• The Korean Journal of Mycology
• /
• v.47 no.1
• /
• pp.51-61
• /
• 2019

The goal of this study was to elucidate wild yeast diversity of Geumgang midstream near Sejong metropolitan autonomous city, Korea. Thirty-seven strains of 32 species of wild yeasts were isolated from 43 water and soil samples under the Bulti bridge of Sejong city, Korea. Seven yeasts of each Candida spp. and Cryptococcus spp. were the predominant species isolated from samples near the Bulti bridge. Holtermanniella takashimae SW048 (NNIBRFG9314), Cystofilobasidium infirmominiatum SW013 (NNIBRFG9310), Mrakia cryoconite SW015 (NNIBRFG9316), Pichia sporocuriosa SW085 (NNIBRFG9326) and Cryptococcus aspenensis SW008 (NNIBRFG9309) represented novel yeast strains found in Korea for the first time. All of these previously unrecorded yeasts, except for Mrakia cryoconite SW015 had ascospores and grew well in yeast extract-peptone-dextrose (YPD), yeast extract-malt extract (YM) and potato-extrose (PD) media. Pichia sporocuriosa SW085 grew well in vitamin-free medium and Holtermanniella takashimae SW048, which was a halotolerant wild yeast, grew well YPD medium containing 5 % NaCl. Twenty-six strains representing eight species of wild yeast were isolated from 22 water and soil samples under the Haetmuri bridge of Sejong city, Korea. Candida pseudolambica (12 strains) and Aureobasidium pullulans (11 strains) were the predominant isolates from samples near the Haetmuri bridge. Occultifur kilbournensis HB060 (NNIBRFG9317), Sampaiozyma vanillica HB014 (NNIBRFG9332), Xenoramularia neerlandica HB039 (NNIBRFG9335), Candida norvegica HB315 (NNIBRFG9306), C. melibiosica HB316 (NNIBRFG9305), C. quercuum GB014 (NNIBRFG9307), and C. succiphila GB015 (NNIBRFG9308) represented novel yeast strains recorded in Korea for the first time. O. kilbournensis HB060 and X. neerlandica HB039 did not form ascospores or pseudo-mycelia. All of these previously unrecorded yeasts, except S. vanillica HB014 and X. neerlandica HB039, grew well in vitaminfree medium, and C. norvegica HB315 and C. succiphila GB015, which were halotolerant wild yeasts, which grew well in YPD medium containing 5 % NaCl.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
• /
• v.12 no.2
• /
• pp.181-188
• /
• 2005

Objectives:Hwa-byung has been studied clinically for several years and introduced as Korean Culture- Bound Syndrome. However, the definition and the diagnostic method are not yet clarified, and there has not been any sufficient comparative study on this disease entity. This study was conducted to determine the clinical symptoms and the profile of the neurocognitive functions in Hwa-byung(HB) and Major Depressive Disorder(MDD), and We wish to identify any critical factors that differentiate the disorders. Methods:A total of 102 participants were examined, including 34 participants with MDD, 34 with HB, and 34 healthy controls. The MDD and HB patients were recruited from among inpatients and outpatients at the National Medical Center for the period from May to December of 2004. As a major diagnostic tool of MDD, diagnostic reference of DSM-IV-TR was used and as HB's diagnostic tool, We used computerized neurocognitive function test. Psychiatric symptomatology was evaluated by the Beck Depression Inventory(BDI), and Symptom Checkist-90-Revision(SCL-90-R). Oneway ANOVA, Scheffe post-hoc test and Chi-Squre Tests were used for statistical analysis. Results:The participants in three groups did not differ in terms of age, sex, and education. Assessment of BDI indicated that the MDD group had significantly higher total score than the HB group. MDD and HB groups showed significantly higher total scores on the SCL-90-R in comparison to the controls. The MDD group was found to have significantly more symptoms of depression than the HB group, based on the depression subscale of the SCL-90-R. The computerized neurocognitive function test suggest several results 1) Within the memory domain, it was found that one of the two memory tests in MDD and HB groups were significantly impaired in comparison to the control group. 2) Within the attention domain, it was found that only the MDD group was significantly impaired in comparison to the control group. 3) Within the higher cortical function domain, it was found that significant impairment exist in MDD group and HB group compared to the control group; the severity of impairment was found to be more profound in the MDD group than in the HB group. Conclusion:These results suggest that both HB group and MDD group have significantly decreased neurocognitive function than the control group, and neurocognitive function of the HB group is better than that of the MDD group.

