydrogels were ranging from 415 to 17 s and the storage moduli was dependent on the concentration of $H_2O_2$ and Ty (470-1600 Pa). A native TGF-${\beta}3$ (200 ng/mL) was readily encapsulated in the HA hydrogels and 17% of the TGF-${\beta}3$ was released over 1 month at the Ty concentration of 0.5 KU/mL, while the release was faster when 0.3 KU/mL of Ty was used for the encapsulation (27%). It can be suggested that the growth factors resident in the hydrogels for a long period of time may lead cells proliferating and differentiating, whereas the growth factors that are initially released from the hydrogels can induce the ingrowth of cells into the matrices. Therefore, the dual enzymatic methods as facile gel forming and loading of various native growth factors or therapeutic proteins could be highly promising for tissue regenerative medicines.

• Biomaterials and Biomechanics in Bioengineering
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.21-32
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• 2019

Eggshell is a waste material after the usage of egg. In this work, biowaste chicken eggshells were used for preparing carbonated hydroxyapatite (HA) nanoparticles of high purity through aqueous precipitation method at room temperature. The eggshell-derived HA will be a cost-effective bioceramics for biomedical applications and an effective material-recycling technology. Additionally, mulberry leaf extract was used as a template to regulate the morphology, size and crystallinity of HA, and the effects of pH value were also examined. Characterization of the samples was performed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to determine the size, shape and morphology of HA. The results indicate that only one phase of HA were synthesized in the both absence and presence of mulberry leaf extract at pH of 7 and above, while DCPD or DCPA/DCPD phase was observed at pH 4 condition. The crystallite sizes of the HA samples obviously decreased when adding mulberry leaf extract as a template, while they decreased gradually as the solution pH levels increased. With increasing pH level from 7 to 14, the rod-like HA nanoparticles gradually changed to spherical shape at pH 14. Note that, the obtained product is Mg and Sr containing A- and B-type carbonate HA at alkaline pH and it can be a potential material for biomedical applications.

• Journal of Appropriate Technology
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.226-237
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• 2020

As the number of reported COVID-19 cases rises around the world, regions affected by the virus are taking serious measures to contain its spread. Face shields are one of the highest-need personal protective equipment (PPE) during COVID-19 pandemic. Beyond traditional face masks, as known cases of the coronavirus soar, currently there is a significant shortage of face shields around the world. In response, the protective face shields were designed and fabricated with open-source 3D modelling software and 3D printing technology, respectively. Our face shield consisted of two parts only; a reusable 3D printed headband and a visor made of transparent plastic sheet, as barrier. The resulting 3D printed face shields are affordable, lightweight, one-size-fits-most and ready-to-wear with minimal assemblies, and go on easily over glass, goggle and face mask. To ensure being donated to the healthcare professionals without risk infected by any pathogens, the 3D printed face shields were successfully be disinfected with ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI dosage of 1000 mJ/cm²) and 70% alcohol. For routine disinfection a UVGI chamber was designed and optimized to provide uniform UV-C illumination with an appreciated fluence for complete decontamination. More than 1,000 face shields were produced already and donated to the special hospitals for COVID-19 patients, quarantines, government and medical agencies in Ethiopia as well as in East-African countries. With certainty, our intention goes beyond the hospitals and other first responders, but not limited for all those who have to stay in the service or be in contact with many other people in the time of COVID-19 pandemic.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.229-236
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• 2011

An efficient screening method was developed for rapid selection of a few overproducers of itaconic acid (IA) among the great many mutants derived from mother strains of Aspergillus terreus. For this purpose, an attempt was made to reveal the relationships of the growth rate and sporulation of each mutant on PDA solid medium with its IA productivity in the final liquid production-culture. As a result, it was possible to classify the mutated strains into 5 groups (from [A] to [E] group) according to theirmorphologies (i.e., growth rate and sporulation extent) on the PDA slants. Notably, most of the high-yielding mutants of IA were observed to belong to [A]group which had the properties of the highest growth rate and sporulation among the 5 groups, whereas the mutant groups of [C], [D] and [E] with the contrasting morphological features showed significant reductions in their IA productivities. From these results, it was concluded that the probability of selecting IA overproducing mutants could be remarkably enhanced when the mutated colonies showing faster growth rates are firstly selected on the PDA plate, and then further screening process is performed on the basis of the sporulation extents of the mutants selected. Consequently, through the application of the strategy developed in this study, costs and time involvedin the labor-intensive task of strain improvement could be reduced to a great extent, because the time-consuming liquid culture processes did not need to performed for the unfavorable mutants belonging to the groups other than group [A].

