• Environmental Sciences Bulletin of The Korean Environmental Sciences Society
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• v.10 no.S_1
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• pp.35-40
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• 2001

Effect of the addition of an enzyme/microbial additive(EMA) to enhance anaerobic digestion of the primary sludge was investigated. Two laboratory scale anaerobic digester were operated with primary sludge taken from a municipal wastewater treatment plant. The digester receiving EMA with the sludge feed performed better than the control digester, when both were operated at 10-days and 15-days Solid Retention Time(SRT). Addition of EMA to the experimental digester provided 7%(10-days SRT) and 16%(15-days SRT) higher gas production compared to the control digester when both were fed with the same amount of volatile solids. The reduction in volatile solids was 24% better in the experimental digester compared to the control ar 10-days SRT, and the improvement 10% at 15-day SRT. Improvement in COD reduction, and fecal coliform density reduction were also seen in the experimental digester due to EMA addition compared to the control both ar 10-days SRT and 15-day SRT operation. Preliminary cost benefit analysis for a wastewater treatment plant showed that approximately $115/day in gas production improvements can be realized upon addition of EMA to primary sludge anaerobic digesters operating at 10-day SRT. The value of increased gas production was $172/day if the same digesters are operated with EMA addition at 15-day SRT.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.95-100
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• 2011

The effect of diet supplementation of Antheraea pernyi (A. pernyi) silk fibroin on the lipid metabolism and antioxidant defense status in high fat-fed mice was investigated. The animals were given normal control diet (NC group), high fat diet (HF group), or high fat diet supplemented with A. pernyi silk fibroin powder (HFS group) for 7 weeks. After the experimental period, the HF group showed significant increase in body weight, plasma and hepatic total cholesterol levels, and hepatic triglyceride concentration, and decreased activities of hepatic antioxidant enzymes relative to NC group. However, the HFS group exhibited marked reduction in body weight, plasma cholesterol and hepatic triglyceride levels, hepatic lipogenic enzyme activities, and lipid peroxidation rate, and higher high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol level, fecal triglyceride content, and antioxidant enzymes activities compared with that of HF group. These findings demonstrate that dietary feeding of A. pernyi silk fibroin could improve the lipid metabolism and antioxidant defense system via regulation of hepatic antioxidant and lipogenic enzymes activities. Hence, this silk fibroin may be beneficial as a functional biomaterial for the development of therapeutic agent against high fat diet-induced hyperlipidemia and its related diseases.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.20-26
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• 2004

Twelve strains of Bifidobacterium spp. were isolated from the feces of healthy Korean 20∼30 years. The identification of genera from isolates were performed by the microscopic observation and fructose-6-phosphate phosphoketolase (F6PPK) activity which is the key enzyme to distinguish the Bifidobacterium spp. from other anaerobic bacteria. To determine the antibacterial resistance patterns, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of several antibiotics (including anti-tuberculosis agents) was determined. Five of the isolate!, showed the high degree of resistance to vancomycin. To investigate the genetic diversity between isolates and type strain of Bifidobacterium spp. from KCTC, we peformed the RAPD-fingerprinting. Using a total set of four primers, it is possible to distinguish the isolates and Bifidobacterium spp. from KCTC. Thus, Bifidobacterium strains isolated from our samples may be a new species or strains of Bifidobacteriurn genera, and have the potential as a probiotics.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.248-256
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• 2003

Two experiments were conducted to determine the effects of expander processing and enzyme supplementation of wheat-based diets on growth performance and nutrient digestibility in finishing pigs. For Exp. 1, 60 finishing pigs (average initial BW of 49.5 kg) were fed meal, standard pellets and expanded pellets in a 70 d growth assay. From 49.5 to 79.0 kg, 79.0 to 111.8 kg, and overall (49.5 to 111.8 kg), ADG and ADFI were not affected by pelleting or standard vs expander conditioning (p>0.22). However, from 49.5 to 79.0 kg, pigs fed pellets have greater gain/feed than pigs fed mash (p<0.04), and pigs fed expanded pellets tended to have greater (p<0.10) gain/feed than pigs fed standard pellets. Overall (i.e. from 49.5 to 111.8 kg), gain/feed (p<0.02) and apparent fecal digestibilities of DM (p<0.001) and N (p<0.02) were improved by pelleting the diets. Also, expander processing further improved gain/feed (p<0.06) and digestibility of DM (p<0.04) compared to standard steam conditioning. Scores for keratinization (p<0.002) and ulceration (p<0.003) of the stomach were increased by pelleting, but the mean scores for the various treatments ranged only from 0.05 to 1.08 (i.e., low to mild keratosis and ulceration). For Exp. 2, 80 pigs (average initial BW of 54.1 kg) were fed mash and pellets (standard or expander) without and with xylanase. The enzyme was added to supply 4,000 units of xylanase activity/kg of diet. Adding xylanase to the mash diet improved gain/feed from 90.7 to 115.9 kg (p<0.04) of the growth assay and digestibility of DM (p<0.05) on d 39. However, in pelleted diets, adding the enzyme did not improve growth performance or digestibility of nutrients. Pelleting tended to increase scores for ulceration (p<0.06), and enzyme supplementation decreased stomach keratinization scores for pigs fed the standard pellets (p<0.01). However, as in Exp. 1, the mean scores for all treatment groups were quiet low (i.e., ranging from normal to mild). In conclusion, pelleting improved efficiency of growth, but additional benefits from expander conditioning were observed only in Exp. 1. Finally, xylanase tended to improve growth performance and nutrient digestibility, only in pigs fed mash diets but not in pigs fed pellets.

