• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.47-57
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• 2021

Objectives This study was conducted to confirm the possibility of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) treatment through natural herbal medicines. Methods After screening a total of 77 herbal medicines through the paper disc agar diffusion method, we selected the herbal medicines that showed a effectiveness compared to the positive control vancomycin. Afterwards, drugs that showed inhibitory effects compared to C. difficile without inhibition of Bifidobacterium bifidum and Lactobacillus plantarum, known as beneficial bacteria, were selected and minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) was confirmed by applying the Broth microdilution method. Results The Coptidis Rhizoma, well known for its antimicrobial effect, was found to have antimicrobial effects on C. difficile, but also had inhibitory effects on the beneficial bacterium B. bifidum. 30% ethanol extraction Crataegi fructus, Corni fructus and Mume fructus had antimicrobial effects on C. difficile without inhibiting the beneficial bacteria B. bifidum and L. plantarum. The MIC values of 30% ethanol extraction Crataegi fructus, Corni fructus and Mume fructus were found to be 10 mg/mL, 20 mg/mL and 5 mg/mL, respectively. Conclusions Crataegi fructus, Corni fructus and Mume fructus were identified as candidate medicines for C. difficile. Further researchs will need to be done in vivo, and to find an optimal extraction method accompanied by economic evaluation.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.61-73
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• 2022

In this study, we developed a reliable and efficient Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation system by applying sonication and vacuum infiltration to six chickpea cultivars (ICCV2, ICCV10, ICCV92944, ICCV37, JAKI9218, and JG11) using embryo axis explants. Wounded explants were precultured for 3 days in shoot induction medium (SIM) before sonication and vacuum infiltration with an Agrobacterium suspension and co-cultivated for 3 days in co-cultivation medium containing 100 µM/l of acetosyringone and 200 mg/l of L-cysteine. Responsive explants with putatively transformed shoots were selected using a gradual increase in kanamycin from 25 mg/l to 100 mg/l in selection medium to eliminate escapes. Results showed optimal transformation efficiency at a bacterial density of 1.0, an optical density at 600 nm wavelength (OD₆₀₀), and an infection duration of 30 min. The presence and stable integration of the β-glucuronidase (gusA) gene into the chickpea genome were confirmed using GUS histochemical assay and polymerase chain reaction. A high transformation efficiency was achieved among the different factors tested using embryo axis explants of cv. JAKI 9218. Of the six chickpea cultivars tested, JAKI9218 showed the highest transformation efficiency of 8.6%, followed by JG11 (7.2%), ICCV92944 (6.8%), ICCV37 (5.4%), ICCV2 (4.8%), and ICCV10 (4.6%). These findings showed that the Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation system will help transfer novel candidate genes into chickpea.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.39 no.5
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• pp.632-643
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• 2022

Although probiotics have been shown to improve health when consumed, recent studies have reported that they can cause unwanted side effects due to bacterial-human interactions. Therefore, the importance of prebiotics that can form beneficial microbiome in the gut has been emphasized. This study isolated and identified bacteria capable of producing biopoymer as a candidate prebiotic from traditional fermented foods. The isolated and identified strain was named WCYSK01 (Wissella sp. strain YSK01). The composition of the medium for culturing this strain was prepared by dissolving 3 g K₂HPO₄, 0.2 g MgSO₄, 0.05 g CaCl₂, 0.1 g NaCl in 1 L of distilled water. The LMBP(low molecular weight biopoymers) produced when fermentation was performed with sucrose and maltose as substrates were mainly consisted of DP3 (degree of polymer; isomaltotriose), DP4 (isomaltotetraose), DP5 (isomaltopentaose), and DP6 (isomaltoheptaose). The optimization of LMBP (low molecular weight of biopolymer) production was performed using the response surface methodology. The fermentation process temperature range of 18 to 32℃, the fermentation medium pH in the range of 5.1 to 7.9. The yield of LMBP production by the strain was found to be significantly affected by q fermentation temperature and pH. The optimal fermentation conditions were found at the normal point, and the production yield was more than 75% at pH 7.5 and temperature of 23℃.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Process Engineers
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• v.20 no.7
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• pp.105-112
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• 2021

