• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.265-273
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• 2015

Background: Cancer has emerged as a major health problem globally as a consequence to the increased longevity of the population, changing the environment and life style. Chemoprevention is a new and promising strategy for reducing cancer burden. Recently, some natural products have been identified for their chemopreventive activity to reduce the cancer incidence. Ginseng is known for its potential to treat various ailments in human beings. The present study was designed to explore the anticancer and antioxidative potential of Panax ginseng against chemical-induced skin carcinogenesis in mammals. Methods: Skin tumors were induced in Swiss albino mice by a single topical application of 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene ($100{\mu}g/100{\mu}L$ acetone) and, 2 wks later, promoted by repeated applications of croton oil (thrice in a wk in 1% acetone) till the end of the experiment (i.e., 16 wk). Hydroalcoholic ginseng root extract at a dose of 25 mg/kg body weight/d was orally administered at the periinitiation, postinitiation, and peri-post-initiation stages. Results: Ginseng root extract treatment caused a significant reduction in tumor incidence, cumulative number of tumors, tumor yield, and tumor burden, as compared to the 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene-croton oil-treated control group. Further, biochemical assays revealed a significant enhancement in the levels of reduced glutathione, superoxide dismutase, catalase, vitamin C, and total proteins but a significant reduction in lipid peroxidation levels in both the liver and skin with ginseng root extract treatment, as compared to carcinogen-treated control group. Conclusion: These results suggest that P. ginseng has the potential to become a pivotal chemopreventive agent that can reduce cancer in mammals.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.93-108
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• 2014

The inventory list of wildlife species inhabiting or distributing in Gyeonggi Province was made by compiling species data from precedent surveys, 10 national level nature surveys, 1 survey that Gyeonggi-do conducted, and 46 local surveys presented in scientific journals. Total 2,913 wildlife species including 2,041 vascular plants, 39 mammals, 304 birds, 34 herptiles, 145 fish, and 350 benthic macro-invertebrates were listed in the inventory. It explains 47% of nationwide total species in vascular plants, 31.5% in mammals, 58.2% in birds, 65.4% in herptiles, 12.2% in fish. The total number of important species including endangered species, national monuments, national red lists, etc. was 628 species, accounting for 21.6% of all listed species in Gyeonggi Province. More than 90% of endangered bird species, almost half of endangered fish and herptile species were found in Gyeonggi Province. In particular, abundant bird diversity and inhabitation of many endangered bird species were identified in Gyeonggi Province. Species diversity was greater in the northern area adjacent to the Demilitarized Zone and the eastern forest area. The distribution of the important species such as national endangered species was more distinct in these areas, especially in Gapyeong and Yeoncheon Counties. The inventory list compiled in this study implicates the level of management for biological resources and can provide information for policy decisions regarding new survey sites, protection management of specific species and areas, management practices by spatial characteristics. It should be more compiled and updated with survey data to be utilized as basic indices for local biodiversity strategies and management of biological resources.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.277-282
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• 1992

Pneumocystis carinii (Pc) is an important opportunistic pathogen of immune compromised hosts, and is known to infect various animals. The present study observed the infection status of 6 mammals and 3 strains of albino rats with Pc after suppression of their immunity. Methyl-prednisolone was injected once a week and tetracycline was supplied with water for 5 to 21 weeks. Hamsters, guinea pigs, rabbits, dogs, cats and pigs were negative by impression smear, and only the rats were found infected by Pc. All of the three strains of rats, Sprague-Dawley(SD), Wistar(W) and Fisher(F), were infected by Pc but W rats showed heavier degree of infection in earlier period than F or SD rats. The present findings suggest that W rat is the best among the animals used in the present study for production of Pc.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.52 no.5
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• pp.471-478
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• 2014

