• Title/Summary/Keyword: R&E Program

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Arctigenin from Burdock Root Exhibits Potent Antibacterial and Anti-Virulence Properties against Pseudomonas aeruginosa

  • Abdulrahman E. Koshak;Mahmoud A. Elfaky;Hossam M. Abdallah;Dina A. I. Albadawi;Gamal A. Mohamed;Sabrin R. M. Ibrahim;Abdulrahim A. Alzain;El-Sayed Khafagy;Azza A. H. Rajab;Wael A. H. Hegazy
    • Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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    • v.34 no.8
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    • pp.1642-1652
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    • 2024
  • Arctium lappa (Burdock) root is used in various culinary applications especially in Asian Cuisine. Arctigenin (ARC) is a polyphenolic compound abundant in the roots of the burdock plant from which it derives its name. The emergence of bacterial resistance is a growing global worry, specifically due to the declining availability of new antibiotics. Screening for the antibacterial candidates among the safe natural products is a promising approach. The present study was aimed to assess the antibacterial activity of ARC against Pseudomonas aeruginosa exploring its effect on the bacterial cell membrane. Furthermore, the anti-virulence activities and anti-quorum sensing (QS) activities of ARC were in vitro, in vivo and in silico assessed against P. aeruginosa. The current results showed the ARC antibacterial activity was owed to its disruption effect of the cell membrane. ARC at sub-MIC significantly decreased the formation of biofilm, motility, production of extracellular enzymes and in vivo protected mice against P. aeruginosa. These anti-virulence activities of ARC are owed to its interference with bacterial QS and its expression. Furthermore, ARC showed mild effect on mammalian erythrocytes, low probability to induce resistance and synergistically combined with antibiotics. In summary, the promising anti-virulence properties of ARC indicate its potential as an effective supplement to conventional antibiotics for treating severe P. aeruginosa infections.

Comparison of Ultrasound Image Quality using Edge Enhancement Mask (경계면 강조 마스크를 이용한 초음파 영상 화질 비교)

  • Jung-Min, Son;Jun-Haeng, Lee
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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    • v.17 no.1
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    • pp.157-165
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    • 2023
  • Ultrasound imaging uses sound waves of frequencies to cause physical actions such as reflection, absorption, refraction, and transmission at the edge between different tissues. Improvement is needed because there is a lot of noise due to the characteristics of the data generated from the ultrasound equipment, and it is difficult to grasp the shape of the tissue to be actually observed because the edge is vague. The edge enhancement method is used as a method to solve the case where the edge surface looks clumped due to a decrease in image quality. In this paper, as a method to strengthen the interface, the quality improvement was confirmed by strengthening the interface, which is the high-frequency part, in each image using an unsharpening mask and high boost. The mask filtering used for each image was evaluated by measuring PSNR and SNR. Abdominal, head, heart, liver, kidney, breast, and fetal images were obtained from Philips epiq5g and affiniti70g and Alpinion E-cube 15 ultrasound equipment. The program used to implement the algorithm was implemented with MATLAB R2022a of MathWorks. The unsharpening and high-boost mask array size was set to 3*3, and the laplacian filter, a spatial filter used to create outline-enhanced images, was applied equally to both masks. ImageJ program was used for quantitative evaluation of image quality. As a result of applying the mask filter to various ultrasound images, the subjective image quality showed that the overall contour lines of the image were clearly visible when unsharpening and high-boost mask were applied to the original image. When comparing the quantitative image quality, the image quality of the image to which the unsharpening mask and the high boost mask were applied was evaluated higher than that of the original image. In the portal vein, head, gallbladder, and kidney images, the SNR, PSNR, RMSE and MAE of the image to which the high-boost mask was applied were measured to be high. Conversely, for images of the heart, breast, and fetus, SNR, PSNR, RMSE and MAE values were measured as images with the unsharpening mask applied. It is thought that using the optimal mask according to the image will help to improve the image quality, and the contour information was provided to improve the image quality.

