• BMB Reports
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• v.52 no.6
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• pp.397-402
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• 2019

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) uses the spike (S) glycoprotein to recognize and enter target cells. In this study, we selected two epitope peptide sequences within the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the MERS-CoV S protein. We used a complex consisting of the epitope peptide of the MERS-CoV S protein and CpG-DNA encapsulated in liposome complex to immunize mice, and produced the monoclonal antibodies 506-2G10G5 and 492-1G10E4E2. The western blotting data showed that both monoclonal antibodies detected the S protein and immunoprecipitated the native form of the S protein. Indirect immunofluorescence and confocal analysis suggested strong reactivity of the antibodies towards the S protein of MERS-CoV virus infected Vero cells. Furthermore, the 506-2G10G5 monoclonal antibody significantly reduced plaque formation in MERS-CoV infected Vero cells compared to normal mouse IgG and 492-1G10E4E2. Thus, we successfully produced a monoclonal antibody directed against the RBD domain of the S protein which could be used in the development of diagnostics and therapeutic applications in the future.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.546-552
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• 2022

Epidermal cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) is a tumor-associated antigen (TAA), which has been considered as a cancer vaccine candidate. The EpCAM protein fused to the fragment crystallizable region of immunoglobulin G (IgG) tagged with KDEL endoplasmic reticulum (ER) retention signal (EpCAM-FcK) has been successfully expressed in transgenic tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum cv. Xanthi) and purified from the plant leaf. In this study, we investigated the ability of the plant-derived EpCAM-FcK (EpCAM-FcK^P) to elicit an immune response in vivo. The animal group injected with the EpCAM-FcK^P showed a higher differentiated germinal center (GC) B cell population (~9%) compared with the animal group injected with the recombinant rhEpCAM-Fc chimera (EpCAM-Fc^M). The animal group injected with EpCAM-FcK^P (~42%) had more differentiated T follicular helper cells (Tfh) than the animal group injected with EpCAM-Fc^M (~7%). This study demonstrated that the plant-derived EpCAM-FcK fusion antigenic protein induced a humoral immune response in mice.

• Journal of Advanced Navigation Technology
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.344-349
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• 2022

A compact LPDA antenna consisting of right triangle-shaped dipole elements appended with strips is proposed for UWB applications. First, right triangle-shaped dipole elements are used instead of conventional strip dipole elements to reduce the width of the LPDA antenna. Second, the spacing between the LPDA elements is decreased to reduce the length of the LPDA antenna. Finally, strips are appended at the ends of the right triangle-shaped dipole elements in order to further reduce the width of the antenna. A prototype of the proposed antenna with 16 elements and gain > 4 dBi is fabricated on an FR4 substrate with dimensions of 44 mm×30 mm. Measured frequency band of the fabricated antenna is 2.99-14.76 GHz for a VSWR < 2, which ensures UWB operation, and measured gain range is 4.0-5.5 dBi with a front-to-back ratio larger than 10 dB. The length and width of the proposed compact LPDA antenna are reduced by 40.9% and 20.6%, respectively, compared to the conventional LPDA.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.53 no.1
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• pp.29-41
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• 2022

This study was conducted to verify the availability of immature persimmon ethanol extract (IPEE) as a natural and functional ingredient in protecting inflammation and allergy of skin based on the mechanism. The major content analysis, antioxidant activities, anti-allergic activity, anti-inflammatory effect, and safety related to irritation of IPEE were evaluated. The gallic acid content per 10 mg/mL of IPEE was 0.522% (5.22 mg/g). The total polyphenol and flavonoid contents were 428.3 mg/g and 31.1 mg/g, respectively. In ABTS+ activity, DPPH ability and SOD-like activity, it showed a concentration-dependent increase, which indicated IPEE has excellent antioxidant activities. As for the anti-allergy test in RBL-2H3 cells, the IPEE showed a decrease in β-hexosaminidase secretion as the concentration increases, and IPEE tended to decrease IL-4 secretion in all RBL-2H3 cells compared to the IgE + HSA group. IPEE showed good anti-inflammatory effect in RAW 264.7 cells by decrease of NO production and inflammation cytokines (TNF-α and IL-6). Also IPEE showed non-irritant in BCOP assay. By the results of this study, the IPEE containing high tannins, had good antioxidant, anti-allergic, and anti-inflammatory effects, which indicated that the immature persimmon is considered to be a useful for the development of related functional ingredients.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.35 no.10
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• pp.1606-1615
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• 2022

