• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.10-15
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• 2005

Purpose: Recently the role of vitamins, folate in particular, has been emphasized in the maintenance of health. Folate deficiency is known to give rise to developmental delay, immature vascular disease, neural tube defect, acute leukemia, atherosclerotic vascular disease, delivery defects, breast cancer, and particularly gastrointestinal neoplasia. Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) is an essential enzyme in folate metaboism, and influences DNA synthesis and DNA methylation. Generally, folate deficiency is associated with gastrointestinal neoplasms. The amino-acid- changing and enzyme-activity-reducing nucleotide polymorphism (766C$\rightarrow$T/ Ala222Val) has been described in the MTHFR polymorphism and leads to low enzyme activity that may reduce the capacity of DNA methylation and possibly uracil mis-incorporation into DNA. These processes may be critical in the oncogenic transformation of human cells, especially in colorectal carcinomas. We investigated the relationship between the MTHFR polymorphism in gastric cancer and the tumor site, the smoking history, and the alcoholic history. Materials and Methods: Ninety-six (96) individuals with gastric cancer and 287 healthy persons were analyzed. Blood sampling was performed, PCR-RFLP was analyzed, and MTHFR polymorphism genotypes of C/C, C/T, and T/T were obtained and analyzed statistically for their correlation. Results: In the gastric cancer group there were 69 ($72\%$) males and 27 ($28\%$) females. There were also 58 cases ($60\%$) involving the gastric lower body, 20 cases ($21\%$) the gastric mid-body, and 18 cases ($19\%$) the gastric upper body. In the control group there were 169 ($59\%$) males and 118 ($41\%$) females. Among the gastric cancer, 56 ($61\%$) smoking patients, 40 ($39\%$) non-smoking patients, 45($47\%$) alcoholic patients, 51 ($53\%$) non-alcoholic patients. In the gastric cancer group, MTHER polymorphisms were C/C in 18 ($19\%$) cases, C/T in 59 ($61\%$) cases, T/T in 19 ($20\%$) cases. In the control group polymorphisms were C/C 116 ($40\%$) cases, C/T 103 ($36\%$) cases, and T/T 68 ($24\%$) cases (P=0.045). In cases of lower gastric body cancer, polymorphisms were C/C in 16 ($24\%$) C/C in 16 ($24\%$) cases and C/T or T/T in 42 ($72\%$) cases. In cases of upper and mid-body cancer, polymorphisms were C/C in 2 ($5\%$) cases and C/T or T/T 36 ($95\%$) cases (P=0.006). In the non-smoking patient group, polymorphisms were C/C in 5 (12%) cases and C/T or T/T in 35 ($88\%$) cases. In the smoking patient group, C/C in 13 ($23\%$) cases and C/T or T/T in 43 ($77\%$) cases (P=0.189). In the non-alcoholic patient group, polymorphisms were C/C in 6 ($12\%$) cases and C/T or T/T in 45 ($88\%$) cases. In the alcoholic patient group, polymorphisms were C/C in 12 ($26\%$) cases and C/T or T/T in 33 ($74\%$) cases (P=0.063) Conclusion: MTHFR polymorphisms are associated with gastric cancer and tumor site, but not with smoking and alcohol drinking.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.180-186
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• 2001

