• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.27-31
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• 2019

It is well documented that intensive selection in dairy cattle for economic value such as increased milk yield led to a decline in reproductive performance. Recent studies using genome-wide association studies (GWASs) discovered candidate genes involved in the lower fertility including embryo development and conception rates. However, the information, which showed a lower reproductive performance, is limited to dairy cattle, especially Holstein, and the candidate genes were not examined in the Korean native cattle Hanwoo which has been intensively selected and bred for meat in the last few decades. We selected the candidate genes WBP1 and PARM1 reported to be associated with cow and/or heifer conception in dairy cattle and analyzed the genotype because those genes have non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). To determine the single base change, we used the high resolution melting (HRM) assay which is rapid and cost-effective for a small number of genes. We found that most heifers with higher conception (1: service per conception) have the AA genotype coding Threonine rather than Proline in the WBP1 gene. We did not detect an association for a SNP in PARM1 in our analysis. In conclusion, the genetic variation of WBP1 can be used as a selective marker gene to improve reproductive performance, and HRM assay can be used to identify common SNP genotypes rapidly and cost effectively.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.17-24
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• 2021

In this study, listening errors by Korean EFL learners are comprehensively analyzed from self-paced passage dictation tasks. Fifty-five Korean EFL learners participated in the study. Listeners were asked to write down dictation passages as accurately as possible, while listening to the audio as much as they needed. The results show that (i) low-proficiency learners tend to misperceive longer phrases than high-proficiency learners, (ii) function words are more often omitted or misheard than content words, and (iii) low-proficiency learners have more difficulties with content words than high-proficiency learners do. Most frequent suffix errors were omissions of past or plural suffixes. Among the function words, the most frequent errors were found with auxiliary contractions, infinitive marker to, and articles, mostly in the environment of linking and elision. It is also shown that C-V linking, C-C linking, and elision are the primary sources for the most frequent errors. C-V linking led to errors in correctly locating the word boundary, while C-C linking and elision resulted in omission. These errors show that Korean EFL listeners have difficulties in detecting fine-grained phonetic details to the extent that native speakers can do.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.251-256
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• 2021

Lobelia chinensis Lour. has commonly been used in traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of antidote, diuretic, diarrhea, and inflammation. This study aimed to identify the active compounds in an aqueous extract of L. chinensis responsible for its anti-atopic effect in vitro using RBL-2H3 cells. A chemical investigation of secondary metabolites in an aqueous extract of L. chinensis led to the isolation of nine chemical constituents, which included the four marker compounds, and these were evaluated for their inhibitory effects on IL-4 mRNA expression and the release of β-hexosaminidase in propidium iodide-induced RBL-2H3 cells. We found diosmetin and fraxidin inhibited cellular IL-4 mRNA expression, and that diosmetin and 6,8-dimethoxycoumarin inhibited DNP-specific IgE-induced degranulation in these cells. Our study suggests that diosmetin, fraxidin, and 6,8-dimethoxycoumarin are potential candidates for the treatment of atopic diseases.

• Anatomy and Cell Biology
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• v.57 no.2
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• pp.305-315
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• 2024

Vitronectin (VN) is an extracellular matrix protein with a crucial role in regulating bone remodeling. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of VN deficiency in a mouse model of osteoporosis induced by ovariectomy (OVX). The findings revealed that the absence of VN led to an increase in the activity of tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP), a marker for osteoclasts, in the plasma of OVX-operated mice. TRAP staining further demonstrated that VN deficiency resulted in a higher number of osteoclasts within the femurs of OVX-operated mice. X-ray micro-computed tomography analysis of the femurs in OVX-operated mice indicated that VN deficiency significantly suppressed the OVX-induced increase of marrow area and total volume of bone. Additionally, we assessed structural model index (SMI) and degree of anisotropy (DA) as indices of osteoporosis. The results showed that VN deficiency effectively attenuated the OVX-induced increase in SMI and DA among OVX-operated mice. In summary, our study demonstrates the vital role of VN in regulating osteoclastogenesis and bone remodeling in the mouse model of osteoporosis.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.210-219
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• 2017

