• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제29권6호
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• pp.863-876
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• 2019

Farm animals such as piglets are often affected by environmental stress, which can disturb the gut ecosystem. Antibiotics were commonly used to prevent diarrhea in weaned piglets, but this was banned by the European Union due to the development of antibiotic resistance. However, the use of probiotics instead of antibiotics may reduce the risk posed by pathogenic microorganisms and reduce the incidence of gastrointestinal diseases. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the effects of Lactobacillus casei Zhang on the mechanical barrier and immune function of early-weaned piglets infected using Escherichia coli K88 based on histomorphology and immunology. Fourteen-day-old weaned piglets were divided into a control group and experimental groups that were fed L. casei Zhang and infected with E. coli K88 with or without prefeeding and/or postfeeding of L. casei Zhang. The L. casei Zhang dose used was $10^7CFU/g$ diet. Jejunum segments were obtained before histological, immunohistochemical, and western blot analyses were performed. In addition, the relative mRNA expression of toll receptors and cytokines was measured. Piglets fed L. casei Zhang showed significantly increased jejunum villus height, villus height-crypt depth ratio, muscle thickness, and expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen and tight junction proteins ZO-1 and occludin. The use of L. casei Zhang effectively reduced intestinal inflammation after infection. We found that L. casei Zhang feeding prevented the jejunum damage induced by E. coli K88, suggesting that it may be a potential alternative to antibiotics for preventing diarrhea in early-weaned piglets.

• 대한구강악안면병리학회지
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• 제42권6호
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• pp.159-165
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• 2018

The Hippo pathway was originally discovered in Drosophila by genetic screening and it has been shown to be conserved in various organisms including human. Until now, the essential roles of Hippo pathway in regulating cell proliferation, apoptosis, tumorigenesis, and organ size control is extensively studied. Currently, Mats1/2 (Mob1a/1b), one of the important components in Hippo pathway, mutant mice were generated which has abnormal phenotype such as resistance to apoptosis and spontaneous tumorigenesis. Of note, Mats1/2 mutant mice also showed dental malocclusion. Therefore, in this study, we have evaluated the bone phenotype of Mats1/2 mutant mice. Although the mRNA expressions of Mats1 or Mats2 were observed in both osteoclastogenesis and osteoblastogenesis, the increase of Mats1 level was most prominent during osteoblastogenesis. The RANKL-induced osteoclast differentiation from bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMMs) was unaltered upon Mats1/2 mutation; however, the osteoblast differentiation using calvarial pre-osteoblasts was significantly reduced in Mats1/2 mutant mice compare to that of wild type mice. In accordance with in vitro results, Mats1/2 mutant mice showed decreased bone volume as well as increased trabecular separation in ${\mu}CT$ analyses. These results may provide novel prospect of the probable linkage between Hippo pathway and bone homeostasis.

• Psychiatry investigation
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• 제15권11호
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• pp.1064-1070
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• 2018

Objective Several cell line studies have demonstrated thioridazine's anticancer, multidrug resistance-reversing and apoptosis-inducing properties in various tumors. We conducted this nationwide population-based study to investigate the association between thioridazine use and cancer risk among adult patients with schizophrenia. Methods Based on the Psychiatric Inpatient Medical Claim of the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan, a total of 185,689 insured psychiatric patients during 2000 to 2005 were identified. After excluding patients with prior history of schizophrenia, only 42,273 newly diagnosed patients were included. Among them, 1,631 patients ever receiving thioridazine for more than 30 days within 6 months were selected and paired with 6,256 randomly selected non-thioridazine controls. These patients were traced till 2012/12/31 to see if they have any malignancy. Results The incidence rates of hypertension and cerebrovascular disease were higher among cases than among matched controls. The incidence of hyperlipidemia, coronary artery disease and chronic pulmonary disease did not differ between the two groups. By using Cox proportional hazard model for cancer incidence, the crude hazard ratio was significantly higher in age, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, cerebrovascular disease, coronary artery disease and chronic pulmornary disease. However, after adjusting for other covariates, only age and hypertension remained significant. Thioridazine use in adult patients with schizophrenia had no significant association with cancer. Conclusion Despite our finding that thioridazine use had no prevention in cancer in adult patients with schizophrenia. Based on the biological activity, thioridazine is a potential anticancer drug and further investigation in human with cancer is warranted.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• 제27권2호
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• pp.193-200
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• 2019

