• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.195-201
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• 2011

Today, the weather is changing continually, due to the progress of global warming. As the weather changes, the habitats of different organisms will change as well. It cannot be predicted whether or not the weather will change with each passing day. In particular, the biological distribution of the areas climate change affects constitutes a major factor in determining the natural state of indigenous plants; additionally, plants are constantly exposed to rhizobacteria, which are bound to be sensitive to these changes. Interest has grown in the relationship between plants and rhizopheric microorganisms. As a result of this interest we elected to research and experiment further. We researched the dominant changes that occur between plants and rhizospheric organisms due to global warming. First, we used temperature as a variable. We employed four different temperatures and four different sites: room temperature ($27^{\circ}C$), $+2^{\circ}C$, $+4^{\circ}C$, and $+6^{\circ}C$. The four different sites we used were populated by the following strains: Pinus densiflora, Pinus koraiensis, Quercus acutissima. We counted colonies of these plants and divided them. Then, using 16S rRNA analysis we identified the microorganisms. In conclusion, we identified the following genera, which were as follows: 24 strains of Bacillus, 6 Paenibacillus strains, 1 Pseudomonas strains. Among these genera, the dominant strains in Pinus densiflora was discovered in the same genus. Additionally, those of Pinus koraiensis and Quercus acutissima changed in both genus and strains which changed into the Bacillus genus from the Paenibacillus genus at $33^{\circ}C$.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.17-31
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• 1990

The purpose of this study is to make a comparative analysis of the educational bojective, organization, contents, teaching and evaluation of the biological curriculum in high school of Korea and the United States. The results are summarized as follows: 1. In case of the educational objectives, both Korea and the United States emphasize the importance of the process of inquiry, experimentation and observation. Particularily, great emphasis is placed upon the human centered curriculum by reinforcing the relationships between the nature and human being. 2. In regard to the educational organization, eleven credit units(Science I: 5 credits, Biology: 6 credits) is allocated in Korea, and ten credit unit, in the United States. Both of Korea and United Stats designate the biology as elective course. But the science I course is designated as required in Korea 3. This study have been analyzed the educational contents of the two countries within the framwork of the basic concepts and essential informations contained in the curriculum. Results of the analysis as follow: The educational contents have less quantity and lower level in Korea than in the United States. And interrelations among the other curricula are not well considered in the curriculum of Korea/ On the other hands, interrelations among the oter curricula are fully considered and the purpose for emphasizing the importance of the process of inquiry course is well considered in the United States. The themes are stressed on "Structure and Function" (34.5%), "Genetic continuty" (21.3%), "Diversity and Unit" (14.2%) and "Regulation and Homeostasis" (10.3%) in Korea, and in the United States "Structure and Function" (27.3%), "Diversity and Unity" (25.6%), "Genetic continuty" (17.9%) and "Organism and Environment" (9.3%). 4. Regarding the educational guidance, both of Korea and the United States emphasis the interrelation of the basic concepts and principles within the total framwork. Also observation and experimentation, safety education, interest of students, life dignity, pretection of nature, social biology are reguired being paid special attentions. 5. In case of evaluation, both of Korea and the United States are the same in all of methods of evaluation. But the United States is grest stressed on reading and writing.

• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.99-103
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• 2005

Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs), members of a large group of TGF-beta family, are important molecular regulators of morphogenesis of numerous tissues and organs, including bones and teeth. Most BMPs are capable of inducing bone formation in vivo and therefore are of considerable clinical interest for regenerating mineralized tissues. Recently, we have developed a method to culture cells from human cementum (human cementum-derived cells, HCDCs). HCDCs, when attached to synthetic hydroxyapatite/tricalcium phosphate (HA/TCP) ceramic and transplanted into immunodeficient mice, formed histologically identifiable cementum-like tissue. Since it is unclear to what extent BMPs are involved in cementogenesis, the aim of this study was to establish which BMPs are expressed by cementogenic HCDCs and whether the expression of BMPs is related to the degree of cellular differentiation in vitro. HCDCs were maintained in growth medium (DMEM/F12 supplemented with 10% FBS) until confluent (proliferation stage). Upon reaching confluence, cells were incubated in the differentiation medium (DMEM/F12 medium containing 10% FBS and 50 mg/ml ascorbic acid) for 14 days (differentiation stage). Next, HCDCs were incubated in mineralization medium (DMEM/F12, 50 mg/ml ascorbic acid, 2.5 mg/ml of ITS (insulin-transferrinselenium), 5 mM beta-glycerophosphate and $10^{-8}M$ dexamethasone) for another 14 days (mineralization stage). At the end of each differentiation stage, total RNA was isolated and evaluated for BMPs (2 through 8) expression by employing real time RT-PCR. HCDCs expressed most of BMPs examined except BMP-7 and BMP-8. Furthermore, on average, the highest levels of BMPs were expressed at the earlier differentiation stage, prior to the initiation of mineralization in vitro. These results indicate that several BMPs are expressed during cementoblastic differentiation and suggest that BMPs may be involved in the homeostasis of human cementum.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.10
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• pp.1403-1412
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• 2013