Bone marrow cell proliferating arabinogalactan-like polysaccharide (ALR-3IIa-1-1) has been purified from rhizomes of Atractylodes lancea DC. In order to characterize the essential structure of ALR-3IIa-1-1 for expression of the activity, sequential enzymatic digestion using ego-$\alpha$-L-arabinofurasidase (AFase) and ego-$\beta$-D-(1longrightarrow3)-galactanase (GNase) was employed. After ALR-3IIa-1-1 was digested with the AFase, the GNase digestion cleaved only 10% and 23% of 3-linked and 3,6-branched galactose, respectively, from arabinose-trimmed ALR-3IIa-1-1 (AT-ALR-3IIa-1-1), and gave small amounts of intermediate size (AT-G-2) and shorter oligosaccharides (AT-G-3) fractions in addition to a large amount of the GNase resistant fraction (AT-G-1). When AT-G-1 was redigested gradually with the AFase and GNase, it released trace amounts of oligosaccharides in addition to a large amount of the resistant fraction. When the final enzyme-resistant fraction from AT-G-1 was digested simultaneously with both AFase and GNase, the resistant fraction was significantly degraded into two long fragments (3AT-3G-1 and 2). The mixture of digestion products from the first GNase digestion of AT-ALR-3IIa-1-1 showed a significantly decreased bone marrow cell proliferation activity to about 30% of the activity of ALR-3IIa-1-1, but the GNase resistant fraction (AT-7-1) still had significant activity. Although the second gradual enzymatic digestion of AT-G-1 showed a marginal decrease in activity, the resulting fragments (3AT-3G-1 and 2) by the final simultaneous enzymatic digestion lost most of the activity. Component sugar, methylation and FAB-MS analyses indicated that the digestion products (AT-G-21 AT-G-31 2AT-2G-2 and 2AT-2G-3) released from AT-ALR-3IIa-1-1 by the sequential enzymatic digestion contained galactose-containing oligosaccharides mainly comprising 6-linked galactose, that some of which were partially arabinosylated, and these oligosaccharides were attached to $\beta$-D-(1longrightarrow3)-galactan backbone in its non-reducing terminal side as side chains.

• Journal of Genetic Medicine
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.73-77
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• 2012

Purpose: Fragile X carrier detection before or at early pregnancy through a wide screening program may not only confer a risk of having offspring with Fragile X syndrome (FXS), but may also confer a risk for Fragile X-associated primary ovarian insufficiency and Fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome. However, prior to the implementation of such a program, the carrier prevalence in a population and the availability of effective screening test should be evaluated. The aim of our study was to determine the prevalence of premutation carriers and to evaluate the feasibility of screening test. Materials and Methods: The blood samples were obtained from 8,641 pregnant women with no family history of mental retardation. We performed a three-primer CGG repeat primed (RP) PCR using the AmplideX$^{TM}$ FMR1 PCR kit (Asuragen, Inc. Austin, TX, USA). Samples showing full mutation alleles were reflexed to Southern blot analysis for methylation status and sizing. Results: Among the 8,641 women, we found 8 premutation carriers (1:1,090, 0.09%) and 46 women with an intermediate allele (1:190, 0.53%). No woman was found to carry the fully mutated allele. All the detected alleles were within the CGG repeat range of 8-117. Among the 8,641 samples, 29 and 30 CGG repeats represent 66.6% of all cases. The CGG RP PCR method provides robust detection of expanded alleles and resolves allele zygosity, thus minimizing the number of samples that require Southern blot analysis. Conclusion: This is the first study that has focused on the prevalence of FXS premutation carriers and FMR1 allele distribution in normal pregnant women. These data have important implications for population-based fragile X carrier screening in Korea.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.540-546
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• 2007

Bakery food items distributed in Chung-cheong province Daejeon, Cheonan, and Cheongju) were studied to determine their contents of total crude fat and trans fatty acids (TFA). After fat extraction by the Folch method, methylation was carried out to analyze the fatty acid compositions by GC, using a SP-2560 column and flame ionization detector. The total fat contents of the foods were in the approximate range of 2$\sim$34%. The total fat contents of the items were as follows: whipping cream cake : 0.03$\sim$1.31 (g/100 g food), pastries = 0.21$\sim$2.64 (g/100 g food), cream puff = 0.09$\sim$0.43 (g/100 g food), croquette = 0.22$\sim$1.99 (g/100 g food), and glutinous rice doughnut = 0.03$\sim$0.38 (g/100 g food).

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.24 no.11
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• pp.1252-1257
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• 2014

While dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is the most commonly used cryoprotectant agent in the cryopreservation of cultured mammalian cells, it has been reported to cause differentiation of some cell lines by DNA methylation and associated histone modifications. To avoid the side effects of DMSO in cryopreservation, other agents might be more appropriate for maintaining the stable differentiation of cultured cell phenotypes through cryopreservation. All cryoprotectants should be highly soluble in water and display low cell toxicity. Cryoprotective agents have been shown to be effective in animal sperm preservation, and eight types of amides were examined in the cryopreservation of cultured mouse endothelial cells. Among the amides examined, acetamide and lactamide were effective cryoprotectants for cultured mammalian cells. The most effective concentration of lactamide, 1.5 M, had an even lower cryoprotective ability than 1M DMSO. Because successful cryopreservation of cultured cells is hampered by osmotic stress, the adequate ionic concentration was determined by diluting phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) in the 1.5M lactamide solution. The most effective concentration was $0.4{\times}PBS$, which minimized osmotic stress during the cryopreservation of cultured cells. As the addition of high molecular weight materials in cryopreservation media improves the viability of cells, the effects of bovine serum albumin (BSA), hydroxyethyl-starch (HES), and dextran were examined. The best combination of lactamide-based media for cryopreservation was found to be 1.5 M lactamide in $0.4{\times}PBS$ with 1% BSA.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2006

