• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.361-368
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• 1994

Teratogenic and embryotoxic effects of mercury have been reported, however, there is little information about possible antidotes against mercury exposure during gestation. In order to evaluate therapeutic effects of selenium as an antidote against mercury poisoning, pregnant CD-1 mice were exposed to methylmercury chloride(20ppm) through the drinking water with treatment of sodium selenite (1.0mg, 2.0mg or 3.0mg/kg b.w., subcutaneously) or BAL(5.0mg/kg b.w., subcutaneously) under the single or combination base as the therapeutic agents from day 6 to 15 of gestation. Fetal growth parameters such as body weight and crown-rump length in the mice exposed to mercury, were reduced as was placental weight compared to those in the control. Treatment of selenium(alone, combination with BAL) reduced the harmful effects induced by mercury on the fetal growth parameters even though no specific relationship between dose and therapeutic effect. The incidence of dead fetuses/resorptions and malformed fetuses(especially cleft palate) was also increased in the mercury only treated group. Selenium treatment demonostrated reduced the incidence of abnormal fetuses under the exposure of mercury. Relative maternal organ weights(liver, kidney, spleen) were increased significantly but relative brain weight was decreased as evidenced by decreased in the mercury treated mice compared to that in the control. A subtle indication of maternal mercury toxicity evidenced by changes of relative maternal organ weights, decreased water and feed consumption were also prevented efficiently by selenium treatment. The present study suggests that methylmercuric chloride is embrytoxic and teratogenic in CD-1 mice when exposured during organogenesis and that selenium administration may have therapeutic application for the treatment of mercury poisoning although more applicable study in human should be performed with caution in the future.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.327-336
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• 2019

Soybean is one of the most important crops of which the grains contain high protein content and has been consumed in various forms of food. Soybean plants are generally cultivated on the field and their yield and quality are strongly affected by climate change. Recently, the abnormal climate conditions, including heat wave and heavy rainfall, frequently occurs which would increase the risk of the farm management. The real-time assessment techniques for quality and growth of soybean would reduce the losses of the crop in terms of quantity and quality. The objective of this work was to develop a simple model to estimate the growth of soybean plant using a multispectral sensor mounted on a rotor-wing unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV). The soybean growth model was developed by using simple linear regression analysis with three phenotypic data (fresh weight, dry weight, leaf area index) and two types of vegetation indices (VIs). It was found that the accuracy and precision of LAI model using GNDVI (R²= 0.789, RMSE=0.73 ㎡/㎡, RE=34.91%) was greater than those of the model using NDVI (R²= 0.587, RMSE=1.01 ㎡/㎡, RE=48.98%). The accuracy and precision based on the simple ratio indices were better than those based on the normalized vegetation indices, such as RRVI (R²= 0.760, RMSE=0.78 ㎡/㎡, RE=37.26%) and GRVI (R²= 0.828, RMSE=0.66 ㎡/㎡, RE=31.59%). The outcome of this study could aid the production of soybeans with high and uniform quality when a variable rate fertilization system is introduced to cope with the adverse climate conditions.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.71-97
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• 1975

