• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.332-340
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• 2016

Seed size traits are controlled by multiple genes in crops and determine grain yield, quality and appearance. However, the molecular mechanisms controlling the size of plant seeds remain unclear. We performed functional analysis of BrPATL4 encoding Sec14-like protein to determine the genetic architecture of seed size, shape and their association analyses. We used 60 $T_3$ transgenic rice lines to evaluate seed length, seed width and seed height as seed size traits, and the ratios of these values as seed shape traits. Pleiotropic effects on general architecture included small seed size, erect panicles, decreased grain weight, reduced plant height and increased sterility, which are common to other mutants deficient in gibberellic acid (GA) biosynthesis. To test whether BrPATL4 overexpression is deleterious for GA signal transduction, we compared the relative expression of GA related gene and the growth rate of second leaf sheath supplied with exogenous $GA_3$. Overexpression of BrPATL4 did not affect GA biosynthesis or signaling pathway, with the same response shown under GA treatment compared to the wild type. However, the causal genes for the small seed phenotype (D1, SRS1, and SRS5) and the erection of panicles showed significantly decreased levels in mRNA accumulation compared to the wild type. These results suggest that the overexpression of BrPATL4 can control seed size through the suppression of those genes related to seed size regulation. Although the molecular function of BrPATL4 is not clear for small seed and erect panicles of BrPALT4 overexpression line, this study provides some clues about the genetic engineering of rice seed architecture.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.82-88
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• 1997

A study was carried out to evaluate the values of roughages available in Korea on feed intake and digestibility of Korean native goats and consequently to apply its results to the feeding system of Korean goats as a basic information. The results are as follows. 1. The protein contents in Alfalfa and Acacia leaf were 17.6 and 16.3% respectively 11.7 and 6.8% higher than orchardgrass and pine needle. Ether extract tom pine needle was about two times higher than other roughage sources which are 9.2%. 2. Dry matter intake per day in goats fed alfalfa, acacia leaf and orchardgrass was higher (P < 0.05) at 590.3, 543.8 and 496.58 respectively and 217.lg in pine needle. 3. Dry matter intake per basal weight (DM glkg of B$W^{0.75}$ and DM g/kg of BW%) was higher in goats fed acacia leaf at 68.5 and 3.5% respectively than any other treatments goats fed pine needle showed the lowest (P< 0.05) dry matter intake at 28.6 and 1.5% respectively. 4. Dry matter digestibility was highest (PcO.05) in alfalfa fed goats at 61.4%. Dry matter digestibilities in orchardgrass, pine needle and acacia leaf were 58.0, 46.8 and 46.6% respectively. 5. Total digestible nutrients were highest (P< 0.05) in Alfalfa fed goats at 59.5%. Total digestible nutrients in orchardgrass, pine needle and acacia leaf were 54.2, 50.7 and 47.7% respectively. 6. In conclusion, the value of orchardgrass as feed for goats was as excellent as alfalfa and although acacia leaf had a less value than alfalfa in goats, it is considered to be used as a protein supplement in diets for goats due to its high content of protein and excellent palatability. Intake of pine needle in Korean goats in this study was satisfactory and it indicates the possibility of its use as a supplement in diets for goats. However, fkther investigation will be necessary particularly on the deleterious effects of ether extracts of pine needle

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.403-406
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• 2014

A 6-year-old female Maltese (body weight, 3.1 kg) without clinical signs was referred for further evaluation of the cause of cardiac murmur. Thoracic radiography revealed right-sided cardiomegaly. Echocardiography showed marked hypertrophic remodeling of the right ventricular free wall and an anomalous muscular bundle and fibrous nodule near the subinfundibular portion of the right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT), indicating a double-chambered right ventricle (DCRV). The turbulent flow from the anomalous muscular bundle to the main pulmonary artery was 4.6 m/sec, in addition to the tricuspid valvular regurgitation of 4.4 m/sec and main pulmonary artery flow of 1.1 m/sec. The dog is receiving atenolol (0.5 mg/kg) to minimize the deleterious cardiac effects of the high afterload, even though she remains asymptomatic. This report describes a case of DCRV, a rare congenital heart disease in dogs in South Korea.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.55-67
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• 2001

Exogenous enzymes which, for the purpose of this paper, include phytase, $\beta$-glucanase, pentosanase and $\alpha$-galactosidase, are now extensively used throughout the world as aditives in swine diets. The chemical effects of these enzymes are well understand. However, the manner in which their benefits to the swine are brought about is still under debate. Phytase was to increase the availability of plant phytate phosphorus, which reduces phosphorus pollution and allows reductions in the amount of inorganic phosphate used. Also, enzymes have been discovered which have the potential to break down deleterious compounds commonly found in swine rations such as $\beta$-glucanase contained in barley and oats and the soluble pentosans found in rye and wheat thus increasing the digestibility of these non-starch polysaccharides. Future research in these area will allow for more efficient use of the current enzymes, development of more efficient future products and development of more thermotolerant enzymes.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.177-184
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• 1995

