• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.247-256
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• 2015

There are approximately 1,500 broiler farms in Korea, each raising 55,000 birds. Ninety-five percent of the farms are contracted with Integration Company. According to the Korean broiler performance index, broilers in Korea are marketed at 32 days with 1.52 kg of body weight. In contrast, the market age and body weight of broilers are 47 days/2.8 kg in the United States and 42 days/2.5 kg in Europe. Because of the younger market age of the Korean broiler, the pre-starter feed is important. Chicks exhibit poor absorption of dietary nutrients up to 7 days after hatching due to an immature digestive system and low enzyme secretion rate and activity. At the beginning of hatching, chicks obtain their nutrients from the egg yolk sac. It is highly recommended that chicks, after consuming the nutrients in the egg yolk sac, are given supplemented pre-starter feed to increase early growth rates and improve the performance of broiler production. Pre-starter nutrient requirements are not expressed in NRC, so Korean feeding standards for poultry and commercial breeding companies determine the nutrient requirements of pre-starter broiler chickens. Three approaches are followed to formulate specially designed pre-starter feeds for broiler chicks: (i) selective use of raw materials, (ii) proper standards of nutrient supply, and (iii) application of feed additives such as exogenous enzymes. In the selection of raw materials, those with high digestibility can be used. The absorption rate of carbohydrates in grains can be increased through feed processing at high temperature and high pressure. Soy proteins and fish meal can also be added as protein sources. As an energy source, vegetable oils are preferred over animal fats because of the former's high digestibility. It is suggested that the levels of proteins and amino acids are higher in pre-starter feed than in starter feed. With regard to energy, the sources of energy are more important than the levels of energy in feed. Feed additives such as exogenous enzymes can be used to improve nutrient digestibility. In addition, organic acids and plant extracts can be used as alternatives to animal growth promoters to stimulate immunity and prevent diseases. The growth performance of broilers is affected by various factors, such as management and disease control, in addition to the nutritional strategy; however, nutritional strategies play an important role in improving the productivity of broilers. Therefore, nutritional strategies, along with management and disease control, are required for improving the productivity of broilers in Korea.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.107-118
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• 2019

Two assertions about the process the formation of the high-purity limestone in the Taebaeksan Basin, categorized into syngenetic and epigenetic origin, are verified on the basis of its oxygen-carbon stable isotopic characteristics. The carbonate rocks sampled from the selective six high-purity limestone mines and several outcrops in the Daegi formation are featured by various colors such as the gray, light gray and dark gray. They show a wide range of oxygen stable isotope ratios (4.5 ~ 21.6 ‰), but a narrow range of carbon stable isotope ratios (-1.1 ~ 0.8 ‰, except for vein calcite), which means that they had not experienced strong hydrothermal alteration. In addition, there is no difference in the range of the oxygen stable isotope ratios by mine and color, and it is similar to the range from surrounding outcrop samples. These results indicate that the effect of the hydrothermal alteration were negligible in the generation of high-purity limestone in deposit scale. Whereas, the carbonate rocks can be divided texturally into two groups on the basis of an oxygen isotope ratio; the massive-textured or well-layered samples (>15 ‰), and the layer-disturbed (or layer-destructed) and showing over two colors in one sample (<15 ‰). In the multi-colored samples, the bright parts are characterized by the very low oxygen stable isotope ratios, compared to the dark parts, implying the increase in brightness of the carbonate rocks could be induced by the interaction between hydrothermal fluid and rock. However, these can be applied in a small scale such as one sample and are not suitable for interpretation of the generation of high-purity limestone as a deposit scale. In particular, the high oxygen isotope ratios from the recrystallized white limestone suggest that hydrothermal fluids are also rarely involved during recrystallization process. In addition, the occurrences of the high-purity limestone orebody strongly support the high-purity limestone in the area are syngenetic rather than epigenetic; the high-purity limestone layers in the area show continuous and almost horizontal shapes, and is intercalated between dolomite layers. Consequently, the overall reinterpretation based on the sequential stratigraphy over the Taebaeksan basin would play an important role to find additional reserves of the high-purity limestone.

