• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.29 no.7
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• pp.925-937
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• 2016

In the last few decades, transgenic animal technology has witnessed an increasingly wide application in animal breeding. Reproductive traits are economically important to the pig industry. It has been shown that the bone morphogenetic protein receptor type IB (BMPR1B) A746G polymorphism is responsible for the fertility in sheep. However, this causal mutation exits exclusively in sheep and goat. In this study, we attempted to create transgenic pigs by introducing this mutation with the aim to improve reproductive traits in pigs. We successfully constructed a vector containing porcine BMPR1B coding sequence (CDS) with the mutant G allele of A746G mutation. In total, we obtained 24 cloned male piglets using handmade cloning (HMC) technique, and 12 individuals survived till maturation. A set of polymerase chain reactions indicated that 11 of 12 matured boars were transgene-positive individuals, and that the transgenic vector was most likely disrupted during cloning. Of 11 positive pigs, one (No. 11) lost a part of the terminator region but had the intact promoter and the CDS regions. cDNA sequencing showed that the introduced allele (746G) was expressed in multiple tissues of transgene-positive offspring of No.11. Western blot analysis revealed that BMPR1B protein expression in multiple tissues of transgene-positive $F_1$ piglets was 0.5 to 2-fold higher than that in the transgene-negative siblings. The No. 11 boar showed normal litter size performance as normal pigs from the same breed. Transgene-positive $F_1$ boars produced by No. 11 had higher semen volume, sperm concentration and total sperm per ejaculate than the negative siblings, although the differences did not reached statistical significance. Transgene-positive $F_1$ sows had similar litter size performance to the negative siblings, and more data are needed to adequately assess the litter size performance. In conclusion, we obtained 24 cloned transgenic pigs with the modified porcine BMPR1B CDS using HMC. cDNA sequencing and western blot indicated that the exogenous BMPR1B CDS was successfully expressed in host pigs. The transgenic pigs showed normal litter size performance. However, no significant differences in litter size were found between transgene-positive and negative sows. Our study provides new insight into producing cloned transgenic livestock related to reproductive traits.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.66-80
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• 2009

This paper attempts to investigate how the cultural phenomena associated with 'Wuyi-Doga(武夷棹歌)' and 'Wuyi-Gugok (武夷九曲)' was introduced to Joseon. The icon and code of 'Gugok' cultural text which was observed in the process of transmitting the culture through repetition and imitation were examined. With regard to research methodology, an 'analysis and discussion framework' was designed based on the literature review, field survey and the seven textuality criteria proposed by Dressier. Then the textuality of 'Wuyi-Gugok' was analyzed in terms of the dependent relation of text, the relationship between the creator and user, repetition, imitation and the spread process. Since ZhouHee(朱熙)'s 'Wuyi-Doga' and 'Wuyi-Gugok' were introduced to Joseon through literature and paintings, they became a part of the cultural Phenomena with unprecedented popularity. As a result, a great number of imitations can be found. In addition, governors would even take care of political affairs in a scenic mountain valley as described in this literature. Regardless of the writer's intentiot 'Gugok' settled in Joseon as new culture in harmony with Taoism and Sung COnfucianism. In other words, Joseon's Gugok-Wonlim(九曲園林) accepted the nature-appreciation aesthetic consciousness in 'Wuyi-Doga' and 'Wuyi-Gugok' on the basis of Taoism and Sung Confucianism. In terms of the text-based dependent relation only, however, the geographical coherence was somewhat loosened while the Gugok Culture that was dependent on Taoism or elegance in life dominated the internal structure of the textuality. Meantime, the internal factors that dominated the textuality of 'Wdyi-Gugok' were interpreted as 1) 'Aesthetics of Bending, Water Whirls', 2) 'Territoriality Expression Carve letters,' 3) 'Cultural Landscape seeing through the Speculation of Meaning,' 4) 'The Pursuit of Oddness and Presentationism' and 5) 'Transcendental Landscape of Taoism and Topos.'

