• Archives of Obesity and Metabolism
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.33-38
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• 2022

Although it has been confirmed that excessive body fat increases health risks and all-cause mortality, several epidemiological studies have reported that overweight or obesity in patients with chronic diseases and in older adults is advantageous with respect to mortality. Several mechanisms have been proposed to explain the biological basis of this obesity paradox. The marked heterogeneity of findings observed across studies and the possibility of systematic errors in these studies have cast doubt on the actual existence of the obesity paradox. However, the obesity paradox questioned the validity of body mass index as the best indicator for obesity in terms of predicting its comorbidities and urges clinicians to focus more on changes in body composition and related metabolic derangements, rather than body weight per se.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.281-285
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• 2009

Paragonimiasis typically results from the consumption of raw or improperly cooked crustacea, especially crabs and crayfish. Although previously endemic in Korea, the prevalence of this disease decreased in the early 1970s because of educational campaigns and fewer intermediate hosts as a result of ecological changes. Recently, we were presented with a family where all members were infected with Paragonimus after ingestion of Kejang (= drunken crab). The mother was hospitalized for general myalgia and weakness first, followed by the father, who was hospitalized for dyspnea 2 month later. After the parents were diagnosed with paragonimiasis, we recommended their daughter to visit our hospital for a checkup, because they all had eaten freshwater crabs soaked in soybean sauce. She complained of generalized myalgia, fever, and pleuritic pain, and was also diagnosed with paragonimiasis. Peripheral blood of the 3 patients revealed hypereosinophilia, and computed tomography (CT) scans of their chests showed pleural effusion. The results of antibody tests by ELISA were positive for paragonimiasis. We report here the case series of familial paragonimiasis in a modern urban city, rather than in a typical endemic area.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.74-85
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• 2022

Along with the change in the values of marriage and the prevalence of non-marriage in Korean society, a new form of family composition called unmarried birth or non-maritalism childbirth has appeared, and social discussion in taking place in connection with the problem of a decrease in the birthrate. Using sentiment analysis and social network analysis, this research explored how the people's sentiment and perception has changed toward 'nonmarital birth.' The data used is comments on news articles from the period of November 2020 to August 2021. As a result of the study, there were a lot of positive comments during the social issue period by marriage, whereas there were many negative comments from the policy agenda to the policy making period. As a result of co-occurrence network analysis, the topic of family norm, policy, and personal aspect appeared. This study is significant in that it revealed that negative perceptions prevailed during the policy-making process after the issue of unmarried births after the issue of unmarried births, and it became a cornerstone of social discussion on unmarried births

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.264-270
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• 1997

The structure of plasmid mlp1, a linear 10.2kb mitochondrial plasmid of Pleurotus ostreatus NFF A2 was determined by restriction enzyme mapping and partial sequencing. The plasmid encodes at least two proteins; a putative RNA polymerase showing homology to yeast mitochondrial RNA polymerase and to viral-encoded RNA polymerases, and a putative DNA polymerase showing significant homology to the family B thpe DNA polymerases. It also contains terminal inverted repeat sequences at both ends which are longer than 274 bp. A 1.6 kb EcoRI restriction fragment of m1p1 containing the putative RNA polymerase gene did not hybridize to the nuclear or motochondrial genomes from P. ostreatus, suggesting that it may encode plasmidspecific RNA polymerase. The gene fragment also did not hybridize with the RNA polymerase gene (RPO41) from Saccaromyces cerevisiae. The relationship between genes in m1p1 and those in another linear plasmid pC1K1 of Claviceps purpurea was examined by DNA hybridization. The result indicates that the genes for DNA and RNA polymerases are not closely related with those in C. purpurea.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.404-408
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• 1999

SH2 domains and their associated catalytic or noncatalytic proteins constitute critical signal transduction targets for drug discovery. Grb2 associates with phosphotyrosine sites of the activated receptors or Shc via their SH2 domain to link receptor tyrosine kinases to ras signalling. Blocking of the Grb2-Shc complex may be to intervene the oncogenic signal transduction pathways and to develop a new antitumor drug. In the search for blockers of Grb2 SH2-Shc interaction, Lutein, a family of carotenoids, was isolated from the extract of the leaf of Agastache rugosa O. Kuntze as SH2 domain antagonists. The $IC_{50}$ of Lutein against Grb2-Shc binding was $6.8\;{\mu}M$.

• Journal of Genetic Medicine
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.139-144
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• 2008

We report on two cases of pericentric inversion of X chromosome. The cases were found in a 40-year-old man with azoospermia and in a family of a 38-year-old pregnant woman. The first case with 46,Y,inv(X)(p22.1q27) had concentrations of LH, prolactin, estradiol, and testosterone that were within normal ranges; however, FSH levels were elevated. Testis biopsy revealed maturation arrest at the primary and secondary spermatocytes without spermatozoa. There were no microdeletions in the 6 loci of chromosome Y. For the second case, the cytogenetic study of thepregnant woman referring for advanced maternal age and a family history of inversion X chromosome was 46,X,inv(X)(p22.11q27.2). The karyotype of her fetus was 46,X,inv(X)(p22.1q27). Among other family members, the karyotypes of an older sister in pregnancy and her fetus were 46,X,inv(X)(p22.11q27.2), and 46,Y,?inv(X), respectively. The proband's father was 46,Y,inv(X)(p22.11q27.2). All carriers in the family discussed above were fertile and phenotypically normal. In addition, the ratio of inactivation of inv(X) by RBG-banding was discordant between the two sisters, with the older sister having only 4.1% of cells carrying inactivated inv(X) while the proband had a 69.5% incidence of late replicating inv(X). Therefore, we suggest that the cause of azoospermia in the first case might be related to inversion X chromosome with positional effect. Also, the family of the second case showing normal phenotype of the balanced inv(X) might be not affected any positional effect of genes.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.651-656
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• 2009

