• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Applied Pharmacology
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• 2001.11a
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• pp.109-109
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• 2001

The present study was done to investigate the relationship between Kupffer cells and alteration of cytochrome P-450 (CYP)-dependent drug metabolizing enzyme activities during polymicrobial sepsis. Male rats were subjected to polymicrobial sepsis by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) followed by fluid resuscitation. The gadolinium chloride (GdC1$_3$, 10 mg/kg), blocker of Kupffer cells, was pretreated intravenously at 48 h and 24 h prior to the induction of CLP. All assay parameters were determined at 24 h after CLP or sham operation. In CLP-treated rats, the mortality rate of animals increased to 50% and serum alanine (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels also significantly elevated. However, this increase was not suppressed by GdC1$_3$ pretreatment. Microsomal lipid peroxidation markedly increased after CLP operation. This increase was significantly attenuated by pretreatment. Total cytochrome P-450 content and NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductase activity were not changed after CLP operation, but GdC1$_3$pretreatment reduced total cytochrome P-450 content, The hepatic microsomal CYP 1A1, 1A2, 2Bl and 2El activities in CLP-induced rats were also not significantly different from sham-operated rats. However, GdC1$_3$pretreatment showed a moderate increase in CYP1A1 and 1A2 activities. Our findings suggest that Kupffer cells may be partly responsible for producing hepatocellular dysfunction during sepsis.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.486-490
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• 2014

Industrial use of microwave heating as an alternative to conventional heating is becoming popular mainly due to dramatic reductions in reaction time. Therefore, this work experimentally determined the effect of microwave irradiation on ammonia nitrogen removal in wastewater. The effects of air flow rate (0.3~0.9 L/min), treatment temperature ($70{\sim}100^{\circ}C$), and initial pH (9~11) were characterized. As the air flow rate increased from 0.3 to 0.9 L/min, the ammonia removal rate constant (k) increased from -0.6642 to $-1.0755min^{-1}$. As the temperature increased from 70 to $100^{\circ}C$, k increased -0.0338 to $-1.0755min^{-1}$. As the pH increased from 9 to 11, k increased -0.2443 to $-1.0755min^{-1}$. Ammonia removal was strongly dependent on temperature and pH rather than air flow rate. The results show that microwave irradiation is effective in ammonia nitrogen removal in wastewater due to advantages of fast and effective processing.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.341-346
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• 2016

The AMY2B gene, encoding human pancreatic ${\alpha}$-amylase isozyme (HPA II), was expressed in Pichia pastoris, and the effects of chloride ions on HPA II activity toward starch substrates were investigated. As seen with chloride ion-dependent ${\alpha}$-amylases-including HPA I, the isozyme of HPA II-chloride ions increased enzyme activity and shifted the optimal pH to an alkaline pH. The activity enhancement by chloride was more significant at pH 8 than that at pH 6, suggesting that the protonation state of the general acid/base catalyst of HPA II was important for the hydrolysis of starches at an alkaline pH because of the increase in its $pK_a$ by chloride ions. The turnover values for cereal starches as the substrates markedly increased in the presence of chloride by up to 7.2-fold, whereas that for soluble starch increased by only 1.7-fold. Chloride inhibited substrate hydrolysis at high substrate concentrations, with $K_i$ values ranging from 6 to 15 mg/mL.

• Journal of the Korean Magnetic Resonance Society
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.46-55
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• 2001

P23, a translationally controlled turner protein is involved in the interleukin-4 secretion from human basophils and is also known to be an IgE-dependent histamine-releasing factor. However, the precise physiological function and structure of P23 have not been elucidated. In the current study, we constructed the optimal expression and purification protocol of P23 and investigated the secondary structure and structural stability in various conditions. Circular dichroism (CD) investigation showed that the secondary structure of P23 adopts mainly a P-sheet conformation. CD spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry revealed that P23 is fairly stable in the pH range of neutral and mild-basic conditions and in the temperature range of 10 - 50$\^{C}$. Since the thermal stability and the P-sheet content of P23 were decreased by the addition of Ca$\^$2+/ ion, it could be suggested that Ca$\^$2+/ion induces structural change by partially destabilizing the structure of P23. In addition various H experiments were monitored to solve the aggregation of P23. Den results will provide the preliminary structural information about P23.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.58-61
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• 2009

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.931-934
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• 2009

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.33 no.10
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• pp.723-730
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• 2011

In this experiment, persulfate, a strong oxidant for ISCO (In-Situ Chemical Oxidation) was used to degraded RDX in artificial ground water at ambient temperature. Results of RDX degradation by persulfate in a batch reactor showed that the oxidation reaction was pseudo first order with estimated Ea (activation energy) of $1.14{\times}10^2kJ/mol$ and the rate was increased with the increase of reaction temperature. The oxidation of RDX by persulfate increased slightly with the increase of initial solution pH from 4 to 8. The RDX oxidation rate increased 13 times at pH 10 compared with that at pH 4, however, alkaline hydrolysis was found to be the main reaction of RDX degradation rather than oxidation. The study also showed that the oxidation rate of RDX by persulfate was linearly dependent upon the molar ratios of persulfate to RDX from 5 : 1 up to 100 : 1, with a proportion constant of $4{\times}10^{-4}$ ($min^{-1}$/molar ratio) at $70^{\circ}C$. While NOM (Natural Organic Matter) exerted negative effects on the oxidation rate of RDX by persulfate, with a proportion constant of $1.21{\times}10^{-4}$ ($min^{-1}{\cdot}L/mg-NOM$) at $70^{\circ}C$ and persulfate/NOM molar ratio of 10/1. The decrease in RDX oxidation rate was linearly dependent upon the added NOM concentration. However, the estimated activation energy in the presence of 20 mg-NOM/L was within 3.3% error compared to that without NOM, which implies the addition of NOM does not alter intrinsic oxidation reaction.

