• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.57 no.4
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• pp.445-450
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• 2019

Human infections due to the monkey malaria parasite Plasmodium knowlesi is increasingly being reported from most Southeast Asian countries specifically Malaysia. The parasite causes severe and fatal malaria thus there is a need for urgent measures for its control. In this study, the level of polymorphisms, haplotypes and natural selection of full-length pkmsp8 in 37 clinical samples from Malaysian Borneo along with 6 lab-adapted strains were investigated. Low levels of polymorphism were observed across the full-length gene, the double epidermal growth factor (EGF) domains were mostly conserved, and non-synonymous substitutions were absent. Evidence of strong negative selection pressure in the non-EGF regions were found indicating functional constrains acting at different domains. Phylogenetic haplotype network analysis identified shared haplotypes and indicated geographical clustering of samples originating from Peninsular Malaysia and Malaysian Borneo. This is the first study to genetically characterize the full-length msp8 gene from clinical isolates of P. knowlesi from Malaysia; however, further functional characterization would be useful for future rational vaccine design.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.220-224
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• 2019

The aluminum (Al)/copper oxide (CuO) complex is known as the most promising material for thermite reactions, releasing a high heat and pressure through ignition or thermal heating. To improve the reaction rate and wettability for handling safety, nanosized primary particles are applied on Al/CuO composite for energetic materials in explosives or propellants. Herein, graphene oxide (GO) is adopted for the Al/CuO composites as the functional supporting materials, preventing a phase-separation between solvent and composites, leading to a significantly enhanced reactivity. The characterizations of Al/CuO decorated on GO(Al/CuO/GO) are performed through scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy mapping analysis. Moreover, the functional bridging between Al/CuO and GO is suggested by identifying the chemical bonding with GO in X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis. The reactivity of Al/CuO/GO composites is evaluated by comparing the maximum pressure and rate of the pressure increase of Al/CuO and Al/CuO/GO. The composites with a specific concentration of GO (10 wt%) demonstrate a well-dispersed mixture in hexane solution without phase separation.

• ALGAE
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.239-247
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• 2022

Enzyme-assisted hydrolysis is frequently used as a cost-effective and efficient method to obtain functional ingredients from bioresources. This study involved the enzyme-assisted hydrolyzation and purification of fucoidan from Ecklonia maxima stipe and the investigation of its anti-inflammatory activity in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced RAW 264.7 cells. Fucoidans of Viscozyme-assisted hydrolysate from E. maxima (EMSFs) harvested in Jeju, Korea. Structural and chemical characterizations were performed using fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope, and monosaccharide analysis. Among fucoidans, EMSF6 was rich in fucose and sulfate and had a similar structural character to commercial fucoidan. EMSF6 showed a strong inhibitory effect on nitric oxide generation in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 cells and significantly decreased the production of LPS-induced pro-inflammatory cytokines, including interleukin-6, interleukin-1β, and tumor necrosis factor α. The anti-inflammatory potential of EMSF6 was mediated through the downregulation of inducible nitric oxide synthase and cyclooxygenase-2 expression. Thus, fucoidans from E. maxima stipe are promising candidates for functional food products.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.184-194
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• 2023

Recently, interest in food-derived bioactive peptides as promising ingredients for the prevention and improvement of hypertension is increasing. The purpose of this study was to determine the structure and antihypertensive effect of an antioxidant peptide purified from velvet antler in a previous study and evaluate its potential as a various bioactive peptide. Molecular weight (MW) and amino acid sequences of the purified peptide were determined by quadrupole time-of-flight electrospray ionization mass spectroscopy. The angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibition activity of the purified peptide was assessed by enzyme reaction methods and in silico molecular docking analysis to determine the interaction between the purified peptide and ACE. Also, antihypertensive effect of the purified peptide in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) was investigated. The purified antioxidant peptide was identified to be a pentapeptide Asp-Asn-Arg-Tyr-Tyr with a MW of 730.31 Da. This pentapeptide showed potent inhibition activity against ACE (IC₅₀ value, 3.72 μM). Molecular docking studies revealed a good and stable binding affinity between purified peptide and ACE and indicated that the purified peptide could interact with HOH2570, ARG522, ARG124, GLU143, HIS387, TRP357, and GLU403 residues of ACE. Furthermore, oral administration of the pentapeptide significantly reduced blood pressure in SHRs. The pentapeptide derived from enzymatic hydrolysate of velvet antler is an excellent ACE inhibitor. It might be effectively applied as an animal-based functional food ingredient.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2022.10a
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• pp.217-217
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• 2022