• 한국균학회소식:학술대회논문집
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• 2014.05a
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• pp.27-28
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• 2014

Beauveria bassiana (Cordycipitaceae, Hypocreales, Ascomycota) is an anamorphic fungus having a potential to be used as a biological control agent because it parasitizes a wide range of arthropod hosts including termites, aphids, beetles and many other insects. A number of bioactive secondary metabolites (SMs) have been isolated from B. bassiana and functionally verified. Among them, beauvericin and bassianolide are cyclic depsipeptides with antibiotic and insecticidal effects belonging to the enniatin family. Non-ribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPSs) play a crucial role in the synthesis of these secondary metabolites. NRPSs are modularly organized multienzyme complexes in which each module is responsible for the elongation of proteinogenic and non-protein amino acids, as well as carboxyl and hydroxyacids. A minimum of three domains are necessary for one NRPS elongation module: an adenylation (A) domain for substrate recognition and activation; a tholation (T) domain that tethers the growing peptide chain and the incoming aminoacyl unit; and a condensation (C) domain to catalyze peptide bond formation. Some of the optional domains include epimerization (E), heterocyclization (Cy) and oxidation (Ox) domains, which may modify the enzyme-bound precursors or intermediates. In the present study, we analyzed genomes of B. bassiana and its allied species in Hypocreales to verify the distribution of NRPS-encoding genes involving biosynthesis of beauvericin and bassianolide, and to unveil the evolutionary processes of the gene clusters. Initially, we retrieved completely or partially assembled genomic sequences of fungal species belonging to Hypocreales from public databases. SM biosynthesizing genes were predicted from the selected genomes using antiSMASH program. Adenylation (A) domains were extracted from the predicted NRPS, NRPS-like and NRPS-PKS hybrid genes, and used them to construct a phylogenetic tree. Based on the preliminary results of SM biosynthetic gene prediction in B. bassiana, we analyzed the conserved gene orders of beauvericin and bassianolide biosynthetic gene clusters among the hypocrealean fungi. Reciprocal best blast hit (RBH) approach was performed to identify the regions orthologous to the biosynthetic gene cluster in the selected fungal genomes. A clear recombination pattern was recognized in the inferred A-domain tree in which A-domains in the 1st and 2nd modules of beauvericin and bassianolide synthetases were grouped in CYCLO and EAS clades, respectively, suggesting that two modules of each synthetase have evolved independently. In addition, inferred topologies were congruent with the species phylogeny of Cordycipitaceae, indicating that the gene fusion event have occurred before the species divergence. Beauvericin and bassianolide synthetases turned out to possess identical domain organization as C-A-T-C-A-NM-T-T-C. We also predicted precursors of beauvericin and bassianolide synthetases based on the extracted signature residues in A-domain core motifs. The result showed that the A-domains in the 1st module of both synthetases select D-2-hydroxyisovalerate (D-Hiv), while A-domains in the 2nd modules specifically activate L-phenylalanine (Phe) in beauvericin synthetase and leucine (Leu) in bassianolide synthetase. antiSMASH ver. 2.0 predicted 15 genes in the beauvericin biosynthetic gene cluster of the B. bassiana genome dispersed across a total length of approximately 50kb. The beauvericin biosynthetic gene cluster contains beauvericin synthetase as well as kivr gene encoding NADPH-dependent ketoisovalerate reductase which is necessary to convert 2-ketoisovalarate to D-Hiv and a gene encoding a putative Gal4-like transcriptional regulator. Our syntenic comparison showed that species in Cordycipitaceae have almost conserved beauvericin biosynthetic gene cluster although the gene order and direction were sometimes variable. It is intriguing that there is no region orthologous to beauvericin synthetase gene in Cordyceps militaris genome. It is likely that beauvericin synthetase was present in common ancestor of Cordycipitaceae but selective gene loss has occurred in several species including C. militaris. Putative bassianolide biosynthetic gene cluster consisted of 16 genes including bassianolide synthetase, cytochrome P450 monooxygenase, and putative Gal4-like transcriptional regulator genes. Our synteny analysis found that only B. bassiana possessed a bassianolide synthetase gene among the studied fungi. This result is consistent with the groupings in A-domain tree in which bassianolide synthetase gene found in B. bassiana was not grouped with NRPS genes predicted in other species. We hypothesized that bassianolide biosynthesizing cluster genes in B. bassiana are possibly acquired by horizontal gene transfer (HGT) from distantly related fungi. The present study showed that B. bassiana is the only species capable of producing both beauvericin and bassianolide. This property led to B. bassiana infect multiple hosts and to be a potential biological control agent against agricultural pests.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.28 no.7
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• pp.795-801
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• 2018