• BMB Reports
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• v.51 no.9
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• pp.462-467
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• 2018

A previous study of ours indicated that Drosophila flightless-1 controls lipid metabolism, and that there is an accumulation of triglycerides in flightless-1 (fliI)-mutant flies, where this mutation triggers metabolic stress and an obesity phenotype. Here, with the aim of characterizing the function of FliI in metabolism, we analyzed the levels of gene expression and metabolites in fliI-mutant flies. The levels of enzymes related to glycolysis, lipogenesis, and the pentose phosphate pathway increased in fliI mutants; this result is consistent with the levels of metabolites corresponding to a metabolic pathway. Moreover, high-throughput RNA sequencing revealed that Drosophila FliI regulates the expression of genes related to biological processes such as chromosome organization, carbohydrate metabolism, and immune reactions. These results showed that Drosophila FliI regulates the expression of metabolic genes, and that dysregulation of the transcription controlled by FliI gives rise to metabolic stress and problems in the development and physiology of Drosophila.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.228-234
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• 2015

The balance ability significantly decreased in the elderly because of deterioration of the neural musculature regulatory mechanisms. Several studies have investigated methods of improving balance ability using real-time systems, but it is limited by the expensive test equipment and specialized resources. Recently, Kinect system based on depth data has been applied to address these limitations. Little information about accuracy/inaccuracy of Kinect system is, however, available, particular in motion analysis for evaluation of effectiveness in rehabilitation training. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to evaluate accuracy/inaccuracy of Kinect system in specific rotational movement for balance rehabilitation training. Six healthy male adults with no musculoskeletal disorder were selected to participate in the experiment. Movements of the participants were induced by controlling the base plane of the balance training equipment in directions of AP (anterior-posterior), ML (medial-lateral), right and left diagonal direction. The dynamic motions of the subjects were measured using two Kinect depth sensor systems and a three-dimensional motion capture system with eight infrared cameras for comparative evaluation. The results of the error rate for hip and knee joint alteration of Kinect system comparison with infrared camera based motion capture system occurred smaller values in the ML direction (Hip joint: 10.9~57.3%, Knee joint: 26.0~74.8%). Therefore, the accuracy of Kinect system for measuring balance rehabilitation traning could improve by using adapted algorithm which is based on hip joint movement in medial-lateral direction.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.38 no.6
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• pp.308-312
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• 2017

Skeletal muscle function plays a very important role in quality of life. However, skeletal muscle causes functional decline under aging or some diseases. Exercise and muscle training are good solutions to delay sarcopenia, but there are limitations to those who are uncomfortable in exercise. For this reason, alternative interventions for muscle sarcopenia are required, and many studies proved the increase of skeletal muscle mass by electrical stimulation. In conventional studies, however, mouse skeletal muscle cells have been mostly used in experiments to identify electrical stimulation conditions while human derived cells have not been frequently utilized in these studies. Stimulation used for rehabilitation has been uniformly treated without the consideration of aging. In addition, many studies have been used with conventional petri dish usually requiring many numbers of cells, which is not appropriate for rare. Moreover, they are not usually condition uniformity of electrical field. In this study, we have developed an electrical stimulation device which consumes a small amount of cells and can form a uniform electrical field. With the system, we analyzed the skeletal muscle differentiation and Myotube thickness depending on the electrical stimulation condition.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.30 no.7
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• pp.762-768
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• 2013

This study investigated the effect of whole-body vibration on muscle function and muscular reaction in the knee joint. We recruited thirty healthy subjects and divided them into a training group, who experienced whole-body vibration, and a control group, who did not. The training group performed whole-body vibration exercises for 30 min per day, 3 days a week, for 8 weeks. We measured knee joint torque to estimate muscle strength and reaction, using BIODEX System 3. Knee joint peak torque and total work performed increased significantly in the training group, and muscle acceleration time decreased. These results suggest that stimulation by whole-body vibration can improve muscle strength and reaction by improving muscle tone and increasing blood temperature and flow speed in muscular fiber. Our results also indicate that 4 weeks of exercise with whole-body vibration is required to improve the reaction response, and six weeks to improve strength.