• Journal of Life Science
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• v.27 no.12
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• pp.1437-1444
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• 2017

Sargassum macrocarpum is a widely distributed marine brown algae found in the North Pacific. The objective of this study was to evaluate the anti-inflammatory activity of an ethanol extract of S. macrocarpum (EESM). First, we investigated the anti-inflammatory activities of EESM in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages. EESM treatment suppressed nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin $E_2$ ($PGE_2$) production and inhibited the expressions of the inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) at the mRNA and protein levels. In addition, the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as tumor necrosis $factor-{\alpha}$ ($TNF-{\alpha}$) and interleukin-1 beta ($IL-1{\beta}$), was decreased in a dose dependent manner. Investigation of the signaling pathways of nuclear factor kappa B ($NF-{\kappa}B$), phosphoinositide-3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt, and mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) revealed suppression of $NF-{\kappa}B$ translocation from the cytosol to nucleus by EESM treatment. The phosphorylation of the Akt and ERK proteins was also inhibited by EESM treatment. EESM treatment also stimulated the expression of the heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) enzyme and its upstream transcription factor, nuclear factor-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2). These results suggest that EESM has anti-inflammatory activity and could have potential uses in the field of nutraceuticals.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.17 no.5 s.85
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• pp.634-640
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• 2007

Our previous study suggested that n-3 fatty acid deficiency was associated with significantly reduced spatial learning as assessed by Morris water maze test. Here we investigated an effect of n-3 fatty acid deficiency on rat brain, retina and serum fatty acyl compositions at 15 wks age using a first generational artificial rearing technique. Newborn Rat pups were separated on day 2 and assigned to two artificial rearing groups or a dam-reared control group. Pups were hand fed artificial milk via custom-designed nursing bottles containing either 0.02%(n-3 Deficient) or 3.1% (n-3 Adequate) of total fatty acids as a-linolenic acid(LNA). At day 21, rats were weaned to either n-3 deficient or n-3 adequate pelleted diets and fatty acid compositions of brain, retina and liver were analyzed at 15 wks age. Brain docosahexaenoic acid(DHA) was lower(58% and 61%, P<0.05) in n-3 deficient in comparison to n-3 adequate and dam-reared groups, receptively, while brain docosapentaenoic acid(DPAn-6) was increased in the n-3 deficient group. In retina and serum fatty acid compositions, the decreased precentage of DHA and increased precentage of DPAn-6 were observed. These results suggested that artificial rearing method can be used to produce n-3 fatty acid deficiency in the first generation and that adequate brain DHA levels are required for optimal brain function.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.501-506
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• 1999

This study was conducted to evaluate the purification efficiency in rearing water of the land based fish farm by screen filter and ultra violet (UV) irradiation. Purification efficiency for rearing seawater has been examined with screen filter of 60 $\mu$m pore size and UV irradiation at dose of 0.5 $mWS/cm^2$ for 5 months. Purification efficiency by changing of temperature, salinity, pH, DO, total bacteria and Vibrio species in rearing seawater by filtering and UV irradiation were not significant during 5 months, However, the removing rate of suspended solid and turbidity of rearing seawater were $43.8\~45.6\%$ (average, $44,7\%$) and $29.2\~33.2\%$ (average, $31,3\%$) by filtering, respectively. Also, Purification efficiency for the $NO_3^{-}-N,\;NO_2^{-}-N,\;NH_4^{+}-N$ and $PO_4^{3-}-P$ were $21.3\~21.9\%$ (average, $21.6\%$), $24.1\~25.2\%$ (average, $24.7\%$), $17.6\~17.8\%$ (average, $17.7\%$) and $19.0\~20.4\%$ (average, $19.7\%$) respectively by the system used on this study.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.402-409
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• 2019

Korean red ginseng made from steaming and drying fresh ginseng has long been used as a traditional herbal medicine due to its effects on the immune, endocrine, and central nerve systems and its anti-inflammatory activity. In this study, we investigated the molecular mechanism responsible for the anti-inflammatory effects of a formulated Korean red ginseng extract (RGE) in response to lipoteichoic acid (LTA), a cell wall component of gram-positive bacteria. RGE inhibited LTA-induced nitric oxide (NO) secretion and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression in BV-2 microglial cells, without affecting cell viability. RGE also inhibited nuclear translocation of nuclear factor kappa B ($NF-{\kappa}B$) p65 and degradation of $I{\kappa}B-{\alpha}$. In addition, RGE increased the expression of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) in a dose-dependent manner, and the inhibitory effect of RGE on iNOS expression was abrogated by small interfering RNA-mediated knockdown of HO-1. Moreover, RGE induced nuclear translocation of nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), a transcription factor that regulates HO-1 expression. Furthermore, the phosphoinositide-3-kinase (PI-3K) inhibitor and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) inhibitors suppressed RGE-mediated expression of HO-1, and RGE enhanced the phosphorylation of Akt, extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERKs), p38, and c-JUN N-terminal kinases (JNKs). These results suggested that RGE suppressed the production of NO, a proinflammatory mediator, by inducing HO-1 expression via PI-3K/Akt- and MAPK-dependent signaling in LTA-stimulated microglia. The findings indicate that RGE could be used for the treatment of neuroinflammation induced by grampositive bacteria and that it may have therapeutic potential for various neuroinflammation-associated disorders.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.57-69
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• 2023

