• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.3 no.5
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• pp.521-528
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• 1999

Reactive oxygen species (ROS), generated by infiltrating neutrophils, are considered as an important regulator in the pathogenesis and deveolpment of pancreatitis. The present study aims to investigate whether neutrophils primed by $4{\beta}-phorbol\;12{\beta}-myristate\;13{\alpha}-acetate$ (PMA) affect the productions $H_2O_2$ and lipid peroxide (LPO), $NF-_{\kappa}B$ activation and cytokine production in pancreatic acinar cells, and whether these alterations were inhibited by an antioxidant, N-acetylcysteine (NAC) and superoxide dismutase (SOD). $H_2O_2$ (ferrithiocyanate method), LPO (as thiobarbiturate reactive substances), and cytokines $(IL-l{\bata},\; IL-6,\;TNF-{\alpha};\;enzyme-linked\;immunosorbent\;assay)$ and $NF-_{\kappa}B$ activation (electrophoretic mobility shift assay) were analyzed in acinar cells treated with or without PMA-primed neutrophils in the absence or presence of NAC (10 mM) or SOD (300 U/ml). As a result, the productions of H2O2, LPO and $TNF-{\alpha}$ were increased with the ratio of PMA-primed neutrophils to acinar cells while the productions of LPO, $IL-l{\beta},\;IL-6\;and\;TNF-{\alpha}$ were increased with time. PMA-primed neutrophils resulted in the activation of $NF-_{\kappa}B.$ Both NAC and SOD inhibited neutrophil-induced alterations in acinar cells. In conclusion, ROS, generated by neutrophils, activates $NF-_{\kappa}B,$ resulting in upregulation of inflammatary cytokines in acinar cells. Antioxidants might be clinically useful antiinflammatory agents by inhibiting oxidant-mediated activation of $NF-_{\kappa}B$ and decreasing cytokine production.

• The Korean Journal of Malacology
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.77-86
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• 2011

The unwanted artificial oil-spill has severely contaminated the coastal environment in the world. Level of contamination has so far been monitered by various indicator species including mussel, oysters, flounder, and cockle. In this study, we decided to use the oyster as a model organism to observe the morphological changes being exposed to the artificial oil-spill in the coastal areas in Taean, Korea. The oysters were collected from four local sites (Sindu-ri, Uiwang-ri, Jonghyeon-dong, Ansan and Uihang-ri) exposed to various levels of pollution after an oil spill in Taean. Microscopic analysis of the hepatopancreatic microstructure in the digestive gland from the collected oysters show that the swelling, whorl, and destruction phenomenon of the nuclear membrane, a well-known microstructure induced by heavy metal exposure, was observed. Nuclear body (Nb), another typical characteristic of contamination or infection were also observed in some samples. Necrosis was observed in tissue samples collected from the area with a high degree of oil pollution. In addition, parasite-like particles (virus, perkinsus) were observed in most samples. Taken together, these results suggest that oil contamination in the oyster habitats influences the cytopathological changes in Crassostrea gigas.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.178-182
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• 2014

Yeasts are common inhabitants of the phyllosphere, but our knowledge of their diversity in various fruits and blossoms are limited. We collected different kinds of blossoms and unripened fruits from Hanbat arboretum, Daejeon, Korea at the year of 2013. Yeasts were isolated by plating of suspensions prepared for collected samples onto YPD medium containing antibiotics. BLAST searches were subsequently performed for the comparison of the partially determined sequences of D1/D2 domain of 26S rDNA. As a result, we isolated 57 yeast strains of 31 species from 29 different kinds of blossoms and 6 kinds of fruits samples. We found huge differences in yeast flora depending on the sample collection season.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.525-532
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• 2015

In order to determine the testicular cycle of the Asian toad, Bufo gargarizans, adult males of the species were captured around Jeongeup city (Jeollabuk-do, Korea) during March, 2012 to February, 2013 and the gonadosomatic index (GSI) and the changes of germ cells in their testes were investigated throughout the year. The study indicated that the spermatogenesis in the seminiferous tubule of testes began in April and became most active in July. The recorded GSI was the highest and the cross area of seminiferous tubule was the widest in this period. The seminiferous tubules at the post spawning stage appeared in February, the largest amounts occurred in March and primary spermatogonia also appeared in this period. The GSI and the cross area of seminiferous tubules were found to be the lowest in March, indicating a testicular cycle with potentially continuous spermatogenic process. According to the findings above, it is confirmed that testicular spermatogenesis takes place actively between April to July in male Asian toad and that their breeding season is February to March.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.201-206
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• 2014

