• Environmental Sciences Bulletin of The Korean Environmental Sciences Society
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• v.10 no.S_3
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• pp.107-111
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• 2001

Surface seawater was sampled from 20 stations in Youngil Bay, Korea in November 2000. The samples were analyzed for eight chlorobenzenes(CBs) out of a total of 12 in the congener series using a gas chromatography coupled to a mass spectrometer detector(GC/MSD). The total CB levels varied from 1.3 to 6.1 ng/L with a mean of 4.0 ng/L. Trichlorobenzene groups (sum of 1,3,5-, 1,2,4-, and 1,2,3-trichlorobenzene) were the predominant class among the four congener groups, while tetrachlorobenzenes(sum of 1,2,3,5-, 1,2,4,5-, and 1,2,3,4- tetrachlorobenzene) and pentachlorobenzene showed a low presence. The total CB levels exhibited similar patterns for all the stations. A significant positive correlation was observed between the individual CB compounds in the particulate samples, while the dissolved samples revealed a strong correlation between the heavier molecular weight CBs.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.421-426
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• 2019

Background: Wolbachia are among the most prevalent endosymbiotic bacteria and induce reproductive anomalies in various invertebrate taxa. The bacterium has huge impacts on host reproductive biology, immunity, evolution, and molecular machinery. However, broad-scale surveys of Wolbachia infections at the order scale, including the order Coleoptera, are limited. In this study, we investigated the Wolbachia infection frequency in 201 Coleopteran insects collected in Korea. Results: A total of 26 species (12.8%) belonging to 11 families harbored Wolbachia. The phylogenetic trees of based on partial 16S rRNA gene sequences and partial Wolbachia surface protein (wsp) gene sequences were largely incongruent to that of their hosts. This result confirms that Wolbachia evolved independently from their hosts, Conclusion: Phylogenetic trees suggest that complex horizontal gene transfer and recombination events occurred within and between divergent Wolbachia subgroups.

• BMB Reports
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• v.41 no.8
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• pp.575-580
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• 2008

Thymocyte-specific transcriptional regulatory systems can be used to better understand the relationship between transcription and V(D)J recombination during early T cell development. In this study, we generated transgenic mice expressing the transactivator Gal4-VP16 or the Gal4 DNA binding domain (Gal4-DBD) under the control of the lck proximal promoter, which is only active in immature thymocytes. From these studies Gal4-VP16 and Gal4-DBD expression was shown to significantly alter thymic cellularity and differentiation without significantly changing the $CD3^+$ thymocyte distribution. Furthermore, the presence of Gal4-VP16 or Gal4-DBD in the transgenic thymocytes retarded the mobility of the Gal4 DNA binding motif as determined by a gel mobility shift assay, suggesting that the developmental alteration did not affect the functional property of the transgenic proteins. These results indicated that lck promoter-driven Gal4-VP16 or Gal4-DBD expression did not affect $CD3^+$ mature thymocytes, thus this system can be applied to study transcriptional regulation of transresponder genes in bigenic mouse model thymocytes.

• BMB Reports
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• v.41 no.12
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• pp.863-867
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• 2008

CD320 has been recently discovered and reported as a follicular dendritic cell (FDC) protein. Although CD320 is known to enhance proliferation of germinal center (GC) B cells, little other information is available. In this study, we investigated its cellular distribution in the GC. Confocal microscopy of human tonsil sections revealed co-localization of CD320 with CD19 and CD38 but not with CD3 indicating that GC B cells expressed CD320 in addition to FDC. In purified GC B cells, CD320 expression was inhibited in the nucleus, membrane and cytoplasm. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction confirmed CD320 mRNA expression in B cells. These finding indicate that CD320 is expressed in B cells in addition to FDC, and that its GC activity may be more complicated than previously thought.

• BMB Reports
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• v.46 no.7
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• pp.352-357
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• 2013

Atherosclerosis, which manifests as acute coronary syndrome, stroke, and peripheral arterial diseases, is a chronic inflammatory disease of the arterial wall. Prunella vulgaris, a perennial herb with a worldwide distribution, has been used as a traditional medicine in inflammatory disease. Here, we investigated the effects of P. vulgaris ethanol extract on TNF-${\alpha}$-induced inflammatory responses in human aortic smooth muscle cells (HASMCs). We found that P. vulgaris ethanol extract inhibited adhesion of monocyte/macrophage-like THP-1 cells to activated HASMCs. It also decreased expression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1, E-selectin and ROS, No production in TNF-${\alpha}$-induced HASMCs and reduced NF-${\kappa}B$ activation. Furthermore, P. vulgaris extract suppressed TNF-${\alpha}$-induced phosphorylation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK). These results demonstrate that P. vulgaris possesses anti-inflammatory properties and can regulate TNF-${\alpha}$-induced expression of adhesion molecules by inhibiting the p38 MAPK/ERK signaling pathway.

