• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.63-71
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• 2023

Urinary incontinence (UI), affecting 3%-11% of males and 25%-45% of females globally, is expected to rise with an aging population. It significantly impacts mental health, causing depression, stress, and reduced quality of life. UI can exacerbate psychiatric conditions, affecting treatment compliance and effectiveness. It is categorized into transient and chronic types. Transient UI, often reversible, is caused by factors summarized in the acronym DIAPPERS: Delirium, Infection, Atrophic urethritis/vaginitis, Psychological disorders, Pharmaceuticals, Excess urine output, Restricted mobility, Stool impaction. Chronic UI includes stress, urge, mixed, overflow, functional, and persistent incontinence. Drug-induced UI, a transient form, is frequently seen in psychiatric treatment. Antipsychotics, antidepressants, and other psychiatric medications can cause UI through various mechanisms like affecting bladder muscle tone, altering nerve reflexes, and inducing other conditions like diabetes or epilepsy. Specific drugs like lithium and valproic acid have also been linked to UI, though mechanisms are not always clear. Managing UI in psychiatric patients requires careful monitoring of urinary symptoms and judicious medication management. If a drug is identified as the cause, options include discontinuing, reducing, or adjusting the dosage. In cases where medication continuation is necessary, additional treatments like desmopressin, oxybutynin, trihexyphenidyl, or amitriptyline may be considered.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.56 no.4
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• pp.430-439
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• 2023

UV and O₃ are materials used in the water treatment process, and many studies have been reported to remove organic matters, contaminants, and microorganisms. In this study, we were investigated effects of Chirnomidae (Chironomus flaviplumus, Chironomus riparius), which are contamination indicator species to exposure UV and O₃ for the survival rate, body color change and gene expression response. The survival rate of C. flaviplumus exposed to UV decreased to about 70% after 24 hours, and C. riparius about 50%. There was no change in the survival rate of C. flaviplumus exposed to O₃, and C. riparius decreased to 95% after 10 minutes of exposure, but there was no change during the subsequent exposure time. In addition, UV and O₃ exposure to the two species in body color faded in a time-dependent. In the HSP70 gene expression, C. riparius showed an increase in expression after UV exposure compared to the control group, and a significant difference was shown 12 hours after exposure (P<0.05). C. flaviplumus exposed to O₃ showed a relatively low expression compared to the control group, and showed a significant difference at 10 minutes and 1 hour after exposure (P<0.05). These results reported the ecotoxicological effects on Chironomidae according to UV and O₃ exposure. Therefore, the results of this study can be used as basic data to understand the effects of UV and O₃, which are disinfectants used in water treatment plants, on Chirnomidae entering plants.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.33 no.11
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• pp.923-935
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• 2023

Rubus crataegifolius (RC), Ulmus macrocarpa (UM), and Gardenia jasminoides (GJ) are well-known folk medicines in Asia used to treat various gastrointestinal disturbances. The present study evaluated the gastroprotective effect of LS-RUG-com, a mixture of commercially prepared powders of RC, UM, and GJ with a ratio of 3:1:2(w/w/w) against HCl/ethanol-induced gastritis, indomethacin-induced ulcers, and esophageal reflux-induced esophageal mucosal damage and Helicobacter pylori infections. In addition, TNF-α and IL-1β expressions were also determined and measured in esophageal tissue. As to HCl/ethanol-induced gastritis, the LS-RUG-com treatment at a dose of 150 mg/kg showed a remarkable anti-gastritis effect. Regarding indomethacin-induced gastric ulcers, the LS-RUG-com treatment had a significant anti-gastric ulcer effect. Furthermore, in the gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) model experiment, the LS-RUG-com treatment resulted in the histological recovery of stomach damage and mucosal injuries. Furthermore, the LS-RUG-com treatment led to an increase in gastric content pH, an increase in mucus protection, and a decrease in gastric pepsin output with a significant decrease in TNF-α and IL-1β. As to the Helicobacter pylori infected animal model, LS-RUG-com had a notable inhibitory effect on Helicobacter growth. The use of RC, UM, or GJ in isolation or the LS-RUG-com treatment as whole had good effects in terms of anti-oxidation, anti-neutralization, gastric acid secretion inhibition, and anti-lipid peroxidation, which supported the use of natural products as systemic gastric protective agents. Our results suggest that the LS-RUG-com might be a significant systemic gastroprotective agent that could be utilized for the treatment and/or protection from gastric disturbances and related damage.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.33 no.11
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• pp.897-904
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• 2023

