• Ocean and Polar Research
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• 제27권2호
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• pp.205-214
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• 2005

From ancient Antarctic glacier ice, we extracted total genomic DNA that was suitable for prokaryotic 16S rDNA gene cloning and sequencing, and bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) library and end-sequencing. The ice samples were from the Dry Valley region. Age dating by $^{40}Ar/^{39}Ar$ analysis on the volcanic ashes deposited in situ indicated the ice samples are minimum 100,000-300,000 yr (sample DLE) and 8 million years (sample EME) old. Further assay proved the ice survived freeze-thaw cycles or other re-working processes. EME, which was from a small lobe of the basal Taylor glacier, is the oldest known ice on Earth. Microorganisms, preserved frozen in glacier ice and isolated from the rest of the world over a geological time scale, can provide valuable data or insight for the diversity, distribution, survival strategy, and evolutionary relationships to the extant relatives. From the 16S gene cloning study, we detected no PCR amplicons with Archaea-specific primers, however we found many phylotypes belonging to Bacteria divisions, such as Actinobacteria, Acidobacteria, Proteobacteria $({\alpha},\;{\beta},\;and\;{\gamma})$, Firmicutes, and Cytophaga-Flavobacterium-Bacteroid$. BAC cloning and sequencing revealed protein codings highly identical to phenylacetic acid degradation protein paaA, chromosome segregation ATPases, or cold shock protein B of present day bacteria. Throughput sequencing of the BAC clones is underway. Viable and culturable cells were recovered from the DLE sample, and characterized by their 16S rDNA sequences. Further investigation on the survivorship and functional genes from the past should help unveil the evolution of life on Earth, or elsewhere, if any.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제19권11호
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• pp.1306-1318
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• 2009

The filamentous ascomycete Sclerotinia sclerotiorum is well known for its ability to produce a large variety of hydrolytic enzymes. Two $\alpha$-amylases ScAmy54 and ScAmy43 predicted to play an important role in starch degradation were showed to produce specific oligosaccharides essentially maltotriose that have a considerable commercial interest. Primary structure of the two enzymes was established by N-terminal sequencing, MALDI-TOF masse spectrometry and cDNA cloning. The two proteins have the same N-terminal catalytic domain and ScAmy43 derived from ScAmy54 by truncation of 96 amino acids at the carboxyl-terminal region. Data of genomic analysis suggested that the two enzymes originated from the same $\alpha$-amylase gene and that truncation of ScAmy54 to ScAmy43 occurred probably during S. sclerotiorum cultivation. The structural gene of Scamy54 consisted of 9 exons and 8 introns, containing a single 1,500-bp open reading frame encoding 499 amino acids including a signal peptide of 21 residues. ScAmy54 exhibited high amino acid homology with other liquefying fungal $\alpha$-amylases essentially in the four conserved regions and in the putative catalytic triad. A 3D structure model of ScAmy54 and ScAmy43 was built using the 3-D structure of 2guy from A. niger as template. ScAmy54 is composed by three domains A, B, and C, including the well-known $(\beta/\alpha)_8$ barrel motif in domain A, have a typical structure of $\alpha$-amylase family, whereas ScAmy43 contained only tow domains A and B is the first fungal $\alpha$-amylase described until now with the smallest catalytic domain.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제28권10호
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• pp.1664-1670
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• 2018

Titanium dioxide ($TiO_2$) has wide applications in food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and manufacturing due to its many properties such as photocatalytic activity and stability. In this study, the biosynthesis of $TiO_2$ nanoparticles (NPs) was achieved by using Baker's yeast. $TiO_2$ NPs were characterized by X-ray Diffraction (XRD), UV-Visible spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Energy Dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) studies. The XRD pattern confirmed the formation of pure anatase $TiO_2$ NPs. According to EDX data Ti, O, P and N were the key elements present in the sample. SEM and TEM revealed that the nanoparticles produced were spherical in shape with an average size of $6.7{\pm}2.2nm$. The photocatalytic activity of $TiO_2$ NPs was studied by monitoring the degradation of methylene blue dye when treated with $TiO_2$ NPs. $TiO_2$ NPs were found to be highly photocatalytic comparable to commercially available 21 nm $TiO_2$ NPs. This study is the first report on antimicrobial study of yeast-mediated $TiO_2$ NPs synthesized using $TiCl_3$. Antimicrobial activity of $TiO_2$ NPs was greater against selected Gram-positive bacteria and Candida albicans when compared to Gram-negative bacteria both in the presence or absence of sunlight exposure. $TiO_2$ NPs expressed a significant effect on microbial growth. The results indicate the significant physical properties and the impact of yeast-mediated $TiO_2$ N Ps as a novel antimicrobial.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• 제34권3호
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• pp.305-313
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• 2007