• Journal of Embryo Transfer
• /
• v.29 no.2
• /
• pp.127-132
• /
• 2014

This study was carried out to investigate the effects of tissue inhibitor of matalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1), Activin A and Heparin binding epidermal growth factor (HB-EGF) on in vitro production of bovine embryos. In experiment 1, presumptive zygotes were cultured in the medium supplemented with TIMP-1 ($0.5{\mu}g/ml$), Activin A (100 ng/ml), or HB-EGF (100 ng/ml) at $39^{\circ}C$ in a humidified atmosphere of 5% (v/v) $CO_2$, 5% (v/v) $O_2$ and 90% (v/v) $N_2$. In experiment 2, TIMP-1 + HB-EGF or Activin A + HB-EGF combinations were supplemented in the culture medium. The developmental rate to blastocysts, hatching rate and total cell numbers of the blastocysts were evaluated in both experiments. The embryos cultured in medium without growth factor supplementation was used as control group. In experiment 1, the embryos cultured in medium supplemented with TIMP-1 and Activin A showed significantly higher developmental rate to blastocysts than those cultured with HB-EGF and control (36.9%, 34.1%, 21.2% and 23.1%, respectively) (P<0.0001). However, the hatching rate of blastocyst was significantly higher in embryos with HB-EGF than those with TIMP-1, Actvin A and Control groups (84.4%, 58.8%, 51.4% and 49.3%, respectively) (P<0.001). Total cell number per blastocyst was also significantly higher in embryos with HB-EGF group ($174.3{\pm}2.5$) than those with TIMP-1, Activin A (149.7 and 150.0, respectively) (P<0.05) and Control (119.0) (P<0.001). In experiment 2, embryos cultured with combined treatment of Activin A and HB-EGF resulted in significantly higher rates of blastocysts formation (48.0%), hatching rate (89.7%) and total cell number in blastocyst ($182.3{\pm}2.1$) than those with TIMP-1 and HB-EGF combination group (32.0%, P<0.001; 76.6%, P<0.05; $165.7{\pm}4.2$, P<0.001, respectively). Our data demonstrate that in vitro production of bovine embryos could be improved by combined supplementation of Activin A and HB-EGF in culture medium.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
• /
• v.48 no.4
• /
• pp.506-514
• /
• 2020

4-Hydroxybenzyl alcohol (4-HB alcohol) is one of the major active components of Gastrodia elata Blume, with beneficial effects on neurological disorders such as headache, convulsive behavior, and dizziness. Here, we developed a metabolically engineered Corynebacterium glutamicum strain able to produce 4-HB alcohol from 4-hydroxybenzoate (4-HBA). First, the strain APS963 was obtained from the APS809 strain via the insertion of aroK from Methanocaldococcus jannaschii into the NCgl2922-deleted locus. As carboxylic acid reductase from Nocardia iowensis catalyzes the reduction of 4HBA to 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde (4-HB aldehyde), we then introduced a codon-optimized car gene into the genome of APS963, generating the GAS177 strain. Then, we deleted creG coding for a putative short-chain dehydrogenase and inserted ubiCpr encoding a product-resistant chorismate-pyruvate lyase into the pcaHG-deleted locus. The resulting engineered GAS355 strain accumulated 2.3 g/l 4-HB alcohol with 0.32 g/l 4-HBA and 0.3 g/l 4-HB aldehyde as byproducts from 8% glucose after 48 h of culture.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.16 no.6
• /
• pp.901-910
• /
• 2006

Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) [P(3HB)] is a microbial polyester intracellularly accumulated as distinct granules in numerous microorganisms as an energy and carbon storage material. Recombinant Escherichia coli harboring the heterologous P(3HB) biosynthesis genes accumulates large amounts of P(3HB) granules, yet the granule-associated proteins have not been identified. Therefore, this study reports on an analysis of the P(3HB) granule-associated proteome in recombinant E. coli. Fiye proteins out of 7 spots identified were found to be involved in functions of translation, heat-stress responses, and P(3HB) biosynthesis. Two of the major granule-associated proteins, IbpA/B, which are already known to bind to recombinant proteins forming inclusion bodies in E. coli, were further analyzed. Immunoblotting and immunoelectron microscopic studies with IbpA/B antibodies clearly demonstrated the binding and localization of IbpA/B to P(3HB) granules. IbpA/B seemed to play an important role in recombinant E. coli producing P(3HB) by stabilizing the interface between the hydrophobic P(3HB) granules and the hydrophilic cytoplasm. Thus, IbpA/B were found to act like phasins in recombinant E. coli, as they are the major proteins bound to the P(3HB) granules, affect the morphology of the granules, and reduce the amount of cytosolic proteins bound to the P(3HB) granules.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Embryo Transfer Conference
• /
• 2002.11a
• /
• pp.102-102
• /
• 2002

