• 제목/요약/키워드: Agent Development

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Protective Effect of Membrane-Free Stem Cell Extract against Oxidative Stress in LLC-PK1 Cells (무막줄기세포추출물의 LLC-PK1 세포에서의 산화적 스트레스 개선 효과)

  • Kim, Min Jeong;Kim, Ji Hyun;Park, Hye Sook;Kim, Young Sil;Cho, Eun Ju
    • Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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    • 제20권8호
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    • pp.303-312
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    • 2019
  • Oxidative stress in kidneys can precede the development of chronic renal injury. We investigated the antioxidative effect of membrane-free stem cell extract (MFSCE) from adipose tissue in LLC-$PK_1$ renal proximal tubule cells. Treatment of LLC-$PK_1$ cells with MFSCE showed the up-regulation of heme-oxygenase-1, thioredoxin reductase 1, and NADPH quinine oxidoreductase-1 protein expressions, which are proteins related with antioxidative activities. When oxidative stress was induced by 3-morpholinosydnonimine (SIN-1), cell viability was decreased, indicating that LLC-$PK_1$ cells were damaged by SIN-1. However, MFSCE significantly elevated cell viability from 58.84% to 64.43% at the concentration of $2.5{\mu}g/mL$ in oxidative stress-induced LLC-$PK_1$ cells. Furthermore, MFSCE ameliorated inflammation and apoptosis in SIN-1-treated LLC-$PK_1$ cells by modulating protein expressions. Inducible nitric oxide synthase and cyclooxygenase-2 protein expressions were down-regulated when LLC-$PK_1$ cells were treated with MFSCE. Apoptosis-related proteins, including B-cell lymphoma-2-associated X protein/B-cell lymphoma-2 ratio, cleaved caspase-3, and cleaved-poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase, were also down-regulated. It indicated that MFSCE protected apoptosis against oxidative stress in LLC-$PK_1$ cells. Taken together, these results suggested that MFSCE had a protective effect against SIN-1-induced oxidative stress in LLC-$PK_1$ cells. Therefore, MFSCE could be a promising therapeutic agent for oxidative stress-induced renal injury.

Analysis of the Characteristics of Bulking Agents Used in Livestock Manure Composting (축산분뇨 퇴비화에 이용되는 수분조절제의 특성 분석)

  • Kim, Hyeon-Tae;Lee, Min-HO;qasim, Waqas;Lee, Yong-Jin;Kim, Won-Joong;Yoon, Yong-Cheol
    • Journal of agriculture & life science
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    • 제52권6호
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    • pp.81-88
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    • 2018
  • This study analyzed the characteristics of 6 recyclable bulking agents which can replace sawdust and rice hulls that are commonly used in livestock manure composting. The content of all the hazardous chemicals found in the bulking agents used in this experiment was between 0.0 and 34.1 ppm, which was noticeably lesser than the maximum content levels of hazardous substances 5.0~900.0 ppm prescribed by the Rural Development Administration(RDA), which means that the bulking agents would be able to replace sawdusts and rice husks. The water content of the bulking agents ranged from a minimum of 12.4% to a maximum of 16.6% in the original state, which was much less than 60%, the optimal moisture content. These results indicate that they would be able to function fully as bulking agents. Their water absorption rate was in the range of minimum 31.9% ~ maximum 600.0%, which showed huge differences among the types of bulking agents. The most appropriate bulking agent in terms of water absorption rate was wood pellets. It was the highest in the wood briquette manufactured by A, which was followed by C and B in the order. The shear strength of the 5 types of bulking agents in the original state was 271.7 N on an average, the highest figure of all, except for the oak briquette whose shear strength could not be measured and the wood pellets in the absorption state. The shear strength in the dry and absorption states then followed, and were 78.0 N and 27.7 N on an average, respectively. The wood briquette of A recorded considerably lower shear strength than that of B and C. Overall, shear strength tended to increase according to lower water absorption rates. Since pine wood chips and oak cuts have relatively greater shear strength even in the absorbing state than the other materials, they will be able to endure some power in the case of stirring with pig droppings.