Sixty one yeast strains of 21 species were isolated from wild flowers in Gogunsanyeoldo, including Seonyudo of Jeollabuk-do, Korea, and identified by comparison of nucleotide sequences for PCR-amplified D1/D2 region of 26S rDNA using BLAST. Among them, Cryptococcus sp. including C. aureus SY1-4 were found to be dominant, and Metschnikowia sp. including M. reukaufii SY20-1 and Rhodotnula sp. such as R. ingeniosa SY1-1 were also abundantly isolated. Some physiological functionalities of the culture broth and cell-free extracts from 61 yeast strains were determined. Supernatant from Metschnilowia reukaufii SY44-6 showed anti-gout xanthine oxidase inhibitory activity of 49.6% and whitening tyrosinase inhibitory activity of 38.4%, respectively.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.323-327
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• 2004

The purpose of the present experiment was to investigate the micronuclei(MN) frequency in cytokinesis-blocked(CB) cells after various doses of gamma-rays in pig (Landrace, male, 3-month-old) and so to contribute to the clarification of the question whether these species are suitable as a target organism in the test system. The frequencies of binucleated cells, and gamma-ray-induced MN in CB cells at several doses were measured in three donors. The peaks of binucleated lymphocyte formation(22%) were found at a concentration of 2% phytohaemagglutinin(PHA) and $4{\mu}g/ml$ Cytochalasin B(Cyt-B) in pig at 72 hours after incubation. Measurements performed after irradiation showed a dose-related increases in MN frequency in each of the donors studied. When analysed by linear-quadratic model the line of best fit was $y=0.0183D+0.0124D^2+0.0133$(y = number of MN/CB cells and D=irradiation dose in Gy). In conclusion, the results demonstrate that it appears feasible to use pig as target organisms in the micronucleus test to estimate the cytogenetic damage caused by ionizing radiations or, potentially, chemical compounds.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.433-441
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• 2016

Many large dams have been constructed for water supply, irrigation, flood control and hydropower in Korea for the last century. Meanwhile, recent studies indicated that the artificial reservoirs impounded by these dams are major sources of carbon dioxide (CO₂) to the atmosphere and relevant to global budget of green house gases. However, limited information is available on the seasonal variations of CO₂ evasion from the reservoirs located in the temperate monsoon regions including Korea. The objectives of this study were to estimate daily Net Atmospheric Flux (NAF) of CO₂ in Daecheong Reservoir located in Geum River basin of Korea, and analyze the influencing parameters that characterize the variation of NAF. Daily pH and alkalinity (Alk) data collected in wet year (2012) and dry year (2013) were used for estimating the NAFs in the reservoir. The dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) was computed using the pH and Alk measurements supposing an equilibrium state among the carbonate species. The results showed seasonal variations of NAF; negative NAFs from May to October when the primary production of the reservoir increased with water temperature increase, while positive NAF for the rest of the period. Overall the reservoir acted as sources of CO₂ to the atmosphere. The estimated NAFs were 2,590 and 771 mg CO₂ m^-2d^-1 in 2012 and 2013, respectively, indicating that the NAFs vary a large extent for different hydrological years. Statistical analysis indicated that the NAFs are negatively correlated to pH, water temperature, and Chl-a concentration of the reservoir.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.545-551
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• 1994

