• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.474-480
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• 1996

Physicochemical changes of milt during the spermiation period were investigated in black seabream (Acanthopagrus schlegeli) reared in recirculating seawater system. The spermiation period for the milt collection in cultured brood stock was from 11 April to 4 June. During the spermiation period, average milt volume (ml/100 g body weight) was $0.70{\pm}0.33\;ml$ and maintained high level from 2 May to 4 June. The total number of stripping spermatozoa per 100 g body weight reached the maximum value $(3.32{\times}10^{10})$ in 9 May, then decreased rapidly thereafter. Spermatozoa concentration per ml reached the minimum value in 2 May. There was no change in spermatocrit for the spermiation period. Total protein, total lipid, glucose and Na concentration in spermatozoa and seminal fluid were lower than those in plasma. Total protein, total lipid and K concentration in spermatozoa were higher than those in seminal fluid. The glucose concentration in spermatozoa and seminal fluid in April and May were significantly higher than those in June.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.809-815
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• 1997

A series of experiments were conducted to study effects of osmolality and $Ca^{2+}$ on sperm motility in marbled sole, Limanda yokohamae. Spermatozoa were immotile when the milt was mixed with solutions (electrolyte or non-electrolyte) of lower osmolality than the average seminal plasma osmolality (351 mOsm/kg), but became motile after mixing milt with an hyperosmotic solution. However, with the osmolality above 1,639 mOsm/kg spermatozoa ceased their movement. When the milt was suspended in the $Ca^{2+}$ free artificial seawater (ASW) containing ethylenglycoltriamine (EGTA), the percentage of motile spermatozoa decreased in proportion to the increase of EGTA. Most spermatozoa were quiescent in a medium containing 3 mM EGTA. The motility of spermatozoa prevented by 3 mM EGTA was recovered by the subsequent addition of $Ca^{2+}$ over the concentration of 0.25 mM. Effects of calmodulin antagonist, trifluoperazin (TFP) on spermatozoa were examined to elucidate the possible functions of calmodulin in sperm motility. TFP immobilized spermatozoa 5n ASW at the concentration of 0.5 M. These findings suggest that calcium is an effective external factor in the initiation process of sperm motility.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.45 no.5
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• pp.423-429
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• 2012

This study evaluated the effects of adding sea mustard Undaria pinnatifida glycoprotein to the diet of juvenile olive flounder Paralichthys olivaceus on its growth, and levels of insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I), IGF binding proteins (IGFBPs), and interleukins. Three experimental diets (U0, U0.5, and U1.0) were formulated that contained different amounts of an extract of U. pinnatifida (0, 0.5, and 1.0%, respectively). Experimental groups were established in triplicate (30 fish/group) and fed for 12 weeks. The experimental group fed 1.0% added U. pinnatifida glycoprotein had the greatest rate of weight gain, which differed significantly from the other experimental groups. SDS-PAGE of the plasma IGF-I and muscle protein showed that the experimental groups taking U. pinnatifida glycoprotein had significantly more IGF-I and a ca. 200 kDa protein, as compared to the control group. In addition, the amount of IGFBP-3 at ca. 43 kDa increased in the group given the U. pinnatifida extract, as compared to the control group. The interluekin-2, -4, -6, and -12 levels paralleled the level of growth factor in the groups given the U. pinnatifida extract. In conclusion, supplementing the diet of olive flounder with U. pinnatifida glycroprotein improved its growth and immunity.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.313-318
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• 2014

From 2008 to 2013, the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis were collected from a major area of mussel production (Changseon area), which is a designated shellfish-cultivating area for export, located on the southern coast of Korea. The samples were analyzed for mercury (Hg) using a direct Hg analyzer and for other metals, such as cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), arsenic (As), chromium, copper, nickel, and zinc, using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The concentrations and bioaccumulation of the heavy metals were determined, and a potential risk assessment was conducted to evaluate their hazards towards human consumption. The concentration and bioaccumulation ratio of Cd were the highest of the three hazardous metals (Cd, Pb, and Hg). The concentrations of hazardous metals in all samples were within the limits set by Korea and other countries. The estimated dietary intake (EDI) was compared to the provisional tolerable daily intake (PTDI) adopted by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The EDIs of all heavy metals tested for mussel samples ranged from 0.01 to 4.99% of the PTDI; the highest value was measured for As. The hazard index (HI) can be used to assess the risk of heavy metal consumption associated with contaminated food. The HI for all samples was far less than 1.0, which indicates that the mussels produced in the Changseon area do not represent an appreciable hazard to humans and are fit for consumption.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.55-61
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• 2016