In order to formulate an aqueous topical preparation of epidermal growth factor(EGF) for the treatment of open wound and bum, the stability of EGF in aqueous vehicles containing various stabilizers was evaluated and the pharmacological activity of gel preparations formulated with poloxamer 407 was determined with wound model. Various additives, which are known as potent stabilizers for proteins and polypeptides so far, were used to increase the stability of EGF in aqueous vehicles. The contents of EGF in the vehicles containing stabilizers were determined with an HPLC method after the storage at $37^{\circ}C$. EGF was more stable in ultrapure water than RO water or saline. All the additives studied resulted in deleterious effects on EGF stability. Therefore, it was speculated that any additives or impurities in the vehicle made EGF unstable. However, nitrogen purge of solution increased the stability of EGF in aqueous vehicles. The aqueous topical preparations of EGF were formulated with poloxamer 407 as a gel base in saline. Gelatin or amastatin was employed as a protease inhibitor. The pharmacological effect of EGF gel was studied with open wound model in mice. EGF preparations, made of oleaginous base or poloxamer gel base, showed significant healing effect compared to the control group(p<0.05). The addition of protease inhibitor in poloxamer 407 gel resulted in significant healing effect compared to the gel without it(p<0.05). Body weights of mice treated with EGF preparation were increased at the first day after the formation of open wound, while those of the control group were decreased. The EGF gel made of poloxamer 407 containing a pretense inhibitor would be a promising aqueous topical preparation for EGF.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.53 no.3
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• pp.303-307
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• 2008

Cotyledon Black Decay (CBD) on soybean sprout mimics the black spot due to microbial infection. CBD, not visible or predictable at seedlot state, for some reason, shows up exclusively on cotyledon of soybean sprout during sprouting process. Such an incidence rate fluctuated from 0.8 to 19.5% over three years from 2004. We suspected some pod-infecting anthracnose fungi and/or pod-blight pathogen, or pod-sucking bean bug, one of the major pests of soybean, might have involved, of which we ruled out fungal pathogen because it was preventable through heat treatment, a proven method for seedlot disinfestation. The healthy seeds artificially fed by bean bug for one to seven days were sprouted, and 6 to 41% of the soybean sprout revealed the CBD mimic to those occurred in soybean sprout from previous commercial seedlot screening experiments. This finding is the first report to confirm that bean bug damage to pod at $R_8$ stage is directly responsible for the CBD, which did not concur with any other deleterious effects on sprouting such as reduction in hypocotyls elongation and rooting except unsightly sprout quality. However, earlier feeding either at green pod or greenish yellow pod stage ($R_6$ -early $R_7$ stage) resulted in rather severe damages, which strikingly reduced hypocotyls growth to about one forth to about two third, as well as the reduction in rates of seed germination.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.73-81
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• 2020

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine whether eating non-home-prepared meals (NHPM), including fast food, ready-to-eat foods, and frozen foods, was associated with self-reported infertility in the United States women. Methods: Data on diet and infertility from women aged 20-49 years who participated in the 2013-2014 and 2015-2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys were analyzed (n=2143). Dietary information, including the number and types of NHPM consumed, was obtained from a self-reported questionnaire, and infertility status was analyzed using the following question, "Have you ever attempted to become pregnant over a period of at least a year without becoming pregnant" Results: The frequency of NHPM consumption was positively associated with self-reported infertility after adjusting for confounding effects (odds ratio [OR], 2.82; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.48 to 5.38 of >1 vs. 0 NHPM/d). The odds of infertility were 2-3 times higher in women who consumed fast food than in those who did not consume fast food (OR, 2.73; 95% CI, 1.15 to 6.48 of >1 vs. 0 times/d). Conclusions: The frequency and types of NHPM may be a factor contributing to infertility. Although our findings require confirmation, they suggest that eating out may be deleterious to women fecundity.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.475-486
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• 2005

