• Journal of Genetic Medicine
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.74-78
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• 2014

Sotos syndrome (SS, OMIM 117550) is characterized by prenatal and postnatal overgrowth with multiple congenital anomalies. However, there have been few cases of growth retardation caused by renal failure from infancy. We report a case of dysplasia of the bilateral kidneys with renal failure and poor postnatal growth. A 2-month-old boy visited the emergency room owing to poor oral intake and abdominal distension. He was born at the gestational age of 38 weeks with a birth weight of 4,180 g. After birth, he had feeding difficulty and abdominal distension. Upon physical examination, his height and weight were in less than the 3rd percentile, while his head circumference was in the 50th percentile on the growth curve. He also showed a broad and protruding forehead and high hairline. Blood laboratory tests showed severe azotemia; emergent hemodialysis was needed. Abdominal ultrasonography revealed bilateral renal dysplasia with multiple cysts and diffuse bladder wall thickening. A posterior urethral valve was suggested based on vesicoureterography and abdominal magnetic resonance findings. Results of a colon study to rule out congenital megacolon did not reveal any specific findings. The conventional karyotype of the patient was 46, XY. Array comparative genomic hybridization study revealed a chromosome 5q35 microdeletion including the NSD1 gene, based on which SS was diagnosed. We describe a case of SS presenting with end stage renal disease due to posterior urethral valve. The typical somatic overgrowth of SS in the postnatal period was not observed due to chronic renal failure that started in the neonatal period.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.199-210
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• 1997

A study has been carried out to elucidate the cytogenetic characteristics of Down's syndrome in Korea. This study includes 877 cases which were diagnosed as Down's syndrome by the chromosomal analyses at the Cytogenetic Laboratory, Institute of Reproductive Medicine and Population, Seoul National University for 13 years from January, 1984 to December, 1996. 1. 83.6% of cases were diagnosed under 1 year of age and 10.9% were between 1 and 4 years old. The overall sex ratio was 3 to 2 (male to female). 2. The most frequent indication for cytogenetic analyses was suspicion of Down's syndrome. The next were growth retardation, congenital heart diseases, congenital anomalies. 3. 88.4% of cases had free trisomy 21. In 6.5%, there was translocation, mostly Robertsonian t(14;21) or t(21;21). 3.9% of cases were mosaics mostly with one normal cell line. 4. Karyotyping was also performed in 204 parents of patients. 6 parents (2.9%) were seen to be translocation carriers of Down's syndrome. We find the unique features of Down's syndrome in Korea that the incidences of free trisomy 21 is relatively lower and that translocation is higher than western countries.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.923-932
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• 2019

Current strategies of strain improvement processes are mainly focused on enhancing the synthetic pathways of the products. However, excessive metabolic flux often creates metabolic imbalances, which lead to growth retardation and ultimately limit the yield of the product. To solve this problem, we applied a dynamic regulation strategy to produce $\text\tiny{L}$-phenylalanine ($\text\tiny{L}$-Phe) in Escherichia coli. First, we constructed a series of Phe-induced promoters that exhibited different strengths through modification of the promoter region of tyrP. Then, two engineered promoters were separately introduced into a Phe-producing strain xllp1 to dynamically control the expression level of one pathway enzyme AroK. Batch fermentation results of the strain xllp3 showed that the titer of Phe reached 61.3 g/l at 48 h, representing a titer of 1.36-fold of the strain xllp1 (45.0 g/l). Moreover, the $\text\tiny{L}$-Phe yields on glucose of xllp3 (0.22 g/g) were also greatly improved, with an increase of 1.22-fold in comparison with the xllp1 (0.18 g/g). In summary, we successfully improved the titer of Phe by using dynamic regulation of one key enzyme and this strategy can be applied for improving the performance of strains producing other aromatic amino acids and derived compounds.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.54 no.4
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• pp.325-329
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• 2018