A Study on Archiving of 'Social Memory' and Oral Record Focused on the Role of Archivist in the Stages of Oral Record Collecting and Planning (사회적 기억과 구술 기록화 그리고 아키비스트)

  • Choi, Jeong-eun
    • The Korean Journal of Archival Studies
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    • 제30호
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    • pp.3-55
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    • 2011
  • Recently, a topic of Archival Science can be said 'paradigm shift'. Therefore, this study aims to establish a relationship between oral record and Archival Science through concept of the archiving 'social memory' related to paradigm shift of Archival Science. In addition, an active role theory by an archivist as main agent of archival oral record management reflecting the characteristics of oral record based on this will be supported. Especially, even if it has already been handled through previous studies, it will be focused on drawing new meaning by applying creative perspective. Main content of this study is as follows. Firstly, discussion will be progressed by establishing the concept of the archiving 'social memory'. This is related to the topic of 'paradigm shift' in the Archival Science. Despite that active research has been conducted among mainly archival researchers overseas, it has not been handled yet in Korea. Therefore, this study aims to determine to organize this part as detail purpose. Secondly, the point will be progressed with a special focus on collecting and planning stages among the stages of records management. A viewpoint of the Archival Science should start from the stage of collecting and planning the previous record of production point of time, and then should be reflected for acknowledging the subsequent stages. Therefore, collecting and planning are the most important, and this is closely connected with a characteristic of oral record which production means collecting. Thirdly, the concept of 'oral record' is established with the viewpoint of the Archival Science. The various documents have been producted through oral interview has been known to many oral history researchers as 'oral source'. It aims to conceptualize them as 'oral record' with the viewpoint of the Archival Science. Fourthly, it is an establishment of meaning why oral history should be handled in the Archival Science. It is necessary to rationalize the purpose and its appropriateness handling oral history in the Archival Science. It should clarify the reason why oral history is important in the Archival Science and what it means. This will help examine the meaning of the recording of 'oral record.' A characteristic of the oral record can be effectively revealed through the recording, and ultimately, it aims to be able to shed new light on the value of oral history and oral record. Finally, it defines the role of archivist in oral history. A point that archivist in oral history is not just an assistant who organizes and preserves oral records collected by researchers will be emphasized and persuaded. In this study, oral history study in the Archival Science which has obtained appropriateness by the theoretical discussion as above should be conducted in a connection with other studies without occupying oral history by the Archival Science and in a direction of the leap of Korean oral history study. If this is possible, it will contribute to development of the Archival Science and of study area expansion, enhancement of the role and potential of archivist, at the same time, eventually it will positively influence on oral history study.

International and domestic research trends in longitudinal connectivity evaluations of aquatic ecosystems, and the applicability analysis of fish-based models (수생태계 종적 연결성 평가를 위한 국내외 연구 현황 및 어류기반 종적 연속성 평가모델 적용성 분석)

  • Kim, Ji Yoon;Kim, Jai-Gu;Bae, Dae-Yeul;Kim, Hye-Jin;Kim, Jeong-Eun;Lee, Ho-Seong;Lim, Jun-Young;An, Kwang-Guk
    • Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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    • 제38권4호
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    • pp.634-649
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    • 2020
  • Recently, stream longitudinal connectivity has been a topic of investigation due to the frequent disconnections and the impact of aquatic ecosystems caused by the construction of small and medium-sized weirs and various artificial structures (fishways) directly influencing the stream ecosystem health. In this study, the international and domestic research trends of the longitudinal connectivity in aquatic ecosystems were evaluated and the applicability of fish-based longitudinal connectivity models used in developed countries was analyzed. For these purposes, we analyzed the current status of research on longitudinal connectivity and structural problems, fish monitoring methodology, monitoring approaches, longitudinal disconnectivity of fish movement, and biodiversity. In addition, we analyzed the current status and some technical limitations of physical habitat suitability evaluation, ecology-based water flow, eco-hydrological modeling for fish habitat connectivity, and the s/w program development for agent-based model. Numerous references, data, and various reports were examined to identify worldwide longitudinal stream connectivity evaluation models in European and non-European countries. The international approaches to longitudinal connectivity evaluations were categorized into five phases including 1) an approach integrating fish community and artificial structure surveys (two types input variables), 2) field monitoring approaches, 3) a stream geomorphological approach, 4) an artificial structure-based DB analytical approach, and 5) other approaches. the overall evaluation of survey methodologies and applicability for longitudinal stream connectivity suggested that the ICE model (Information sur la Continuite Ecologique) and the ICF model (Index de Connectivitat Fluvial), widely used in European countries, were appropriate for the application of longitudinal connectivity evaluations in Korean streams.

