Publications by authors named "Heewon Moon"

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  • The study investigates how 4% microalgae (MC) and fermented microalgae (FMC) affect gut bacteria and obesity in male mice, with implications for animal metabolic health.
  • Mice were divided into four diets over 12 weeks, and gut microbiome analysis showed significant changes in microbial communities for those on MC and FMC diets.
  • Results indicated that both MC and FMC could help manage metabolism-related disorders and obesity by altering gut microbiota and enhancing metabolic pathways.
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Glucosinolates (GSLs) are secondary metabolites in Brassicaceae plants and play a defensive role against a variety of abiotic and biotic stresses. Also, it exhibits anti-cancer activity against cancer cell in human. Different profiles of aliphatic GSL compounds between radish and Chinese cabbage were previously reported.

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The fecal calprotectin (f-Cal) test is a convenient method used for differentiating inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) from functional bowel disorders. The OC-Sensor Pledia (OC-FCa; Eiken Chemical Co., Tokyo, Japan) is a latex agglutination turbidimetric immunoassay used for f-Cal measurements.

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  • - The study explored the effects of a transglycosylated product (ACOD) on gut microbiota, showing that it enhances the growth of beneficial probiotics while inhibiting harmful bacteria during fecal fermentation.
  • - ACOD led to significantly higher production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), particularly increasing acetic and propionic acid production compared to traditional fructoooligosaccharides (FOS).
  • - The results indicate that ACOD positively alters gut microbiota composition, increasing healthy bacterial populations while reducing pathogenic ones, suggesting its potential as a prebiotic for improving gut health.
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  • - Pancreatic stone protein (PSP) is a new biomarker showing promise in diagnosing and predicting the outcomes of sepsis, alongside procalcitonin (PCT) and the SOFA score in a study of 285 patients.
  • - The study found that when both PSP and PCT levels were elevated, the likelihood of sepsis significantly increased (89% vs. lower percentages with a single or no biomarker increase).
  • - Although neither PSP nor PCT independently predicted clinical outcomes, PSP was noted for its utility in assessing kidney dysfunction, suggesting it can enhance clinical evaluations when used with PCT.
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Glucosinolates (GSLs) are defensive secondary metabolites produced by Brassicaceae species in response to abiotic and biotic stresses. The biosynthesis of GSL compounds and the expression of GSL-related genes are highly modulated by endogenous signals (i.e.

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  • - The study aimed to validate blood tests for Helicobacter pylori infection and gastric neoplasms by comparing their effectiveness in detecting these conditions among individuals in Korea.
  • - The Chorus H. pylori test demonstrated higher sensitivity and specificity than the GastroPanel test, while the incidence of gastric neoplasms was notably higher in populations with corpus atrophy.
  • - Results indicated that the methods for assessing corpus atrophy showed poor agreement overall, but advanced corpus atrophy measurements were consistent between different assessment techniques.
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We evaluated the diagnostic performance of the STANDARD i-Q COVID-19 Ag Test, which was developed to detect viral antigens, using nasal and oral swabs. Sixty positive and 100 negative samples were analyzed. We determined the distribution of the Ct values according to the day of sample collection after symptom onset, the diagnostic performance of the total samples and subgroups separated by Ct value or time of sample collection, and the Ct value at which maximal accuracy was expected.

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Floral transition is accelerated by exposure to long-term cold like winter in plants, which is called as vernalization. Acceleration of floral transition by vernalization is observed in a diversity of biennial and perennial plants including Brassicaceae family plants. Scientific efforts to understand molecular mechanism underlying vernalization-mediated floral transition have been intensively focused in model plant Arabidopsis thaliana.

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  • The study examined the effectiveness of white blood cell (WBC)-related flags and customized cell population data (CPD) rules in detecting abnormal cells (blasts) using the Beckman Coulter DxH 900 automated hematology analyzer.
  • Out of 239 samples from patients with hematologic diseases, blasts were identified in 40 samples through manual slide review, and the combination of flags and CPD rules showed the highest sensitivity at 97.5% for blast detection.
  • The results suggest that customized CPD rules, especially when used alongside WBC-related flags, significantly enhance the detection of blasts, reducing false negatives and improving overall diagnostic accuracy.
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We explored the utility of novel biomarkers, presepsin and interferon-λ3 (IFN-λ3), for predicting disease severity and clinical outcomes in hospitalized Coronavirus (COVID-19) patients. In a total of 55 patients (non-critical, = 16; critical, = 39), presepsin and IFN-λ3 were compared with sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) scores and age. Disease severity and clinical outcomes (in-hospital mortality, intensive care unit admission, ventilator use, and kidney replacement therapy) were analyzed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves.

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Glucosinolates (GSLs) are secondary metabolites providing defense against pathogens and herbivores in plants, and anti-carcinogenic activity against human cancer cells. Profiles of GSLs vary greatly among members of genus . In this study, we found that a reference line of Chinese cabbage ( ssp.