Ethanol fuel production from lignocellulosic biomass is emerging as one of the most important technologies for sustainable development. To use this biomass, it is necessary to circumvent the physical and chemical barriers presented by the cohesive combination of the main biomass components, which hinders the hydrolysis of cellulose and hemicellulose into fermentable sugars. This study evaluated the hydrolytic capacity of enzymes produced by yeasts, isolated from the soils of the Brazilian Cerrado biome (savannah) and the Amazon region, on sugarcane bagasse pre-treated with $H_2SO_4$. Among the 103 and 214 yeast isolates from the Minas Gerais Cerrado and the Amazon regions, 18 (17.47%) and 11 (5.14%) isolates, respectively, were cellulase-producing. Cryptococcus laurentii was prevalent and produced significant ${\beta}$-glucosidase levels, which were higher than the endo- and exoglucanase activities. In natura sugarcane bagasse was pre-treated with 2% $H_2SO_4$ for 30 min at $150^{\circ}C$. Subsequently, the obtained fibrous residue was subjected to hydrolysis using the Cryptococcus laurentii yeast enzyme extract for 72 h. This enzyme extract promoted the conversion of approximately 32% of the cellulose, of which 2.4% was glucose, after the enzymatic hydrolysis reaction, suggesting that C. laurentii is a good ${\beta}$-glucosidase producer. The results presented in this study highlight the importance of isolating microbial strains that produce enzymes of biotechnological interest, given their extensive application in biofuel production.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.276-285
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• 2009

Despite great commercial interest, relatively little has been described about molecular mechanism of bivalve reproduction. We investigated genes involved in ovarian maturation of the Yesso scallop, Patinopecten yessoensis. GSI index and histological analysis revealed that maturation of ovary begin in February and spawning period is from April to June which is similar to the previous study in the East Sea. As result of combination analysis of differential display RTPCR (DDRT-PCR) and histological examination, vitellogenin (Vg), ferritin (Ft) and ADT/ATP carrier protein (ACC) were identified as differently expressed genes in maturating ovary. Endpoint RT-PCR results showed that Vg is ovary-specific genes whereas Ft and ACC are expressed ubiquitously suggesting that Vg can be good molecular markers for ovarian development and sex determination in bivalves. Quantitative PCR results revealed that Vg were expressed highest during growth stage and appears to play a major role in oocyte maturation. On the contrary, expression of Ft was highest after spawning stage, which suggests that up-regulation may be involved in spawning and inactive stages in which the scallops recover from spawning. In addition, high level of the mitochondrial gene, ACC, may play a role in energy metabolism in maturating oocytes. Isolation and molecular studies of these key genes will expand our knowledge of the physiological changes from various exogenous factors including temperature, salinity, pH, even or numerous endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) during reproductive cycle. In addition, further study of these genes implicates various industrial applications including the stable seed production, increased food quality, or economic aquaculture system.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.10-16
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• 2022

Interest in effluent treatment is currently increasing and the use of polymetric coagulants is considered as a pretreatment of physical filtration prior to effluent discharge to increase solids recovery. A jar test evaluated effluent treatment efficiency of polymeric coagulants for semi-recirculating aquaculture systems. The particle coagulation efficiency and distribution were evaluated at different polymer dosages in freshwater and seawater effluents. The polymer was added at 0.005-0.08 mL/g of total suspended solids (TSS) in the effluents. TSS in the supernatant after coagulation decreased with increasing polymer dose in the freshwater, while showing no corresponding changes with dose in the seawater. However, in all treatments for both effluents, the removal efficiency was above 90%, regardless of the dose in the tested range. Both the De Brouckere Mean Diameter (DBMD) and volumetric median diameter (VMD) were all above 100 ㎛ in the freshwater effluent. In the seawater effluent, the particle size appeared to be larger than that in freshwater, ranging from 400-1,000 ㎛ for both DBMD and VMD. Considering that the typical pore size of physical filtration in aquaculture is between 60 and 200 ㎛, the use of polymers is expected to improve the practicality of physical filtration for efficient treatment.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.12 no.5
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• pp.231-237
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• 2007

