• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
• /
• v.33 no.4
• /
• pp.350-357
• /
• 2014

BACKGROUND: Deicers such as calcium chloride ($CaCl_2$) and sodium chloride (NaCl) in Korea have been commonly used to reduce traffic accidents as well as injuries. However there have been adverse effects of deciders such as pollution of water and soil, and reduced productivity of agriculture as well as forest. This study aimed to investigate biological effects of the deicers against wheat, barley, and spinach. METHODS AND RESULTS: The germination of tested crop seeds exposed to chloride-deicers, $CaCl_2$ and NaCl was significantly reduced at over 3% concentration of chloride-deicers compared to the control. In spraying deicers to the seedlings of the crops, there was no symptom such as inhibition of growth rate or leaf elongation. However the germination of tested crop seeds was affected at 2% concentration of deicers when they were exposed continuously to deicers in soils. The growth of the shoot against $CaCl_2$ and NaCl treatments was very similar in wheat and barley whereas the shoot of spinach was the most susceptible. Based on these results, the sensitivity of the crops to the tested deicers was as follows: NaCl > $CaCl_2$ > mixture ($CaCl_2$ + NaCl). The length of shoots and roots of the seedlings grown in 1% treated soil was decreased. The biomass of all the seedlings decreased 1.5 to 4 times at 1%. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that the effects of salt deicers by inputting into soil against growing tested crops are more severe in germination and growth inhibition as well as biomass decrease.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
• /
• v.33 no.4
• /
• pp.372-380
• /
• 2014

BACKGROUND: This study was carried out in order to closely examine the influence of fertilization upon growth in container of seedling in indeciduous Quercus species (Q. mysinaefolia, Q. acuta and Q. glauca). METHODS AND RESULTS: Fertilizer level was made by adjusting water soluble compound fertilizer (N:P:K=19: 19:19, v/v) to 1000, 2000, $3000mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$ level along with non-fertilizing plot. Fertilization increased height, root collar diameter growth, and dry weight in these three species of trees. The more increase in fertilizer level led to the more rise even in growth of these species. H/D ratio and T/R ratio also showed tendency of getting bigger in the more rise in fertilizer level. Photosynthetic rate was shown to get higher in the higher fertilizer level according to fertilization in all the three species. In the analysis of root morphological traits, the total root length was surveyed to be longer in the more rise in fertilizer concentration. As even a case of root project area, surface area, and root volume is the similar tendency to characteristics in the total root length, a rise depending on fertilization was observed. CONCLUSION: In light of the results in this experiment, the fertilizer level is judged to be $2000mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$ level that is proper for production of 1-year-old container seedling in indeciduous Quercus species with excellent root development and high seedling quality index.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
• /
• v.12 no.2
• /
• pp.143-150
• /
• 2005

Background:Several reports have suggested that cytokine alterations could be related to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. In this study, we measured plasma level of interleukin-12(IL-12), a proinflammatory T helper 1(Th1) cytokine and transforming growth factor-${\beta}1$(TGF-${\beta}1$), an anti-inflammatory Th3 cytokine before and after antipsychotic treatment in schizophrenic patients. Methods:The plasma concentrations of IL-12 and TGF-${\beta}1$ were measured by using quantitative ELISA in 23 schizophrenic patients and 31 normal controls at admission and 8 weeks later. The psychopathology was measured by Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale(BPRS). Results:IL-12 and TGF-${\beta}1$ levels were significantly higher in schizophrenic patients than in controls before treatment. At the 8 week of treatment, the TGF-${\beta}1$ levels returned to control values, while IL-12 levels were not significantly changed. There were no significant correlations between the changes of BPRS scores and the changes of IL-12 or TGF-${\beta}1$ levels in schizophrenic patients. Conclusion:Cytokine abnormalities in schizophrenia might be involved in the pathophysiology of the illness. It is possible that TGF-${\beta}1$ plays an important role in the schizophrenia.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
• /
• v.44 no.1
• /
• pp.8-25
• /
• 2020