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As sessile organisms, plants encounter dynamic and challenging environments daily, including abiotic/biotic stresses. The regulation of carbon and nitrogen allocations for the synthesis of plant proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids is fundamental for plant growth and adaption to its surroundings. Light, one of the essential environmental signals, exerts a substantial impact on plant metabolism and resource partitioning (i.

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  • The study focused on evaluating the T cell responses to two SARS-CoV-2 vaccines: ChAdOx1-nCoV-19 and BNT162b2, particularly since most previous research concentrated on humoral (antibody) responses.
  • Both vaccinated groups initially displayed stronger T cell responses compared to unvaccinated participants, but these responses decreased over time.
  • A BNT162b2 booster shot led to a significant increase in T cell responses, and the findings indicate that using an Interferon Gamma Release Assay (IGRA) can effectively monitor immune responses following vaccination.
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Presepsin is a highly specific biomarker for diagnosing bacterial infections, but its clinical usefulness is not well validated. A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted. Among the patients suspected bacterial infection or fulfilled the criteria of systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and patients who underwent blood culture, presepsin, procalcitonin (PCT), and C-reactive protein (CRP) at the same time were included.

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The newly developed Axis-Shield clinical chemistry heparin-binding protein (HBP) assay (Axis-Shield Diagnostics Ltd., Dundee, Scotland) can be applied to fully automated platforms. We aimed to establish a reference interval (RI) of HBP using the Axis-Shield HBP assay, and to evaluate the analytical performance of this assay.

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The Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI) equation is the most commonly used equation for estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). Recently, the European Kidney Function Consortium (EKFC) announced a full-age spectrum equation, and the CKD-EPI announced the CKD-EPI refit equations (CKD-EPI-R). We compared CKD-EPI, EKFC, and CKD-EPI-R equations in a large-scale Korean population and investigated their potential implications for CKD prevalence.

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  • A study analyzed antibody levels in 350 vaccinated individuals against SARS-CoV-2 at three different time points to assess how immunity changes after vaccination.
  • Four different assays were used to measure antibody levels, revealing varying median inhibition percentages over time, indicating a decline in immunity after the second dose and before the booster shot.
  • The findings highlight significant fluctuations in antibody values, providing essential data for future research and standardization of COVID-19 antibody testing.
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  • The study evaluated the analytical performance and correlation of a surrogate virus neutralization test (sVNT) and chemiluminescent assays for detecting SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, focusing on their ability to measure total antibodies and IgG against specific viral proteins.
  • All chemiluminescent assays demonstrated high sensitivity (≥ 98%) and specificity (≥ 99%), with the sVNT showing slightly lower performance; neutralizing activity was comparable across all tests.
  • The anti-RBD IgG antibody kit exhibited the strongest correlation with the plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT) titer, making it effective for assessing viral neutralization, whereas anti-NP antibodies were less reliable for current infection status but useful for identifying
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  • * A study was conducted to analyze how plants respond to Sr stress at the molecular level, identifying 842 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) through RNA-seq analysis.
  • * The analysis showed that these DEGs were linked to pathways involving defense responses and metabolic processes, suggesting that jasmonic acid (JA) signaling plays a crucial role in helping plants cope with Sr toxicity.
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Methylglyoxal (MG) is a toxic by-product of the glycolysis pathway in most living organisms and was previously shown to inhibit seed germination. MG is detoxified by glyoxalase I and II family proteins in plants. MG is abundantly produced during early embryogenesis in Arabidopsis seeds.

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  • Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a serious liver disease characterized by fat buildup, inflammation, and scarring, and natural remedies like Jinan Red Ginseng (JRG) and licorice may help combat it.
  • The study involved feeding mice a western diet with added sugars to induce NASH, followed by treatment with JRG alone or in combination with licorice to evaluate effects on liver health.
  • Results showed that both JRG and the JRG-liquorice mix significantly reduced inflammation and fat buildup in the liver, suggesting that this mixture could be a potential treatment or preventive option for NASH.
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The performance of platelet (PLT) counting in thrombocytopenic samples is crucial for transfusion decisions. We compared PLT counting and its reproducibility between Mindray BC-6800Plus (BC-6800P, Mindray, Shenzhen, China) and Sysmex XN-9000 (XN, Sysmex, Kobe, Japan), especially focused on thrombocytopenic samples. We analyzed the correlation and agreement of PLT-I channels in both analyzers and BC-6800P PLT-O mode and XN PLT-F channel in 516 samples regarding PLT counts.

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Vernalization is the process by which long-term cold like winter triggers transition to flowering in plants. Many biennial and perennial plants including Brassicaceae family plants require vernalization for floral transition. Not only floral transition, but dynamic physiological and metabolic changes might also take place during vernalization.

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