• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.391-397
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• 2010

E2F transcription factors and their target genes have been known to play an important role in cell growth control. We found that curcumin, a polyphenolic phytochemical isolated from the plant Curcuma longa, markedly suppressed E2F4 expression in HCT116 colon cancer cells. Hydrogen peroxide was also found to decrease E2F4 protein level, indicating the involvement of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in curucmin-induced downregulation of E2F4 expression. Involvement of ROS in E2F4 downregulation in response to curcumin was confirmed by the result that pretreatment of cells with N-acetylcystein (NAC) before exposure of curcumin almost completely blocked the reduction of E2F4 expression at the protein as well as mRNA level. Anti-proliferative effect of curcumin was also suppressed by NAC which is consistent to previous reports showing curcumin-superoxide production and induction of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) cleavage as well as apoptosis. Expression of several genes, cyclin A, p21, and p27, which has been shown to be regulated in E2F4-dependent manner and involved in the cell cycle progression was also affected by curcumin. Moreover, decreased (cyclin A) and increased (p21 and p27) expression of these E2F4 downstream genes by curcumin was restored by pretreatment of cells with NAC and E2F4 overexpression which is induced by doxycycline. In addition, E2F4 overexpression was observed to partially ameliorate curcumin-induced growth inhibition by cell viability assay. Taken together, we found curcumin-induced ROS down-regulation of E2F4 expression and modulation of E2F4 target genes which finally lead to the apoptotic cell death in HCT116 colon cancer cells, suggesting that E2F4 appears to be a novel determinant of curcumin-induced cytotoxicity.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.24 no.12
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• pp.1728-1735
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• 2014

Scrub typhus, caused by infection with Orientia tsutsugamushi, is a mite-borne zoonotic disease endemic to the Asian-Pacific region. In Korea, the incidence of this disease has increased with climate changes, and over 10,000 cases of infection were reported in 2013. Although this infection is treatable with antibiotics such as doxycycline and azithromycin, an effective prophylactic vaccine against O. tsutsugamushi would be more desirable for preventing scrub typhus in endemic areas. In this study, we investigated the 56-kDa type-specific antigen (TSA56), which is a major outer membrane protein of O. tsutsugamushi, as a vaccine candidate. Intranasal immunization of recombinant TSA56 (rec56) induced a higher level of TSA56-specific IgG than that induced by intramuscular immunization of tsa56-expressing DNA (p56). Both types of immunization induced a cell-mediated immune response to TSA56, as demonstrated by the splenic cell proliferation assay. Mice immunized with p56, followed by rec56 plus heat-labile enterotoxin B subunit from E. coli, had a stronger protection from a homologous challenge with the O. tsutsugamushi Boryong strain than with other combinations. Our preliminary results suggest that an effective human vaccine for scrub typhus can include either recombinant TSA56 protein or tsa56-expressing DNA, and provide the basis for further studies to optimize vaccine performance using additional antigens or different adjuvants.

• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.25-31
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• 2007

Vibriosis is one of the most important diseases affecting marin fish. In this study, a bacterium belonging to the Vibrio were isolated from maroon clownfish (Premnas biaculeatus) larvae (3～7 days after hatching). The bacterium was identified as Vibrio ponticus KJS1 by 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. The result of biochemical test using the GN2 microplate (BioLog Inc, USA) showed that it has the ability to use 35 substrates including dextrin and sucrose was detected, could not degrade 52 substrates including α-cyclodextrin, and showed the weak ability to use 7 substrates including glycogen. It was sensitive to oxolinic acid, flumequine, ciprofloxacine, ofloxacin, norfloxacin, nalidixic acid, pefloxacin, and doxycycline hydrochloride.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.29 no.8
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• pp.857-870
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• 2020