A Role for Leu247 Residue within Transmembrane Domain 2 in Ginsenoside-Mediated α7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Regulation

  • Lee, Byung-Hwan;Choi, Sun-Hye;Pyo, Mi Kyung;Shin, Tae-Joon;Hwang, Sung-Hee;Kim, Bo-Ra;Lee, Sang-MoK;Lee, Jun-Ho;Lee, Joon-Hee;Lee, Hui Sun;Choe, Han;Han, Kyou-Hoon;Kim, Hyoung-Chun;Rhim, Hyewhon;Yong, Joon-Hwan;Nah, Seung-Yeol
    • Molecules and Cells
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    • v.27 no.5
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    • pp.591-599
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    • 2009
  • Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) play important roles in nervous system functions and are involved in a variety of diseases. We previously demonstrated that ginsenosides, the active ingredients of Panax ginseng, inhibit subsets of nAChR channel currents, but not ${\alpha}7$, expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes. Mutation of the highly conserved Leu247 to Thr247 in the transmembrane domain 2 (TM2) channel pore region of ${\alpha}7$ nAChR induces alterations in channel gating properties and converts ${\alpha}7$ nAChR antagonists into agonists. In the present study, we assessed how point mutations in the Leu247 residue leading to various amino acids affect 20(S)-ginsenoside $Rg_3$ ($Rg_3$) activity against the ${\alpha}7$ nAChR. Mutation of L247 to L247A, L247D, L247E, L247I, L247S, and L247T, but not L247K, rendered mutant receptors sensitive to $Rg_3$. We further characterized $Rg_3$ regulation of L247T receptors. We found that $Rg_3$ inhibition of mutant ${\alpha}7$ nAChR channel currents was reversible and concentration-dependent. $Rg_3$ inhibition was strongly voltage-dependent and noncompetitive manner. These results indicate that the interaction between $Rg_3$ and mutant receptors might differ from its interaction with the wild-type receptor. To identify differences in $Rg_3$ interactions between wild-type and L247T receptors, we utilized docked modeling. This modeling revealed that $Rg_3$ forms hydrogen bonds with amino acids, such as Ser240 of subunit I and Thr244 of subunit II and V at the channel pore, whereas $Rg_3$ localizes at the interface of the two wild-type receptor subunits. These results indicate that mutation of Leu247 to Thr247 induces conformational changes in the wild-type receptor and provides a binding pocket for $Rg_3$ at the channel pore.

The Effect of Coffee Consumption on Serum Total Cholesterol Level in Healthy Middle-Aged Men (건강한 중년 남성에서 커피 음용 습관이 혈중 총 콜레스테롤 값에 미치는 영향)

  • Shin, Myung-Hee;Kim, Dong-Hyun;Bae, Jong-Myun;Lee, Hyung-Ki;Lee, Moo-Song;Noh, Joon-Yang;Ahn, Yoon-Ok
    • Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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    • v.27 no.2 s.46
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    • pp.200-216
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    • 1994
  • In present study, the authors investigated the possible effect of coffee consumption on serum cholesterol level in 1017 men between the ages of 40 and 59 years, who were randomly selected from the members of Seoul Cohort Study. Serum total cholesterol data was collected with other serologic indices (e.g. systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, hight, weight, etc.) through the program of biennial health check-up offered by Korean Medical Insurance Corporation (KMIC). The amount of coffee consumption was assessed by a self-administered questionnaire through mailing. Other confounding factors, such as age, body mass index, cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity, and other dietary intake pattern were also determined by the questionnaire. The differences in means of serum total cholesterol in compared to non consumers were $-0.4{\pm}3.56mg/dl$ for those drinking less than 1 cup a day, $-0.6{\pm}3.60mg/dl$ for those drinking 1 cup a day, and $7.1{\pm}3.41mg/dl$ for those drinking more than 2 cups a day. Since smoking interacted the relationship between coffee consumption and serum total choleaterol, we re-analyzed those relationship in smokers and non-smokers separately Other atherogenic behaviors were well correlated with total cholesterol, so we adjusted the mean values of serum total cholesterol through multivariate model selection with age(r=0.12), total cigarette index (cigarette-years; r=0.10), Quetelet's index ($Kg/m^2$, r=0.16), daily calory expenditure (kcal/day, r=0.06), weekly meat and poultry consumption(g/week, r=0.05), weekly fish consumption (g/week, r=0.08), other caffeinated beverage intake (cups/week), and the amount of sugar and prim added to the coffee. Among those variables only age, Quetelet's index, fish consumption, and total cigarette index (in smokers) were remained in the models. After adjustment, the corresponing differences of total cholesterol in smokers were changed to $0.4{\pm}5.24mg/dl,\;-0.5{\pm}4.97mg/dl,\;and\;8.9{\pm}4.78mg/dl$, which were significantly different among themselves (P=0.011). In non-smokers, however, the differences were not statistically significant (P=0.76). Adjusted mean values of systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure were also determined to evaluate the direct effect of coffee to cardiovascular system, but their means were not significantly different by coffee consumption(p=0.18 for SBP, p=0.48 for DBP). Asuming instant coffee in the most popular type of coffee in Korea, the association observed in our study between coffee and serum total cholesterol, especially in smokers, is very interesting finding for the connection between coffee and serum total cholesterol, because only 'boiled coffee' tend to show significant lipid raising effect rather than to other types of coffee, like filtered or espresso, in most of the western countries. We concluded that people who drink coffee more than 2 cups a day have significantly higher serum total cholesterol level than those who never drink coffee, especially in smokers.

