• Korean Journal of Breeding Science
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.349-359
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• 2011

Agriculture plays a vital role in the sustenance of human society and is the fundamental of developing economies. Nitrogen is one of the most critical inputs that define crop productivity. To ensure better value for investment as well as to minimize the adverse impacts of the accumulative nitrogen species in environment, improving nitrogen use efficiency of crop plants is of key importance. Efforts have been made to study the genetic and molecular biological basis as well as the biochemical mechanisms involved in nitrogen uptake, assimilation, translocation and remobilization in crops and model plants. This review gives an overview of metabolic, enzymatic, genetic and biotechnological aspects of nitrogen uptake, assimilation, remobilization and regulation. This review presents the complexity of nitrogen use efficiency and the need for an integrated approach combining physiology, quantitative trait genetics, system biology, soil science, ecophysiology and biotechnological interventions to improve nitrogen use efficiency.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.8-18
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• 2002

Early and accurate diagnosis of tumors using positron omission tomography (PET) has been the focus of considerable interest due to its high metastasis and mortality rates at late detection. PET radiopharmaceuticals-which exhibit a high tumor-to-background uptake ratio, and appropriate metabolic characteristics, and pharmacokinetics-are attractive tools for tumor imaging. Tumor imaging by these radiopharmaceuticals are based on metabolic and receptor imaging. The former is based on accelerated metabolism in tumor tissue compared to normal tissue and the rate roughly corresponding to the rate of growth of tumors. Radiopharmaceuticals for this purpose include radiolabeled sugars, amino acids, and nucleosides which detect increased glucose utilization, protein synthesis, and DNA synthesis, respectively. Tumor receptor imaging is based on the proliferation of tumor cells regulated by many hormones and growth factors, which bind to the corresponding receptors and exhibit the biological responses Radiopharmaceuticals used to image the tumor receptor systems may be ligands for the specific receptors and antibodies for the growth factor receptors. Some antitumor agents have been labeled with radionuclides and used to study in vivo biodistribution and pharmacokinetics in humans. This overview describes typical PET radiopharmaceuticals used for tumor imaging based on their uptake mechanisms.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.33 no.7
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• pp.895-908
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• 2023

Disposal of waste containing heavy metals into the environment is a major threat to human health and can result in toxic or chronic poisoning in aquatic life. In the current study, metal-resistant Raoultella ornithinolytica was isolated from metal-contaminated samples collected from the Tanjaro River, located southwest of Sulaymaniyah, Iraq. R. ornithinolytica was identified by partial amplification of 16S rRNA. The uptake potency of heavy metals was assessed using inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) and indicated that R. ornithinolytica removed 67, 89, 63.4, 55.6, 56.5, 65, and 61.9% of Cd, Pb, Cr, Ni, Zn, Co, and Fe, respectively. These removal rates were influenced by temperature, pH, and contact time; at 35℃ and pH 5 with a change in the incubation time, the reduction rate improved from 89 to 95% for Pb, from 36.4 to 45% for Cu, and from 55.6 to 64% for Ni. Gene analysis indicated that R. ornithinolytica contained pbrT, chrB, nccA, iroN, and czcA genes, but the pcoD gene was absent. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) images showed evidence of metal ion binding on the cell wall surface with different rates of binding. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) detected different mechanisms for metal particle localization; cell surface adsorption was the main mechanism for Pb, Zn, and Co uptake, while Cd, Ni, and Fe were accumulated inside the cell. The current study describes, for the first time, the isolation of R. ornithinolytica from metal-contaminated water, which can be used as an eco-friendly biological expedient for the remediation and detoxification of metals from contaminated environments.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.45-51
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• 2017

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the hypoglycemic effects of an ethanol extract of Cassia abbreviata (ECA) bark and the possible mechanisms of its action in diabetic albino rats. Methods: ECA was prepared by soaking the powdered plant material in 70% ethanol. It was filtered and made solvent-free by evaporation on a rotary evaporator. Type 2 diabetes was induced in albino rats by injecting 35 mg/kg body weight (bw) of streptozotocin after having fed the rats a high-fat diet for 2 weeks. Diabetic rats were divided into ECA-150, ECA-300 and Metformin (MET)-180 groups, where the numbers are the doses in mg.kg.bw administered to the groups. Normal (NC) and diabetic (DC) controls were given distilled water. The animals had their fasting blood glucose levels and body weights determined every 7 days for 21 days. Oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTTs) were carried out in all animals at the beginning and the end of the experiment. Liver and kidney samples were harvested for glucose 6 phosphatase (G6Pase) and hexokinase activity analyses. Small intestines and diaphragms from normal rats were used for ${\alpha}-glucosidase$ and glucose uptake studies against the extract. Results: Two doses, 150 and 300 mg/kg bw, significantly reduced the fasting blood glucose levels in diabetic rats and helped them maintain normal body weights. The glucose level in DC rats significantly increased while their body weights decreased. The 150 mg/kg bw dose significantly increased hexokinase and decreased G6Pase activities in the liver and the kidneys. ECA inhibited ${\alpha}-glucosidase$ activity and promoted glucose uptake in the rats' hemi-diaphragms. Conclusion: This study revealed that ECA normalized blood glucose levels and body weights in type 2 diabetic rats. The normalization of the glucose levels may possibly be due to inhibition of ${\alpha}-glucosidase$, decreased G6Pase activity, increased hexokinase activity and improved glucose uptake by muscle tissues.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.7-12
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• 2010

