• Applied Microscopy
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.155-161
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• 2011

Three spot gourami (Trichogaster trichopterus Pallas, 1770) is a teleost belonging to Belontiidae. The oogenesis of three spot gourami was investigated by light microscope. The ovary was of light peach color and ellipsoidal shape with the major axis 2 cm and the minor axis 1 cm. Cytoplasm of oogonia was basophilic and many nucleoli were located at inside of nuclear membrane. In primary oocyte, lipid droplets were distributed only in the marginal area first, than at nuclear envelope near. In secondary oocyte, the egg envelope was formed and yolk vesicles was formed in the marginal area. The basophilic substance of cytoplasm was changed to acidic. In case of matured egg, thickness of egg envelope and size of egg were increased. The yolk vesicles were changed to yolk mass in accordance with development. The fertilized eggs were the colorless, transparent, spherical, adhesive and pelagic type. A large oil droplet was located in vitelline membrane of the fertilized egg. In conclusion, the oogenesis of three spot gourami was characterized by the increase in cell size, the formations of lipid droplets and yolk, the decrease of basophilic substance in the cytoplasm, and formation of one large oil droplets.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.575-579
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• 2006

Solid electrolyte interface is formed on a carbon electrode used as an anode in Li-ion battery, which can be of $Li^{+}$ intercalation/deintercalation during the first cycle. The passivation film formed by a solvent decomposition during the initial charge process affects cell performance and it was one of the main reason of an initial irreversible capacity. This paper describes the use, for the first time, of $Li_2CO_3$ as the additive for the formation of a passivation film on the carbon surface to suppress the initial irreversible reaction. Chronopotentiometry, cyclic voltammetry, and impedance spectroscopy were used to investigate the effects of the $Li_{2}CO_{3}$ additive. Scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray analysis, and X-ray diffraction were also used to monitor changes in the surface morphology and composition of the passivation film formed by solvent decomposition and the precipitation of $Li_{2}CO_{3}$. The addition of $Li_{2}CO_{3}$ to a solution of 1 M $LiPF_{6}$/EC:MA (1:3, v/v) resulted in a decrease in the initial irreversible capacity and it was due to the suppression of the solvent decomposition on the electrode surface.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.315-319
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• 2008

Glow-light tetra, Hemigrammus erythrozonus is a teleost belonging to Characidae. The natural habitate of this fish is the wild in the Essequibo river, Guyana and South America. The oogenesis of glow-light tetra was investigated by light microscopy to compare with those of other families. A pair of ovary was located between swim bladder and intestines. The ovary was of white color and ellipsoidal shape with the major axis 11 mm and the minor axis 4 mm. Cytoplasm of oogonia was basophilic and many nucleoli were located at inside of nuclear membrane. In primary oocytes, yolk vesicles were distributed only in the marginal area and egg envelope was not formed on the outside of an egg. In secondary oocytes, the egg envelope was formed and yolk vesicles in the cytoplasm were increased than the earlier stage. The amount of basophilic substance was decreased. In case of matured egg, thickness of egg envelope and size of egg were increased, basophilic substance was distributed in only around the egg envelope. The yolk vesicles were changed to yolk mass in accordance with development. In conclusion, the oogenesis of glow-light tetra, Hemigrammus erythrozonus was characterized by the increase in cell size, the formation and accumulation of yolk, and the decrease of basophilia a in the cytoplasm. The oogenesis of glow-light tetra seems to share common patterns in Characidae, teleost and have a similar pattern with other teleost.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.384-389
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• 1992

Bacillus sp. YBL-7 which had been isolated from ginseng root-rot suppressive soil was able to antagonize Fusarium solani causing ginseng root-rot by their antibiotic substance. In order to develop multifunctional antagonist on Bacillus sp. YBL-7 as a biocontrol agent against Fusarium salam', optimal conditions for protoplast transformation system of Bacillus sp.YBL-7 by the vector plasmid pE194 were investigated. The protoplasts of Bacillus sp. YBL-7 were obtained at best efficiency by treatment with 200${\mu}g$/ml of lysozyme in the pH 7.0 of SMM buffer for 90 minutes at $40^{\circ}C$. The cell wall of the protoplast was regenerated on the agar plate containing 1.2% agar and 0.7 M mannitol. Under the best condition for protoplast formation and regeneration, the optimal transformation was achieved with 40% polyethylene glycol (M.W. 4000) treatment for 10minutes. The vector plasmid pE194 showed the best transformation frequency at 5$\mu$g/ml of final concentration. The pE194 was very stable over 80% in the transformants.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.515-522
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• 2015

