Antlers from deer species are alternative animal by-products. Due to the oriental trade, the velvet antler industry is rapidly emerging in North America. The unique biological property of antler wish a deciduous natural phenomenon offers the valuable model of biomedical research. Growing antlers showed different structures according to cell populations consisting of mesenchymes, chondroblasts, chondrocytes and osseous tissues from distal to proximal portions of main beam. Their structures were different from two tissues, cartilage and bone, in growing antlers. Zone of maturing ants calcifying chondrocytes referred as upper section was invaded by osteoblasts indicating the occurrence of endochondral ossification. The cartilaginous tissues were gradually replaced by osseous tissues downward. The bony tissues referred as the middle and base sections in this thesis contained spongy bone and cortical bone structure in the difference of the degree of mineralization antral the thickness of cortical bony in adjacent to outer velvet layer. In addition, the endocrinological regulators such as testosterone, prolactin, growth hormones and other growth factors are actively involved in the unique deciduous nature shown in the growth and development of antler.

Crepidiastrum lanceolatum ($H_{OUTT}$) $N_{AKAI}$ (Compositae) is distributed in East Asia including Korea. Genetic diversity and population structure of six C. lanceolatum populations in Korea and two populations in Japan were determined using genetic variation at 19 allozyme loci. The percent of polymorphic loci within the enzymes was 42.1%. Genetic diversity at the species level and at the population level was low (Hes : 0.077; Hep : 0.068, respectively), where-as the extent of the population divergence was relatively low ($G_{ST}$ : 0.093). One of the most striking features of this study was the more significant difference within populations than among populations. An indirect estimate of the number of migrants per generation (Nm : 2.44) indicated that gene flow was moderate among eight populations of the species. In addition, analysis of fixation indices revealed a slight heterozygosity deficiency in some populations and at some loci. Narrow geographic ranges, short-lived perennial herbaceous, and small population sizes are mainly associated with the low level of genetic variation.n.

Subpopulations of nucleotides that bind specifically to a variety of proteins have been isolated from a population of random sequence RNA/DNA molecules. Roughly one in $10^{13}$ random sequence RNA/DNA molecules folds in such a way as to create a specific binding site for small ligands. Since the development of in vitro selection procedure, more than 50 nucleic acid ligands (aptamers) have been isolated. These molecules are very useful for the study of molecular recognition between nucleic acid and protein/organic compound. In addition to these basic studies this method gives us a dream to produce new drugs against several diseases. We focused on several aptamers which specifically binds to trypsin-like serine proteases (thrombin, human neutrophil elastase, activated protein C and NS3 protease of human hepatitis C virus) and want to introduce their structural characteristics and some functions.

The pathway of embryos formed anther culture in herbaceous peony was influenced by addition of 2,4-D. MS medium with 2,4-Dichlorophenoxy acetic acid (2,4-D) alone did not arise direct embryogenesis, but was proliferate callus. Embryos through calli were produced on medium containing 0.2 mg/1 zeatin or without growth regulators. Direct embryogenesis was obtained from MS basal medium. However, after the anthers were cultured on medium with 0.1 mg/1 2,4-D, 3 g/1 AC, 30 g/1 sucrose, 2 g/1 gelrite for 40 days. Its efficiency (32.3 %) was markedly improved when anthers cultured on medium without 2,4-D. Embryo morphology was also affected by the 2,4-D used in medium. The induction of normal embryos with two cotyledons was higher in the embryos formed through direct embryogenesis than those formed callus. The embryos formed from calli were mainly showed abnormal embryo with one, three, four cotyledons or hors and bowling pin type.

CS21 lymphoma cells that preferentially metastasize to lymph nodes after s.c. inoculation into BALB/c mice were grown in vitro in the presence of CA12 stromal cells isolated from lymph nodes. To obtain fundamental data on identification and characterization of the soluble factor(s) produced by CA12 stromal cells, we investigated the biological profile of the conditioned medium produced by CAl2 stromal cells. CAl2 conditioned medium has no affinity with Con A. CAl2 conditioned medium is associated with the proliferation of splenic T- and thymic T-cells with-out adding mitogen, although the conditioned medium cannot induce the differentiation of thymocytes. Additionally, we showed that H-7, not HA-1004 inhibits CS21 cell proliferation. These results suggest that CAl2 conditioned medium has a specific soluble factor(s) produced by lymph node stromal cells.

Enzyme electrophoresis was used to estimate genetic diversity and population structure of maize, Zea mays L. (Graminales) in Korea. In nine populations, fourteen of the 24 loci (58.3 %) showed detectable polymorphism. Genetic diversity (0.205) was higher than average values for species with similar life history traits. Although our data are relatively small and the landraces not direct ancestors of cultivar, apparently the domestication process has eroded the levels of genetic variation of maize. The recent cultivars were found to have fewer alleles per locus (1.42 vs. 1.56), fewer alleles per polymorphic locus (2.27 vs. 2.33), lower percent polymorphic locus (33.3% vs. 41.7%), and lower diversity (0.159 vs. 0.185) than landraces. These genetic diversity parameters indicated that the cultivar populations were genetically depauperate relative to landlaces. The GST value of nine populations was 0.239. Nearly 76% of the total genetic diversity in Zea mays was apportioned within populations. The indirect estimate of gene new based on mean GST was moderate (Nm=0.80).

In several species, a short period of ischemic preconditioning protects the heart by reducing the size of infarcts resulting from subsequent prolonged bouts of ischemia. The mechanism by which activation of ATP-sensitive $K^+$($K_ATP$) channels could provide the memory associated with ischemic preconditioning is still under debate. Several signal transduction pathways have been implicated in the mechanisms of protection induced by ischemic preconditioning. The exact receptor-coupled pathways involved in preconditioning remain to be identified. Likely extracellular agonists are those whose circulating levels increase under conditions that activate $K_ATP$ channels; these conditions include ischemia and ischemic preconditioning. Potential physiological agonists include the following: (1) nitric oxide; (2) catecholamine; (3) adenosine; (4) acetylcholine; (5) bradykinin and (6) prostacycline. The purpose of this review was to understand the mechanism by which biological signal transduction mechanism acts as a link in one or more known receptor-mediated pathways to increase $K_ATP$ channel activity during ischemic preconditioning.