• Development and Reproduction
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.245-251
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• 2007

Vinclozolin(VCZ), a systemic dicarboximide fungicide, has been used in the control of diseases caused by microorganism of some species in fruits, vegatables and ornamental plants. Although VCZ itself is a very weak antagonist for androgen receptor binding, both melabolites M1 and M2 are effective antagonists. The present study was undertaken to examine whether prepubertal exposure to VCZ affects on the onset of puberty and the associated reproductive parameters such as hormone receptor expressions in female rats. VCZ(10 mg/kg/day) was administered daily from postnatal day 21(PND 21) through the day when the first vaginal opening(V.O.) was observed. Gross anatomy and weight of reproductive tissues were compared to test the VCZ's effects on the cell proliferation. Furthermore, histological studies were performed to assess the structural alterations in the tissues. To determine the transcriptional changes in progesterone receptor(PR), total RNAs were extracted and applied to the semi-quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR). As a result, delayed V.O. was shown in the VCZ group(PND $34.00{\pm}1.22$) compared to the control group(PND $38.20{\pm}1.92$; p<0.01). VCZ treatment significantly decreased the wet weight of ovaries and uteri compared to the control group(p<0.01). Graafian follicles and corpora lutea were observed only in the ovaries from the control animals, while numerous primary, secondary follicles and small atretic follicles were observed in the ovaries from VCZ group. Similarly, hypotrophy of luminal and glandular uterine epithelium was found in the VCZ group. In the semi-quantitative RT-PCR studies, the transcriptional activity of PR in ovary(p<0.01) from VCZ group were significantly lower than those from the control group while in uterus were similar compared with the control group. The present studies demonstrated that the acute exposure to VCZ during the critical period of prepubertal stage could inactivate the reproductive system resulting delayed puberty in female rats.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.97-105
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• 2008

Vinclozolin (VCZ) is a systemic fungicide commonly used in fruits, vegetables and the wine industry. VCZ and its metabolites, butenoic acid (M1) and enanilide (M2) derivatives, act as anti-androgens through actions on the androgen receptor. Although there is growing body of evidence that VCZ's action as an endocrine disrupting chemical (EDC) in male reproductive physiology and pathphysiology, no evidence on the VCZ's EDC action in female is available yet. Previously we found that the prepubertal VCZ exposures could effectively delay the onset of puberty in female rats, suggesting the postponed or weakened activities of hypothalamus-pituitary-ovary (H-P-O) reproductive hormonal axis. The present study was performed to examine whether the VCZ administration affects the transcriptional activities of reproductive hormone-related genes in the same animal model. VCZ (10 mg/kg/day) was administered daily from postnatal day 21 (PND 21) through the day when the first vaginal opening (V.O.) was observed. To determine the transcriptional changes of reproductive hormone-related genes in hypothalamus and pituitary, total RNAs were extracted and applied to the semiquantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). As a result, treatment with VCZ significantly lowered the transcriptional activity of nitric oxide synthase-2 (NOS-2) which is known to adjust gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) secretion in the hypothalamus (p<0.01). Similarly, the mRNA levels of KiSS-1, G protein-coupled receptor 54 (GPR54) and GnRH were significantly decreased in hypothalamus (p<0.01) from VCZ-treated group. As expected, the transcriptional activities of luteinizing hormone-${\beta}$ (LH-${\beta}$) and follicle stimulating hormone-${\beta}$ (FSH-${\beta}$) in the anterior pituitary from VCZ-treated group were also significantly lower than those from the control group. The present study indicates that(i) the inhibitory effect of VCZ exposure on the onset of puberty in immature female rats could be derived from the reduced transcriptional activities of gonadotropin subunits and their upstream modulators such as GnRH and KiSS-1 in hypothalamus-pituitary neuroendocrine axis, and (ii) these inhibitory effects could be mediated by NO signaling pathway.

• Fibers and Polymers
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.89-94
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• 2004

N-Vinylcarbazole (VCZ) was solution-polymerized in tetrahydrofuran (THF) at 25, 35, and $45^{\circ}C$ using a room temperature initiator, 2,2'-azobis(2,4-dimethylvaleronitrile) (ADMVN); the effects of amount of solvent, polymerization temperature, and initiator concentration were investigated. On the whole, the experimental results corresponded to predicted ones. Room polymerization temperature using ADMVN proved to be successful in obtaining poly(N-vinylcarbazole) (PVCZ) of high molecular weight with small temperature rise during polymerization, nevertheless of free radical polymerization by azoinitiator. The polymerization rate of VCZ in THF was proportional to the 0.47 power of ADMVN concentration. The molecular weight was higher and the molecular weight distribution was narrower with PVCZ polymerized at lower temperatures. For PVCZ prepared in THF at $25^{\circ}C$ using ADMVN concentration of 0.00005 mol/mol of VCZ, weight-average molecular weight of 221,000 was obtained, with polydispersity index of 2.05, and degree of lightness converged to about 99%.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Toxicology Conference
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• 2002.05a
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• pp.128-128
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• 2002

In association with the international validation project to establish a test protocol for the "Enhanced OECD Test Guideline 407", we performed a 28-day repeated-dose toxicity study of vinclozolin (VCZ), an androgen antagonist, and ketoconazole (KCZ), a biosynthesis inhibitor of testosterone (T), and assessed the sensitivity of new parameters for detecting endocrine-related effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals.(omitted)

• Journal of the Korean Crystal Growth and Crystal Technology
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.215-222
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• 2009

Many concepts of external magnetic field applications in crystal growth processes have been developed to control melt convection, impurity content and growing interface shape. Especially, travelling magnetic fields (TMF) are of certain advantages. However, strong shielding effects appear when the TMF coils are placed outside the growth vessel. To achieve a solution of industrial relevance within the framework of the $KRISTMAG^{(R)}$ project inner heater-magnet modules(HMM) for simultaneous generation of temperature and magnetic field have been developed. At the same time, as the temperature is controlled as usual, e.g. by DC, the characteristics of the magnetic field can be adjusted via frequency, phase shift of the alternating current (AC) and by changing the amplitude via the AC/DC ratio. Global modelling and dummy measurements were used to optimize and validate the HMM configuration and process parameters. GaAs and Ge single crystals with improved parameters were grown in HMM-equipped industrial liquid encapsulated Czochralski (LEC) puller and commercial vertical gradient freeze (VGF) furnace, respectively. The vapour pressure controlled Czochralski (VCz) variant without boric oxide encapsulation was used to study the movement of floating particles by the TMF-driven vortices.