• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.303-311
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• 2016

Objectives: Allergic asthma generally presents with symptoms of wheezing, coughing, breathlessness, and airway inflammation. Seonpyejeongcheon-tang (SJT) consists of 12 herbs. It originated from Jeong-cheon-tang (JT), also known as Ding-chuan-tang, composed of 7 herbs, in She-sheng-zhong-miao-fang. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of local delivery of SJT via inhalable microparticles in an asthma mouse model. Methods: Microparticles containing SJT were produced by spray-drying with leucine as an excipient. SJT microparticles were evaluated with respect to their aerodynamic properties, in vitro cytotoxicity, in vivo toxicity, and therapeutic effects on ovalbumin (OVA)-induced asthma in comparison with orally-administered SJT. Results: SJT microparticles provided desirable aerodynamic properties (fine particle fraction of $48.9%{\pm}6.4%$ and mass median aerodynamic diameter of $3.7{\pm}0.3{\mu}m$). SJT microparticles did not show any cytotoxicity against RAW 264.7 macrophages at concentrations of 0.01 - 3 mg/mL. Inhaled SJT microparticles decreased the levels of IL-4, IL-5, IL-13, IL-17A, eotaxin and OVA-IgE in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) in mice with OVA-induced asthma. These effects were verified by histological evaluation of the levels of infiltration of inflammatory cells and collagen, destructions of alveoli and bronchioles, and hyperplasia of goblet cells in lung tissues. The effects of SJT microparticles in the asthma model were equivalent to those of orally-administered SJT extract. Conclusion: This study suggests that SJT is a promising agent for inhalation therapy for patients with asthma.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.70-76
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• 2009

The rhizobacteria of Panax notoginseng were isolated from six sites in Yanshan, Maguan and Wenshan Counties, Yunnan Province of China, and their antagonistic activity against P. notoginseng root-rot fungal pathogens was determined. Of the 574 rhizobacteria isolated, 5.8% isolates were antagonistic in vitro to at least one of the five pathogens, Cylindrocarpon didynum, Fusarium solani, Phytophthora cactorum, Phoma herbarum, and Rhizoctonia solani. The number of rhizo bacteria and the number that inhibited fungi differed depending on sampling sites and isolation methods. Rhizobacteria isolated from the site in Yanshan and Maguan showed more antagonistic effect than them in Wenshan. Heat treatment of rhizosphere soil at $80^{\circ}C$ for 20 min scaled the antagonists up to 14.0%. Antagonistic bacteria in the roots proportioned 3.9% of the total isolates. The most antagonistic isolates 79-9 and 81-4 are Bacillus subtilis based on their 168 rDNA sequence and biochemical and physiological characteristics. Identification and evaluation of antagonistic bacteria against P. notoginseng root-rot pathogens in the main planting areas improved our understanding of their distribution in rhizosphere soil. Furthermore these results indicated that the interactions between biocontrol agent and soil microbes should be seriously considered for the successful survival and biocontrol efficacy of the agents in soil.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.15-20
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• 2017

The aim of this study was to identify antigens for a vaccine or drug target to control rabbit coccidiosis. A combination of 2-dimensional electrophoresis, immunoblotting, and mass spectrometric analysis were used to identify novel antigens from the sporozoites of Eimeria stiedae. Protein spots were recognized by the sera of New Zealand rabbits infected artificially with E. stiedae. The proteins were characterized by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF/TOF-MS) analysis in combination with bioinformatics. Approximately 868 protein spots were detected by silver-staining, and a total of 41 immunoreactive protein spots were recognized by anti-E. stiedae sera. Finally, 23 protein spots were successfully identified. The proteins such as heat shock protein 70 and aspartyl protease may have potential as immunodiagnostic or vaccine antigens. The immunoreactive proteins were found to possess a wide range of biological functions. This study is the first to report the proteins recognized by sera of infected rabbits with E. stiedae, which might be helpful in identifying potential targets for vaccine development to control rabbit coccidiosis.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.58 no.1
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• pp.65-71
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• 2015

