• Korean Journal of Microbiology
• /
• v.48 no.1
• /
• pp.52-56
• /
• 2012

The aim of this study was to evaluate the antimicrobial effect of carvacrol against periodontopathic and cariogenic bacteria and its cytotoxicity in human oral tissue cells. We tested their antibacterial properties against mutans streptococci and five major periodontopathic bacterial species involved in periodontal disease. The antimicrobial activity was evaluated by the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC). The cell viability of carvacrol on normal human gingival fibroblast (NHGF) cells was tested by metyl thiazolyl tetrazolium assay. The data showed that carvacrol had remarkable antimicrobial effect on tested bacteria with a MIC and MBC values ranged from 16 to $128{\mu}g/ml$ and from 32 to $128{\mu}g/ml$, respectively. In cell toxicity studies, carvacrol had significantly decreased cell viability when NHGF cells were treated at $128{\mu}g/ml$. These findings suggest that carvacrol has a strong antimicrobial activity against periodontopathic and cariogenic bacteria. However, in order to use it as a component of gargling solution or toothpaste, its concentration should be below $64{\mu}g/ml$ and other compounds having an antimicrobial activity against periodontopathic and cariogenic bacteria should be used together.

• KSBB Journal
• /
• v.23 no.1
• /
• pp.65-69
• /
• 2008

The culture broth of a ${\beta}$-glucan-producing bacterium, Paenibacillus polymyxa JB115, was confirmed to show the antibiosis against pathogenic bacteria of livestock disease. The antibacterial substance produced by P. polymyxa JB115 exhibited strong bactericidal or bacteriostatic effect on the growth of livestock pathogenic bacteria including Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella choleraesuis, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. This antibacterial substance also showed high stabilities in broad pH range (pH 3-11) and in broad temperature range $(40-121^{\circ}C)$, which is good enough to apply spray-dry method for the formulation of culture broth. It was also found that the antibacterial substance was very stable in artificial gastric fluid and bile acid, which implies the anticipated antibacterial activity against gastrointestinal bacteria harmful for livestocks. In conclusion, the culture broth of P. polymyxa JB115 can be developed as a multifuctional feed additive containing immune-enhancing ${\beta}$-glucan as well as antibacterial agent against livestock pathogenic bacteria.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
• /
• v.41 no.6
• /
• pp.782-789
• /
• 2012

This study was designed to evaluate the anti-metabolic syndrome effects of capsule-filled cheonggukjang (CGJ) added with arrowroot (Pueraria thunbergiana) extracts on body weight, adiposity and lipid metabolism in ob/ob mice. Experimental groups were normal control group (NC: basal diet), positive control group (PC: 2% CGJ), CGJ added with arrowroot extracts group (AR: 2% arrowroot in CGJ), and capsule-filled CGJ added with arrowroot extracts group (ARC: 2% arrowroot CGJ capsule). Each group was fed experimental diet for 10 weeks. Final body weight gain and atherogenic index were significantly lower in the ARC than NC group. Serum levels of total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, and triglycerides, blood glucose and atherogenic index were significantly lower in the ARC than NC group. Furthermore, fatty liver and regional lipid accumultion in ob/ob mice were inhibited in the ARC group. The hepatic activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione S-transferase were significantly higher in the ARC than NC group. Therefore, the anti-matabolic syndrome effects of the ARC group were higher than the AR group. In conclusion, these results indicated that CGJ added with arrowroot mediates its anti-obesity effects in ob/ob mice by improving lipid metabolism and antioxidant enzyme.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
• /
• v.19 no.1
• /
• pp.67-71
• /
• 1986