To improve the food qualities in Korea, two hundred and fourtynine kinds of food additives have been allowed in food processing, of which one hundred and nineteen kinds could be used under the limitted conditions. Hence, in practical uses in food processing, many kinds of them are mixed at random within the permitted amounts for their special purposes. For last several years, many kinds of the food additives were prohibited because they have been proved to be toxic even with the single dose. Until recently a few studies on the toxicity in the mixture of food additives were reported, however, they were shown to be no severe additional effect on the animal. This study was performed to see if any elevation of chronic or subacute toxicity of food additives occur especially when they are mixed with each other, using three kinds of food additives (DHA, AF-2, BHT) most widely used as food preservatives, antiseptics and antioxidants. One hundred and fifty young male rats were taken and divided into ten feeding groups, one first control group (food additives blank), three second control groups (DHA 0.1%, AF-2 0.1%, BHT 0.5%), three mixture groups of low level (mixture of each 60% of two second control level) and three mixture groups of high level (mixture of each 90% of two second control level). As the methods of biological and clinical tests, the change of body weight (growth rate), daily intake of diets, organ to body weight ratio, histopathological findings of organs, hematological observation, liver and kidney function tests were checked three times during the periods of 24 weeks. The following results were obtained. 1. The low level group of DHA, AF-2 mixture and DHA, BHT mixture revealed a little retardation in growth rate than the first control group, however, they were similar to the second controls, while all the mixture groups of high level showed a more remarkable retardation than the first and second controls. 2. Average daily intake of the diets was the same in each group, showing a similar decreasing tendency (70-100g/kg of body weight) in accordance with the growth rate. It was observed that there are no differences in the taste and appetite in each group of rats. 3. Abnormal enlargements of kidney and lung were not seen in all the mixture groups compared with the controls, while a slight hepatomegaly was observed in all mixture groups of low level as in the second controls. Significant differences (almost 1% level) were observed between the high level groups and the first control group. 4. Histopathological effects of the food additives on lung, kidney and liver tissues were found in all mixture group of high level. The less frequencies of the same effects were also seen in the low level groups. 5. The esterified cholesterol to total cholesterol ratio in the mixture groups of high level showed a little lower values, and the activities of serum glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase and alkaline phosphatase decreased almost with significance of 5% level compared with the first control group. The serum A/G ratio in the mixture groups also decreased. The results demonstrated that the liver function was decreased in the mixture groups compared with the controls. 6. In all groups throughout the test period, kidney functions (concentration of protein and creatinine excreated per hour in urine and renal filtration rate) were shown almost as normal as the first control. 7. Average values of hematocrit, erythrocytes and leucocytes in the mixture groups were in the normal ranges as in the controls, which denotes that the production of blood cells in bone marrow were also normal in all groups. With the above results, it is concluded that when the food additives (DHA, AF-2, BHT) were given together to the rats in several combinations even in less amount, they showed more toxic signs than the single doses.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.21 no.12
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• pp.1666-1677
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• 2011

The regulation of gene expression plays an important role in cell cycle controls. In this study, a novel gene, the $mas1^+$($\underline{mi}$tosis $\underline{as}$sociated protein) gene, a homolog of human CIP29/Hcc1, was isolated and characterized from fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe (S. pombe) using a gene-specific polymerase chain reaction. The isolated gene contained a complete open reading frame capable of encoding 245 amino acid residues with a typical promoter, as judged by nucleotide sequence analysis. It was also found that a PCB ($\underline{p}$ombe cell $\underline{c}$ycle $\underline{b}$ox) is located in the promoter region, which controls M-$G_1$ specific transcription in S. pombe. The quantitative analysis of the $mas1^+$ transcript against $adh1^+$ showed that the pattern of expression is similar to that of the septation index. Cytokinesis of mas1 mutant was greatly delayed at $25^{\circ}C$ and $36^{\circ}C$, and a large number of multi-septate cells were produced. The mas1 mutant had 2C, 4C and 6C DNA contents, as determined by FACS analysis. In addition, the number of multi-septate cells significantly increased. When cells were cultured in nitrogen starvation medium to increase proliferation, the abnormal phenotypes of mas1 mutant dramatically increased. These phenotypes could be rescued by an overexpression of the $mas1^+$ gene. The mas1 protein localized in the nuclei of S. pombe and human HeLa cells, as evidenced by Mas1-EGFP signals. The abnormal growth pattern and the morphology of mas1 mutant were complemented by a plasmid carrying human CIP29/Hcc-1cDNA. In addition, CIP29 /Hcc-1 transcript level increased in active cell proliferation stages in the developing mouse embryos. These results indicate that the $mas1^+$ ishomologous to the human CIP29/Hcc1 gene and is involved in cytokinesis and cell shape control.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.55-64
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• 2019

