• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.58-73
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• 2000

Objectives : This study was performed to evaluate BTEX exposure to gas station service attendants and the critical affect of benzene and MtBE airborne concentration. Methods : the degree of exposure to airborne BTEX and MtBE was examined in the service attendants at seven gas stations across the country during a summer season. The TWAs(time-weighted averages) of atmospheric concentration of substances in personal and area samples, were calculated. The component ratio of BTEX and MtBE in the samples of bulk gasoline from each station studied was also measured. Results : The airborne concentrations of BTEX and MtBE showed a lognormal distribution and The TWA concentrations of benzene in personal samples from each station were 0.089 ppm - 0.18 ppm, and those of toluene were 0.097 ppm - 0.2 ppm. The average TWA concentrations of xylene and ethyl benzene was 0.03 ppm and 0.001 ppm, respectively. The TWA concentrations of MtBE were 0.4 ppm - 1.3 ppm. The volume concentrations of MtBE, toluene, ethyl benzene and xylene in the bulk gasoline samples were 3 - 7.4 %, 3 - 12 %, 0.64 % and 1.5 - 10 %, respectively. Conclusions : The benzene concentration was detected to exceed the ACGIH threshold benzene level of 0.5 ppm, in one of 74 personal and area samples. MtBE, a substitute for aromatic compounds such as benzene in gasoline, was found to bring about a greater chance of exposure to carcinogen, due to its high vapor pressure and carcinogenicity.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.422-425
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• 2008

Membrane-type 1 matrix metalloproteinase (MT1-MMP) is a membrane-associated zinc-dependent endoproteinase involved in extracellular matrix remodeling. MT1-MMP hydrolyzes ECM proteins like collagen and is involved in cancer cell migration and metastasis. Caveolins are integral membrane proteins and play a role in formation of caveolae, specialized membrane microdomains involved in clathrin-independent endocytosis. Recombinant MT1-MMP was transiently expressed in PANC-1 cells. Cells expressing recombinant MT1-MMP were able to hydrolyze collagen and migrate on collagen coated trans-well. Both subjacent collagen degradation and the cell migration conferred by recombinant MT1-MMP were inhibited by co-transfection of plasmids containing caveolin-1 cDNA. The results support that MT1-MMP is localized in lipid raft of the membrane and MT1-MMP activities in invasive cells could be inhibited by caveolin.

• Plant Resources
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.120-128
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• 2003

The objectives of this study, an analysis of the variation for leaf and fruit characteristics among the selected ten populations of Sorbus commixta Hedl. could be used for the conservation of gene resources and could provide information to superior trees selection. The results obtained from this study can be summarized as follows; Approximately, the Mt. Sungin population at Ulleung island showed larger values in overall characteristics and populations. On the other hand, Mt. Halla population at Jeju island showed the smaller values of the overall characteristics and populations. ANOV A tests showed that there were statistically significant differences in all leaf characteristics among the populations as well as individual trees within populations. But, for fruit characteristics, differences were statistically significant only among the populations. Cluster analysis using single linkage method based on leaf and fruit characteristics showed that ten selected populations of S. commixta in Korea could be clustered into three groups. Group I is Mt. Sungin at Ulleung island, Group II is Mt. Halla at Jeju island, and Group III comprises Osan, Mt. Kaji, Mt. Duckyoo, Mt. Balwang, Mt. Sobaek, Mt. O-dae, Mt. Jiri, and Mt. Taebaek. The selection level based on major agronomic traits, which are the Number of Fruit per Fruiting Lateral(NFL) over 50, and Fruit Length(FL) and Width(FW) over 10 mm, and Weight of 100 Fruit(WFI00) over 66 g, was applied on 100 sample trees, and five trees were selected. The selection effects from selected trees in NFL, FL, FW, and WF100 were evaluated as 132%, 151 %, 142%, and 264% compared to the mean of those 100 sample trees, respectively. Especially, Ulleung 2 showed excellent values that NFL and WFI00 were 95, and 69 g, respectively, suggesting a promising new cultivar for larger fruit and high productivity.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.9-18
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• 1993