Background: Species of the genera Eucalyptus, Cupressus, and Pinus are the most widely planted tree species in the country in general and in Chilimo dry Afromontane forest in particular. Eucalyptus covers 90% of the total planted forest area in the country. However, only limited information exists in the country regarding aboveground biomass (AGB), belowground biomass (BGB), growth, and yield. This study was conducted to assess the variables on 25 and 30 years of age for three planted species: Cupressus lusitanica, Eucalyptus saligna, and Pinus patula in Chilimo plantation forest, in the Central Highlands of Ethiopia. A two-times inventory was conducted in 2012 and 2017. A total of nine square sampled plots of 400 ㎡ each, three plots under Cupressus lusitanica, 3 Eucalyptus saligna, and 3 Pinus patula were used for data collection. Data on height, diameter, soil, and tree stumps were collected. Percent C, % N, and bulk density was performed following chemical procedure. Results: The aboveground biomass ranged from 125.76 to 228.67 t C ha^-1 and the basal area and number of stems from 3.76 to 25.50 ㎡ ha^-1 and 483 to 1175 N ha^-1, respectively. The mean annual basal area and volume increment were between 0.97 and 1.20 ㎡ ha^-1 year^-1 and 10.79 and 16.22 ㎥ ha^-1 year^-1. Both carbon and nitrogen stock of the planted forest was non-significant among the tree species. Conclusion: The aboveground biomass, growth, and yield significantly varied among the species. Cupressus lusitanica had the highest aboveground biomass, volume, and basal area, while Eucalyptus saligna had the lowest value. To a depth of 1 m, total carbon stored ranged from 130.13 to 234.26 t C ha^-1. The total annual carbon sequestration potential was 12,575.18 t CO₂ eq. Eucalyptus has the highest carbon stock density and growth rate than other species.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.15 no.1
• /
• pp.489-494
• /
• 2014

Background: Psychiatric patients appear to be at lower risk of cancer. Some antipsychotic drugs might have inhibitory effects on tumor growth, including penfluridol, a strong agent. To test this, we conducted a study to determine whether penfluridol exerts cytotoxic effects on tumor cells and, if so, to explore its anti-tumor mechanisms. Methods: Growth inhibition of mouse cancer cell lines by penfluridol was determined using the 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Cytotoxic activity was determined by clonogenic cell survival and trypan blue assays. Animal tumor models of these cancer cells were established and to evaluate penfluridol for its anti-tumor efficacy in vivo. Unesterified cholesterol in cancer cells was examined by filipin staining. Serum total cholesterol and tumor total cholesterol were detected using the cholesterol oxidase/p-aminophenazone (CHOD-PAP) method. Results: Penfluridol inhibited the proliferation of B16 melanoma (B16/F10), LL/2 lung carcinoma (LL/2), CT26 colon carcinoma (CT26) and 4T1 breast cancer (4T1) cells in vitro. In vivo penfluridol was particularly effective at inhibiting LL/2 lung tumor growth, and obviously prolonged the survival time of mice bearing LL/2 lung tumors implanted subcutaneously. Accumulated unesterified cholesterol was found in all of the cancer cells treated with penfluridol, and this effect was most evident in LL/2, 4T1 and CT26 cells. No significant difference in serum cholesterol levels was found between the normal saline-treated mice and the penfluridol-treated mice. However, a dose-dependent decrease of total cholesterol in tumor tissues was observed in penfluridol-treated mice, which was most evident in B16/F10-, LL/2-, and 4T1-tumor-bearing mice. Conclusion: Our results suggested that penfluridol is not only cytotoxic to cancer cells in vitro but can also inhibit tumor growth in vivo. Dysregulation of cholesterol homeostasis by penfluridol may be involved in its anti-tumor mechanisms.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
• /
• v.28 no.1
• /
• pp.1-8
• /
• 2020

