• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.54 no.3
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• pp.291-299
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• 2016

Human hydatid disease (cystic echinococcosis, CE) is a chronic parasitic infection caused by the larval stage of the cestode Echinococcus granulosus. As the disease mainly affects the liver, approximately 70% of all identified CE cases are detected in this organ. Optical molecular imaging (OMI), a noninvasive imaging technique, has never been used in vivo with the specific molecular markers of CE. Thus, we aimed to construct an in vivo fluorescent imaging mouse model of CE to locate and quantify the presence of the parasites within the liver noninvasively. Drug-treated protoscolices were monitored after marking by JC-1 dye in in vitro and in vivo studies. This work describes for the first time the successful construction of an in vivo model of E. granulosus in a small living experimental animal to achieve dynamic monitoring and observation of multiple time points of the infection course. Using this model, we quantified and analyzed labeled protoscolices based on the intensities of their red and green fluorescence. Interestingly, the ratio of red to green fluorescence intensity not only revealed the location of protoscolices but also determined the viability of the parasites in vivo and in vivo tests. The noninvasive imaging model proposed in this work will be further studied for long-term detection and observation and may potentially be widely utilized in susceptibility testing and therapeutic effect evaluation.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.414-420
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• 2007

Nanomaterials have been applied to various fields due to their advantageous characteristics such as high surface area, rapid diffusion, high specific surface areas, reactivity in liquid or gas phase, and a size close to biomacromolecules. Up to date, increased manufacturing and frequently use of the materials, however, revoke people's concerns on their hazard impact including toxicity the materials. Many research groups have carried out different protocols to evaluate toxic effects of nanomaterilas on different organisms, and consequently, nanomaterials are known to cytotoxicity. In this paper, we reviewed some of the most reports on toxic effects of several nanoparticles specifically on bacteria. There are numbers of reports focused on antibacterial effect of nanoparticles based on bacterial cell viability. Therefore, the application of each nanomaterial should be concerned with its toxicity and its toxic effect should be evaluated in terms of concentrations and sizes of the nanomaterials used, prior to use of a nanomaterial.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2018

The MTT [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide] assay is commonly used for analyzing the cell viability. In this study, effects of various solvents, different lights, and zinc protoporphyrin (ZnPP) on the chemical behavior of MTT formazan were investigated. The color response of MTT formazan in NaOH was highly pronounced; the absorbance of MTT formazan in 0.1 N NaOH at 550 nm was >2-fold higher than that in water, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), methanol, and ethanol. MTT formazan in DMSO and NaOH (>0.1 N) was relatively stable under fluorescent and UV light at 365 nm; its rapid degradation was induced under UV light at 254 nm in all solvents. ZnPP degraded MTT formazan under light in a time- and concentration-dependent manner; MTT formazan in 0.1 N NaOH was the most sensitive to ZnPP, followed by DMSO. These results suggest that NaOH and DMSO might be suitable media for MTT formazan for monitoring photosensitizing properties.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.26-36
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• 2020

This study aimed at investigating present research and knowledge-base on climate change adaptation in ecosystem sector and analyzed the current status of basic information on ecosystem that functions as evidence-base of climate change adaptation to deduce the suggestions for the future development for knowledge and information in biodiversity. In this perspective, a questionary survey titled as "the ecological knowledge-base and information needs for climate change adaptation" with the researchers who were engaged with adaptation studies for biodiversity in the ecosystem related-research institutes including national and 17 regional local governments-affiliated agencies in Korea. The results are as follows; current status of utilizing ecological information which supports climate change adaptation strategy, future needs for adaptation knowledge and ecological information, and activation of utilizing ecological information. The majority of respondents (90.7%) replied that the ecological information has high relevance when conducting research on climate change adaptation. However, only half of all respondents (53.2%) agreed with the real viability of current information to the adaptation research. Particularly, urgent priority for researchers was deduced as intensifying knowledge-base and constructing related information on 'ecosystem change from climate change (productivity, community structure, food chain, phenology, range distribution, and number of individuals) with the overall improvement of information contents and its quality. The respondents emphasized with the necessity of conducting field surveys of local ecosystem and constructing ecosystem inventories, advancing monitoring designs for climate change in ecosystem, and case studies for regional ecosystem changes with the guidance or guidelines for monitoring ecosystem change to enhance the quality of adaptation research and produce related information. In terms of activation for ecological information usage, national and local adaptation network should be working based on the integrated ecological platform necessary to support exchanges of knowledge and information and to expand ecosystem types in time and spatial dimension.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.181-191
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• 2013

Purpose : To evaluate the usefulness of in vivo magnetic resonance (MR) imaging for tracking intravenously injected superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO)-labeled human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) in an acute renal failure (ARF) rat model. Materials and Methods: HUVECs were labeled with SPIO and poly-L-lysine (PLL) complex. Relaxation rates at 1.5-T MR, cell viability, and labeling stability were assessed. HUVECs were injected into the tail vein of ARF rats (labeled cells in 10 rats, unlabeled cells in 2 rats). Follow-up serial $T2^*$-weighted gradient-echo MR imaging was performed at 1, 3, 5 and 7 days after injection, and the MR findings were compared with histologic findings. Results: There was an average of $98.4{\pm}2.4%$ Prussian blue stain-positive cells after labeling with SPIOPLL complex. Relaxation rates ($R2^*$) of all cultured HUVECs at day 3 and 5 were not markedly decreased compared with that at day 1. The stability of SPIO in HUVECs was maintained during the proliferation of HUVECs in culture media. In the presence of left unilateral renal artery ischemia, $T2^*$-weighted MR imaging performed 1 day after the intravenous injection of labeled HUVECs revealed a significant signal intensity (SI) loss exclusively in the left renal outer medulla regions, but not in the right kidney. The MR imaging findings at days 3, 5 and 7 after intravenous injection of HUVECs showed a SI loss in the outer medulla regions of the ischemically injured kidney, but the SI progressively recovered with time and the right kidney did not have a significant change in SI in the same period. Upon histologic analysis, the SI loss on MR images was correspondent to the presence of Prussian blue stained cells, primarily in the renal outer medulla. Conclusion: MR imaging appears to be useful for in vivo monitoring of intravenously injected SPIO-labeled HUVECs in an ischemically injured rat kidney.