• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.330-336
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• 2004

Six 16 months old Holstein steers were offered ad libitum feed for 7 months, to determine the (1) relationships of backfat thickness (BFT) to plasma leptin, and insulin; and (2) associations of TDN intake/kg body weight (BW) to plasma leptin, BFT and insulin. Feed intake, body weight and BFT were measured on selected monthly ages from day 1 to 8, day 1 and 8, and day 8, respectively. Blood was sampled on day 8 and the plasma was analyzed for leptin, insulin, glucose, NEFA, total cholesterol and triglyceride. Body weight and BFT increased, while TDN intake per kg BW decreased from 16 to 23 months old. Plasma leptin increased and mimicked the level of insulin, resulting to significant correlation (r=0.54; p<0.002). TDN intake was negatively related to plasma leptin (r=0.49; p<0.004), insulin (r=0.41; p<0.02) and BFT at 12 to 13th rib (r=0.48; p<0.005). Backfat thickness at 12 to 13th rib was positively related to plasma leptin (r=0.45; p<0.01). Negative associations of TDN intake with plasma leptin and BFT during finishing period suggest long-term involvement of adipose tissues in the feed intake regulation of steers fed high concentrate diet.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.86-90
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• 2000

We have earlier reported on the cloning and identification of bft-k from an enterotoxigenic strain of Bacteroides fragilis 419, which was isolated from the blood of a Korean patient who suffered from systemic infections [4,5]. The bft-k gene encodes a 397-amino-acids metalloprotease enterotoxin, and the protein has been identified as a new isoform of B. fragilis enterotoxins (BFTs), which are cytopathic to intestinal epithelial cells to induce fluid secretion and tissue damage in ligated intestinal loops [4, 6, 18, 20]. This report describes the cloning and sequencing of the enterotoxin pahogenicity islet of B. fragilis 419 which contains the bft-k gene. the cloned enterotoxin pathogenicity islet was found to have 6,045 bp in length and to contain 120bp direct repeats near its end. In the pathogenicity islet, in addition to the BFR-K, two putative open reading frames (ORFs) were identified; (1) the t-3 gene encoding a 396-amino-acids protein of a putative metalloprotease; (2) the third gene encoding an ORF of a 59-amino-acids protein, whose function has not yet beenn characterized. The expression of the t-3 gene in B. fragilis 419 was verified by western blot analysis.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.225-231
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• 2014

Purpose : The biceps femoris tendon (BFT) and lateral collateral ligament (LCL) in the knee were formerly known to form a conjoined tendon at the fibular attachment site. However, the BFT and LCL are attached into the fibular head in various patterns. We classified insertion patterns of the BFT and LCL using MR imaging, and analyzed whether the LCL attaches to the fibular head or not. Materials and Methods: A total of 494 consecutive knee MRIs of 470 patients taken between July 2012 and December 2012 were retrospectively reviewed. There were 224 males and 246 females, and patient age varied from 10 to 88 (mean, 48.6). The exclusion criteria were previous surgery and poor image quality. Using 3T fat-suppressed proton density-weighted axial images, the fibular insertion patterns of the BFT and LCL were classified into following types: type I (the LCL passes between the anterior arm and direct arm of the BFT's long head), type II (the LCL joins with anterior arm of the long head of the BFT), type III (the BFT and LCL join to form a conjoined tendon), type IV (the LCL passes laterally around the anterior margin of the BFT), and type V (the LCL passes posteriorly to the direct arm of the BFT's long head). Results: Among the 494 cases of the knee MRI, there were 433 (87.65%) type I cases, 21 (4.25%) type II cases, 2 (0.4%) type III cases, 16 (3.23%) type IV cases, and 22 (4.45%) type V cases. There were 26 cases (5.26%) in which the LCL and BFT were not attached into the fibular head. Conclusion: The fibular attachment pattern of the BFT and LCL shows diverse types in MR imaging. The LCL does not adhere to the head in some patients.