This study aimed to establish an optimal extraction process and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-photodiode array (PDA) analytical method for determination of marker compounds, dihydrokaempferol (DHK) and 3-O-methylquercetin (3-MeQ), as a part of materials standardization for the development of health functional foods from stems of Opuntia ficus-indica var. saboten (OFS). The quantitative determination method of marker compounds was optimized by HPLC analysis, and the correlation coefficient for the calibration curve showed very good linearity. The HPLC-PDA method was applied successfully to quantification of marker compounds in OFS after validation of the method in terms of linearity, accuracy, and precision. Ethanolic extracts from stems of O. ficus-indica var. saboten (OFSEs) were evaluated by reflux extraction at 70 and $80^{\circ}C$ with 50, 70, and 80% ethanol for 3, 4, 5, and 6 h. Among OFSEs, OFS70E at $80^{\circ}C$ showed the highest contents of DHK and 3-MeQ of $26.42{\pm}0.65$ and $3.88{\pm}0.29mg/OFS100g$, respectively. Furthermore, OFSEs were determined for their antioxidant activities by measuring 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging and lipid peroxidation (LPO) inhibitory activities in rat liver homogenate. OFS70E at $70^{\circ}C$ showed the most potent antioxidant activities with $IC_{50}$ values of $1.19{\pm}0.11$ and $0.89{\pm}0.09mg/mL$ in the DPPH radical scavenging and LPO inhibitory assays, respectively. To identify active components of OFS, various chromatographic separation of OFS70E led to isolation of 11 flavonoids: dihydrokaempferol, dihydroquercetin, 3-O-methylquercetin, quercetin, isorhamnetin 3-O-glucoside, isorhamnetin 3-O-galactoside, narcissin, kaempferol 7-O-glucoside, quercetin 3-O-galactoside, isorhamnetin, and kaempferol 3-O-rutinoside. The results suggest that standardization of DHK in OFSEs using HPLC-PDA analysis would be an acceptable method for the development of health functional foods.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.25 no.7
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• pp.839-848
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• 2015

A molecular marker is a molecule contained within a sample taken from an organism or other matter. The development of molecular techniques for genetic analysis has led to a great contribution to our knowledge of plant genetics and our understanding of the structure and behavior of various genomes in plants. Recently, functional molecular markers have been developed to detect the presence of major genes from the analysis of pedigreed data in absence of molecular information. DNA markers have developed into many systems based on different polymorphism-detecting techniques or methods such as RFLP, AFLP, RAPD, SSR, SNP, etc. A new class of very useful DNA markers called genic molecular markers utilizing the ever-increasing archives of gene sequence information being accumulated under the EST sequencing projects on a large number of plant species. Functional markers are derived from polymorphic sequences, and are more likely to be involved in phenotypic trait variation. Based on this conceptual framework, the marker systems discussed below are all (gene)-targeted markers, which have the potential to become functional. These markers being part of the cDNA/EST-sequences, are expected to represent the functional component of the genome i.e., gene(s), in contrast to all other random DNA based markers that are developed/generated from the anonymous genomic DNA sequences/domains irrespective of their genic content/information. Especially I sited Poczai et al’ reviews, advances in plant gene-targeted and functional markers. Their reviews may be some useful information to study molecular markers in plants.

• Plant Biotechnology Reports
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.157-167
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• 2011

In order to establish a reliable and highly efficient method for genetic transformation of pepper, a monitoring system featuring GFP (green fluorescent protein) as a report marker was applied to Agrobacteriummediated transformation. A callus-induced transformation (CIT) system was used to transform the GFP gene. GFP expression was observed in all tissues of $T_0$, $T_1$ and $T_2$ peppers, constituting the first instance in which the whole pepper plant has exhibited GFP fluorescence. A total of 38 T0 peppers were obtained from 4,200 explants. The transformation rate ranged from 0.47 to 1.83% depending on the genotype, which was higher than that obtained by CIT without the GFP monitoring system. This technique could enhance selection power by monitoring GFP expression at the early stage of callus in vitro. The detection of GFP expression in the callus led to successful identification of the shoot that contained the transgene. Thus, this technique saved lots of time and money for conducting the genetic transformation process of pepper. In addition, a co-transformation technique was applied to the target transgene, CaCS (encoding capsaicinoid synthetase of Capsicum) along with GFP. Paprika varieties were transformed by the CaCS::GFP construct, and GFP expression in callus tissues of paprika was monitored to select the right transformant.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.193-197
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• 2008

