• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.78-85
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• 2021

Objectives: When elderly patients show depressive symptoms, discrimination between depressive disorder and prodromal phase of Alzheimer's disease is important. We tested whether a quantitative electroencephalogram (qEEG) marker was associated with cerebral amyloid-β (Aβ) deposition in older adults with depression. Methods: Non-demented older individuals (≥ 55years) diagnosed with depression were included in the analyses (n = 63; 76.2% female; mean age ± standard deviation 73.7 ± 6.87 years). The participants were divided into Aβ+ (n = 32) and Aβ- (n = 31) groups based on amyloid PET assessment. EEG was recorded during the 7min eye-closed (EC) phase and 3min eye-open (EO) phase, and all EEG data were analyzed using Fourier transform spectral analysis. We tested interaction effects among Aβ positivity, condition (EC vs. EO), laterality (left, midline, or right), and polarity (frontal, central, or posterior) for EEG alpha band power. Then, the EC-to-EO alpha reactivity index (ARI) was examined as a neurophysiological marker for predicting Aβ+ in depressed older adults. Results: The mean power spectral density of the alpha band in EO phase showed a significant difference between the Aβ+ and Aβ- groups (F = 6.258, p = 0.015). A significant 3-way interaction was observed among Aβ positivity, condition, and laterality on alpha-band power after adjusting for age, sex, educational years, global cognitive function, medication use, and white matter hyperintensities on MRI (F = 3.720, p = 0.030). However, post-hoc analyses showed no significant difference in ARI according to Aβ status in any regions of interest. Conclusion: Among older adults with depression, increased power in EO phase alpha band was associated with Aβ positivity. However, EC-to-EO ARI was not confirmed as a predictor for Aβ+ in depressed older individuals. Future studies with larger samples are needed to confirm our results.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.25 no.8
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• pp.861-869
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• 2015

One of the domesticated species; the dog has been selectively bred for various aims by human. The dog has many breeds, which are artificially selected for specific behaviors and morphologies. Dogs contribute their life to human as working dogs for guide, rescue, detection or etc. Working dogs requires good personality, such as gentleness, robustness and patience for performing their special duty. Many studies have concentrated on finding genetic marker for selecting the high-quality working dog. In this study, we confirmed quantitative expression patterns of eight genes (ABAT; 4-Aminobutyrate Aminotransferase, PLCB1; Phospholipase C, Beta 1, SLC10A4; Solute Carrier Family 10, Member 4, WNT1; Wingless-Type MMTV Integration Site Family, Member 1, BARX2; BarH-Like Homeobox 2, NEUROD6; Neuronal Differentiation 6, SEPT9; Septin 9 and TBR1; T-Box, Brain, 1) among brains tissues from four dog breeds (Beagle, Sapsaree, Shepherd and Jindo), because these genes were expressed and have functions in brain mostly. Specially, BARX2, SEPT9, SLC10A4, TBR1 and WNT1 genes were highly expressed in Beagle and Jindo, and Sapsaree and German Shepherd were vice versa. The biological significance of total genes was estimated by database for annotation, visualization and integrated discovery (DAVID) to determine a different gene ontology (GO) class. In these analyses, we suppose to these eight genes could provide influential information for brain development, and intelligence of organisms. Taken together, these results could provide clues to discover biomarker related to functional traits in brain, and beneficial for selecting superior working dogs.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.51-59
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• 2015

Chickens are exposed to the external and internal stressors such as low and high temperature, high stocking density, feed restriction and disease. There have been a few studies on gene expressions through the investigation of chickens under direct exposure to the stress of high stocking density. The objective of the present study was to determine the expressions of genes associated with stress, endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-stress, lipid and glucose metabolism in two strains of chickens, Korean Native Chicken (KNC) and White Leghorn (WL), raised in high stocking density. A total of 164 chickens aged 40 weeks were randomly allotted to a $540cm^2/bird$ stocking density (control), whereas the chickens in a high density group were assigned in a $311cm^2/bird$ stocking density with feeding ad libitum for 10 weeks. Total RNA was extracted from the live for qRT-PCR. The expression levels of hsp70 and $hsp90{\alpha}$ were higher in WL subjected to stress with high stocking density compared with those genes in control (P<0.05), while the expressions of genes were not affected in KNC. ER stress marker gene XBP1 was also highly expressed in WL with stress (P<0.05), but the stress of high stocking density did not influence to ER stress marker genes in KNC. Lipid metabolism associated genes including FABP4, FATP1 and ACSL1 were highly expressed in WL compared with KNC when subjected to high stocking density stress (P<0.05). The expression of glucose transport gene GLUT2 and GLUT8 were increased in chickens exposured to the stress of high stocking density (P<0.05). The data indicate that WL is more sensitive to the stress of high stocking density compared with KNC and the stress may influence the modulation of lipid and glucose metabolism in the liver of chickens.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.233-238
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• 2006

