• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.225-230
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• 2012

Interferon induced transmembrane protein-1 (Ifitm-1) has been reported to have an important role in primordial germ cell formation, and it has expressed in female reproductive organ. In the present study, Ifitm-1 gene expression was identified in testes and all part of epididymis using western immunoblot and immunohistochemistry. Interestingly, Ifitm-1 expression was observed on the head of spermatozoa. To investigate the role of Ifitm-1 gene expression in behavior of spermatozoa after acrosome reaction, fresh sperm was incubated with calcium ionophore to induce acrosome reaction, whereas the expression of Ifitm-1 was not altered after the acrosome reaction. Then to identify the effect of Ifitm-1 in sperm motility and other seminal parameters, different concentration of Ifitm-1 antibody was incubated with spermatozoa, and seminal parameters were assessed using computer-assisted semen analysis (CASA). Interestingly, motility, progressive, and VAP were increased in the sperm with Ifitm-1 antibody treated compared to rabbit serum, however other parameters such as straightness were not changed. In order to identify the functional significance of Ifitm-1 in fertilization, capacitated spermatozoa were pre-incubated with anti-Ifitm-1 antibody and subsequently examined the ability to adhere to mouse oocytes. However, any defection or alteration in sperm-egg fusion was not found, Ifitm-1 antibody treated or non-treated spermatozoa showed a normal penetration. Although the precise role of Ifitm-1 in sperm motility and following fertilization need to be elucidated, this study suggests that the activation of Ifitm-1 on the sperm may enhance the motility of spermatozoa in mice.

• Archives of design research
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• v.20 no.1 s.69
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• pp.79-88
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• 2007

A company's plan to reform its products' image cannot obtain expected results unless a color plan is included in the reformation plan. A color plan is essential since color conveys to customers much information on function, shape, and material quality of the product. In other words, color is the essential dimension or criteria that customers use when evaluating the quality of goods. Despite the importance of a color plan, companies in Korea are still behind in researching and receiving 'color information' compared to those in more advanced countries. Recognizing the importance of products color, many international companies constantly make their efforts to predict trendy colors and preferred styles of customers before they develop products. It is suggested that domestic companies invest more in color infrastructure to be more successful in making products which can catch the customers' eyes and emotion. Different life styles by age, income level, and gender would be only a few of many factors to be investigated to build color plans for a product. In this study, it is attempted to see the color tendency of young generation by gender, and also to analyze empirically the influence of product's color on its image and customers' behavior. The results are analyzed with frequency analysis, cross tabulation analysis, T-test, one-way ANOVA using SPSS Win 12. The results of this study show that color preference, product image and product attitude are influenced by product's color, and color is an important factor for forming additional emotional value together with the product's original functional value. Judging from the findings, it is recommended that a company undertake careful research before developing a product to find out how customers respond differently to products in different colors especially when the product belongs to the product category where color is considered to be a determinant factor in terms of choosing a brand.

• Journal of Energy Engineering
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.89-95
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• 2015

Carbon felts manufactured by (Co)CNF were subjected to heat treatment under different temperatures to use for the electrode of a redox-flow battery. BET and weight loss were tested to investigate the physical properties of the carbon felt according to the heat treatment conditions. SEM and XPS were also analyzed to characterize their surface area. In addition, electrical resistance, CV (cyclic voltammetry) and RFB charge on the electrode properties were examined in accordance with the heat treatment conditions with the discharge performance. The changes of physical properties on the carbon felt surface was confirmed via SEM and BET analysis, The most addition of oxygen functional groups on the carbon felt surface was obtained when one hour heat treatment at $550^{\circ}C$ and it was confirmed by XPS analysis. After resulting the CV tests, the active area of the electrode was the largest at $550^{\circ}C$ heat treatment. The heat treatment experiment of vanadium redox flow battery using the carbon felts were tested at $400^{\circ}C$, $500^{\circ}C$ and $550^{\circ}C$. As a result, the charge-discharge energy efficiency of the heat treatment electrode was 72.9% and 79.8%, at $400^{\circ}C$ and $500^{\circ}C$, respectively. The efficiency of the heat treatment electrode at $550^{\circ}C$ was the best as 79.8% at $550^{\circ}C$.