Purpose: Wound healing is a result of complex processes whose components, such as cells, extracellular matrix, proteolytic enzymes, and their inhibitors receive effects from immune compartments, cytokines, chemokines, and growth factors. Impairment of normal physiologic response to wounding makes nonhealing chronic wounds. Wound infection and exacerbated proteolytic process may induce uncontrolled tissue degradation or exudates formation, which may result in the development of a nonhealing chronic wound. Thus proper management of wound infection and exudates is critical to prevent and treat nonhealing wound. The aim of this study is to evaluate effects of Aquacel AG, silver-containing carboxymethylcellulose dressing on treatment for exudative infected wound. Methods: The study included 31 patients with nonhealing wound. Wound was dressed with Aquacel AG. The effect of dressing was investigated by serial bacterial culture and wound exudates assessment. Each infection and exudates control time was determined and statistically analyzed. Results: Wound infection and exudates were effectively managed using Aquacel AG dressing. Mean infection and exudates control time were $3.4{\pm}1.2$ and $5.7{\pm}1.4$ weeks, respectively. Statistical analysis of the data indicated that infection control time correlated positively to age and exudates control time (p<0.05). Conclusion: There is as yet no ideal dressing for the topical treatment of chronic nonhealing wound. But silver-containing carboxymethylcellulose dressing can be used effectively for exudative, infected nonhealing wound.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• 제19권1호
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• pp.27-32
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• 2011

The activation of microglia induces the overproduction of inflammatory mediators that are responsible for the neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. The large amounts of prostaglandin $E_2$ ($PGE_2$) produced by inducible cyclooxygenase (COX-2) is one of the main inflammatory mediators that can contribute to neurodegeneration. The inhibition of COX-2 thus may provide therapeutic strategy for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. From the activity-guided purification of EtOAc soluble fraction of Siegesbeckia glabrescens, four compounds were isolated as inhibitors of $PGE_2$ production in LPS-activated microglia. Their structures were determined as 3, 4'-dimethylquercetin (1), 3, 7-dimethylquercetin (2), 3-methylquercetin (3) and 3, 7, 4'-trimethylquercetin (4) by the mass and NMR spectral data analysis. The compounds 1-4 showed dose-dependent inhibition of $PGE_2$ production in LPS-activated microglia with their $IC_{50}$ values of 7.1, 4.9, 4.4, $12.4\;{\mu}M$ respectively. They reduced the expression of protein and mRNA of COX-2 through the inhibition of I-${\kappa}B{\alpha}$ degradation and NF-$\kappa}B$ activity that were correlated with the inactivation of p38 and ERK. Therefore the active compounds from Siegesbeckia glabrescens may have therapeutic effects on neuro-inflammatory diseases through the inhibition of overproduction of $PGE_2$ and suppression of COX-2 overexpression.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• 제25권6호
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• pp.618-624
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• 2017

Betulinic acid (BA), a natural pentacyclic triterpene found in many medicinal plants is known to have various biological activity including tumor suppression and anti-inflammatory effects. In this study, the cell-death induction effect of BA was investigated in BV-2 microglia cells. BA was cytotoxic to BV-2 cells with $IC_{50}$ of approximately $2.0{\mu}M$. Treatment of BA resulted in a dose-dependent chromosomal DNA degradation, suggesting that these cells underwent apoptosis. Flow cytometric analysis further confirmed that BA-treated BV-2 cells showed hypodiploid DNA content. BA treatment triggered apoptosis by decreasing Bcl-2 levels, activation of capase-3 protease and cleavage of PARP. In addition, BA treatment induced the accumulation of p62 and the increase in conversion of LC3-I to LC3-II, which are important autophagic flux monitoring markers. The increase in LC3-II indicates that BA treatment induced autophagosome formation, however, accumulation of p62 represents that the downstream autophagy pathway is blocked. It is demonstrated that BA induced cell death of BV-2 cells by inducing apoptosis and inhibiting autophagic flux. These data may provide important new information towards understanding the mechanisms by which BA induce cell death in microglia BV-2 cells.

• 한국통신학회논문지
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• 제18권9호
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• pp.1332-1347
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• 1993

기존의 계측기기는 기능에 따라 독립적으로 이루어져 사용자는 사용목적에 따라 각각의 계측기를 이용하여 원하는 계측 시스템을 구성하였다. 그러나 1980년대 후반 VXIbus는 다양한 계측장비를 각각 한장의 카드로 만들어 선택적으로 계측시스템을 구성하는것을 가능하게 하였다. VXIbus의 기본전인 통신 프로토콜에는 word serial 프로토콜이 있다 . 그러나 측정된 데이타의 양이 증가하게 되면 word serial 프로토콜로 인한 전체 시스템의 성능 저하를 가져오게 된다. 본 논문에서는 이러한 성능제한요소를 해결하기 위하여 공유(shared) 메모리 프로토콜을 제안하고, 기존의 word serial 프로토콜과 공유메모리 프로토콜을 GSPN(Generalized Stochastic Petri Net)를 이용하여 분석하였다. 분석한 결과 공유메모리 프로토콜이 word serial 프로토콜보다 성능이 우수함을 알 수 있었다. 또한 제안된 공유 메모리 구조를 갖는 VXIbus 시스템을 구현하였으며 사용된 계측기기로는 VXIbus인터페이스 모듈과 VMEbus 전용 신호처리모듈로 구성 된 FFT 분석 디바이스 그리고 신호발생 디바이스가 이용되었다. FFT 분석실험 결과 최대 80 KHz 입력신호에 대하여 정확하게 분석되었으며 이 결과는 기존의 FFT분석기의 결과와 잘 일치하였고, 신호발생 실험에서는 200 KHz에서 1.1GHz까지의 정현파 신호가 발생되었다.