The influence of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) on the bone marrow (BM) natural suppressor (NS) cells of intact Ehrlich carcinoma -bearing CBA mice was studied. Bone marrow NS cells were fractionated into three fractions by isopycnic centrifugation on percoll gradients: NS1 (${\rho}$=1.080 g/ml), NS2 (${\rho}$=1.090 g/ml) and NS3 (1.100> ${\rho}$ > 1.090 g/ml). These fractions were highly different in their sensitivity to known NS cell inductors (interleukin (IL)-2, IL-3 or histamine). None of the NS fractions isolated from the intact mice spontaneously produced antiproliferative activity, however, they showed a high level of NS (antiproliferative and natural killer cell inhibitory) activity under the influence of AFP. A single injection of AFP to intact mice led to an increase of spontaneous NS activity and the inhibition of natural killer cell activity. NS activity, especially NS2, was increased in when tumor cells were subcutaneously inoculated three days after AFP injection. In the AFP-treated mice, the tumor mass at 14 days was 60% larger than that in the untreated mice. Our data confirmed that AFP is a tumor marker that can inhibit cancer immunity and plays a role in cancer pathogenesis.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.291-297
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• 2009

Apolipoprotein (apo) C-III is a marker protein of triacylglycerol (TG)-rich lipoproteins and high-density lipoproteins (HDL), and has been proposed as a risk factor of coronary heart disease. To compare the physiologic role of reconstituted HDL (rHDL) with or without apoC-III, we synthesized rHDL with molar ratios of apoA-I:apoC-III of 1:0, 1:0.5, 1:1, and 1:2. Increasing the apoC-III content in rHDL produced smaller rHDL particles with a lower number of apoA-I molecules. Furthermore, increasing the molar ratio of apoC-III in rHDL enhanced the surfactant-like properties and the ability to lyse dimyristoyl phosphatidylcholine. Furthermore, rHDL containing apoC-III was found to be more resistant to particle rearrangement in the presence of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) than rHDL that contained apoA-I alone. In addition, the lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) activation ability was reduced as the apoC-III content of the rHDL increased; however, the CE transfer ability was not decreased by the increase of apoC-III. Finally, rHDL containing apoC-III aggravated the production of MDA in cell culture media, which led to increased cellular uptake of LDL. Thus, the addition of apoC-III to rHDL induced changes in the structural and functional properties of the rHDL, especially in particle size and rearrangement and LCAT activation. These alterations may lead to beneficial functions of HDL, which is involved in anti-atherogenic properties in the circulation.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.39 no.8
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• pp.625-630
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• 2016

The RNA-binding protein Rbfox3 is a well-known splicing regulator that is used as a marker for post-mitotic neurons in various vertebrate species. Although recent studies indicate a variable expression of Rbfox3 in non-neuronal tissues, including lung tissue, its cellular function in lung cancer remains largely unknown. Here, we report that the number of RBFOX3-positive cells in tumorous lung tissue is lower than that in normal lung tissue. As the transforming growth factor-${\beta}$ (TGF-${\beta}$) signaling pathway is important in cancer progression, we investigated its role in RBFOX3 expression in A549 lung adenocarcinoma cells. TGF-${\beta}1$ treatment inhibited RBFOX3 expression at the transcriptional level. Further, RBFOX3 depletion led to a change in the expression levels of a subset of proteins related to epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), such as E-cadherin and Claudin-1, during TGF-${\beta}1$-induced EMT. In immunofluorescence microscopic analysis, mesenchymal morphology was more prominent in RBFOX3-depleted cells than in control cells. These findings show that TGF-${\beta}$-induced RBFOX3 inhibition plays an important role in EMT and propose a novel role for RBFOX3 in cancer progression.