Ceramide metabolism is known to be an essential etiology for various diseases, such as atopic dermatitis and Gaucher disease. Glucosylceramide synthase (GCS) is a key enzyme for the synthesis of glucosylceramide (GlcCer), which is a main ceramide metabolism pathway in mammalian cells. In this article, we developed a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method to determine GCS activity using synthetic non-natural sphingolipid C8-ceramide as a substrate. The reaction products, C8-GlcCer for GCS, could be separated on a C18 column by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Quantification was conducted using the multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode to monitor the precursor-to-product ion transitions of m/z $588.6{\rightarrow}264.4$ for C8-GlcCer at positive ionization mode. The calibration curve was established over the range of 0.625-160 ng/mL, and the correlation coefficient was larger than 0.999. This method was successfully applied to detect GCS in the human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line (HepG2 cells) and mouse peripheral blood mononuclear cells. We also evaluated the inhibition degree of a known GCS inhibitor 1-phenyl-2-decanoylamino-3-morpholino-1-propanol (PDMP) on GCS enzymatic activity and proved that this method could be successfully applied to GCS inhibitor screening of preventive and therapeutic drugs for ceramide metabolism diseases, such as atopic dermatitis and Gaucher disease.

• 한국재료학회지
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• 제29권5호
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• pp.282-287
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• 2019

The photovoltaic properties of $TiO_2$ used for the electron transport layer in perovskite solar cells(PSCs) are compared according to the particle size. The PSCs are fabricated and prepared by employing 20 nm and 30 nm $TiO_2$ as well as a 1:1 mixture of these particles. To analyze the microstructure and pores of each $TiO_2$ layer, a field emission scanning electron microscope and the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller(BET) method are used. The absorbance and photovoltaic characteristic of the PSC device are examined over time using ultraviolet-visible-near-infrared spectroscopy and a solar simulator. The microstructural analysis shows that the $TiO_2$ shape and layer thicknesses are all similar, and the BET analysis results demonstrate that the size of $TiO_2$ and in surface pore size is very small. The results of the photovoltaic characterization show that the mean absorbance is similar, in a range of about 400-800 nm. However, the device employing 30 nm $TiO_2$ demonstrates the highest energy conversion efficiency(ECE) of 15.07 %. Furthermore, it is determined that all the ECEs decrease over time for the devices employing the respective types of $TiO_2$. Such differences in ECE based on particle size are due to differences in fill factor, which changes because of changes in interfacial resistance during electron movement owing to differences in the $TiO_2$ particle size, which is explained by a one-dimensional model of the electron path through various $TiO_2$ particles.

• Laboraroty Animal Research
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• 제34권4호
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• pp.279-287
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• 2018

Placenta specific 8 (PLAC8, also known as ONZIN) is a multi-functional protein that is highly expressed in the intestine, lung, spleen, and innate immune cells, and is involved in various diseases, including cancers, obesity, and innate immune deficiency. Here, we generated a Plac8 knockout mouse using the CRISPR/Cas9 system. The Cas9 mRNA and two single guide RNAs targeting a region near the translation start codon at Plac8 exon 2 were microinjected into mouse zygotes. This successfully eliminated the conventional translation start site, as confirmed by Sanger sequencing and PCR genotyping analysis. Unlike the previous Plac8 deficient models displaying increased adipose tissue and body weights, our male Plac8 knockout mice showed rather lower body weight than sex-matched littermate controls, though the only difference between these two mouse models is genetic context. Differently from the previously constructed embryonic stem cell-derived Plac8 knockout mouse that contains a neomycin resistance cassette, this knockout mouse model is free from a negative selection marker or other external insertions, which will be useful in future studies aimed at elucidating the multi-functional and physiological roles of PLAC8 in various diseases, without interference from exogenous foreign DNA.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제31권10호
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• pp.1430-1437
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• 2021