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.64-73
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• 2000

There are several candidate genes in genetic study of alcoholism. Among them, allelic associations have been reported between MAOA CA repeat polymorphism and alcohol dependence, recently. And also, several studies have been investigated genotype-phenotype relationships between MAOA CA repeat polymorphism and clinical manifestations. The authors tried to identify differences in allelic frequency of MAOA CA repeat polymorphism between alcohol dependence and controls, and in behavioral trait and clinical characteristics according to MAOA CA repeat polymorphism. We also tried to investigate genotype-phenotype relationships between MAOA CA repeat polymorphism and behavioral trait such as aggression. We examined 49 male patients with alcohol dependence(DSM-IV) who had been admitted in Yong-In Mental Hospital from June 1st 1998 to October 31th 1998. We performed semistructured interview for demographic and clinical characteristics. Self-report questionnaire for BDHI(Buss-Durkey Hostility Inventory) was given to all subject at least 4weeks later after admission. Using polymerase chain reaction and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, MAOA CA repeat polymorphism were observed in 52 male controls and 49 male patients with alcohol dependence. We devided alcoholic patients into two groups according to allelic length of MAOA CA repeat polymorphism ; alcoholics with short alleles(${\leq}$119bp, N=20) and alcoholics with long alleles(${\geq}$123bp, N=29). T-test, ${\chi}^2$-test and Fisher exact probability test were used for statistical analysis. There were no significant differences in frequency of each allele and short and long alleles of MAOA CA repeat polymorphism between alcoholics and controls. But there were significant differences in clinical symptoms and behavioral trait between alcoholics with short and long alleles. In clinical symptoms, alcoholics with long alleles used alcohol more frequently during one month before admission, had much more maximum amount of beer drinking and reported withdrawal seizure more frequently than with short alleles. In contrary, alcoholics with short alleles expressed depressed mood and guilty feeling more frequently and wanted complete abstinence as a treatment goal more frequently than with long alleles. In behavioral trait, alcoholics with long alleles had higher total aggression score and showed much more self-assertive attitude(subscale of expression of aggression) than with short alleles. Allelic length of MAOA CA repeat polymorphism was correlated with self-assertive attitude and accounted for 9% of the variance of self-assertive attitude. And also, predictable variables of allelic length of MAOA CA repeat polymorphism were drinking frequency and self-assertive attitude. Our findings suggest that MAOA CA repeat polymorphism may provide some behavior modifying role especially in self-assertive attitude and indirect symptom modifying role in Korean male alcoholics.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.45-55
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• 2015

This study was carried out to demonstrate the anti-inflammatory effect of tuna oil (TO) using LPS-induced inflammation responses and mouse models. First, nitric oxide (NO) and pro-inflammatory cytokines levels were suppressed up to 50% with increasing concentrations of TO without causing any cytotoxicity. Also, the expression of a variety of proteins, such as inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), was suppressed in a dosedependent manner by treatment with TO. Furthermore, TO also inhibited the phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs), including c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), and p38 protein kinase (p38). Moreover, in in vivo testing the formation of ear edema was reduced at the highest dose tested compared to that in the control, and a reduction of ear thickness and the number of mast cells was observed in histological analysis. In acute toxicity test, no mortalities occurred in mice administrated 5,000 mg/kg body weight of TO over a two-week observation period. Our results suggest that TO has a considerable anti-inflammatory property through the suppression of inflammatory mediator productions and that it could prove to be useful as a potential anti-inflammatory therapeutic material.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.339-346
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• 2007