This study was conducted to investigate the association of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers on equine chromosomes (ECA) 3 and 9 with body weight in Jeju horses. We used DNA samples and body weight data of 320 horses provided by the Livestock Promotion Agency, Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, and the Korean Racing Association, respectively. We genotyped all the experimental animals using nine SNP markers located on ECA 3 (BIEC2-808466, BIEC2-808543, BIEC2-808967, and BIEC2-809370) and ECA 9 (BIEC2-1105370, BIEC2-1105372, BIEC2-1105377, BIEC21105505, and BIEC2-1105840). These markers were selected due to their effects on body conformation traits in horses. The joint effect of the genotypes of the two SNP markers (BIEC2-808467 and BIEC2-1105377) regarding body weight were also evaluated. The estimated breeding value (EBV) of body weight was obtained as the dependent variable for association analyses using a linear mixed model. Significant associations were detected between SNP markers (BIEC2-808543, BIEC2-808967, BIEC2-809370, BIEC2-1105370, BIEC2-1105372, and BIEC2-1105377) and the body weight EBV. In addition, the joint genotype effect of the BIEC2-808467 and BIEC2-1105377 on the body weight EBV was significant. These results indicate that the SNP markers, which showed their significant effects on body conformation, can be used as genetic markers to improve the efficiency of the selective breeding program for the body weight traits in Jeju horses.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.273-284
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• 1994

The primary objective of this study was to examine the toxic effects of PCP on activated sludge and to analyze its metabolic responses while treating wastewater containing pentachlorophenol (PCP) in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) system operating under different control strategies. This study was conducted in two phases 1 and 2 (8-hr and 12-hr cycles). Each phase was operated with two control strategies I and II. Strategy I (reactor 1) involved rapid addition (5 minutes to complete) of substrate to the reactor with continuous mixing but no aeration for 2 hours. Strategy ll (reactor 2) involved adding the feed continuously during the first 2 hours of the cycle when the system was mixed but not aerated. During both phases each reactor was operated at a sludge age of 15 days. The synthetic wastewater was used as a feed. The COD of the feed solution was about 380 mg/l. After the reference response for both reactors was established, the steady state response of each system was established for PCP feed concentrations of 0.1 mg/l, 1.0 mg/l, and 5.0 mg/l in SBR systems operating on both 8-hr and 12-hr cycles. Soluble COD removal was not inhibited at any feed PCP concentrations used. At 5.0 mg/l fined PCP concentration and in SBR systems operating on phase 2, the concentrations of MLVSS were decreased; selective pressure on the mixed biomass might be increased, narrowing the range of possible ecological responses; the settleability of activated sludge was poor; the SOURS were increased, showing that the systems were shocked. Nitrification was made to some extent at all concentrations of feed PCP in SBR systems operating on phase 2 whereas in SBR systems operating on phase 1 little nitrification was observed. Then, nitrification will be delayed as much as soluble COD removal is retarded due to PCP inhibition effects. Enhanced biological phosphorus removal occurring in the system operating with control strategy I during phase 1 of this work and in the presence of low concentrations of PCP was unreliable and might cease at anytime, whereas enhanced biological phosphorus removal occurring in the system operating with either control strategy I or II during phase 2 of this work and in the Presence of feed PCP concentrations up to 1.0 mg/l was reliable. When, however, such processes were exposed to 5.0 mg/l PCP dose, enhanced phosphorus removal ceased and never returned.

• Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.209-217
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• 2007

Purpose: Multidrug resistance (MDR) of the cancer cells related to mdr1 gene expression can be effectively treated by selective short hairpin RNA for mdr1 gene (shMDR). Sodium/iodide symporter (NIS) gene is well known to have both reporter and therapeutic gene characteristics. We have co-transfected both shMDR and NIS gene into colon cancer cells (HCT15 cell) expressing MDR and Tc-99m sestamibi and I-125 uptake were measured. In addition, cytotoxic effects of doxorubicin and I-131 therapy were also assessed after transfection. Material and Methods: At first, shMDR was transfected with liposome reagent into human embryonic kidney cells (HEK293) and HCT cells. shMDR transfection was confirmed by RT-PCR and western blot analysis. Adenovirus expressing NIS (Ad-NIS) gene and shMDR (Ad-shMDR) were co-transfected with Ad-NIS into HCT15 cells. Forty-eight hours after infection, inhibition of P-gycoprotein (Pgp) function by shMDR was analyzed by a change of Tc-99m sestamibi uptake and doxorubicin cytotoxicity, and functional activity of induced NIS gene expression was assessed with I-125 uptake assay. Results: In HEK293 cells transfected with shMDR, mdr1 mRNA and Pgp protein expressions were down regulated. HCT15 cells infected with 20 MOI of Ad-NIS was higher NIS protein expression than control cells. After transfection of 300 MOI of Ad-shMDR either with or without 10 MOI of Ad-NIS, uptake of Tc-99m sestamibi increased up to 1.5-fold than control cells. HCT15 cells infected with 10 MOI of Ad-NIS showed approximately 25-fold higher I-125 uptake than control cells. Cotransfection of Ad-shMDR and Ad-NIS resulted in enhanced cytotoxic by doxorubicin in HCT15 cells. I-131 treatment on HCT15 cells infected with 20 MOI of Ad-NIS revealed increased cytotoxic effect. Conclusion: Suppression of mdr1 gene expression, retention of Tc-99m sestamibi, enhanced doxorubicin cytotoxicity and increases in I-125 uptake were achieved in MDR expressing cancer cell by co-transfection of shMDR and NIS gene. Dual therapy with doxorubicin and radioiodine after cotransfection shMDR and NIS gene can be used to overcome MDR.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.52 no.6
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• pp.689-695
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• 2009

Purpose : To examine the effect of bosentan, a dual endothelin receptor (ER) antagonist, on the development of monocrotaline (MCT)-induced pulmonary hypertension in rats by especially focusing on the pulmonary vascular morphology changes. Methods : Sprague-Dawley rats were treated as follows: controls received a subcutaneous saline injection, MCT-treated rats received a subcutaneous MCT injection, and bosentan-treated rats received a MCT injection followed by treatment with bosentan (20 mg/kg/day). To assess the effects of ER blockade on the time course, the animals were exsanguinated, and their hearts and lungs were dissected after 7, 14, or 28 days. Results : The mean body weights of the MCT- and bosentan-treated rats were significantly lower than that of the control rats on days 7, 14, and 28. Bosentan administration significantly inhibited the progression of right ventricular hypertrophy on day 28 (right ventricle/[left ventricle＋septum]: $0.71{\pm}0.10$ in MCT-treated rats vs. $0.49{\pm}0.09$ in bosentan-treated rats; P<0.05). Quantitative analysis of peripheral pulmonary arteries revealed that the increase in medial wall thickness after MCT injection was significantly attenuated in the bosentan-treated rats on day 28 ($49.96{\pm}10.06%$ in MCT-treated rats vs. $47.09{\pm}10.48%$ in bosentan-treated rats; P<0.05). In addition, the increase in the number of intra-acinar muscular arteries after MCT injection was reduced by bosentan on days 14 and 28. Conclusion : Bosentan administration in intermediate doses exerts inhibitory effects on lung vascular hypertrophy and right ventricular hypertrophy during the development of MCT-induced pulmonary hypertension in rats.