Sugar spheres loaded with melatonin (MT) were coated with $Aquacoat^{\circledR}$ to control the release rate of MT over 8 hours. A zero-order release pattern over 8 hours was obtained with 20% coating on 8-10 mesh beads in USP basket dissolution studies. MT in 20% coated beads was quite stable at room temperature with less than 5% MT degraded during 6 months' storage. Dissolution profiles were also unchanged after 6 months. An oral preparation containing MT-loaded uncoated beads for immediate release and 20% coated beads with $Aquacoat^{\circledR}$ for controlled release over 8 hours was evaluated in six human subjects. When total 0.5 mg MT as low dose (immediate release portion of MT, 0.1 mg) was administered to four subjects, average peak plasma MT concentration was reached at about 600 pg/ml and maintained at about 10 pg/ml over 8 hours. Plasma MT concentration-time profiles were similar in shape to computer-simulated profiles. However, maximal plasma MT concentrations were three times greater compared to computer simulated curve. These results suggest that MT dose, ratio of immediate and controlled release MT, and pharmacokinetic parameters selected are adjusted to mimic endogenous MT concentration-time curve. In another study, 0.2 mg MT having 10% of immediate release portion and 80% controlled release portion produced plasma MT concentration-time curve which is more similar to endogenous profiles. A low bioavailability (<20%) may result from extensive first pass metabolism and remaining amounts of MT from controlled beads. A good correlation between plasma MT concentration and urinary excretion rate of 6-sulphatoxymelatonin (6-STMT), a major metabolite of MT was observed. As plasma MT concentration increased, urinary excretion rate of 6-STMT increased concomitantly. The linear relation between plasma MT and urinary excretion rate of 6-STMT was statistically significant. This result suggests that urinary 6-STMT may be used as an index of circadian rhythms of MT in humans.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.34 no.3_spc
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• pp.405-416
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• 2021

Objective: This study evaluated the effects of feeding diets naturally contaminated with deoxynivalenol (supplemental 2 mg/kg) on health, growth, and the effects of a mycotoxin-detoxifying additive in newly-weaned pigs. Methods: Thirty-six pigs (27 day-old) were housed individually and assigned to 3 treatments for 5 weeks: CON (diet containing minimal deoxynivalenol), MT (diet with supplemental 1.9 mg/kg of deoxynivalenol), and MT+D (MT + mycotoxin-detoxifying additive, 0.2%, MegaFix, ICC, São Paulo, Brazil). The mycotoxin-detoxifying additive included bentonite, algae, enzymes, and yeast. Blood was taken at week 2 and 5. Jejunal tissue were taken at week 5. Data were analyzed using the MIXED procedure of SAS. Results: Pigs fed MT+D tended to have decreased (p = 0.056) averaged daily feed intake during week 1 than MT. At week 2, serum aspartate aminotransferase/alanine aminotransferase in MT tended to be lower (p = 0.059) than CON, whereas it was increased (p<0.05) for MT+D than MT, indicating hepatic damages in MT and recovery in MT+D. Pigs fed MT had lower (p<0.05) blood urea nitrogen/creatinine than CON, supporting hepatic damage. At week 5, pigs fed MT tended to have reduced (p = 0.079) glucose than CON, whereas it was increased (p<0.05) for MT+D than MT, indicating impaired intestinal glucose absorption in MT, which was improved in MT+D. Pigs fed CON tended to have increased (p = 0.057) total glutathione in jejunum than MT, indicating oxidative stress in MT. Pigs fed MT+D had a reduced (p<0.05) proportion of Ki-67-positive cells in jejunum than MT, indicating lower enterocyte proliferation in MT+D. Conclusion: Feeding supplemental 1.9 mg/kg of deoxynivalenol reduced growth and debilitated hepatic health of pigs, as seen in leakage of hepatic enzymes, impaired nitrogen metabolism, and increase in oxidative stress. The mycotoxin-detoxifying enhanced hepatic health and glucose levels, and attenuated gut damage in pigs fed deoxynivalenol contaminated diets.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.728-732
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• 2007

In the present article, a novel fusion expression vector for Escherichia coli was developed based on the pTORG plasmid, a derivative of pET32a. This vector, named pT7MT(GenBank Accession No DQ504436), carries a T7 promoter and it drives the downstream gene encoding Metallothionein 2A(MT2A). There are in-framed multiple cloning sites(MCS) downstream of the MT2A gene. A target gene can be cloned into the MCS and fused to the C-terminal of the MT2A gene in a compatible open reading frame(ORF) to achieve fusion expression. The metal-binding capability of MT2A allows the purification of fusion proteins by metal chelating affinity chromatography, known as $Ni^{2+}$-affinity chromatography. Using this expression vector, we successfully got the stable and high-yield expression of MT2A-GST and MT2A-Troponin I fusion proteins. These two proteins were easily purified from the supernatant of cell lysates by one-step $Ni^{2+}$-affinity chromatography. The final yields of MT2A-GST and MT2A-Troponin I were 30mg/l and 28mg/l in LB culture, respectively. Taken together, our data suggest that pT7MT can be applied as a useful expression vector for stable and high-yield production of fusion proteins.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.126-140
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• 2011