The microbial eco-physiology has been the vital key of microbial ecological research. Unfortunately, available methods for direct identity of microorganisms and for the investigation of their activity in complicated community dynamics are limited. In this study, metagenomics was considered as a promising functional genomics tool for improving our understanding of microbial eco-physiology. Its potential applications and challenges were also reviewed. Because of tremendous diversity in microbial populations in environment, sequence analysis for whole metagenomic libraries from environmental samples seems to be unrealistic to most of environmental engineering researchers. When a target function is of interest, however, sequence analysis for whole metagenomic libraries would not be necessary. For this case, nucleic acids of active populations of interest can be selectively gained using another cutting-edge functional genomic tool, SIP (stable isotope probing) technique. If functional genomes isolated by SIP can be transferred into metagenomic library, sequence analysis for such selected functional genomes would be feasible because the reduced size of clone library may become adequate for sequencing analysis. Herein, integration of metagenomics with SIP was suggested as a novel functional genomics approach to study microbial eco-physiology in environment.

• BMB Reports
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• v.54 no.3
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• pp.157-163
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• 2021

The transient interactions between cellular components, particularly on membrane surfaces, are critical in the proper function of many biochemical reactions. For example, many signaling pathways involve dimerization, oligomerization, or other types of clustering of signaling proteins as a key step in the signaling cascade. However, it is often experimentally challenging to directly observe and characterize the molecular mechanisms such interactions-the greatest difficulty lies in the fact that living cells have an unknown number of background processes that may or may not participate in the molecular process of interest, and as a consequence, it is usually impossible to definitively correlate an observation to a well-defined cellular mechanism. One of the experimental methods that can quantitatively capture these interactions is through membrane reconstitution, whereby a lipid bilayer is fabricated to mimic the membrane environment, and the biological components of interest are systematically introduced, without unknown background processes. This configuration allows the extensive use of fluorescence techniques, particularly fluorescence fluctuation spectroscopy and single-molecule fluorescence microscopy. In this review, we describe how the equilibrium diffusion of two proteins, K-Ras4B and the PH domain of Bruton's tyrosine kinase (Btk), on fluid lipid membranes can be used to determine the kinetics of homodimerization reactions.

• Journal of Gifted/Talented Education
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.175-191
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• 1998

The purpose and content of Chonnam National University Center for Science Talented Education program and students' responses were described. The program was developed with the purpose of providing various learning opportunities for science talented students according to the level of their learning abilities. Students are given a variety of activities based on their potentials and interest. The program was developed in four subjects, such as mathematics, information science, science Ⅰ (physics and earth science), and science Ⅱ (biology and chemistry). Each subject consisted of simple inquiry, advanced one, and project, even though it had its own distinctions. Students were selected for each subject based on two criteria, that is, achievements in school science or mathematics (the upper 3 percent of the 8th grade students) and examination scores. Means and standard deviations for each subject were as follows: 51.8 and 13.3 for Science Ⅰ, 53.1 and 13.9 for Science Ⅱ, 36.7 and 10.7 for mathematics and 36.4 and 12.5 for information science. Thirty hours of summer classes were performed, and a survey was administered to obtain students' responses concerning difficulty, interest, teaching and content of the program. They gave relatively favourable responses in most area, but lack of time for studying was revealed in mathematics and information science. Further study in needed to get detailed and more accurate results of our program.

• BMB Reports
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• v.41 no.9
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• pp.615-625
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• 2008

Over a last decade, intense interest has been focused on biomarker discovery and their clinical uses. This interest is accelerated by the completion of human genome project and the progress of techniques in proteomics. Especially, cancer biomarker discovery is eminent in this field due to its anticipated critical role in early diagnosis, therapy guidance, and prognosis monitoring of cancers. Among cancers, lung cancer, one of the top three major cancers, is the one showing the highest mortality because of failure in early diagnosis. Numerous potential DNA biomarkers such as hypermethylations of the promoters and mutations in K-ras, p53, and protein biomarkers; carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), CYFRA21-1, plasma kallikrein B1 (KLKB1), Neuron-specific enolase, etc. have been discovered as lung cancer biomarkers. Despite extensive studies thus far, few are turned out to be useful in clinic. Even those used in clinic do not show enough sensitivity, specificity and reproducibility for general use. This review describes what the cancer biomarkers are for, various types of lung cancer biomarkers discovered at present and predicted future advance in lung cancer biomarker discovery with proteomics technology.