• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.115-118
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• 2013

An 8-year-old spayed female domestic shorthair cat was presented with a chief complaint of chronic nasal discharge and dyspnea. Physical examination revealed pyohemorrhagic nasal discharge, inspiratory dyspnea and stertor, and an enlarged right mandibular lymph node. Abnormalities of blood works and serum chemistry included mildly increased hematocrit, and globulin concentration. Serologic tests for FeLV and FIV, and a panel of polymerase chain reaction tests for Chlamydophila felis, Feline Calicivirus, Herpesvirus, Bordetella, Mycoplasma felis, and H1N1 influenza was all negative. Only radiographic finding showed increasing soft tissue density in the right nasal cavity and computed tomography disclosed soft tissue/fluid opacification in the right nasal cavity, paranasal sinus, and pharyinx along with slight deviation to the right of the osseous nasal septum. Focal lysis of ventral nasal septum was also suspected in CT scan. Cytological evaluation of fine needle aspirate smears of the enlarged mandibular lymph nodes revealed numerous fungal yeasts having variably thick capsule both extracellularly and intracellularly with low numbers of macrophages. Some yeasts showed narrow based budding, which was a consistent finding with Cryptococcus organisms. Serum protein electrophoresis was a polyclonal consistent with chronic infection and serum was submitted for a fungal serology panel test. In serologic tests Cryptococcus antigen titer was 1 : 32,768. In vitro culture was unsuccessful. Treatment was initiated with administration of fluconazole, clindamycin, and tocopherol. Clinical signs resolved within 3 days after the initial treatment. The cat was discharged and scheduled for periodic evaluation and continued therapy, but was lost to follow-up thereafter.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.402-409
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• 2002

The effects of protein-bound polysaccharides (A-PBP and L-PBP) that were extracted from the mycelia of two edible mushrooms, namely Agaricus blazai and Lentinus edodes, on serum cholesterol and body weight were investigated in mice and female volunteers. Six groups of Male Balb/c mice were fed six kinds of diet supplement- solutions composed of L-PBP, A-PBP, chitosan, and other fiber constituents, for 30 days under the normal diet. Ninety female volunteers were also supplemented for 8 weeks with six kinds of capsules including control and five test groups as the same manners (two times a day, 4 capsules). From 12 days after feeding of L-PBP (Group I) and A-PBP (Group II), the weight of mice began to reduce as compared with control, whereas that of Group III fed chitosan was decreased 15 days after feeding. Group W and Group V which were fed mixture of L-PBP, A-PBP, chitosan, and other dietary fiber, were more significant in lowering weight. After 4 weeks of the supplementation in women, their serum LDL-cholesterol level and body weights in Group I and II were reduced, but Croup 111 taken with chitosan capsule showed weaker effect than Group I and II. After 8 weeks, LDL-cholesterol content in the sera of Group I (132.5 mg/dL) and II(131.5 mg/dL) was decreased to ideal level (125.4 and 122.8 mg/dL) for healthy blood vessel. In the case of Group W supplemented with mixture of L-PBP, A-PBP, and chitosan, the weight-reduction effect (11.8%) and hypocholesterolemic effect (11.0%) was most significant, indicating their synergistic action. These data suggested that the weight-controlling and hypolipidemic effect of L-PBP and A-PBP was involved, at least in part, in absorption of cholesterol as their role of dietary fiber, as well as cholesterol metabolism.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.41 no.12
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• pp.1663-1670
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• 2012

The inhibitory effects of rose hip (Rosa canina L.) water extracts from two different manufactures on osteoarthritis was comparatively investigated in primary cultures of rat cartilage cells. To identify the effects of rose hip extracts against $H_2O_2$ (300 ${\mu}M$, 2 hr) treatment, cell survival was measured by the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Cell survival increased by rose hip extracts in the range of 100 to 600 ${\mu}g/mL$ of $H_2O_2$ treatment. To determine the anti-inflammatory effects of rose hip extracts, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-${\alpha}$), nitric oxide (NO), and Cox-2 expression were measured after lipopolysaccharide (LPS) activation. TNF-${\alpha}$ level with rose hip extract treatment was decreased by 27.4% and 31.9% at 600 ${\mu}g/mL$ of $H_2O_2$ treatment. Nitric oxide was inhibited by rose hip extract at 100~600 ${\mu}g/mL$ of $H_2O_2$ treatment in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, Cox-2 protein expression was dose-dependently decreased while Cox-1 had no change in expression level. The severity of osteoarthritis is controlled by a balance between anabolic and catobolic factors in an articulation, therefore the expression of these factors plays a critical role in preventing osteoarthritis. In measuring anabolic factors, the genetic expression of collagen type I increased with rose hip treatment, while the genetic expression of collagen II did not change. In addition, the genetic expression of aggrecan (proteoglycan core protein) was significantly increased. while the genetic expression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) 3, 7 and 13, known catabolic factors, was significantly inhibited by treatment with rose hip extract. The expression of MMP13 was especially highly influenced. In conclusion, rose hip water extracts show inhibitory effects on cell death by $H_2O_2$ mediated oxidative stress, which is related to inhibitory effects on inflammation due to TNF-${\alpha}$, NO, and Cox-2. The ability of rose hip extracts to ameliorate inflammation in primary cultures of cartilage cells seems to associate with an increased genetic expression of specific anabolic factors, collagen type I and aggrecan, and a decreased expression of catabolic factors, MMPs (3, 7, and 13). However, there were no significant differences between rose hip extracts from the two manufacturers.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.61 no.2
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• pp.124-130
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• 2016

In this study, agronomic characteristics and fatty acid composition of 121 flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) germplasms were analyzed. The flax germplasms had a fairly short growth period of 75-95 days. The plant height at maturity varied from 52 to 124 cm. The flower color varied from white to lilac and even purple. Early flowering flax germplasms had white flowers and were resistant to lodging. In early flowering flax germplasms, all agronomic characteristics, including growth period, plant height, branch number per plant, stem diameter, number of capsules per raceme, seed number per capsule, 1000-seed weight, and seed yield, were decreased. The average fatty acid composition of 121 flax germplasms comprised palmitic acid (5.3%), stearic acid (4.3%), oleic acid (29.7%), linoleic acid (13.1%) and linolenic acid (46.4%). The total content of unsaturated fatty acids ranged from 84~94% with an average of 88%. Among the fatty acids, linolenic acid (omega-3) content was the highest with a range of 36~54%. In five selected flax germplasms (Hollandia 1803, Red son, C & F Res Br 1767, Wiera, and Ireland 1657) with high linolenic acid (${\geq}51%$), total lipid and protein contents were 30~36% and 5.4~6.9%, respectively. Overall, flax can practically be adoptable into cropping systems in South Korea and utilized as a scenery crop, since flax has a short cultivation period with diverse flower colors.