• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.30 no.12
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• pp.1015-1025
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• 2021

Our research work aimed to evaluate cover crop effects of winter rye on soil characteristics, soil conservation, and yield productivities on potato fields with 15% slope during a fallowed period. There were two controls of bared field without any cultivation and conventional potato cultivation without winter rye. Potato cultivation increased soil pH, organic matter, available phosphate, and exchangeable cation regardless of cover crop cultivation. Sub-soil, particularly, all components of soil chemical properties showed higher value in winter rye cultivation than conventional cultivation. Higher soil density was observed on cover crop cultivation than conventional cultivation resulting from root residues of the cover crop both topsoil and subsoil. Cover crop residues positively affected plant growth and reduced the amount of soil erosion by holding the soil. Although severe soil erosion was seen in conventional cultivation, winter rye cultivation declined soil erosion by 47% during the fallow period on potato slope fields. Distinct soil bacterial communities were detected among treatments and some OTU(Operational Taxonomic Unit)s showed significantly higher abundance in winter rye treatment. Total yield and commercial rate demonstrated no significant differences while higher tuber phosphate, K⁺, and Mg²⁺ contents were observed in winter rye cultivation.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.98-116
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• 2022

The small GTPase RhoA has been studied extensively for its role in actin dynamics. In this study, multiple bioinformatics tools were applied cooperatively to the microarray dataset GSE64714 to explore previously unidentified functions of RhoA. Comparative gene expression analysis revealed 545 differentially expressed genes in RhoA-null cells versus controls. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was conducted with three gene set collections: (1) the hallmark, (2) the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway, and (3) the Gene Ontology Biological Process. GSEA results showed that RhoA is related strongly to diverse pathways: cell cycle/growth, DNA repair, metabolism, keratinization, response to fungus, and vesicular transport. These functions were verified by heatmap analysis, KEGG pathway diagramming, and direct acyclic graphing. The use of multiple gene set collections restricted the leakage of information extracted. However, gene sets from individual collections are heterogenous in gene element composition, number, and the contextual meaning embraced in names. Indeed, there was a limit to deriving functions with high accuracy and reliability simply from gene set names. The comparison of multiple gene set collections showed that although the gene sets had similar names, the gene elements were extremely heterogeneous. Thus, the type of collection chosen and the analytical context influence the interpretation of GSEA results. Nonetheless, the analyses of multiple collections made it possible to derive robust and consistent function identifications. This study confirmed several well-described roles of RhoA and revealed less explored functions, suggesting future research directions.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.38 no.6
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• pp.261-268
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• 2021

The study was conducted to evaluate the effects of carboxymethyl chitosan (CMC) on proliferation, migration, and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammatory response in canine bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs). The proliferation and migration of BMSCs were examined after treatment with CMC. The effect of CMC on the mRNA expression of inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, IL-10, and transforming growth factor (TGF)-β, was also evaluated by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). In the proliferation assay, no significant changes were found at all CMC concentrations compared with controls. The migration assay showed that CMC dose-dependently stimulated the migration of BMSCs in normal and LPS-treated conditions. RT-PCR showed that TNF-α and IL-10 expressions were suppressed in the BMSCs after CMC treatment. However, other genes were not affected. Taken together, CMC promoted BMSC migration and inhibited TNF-α and IL-10. Therefore, CMC may be possible to regulate wound healing when mesenchymal stem cells are applied in inflammatory diseases.

• Journal of Advanced Information Technology and Convergence
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.199-214
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• 2020

An important technique of the present invention is primarily to parallel light detection, self-pulse therapy after diagnosis. Herpes zoster is a disease caused by varicella zoster virus, and the virus that has been latent in the dorsal root ganglion that controls the skin segment loses its immune system and physically damages it. It is an acute skin disease in which acute pain and bullous rash occur along the sensory ganglia, which are rehab by inducers such as malignant tumors. Dorsal root ganglion after complete recovery of varicella, relapsed after incubation in brain ganglion, latent virus sometimes suppressed activity by cell mediated immunity, and in cell ganglion with reduced cellular immunity. It proliferates and destroys neurons, causing pain while forming a rash and blisters. This can reduce cell necrosis and increase the phagocytosis and enzymatic activity through the movement of ions through the cell membrane, depolarization and membrane potential change, growth factor secretion, calcium ion transfer, chondrocyte synthesis, etc., And may offer treatment options for lesions of herpes zoster and post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN).Therefore, according to the present research, the diagnosis and treatment device of treating paing for herpes zoster and post-herpetic pain can be implemented in the early stage of herpes zoster, and conventional analgesic regulation, anti-inflammatory effect, post-herpetic neuralgia.

