• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.82-87
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• 2016

Enterotoxigenic Bacteroides fragilis (ETBF) produces enterotoxins known to be a virulence factor. Three isotypes of the B. fragilis toxin (BFT) gene have been identified: bft-1, bft-2, and bft-3. We investigated the presence of bft isotypes in clinical B. fragilis isolates and the antimicrobial resistance of BFT-negative and BFT-positive isolates. Overall, 537 B. fragilis isolates were collected from extraintestinal specimens over 8 years (2006~2013) from a university hospital in Korea. Samples were analyzed by multiplex PCR to identify the bft gene isotypes. Additionally, the antimicrobial susceptibility of 107 B. fragilis isolates (74 BFT-negative and 33 BFT-positive) was examined by the CLSI agar dilution method. PCR revealed a total bft gene detection rate of 30%, while 33% and 29% of blood and other extraintestinal isolates contained the gene, respectively. Among ETBF isolates, the most common isotype was bft-1 gene, followed by bft-2 and bft-3 (bft-1 77%, bft-2 14%, bft-3 9%). Resistance rates (%) for BFT-negative and positive isolates differed in response to various antimicrobial agents, with 3%, 5%, 1% and 38% of BFT-negative isolates and 3%, 6%, 3% an 42% of BFT-positive isolates being resistant to piperacillin-tazobactam, cefoxitin, imipenem, and clindamycin, respectively. Interestingly, neither BFT-negative nor positive isolates showed antimicrobial resistance to chloramphenicol and metronidazole. Overall, the proportion of ETBF from blood was similar to that of other extraintestinal sites and the bft-1 gene was the predominant isotype. Higher antimicrobial resistance rates were found in BFT-positive isolates than BFT-negative isolates, but these differences were not statistically significant.

• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
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• v.25 no.11
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• pp.89-95
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• 2020

In this paper, we present Beamforming (BF) Training (BFT) for asymmetric links in IEEE 802.11ay. IEEE 802.11ay introduced BFT for asymmetric links that aims to increase the BFT success probability for Station (STA) with insufficient link budget to communicate with an Access Point (AP). BFT for asymmetric links utilizes directional BFT allocation to avoid the usage of quasi-omni pattern at the AP side, and thus to increase STA's BFT success rate. However, there are no publicly available simulation tools supporting IEEE 802.11ay. For these reasons, we present in this paper an implementation of BFT for asymmetric links in ns-3 with its novel techniques such as Training RX (TRN-R) subfield and BFT allocation. We then evaluate by simulation the performance of BFT for asymmetric links.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.305-308
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• 2003

We earlier reported the identification of bif-k, t-3, and a third ORF from an enterotoxigenic strain of Bacteroides fragilis 419, which was isolated from the blood of a Korean patient suffering from systemic infections. In the present study, the deleted fragments of the t-3 and the bft-k genes from B. fragilis 419 were cloned into suicide vector PJST55 and used to create a mutant with chromosomal disruption of the t-3 and bft-k genes. Structures of the selected mutants, DMP-2 and DBT-4, were found to be intermediate forms that integrated the suicide vector into the chromosome. t-3 disrupted Dmp-2 and Bft-k disrupted DBT-4 did not react with polyclonal antibodies against T-3 or BFT-K, and had no biological activity in $HT29/C_1$, cells.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.378-387
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• 2017

This study was performed to isolate bacteria that could control the nitrite levels in a biofloc technology (BFT) culture tank. Nitrite-eliminating bacteria were isolated from a BFT culture tank rearing goldfish, and the isolated bacterium exhibiting the most potent nitrite eliminating ability was labeled as the "NOBSB1" strain. Sequencing the 16S rRNA revealed that NOBSB1 is a species in the genera Bosea. NOBSB1 had the following characteristics with regard to nitrite removal: (1) it removed nitrite by functioning heterotrophically in the presence of a carbon source (sugars); (2) it eliminated nitrite most effectively within a temperature range of $20-30^{\circ}C$, but its activity decreased at temperatures above $35^{\circ}C$ and below $20^{\circ}C$; (3) it had optimum nitrite removal ability within a pH range of 6.0-8.0; (4) it removed nitrite more effectively under hypoxic than aerobic conditions. NOBSB1 inoculation did not decrease ammonia or nitrate levels, but eliminated nitrite in a BFT culture tank rearing common carp (Cyprinus carpio). After inoculating the NOBSB1 strain in a BFT culture tank, NOBSB1 controlled and sufficiently reduced the nitrite concentration in the tank.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.479-486
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• 2011