• The Korean Journal of Pharmacology
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.91-102
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• 1992

In $Ca^{++}$ containing media, arachidonic acid markedly stimulated superoxide and $H_2O_2$ generation and activated NADPH oxidase. In $Ca^{++}$ free media, stimulatory action of arachidonic acid on NADPH oxidase was not detected. Arachidonic acid-stimulated respiratory burst was inhibited by EGTA, TMB-8, verapamil, diltiazem, nifedipine, dibucaine, lidocaine, CCCP, 2,4-dinitrophenol, sodium arsenate, chlorpromazine, theophylline, $HgCl_2$, PCMB and PCMBSA but not affected by tetrodotoxin, tetraethylammonium chloride and procaine. EGTA almost completely inhibited release of ${\beta}-glucuronidase$ by arachidonic acid and verapamil, CCCP and theophylline slightly inhibited it, whereas dibucaine did not show any significant effect. Arachidonic acid induced $Ca^{++}$ release from intact neutrophils and it was decreased by TMB-8. Arachidonic acid-induced elevation of intracellular free $Ca^{++}$ level was inhibited by EGTA and CCCP and slightly inhibited by TMB-8. Amount of intracellular free $Ca^{++}$ increased by either arachidonic acid plus verapamil or arachidonic acid plus dibucaine was greater than that by arachidonic acid alone. These results suggest that various changes of biochemical events may be implicated in the functional expression in neutrophils activated by arachidonic acid. Arachidonic acid appears to elevate cytosolic free $Ca^{++}$ level by stimulating $Ca^{++}$ release from intracellular $Ca^{++}$ storage sites. During activation of neutrophils, $Ca^{++}$ influx and efflux may be accomplished, simultaneously.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.88-92
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• 1991

To analyze the effects of the system parameters on the target parameters, which include the amount of water evaporation, water solubility index(WSI) and water absorption index(WAI), test trials of fractional factorial design of the three process variables at three levels were carried out for corn grit with a laboratory twin-screw extruder with three different screw configurations. The system parameters collected from the trials, such as extrusion temperature, specific mechanical energy input(SME) and mean residence time(RT), were showed the ranges of $129{\sim}182^{\circ}C$, $67{\sim}163\;kwh/ton$ and $12{\sim}34\;sec$, respectively. Within these ranges of the system parameters, the target parameters were able to be quantified by using multiple regression equations. The correlation of results with the system parameters blocked by the screw configuration as dependent variables, yield correlation coefficients above 0.90, and the correlation using the system parameters obtained from whole experiment system as the dependent variables yield correlation coefficients around 0.80. The functional relationship, which can be quantified by second order polynomial regression equation with only two system parameters within necessary degree of accuracy, can he graped in three dimensional surface response and contour diagrams.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.56-60
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• 2014

We investigated the feasibility of incorporating licorice powder as a value-added food ingredient in pound cake, a model system of convenient food products. The pH and moisture content gradually decreased with increasing levels of added licorice powder (p<0.05). The weight and height of the cakes decreased, and the baking loss increased as higher amounts of licorice powder were included in the formulation (p<0.05). The lightness and hardness both decreased, whereas browning increased significantly (p<0.05) with the addition of licorice powder. In addition, we observed a significant increase (p<0.05) in 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) radical scavenging activities that correlated well with the licorice powder content. In consumer acceptance tests, the addition of 4% licorice powder had the most favorable effect on consumer preferences for all the attributes examined. Based on these observations, we recommend supplementing pound cakes with 4% (w/w) licorice powder to take advantage of its functional properties without sacrificing consumer acceptability.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.51-55
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• 2014

We investigated the feasibility of incorporating Codonopsis lanceolata (C. lanceolata) powder into cookies as a value-added food ingredient. The density and moisture content of the dough was not significantly affected by the addition of C. lanceolata powder (p>0.05); the pH ranged from 6.01-6.51. The spread ratio decreased significantly with the increasing levels of C. lanceolata powder added (p<0.05). The lightness decreased, but both browning and hardness increased significantly with the higher amounts of C. lanceolata powder in the formulation (p<0.05). The 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) radical scavenging activities were increased significantly (p<0.05) and correlated well with increasing amounts of C. lanceolata. In consumer acceptance tests, the addition of C. lanceolata powder, up to 10% (w/w), had a favorable effect on consumer preferences for all the attributes tested. Based on these observations, we recommend cookies with 5% C. lanceolata powder to take advantage of its functional properties without sacrificing consumer acceptability.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.28 no.11
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• pp.1537-1544
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• 2015

