Staphylococcus (S.) aureus is commonly found on the skin and mucous membranes of animals. Moreover, some isolates producing staphylococcal enterotoxins (SE) are also responsible for food poisoning. This study was conducted to explore the prevalence of S. aureus enterotoxin from slaughtered pigs and cattle. A total of 202 carcass swabs were collected from slaughterhouses: 102 samples were taken from slaughtered pigs and 100 were taken from cattle, respectively. Among them, 16 (7.9%) from slaughtered pigs were found to contain S. aureus, while S. aureus was not isolated from any of the slaughtered cattle samples. Additionally, six (37.5%) of the S. aureus isolates contained genes that encode staphylococcal enterotoxin type A. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the management of food-borne pathogens based on differences in the process by which pigs and cattle are slaughtered.

Ficus carica L. (common fig), one of the first plants cultivated by humans, originated in the Mediterranean basin and currently grows worldwide, including southwest Asia and South Korea. It has been used as a traditional medicine for treatment of metabolic, cardiovascular, and respiratory diseases as well as hemorrhoids and skin infections. Its pharmacological properties have recently been studied in detail, but research on the anti-cancer effect of its latex has been only been studied on a limited basis on several cell lines, such prostate cancer, breast cancer, and leukemia. In this study, we investigated the anti-cancer activity of the latex of Ficus carica L.and its underlying mechanism in FaDu human hypopharynx squamous carcinoma cells. (See Ed. note above) We confirmed through SDS-PAGE analysis and gelatinolytic activity analysis that the latex of Ficus carica contains cysteine protease ficin. Our data showed that the latex inhibited cell growth in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, the latex treatment markedly induced apoptosis in FaDu cells as determined by FACS analysis, elevated expression level of cleaved caspase-9, -3 and PARP (poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase), and. increased the expression of Bax (pro-apoptotic factor) while decreasing the expression of Bcl-2 (anti-apoptotic factor). Taken together, these results suggested that latex containing the ficin inhibited cell growth and induced apoptosis by caspase and the Bcl-2 family signaling pathway in FaDu human hypopharynx squamous carcinoma cells. These findings point to the potential of latex of Ficus carica to provide a novel chemotherapeutic drug due to its growth inhibition effects and induction of apoptosis in human oral cancer cells.

Adhesive capsulitis of the shoulder is a common cause of pain that occurs during shoulder movement, thereby restricting shoulder rotation in clinical practice. Although most patients respond to pain relief treatment (NSAID or corticosteroids) by improving their range of motion, it remains poorly understood without any definitive treatment algorithm. In addition to immune cells, synoviocytes, chondrocytes and osteoblasts in the joint are known to produce pro-inflammatory mediators such as reactive oxygen species (ROS), inflammatory cytokines and lipid mediators, presumably contributing to the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis (OA) and adhesive capsulitis. Although inflammation and also fibrosis are proposed to be the basic pathological changes of a frozen shoulder, there is a lack of information regarding the downstream targets of the pro-inflammatory ROS signaling pathway in the synoviocytes and also how these ROS targets are modulated at the transcription level by a corticosteroid - dexamethasone. In this study, we used human fibroblast like synoviocytes (HFLS) to characterize the signaling targets of ROS by employing a human DNA microarray tool and studied the role of dexamethasone in this process. Our data suggest that several genes such as FOS, FOSB and NFkBIZ, which are known to be involved in pro- or anti- inflammation response, are modulated at the transcription level by ROS and dexamethasone.

The electronic and optical characteristics of molybdenum disulphide (MoS2) film significantly vary with its thickness, and thus a rapid and accurate estimation of the number of MoS2 layers is critical in practical applications as well as in basic researches. Various existing methods are currently available for the thickness measurement, but each has drawbacks. Transmission electron microscopy allows actual counting of the MoS2 layers, but is very complicated and requires destructive processing of the sample to the point where it will no longer be useable after characterization. Atomic force microscopy, particularly when operated in the tapping mode, is likewise time-consuming and suffers from certain anomalies caused by an improperly chosen set point, that is, free amplitude in air for the cantilever. Raman spectroscopy is a quick characterization method for identifying one to a few layers, but the laser irradiation causes structural degradation of the MoS2. Optical microscopy works only when MoS2 is on a silicon substrate covered with SiO2 of 100~300 nm thickness. The last two optical methods are commonly limited in resolution to the micrometer range due to the diffraction limits of light. We report here a method of measuring the distribution of the number of MoS2 layers using a low voltage field emission electron microscope with acceleration voltages no greater than 1 kV. We found a linear relationship between the FESEM contrast and the number of MoS2 layers. This method can be used to characterize MoS2 samples at nanometer-level spatial resolution, which is below the limits of other methods.