• International conference on construction engineering and project management
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• 2020.12a
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• pp.50-59
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• 2020

The 21st century is witnessing a rapid growth of tall buildings in urban centers globally to create more urban space for an anticipated urban population. Tall buildings, however suffer from incessant delays and sometimes total abandonment. Consequently, this study investigated and ranked the causes of delay in tall building projects, while focusing on the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Initially, 36 common delay causes investigated globally were categorized into 9 groups, and then further ranked utilizing the Relative Importance Index (RII) through a questionnaire survey. Tall building professionals in the GCC countries (Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar) were contacted. The respondents' categories include Consultants, Contractors, and Clients' Representatives/Facility Managers. The results reveal that the top three causes include "client's cash flow problems/delays in contractor's payment", "contractor's financial difficulties", and "poor site organization and coordination between various parties". The findings from this study could help construction professionals develop guidelines and controls for delay mitigation, as well as support them in risk-based decision making in the planning of tall building projects.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.27 no.8
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• pp.1141-1149
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• 2014

The present study was conducted to investigate a supplemental effect of magnesium hydrogen phosphate (MHP, $MgHPO_4$) as an alternative phosphorus (P) source on growth and feed utilization of juvenile far eastern catfish (Silurus asotus) in comparison with three conventional P additives (monocalcium phosphate (MCP), dicalcium phosphate (DCP) and tricalcium phosphate [TCP]) as positive controls. A basal diet as a negative control was prepared without P supplementation and four supplemental P sources were added at the level of 2%. Five groups of 450 fish having mean body weight of 11.3 g following 24 h fasting after three week adaptation period were randomly distributed into each of 15 tanks (30 fish/tank). Fish were hand-fed to apparent satiety twice a day for 8 weeks. Fish fed MHP had weight gain (WG), protein efficiency ratio and specific growth rate comparable to those fed MCP. Fish fed MHP and MCP had feed efficiency (FE) significantly higher (p<0.05) than those fed DCP. Fish groups fed control and TCP showed the lower FE than the other groups which was significantly different (p<0.05) from those of fish fed the other diets. Survival rate was not significantly different (p>0.05) among treatments. Fish fed control had the lowest hematocrit, which was significantly different (p<0.05) from that of fish fed MHP. Fish fed MCP and MHP had plasma P higher (p<0.05) than fish fed the other diets. Relative efficiencies of MCP, DCP and TCP to MHP were found to be 100.5 and 101.3%, 92.0 and 91.6%, and 79.1 and 80.9% for WG and FE, respectively. P availability was determined to be 88.1%, 75.2%, 8.7%, and 90.9% for MCP, DCP, TCP, and MHP, respectively. Consequently, MHP recovered from wastewater stream showed that as an alternative P source its performance was comparative with MCP on growth and feed utilization of juvenile far eastern catfish.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.19 no.12
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• pp.1323-1334
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• 2010

The effect of nitric oxide (NO) on antioxidant system and protective mechanism against oxidative stress under UV-B radiation was investigated in leaves of maize (Zea mays L.) seedlings during 3 days growth period. UV-B irradiation caused a decrease of leaf biomass including leaf length, width and weight during growth. Application of NO donor, sodium nitroprusside (SNP), significantly alleviated UV-B stress induced growth suppression. NO donor permitted the survival of more green leaf tissue preventing chlorophyll content reduction and of higher quantum yield for photosystem II than in non-treated controls under UV-B stress, suggesting that NO has protective effect on chloroplast membrane in maize leaves. Flavonoids and anthocyanin, UV-B absorbing compounds, were significantly accumulated in the maize leaves upon UV-B exposure. Moreover, the increase of these compounds was intensified in the NO treated seedlings. UV-B treatment resulted in lipid peroxidation and induced accumulation of hydrogen peroxide ($H_2O_2$) in maize leaves, while NO donor prevented UV-B induced increase in the contents of malondialdehyde (MDA) and $H_2O_2$. These results demonstrate that NO serves as antioxidant agent able to scavenge $H_2O_2$ to protect plant cells from oxidative damage. The activities of two antioxidant enzymes that scavenge reactive oxygen species, catalase (CAT) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) in maize leaves in the presence of NO donor under UV-B stress were higher than those under UV-B stress alone. Application of 2-(4-carboxyphenyl)-4, 4, 5, 5-tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxyl-3- oxide (PTIO), a specific NO scavenger, to the maize leaves arrested NO donor mediated protective effect on leaf growth, photosynthetic pigment and free radical scavenging activity. However, PTIO had little effect on maize leaves under UV-B stress compared with that of UV-B stress alone. $N^{\omega}$-nitro-L-arginine (LNNA), an inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase (NOS), significantly increased $H_2O_2$ and MDA accumulation and decreased antioxidant enzyme activities in maize leaves under UV-B stress. This demonstrates that NOS inhibitor LNNA has opposite effects on oxidative resistance. From these results it is suggested that NO might act as a signal in activating active oxygen scavenging system that protects plants from oxidative stress induced by UV-B radiation and thus confer UV-B tolerance.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.331-337
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• 2016