• Advances in materials Research
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.181-192
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• 2016

In this work effect of high energy milling on the structural and electrical properties of $Ba(Fe_{1/2}Ta_{1/2})O_3$ (BFT) ceramic synthesized using standard solid-state reaction method were investigated. X-ray diffraction studies indicated that the unit cell structure for all the samples to be hexagonal (space group: P3m1). FTIR spectra also confirmed the formation of BFT without any new phase. The milled (10 h) BFT ceramic showed the formation of small grain sizes (<$2{\mu}m$) which is beneficial for dielectric applications in high density integrated devices. Besides, the milled (10 h) BFT ceramic sample exhibited superior dielectric properties (enhancement in ${\varepsilon}^{\prime}-value$ and reduction in $tg{\delta}-value$) compared to un-milled one. Impedance analysis indicated the negative temperature coefficient of resistance (NTCR) character. The correlated barrier hopping model (jump relaxation type) is found to successfully explain the mechanism of charge transport in present ceramic samples.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.27 no.9
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• pp.1250-1253
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• 2014

The objective of this study was to estimate the parameters of Gompertz growth curves with the measurements of body conformation, real-time ultrasound longissimus dorsi muscle area (LMA) and backfat thickness (BFT) in Hanwoo cows. The Hanwoo cows (n = 3,373) were born in 97 Hanwoo commercial farms in the 17 cities or counties of Gyeongbuk province, Korea, between 2000 and 2007. A total of 5,504 ultrasound measurements were collected for the cows at the age of 13 to 165 months in 2007 and 2008. Wither height (HW), rump height (HR), the horizontal distance between the top of the hips (WH), and girth of chest (GC) were also measured. Analysis of variance was conducted to investigate variables affecting LMA and BFT. The effect of farm nested in location was included in the statistical model, as well as the effects of HW, HR, WH, and GC as covariates. All of the effects were significant in the analysis of variance for LMA and BFT (p<0.01), except for the HR effect for LMA. The two ultrasound measures and the four body conformation traits were fitted to a Gompertz growth curve function to estimate parameters. Upper asymptotic weights were estimated as $54.0cm^2$, 7.67 mm, 125.6 cm, 126.4 cm, 29.3 cm, and 184.1 cm, for LMA, BFT, HW, HR, WH, and GC, respectively. Results of ultrasound measurements showed that Hanwoo cows had smaller LMA and greater BFT than other western cattle breeds, suggesting that care must be taken to select for thick BFT rather than an increase of only beef yield. More ultrasound records per cow are needed to get accurate estimates of growth curve, which, thus, helps producers select animals with high accuracy.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.161-167
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• 2015

These commensal intestinal bacteria can enhance the immune system and aid in nutrient absorption but can also act as opportunistic pathogens. Among these intestinal bacteria, the anaerobic Bacteroides fragilis are divided into enterotoxigenic B. fragilis (ETBF) which secrete the B. fragilis toxin (BFT) and non-enterotoxigenic B. fragilis (NTBF) which do not secrete BFT. ETBF can cause diarrhea and colitis in both humans and livestock but can also be found in asymptomatic individuals. ETBF is predominantly found in patients with inflammatory diarrheal diseases and traveller's diarrhea. Several clinical studies have also reported an increased prevalence of ETBF in human patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), colitis and colorectal cancer. In small animal models (C57BL/6 wild-type mice, germ-free mice, multiple intestinal neoplasia (Min) mice, rabbits and Mongolian gerbils), ETBF have been found to initiate and/or aggravate IBD, colitis and colorectal cancer. BFT induces E-cadherin cleavage in intestinal epithelial cells resulting in loss of epithelial cell integrity. Subsequent activation of the ${\beta}$-catenin pathway leads to increased cellular proliferation. In addition, ETBF causes acute and chronic colitis in wild-type mice as well as enhances tumorigenesis in Min mice via activation of the Stat3/Th17 pathway. Currently, ETBF can be detected using a BFT toxin bioassay and by PCR. Advances in molecular biological techniques such as real-time PCR have allowed both researchers as well as clinicians to rapidly detect ETBF in clinical samples. The emergence of more sensitive techniques will likely advance molecular insight into the role of ETBF in colitis and cancer.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.155-160
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• 2014