The formation of ${\beta}$-amyloid peptide ($A{\beta}$) is initiated from cleavage of amyloid precursor protein (APP) by a family of protease, ${\alpha}$-, ${\beta}$-, and ${\gamma}$-secretase. Sub W, a substrate peptide, consists of 10 amino acids, which are adjacent to the ${\beta}$-cleavage site of wild-type APP, and Sub M is Swedish mutant with double mutations on the left side of the ${\beta}$-cleavage site of APP. Sub W is a normal product of the metabolism of APP in the secretary pathway. Sub M is known to increase the efficiency of ${\beta}$-secretase activity, resulting in a more specific binding model compared to Sub W. Three-dimensional structures of Sub W and Sub M were studied by CD and NMR spectroscopy in water solution. On the basis of these structures, interaction models of ${\beta}$-secretase and substrate peptides were determined by molecular dynamics simulation. Four hydrogen bonds and one water-mediated interaction were formed in the docking models. In particular, the hydrogen bonding network of Sub M-BACE formed spread over the broad region of the active site of ${\beta}$-secretase (P5-P3'), and the side chain of P2- Asn formed a hydrogen bond specifically with the side chain of Arg235. These are more favorable to the cleavage of Sub M by ${\beta}$-secretase than Sub W. The two substrate peptides showed different tendency to bind to ${\beta}$-secretase and this information may useful for drug development to treat and prevent Alzheimer's disease.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.333-337
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• 2012

Gene expression of neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) changes in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) depending on feeding conditions, which is decreased during food deprivation and restored by refeeding, and phosphorylated cAMP response element binding protein (pCREB) was suggested to play a role in its regulation. This study was conducted to examine if the fasting-induced down-regulation of the PVN-nNOS expression is restored by activation of cAMP-dependent protein kinase A (cAMP/PKA) pathway. Freely moving rats received intracerebroventricular (icv) injection of cAMP/PKA activator Sp-cAMP (40 nmol) or vehicle (sterilized saline) following 48 h of food deprivation. One hour after drug injections, rats were transcardially perfused with 4% paraformaldehyde, and the PVN tissues were processed for nNOS or pCREB immunohistochemistry. Sp-cAMP significantly increased not only nNOS but also pCREB immunoreactivities in the PVN of food deprived rats. Fastinginduced down-regulation of the PVN-nNOS was restored by 1 h after the icv Sp-cAMP. Results suggest that cAMP/PKA pathway may mediate the regulation of the PVN-nNOS expression depending on different feeding conditions.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.716-721
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• 2005

Fluoxetine is an anorexic agent known to reduce food intake and weight gain. However, the molecular mechanism by which fluoxetine induces anorexia has not been well-established. We examined mRNA expression levels of neuropeptide Y (NPY) and proopiomelanocortin (POMC) in the brain regions of rats using RT-PCR and in situ hybridization techniques after 2 weeks of administering fluoxetine daily. Fluoxetine persistently suppressed food intake and weight gain during the experimental period. The pair-fed group confirmed that the reduction in body weight in the fluoxetine treated rats resulted primarily from decreased food intake. RT-PCR analyses showed that mRNA expression levels of both NPY and POMC were markedly reduced by fluoxetine treatment in all parts of the brain examined, including the hypothalamus. POMC mRNA in situ signals were significantly decreased, NPY levels tended to increase in the arcuate nucleus (ARC) of fluoxetine treated rats (compared to the vehicle controls). In the pair-fed group, NPY mRNA levels did not change, but the POMC levels decreased (compared with the vehicle controls). These results reveal that the chronic administration of fluoxetine decreases expression levels in both NPY and POMC in the brain, and suggests that fluoxetine-induced anorexia may not be mediated by changes in the ARC expression of either NPY or POMC. It is possible that a fluoxetine raised level of 5-HT play an inhibitory role in the orectic action caused by a reduced expression of ARC POMC ($\alpha$-MSH).

• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.275-282
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• 2009

In this study, effect of mating group, mating dam and mating sire was analyzed using olive flounder Paralichthys olivaceus challenged with Edwardsiella tarda. A challenge test was conducted using 1,708 olive flounder fingerlings obtained through $4{\times}4$ factorial cross from parents selected based on resistant degree. Regarding the means of resistant index, survival rate and days of survival by each mating group, the group(RR) produced by mating among resistant parents were 17.98, 13.77%, and 18.36 days, respectively; the group(SS) produced by mating among susceptible parents were 12.46, 2.71%, and 12.40 days, respectively. This study gives an indication that challenge test results may be successfully used as selection criteria for disease resistance to E. tarda in olive flounder, P. olivaceus.