• Animal cells and systems
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.85-90
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• 2001

Yolk platelets, one of the main food stores in the embryonic development, are composed of proteins. However, little is known about the identity of proteins utilized at certain stages of embryogenesis. In this study, we followed the fates of embryonic storage proteins by using an anti-polyubiquitin monoclonal antibody (mAB) as a probe. The mAb recognized the major storage proteins of Drosophila, Xenopus and chicken eggs. In the Drosophila embryo, the mAb-reactive 45-kDa protein was not used until stage 11 but was used up at stage 16 when the embryo completed segmentation. In the Xenopus embryo, the mAb-reactive 111 kDa protein was mostly utilized between stages 42 and 45 implying that the protein might be an energy source used just prior to feeding on food. By N-terminal sequencing the storage protein of Xenopus embryo was identified as a lipovitellin 1. This study confirms that storage proteins are used almost simultaneously at certain stages of embryogenesis and that vitellogenin 1 is the last storage protein in Xenopus embryogenesis.

• Animal cells and systems
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.215-219
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• 2002

In mid-April, 2000, hundreds of thousands of fish floated dead on the Chungnang River, one of the small branches of the Han River in Seoul. We examined the causes of the accident in detail, through analysis of monitorinq data from the Han River Monitoring Project, which employed the transplanted aquatic moss, Fontinalis antipyretica. This allowed investigation of another possible cause of the fish kill: release of trace metals into the river from industrial sources during the rainfall event. In addition, we aimed to verify the usefulness of aquatic mosses as bioindicators of the event. Water samples collected 48 h after the fish kill exhibited low pH and high Total-N and Total-p, indicating that acidic compounds rich in nitrogen and phosphorus might be a major contaminant. BOD and COD were also very high. On the whole, the conditions of the river water were degraded at that time. Distinct trends were not observed in the chlorophyll phaeophy-tinization quotient and photosynthesis rate of transplanted mosses. How-ever mosses sampled soon after the accident exhibited the lowest values for those variables (P < 0.01), suggesting that stress factors in the river were diluted out over time. Heavy metals with characteristics of industrial effluents (Cr, Pb, Zn, Fe, Cu, and Cd) increased (p ＜ 0.01), indicating that they were unlikely to be major causes of the accident.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.1608-1612
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• 2012

Singlet oxygen ($^1O_2$) is an important species for oxidation in biological processes. $^1O_2$ is implicated in the genotoxic effect, and plays an important role in the cell-signaling cascade and in the induction of gene expression. However, the rapid detection of $^1O_2$ in biological environments with sufficient specificity and sensitivity is hampered by its extremely low emission probability. Here, a layer-by-layer (LbL) film of CdTe quantum dots (QDs), polymers, and ascorbate have been designed as a rapid, highly selective, and sensitive fluorescence probe for $^1O_2$ detection. Upon reaction with $^1O_2$, the probe exhibits a strong photoluminescence (PL) response even at trace levels. This remarkable PL change should enable the probe to be used for $^1O_2$ detection in many chemical and biological systems and as an environmental sensor.

• Animal cells and systems
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.11-15
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• 2010

Long-term working memory (LTWM) is a subdivision concept of working memory and indicates the enhancement of performance in a working memory task. LTWM has been shown in humans who have been engaged in a specific task requiring working memory over a long time. However, there is very little understanding of the exact mechanism of LTWM because of limitations of experimental methods in human studies. We have modified the standard T-maze task, which is used to test working memory in mice, to demonstrate LTWM in an animal model. We observed an enhancement of performance by repeated experience with the same working memory load in mice, which can be regarded as an LTWM. This effect seems to depend on the condition wherein a delay was given. This task may be a good experimental protocol to assess LTWM in animal studies.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.33 no.10
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• pp.3265-3268
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• 2012

Nanoparticles (NPs) are increasingly used in consumer products, which have aroused many concerns and debates regarding their fate in biological systems from a point of their safety/toxicity. Although a number of studies on the biological effects of NPs have been published, these are often complicated by the possible toxicity of conventional NPs, caused by contamination with chemical precursors or additives during their synthesis and/or purification procedures. To explicitly understand the toxicity basis of NPs, it is necessary to directly address a main problem related to their intrinsic/inherent toxicity and/or incompatibility with biological objects. The present study is designed to take advantage of a novel laser-assisted method called laser ablation to generate Ag, Au, Co, and Cu NPs in biocompatible aqueous solution, and to evaluate the toxicity of the resulting ultra-pure NPs. Our results show that the ultra-pure NPs with nascent surfaces possess moderate cytotoxicity to human cells in a cell-dependent manner.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.1-8
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• 1987

The relative biological effectiveness has been measured for the biological characterization of $p^+(50.5\;MeV)$ Be neutron of KCCH-Cyclotron prior to clinical application. Measured RBE of mouse jejunal crypt cell in single whole body irradiation was 2.8. This RBE value is changed differently in different biologic systems such as mouse jejunal crypt cells, intestine and bone marrow in different irradiation method, so that in fractionated irradiation RBE is variable to the different fraction size and total dose, and also variable to the number of fractions.

