• Mycobiology
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.205-209
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• 2007

Ergosterol involves in fungal cell growth as a major component in fungal cell membranes. It can be an indicator that shows the fungal activity, and its content depends on the fungal strains, culture, growth conditions and so on. In this study, fungal activities and growth patterns of three white-rot fungi strains isolated in Korea were evaluated by determination of ergosterol contents during the incubation. Wood decay test and chemical analyses of wood were also performed to verify the relationship between fungal activity and wood degrading capacity of white-rot fungi for 60 days. In the results of experiments, it is considered that the test strains selectively degrade large amount of lignin in wood at the early stage of decay. Especially, Phanerochaete chrysosporium showed the best capability on selective degradation of lignin among the test fungi. It is suggested that the determination of ergosterol content in the fungal culture during the incubation is the simple and effective screening method of white-rot fungi for the application to biopulping of wood.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.19 no.11
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• pp.1364-1368
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• 2009

Lysosomes, as a cell organelle type, are safe biological control agents that may be possible replacements for chemical antimicrobial agents because they are simply isolated from egg white. In this study, it was found that the lysosomes isolated from egg white exhibited pH-dependent antimicrobial activity, with the optimal activity found at pH 6.0. The efficiency of lysosomes in inhibiting bacterial growth and activity was evaluated over a 12-h treatment period. Seven different microorganisms were used as bacterial strains, and the lysosomes showed a significant antimicrobial effect against all strains. In addition, the antimicrobial activity was maintained for 100 days, and there did not appear to be any resistance of E. coli to the lysosomal activity up to the eighth culture. However, the lysosomes did not affect the viability of mammalian cells, suggesting the biocompatibility of lysosomes. These highly effective lysosomes have a bright future in the application of novel antimicrobial sources as a cell organelle type.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.71-75
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• 2012

The PLA2G4A catalyzes the hydrolysis of membrane phospholipids to release arachidonic acid, which is metabolized into lipid-based cellular hormones that regulate inflammatory response. The circulating blood cell numbers can be influenced by stress, infection or inflammation. Quantitative blood cell count traits analysis for the 19 SNPs in the PLA2G4A gene in the Korean Association Resource (KARE) cohort (7551 subjects) was performed. The only one SNP (rs10752979) in the all blood cell count was satisfied with the Bonferroni corrected P-value (<0.00263). Furthermore, 6 of the 19 SNPs in the PLA2G4A gene showed a weak or moderate association with blood cell count (P-values: 0.0048~0.042), suggesting the clue of an association between the PLA2G4A gene and blood cell count, especially white blood cell count. This study may provide insight into the genetic basis of blood cell count related with reaction of infection.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.192-197
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• 2010

Recent studies have indicated that $\beta$-cell dysfunction and insulin resistance are important factors in the development of type 2 diabetes. The present study investigated the effect of extracts from different parts of white, Taegeuk, and red ginseng root on insulin-stimulated glucose uptake in muscle cells and proliferation of $\beta$-cells. Extracts of the fine roots of Taegeuk ginseng significantly enhanced glucose uptake compared with the control. White ginseng lateral root extracts enhanced insulin-induced glucose uptake. Proliferation of $\beta$-cells was significantly increased by Taegeuk ginseng main and lateral root extracts and by red ginseng lateral and fine root extracts. In conclusion, different root parts of white, Taegeuk, and red ginseng differentially affect glucose uptake and pancreatic $\beta$-cell proliferation.

• The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.27-48
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• 2004

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of Hwanggigunjungtang(HGT) on white rats with deteriorated immunity caused by methotrexate. Methods: First, methotrexate was fed to the white rats once a day for 4 days. After the immune responses of the rats are deteriorated, dried extracts of HGT mixed in water was fed to the rats once a day for 14 days. And then we measured the percentage of B-cell and T-cell in peripheral blood, the percentage of CD3+CD4+ T-cell and CD3+CD8+ T-cell of blood sampled from spleen and peripheral region. Results: The percentage of B-cell of peripheral blood was not different statistically. The percentage of T-cell of peripheral blood was increased significantly in HGT group as compared with control group. The percentage of CD3+CD4+ T-cell of peripheral blood was increased significantly in HGT group as compared with control group. The percentage of CD3+CD8+ T-cell of peripheral blood was decreased in HGT group as compared with control group. The percentage of CD3+CD4+ T-cell of spleen was increased significantly in HGT group as compared with control group. The percentage of CD3+CD8+ T-cell of spleen was not different statistically. Conclusion: According to the above results, HGT has an effect of increasing immune responses on white rats with deteriorated immunity caused by methotrexate.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.69-76
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• 1984

An automatic white blood cell differential counting system was developed, which consists of feature extractor, main control computer, auto focus and search part and data acquisition part. This system is used as a clinical instrument whose purpose is to classify white blood cell images. It may also be used for other binary image processing.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.117-121
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• 1999

