• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.211-218
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• 2023

A cryptic plasmid (pTH32) was characterized from Tetragenococcus halophilus 32, an isolate from jeotgal, Korean traditional fermented seafood. pTH32 is 3,198 bp in size with G+C content of 35.84%, and contains 4 open reading frames (ORFs). orf1 and orf2 are 456 bp and 273 bp in size, respectively, and their translation products showed 65.16% and 69.35% similarities with RepB family plasmid replication initiators, respectively, suggesting the rolling-circle replication (RCR) mode of pTH32. orf3 and orf4 encodes putative hypothetical protein of 186 and 76 amino acids, respectively. A novel Tetragenococcus-Escherichia coli shuttle vector, pMJ32E (7.3 kb, Em^r), was constructed by ligation of pTH32 with pBluescript II KS(+) and an erythromycin resistance gene (ErmC). pMJ32E successfully replicated in Enterococcus faecalis 29212 and T. halophilus 31 but not in other LAB species. A pepA gene, encoding aminopeptidase A (PepA) from T. halophilus CY54, was successfully expressed in T. halophilus 31 using pMJ32E. The transformant (TF) showed higher PepA activity (49.8 U/mg protein) than T. halophilus 31 cell (control). When T. halophilus 31 TF was subculturd in MRS broth without antibiotic at 48 h intervals, 53.8% of cells retained pMJ32E after 96 h, and only 2.4% of cells retained pMJ32E after 14 days, supporting the RCR mode of pTH32. pMJ32E could be useful for the genetic engineering of Tetragenococcus and Enterococcus species.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.65 no.4
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• pp.698-719
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• 2023

Postweaning multisystemic wasting syndrome (PMWS) is caused by a systemic inflammation after porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) infection. It was one of the most economically important pathogens affecting pig production worldwide before PCV2 vaccine was first introduced in 2006. After the development of a vaccine against PCV2a type, pig farms gradually restored enormous economic losses from PMWS. However, vaccine against PCV2a type could not be fully effective against several different PCV2 genotypes (PCV2b - PCV2h). In addition, PCV2a vaccine itself could generate antigenic drift of PCV2 capsid. Therefore, PCV2 infection still threats pig industry worldwide. PCV2 infection was initially found in local tissues including reproductive, respiratory, and digestive tracks. However, PCV2 infection often leads to a systemic inflammation which can cause severe immunosuppression by depleting peripheral lymphocytes in secondary lymphoid tissues. Subsequently, a secondary infection with other microorganisms can cause PMWS. Eleven putative open reading frames (ORFs) have been predicted to encode PCV2 genome. Among them, gene products of six ORFs from ORF1 to ORF6 have been identified and characterized to estimate its functional role during PCV2 infection. Acquiring knowledge about the specific interaction between each PCV2 ORF protein and host protein might be a key to develop preventive or therapeutic tools to control PCV2 infection. In this article, we reviewed current understanding of how each ORF of PCV2 manipulates host cell signaling related to immune suppression caused by PCV2.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.11-22
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• 2024

PURPOSE: This study examined the effects of lumbar stabilization exercise using a Pilates reformer on the visual analog scale (VAS), Oswestry disability index (ODI), and quality of life of patients with chronic low back pain. METHODS: The study evaluated individuals aged 30 years and above who had been suffering from persistent back pain exceeding three months. The participants were allocated into two groups: an experimental cohort of 15 individuals utilizing a reformer and a control group of 15 individuals engaging in lumbar stabilization exercises on a mat without a reformer for eight weeks. Each exercise session encompassed a 10-minute warm-up, a 30-minute main exercise, and a 10-minute cool-down, totaling 50 minutes. The lumbar stabilization group using the reformer was also subjected to the same level of resistance provided by the springs. Assessments were conducted before and after the intervention using the VAS, ODI, and quality of life evaluations. RESULTS: Significant disparity existed between the experimental group utilizing the reformer and the control group before and after the intervention in terms of the VAS, ODI change, and quality of life change (p < .05). Furthermore, a significant distinction was observed in the comparison between the experimental and control groups (p < .05). CONCLUSION: Both cohorts showed a decrease in pain, a decrease in the ODI, and an improvement in the quality of life. Furthermore, the experimental group exhibited superior outcomes to the control group regarding pain reduction, reduction in the ODI, and improved quality of life.

• Journal of the Korea Fashion and Costume Design Association
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.117-130
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• 2015

As environmental issues have become a worldwide concern after the 20th century, the idea and the term of 'green growth development' has become familiar to the public. After 2008, the green growth development dramatically became an important ideology in Korea; thus industries, studies and product investments in relation are in active progress. Following the trend, the latter major unit of the middle school textbook "Technology & Home Economics" was named the revision of elementary, middle and high school textbooks in 2009. The learning goal of 'green' or 'eco-friendly' of the revised edition of the textbook will guide the middle school students to have better understanding of the issues of clothing habits and the environment. Furthermore, students will be able to apply the 'green' concepts in their real life and put eco-friendly clothing habits into action. Thus, the practice of effective learning will depend on the quality of the current issue of the textbook. Therefore this study analyzes the eco-friendly contents of the semi-unit from 7 different textbooks and presents an example of textbook production to the preliminary teacher of home economics.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.607-611
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• 2004