Thp1/PCID2, PCI domain-containing protein, is a component of the evolutionally conserved TREX-2 complex linking mRNA transcription and export. In fission yeast, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, the pci2 (SPBC1105.07c) gene encodes a PCI domain-containing protein that is predicted as a fission yeast orthologue of Thp1 (in budding yeast)/PCID2 (in human). Repression of pci2 expression inhibited both growth and mRNA export. And over-expression of pci2 also exhibited growth retardation with slight accumulation of $poly(A)^+$ RNA in the nucleus. Moreover, yeast two-hybrid and co-immunoprecipitation analysis showed that the Pci2 protein physically interacted with Sac3 and Dss1, which are members of TREX-2 complex. These observations support that the S. pombe Pci2 protein, as a component of TREX-2 complex, is implicated in mRNA export.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.51-59
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• 2022

Objectives : The process through which mesenchymal cells condense and differentiate into chondrocytes to form new bone is known as endochondral bone formation. Chondrogenic differentiation and hypertrophy are essential steps in bone formation and are influenced by various factors. The stem bark and root bark of Eleutherococcus sessiliflorus (ES) have been widely used to treat growth retardation and arthritis in traditional Korean Medicine. In this study, we aimed to investigate the possible role of the stem bark of ES in the stimulation of chondrogenic differentiation in clonal murine chondrogenic ATDC5 cells. Methods : In ATDC5 cells treated with ES extract, cell viability and extracellular matrix production were determined using CCK-8 assay and Alcian blue staining, respectively, and alkaline phosphatase activity was measured. We also examined mRNA and protein expression levels of genes related to chondrogenic expression in ATDC5 cells using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and western blot analyses. Results : ES extract increased the accumulation of Alcian blue-stained cartilage nodules and alkaline phosphatase activity in ATDC5 cells. It increased the mRNA expressions of chondrogenic markers including bone sialoprotein (BSP), cartilage collagens, Runt-related transcription factor-2 (RUNX-2), osteocalcin (OCN), β-catenin, and bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2), as well as the protein expressions of β-catenin, RUNX-2, BMP-2, and alkaline phosphatase (ALP). Conclusion : Taken together, these results suggest that ES extract exhibits a chondromodulating activity and therefore may be a possible agent for the treatment of bone growth disorders.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.30.1-30.9
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• 2022

Hereditary spastic paraplegia is a not common inherited neurological disorder with heterogeneous clinical expressions. ALDH18A1 (located on 10q24.1) gene-related spastic paraplegias (SPG9A and SPG9B) are rare metabolic disorders caused by dominant and recessive mutations that have been found recently. Autosomal recessive hereditary spastic paraplegia is a common and clinical type of familial spastic paraplegia linked to the SPG11 locus (locates on 15q21.1). There are different symptoms of spastic paraplegia, such as muscle atrophy, moderate mental retardation, short stature, balance problem, and lower limb weakness. Our first proband involves a 45 years old man and our second proband involves a 20 years old woman both are affected by spastic paraplegia disease. Genomic DNA was extracted from the peripheral blood of the patients, their parents, and their siblings using a filter-based methodology and quantified and used for molecular analysis and sequencing. Sequencing libraries were generated using Agilent SureSelect Human All ExonV7 kit, and the qualified libraries are fed into NovaSeq 6000 Illumina sequencers. Sanger sequencing was performed by an ABI prism 3730 sequencer. Here, for the first time, we report two cases, the first one which contains likely pathogenic NM_002860: c.475C>T: p.R159X mutation of the ALDH18A1 and the second one has likely pathogenic NM_001160227.2: c.5454dupA: p.Glu1819Argfs Ter11 mutation of the SPG11 gene and also was identified by the whole-exome sequencing and confirmed by Sanger sequencing. Our aim with this study was to confirm that these two novel variants are direct causes of spastic paraplegia.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.61 no.3
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• pp.304-309
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• 2023