Trichomonad species inhabit a variety of vertebrate hosts; however, their potential zoonotic transmission has not been clearly addressed, especially with regard to human infection. Twenty-one strains of trichomonads isolated from humans (5 isolates), pigs (6 isolates), rodents (6 isolates), a water buffalo (1 isolate), a cow (1 isolate), a goat (1 isolate), and a dog (1 isolate) were collected in Indonesia and molecularly characterized. The DNA sequences of the partial 18S small subunit ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene or 5.8S rRNA gene locus with its flanking regions (internal transcribed spacer region, ITS1 and ITS2) were identified in various trichomonads; Simplicimonas sp., Hexamastix mitis, and Hypotrichomonas sp. from rodents, and Tetratrichomonas sp. and Trichomonas sp. from pigs. All of these species were not detected in humans, whereas Pentatrichomonas hominis was identified in humans, pigs, the dog, the water buffalo, the cow, and the goat. Even when using the high-resolution gene locus of the ITS regions, all P. hominis strains were genetically identical; thus zoonotic transmission between humans and these closely related mammals may be occurring in the area investigated. The detection of Simplicimonas sp. in rodents (Rattus exulans) and P. hominis in water buffalo in this study revealed newly recognized host adaptations and suggested the existence of remaining unrevealed ranges of hosts in the trichomonad species.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.307-313
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• 2010

Stanniocalcin 1 (STC1) is a glycoprotein hormone that is important in the maintenance of calcium and phosphate homeostasis in both fish and mammals. STC1 and its paralog STC2 are expressed in multiple tissues in fishes, although the physiological roles of piscine STCs are still unclear compared with those of mammals. In this study, we cloned olive flounder STC1 (ofSTC1) and ofSTC2 cDNAs into pET28a vector and used E. coli Rosetta (DE3) as the host strain for protein expression. Expression experiments were carried out using isopropyl-$\beta$-D-thiogalactoside (IPTG) and nickel affinity chromatography. We could identify the recombinant proteins as single 29.5 kDa (ofSTC1) and 33.2 kDa (ofSTC2) bands in the insoluble fraction on sodium dodecyl sulfate- polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). These results indicate that ofSTC1 and ofSTC2 were expressed as insoluble proteins in E. coli. Furthermore, the injection of ofSTC1 protein into juvenile tilapia resulted in a decrease of the serum calcium level. These results suggest that the purified fish STC1 and STC2 proteins may be used to elucidate the physiological role of STCs in fishes.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.70-76
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• 2013

Some fish live in aquatic environments with low or temporally changing $O_2$ availability. Variation in dissolved oxygen (DO) levels requires behavioral, physiological, and biochemical adaptations to ensure the uptake of sufficient $O_2$. Several species are relatively well adapted to tolerate low $O_2$ partial pressures (hypoxia). The medaka (Oryzias dancena ) is an important model organism for biomedical research that shows remarkable tolerance to hypoxia. We investigated the regulation and role of hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-$1{\alpha}$) as a general hypoxia-response gene and stanniocalcin-2 (STC2), which is one of the genes regulated by HIF-$1{\alpha}$ in mammals under hypoxia. We subjected adult male medaka to the following three acute hypoxia regimes: 1, 24, and 72 h at DO = $1.8{\pm}0.5$ ppm. The changes in STC2 and HIF-$1{\alpha}$ mRNA were monitored using quantitative real-time reverse-transcription PCR. We found strong upregulation of HIF-$1{\alpha}$ mRNA in the livers of fish exposed to hypoxia. Hypoxia rapidly upregulated STC-2 mRNA expression in muscle, but not in the brain, gills, liver, or intestine. Therefore, unlike in mammals, hypoxia might regulate O. dancena STC-2 expression in an HIF-$1{\alpha}$-independent manner.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.282-287
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• 2014