Objective : Lumbar spinal stenosis is conventionally treated with surgical decompression. However, bilateral decompression and laminectomy is more invasive and may not be necessary for lumbar stenosis patients with unilateral radiculopathy. We aimed to report the outcomes of unilateral laminectomy and bilateral pedicle screw fixation with fusion for patients with lumbar spinal stenosis and unilateral radiculopathy. Methods : Patients with lumbar spinal stenosis with unilateral lower extremity radiculopathy who received limited unilateral decompression and bilateral pedicle screw fixation were included and evaluated using visual analog scale (VAS) pain and the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) scores preoperatively and at follow-up visits. Ligamentum flavum thickness of the involved segments was measured on axial magnetic resonance images. Results : Twenty-five patients were included. The mean preoperative VAS score was $6.6{\pm}1.6$ and $4.6{\pm}3.1$ for leg and back pain, respectively. Ligamentum flavum thickness was comparable between the symptomatic and asymptomatic side (p=0.554). The mean follow-up duration was 29.2 months. The pain in the symptomatic side lower extremity (VAS score, $1.32{\pm}1.2$) and the back (VAS score, $1.75{\pm}1.73$) significantly improved (p=0.000 vs. baseline for both). The ODI improved significantly postoperatively ($6.60{\pm}6.5$; p=0.000 vs. baseline). Significant improvement in VAS pain and ODI scores were observed in patients receiving single or multi-segment decompression fusion with fixation (p<0.01). Conclusion : Limited laminectomy and unilateral spinal decompression followed by bilateral pedicle screw fixation with fusion achieves satisfactory outcomes in patients with spinal stenosis and unilateral radiculopathy. This procedure is less damaging to structures that are important for maintaining posterior stability of the spine.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.8
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• pp.1133-1140
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• 2012

Ribonucleic acid interference (RNAi) inhibits the expression of target genes in a sequence-specific manner, and shows potential for gene knockdown in filamentous fungi, in which the locus-specific gene knockout occurs in low frequency. In this study, the function of the repressor of cellulase expression I (ACEI) was verified in Trichoderma koningii (T. koningii) YC01 through RNAi, and ace1-silenced strains with improved cellulase productivity were obtained. An expression cassette that transcribed the interfering double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) of ace1 was constructed and transformed into T. koningii, and the transformants, in which the expression of ace1 was successfully silenced, were selected. As a result of the ace1 gene silencing, the expression levels of the main cellulase and xylanase genes were elevated, and the enhanced production of total proteins, cellulase, and xylanase was observed in the cultivation. In addition, the down-regulation of ace1 resulted in an increasing expression of xyr1, but no clear variation in the expression of cre1, which suggested that ACEI acted as a repressor of the xyr1 transcription, but was not involved in the regulation of the cre1 expression. The results of this work indicate that ace1 is a valid target gene for enhancing enzyme production in T. koningii, and RNAi is an appropriate tool for improving the properties of industrial fungi.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.903-911
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• 2020

Addition of probiotics to yogurt with desired health benefits is gaining increasing attention. To further understand the effect of probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum on the quality and function of fermented milk, probiotic fermented milk (PFM) made with probiotic L. plantarum K25 and yogurt starter (L. delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus) was compared with the control fermented milk (FM) made with only the yogurt starter. The probiotic strain was shown to survive well with a viable count of 7.1 ± 0.1 log CFU/g in the PFM sample after 21 days of storage at 4℃. The strain was shown to promote formation of volatiles such as acetoin and 2,3-butanediol with milk fragrance, and it did not cause post-acidification during refrigerated storage. Metabolomics analysis by GC-MS datasets coupled with multivariate statistical analysis showed that addition of L. plantarum K25 increased formation of over 20 metabolites detected in fermented milk, among which γ-aminobutyric acid was the most prominent. Together with several other metabolites with relatively high levels in fermented milk such as glyceric acid, malic acid, succinic acid, glycine, alanine, ribose, and 1,3-dihydroxyacetone, they might play important roles in the probiotic function of L. plantarum K25. Further assay of the bioactivity of the PFM sample showed significant (p < 0.05) increase of ACE inhibitory activity from 22.3% at day 1 to 49.3% at day 21 of the refrigerated storage. Therefore, probiotic L. plantarum K25 could be explored for potential application in functional dairy products.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.401-420
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• 2016