Heparin-bindin epidermal growth factor (HB-EGF) is one of the EGF family to be expressed at the time of implantation in the mouse uterus. Although HB-EGF has been shown to stimulate the development of embryo and uterus in the mouse, its correlation between cell adhesion molecules remains undefined. Integrin $\alpha$$_{ν}$$\beta$$_3$, one of the cell adhesion molecules, is an important mediator of cell-substratum and cell-cell adhesion in implantation. In the present studies, we investigated the effects of HB-EGF on the embryonic development, initiation of implantation and expression of integrin $\alpha$$_{ν}$$\beta$$_3$ in in vitro culture, blocking of HB-EGF, RT-PCR and immunofluores cence analysis. The results showed that HB-EGF significantly improved the developmental rate of hatched embryos (24.1%, p<0.01) and outgrowth embryos (42.5%, p<0.01). On the other hand, this growth factor showed no offset before the hatching embryonic stage. Analysis of RT-PCR showed that HB-EGF upregulated the expression level of integrina $\alpha$$_{ν}$$\beta$$_3$ subunit genes on the preimplantation embryo and outgrowth of blastocyst (120hr and 144hr after hCG injection). Immunofluorescence analysis showed that the integrin $\alpha$$_{ν}$$\beta$$_3$ subunits localized at the pericellular borders and cell-cell contact areas. Increase in fluorescence intensity was observed in the HB-EGF treated embryos. Intrauterine injection of an anti-HB-EGF antiserum at day 3 significantly decreased the number of implantation sites (14.4, p<0.01) and significantly increased the number of recovered embryos(6.4, p<0.05) at day 5. From these results, it imply that HB-EGF improve the embryo development and accelerated the expression of integrin $\alpha$$_{ν}$$\beta$$_3$ in the preimplantation mouse embryos.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
• /
• v.50 no.2
• /
• pp.190-196
• /
• 2018

Obesity has been reported to be a cluster of risk factors in the pathological ecology, In particular, there is increasing evidence that inflammation-related factors are associated with diabetes. This study examined the relationship between the hs-CRP level and FBG, fructosamine, and $HbA_1c$ in 4,734 non-diabetic adults aged 20 years or older, who were approved by the National Health and Nutrition Survey in 2015. The results showed that the FBG, fructosamine, and $HbA_1c$ levels increased with increasing BMI; the hs-CRP levels were the highest in the obese group, and HOMA-IR, an index of insulin resistance, was also significantly higher in the obese group. The hs-CRP level was the highest in obese adults. The levels of FBG, fructosamine. and $HbA_1c$, which are involved in blood glucose control, increased with increasing hs-CRP level. The FBG, fructosamine, and $HbA_1c$ levels increased significantly with increasing hs-CRP level after adjusting for various related variables. These results suggest that the obesity-induced increase in hs-CRP is a risk factor for diabetes mellitus in non-diabetic adults. Therefore, proper dietary habits and regular exercise should prevent diabetes by preventing obesity in non-diabetic adults.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
• /
• v.14 no.2
• /
• pp.191-200
• /
• 1974