This study was done to develope genetic markers with the unique characteristics of genes according to the genomic information of Bacillus velezensis K10. B. velezensis K10 maintained a total of 4,159,835 bps, which was found to encode 5,136 open reading frames (orfs). B. velezensis K10 was found to have much more gene migration due to external factors overall compared to standard strain B. velezensis JS25R. In order to discover genetic selection markers, orfs on the genome to be easily induced to gene mutation were surveyed such as recombinase, integrase, transposase, and phage-related genes. As a result of the investigation, 9 candidate markers were isolated with high possibility as genetic selection markers. Although a part in the various origin's areas showed specificities in comparison with homology, the selected markers were all existed in phage-related areas because they were relatively lower homologies in phage-related genes. PCR analysis was done on B. licheniformis K12, B. velezensis K10, B. subtilis, and B. cereus to establish them as inter-species candidate selection markers. As a result, it was confirmed that B. velezensis K10-specific PCR products were formed in a total of 6 primer sets such as BV3 and BV5 to 9. On the other hand, analysis at the subspecies level observed the formation of B. velezensis K10-specific PCR products in 4 primer sets such as BV3, 5, 8, and 9. Among them, since BV5 and BV8 were detected by very specific results, we suggest that BV5 and 8 can be used as B. velezensis K10 gene selection markers at the species and sub-species level.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.33 no.10
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• pp.820-827
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• 2023

Since COVID-19 began at the end of 2019, the wearing time of protective clothing used to prevent pathogenic bacteria and virus infection has increased, and the development of safe protective materials that are human-friendly and have antibacterial and antiviral functions has been required. In this study, we investigated the possibility of developing natural antibacterial protection materials using ethanol extract of the medicinal plant Zanthoxylum Piperitum DC. The antibacterial activity assay of the 80% ethanol extract of Z. piperitum DC leaves against various nosocomial infectious bacteria, using the disk diffusion method, showed that Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, Klebsiella pneumoniae ATCC 13883, Salmonella typhimurium, and Aeromonas hydrophila are sensitive to the inhibitory action of the extract. The IC₅₀ values of the ethanol extract against S. aureus, K. pneumoniae, P. vulgaris and A. hydrophila were about 0.59 mg/ml, 0.50 mg/ml, 1.06 mg/ml, and 0.06 mg/ml, respectively. To determine whether the ethanol extract of Z. piperitum DC leaves can be applied to the development of antibacterial protective fabric, the ethanol extract was tested using a protective fabric from the KM Health Care Corp. using the JIS L1902-Absorption method. As a result, the bacteriostatic and bactericidal activity values of S. aureus ATCC 25923 and K. pneumoniae ATCC 13883 appeared to be more than 2.0 when treated with the ethanol extract at a concentration of 1% (w/v). Together, these results suggest that Z. piperitum DC leaves can be applied to develop natural antibacterial functional protective fabrics.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.33 no.10
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• pp.828-834
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• 2023

The cDNA that encodes transmembrane protein 258 (Tmem258) was cloned from Gryllus bimaculatus and named GbTmem258. This protein comprises 80 amino acids, has no N-glycosylation site, and contains five potential phosphorylation sites at two serines, two threonines, and one tyrosine. The predicted molecular mass of GbTmem258 is 9.06 kDa, and its theoretical isoelectric point is 5.5. The tertiary structure of GbTmem258 was predicted using the available secondary structure information, which suggests the presence of alpha helices (52.5%), random coils (22.5%), extended strands (16.25%), and beta turns (8.75%). Homology analysis revealed that GbTmem258 exhibits high similarity at the amino-acid level to Tmem258 found in other species. The effect of starvation and refeeding on GbTmem258 mRNA expression was also examined in this study. It was found that GbTmem258 mRNA expression in the hindgut progressively increased throughout the starvation period, peaking at almost 1.5 times the control level after six days of starvation. However, refeeding for one to two days after the six-day starvation period restored GbTmem258 mRNA expression to the control level. In fat body, GbTmem258 mRNA expression was almost 3-fold higher during starvation compared to the control level. Refeeding for one to two days after the six-day fast resulted in a decline in the expression to about a 2.5-fold increase over the control level. Throughout the starving and refeeding periods, no other tissues showed any discernible alterations in GbTmem258 mRNA expression.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.207-217
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• 2023

This study was conducted to investigate the current status of seagrass species in the Nakdong River estuary from May to June 2023. To survey the seagrass habitat area, the Nakdong River estuary was divided into seven zones. Aerial photography using drones was conducted to find seagrass areas, GPS tracking was carried out on foot in the intertidal zone and by boat and SCUBA diving in the subtidal zone. To analyze the seagrass status, we measured the morphological characteristics, shoot density, and biomass of representative seagrass species in each zone. Four seagrass species were found in this area: Zostera japonica, Z. marina, Ruppia maritima, and Phyllospadix japonicus. The distribution areas of each species was 338.2 ha, 92.9 ha, 0.9 ha, and 1.4 ha, respectively, with a total area of 432.5 ha. Z. japonica was widely distributed in most of the tidal flats and mudflats of the Nakdong River estuary, while Z. marina was restricted to Nulcha-do, Jinu-do, and Dadae-dong. R. maritima occurred within the habitat of Z. japonica in Eulsukdo and Myeongji mudflats, and P. japonicus inhabited rocky areas in Dadae-dong. The shoot density of each species was 4,575.8±338.3 shoots m^-2, 244.8±12.0 shoots m^-2, 11,302.1±290.0 shoots m^-2, and 2862.5±153.5 shoots m^-2, respectively. The biomass of each species was 239.7±18.5 gDW m^-2, 362.3±20.5 gDW m^-2, 33.3±1.2 gDW m^-2, and 1,290.0±37.0 gDW m^-2, respectively. The results of this study revealed that Z. japonica was dominant in the Nakdong River estuary. In particular, Z. japonica habitats of Eulsukdo, Daema-deung, and Myeongji mudflats were identified as the largest in Korea. The Nakdong River estuary is an important site of ecological, environmental, and economic value, and will require continuous investigation and management of the native seagrasses.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.50
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• pp.248-254
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• 2023