The objectives of this study were to analyze the fish community structures and distribution characteristics of fisheries resources in the Osip Stream and Wangpi Stream, fishery resources protection areas. For the study, we conducted fish samplings four times in the two streams from April to October 2019. In Osip Stream and Wangpi Stream, we sampled 31 species and 29 species and the dominant species were Zacco platypus (28.6%) and Squalidus multimaculatus(41.7%), respectively. According to the life type of fish species, primary freshwater species were collected 18 species(58.1%) and 21 species(72.4%), and migration fishes were sampled 4 species (12.9%) and 6 species (20.7%) in Osip Stream and Wangpi Stream, respectively. Fisheries resources species showed high relative abundance in June, and the fish biomass was highest in October. As a results of comparing the previous studies with this study, both rivers showed high biodiversity and were found to maintain stable populations of fishes. According to analysis of tolerance guilds, the proportion of tolerant species, based on the number of individuals, was composed of 14.4% and 1.1% in Osip Stream and Wangpi Stream, respectively. This very low ratio of tolerant species confirmed that both streams have very good physiochemical environment conditions. From the above results, it was judged that the fishery resource protection areas of Osip Stream and Wangpi Stream have high ecological function and preservation value. For sustainable use and management of fishery resource protection areas of Osip Stream and Wangpi Stream, it is suggested that biological disturbance management, fish discharge projects considering environmental capacity, efforts to improve the habitat environment, and establishing a fishery resource protection areas management system were necessary as considerations.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.33 no.10
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• pp.808-819
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• 2023

This study was conducted to develop a selection marker for the identification of the Bacillus licheniformis K12 strain in microbial communities. The strain not only demonstrates good growth at moderate temperatures but also contains enzymes that catalyze the decomposition of various polymer materials, such as proteases, amylases, cellulases, lipases, and xylanases. To identify molecular markers appropriate for use in a microbial community, a search was conducted to identify variable gene regions that show considerable genetic mutations, such as recombinase, integration, and transposase sites, as well as phase-related genes. As a result, five areas were identified that have potential as selection markers. The candidate markers were two recombinase sites (BLK1 and BLK2), two integration sites (BLK3 and BLK4), and one phase-related site (BLK5). A PCR analysis performed with different Bacillus species (e.g., B. licheniformis, Bacillus velezensis, Bacillus subtilis, and Bacillus cereus) confirmed that PCR products appeared at specific locations in B. licheniformis: BLK1 in recombinase, BLK2 in recombinase family protein, and BLK3 and BLK4 as site-specific integrations. In addition, BLK1 and BLK3 were identified as good candidate markers via a PCR analysis performed on subspecies of standard B. licheniformis strains. Therefore, the findings suggest that BLK1 can be used as a selection marker for B. licheniformis species and subspecies in the microbiome.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.17 no.6 s.86
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• pp.791-797
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• 2007

We studied the inhibitory effect of solvent fractions from doenjang on mutagenicity using Salmonella typhimurium TA100 in Ames test. We also investigated the effect of solvent fractions from doenjang on the growth of tumor cells and the production of interleukin-2 (IL-2). The treatment of dichlorormethane and ethylacetate fractions (2.5 mg/assay) from doenjang to Ames test system inhibited aflatoxin B$_1$ (AFB$_1$) induced mutagenicity by 96% and 97%, respectively, and showed a higher antimutagenic effect than other solvent fractions. In case of N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguamidine (MNNG) induced mutagenicity, the ethylacetate fraction showed the highest inhibitory effect (by 75%) among the other sol-vent fractions, although the inhibitory effect was not stronger compared to AFB$_1$ induced mutagenicity. The treatment of dichloromethane and ethylacetate fractions markedly inhibited the growth of Yac-1 (by 80% and 94%, respectively) and sacroma-180 cancer cells (by 60% and 96%, respectively) after 4 days of incubation at 37${\circ}$C. To elucidate the immunological mechanism of antitumor activity of doenjang, spleen cells of Balb/c mouse were exposed to the dichloromethane and ethyl-acetate fractions for 24 hours at 37${\circ}$C . The culture supernatants following the treatment of djchloromethane and ethylacetate factions to spleen cells increased the production of IL-2. These results indicated that the anticarcinogenic effect of doenjang was mediated by the production of IL-2.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.112-120
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• 2007

