• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.306-312
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• 2000

Background : Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) are well known environmental pollutants. The measurement of PAH in ambient air is not commonly used, because it is quite difficult to perform and is unreliable. Using biomarkers of PAH can be an alternative approach to this problem. The PAH in ambient air is absorbed in particulate matter. Total suspended particulate(TSP) or particulate matter of less than $10{\mu}m$ in diameter (PM10) can be easily measured. Therefore, TSP or PM10 can be used as a surrogate measurements of ambient air PAH. Objectives : We investigated whether the urinary concentration of two biomarkers of PAH, 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHP) and 2-naphthol, could reflect the total suspended particulate in the general population. Methods : In order to exclude the effects of occupational exposure and smoking, first grade middle school students were included in this study. Four middle schools within a one kilometer boundary of ambient air monitoring stations were selected. Total suspended particulate was regarded as the marker of airborne PAH. Diet and smoking data were collected by self administered questionnaires, and spot urine samples were collected. Urinary 1-OHP and 2-naphthol were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography. Results : The correlation between urinary 1-OHP, 2-naphthol and passive smoking was not statistically significant. The correlation between urinary 1-OHP and TSP indices was not statistically significant. The correlations between urinary 2-naphthol and TSP of two lag days, one lag day, and zero lag days were statistically significant. The statistical significance of two lag days was the strongest (p=0.001), one lag day was the next (p=0.0275), and zero lag days was the weakest (p=0.0349). Conclusion : Our results imply that the urinary concentration of 2-naphthol can be applied as a PAH exposure marker for the general population with low PAH exposure.

• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.57-64
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• 1993

The properties and DNA structures of R plasmids differ depending on the species of the fish-pathogens Aeromonas hydrophila, A. salmonicida, Edwardsiella tarda, Enterococcus seriolicida, Pasteurella piscicida and Vibrio anguillarum. However, some R plasmids with the same resistance markers in similar DNA structures were found in A. hydrophila and E. tarda, as well as in A. hydrophila and A. salmonicida. R plasmids from V. anguillarum were classified into three groups according to their DNA structures. The first group was detected before 1977, the second from 1980 to 1983, and the third from 1989 to 1991. R plasmids have been retained within P. piscieida having the same DNA structures and detected at various locations and times. E. seriolicida strains carrying the same R plasmids, which were encoded with resistance to macrolide antibiotics(MLs), lincomycin(LIM), and TC, and to MLs, LIM, and CP. were distributed in yellowtail farms in various districts. The chloramphenicol-resistance(cat) gene of the R plasmids of P. piscicida was classified as CAT type I. The cat of the R plasmids of E, tarda. A. salmonicida was classified as type II. The cat of R plasmids of V. anguillarum was classified into two types. One type detected before 1977, was classified as CAT IV and the other type, detected after 1980, was classified as CAT II. Tetracycline-resistance (tet) V. anguillarum, isolated before 1977 and after 1981, was classified as Tet B and Tet G, respectively. The class D tet gene was widely distributed in R plasmids from fish-pathogens A. hydrophila, E. tarda, P. piscicida, and also V. anguillarum isolated after 1989.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.638-647
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• 2010

The genetic relationships in 5 species of $Ligularia$ were investigated using RAPD (Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA) and ITS (Internal Transcribed Spacer) sequences analyses. In RAPD analysis, sixty three of 196 arbitrary primers showed polymorphism. The amplified fragments ranged from 0.2 to 1.6 kb in size. The dendrogram was constructed by the UPGMA clustering algorithm based on genetic similarity of RAPD markers. A total of 16 accessions were classified into 5 major groups corresponding each species at the similarity coefficient value of 0.77. In the ITS sequence analysis, the size of ITS 1 was varied from 248 to 256 bp, while ITS 2 was varied from 220 to 222 bp. The 5.8S coding region was 164 bp in lengths. Forty nine sites (10.2%) of the 478 nucleotides were variable, and the G+C content of ITS region ranged from 49.4 to 53.5%. In the ITS tree, five species of $Ligularia$ were monophyletic, and $L.$ $taquetii$ was the first branching within the clade. $Ligularia$ $intermedia$ formed a clade with $L.$ $fischeri$ var. $spiciformis$ (BS=79), and $L.$ $stenocephala$ and $L.$ $fischeri$ were also claded. Two data sets were congruent, except of the position of $L.$ $fischeri$ var. $spiciformis$.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.65 no.2
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• pp.104-112
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• 2020

Maize is thought to be an alternative crop to rice in paddy fields for efficient field management and maintenance of rice production at appropriate levels in Korea. Thus efforts to breed waterlogging-tolerant maize cultivars have been ongoing. However, molecular studies related to waterlogging tolerance are limited for developing molecular markers to select waterlogging tolerant maize varieties. In this study, we examined molecular biological changes of B73 in the V3 stage after immersion treatment for 7 days. Overall growth of maize was lower in treated samples compared to non-immersed control samples. The length of leaf and root decreased by 21.3% and 50.6%, respectively and the weight of root reduced by 21.6%. Soil plant analysis development (SPAD) value and chlorophyll content of leaf also decreased by 55.7% and 35.3%, respectively. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) content of root increased by 46.5% at 2 hours in immersion treatment. In addition, immersed roots were 2.5-fold thickened with additional aerenchyma formation in the cortex. In order to identify the causes of these changes, we performed a microarray and found increased expression of genes, such as WIP1, PMIP2, EXPA1, TPS1, and MAS1, in immersed samples. These differentially expressed genes and expression of previously reported genes, including ALDH2, Wusl1032, UP-1, UP-2, and CAT2 were further confirmed with qRT-PCR. Here, we report 7 differentially expressed genes after immersing treatment, which may be utilized as useful resources for breeding waterlogging- tolerant maize.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.707-717
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• 2018