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Applied Analysis for Metabolic Profiling of Trace-level Amino Acid in Biological Fluid (생체시료 중 미량 아미노산 대사 프로필을 위한 분석법 응용)

  • Nam, Hyung Wook;Park, Song-Ja;Pyo, Hee Soo;Paeng, Ki Jung
    • Analytical Science and Technology
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    • v.16 no.5
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    • pp.349-357
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    • 2003
  • The universality of low molecular weight metabolites (i.e. amino acids, steroid hormones) allows rapid and straightforward investigation of biochemistry of genetically un-characterized species. Thus in vivo metabolic profiling of amino acid in combination with multivariate data analysis (metabolomics) offers great potential in comparative biology. In this paper, amino acid profiles in biological fluid (media) were studied by using HPLC/FLD. HPLC procedure for amino acids require the formation of derivatives due to the low absorption of the free compounds. o-Phthalaldehyde (OPA) used in association with a thiol, such as 3-mercaptopropionic acid (3-MPA), is one of the most popular and sensitive reagents, which yield quickly fluorescent iso-indoles at room temperature. To improve unstability of OPA/3-MPA derivatization, we optimized injector programs for fixed injection times. Linear regressions for the standard curves were linear in the range 0.5 - 100.0 ppb, giving correlation coefficents above 0.99. The detection limit were 1.70 pmol(GLU) - 23.81 pmol(SER). It is practically useful when the amount of sample is very low on single cells.

Radiation, Energy, and Entropy Exchange in an Irrigated-Maize Agroecosystem in Nebraska, USA (미국 네브라스카의 관개된 옥수수 농업생태계의 복사, 에너지 및 엔트로피의 교환)

  • Yang, Hyunyoung;Indriwati, Yohana Maria;Suyker, Andrew E.;Lee, Jihye;Lee, Kyung-do;Kim, Joon
    • Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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    • v.22 no.1
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    • pp.26-46
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    • 2020
  • An irrigated-maize agroecosystem is viewed as an open thermodynamic system upon which solar radiation impresses a large gradient that moves the system away from equilibrium. Following the imperative of the second law of thermodynamics, such agroecosystem resists and reduces the externally applied gradient by using all means of this nature-human coupled system acting together as a nonequilibrium dissipative process. The ultimate purpose of our study is to test this hypothesis by examining the energetics of agroecosystem growth and development. As a first step toward this test, we employed the eddy covariance flux data from 2003 to 2014 at the AmeriFlux NE1 irrigated-maize site at Mead, Nebraska, USA, and analyzed the energetics of this agroecosystem by scrutinizing its radiation, energy and entropy exchange. Our results showed: (1) more energy capture during growing season than non-growing season, and increasing energy capture through growing season until senescence; (2) more energy flow activity within and through the system, providing greater potential for degradation; (3) higher efficiency in terms of carbon uptake and water use through growing season until senescence; and (4) the resulting energy degradation occurred at the expense of increasing net entropy accumulation within the system as well as net entropy transfer out to the surrounding environment. Under the drought conditions in 2012, the increased entropy production within the system was accompanied by the enhanced entropy transfer out of the system, resulting in insignificant net entropy change. Drought mitigation with more frequent irrigation shifted the main route of entropy transfer from sensible to latent heat fluxes, yielding the production and carbon uptake exceeding the 12-year mean values at the cost of less efficient use of water and light.