Pullulanase (PUL), a debranching enzyme, has been utilized in hydrolyzing the a-1,6 glucosidic linkages in starch, amylopectin, pullulan, as well as related oligosaccharides. It has also been indicated that PUL is a novel indicator of inherent RS (Resistant Starch) formation in rice. In this study, we performed haplotype analysis on 320 bred rice accessions, and additional 54 wild accessions were added to study genetic diversity along with other population-based analyses of the PUL gene. Through these investigations, we summarized a total of 10 functional (non-synonymous) SNPs from 7 different exons on chromosome 4. There were 10 haplotypes, of which only six haplotypes were functional, implicating different subpopulations. Diversity reduction was noticed in temperate japonica (0.0005) compared to the highest one (aus, 0.0154), illustrating their higher genetic differentiation by F_ST-value (0.926). The highest Tajima^ D value was observed in indica (3.6613), indicating PUL gene domestication signature under balancing selection, while the lowest Tajima's D value was found in temperate japonica (-2.2191) which might have undergone under positive selection and purified due to the excess of rare alleles. PCA, population structure, and phylogenetic analyses provide information on the genetic relatedness between and or among the cultivated subpopulations and the wild based on PUL genomic region.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.277-282
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• 2011

Negative temperature coefficient (NTC) materials have been widely studied for industrial applications, such as sensors and temperature compensation devices. NTC thermistor thick films of $Ni_{1+x}Mn_{2-x}O_{4+{\delta}}$ (x = 0.05, 0, -0.05) were fabricated on a glass substrate using the aerosol deposition method at room temperature. Resistance verse temperature (R-T) characteristics of the as-deposited films showed that the B constant ranged from 3900 to 4200 K between $25^{\circ}C$ and $85^{\circ}C$ without heat treatment. When the film was annealed at $600^{\circ}C$ 1h, the resistivity of the film gradually decreased due to crystallization and grain growth. The resistivity and the activation energy of films annealed at $600^{\circ}C$ for 1 h were 5.203, 5.95, and 4.772 $K{\Omega}{\cdot}cm$ and 351, 326, and 299 meV for $Ni_{0.95}Mn_{2.05}O_{4+{\delta}}$, $NiMn_2O_4$, and $Ni_{1.05}Mn_{1.95}O_{4+{\delta}}$, respectively. The annealing process induced insulating $Mn_2O_3$ in the Ni deficient $Ni_{0.95}Mn_{2.05}O_{4+{\delta}}$ composition resulting in large resistivity and activation energy. Meanwhile, excess Ni in $Ni_{1.05}Mn_{1.95}O_{4+{\delta}}$ suppressed the abnormal grain growth and changed $Mn^{3+}$ to $Mn^{4+}$, giving lower resistivity and activation energy.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.333-340
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• 2019

This paper was described about the preparation of the multi-functional mask pack and its evaluation. Here, the multi-functional effects means the far-infrared emissivity effect due to polyphosphoric acid, the freckles treatment effect and peeling effects due to inclusion complexes, and the skin temperature decreasing effect due to Lavender-extraction compounds. The the hazardous chemicals, viscosity, and pH were determined blow 0.01%, 280 cP, and pH=6.92 in the prepared multi-functional mask pack solution, respectively. The multi-functional mask pack prepared with dipping method in the solution were showed the value of $0.882{\mu}m$ (Far-infrared emissivity) and $3.40{\times}10^2W/m$ at $37^{\circ}C$ (Far-infrared radiation energy), respectively. After taking multi-functional mask pack, the skin moisturizing rate was indicated 35.5%, and the skin temperature was showed in the range of $24{\sim}26^{\circ}C$. The skin stimulation test for the 30 volunteer was showed very strong stability.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.654-662
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• 2017