In order to study the effect of feeding rare earth(RE) on growth of broiler chicks, feed conversion ratio, and probable harmfulness of feeding high levels of RE, two feeding trials with broiler chicks were conducted; one using a commercial broiler compound feed and the other using a self mixed feed excluding any growth stimulating feed additives. The the first trial used three hundred sixty of one day old Cobb broiler chicks for six levels of dietary supplementation of RE : 0, 100, 200, 400, 800 and 1,600 mg/kg. There were significant effect of RE stimulating broiler chick growth and improving feed conversion ratio, The dietary supplementation of RE at a level of 100 mg/kg was the best of all and increased body weight gain by 8.9% (p<0.05). Chicks fed RE at a level of 1,600 mg/kg grew as good as chicks fed feeds without RE and did not show my abnormalities. The second feeding trial was conducted in the same manner as the first trial using Ross broiler chicks and self-mixed experimental diets supplemented with RE at levels of 0, 50, 100 and 150 mg/kg. Differently from Results of the first trial, body weight gain and feed conversion ratio of were the best at the level of 50 mg/kg RE supplementation(p<0.05). In this trial all the birds fed RE showed significantly lower ratio of abdominal fat against live weight than those of the control group birds. Overall, it can be said that dietary supplementation of RE will improve broiler growth and feed conversion ratio and the proper dietary level would be $50\sim100mg/kg$. These results suggested that the proper level of RE for broiler chicks would be 50 to 100 mg/kg and its effectiveness is varied depending upon RE mixture. There appears abdominal fat of broiler chicks is decreased by feeding RE but further investigation is in need.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.315-322
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• 2008

Purpose : Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a complex genetic disorder, caused by the deletion of the paternally derived 15q11-13 region or the maternal uniparental disomy of chromosome 15 (mUPD(15)). In this study, we compared phenotypic differences between those patients whose disease was caused by microdeletion and those caused by mUPD(15). In addition, a comparison of the efficacy of growth hormone (GH) therapy between these two PWS genotypes was analyzed. Methods : Fifty-three patients were diagnosed as having PWS based on molecular and cytogenetic analyses and clinical features. Data that included maternal age, birth weight, a feeding problem in the neonatal period, cryptorchidism, developmental delay or mental retardation, short stature, hypopigmentation, changes in height, weight, and body mass indexes (BMI) before and after GH treatment were obtained by a retrospective review of medical records. The data from the patients with microdeletion were compared with those from the patients with mUPD(15). Results : Of the 53 patients with genetically confirmed PWS, 39 cases had microdeletion and 14 mUPD(15). Maternal ages were significantly higher in the mUPD(15) group, and hypopigmentation and a feeding problem in the neonatal period were more frequent in the microdeletion group. Growth hormone was administered to 20 patients [14 with microdeletion, 6 with mUPD(15)]. There were no differences between the two groups in height velocity, weight and height SDS, and BMI after GH therapy. Conclusion : Phenotype and genotype correlations were observed in Korean PWS patients, such as more advanced maternal ages in the mUPD(15) group and more feeding problems and hypopigmentations in the microdeletion group. Further long-term prospective studies are needed to correlate other aspects of the phenotypes.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.28 no.8
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• pp.866-871
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• 2006