The flowering seasons can be advanced due to climate change that would cause an abnormally warm winter. Such warm winter would increase the frequency of crop damages resulted from sudden occurrences of low temperature before and after the vegetative growth stages, e.g., the period from germination to flowering. The degree and pattern of freezing damage would differ by the development stage of each individual fruit tree even in an orchard. A critical temperature, e.g., killing temperature, has been used to predict freeze damage by low-temperature conditions under the assumption that such damage would be associated with the development stage of a fruit flower bud. However, it would be challenging to apply the critical temperature to a region where spatial variation in temperature would be considerably high. In the present study, a phenological model was used to estimate major bud development stages, which would be useful for prediction of regional risks for the freeze damages. We also derived a linear function to calculate a probabilistic freeze risk in spring, which can quantitatively evaluate the risk level based solely on forecasted weather data. We calculated the dates of freeze damage occurrences and spatial risk distribution according to main production areas by applying the spring freeze risk function to apple, peach, and pear crops in 2018. It was predicted that the most extensive low-temperature associated freeze damage could have occurred on April 8. It was also found that the risk function was useful to identify the main production areas where the greatest damage to a given crop could occur. These results suggest that the freezing damage associated with the occurrence of low-temperature events could decrease providing early warning for growers to respond abnormal weather conditions for their farm.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.50
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• pp.248-254
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• 2023

This study was conducted to establish an efficient plant regeneration system in 'Dayu', a Korean variety of Perilla frutescens developed for seed oil production, in conjunction with the previously studied variety 'Namcheon'. The healthiest callus was formed on the hypocotyl explants cultured on a medium containing 0.1 mg/L NAA and 0.5 mg/L BA, outperforming the leaf and cotyledon samples. In both dark and long-day conditions, Dayu consistently exhibited significantly higher shoot regeneration rates compared with Namcheon. The highest shoot regeneration rates in Dayu were observed from the hypocotyl explants cultured on 0.1 mg/L NAA and 0.5 mg/L BA media, with shoot regeneration rates of 84.4% and 86.7% under dark and long-day conditions, respectively. Various combinations of plant growth regulators were tested to establish the optimal shoot regeneration conditions for Dayu hypocotyl explants. The results demonstrated that the highest shoot regeneration rate (90%) was achieved when 0.5 mg/L of BA was added to the medium without NAA. Among the regenerated shoots, 70.5% were normal plants, while 19.3% were abnormal. The addition of NAA or an increase in its concentration led to a higher occurrence of abnormal plants. After the regenerated shoots were transferred to 1/2 MS medium, roots were observed within 10-15 days. By day 30, they had developed into complete plants. The results obtained from the regeneration experiments with the perilla variety Dayu can valuably inform molecular breeding reliant on transformation techniques such as genome-editing and genetic modification technology.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.9
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• pp.3927-3932
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• 2014

Background: Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations and echinoderm microtubule associated protein like 4-anaplastic lymphoma kinase (EML4-ALK) define specific molecular subsets of lung adenocarcinomas with distinct clinical features. Our purpose was to analyze clinical features and prognostic value of EGFR gene mutations and the EML4-ALK fusion gene in lung adenocarcinoma. Patients and Methods: EGFR gene mutations and the EML4-ALK fusion gene were detected in 92 lung adenocarcinoma patients in China. Tumor marker levels before first treatment were measured by electrochemiluminescence immunoassay. Results: EGFR mutations were found in 40.2% (37/92) of lung adenocarcinoma patients, being identified at high frequencies in never-smokers (48.3% vs. 26.5% in smokers; P=0.040) and in patients with abnormal serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels before the initial treatment (58.3% vs. 28.6%, P=0.004). Multivariate analysis revealed that a higher serum CEA level before the initial treatment was independently associated with EGFR gene mutations (95%CI: 1.476~11.343, P=0.007). We also identified 8 patients who harbored the EML4-ALK fusion gene (8.7%, 8/92). In concordance with previous reports, younger age was a clinical feature for these (P=0.008). Seven of the positive cases were never smokers, and no coexistence with EGFR mutation was discovered. In addition, the frequency of the EML4-ALK fusion gene among patients with a serum CEA concentration below 5ng/ml seemed to be higher than patients with a concentration over 5ng/ml (P=0.021). No significant difference was observed for time to progression and overall survival between EML4-ALK-positive group and EML4-ALK-negative group or between patients with and without an EGFR mutation. Conclusions: The serum CEA level before the initial treatment may be helpful in screening population for EGFR mutations or EML4-ALK fusion gene presence in lung adenocarcinoma patients.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.2185-2190
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• 2013