Genetic determinants of two metallothionein isoforms (MT-A and MT-B) were isolated and characterized from the perciform species, rockbream (Oplegnathus fasciatus). Rockbream MT-A and MT-B shared a high degree of homology at amino acid levels with representative orthologs from other perciform species, especially with respect to the conserved cysteine residues. At the genomic level, both MT-A and MT-B genes represent a tripartite structure typical of vertebrate MT genes. However, rockbream MT-B showed unusually large introns (1.2 kb and 0.8 kb for intron I and II, respectively), a phenomenon that has rarely been seen in other vertebrate MT genes. MT-A and MT-B transcripts were ubiquitously detected in a wide array of tissues, wherein brain and eye showed the highest basal expression levels, and the fin exhibited the lowest expression of both isoforms. The basal expression of MT-A in most tissues was significantly higher (ranging from 4- to 10-fold) than that of MT-B. Upon heavy metal exposures to Cd, Cu or Zn at 25 ppb for 48 h, MT-A and MT-B transcripts in the liver were significantly activated by Cd and moderately by Zn. On the other hand, exposure to Cu did not result in alterations of MT-A, nor in the significant suppression of MT-B. Following bacterial challenges with Escherichia coli, Edwardsiella tarda or Streptococcus iniae, MT isoforms in the liver, kidney and spleen were highly modulated and exhibited a pattern that was dependent on the bacterial species, tissues and isoforms. These results suggest that the two MT isoforms could be taken into account as potential indicators of metal toxicity and immune perturbations of this aquaculture-relevant species.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.30 no.9
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• pp.1290-1296
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• 2020

Recently, it was reported that entire mammalian mtDNA genomes could be transplanted into the mitochondrial networks of yeast, where they were accurately and stably maintained without rearrangement as intact genomes. Here, it was found that engineered mtDNA genomes could be readily transferred to and steadily maintained in the mitochondria of genetically modified yeast expressing the mouse mitochondrial transcription factor A (Tfam), one of the mitochondrial nucleoid proteins. The transferred mtDNA genomes were stably retained in the Tfam-expressing yeast cells for many generations. These results indicated that the engineered mouse mtDNA genomes introduced in yeast mitochondria could be relocated into the mitochondria of other cells and that the transferred genomes could be maintained within a mitochondrial environment that is highly amenable to mimicry of the biological conditions in mammalian mitochondria.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.2393-2399
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• 2013

Objective: Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is considered a hotspot of mutations in various tumors. However, the relationship between microsatellite instability (MSI) and mtDNA copy number alterations in lung cancer has yet to be fully clarifieds. In the current study, we investigated the copy number and MSI of mitochondrial genome in lung carcinomas, as well as their significance for cancer development. Methods: The copy number and MSI of mtDNA in 37 matched lung carcinoma/adjacent histological normal lung tissue samples were examined by polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) assays for sequence variation, followed by sequence analysis and fluorogenic 5'-nuclease real-time PCR. Student's t test and linear regression analyses were employed to analyze the association between mtDNA copy number alterations and mitochondrial MSI (mtMSI). Results: The mean copy number of mtDNA in lung carcinoma tissue samples was significantly lower than that of the adjacent histologically normal lung tissue samples (p<0.001). mtMSI was detected in 32.4% (12/37) of lung carcinoma samples. The average copy number of mtDNA in lung carcinoma samples containing mtMSI was significantly lower than that in the other lung carcinoma samples (P<0.05). Conclusions: Results suggest that mtMSI may be an early and important event in the progression of lung carcinogenesis, particularly in association with variation in mtDNA copy number.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.503-507
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• 1998

Percutaneous absorption and model membrane variations of melationin (MT) in aqueous-based propylene glycol and $2-hydroxypropyl-{\beta}-cyclodextrin $vehicles were investigatted. the excised hairless mouse skin (HMS) and two synthetic ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) and microporous polyethylene (MPE) were selected as a model membrane. the solubility of MT was determined by phase equilibrium study. the vertical $Franz{\circledR}$ type cell was used for diffusion study. The concentration of MT was determined using reverse phse HPLC system. The MT solubility was the highest in a mixture of PG and $2-HP{\beta}CD$. The percutaneous absorption of MT through excised HMS increased as the solubility increased. However, the permeability coefficient decreased and then slightly increased in mixture of PG and $2-HP{\beta}CD$. On the other hand, both flux and permeability coefficient through EVA membrane decreased as the solubility increased. No MT was detected over 12 h after starting diffusion through MPE membrane. The flux of MT was dependent on the type of membrane selected. Flux of MT was greatest in excised HMS followed by EBA and MPE membrane. Flux of MT through EVA membrane was 5-20 times lower when compared to excised HMS. Interestingly, volumes of donor phase when MPE membrane was used, significantly increased during the study period. the HMS might be applicable to expect plasma concentration of MT in human subjects based on flux and pharmacokinetic parameters as studied previously. the current studies may be applied to deliver MT transdermally using aqueous-based vehicles and to fabricate MT dosage forms.