• Nutritional Sciences
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.141-147
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• 2003

Fruits and vegetables reportedly have a protective effect against hyperlipidemia and oxidative disease. Accordingly, this study aimed to investigate the lipid-lowering effect and antioxidative capacity of persimmon leaf extract (PLE) in rats fed a high-cholesterol diet. Male rats were fed a high-cholesterol (1% wt/wt) or high-cholesterol diet supplemented with Lovastatin (0.02% wt/wt) or PLE (0.2% wt/wt) for 5 weeks. The concentration of plasma total cholesterol was significantly lower in the PLE group than in the lovastatin group. However, the concentration of plasma HDL-cholesterol and the ratio of HDL-cholesterol/total-cholesterol (%) were significantly higher in the PLE group than in the control group. The PLE supplement also significantly lowered the contents of hepatic cholesterol and triglyceride. In comparing fecal sterol contents, the PLE group saw a significant increase of both neutral and acidic sterol compared to the other groups. The PLE supplement significantly lowered plasma GOT and GPT activity, which ave indices of hepatic toxicity. Plasma TBARS concentration was significantly lower in the PLE group than in the control group, while hepatic TBARS level was not significantly different between the groups. In a comparison of hepatic antioxidant parameters, SOD, catalase and GSH-Px activity were significantly higher in the PLE group than in the control group. However, the PLE supplement significantly towered antioxidant enzyme activity in the erythrocyte. Furthermore, these results suggest that supplementation of PLE promoted the excretion of fecal sterols, thereby leading to decreased absorption of dietary cholesterol. In addition, PLE may play an important role in regulating antioxidative capacities by altering SOD and ChT activity.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.414-419
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• 2019

JC polyomavirus (JCPyV) is a human pathogenic virus belonging to the family Polyomaviridae, a viral group containing dsDNA nucleic acid. A recent recommendation is to apply the presence of JCPyV as a fecal indicator for water contamination in environments like sewage, and techniques to monitor JCPyV in water are being proposed. To date, the conventional PCR system has been applied as a diagnostic method for detecting JCPyV. There is a need for a more rapid and sensitive JCPyV diagnostic detection method in clinical and environmental samples. In this study, we developed a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) primer set for the detection of JCPyV. Our results indicate that the LAMP method using a specific primer set shows about 10-fold higher detection sensitivity than the conventional PCR system. The effectiveness of the LAMP method developed in this study has been validated by PCR product digestion using the HaeIII restriction enzyme. We, therefore, propose that the LAMP method using a specific primer set can be applied as a rapid and sensitive detection method for monitoring JCPyV in clinical and environmental samples.

• Journal of Neurogastroenterology and Motility
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.643-655
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• 2018

Background/Aims Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common disease characterized by intestinal dysmotility, the mechanism of which remains elusive. We aim to determine whether the high-affinity choline transporter 1 (CHT1), a determinant of cholinergic signaling capacity, modulates intestinal motility associated with stress-induced IBS. Methods A rat IBS model was established using chronic water avoidance stress (WAS). Colonic pathological alterations were evaluated histologically and intestinal motility was assessed by intestinal transit time and fecal water content (FWC). Visceral sensitivity was determined by visceromotor response to colorectal distension. RT-PCR, western blotting, and immunostaining were performed to identify colonic CHT1 expression. Contractility of colonic muscle strips was measured using isometric transducers. enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to measure acetylcholine (ACh). We examined the effects of MKC-231, a choline uptake enhancer, on colonic motility. Results After 10 days of WAS, intestinal transit time was decreased and fecal water content increased. Visceromotor response magnitude in WAS rats in response to colorectal distension was significantly enhanced. Protein and mRNA CHT1 levels in the colon were markedly elevated after WAS. The density of CHT1-positive intramuscular interstitial cells of Cajal and myenteric plexus neurons in WAS rats was higher than in controls. Ammonium pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate partly reversed CHT1 upregulation and alleviated colonic hypermotility in WAS rats. Pharmacological enhancement of CHT1 activity by MKC-231 enhanced colonic motility in control rats via upregulation of CHT1 and elevation of ACh production. Conclusion Upregulation of CHT1 in intramuscular interstitial cells of Cajal and myenteric plexus neurons is implicated in chronic stress-induced colonic hypermotility by modulation of ACh synthesis via nuclear factor-kappa B signaling.