The biochemical study of sugar uptake in yeasts started five decades ago and led to the early production of abundant kinetic and mechanistic data. However, the first accurate overview of the underlying sugar transporter genes was obtained relatively late, due mainly to the genetic complexity of hexose uptake in the model yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The genomic era generated in turn a massive amount of information, allowing the identification of a multitude of putative sugar transporter and sensor-encoding genes in yeast genomes, many of which are phylogenetically related. This review aims to briefly summarize our current knowledges on the biochemical and molecular features of the transporters of pentoses in yeasts, when possible establishing links between previous kinetic studies and genomic data currently available. Emphasis is given to recent developments concerning the identification of D-xylose transporter genes, which are thought to be key players in the optimization of S. cerevisiae for bioethanol production from lignocellulose hydrolysates.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.35-43
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• 1997

Cis-dichlorodiammine platin${\mu}M$II (Cisplatin), an effective chemotherapeutic agent, induces acute renal failure by unknown mechanisms. To investigate direct toxic effects of cisplatin on the renal proximal tubular transport system, LLC-$PK_1$ cell line was selected as a cell model and the sugar transport activity was evaluated during a course of cisplatin treatment. Cells grown to confluence were treated with cisplatin for 60 min, washed, and then incubated for up to 5 days. At appropriate intervals, cells were tested for sugar transport activity using ${\alpha}-methyl-D-[^{14}C]glucopyranoside$ (AMG) as a model substrate. In cells treated with 100 ${\mu}M$ cisplatin, the AMG uptake was progressively impaired after 3 days. The viability of cells was not substantially changed with cisplatin of less than 100 ${\mu}M$, but it decreased markedly with 150 and 200 ${\mu}M$. In cisplatin-treated cells, the $Na^+$ -dependent AMG uptake was drastically inhibited with no change in the $Na^+$ -independent uptake. Kinetic analysis indicated that Vmax was suppressed, but Km was not altered. The $Na^+$ -dependent phlorizin binding was also decreased in cisplatin-treated cells. However, the AMG efflux from preloaded cells was not apparently retarded by cisplatin treatment. These data indicate that the cisplatin treatment impairs $Na^+$ -hexose cotransporters in LLC-$PK_1$ cells and suggest strongly that defects in transporter function at the luminal plasma membrane of the proximal tubular cells constitute an important pathogenic mechanism of cisplatin nephrotoxicity.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.87-100
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• 2016

Biochar, which has high alkalinity, has widely studied for amendment of soil that contaminated with heavy metals. The aim of this study is assessment of amendment for arsenic and heavy metals contaminated acidic agricultural soil using biochar that derived from buffalo weed (A. trifida L. var. trifida). Pot experiments were carried out including analysis of soil solution, contaminants fractionation, soil chemical properties and plant (lettuce) uptake rate. Arsenic and heavy metals concentrations in soil solution showed relatively low in biochar added experiments when compared to the control. In the heavy metals fractionation in soil showed decrease of exchangeable fraction and increase of carbonates fraction; however, arsenic fractionations showed constant. Soil chemical properties indicated that biochar could induce recovery of soil quality for plant growth in terms of soil alkalinity. However, phosphate concentration in biochar added soil decreased due to Ca-P precipitation by exchangeable calcium from biochar. Arsenic and heavy metals uptake rate of plant in the amended experiment decreased to 50% when compared to the control. Therefore biochar derived from buffalo weed can be used as amendment material for agricultural soil contaminated with arsenic and heavy metals. Precipitation of As-Ca and metal-carbonates are major mechanisms for soil amendment using char.

