• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.265-270
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• 1997

Purpose: Rapid diagnosis and prompt treatment remain the cornerstone of management of patients with meningitis. Examination of cerebrospinal fluid(CSF) for glucose, protein, cells, and organisms is necessary for accurate diagnosis, but in many parts of the world facilities do not exist to do so. We tested CSF samples from 69 children with suspected meningitis with urinary reagent strips and analyzed the results to know the usability of urinary reagent strips in diagnosis of meningitis. Methods: 69 CSF samples obtained from children with suspected meningitis were analysed. Each sample was divided into two; one was sent to the laboratory for routine diagnostic evaluation, and the other was tested with the reagent strip(Combur10 Test M). Laboratory values of CSF glucose, protein, and leucocytes for each CSF sample were plotted against the corresponding reagent-strip category. Results: There was good agreement between the dipstick and laboratory values for CSF protein and cell count but not for glucose. Conclusion: Rapid diagnosis of meningitis could be made with three component of the Combur10 test strip. It is easy to do and would be of particular value to those working in parts of the world where no laboratory facilities exist.

• Journal of Marine Bioscience and Biotechnology
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.91-97
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• 2006

For efficient removal of nitrogenous compounds produced in recirculating aquaculture system, the N removal characteristics of immobilized mixed microorganisms were investigated at various mixing ratios of photosynthetic bacteria (PSB) immobilized in PVA beads or CTA cubes and ammonium utilizing bacteria (AUB) immobilized in PVA beads. On the optimal medium of AUB, the maxium gas production rate was obtained at the mixing ratio of 10:40 (PSB:AUB), and the gas production rate increased as the portion of AUB beads in the mixed beads increased. When the mixing ratios of PSB:AUB beads were 50:0, 40:10, 25:25 and 10:40, the final pHs were measured to be 6.29, 6.01, 5.69 and 5.13, respectively. On the optimal medium of PSB, however, the volume and the rate of gas production decreased remarkably as the portion of AUB beads in the mixed beads increased. The final pH was measured to be approximately 6.5, regardless of the mixing ratio. In the reactions by the mixed culture of PSB cubes and AUB beads, all results showed the same tendency of those by the mixed culture of PSB and AUB beads, but the volume and the rate of gas production decreased remarkably, even with 0.2ml of gas production in control. From all the results, the use of mixed PSB and AUB beads at the ratio of 10:40 seems to be efficient to remove nitrogenous compounds in wastewater from recirculating aquaculture system.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.33-38
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• 2020

Purpose Vitamin D is essential for maintaining bone health, controling cell proliferation or differentiation, strengthening immune function by controlling calcium metabolism in the body. Vitamin D deficiency can lead to increase the risk of rickets, osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer. Especially, South Korea is one of the highest population proportion of vitamin D deficiency. Accurate determination of levels of 25-OH-VitD or 25-OH-VitD3 in blood serum is required for the diagnosis and treatment of vitamin D deficiency. In this study, radioimmunoassay of 25-OH-VitD and 25-OH-VitD3 was performed and compared to evaluate the effectiveness of Vitamin D radioimmunoassay. Materials and Methods Serum 25-OH-VitD and 25-OH-VitD3 levels were measured using radioimmunoassay. The interrelationship, reproducibility and population distribution rate were evaluated. In addition, the internal quality control was performed at Asan Medical Center from April 2017 to June 2019 and the result of external quality control (Interagency proficiency evaluation) of first and second half of 2018 hosted by the Korean Society of Nuclear Medicine Technology (KSNMT). Both tests were measured by same manufacturer's reagent. Results 25-OH-VitD showed a strong positive correlation on 97 samples, as 25-OH-VitD3 x 0.9 + 0.3 (R>0.9). In repeated measurement, the average Diff(%) value of the reproducibility evaluation of 25-OH-VitD and 25-OH-VitD3 were 7.7% and 7.4%, respectively. Population distribution results showed no statistically significant differences(p>0.05). The resultant value of internal quality control, which measured from April, 2017 to June 2019 in Blood test room of Nuclear Medicine at Asan Medical Center, showed average (CV%) 6.2% and 6.8%, respectively. As a result of the external quality control (interagency proficiency evaluation) Z value obtained under 2.0, as shown below; Conclusion The interrelationship, reproducibility, population distribution rate, internal quality control and external quality control between 25-OH-VitD and 25-OH-VitD3 radioimmunoassay shows superior outcome. Radioimmunoassay, which can be alone measured in the blood as 25-OH-VitD or 25-OH-VitD3, is considered suitable screening tests for the diagnosis of vitamin D deficiency.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.71-76
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• 1998