Objective: The present study was conducted to investigate the potential effects of dietary supplemented propolis in two growing rabbit breeds on growth performance, immune response, blood parameters, carcass characteristics, and cecal microflora composition. Methods: A total of 90 growing rabbits aged 6 weeks from two breeds (V-line and Jabali) were randomly allocated to 3 dietary propolis experimental treatments. The experimental treatments consisted of a 2×3 factorial arrangement with two rabbit breeds and three levels of dietary propolis supplementation (0, 250 mg/kg, and 500 mg/kg). Each sub-treatment has 15 rabbits. The experimental period lasted six weeks. Results: There were no significant differences in growth performance and carcass characteristics due to propolis administration. Propolis supplementation at a high level significantly increased (linear; p<0.05) cellular-mediated immunity compared with the unsupplemented group. Furthermore, the rabbits receiving propolis exhibited a significant increase (linear and quadratic; p<0.03) in IgM immunoglobulins compared to the control. The current study provides further evidence that the dietary inclusion of propolis can significantly reduce pathogenic bacterial colonization in growing rabbits. The total count of microflora, E. coli, and Salmonella spp. was significantly lower (linear; p<0.01) in supplemented rabbit groups compared to the control group according to the microbiological analysis of cecal digesta. Based on breed effect, the results indicated that Jabali rabbits (local) performed better than V-line rabbits (foreign) in the majority of the studied traits. Conclusion: Dietary propolis is promising for further investigation into improving intestinal health and enhancing immunity in growing rabbits.

• Journal of Advanced Navigation Technology
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.530-535
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• 2021

In this paper, the design method for a chipless RFID tag using ELC resonators is proposed. A four-bit chipless RFID tag is designed in a two by two array configuration using three ELC resonators with different resonant peak frequencies and one compact IDC resonator. The resonant peak frequency of the bistatic RCS for the IDC resonator is 3.125 GHz, whereas those of the three ELC resonators are adjusted to be at 4.225 GHz, 4.825 GHz, and 5.240 GHz, respectively, by using the gap between the capacitor-shaped strips in the ELC resonator. The spacing between the resonators is 1 mm. Proposed four-bit tag is fabricated on an RF-301 substrate with dimensions of 50 mm×20 mm and a thickness of 0.8 mm. It is observed from experiment results that the resonant peak frequencies of the fabricated four-bit chipless RFID tag are 3.290 GHz, 4.295 GHz, 4.835 GHz, and 5.230 GHz, respectively, which is similar to the simulation results with errors in the range between -2.3% and 0.2%.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.303-314
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• 2023

Protective efficacy of trivalent Salmonella inactivated vaccine containing Chlorhexidine-inactivated S. Enterltidis (SE), S. Typhimurium (ST), and S. Gallinarum (SG) strains, was evaluated in this study. A total of 70 brown nick layers were divided into 7 groups, A to G, containing 10 hens per group. All hens in groups B to D were intramuscularly immunized with approximately 7×10⁸ cells (3×10⁸ cells of SE+1×10⁸ SE+1×10⁸ cells of ST+3×10⁸ cells of SG) of the trivalent vaccine in 0.5 mL of PBS. All chickens in groups E to G were injected with sterile PBS. All hens of groups B and E, groups C and F, and groups D and G were orally challenged with approximately 2 ×10⁹ CFU of wild-type SE, ST, and SG, respectively. Serum IgG titers and CD3⁺CD4⁺ T-cells, and CD3⁺CD8⁺ T-cells levels of groups B to D significantly higher than those of group A. In addition, all animals in groups A to C, E and F showed no clinical symptoms and survived after the virulent challenges, whereas one chicken in group D died and all chickens in group G died following the challenge. The protection against wild-type SE and ST in liver, spleen, cecum, and cloaca of groups B and C chickens was significant effective as compared with those in groups E and F. These indicate that the trivalent inactivated vaccine can be an effective tool for prevention of Salmonella infections by inducing robustly protective immune responses and cellular immune response in chickens.

• Journal of Advanced Navigation Technology
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.815-820
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• 2023

In this paper, the design method of a miniaturized chipless RFID tag using a modified bent H-shaped slot was proposed. The proposed modified bent H-shaped slot was appended on the rectangular conductor plate printed on one side of a 20 mm × 50 mm FR4 substrate with a thickness of 0.8 mm. The resonant dip frequency of the bistatic RCS for the proposed modified bent H-shaped slot was compared with the cases when the H-shaped, U-shaped slot, and bent H-shaped slots were added, respectively, on the conductor plate. The simulated resonant dip frequencies for H-shaped, U-shaped, and bent H-shaped slots were 5.907 GHz, 4.918 GHz, and 4.364 GHz, respectively. When the proposed modified bent H-shaped slot was added, the resonant dip frequency was decreased to 3.741 GHz, and, therefore, the slot length was reduced by 36.7% compared to the H-shaped slot case. Experiment results show that the resonant dip frequency of the fabricated modified bent H-shaped slot was 3.9 GHz.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.51-62
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• 2010