Glycinin, one of the predominant storage proteins in soybeans, was examined as to whether it could be used as a calcium-binding mediator after chemical phosphorylation and enzymatic hydrolysis. Glycinin is composed of six subunits. One of the proglycinin subunits $(A_{la}B_{lb})$ was overexpressed in E. coli to obtain nonphosphorylated proteins with homogeneity. To investigate the enhanced calcium-binding properties of the phosphopeptides, the proglycinin was purified, phosphorylated, and hydrolyzed with trypsin. The proglycinin expressed in E. coli was purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation, ion-exchange chromatography, and cryoprecipitation. Chemical phosphorylation by sodium trimetaphosphate was performed to obtain phosphorylated proglycinin. After the phosphorylation, one-dimensional isoelectric focusing gel electroanalysis confirmed the phosphorylation of the proglycinin. The phosphorylated peptides were then hydrolyzed with trypsin, followed by a binding reaction with calcium chloride. The calcium-bound phosphopeptides were finally separated using immobilized metal $(Ca^{2+})$ chromatography. Consequently, a limited tryptic hydrolysate of the isolated phosphopeptides exhibited an enhanced calcium-binding ability, suggesting the potential of glycinin phosphopeptides as a calcium-binding mediator with greater availability.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.9-16
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• 2017

This study investigated recognition of food labeling of high school students (males 94 and females 85) in Yongin region. Recognition of food labeling was very high at 81.6%. For checking food labeling at the time of purchasing, 53.6% of the respondents always checked and the main reason was healthier food choice (49.2%). Satisfaction of food labeling was very low at 18.4%. In spite of very low satisfaction, 70.9% of respondents recognized necessity for education of food labeling. In terms of education method, respondents preferred 'school lecture' the most with 48.6%, which are in the following order: TV/newspaper/journal/book (37.4%) > internet lecture (10.1%) > education from parents (3.9%). Moreover, 83.2% of respondents answered 'positive change (ex. checking food labeling)' after getting education. Consequently, high school students had low level of utilization of food labeling at the time of purchasing. However, they showed high level of perception and educational need of food labeling as well as possibility of positive change after receiving education. Therefore, appropriate school education for food labeling may be able to lead a healthy eating habit of high school students.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.9-19
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• 2016

Xylanases sourced from different bacteria have significantly different enzymatic properties. Therefore, studying xylanases from different bacteria is important to their applications in different fields. A potential xylanase degradation gene in Massilia was recently discovered through genomic sequencing. However, its xylanase activity remains unexplored. This paper is the first to report a xylanase (XynRBM26) belonging to the glycosyl hydrolase family (GH10) from the genus Massilia. The gene encodes a 383-residue polypeptide (XynRBM26) with the highest identity of 62% with the endoxylanase from uncultured bacterium BLR13. The XynRBM26 expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 is a monomer with a molecular mass of 45.0 kDa. According to enzymatic characteristic analysis, pH 5.5 is the most appropriate for XynRBM26, which could maintain more than 90% activity between pH 5.0 and 8.0. Moreover, XynRBM26 is stable at 37℃ and could maintain at least 96% activity after being placed at 37℃ for 1 h. This paper is the first to report that GH10 xylanase in an animal gastrointestinal tract (GIT) has salt tolerance, which could maintain 86% activity in 5 M NaCl. Under the optimum conditions, K_m, V_max, and k_cat of XynRBM26 to beechwood xylan are 9.49 mg/ml, 65.79 μmol/min/mg, and 47.34 /sec, respectively. Considering that XynRBM26 comes from an animal GIT, this xylanase has potential application in feedstuff. Moreover, XynRBM26 is applicable to high-salt food and seafood processing, as well as other high-salt environmental biotechnological fields, because of its high catalytic activity in high-concentration NaCl.

• The Korean Journal of Elementary Counseling
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.107-122
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• 2012

This study examined the effects of gratitude enrichment program on the school adjustment, life satisfaction, and emotional-behavioral problems of children. The subjects were 5th grade 69 boys and girls(experimental group: 34, control group: 35). School adjustment, life satisfaction, and emotional-behavioral problems were measured before and after the program intervention. The findings showed that the gratitude enrichment program increased the school adjustment and life satisfaction. But it was not effective in decreasing the emotional-behavioral problems of children. The importance and necessity of gratitude enrichment program and education activities were discussed.

• BMB Reports
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• v.53 no.10
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• pp.491-499
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• 2020

The extracellular matrix is a critical component of every human tissue. ECM not only functions as a structural component but also regulates a variety of cellular processes such as cell migration, differentiation, proliferation, and cell death. In addition, current studies suggest that ECM is critical for the pathophysiology of various human diseases. ECM is composed of diverse components including several proteins and polysaccharide chains such as chondroitin sulfate, heparan sulfate, and hyaluronic acid. Each component of ECM exerts its own functions in cellular and pathophysiological processes. One of the interesting recent findings is that ECM is involved in inflammatory responses in various human tissues. In this review, we summarized the known functions of ECM in neuroinflammation after acute injury and chronic inflammatory diseases of the central nerve systems.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.189-195
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• 2012

Epimedii Herba is a traditional medicinal herb used in Korea and China and exerts estrogenic activity. In this study, we investigated the effect of peripubertal administration of Epimedii Herba on pubertal development in female rats using a modified protocol of the rodent 20-day pubertal female assay. Female Sprague-Dawley rats (21 days old after weaning, 10 rats per group) were divided into five groups: saline (Con), ethinyl estradiol (E2), Epimedii Herba ext (Ext), icariin (ICI), and icaritin (ICT), which were administered by oral gavage (E2 by subcutaneous injection) from postnatal day (PND) 21 through PND40. The time to vaginal opening (VO) was shorter for the Epimedii groups, particularly for the ICT group (p<0.05). Treatment with ICI and ICT significantly increased the duration of the estrus cycle (ICI, 2.78 days; ICT, 4.0 days; control, 1.78 days). Ovary weight was reduced by E2 treatment and increased by the Ext, ICI, and ICT treatments while the weight of the uterus and pituitary glands increased significantly only in the E2 and ICT groups. Although Epimedii Herba displayed relatively weak estrogenic activity, its repeated administration could affect pubertal development in female rats.