• 생태와환경
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• 제47권3호
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• pp.146-159
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• 2014

In this study, we evaluated the temporal changes of water quality in the 90 reservoirs in Korea and the relationships between water quality and their environmental factors in the reservoirs for effective management of reservoirs. The majority of study reservoirs were categorized as the eutrophic state based on Carlson's trophic index. Among 90 reservoirs, more than 55.0% were nutrient-rich based on $TSI_{TP}$ in each month, where more than 50.0% were nutrient-rich based on $TSI_{Chl-a}$ from June to November. Seasonal Mann-Kendall test was used to analyze temporal variation of water quality in the selected 60 reservoirs using monthly data from 2004 to 2008. The results showed that 27 (45.0%) reservoirs showed the improvement of water quality based on TP and Chl-a concentrations, while 14 (23.3%) and 11 (18.3%) reservoirs displayed the degradation of water quality based on TP and Chl-a concentrations, respectively. Meanwhile, a self-organizing map classified the study reservoirs into five groups based on differences of hydrogeomorphology (altitude, catchment area, bank height, lake age, etc.). Physicochemical factors and land use/cover types showed clear differences among groups. Finally, hydrogeomorphology of reservoirs were related to water quality, indicating that the hydrogeomorphological characters strongly affect water quality of reservoirs.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• 제34권1호
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• pp.28-35
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• 2008

Purpose: The nitric oxide (NO) release by inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) is the key events in macrophage response to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) which is suggested to be a crucial mediator for inflammatory and innate immune responses. NO is an important mediator involved in many host defense action and may also lead to a harmful host response to bacterial infection. However, given the importance of iNOS in a variety of pathophysiological conditions, control of its expression and signaling events in response to LPS has been the subject of considerable investigation. Materials and Methods: The Raw264.7 macrophage cell line was used to observe LPS-stimulated iNOS expression. The expression of iNOS is observed by Western blot analysis and real-time RT-PCR. Protein kinase C $(PKC)-{\alpha}$ overexpressing Raw264.7 cells are established to determine the involvement of $PKC-{\alpha}$ in LPS-mediated iNOS expression. $NF-{\kappa}B$ activity is measured by $I{\kappa}B{\alpha}$ degradation and $NF-{\kappa}B$ luciferase activity assay. Results: We found that various PKC isozymes regulate LPS-induced iNOS expression at the transcriptional and translational levels. The involvement of $PKC-{\alpha}$ in LPS-mediated iNOS induction was further confirmed by increased iNOS expression in $PKC-{\alpha}$ overexpressing cells. $NF-{\kappa}B$ dependent transactivation by LPS was observed and $PKC-{\alpha}$ specific inhibitory peptide abolished this activation, indicating that $NF-{\kappa}B$ activation is dependent on $PKC-{\alpha}$. Conclusion: Our data suggests that $PKC-{\alpha}$ is involved in LPS-mediated iNOS expression and that its downstream target is $NF-{\kappa}B$. Although $PKC-{\alpha}$ is a crucial mediator in the iNOS regulation, other PKC isozymes may contribute LPS-stimulated iNOS expression. This finding is needed to be elucidated in further study.

• 한국추진공학회지
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• 제10권1호
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• pp.1-8
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• 2006

액체 로켓엔진 연소기에서 음향감쇠에 미치는 음향 공명기의 이중 주파수 동조(bituning) 효과를, 선형 음향해석을 통해 조사하였다. 이중 주파수 동조된 공명기는, 두가지 주요한 음향파 진동 모드인 제1접선 방향(1T) 모드와 제1반경 방향(1R) 모드에 동조된다. 먼저, 단일 주파수 동조된 공명기의 음향감쇠 효과를 조사하였다. 감쇠 성능은, 1T 또는 1R 모드에 동조된 공명기 개수의 함수로서 감쇠인자에 의해 정량화되었다. 다음으로, 이중 주파수 동조된 공명기의 감쇠 특성을 조사하였다 수치해석 결과로부터, 1T와 1R 모드 각각에 동조될 적절한 공명기의 개수를 선정할 수 있다. 더 나아가, 모드 분할 현상에 의한 음향감쇠 효과의 저하를 줄이기 위해 이와 같은 이중 주파수 동조의 개념을 적용하였으며, 이를 통해 최적의 이중 동조 주파수를 찾을 수 있었다.