Leukocytes are reportedly the first line of the innate immune defense and essential for the control of common bacterial infections. Therefore, in this work, the antibacterial activity of crocodile leukocyte extract against Propionibacterium acnes was evaluated, and we also characterized the related activity of skin infection. The leukocyte extract showed the minimum inhibitory concentration to be $100{\mu}g/ml$ to P. acnes. SEM imaging demonstrated that the leukocyte extract adversely affected P. acnes cell permeability in a concentration-dependent manner. Furthermore, the crocodile leukocyte extract could significantly reduce proinflammatory markers and decrease inflammatory signs in infected mouse ears. The crude leukocyte extract was further purified using FPLC and RP-HPLC. The resulting fraction F5 was indicated as the anti-acne peptide-containing fraction. The molecular mass of the peptide contained in F5 was calculated to be 4,790.5 Da. N-Terminal sequencing revealed the amino acid sequence as GPEPVPAIYQ, which displays similarities to immunoglobulin A and leucine-rich repeat neuronal protein. This is the first reported amino acid sequence of a crocodile leukocyte extract that possesses anti-acne activity. To attempt to use it in a prototype cosmetic, an anti-acne gel containing crude crocodile leukocyte extract was formulated, resulting in seven gel formulations (G1, G2, G3, G4, G5, G6, and G7). The formulations G5, G6, and G7 exhibited 2-fold higher anti-acne activity than G1-G4. Investigation of accelerating stability studies of anti-acne gel formulations G5, G6, and G7 demonstrated that a low storage temperature ($4^{\circ}C$) is suitable for maintaining the physical properties and biological activity of the anti-acne gel products.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.1441-1446
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• 2014

Squamous cell/adenosquamous carcinoma (SC/ASC) of the gallbladder are rare tumors and there are few clinical reports in the literature. Herein we report our clinical experience with 46 patients with SC/ASC and 80 with adenocarcinoma (AC). Expression of EphB1 and Ephrin-B in each tumor was determined using immunohistochemical methods for determination of correlations with prognosis. There was no difference in EphB1 and Ephrin-B expression between SC/ASC and AC tumors (P>0.05), but greater expression in those less than 3 cm in diameter, stage I or II (TNM stage), with no lymph node metastases, with no local invasion and treated with radical resection was apparent. Expression of EphB1 (P<0.05) and Ephrin-B (P<0.01) was higher in well differentiated than in poorly differentiated AC tumors. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis indicated that degree of differentiation, tumor diameter, lymph node metastases, local invasion, surgical approach and expression rate of EphB1 and Ephrin-B were closely related to the survival of SC/ASC (P<0.05) and AC patients (P<0.01). Patients with tumors that positive expressed EphB1 and Ephrin-B, whether it is SC/ASC ($P_{SC/ASC}$ =0.000) or AC ($P_{AC}$ =0.000 or $P_{AC}$ =0.002) had longer survival than those negative expression. Cox multivariate analysis indicated a negative correlation between expression of EphB1 or Ephrin-B and overall survival. Hence, EphB1 and Ephrin-B could be regarded as independent good prognostic factorsand important biological markers for SC/ASC and AC of gallbladder.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.1363-1367
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• 2014

This research was conducted to compare differences in colon cancer lymphatic vessel invasion (LVI) with D2-40 antibody labeling and regular HE staining, blood vessel invasion (BVI) with CD34 antibody labeling and HE staining and to assess the possibility of using D2-40-LVI/CD34-BVI in combination for predicting stage II colon cancer prognosis and guiding adjuvant chemotherapy.Anti-D2-40 and anti-CD34 antibodies were applied to tissue samples of 220 cases of stage II colon cancer to label lymphatic vessels and small blood vessels, respectively. LVI and BVI were assessed and multivariate COX regression analysis was performed for associations with colon cancer prognosis. Regular HE staining proved unable to differentiate lymphatic vessels from blood vessels, while D2-40 selectively labeled lymphatic endothelial cell cytosol and CD34 was widely expressed in large and small blood vessels of tumors as well as normal tissues. Compared to regular HE staining, D2-40-labeling for LVI and CD34-labeling for BVI significantly increased positive rate (22.3% vs 10.0% for LVI, and 19.1% vs 9.1% for BVI). Multivariate analysis indicated that TNM stage, pathology tissue type, post-surgery adjuvant chemotherapy, D2-40-LVI, and CD34-BVI were independent factors affecting whole group colon cancer prognosis, while HE staining-BVI, HE staining-LVI were not significantly related. When CD34-BVI/D2-40-LVI were used in combination for detection, the risk of death for patients with two or one positive results was 5.003 times that in the LVI(-)&BVI(-) group (95% CI 2.365 - 9.679). D2-40 antibody LVI labeling and CD34 antibody BVI labeling have higher specificity and accuracy than regular HE staining and can be used as molecular biological indicators for prognosis prediction and guidance of adjuvant chemotherapy for stage II colon cancer.

