• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.141-148
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• 1985

To investigate cellular regulation of phosphate metabolism between catabolically repressed and derepressed states in Saccharomyces uvarum, the activities of polyphosphatases, the analysis of polyphosphate and cytochemical observation of volutin granules were examined according to the culture phase and under various phosphate concentrations. As the results, tripolyphosphatase activity was increased more than six-fold during catabolic repression as compared with those of catabolic derepression and the polyphosphatase activity increased at the time of maximal accumulation of acid insoluble polyphosphate 'B'. Of the low molecular weight polyphosphates, tripolyphosphate was mainly detected by thin layer chromatography. When the synthesis of volutin granules in derepressed cells was observed cytochemically, acid insoluble polyphosphate localizing at the cell wall was primarily synthesized and then transferred into the cytoplasm, nucleus and/or vacuole.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.193-202
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• 1982

The changes of total carbohydrates and trehalose levels during differentiation of A. niger were studied. Aspergillus niger was cultivated in Czapeck-Dox medium by the method of surface culture and shake culture. Total carbohydrates and trehalose were fractionated and determined by the method of Trevelyan and Harrison (1956). Total carbohydrates and trehalose accumulated in A. niger during sporulation. The influences of nutritional starvation on the levels of cellular carbohydrates in A. niger, which was cultivated in each nitrogen, phosphate and glucose limited Czapeck-Dox medium, were studied. The levels of total carbohydrates and trehalose in A. niger cultivated in nitrogen limited medium increased much than those cultured in full medium. The total carborates and trehalose levels in A. niger cultivated in phosphate limited medium increased, but the increases were less than those cultured in nitrogen limitted medium. In glucose limited medium, any changes of total carbohydrates and trehalose levels were not found. It is considered that the biochemical mechanisms responsible for the changes of total carbohydrates and trehalose levels may be related with differentiation of Aspergillus niger.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.210-216
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• 2011

Capsaicin is a pungent component of red pepper, which is widely consumed as food adjuncts. The present study was performed to investigate anti-obesity effects of capsaicin in diet-induced obese rats. Male Sprague-Dawley rats (n=14) were fed with a high-fat diet (Control) or high-fat diet containing 0.016% capsaicin (w/w) (Capsaicin) for 8 weeks. The final body weight and the mass of white adipose tissue were significantly lower in capsaicin supplemented group compared to control. Dietary capsaicin ameliorated lipid profiles with decrease in the plasma concentrations of triglycerides and total cholesterol, and decrease in the levels of total lipids and triglycerides in the liver. Activity of glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH), an indicator of triglyceride biosynthesis in white adipose tissue, decreased by 35% in the group supplemented with capsaicin. However, consumption of capsaicin increased the expression of uncoupling protein 2 (UCP2) in white adipose tissue, which is related to energy consumption. Our data suggests that capsaicin may reduce body weight and fat accumulation in high fat diet-induced obese rats. These effects may be mediated, at least partially, by the upregulation of UCP2 gene expression and its ability to inhibit GPDH activity.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.341-350
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• 1993

As an effort to develop an alternative transportation fuel, the production of methanol from methane gas was studied using the resting cells of an obligatory methanotroph, Methylosinus trichosporium OB3b. The reaction was carried out in high concentration phosphate buffer solutions with the flask-grown cells containing the exclusively cytoplasmic methane monooxygenase (sMMO) activity. The methanol accumulation rate was observed to be 79nmo1/mg·min during the initial 4.5hr. Phosphate-dependent inhibition was found for both sMMO and methanol dehydrogenase (MDH) activities, and the inhibition constants were 185mM and 42mM, respectively. The inhibition mode was noncompetitive. Methanol was found to be very inhibitory to the sMMO activity and the inhibition constant (noncompetitive) was 21mM when propylene was used as substrate. The sMO activity in the resting cells was declined very fast and the rate became very high during the methanol production. These results indicate that the use of M. trichosporium OB3b as a biocatalyst for the methanol production is heavily dependent on the stable maintenance of the whole-cell SMO activity as well as the effective alleviation of product inhibition.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.492-497
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• 2021

Levels of sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P), an intercellular signaling molecule, reportedly increase in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluids of patients with asthma. Although the type 4 S1P receptor, S1P₄ has been detected in mast cells, its functions have been poorly investigated in an allergic asthma model in vivo. S1P₄ functions were evaluated following treatment of CYM50358, a selective antagonist of S1P₄, in an ovalbumin-induced allergic asthma model, and antigen-induced degranulation of mast cells. CYM50358 inhibited antigen-induced degranulation in RBL-2H3 mast cells. Eosinophil accumulation and an increase of Th2 cytokine levels were measured in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and via the inflammation of the lungs in ovalbumin-induced allergic asthma mice. CYM50358 administration before ovalbumin sensitization and before the antigen challenge strongly inhibited the increase of eosinophils and lymphocytes in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. CYM50358 administration inhibited the increase of IL-4 cytokines and serum IgE levels. Histological studies revealed that CYM50358 reduced inflammatory scores and PAS (periodic acid-Schiff)-stained cells in the lungs. The pro-allergic functions of S1P₄ were elucidated using in vitro mast cells and in vivo ovalbumin-induced allergic asthma model experiments. These results suggest that S1P₄ antagonist CYM50358 may have therapeutic potential in the treatment of allergic asthma.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.647-657
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• 2013

