• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.89-96
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• 1999

Some of the information concerning sexual function in the male diabetes has been focused upon the problems of endocrine or semen parameters. However, the characteristics of acrosome reaction and spermatozoa concentration at the epididymis and vas deferens have scarcely been studied, and the causes of the infertility has not been critically identified. So, we designed to inspect the spermatozoa concentration and the characteristics of acrosome reaction at epididymis and vas deferens of diabetic Wistar rat induced by streptozotocin (STZ, 70 mg/kg, ip). Experimental animal was sacrificed at 3 days and 14 days after the STZ injection. In the diabetes-induced rat, the levels of insulin and glucose had a pattern of inverse proportion. The spermatozoa concentrations in caput and corpus epididymis were significantly decreased in all diabetic condition. In cauda epididymis, however, there was significant decrease in sperm concentration at 14 days onward. In diabetic rat, the spontaneous reaction rate of spermatozoa of cauda and vas deferens were significantly higher than the control group. The ARIC (acrosome reaction to ionophore challenge) value of caudal sperm was 28.7 at control, 22.1 at 3 days, and 8.3 at 14 days. In the present study the spermatozoa concentration was decreased and the spontaneous reaction rate was increased by diabetes. In ARIC-test, it is revealed that the fertility of spermatozoa of 14 days group was lower than control or 3 days group. Diabetes mellitus may be provoke the decreased fertilization rate and subsequent infertility and subsequent infertility.

• The Journal of Natural Sciences
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• v.4
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• pp.143-159
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• 1991

In order to investigate the micropropagation of Pelargonium, 2 cultivars of P. peltatum 'Pouletta' and P. zonale 'Pinto Red' were cultured in vitro on the MS basal medium supplemented with various concentrations of growth regulators. It attempted to study the induction of callus and the differentiation of organs from leaf disc, petiole segments, stem segments. hypocotyle segments and flower stalk segments. The results are summarized as follows; A. As for the initiation of callus, stem explant was proved to be the most suitable one among various explants of P. zonale 'Pinto Red'. The medium was supplemented with 1.0mg/1 BAP and 1.0mg/1 NAA. As NAA concentration increased, callus formation was enhanced, but higher concentration of NAA inhibited callus fromation. Leaf and hypocotyle explants showed less callus formation than stem and petiole explants. B. In P. zonale 'Pinto Red' petiole culture, the condition of cullus culture such as hormone concentration resulted in affecting shoots differentiation. The best result of shoots formation from the callus reculture were obtained from the combination of 0.5-1.0mg/1 BAP and 0.1-1.0mg/1 NAA when the callus was cultured in 1.0mg/1 BAP and 0.05mg/1 NAA. When the callus was cultured in medium without BAP, the shoot was not differentiated in subculture regardless to BAP and NAA concentration. and only callus was formed. C. Poly-phenol substance was observed in MS medium supplemented without PVP, in which callus was not formed from the leaf of P. peltatum 'Rouletta'. Polyphenol substance was not observed in MS medium supplemented with PVP, in which callus formation was increased. D. The callus formation of P. peltatum 'Rouletta' showed the stem explant being best result. The best result particularly in the stem explant among others. The optimal hormonal concentration was 0.1mg/1 NAA and 5.0mg/1 BAP. The shoot formation was observed at 0.05mg/1 NAA and 1.0mg/1 BAP, 0.1mg/1 NAA and 5.0mg/1 BAP. The shoot was malformed and the tissue recultured turned necrotic.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.61 no.1
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• pp.13-19
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• 2006

Background: Acinetobacter baumannii has emerged as an important nosocomial pathogen worldwide. The incidence of these infections has recently begun to increase. The mortality rate associated with these infections is high (bacteremia; 52%, pneumonia: 23%~73%) and multidrug resistance has been reported. For the effective control of multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii(MDR-AB), the impact of these organisms in clinical practice should be determined. This study compared the clinical characteristics, mortality and morbidity of Acinetobacter nosocomial pneumonia between MDR strain and non-MDR strain. Methods: From Jan. 1, 2002 to Nov. 1. 2004, 47 adult patients with Acinetobacter nosocomial pneumonia in Chuncheon Sacred Heart Hospital were recruited and analyzed retrospectively. MDR-AB was defined as showing in vitro resistance to all commercially available antibiotics against A. baumannii. Results: There were 47 patients with Acinetobacter nosocomial pneumonia. MDR-AB and non MDR-AB was the cause of the pneumonia in 17 and 30 patients, respectively. Mean age of the former was $69{\pm}11$ years old and the latter was $70{\pm}13$ years old. The mean APCHE II score, ICU days and mortality were not different between the two groups ($16.1{\pm}5.4$ vs. $14.9{\pm}4.8$, P=0.43, $25.1{\pm}13.6$ vs. $39.1{\pm}31.0$, P=0.2, 58.8% vs. 40%, P=0.21). Conclusion: There are no significant differences in mortality and morbidity between MDR and non-MDR Acinetobacter baumannii. The mortality of the two groups is surprisingly high, therefore proper infection control practices are essential.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.651-658
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• 2004