Extracellular microvesicles are membranous nano-sized cellular organelles secreted by a variety of cells under normal and pathological conditions and heterogeneous in size ranging from 30 nm to $1{\mu}m$. They carry functional microRNAs that can influence immunity and development. For a particular application of microvesicles, choice of isolation method is particularly important; however, their isolation methods from colostrum in particular have not been described clearly. In this work, differential ultracentrifugation as a conventional method, ultracentrifugation with some modification such as additional precipitations, ultrafiltration, sucrose gradient separation and ExoQuick$^{TM}$ as a commercial reagent were compared. The goal was to compare mainly microvesicular total microRNA yield, distribution and purity among the methods then select the best isolation method for bovine colostrum microvesicles based largely on microRNA yield with the view of applying the vesicles in work where vesicular microRNA cargo is the target bioactive component. Highest yields for vesicular microRNA were obtained using conventional methods and among them, subsequent ultracentrifugation with 100,000 g and 135,000 g conventional method 2 was selected as it had the highest RNA to protein ratio indicating that it pelleted the least protein in relation to RNA an important factor for in vivo applications to assess microvesicle functionalities without risk of contaminating non-vesicular biomaterial. Microvesicles isolated using conventional method 2 were successfully internalized by cells in vitro showing their potential to deliver their cargo into cells in vitro and in vivo in case of functional studies.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.181-190
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• 2017

The aim of this study was to compare the quality and physicochemical characteristics of blue-shelled eggs (BE) and conventional eggs (CE). Proximate composition, quality, pH value, shell color, collagen content, fatty acid composition, total cholesterol, ${\alpha}$-glucosidase inhibition activity, and antioxidation activity were determined. The proximate composition, general qualities, and pH values of CE and BE showed no significant differences, except in moisture composition, weight, and shell thickness. Moisture content and weight of BE were significantly lower than those of CE. However, shell thickness and weight of BE were higher than those of CE (p<0.05). Lightness of BE was significantly higher than that of CE (85.20 vs. 58.80), while redness ($a^*$) and yellowness ($b^*$) of BE were lower than those of CE ($a^*$: -4.75 vs. 14.20; $b*$: 10.45 vs. 30.63). The fatty acid [C18:1n7 (cis-vaccenic acid) and C18:3n6 (gamma-linolenic acid)] contents of BE were significantly higher than those of CE. The total cholesterol contents of BE and CE were similar. DPPH radical scavenging activity of BE was significantly higher than that of CE (40.78 vs. 35.35). Interestingly, ${\alpha}$-glucosidase inhibition activity of whole egg and egg yolk in BE (19.27 and 36.06) was significantly higher than that of whole egg and egg yolk in CE (13.95 and 32.46). This result indicated that BE could potentially be used as a functional food material. Further studies are required to evaluate the specific compounds that affect functional activity.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.109-115
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• 2009

The gene encoding a putative aspartate aminotransferase in Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) was cloned using PCR technique. The gene was ligated with pET-21(a) vector containing His6 tag and expressed in E. coli BL21(DE3). Affinity purification of the recombinant aspartate aminotransferase with Ni-NTA resin resulted in one band by SDS-PAGE analysis. The purified enzyme showed a molecular weight of 43 kDa, as expected. The enzyme was the most active toward L-aspartate as an amino donor, indicating that the purified enzyme is one of aspartate aminotrans-ferases exist in Xoo. Optimal activity of the enzyme was observed at around pH 7.5 and stability was much higher at alkaline pH rather than acidic pH values. The enzyme was considerably activated by the presence of manganese ion, showing about 157% of control activity at 1.0 mM.