Concentration of dissolved $vitamin\;B_{12}$ in the water of Okjeong lake have been determined by microbiological assay methods on the 20th of August, 1983. Also the relations between the $vitamin\;B_{12}$ and other physical, chemical and biological environmental factors were investigated. $Vitamin\;B_{12}$ was assayed with Euglena gracilis Z strain. The results obtained in this investigation were as follows : 1. Generally, the values of COD and $Cl^-$ were higher than values reported in 1981. 2. The concentration of nutrient salts in the lake water was found to be at a higher level: above the general criterion in a eutrophic lake viz., phosphorous 0.175-0.225 mg/l. 3. Chlorophyll a contents in this lake were $1.1-8.7{\mu}g/l$, 4. The concentration of $vitamin\;B_{12}$ in the water fairly high: 1.25-6.0 ng. It is apparent that concentrations of the $vitamin\;B_{12}$ as well as nutrient salts were high in the water of Okjeong lake. It was found that Okjeong lake was in eutrophic.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
• /
• v.15 no.5
• /
• pp.263-269
• /
• 2017

Pulmonary function test (PFT) is a test method to determine respiratory disease. In order to obtain accurate PFT results, it is absolutely necessary to induce the inspector and cooperate with the patient. This study was to observe the importance of understanding and posture of the patient in spirometry. In 2016, 110 healthy experimenter performed spirometry; 1) only heard the explanation, 2) watching video and inspector,s demonstration, 3) twisting legs and bending shoulder. FVC, $FEV_1$, $FEV_1/FVC$, $FEF_{25-75%}$, PEF were measured by spirometry. FVC, $FEV_1$, $FEV_1/FVC$, $FEF_{25-75%}$, PEF were significantly increased before and after the understanding the test method. There was a significant difference in FVC, $FEV_1$, and PEF in the false posture. Reproducibility was significantly different in the experimenter' comprehension and false posture. This study provides accurate understanding of the patient and correct posture should be maintained during the examination to obtain correct and reproducible results of PFT.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.18 no.7
• /
• pp.1029-1035
• /
• 2005

A 3${\times}$4 factorial field experiment with a complete randomised split-plot design with four replicates was conducted from June 2002 to March 2003 at the experimental farm of the Nong Lam University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, to determine effects of different harvesting heights (10, 30 and 50 cm above the ground) and cutting intervals (45, 60, 90 and 285 days) on yield of foliage and tubers, and chemical composition of the foliage. Cassava of the variety KM 94 grown in plots of 5 m${\times}$10 m at a planting distance of 30 cm${\times}$50 cm was hand-harvested according to respective treatments, starting 105 days after planting. Foliage from the control treatment (285 days) and all tubers were only harvested at the final harvest 285 days after planting. Dry matter and crude protein foliage yields increased in all treatments compared to the control. Mean foliage dry matter (DM) and crude protein (CP) yields were 4.57, 3.53, 2.49, and 0.64 tonnes DM $ha^{-1}$ and 939, 684, 495 and 123 kg CP $ha^{-1}$ with 45, 60, 90 and 285 day cutting intervals, respectively. At harvesting heights of 10, 30 and 50 cm the DM yields were 4.27, 3.67 and 2.65 tonnes $ha^{-1}$ and the CP yields were 810, 745 and 564 kg $ha^{-1}$, respectively. The leaf DM proportion was high, ranging from 47 to 65%. The proportion of leaf and petiole increased and the stem decreased with increasing harvesting heights and decreasing cutting intervals. Crude protein content in cassava foliage ranged from 17.7 to 22.6% and was affected by harvesting height and cutting interval. The ADF and NDF contents of foliage varied between 22.6 and 30.2%, and 34.2 and 41.2% of DM, respectively. The fresh tuber yield in the control treatment was 34.5 tonnes $ha^{-1}$. Cutting interval and harvesting height had significant negative effects on tuber yield. The most extreme effect was for the frequent foliage harvesting at 10 cm harvesting height, which reduced the tuber yield by 72%, while the 90 day cutting intervals and 50 cm harvesting height only reduced the yield by 7%. The mean fresh tuber yield decreased by 56, 45 and 27% in total when the foliage was harvested at 45, 60 and 90 day cutting intervals, respectively. It is concluded that the clear effects on quantity and quality of foliage and the effect on tuber yield allow alternative foliage harvesting principles depending on the need of fodder for animals, value of tubers and harvesting cost. An initial foliage harvest 105 days after planting and later harvests with 90 days intervals at 50 cm harvesting height increased the foliage DM and CP yield threefold, but showed only marginal negative effect on tuber yield.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.27 no.11
• /
• pp.1971-1982
• /
• 2017