To develop a new variety of orchardgrass with improved digestibility, caffeic acid O-methyltransferase (Dgcomt), which is a methylation enzyme involved in the early stages of lignin biosynthesis, was isolated and characterized. Dgcomt was expressed not only in leaves but also in stems and roots. The expression levels of transcripts were high in stems and roots which are the most lignified tissues, and only moderate levels of transcripts were expressed in leaves. To develop transgenic orchardgrass plants by down-regulating the Dgcomt gene, an RNAi suppression vector with partial Dgcomt DNA fragment was constructed and transferred into the genome of orchardgrass via Agrobacterium-mediated gene transfer method. PCR and Southern blot analyses with genomic DNAs from putative transgenic plants revealed that the T-DNA region containing RNAi construct was successfully integrated into the genome of orchardgrass. Northern blot analysis revealed that the majority of the down-regulated transgenic lines showed significant reduction in Dgcomt gene expression. These RNAi transgenic orchardgrass will be useful for molecular breeding of new variety with improved digestibility by down-regulating lignin biosynthetic enzyme.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.27 no.1 s.88
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• pp.76-81
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• 1999

Exo-polysaccharide obtained from the submerged cultivation of Ganoderma lucidum mycelium was fractionated. The structural analysis of the acidic exo-polysaccharide fraction (BWS-DA-GI), showing high antitumor activity, was carried out and compared to the mycelial acidic fraction (MWS-DA-GI). The major sugar constituents of the fraction of BWS-DA-GI were glucose, galactose and mannose in the molar ratio of 2.5 : 2.1 : 2.5. The minor components in this fraction were xylose and fucose. While the major sugar constituents of the mycelial acidic fraction of MWS-DA-GI were galactose, fucose, mannose and glucose. The trace components in this fraction was xylose. From the results of periodate oxidation, Smith degradation, affinity chromatography and methylation analysis, the chemical structures of the two fractions, BWS-DA-GI and MWS-DA-GI were both determined as ${\beta}-1,3$ glucans. It was also estimated that BWS-DA-GI had a $1{\rightarrow}6$ glucosidic linkage and MWS DA-GI had $1{\rightarrow}4$ and $1{\rightarrow}6$ glucosidic linkages. The molecular weights of these fractions, MWS-DA-GI and MWSDA-GI were estimated as $1.2{\times}10^6\;and\;1.0{\times}10^6$ dalton, respectively.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.199-208
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• 1994

Analytical methods for the determination of the derivatives of the herbicide (${\pm}$)-2-(4-chloro-2-methylphenoxy)propionic acid (MCPP) by capillary column gas chromatography with mass spectrometer (GC-MS) and electron-capture detection (GC-ECD) were studied. A successful procedure was introduced for the ester preparation using $H_2SO_4$, as the catalyst and the alcohol 2,2,2-trichloroethanol (TCE) or 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol (TFE). The identificaiton and elucidation of MCPP by GC-MS spectrometry following the esterification with diazomethane, $BF_3$/methanol, $H_2SO_4$/methanol, TCE, TFE, or pentafluorobenzyl bromide (PFB) were carried out. A comparison of the response-sensitivities among those MCPP esters was made with GC-ECD. Although the methylation product of MCPP was confirmed by GC-MS, its low sensitivity to the ECD limited the detection of MCPP. TCE, TFE, and PFB derivatization methods resulted in a high rate of MCPP esterifications and very sensitive ECD molecular responses. Based on efficiency, convenience, worker safety, and least sample contamination, TFE esterificaiton was considered as the superior method for MCPP analysis to the other methods of derivatization. An accurate method is described for quantifying MCPP in soil leachates by GC-ECD at very low concentrations without the requirement of a complicated clean-up process. As a result, MCPP residues at concentrations of less than $0.1{\mu}g$ in 100ml soil leachate were detected.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.119-131
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• 1998