Extract of Fructus Corni Ameliorates Testosterone-induced Benign Prostatic Hypertrophy in Sprague Dawley Rats (산수유 추출물에 의한 testosterone으로 유발된 양성 전립선 비대증의 개선)

  • Ji, Seon Yeong;Kim, Min Yeong;Hwangbo, Hyun;Lee, Hyesook;Hong, Su Hyun;Kim, Tae Hee;Yoon, Seonhye;Kim, Hyun Jin;Jung, Ha Eun;Kim, Sung Yeon;Kim, Tae Jung;Kim, Min Ji;Kim, Sung Ok;Choi, Yung Hyun
    • Journal of Life Science
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    • 제31권6호
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    • pp.550-558
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    • 2021
  • Fructus Corni, the fruit of Cornus officinalis, has long been used for the prevention and treatment of various diseases. We recently suggested that it was effective against benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). In this study, we investigated the inhibitory effect of Corni Fructus (CF) water extract on BPH induced by testosterone propionate (TP) in noncastrated and castrated animal models. BPH was induced in Sprague Dawley rats by an intramuscular injection of TP in castrated or noncastrated rats. Finasteride (FINA) treatment was used as a positive control for inhibition of BPH. According to our results, CF administration inhibited excessive enlargement of development of the prostate in both the noncastrated and castrated groups compared to the control and FINA-treated groups. The inhibitory effect of CF on BPH was associated with inhibition of expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α, 5α-reductase type 2, steroid receptor coactivator-1, androgen receptor (AR), and prostate-specific antigen. Serum levels of the stress hormone cortisol increased during BPH induction by TP in both the noncastrated and castrated groups, but they were attenuated significantly by CF administration. However, insulin and IGF-1 levels were not increased in the BPH-induced groups and CF, and no effective results were found by CF administration. These results point to a beneficial effect of CF on BPH through inhibition of AR signaling pathway activity and imply that CF shows excellent potential as a therapeutic agent for the prevention and treatment of BPH.

New Functional Properties of Passion Fruit Extract on Skin (패션 프룻 추출물이 피부에 미치는 새로운 기능적 효과)

  • Jeong, Mi Suk;Kim, Soon-Rae;Han, Chang Woo;Kim, Hyeon Jin;Jang, Se Bok
    • Journal of Life Science
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    • 제32권2호
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    • pp.101-107
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    • 2022
  • In this research, the anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antiaging, and skin whitening properties of pulp and seed extracts of passion fruit were studied. The result of the primary skin irritation test using a skin-attached patch determined the skin irritation index to be 0.00 for the passion fruit extract. In addition, RAW 264.7 macrophages produce NO by stimulation of lipopolysaccharides, and the application of extracts to this resulted in significantly lower NOs, confirming the excellent anti-inflammatory properties of passion fruit extracts. The 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl test further confirmed that the passion fruit extract exhibits a good 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonate radical scavenging ability of 5.11% and strong antioxidant properties. The presence of collagen type I in the skin is a measure of aging and various skin diseases. The results obtained from the analysis of the activity of human procollagen I alpha 1 confirmed that the passion fruit extract reduces the synthesis of procollagen. In addition, the skin whitening property of the passion fruit extract was confirmed by the melanin inhibition test, and a sample was obtained that contained more than 2% of arbutin, a whitening agent approved by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, which is generally present in the form of a white powder and is used as a functional ingredient. This confirms that the whitening efficacy of the passion fruit extract obtained from nature contributes to the development of functional raw materials for cosmetics and food.

Development of Lateral Flow Immunofluorescence Assay Applicable to Lung Cancer (폐암 진단에 적용 가능한 측면 유동 면역 형광 분석법 개발)

  • Supianto, Mulya;Lim, Jungmin;Lee, Hye Jin
    • Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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    • 제33권2호
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    • pp.173-178
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    • 2022
  • A lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) method using carbon nanodot@silica as a signaling material was developed for analyzing the concentration of retinol-binding protein 4 (RBP4), one of the lung cancer biomarkers. Instead of antibodies mainly used as bioreceptors in nitrocellulose membranes in LFIA for protein detection, aptamers that are more economical, easy to store for a long time, and have strong affinities toward specific target proteins were used. A 5' terminal of biotin-modified aptamer specific to RBP4 was first reacted with neutravidin followed by spraying the mixture on the membrane in order to immobilize the aptamer in a porous membrane by the strong binding affinity between biotin and neutravidin. Carbon nanodot@silica nanoparticles with blue fluorescent signal covalently conjugated to the RBP4 antibody, and RBP4 were injected in a lateral flow manner on to the surface bound aptamer to form a sandwich complex. Surfactant concentrations, ionic strength, and additional blocking reagents were added to the running buffer solution to optimize the fluorescent signal off from the sandwich complex which was correlated to the concentration of RBP4. A 10 mM Tris (pH 7.4) running buffer containing 150 mM NaCl and 0.05% Tween-20 with 0.6 M ethanolamine as a blocking agent showed the optimum assay condition for carbon nanodot@silica-based LFIA. The results indicate that an aptamer, more economical and easier to store for a long time can be used as an alternative immobilizing probe for antibody in a LFIA device which can be used as a point-of-care diagnosis kit for lung cancer diseases.

