• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.402-410
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• 2005

In order to manufacture the alcoholic drinks using cultured wild ginseng roots(CWGR) of 5 and $10\%$ (w/v), sugar content of fermentation media was adjusted to 24-25 $^{\circ}$Brix with white sugar and glucose. And 3 kinds of yeast (S. cerevisiae(KCCM 50757), S. cerevisiae (KCCM 50583) and S. bayanus(ATCC 10601) were used and then the quality of alcoholic drinks was analyzed by physical, chemical and sensory evaluation. Alcohol content was highest value of $15.8\%$ in $10\%$ of CWGR, white sugar, and S. bayanus(ATCC 10601). Major alcohols were ethanol and 1-propanol. Number of yeast cells increased to 5 days fermentation and slightly decreased afterwards. The pH was decreased abruptly from 5.0 in initial fermentation to 3.1-4.1 in 5 days fermentation. Total sugar contents were decreased continuously with fermentation periods and showed 7.0-10.5 $^{\circ}$Brix in 20 days fermentation. Saponin patterns and contents were various and higher in wine treated with S. bayanus(ATCC 10601). From the sensory evaluation, the highest score of overall quality was observed in the alcoholic beverage of $10\%$(w/v) of CWGR, glucose, and S. cerevisiae(KCCM 50583).

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.330-338
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• 2019

Chronic infection with intracellular Brucella abortus (B. abortus) in livestock remains as a major problem worldwide. Thus, the search for an ideal vaccine is still ongoing. In this study, we evaluated the protective efficacy of a combination of B. abortus recombinant proteins; superoxide dismutase (rSodC), riboflavin synthase subunit beta (rRibH), nucleoside diphosphate kinase (rNdk), 50S ribosomal protein (rL7/L12) and malate dehydrogenase (rMDH), cloned and expressed into a pMal vector system and $DH5{\alpha}$, respectively, and further purified and applied intraperitoneally into BALB/c mice. After first immunization and two boosters, mice were infected intraperitoneally (IP) with $5{\times}10^4CFU$ of virulent B. abortus 544. Spleens were harvested and bacterial loads were evaluated at two weeks post-infection. Results revealed that this combination showed significant reduction in bacterial colonization in the spleen with a log protection unit of 1.31, which is comparable to the average protection conferred by the widely used live attenuated vaccine RB51. Cytokine analysis exhibited enhancement of cell-mediated immune response as IFN-${\gamma}$ is significantly elevated while IL-10, which is considered beneficial to the pathogen's survival, was reduced compared to control group. Furthermore, both titers of IgG1 and IgG2a were significantly elevated at three and four-week time points from first immunization. In summary, our in vivo data revealed that vaccination with a combination of five different proteins conferred a heightened host response to Brucella infection through cell-mediated immunity which is desirable in the control of intracellular pathogens. Thus, this combination might be considered for further improvement as a potential candidate vaccine against Brucella infection.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.56 no.6
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• pp.745-764
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• 2023

In the Republic of Congo, Banded iron formations (BIFs) occur in two areas: the Chaillu Massif and the Ivindo Basement Complex, which are segments of the Archean Congo craton outcropping in the northwestern and southwestern parts of the country. They show interesting potential with significant mineral resources reaching 2 Bt and grades up to 60% Fe. BIFs consist mostly of oxide-rich facies (hematite/magnetite), but carbonate-rich facies are also highlighted. They are found across the country within the similar geological sequences composed of amphibolites, gneisses and greenschists. The Post-Archean Australian Shale (PAAS)-normalized patterns of BIFs show enrichment in elements such as SiO₂, Fe₂O₃, CaO, P₂O₅, Cr, Cu, Zn, Nb, Hf, U and depletion in TiO₂, Al₂O₃, MgO, Na₂O, K₂O, Sc, Th, Ba, Zr, Rb, Ni, V. REE diagrams show slight light REEs (rare earth elements; LREEs) compared to heavy REEs (HREEs), and positive La and Eu anomalies. The lithological associations, as well as the very high (Eu/Eu^*)_SN ratios> 1.8 shown by the BIFs, suggest that they are related to Algoma-type BIFs. The positive correlations between Zr and TiO₂, Al₂O₃, Hf suggest that the contamination comes mainly from felsic rocks, while the absence of correlations between MgO and Cr, Ni argues for negligeable contributions from mafic sources. Pr/Pr^* vs. Ce/Ce^* diagram indicates that the Congolese BIFs were formed in basins with redox heterogeneity, which varies from suboxic to anoxic and from oxic to anoxic conditions. They were formed through hydrothermal vents in the seawater, with relatively low proportions of detrital inputs derived from igneous sources through continental weathering. Some Congolese BIFs show high contents in Cr, Ni and Cu, which suggest that iron (Fe) and silicon (Si) have been leached through hydrothermal processes associated with submarine volcanism. We discussed their tectonic setting and depositional environment and proposed that they were deposited in extensional back-arc basins, which also recorded hydrothermal vent fluids.