The nutrient recovery in phosphate crystallization process was investigated by using laboratory scale uptlow reactors, adopting sequencing batch type configuration. The industrial waste lime was used as potential cation source with magnesium salt($MgCl_2$) as control. The research was focused on its successful application in a novel integrated sludge treatment process, which is comprised of a high performance fermenter followed by a crystallization reactor. In the struvite precipitation test using synthetic wastewater first, which has the similar characteristics with the real fermentation effluent, the considerable nutrient removal(about 60%) in both ammonia and phosphate was observed within $0.5{\sim}1$ hr of retention time. The results also revealed that a minor amount(<5%) of ammonia stripping naturally occurred due to the alkaline(pH 9) characteristic in feed substrate. Stripping of $CO_2$ by air did not increase the struvite precipitation rate but it led to increased ammonia removal. In the second experiment using the fermentation effluent, the optimal dosage of magnesium salt for struvite precipitation was 0.86 g Mg $g^{-1}$ P, similar to the mass ratio of the struvite. The optimal dosage of waste lime was 0.3 g $L^{-1}$, resulting in 80% of $NH_4-N$ and 41% of $PO_4-P$ removal, at about 3 hrs of retention time. In the microscopic analysis, amorphous crystals were mainly observed in the settled solids with waste lime but prism-like crystals were observed with magnesium salt. Based on mass balance analysis for an integrated sludge treatment process(fermenter followed by crystallization reactor) for full-scale application(treatment capacity Q=158,880 $m^3\;d^{-1}$), nutrient recycle loading from the crystallization reactor effluent to the main liquid stream would be significantly reduced(0.13 g N and 0.19 g P per $m^3$ of wastewater, respectively). The results of the experiment reveal therefore that the reuse of waste lime, already an industrial waste, in a nutrient recovery system has various advantages such as higher economical benefits and sustainable treatment of the industrial waste.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.53-60
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• 2010

In the present study, experiments have been performed to investigate the possibility of removing Cochlodinium polykrikoides using the dredged sediment from a coastal fishery and then to derive the optimal conditions; the amount and particle size of dredged sediment besprinkled into water, the thermal treatment, the types and amounts of additives, and the depth profile of Cochlodinium polykrikoides. Results showed that the optimal amount of dredged sediment besprinkled into water was 6~10 g/L, and the removal efficiency of Cochlodinium polykrikoides after the reaction time for 60 min was 73~93%. Note that, in the real sea water, it is necessary to besprinkle 6~10 $kg/m^3$ of dry dredged sediment on a unit area (1 $m^2$). With decreasing particle size, Cochlodinium polykrikoides could be more efficiently removed. The removal efficiency was 93% with the dredged sediment smaller than 100 ${\mu}m$, whereas it was 51% with that of 100 ${\mu}m$ ${\mu}m$. Since most of dredged sediment (over 90%) was smaller than 100 ${\mu}m$, high efficiency could be obtained by besprinkling only the dredged sediment without pre-treatment. CaO was found to be an effective additive in promoting the removal efficiency (up to 99%). The optimal amount of additive was 5~10%, however, it was necessary to use as small amount of an additive as possible in order to avoid the sharp increase in pH. The removal efficiency increased with increasing depth profile of Cochlodinium polykrikoides. The removal efficiency was 83% at 5 cm depth, whereas it was 93% at 50 cm depth. In the sea water, red tide occurred within 3 m depth, and furthermore most Cochlodinium polykrikoides existed within 1 m depth. It was, therefore, expected that higher removal efficiency of Cochlodinium polykrikoides could be obtained when the dredged sediment was besprinkled into the sea water. The removal efficiency of Cochlodinium polykrikoides was up to 93% when the dredged sediment (<100 ${\mu}m$) was besprinkled into water at the ratio of 10 g/L. This result was comparable to that obtained with loess (90~97%). All the results in the present study indicated that the dredged sediment from a coastal fishery could be successfully used as a substitute of loess for removing the red tide alga.

• The Korean Journal of Malacology
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.153-159
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• 2008

We investigated artificial mass seed production of a Chinese scallop, Patinopecten yessoensis, in 2004. The GSI(gonad somatic index) of the Chinese scallop, P yessoensis was 17.2 on mid-February, 20.2 on mid-March, while that of Korean scallop, P yessoensis was 6.9 on mid-February, 10.8 on mid-March. Matured 120 females and 350 males were selected for artificial mass production. They were exposed in air for 1 hr at over $20^{\circ}C$, and placed into a spawning tank(20 ton) containing sea water treated with UV radiation at $12^{\circ}C$. We gained a total of 228,000 thousand scallop embryos between March 10th and 15th, and reared larvae at the indoor tank during 25 days. When the mean shell length of larvae reached 250 ${\mu}m$ and they have eye-spots, the number of pre-settling larvae was 47,500 thousand. We gained 1,850 thousand attached scallop spats from two kinds of collectors. Attached spats were reared in indoor tank for different periods from 5 days to 60 days. They were divided into 5 groups according to the length of reared days. Each group of attached spats was moved to intermediate rearing sites at Yangyang fishing port in Gangreung-city for acclimation to ocean environments. The highest survival rate of attached spats was 13.0% shown at the group reared for 12 days, but the significant difference in their growth was not found between the groups. The shell length of artificial attached spats increased from 0.9 ${\mu}m$ on July 10th to 24.7 ${\mu}m$ on December 16th with the survival rate of 85.0% while that of natural attached spats increased from 0.6 ${\mu}m$ on July 10th to 23.9 ${\mu}m$ on December 16th with the survival rate of 85.7%.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.11
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• pp.6721-6726
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• 2013