This study was conducted to establish an efficient plant regeneration system in 'Dayu', a Korean variety of Perilla frutescens developed for seed oil production, in conjunction with the previously studied variety 'Namcheon'. The healthiest callus was formed on the hypocotyl explants cultured on a medium containing 0.1 mg/L NAA and 0.5 mg/L BA, outperforming the leaf and cotyledon samples. In both dark and long-day conditions, Dayu consistently exhibited significantly higher shoot regeneration rates compared with Namcheon. The highest shoot regeneration rates in Dayu were observed from the hypocotyl explants cultured on 0.1 mg/L NAA and 0.5 mg/L BA media, with shoot regeneration rates of 84.4% and 86.7% under dark and long-day conditions, respectively. Various combinations of plant growth regulators were tested to establish the optimal shoot regeneration conditions for Dayu hypocotyl explants. The results demonstrated that the highest shoot regeneration rate (90%) was achieved when 0.5 mg/L of BA was added to the medium without NAA. Among the regenerated shoots, 70.5% were normal plants, while 19.3% were abnormal. The addition of NAA or an increase in its concentration led to a higher occurrence of abnormal plants. After the regenerated shoots were transferred to 1/2 MS medium, roots were observed within 10-15 days. By day 30, they had developed into complete plants. The results obtained from the regeneration experiments with the perilla variety Dayu can valuably inform molecular breeding reliant on transformation techniques such as genome-editing and genetic modification technology.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.26-33
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• 2024

In 2023, symptoms like damping-off disease were observed in 74 paprika growing in greenhouses in Cheorwon-gun, Gangwon-do, Korea. In this study, we tried to find the cause of the damping-off disease outbreak. We collected symptomatic seedlings and observed the typical crescent-shaped conidia of Fusarium oxysporum by microscope. To confirm the presence of F. oxysporum in the samples, polymerase chain reaction was performed using primers specific for F. oxysporum; the resulting sequence showed 99.11% identity with F. oxysporum. To confirm the pathogenicity of the F. oxysporum (CW) isolated from the samples, healthy paprika plants were inoculated with F. oxysporum CW and damping-off symptoms were observed 2 weeks later. To investigate whether the damping-off disease outbreak in Cheorwon-gun was caused by F. oxysporum-contaminated seeds, 100 paprika seeds were disinfected and placed in Murashige and Skoog medium. Typical pink F. oxysporum hyphae were found only in control non-disinfected seeds. An 18S rRNA-based and a TEF genebased phylogenetic analysis showed that the F. oxysporum CW isolate was not grouped with a F. oxysporum isolate reported from Cheorwon-gun in 2019. This study is the first report that an outbreak of damping-off disease in paprika in Cheorwon-gun, Gangwon-do, Korea, was caused by contamination of F. oxysporum seeds.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.49-58
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• 2024

This study aimed to compare the acoustic measurements of speech samples recorded from individuals with normal voices using various devices: the Computerized Speech Lab (CSL), a unidirectional wired pin-microphone (WIRED) suitable for smartphones, the built-in omnidirectional microphone (SMART) of smartphones, and Bluetooth-connected wireless earphones, specifically the Galaxy Buds2 Pro (WIRELESS). This study included 40 normal adults (12 males and 28 females) who had not visited an otolaryngologist for respiratory diseases within the past three months. Participants performed sustained vowel /a/ phonation for four seconds and reading tasks with sentences ("Walk") and paragraphs ("Autumn") in a sound-treated booth. Recordings were simultaneously conducted using the four different devices and synchronized based on the CSL-recorded samples for analysis using the MDVP, ADSV, and VOXplot programs. Compared with CSL, the Cepstral Spectral Index of Dysphonia (CSID_V, CSID_S) and Acoustic Voice Quality Index (AVQI) values were lower in the WIRED and higher in the SMART. The opposite trend was observed for the L/H spectral ratios (SR_V and SR_S), and the WIRELESS demonstrated task-specific discrepancies. Furthermore, both the fundamental frequency (F0) and the cepstral peak prominence of the vowel samples (CPP_V) had intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) values above 0.9, indicating high reliability. These variables, F0 and CPP_V were considered highly reliable for voice recordings across different microphone types. However, caution should be exercised when analyzing and interpreting variables such as the SR, CSID, and AVQI, which may be influenced by the type of microphone used.