Meat and carcass quality attributes are of crucial importance influencing consumer preference and profitability in the pork industry. A set of 400 Berkshire pigs were collected from Dasan breeding farm, Namwon, Chonbuk province, Korea that were born between 2012 and 2013. To perform genome wide association studies (GWAS), eleven meat and carcass quality traits were considered, including carcass weight, backfat thickness, pH value after 24 hours (pH24), Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage lightness in meat color (CIE L), redness in meat color (CIE a), yellowness in meat color (CIE b), filtering, drip loss, heat loss, shear force and marbling score. All of the 400 animals were genotyped with the Porcine 62K SNP BeadChips (Illumina Inc., USA). A SAS general linear model procedure (SAS version 9.2) was used to pre-adjust the animal phenotypes before GWAS with sire and sex effects as fixed effects and slaughter age as a covariate. After fitting the fixed and covariate factors in the model, the residuals of the phenotype regressed on additive effects of each single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) under a linear regression model (PLINK version 1.07). The significant SNPs after permutation testing at a chromosome-wise level were subjected to stepwise regression analysis to determine the best set of SNP markers. A total of 55 significant (p<0.05) SNPs or quantitative trait loci (QTL) were detected on various chromosomes. The QTLs explained from 5.06% to 8.28% of the total phenotypic variation of the traits. Some QTLs with pleiotropic effect were also identified. A pair of significant QTL for pH24 was also found to affect both CIE L and drip loss percentage. The significant QTL after characterization of the functional candidate genes on the QTL or around the QTL region may be effectively and efficiently used in marker assisted selection to achieve enhanced genetic improvement of the trait considered.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.183-189
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• 2013

This study was performed to investigate the whitening effects of Lactobacillus rhamnosus in addition to its antioxidative activities. The cytotoxicity of the Lactobacillus rhamnosus was 7.6% at 10.0% (v/v) concentration. Its cytotoxicity was lower than 3.2% of Lactobacillus casei when adding the same concentration. Lactobacillus rhamnosus exhibited high antioxidative activities at 14.9% of DPPH radical scavenging activity, and a lower reducing power was measured. Lactobacillus casei exhibited relatively lower antioxidative activities at 13.4%. The tyrosinase inhibition activity of Lactobacillus rhamnosus was observed at 31.3% when adding 10.0% (v/v), as compared to 17.7% for Lactobacillus casei. Lactobacillus rhamnosus demonstrated strong inhibition activity for melanin synthesis at 58.6% when adding 10.0% (v/v), while Lactobacillus casei increased to 80.6%. It was also observed that the high antioxidative activities of Lactobacillus rhamnosus were strongly correlated to whitening activities, due to the inhibition of both tyrosinase and melanin synthesis. These results support the expanded use of lactic acid bacteria as a functional bioresources in the cosmetics industry.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.239-246
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• 2012

This study was performed to investigate the removal characteristics and mechanism of heavy metals using pellet-type ceramics(ZS ceramics), in which natural zeolite was mixed and calcined with converter slag. The optimal calcination temperature range was measured to be $600{\sim}800^{\circ}C$. The calcination time had little effect on the removal of heavy metal in acid wastewater. The adequate dose of ceramics was shown to be 2~5% for removal of heavy metals in acid wastewater. The maximum removal capacity of ZS ceramics for heavy metals were observed to be Al 84.7 mg/g, Cd 37.3 mg/g, Cr 81.7 mg/g, Cu 55.6 mg/g, Fe 57.2 mg/g, Mn 32.1 mg/g, Ni 38.0 mg/g, Pb 71.6 mg/g, Zn 46.3 mg/g. The pH played a pivotal role in the removal of heavy metals by ZS ceramics. The analysis results of mechanism exhibited that the ZS ceramics could act as a multi-functional ceramics for removal of heavy metals in acid wastewater by adsorption, ion-exchange, or precipitation.