• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.160-168
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• 2014

Continuous body temperature monitoring is useful and essential in diverse medical procedures such as infection onset detection, therapeutic hypothermia, circadian rhythm monitoring, sleep disorder assessment, and gynecological research. However, the existing thermometers are too invasive or intrusive to be applied to long-term body temperature monitoring. In our previous study, we invented the bi-medium deep body thermometer which can noninvasively and continuously monitor deep tissue temperature. And the ratio of thermal resistances expressed as K-value should be obtained to estimate body temperature with the thermometer and it can be different under various measurement environments. Although the device was proven to be useful through preliminary simulation test and small group of human study, the experimental environment was restrictive in our previous approach. In this study, a finite element simulation was executed to obtain the K-value and evaluate the accuracy of bi-medium thermometer under various measurement environments. In addition, K-value estimation equation was developed by analyzing the influence of 5 measurement environmental factors (medium length, medium height, tissue depth, blood perfusion rate, and ambient temperature) on K-value. The results revealed that the estimation accuracy of bi-medium deep body thermometer based on computer simulation was very high (RMSE < $0.003^{\circ}C$) in various measurement environments. Also, bi-medium deep body thermometer based on K-value estimation equation showed relatively accurate results (RMSE < $0.3^{\circ}C$) except for one case. Although the K-value estimation technology should be improved for more accurate body temperature estimation, the results of finite element simulation showed that bi-medium deep body thermometer could accurately measure various tissue temperatures under diverse environments.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.1318-1323
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• 2004

This study describes the purification and characterization of a novel antihypertensive angiotensin 1­converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory peptide from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Maximal production of the ACE inhibitor from Saccharomyces cerevisiae was obtained from 24 h of cultivation at $30^{\circ}C$ and its ACE inhibitory activity was increased by about 1.5 times after treatment of the cell-free extract with pepsin. After the purification of ACE inhibitory peptides with ultrafiltration, Sephadex G-25 column chromatography, and reverse-phase HPLC, an active fraction with an $IC_{50}$ of 0.07 mg and $3.5\%$ yield was obtained. The purified peptide was a novel decapeptide, showing very low similarity to other ACE inhibitory peptide sequences, and its amino acid sequence was Tyr-Asp-Gly-Gly-Val-Phe-Arg-Val-Tyr-Thr. The purified inhibitor competitively inhibited ACE and also showed a clear antihypertensive effect in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) at a dosage of 1 mg/kg body weight.

• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.279-285
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• 2003

Lidocaine and galactose loading tests were performed on a bioartificial liver (BAL), an extracorporeal medical device incorporating living hepatocytes in a cartridge without a transport barrier across the membranes. The concentration changes were analyzed using pharmacokinetic equations to evaluate the efficacy and limitation of the proposed method. Lidocaine and galactose were found to be suitable drugs for a quantitative evaluation of the BAL functions, as they did not interact with the plasma proteins or blood vessels, making their concentrations easy to determine. The drug concentration changes after drug loading were easily analyzed using pharmacokinetic equations, and the BAL functions quantitatively expressed by pharmacokinetic parameters, such as the clearance (CL) and galactose elimination capacity (GEC). In addition, these two drugs have already been used in clinical tests to evaluate human liver functions over long periods, and lidocaine CL values and GEC values reported for a normal human liver. Thus, a comparison of the CL and GEC values for the BAL and a natural liver revealed what proportion of normal liver functions could be replaced by the BAL.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.11
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• pp.1789-1791
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• 2008

This study was aimed (i) to develop an effective method for the purification of ginsenosides for industrial use and (ii) to compare the distribution of ginsenosides in cultured wild ginseng roots (adventitious root culture of Panax ginseng) with those of red ginseng (steamed ginseng) and white ginseng (air-dried ginseng). The crude extracts of cultured wild ginseng roots, red ginseng, and white ginseng were obtained by using a 75% ethanol extraction combined with ultrasonication. This was followed sequentially by AB-8 macroporous adsorption chromatography, Amberlite IRA 900 Cl anion-exchange chromatography, and Amberlite XAD16 adsorption chromatography for further purification. The contents of total ginsenosides were increased from 4.1%, 12.1%, and 11.3% in the crude extracts of cultured wild ginseng roots, red ginseng, and white ginseng to 79.4%, 71.7%, and 72.5% in the final products, respectively. HPLC analysis demonstrated that ginsenosides in cultured wild ginseng roots were distributed in a different ratio compared with red ginseng and white ginseng.

• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.64-75
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• 2003

Aptamers are functional nucleic acids that can specially bind to proteins, peptides, amino acids. nucleotides, drugs, vitamins and other organic and inorganic compounds. The aptamers are identified from random DNA or RNA libraries by a SELEX (systematic evolution of ligands by exponential amplification) process. As aptamers have the advantage, and potential ability to be released from the limitations of antibodies, they are attractive to a wide range of therapeutic and diagnostic applications. Aptamers, with a high-affinity and specificity, could fulfil molecular the recognition needs of various fields in biotechnology. In this work, we reviewed some aptamer Selection techniques, properties, medical applications of their molecules and their biotechnological applications, such as ELONA (enzyme linked oligonucleotide assay), flow cytometry, biosensors, electrophoresis, chromatography and microarrays.

• BMB Reports
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• v.56 no.11
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• pp.594-599
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• 2023

A number of therapeutic drugs have been developed from functional chemicals found in plants. Knowledge of plants used for medicinal purposes has historically been transmitted by word of mouth or through literature. The aim of the present study is to provide a systemic platform for the development of lead compounds against breast cancer based on a traditional medical text. To verify our systematic approach, integrating processes consisted of text mining of traditional medical texts, 3-D virtual docking screening, and in vitro and in vivo experimental validations were demonstrated. Our text analysis system identified rutin as a specific phytochemical traditionally used for cancer treatment. 3-D virtual screening predicted that rutin could block EGFR signaling. Thus, we validated significant anti-cancer effects of rutin against breast cancer cells through blockade of EGFR signaling pathway in vitro. We also demonstrated in vivo anti-cancer effects of rutin using the breast cancer recurrence in vivo models. In summary, our innovative approach might be proper for discovering new phytochemical lead compounds designing for blockade of malignant neoplasm including breast cancer.

• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.32-35
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• 1996

Amoving aeration-membrane (MAM) bioreactor was employed for the production of 2$\mu$g/mL of tissue type Plasminogen Activator (tPA)in serum free medium from normal human fibroblast cells. This system could maintain high cell density for long periods of steady state conditions in perfusion cultivation. Under normal operating condition, shear stress was as low as 0.65 dynes/$\textrm{cm}^2$ at the agitation speed of 80 rpm. Even though cell density gradually decreased with increasing agitation speed, tPA production increased linearly with increasing shear stress within a moderate range. This culture system allowed production of 2$\mu$g tPA/mL while maintaining a high cell denisty of 1.0$\times$107 viable cell/mL.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.274-277
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• 2013

The unique properties of graphene have earned much interest in the fields of materials science and condensedmatter physics in recent years. However, the biological applications of graphene remain largely unexplored. In this study, we investigate the cell culture conditions, which are exposed to graphene onto glass and $SiO_2$/Si using human nerve cell line, SH-SY5Y. Cell viability was 84% when cultured on glass and $SiO_2$/Si coated with graphene as compared to culturing on polystyrene surface. Fluorescence data showed that the presence of graphene did not influence cell morphology. These findings suggest that graphene may be used for biological applications.

• Plant Biotechnology Reports
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.229-235
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• 2010

In this study, we established an in vitro regeneration system to maximize the recovery of leafy perilla (Perilla frutescens L. Britton) plantlets as part of developing a molecular biotechnology-based metabolic engineering program for this crop plant. Hypocotyl segments including the apical buds were used as explants for the direct production of shoots without an interim callus phase. The number of shoots produced from the apical buds peaked within 3-4 weeks, and the shoots were subsequently cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) media supplemented with 2 mg $1^{-1}$ benzylaminopurine (BA). Spontaneous rhizogenesis was observed after 7-10 days of culture on MS media without hormonal additives. The rooted shoots developed into normal plants in soil after hardening on distilled water for 3-4 days. The average plantlet regeneration frequency was higher for the apical buds (64.33%) than for the top (15.66%), middle (4%), and basal (1.33%) segments of the hypocotyls. This regeneration system demonstrates a capacity for high-frequency plantlet recovery and thus should be considered for use in the genetic manipulation of leafy perilla.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.168-172
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• 1999

The antifungal mechanism of the antifungal peptide against Aspergillus fumigatus, $K^{18,19}$-CA(l-8)-ME(l-12), derived from cecropin A(l-8)-melittin(l-12) was investigated by confocal laser scanning microscopy, cell wall regeneration, ATPase activity inhibition, and released potassium ion. By confocal laser scanning microscopy, $K^{18,19}$-CA(l-8)-ME(l-12) was detected on the surface of A. fumigatus, while cecropin A used as a negative control peptide was not detected. The protoplast of A. fumigatus treated with$K^{18,19}$-CA(1-8)-ME(1-12) failed to regenerate the fungal cell walls. Compared with cecropin A, the amount of potassium ion released by $K^{18,19}$-CA(l-8)-ME(l-12) was increased. Furthermore, $K^{18,19}$-CA(l-8)-ME(l-12) inhibited the ATPase activity on the plasma membrane. These results suggested that $K^{18,19}$-CA(l-8)-ME(1-12) acts on the plasma membrane of A. fumigatus and its antifungal action is due to the ion channel or pore formation on the plasma membrane.