Pollen germination viability is an essential factor to produce seeds from pollination and fertilization, which are required to maintain plant generation. In this study, we tried to identify the effect of boric acid on pollen germination and tube grouch in non-transgenic and transgenic plants expressing monoclonal antibodies (anti-colorectal cancer mAb CO17-1A, anti-breast cancer mAb BR55, and anti-rabies virus mAb57). The pollen of non-transgenic plant was treated with different concentration of boric acid (0, 5, 10, 15, 20, $40{\mu}g/mL$) in germination buffer to investigate its effect on in vitro pollen germination. At $20{\mu}g/mL$ of boric acid, tile pollen germination rate was the highest (49.5%) compared to other concentrations. In general, the germination rate significantly increased 3-10 folds in boric acid ($20{\mu}g/mL$) treated group in non-transgenic and transgenic plants. Also, the pollen tube length increased in boric acid ($20{\mu}g/mL$) treated groups. In the treated group, the pollen tube length increased until 3 h boric acid treatment and decreased after the 3 h, indicating that the 3 h is the most appropriate incubation time period. Western blot analysis showed that the mAb transgene expression was more stable in leaf than pollen in transgenic plants. This study suggested that $20{\mu}g/mL$ of boric acid is ideal concentration to induce in vitro pollen germination of transgenic plants expressing therapeutic monoclonal antibodies, indicating stable pollination and fertilization in transgenic plants.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.361-372
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• 2017

Bred and grown around the world, tomato (Solanum spp.) has highly valuable fruits containings various anti-oxidants such as lycopene, flavonoids, glutamine, and ${\beta}-carotene$. Several studies have explored, way in which to enhance the growth, management and quality of tomato, we focus on the management of growth for yield rather than quality. The expression of superior agronomic traits depends on where cultivars are grown. We evaluated 10 cultivars grown in three environment for their lycopene. HTL3137 ($70.48mg{\cdot}kg^{-1}$), which was grown in Yoeju in spring/summer, contained the highest lycopene content, while HTL10256 ($20.9mg{\cdot}kg^{-1}$), which was grown in Suwon in spring/summer, contain the least lycopene.Correlations between color components and lycopene content varied according to growing location and season. In spring/summer-grown tomatoes from Suwon, no significant correlation was observed between any color component (redness [R], greenness [G], blueness [B], luminosity, $L^*$, $a^*$, $b^*$, hue and chroma) and lycopene content. A correlation was observed between B and lycopene content in tomatoes grown in Yeoju during the same season. In tomatoes grown in Yeoju in fall/winter, significant correlations were found between lycopene content and G, luminosity, $L^*$, and hue. Variance in interactions between genotype, environment, and genotype ${\times}$ environment (G ${\times}$ E) using Minimum Norm Quadratic Unbiased Estimate (MINQUE) analysis indicated that lycopene content depends on genotype (51.33%), environment (49.13%), and G ${\times}$ E (21.43%). However, when the Additive Main Effects and Multiplicative Interaction (AMMI) was used, the G ${\times}$ E value was highest.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.140-145
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• 2012

The flowering locus T (FT) gene, of which expression will be controlled at high temperature by heat shock promoter (it printed as to HSproFT), was introduced into spray-type chrysanthemum (Dendranthema grandiflorum (Ramat.) Kitamura) 2 cultivars ('Pink PangPang' and 'Pink Pride' by co-cultivation with Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain C58C1 harboring pCAMBIA2300 containing the HSproFT gene. After leaf segments of the 2 cultivars were infected with the A. tumafaciens with C58C1 as explants, shoots were regenerated from the explants cultured on the $1^{st}$ selection medium (MS basal salts + 1.0 mg/L BA, 0.5 mg/L IAA + 10 mg/L kanamycin + 0.7% plant agar, pH 5.8). The shoots were transferred into the $2^{nd}$ selection medium (MS basal salts + 1.0 mg/L BA, 0.5 mg/L IAA + 20 mg/L kanamycin + 0.7% plant agar, pH 5.8). One hundred seventeen plantlets from 'Pink PangPang' and 5 ones from 'Pink Pride' were confirmed as transformants by PCR analysis. Twenty six of the transformants and non-transformants were acclimatized and established well in a green house. Eights of 26 transgenic lines showed flower bud 1.7~10 days earlier than nontransgenic plants, and 24 of them flowered 1~6 days earlier than non- transgenic plants. The shape and color of flower of all HSproFT-transgenic lines were not different with those of non- transgenic plants.