Effects of jasmonic acid treatment, UV-B and white light treatment on the anthocyanin biosynthesis and cell growth were investigated using the cell suspension culture system of grape (Vitis vinifera L.). Cell growth was not affected by white light irradiation, while it was remarkably suppressed by UV-B irradiation from 8 to 32 h. Anthocyanin accumulation dramatically increased after 16 h from irradiation of UV-B. Simultaneous treatment of jasmonic acid and UV-B increased anthocyanin accumulation by 10-fold. The cell division was restored when anthocyanin was abundantly accumulated after 32 h from UV-B irradiation. Optimum concentration of jasmonic acid was found to be 5 uM for maximum accumulation of anthocyanin. Application of jasmonic acid to grape suspension cells rapidly induced the expression of CHS gene after 2 h from treatment and showed maximum level at 32 h. Simultaneous treatment of jasmonic acid and light also induced CHS gene expression after 2 h, but the maximum level of CHS transcript was observed at 16 h with white light and 8 h with UV-B exposure. The synergistical effects could be explained by the defense mechanism that UV irradiation is mediated in part by alterations in JA and its signaling pathway.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.334-340
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• 2018

The cytoplasmic elicitor, nucleotide-binding domain and leucine-rich repeat containing domain receptors (NLRs) is well established molecules in its role in inflammatory response. Among 22 NLR receptors, NOD2 is one of the intensively studied genes of elucidating for the inflammatory bowel disease and Crohn's disease as well. Recent research have accumulated that common genetic mutations in Parkinson's disease (PD) are increasingly related to the susceptibility to Crohn's disease. In this study, with the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study, we aimed to perform the association between NOD2 polymorphisms and blood cell counts [WBC (white blood cell) count, RBC (red blood cell) count, platelet count], which linked supposedly to cytoplasmic inflammatory responses with clinical specialty. Linear regression analyses were performed, controlling for residential area, sex, and age as covariates. As a results, 12 SNPs from NOD2 gene were significantly associated with WBC counts (Bonferroni correction P-value criteria < 0.05/23=0.00218). In this study, we could ensure an association with NOD2 gene and WBC counts. This is the first report to have relationship between SNPs of NOD2 gene and WBC counts.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.411-414
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• 2010

Rabbit's cornea is the most common thing that used for researches in ophthalmology, so many experimentations have done. The purpose of this study was to survey the corneal pachymetry, tonometry and specular microscopy in New Zealand white rabbits. Three months old male rabbits ($2.9{\pm}0.2\;kg$) were examined with contact the specular microscope to evaluate the endothelial cell density, coefficiency of variation and the percentage of hexagonal cells in the central cornea. For the pachymetry, ultrasonic pachymeter was used for central cornea in each twenty rabbits, and tonometry was performed forty rabbit's eyes to evaluate the intraocular pressure. Corneal endothelial cell density in New Zealand white rabbit was $3304{\pm}354\;cell/mm^2$. Coefficiency of variation was $45.8{\pm}2$ and the percentage of hexagonal cells in the central cornea was $44.4{\pm}11%$. The pachymetry of cornea was $346.1{\pm}21\;{\mu}m$ and tonometry of eye was $14.3{\pm}2\;mmHg$. It is considered that normal New Zealand white rabbit's pachymetry, specular microscopy and tonometry were useful basic data of rabbit's cornea for research and clinic in veterinary ophthalmology.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.38 no.10 s.255
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• pp.669-674
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• 2005

Background: There are several studies that report the relationship between leukocytosis and cardiovascular disease mortality. Most of these studies stand on the basis that atherosclerosis is mediated by inflammatory process. By the same token, preoperative white blood cell count is suggested as an independent predictable factor of postoperative mortality and morbidity in coronary artery bypass grafting. The purpose of this study is to define the influence of preoperative white blood cell count on postoperative morbidity and mortality after coronary artery bypass grafting. Material and Method: The medical records of the 133 patients who had undergone isolated coronary artery bypass grafting at Inha University Hospital from 1996 to 2003 were reviewed. Patients were evenly divided into four groups, and named as group A, B, C, and D respectively based on their preoperative white blood cell count in ascending order. The number of patients in each group were 33 with exception of 34 in group A. The range of white blood cell count were from $1.3\times10^3/{\mu}L\;to\;5.9\times10^3/{\mu}L\;in\;group\;A,\; from\;6.0\times10^3/{\mu}L\;to\;7.0\times10^3/{\mu}L\;in\;group\;B,\;from\;7.1\times10^3/{\mu}L\;to\;8.9\times10^3/{\mu}L$ in group C, and from $8.9\times10^3/{\mu}L\;to\;16.9\times10^3/{\mu}L$ in group D. Result: The number of patients with recent myocardial infarction was 0 in group A, $2(6.1\%)$ in group B, $4(12.1\%)$ in group C, and $8(24.3\%)$ in D group, showing proportional increase to the white blood cell count (p<0.01). There were six postoperative deaths; $1(2.9\%)$ in group A, $1(3.0\%)$ in group B, $2(2.6\%)$ in group C, and $2(6.1\%)$ in group D (p=0.44), showing no significant difference between the groups. Postoperative wound infection occurred in 3 patients; all 3 patients were in group D, showing that postoperative wound infection is closely related to the preoperative white blood cell count. Conclusion: The association between preoperative white blood cell count and postoperative mortality could not be defined. The incidence of postoperative wound infection was found to be proportional to the preoperative white blood cell counts.