• Journal of Aquaculture
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.169-174
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• 2000

Reproductive cycle of U. unicinctus was studied from September 1998 to August 1999, using gonadosomatic index (CSI) as an indicator. In November, the CSI values were maximum for male (6.2) and female (7.0), respectively; the values were lowest for them (1.0 and 0.5) during the successive february. Subsequently, they rapidly increased and attained peak by March-April. The values decreased again in both sexes and remained unchanged until August. The index increased in October to attain the peak by November. The CSI values clearly indicated that there are two spawning events in a year, namely the first one during April-May and the second one in December. Reproductive cycle was classified into the following successive stages: in female, multipication (January~February, June ~Setember), maturation (March~April, November), spent (May and December), degeneration and resting (June and January), and in male, multiplication January ~ february, June ~September), maturation (March~April, October~November), spent (May and December) and degeneration and resting (January and June). Histological observations revealed that oocytes in the ovary matured simultaneously in November and March. At the same time, the envelopes of matured testis became thinner than those in the early stage.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.52-62
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• 2006

In previous reports we demonstrated that ginsenosides, active ingredients of Panax ginseng, affect some subsets of voltage-dependent $Ca^{2+}$ channels in neuronal cells expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes. However, the major component(s) of ginseng that affect cloned $Ca^{2+}$ channel subtypes such as ${\alpha}_{1C}$(L)-, ${\alpha}_{1B}$(N)-, ${\alpha}_{1A}$(P/Q)-, ${\alpha}_{1E}$(R)- and ${\alpha}_{1G}$(T) have not been identified. Here, we used the two-microelectrode voltage clamp technique to characterize the effects of ginsenosides and ginsenoside metabolites on $Ba^{2+}$ currents ($I_{Ba}$) in Xenopus oocytes expressing five different $Ca^{2+}$ channel subtypes. Exposure to ginseng total saponins (GTS) induced voltage-dependent, dose-dependent and reversible inhibition of the five channel subtypes, with particularly strong inhibition of the ${\alpha}_{1G}$-type. Of the various ginsenosides, $Rb_1$, Rc, Re, Rf, $Rg_1$, $Rg_3$, and $Rh_2$, ginsenoside $Rg_3$ also inhibited all five channel subtypes and ginsenoside $Rh_2$ had most effect on the ${\alpha}_{1C}$- and ${\alpha}_{1E}$-type $Ca^{2+}$ channels. Compound K (CK), a protopanaxadiol ginsenoside metabolite, strongly inhibited only the ${\alpha}_{1G}$-type of $Ca^{2+}$ channel, whereas M4, a protopanaxatriol ginsenoside metabolite, had almost no effect on any of the channels. $Rg_3$, $Rh_2$, and CK shifted the steady-state activation curves but not the inactivation curves in the depolarizing direction in the ${\alpha}_{1B}$- and ${\alpha}_{1A}$-types. These results reveal that $Rg_3$, $Rh_2$ and CK are the major inhibitors of $Ca^{2+}$ channels in Panax ginseng, and that they show some $Ca^{2+}$ channel selectivity.