Background: This study was conducted to investigate the effects of NaCl concentration on the photosynthetic parameters, chlorophyll fluorescence and growth characteristics of Crepidiastrum sonchifolium. Methods and Results: As treatments, we subjected C. sonchifolium plants to four different concentrations of NaCl (0, 50, 100 and 200 mM). We found that the photosynthetic parameters maximum photosynthesis rate (P_{N max}), net apparent quantum yield (Φ), maximum carboxylation rate (V_cmax), and maximum electron transport rate (J_max) were significantly reduced at an NaCl concentration greater than 100 mM. In contrast, there was an increase in water-use efficiency with increasing NaCl concentration, although in terms of growth performances, leaf dry weight, root dry weight, stem length, and total dry weight all decreased with increasing NaCl concentration. Furthermore, leakage of electrolytes, as a consequence of cell membrane damage, clearly increased in response to an increase in NaCl concentration. Analysis of the polyphasic elevation of chlorophyll a fluorescence transients (OKJIP) revealed marked decrease in flux ratios (Φ_PO, Ψ_O and Φ_EO) and the PI_abs, performance index in response to treatment with 200 mM NaCl, thereby reflectings the relatively reduced state of photosystem II. This increase in fluorescence could be due to a reduction in electron transport beyond Q^-_A. We thus found that the photosynthetic parameters, chlorophyll fluorescence and growth characteristics of C. sonchifolium significantly increased in response to treatment with 200 mM NaCl. Conclusions: Collectively, the findings of this study indicate that C. sonchifolium shows relatively low sensitivity to NaCl stress, although photosynthetic activity was markedly reduced in plants exposed to 200 mM NaCl.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
• /
• 2017.06a
• /
• pp.77-77
• /
• 2017

The sensitivities to photoperiod and temperature give guidance to choose an adaptable genotype for specific area in soybean production. However, there is insufficient information about the variation of sensitivities to photoperiod and temperature with wide genetic background. We investigated the sensitivities to photoperiod and temperature using 82 soybean mini core collection lines provided by NIAS gene bank of Japan. The seeds were sown on 28 May and 4 August in 2015, 24 May and 5 August in 2016 at field in Saga, Japan ($33^{\circ}$ 14' 32'' N, $130^{\circ}$ 17' 28'' E) for the early (average photoperiod and temperature: 15.2 h and $25.1^{\circ}C$) and late (13.6 h and $27.2^{\circ}C$) sowing respectively. The plants were also grown in the growth chamber under 12 h photoperiod with three temperature regimes (day/night temperature: $25/18^{\circ}C$, $28/22^{\circ}C$ and $33/28^{\circ}C$). Emergence date, days to first flower were recorded with 10 plants in the field and 2 plants in the growth chamber for each line. The data for daily average temperatures and photoperiodic hours were collected from weather station. The days from emergence to first flower open (DEF) were varied from 23-92 (2015 and 2016) in early sowing whereas 18-68 (2015) and 18-59 (2016) in late sowing. The shortened DEF in late sowing could be caused by both short photoperiod and high temperature in late sowing. However, the accumulated temperatures during emergence to first flower open (ATEF) were less variable in comparison with DEF, suggesting the ATEF is dependent mostly on the photoperiod. The ATEF were found same between early and late sowing in some early flowering lines (e.g. $686.7^{\circ}C$ and $687.6^{\circ}C$ in HEUKDAELIPS, $728.8^{\circ}C$ and $706.3^{\circ}C$ in WILLIAMS'82) which indicated that these would be insensitive to day length. In the growth chamber experiment, the variation in both DEF and ATEF was a little greater at low temperature ($25/18^{\circ}C$) but almost same at middle ($28/22^{\circ}C$) and high ($33/28^{\circ}C$) temperatures. Since the less differences in ATEF were found between the three temperatures, it is suggested that the temperature plays only a quantitative effect on the flower initiation, and the large ATEF in some lines may indicate the stronger photosensitivity even at 12 h or longer juvenile phase. Some lines with the lowest ATEF regardless of growth conditions, such as FISKEBY V, KE 32 (ATEF: 559.6-666.5, 587.7-709.5) might lack the sensitivities to both photoperiod and temperature. The results suggested that soybean genotypes has wider variation in sensitivity to photoperiod, whereas less variation to temperature.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
• /
• v.37 no.1
• /
• pp.28-33
• /
• 2018