Treculia africana Decne, a breadfruit species, is native to many parts of West and Tropical Africa. The breadfruit belongs to the family Moraceae and is one of the four members of the genera Treculia. The crude extract of T. africana has been used in folk medicine as an anti-inflammatory agent for various ailments, such as whooping cough. In this study, we evaluated the anti-oxidative and anti-cancer activities of the methanol extract of T. africana Decne (META) and the molecular mechanisms of its anti-cancer effects in human colon carcinoma HT29 cells. The META exhibited anti-oxidative activity through a DPPH radical scavenging capacity and inhibited cell growth in a dose-dependent manner in HT29 cells. META treatment induced apoptosis of HT29 cells, showing an increase in the percentage of both SubG1 cells and Annexin V-positive cells and the formation of apoptotic bodies in a dose-dependent manner. META-mediated apoptosis was associated with the up-regulation of the death receptor FAS and Bax and a decrease in the Bcl-2 expression. META-treated HT29 cells also showed the release of cytochrome c from the mitochondria into the cytosol, activation of caspase-3, caspase-8, and caspase-9, and proteolytic cleavage of poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP). These findings suggest META may exert an anti-cancer effect in HT29 cells by inducing apoptosis through both intrinsic and extrinsic pathways.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.611-617
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• 1990

This study was conducted to breed a high vitamin $B_{12}$ producer by the fusion of protoplasts between Bacillus natto and Bacillus megaterium. Auxotrophic mutants of Bacillus natto SH-34 ($thr^-try^-rif^r$) and Bacillus megaterium BK-13 ($arg^-ade^-lys^-str^r$) which showed high protease activity and production of vitamin $B_{12}$, respectively, were isolated for the fusion experiment. Protoplasts were induced by incubating the cells with lysis solution containing $500{\mu}/ml$ lysozyme, and the ratio of protoplast and regeneration formation were ranged from 99% and 67%, respectively. Fusion frequencies of fusants between Bacillus natto SH-34 and Bacillus megaterium BK-13 were appeared in the ranges of $1.0{\times}10^{-5}$ under the treatment of 30% PEG 6000 containing 3% PVP. The fusant, MNF-72 showed the highest product yield of $7.85{\mu}g/g-cell\;vitamin\;B_{12}$ in production medium. For the improvement of productivity, the immobilization of fusants with sodium alginate was carried out. In batch and continuous fermentation systems, the productivity were determined to be $0.58{\mu}g/ml.hr\;and\;0.80{\mu}g/ml.hr\;vitamin\;B_{12}$ under optimum condition, respectivity.

• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.101-110
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• 2015

Purpose: Sclerostin, an inhibitor of Wnt/${\beta}$-catenin signaling, exerts negative effects on bone formation and contributes to periodontitis-induced alveolar bone loss. Recent studies have demonstrated that serum sclerostin levels are increased in diabetic patients and that sclerostin expression in alveolar bone is enhanced in a diabetic periodontitis model. However, the molecular mechanism of how sclerostin expression is enhanced in diabetic patients remains elusive. Therefore, in this study, the effect of hyperglycemia on the expression of sclerostin in osteoblast lineage cells was examined. Methods: C2C12 and MLO-Y4 cells were used in this study. In order to examine the effect of hyperglycemia, the glucose concentration in the culture medium was adjusted to a range of levels between 40 and 100 mM. Gene expression levels were examined by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and Western blot assays. Top-Flash reporter was used to examine the transcriptional activity of the ${\beta}$-catenin/lymphoid enhanced factor/T-cell factor complex. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha ($TNF{\alpha}$) protein levels were examined with the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The effect of reactive oxygen species on sclerostin expression was examined by treating cells with 1 mM $H_2O_2$ or 20 mM N-acetylcysteine. Results: The high glucose treatment increased the mRNA and protein levels of sclerostin. High glucose suppressed Wnt3a-induced Top-Flash reporter activity and the expression levels of osteoblast marker genes. High glucose increased reactive oxygen species production and $TNF{\alpha}$ expression levels. Treatment of cells with $H_2O_2$ also enhanced the expression levels of $TNF{\alpha}$ and sclerostin. In addition, N-acetylcysteine treatment or knockdown of $TNF{\alpha}$ attenuated high glucose-induced sclerostin expression. Conclusions: These results suggest that hyperglycemia increases sclerostin expression via the enhanced production of reactive oxygen species and $TNF{\alpha}$.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.269-275
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• 1996