• Korean Journal of Exercise Nutrition
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.6-13
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• 2019

[Purpose] In this study, we examined the in vitro antioxidant activities and laxative effects of taurine-xylose (T-X), a synthetic taurine-carbohydrate derivative, in a rat model of constipation induced by loperamide. [Methods] The animals were divided into four treatment groups: normal untreated rats (NOR group), loperamide-treated control rats (CON group), loperamide and taurine-xylose (15 mg/kg)-treated rats (T-X group), and loperamide and commercial Dulcolax S (5.5 mg/kg)-treated rats (DS group). [Results] In the present study, T-X exhibited potent reducing power and free radical scavenging activities for DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) and ABTS+ (2,2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline 6-sulfonic acid ammonium salt) radicals. The laxative effects of T-X were dependent on food, body weight, fecal properties, gastrointestinal transit (GIT) ratio, and serum metabolic parameters. In the T-X group, the number, wet weight, and water content of fecal pellets were noticeably increased compared to those in the loperamide-induced group. T-X treatment significantly increased the activities of hepatic antioxidant enzymes, including those of glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase (CAT), relative to those in loperamide-induced constipated rats. Furthermore, the GIT ratio and loperamide-induced metabolic parameters in serum, including gastrin (GAS), motilin (MTL), and somatostatin (SS) levels, were significantly improved by T-X treatment. [Conclusion] These results suggest that taurine-xylose exerts antioxidant activities and laxative effects on loperamide-induced constipation by promoting gastrointestinal motility.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.33 no.10
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• pp.1390-1401
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• 2023

In this study, a 12-week feeding experiment was conducted to characterize the effects of exogenous α-amylase on the growth, feed utilization, digestibility, plasma α-amylase activity, feed degradation rate, and fecal particle size of olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus). Diet was supplemented with 0 (AA₀; control), 100 (AA₁₀₀), 200 (AA₂₀₀), or 400 (AA₄₀₀) mg/kg of α-amylase, respectively. Fish (273.1 ± 2.3 g) were stocked into 12 tanks (25 fish/1,000-L tank) and 3 tanks were randomly selected for each diet group. As a result, α-amylase was found to have no significant effects (p ≥ 0.05) on the growth, feed utilization parameters, and whole-body proximate compositions. α-Amylase-treated fish exhibited only a significant increase in the apparent digestibility coefficient of carbohydrates compared to the controls. In addition, in vitro analyses revealed that α-amylase dose-dependently increased (p < 0.05) the feed degradation rate, while photographs of the intestinal content after 2, 4, and 8 h of feeding demonstrated an improved degradation rate in the α-amylase-treated groups. Plasma α-amylase content was higher in the AA₂₀₀ and AA₄₀₀ groups, whereas the control group produced significantly larger-sized fecal particles (90% size class) than these two groups. In the intestine, no changes were observed in the expression levels of the immune-related TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-2, immunoglobulin-M, HSP-70, lysozyme, and amylase alpha-2A. However, growth-related genes IGF-1, IGF-2, TGF-β3, and growth hormone genes were upregulated in muscle tissues. Collectively, exogenous α-amylase has positive roles in the modulation of the digestibility coefficient, blood α-amylase concentration, growth-related gene expression, and diet degradation for improved digestion in olive flounder.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.265-272
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• 2003

The effect of liquid cultures of Cordyceps militaris (LCM) on weight gain, food intakes, food efficiency ratios, serum and hepatic lipids, fecal lipids excretion, serum protein and enzyme activities, were investigated in adult female rats (30 weeks old). Sprague-Dawley rats were assigned to one normal and four hyperlipidemic diet groups, Hyperlipidemic diet groups (20% fat, 1% cholesterol) were divided into high fat diet (LCM free water), 10%, 20% or 30% LCM diet groups (10%, 20% or 30% LCM in water) according to the levels of LCM supplementation. After 35 days of experimental diet consumption, the body weight gains, hepatic weights, and food efficiency ratios of the rats fed hyperlipidemic diets were significantly increased compared with those of the rats fed normal diet. The concentrations of serum and hepatic triglycerides, hepatic total lipid, and atherogenic index of the rats fed 20% or 30% LCM diets were significantly lower than those of the rats fed the high fat diet. The concentration of serum HDL-cholesterol of the rats fed all LCM diets was significantly higher than those of the rats fed the high fat diet. The fecal excretion of triglyceride in the rats fed 20% or 30% LCM diets was significantly higher than those of the rats fed high fat diet. The concentrations of serum and hepatic total cholesterol, serum LDL-cholesterol, and HDL-cholesterol/total cholesterol ratio, fecal excretion of cholesterol, and the activities of serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase and alkaline phosphatase of the rats fed all LCM diets were similar to those of the rats fed high fat diet. No differences were noted in the weights of kidney and femur, the serum concentration of glucose, total protein and albumin, and the activities of glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase and ${\gamma}$ -glutamyltranspeptidase, among the rats on all the experimental diets. These results showed that the 20% or 30% LCM diets feeding decreased the serum and hepatic triglycerides, and the atherogenic index, and increased the serum HDL-cholesterol of the adult female rats.