Current State of Vocational Rehabilitation Program for Individuals with Disabling Mental Illness in Korea (우리나라 정신장애인 직업재활 현황 조사연구)

  • Han, Myung Hun;Kim, Ji-Woong;Kim, Do Yoon;Park, Hye Sun;Park, Hanson;Hwang, Tae-Yeon;Seo, Yongjin;Kim, Seung-Jun;Im, Woo-Young;Lee, Sang Min
    • Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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    • v.25 no.2
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    • pp.145-152
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    • 2017
  • Objectives : There has been long lasting trend of deinstitutionalization and public health centered care in management of individuals with disabling mental illness. We aimed to investigate current vocational rehabilitation state and effectiveness of system in korea. Methods : We carried basic survey via telephone and e-mail beforehand to figure out how many and which institutions are operating vocational rehabilitation programs to psychiatric patients. A questionnaire packages were sent to total of 108 institutions in Korea which were operating occupation rehabilitation program. Results : Of 108 institutions, 40.74% were returned with answers. The person in charge of vocational rehabilitation at each institution was mainly mental health social worker(48.8%), and the budget under \1,000,000 was the majority(61.5%) among surveyed institutions. The most commonly used vocational rehabilitation programs was case management(23.1%), followed by psychosocial rehabilitation program(21.2%), and on-the-job training(17.9%). The most effective program was case management(27.4%), followed by psychosocial rehabilitation program(19.8%), on-the-job training(17.9%). The main barrier of occupation rehabilitation to be conducted widely was 'worries about being excluded from beneficiary of National Basic livelihood Protection Act'. Conclusions : Our results suggest that, in spite of high demand in vocational rehabilitation programs, government financial support is still lacking.

The Effect of the Range of Motion Exercise on Powerlessness and Life Satisfaction in the Elderly (근관절운동이 노인의 무력감 정도에 미치는 영향)

  • 신재신
    • Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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    • v.23 no.1
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    • pp.107-117
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    • 1993
  • This study was a clinical Quasi-experiment to examine the effects of the range of motion exercise on powerlessness and life satisfaction among the E-Institutionalized elderly in Pusan. The purpose was to test the effect of the range of motion exercises on powerlessness and life satis-faction, and to examine the correlation between powerlessness and life satisfaction. The subjects for this study were 54 elderly people, both were over 60 and residing at I-Institution in Pusan. The research samples of 54 elderly were divided into an experimental and control group by matching randomized assignment. The instruments for this study were the Assessment Tool of Powerlessness in the elderly developed by Miller, Life satisfaction developed by Yoon Jin, and the Active-Passive Range of Motion Exercise Program which was developed and utilized by Shin, Jae-Shin. The data were collected from December 15, 1990 to November 1991. The paired t-test, t-test and ANCOVA were used to test hypothesis I and II, related to the Effect of the Range of Motion Exercises to powerlessness and life satisfaction. To identify the relationship of the range of motion exercises to powerlessness and life satisfaction, path analysis was done through multiple regression. The interrelationship of the variables was analyzed using t-test paired t-test. The results of the three hypothesis can be summarized as follows : 1. Hypothesis I -the experimental group which participated in the Range of Motion Exercise gets lower powerlessness score than that of the control group-was accepted by t-test (t = -3.40, p = .001) but not accepted by ANCOVA (F = .1, p =.96). 2. Hypothesis II - the experimental group which participated in the Range of Motion Exercise gets a higher Life Satisfaction Score than that of the control group-was not supported by t-test(t = 1.01, p = .316) but was accepted by ANCOVA (F = 4.39, p = .006). 3. Hypothesis III - if the powerlessness Score becomes higher, the Life Satisfaction Score will be-come lower - was accepted by Pearson Correlation Coefficient (pre-exercise : r : -.34, p=.006), (post exercise : r = -.06, p=.32) . The relation-ship between the score of powerlessness and life satisfaction was negatively correlated. The results obtained clearly showed that the effects of the range of motion exercises on powerlessness and life satisfaction are beneficial to the elderly The relation between the scores of powerlessness and life satisfaction was negatively correlated and the range of motion exercise had a direct influence to powerlessness. Therefore, it is concluded that the relationship between powerlessness and life satis-faction was not a causal one. Also it is concluded that the range of motion exercises can be applied as a nursing intervention to reduce powerlessness and to improve life satisfaction in the elderly.