In this study, we conducted experiment and finite element analysis on the flexural behavior of the round concrete panels according to the evaluation method of biaxial flexural tensile strengths. The Round Panel Test (RPT) and the Biaxial Flexure Test (BFT) were used to determine the biaxial flexural strength of round plain concrete panels. In order to understand the stress distribution on the panels, we measured load-strain relationship at the center of the panels' bottom surface. Test results show that fracture pattern in RPT and BFT panels are similar, and the tensile stress distribution is uniform in all directions at the center of the bottom surface of the panels for both RPT and BFT. The distribution of stresses in two test specimens coincided with the analysis result. The average biaxial flexural strength of RPT is about 29% greater than those of the BFT. The coefficient of variations (COV) of the RPT and BFT for the biaxial flexure strength is 8%, 6%, respectively, which indicates that BFT method is useful and reliable for determining biaxial flexural strengths of the concrete.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.15 no.8
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• pp.1080-1084
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• 2002

Carcass characteristics of 241 crossbred pigs (Korean wild boars ${\times}$ Landrace sows) were analyzed to examine variations in fasted body weight (FASTWT), carcass weight (CARCWT), dressing percentage (DP), back fat thickness (BFT) and longissimus muscle weight (LMW), and to estimate genetic and phenotypic parameters using three different slaughter-end points. Covariates in the least squares full sib model were slaughter age, fasted body weight and back fat thickness of the carcass. Coefficient of variation was highest for BFT followed by LMW, CARCWT, FASTWT and DP in magnitude. Regressions of three covariates on traits were all linear. However, slaughter age was not significant as a linear covariate for five traits while FASTWT was significant for CARCWT and LMW and BFT was significant for all remaining traits. Genetic and phenotypic variation was considerably reduced by regressing FASTWT or BFT in the model. Heritability estimates of FASTWT, CARCWT, DP and BFT were 0.68, 0.61, 0.11 and 0.49, respectively, using slaughter age as covariate (model 1). Those of CARCWT, DP, BFT and LMW were 0.15, 0.15, 0.30 and 0.11, respectively, using FASTWT as covariate (model 2). Heritability estimates of the traits using LMW as covariate (model 3) were similar to the estimates from Model 1 except that the estimate of CARCWT was reduced to 0.39. Genetic or phenotypic correlations among FASTWT, CARCWT and BFT were all positive and moderate to high. Those between BFT and LMW were also positive and low to moderate. However, genetic and phenotypic correlations between DP and CARCWT were positive while those between DP and FASTWT were negative. It was suggested from this study that differences in carcass yield traits be determined using slaughter age or back fat thickness as slaughter-end point and carcass quality traits using fasted body weight as slaughter-end point.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.30 no.8
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• pp.1081-1085
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• 2017

Objective: Previously, we reported quantitative trait loci (QTLs) affecting backfat thickness (BFT) traits on pig chromosome 5 (SW1482-SW963) in an F2 intercross population between Landrace and Korean native pigs. The aim of this study was to evaluate glutamate receptor-interacting protein 1 (GRIP1) as a positional candidate gene underlying the QTL affecting BFT traits. Methods: Genotype and phenotype analyses were performed using the 1,105 $F_2$ progeny. A mixed-effect linear model was used to access association between these single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers and the BFT traits in the $F_2$ intercross population. Results: Highly significant associations of two informative SNPs (c.2442 T>C, c.3316 C>G [R1106G]) in GRIP1 with BFT traits were detected. In addition, the two SNPs were used to construct haplotypes that were also highly associated with the BFT traits. Conclusion: The SNPs and haplotypes of the GRIP1 gene determined in this study can contribute to understand the genetic structure of BFT traits in pigs.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.188-193
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• 1995