Runx2 is a transcription factor in homologous with Drosophila runt gene and it is essential for bone formation during embryogenesis and a critical gene for osteoblast differentiation and osteoblast function. Runx2-haploinsufficency causes cleidocranial dysplasia (CCD). CCD is an autosomal-dominant inherited disorder characterized by hypoplastic clevicle and delayed ossification in fontanelles and wormian bones. Dental defects are possibly shown to CCD patients : multiple supernumerary teeth, irregular and compressed permanent tooth crowns, hypoplastic and hypomineralized defects in enamel and dentin, an excess of epithelial root remnants, the absence of cellular cementum, and abnormally shaped roots. In addition, delayed eruption of the secondary dentition is a constant finding. The aim of this study is to evaluate the role of Runx2 in the tooth development and eruption through analyzing the expression pattern of Runx2 by in situ hybridization during crown (late bell stage) and root formation of tooth, using postnatal day 1, 4, 7, 14 and 21 mice mandibular molar teeth. mRNA of Runx2-full length is expressed in dental follicle and surrounding tissue at postnatal day1 and 4. At postnatal day 7, it is expressed in ameloblasts of occlusal surface of enamel and bone area surrounding the tooth. In comparison with previous stage, at postnatal day 14, it is expressed in ameloblasts of proximal surface of enamel. At postnatal day 21 it's expression is observed only in bone area. mRNA of Runx2-typeII is not expressed. At postnatal day 1 and 7. At postnatal day 14 and 21, it's expression is observed in the bone area. In this study, we suggest that Runx2 have a relation of ameloblasts differentiation and an important role to tooth eruption made by dental follicle during intraosseous eruption stage. Also we can confirm that Runx2 has a role to bone formation.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.95-106
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• 2007

Objective: We previously identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between germinal vesicle (GV) and metaphase II (MII) mouse oocyte. The present study was accomplished as a preliminary study to elucidate the role of ribose 5-phosphate isomerase A (Rpia), the essential enzyme of the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP), in oocyte maturation. We observed expression of Rpia in the mouse and porcine oocytes. Methods: Expression pattern of the 11 MII-selective DEGs in various tissues was evaluated using RT-PCR and selected 4 genes highly expressed in the ovary. According to the oocyte-selective expression profile, we selected Rpia as a target for this study. We identified the porcine Rpia sequence using EST clustering technique, since it is not yet registered in public databases. Results: The extended porcine Rpia nucleotide sequence was submitted and registered to GenBank (accession number EF213106). We prepared primers for porcine Rpia according to this sequence. In contrast to the oocyte-specific expression in the mouse, Rpia was expressed in porcine cumulus and granulosa cells as well as in oocytes. Conclusion: This is the first report on the characterization of the Rpia gene in the mouse and porcine ovarian cells. Results of the present study suggest that the mouse and porcine COCs employ different mechanism of glucose metabolism. Therefore, the different metabolic pathways during in vitro oocyte maturation (IVM) in different species may lead different maturation rates. It is required to study further regarding the role of Rpia in glucose metabolism of oocytes and follicular cell fore exploring the regulatory mechanism of oocyte maturation as well as for finding the finest culture conditions for in vitro maturation.

• Korea journal of population studies
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.1-32
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• 2005

The optimum population of a society or country can be defined as 'the population growth path that maximizes the welfare level of the society over the whole generations of both the present and the future, under the paths allowed by its endowments of production factors such as technology, capital and labor'. Thus, the optimum size or growth rate of population depends on: (i) the social welfare function, (ii) the production function, and (iii)demographic economic interrelationship which defines how the national income is disposed into consumption(birth and education of children included) and savings on the one hand and how the demographic and economic change induced thereby, in turn, affect production capacities on the other. The optimum population growth path can, then, be derived in the process of dynamic optimization of (i) under the constraints of (ii) and (iii), which will give us the optimum population growth rate defined as a function of parameters thereof. This paper estimates the optimum population growth rate of Korea by: specifying (i), (ii), and (iii) based on the recent development of economic theories, solving the dynamic optimization problem and inserting empirical estimates in Korea as the parametric values. The result shows that the optimum path of population growth in Korea is around TFR=1.81, which is affected most sensitively, in terms of the size of the partial elasticity around the optimum path, by the cost of children, share of capital income, consumption rate, time preference, population elasticity of utility function, etc. According to a survey implemented as a follow up study, there are quite a significant variations in the perceived cost of children, time preference rate, population elasticity of utility across different socio-economic classes in Korea, which implied that, compared to their counterparts, older generation and more highly educated classes prefer higher growth path for the population of Korea.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.268-275
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• 2004