• Animal cells and systems
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.267-274
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• 2009

The dissociative culture technique of Aplysia neuron is one of the key methods that have been used for studies of cellular and molecular mechanisms of neuronal functioning. However, despite the advantages this method offers as an experimental model, its technical efficiency has had room for improvement. In this study, we examined certain putative factors that might affect the culture quality. The effects of neuronal damage induced by physical injuries, heat shock, and surface protein degradation were evaluated along with the correlation between the culture quality and animal behavior. As a result, we found that physical injury can be a critical factor that affects culture quality, whereas the heat shock and surface protein degradation had negligible effect on it. In addition, we discovered that siphon retraction time was not a good measurement for healthy neurons. Based on these findings, we suggest here an improved method in which the degree of physical injury is reduced by means of multiple protease treatment.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.867-878
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• 1994

A general overview of the lipid peroxidation and its nutritional significance are presented ,with emphasis on the reaction mechaisms, peroxidized products, further interaction and nutritional/biological deterioration in a series of oxidative process. Overall mechanism with various factors and elements for initiation , propagation and termination of free radical reaction is reviewed and the primary /secondary products of peroxidized lipids are defined. Since these products are potentially reactive substances that can cause deterioration of proteins /amino acids and vitamins (carotene, tocopherols and ascorbic acid etc), mechanism and actual damages of their deterioration in some foods and biological models are outlined. Especially , chemical changes caused by interaction of peroxidized products (related hydroperoxides, radicals and malonaldehye etc) and protein are emphasized here. And also, the detailed mechanisms on radical scavenging of the these vitamins which are the most prominent natural antioxidants are presented . Additionally , the possible roles of peroxidicaed lipids and their secondary products in the process of aging an carcinogenesis are briefly discussed . However, it is important to not that more detailed and integrated studies on the reaction kinetics, energetics of peroxidation, their decomposed products , biochemical interaction potential damaging/aging / carcinogenic effects, protection from their oxidative spoilage and novel antioxidants in food and heterogeneous biological systems will be essential in order to assessing the implication of lipid peroxidation to human nutrition and health.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.311-316
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• 2012

Fusarium root disease can be a serious problem in forest and conservation nurseries in the western United States. Fusarium inoculum is commonly found in most container and bareroot nurseries on healthy and diseased seedlings, in nursery soils, and on conifer seeds. Fusarium spp. within the F. oxysporum species complex have been recognized as pathogens for more than a century, but attempts to distinguish virulence by correlating morphological characteristics with results of pathogenicity tests were unsuccessful. Recent molecular characterization and pathogenicity tests, however, revealed that selected isolates of F. oxysporum are benign on Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) seedlings. Other morphologically indistinguishable isolates, which can be virulent, were identified as F. commune, a recently described species. In a replicated greenhouse study, inoculating Douglas-fir seedlings with one isolate of F. oxysporum prevented expression of disease caused by a virulent isolate of F. commune. Moreover, seedling survival and growth was unaffected by the presence of the F. oxysporum isolate, and this isolate yielded better biological control than a commercial formulation of Bacillus subtilis. These results demonstrate that an isolate of nonpathogenic F. oxysporum can effectively reduce Fusarium root disease of Douglas-fir caused by F. commune under nursery settings, and this biological control approach has potential for further development.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.136-142
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• 2018

The river water source of Saidabad Surface Water Treatment Plant at Dhaka, Bangladesh, is deteriorated too much to be treated by conventional treatment process due to excessive ammonia pollution. In order to improve the raw water quality before it enters into the main treatment chain, a pilot study was conducted for pre-treatment of the raw water. The objective is to investigate the rate of reduction of ammonia using the Meteor pilot, a biological pretreatment system, which is a laboratory scale Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor with a nominal volume of hundred liters, filled with 50 L of Meteor 660 media. The reduction of ammonia was quite significant on average 73%, while the reduction of COD was in a range from 20 to 60%. The Meteor pilot was able to treat and nitrify the raw water and produce an effluent that respects the guarantee of ammonia < $4.0mg\;NH_3-N/L$ when the raw water ammonia concentration was < $15mg\;NH_3-N/L$. The study identified operating parameters necessary to achieve the desired goal of adequate ammonia removal. The study results would benefit a range of systems across the country by providing guidance on the design and operation of a biological pre-treatment system for ammonia removal.