A Brevibacterium flavum gene coding for glucose permease of the phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphotransferase system (PTS) was cloned by complementing the Escherichia coli ZSCl13 mutations affecting a ptsG gene with the B. flavum genomic library. From the E. coli clone grown as red colony on a MacConkey plate supplemented with glucose as an additional carbon source, a recombinant plasmid was isolated and named pBFT93. The plasmid pBFT93 was identified as carrying a 3.6-kb fragment of B. flavum chromosomal DNA which enables the E. coli transformant to use glucose or man nose as a sole carbon source in an M9 minimal medium. The non-metabolizable sugar analogues, 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) and methyl-$\alpha$-D-glucopyranoside (MeGlc) affected the growth of ZSCl13 cells carrying the plasmid pBFT93 on minimal medium supplemented with non-PTS carbohydrate, glycerol, as a sole cabon source, while the analogues did not repress the growth of ZSCl13 cells without pBFT93. It was also found that both $2-deoxy-D-[U-^{14}C]glucose{\;}and{\;}methyl-{\alpha}-D-[U-^{14}C]glucopyranoside$ could be effectively transported into ZSCl13 cells transformed with plasmid pBFT93. Several in vivo complementation studies suggested that the B. flavum DNA in pBFT93 encodes a glucose permease specific for glucose and mannose.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.37-44
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• 2023

Enterotoxigenic Bacteroides fragilis (ETBF) has been reported to promote colitis and colon cancer through the secretion of B. fragilis toxin (BFT), a zinc-dependent metalloprotease. In colonic epithelial cells, BFT induces the cleavage of E-cadherin into the 80 kDa ectodomain and the 33 kDa membrane-bound intracellular domain. The resulting membrane-tethered fragment is then cleaved by γ-secretase forming the 28 kDa E-cadherin intracellular fragment. The 28 kDa cytoplasmic fragment is then degraded by an unknown mechanism. In this study, we found that the 28 kDa E-cadherin intracellular fragment was degraded by the proteasome complex. In addition, we found that this sequential E-cadherin cleavage mechanism is found not only in colonic epithelial cells but also in the human breast cancer cell line, BT-474. Finally, we report that staurosporine also induces E-cadherin cleavage in the human breast cancer cell line, MCF7, through γ-secretase. However, further degradation of the 28 kDa E-cadherin intracellular domain is not dependent on the proteasome complex. These results suggest that the BFT-induced E-cadherin cleavage mechanism is conserved in both colonic and breast cancer cells. This observation indicates that ETBF may also play a role in the carcinogenesis of tissues other than the colon.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.213-217
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• 2013

Enterotoxigenic Bacteroides fragilis (ETBF) is a human gut commensal bacteria that causes inflammatory diarrhea and colitis. ETBF also promotes colorectal tumorigenesis in the Min mouse model. The key virulence factor is a secreted metalloprotease called B. fragilis toxin (BFT). BFT induces E-cadherin cleavage, cell rounding, activation of the ${\beta}$-catenin pathway and secretion of IL-8 in colonic epithelial cells. However, the precise mechanism by which these processes occur and how these processes are interrelated is still unclear. E-cadherin form homophilic interactions which tethers adjacent cells. Loss of E-cadherin results in detachment of adjacent cells. Prior studies have suggested that BFT induces IL-8 expression by inducing E-cadherin cleavage; cells that do not express E-cadherin do not secrete IL-8 in response to BFT. In the current study, we found that HT29/C1cells treated with dilute trypsin solution induced E-cadherin degradation and IL-8 secretion, consistent with the hypothesis that E-cadherin cleavage causes IL-8 secretion. However, physical damage to the cell monolayer did not induce IL-8 secretion. We also show that EDTA-mediated disruption of E-cadherin interactions without E-cadherin degradation was sufficient to induce IL-8 secretion. Finally, we determined that HT29/C1 cells treated with LiCl (${\beta}$-catenin activator) induced IL-8 secretion in a dose-dependent and time-dependent manner. Taken together, our results suggest that BFT induced IL-8 secretion may occur by the following process: E-cadherin cleavage, disruption of cellular interactions, activation of the ${\beta}$-catenin pathway and IL-8 expression. However, we further propose that E-cadherin cleavage per se may not be required for BFT induced IL-8 secretion.