• The Korean Journal of Pesticide Science
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.250-256
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• 2002

The objective was to know if chinese cabbage growers in Gangwon alpine farmland control agricultural pests including weeds effectively and use pesticide properly. Examiners visited 185 farmers at Taebaek, Pyongchang, and Jeongseon and surveyed 33 questions on pest control methods pesticide use. Chinese cabbage farmers have noxious plant diseases such as clubroot, bacterial soft rot, downy mildew, anthracnose, and mosaic disease, and also noxious insects such as diamondback moth, aphid, beet armyworm, common cabbage worm, and Japanese native slug. In addition, farmers have noxious weeds such as common chickweed, marsh pepper, hairy crabgrass, common purslane, and horseweed. To control diseases and insects, 51.3% of farmers used many chemical agents, while 20.7% of farmers used chemical agents with too much emphasis on paraquat and glyphosate to control weeds: 87.2% of the answered farmers have a preference of the both non-selective herbicides. Farmers in the survey area selected pesticides on the basis of their own experience and sales managers' recommendation (84.2%) which results in the use of inappropriate pesticides such diniconazole. Many farmers have experienced phytotoxicities (46.7%) and pesticide poisoning (51.2%). We conclude that a systematic educational program for the proper selection and use of pesticides should be conducted for chinese cabbage growers in Gangwon alpine farmland.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.210-217
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• 2017

Objectives : Although the Attention Network Test(ANT) has been widely used to assess selective attention including alerting, orienting, and conflict processing, data on its test-retest reliability are lacking for clinical population. The objective of the current study was to investigate test-retest reliability of the ANT in healthy controls and patients with schizophrenia. Methods : Fourteen patients with schizophrenia and 23 healthy controls participated in the study. They are tested with ANT twice with 1 week interval. Test-retest reliability was analyzed with Pearson and Intra-class correlations. Results : Patients with schizophrenia showed high test-retest correlations for mean reaction time, orienting effect, and conflict effect. Also, they showed moderate to high test-retest correlations for mean accuracy and moderate test-retest correlations for alerting effect and conflict error rate. On the other hand, healthy controls revealed high test-retest correlations for mean reaction time and moderate to high test-retest correlations for conflict error rate. In addition, they revealed moderate test-retest correlations for alert effect, orienting effect, and conflict effect. Conclusions : The mean reaction time, alerting effect, orienting effect, conflict effect, and conflict error rate of ANT showed acceptable test-retest reliabilities in healthy controls as well as patient with schizophrenia. Therefore, the analyses of these reliable measures of ANT are recommended for case-control studies in patients with schizophrenia.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.52 no.2
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• pp.159-166
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• 2009

Purpose : Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is one of the most common nutritional deficiencies in children on a weaning diet. We investigated weaning practices in infants and children, as well as their mothers' knowledge about weaning. Methods : We investigated 129 children with IDA and 166 without IDA (aged 6-36 months) who had visited 10 university hospitals between March 2006 and July 2007. We investigated the hematologic values of both groups. A questionnaire on weaning was answered by the mothers of these children. Results : The hematologic values in the IDA group showed a significant difference from those in the comparison group (P<0.05). Children who were solely breastfed until 6 months of age were 85%, 34% (P<0.05), and weaning was started by 6.3, 6.4 months, respectively (P>0.05). Rice gruel, boiled rice, and fruit juice accounted for approximately 80% of the starting foods in both groups (P>0.05). Only 40% of the children in the IDA group had a balanced diet within a month, versus 38% in the comparison group. In response to questions about the necessity of iron-fortified foods for breast-fed infants, less than 50% of mothers in both groups answered correctly. In the IDA group, 42% showed serum ferritin less than 10 ng/mL, while 92% showed serum MCV less than 72 fL. Conclusion : In conclusion, collection of information on history should be thorough for feeding and selective examinations for IDA in high-risk groups. Considering the adaptation period, we suggest beginning children on a weaning diet at 45 months. In addition, we need to educate mothers on weaning practice, especially on the necessity of iron-fortified foods for breast-fed infants.