Background: Changes in DNA methylation patterns are believed to be early events in hepatocarcinogenesis. A better understanding of methylation states and how they correlate with disease progression will aid in finding potential strategies for early detection of HCC. The aim of our study was to analyze the methylation frequency of tumor suppressor genes, P14, P15, and P73, and a mismatch repair gene (O6MGMT) in HCV related chronic liver disease and HCC to identify candidate epigenetic biomarkers for HCC prediction. Materials and Methods: 516 Egyptian patients with HCV-related liver disease were recruited from Kasr Alaini multidisciplinary HCC clinic from April 2010 to January 2012. Subjects were divided into 4 different clinically defined groups - HCC group (n=208), liver cirrhosis group (n=108), chronic hepatitis C group (n=100), and control group (n=100) - to analyze the methylation status of the target genes in patient plasma using EpiTect Methyl qPCR Array technology. Methylation was considered to be hypermethylated if >10% and/or intermediately methylated if >60%. Results: In our series, a significant difference in the hypermethylation status of all studied genes was noted within the different stages of chronic liver disease and ultimately HCC. Hypermethylation of the P14 gene was detected in 100/208 (48.1%), 52/108 (48.1%), 16/100 (16%) and 8/100 (8%) among HCC, liver cirrhosis, chronic hepatitis and control groups, respectively, with a statistically significant difference between the studied groups (p-value 0.008). We also detected P15 hypermethylation in 92/208 (44.2%), 36/108 (33.3%), 20/100 (20%) and 4/100 (4%), respectively (p-value 0.006). In addition, hypermethylation of P73 was detected in 136/208 (65.4%), 72/108 (66.7%), 32/100 (32%) and 4/100 (4%) (p-value <0.001). Also, we detected O6MGMT hypermethylation in 84/208 (40.4%), 60/108 (55.3%), 20/100 (20%) and 4/100 (4%), respectively (p value <0.001. Conclusions: The epigenetic changes observed in this study indicate that HCC tumors exhibit specific DNA methylation signatures with potential clinical applications in diagnosis and prognosis. In addition, methylation frequency could be used to monitor whether a patient with chronic hepatitis C is likely to progress to liver cirrhosis or even HCC. We can conclude that methylation processes are not just early events in hepatocarcinogenesis but accumulate with progression to cancer.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.102 no.2
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• pp.210-215
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• 2013

Litterfall production represents a major contribution of carbon and nutrient cycling in forest ecosystems. This study was carried out to determine the litterfall production in a broadleaved deciduous forest at the Mt. Keumsan Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) site, Southern Korea. Littefall was collected monthly or bimonthly from the site for 7 years from 2004 to2010. Leaf and reproductive (catkins) litters showed a seasonal variation, but litters of needle, branch, and barks were not changed across the seasons. Annual leaf litter of Quercus serrata and Carpinus laxiflora were significantly different (p<0.05) but that of C. cordata, Chamaecyparis obtusa, and Pinus thunbergii was not significantly changed for 7 years (p>0.05). Annual average litterfall production was 5,223 kg/ha, but annual variations were very large with minimum of 4,110 kg/ha/yr in 2004 and maximum of 6,002 kg/ha/yr in 2007. Total litterfall comprised of 2,323 kg/ha/yr in Q. serrata, 442 kg/ha/yr in C. laxiflora, 157 kg/ha/yr in C. cordata, 131 kg/ha/yr in Acer pseudosieboldianum, 390 kg/ha/yr in other deciduous tree species, 74 kg/ha/yr in P. thunbergii, 37 kg/ha/yr in C. obtusa, 672 kg/ha/yr in branches, 515 kg/ha/yr in miscellaneous, 448 kg/ha/yr in reproductive parts, and 54 kg/ha/yr in barks. respectively. The results indicate that litterfall production of the Mt. Keumsan LTER site was yearly fructurated with the positive linear relationship between leaf or total litterfall and annual mean temperature if no disturbance such as a typoon, and was lower than that of other Korean LTER sites.