• Title/Summary/Keyword: Biological studies

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The Physio-ecological Characteristics of Golden Apple Snails (Pomacea canaliculata) and the Cause of Their Massive Death used for Weed Control in Wet Rice Paddies (왕우렁이(Pomacea canaliculata)의 생리·생태학적 특성 및 논 잡초방제용으로 투입된 왕우렁이의 집단패사 원인)

  • Lee, Sang-Beom;Lee, Sang-Min;Ko, Byong-Gu;Lee, Cho-Rong;Kim, Jin-Ho
    • Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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    • v.26 no.2
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    • pp.297-316
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    • 2018
  • The golden apple snail (GAS, Pomacea canaliculata) is an invasive freshwater snail. The GAS was introduced in Korea without prior studies on the possibility of crop damage or its impact on the natural ecosystem. The freshwater apple snails can be found typically in ponds, rice paddies, irrigation canals, roadside ditches or slower portions of streams. In this study, we were carried out to investigate the assessment of physiological and ecological characteristics, environmental characteristics inhabited area in winter season and cause of massive death at one time of golden apple snails used for weed control in wet rice paddies. The GAS was introduced from Japan to Korea for commercial production as a dietary protein supplement. The golden apple snail was also used a recently for weed control in wet rice cultivation. The species of freshwater Pomacea snails is belonging to the genus Pomacea, family ampulariidae, order mesogastropoda, subclass pulmonata, class gastropoda, phylum mollusca. The GAS spread into irrigation ditches and natural waterways. It is now distributed in ponds and canals near rice fields of southern parts of the country and has overwintered. It increases its cold hardiness before winter. However, the physiological mechanism of cold hardiness in molluscs is poorly understood, especially in freshwater molluscs. Our results on physio-ecological characteristics of the Pomacea apple snail showed that the ratio of males to females was 1: 1.99~2.33. The daily growth was 87.7 mg in weight, 0.31 mm in height and 0.33 mm in width of the their shell. On the other hand, the golden apple snails were very high to resistance on drying condition and survived rate about 80% up to 3 months. The inhabitation of GAS was no statistical significant impacts on the water quality. An important property of aqueous solutions is agricultural water quality because it affects chemical and biochemical properties such as chemical reactions, equilibrium conditions, and biological toxicity. The death rate of weed control apple snails by Ostracoda (Stenocypris hislopi) was only 2.86% and 5.71% depending on the density. Therefore, GAS was not a direct death caused by Ostracoda (Stenocypris hislopi).

Expression of bcl-2, p53 Protein and Aggressiveness in Thymic Epithelial Tumor (흉선상피종에서 bcl-2, p53 단백의 발현과 악성도)

  • 조성래;전도환
    • Journal of Chest Surgery
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    • v.32 no.8
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    • pp.726-731
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    • 1999
  • Background: The distinction between non-invasive and invasive or thymic carcinoma has been severely compromised by lack of objective morphological criteria. A reliable biological marker of tumor aggressiveness is, therefore, mandatory for predicting tumor behavior. Material and Method: Thirty thymic epithelial tumors, including 7 non-invasive thymoma, 10 invasive thymoma, and 13 thymic carcinoma of the Rosai's classification; and 5 stage I, 7 stage II, 2 stage III, and 3 stage IVa of the Masaoka stage of thymoma were investigated for expression of bcl-2 and p53 proteins by immunohistochemistry. Result: The thymic epithelial cells showed positive immunostain for bcl-2 in 0 (0%), 3 (30%), 8 (61.5%) of categories in the Rosai's classification respectively and in 0 (0%), 1 (14.3%), 2 (100%), 0 (0%) of stage I, II, III, IVa of the Masaoka stage respectively. Thymic carcinoma, and high stage thymoma had significantly higher proportion of bcl-2 expression than thymoma (p=0.021) and low stage thymoma (p=0.011). However, p53 showed no correlation with the histological subtypes nor with clinical aggressiveness. Bcl-2 expression appeared to be positively correlated with p53 immunoactivity (p=0.007, kappa=0.525). Conclusion: These date indicate that bcl-2 expression correlates with aggressiveness in thymic epithelial tumors, but further studies on mutation of p53 protein is necessary because bcl-2 expression appeared to be positively correlated with p53 immunoactivity.

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Evaluation of $^{14}C$ Behavior Characteristic in Reactor Coolant from Korean PWR NPP's (국내 경수로형 원자로 냉각재 중의 $^{14}C$ 거동 특성 평가)

  • Kang, Duk-Won;Yang, Yang-Hee;Park, Kyong-Rok
    • Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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    • v.7 no.1
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    • pp.1-7
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    • 2009
  • This study has been focused on determining the chemical composition of $^{14}C$ - in terms of both organic and inorganic $^{14}C$ contents - in reactor coolant from 3 different PWR's reactor type. The purpose was to evaluate the characteristic of $^{14}C$ that can serve as a basis for reliable estimation of the environmental release at domestic PWR sites. $^{14}C$ is the most important nuclide in the inventory, since it contributes one of the main dose contributors in future release scenarios. The reason for this is its high mobility in the environment, biological availability and long half-life(5730yr). More recent studies - where a more detailed investigation of organic $^{14}C$ species believed to be formed in the coolant under reducing conditions have been made - show that the organic compounds not only are limited to hydrocarbons and CO. Possible organic compounds formed including formaldehyde, formic acid and acetic acid, etc. Under oxidizing conditions shows the oxidized carbon forms, possibly mainly carbon dioxide and bicarbonate forms. Measurements of organic and inorganic $^{14}C$ in various water systems were also performed. The $^{14}C$ inventory in the reactor water was found to be 3.1 GBq/kg in PWR of which less than 10% was in inorganic form. Generally, the $^{14}C$ activity in the water was divided equally between the gas- and water- phase. Even though organic $^{14}C$ compound shows that dominant species during the reactor operation, But during the releasing of $^{14}C$ from the plant stack, chemical forms of $^{14}C$ shows the different composition due to the operation conditions such as temperature, pH, volume control tank venting and shut down chemistry.

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Postprandial hypoglycemic effects of mulberry twig and root bark in vivo and in vitro (In vivo와 in vitro에서 상지 및 상백피 에탄올추출물이 식후 혈당 상승 억제 조절에 미치는 영향)

  • Park, Soo Yeon;Jin, Bo Ra;Lee, Yu Rim;Kim, You Jin;Park, Jeong Bin;Jeon, Young Hee;Choi, Sang Won;Kwon, Oran
    • Journal of Nutrition and Health
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    • v.49 no.1
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    • pp.18-27
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    • 2016
  • Purpose: Our previous study demonstrated the hypoglycemic effects of mulberry (Morus alba L.) leaf and the underlying mechanisms. Here we explored the potency of mulberry twigs (TW) and root barks (RB) in postprandial hypoglycemic effects in vitro and in vivo. Methods: The major components of TW and RB were determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Alpha-glucosidase inhibition and glucose/fructose uptake inhibition in Caco-2 cells were determined for TW, RB, and their major components, followed by an oral sugar tolerance test (OSTT) in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Male Wistar rats were fed a high-fat diet for 2 weeks and then a single dose of streptozotocin (35 mg/kg B.W) was administered by intraperitoneal injection. Rats with fasting blood glucose levels above 126 mg/dL were randomly divided into 5 groups (n = 8/group) for the following treatments by gavage for 4 weeks: vehicle (normal control and diabetic control), 200 mg/kg B.W of TW or RB or 100 mg/kg B.W of oxyresveratrol (OXY). Results: OXY and mulberroside A were identified as the major components of TW and OXY, mongolicin, and kuwanon H for RB. A significant inhibitory activity on ${\alpha}-glucosidase$ was found for TW, RB, and OXY (p = 0.0099). There was a dose-dependent inhibition of TW and RB on the intestinal sugar uptakes in Caco-2 cells, showing a greater impact on fructose compared to glucose. The OSTT showed that TW and RB significantly delayed time to maximal concentration (p = 0.0088) and decreased maximal concentration (p = 0.0043) compared to the control group. Conclusion: These results suggest that TW and RB may have a postprandial hypoglycemic effect, particularly in the case of high fructose or sucrose intake. OXY was suggested as a contributor to the hypoglycemic effect of TW and RB. Further studies are needed for the systemic effect of TW and RB in circulation.

Investigation of lifespan related genes of the silkmoth, Bombyx mori L (누에나방 수명관련 특이발현 유전자 탐색)

  • Choi, Kwang-Ho;Goo, Tae-Won;Kim, Seong-Ryul;Kim, Sung-Wan;Kang, Seok-Woo;Kang, Pil-Don
    • Journal of Sericultural and Entomological Science
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    • v.51 no.2
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    • pp.211-217
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    • 2013
  • In general, the mean silkmoth lifespan is around 8 days for female and 5 days for male. But, the duration of J037 strain's lifespan is remarkably long in both sexes. On the contrary, the Daizo(sdi) strain has a remarkably short lifetime. The differences in adult lifetime among various silkworm strains has been suggested that the adult lifetime may be genetically controlled. In this experiment, using J037 and Daizo strains we investigated genetic factors related to the adult lifetime of silkworm. We constructed the full-length cDNA library from the adult male of the J037 strain. A total of 2,688 clones were randomly selected, and we performed a differential display hybridization with cDNA probes generated from J037 and Daizo adult males. In conclusion, 193 clones were identified as differential expressed genes, and 154 unique genes were generated after the assembly of 193 clones. Of the 154 unique genes, the most abundant genes were cytochrome oxidase subunit-1 gene(9 times) and unknown(clone ID; 1-50) gene(5 times). The functional groups of these unique genes with matches in the AmiGo database were constructed according to their putative molecular functions. Among thirteen functional categories, the largest group was unclassified protein(24%). In addition, we analyzed the nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences of the most highly occurred gene(1-50, EF434397), which consisted of 240 amino acids. However, it is confirmed yet that these genes really have an affected on the silkworms longevity. Further studies on these molecules biological roles will give us well-fined information about mechanisms of insect aging and/or scenesence.

Physicochemical components and antioxidant activity of Sparassis crispa mixture fermented by lactic acid bacteria (유산균 발효 꽃송이버섯 혼합물의 이화학적 성분과 항산화 활성)

  • Lee, Jae-Joon;Son, Hye-Young;Choi, Young-Min;Cho, Jae-Han;Min, Jung-Kee;Oh, Hee-Kyung
    • Food Science and Preservation
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    • v.23 no.3
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    • pp.361-368
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    • 2016
  • The objective of this study was to investigate the nutritional composition and antioxidant activity of a mixture of rice bran and bodies of Sparassis crispa fermented with lactic acid bacteria (LAB). LAB-fermented S. crispa mixture had higher water, crude lipid and crude ash content than that of S. crispa. Insoluble dietary fiber contents of the dried powder of S. crispa and LAB-fermented S. crispa mixture were 46.13% and 33.46%, respectively. ${\beta}$-glucan was higher in dried S. crispa (38.03%) than in LAB-fermented S. crispa mixture (5.44%). Dried S. crispa contained mainly fructose and glucose instead of containing sucrose in LAB-fermented S. crispa mixture. No significant differences in the total polyphenol contents were found in between dried S. crispa and LAB-fermented S. crispa mixture. Total flavonoid content was significantly higher in LAB-fermented S. crispa mixture than in dried S. crispa. No significant differences were found in the DPPH radical scavenging activity and in the antioxidant index between dried S. crispa and LAB-fermented S. crispa mixture. Finally, ABTS radical scavenging activity of LAB-fermented S. crispa mixture was significantly higher than that of dried S. crispa. These results may provide the basic data for future studies for a better understanding of the biological activities of LAB-fermented S. crispa mixture.