Effects of soaking time and particle size on physicochemical properties of nonwaxy rice flour were investigated. Nonwaxy rice grains were soaked at $4^{\circ}C$ for 0, 1, 12, and 24 hr, dried at room temperature, and milled, Resulting flours were passed through 45-mesh ($<355{\mu}m,\;IL45$) and 100-mesh ($<150{\mu}m\;IL100$) sieves and separated into $<40{\mu}m\;and\;40-100{\mu}m$ series. IL45 series showed higher amount of large particles ($40-100{\mu}m$) than IL100 series. As the soaking time increased, protein and ash contents decreased, and amylose content, water-binding capacity, swelling power, and solubity of nonwaxy rice flours increased. Swelling power and solibility of nonwaxy rice flours also increased between $65-85^{\circ}C$. Water-binding capacity, swelling power, and solubility of IL100 series were higher than those of IL45 series. 12 hr-soaked nonwaxy rice flour pastes showed higher peak viscosity and breakdown but lower setback and visicosity at $95\;and\;50^{\circ}C$ than 1 hr-soaked ones. X-Ray diffractograms of nonwaxy rice flours were not affected, whereas surface appearance was affected, by soaking time and particle size.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.416-424
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• 2015

Pinosylvin is a stilbenoid found in the Pinus species. Pinosylvin at ~pM to ~nM concentrations induces cell proliferation, cell migration and anti-inflammatory activity in endothelial cells. However, it was recently reported that pinosylvin at high concentrations (50 to 100 μM) induces cell death in bovine aortic endothelial cells. In this study, we conducted a series of experiments to discover how pinosylvin at a high concentration (50 μM) induces endothelial cell death. Pinosylvin at the high concentration was shown to induce endothelial cell apoptosis through enhancing caspase-3 activity, flip-flop of phosphatidyl serine, and nuclear fragmentation. We found that pinosylvin at the high concentration additively increased caspase-3 activity enhanced by serum-starvation or treatment with 100 μM etoposide. We also determined that pinosylvin at the high concentration promoted activations of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and endothelial nitric oxide synthetase (eNOS). We further ran a series of experiments to find out which signaling molecule plays a critical role in the pinosylvin-induced apoptosis. We finally found that SP-600125, a JNK inhibitor, had an inhibitory effect on the pinosylvin-induced endothelial cell death, but L-NAME, an eNOS inhibitor, had no effect. These data indicate that JNK is involved in the pinosylvin-induced apoptosis. Collectively, pinosylvin at high doses induces cell apoptosis via JNK activation.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.27 no.9
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• pp.975-985
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• 2017

To investigate the beneficial effects of an agar gel mask (AGM) on UV-induced photoaging, SKH-1 hairless mice were treated with a topical application of AGM and an AGM dipped in essence (AGMdE). The mice were divided into an no radiation group, UV + AGM, UV + AGMdE, and UV + vehicle (PBS) treatment groups. Alterations in skin wrinkles, skin phenotype, histological structures, oxidative status, and toxicity were then evaluated during 4 weeks of exposure. The topical application of AGM and AGMdE inhibited wrinkle formation, suppressed the erythema index, prevented transepidermal water loss, and enhanced skin hydration. In addition, epidermal thickness recovered to a similar level as that in the no irradiation group in the UV + AGM and UV + AGMdE treatment groups compared with the UV + vehicle (distilled water) group. Furthermore, the expression levels of matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) and tyrosinase were reduced in the UV + AGM and UV + AGMdE treatment groups, although the highest level varied. Moreover, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity was significantly lower in the UV + AGM and UV + AGMdE treatment groups as compared with the UV + vehicle group. No significant alterations induced by most toxic compounds were measured in serum biochemical markers and liver and kidney histological features of the UV + AGM and UV + AGMdE treatment groups. These results suggest that AGM may protect against skin aging by regulating skin morphology, histopathological structures, and oxidative conditions.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.124-131
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• 2006

For commercialization of molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC), it has some problems to be overcome such as decrease of porosity and thickness of the anode under the operating condition (at $650^{\circ}C$ and working pressure of more than 2 $kg_f/cm^2$). Recently, Ni-Al alloy anode has been proposed to replace the conventional Ni-Cr anode as an alternative material to resist a creep and inhibit the sintering. The objective of this research is to sinter the green sheet of Ni-Al alloy anode during single cell pre-treatment process, which has several advantages like cost down and simplification of manufacturing process. However, the Ni-Al alloy anode prepared with a conventional pre-treatment process showed the phase separation of Ni-Al alloy and formation of micropore(${\leqq}0.4{\mu}m$), resulting in low creep resistance and high electrolyte re-distribution. In order to prevent the Ni-Al alloy anode from phase-separating, nitrogen gas was used in the process of pre-treatment. Introducing the nitrogen, the phase separation from Ni-Al alloy into nickel and alumina was minimized and increased creep resistance. However, there was some micropore formation on the surface of Ni-Al alloy anode during the cell operation due to creation of lithium aluminate. Addition of more amount of electrolyte into a cell, especially at cathode, made the cell performance stable for 2,000 hrs. Consequently, it was possible to make the Ni-Al alloy anode with good creep resistance by the modified in-situ sintering technique.