• Journal of Sericultural and Entomological Science
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.81-92
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• 1996

This study was conducted to characterize mulberry varieties by the analysis of morphological characters as well as biochemical and molecular biological markers. As for the budding stage Geumsang, Chosang i and Yeongbyeonchuwoo were early, but Dangsang 6, Hwangchuwoo were late. The lowest varietiy in rate of death atop was Dangsang 8(0.0%). Suncheonppong was the highest leaf yields in spring and autumn rearing season. In biochemical isozyme analysis, peroxidase gave good zymogram patterns in isoelectric focusing electrophoresis. There were high variations in RAPD analysis among the mulberry trees. From the obtained peroxidase and RAPD variations, cluster phylogenetic analysis was carried out using NT-SYS PC program. There were no clear grouping patterns between native varieties and leading varieties. The highest similarity was observed between Suwonsang 1 and Suwonsang 2 at about 90% similarity level.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.218-225
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• 2012

Purpose: The relationship between treatment outcomes, alteration of the expression of biological markers, and tumor volume response during radiotherapy (RT) in patients with uterine cervical cancer was analyzed. Materials and Methods: Twenty patients with cervical squamous cell carcinoma received definitive RT with (n = 17) or without (n = 3) concurrent chemotherapy. Tumor volumes were measured by three serial magnetic resonance imaging scans at pre-, mid-, and post-RT. Two serial punch biopsies were performed at pre- and mid-RT, and immunohistochemical staining for cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 and epidermal growth factor receptor was performed. The median follow-up duration was 60 months. Results: The median tumor volume response at mid-RT (V2R) was 0.396 (range, 0.136 to 0.983). At mid-RT, an interval increase in the distribution of immunoreactivity for COX-2 was observed in 8 patients, and 6 of them showed poor mid-RT tumor volume response ($V2R{\geq}0.4$). Four (20%) patients experienced disease progression after 10 to 12 months (median, 11 months). All 4 patients had poor mid-RT tumor volume response (p = 0.0867) and 3 of them had an interval increase in COX-2 expression. Overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) decreased in patients with $V2R{\geq}0.4$ (p = 0.0291 for both). An interval increase in COX-2 expression at mid-RT was also associated with a decreased survival (p = 0.1878 and 0.1845 for OS and PFS, respectively). Conclusion: Poor tumor volume response and an interval increase in COX-2 expression at mid-RT decreased survival outcomes in patients with uterine cervical cancer.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.7
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• pp.3015-3021
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• 2015

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a major cause of mortality in developed countries, and it is the third most frequent malignancy in Turkey. There are many biological, genetic, molecular, and tissue-derived prognostic factors for CRCs. In this study, we evaluated prognostic factors in patients who were metastatic at diagnosis or progressed to metastatic disease during follow-up. Patients and Methods: This study included 116 patients with malignancies either in the colon or rectum. Of these, 65 had metastatic disease at diagnosis, and 51 progressed to metastatic disease during the course of the disease. The parameters evaluated were age, gender, comorbidity, performance status and stage of the disease at the beginning, localization, history of surgery, chemotherapy regimen, response to first-line treatment, K-RAS status, site and number of metastases, expression of tumor predictors (CEA, CA19-9), and survival times. A multivariate analysis conducted with factors that considered statistically significant in the univariate analysis. Findings: Median age was 56 (32-82) years and the male/female ratio was 80/36. Eleven patients were at stage II, 40 at stage III, and 65 at stage IV at diagnosis. Twenty three patients had tumor in the right colon, 48 in the left colon, and 45 in the rectum. Ninety seven patients were operated, and 27 had surgical metastasectomy. Ninety three patients received targeted therapy. At the end of follow-up, 61 patients had died, and 55 survived. Metastatic period survival times were longer in the adjuvant group, but the difference did not reach the level of statistical significance (adjuvant group: median 29 months, metastatic group: median 22 months; p=0.285). In the adjuvant group before the metastatic first-line therapy, CEA and CA 19-9 levels were significiantly lower compared to the metastatic group (p<0.005). We also found that patients with elevated tumor predictor (CEA, CA 19-9) levels before the first-line therapy had significiantly poorer prognosis and shorter survival time. Survival was significiantly better with the patients who were younger than 65 years of age, had better initial performance status, a history of primary surgery and metastatectomy, and single site of metastasis. Those who benefitted from the first-line therapy were K-RAS wild type and whose tumor markers (CEA, CA 19-9) were not elevated before the first line therapy. Conclusions: Among the patients with metastatic CRC, those who benefited from first-line therapy, had history of metastasectomy, were K-RAS wild type and had low CA 19-9 levels before the first-line therapy, showed better prognosis independent of other factors.