Although fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) is exclusively produced in osteoblasts and osteocytes, its main target is the kidney, where it decreases phosphate reabsorption by suppressing Na-phosphate cotransporters. Independently of its action on phosphate homeostasis, FGF23 also inhibits bone formation in vivo. In a calvarial osteoblastic cell model, FGF23 was shown to negatively affect extracellular matrix mineralization. This study investigated whether FGF23 had similar effects on osteoblast maturation, including differentiation and mineralization of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). D1 MSCs were cultured in an osteogenic medium containing β-glycerophosphate, ascorbic acid, and dexamethazone. Osteoblastic differentiation was evaluated by alkaline phosphatase (Alp) staining, and matrix mineralization was evaluated by alizarin red staining and calcium deposition. The expression of differentiation-stimulating genes Runx2, Alp, and osteocalcin and mineralization-inhibiting genes Enpp1 and Ank was analyzed using semiquantitative RT-PCR. Supraphysiological doses of FGF23 did not stimulate proliferation or osteoblastic differentiation of MSCs. Matrix mineralization 1, 2, and 3 weeks after the FGF23 treatment did not vary between control and FGF23 groups, although time-dependent enhancement of mineralization was obvious. Calcium deposition was also unchanged after the FGF23 treatment. mRNA expression levels of differentiation- and mineralization-related genes were also similar between the groups. Despite these negative findings, FGF23 signaling through FGF receptors seemed to function normally, with phosphorylation of the Erk protein more evident in the FGF23 group than in controls. These findings suggest that unlike calvarial osteoblasts, FGF23 is not likely to affect osteoblastic differentiation and mineralization of MSCs.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.395-399
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• 1999

Three experiments were conducted to determine the effects of conditioning a complex (20% whey, 10% lactose, 4% plasma protein, 4% wheat gluten and 2% blood meal) diet on growth performance of weanling pigs. In Exp. 1,180 pigs (average initial BW of 6.4 kg) were fed the experimental diet (1.7% lysine) during a 7-d growth assay. Treatments were a meal control (M), standard (ST), and expander (EX) conditioned mash or pellets. Rate and efficiency of gain were decreased by 39% and 21% (p<0.005) respectively, for pigs fed EX diets compared to those fed the ST diet. In Exp. 2,196 pigs (average initial BW of 6.5 kg) were used to determine the effects of EX operating conditions on nutritional value of a pelleted complex diet. When steam conditioning temperature (prior to expanding) was $54^{\circ}C$, increasing cone pressure of the EX from 0 to 7 to 14 kg/cm2 resulted in linear decreases in rate of gain of weaned pigs (p<0.006), suggesting heat damage of the diet. Increasing conditioning temperature (i.e., adding steam) of the diets from 46 to 54 to $63^{\circ}C$ (cone pressure at $12kg/cm^2$) resulted in improved rate of gain (p<0.04) of the pigs. However, none of the pigs fed expanded diets compared favorably to the pigs fed the conditioned $(54^{\circ}C)$ pellets processed with no cone pressure. In Exp. 3,168 pigs (average initial BW of 6.6 kg) were used to determine the effects of expanding the various components of the diet. Treatments were M and ST pellets as controls, EX-corn, EX-corn soybean-meal, EX corn-soybean meal-oil, and EX-complete diet. Efficiency of gain was increased by 13% with EX portions of the diet compared to the mash control, but there was a marked decrease in performance when the complete diet was expanded (p<0.001). Expanded corn-soybean meal-oil supported the greatest ADG with a 19% increase compared to the average of the EX corn and EX corn-soybean meal treatments (p<0.005). In conclusion, our results suggest no benefit from expanding complete phase-I diets.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.342-348
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• 2014

This study was carried out to determine the effects of temperature and shading on germination and early growth of Pimpinella brachycarpa. Experiment was performed by temperature controls ($5^{\circ}C$, $10^{\circ}C$, $15^{\circ}C$, $20^{\circ}C$, $25^{\circ}C$, and $30^{\circ}C$) and shading treatments (control, 35% shading, 50% shading, and 75% shading). Seed pre-treatment before the germination experiment was carried out by temperature (with low temperature and wetting treatments for 0day, 20days, and 40days). Seeds of P. brachycarpa were, 20days of seed pre-treatment, germinated well at $5^{\circ}C$ and the more temperature went up, the more germination rate went down. As a result of surveying shading treatments, the height, leaf area, leaf length, leaf width etc were the highest (7.3cm, $12.8cm^2$, 5.4cm, and 2.3cm, respectively) under 50% shading. Specially, the root was grown well under 35% and 50% shading. Fresh weight of shoot (leaves+stem) was the highest under 50% and 75% shading and dry weight of shoot (leaves+stem) was the highest under 35% and 50% shading. As a result of surveying the whole experiment, it is concluded that the production of P. brachycarpa seedling is more effective under 50% shading.