In this study, the antibiotic components in the final effluent from the 12 wastewater treatment facilities located in the Nakdong River basin were investigated, and the correlation between organic matters, nutrients and antibiotics was analyzed. In the final effluent of the wastewater treatment facilities, three sulfonamides antibiotics (sulfamethazine, sulfathiazole, sulfachlorpyridazine) and tetracyclines antibiotics (oxytetracycline, doxycycline) were detected. Sulfamethazine were detected at all points and ranged from 10.398 to 278.784 ng/L. Sulfathiazole were detected at 6 points (Andong, Gumi, Hapcheon, Miryang, Uiryeong, Haman), and ranged from 23.773 to 144.468 ng/L. The correlation coefficients between sulfathiazole and TSS, COD, TOC, NH₃-N, NO₂-N, and T-N components were high in the range of 0.73 to 0.92. The correlation coefficient between sulfamethazine and T-N was 0.48, and the correlation with the rest of the water quality components was low. The correlation coefficient between sulfamethazine and sulfathiazole was 0.78. Through this study, it was confirmed that the concentration of sulfonamides antibiotics was higher than the concentration of tetracyclines antibiotics in the final effluent of 12 wastewater treatment facilities in the Nakdong River basin, and the concentration of sulfathiazole increased with organic matters and nutrients.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.283-287
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• 2002

Scrub typhus is an acute, febrile disease of humans that is caused by Orientia Tsutsugamushi. It is transmitted through the bite of chiggers. The spectrum of the clinical severity for scrub typhus ranges from mild to severe with fatal complication such as meningoencephalitis, pneumonitis, myocarditis. Severe pulmonary involvement e.g. acute respiratory distress syndrome(ARDS) and meningoencephalitis have rarely been observed since the introduction of specific antibiotic therapy. We experienced a case of scrub typhus manifested with ARDS and meningoencephalitis. The patient was treated with doxycycline, anticonvulsant and mechanical ventilator therapy.

• Journal of Korean Biological Nursing Science
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.35-44
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• 2003

Objectives : Though Tsutsugamushi disease has been reported with increasing frequencies in rural communities in Korea, it is not easy to find the nursing investigations. Methods : We have conducted a survey on 30 cases who had the fever as a chief complaint, then clinically ruled out the Tsutsugamushi disease in autumn of $2000{\sim}2001$. Data were collected retrospectively by investigation of the general characteristics, clinical and laboratory findings, their nursing care. Findings: Of 30 cases, 46.7% were farmers, and 60.0% had chances of exposure to fields or mountains. The characteristic symptoms and signs were febrile sense and chill(100.0%), headache(80.0%), and eschar(66.7%). Abnormal laboratory findings were anemia (23.3%), elevated AST(60.6%), ALT(63.3%), and abnormal urinalysis findings(50.0%). 53.3% were serologically confirmed as Tsutsugamushi disease. Therapeutic nursing cares were composed with warm up by blancket(50.0%), Ice bag(50.0%) and doxycycline antibiotic therapy(100.0%). Other nursing care for them included fluid therapy(100.0%) and nutritional support with regular(56.7%) or soft diet(43.3%). Conclusion: The above results indicate nurses who take care of acute febrile clients should make her responsible for the fever and pain management as well as give education for infection control for the community inhabitants.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2002

The purpose of treatment for uncomplicated malaria is to produce a radical cute using the combination of: artesunate (4 mg/kg/day) plus mefloquine (8 mg/kg/day) for 3 days; a fixed dose of artemether and lumefantrine (20/120 mg tablet) named $Coartem^{\circledR}$ (4 tablets twice a day for three days for adults weighing more than 35 kg); quinine 10 mg/kg 8-hourly plus tetracycline 250 mg 6-hourly for 7 days (or doxycycline 200 mg as an alternative to tetracycline once a day for 7 days) in patients aged 8 years and over; $Malarone^{\circledR}$ (in adult 4 tablets daily for 3 days). In treating severe malaria, early diagnosis and treatment with a potent antimalarial drug is recommended to save the patient's life. The antimalarial drugs of choice are: intravenous quinine or a parenteral form of an artemisinin derivative (artesunate i.v./i.m. for 2.4 mg/kg followed by 1.2 mg/kg injection at 12 and 24 hr and then daily for 5 days; artemether i.m. 3.2 mg/kg injection followed by 1.6 mg/kg at 12 and 24 hrs and then dialy for 5 days; arteether i. m. ($Artemotil^{\circledR}$) with the same dose of artemether or artesunate suppository (5 mg/kg) given rectally 12 hourly for 3 days. Oral arlemisinin derivatives (artesunate, artemether, and dihydroartemisinin with 4 mg/kg/day) could replace parenteral forms when patients can tolerate oral medication. Oral mefloquine (25 mg/kg divided into two doses 8 hrs apart) should be given at the end of the artemisinin treatment course to reduce recrudescence.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.179-183
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• 1984