Gallbladder carcinoma, the most frequent malignant neoplasm of the biliary tract system, has always been considered to feature late clinical presentation and diagnosis, limited treatment options and an extremely poor prognosis. In recent years, while the incidence of gallbladder cancer has appeared to be on the increase, the available treatment methods have not greatly improved survival of the affected patients. Thus, exploring new therapeutic targets for this devastating disease is an urgent matter at present. Epidemical studies have demonstrated that the incidence of gallbladder carcinoma exhibits a distinct gender bias, affecting females two to three times more than males, pointing to crucial roles of estrogen. It is well known that estrogen acts on target tissues by binding to estrogen receptors (ERs), which are mainly divided into three subtypes, $ER{\alpha}$, $ER{\beta}$ and $ER{\gamma}$. $ER{\alpha}$ and $ER{\beta}$ appear to have overlapping but also unique even opposite biological effects. As important pathogenic mediators, ERs have been considered to relate to several kinds of tumors. In gallbladder carcinoma tissue, ERs have been shown to be positively expressed, and ERs expression levels are associated with differentiation and prognosis of this cancer. Nevertheless, the exact mechanisms of estrogen inducing growth of gallbladder carcinoma remain poorly understood. On the base of the current investigations, we deduce that estrogen participates in promotion of gallbladder carcinoma by influencing the formation of gallstones, stimulating angiogenesis, and promoting abnormal proliferation. Since ERs mediate the carcinogenic actions of estrogen in gallbladder, and therapy targeting ERs may provide new directions for gallbladder carcinoma. Therefore, it should be stressed that ERs are potential therapeutic targets for gallbladder carcinoma.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.213-217
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• 2001

Purpose: Glycogen storage disease type Ia (GSD Ia) is an autosomal recessive disorder of glycogen metabolism caused by glucose-6-phosphatase (G6Pase) deficiency. The clinical manifestations of G6Pase deficiency include growth retardation, hepatomegaly, hypoglycemia, lactic acidemia, hyperlipidemia and hyperuricemia. Many mutations of this gene have been found worldwide in various ethnic groups, establishing the molecular basis of GSD Ia. To elucidate a spectrum of the G6Pase gene mutations in Korean, we analyzed mutations in Korean patients with GSD Ia. Methods: Both alleles of 9 unrelated GSD 1a patients were studied by PCR and direct DNA sequencing methods. In all patients, GSD 1a was diagnosed by the enzyme assay for the liver biopsy specimen. Results: In Korean, the most prevalent mutation was g727t substitution in exon 5, which has been reported to cause abnormal mRNA splicing: Sixteen out of 18 alleles were found to have this mutation. In addition, we identified one novel mutation, a c611g, converting a proline to an alanine at codon 178. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that a screening for the g727t mutation by noninvasive molecular method can detect most cases of GSD Ia in Korean patients.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.400-406
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• 2016

This study was conducted to determine the optimal conditions of growth medium, temperature, and light quality for efficient propagation of Lygodium japonicum spores. The rate of spore germination and prothalium development was high in Knop and 1/8MS and 1/4MS media, which had low mineral content; in particular, the germination rate exceeded 74%, and the germinated spores developed into heart-shaped prothallia. However, in Knop‘s medium with the lowest mineral content, a rapid prothallium senescence was observed; in 1/4MS medium, prothallium development was delayed. Germination rate increased with the increase in temperature and reached its maximum, 86.7%, at 30℃; however, at this temperature, the prothallia were thinner and abnormal development of rhizoids was observed compared to normally developed prothallia and rhizoids at 25℃. Therefore, the results suggested that the optimal temperature for L. japonicum spore germination was 25℃. The rate of germination was also measured under different light conditions, and the highest rate of 90.6% was observed under LED red light compared to fluorescent (77.2%) or LED blue (5.4%) lights. The germinated spores developed into heart-shaped prothallia under LED red light; however, 15 days after seeding, prothallium development decreased and the became elongated. In contrast, a normal and continuous development of heart-shaped prothallia was observed under fluorescent light.