Reduction of weld distortions and increase in productivity are some of the major goals of the shipbuilding industry. To address these issues, many researchers have attempted to apply new welding processes. In the shipbuilding industry, steel is the candidate material of choice owing to its good weldability. However, conventional welding techniques are not feasible for avoiding welding problems. Tip-rotating arc welding is one of the high-efficiency welding process that has several advantages, such as high welding speed, high melting rate, low heat input, and less distortion. The present study investigates the influence of the welding variables on the weld characteristics of tip-rotating arc welding. Welding was performed using EH36 as the base metal and SM-70s as the filler metal, which are widely used in shipbuilding. Basic experiments were conducted to understand the effects of the major welding variables, such as welding and tip-rotating speeds. The distortion and mechanical properties of the optimal welding conditions were used to evaluate the tip-rotating arc welding performance. Consequently, the feasibility of the tip-rotating arc welding process for joining steel components was investigated, so that the optimized welding conditions could be applied directly to ship body welding to enhance the quality of the welded joints.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.464-474
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• 2021

Bacterial cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes are responsible for the hydroxylation of diverse endogenous substances with a heme molecule used as a cofactor. This study characterized two CYP154C3 proteins from Streptomyces sp. W2061 (CYP154C3-1) and Streptomyces sp. KCCM40643 (CYP154C3-2). The enzymatic activity assays of both CYPs conducted using heterologous redox partners' putidaredoxin and putidaredoxin reductase showed substrate flexibility with different steroids and exhibited interesting product formation patterns. The enzymatic characterization revealed good activity over a pH range of 7.0 to 7.8 and the optimal temperature range for activity was 30 to 37℃. The major product was the C16-hydroxylated product and the kinetic profiles and patterns of the generated hydroxylated products differed between the two enzymes. Both enzymes showed a higher affinity toward progesterone, with CYP154C3-1 demonstrating slightly higher activity than CYP154C3-2 for most of the substrates. Oxidizing agents (diacetoxyiodo) benzene (PIDA) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) were also utilized to actively support the redox reactions, with optimum conversion achieved at concentrations of 3 mM and 65 mM, respectively. The oxidizing agents affected the product distribution, influencing the type and selectivity of the CYP-catalyzed reaction. Additionally, CYP154C3s also catalyzed the C-C bond cleavage of steroids. Therefore, CYP154C3s may be a good candidate for the production of modified steroids for various biological uses.

• Journal of the Korea Computer Graphics Society
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.11-19
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• 2022

In this paper we present a new method for interactive segmentation of a triangle mesh by using the concavity-sensitive harmonic field and anisotropic geodesic. The proposed method only requires a single vertex in a desired feature region, while most of existing methods need explicit information on segmentation boundary. From the user-clicked vertex, a candidate region which contains the desired feature region is defined and concavity-senstive harmonic field is constructed on the region by using appropriate boundary constraints. An initial isoline is chosen from the uniformly sampled isolines on the harmonic field and optimal points on the initial isoline are determined as interpolation points. Final segmentation boundary is then constructed by computing anisotropic geodesics passing through the interpolation points. In experimental results, we demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method by selecting several features in various 3D models.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.36 no.8
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• pp.1285-1292
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• 2023

Objective: The objective of this study was to develop a novel endolysin (PanLys.1) for the specific killing of the ruminal hyper-ammonia-producing bacterium Peptostreptococcus anaerobius (P. anaerobius). Methods: Whole genome sequences of P. anaerobius strains and related bacteriophages were collected from the National Center for Biotechnology Information database, and the candidate gene for PanLys.1 was isolated based on amino acid sequences and conserved domain database (CDD) analysis. The gene was overexpressed using a pET system in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3). The lytic activity of PanLys.1 was evaluated under various conditions (dosage, pH, temperature, NaCl, and metal ions) to determine the optimal lytic activity conditions. Finally, the killing activity of PanLys.1 against P. anaerobius was confirmed using an in vitro rumen fermentation system. Results: CDD analysis showed that PanLys.1 has a modular design with a catalytic domain, amidase-2, at the N-terminal, and a cell wall binding domain, from the CW-7 superfamily, at the C-terminal. The lytic activity of PanLys.1 against P. anaerobius was the highest at pH 8.0 (p<0.05) and was maintained at 37℃ to 45℃, and 0 to 250 mM NaCl. The activity of PanLys.1 significantly decreased (p<0.05) after Mn²⁺ or Zn²⁺ treatment. The relative abundance of P. anaerobius did not decrease after administration PanLys.1 under in vitro rumen conditions. Conclusion: The application of PanLys.1 to modulate P. anaerobius in the rumen might not be feasible because its lytic activity was not observed in in vitro rumen system.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.50
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• pp.97-107
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• 2023