Intestinal parasitic infections are a public health burden and a major cause of illness in developing countries. The diseases lead to various health threats, including growth retardation and mental health-related disorders, especially in children. We assessed the risk factors for intestinal parasitic infections among children aged 12-59 months residing in Nyamasheke District, Rwanda. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted using secondary data from 1,048 children aged 12-59 months whose stool samples were examined for the presence of intestinal parasites and whose results were registered in the laboratory information system in 2020. The prevalence of intestinal parasites in children aged 12-59 months was 53.2%. The dominant parasites were Ascaris lumbricoides (13.1%), followed by Giardia lamblia (10.9%), Entamoeba histolytica (7.9%), Trichuris trichiura (6.5%), hookworms (1.7%), and Taenia species (1.4%). A significant association was observed between intestinal parasites and the literacy of mothers or children's caregivers (odds ratio (OR)=5.09, P<0.001). Children from farming households were 2.8-fold more likely to contract intestinal parasitic infections than those from nonfarming households (OR=2.8, P<0.001). A significant association was also observed between intestinal parasites and food safety (OR=4.9, P<0.001). Intestinal parasitic infections were significantly associated with hand hygiene practices after using the toilet and washing fresh fruits before eating (P<0.001). The information gathered will help public health providers and partners develop control plans in highly endemic areas in Rwanda.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.409-423
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• 2022

Nowadays, there is a high demand for great structural implementation and multifunctionality with excellent mechanical properties. The porous structures reinforced by graphene platelets (GPLs) having valuable properties, such as heat resistance, lightweight, and excellent energy absorption, have been considerably used in different engineering implementations. However, stiffness of porous structures reduces significantly, due to the internal cavities, by adding GPLs into porous medium, effective mechanical properties of the porous structure considerably enhance. This paper is relating to vibration analysis of fluidconveying cantilever porous graphene platelet reinforced (GPLR) pipe with fractional viscoelastic model resting on foundations. A dynamical model of cantilever porous GPLR pipes conveying fluid and resting on a foundation is proposed, and the vibration, natural frequencies and primary resonant of such a system are explored. The pipe body is considered to be composed of GPLR viscoelastic polymeric pipe with porosity in which Halpin-Tsai scheme in conjunction with the fractional viscoelastic model is used to govern the construction relation of nanocomposite pipe. Three different porosity distributions through the pipe thickness are introduced. The harmonic concentrated force is also applied to the pipe and the excitation frequency is close to the first natural frequency. The governing equation for transverse motions of the pipe is derived by the Hamilton principle and then discretized by the Galerkin procedure. In order to obtain the frequency-response equation, the differential equation is solved with the assumption of small displacement, damping coefficient, and excitation amplitude by the multiple scale method. A parametric sensitivity analysis is carried out to reveal the influence of different parameters, such as nanocomposite pipe properties, fluid velocity and nonlinear viscoelastic foundation coefficients, on the primary resonance and linear natural frequency. Results indicate that the GPLs weight fraction porosity coefficient, fractional derivative order and the retardation time have substantial influences on the dynamic response of the system.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.201-216
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• 2024

This paper is motivated by the lack of studies relating to vibration and nonlinear resonance of fluid-conveying cantilever porous GPLR pipes with fractional viscoelastic model resting on nonlinear foundations. A dynamical model of cantilever porous Graphene Platelet Reinforced (GPLR) pipes conveying fluid and resting on nonlinear foundation is proposed, and the vibration, natural frequencies and primary resonant of such system are explored. The pipe body is considered to be composed of GPLR viscoelastic polymeric pipe with porosity in which Halpin-Tsai scheme in conjunction with fractional viscoelastic model is used to govern the construction relation of the nanocomposite pipe. Three different porosity distributions through the pipe thickness are introduced. The harmonic concentrated force is also applied on pipe and excitation frequency is close to the first natural frequency. The governing equation for transverse motion of the pipe is derived by the Hamilton principle and then discretized by the Galerkin procedure. In order to obtain the frequency-response equation, the differential equation is solved with the assumption of small displacement, damping coefficient, and excitation amplitude by the multiple scale method. A parametric sensitivity analysis is carried out to reveal the influence of different parameters, such as nanocomposite pipe properties, fluid velocity and nonlinear viscoelastic foundation coefficients, on the primary resonance and linear natural frequency. Results indicate that the GPLs weight fraction porosity coefficient, fractional derivative order and the retardation time have substantial influences on the dynamic response of the system.

• The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.79-116
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• 2000

The KGBT has been used to weak children with anorexia, fatigue, and growth retardation. This study was carried out to prove the effects of the hematopoiesis and the immune proliferation by KGBT. Previously, C57BL/6 mice was treated with cyclophosphamide(100mg/kg) for leukopenia, and then administered KGBT (concentration is 1.37 g/kg, 504 mg/kg, and 137 mg/kg) to the treated mice. The mice was analyzed expression of thrombopoietin(TPO), stem cell factor(SCF) and interleukin-3 from bone marrow cell, interleukin-10 (IL-10), and interferon-$ {\gamma}$(INF-${\gamma}$) from splenic cell, and NOSⅡ gene from macrophage using by RT-PCR. Also proliferation of immune cell was analyzed using 3H-thymidine uptake and flow cytometery in splenic cells. The results were obtained as follows ; 1. The total number of WBC, RBC and PLT was increased in the KGBT treated group than in the control group. 2. In vitro, the proliferation of splenic cells was increased in normal, control, and KGBT treated group. And Administration of KGBT was reduced the cytotoxicity by CTX. 3. In bone marrow cell, the gene expression of immune regulatory factor that associated with hematopoiesis, such as TPO, SCF, and IL-13 was increased in the KGBT treated group than control. 4 The titer of hemagglutinin and hemolysin was increased in the KGBT treated group than control. 5. In analysis of positive leucocytes from splenic cell of BALB/c mice, the subpopulation percent of CD4+, CD8+,and CD19+ was increased in the KGBT treated group than control. The KGBT has been used to weak children with anorexia, fatigue, and growth retardation. This study was carried out to prove the effects of the hematopoiesis and the immune proliferation by KGBT. Previously, C57BL/6 mice was treated with cyclophosphamide(100mg/kg) for leukopenia, and then administered KGBT (concentration is 1.37 g/kg, 504 mg/kg, and 137 mg/kg) to the treated mice. The mice was analyzed expression of thrombopoietin(TPO), stem cell factor(SCF) and interleukin-3 from bone marrow cell, interleukin-10 (IL-10), and interferon-$ {\gamma}$(INF-${\gamma}$) from splenic cell, and NOSⅡ gene from macrophage using by RT-PCR. Also proliferation of immune cell was analyzed using 3H-thymidine uptake and flow cytometery in splenic cells. The results were obtained as follows ; 1. The total number of WBC, RBC and PLT was increased in the KGBT treated group than in the control group. 2. In vitro, the proliferation of splenic cells was increased in normal, control, and KGBT treated group. And Administration of KGBT was reduced the cytotoxicity by CTX. 3. In bone marrow cell, the gene expression of immune regulatory factor that associated with hematopoiesis, such as TPO, SCF, and IL-13 was increased in the KGBT treated group than control. 4 The titer of hemagglutinin and hemolysin was increased in the KGBT treated group than control. 5. In analysis of positive leucocytes from splenic cell of BALB/c mice, the subpopulation percent of CD4+, CD8+,and CD19+ was increased in the KGBT treated group than control. 6. The expression of IL-10 gene was reduced in the KGBT treated group than control, whereas the expression of INF-${\gamma}$ was increased in the KGBT treated group. 7. In macrophage, the production of NO and gene expression of NOSH was increased in the KGBT treated group than control. 8. After infection of EMC virus, the survival time of infected mice was longer in the KGBT treated group than control.