This experiment was done to evaluate the effects of green manure cropping in green house soil on the changes of soil nutrients and soil microorganisms. The biomass of green manure crop was the highest in ryegrass and nitrogen absorption was the highest in hairy vetch. After cropping, soil phosphate content was the lowest in ryegrass, however, biomass C was the highest of all the green manures. Nitrogen uptake of plant and nitrogen content of the soil after the experiment showed a negative correlation. Total N content of soil was increased in hairy vetch plot, but decreasing tendency showed in the ryegrass and common crabgrass plots. In this results are summarized that green manure cropping greatly reduced salt accumulation in green house.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.537-543
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• 2003

The mouse interferon gene (MuIFN-${\gamma}$) was cloned and then used to transform Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Expressed MuIFN-$\{gamma}$ protein (MuIFN-${\gamma}$) was successfully secreted into culture medium due to the presence oi the signal peptide of rice amylase 1A. Two different promoters fused to MuIFN-${\gamma}$ were tested: glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPD) promoter and a yeast hybrid ADH2-GPD (AG) promoter consisting of alcohol dehydrogenase II (ADH2) and GPD promoter. Using the hybrid promoter, the accumulation of MuIFN-${\gamma}$transcript was the highest after the 24 h cultivation, and then gradually decreased as the cultivation proceeded. However, both cell growth and recombinant MuIFN-${\gamma}$production reached their peaks after the 4-day cultivation. It was possible to produce 6.5 mg/l of MuIFN-${\gamma}$ without any changes in cell growth. Using GPD promoter, the MuIFN-${\gamma}$ transcript accumulation and the recombinant MuIFN-${\gamma}$ production followed the same pattern as the cell growth. However. compared to that of the hybrid promoter, the production of recombinant MuIFN-${\gamma}$ was 0.2 mg/l. The secreted MuIFN-${\gamma}$ had estimated molecular masses of 21 kDa and 23 kDa, which were larger than that of the encoded size due to glycosylation. The protection assay against the viral infection indicated that the recombinant MuIFN-${\gamma}$ was bioactive.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.32-38
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• 2009

In this study, we investigated the anti-obesity activity of the herbal extract mixture (HEM). The inhibitory effect of HEM on triglyceride accumulation of 3T3-L1 preadipocyte was examined by Oil-Red O staining. HEM inhibited the triglyceride accumulation of 3T3-L1 preadipocyte cell and reduced glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH) activity. We further investigated the effect of HEM in prevention of obesity in male ICR mouse for 5 weeks. Experimental groups were divided into high fat diet group (HFD), HFD supplemented with 100 mg/kg HEM group (HEM1) and HFD supplemented with 200 mg/kg HEM group (HEM2). Body weight and food efficiency ration of HEM1 and HEM2 was decreased by 52% and 50% and by 45% and 50%, respectively. The amount of adipocyte in body weight was decreased. Blood triglyceride and total cholesterol of HEM1 was significantly decreased. These results indicate that HEM may be useful in preventing obesity.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Tobacco Science
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.5-12
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• 1998

Pot experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of fly ash on growth responses and on accumulation of the heavy metals in soil. Two kinds of fly ash, anthracite and bituminous coal, were treated with different levels of 0, 0.4, 0.8, and 1.2 kg/pot(20L). Tobacco growth was better by application of fly ash than that by the control. However, the early stage of growth by application of bituminous coal, 1.2 kg/pot, was decreased due to the boron toxicity occurred by fly ash. Generally, tobacco yield was significantly increased with applying fly ash, showing the highest yield at 1.2 kg/pot for anthracite and at 0.8 kg/pot for bituminous coal. The content of total nitrogen in leaves was higher with fly ash than that of the control, while the content of calcium in leaves was low, Contents of heavy metal and the other minerals were not significantly different between the control and the treatment of fly ash. Soil pH after experiment was linearly increased with application level of fly ash, indicating that the application of bituminous coal was more effective than that of anthracite. Contents of available phosphate, exchangeable $Ca^{2+}$+ and $Mg^{2+}$ in soil were increased by application of fly ash, especially with bituminous coal. Contents of Cu, Cr, and Ni were increased with application level of bituminous coati even if the contents were still lower than critical levels for farming land. The other heavy metals were similar between the control and the application of fly ash.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.194-203
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• 2014

Yam (Dioscorea batatas) is widely consumed as functional food for health promotion mainly in East Asia countries. We assessed whether yam root (tuber) or bark (peel) extracts stimulated the activity of osteoblasts for osteogenesis. MC3T3-E1 cells (mouse osteoblasts) were treated with yam root extracts (water or methanol) (study I) or bark extracts (water or hexane) (study II) within $0{\sim}10{\mu}g/mL$ during the periods of osteoblast proliferation (5~10 day), matrix maturation (11~15 day) and mineralization (16~20 day) as appropriate. In study I, both yam root water and methanol extracts increased cell proliferation as concentration-dependent manner. Cellular collagen synthesis and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, both the indicators of bone matrix protein and inorganic phosphate production for calcification respectively, were also increased by yam root water and methanol extract. Osteoblast calcification as cell matrix Ca and P accumulation was also increased by the addition of yam root extracts. In study II, yam bark extracts (water and hexane) increased osteoblast proliferation and differentiation, as collagen synthesis and ALP activity and osteoblast matrix Ca and P deposition. The study results suggested that both yam root and bark extracts stimulate osteogenic function in osteoblasts by stimulating bone matrix maturation by increasing collagen synthesis, ALP activity, and matrix mineralization.