• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.110-113
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• 2006

Prolyl endopeptidase (PEP, EC 3.4.21.26, also referred to as prolyl oligopeptidase) degrades proline containing, biologically active neuropeptides such as vasopressin, substance P and thyrotropin-releasing hormone by cleaving peptide bonds on carboxyl side of prolyl residue within neuropeptides of less than 30 amino acids. Evaluation of PEP levels in postmortem brains of Alzheimer's disease patients revealed significant increases in PEP activity. Therefore, a specific PEP inhibitor can be a good candidate of drug against memory loss. Upon our examination for PEP inhibitory activity from micronutrients, ascorbic acid (vitamin C) showed small but significant PEP inhibition (13% PEP inhibition at $8{\mu}g{\cdot}ml^{-1}$). Palmitic acid showed almost no PEP inhibition. However, 6-O-palmitoyl ascorbic acid ($\underline{1}$) showed 70% PEP inhibition at $8{\mu}g{\cdot}ml^{-1}$ indicating that hydrophobic portion of the compound $\underline{1}$ may facilitate the inhibitory effect. $IC_{50}$ value of compound $\underline{1}$ was $12.6{\pm}0.2{\mu}M$. The primary and secondary Lineweaver Burk and Dixon plots for compound $\underline{1}$ indicated that it is a non-competitive inhibitor with inhibition constant (Ki) value of $23.7{\mu}M$.

• Journal of environmental and Sanitary engineering
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.17-31
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• 1991

The effects of environmental agents on health are great concern for all. It was recognized that each human has differential susceptibility to environmental effects. Susceptibility are changed by many factors includin gdevelopmpntal processes, genetic factors, nutritional stratus, preexisting disease conditions, life style and personal habits. Of all factors nutritional factors seem to be the area most modifiable. Consequently, It is an area that must be more thoroughly evaluated. In this paper, nutrient and environment interactions are reviewed briefly with published literatures. This paper deals with the influence of micronutrients(energy, protein and fat), Vitamins (vitamin 4, vitamin B-complex, vitamin C, vitamin D and vitamin I) and Minerals(calcium, iron, selenium, zinc and other minerls) on environmental effects. The role of arch nutrient was assessed in modifyine the expression of environmental pollutant toxicity with available litertures. In each nutrient section, the effect of environment was considered in following agents : heavy metals(lead, cadmium, mercury, silver and etc), inorganic agents(nitwits, sulfite, fluoride and etc), organic agents(benzene, carbon tatra-chloride, aflatoxin, auto dye, dialbrin etc), Irritant gas(ozone, carbon monooxide and etc), physical agents(X-irradiation, ultra violet, temperature and noise) and insectcides. The extent to which nutritional status modifies environmental effects 3nd its converse, how envirollments affects nutritional status is very complex. In deed, at the present time there are more than 50 chelnical/phycical agents that affect the nutrient metabolism and/or have their toxicity either directly diminished or enhanced by nutrients of those agents, small number of agents for each nutrients have sufficient evidence to warrant any reasonable degree of confidence in their hypothesized associtation. With these information at this present time it is hard to conclude that the recommended dietary allowance for each nutrient should be reconsidered.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.408-416
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• 2010

To evaluate the effectiveness of AMF on the growth of horticultural crops, we compared mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal plants, perilla (P. frutescens Britt.), that were inoculated with AMF propagules. In the early stages of growth of perilla, compared to the AMF- perilla seedlings, in AMF+ perilla seedlings at 3 weeks after sowing, leaf length and width increased 17% and 29%, leaf area increased 28%, and shoot fresh weight increased 33%, root total length increased 1%, and chlorophyll content increased 3%. Further at 10 weeks after sowing, compared to the AMF- perilla plants, in perilla plants inoculated with AMF at the sowing and transplanting stages, leaf area increased 21% and 19%, shoot length increased 19% and 17%, root fresh weight increased 17% and 20%, and chlorophyll content increased 5.1% and 4.8%, respectively. Moreover, at 14 weeks after sowing, compared to the AMFperilla plants, in perilla plants inoculated with AMF at the sowing and transplanting stages, the number of leaves increased 16% and 20%, root fresh weight increased 16% and 17% significantly. Further, leaf fresh weight increased 9% and 11%, shoot diameter increased 4.5% and 7.3%, and chlorophyll content increased 1.5% and 2.5%, respectively. The levels of many macronutrients and micronutrients were tended to be significantly higher in AMF+ plants than in AMF- plants, supporting the association between AMF and enhanced growth of plants grown from AMF+ seedlings.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.245-252
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• 2005

The objective of the present work was to determine the corresponding uptake and assimilation of ${NO_3}^-$ in roots and shoots of leafy radish by applying of mixed amino acids (MAA). The amino acids used in this experiment were alanine (Ala), ${\beta}-alanine\;({\beta}-Ala)$, aspartic acid (Asp), asparagines (Asn), glutamic acid (Glu), glutamine (Gln), and glycine (Gly). Leafy radish was grown by conventional fertilization with macro- and micronutrients under controlled conditions. The 15-day-old seedlings were treated 0, 0.3 and 3.0 mM of MAA containing 5 mM ${NO_3}^-$ in growth medium. Nitrate uptake was determined by following ${NO_3}^-$ depletion from the uptake solution. The activity of the enzymes related to the process of ${NO_3}^-$ reduction (NR: nitrate reductase; NiR: nitrite reductase; GS: glutamine synthetase) and the content of ${NO_2}^-\;and\;{ND_3}^-$ were analyzed in shoots and roots. The results of this study showed that ${NO_3}^-$ uptake was inhibited 38% with treatment of 0.3 mM of MAA. However, there was more than three times increase of N03- uptake in 3.0 mM MAA. In addition, the enzymatic activities were positively affected by the high MAA rate. Finally, the ${NO_3}^-$ content was increased slightly both in shoots and roots of leafy radish by MAA treatments.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.129-133
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• 2002

Suppression of nitrate accumulation in spinach and lettuce through foliar application of chitosan formula containing micronutrients is related with the increase of the nitrate reductase (NR) activity. If NR in spinach were highly expressed to increase the assimilatory activity, nitrate content could be reduced. For this, NR cDNA was cloned from the isolated mRNAs of spinach using reverse transcriptase-PCR. Nucleotide sequence of cloned spinach NR cDNA showed highly deduced amino acid sequence identity ($71{\sim}82%$) with other known plant NR genes. Only two nucleotide-base differences were observed in the cloned NR cDNA compared with that of the published spinach NR cDNA.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.58-64
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• 2000

Obesity is a global pandemic that is increasing throughout most of the world. Increases in obesity are not restricted to highly industrialized countries, but have been observed in newly developed and developing countries as well. Obesity is associated with increased risk for non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus, coronary artery disease, and some types of cancer. Tragically, eliminating food shortages in developing countries may result in substituting heart disease, diabetes, and cancer for malnutrition. There are many approaches to reducing obesity, including dietary modification, surgical interventions, and drug therapies. However, only dietary modification has the potential to be effective on a global scale. Public health measures in the United States have sought to reduce obesity by reducing the intake of dietary fat. While these efforts have succeeded in reducing dietary fat, obesity has continued to increase, suggesting that moderate fat reduction may not be effective. Other proposed diets include low-carbohydrate diets, low glycemic index diets, and very low fat diets. While all of these diets may be effective for some people, they are not satisfactory for public health policy. In fact, the ratio of fat to carbohydrate may not be as important as previously believed. Humans may be well suited to adapt to diets as varied as a high carbohydrate tropical diet consisting mostly of fruits to the high fat Eskimo diet consisting largely of animal foods. Either extreme may be healthful if providing adequate, but not excessive, energy and adequate amounts of micronutrients. Public health measures may need to focuss on reducing the overconsumption of inexpensive and convenient foods.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.162-165
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• 2003

The enzyme activity and the micronutrient content of powdered raw meal (PRM) and powdered processed meal (PPM) were compared. PRM was made of freeze-dried cereals, fruits, and vegetables. PPM was made of the same materials as PRM, but with heat processing such as steaming, roasting and hot air drying. The activity of $\alpha$-amylase of PRM was higher than that of PPM. However there were no differences of the concentration of proximate components between PRM and PPM. The concentrations of vitamin A, C, folic acid, biotin, calcium, potassium, sodium and iron in PRM were higher than in PPM, but there were no differences in vitamins E, B$_1$, B$_2$, phosphorus and zinc. This research demonstrated that PRM retains greater nutritional value because there is higher enzyme activity and less loss of micronutrients during processing in PRM than in PPM.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.277-288
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• 2014

T cells are central players in the regulation of adaptive immunity and immune tolerance. In the periphery, T cell differentiation for maturation and effector function is regulated by a number of factors. Various factors such as antigens, co-stimulation signals, and cytokines regulate T cell differentiation into functionally specialized effector and regulatory T cells. Other factors such as nutrients, micronutrients, nuclear hormones and microbial products provide important environmental cues for T cell differentiation. A mounting body of evidence indicates that the microbial metabolites short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) have profound effects on T cells and directly and indirectly regulate their differentiation. We review the current status of our understanding of SCFA functions in regulation of peripheral T cell activity and discuss their impact on tissue inflammation.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.36-39
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• 2003

Many defined cell culture media were formulated over 3() years ago and may be deficient in certain micronutrients whose essentiality has only subsequently been recognised. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether alpha-minimal essential medium (MEM) supplemented with 10% foetal bovine serum contained sufficient selenium for optimal activity of the selenium containing enzymes cytosolic glutathione peroxidase (cGPx) and phospholipid hydroperoxide glutathione peroxidase (PHGPx) in cultured Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. Additionally, the effect of zinc deficiency and metallothionein (MT) overexpression on cGPx and PHGPx activity was studied. The addition of 100 nM of selenous acid to the culture medium increased cGPx expression by 10-fold and PHGPx by about 2-fold in both wild-type CHO-K1 cells and CHO-K1 cells overexpressing mouse MT-1. Zinc deficiency had no significant effect on enzyme activity, but cells overexpressing mouse MT-1 had higher levels of cGPx activity. Zinc deficiency decreased cell survival but overexpression of MT-1 was partially protective, probably because its presence in quantity favoured the uptake, sequestration and cellular retention of any remaining zinc. This study demonstrates that selenium in complete alpha-MEM is insufficient for optimal cGPx and PHGPx activity and may compromise the cellular response to oxidative stress.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.487-496
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• 2021

Microalgae is one of the promising biodiesel feedstock with high growth rates compared to those of terrestrial oil crops. Despite its numerous advantages, biodiesel production from microalgae needs to reduce energy demand and material costs further to go to commercialization. During solvent extraction of microalgal lipids, lipid-extracted algae (LEA) cell residue is generated as an organic solid waste, about 80-85% of original algal biomass, and requires an appropriate recycling or economic disposal. The resulting LEA still contains significant amount of carbohydrates, proteins, N, P, and other micronutrients. This review will focus on recent advancement in the utilization of LEA as: (i) utilization as nutrients or carbon sources for microalgae and other organisms, (ii) anaerobic digestion to produce biogas or co-fermentation to produce CH₄ and H₂, and (iii) conversion to other forms of biofuel through thermochemical degradation processes. Possible mutual benefits in the integration of microalgae cultivation-biodiesel production-resulting LEA with anaerobic digestion and thermochemical conversion are also discussed.