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation of multiple probiotics on the performance, small intestinal microflora and immune response in laying hens and broilers. In Exp.1, a total of 800, 82 wk old Hy-line Brown$^{(R)}$ laying hens were assigned to one of the following five dietary treatment; Control, Antibiotics (avilamycin 6 ppm), Probiotics; PB-M (Micro-ferm$^{(R)}$ 0.2%), PB-L (Lacto-sacc$^{(R)}$ 0.1%), PB-Y (Y University probiotics 0.2%). Each treatment was replicated eight times with 20 birds in each replicate and two birds were housed in each cage. Twenty birds units were arranged according to completely randomized block design. Feeding trial lasted 6 wk under 16 h lighting regimen. The Exp. 2, was conducted with a total of 1,000 broilers chicks (Ross$^{(R)}$). They were divided into five treatments, same as those of Exp. 1. Birds were fed starter (0~3 wk) and grower (4~5 wk) diets. Each treatment was replicated four times with 50 birds per pen comprising of deep litter. In Exp. 1, egg production parameters, such as hen-day and hen-house egg production, egg weight, broken and soft shell egg production, feed intake and feed conversion were not significantly different among treatments. However, strength and thickness of eggshell were significantly (P<0.05) different. Among the probiotics, PB-Y showed the highest strength and thickness of eggshell. Eggshell color, egg yolk color and Haugh unit were not significantly influenced. In Exp. 2, overall weight gain (0~5 wk) and mortality were not significantly different among treatments. However, weight gain of birds from PB-Y treatment during starter (0~3 wk) was significantly lower than the birds from Control and Antibiotic treatment. During the whole period (0~5 wk), birds from Antibiotics treatment had higher feed intake and Production Index (PI) and lower feed conversion than birds from Control treatment. Probiotics treatments were not significantly different from the Control on feed intake and feed conversion. In Exp.1, there were significant (P<0.05) differences in leukocytes parameters, such as white blood cell (WBC), hetrophil (HE), lymphocytes (LY), monocyte (MO), eosinophil (EO) and stress index (SI; HE/LY) in the blood of layers. Birds from Antibiotics and probiotics treatments tended to increase these parameters. In Exp. 2, however, only SI was significantly (P<0.05) decreased in Antibiotics treatments. Concentration of serum immunoglobulin (IgG) were higher (P<0.05) in PB-M and PB-Y treatments when compared with Control treatment in Exp. 1. The population of E. coli significantly (P<0.05) decreased in birds from Antibiotics, PB-L and PB-Y treatments when compared with birds from Control treatment in Exp. 1. Metalbolizability of crude fat decreased significantly (P<0.05) in birds from probiotic treatments in Exp. 2. It was concluded that the response of probiotics on the productivity of layers and broilers were different. Probiotics increased strength and thickness of eggshell in layers, and decreased feed conversion and increased PI in broilers. Leukocytes and IgG tended to increase by supplementation of antibiotics and probiotics in layers. Intestinal E. coli tended to decrease in layers. Digestibility of crude fat of diet decreased in probiotics treatments broilers. Parameters of blood and microbial were more sensitive in layers than broilers.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.242-248
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• 2006

Purpose: Neonatal hepatitis is the major cause of neonatal cholestasis and may be divided into infectious, metabolic, genetic, and idiopathic neonatal hepatitis. Non-familial, non-metabolic, and non-A, B, C viral neonatal hepatitis is known to have made satisfactory progress, but little is known about its chronic clinical features. Methods: Clinical and histological assessments were carried out in 34 cases with chronic neonatal hepatitis [elevated serum alanine aminotrasferase (ALT) level for more than 6 months] except for A, B, C viral hepatitis, metabolic, or genetic neonatal hepatitis, who were admitted to the Department of Pediatrics, Pusan National University Hospital, from January 1998 to January 2004. Results: Males were more common (70%). Jaundice (100%) and hepatomegaly (44%) were frequent manifestations. Peak serum ALT levels were most commonly below 300 IU/L in 41.2% of patients and peak serum direct bilirubin levels were most commonly between 1.0~5.0 mg/dL in 50% of patients. Ten cases (34%) of 29 patients had positive serum cytomegalovirus (CMV) IgM or urine CMV polymerase chain reaction. Serum ALT level was normalized within 1 year in 11 (37.9%) of 29 cases, and within 2 years in 9 (69.2%) of 13 cases. Serum ALT level was elevated persistently over 2 years in four (30.7%) of 13 cases. Histologic findings such as portal or periportal activity, lobular necrosis, portal or periportal fibrosis were more severe in patients with persistent ALT elevation over 2 years than in those showing normalization of ALT within 2 years (p>0.05). Conclusion: When the elevation of ALT level sustains over 1 year in non-familiar, non-metabolic, non-A, B, C viral neonatal hepatitis, an assessment of the severity of liver injury and a careful monitoring about chronic liver disease may be required.