• Journal of Korean Ophthalmic Optics Society
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.381-389
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• 2004

To investigate changes of multi-purpose solutions for soft contact lens(MPS) depending on using period or keeping temperature, we evaluate four brands of MPS. No significant difference was seen in protein deposit removing efficacy after samples had used for 24 weeks and kept at $4^{\circ}C$, $20^{\circ}C$ or $30^{\circ}C$. The pH values of the samples of 4 brands measured weekly over the 24 week testing period. The initial average pH value of samples were 7.0, 7.5, 7.6 or 8.2. One brand of MPS was in the range of the threshold for ocular awareness, which is outside the zone of 6.6 ~ 7.8. During the testing period, the pH value were decreased in using period-dependent manner. At the 24th week, the average pH values of samples turned to 6.6, 7.2, 7.2 or 7.7. However, the difference of keeping temperature was not associated with decreased levels of pH values. After 24 weeks, one of total 36 samples was contaminated by bacteria. Furthermore, the change of components was shown after 24 weeks in the analysis using thin layer chromatography and the analysis of UV absorption pattern. The results of our study provides that the keeping temperature of MPS is not the important factor of changes of MPS, but the using period of MPS can cause contact lens wearers discomfort.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.177-183
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• 2008

The layers of keratinocytes form an acid mantle on the surface of the skin. Herein, we investigated the effects of acidic pH on the membrane current and $[Ca^{2+}]_c$ of human primary keratinocytes from foreskins and human keratinocyte cell line (HaCaT). Acidic extracellular pH ($pH_e{\leq}5.5$) activated outwardly rectifying $Cl^-$ current ($I_{Cl,pH}$) with slow kinetics of voltage-dependent activation. $I_{Cl,pH}$ was potently inhibited by an anion channel blocker 4,4'-diisothiocyanostilbene-2,2'-disulphonic acid (DIDS, 73.5% inhibition at 1${\mu}$M). $I_{Cl,pH}$ became more sensitive to $pH_e$ by raising temperature from $24^{circ}C$ to $37^{circ}C$. HaCaT cells also expressed $Ca^{2+}$-activated $Cl^-$ current ($I_{Cl,Ca}$), and the amplitude of $I_{Cl,Ca}$ was increased by relatively weak acidic $pH_e$ (7.0 and 6.8). Interestingly, the acidic $pH_e$ (5.0) also induced a sharp increase in the intracellular [$Ca^{2+}$] (${\triangle}[Ca^{2+}]_{acid}$) of HaCaT cells. The ${\triangle}[Ca^{2+}]_{acid}$ was independent of extracellular $Ca^{2+}$, and was abolished by the pretreatment with PLC inhibitor, U73122. In primary human keratinocytes, 5 out of 28 tested cells showed ${\triangle}[Ca^{2+}]_{acid}$. In summary, we found $I_{Cl,pH}$ and ${\triangle}[Ca^{2+}]_{acid}$ in human keratinocytes, and these ionic signals might have implication in pathophysiological responses and differentiation of epidermal keratinocytes.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.507-513
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• 2017

Bacillus subtilis spores can be used for protein display to engineer protein properties. This method overcomes viability and protein-folding concerns associated with traditional protein display methods. Spores remain viable under extreme conditions and the genotype/phenotype connection remains intact. In addition, the natural sporulation process eliminates protein-folding concerns that are coupled to the target protein traveling through cell membranes. Furthermore, ATP-dependent chaperones are present to assist in protein folding. CotA was optimized as a whole-cell biocatalyst immobilized in an inert matrix of the spore. In general, proteins that are immobilized have advantages in biocatalysis. For example, the protein can be easily removed from the reaction and it is more stable. The aim is to improve the pH stability using spore display. The maximum activity of CotA is between pH 4 and 5 for the substrate ABTS (ABTS = diammonium 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonate). However, the activity dramatically decreases at pH 4. The activity is not significantly altered at pH 5. A library of approximately 3,000 clones was screened. A E498G variant was identified to have a half-life of inactivation ($t_{1/2}$) at pH 4 that was 24.8 times greater compared with wt-CotA. In a previous investigation, a CotA library was screened for organic solvent resistance and a T480A mutant was found. Consequently, T480A/E498G-CotA was constructed and the $t_{1/2}$ was 62.1 times greater than wt-CotA. Finally, E498G-CotA and T480A/E498G-CotA yielded 3.7- and 5.3-fold more product than did wt-CotA after recycling the biocatalyst seven times over 42 h.