BACKGROUND: This study was carried out to survey the levels of heavy metals in perennial root vegetables and to assess dietary exposure and risk to the Korean population health.METHODS AND RESULTS: Perennial root vegetables (n=214) including Panax ginseng C.A mayer, Woodcultivated ginseng, Codonopsis lanceolata, and Platycodon granditloum were collected from markets or harvested from farmhouse in Korea. Lead(Pb), cadmium(Cd) and arsenic (As) analysis were performed with microwave device and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer. Limit of detection for heavy metals were 0.010~0.050 μg/kg, while limit of quantitation were 0.035~0.175 μg/kg. The recovery results were in the range of 76~102%. The average contents of heavy metals in perennial root vegetables were in the range of Pb 0.013(Panax ginseng C.A Mayer)~0.070 (Wood-cultivated ginseng) mg/kg, Cd 0.009(Panax ginseng C.A Mayer)~0.034(Codonopsis lanceolata) mg/kg, and As 0.002(Panax ginseng C.A Mayer)~0.004(Plafycodon grandiflorum) mg/kg, respectively. For risk assessment, daily intakes of heave metals were estimated and risk indices were calculated in comparison with reference dose. The dietary exposures of heavy metals through usual intake were Pb 0.070 μg/day, Cd 0.041 μg/day and As 0.008 μg/day, taking 0.03%, 0.08% and 0.0003% as risk indices, respectively.CONCLUSION: The risk level for Korean population exposed to heavy metals through intake of perennial root vegetables was far low, indicating of little possibility of concern.

• Korean Journal of Animal Reproduction
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.13-18
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• 1999

The totipotential spermatogonial stem cells of adult testis which give rise to mature sperm cells is well-known to incorporate foreign DNA as well as those of somatic cells. Also, the integration rates of foreign DNA after haploid stages are generally known to decrease and /or is simply bound foreign DNA into the sperm plasma membrane. To overcome these problems, liposome and DNA complexes were used to determine how direct injection of these complexes into testis were integrated into sperm genome and resulted in transgenic offspring. To study this purpose, cation liposome was gently mixed with WAF/hGH DNA (1 : 2) and the complexes were injected into testis. At 10, 20, 40, 60, and 80 days after direct injection into testis, mature sperm cells were recovered by using artificial virgin method from two goats and each semen except a part of semen used for DNA analysis such as PCR or Southern blotting was cryopreserved for the artificial insemination. The results obtained in this study are summarized as follows. 1. By PCR, the presence of exogenous DNA was confirmed up to 80 days after injection with liposome/DNA complexes. The highest integration rates were obtained at day 40 after direct injection. This results suggested that spermatogonial stem cells were integrated exogenous DNA into their genome. 2. Among 23 Korean Native Goats which were artificially inseminated, 4 goats resulted in pregnancy and produced 7 young goats. 3. Two young goats were confirmed as a transgenic by PCR and Southern blot analysis. Therefore, our results suggested that testis-mediated gene transfer can be used as a feasible tools for the production of transgenic livestock.

• Korean Journal of Animal Reproduction
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.439-449
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• 2000

This study was to investigate the expression of transgene after co-injection of spermatozoon and EGFP gene into mature oocytes in cattle. From frozen semen, spermatozoa were treated by DTT with 0.03% Tween-20, freezing and thawing or 0.02% Triton X-100 to disrupt their plasma membranes. The sperm injected oocytes were co-cultured with bovine oviduct epithelial cells in CRlaa, and expression of EGFP in embryos were observbed under epifluorescent microscope. Two pronuclei were formed in oocytes injected with sperm treated by DTT (44.6%), DTT-Tween-20 (48.4%), DTT-freezing (44.4%) and DTT-Triton X-100 (42.9%). Cleavage and blastocyst formation rates of bovine oocytes which injected with sperm treated by DTT, DTT-Tween-20, DTT-freezing, and DTT-Triton X-100 were 49.1, 58.5, 43.9, and 48.4% and 10.2, 13.0, 6.8, and 6.5%, respectively. Although the most of embryos were showing mosaicism, embryos expressing EGFP gene were observed in all treated groups. Therefore, these results indicate that membrane disrupted sperm could interact with exogenous DNA, and that this procedure may be useful to introduce foreign gene into bovine oocytes.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.722-729
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• 2004