BACKGROUND: In this study, we evaluated the effects of soil incorporation of hairy vetch (HV) or ryeas a green manure on the growth and yields of watermelon and soil nitrate nitrogen in a green house.. METHODS AND RESULTS: HV and rye were cultivated for 151 days after sowing on October 30th and incorporated into soil before transplanting watermelon. The amount of N added by soil incorporation of HV and rye were 79 kg/ha and 88 kg/ha, respectively. Five different N treatments for each of HV and rye were included as follows: green manure, green manure with urea at 25%, 50%or 75%, and 100% ureafor the N recommendation rate. The growth and fruit yield of watermelon were not different among the treatments of both HV and rye. Soil nitrate N content at both HV and rye treatments decreased continuously with the lapse of days after planting (DAP) and was lowest at 75 DAP: 44 mg/kg and 52 mg/kg the for the HV and rye treatment without urea, respectively. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that the N mineralized from the soil incorporated HV or rye accounts for an important portion of N available for the growth and fruit yield of watermelon. It can be suggested that the green manures, comparable to ureacould ensure the yield of watermelon, if soil nitrate N content isabove 40 mg/kg by soil incorporation of HV and rye during watermelon cultivation. However, further studies on the relationship between soil nitrate N content during cultivation periods and the fruit yield of watermelon are required.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
• /
• v.22 no.11
• /
• pp.25.1-25.9
• /
• 2019

Background: Due to the continuous demand for fish coupled with decline in capture fisheries, there is the need to increase aquaculture production to meet the demand. Aquaculture is faced with high cost of feeding since fish oil and fish meal are expensive. In view of this, there are calls to explore alternatives that are cheap and reliable. Objectives: This study on Oreochromis niloticus was conducted to evaluate the effects of replacing fish oil (FO) with palm oil (PO) at 0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% on muscle fatty acid and proximate composition as well as growthrelated enzyme activities and mRNA expression. Methods: Oreochromis niloticus were fed five experimental diets (33% crude protein and 10% crude lipid) for 8 weeks. Feed had variation in fish oil and palm oil contents. After the 8 weeks feeding trial, five fish were sampled from each tank (15 from each treatment) and euthanized using an excess dose of tricaine methane sulfonate (MS-222 at 200 mg/L). Fatty acid and enzyme activities were analyzed using standard protocols. Also, RT-qPCR was used to quantify the expression levels of selected growth-related genes. Results: Fish fed 25% PO recorded the least muscle protein content and was significantly lower than the group fed 100% PO. Paired box protein 7 (Pax-7) enzyme activity was significantly higher in the group fed 50% PO compared to the groups fed 25% PO and 100% PO, while caplain-3 (Capn-3) was significantly lower in the group fed 0% PO compared to all other groups. There was a significant difference among treatments with respect to mRNA expression of Pax-7 and Capn-3. Group fed 25% PO had significantly lower mRNA expression of Pax-7, while the group fed 75% PO recorded significantly higher mRNA expression of Capn-3 compared to groups fed 0% PO, 25% PO, and 100% PO. Pearson's correlation analysis revealed that Igf-I and Igf-II mRNA expression have significant correlation with n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids content in muscle. Conclusion: The results suggest muscle protein content could be modified if FO is replaced with PO. Also, mRNA expression of Pax-7 and Capn-3 is affected by replacing FO with PO.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
• /
• v.42 no.6
• /
• pp.686-694
• /
• 2015

Background Rosa damascena, a type of herb, has been used for wound healing in Eastern folk medicine. The goal of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of rose placenta from R. damascena in a full-thickness wound model in mice. Methods Sixty six-week-old C57BL/6N mice were used. Full-thickness wounds were made with an 8-mm diameter punch. Two wounds were made on each side of the back, and wounds were assigned randomly to the control and experimental groups. Rose placenta ($250{\mu}g$) was injected in the experimental group, and normal saline was injected in the control group. Wound sizes were measured with digital photography, and specimens were harvested. Immunohistochemical staining was performed to assess the expression of epidermal growth factor (EGF), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), transforming growth factor-${\beta}1$ (TGF-${\beta}1$), and CD31. Vessel density was measured. Quantitative analysis using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for EGF was performed. All evaluations were performed on postoperative days 0, 2, 4, 7, and 10. Statistical analyses were performed using the paired t-test. Results On days 4, 7, and 10, the wounds treated with rose placenta were significantly smaller. On day 2, VEGF and EGF expression increased in the experimental group. On days 7 and 10, TGF-${\beta}1$ expression decreased in the experimental group. On day 10, vessel density increased in the experimental group. The increase in EGF on day 2 was confirmed with ELISA. Conclusions Rose placenta was found to be associated with improved wound healing in a mouse full-thickness wound model via increased EGF release. Rose placenta may potentially be a novel drug candidate for enhancing wound healing.