Cronobacter sakazakii is an opportunistic pathogenic bacterium found in powdered infant formula and is fatal to neonates. Antibiotic resistance has emerged owing to overuse of antibiotics. Therefore, demand for high-yield bacteriophages as an alternative to antibiotics has increased. Accordingly, we developed a modified mass-production method for bacteriophages by introducing a two-stage self-cycling (TSSC) process, which yielded high-concentration bacteriophage solutions by replenishing the nutritional medium at the beginning of each process, without additional challenge. pH of the culture medium was monitored in real-time during C. sakazakii growth and bacteriophage CS01 propagation, and the changes in various parameters were assessed. The pH of the culture medium dropped to 5.8 when the host bacteria reached the early log phase (OD₅₄₀ = 0.3). After challenge, it decreased to 4.65 and then recovered to 4.94; therefore, we set the optimum pH to challenge the phage at 5.8 and that to harvest the phage at 4.94. We then compared phage production during the TSSC process in jar-type bioreactors and the batch culture process in shaker flasks. In the same volume of LB medium, the concentration of the phage titer solution obtained with the TSSC process was 24 times higher than that obtained with the batch culture process. Moreover, we stably obtained high concentrations of bacteriophage solutions for three cycles with the TSSC process. Overall, this modified TSSC process could simplify large-scale production of bacteriophage CS01 and reduce the unit cost of phage titer solution. These results could contribute to curing infants infected with antibiotic-resistant C. sakazakii.

• 문화기술의 융합
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• 제7권1호
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• pp.49-57
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• 2021

본 연구는 자연환경 속에서 스스로 성장하는 나무의 시스템을 통하여, 건축물에 있어서도 스스로 에너지를 생산할 수 있는 방법을 모색하고자 한 것으로, 나무의 구조, 순환 및 환경반응 시스템으로 구분하여 실 사례와 문헌중심으로 살펴본 것이다. 1) 나무의 구조는 지상계와 뿌리조직으로 나뉘며, 가압된 세포막들로 강성을 유지한다. 지상계인 줄기와 크라운에 의한 풍력의 저항은 건축물의 내진구조원리에, 측면 뿌리의 판형 버트레스는 수평트러스 및 현수교에 적용될 수 있다. 또한 다세포의 블록들은 공기막 구조의 원리에 해당된다. 2) 나무의 순환시스템에 있어서, 나뭇잎의 미세한 기공을 통한 증산작용은 많은 양의 열 방출로 효과적인 냉각 수단이 될 수 있어, 건축물의 냉방에 직접 도입할 수 있다. 또한 증산 작용은 물의 양수와 급수, 태양 그늘을 이용한 창문의 자동 개폐 등에도 적용될 수 있다. 3) 나무의 잎과 꽃에서 읽어낼 수 있는 환경변화에 따른 반응 시스템은 새로운 감지기술과 재료의 사용을 통하여 건축물의 지붕 및 외피디자인에 적용될 수 있다.

• 공업화학
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• 제22권1호
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• pp.98-103
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• 2011

DSSC의 광전 효율 증대와 Pt 상대전극의 접착성 향상을 위하여 FTO (Fluorine-doped Tin Oxide) 유리면에 Ni underlayer를 전기 도금 후 Pt 층을 전기 도금하였다. Ni underlayer는 $10mA/cm^2$에서 2 min 동안 도금한 경우 Ni 층과 FTO 면사이의 접착성이 가장 우수하게 나타났으며, Ni underlayer를 $10mA/cm^2$에서 2 min, Pt 층을 $5mA/cm^2$에서 1 min 동안 전기 도금한 상대전극의 XRD 분석 결과 Ni 및 Pt의 금속 회절 peak들을 관찰 할 수 있었다. 이렇게 제조한 상대전극을 사용하여 DSSC의 impedance 측정 결과 75 ohm의 가장 낮은 저항을 나타냈으며, 광전 효율은 5.6%로서 가장 높은 값을 나타내었다.

• 대한금속재료학회지
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• 제46권9호
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• pp.545-553
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• 2008

Dynamic deformation behavior of ultra-fine-grained pure coppers fabricated by equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) was investigated in this study. Dynamic torsional tests were conducted on four copper specimens using a torsional Kolsky bar, and then the test data were analyzed by their microstructures and tensile properties. The 1-pass ECAP'ed specimen consisted of fine dislocation cell structures elongated along the ECAP direction, which were changed to very fine, equiaxed subgrains of 300~400 nm in size as the pass number increased. The dynamic torsional test results indicated that maximum shear stress increased with increasing ECAP pass number. Adiabatic shear bands were not found at the gage center of the dynamically deformed torsional specimen of the 1- or 4-pass ECAP'ed specimen, while some weak bands were observed in the 8-pass ECAP'ed specimen. These findings suggested that the grain refinement according to the ECAP was very effective in strengthening of pure coppers, and that ECAP'ed coppers could be used without serious reduction in fracture resistance under dynamic torsional loading as adiabatic shear bands were hardly formed.