Leptin is an adipocyte-secreted hormone and its plasma levels correlate with total body fat mass, however, it also plays a regulatory role in immunity, inflammation, and hematopoiesis. Chemokine is known as a chemoattractant cytokine in inflammatory reaction, but its role in leptin reaction has not been well studied. In this study, the direct effect of leptin on the expression of chemokine mRNAs and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced chemokine KC mRNA in mouse peritoneal macrophages was investigated. Leptin did not induce the expression of lymphotactin, RANTES, eotaxin, MIP-1$\beta$, MIP-1$\alpha$, MIP-2, MCP-1, IP-10, TCA-3, and KC mRNA in mouse peritoneal macrophages, and had no direct effect on the expression of these LPS-induced chemokine mRNAs except KC mRNA. The synergistic effect of leptin on the expression of LPS-induced KC mRNA occurred late in the time course of response to LPS. The increased expressions of Ob-Rb mRNA and leptin receptor protein were detected during the LPS treatment. Leptin produced a substantial increase in the stability of the LPS-induced KC mRNA, and the synergistic effect of leptin on LPS-induced KC mRNA expression was further augmented by cycloheximide (CHX). Pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC) did not block the synergistic effect of leptin on LPS-induced KC mRNA expression in mouse peritoneal macrophages. These data suggest that although leptin has no direct effect on the expression of lymphotactin, RANTES, eotaxin, MIP-1$\beta$, MIP-1$\alpha$, MIP-2, MCP-1, IP-10, TCA-3, and KC mRNA in mouse peritoneal macrophages, the synergistic effect of leptin on the expression of LPS-induced KC mRNA has the possibility that LPS might induce the expression of the Ob-Rb receptor or an unknown gene(s) that sensitizes macrophages to the synergistic function of leptin. Therefore, further studies are necessary to examine leptin as a regulatory factor of chemokine production.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.10 no.6
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• pp.629-634
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• 2016

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: The aim of this experiments was to show anti-obesity effects of Korean solar salt from different salt fields in diet-induced obese mice. MATERIALS/METHODS: Diet-induced obesity (DIO) was induced by a high-fat diet (HFD; 45% cal from fat) in C57BL/6J mice for eight weeks. The mice were fed with the designated diets (chow diet for Normal, HFD for Control, 0.47%-salt-mixed HFD for purified salt (PS), Guerande solar salt from France (SS-G), solar salt from Y salt field (SS-Y), solar salts from T salt field (SS-T) and S salt field (SS-S)) for another eight weeks. We checked body weight, food efficiency ratio (FER) and tissue weights (liver and epididymal adipose tissue (EAT)), and observed serum concentrations of triacylglycerol (TG), total cholesterol (TC), leptin and insulin. We also evaluated gene expressions of adipogenic / lipogenic mRNAs of $C/EBP{\alpha}$, $PPAR{\gamma}$ and FAS and beta-oxidation-related factors ($PPAR{\alpha}$ and CPT-1) in liver and EAT. The mineral composition of salt samples were analyzed using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). RESULTS: SS-T and SS-S significantly reduced body weight gain, FER, and weight of EAT compared to control and other samples (P < 0.05). SS-T and SS-S also significantly decreased serum levels of TG, TC, leptin and insulin (P < 0.05). SS-T and SS-S suppressed expressions of adipogenic / lipogenic mRNAs in liver and EAT, while promoting expression of beta-oxidation-related factors. The lowest sodium concentration was observed in SS-T ($30.30{\pm}0.59%$), and the lowest sodium-to-potassium (Na/K) ratio was found in SS-S (17.81). CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows that well-processed Korean solar salt may have anti-obesity effects in vivo, probably owing to its differences in mineral composition and other components, presumably resulting from the manufacturing processes. Further research is needed into the mechanism and to explore optimal manufacturing processes.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.51 no.11
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• pp.1236-1240
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• 2008

Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome (SLOS) is a rare, autosomal recessive disease caused by an inborn error in cholesterol synthesis. Patients with this disease suffer from multiple malformations due to reduced activity of 7-dehydrocholesterol reductase (DHCR7), which increases 7-dehydrocholesterol (7DHC) and 8-dehydrocholesterol (8DHC) concentrations and decreases cholesterol concentration in body fluids and tissue. The SLOS phenotypic spectrum ranges from a mild disorder with behavioral and learning problems to a lethal disease characterized by multiple malformations. Here, we describe a newborn male with ambiguous genitalia who was diagnosed to have type II SLOS during the neonatal period. A clinical examination revealed low levels of unconjugated estriol in the maternal serum, and a variety of fetal ultrasound anomalies, including prenatal growth retardation. After birth, the infant was diagnosed to have congenital heart disease (Tetralogy of Fallot with severe pulmonary artery stenosis), cleft lip and palate, micrognathia, postaxial polydactyly, ambiguous genitalia, and cataracts. Clinical investigation revealed extremely low plasma cholesterol levels and the presence of mutation (homozygote of p.Arg352Gln) in the DHCR7 gene. The patient underwent palliative heart surgery (to widen the pulmonary artery) and received intravenous lipid supplementation. Cholesterol levels increased slightly, but not to normal values. The patient died from cardiopulmonary failure and sepsis 72 days after birth. This report provides the first description of a Korean patient with SLOS confirmed by verification of DHCR7 gene mutation and illustrates the need for early recognition and appropriate diagnosis of this disease.