• Applied Microscopy
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.211-218
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• 2010

The mammalian ovary is innervated by sympathetic and sensory neurons which contribute to regulating several aspects of ovarian function, including blood flow, steroidogenesis and follicular development. The existence of a neural connection between central neurons and the ovary has been rarely reported, but the mechanism underlying integration of ovarian activity to broader neuroendocrine responses has not been reported. We have now used a viral transneuronal tracing technique combined with a conventional retrograde labeling procedure of CT-HRP to demonstrate that oxytocin-producing neurons of the hypothalamus are synaptically connected to the ovary. Since ovarian activity is suppressed but the activity of oxytocin neurons is increased during breast feeding. Our finding that the oxytocinergic neural connection is likely to provide a direct transsynaptic mechanism by which the central nervous system maintains the state of infertility that accompanies lactation in mammals.

• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.43-50
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• 1998

In order to determine whether the tumor-inducing iridoviruses and the mortality-associated iridoviruses from cultured marine fish in Korea belong to same type, we compared the immunological characteristics of these viruses. The electrophoretical pattern of structural proteins of the tumor-inducing was different from that of the mortality-associated iridoviruses. The antigenicity of structural proteins of these viruses were identified by Western blotting using two monoclonal antibodies against tumor-inducing iridovirus. Two monoclonal antibodies recognized a 150 kDa structural protein of tumor-inducing iridoviruses showed. However, the structural proteins of the mortality-associated iridoviruses did not react with these monoclonal antibodies. These results demonstrate that the antigenicity of the structural proteins of tumor-inducing iridovirus is different from that of mortality-associated iridovirus, indicating that these two iridoviruses belong to different types.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.32 no.2 s.57
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• pp.111-116
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• 2006

Essential oils have been used extensively in pharmacy, medicine, food, beverages, cosmetics, perfumery and aromatherapy. Although anti-bacteria, anti-virus, alleviation of fever operations and an anti-inflammatory properties have been reported, action mechanisms have not been fully discovered. In the present study, anti-inflammatory activities of thirty three essential oils have been evaluated in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated macrophage RAW 264.7 cells by the evaluation of nitric oxide (NO) generation since NO generation is implicated in causal factor of inflammation. Among the tested 33 essential oil, Lemongrass oil showed the most inhibitory effect on LPS-induced NO generation in a dose dependent manner ($IC_{50}$ : $22 {\mu}g/mL$). In further study, it was found that Lemongrass oil inhibited the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase. These results suggest that Lemongrass oil may be useful for improvements of the inflammatory disease such as pimple acne skin.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.28 no.10
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• pp.1244-1253
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• 2018

Rumen microbiome consists of a wide variety of microorganisms, such as bacteria, archaea, protozoa, fungi, and viruses, that are in a symbiotic relationship in a strict anaerobic environment in the rumen. These rumen microbiome, a vital maker, play a significant role in feed fermentation within the rumen and produce different volatile fatty acids (VFAs). VFAs are essential for energy metabolism and protein synthesis of the host animal, even though emission of methane gas after feed fermentation is considered a negative indicator of loss of dietary energy of the host animal. To improve rumen microbial efficiency, a variety of approaches, such as feed formulation, the addition of natural feed additives, dietary feed-microbes, etc., have taken to increase ruminant performance. Recently with the application of high-throughput sequencing or next-generation sequencing technologies, especially for metagenomics and metatranscriptomics of rumen microbiomes, our understanding of rumen microbial diversity and function has significantly increased. The metaproteome and metabolome provide deeper insights into the complicated microbial network of the rumen ecosystem and its response to different ruminant diets to improve efficiency in animal production. This review summarized some recent advances of rumen microbiome techniques, especially "meta-omics," viz. metagenomic, metatranscriptomic, metaproteomic, and metabolomic techniques to increase feed fermentation and utilization in ruminants.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.44 no.11
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• pp.1629-1636
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• 2015

The edible mushroom Agaricus blazei Murill is known to have many physiological functions, including antitumor, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory effects. Aqueous extracts were obtained by extracting A. blazei in water at $90^{\circ}C$ for 15 h, followed by spray-drying with dextran at a 70:30 ratio. In this study, we examined the immunomodulatory effect of A. blazei Murill water extract (ABM) in BALB/c mice. Mice were administered orally with 4, 20, and 100 mg/kg of ABM for 21 days. ABM-treated mice did not show significant differences in body and organ weights compare to saline-treated control mice. Splenocytes isolated from ABM-administered mice revealed similar levels of cellularity and proliferation compared to control mice, whereas they showed increased natural killer (NK) cell activity and decreased IL-4 and IL-12 production. Different from in vivo results, splenocytes isolated from normal mice showed increased proliferation and $INF-{\gamma}$ production following ABM treatment in vitro. In addition, ABM treatment enhanced macrophage proliferation and nitric oxide (NO) production in a dose-dependent manner. However, ABM had no effect on LPS-induced NO production. These results suggest that A. blazei modulates immune function by increasing NK cell activity and macrophage function.