Nationwide Spatiotemporal Distribution of Some Selected Aculeata (Hymenoptera) in South Korea, based on Materials Collected with Malaise Trap in 2017 and 2018 (2017~2018년 말레이즈 트랩을 이용한 남한 내 야생벌(벌목: 벌아목)의 시·공간별 출현 및 분포 현황)

  • Yu, Dong Su;Kwon, Oh-Chang;Kim, Honggie;Kim, Jeong-Kyu
    • Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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    • v.33 no.6
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    • pp.654-663
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    • 2019
  • Pollinators, which are important organisms in pollination ecology, have been highly valued for their economic contributions to crop production in the agricultural and biotechnology industries. As the production of over 70% of farm products, such as fruits, are mediated by pollinators, bees are important and useful insects to humans. However, pollinators are now seriously threatened with their numbers decreasing annually and their biodiversity being negatively affected by ongoing climate change, misuse of land, change of geographical features, and use of pesticides to increase agricultural production. Thus, surveys and analyses of the emergence and distribution of wild bees are important for conservation and management practices designed to help them continue to play their ecological and agricultural roles despite negative pressures, such as climate and topography changes. We surveyed pollinators, especially wild bees, at 51 research sites in South Korea every two to four weeks for two years from 2017 to 2018 using ez-Malaise traps and analyzed the temporal and spatial distribution of wild bees. The bees showed a normal temporal distribution that peaked between July and August. The bees' working period lasted until November. The spatial distribution of wild bees showed a significant correlation with latitude, and different bees were identified depending on the local habitat. No significant correlation was found for longitudinal distribution with regression analysis (p > 0.05), but this study identified locally specific wild bees. Although we could not predict significant distribution according to longitude, Further studies should be able to analyze the difference in the distribution of wild bees according to the climate, topography, and land-use patterns by humans. The results of this study provide basic information on pollinator distribution, which can be useful in agriculture and for the conservation and management of biodiversity in South Korean pollination ecology.

Feasibility Studies on the Biological Control by Augmentation and Conservation of Natural Enemies of Rice Paddy (수도해충(水稻害蟲) 천적(天敵)의 보호(保護) 및 이용(利用)에 관(關)한 기초(基礎) 연구(硏究))

  • Chang, Young Duck
    • Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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    • v.8 no.1
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    • pp.18-28
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    • 1981
  • The purpose of this study was to establish the intergrated control of rice insect pests. Specific objectives were to reveal the diversity of natural enemies in rice field environment, to obtain basic informations of their population dynamics, and to screen the selective insecticides for the conservation of natural enemies. The results of the study were as follows. 1. In numbers of species and in numbers of each species of parasitic Hymenoptera of rice insect pests were more diverse and abundant in rice paddy leeves and banks than paddy fields. Braconid Mymarid and pteromalid were predominated in the field and their population was high during early August to mid September. 2. Of the predatory spiders, Pirata subpiraticus was the largest in number and amounted to 72% of the total, Gnatonarium dentatum, Pachygnatha clerki and Clubiona japonicola were the next. It was also found that P. subpiraticus had three generations in a year. 3. Hence the activities of the predatory spider species and parasitic Hymenoptera were high in early to mid August and September, it would be better promising to avoid chemical applications at this time of periods as possible. 4. The relative toxicity of several insecticides which have been used for the control of brown plant hopper (BPH) showed that P. subpiraticus was 1.1-73.1 times higher than BPH and G. dentatum to P. subpiraticus was 1.1-73.1 times, respectively. 5. Three conventional insecticides, Padan, Diazinon and Carbofuran were screened for toxicity to predatory spider species. The insecticides deffered in their toxicity to the predators. However, Padan was appeared to be the least toxic to the predators.

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($P16^{ink4}$ Methylation in Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Oral Cavity. (구강 편평세포암종에서 $P16^{ink4}$ 유전자의 Methylation에 대한 연구)

  • Kang, Gin-Won;Kim, Kyung-Wook;Lyu, Jin-Woo;Kim, Chang-Jin
    • Maxillofacial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
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    • v.22 no.2
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    • pp.164-173
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    • 2000
  • The p16 protein is a cyclin dependent kinase inhibitor that inhibits cell cycle progression from $G_1$ phase to S phase in cell cycle. Many p16 gene mutations have been noted in many cancer-cell lines and in some primary cancers, and alterations of p16 gene function by DNA methylation have been noticed in various kinds of cancer tissues and cell-lines. There have been a large body of literature has accumulated indicating that abnormal patterns of DNA methylation (both hypomethylation and hypermethylation) occur in a wide variety of human neoplasma and that these aberrations of DNA methylation may play an important epigenetic role in the development and progression of neoplasia. DNA methylation is a part of the inheritable epigenetic system that influences expression or silencing of genes necessary for normal differentiation and proliferation. Gene activity may be silenced by methylation of up steream regulatory regions. Reactivation is associated with demethylation. Although evidence or a high incidence of p16 alterations in a variety of cell lines and primary tumors has been reported, that has been contested by other investigators. The precise mechanisms by which abnormal methylation might contribute to carcinogenesis are still not fully elucidated, but conceivably could involve the modulation of oncogene and other important regulatory gene expression, in addition to creating areas of genetic instability, thus predisposing to mutational events causing neoplasia. There have been many variable results of studies of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma(HNSCC). This investigation was studied on 13 primary HNSCC for p16 gene status by protein expression in immunohistochemistry, and DNA genetic/epigenetic analyzed to determine the incidence, the mechanisms, and the potential biological significance of its Inactivation. As methylation detection method of p16 gene, the methylation specific PCR(MSP) is sensitive and specific for methylation of any block of CpG sites in a CpG islands using bisulfite-modified DNA. The genomic DNA is modified by treatment with sodium bisulfate, which converts all unmethylated cytosines to uracil(thymidine). The primers designed for MSP were chosen for regions containing frequent cytosines (to distinguish unmodified from modified DNA), and CpG pairs near the 5' end of the primers (to provide maximal discrimination in the PCR between methylated and unmethylated DNA). The two strands of DNA are no longer complementary after bisulfite treatment, primers can be designed for either modified strand. In this study, 13 paraffin embedded block tissues were used, so the fragment of DNA to be amplified was intentionally small, to allow the assessment of methylation pattern in a limited region and to facilitate the application of this technique to samlples. In this 13 primary HNSCC tissues, there was no methylation of p16 promoter gene (detected by MSP and automatic sequencing). The p16 protein-specific immunohistochemical staining was performed on 13 paraffin embedded primary HNSCC tissue samples. Twelve cases among the 13 showed altered expression of p16 proteins (negative expression). In this study, The author suggested that low expression of p16 protein may play an important role in human HNSCC, and this study suggested that many kinds of genetic mechanisms including DNA methylation may play the role in carcinogenesis.

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Association between Sleep Quality and Psychologic Factors among University Students in Korea (한국인 대학생에서 수면의 질과 정서적 요인에 관한 상관관계)

  • Kang, Jin-Kyu;Lim, Hyun-Dae;Lee, You-Mee
    • Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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    • v.33 no.3
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    • pp.257-267
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    • 2008
  • The mentophysical disease causes diseases in digestive, respiratory, circulating systems, including chronic pain, through combined reactions from different individual characteristics, mental stress and temperamental factors. The most common symptom related to orofacial area is pain and the contributive factors include biological, behavioral, environmental, social, emotional, recognitive factors. These factors affect the course of the symptom according to individual's character and human nature. In pain, sleep acts as a contributive factor, and pain could bring about sleep disturbance and vice versa. Deterioration of sleep quality would act as a factor that aggravates mental stress. Therefore, relatively accurate and simple mental examinations and sleep quality test should be carried out for the patients with symptoms related to orofacial area. This study evaluated the mental state in relation to the sleep quality which could affect orofacial pain. The number of poor sleeper was 18 in male subjects, and 1 in female subjects and PSQI global index was higher in male($6.11{\pm}2.38$) than female($4.67{\pm}2.18$). SCL-90-R index showed no sex difference. Poor sleeper showed significantly high value in SOM, O-C, I-S, ANX, PHOB, PSY, GSI, PST. When SCL-90-R T scores were compared according to sleep quality, higher the subjective sleep quality score, O-C and I-S showed significant increase. As sleep disturbances score increased, PAR, PSY, PST showed statistically significant increase. In comparison of SCL-90-R T score according to daytime dysfunction, statistically significant increase in DEP, ANX, HOS, PHOB, PAR, GSI was observed. Therefore, the quality of sleep and psychological status have a high correlation. This is likely to influence chronic pain in the orofacial field. As a result, clinicians treating orofacial pain should evaluate the sleep quality and psychological status of the patient. Further studies of larger sample sizes including various age, occupation, and pain groups are necessary in order to apply the results to clinical practice.