Study on Tourism Demand Forecast and Influencing Factors in Busan Metropolitan City (부산 연안도시 관광수요 예측과 영향요인에 관한 연구)

  • Kyu Won Hwang;Sung Mo Nam;Ah Reum Jang;Moon Suk Lee
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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    • 제29권7호
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    • pp.915-929
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    • 2023
  • Improvements in people's quality of life, diversification of leisure activities, and changes in population structure have led to an increase in the demand for tourism and an expansion of the diversification of tourism activities. In particular, for coastal cities where land and marine tourism elements coexist, various factors influence their tourism demands. Tourism requires the construction of infrastructure and content development according to the demand at the tourist destination. This study aims to improve the prediction accuracy and explore influencing factors through time series analysis of tourism scale using agent-based data. Basic local governments in the Busan area were examined, and the data used were the number of tourists and the amount of tourism consumption on a monthly basis. The univariate time series analysis, which is a deterministic model, was used along with the SARIMAX analysis to identify the influencing factor. The tourism consumption propensity, focusing on the consumption amount according to business types and the amount of mentions on SNS, was set as the influencing factor. The difference in accuracy (RMSE standard) between the time series models that did and did not consider COVID-19 was found to be very wide, ranging from 1.8 times to 32.7 times by region. Additionally, considering the influencing factor, the tourism consumption business type and SNS trends were found to significantly impact the number of tourists and the amount of tourism consumption. Therefore, to predict future demand, external influences as well as the tourists' consumption tendencies and interests in terms of local tourism must be considered. This study aimed to predict future tourism demand in a coastal city such as Busan and identify factors affecting tourism scale, thereby contributing to policy decision-making to prepare tourism demand in consideration of government tourism policies and tourism trends.

Dynamic Limit and Predatory Pricing Under Uncertainty (불확실성하(不確實性下)의 동태적(動態的) 진입제한(進入制限) 및 약탈가격(掠奪價格) 책정(策定))

  • Yoo, Yoon-ha
    • KDI Journal of Economic Policy
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    • 제13권1호
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    • pp.151-166
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    • 1991
  • In this paper, a simple game-theoretic entry deterrence model is developed that integrates both limit pricing and predatory pricing. While there have been extensive studies which have dealt with predation and limit pricing separately, no study so far has analyzed these closely related practices in a unified framework. Treating each practice as if it were an independent phenomenon is, of course, an analytical necessity to abstract from complex realities. However, welfare analysis based on such a model may give misleading policy implications. By analyzing limit and predatory pricing within a single framework, this paper attempts to shed some light on the effects of interactions between these two frequently cited tactics of entry deterrence. Another distinctive feature of the paper is that limit and predatory pricing emerge, in equilibrium, as rational, profit maximizing strategies in the model. Until recently, the only conclusion from formal analyses of predatory pricing was that predation is unlikely to take place if every economic agent is assumed to be rational. This conclusion rests upon the argument that predation is costly; that is, it inflicts more losses upon the predator than upon the rival producer, and, therefore, is unlikely to succeed in driving out the rival, who understands that the price cutting, if it ever takes place, must be temporary. Recently several attempts have been made to overcome this modelling difficulty by Kreps and Wilson, Milgram and Roberts, Benoit, Fudenberg and Tirole, and Roberts. With the exception of Roberts, however, these studies, though successful in preserving the rationality of players, still share one serious weakness in that they resort to ad hoc, external constraints in order to generate profit maximizing predation. The present paper uses a highly stylized model of Cournot duopoly and derives the equilibrium predatory strategy without invoking external constraints except the assumption of asymmetrically distributed information. The underlying intuition behind the model can be summarized as follows. Imagine a firm that is considering entry into a monopolist's market but is uncertain about the incumbent firm's cost structure. If the monopolist has low cost, the rival would rather not enter because it would be difficult to compete with an efficient, low-cost firm. If the monopolist has high costs, however, the rival will definitely enter the market because it can make positive profits. In this situation, if the incumbent firm unwittingly produces its monopoly output, the entrant can infer the nature of the monopolist's cost by observing the monopolist's price. Knowing this, the high cost monopolist increases its output level up to what would have been produced by a low cost firm in an effort to conceal its cost condition. This constitutes limit pricing. The same logic applies when there is a rival competitor in the market. Producing a high cost duopoly output is self-revealing and thus to be avoided. Therefore, the firm chooses to produce the low cost duopoly output, consequently inflicting losses to the entrant or rival producer, thus acting in a predatory manner. The policy implications of the analysis are rather mixed. Contrary to the widely accepted hypothesis that predation is, at best, a negative sum game, and thus, a strategy that is unlikely to be played from the outset, this paper concludes that predation can be real occurence by showing that it can arise as an effective profit maximizing strategy. This conclusion alone may imply that the government can play a role in increasing the consumer welfare, say, by banning predation or limit pricing. However, the problem is that it is rather difficult to ascribe any welfare losses to these kinds of entry deterring practices. This difficulty arises from the fact that if the same practices have been adopted by a low cost firm, they could not be called entry-deterring. Moreover, the high cost incumbent in the model is doing exactly what the low cost firm would have done to keep the market to itself. All in all, this paper suggests that a government injunction of limit and predatory pricing should be applied with great care, evaluating each case on its own basis. Hasty generalization may work to the detriment, rather than the enhancement of consumer welfare.