• Journal of the Korean Data and Information Science Society
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.297-307
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• 2017

The epidemic model is used to model the spread of disease and to control the disease. In this research, we utilize SEIR model which is one of applications the SIR model that incorporates Exposed step to the model. The SEIR model assumes that a people in the susceptible contacted infected moves to the exposed period. After staying in the period, the infectee tends to sequentially proceed to the status of infected, recovered, and removed. This type of infection can be used for research in cases where there is a latency period after infectious disease. In this research, we collected respiratory infectious disease data for the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERSCoV). Assuming that the spread of disease follows a stochastic process rather than a deterministic one, we utilized the Poisson process for the variation of infection and applied epidemic model to the stochastic chemical reaction model. Using observed pandemic data, we estimated three parameters in the SIER model; exposed rate, transmission rate, and recovery rate. After estimating the model, we applied the fitted model to the explanation of spread disease. Additionally, we include a process for generating the Exposed trajectory during the model estimation process due to the lack of the information of exact trajectory of Exposed.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.73-81
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• 2009

Population viability analysis of a Gold-spotted pond frog (Rana chosenica) population at Cheongwon-gun, Chungbuk, in South Korea was conducted and we proposed several suggestions for effective conservation and re-introduction of the species. Simulating a developed model over 1,000 times predicted that the population will exist over 30 years with a relatively low growth rate of 0.113, but with a high probability of extinction as 81.1%. Population growth and extinction probability were the most greatly depended on the rate of successful metamorphosis. In the case of outbreak of amphibian diseases such as Chytridiomycosis and Ranavirus, the population will be easily extinct within 4 years with 100% probability. In a habitat of which carrying capacity is 200, to successfully re-introduce an extinct population, it is initially needed to put 100 individuals of which 83% is males and its age structure is normal-distributed. If we additionally conducts artificial supplementation of 10% individuals every 2 years from 4 years to 10 years after initial reintroduction, the population will become a stable with 0.297 growth rate and 0.290 extinction rate. Our results are the first case of amphibian population viability analysis in Korea and could be used to develop effective conservation and re-introduction plans for endangered Gold-spotted pond frog.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.23-32
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• 1998

The pathogenic potential of Acnnthamoebc strains was evaluated by experimental infection of murine AIDS (MAIDS) model. C57BL/6 mice were induced to immunocompromized state by intraperitoneal injection of LP-BM5 MuLV and revealed the typical splenomegalty and Iymphatic enlargement of axillar and inguinal regios on necropsy 4 weeks after viral infection. Although there was no significant difference in the mortality rate of MAIDS mouse according to the culture temperature, it was very different in the mortality rate from strain to strain of Accnthnmoebc. A. henIHi OC-3A strain isolated from the brain of a GAE patient showed !he highest mortality rate and A. culbertsoni A-1 strain from tissue culture was the second. KA/S3 and KA/S2 strains isolated from soil revealed very low virulence. The mice infected by intranasal inoculation of Acanthnmoebc showed relatively chronic course than intravenous inoculation. The gross findings of lungs and brains from infected mice were variable among mice. On the microscopic observations, the lungs showed much more severe inflammation and necrosis than the brains microscopically. This MAIDS model would be useful to study the opportunistic protozoan infections of AIDS patients. In the light of these results. the pathogenic potential and the virulence of Acnnthamoebo may be determined genetically.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.265-274
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• 2016

Toxin-antitoxin (TA) systems are ubiquitous genetic modules that are evolutionally conserved in bacteria and archaea. TA systems composed of an intracellular toxin and its antidote (antitoxin) are currently classified into five types. Commonly, activation of toxins under stress conditions inhibits diverse cellular processes and consequently induces cell death or reversible growth inhibition. These effects of toxins play various physiological roles in such as regulation of gene expression, growth control (stress response), programmed cell arrest, persister cells, programmed cell death, phage protection, stabilization of mobile genetic elements or postsegregational killing of plasmid-free cells. Accordingly, bacterial TA systems are commonly considered as stress-responsive genetic modules. However, molecule screening for activation of toxin in TA system is available as development of antimicrobial agents. In addition, cytotoxic effect induced by toxin is used as effective cloning method with antitoxic effect of antitoxin; consequently cells containing cloning vector inserted a target gene can survive and false-positive transformants are removed. Also, TA system is applicable to efficient single protein production in biotechnology industry because toxins that are site-specific ribonuclease inhibit protein synthesis except for target protein. Furthermore, some TA systems that induce apoptosis in eukaryotic cells such as cancer cells or virus-infected cells would have a wide range of applications in eukaryotes, and it will lead to new ways of treating human disease. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge on bacterial TA systems and their applications.

• Korean Journal of Breeding Science
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.332-335
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• 2008

"Hwangkeumbora" is a new japonica rice cultivar developed from a three way cross of Jinbubyeo, Odaebyeo, Fukei126 at Honam Agricultural Reaserch Institute (HARI), NICS, RDA, in 2006. This cultivar has about 110 days growth duration from transplanting to harvesting under Korean climate condition. The milled kernel of "Hwangkeumbora" is translucent with non- glutinous endosperm. Amylose content of "Hwangkeumbora" is about 19.3%. "Hwangkeumbora" has better palatability of cooked rice compared with "Odaebyeo" and shows high resistant reaction to the blast, but susceptible to major diseases and insect pests. The milled rice yield of "Hwangkeumbora" is about 5.37 MT/ha under the standard fertilizer level of the ordinary transplanting cultivation. "Hwangkeumbora" would be adaptable for ordinary transplanting in northern plain, mid-mountainous, southern mountainous of Korea.