Malaria remains to be one of the most severe global public health concerns. Traditionally, Aspilia Africana and Warburgia ugandensis have been used to treat malaria in several African countries for millennia. In the current study, A. africana calli (AaC), A. africana in vitro roots (AaIR), A. africana wild leaf (AaWL), and W. ugandensis stem bark (WuSB) were dried and pulverized. Fourier transform near-infrared spectroscopy was used to analyze the powdered samples, while 80% ethanolic extracts of each sample were assayed for antiplasmodial activity (against Plasmodium falciparum strains DD2 (chloroquine-resistant) and 3D7 (chloroquine-sensitive)) and cytotoxicity. WuSB showed the highest antiplasmodial activity (IC₅₀ = 1.57 ± 0.210 ㎍/ml and 8.92 ± 0.365 ㎍/ml against P. falciparum 3D7 and DD2, respectively) and selectivity indices (43.90 ± 7.914 and 7.543 ± 0.051 for P. falciparum 3D7 and DD2, respectively). The highest total polyphenolic contents (total phenolic and flavonoid contents of 367.9 ± 3.55 mg GAE/g and 203.9 ± 1.43 mg RUE/g, respectively) were recorded for WuSB and the lowest were recorded for AaC. The antiplasmodial activities of the tested plant tissues correlated positively with total polyphenolic content. The high selectivity indices of WuSB justify its traditional applications in treating malaria and present it as a good candidate for discovering new antimalarial compounds. We recommend elicitation treatment for AaIR, which showed moderate antiplasmodial activity against P. falciparum DD2, to increase its secondary metabolite production for optimal antimalarial activity.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea TC
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• v.46 no.6
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• pp.11-18
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• 2009

In this paper, a hierarchical link allocation algorithm between mobile stations (MSs) and the corresponding base station (BS) by an optimal utilization of relay stations (RSs) is proposed to improve throughput of RS systems. In the proposed hierarchical algorithm, each RS operates cognitive radio functions to sense the degree of satisfaction in the quality of services (QoSs) and then selects the candidate set of MSs to have links with the RS. Such information is reported to the BS, where an auction process is performed to get an optimal allocation of communication links between the MSs and the BS. To maximize system throughput, the proposed auction algorithm is conducted upon bidding prices of communication links, considering both the co-channel interference (CCI) information shared among adjacent cells and the QoS enhancement information for each MS collected from RSs. The BS then switches the communication links of the auction winner MSs through the corresponding RS. The computer simulation shows that the proposed algorithm enhances the user QoS more than the conventional algorithm, especially for RS systems with more users requiring higher QoS. The proposed algorithm has also been proved to have more robust performance than the conventional one when the traffic load is higher and the CCI becomes stronger.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.39-47
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• 2008

An eco-washland is increasingly getting attentions as a new alternative plan for management of water resources because of role as flooding control and ecological park without social and ecological side effects. However, there is a lack of study regarding technological development and ecological guidelines to create eco-washland. This study was carried out to suggest ecological guidelines necessary for engineering process to create eco-washland. A study site was the lower reach of Seokjang stream connecting to Yimjin river, a candidate of new eco-washland, and Kumsa area in Namhan river was selected as a reference site. The analysis of ecological characteristics focused on vegetation, fishes, and birds. Major vegetation communities, composed of dominant species such as Salix koreensis, Salix gracylistyla, Miscanthus sacchariflorus, Phragmites communis, etc., formed physical conditions along with other land uses including open water, sandbar, cultivated land, etc. Dominant species of fishes were some species belonging to Cyprinidae and Acheilognathinae, and in case of birds Anser albifrons, Anas platyrhychos, Anas poecilorhyncha belonging to waterbirds and Paradoxornis webbinanus dependent to forest edge were dominantly distributed. The results showed that complex wetland types associated with partially deep water and upland was the optimal eco-hydrological condition of washland. Cyprinidae and Acheilognathinae in case of fish and Egretta spp. (spring season) and Anas spp. (winter season) in case of bird were selected as target species for the these wetland types. Finally, a detail planning criteria to create habitats of these target species were discussed in terms of spawning, breeding, feeding, resting, refuge, nesting, etc.