To know the antibiotic specificity of a Dinoflagellate, Cochlodinium polykrikoides, we investigated the survival time of C. polykrikoides against several concentrations of antibiotics and judged the selective specificity of antibiotics based on the $LT_50$ ($50\%$ of lethal time). The result showed that C. polykrikoides was sensitive to tetracycline and chloramphenicol, and resistant to polymixin-B, ampicillin, penicillin-G, dihydrostreptomycin, and neomycin. In the case of sensitive antibiotics to C. polykrikoides, tetracycline and chloramphenicol, the safety concentrations of both antibiotics were determined and the antibiotic specificity based or the plotted survival curve was analyzed. Before antibiotic treatment, we tested the antibiotic susceptibility of the contaminated bacterial population in tile culture of C. polykrikoides, and decided the proper kinds of antibiotics and concentrations before percoll-centrifugation. By percoll-centrifugation, we reduced bacteria, removed fungi, collected the algal pellet, and made axonic culture by antibiotic cascade procedure based on the result of antibiotic susceptibility test. We observed that axonic C. polykrikoides culture entered the logarthmic phase of growth when cell density was over 740 cells/ml and propagated to 5,800 cells/ml maximally. Divisions per day, k value of C. polykrikoides represented a good index for growth at the low density of cells. There was a highest k value shift before reaching to the logarithmic phase. We suggested that the preceeding highest k value shift stage is a good indicator for accurate broadcasting for red. tide blooming in the field, and the stage is also a good time for controlling red tide blooming in the filed, either.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.29 no.11
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• pp.1218-1226
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• 2019

The white-spotted flower chafer Protaetia brevitarsis seulensis is a medicinally beneficial and important edible insect species. We previously performed an in silico analysis of the Protaetia brevitarsis seulensis transcriptome to identify putative antimicrobial peptides and then tested their antimicrobial and hemolytic activities. These peptides had potent antimicrobial activities against bacteria and yeast without inducing hemolysis. In the present study, the cationic antimicrobial peptide, protaetiamycine 2, was selected for further assessment of its anti-inflammatory properties in mouse macrophage Raw264.7 cells. Protaetiamycine 2 treatment of Raw264.7 cells suppressed LPS-induced nitric oxide production and reduced the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase and cyclooxygenase-2, as determined by real-time PCR and western blotting. The expression of proinflammatory cytokines ($TNF-{\alpha}$, IL-6, and $IL-1{\beta}$) was also attenuated through the MAPKs and $NF-{\kappa}B$ signaling. We also confirmed that protaetiamycine 2 bound to bacterial cell membranes by a specific interaction with LPS. Collectively, these data obtained from LPS-induced Raw264.7 cells indicated that protaetiamycine 2 could have both antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.31 no.1 s.49
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• pp.17-23
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• 2005

We had previously reported that Selina (selina-4(14), 7(11)-dien-8-one) was isolated from methanol extract of Afractylodes rhizome and has strong whitening activity in B16 melanoma cells. In this report, we demonstrated its action mechanism in melan-a cells, non-tumorigenic melanocytes. We also investigated the clinical efficacy of cosmetic preparation containing Selina. Selina reduced the melanin synthesis of Melan-a cells by $50\%$ at a concentration of $10 {\mu}g/mL$ without any apparent cytotoxicity. We also found that the treatment of cells with Selina decreased tyrosinase activity by $60\%$ at a concentration of $10 {\mu}g/mL$ but Selina was not a direct inhibitor of tyrosinase activities. To elucidate the action mechanism of Selina, we investigated the changes in mRNA and protein level of tyrosinase, TRP-1 and TRP-2 using RT-PCR and western blotting, respectively. As a result, the mRNA and protein level of tyrosinase were markedly reduced at $10 {\mu}g/mL$ of Selina without any effect on TRP-1 and TRP-2. These results suggest that Selina exerts its whitening effect mainly through regulating expression of tyrosinase. A 7 week-clinical trial using formulation containing $0.2\%$ selina-4(14), 7(11)-dien-8-one with 20 volunteers resulted in statistically significant whitening effect (p < 0.05), without any adverse effect. Based on these results, Selina (selina-4(14), 7(11)-dien-8-one) can be s useful and safe ingredient for the cleanness and brightness of skin.

• Korean Journal of Breeding Science
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.532-537
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• 2011

'Seolgaeng' is a new Japonica rice variety developed from an 'Ilpumbyeo' mutant line, N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU) treatment on fertilized egg cell, by a rice breeding team of National Crop Experiment Station, Rural Development Administration in 2001. This variety has about 134 days of growth duration from transplanting to harvesting in central plain area of Korea, a good semi-elect plant type and resistant to lodging with strong culm. The number of panicles/hill of 'Seolgaeng' is more than that of 'Hwaseongbyeo'. The milled rice appearance of this cultivar is an opaque, but it has amylose content (19.3%) similar to 'Hwaseongbyeo'. It is superior to hypae formation of Aspergillus orzyae in the making of fermented rice and amount of pigmentation in fermented rice by Monascus anka that of 'Ilpumbyeo'. This variety showed slow leaf senescence and considerable resistance to viviparous germination. It is moderately resistant to leaf blast and susceptible to bacterial blight, virus disease and insect pests. The yield performance of this rice cultivar is about 5.27 MT/ha in milled rice in local adaptability test for three years from 1999 to 2001). 'Seolgaeng' is adaptable to central and southern plain areas of Korea.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.337-344
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• 2019