Fungal secondary metabolites constitute a wide variety of compounds which either playa vital role in agricultural, pharmaceutical and industrial contexts, or have devastating effects on agriculture, animal and human affairs by virtue of their toxigenicity. Owing to their beneficial and deleterious characteristics, these complex compounds and the genes responsible for their synthesis have been the subjects of extensive investigation by microbiologists and pharmacologists. A majority of the fungal secondary metabolic genes are classified as type I polyketide synthases (PKS) which are often clustered with other secondary metabolism related genes. In this review we discuss on the significance of our recent discovery of chalcone synthase (CHS) genes belonging to the type III PKS superfamily in an industrially important fungus, Aspergillus oryzae. CHS genes are known to playa vital role in the biosynthesis of flavonoids in plants. A comparative genome analyses revealed the unique character of A. oryzae with four CHS-like genes (csyA, csyB, csyC and csyD) amongst other Aspergilli (Aspergillus nidulans and Aspergillus fumigatus) which contained none of the CHS-like genes. Some other fungi such as Neurospora crassa, Fusarium graminearum, Magnaporthe grisea, Podospora anserina and Phanerochaete chrysosporium also contained putative type III PKSs, with a phylogenic distinction from bacteria and plants. The enzymatically active nature of these newly discovered homologues is expected owing to the conservation in the catalytic residues across the different species of plants and fungi, and also by the fact that a majority of these genes (csyA, csyB and csyD) were expressed in A. oryzae. While this finding brings filamentous fungi closer to plants and bacteria which until recently were the only ones considered to possess the type III PKSs, the presence of putative genes encoding other principal enzymes involved in the phenylpropanoid and flavonoid biosynthesis (viz., phenylalanine ammonia-lyase, cinnamic acid hydroxylase and p-coumarate CoA ligase) in the A. oryzae genome undoubtedly prove the extent of its metabolic diversity. Since many of these genes have not been identified earlier, knowledge on their corresponding products or activities remain undeciphered. In future, it is anticipated that these enzymes may be reasonable targets for metabolic engineering in fungi to produce agriculturally and nutritionally important metabolites.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.251-256
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• 1999

The present study was conducted to evaluate whether vitrification could be used for ovarian tissue preservation. The important issue here is that the vitrification is very simple, easy, and economical compared to the conventional cryopreserving method that using automatic freezing instrument. Human ovarian cortical tissues were cryopreserved by vitrification with 5.5 M ethylene glycol and 1.0 M sucrose as cryoprotectant. Three points of temperature ($4^{\circ}C$, room temperature, and $37^{\circ}C$) and two points of duration (5 or 10 minutes) for cryoprotectant treatment were examined to determine the best condition for vitrification of the human ovarian cortical tissues. After thawing, viability of the isolated primordial follicles was examined by dye-exclusion method. Histological appearance of tissues before and after the cryopreservation was evaluated. There was no toxic effect of the 5.5 M ethylene glycol on the primordial follicles. However, when the tissues were treated with cryoprotectant at $37^{\circ}C$ for 10 minutes and exposed to liquid nitrogen, it seems likely that there is certain deleterious effects on the viability of the primordial follicles. The highest viability of the primordial follicles was obtained with the treatment of cryoprotectant at room temperature for 10 minutes. Follicles and oocytes survived after freezing and thawing had the similar normal shapes as was seen in the specimens before cryopreservation. It would be useful to apply vitrification in establishing ovarian tissue banking for clinical purposes.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2009

Human genomic DNA is continuously attacked by oxygen radicals originated from cellular metabolic processes and numerous environmental carcinogens. 2-deoxyribonolactone (dL) is a major type of oxidized abasic (AP) lesion implicated in DNA strand scission, mutagenesis, and formation of covalent DNA-protein crosslink (DPC) with DNA polymerase (Pol) ${\beta}$. We show here that human DNA polymerase (Pol)${\iota}$ and mitochondrial $Pol{\gamma}$ give rise to stable DNA-protein crosslink (DPC) formation that is specifically mediated by dL lesion. $Pol{\gamma}$ mediates DPC formation at the incised dL residue by its 5'-deoxyribose-5-phosphate (dRP) lyase activity, while $Pol{\gamma}$ cross links with dL thorough its intrinsic dRP lyase and AP lyase activities. Reactivity in forming dL-mediated DPC was significantly higher with $Pol{\gamma}$ than with $Pol{\iota}$. DPC formation by $Pol{\gamma}$, however, can be reduced by an accessory factor of $Pol{\gamma}$ holoenzyme that may attenuate deleterious effects of crosslink adducts on mitochondrial DNA. Comparative kinetic analysis of DPC formation showed that the rate of DPC formation with either $Pol{\iota}$ or $Pol{\gamma}$ was lower than that with $Pol{\beta}$. These results revealed that the activity of catalytic lyase in DNA polymerases determine the efficiency of DPC formation with dL damages. Irreversible crosslink formation of such DNA polymerases by dL lesions may result in a prolonged strand scission and a suicide of DNA repair proteins, both of which could pose a threat to the genetic and structural integrity of DNA.