• BMB Reports
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.1-2
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• 2018

Positive selection on a new beneficial mutation generates a characteristic pattern of DNA sequence polymorphism when it reaches an intermediate allele frequency. On genome sequences of African Drosophila melanogaster, we detected such signatures of selection at 37 candidate loci and identified "sweeping haplotypes (SHs)" that are increasing or have increased rapidly in frequency due to hitchhiking. Based on geographic distribution of SH frequencies, we could infer whether selective sweeps occurred starting from de novo beneficial mutants under simple constant selective pressure. Single SHs were identified at more than half of loci. However, at many other loci, we observed multiple independent SHs, implying soft selective sweeps due to a high beneficial mutation rate or parallel evolution across space. Interestingly, SH frequencies were intermediate across multiple populations at about a quarter of the loci despite relatively low migration rates inferred between African populations. This invokes a certain form of frequency-dependent selection such as heterozygote advantage. At one locus, we observed a complex pattern of multiple independent that was compatible with recurrent frequency-dependent positive selection on new variants. In conclusion, genomic patterns of positive selection are very diverse, with equal contributions of hard and soft sweeps and a surprisingly large proportion of frequency-dependent selection in D. melanogaster populations.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.121-125
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• 1997

A total of 437 landraces of rice from Vietnam were analyzed for total seed protein by SDS-PAGE and phenol reaction. The different types of glutelin $\alpha$ subunits were detected. The level of wx protein with 60kDa molecular weight was divided into 3 groups, corresponding to non-glutinous, intermediate and glutinous starch types. Based on the variation in seed storage protein and wx protein, landraces were classified into 7 groups. Frequency distribution of types A and B of glutelin $\alpha$ subunits changed with the latitude at which rice landraces were collected. Geographical cline for phenol reaction was detected.

• Particle and aerosol research
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.87-92
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• 2015

MCM-41 (Mobil Composition of Matter) and SBA-15 (Santa Barbara Amorphous) were used as a supported catalyst for ethylene polymerization due to their combination of large surface area and wide range of pore size distribution. The morphology of supports was used to control the morphology of the resulting polymer. Different molar ratios of Al/Ti were used for ethylene polymerization at $60^{\circ}C$ under atmospheric pressure. The effect of different mass ratios of MCM-41/SBA-15 and 1-hexene concentration on polymerization activity and polymer properties was investigated. The catalytic activity and the crystallinity reached the highest value at Al/Ti of 480. Upon incorporation of MCM-41 and SBA-15 into $MgCl_2/TiCl_4$ catalyst, the molecular weight and crystallinity of polyethylene were enhanced. The obtained polyethylene showed melting temperature between 130 and $135^{\circ}C$. The polyethylene with replication structure of support and bimodal MWD was expected.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.25 no.9
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• pp.1355-1360
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• 2004

The oxidative decomposition of trichloroethylene (TCE) was investigated using palladium catalysts supported on pure and sulfated zirconia. The reactions were performed under dry and wet conditions in the temperature between 200 and $550^{\circ}C$ keeping GHSV of 14,000 $h^{-1}.$ The products such as $C_2Cl_4,\;C_2HCl_5,\;CO\;and\;CO_2$ were observed in the reaction. The addition of water in the feed affected the distribution of reaction product with dramatically improved catalytic activity. The spectroscopic investigations gave an evidence that the strong acid sites play an important role on controlling the catalytic activity. Among the catalysts investigated, the Pd-loaded sulfated zirconia catalyst with 1 wt% Pd was found to exhibit the highest catalytic activity in the presence of water vapor having the stability for 30 h of the reaction at $500^{\circ}C$. The successful performance of the catalyst might be attributed to promotional effect of Pd active sites and strong acid sites induced from surface sulfate species on zirconia.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.178-185
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• 2017

Nitrogen is one of the most important mineral elements for plant growth. We studied the functional roles of Oryza sativa DNA BINDING WITH ONE FINGER 18 (OsDOF18) in controlling ammonium uptake. The growth of null mutants of OsDOF18 was retarded in a medium containing ammonium as the sole nitrogen source. In contrast, those mutants grew normally in a medium with nitrate as the sole nitrogen source. The gene expression was induced by ammonium but not by nitrate. Uptake of ammonium was lower in osdof18 mutants than in the wild type, while that of nitrate was not affected by the mutation. This indicated that OsDOF18 is involved in regulating ammonium transport. Among the 10 ammonium transporter genes examined here, expression of OsAMT1;1, OsAMT1;3, OsAMT2;1, and OsAMT4;1 was reduced in osdof18 mutants, demonstrating that the ammonium transporter genes function downstream of OsDOF18. Genes for nitrogen assimilation were also affected in the mutants. These results provide evidence that OsDOF18 mediates ammonium transport and nitrogen distribution, which then affects nitrogen use efficiency.