• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.19 no.11
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• pp.1407-1421
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• 2010

This study was carried out to elucidate the relation between water quality and structure of the aquatic ecosystem in the agriculture reservoir Otae-ji from January to December in 2009. The proportion of forest was 46.98%, which means that non-point sources are major contributor of water pollution in this area. The annual mean COD(Chemical Oxygen Demand) in Otae-ji was $3.6mgL^{-1}$, indicating, level II of environmental standards and the trophic state was mesotrophic. Although total phosporus concentration in the reservoir was high in August due to large inflow of nutrients from outside the reservoir during monsoon season, there was no break out of significant algal bloom in the summer. The seasonal succession of phytoplankton showed that the dinophyta dominated in the the spring, chlorophyta in the summer, chrysophyta and chlorophyta in the autumn and chrysophyta in the winter. In case of zooplankton, rotifers dominated in the most seasons, but cladoceran(Bosmina longirostris) dominated in June and copepod(Nauplii) in August. The macrophyte plants showed diverse species compositon consisted of 3 varieties, 24 species, 23 genera, 15 families and 14 orders. The macroinvertebrates also showed various FFG(Functional Feeding Groups) such as GC(Gathering-Collector), P(Predator), SH(Shedder), FC(Filter-Collector) and PP(Plant-Piercer). Ecosystem stability analysis using aquatic insects was classified as Group I, which has high resilience and resistance indices. A total of 14 species of fish was collected but exotic species such as Lepomis macrochirus and Micropterus salmoides were not found in Otae-ji. In conclusion, the preservation of healthy food wed in the reservoir ecosystem is closely related to water quality management as well as effective prevention of algal bloom by helping good material circulation in aquatic ecosystems.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.259-266
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• 2015

The regulation of flowering time has crucial implications for plant fitness. MicroRNA156 (miR156) represses the floral transition in Arabidopsis thaliana, but the mechanisms regulating its transcription remain unclear. Here, we show that two AGAMOUS-like proteins, AGL15 and AGL18, act as positive regulators of the expression of MIR156. Small RNA northern blot analysis revealed a significant decrease in the levels of mature miR156 in agl15 agl18 double mutants, but not in the single mutants, suggesting that AGL15 and AGL18 co-regulate miR156 expression. Histochemical analysis further indicated that the double mutants showed a reduction in MIR156 promoter strength. The double mutants also showed reduced abundance of pri-miR156a and pri-miR156c, two of the primary transcripts from MIR156 genes. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays demonstrated that AGL15 directly associated with the CArG motifs in the MIR156a/c promoters. AGL18 did not show binding affinity to the CArG motifs, but pull-down and yeast two-hybrid assays showed that AGL18 forms a heterodimer with AGL15. GFP reporter assays and bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) showed that AGL15 and AGL18 co-localize in the nucleus and confirmed their in vivo interaction. Overexpression of miR156 did not affect the levels of AGL15 and AGL18 transcripts. Taking these data together, we present a model for the transcriptional regulation of MIR156. In this model, AGL15 and AGL18 may form a complex along with other proteins, and bind to the CArG motifs of the promoters of MIR156 to activate the MIR156 expression.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2017.06a
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• pp.21-21
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• 2017

Severe lodging has recurrently occurred at strong typhoon's hitting in recent climate change. The identification of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) and their responsible genes associated with a strong culm and their pyramiding are important for developing high-yielding varieties with a superior lodging resistance. To identify QTLs for lodging resistance, the tropical japonica line, Chugoku 117 and the improved indica variety, Habataki were selected as the donor parent, as these had thick and strong culms compared with the temperate japonica varieties in Japan such as Koshihikari. By using chromosome segment substitution lines (CSSLs) in which chromosome segments from the japonica variety were replaced to them from Habataki, we identified the QTLs for strong culm on chrs. 1 and 6, which were designated as STRONG CULM1 (SCM1) and STRONG CULM2 (SCM2), respectively. By using recombinant inbred lines (BILs) derived from a cross between Chugoku 117 and Koshihikari and introgression lines, we also identified the other QTLs for strong culm on chrs. 3 and 2, which were designated as STRONG CULM3 (SCM3) and STRONG CULM4 (SCM4), respectively. Candidate region of SCM1 includes Gn1 related to grain number. SCM2 was identical to APO1, a gene related to the control of panicle branch number, and SCM3 was identical to FC1, a strigolactone signaling associated gene, by performing fine mapping and positional cloning of these genes. To evaluate the effects of SCM1~SCM4 on lodging resistance, the Koshihiakri near isogenic line (NIL) with the introgressed SCM1 or SCM2 locus of Habataki (NIL-SCM1, NIL-SCM2) and the another Koshihikari NIL with the introgeressed SCM3 or SCM4 locus of Chugoku 117 (NIL-SCM3, NIL-SCM4) were developed. Then, we developed the pyramiding lines with double or triple combinations derived from step-by-step crosses among NIL-SCM1 NIL-SCM4. Triple pyramiding lines (NIL-SCM1+2+3, ~ NIL-SCM1+3+4) showed the largest culm diameter and the highest culm strength among the combinations and increased spikelet number due to the pleiotropic effects of these genes. Pyramiding of strong culm genes resulted in much increased culm thickness, culm strength and spikelet number due to their additive effect. SCM1 mainly contributed to enhance their pyramiding effect. These results in this study suggest the importance of identifying the combinations of superior alleles of strong culm genes among natural variation and pyramiding these genes for improving high-yielding varieties with a superior lodging resistance.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.545-559
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• 1996

Rare metal (Nb-Zr-REE) ore deposits are located in the Chungju area. Geotectonically, the rare metal ore deposits are situated in the transitional zone between Kyeonggi massif and Okcheon belt. The rare metal deposits are distributed in Kyemyeongsan Formation which consist of schist and alkaline igneous rocks. Alkali granite has suffered extensive post-magmatic metasomatism and hydrothermal processes. The ore contains mainly Ce-La, Ta-Nb, Y, Y-Nd, Nd-Th group minerals. More than 15 RE and REE minerals are found in the ore deposits. Allanite, one of the Ce-La rich REE minerals belonging to the epidote group, is the most common mineral in the studied area. The allanite- bearing rocks may be devided into seven types by features of occurrence and mineral associations; zircon type (ZT), allanite-vein type (AT), feldspar type (KT), fluorite type (FT), quartz-mica type (QT), iron-oxide type (MT), and amphibole type (HT). The allanite veins (AT) and zircon rich rocks (ZT) contain the highest total REE contents. Differences in REE abundance can be interpreted in terms of varying portions of magmatic hydrothermal fluid. Petrographical and chemical data are presented for allanites which were collected from different types. The allanites show wide variations in optical properties, due in part to differences in their chemical composition (depending on the types) and to the degree of crystallinity of the individual specimens. Allanite metamicts in biotite are generally surrounded by well developed pleochroic haloes. Usually, allanite is accompanied by zircon and other REE-bearing minerals. CaO and total REE contents $({\sum}RE_2O_3)$ range from 9.29 to 18.79% and 11.66 to 26.31%, respectively. Also, SiO, (28.87~32.61%), $Al_2O_3$ (8.30~16.88%), and $Fc_2O_3$ (16.74~24.38%) contents show varying contents from type to type. The ${\sum}RE_2O_3$ of allanite has positive relationships with $Fe_2O_3$ and negative relaton with CaO, $SiO_2$, and $Al_2O_3$ Backscattered electron microscope images (BEl) of allanite shows that the its mineral composition and texture is very complex. The allanite-bearing hosts show distinct light REE enrichment with strong negative Eu anomaly except for HI. The HT has an almost flat REE distribution pattern with a small negative Eu anomaly. The chemical variation of the allanites with occurrences and mineral association can be related to condition of temperature and oxidation states in precipitation environment.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.81-89
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• 2004

Tumor necrosis factor-$\alpha$ (TNF-$\alpha$) and lymphotoxin-$\alpha$ (LT-$\alpha$, TNF-$\beta$) can initiate and perpetuate human diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM). TNFs can be blocked by the use of soluble TNF receptors. However, since monomeric soluble receptors generally exhibit low affinity or function as agonists, the use of monomeric soluble receptors has been limited in the case of cytokines such as TNF-$\alpha$, TNF-$\alpha$, interleukin (IL)-1, IL-4, IL-6, and IL-13, which have adapted to a multi component receptor system. For these reasons, very high-affinity inhibitors were created for the purpose of a TNFs antagonist to bind the TNFR and trigger cellular signal by using the multistep polymerase chain reaction method. First, recombinant simple TNFR-Ig fusion proteins were constructed from the cDNA sequences encoding the extracellular domain of the human p55 TNFR (CD120a) and the human p75 TNFR (CD120b), which were linked to hinge and constant regions of human $IgG_1$ heavy chain, respectively using complementary primers (CP) encoding the complementary sequences. Then, concatameric TNFR-Ig fusion proteins were constructed using recombinant PCR and a complementary primer base of recombinant simple TNFR-Ig fusion proteins. For high level expression of recombinant fusion proteins, Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells were used with a retroviral expression system. The transfected cells produced the simple concatameric TNFR-Ig fusion proteins capable of binding TNF and inactivating it. These soluble versions of simple concantameric TNFR-Ig fusion proteins gave rise to multiple forms such as simple dimers and concatameric homodimers. Simple TNFR-1g fusion proteins were shown to have much more reduced TNF inhibitory activity than concatameric TNFR-Ig fusion proteins. Concatameric TNFR-Ig fusion proteins showed higher affinity than simple TNFR-Ig fusion proteins in a receptor inhibitor binding assay (RIBA). Additionally, concatameric TNFR-Ig fusion proteins were shown to have a progressive effect as a TNF inhibitor compared to the simple TNFR-Ig fusion proteins and conventional TNFR-Fc in cytotoxicity assays, and showed the same results for collagen induced arthritis (CIA) in mice in vivo.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.133-138
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• 2010

Mountain ginseng is a perennial crop rarely found in the deep mountains of Korea. The medicinal effect of the mountain ginseng is well known as a panacea in traditional Chinese medicine for a long time. But scientific studies to elucidate the medicinal effect of the mountain ginseng have never been made on account of lack of sample. Recently an improved method of adventitious root culture system through the use of bioreactor has been developed in Panax ginseng that seems to be a reliable way of commercialization of root derived secondary metabolites. This experiment was conducted to evaluated chemotherapeutic effect against human cervical cancer cells by cisplatin (CDDP) and extract of tissue cultured mountain ginseng (ETCMG). CDDP and ETCMG-induced apoptotic cell death in human cervical cancer cell line, HeLa was confirmed by the analysis of cell growth, morphological changes, DNA fragmentation, flow cytometry showed that ETCMG is an inducer of apoptosis and synergizes with CDDP. These results suggest that ETCMG present evidence of anticancer effect and could have a possibly natural therapeutic potential in cervical cancer patients.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Heat Treatment
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.6-13
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• 2012

HVOF thermal spray coating of 80%WC-CoFe powder is one of the most promising candidate for the replacement of the traditional hard chrome plating and hard ceramics coating because of the environmental problem of the very toxic $Cr^{6+}$ known as carcinogen by chrome plating and the brittleness of ceramics coatings. 80%WC-CoFe powder was coated by HVOF thermal spraying for the study of durability improvement of the high speed spindle such as air bearing spindle. The coating procedure was designed by the Taguchi program, including 4 parameters of hydrogen and oxygen flow rates, powder feed rate and spray distance. The surface properties of the 80%WC-CoFe powder coating were investigated roughness, hardness and porosity. The optimal condition for thermal spray has been ensured by the relationship between the spary parameters and the hardness of the coatings. The optimal coating process obtained by Taguchi program is the process of oxygen flow rate 34 FRM, hydrogen flow rate 57 FRM, powder feed rate 35 g/min and spray distance 8 inch. The coating cross-sectional structure was observed scanning electron microscope before chemical etching. Estimation of coating porosity was performed using metallugical image analysis. The Friction and wear behaviors of HVOF WC-CoFe coating prepared by OCP are investigated by reciprocating sliding wear test at $25^{\circ}C$ and $450^{\circ}C$. Friction coefficients (FC) of coating decreases as sliding surface temperature increases from $25^{\circ}C$ to $450^{\circ}C$.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.19 no.12
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• pp.1764-1768
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• 2009

This study was carried out to examine a concentration of steroid hormones and in vitro development of mouse embryos in culture supernatant of bovine granulosa cells (GC). To obtain the culture supernatant, granulosa cells were retrieved from mature follicles (6~15 mm diameter) and immature follicles (2~5 mm diameter) of bovine ovary and were cultured, respectively, in media of Ham's F-10 with 15% FCS for 16 days. Mature and immature granulosa cells formed their monolayers easily and showed similar growth patterns in culturing. There was no morphological difference between mature and immature granulosa cells. High levels of both progesterone and estradiol were detected in the culture supernatant of mature granulosa cells and immature granulsa cells, and the endocrine profiles of the two types of cells were similar. Progesterone secretion of granulosa cells was high in the late stage of culturing and estradiol secretion was high in the early stage of culturing. In vitro development rates of mouse embryos to morula, blastocyst and hatched blastocyst were significantly (p<0.05) higher in culture supernatant of mature granulosa cells (92.7%, 78.1% and 34.5%) and in culture supernatant of immature granulosa cells (96.4%, 78.5% and 26.8%) than in Ham's F-10 (86.7%, 41,7% and 13.3%). However, there was no difference between the culture supernatant of mature granulosa cells and the culture supernatant of immature granulosa cells in the development of embryos.

• Journal of Mushroom
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.63-68
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• 2013

The fruiting body of honey mushroom, Armillaria gallica, was collected from Gastrodia elata cultivated fields. Pure cultures were isolated from fruiting body tissue of the mushrooms, and cultured on MCM (mushroom complete medium) or PDA (potato dextrose agar) medium. Then, 12 different types of mycelial growth characteristics such as growth rate, colony morphology and rhizomorph formation were obtained. The vitality of the mycelial growth and rhizomorph formation of the fruiting body culture isolates were better on MCM than PDA, suggesting that the optimal culture medium for A. gallica mycelia was MCM. To observe the feature of colony morphology, the subculture of isolates were incubated on MCM. Consequently, we could find the segregated or differentiated colony morphology from isolate type 11 that was similar morphology to isolate type 12. For phylogenetic analysis of the 12 isolates, RAPD (Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA) were performed. The isolate type 12 was not only shown different band patterns of RAPD variation in other 11 isolates, but also commercial strain known as Chunmagyun No. 1. Among the tissue culture isolates of fruiting, strains with better mycelial growth characteristics than Chunmagyun No. 1 were selected. We expect that the new strain can be substituted to commercial strain Chunmagyun No. 1.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.657-661
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• 2005

Various chemotherapeutic agents have been recommended for pulpotomy of primary teeth, and there are formocresol, ferric sulfate, and calcium hydroxide. Of those, formocresol has fixation effect of pulp tissue and high clinical success rate, so it is most commonly used agent. But formocresol has strong cytotoxic effects, thus many articles reported displacement and loss of permanent successor, amelogenesis imperfecta, mutation by general absorption, possibility of cancer induction. Recently, it has been reported that leakage by imperfect temporary sealing when FC-soaked cotton was inserted into the root canal caused necrosis of surrounding tissues. and that necrosis of alveolar bone related to the use of excessive formocresol. In this case, 2nd primary molar of upper left jaw was treated using formocresol in local clinic, but extracted because of lasting pain. Furthermore, symptoms didn't disappear so patient was refered to us. The patient was 8-year-old male, had foul odor from oral cavity and circular alveolar bone necrosis around the permanent successor' crown. Thus sequestrectomy was operated and observed through 19 months after operation, we found normal root development of permanent successor but no complete regeneration of alveolar bone defect and attached gingiva. Lesion of periodontal tissues by formocresol is irreversible, so we have to confirm the indication in using formocresol and pay attention to complete temporary sealing.