Ethanol extract of barks, roots, stems, leaves and seeds of 49 species of plants were examined their growth inhibition by disk method on Listeria monocytogenes ATCC 19111, ATCC 19112, ATCC 19113, ATCC 19114 and ATCC 15313. The extracts exhibited comparatively strong growth inhibition were compared their activity with broth culture containing different concentration of the extracts. L. monocytogenes ATCC 19111 was inhibited by Siegesbeckia pubescens Makino and Morus alba Linne (Ma) extracts. L. monocytogenes ATCC 19112 and ATCC 19114 were inhibited by Ma extract. ATCC 19113 was inhibited by Sophora flavescens AITON and Ma extract. ATCC 15313 was inhibited by Foeniculum vulgare Gaertner, Prunella vulgaris Var lilacina Nakai and Ma extract. Ma extract showed comparatively good inhibition effect for 5 strains of L. monoytogenes. 500 ppm of Ma extract almost inhibited the growth of all L. monocytogenes tested.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.30 no.11
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• pp.1640-1650
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• 2020

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the leading cause of common malignant neoplasm worldwide. Many studies have analyzed compositions of gut microbiota associated with various diseases such as inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) and colon cancer. One of the most representative bacteria involved in CRC is enterotoxigenic Bacteroides fragilis (ETBF), a species belonging to phylum Bacteroidetes. We used ETBF colonized mice with azoxymethane (AOM)/dextran sulphate sodium (DSS) and zerumbone, a compound with anti-bacterial effect, to determine whether zerumbone could restore intestinal microbiota composition. Four experimental groups of mice were used: sham, ETBF colonized AOM/DSS group, ETBF colonized AOM/DSS group zerumbone 60 mg kg-1 (ETBF/AOM/DSS + Z (60)), and only zerumbone (60 mg kg^-1)-treated group. We performed reversible dye terminators-based analysis of 16S rRNA gene region V3-V4 for group comparison. Microbiota compositions of ETBF/AOM/DSS + Z (60) group and ETBF colonized AOM/DSS group not given zerumbone were significantly different. There were more Bacteroides in ETBF/AOM/DSS + Z (60) group than those in ETBF colonized AOM/DSS group, suggesting that B. fragilis could be a normal flora activated by zerumbone. In addition, based on linear discriminant analysis of effect size (LEfSe) analysis, microbial diversity decreased significantly in the ETBF colonized AOM/DSS group. However, after given zerumbone, the taxonomic relative abundance was increased. These findings suggest that zerumbone not only influenced the microbial diversity and richness, but also could be helpful for enhancing the balance of gut microbial composition. In this work, we demonstrate that zerumbone could restore the composition of intestinal microbiota.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Surface Engineering Conference
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• 2016.11a
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• pp.105-105
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• 2016

Recently, high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HIPIMS) has attracted considerable attentions due to its high potential for industrial applications. By pulsing the sputtering target with high power density and short duration pulses, a high plasma density and high ionization of the sputtered species can be obtained. HIPIMS has exhibited several merits such as increased coating density, good adhesion, microparticle-free and smooth surface, which make the HIPIMS technique desirable for synthesizing hard coatings. However, hard coatings present intrinsic defects (columnar structures, pinholes, pores, discontinuities) which can affect the corrosion behavior, especially when substrates are active alloys like steel or in a wear-corrosion process. Atomic layer deposition (ALD), a CVD derived method with a broad spectrum of applications, has shown great potential for corrosion protection of high-precision metallic parts or systems. In ALD deposition, the growth proceeds through cyclic repetition of self-limiting surface reactions, which leads to the thin films possess high quality, low defect density, uniformity, low-temperature processing and exquisite thickness control. These merits make ALD an ideal candidate for the fabrication of excellent oxide barrier layer which can block the pinhole and other defects left in the coating structure to improve the corrosion protection of hard coatings. In this work, CrN/Al2O3/CrN multilayered coatings were synthesized by a hybrid process of HIPIMS and ALD techniques, aiming to improve the CrN hard coating properties. The influence of the Al2O3 interlayer addition, the thickness and intercalation position of the Al2O3 layer in the coatings on the microstructure, surface roughness, mechanical properties and corrosion behaviors were investigated. The results indicated that the dense Al2O3 interlayer addition by ALD lead to a significant decrease of the average grain size and surface roughness and greatly improved the mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of the CrN coatings. The thickness increase of the Al2O3 layer and intercalation position change to near the coating surface resulted in improved mechanical properties and corrosion resistance. The mechanism can be explained by that the dense Al2O3 interlayer acted as an excellent barrier for dislocation motion and diffusion of the corrosive substance.