• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.11-16
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• 2016

Declines in amphibian populations are occurring worldwide, and have been attributed to many factors, including anthropogenic environmental changes. One of the ramifications of such declines is abnormalities in many amphibian species. A strong association has been detected between human activities and abnormalities in amphibian populations, but studies on this association are largely focused on lentic species. In this study, it was analyzed whether the degree of local human activity was associated with the rate of abnormalities in Bombina orientalis which inhabited lotic environments. We found that the proportions of abnormalities in wild populations of B. orientalis increased, when i) the closest human land use was located within 100 m from the frogs' habitat, and ii) the proportion of human land use within a 300-m radius was high. Our findings suggest that human activity has a negative impact on the fitness of nearby amphibian populations, and that wild populations very close to human-induced disturbance are affected.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.36 no.3 s.104
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• pp.369-374
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• 2003

Nonylphenol (NP), an well known aquatic contaminant, has been known to induce abnormalities in various aquatic animals. In an effort to develop proteome in the study of aquatic contamination of NP and its impact on the amphibia, protein changes in liver tissues of Korean red bellied frog, Bombina orientalis was investigated following the NP exposure. NP was administered intraperitoneally to male B. orientalis at 10 mg/kg body weight. At 48 and 96h after the treatment, the frog livers were sampled, and the protein fraction was separated using two dimensional gel electrophoresis (2D/E) and visualized with Coomassie brilluant blue staining. The 2D/E Images of the tissue from the animals treated with NP showed marked changes of protein spots (about 20% of total protein spots). Analysis of the 50-60 separated spots allowed identification of the major protein changes in the overall pattern for the stressor (NP) by time (0,48 and 96 h). At 48h after treatment, 8 spots were increased and 12 spots were reduced. Then, at 96h after treatment, 10 spots were increased and 8 spots were reduced. In total, approximately 29% of liver proteins showed the altered expression following the NP treatment. It is suggested that protein expression was repressed by blocking of certain metabolisms at 48 hand induced by the synthesis of new proteins for adaptation at 96 h following NP exposure. This application for 2D/E analysis may show promise in searching biomarkers for environmental proteomics in amphibians.

• Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.147-153
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• 2015

Various adverse effects can occur due to direct exposure from toxic substances when toxic materials are used to restore river ecosystems. Thus, this study performed analysis on the development of toxicity in terms of survival and abnormality rates using embryos of Bombina orientalis living in Korea to analyze the toxicity of materials used in the river projects. The results showed that the toxicity in cement (C group) was the strongest whereas the toxicity in plant-based polyurethane (P1 group) was the weakest. Survival rates of B. orientalis embryos were 100%, 94 - 95%, 66 - 89% and 0% in control, P1, polyurethane (P2) and C groups, respectively. Abnormalities of embryos were 10.5%, 5.3 - 10.5%, 26.3 - 27.8% and 35.7% in control, P1, P2 and C groups, respectively. Furthermore, we verified that having a sufficient curing time reduced toxic substances that were extracted. The above result suggest that cement and polyurethane hamper the early development of amphibians. In conclusion, it is highly important to review biological safety with respect to the selection of materials used to restore rivers. This study shows the importance of the selection of eco-friendly materials and processes.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.57 no.3
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• pp.205-210
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• 2014

Persicaria orientalis (L.) Spach (Po) and Potentilla fragarioides var. major Maxim (Pf) extracts were analyzed to investigate anti-inflammation through their suppressing effects on free radicals such as reactive oxygen species (ROS). In addition, with regard to Po and Pf, an analysis was conducted of their inhibitory effect on nitric oxide, which is produced in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated murine macrophage RAW 264.7 cells, and their inhibitory effect on the translocation of the nucleus of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-${\kappa}B$). The $IC_{50}$ value of ROS, which was induced by $50{\mu}M$ 3-morpholinosydnonimine hydrochloride (SIN-1), was found to be $23.35{\pm}1.27{\mu}g/mL$ due to the effect of the Po extract, and $8.46{\pm}1.22{\mu}g/mL$ due to the effect of the Pf extract. In addition, the $IC_{50}$ value of peroxynitrite treated with the Po extract was $2.19{\pm}0.04{\mu}g/mL$, whereas that of peroxynitrite treated with the Pf extract was $0.80{\pm}0.02{\mu}g/mL$. ROS and peroxynitrite were induced by $50{\mu}M$ 3-morpholinosydnonimine hydrochloride. There was an increase in the amount of nitric oxide in the RAW 264.7 cells treated with LPS ($1{\mu}g/mL$), whereas the level of NO was observed to significantly and dose-dependently decrease in the cells treated with Po and Pf. The amount of nitric oxide produced by the group treated with $10{\mu}g/mL$ of the Pf extract was $11.45{\pm}0.57{\mu}M$. Furthermore, the Po extracts inhibited the translocation of the nucleus of NF-${\kappa}B$ in LPS-treated RAW 264.7 cells. Therefore, it is highly possible that Po and Pf have anti-inflammatory properties.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.2 no.5
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• pp.637-644
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• 1998