The stability of deep coal roadways with large sections and thick top coal is a typical challenge in many coal mines in China. The innovative Universal Discrete Element Code (UDEC) trigon block is adopted to create a numerical model based on a case study at the Dongtan coal mine in China to better understand the failure mechanism and stability control mechanism of this kind of roadway. The failure process of an unsupported roadway is simulated, and the results suggest that the deformation of the roof is more serious than that of the sides and floor, especially in the center of the roof. The radial stress that is released is more intense than the tangential stress, while a large zone of relaxation appears around the roadway. The failure process begins from partial failure at roadway corners, and then propagates deeper into the roof and sides, finally resulting in large deformation in the roadway. A combined support system is proposed to support roadways based on an analysis of the simulation results. The numerical simulation and field monitoring suggest that the availability of this support method is feasible both in theory and practice, which can provide helpful references for research on the failure mechanisms and scientific support designing of engineering in deep coal mines.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.773-788
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• 2003

Ostrich farming is a developing industry in most countries in the world, with farm profitability being largely dependent on the quality of the products, especially skins and meat. To produce quality products, it is essential to ensure that nutrient supply matches the nutrient requirements of ostriches during their growth. To achieve this, information on feed utilisation efficiency and nutrient requirements of ostriches at different maturity stages is required. In South Africa, a number of experiments were carried out to assess the nutritive value of feed and to define the nutrient requirement of ostriches. These data were derived from limited number of birds and the direct application of the results to ostrich farming in Australia and other countries is questionable due to the difference in environment and feed resources. Initially ostrich farmers used data from poultry as a guideline for feed formulation, but in recent years more data has become available for ostriches. Ostriches have a better feed utilisation efficiency and a larger capacity of using high fibre feeds such as pastures than poultry. This review revealed that there are a number of areas there further nutritional research and development is required to ensure the ostriches are provided suitable diets to maximise farm profitability. These include the assessment of the nutritive value of feed ingredients for ostrich chicks and adult birds, the determination of nutrient requirements of ostriches under different farming systems, the development of ostrich diet for producing specific product, and grazing management strategies of ostriches in a crop-pasture rotation system.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.823-834
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• 2014

In order to solve the shortage of natural Tripterygium wilfordii Hook. f. plant resource for the production of the important secondary metabolites triptolide and wilforine, hairy roots were induced from its root calli by Agrobacterium rhizogenes. Induced hairy roots not only could be maintained and grown well in hormone-free half-strength Murashige and Skoog medium but also could produce sufficient amounts of both triptolide and wilforine. Although hairy roots produced approximately 15% less triptolide than adventitious roots and 10% less wilforine than naturally grown roots, they could grow fast and could be a suitable system for producing both secondary metabolites compared with other tissues. Addition of $50{\mu}M$ methyl jasmonate (MeJA) could slightly affect hairy root growth, but dramatically stimulated the production of both triptolide and wilforine, whereas $50{\mu}M$ salicylic acid had no apparent effect on hairy root growth with slightly stimulatory effects on the production of both secondary metabolites. Addition of precursor nicotinic acid, isoleucine, or aspartic acid at the concentration of $500{\mu}M$ had varying effects on hairy root growth, but none of them had stimulatory effects on triptolide production, and only the former two had slightly beneficial effects on wilforine production. The majority of triptolide produced was secreted into the medium, whereas most of the produced wilforine was retained inside of hairy roots. Our studies provide a promising way to produce triptolide and wilforine in T. wilfordii hairy root cultures combined with MeJA treatment.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.2341-2345
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• 2015

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between prognosis and protein and mRNA expression of an apoptotic inhibitor gene, survivin, in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Furthermore, functions of the survivin gene in the CNE2 nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell line were assessed. Immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization were used in detecting the survivin protein and mRNA in 44 nasopharyngeal carcinoma specimens, and 30 chronic nasopharyngitis samples as controls. Survivin gene expression in CNE2 cell line was suppressed with an shRNA (short hairpin RNA). The positive ratios of expression for survivin protein and mRNA in nasopharyngeal carcinoma were 79.5% and 75.0% respectively, obviously higher than in the control group (p<0.01), and there is very good consistency between the two methods. The mean survival time of patients with higher survivin protein or mRNA expression was shorter than in patients with lower levelsv(p<0.01). Proliferation of the CNE2 cell line was distinctly inhibited by the shRNA. The results indicate that overexpression of the survivin gene plays an important role in onset and development of nasopharyngeal carcinoma, and it may be helpful for prognostic appraisal.