This paper reviews the use of parasites as 'biological tags' for studying stock analysis of salmonid fishes. Numerous definitions of stock concepts exist, but most of them essentially define a group of fish as having similar biological characteristics and being self-reproducing as stocks. It is important to manage fish stocks for human consumption and sustainable production and especially for salmonid fishes. Because these fry are considered as each country's property, it is necessary to identify and discriminate each fish stock in the open sea. Methods of separating fish stocks are very diverse. Artificial tags, parasites, otoliths scales and genetic characters have been used for stock analysis and each method has advantages and disadvantages. Of these parasites can be good biological tags because they are applied by nature at no cost. Parasites can be infected with susceptible host fishes when they enter into certain areas. Then if they move to the outside and are caught researchers can infer that the fish had been in the endemic area for a period of time during their life. Hence the host fish can be considered as naturally 'tagged' by parasites. However, if they do not pass the parasites-endemic. area, they will harbour no parasites. Therefore, researchers can discriminate each fish stocks and trace their migration routes with these biological tags. In this paper, several examples on the use of parasites as biological tags for studying salmonids, as well as other species, are listed. The advantages and limitations of parasites as biological tags are also discussed. Chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta), the main salmonid species migrating to Korea, is distributed all around the North Pacific. Korean chum salmon are generally thought to move to the Sea of Okhotsk, the western North Pacific and the Bering Sea. However, there is no clear information on the distribution and migration pathways of Korean chum salmon, and no markers exist for separating them from others yet. Recent Korean chum salmon stock analysis including parasites information are mentioned.

• The Korean Journal of Malacology
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.189-198
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• 2007

The reproductive cycle, egg capsules in the egg-mass, first sexual maturity, and sex ratio of the bladder moon, Glossaulax didyma ($R\ddot{o}ding$) were investigated. The gastropods collected from the intertidal zone of Biin Bay, Seocheon, Korea were studied by using histological analysis and morphometric data. The gonadosomatic index (GSI) of females and males began to increase in March and reached maximum in May. Then their values sharply decreased from late in May to August due to spawning. The condition index (CI) began to increase in February and reached maximum in May, then gradually declined in the spawning period. The CI calculated for determination of the spawning period was coincided with changes in the GSI and gonadal phases. Spawning occurred between late in May to August in females and early in May to August in males. Spawning peak was observed between July and August when the seawater temperature rose to 19 $^{\circ}C$. Reproductive cycle with the gonadal development phases of this species can be divided into five successive stages in females and four in males: in females, early active stage (December to February), late active stage (February to March), ripe stage (April recovery stage (August to November); in males, active stage (December to March), ripe stage (March to July), copulation stage (early May to August), and recovery stage (August to January). Fully matured oocytes were approximately 250-270 ${\mu}m$ in size. The egg-mass was a hat in shape, and a number of egg capsules were found in an egg-mass. An egg capsule was 0.53-0.57 mm in size. An embryo (veliger larva) hatched from an egg capsule. Percentage of first sexual maturity in females and males were over 50% for individuals that are 40.1-45.0 mm in shell radius, and 100% for those that are over 45.1 mm. The sex ratio of female to male was significantly different from 1:1 $(x^2\;=\;57.22,\;p\;<\;0.05)$.

• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.201-219
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• 2012

The estuaries bank of Nakdong River, Korea, was constructed in 1987 and many arguments have been under discussion on the subject of ecological impact on ecosystem during 20 years. In this context, however, it was not focused on the role of fish-way and the way of improvement to promote fish movement to complete its life history. This paper was the result of investigation on fish fauna of upper and lower part of the bank and the analysis of comparison of the fishes with those using fish-way which were installed in each side of bank as ladder type and fish gate. The authors discussed the importance of fish gate and its management base on the result. The number of fishes collected in this study for upper part of estuaries bank was 31 species, among them 71% was the pure freshwater residents indicating the characteristics of the area as a freshwater ecosystem. It was observed that 9 species of coastal fishes were found in this region including Coilia ectens and Neosalanx sp. which is anadromous to spawn. Excluding 6 freshwater fishes, 30 fish species collected in lower part of estuaries bank were coastal fishes indicating that former brackish ecosystem was changed into marine one. The freshwater fishes found in this region were restricted the appearance only in the season of discharging freshwater into the sea. The number of fishes found in fish-way was 39 species, more than that of river and coast. But only 19 species founded in fish ladder was comparable with the result of investigation on fish gate including 32 species. It was considered that the fish gate has more important role as a fish passage from the fact that only it allowed to movement of numerous number of fry of Neosalanx sp. and Engraulis japonicus. These results indicates that two-way movement system is more efficient than downward only one in estuaries bank for fish migration.