The free radical scavenging, cytotoxic effects, and flavonoid content of fractions from Lycopus lucidus Turcz leaves were here investigated. The flavonoid contents of 85% methanol (MeOH) and n-butanol (BuOH) fractions of the leaves were 41.5 mg/g and 77.2 mg/g, respectively. In DPPH and ABTs+ assays, 85% MeOH and n-BuOH fractions from the L. lucidus Turcz leaves had a greater scavenging effect (p<0.05). The n-BuOH fraction (0.5 mg/ml concentration) had scavenging effects of 88% and 92% in the DPPH and ABTs+ assays, respectively (p<0.05). Cell viability tests showed that treatment with L. lucidus Turcz leaf fractions caused cytotoxicity in the growth of AGS, HT-29, and HT-1080 cancer cells. Of the different fractions, the 85% MeOH sample displayed the highest cytotoxic activity; the $IC_{50}$ values of this fraction against AGS, HT-1080, and HT-29 cancer cells were 0.03 mg/ml, 0.14 mg/ml, and 0.16 mg/ml, respectively. These biological results indicate that the n-BuOH fraction was more effective in anti-oxidant activity while the 85% MeOH fraction was stronger in cytotoxic effects, and they suggest that these two fractions from L. lucidus Turcz leaves may contain valuable bioactive compounds, such as flavonoids.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.942-953
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• 2019

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of L-arginine supplementation on muscle damage and fatigue indices and athletic performance improvement of canoe athletes after conducting a high-intensity training program. To achieve the objective, this study applied a high-intensity training program to seven high school canoe athletes. The high-intensity training program is composed of aerobic exercise sessions (twice per week; Tuesday and Thursday), anaerobic exercise sessions (three times per week; Monday, Wednesday, and Friday), and flexibility exercise sessions (five times per week). During the 6 week high-intensity training program, drug ingestion (L-arginine or placebo) was conducted in the first two weeks, wash out (two weeks) followed it, and drug ingestion (L-arginine or placebo) was carried out again in the last two weeks. The crossover design was used for the experiment so all study subjects were assigned to either the L-arginine intake group (the treatment group) or the placebo group (the control group). Each subject ingested 3g per day. This study confirmed the significant effects of L-arginine supplementation on muscle damage indices, fatigue indices, and antioxidants using blood samples. Additionally, FMD was analyzed to evaluate vascular endothelial cell functions and canoe performance was examined using the canoe ergometer. The results of this study showed that L-arginine intake did not have direct effects on the levels of ammonia, IP, and CK. The level of LDH decreased significantly more in the ARG group than in the PLA group due to L-arginine supplementation. Moreover, L-arginine supplementation did not change total NO, d-ROMs, BAP, and FMD significantly. Lastly, the results of the 500m canoe ergometer, which was conducted to evaluate the canoe performance, revealed that L-arginine did not have direct effects on total time, stroke distance, and mean velocity. However, L-arginine supplementation significantly improved muscle damage indices, fatigue indices, antioxidants, FMD, and canoe performance. Therefore, it is believed that additional studies are needed for examining the potential effects of L-arginine supplementation athletic performance enhancement.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.126-136
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• 2021

Oxidative stress causes injury to and degeneration of retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells. It is involved in several retinal disorders and leads to vision loss. In the present study, we investigated the effect of 14 kinds of natural compounds and two kinds of synthetic compounds on oxidative stress-induced cellular damage in human PRE cell lines (ARPE-19). From among them, we selected five kinds of compounds, including auranofin, FK-509, hemistepsin A, honokiol, and spermidine, which have inhibitory effects against hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-mediated cytotoxicity. In addition, we found that four kinds of compounds (excluding auranofin) have protective effects on H2O2-induced mitochondrial dysfunction. Furthermore, the expression of phosphorylation of histone H2AX, a sensitive marker of DNA damage, was markedly up-regulated by H2O2, whereas it was notably down-regulated by FK-506, honokiol, and spermidine treatment. Meanwhile, five kinds of candidate compounds had no effect on H2O2-induced intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, suggesting that the five candidate compounds have protective effects on oxidative stress-induced cellular damage through the ROS-independent pathway. Taken together, according to the results of H2O2-mediated cellular damage―such as cytotoxicity, apoptosis, mitochondrial dysfunction, and DNA damage―spermidine and FK-506 are the natural and synthetic compounds with the most protective effects against oxidative stress in RPE. Although further studies on the identification of the mechanism responsible are required, the results of the present study suggest the possibility of using spermidine and FK-506 to suppress the risk of retinal disorders.