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Small Animal PET Imaging with [$^{124}I$]FIAU for Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 Thymidine Kinase Gene Expression in a Hepatoma Model (간암 동물 모델에서 2'-fluoro-2'-deoxy-1-${\beta}$-D-arabinofuranosyl-5-[$^{124}I$iodo-uracil ($[^{124}I]FIAU$) 소동물 PET 영상 연구)

  • Chae, Min-Jeong;Lee, Tae-Sup;Kim, June-Youp;Woo, Gwang-Sun;Jumg, Wee-Sup;Chun, Kwon-Soo;Kim, Jae-Hong;Lee, Ji-Sup;Ryu, Jin-Sook;Cheon, Gi-Jeong;Choi, Chang-Woon;Lim, Sang-Moo
    • Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
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    • 제42권3호
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    • pp.235-245
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    • 2008
  • Purpose: The HSV1-tk gene has been extensively studied as a type of reporter gene. In hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), only a small proportion of patients are eligible for surgical resection and there is limitation in palliative options. Therefore, there is a need for the development of new treatment modalities and gene therapy is a leading candidate. In the present study, we investigated the usefulness of substrate, 2'-fluoro-2'-deoxy-1-${\beta}$-D-arabino-furanosyi-5-[$^{124/125}I$]iodo- uracil ([$I^{124/125}I$]FIAU) as a non-invasive imaging agent for HSV1-tk gene therapy in hepatoma model using small animal PET. Material and Methods: With the Morris hepatoma MCA cell line and MCA-tk cell line which was transduced with the HSV1-tk gene, in vitro uptake and correlation study between [$^{125}I$]FIAU uptake according to increasing numeric count of percentage of MCA-tk cell were performed. The biodistribution data and small animal PET images with [$^{124}I$]FIAU were obtained with Balb/c-nude mice bearing both MCA and MCA-tk tumors. Results:, Specific accumulation of [[$^{125}I$]FIAU was observed in MCA-tk cells but uptake was low in MCA cells. Uptake in MCA-tk cells was 15 times higher than that of MCA cells at 480 min. [$^{125}I$]FIAU uptake was linearly correlated (R2 =0.964, p =0.01) with increasing percentage of MCA-tk numeric cell count. Biodistribution results showed that [$^{125}I$]FIAU was mainly excreted via the renal system in the early phase. Ratios of MCA-tk tumor to blood acting were 10, 41, and 641 at 1 h, 4 h, and 24 h post-injection, respectively. The maximum ratio of MCA-tk to MCA tumor was 192.7 at 24 h. Ratios of MCA-tk tumor to liver were 13.8, 66.8, and 588.3 at 1 h, 4 h, and 24 h, respectively. On small animal PET, [$^{124}I$]FIAU accumulated in substantial higher levels in MCA-tk tumor and liver than MCA tumor. Conclusion: FIAU shows selective accumulation to HSV1-tk expressing hepatoma cell tumors with minimal uptake in normal liver. Therefore, radiolabelled FIAU is expected to be a useful substrate for non-invasive imaging of HSV1-tk gene therapy and therapeutic response monitoring of HCC.