The purpose of this study was to estimate genetic parameters of ultrasound measurements for longissimus dorsi muscle area (LMA), backfat thickness (BFT), and marbling score (MS) in Hanwoo cows (N = 3,062) at the ages between 18 and 42 months. Data were collected from 100 Hanwoo breeding farms in Gyeongbuk province, Korea, in 2007 and 2008. The cows were classified into four different age groups, i.e. 18 to 22 months (the first pregnancy period), 23 to 27 (the first parturition), 28 to 32 (the second pregnancy), and 33 to 42 (the second parturition), respectively. For each age group, a multi-trait animal model was used to estimate variance components and heritabilities of the three traits. The averages of LMA, BFT, and MS measurements across the cows of all age groups were 50.1 $cm^2$, 4.62 mm, and 3.04, respectively and heritability estimates were 0.09, 0.10, and 0.08 for the respective traits. However, when the data were analyzed in different age groups, heritability estimates of LMA and BFT were 0.24 and 0.47, respectively, for the cows of 18 to 22 months of age, and 0.21 for MS in the 28 to 32 months old cows. When the cows of all age groups were used, the estimates of genetic (phenotypic) correlations were 0.43 (0.35), -0.06 (0.34) and 0.21 (0.32) between LMA and BFT, LMA and MS, and BFT and MS, respectively. However, in the cow age group between 28 and 32 (18 and 22) months, the estimates of genetic (phenotypic) correlations were 0.05 (0.29), -0.15 (0.24) and 0.38 (0.24), for the respective pairs of traits. These results suggest that genetic, environmental, and phenotypic variations differ depending on cow age, such that care must be taken when ultrasound measurements are applied to selection of cows for meat quality.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.591-595
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• 2002

Three hundred thirty five progeny testing steers of Korean beef cattle were evaluated ultrasonically for back fat thickness (BFT), longissimus muscle area (LMA) and intramuscular fat (IF) before slaughter. Class measurements associated with the Korean yield grade and quality grade were also obtained. Residual standard deviation between ultrasonic estimates and carcass measurements of BFT, LMA were 1.49 mm and $0.96cm^2$. The linear correlation coefficients (p<0.01) between ultrasonic estimates and carcass measurements of BFT, LMA and IF were 0.75, 0.57 and 0.67, respectively. Results for improving predictions of yield grade by four methods-the Korean yield grade index equation, fat depth alone, regression and decision tree methods were 75.4%, 79.6%, 64.3% and 81.4%, respectively. We conclude that the decision tree method can easily predict yield grade and is also useful for increasing prediction accuracy rate.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.275-279
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• 2018

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is increasing in prevalence in developed countries but the cause of this increase is unclear. In animal models of IBD and in human IBD patients, alterations in the tight junctional proteins have been observed, suggesting that the intestinal microflora may penetrate the underlying colonic tissue and promote inflammation. Enterotoxigenic Bacteroides fragilis (ETBF) causes inflammatory diarrhea in human and is implicated in inflammatory bowel diseases. However, it is unclear whether alterations in tight junctional proteins occur during ETBF infection in mice. In this brief communication, we report that ETBF infection induces up-regulation of claudin-2 and down-regulation of claudin-5 through B. fragilis toxin (BFT) activity in the large intestine of C57BL/6 mice. In contrast, BFT did not induce changes in tight junctional proteins in the HT29/C1 cell line, suggesting that analysis of biological activity of BFT in vivo is important for evaluating ETBF effects.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.523-530
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• 2009

For designing concrete structures, engineers are provided data from unidirectional flexure test in most cases. But real structural components such as pavements and deck panel are subjected to multiaxial stress throughout their body. Therefore, biaxial flexure test for concrete may be considered as a gage of the performance of concrete in service. In this paper, we propose the optimum biaixial flexture test (BFT) to measure the biaxial flexural strength of concrete. This method are an improved version of the ring-on-ring test which have been used extensively in the fields of ceramics and biomaterials. The optimum geometry of the test specimen was determined by using a three-dimensional finite element analysis. A series of test data obtained from the proposed test method is provided to show that the proposed optimum biaxial flexure test method can be used to identify the biaxial tensile strength of concrete.