Previously, we have isolated authentic bombesin and another bombesin like peptide named bombesin like immunoreactivity (BLI)-K2 from the skin of Korean fire-bellied toad, Bombina orientalis. In the present study, we have newly purified three heterogeneous forms of BLI named BLI-K3, BLI-K4, and BLI-K5 from side fractions obtained in previous isolation of bombesin like peptide. The BLIs were separated into five peaks on a column of $C_{18}$ preparative HPLC. Among them, three minor peaks containing BLI-K3, K4, and K5 were purified by means of sequential chromatography on the columns of SP cation exchange HPLC and $C_{18}$ reverse phase HPLC. The purified BLI-K3 and K4 showed high binding affinity to an anti-bombesin serum (LBE 2G-2) with binding potency of 72 and 95%, respectively, relative to that of bombesin. However, they did not possess any distinctive biological activity of bombesin like peptide. On the contrary, the biological activity of BLI-K5 was similar to that of bombesin but its binding affinity to an anti-bombesin serum was low. The results indicate that three heterogeneous forms of BLI were coexpressed with bombesin and BLI-K2 in the skin of B. orientalis. All forms of the purified BLI in the present study were immunologically active but only BLI-K5 possessed the distinctive biological activity of bombesin like peptide.

• Animal cells and systems
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.477-481
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• 1998

Previous studies have postulated that isometric animals exert similar locomotory capacity (speed, distance) because the amount of energy available for the motion would be the same regardless of body mass (m). To test propriety of this theory, we examined body shape and take-off potential of two frog species, Rana nigromaculata (powerful jumpers) and Bombina orientalis (slow hoppers). Morphological measurements included thigh muscle mass (indicative of total muscle force), hindlimb length (L, determining acceleration distance), and interilial width (shaping take-off motion). To gauge locomotory capacity, take-off speed (v) and take-off angle ($\theta$) were measured from video analyses, and jump distance (R) and take-off Power ($P_{t}$ ) were calculated from equations $R=V^{2}sin2\theta/g$ and ($P_{t}$＝$㎷^{3}/2L$(where g is the gravitational constant). Scaling exponents of morphometric variables for both species were 0.96-1.11 for thigh muscle mass, 0.28-0.29 for hindlimb length, and 0.30-0.36 for interilial width. Scaling exponents of locomotory performance for the two species were -0.01-0.14 for take-off speed, 0.24-0.31 for jump distance, and 0.66-0.84 for take-off power. The results demonstrate that the frogs of this study showed isometric body shape within species, but that take-off response changed allometrically with body mass, indicating that these data did not fully support the previous proposition. An exception was found in take-off speed of B. orientalis, in which the speed changed little with body mass (slope＝-0.01). These findings suggest that the energy availability approach did not properly explain the apparent allometric relations of the take-off response in these animals and that an alternative model such as a power production approach may be worth addressing.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.54-65
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• 2023

Effect of environmental factors on the seasonal variations of zooplankton communities was investigated in the semi-closed Yeoja Bay, Korea from February, April to August, and November 2021. Out of a total 49 species of zooplankton were collected with a predominant of neritic copepods (mainly Paracalanus orientalis, Acartia omorii, Acartia ohtsukai, Centropages abdominalis, Ditrichocorycaeus affinis, and Oithona sp.), accounting for 58.9% of the total abundance of zooplankton. The diversity indices indicated a relatively highest in July, suggesting that diversity is influenced by seasonal temperature, N. scintillans, and neritic copepods species. A cluster analysis with non-metric multidimensional scaling revealed four groups of zooplankton communities. The February sample clustered into Group A, having the lowest mean total abundance and species diversity of zooplankton, consisting mainly of N. scintillans located the whole region. Cluster Group B from the spring season (April to May) and contained the species diversity with some neritic copepods. Cluster Group C from the summer season (June to August) mainly comprised P. orientalis, A. ohtsukai, Oithona sp., and hydromedusae. Cluster Group D from the autumn season (November) mainly comprised P. orientalis, Temora discaudata. Redundancy analysis indicated that abundance is positively correlated with temperature, salinity, and pico chlorophyll-a concentrations. This study showed that planktonic larvae (such as branchyura larvae) and some copepods (including A. omorii, A. ohtsukai, C. sinicus, and C. abdominalis) were significantly vulnerable to zooplankton community of temperature, salinity, and pico chlorophyll-a concentrations.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.191-196
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• 2004