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Review on asbestos analysis (석면 분석방법에 대한 고찰)

  • Ham, Seung hon;Hwang, Sung Ho;Yoon, Chungsik;Park, Donguk
    • Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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    • v.19 no.3
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    • pp.213-232
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    • 2009
  • This document was prepared to review and summarize the analytical methods for airborne and bulk asbestos. Basic principles, shortcomings and advantages for asbestos analytical instruments using phase contrast microscopy(PCM), polarized light microscopy(PLM), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), transmission electron microscopy(TEM), scanning electron microscopy(SEM) were reviewed. Both PCM and PLM are principal instrument for airborne and bulk asbestos analysis, respectively. If needed, analytical electron microscopy is employed to confirm asbestos identification. PCM is used originally for workplace airborne asbestos fiber and its application has been expanded to measure airborne fiber. Shortcoming of PCM is that it cannot differentiate true asbestos from non asbestos fiber form and its low resolution limit ($0.2{\sim}0.25{\mu}m$). The measurement of airborne asbestos fiber can be performed by EPA's Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA) method, World Health Organization (WHO) method, International Standard Organization (ISO) 10312 method, Japan's Environmental Asbestos Monitoring method, and Standard method of Indoor Air Quality of Korea. The measurement of airborne asbestos fiber in workplace can be performed by National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) 7400 method, NIOSH 7402 method, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) ID-160 method, UK's Health and Safety Executive(HSE) Methods for the determination of hazardous substances (MDHS) 39/4 method and Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (KOSHA) CODE-A-1-2004 method of Korea. To analyze the bulk asbestos, stereo microscope (SM) and PLM is required by EPA -600/R-93/116 method. Most bulk asbestos can be identified by SM and PLM but one limitation of PLM is that it can not see very thin fiber (i.e., < $0.25{\mu}m$). Bulk asbestos analytical methods, including EPA-600/M4-82-020, EPA-600/R-93/116, OSHA ID-191, Laboratory approval program of New York were reviewed. Also, analytical methods for asbestos in soil, dust, water were briefly discussed. Analytical electron microscope, a transmission electron microscope equipped with selected area electron diffraction (SAED) and energy dispersive X-ray analyser(EDXA), has been known to be better to identify asbestiform than scanning electron microscope(SEM). Though there is no standard SEM procedures, SEM is known to be more suitable to analyze long, thin fiber and more cost-effective. Field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) imaging protocol was developed to identify asbestos fiber. Although many asbestos analytical methods are available, there is no method that can be applied to all type of samples. In order to detect asbestos with confidence, all advantages and disadvantages of each instrument and method for given sample should be considered.

Purification and Characterization of the Bacteriocin Produced by Lactococcus sp. KD 28 Isolated from Kimchi (김치에서 분리한 Lactococcus lactis가 생산하는 박테리오신의 정제 및 특성)

  • Lee, Ji-Young;Choi, Nack-Shick;Chun, Sung-Sik;Moon, Ja-Young;Kang, Dae-Ook
    • Journal of Life Science
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    • v.25 no.2
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    • pp.180-188
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    • 2015
  • The bacterial strain isolated from Kimchi showed antibacterial activity against Micrococcus luteus IAM 1056. The selected strain was identified as Lactococcus lactis by 16S rRNA nucleotide sequence analysis and named as Lactococcus sp. KD 28. The treatment of culture supernatant with proteinase K removed antibacterial activity, indicating its proteinaceous nature, a bacteriocin. This bacteriocin was sensitive to hydrolytic enzymes such as ${\alpha}$-chymotrypsion, trypsin, proteinase K, lipase, ${\alpha}$-amylase and subtilisin A. The bacteriocin was highly thermostable and resistant to heating at $80^{\circ}C$ for up to an hour but 50 % of the total activity was remained at $100^{\circ}C$ for 30 min. The pH range from 2.0 to 8.0 had no effect on bacteriocin activity and it was not affected by solvents such as acetonitrile, isopropanol, methanol, chloroform and acetone up to 50% concentration. The bacteriocin showed antibacterial activity against M. luteus IAM 1056, Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. lactis KCTC 1058, Enterococcus faecium KCTC 3095, Bacillus cereus KCTC 1013, B. subtilis KCTC 1023, Listeria ivanovii subsp. ivanovii KCTC 3444, Staphylococcus aureus subsp. aureus KCTC 1916, B. megaterium KCTC 1098 and B. sphaericus KCTC 1184. The bacteriocin was purified through ammonium sulfate concentration, SP-Sepharose chromatography and RP-HPLC. The molecular weight was estimated to be about 3.4 kDa by tricine-SDS-PAGE analysis.