Hemoglobin, albumin and transferrin phenetypes observed in a population of 255 dogs of various breeds by agar gel electrophoresis for hemoglobin and albumin, and by starch gel electrophoresis, for transferrin. The results obtained were as follows: 1. The hemoglobin phenotypes were classified as HbAA, HbAB and HbBB and the frequencies of appearence were 91.77, 6.27 and 1.96%, respectively. Gene frequency studies of $Hb^A$ and $Hb^B$ showed the $Hb^A$ gene to have a frequency of 94.9% and $Hb^B$ gene to have a frequency of 5.1. The frequency of hemoglobin phenotypes of the Korean Jindo dog (ylelow) was HbAA 76.19%, HbAB 17.46% and HbBB 6.35% and HbBB was recognized only in the Korean Jindo dogs. 2. The albumin phenotypes were calssified as AlbAA, AlbAB and AlbBB and the frequencies of appearence were 28.71, 43.57 and 27.72% respectively. Gene frequency stduies of $Alb^A$ and $Alb^B$ showed the $Alb^A$ gene to hate a frequency of 50.50% and $Alb^B$ gene to have a frequency of 49.50. The frequency of albumin phenotypes of the Korean Jindo dog was 26.32% for AlbAA, 34.21% for AlbAB and 39.47% for AlbBB. The frequency of albumin phenotypes of the Korean Jindo dog was slightly different from others and gene frequency of $Alb^B$ was 56.58. 3. Transferrin studies resulted in findings of 10 different phenotypes and frequencies of transferrin phenotype were 30.08% for $TfA_1A_1$, 8.02 for $TfA_2A_2$, 2.11 for TfBB, 4.64 for $TfC_1C_1$, 1.69 for $TfA_1B$, 41.35 for $TfA_1C_1$, 5.49 for $TfA_2C_1$, 0.84 for $TfA_2C_2$ and 3.79 for $TfBC_1$. Gene frequency studies of $Tf^A$, $Tf^B$ and $Tf^C$ showed the gene to have a frequency of 63.08% for $Tf^A$, 4.85 for $Tf^B$ and 32.07 for $Tf^C$ 4. Transferrin studies revealed two different band patterns on starch gels with a strong and weaker stained one. The $TfC_2C_2$ and $TfA_2A_2$ which were found in the Korean Jindo dog only showed a weaker stained band and the gene frequency of $TfA_1A_1$ was highly recognized in this dog.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
• /
• v.35 no.2
• /
• pp.109-114
• /
• 2013

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are synthesized by numerous bacteria as carbon and energy storage compounds and are raw materials for biocompatible plastics. In this paper, the effect of $CO_2$ concentrations on the growth of C. necator and the accumulation of Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (P(3HB)) are investigated by increasing the $CO_2$ concentration in the substrate gas mixture. During 6 d cultivation in a nitrogen-present mineral medium, the $CO_2$ concentration did not affect the growth of the cells, while the Poly(3- hydroxybutyrate) (P(3HB)) content decreased with increasing $CO_2$ concentrations from 1% to 20%. During 4 d cultivation in the nitrogen-limited medium, the P(3HB) accumulation was the greatest at 3% $CO_2$; however, the total amount of accumulated P(3HB) was the greatest at 1% $CO_2$, which decreased with increasing $CO_2$ concentrations. The results indicate that the gas mixture with 1% $CO_2$ is the most effective in both growing the cells and accumulating P(3HB) under our experimental conditions.

• Journal of health informatics and statistics
• /
• v.43 no.4
• /
• pp.344-351
• /
• 2018

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of health behaviors of male workers without diabetes such as smoking, drinking and physical activities on HbA1c using 2015 and 2016 data from Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). Methods: The final study subjects of KNHANES were a total of 1,703 male workers in their 30s-50s who had normal levels of fasting blood sugar level, HbA1c, and hemoglobin. For the study variables, age, household income, educational level and occupation were included as socio-demographic characteristics; smoking behavior, drinking behavior, and physical activity behavior as characteristics of health behavior; and waist circumference, body mass index, systolic and diastolic blood pressures, total cholesterol, triglyceride and HDL cholesterol as medical examination characteristics were included. The analysis was conducted using independent variables t-test, one-way ANOVA, Pearson's correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis. Results: Socio-demographic factors that affect HbA1c were age, educational level, and occupation. As for HbA1c according to the status of current smoking, it was higher in order of the present, past and nonsmoking and HbA1c according to smoking amount pack-year increased linearly in between less than 1 pack-year and over 30 pack-year (p<0.001). Muscular exercises affected the reduction of HbA1c (p<0.05). In the multiple regression analysis with independent variables of the socio-demographic characteristics and health behavior, factors affecting HbA1c were age, occupation and smoking amount pack-year (p<0.05). In the multiple regression analysis where the characteristics of physical examination were added, factors affecting HbA1c were age, occupation, smoking amount pack-year, waist circumference and total cholesterol (p<0.001). Conclusions: As a result, the health behavior that had the most effect on HbA1c management for male workers without diabetes was the total lifetime smoking amount. Therefore, it is essential to prevent smoking as well as control, cholesterol to prevent diabetes for male workers.