The negative impacts of roads on wildlife mortality have been well documented, and one of the most significant impact is wildlife-vehicle collisions (WVCs) in most countries throughout the world. While road impacts on wildlife are a truly global concern with a large socio-economic cost, few researches in Korea have been quantified road-kill occurrence on highways or identified extensively seasonal and geographic patterns of this phenomenon. Therefore, we analyzed highway mortality of wild mammals in Korea using database from five years of nation-wide data on WVCs, and estimated road-kill density by standardizing on per km and per $10^3$ vehicle basis. During 2008 through 2012, a total of 10,940 wildlifes were reported killed on highways, with an average of 2,188 cases per year. There were 2,376 road-kills in 2012, and this equates to 0.01 road-kills per km per week or one road-kill every 88.5 km per week. For time of day, road-kills occurred more frequently in the early morning (05:00-08:00, 38.3%), and day of week did not have a significant influence in any individual year. The road-kill was highest in the spring (March- May, 33.0%) and least in the winter (December-February, 16.1%), and the most frequently killed native species were of Korean water deer (79.7%), raccoon dog (12.7%), Korean hare (3.1%), and leopard cat (1.2%). The overall standardized kill-rate (number/10 km/1,000 vehicles/month) in 2012 was 0.057 with highest on Dangjinyeongdeok highway (0.476), followed by Yeongdong (0.274), Sooncheonwanju (0.233), Iksanpohang (0.187), and Joongang (0.150). This study highlights that the frequency of WVCs are prevalent throughout the highways in Korea. Further work is needed to determine whether such a level of mortality is sustainable from an ecological point of view.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.13-20
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• 2007

Fauna of Shinpo nuclear powerplant site were surveyed during Feb 27-Mar 4, 2003 as a part of ecological environmental survey. This area is well dominated by coniferous trees (Pinus densiflora) ranging 15-50 years. In the shoreline black pine (Pinus thungergii) is the dominant species and was planted for wind protection. Around Shinpo areas inside 50 km in radius was found 33 mammal species (3 orders, 15 families), and amphibian-reptiles 6 species (2 orders, 3 families) were recorded. Natural monument in the areas were estimated 6 species of mammals and one species of reptiles. Although the habitat of Shinpo area is deteriorated due to deforestation, illegal hunting, etc. the fauna seems to be rich in species. Despite the sudden halt of KEDO project the conservation efforts and continuous monitoring are required considering a continuation of the project.

• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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• v.19 no.7
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• pp.620-625
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• 2013

Mammals such as dogs and cheetahs change their gait from trot to gallop as they run faster. However, lizards always trot for various speeds of running. When mammals run slowly with trot gait, their fore leg and hind leg generate the required force for acceleration or deceleration such that the yaw moments created by these forces cancel each other. On the other hand, when lizards run slowly, their fore legs and hind legs generate the forces for deceleration and acceleration, respectively. In this paper, the yaw motion of a lizard model is controlled by the movement of their waist and tail, and the reaction moment from the ground produced by the hind legs in simulation. The simulation uses the whole body dynamics of a lizard model, which consists of 4 links based on the Callisaurus draconoides. The results show that the simulated trotting of the model is similar to that of a real lizard when the movement of the model is optimized to minimize the reaction moment from the ground. It means that the body of a lizard moves in such a way that the reaction moment from the ground is minimized. This demonstrates our hypothesis on how lizards trot using body motion.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.12
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• pp.6409-6413
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• 2012

The innate immune system coordinates the inflammatory response to pathogens. To do so, its cells must discriminate self from non-self utilizing receptors that identify molecules synthesized exclusively by microbes. Toll-like receptors have a crucial role in the detection of microbial infection in mammals and insects. In mammals, they have evolved to recognize conserved products unique to microbial metabolism. These include lipopolysaccharide (LPS), lipotechoic acids, and peptidoglycans (PGN). We show here that TLRs, including TLR2, are expressed on the THP-1 human leukemia cell line. Activation of TLR2 signaling in THP-1 by PGN induces the synthesis of various soluble factors and proteins including interleukin-$1{\beta}$, interleukin-8 and TNF-${\alpha}$ and apoptosis of THP-1 with PGN dose and time dependence. Moreover, in this study we show that PGN induces apoptosis of THP-1 cells in a TNF-${\alpha}$-dependent manner. These findings indicate that TLR2 signaling results in a cascade leading to tumor apoptosis and differentiation, which may suggest new clinical prospects using TLR2 agonists as cytotoxic agents in certain cancers.