It has been reported that the glycoprotein extracted from Aloe has strong anti-inflammatory response. However, there has been no research report yet about the effect of Aloe on allergic hypersensitivity reactivity. By using guinea pig lung mast cells, this study aimed to examine the effects of Aloe glycoprotein (NY945) on the mediator releases caused by mast cell activation, and also aimed to assess the effects of NY945 on the mechanism of mediator releases in the mast cell activation. We partially purified mast cell from guinea pig lung tissues by using the enzyme digestion, the rough and the discontinuous density percoll gradient method. Mast cells were sensitized with IgG1 (anti-OA) and challenged with ovalbumin. Histamine was assayed by fluorometric analyzer, leukotrienes by radioimmunoassay. The phospholipase D activity was assessed by the production of labeled phosphatidylalcohol. The amount of mass 1, 2-diacylglycerol (DAG) was measured by the $[^3H]DAG$ produced when prelabeled with $[^3H]myristic$ acid. The phospholipid methylation was assessed by measuring the incorporation of the $[^3H]methyl$ moiety into phospholipids of cellular membranes. Pretreatment of NY945 (10 ${\mu}g$) significantly decreased histamine and leukotrienes releases during mast cell activation. The decrease of histamine release was stronger than that of leukotriene during mast cell activation. The phospholipase D activity increased by the mast cell activation was decreased by the dose-dependent manner in the pretreatment of NY945. The amount of DAG produced by PLC activity was decreased by NY945 pretreatment. The amount of mass 1, 2-diacylglycerol produced by activation of mast cells was decreased in the pretreatment of NY945. NY945 pretreatment strongly inhibited the incorporation of the $[^3H]methyl$ moiety into phospholipids. The data suggest that NY945 purified from Aloe inhibits in part an increase of 1, 2-diacylglycerol which is produced by activating mast cells with antigen-antibody reactions, which is mediated via phosphatidylcholine-phospholipase D and phosphatidylinositol-phospholipase C systems, and then followed by the inhibition of histamine release. Furthermore, NY945 reduces the production of phosphatidylcholine by inhibiting the methyltransferase I and II, which decreases the conversion of phosphatidylcholine into arachidonic acid and inhibits the production of leukotrienes.

• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.53-66
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• 2012

A comparison of analytical approaches for Levoglucosan ($C_6H_{10}O_5$, commonly formed from the pyrolysis of carbohydrates such as cellulose) and used for a molecular marker in biomass burning is made between the four different analytical systems. 1) Spectrothermography technique as the evaluation of thermograms of carbon using Elemental Carbon & Organic Carbon Analyzer, 2) mass spectrometry technique using Gas Chromatography/mass spectrometer (GC/MS), 3) Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (AMS) for the identification of the particle size distribution and chemical composition, and 4) two dimensional Gas Chromatography with Time of Flight mass spectrometry (GC${\times}$GC-TOFMS) for defining the signature of Levoglucosan in terms of chemical analytical process. First, a Spectrothermography, which is defined as the graphical representation of the carbon, can be measured as a function of temperature during the thermal separation process and spectrothermographic analysis. GC/MS can detect mass fragment ions of Levoglucosan characterized by its base peak at m/z 60, 73 in mass fragment-grams by methylation and m/z 217, 204 by trimethylsilylderivatives (TMS-derivatives). AMS can be used to analyze the base peak at m/z 60.021, 73.029 in mass fragment-grams with a multiple-peak Gaussian curve fit algorithm. In the analysis of TMS derivatives by GC${\times}$GC-TOFMS, it can detect m/z 73 as the base ion for the identification of Levoglucosan. It can also observe m/z 217 and 204 with existence of m/z 333. Although the ratios of m/z 217 and m/z 204 to the base ion (m/z 73) in the mass spectrum of GC${\times}$GC-TOFMS lower than those of GC/MS, Levoglucosan can be separated and characterized from D (-) +Ribose in the mixture of sugar compounds. At last, the environmental significance of Levoglucosan will be discussed with respect to the health effect to offer important opportunities for clinical and potential epidemiological research for reducing incidence of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases.