• Clinics in Shoulder and Elbow
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.105-110
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• 2018

Since the introduction of shoulder arthroplasty by Neer in 1974, the design of not only the glenoid component but also the humeral component used in shoulder arthroplasty has continually evolved. Changes to the design of the humeral component include a gradually disappearing proximal fin; diversified surface finishes (such as smooth, grit-blasted, and porous coating); a more contoured stem from the originally straight and cylindrical shape; and the use of press-fit uncemented fixation as opposed to cemented fixation. Despite the evolution of the humeral component for shoulder arthroplasty, however, stem-related complications are not uncommon. Examples of stem-related complications include intraoperative humeral fractures, stem loosening, periprosthetic fractures, and stress shielding. These become much more common in revision arthroplasty, where patients are associated with further complications such as surgical difficulty in extracting the humeral component, proximal metaphyseal bone loss due to stress shielding, intraoperative humeral shaft fractures, and incomplete cement removal. Physicians have made many attempts to reduce these complications by shortening the stem of the humeral component. In this review, we will discuss some of the limitations of long-stem humeral components, the feasibility of replacing them with short-stem humeral components, and the clinical outcomes associated with short-stemmed humeral components in shoulder arthroplasty.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.471-476
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• 2018

Background: Astragalus membranaceus belonging to the Leguminosae family is often utilized as a traditional medicine. The aim of this study was to elucidate the basic breeding information required to develop short stem A. membranaceus cultivars. Methods and Results: Roots of A. membranaceus advanced yield trial (AYT) lines were harvested in late October 2017. Root yield of six AYT lines were increased in a range of 8.9 - 74.8% compared with 'Aseong' as control (check variety). The height of seven AYT lines were shorter than that of 'Aseong'. In addition, stem diameter of nine AYT lines was thicker than that of 'Aseong'. Consequently, 1502-56, 1503-90, and 1510-80 were selected as elite lines for the development of short stem cultivars. HPLC analysis was perfromed to identify lines with high level active components such as calycosin-7-O-${\beta}$-D-glucoside and calycosin. The levels of both active components were higher in 1502-56, and 1503-90, but not in 1510-80 compared to 'Aseong'. In addition, 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity was higher in the 1502-56 compared to 'Aseong'. Considering these results, two AYT lines, 1502-56 and 1503-90 were selected as short stem lines with high calycosin-7-O-${\beta}$-D-glucoside and calycosin content. Conclusions: Taken together, Two short stem lines were identified in this study. In our future study, regional yield trial (RYT) will be conducted using these selected lines to develop new cultivars.

• Journal of Plant Biology
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.317-323
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• 1994

The calluses formed on the surface of a quarter-girdled Robinia pseudoacacia stems have been shown to originate from immature xylem cells and preexisting cambial cells. The cellus is not only formed by periclinal and anticlinal divisions of radial cells, but also axial cells. In tangential view, the callus at initial stage showed heterogeneous structure composed of long and short cells and then homogeneous one with short cells. Some cells of homogeneous structure in middle region of callus at early stage is later elongated and others mainly divided in trasverse plane. In the result the homogeneous structure becomes into a heterogeneous one. Subsequently, the long cells in heterogeneous structures elongated further and became fusifrom initials, and the short cells divided transversely became ray initials. The appearence of homogeneous and heterogeneous structure in the callus on debarked stem without organ elongation is almost similar to that of the structure in the procambium of young stem which is elongating extensively. Eventually, the ontogeny of vascular cambium in wound callus resembles that of a young stem grown normally, although the debarked stem does not grow in length but in girth and the young stem elongates activity. These findings mean that the active intrusive growth of short procambial cells occurs during the differentiation of fusiform cambial cells.

• International Journal of Stem Cells
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.1-14
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• 2024

The clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) system, a rapidly advancing genome editing technology, allows DNA alterations into the genome of organisms. Gene editing using the CRISPR system enables more precise and diverse editing, such as single nucleotide conversion, precise knock-in of target sequences or genes, chromosomal rearrangement, or gene disruption by simple cutting. Moreover, CRISPR systems comprising transcriptional activators/repressors can be used for epigenetic regulation without DNA damage. Stem cell DNA engineering based on gene editing tools has enormous potential to provide clues regarding the pathogenesis of diseases and to study the mechanisms and treatments of incurable diseases. Here, we review the latest trends in stem cell research using various CRISPR/Cas technologies and discuss their future prospects in treating various diseases.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.37-45
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• 2010

Since SRC (Short-term Rotation Coppice) such as poplar and willow can be harvested in three years, they are known to be a potential forest biomass as fuel for a power plant. The production system including transplanting and harvesting is, however, necessary to be mechanized because such a biomass should be handled in a massive volumetric size. A pull-type stem-cutting transplanter was developed in the research as the first step to realize the production of SRC. A needle-like transplanting device pushes a stem-cutting into the prepared soil bed by a pneumatic cylinder, and another device firms soil around a stem-cutting transplanted. Since this is an intermittent operation, it was necessary to develop a zero horizontal velocity mechanism which enabled only the transplanting needle part to continue a zero horizontal movement relative to the ground during the transplanting operation even when the tractor kept moving forward. The 2-row transplanter can transplant stem-cuttings at the rate of 6.5 seconds per row without missing a single attempt. The planting depth and distance were well maintained and controlled. Their CVs were between 2.1~3.4% and 0.87~1.7% for the depth and the distance, respectively. Although, the transplanted stem-cuttings tended to lean outward from the back-view and forward from the side view, they were planted within the range of $3^{\circ}$ from the upright position.

• Journal of Embryo Transfer
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.221-228
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• 2014

Despite that porcine spermatogonial stem cells (pSSCs) have been regarded as a practical tool for preserving eternally genetic backgrounds derived from pigs with high performance in the economic traits or phenotypes of specific human diseases, there were no reports about precise definition of niche conditions promoting proliferation and maintenance of pSSCs. Accordingly, we tried to determine niche conditions supporting proliferation and maintenance of undifferentiated pSSCs for short-term. For these, undifferentiated pSSCs were progressively cultured in different composition of culture medium, seeding density of pSSCs, type of feeder cells and concentration of growth factors, and then total number of and alkaline phosphatase (AP) activity of pSSCs were investigated at post-6 day culture. As the results, the culture of $4{\times}10^5$ pSSCs on mitotically in activated $2{\times}10^5$ STO cells in the mouse embryonic stem cell culture medium (mESCCM) supplemented with 30 ng/ml glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) was identified as the best niche condition supporting effectively the short-term maintenance of undifferentiated pSSCs. Moreover, the optimized short-term culture system will be a basis for developing long-term culture system of pSSCs in the following researches.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.87-93
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• 2010

Researches for stem cells have been focused on scientists in biomedical sciences as well as clinical application for its great therapeutic potentials. Stem cells have two distinct characteristics: self-renewal and differentiation. In this short review, the links between stem cell research and biomedical engineering is discussed based on the basic characteristics of stem cells. This concept can be extended to the fundamental questions of biological sciences for cells such as proliferation, apoptosis, differentiation, and migration. For understanding proliferation and apoptosis of stem cells, techniques from biomedical engineering such as surface patterning, MEMS, nanotechnologies have been used. The advanced technologies such as microfluidic technologies, three dimensional scaffold fabrication, and mechanical/electrical stimulation have also been used in cell differentiation and migration. Basic and unsolved questions in the stem cell research field have limitations by studying conventional technologies. Therefore, the strategic fusion between stem cell biology and novel biomedical engineering field will break the barriers for understanding fundamental questions of stem cells, which can open the window for the clinical applications of stem cell based therapeutics as well as regeneration of damaged tissues.

• BMB Reports
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.20-29
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• 2022

Stem cell-based therapy is a promising approach for treating a variety of disorders, including acute brain insults and neurodegenerative diseases. Stem cells such as mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) secrete extracellular vesicles (EVs), circular membrane fragments (30 nm-1 ㎛) that are shed from the cell surface, carrying several therapeutic molecules such as proteins and microRNAs. Because EV-based therapy is superior to cell therapy in terms of scalable production, biodistribution, and safety profiles, it can be used to treat brain diseases as an alternative to stem cell therapy. This review presents evidences evaluating the role of stem cell-derived EVs in stroke, traumatic brain injury, and degenerative brain diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson' disease. In addition, stem cell-derived EVs have better profiles in biocompatibility, immunogenicity, and safety than those of small chemical and macromolecules. The advantages and disadvantages of EVs compared with other strategies are discussed. Even though EVs obtained from native stem cells have potential in the treatment of brain diseases, the successful clinical application is limited by the short half-life, limited targeting, rapid clearance after application, and insufficient payload. We discuss the strategies to enhance the efficacy of EV therapeutics. Finally, EV therapies have yet to be approved by the regulatory authorities. Major issues are discussed together with relevant advances in the clinical application of EV therapeutics.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.104-113
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• 2005

Large inversions are well characterized in the chloroplast genomes of land plants. In contrast, reports of small inversions are rare and involve limited plant groups. In this study, we report the widespread occurrence of small inversions ranging from 5 to 50 bp in fully and partially sequenced chloroplast genomes of both monocots and dicots. We found that small inversions were much more common than large inversions. The small inversions were scattered over the chloroplast genome including the IR, SSC, and LSC regions. Several small inversions were uncovered in chloroplast genomes even though they shared the same overall gene order. The majority of these small inversions were located within 100 bp downstream of the 3' ends of genes. All had inverted repeat sequences, ranging from 11 to 24 bp, at their ends. Such small inversions form stem-loop hairpin structures that usually have the function of stabilizing the corresponding mRNA molecules. Intra-molecular recombination between the inverted sequences in the stem-forming regions are responsible for generating flip-flop orientations of the loops. The presence of two different orientations of the stem-loop in the trnL-F noncoding region of a single species of Jasminum elegans suggests that a short inversion can be generated within a short period of time. Small inversions of non-coding sequences may influence sequence alignment and character interpretation in phylogeny reconstructions, as shown in nine species of Jasminum. Many small inversions may have been generated by parallel or back mutation events during chloroplast genome evolution. Our data indicate that caution is needed when using chloroplast non-coding sequences for phylogenetic analysis.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.30 no.12
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• pp.1718-1723
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• 2017

Objective: The study explored the dynamics of shearing force and its correlation with chemical compositions and in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD) of stylo. Methods: The shearing force, diameter, linear density, chemical composition, and IVDMD of different height stylo stem were investigated. Linear regression analysis was done to determine the relationships between the shearing force and cut height, diameter, chemical composition, or IVDMD. Results: The results showed that shearing force of stylo stem increased with plant height increasing and the crude protein (CP) content and IVDMD decreased but fiber content increased over time, resulting in decreased forage value. In addition, tall stem had greater shearing force than short stem. Moreover, shearing force is positively correlated with stem diameter, linear density and fiber fraction, but negatively correlated with CP content and IVDMD. Conclusion: Overall, shearing force is an indicator more direct, easier and faster to measure than chemical composition and digestibility for evaluation of forage nutritive value related to animal performance. Therefore, it can be used to evaluate the nutritive value of stylo.