Biosynthesis and secretion of anterior pituitary hormones are under the control of specific hypothalamic stimulatory and inhibitory factors. Among them, Growth Hormone Releasing Hormone (GHRH) is the major stimulator of pituitary somatotrophs activating GH gene expression and secretion. Human GHRH is a polypeptide of 44 amino acids initially isolated from pancreatic tumors, and the gene for the hypothalamic form of GHRH is organized into 5 exons spanning over 10 kilobases (kb) on genomic DNA and encodes a messenger RNA of 700-750 nucleotides. Several neuropeptides classically associated with the hypothalamus have been found in the extrahypothalamic regions, suggesting the existence of novel sources, targets and functions. GHRH-like immunoreactivity has been found in several peripheral sites, including placenta, testis, and ovary, indicating that GHRH may also have regulatory roles in peripheral reproductive organs. Furthermore, higher molecular weight forms of the GHRH transcripts were identified from these organs (1.75 kb in testis; 1.75 and >3 kb in ovary). These tissue-specific expression of GHRH gene suggest the existence of unique regulatory mechanism of GHRH expression and function in these organs. In fact, placenta-specific and testis-specific promoters for GHRH transcripts which are located in about 10 kb upstream region of hypothalamic promoter were reported. The use of unique promoters in extrahypothalamic sites could be refered in a different control of GHRH gene and different functions of the translated products in these tissues. Somatotrophs and lactotrophs have been thought to be derived from a common bipotential progenitor, the somatolactotrophs, which give origins to either phenotypes. Although the precise mechanism responsible for the lactotroph differentiation in the anterior pituitary gland has not been yet clalified, there are several candidators for the generation of lactotrophs. In human, the presence of GHRH peptides with different size from authentic hypothalamic form in the normal anterior pituitary and several types of adenoma were demonstrated. Recently our group found the existence of immunoreactive GHRH and its transcript from the normal rat anterior pituitary (gonadotroph> somatotroph> lactotroph), and the GHRH treatment evoked the increased proliferation rate of anterior pituitary cells in vitro. The transgenic mouse models clearly shown that GHRH or NGF overexpression by anterior pituitary cells induced development of pituitary hyperplasia and adenomas particularly GH-oma and prolactinoma. Taken together, we hypothesize that the pituitary GHRH could serve not only as a modulator of hormone secretion but as a paracrine or autocrine regulator of anterior pituitary cell proliferation and differentiation. Interestingly enough, the expression of Pit-1 homeobox gene (the POU class transcription factor) was confined to somatotrophs, lactotrophs and somatolactotrophs in which GHRH receptors are expressed commonly. Concerning the mechanism of somatolactotroph and lactotroph differentiation in the anterior pituitary, we have focused following two possibilities; (1) changes in the relative levels or interactions of both hypothalamic and intrapituitary factors such as dopamine, VIP, somatostatin, NGF and GHRH; (2) alterations of GHRH-GHRH receptor signaling and Pit-1 activity may be the cause of lactotroph differentiation or pituitary hyperplasia and adenoma formation. Extensive further studies will be necessary to solve these complicated questions.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.229-235
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• 2015

Skin aging is the phenomena finally expressed on the skin surface and related to the changes in the microstructure of the skin texture. Which is resulted in wrinkle formation and uneven tone of skin and so on. In this study, the synergy effect of Cedrol and a collagen-derived peptide in type III collagen synthesis was evaluated by in vitro test. The physiological skin state of 22 female volunteers was measured after using the cosmetics for 4 weeks. Results showed that Cedrol and a collagen-derived peptide had the excellent synergy effect in type III collagen synthesis. The cosmetics improved skin microrelief, star configurations, skin gloss, skin tone, hydration and elasticity except skin lightening. In conclusion, this study proved that Cedrol and collagen-derived peptide had the synergy effect of type III collagen synthesis in the cell level and cosmetics with those was improved skin aging in human volunteer test.

• Proceedings of the Ginseng society Conference
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• 1984.09a
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• pp.1-11
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• 1984

Ginseng cotyledon calli were cultured on 1/2MS media supplemented with combination of various growth regulators to induce more embryoids and plantlets in a short period. And tissues of ginseng root and calli were also incubated under various factors or conditions to establish methods for the isolation of viable protoplasts in Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer. The calli derived from cotyledon produced numerous embryoids in 1/2MS media containing 0.5mg/$\ell$ 2,4-D and 0.5mg/$\ell$ kinetin after 2 months' culture. But only shoot formation was less frequent. Further development of these embryoids occurred on 1/2MS medium supplemented with the same concentration of BA and GA. Viable protoplasts were isolated from the root tissue and callus of ginseng. The specific conditions for the isolation of viable protoplasts were required of ginseng materials, root tissue and callus, being processed. For the production of viable protoplasts from 1-year old ginseng root tissue, an enzyme mixture of $2\%$ cellulase 'Ono-zuka' and $0.5\%$ macerozyme, an enzyme solution pH of 5.2 to 5.8, a 7- to 8- hour incubation period at $28{\pm}1^{\circ}C$, and 0.9M mannitol as osmoticum in the cell enzyme mixture were optimum, while the treatments with an enzyme mixture of $2\%$ cellulase 'Onozuka', $2\%$ macerozyme and $1\%$ driselase, and 25-hour incubation period at $28{\pm}1^{\circ}C$, were more efficient for the production of viable protoplasts from ginseng callus.