• Textile Coloration and Finishing
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.208-218
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• 2016

This study investigated the effects of the working mechanisms of proteins, mordants, and dyes, as well as the mordanting order, on dye uptake by silk fabric pre-treated with proteins and dyed with freeze-dried sappan wood water extract. Soybean protein and sodium caseinate were used as the proteins. 1. When Al mordants were not used, the dyeability of the fabrics increased upon protein pre-treatment as compared to the case without treatment. 2. Dyeing with protein pre-treatment, followed by mordanting, led to the highest dye uptake, and the optimal protein concentration was 5%. 3. The K/S values slightly decreased with an increase in the dyeing temperature, and the fabric turned dark red in color when dyeing was carried out at increasing temperature. Fabrics showed the highest dye uptake at $40^{\circ}C$. 4. Regarding the effect of time, the K/S values of the fabrics with and without protein treatment showed almost no increase after the initial dyeing time of 10min; further, there was hardly any difference in the cases with and without protein pre-treatment. 5. In case of protein pre-treatment fabrics, the washing fastness was level 2. The dry cleaning fastness showed very excellent result with level 4-5. The rubbing fastness was better in dry rubbing than in wet rubbing of the fabrics. For the light fastness, all dyed fabrics showed low fastness.

• Proceedings of the Zoological Society Korea Conference
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• 1999.10b
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• pp.11-11
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• 1999

;It has been reported that suspension-cultured rice cells grown on mixed carbon sources of glucose (GIc) and acetate exhibited diauxic growth in which acetate was the preferred carbon source (Lee and Lee, 1996). Carrot (Daucus carota L.) suspension cells, showing a diauxic growth very similar to that of rice cells, were used to delineate the mechanisms underlying this preferential use of acetate over GIc. Uptakes of both GIc and 3-0-methylglucose (3-0MG), a non-metabolizable GIc analogue, were similarly inhibited when acetate or butylate, weak acids which are capable of transporting protons into the cytosol, were present in the uptake assay mixture containing cells harvested during the GIc-utilizing second growth phase. Inhibition of GIc uptake by these weak acids was similar when equivalent experiments were carried out with isolated plasma membranes. It was further shown that Glc uptake, which requires a proper proton gradient across the plasma membranes, was inhibited during the first growth phase by acetate-mediated alkalization of growth medium and/or simultaneous acidification of cytosol. This study strongly suggests that Glc utilization in plant cells is inhibited by co-presenting carbon source(s) which can alter the proton gradient across the plasma membrane. We further examined diauxic growth in culture containing GIc and malate. Unlike the case in the culture with GIc and acetate, carrot cells used GIc first. Malate was utilized only after Glc is depleted from medium. These results indicate that GIc can be a preferred or less-preferred carbon source depending on the competing carbon source. It was noted that malate was not directly taken up by cells. Instead it was converted extracellularly into fumarate which was subsequently transported into cells. During the malate-growth phase malate uptake was negligible, and fumarate uptake was active and pH-sensitive. It was shown that fumarase released into medium was responsible for the extracellular conversion of malate into fumarate. An immunoblot experiments showed that fumarase antibody raised against Arabidopsis fumarase provided positive signals only in medium in malate culture, not in fumarate or GIc cultures. This study demonstrates the first example in that fumarase, a mitochondria marker enzyme, can be present in places other than mitochondria.ndria.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.2305-2309
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• 2012

Crocin, the main pigment of Crocus sativus L., has been shown to have antiproliferative effects on cancer cells, but the involved mechanisms are only poor understood. This study focused on probable effect of crocin on the immortality of hepatic cancer cells. Cytotoxicity of crocin ($IC_{50}$ 3 mg/ml) in hepatocarcinoma HepG2 cells was determined after 48 h by neutral red uptake assay and MTT test. Immortality was investigated through quantification of relative telomerase activity with a quantitative real-time PCR-based telomerase repeat amplification protocol (qTRAP). Telomerase activity in 0.5 ${\mu}g$ protein extract of HepG2 cells treated with 3 mg/ml crocin was reduced to about 51% as compared to untreated control cells. Two mechanisms of inhibition, i.e. interaction of crocin with telomeric quadruplex sequences and down regulation of hTERT expression, were examined using FRET analysis to measure melting temperature of a synthetic telomeric oligonucleotide in the presence of crocin and quantitative real-time RT-PCR, respectively. No significant changes were observed in the $T_m$ telomeric oligonucleotides, while the relative expression level of the catalytic subunit of telomerase (hTERT) gene showed a 60% decrease as compared to untreated control cells. In conclusion, telomerase activity of HepG2 cells decreases after treatment with crocin, which is probably caused by down-regulation of the expression of the catalytic subunit of the enzyme.