Piliated Lactobacillus rhamnosus (pLR) strains possess higher adherent capacity than non-piliated strains. The objective of this study was to isolate and characterize probiotic pLR strains in human fecal samples. To this end, mouse polyclonal antiserum (anti-SpaA) against the recombinant pilus protein (SpaA) of L. rhamnosus strain GG (LGG) was prepared and tested for its reactivity and specificity. With the anti-SpaA, a method combining the de Man, Rogosa, and Sharpe (MRS) agar plating separation and colony immunoblotting (CIB) was developed to isolate pLR from 124 human fecal samples. The genetic and phenotypic characteristics of the resultant pLR isolates were compared by randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) fingerprinting, and examination of adhesion to Caco-2 cells, hydrophobicity, autoaggregation, and in vitro gastrointestinal tolerance. Anti-SpaA specifically reacted with three pLR strains of 25 test strains, as assessed by western blotting, immunofluorescence flow cytometry, and immunoelectron microscopy (IEM) assays. The optimized MRS agar separation plus anti-SpaA-based CIB procedure could quantitatively detect $2.5{\times}10^3CFU/ml$ of pLR colonies spiked in $10^6CFU/ml$ of background bacteria. Eight pLR strains were identified in 124 human fecal samples, and were confirmed by 16S RNA gene sequencing and IEM identification. RAPD fingerprinting of the pLR strains revealed seven different patterns, of which only two isolates from infants showed the same RAPD profiles with LGG. Strain PLR06 was obtained with high adhesion and autoaggregation activities, hydrophobicity, and gastrointestinal tolerance. Anti-SpaA-based CIB is a rapid and inexpensive method for the preliminary screening of novel adherent L. rhamnosus strains for commercial purposes.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
• /
• v.25 no.4
• /
• pp.307-314
• /
• 2010

Objectives : Arsenic (As) is ubiquitously distributed in the environment and has been known as a human carcinogen. The main source of arsenic exposure in general population is an oral route through As-contaminated water and foods. This study was performed to estimate the daily intake of As from diet and associated factors in Korean adults. Methods : We investigated 590 adults, 249 males and 341 females, with age of 20 years and older, who had not been exposed to the As occupationally. Study subjects were interviewed for demographic characteristics, lifestyles and diets during the last 24 hours. The estimation of As intake daily was based on amount of food consumption and As concentration in each food by using database of As concentrations in 117 food species. Results : Daily As intake was estimated as $56.46\;{\mu}g$/day, $56.60\;{\mu}g$/day in male and $56.36\;{\mu}g$/day in female. As intake was not significant from sex, age group, smoking and alcoholic habits, while was by occupation with the most intake of As in fishery. The daily As intakes was positively correlated with the total food consumption, specifically related with fishes and shellfishes, seaweeds, oils, grains and flavors. About 75% of As intake from diet was contributed by seafoods, such as $32.07\;{\mu}g$/day from fishes & shellfishes and $10.05\;{\mu}g$/day from seaweeds. However, it is necessary to evaluate if the dietary As intake affects on the levels of As in the body. Conclusions : The amount of As intake daily in Korean adults was estimated as $56.46\;{\mu}g$/day, and is determined mainly by diet behavior. The seafoods, such as fishes & shellfishes and seaweeds, is major source of As exposure from diet in Korean.