This study, for the first time, investigated the packaging requirements of in-package dielectric barrier discharge cold plasma treatment (DBD-CPT). The parameters determining packaging requirements include the internal oxygen concentration, headspace volume to sample volume ratio (HSR), direct or indirect treatment, and kind of packaging material. Grape tomato and mixed vegetables, composed of romaine lettuce, red cabbage, carrot with and without the inoculation with Salmonella, were subjected to DBD-CPT at 32.5 kV for 3 min. Increasing the oxygen concentration in the container from 5% to 90% did not influence Salmonella inactivation (p>0.05). Increasing the HSR of air packaging material from 54:1 to 522:1 increased Salmonella inhibition on grape tomato (p<0.05). Higher Salmonella inhibition was found in grape tomatoes in directly treated salads than in indirect-treated salads (p<0.05). The inactivation of indigenous mesophilic aerobic bacteria was exhibited higher when packaged with PE than with PET (p<0.05). Optimal package requirements were determined as HSR of 522:1, direct treatment, and uses of PE as packaging material for the microbial inactivation using in-package cold plasma treatment. DBD-CPT increased the water vapor permeability of all packaging materials (p<0.05), but did not change their tensile properties and transparency (p>0.05). Overall, DBD-CPT was found effective in decontaminating mixed vegetables, prepackaged with commercial packages, without affecting the tensile and optical properties of the packages. Furthermore, the HSR, the electrode-container distance and kind of packaging material were identified as the major packaging requirements affecting the microbial inactivation efficacy of in-packaged cold plasma treatment.

This study was investigated Quality characteristic of “pickled garlic shoots” manufactured using Vacuum impregnation (VI) and Pressure impregnation (PI) technology. Pickled garlic shoots were manufactured by impregnation solution which concentration were dark soy sauce (39.5 %), apple vinegar (39.5 %), brown sugar (19.8 %), soju (1.2 %). Pressure Impregnation carried out 30 Mpa for 5min or Vacuum Impregnation carried out 360 mmHg for 5min, analyzed treated garlic shoots properties. Impregnation condition were chosen by pre-test (Vacuum Impregnation: 160, 360, 560, 680 mmHg, Pressure Impregnation: 40 MPa, 60 MPa, 80 MPa, 100 MPa). Quality characteristics were pH, Brix, salinity, acidity, color, texture and sensory evaluation. In results of quality characteristics, brix, salinity, sensory evaluation were significantly difference between Pressure Impregnation, Vacuum impregnation and Control. According to sensory evaluation, which parameter were taste, flavor, mouthfeel and overall acceptability, Pressure impregnation were scored highest and Vacuum impregnation were second. In the texture analyze, Hardness of “pickled garlic shoots” which were manufactured using Impregnation technology were 4.3 × 105±784.271 N/m2. This was possible to manufacture “pickled garlic shoots” in a short time which were Universal Design food (UDF) 1 class.

In a previous study, it was reported that enzymatic hydrolysis under pressurization could be a new method which could produce arginine dipeptide and free amino acid in anchovy hydrolysate as salty enhancer at optimal condition. Powder is more efficient than liquid in terms of transport and storage stability. For the purpose of producing spray dried powder of various salt contents was investigated the effect of different salt concentration of anchovy hydrolysate on spray dried powder properties. The anchovy hydrolysate of various salt contents(in the range of approximately 0.7- 19.8% w/w) prepared adding the fish sauce (Dae-Young fish market) at inlet drying air temperatures of 120°C and 140°C. The process yield and physicochemical properties such as moisture content, bulk density, hygroscopicity and the morphology (EDS, XPS, XRD) of the anchovy hydrolysate powder was measured. The glass transition temperatures (Tg) of the powders equilibrated under various water activities were determined using a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). Different drying conditions and salt concentration could generate anchovy hydrolysate powders with different process yield, bulk density and moisture content. The spray-dried anchovy hydrolysate powder was confirmed by XRD to be a mixture of an amorphous substances and crystalline salts. The energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS) and X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) analysis demonstrated that the surface NaCl concentration of the powders increased with an increasing drying air temperature. Increasing moisture adsorption of the anchovy hydrolysate powders resulted in a Tg reduction. It is suggested that producing spray dried anchovy hydrolysate for the industrial use is the use of the feed salt concentration of not lower than % w/w and inlet air temperature at 120°C, 140°C

Korea is the second largest coffee consuming country in Asia after the Philippines. For modern people, coffee has jumped over a favorite food and grown into a single culture. There are many processing ways to make coffee. In this study, we utilized magnetic resonance imaging(MRI) based on the principles of nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR) and achieved to acquire images with an non-destructive and non-invasive way. The samples we used in the experiment were ‘Robusta’ coffee bean(Congo). Magnetic resonance(MR) image sets were acquired using a MRI system, installed at Institution for Agricultural Machinery & ICT Convergence at Chonbuk National University. From the raw phase(Green Bean stage) to the roasted phase, we obtained MR images from each phase to monitor the internal changes. We divided experiment into 5 stages, starting with ‘Green Bean’ phase to ‘Roasted’ phase. We obtained images every 6 hours during the ‘Fermentation’ phase and every 3 hours during the ‘Dry’ phase. In MRI, we used a gradient echo pulse sequence to scan fast and to take images right after each experiment stage ends. The direction of imaging plane was coronal 30 images with 64 mm x 64 mm field of view(FOV). As MRI uses the magnetic properties of nuclei which especially hydrogen nuclei from water molecules, images could see clearly with sufficient moisture, but in ‘Dry’ phase, images obtained with noise involved. These result suggested that MRI technique was an efficient method to monitor the moisture distribution changes inside the coffee beans.