Mt. Deogyusan, 1,614m in altitude, is located in the southwest of South Korea. Around Mt. Duckyu, many Korean endemic and rare plants are populated, so it is considered a very important biogeographical area where the temperature zones of northern and southern plants are crossed. Because it is the graceful figure of Mt. Duckyu, it is a common mountain where many tourists visit frequently. Continuous tourist's visit may cause a bad influence on vegetation around the climbing paths. Therefore, weed community around the climbing paths on Mt. Duckyu, where visitors exert a bad influence directly on its community by coming in and out, was surveyed phytosocialogically. Our surveys have been accomplished from July to August, 2003. Weed communities formed around the climbing paths on Mt. Duckyu were divided into several patterns and analysed. They have been divided into 8 communities and 4 subcommunities. Community A: Plantago asiatica community, A-a: Carex bostrychostigma subcommunity, A-b: Artemisia princeps var. orientalis subcommunity, B: Sasa borealis community, B-a: Carex siderosticta subcommunity, B-b: Veratrum parulum subcommunity, C: Rubus crataegifolius community, D: Hosta longipes community, E: Tripterygium regelii community, F: Miscanthus sinensis var. purpurascens community, G: Carex okamotoi community, H: Lespedeza maximowiczii community. The flora surveyed in these communities was constituted of 34 families, 83 genera, 12 varieties, and 92 species. Wild plants such as Plantago asiatica, Artemisia princeps var. orientalis, Rubus crataegifolius, Sasa borealis and Miscanthus sinensis var. purpurascens were mostly light loving plants and higher resistant plants against the stamping pressure.

• Animal cells and systems
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.193-197
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• 1999

A peroxidase-antiperoxidase method was used to detect the cells showing immunoreactivities to six hormone antibodies in the alimentary tracts of six frog species, Rana nigromaculata, R. rugosa, R. amurensis coreana, R. catesbeiana, Bombina orientalis, and Hyla arborea japonica, inhabiting Korea. The cells immunoreactive to gastrin and cholecystokinin-8 were observed in the pylorus of the stomachs and in the small intestines of all frog species examined. In contrast, these somatostatin-immunoreactive cells were identified in the esophagus and the whole gastrointestinal tracts, but were absent from the large intestines in R. rugosa, R. catesbeiana, B. orientalis and H. arborea japonica. The pancreatic polypeptide (PP)-immunoreactive cells represented their distribution limited to the small intestines of R. amurensis coreana and H. arborea japonica, and they were additionally identified in the pylorus of the stomachs in the other four species. Serotonin- and glucagon- Immunoreactive cells revealed different regional distributions in which the former were observed throughout the whole alimentary tracts in all frog species investigated, whereas the latter were not found in these regions at all. Endocrine cells were relatively abundant in the pyloric portion of the stomach compared to other organs. The present study showed that all endocrine cells except for PP had a similar distribution in the alimentary tracts of all frog species used.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.209-215
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• 1998

Trypsin-like enzyme was purified from shrimp hepatopancreas through Q-Sepharose ionic exchange, benzamidine Sepharose-6B affinity, and Superdex 75 gel chromatography. Purity of trypsin-like enzyme was increased 69-fold with $44\%$ yield. The enzyme consisted of a single polypeptide chain with a molecular weight (M.W.) of 32 kDa judged by sodium dodecylsulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The enzyme was completely inactivated by serine enzyme inhibitors such as soybean trypsin inhibitor (SBTI), tosyl-L­lysine chloromethyl ketone (TLCK), and leupeptin. However, the enzyme was not affected by tosyl-L-phenylalanine chloromethyl ketone (TPCK) which is a chymotrypsin specific inhibitor. The enzyme had no activity against benzoyl-tyrosine ethyl ester (BTEE) which is a chymotrypsin specific substrate. The enzyme showed high activity on the carboxyl terminal of Phe, Tyr. Glu, Arg, and Asp. However. no activity was detected against the carboxyl terminal of Pro, Trp, Cys, Gly, Val, and Ala.