In recent years, an increasing number of drugs have been reported to cause direct esophageal damage. More than 30 cases on tetracyclines induced esophageal ulcer have been reported since the first description of tetracycline induced esophageal ulcer by Bokey and Hugh in 1975. In Korea, only one case of doxycycline-induced esophageal ulcer has been reported. Authors have experienced 3 cases of esophageal ulcer probably caused by tetracyclines. The patients had taken their capsules just before going to bed with little fluid intake. About 6-8 hours later they had felt substernal burning sensation and epigastric discomfort. Gastrofiberscopy revealed relatively well demarcated circular ulcers on the mid esophagus. An esophagogram showed no apparent abnormality. Patients's symptomas became negligible with antacid treatment within 2-5 days. One of the causes of the esophageal ulcer is thought to be the delay in transit time of drugs and direct esophageal damage from mucosal contact when tablets are ingested in the recumbent position without an accompanying proper quantity of fluid. If only physicians endow patients with more concern about drug induced esophageal ulcer, they could find out more increasing number of drug induced esophageal ulcers by gastroscopic examination and thereby could prevent tetracycline induced esophageal ulcer.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.129-132
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• 1996

Recently, as concern about the residual antibiotics in milk increase, the detection methods of residual antibiotics used extensevely at the present time were investigated and compared to their properties and the detection limits of variable antibiotics. At first, comparactive tests of the detectable sensitivity of 4 test organisms, B. cereus, B. subtilis, M.luteus, B.stearothermophilus C-953, were performed by disc assay. As a result, B.stearothermophilus was the most sensitive strain of all other strains and showe the detect limit of 5-50 ppb for penlicillins (PCs). And also, B.subitilis was showed the more effective detection limit, 200-400 ppb, for aminoglycosides (AGs) and M.luteus was showed predominant sensitivity , 50-500 ppb for macrolides(MLs) and B.cereus was the most sensitive strain for tetracyclines (TCs) and showed the detection limit of 100-400 ppb. Therefore, each test strains were showed a different sensitivity in the detection of the different antibiotic families. When the detection limit of disc assay and other methods were compared, TTCmethod was less sensitive than other methods showing 5-50 ppb detectable lebel for PCs. Also, for the detection of other antibiotic families TTC method was showed the worst sensitivity and Delvo and Charm Farm tests were similar to the detectable properties of AGs and MLs. Although disc assay was showed the similar detection limit for PCs with Delvo and Charm Farm, it was more widely effective for the detection of kanamycin, erythromycin, chlortetracycline, doxycycline, verginiamycin and so on than Delvo or Charm Farm. CharmII test was showed the best sensitivity for the most of antibiotics except neomycin and gentamycin. But it was necessary that different tests must be performed to each antibiotic family and so it was regarded that the effectiveness of that method was low.

• BMB Reports
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.322-328
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• 2001

Excision and amplification of pre-determined, large genomic segments (taken directly from the genome of a natural host, which provides an alternative to conventional cloning in foreign vectors and hosts) was explored in human cells. In this approach, we devised a procedure for excising a large segment of human genomic DNA, the iNOS gene, by using the Cre/loxP system of bacteriophage P1 and amplifying the excised circles with the EBNA-1/oriP system of the Epstein-Barr virus. Two loxP sequences, each of which serves as a recognition site for recombinase Cre, were integrated unidirectionally into the 5'-UTR and 3'-UTR regions of the iNOS gene, together with an oriP sequence for conditional replication. The traps-acting genes cre and EBNA-1, which were under the control of a tetracycline responsive $P_{hcmv^*-1}$ promoter, were also inserted into the 5'-UTR and 3'-UTR regions of the iNOS gene, respectively, by homologous recombination. The strain carrying the inserted elements was stably maintained until the excision and amplification functions were triggered by the induction of cre and EBNA-1. Upon induction by doxycycline, Cre excised the iNOS gene that was flanked by two ZoxP sites and circularized it. The circularized iNOS gene was then amplified by the EBNA-1/oriP-system. With this procedure, approximately a 45.8-kb iNOS genomic fragment of human chromosome 17 was excised and successfully amplified in human cells. Our procedure can be used effectively for the sequencing of unclonable genes, the functional analysis of unknown genes, and gene therapy.