• Development and Reproduction
• /
• v.22 no.2
• /
• pp.155-163
• /
• 2018

This study aimed to investigate changes in the activity and mRNA expression of plasminogen activators (PAs) induced by $17{\beta}$-estradiol ($E_2$), human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), and interleukin-$1{\beta}$ ($IL-1{\beta}$) in porcine endometrial cells. Endometrial cells were isolated from the epithelium and cultured to 80% confluence. They were then treated for 24 h with $E_2$ (0.2, 2, 20, and 200 ng/mL), $IL-1{\beta}$ (0.1, 1, 10, and 100 ng/mL), and hCG (0.5, 1, 1.5 and 2 IU/mL). mRNA expressions of urokinase-type (uPA) and tissue-type (tPA) PAs were analyzed using reverse transcription PCR, and activities were measured using a PA activity assay. mRNA expressions of uPA and tPA increased with $E_2$ treatment; however, this was not significant. Similarly, treatment with hCG did not influence the mRNA expressions of PAs. Interestingly, treatment with 0.1 ng/mL $IL-1{\beta}$ significantly reduced the mRNA expression of uPA, but did not affect that of tPA. Treatment with 2, 20, and 200 ng/mL $E_2$ increased PA activity compared with the control group; treatment with 0.1 and 1 ng/mL $IL-1{\beta}$ significantly increased PA activity compared with the other $IL-1{\beta}$ treatment groups, whereas treatment with 10 and 100 ng/mL $IL-1{\beta}$ decreased. Treatment with 2 IU/mL hCG increased PA activity compared with the other treatment groups, although there were no significant differences between the hCG and control groups. In conclusion, the activity and mRNA expression of PAs were differently regulated by the hormone/cytokine and its concentration in porcine endometrial cells. Therefore, understanding PA regulatory mechanisms may help to improve the reproductive potential of domestic animals.

• Journal of Animal Reproduction and Biotechnology
• /
• v.34 no.4
• /
• pp.272-279
• /
• 2019

The study was conducted to evaluate the seminal attributes and cryobanking of Achhami (Bos indicus) bull semen. Of two Achhami bulls, 8 ejaculates from each bull were evaluated for seminal attributes. For semen freezing and cryo-banking, 4 ejaculates (having ≥2 mL semen volume, ≥75% of sperm motility and ≥1,000 × 10⁶ cells/mL of sperm concentration) from each bull were used. Semen samples were diluted in egg-yolk-tris-citrate extender using a two-step dilution protocol, and were frozen in liquid nitrogen (LN₂) vapour in a styrofoam box. The mean semen volume, colour, sperm mass activity, motility, viability, concentration, abnormal acrosome, midpiece and tail and, abnormal head of two Achhami bulls were 4.4 ± 0.5 mL vs. 2.5 ± 0.2 mL, 2.5 ± 0.1 vs. 2.4 ± 0.1, 3.5 ± 0.1 vs. 3.5 ± 0.1, 77.0 ± 1.1% vs. 78.3 ± 1.3%, 94.4 ± 0.5% vs. 91.0 ± 0.6%, 1137.7 ± 73.7 × 10⁶ cells/mL vs. 1060.0 ± 44.3 × 10⁶ cells/mL, 10.2 ± 0.5% vs. 10.3 ± 0.5% and 6.7 ± 0.5% vs. 8.2 ± 0.3%, respectively. The post-thawed sperm motility and viability were 53.0 ± 2.0% vs. 50.0 ± 0.0% and 80.2 ± 0.4% vs. 73.2 ± 0.7%, while evaluating by computer-assisted sperm analysis (CASA) system, the percentage of the progressive motility, fast motility, slow motility, local motility and immotile sperm were 75%, 68%, 7.4%, 16.6% and 8.6%, respectively. A total number of 620 doses semen straw were cryo-banked. Due to the acceptable post-thawed sperm motility and viability recorded, cryopreservation of Achhami semen is hereby recommended so as to preserve the Achhami breed. For further validation, the fertility will be observed from the produced frozen semen.