• Neonatal Medicine
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.221-233
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• 2009

Purpose: Erythropoietin (EPO) has neuroprotective effects in many animal models of brain injury, including hypoxic-ischemic (HI) encephalopathy, trauma, and excitotoxicity. Current studies have demonstrated the neuroprotective effects of EPO, but limited data are available for the neonatal periods. Here in we investigated whether recombinant human EPO (rHuEPO) can protect the developing rat brain from HI injury via modulation of NMDA receptors. Methods: In an in vitro model, embryonic cortical neuronal cell cultures from Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats at 19-days gestation were established. The cultured cells were divided into five groups: normoxia (N), hypoxia (H), and 1, 10, and 100 IU/mL rHuEPO-treated (H+E1, H+ E10, and H+E100) groups. To estimate cell viability and growth, a 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay was done. In an in vivo model, left carotid artery ligation was performed on 7-day-old SD rat pups. The animals were divided into six groups; normoxia control (NC), normoxia Sham-operated (NS), hypoxia-ischemia only (H), hypoxia-ischemia+vehicle (HV), hypoxia-ischemia+rHuEPO before a HI injury (HE-B), and hypoxia-ischemia+rHuEPO after a HI injury (HE-A). The morphologic changes following brain injuries were noted using hematoxylin and eosin (H/E) staining. Real-time PCR using primers of subunits of NMDA receptors (NR1, NR2A, NR2B, NR2C and NR2D) mRNA were performed. Results: Cell viability in the H group was decreased to less than 60% of that in the N group. In the H+E1 and H+E10 groups, cell viability was increased to >80% of the N group, but cell viability in the H+E100 group did not recover. The percentage of the left hemisphere area compared the to the right hemisphere area were 98.9% in the NC group, 99.1% in the NS group, 57.1% in the H group, 57.0% in the HV group, 87.6% in the HE-B group, and 91.6% in the HE-A group. Real-time PCR analysis of the expressions of subunits of NMDA receptors mRNAs in the in vitro and in vivo neonatal HI brain injuries generally revealed that the expression in the H group was decreased compared to the N group and the expressions in the rHuEPO-treated groups was increased compared to the H group. Conclusion: rHuEPO has neuroprotective property in perinatal HI brain injury via modulation of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.178-189
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• 2003

Purpose: Cellular uptakes of $^{99m}Tc-sestamibi(MIBI)\;and\;\;^{99m}Tc-tetrofosmin$ into cancer cell lines expressing multidrug resistance(MDR) were investigated and compared. The effects of verapamil and cyclosporin A, well-known multidrug resistant reversing agents, on cellular uptakes of both tracers were also compared. Materials and Methods: Doxorubicin-resistant HCT15/CL02 human colorectal cell and doxorubicin-resistant K562(Adr) and vincristine-resistant K562(Vcr) human leukemic cells were studied. RT-PCR analysis was used for the detection of mdr1 mRNA expression. MDR-reversal effects with verapamil and cyclosporine A were evaluated at different drug concentrations after incubation with MIBI and tetrofosmin for 1, 15, 30, 45 and 60 min, using single-cell suspensions at $1{\times}10^6cells/ml$ incubated at $37^{\circ}C$. Radioactivity in supernatants and pellets were measured with gamma well counter. Results: The cellular uptakes of MIBI and tetrofosmin in K562(Adr) and K562(Vcr) were lower than those of parental K562 cell. In HCT15/CL02 cells and K562(Adr) cells, there were no significant difference in cellular uptakes of both tracers, but cellular uptake of MIBI was higher than that of tetrofosmin in K562(Vcr) cells. Coincubation with verapamil resulted in a increase In cellular uptakes of MIBI and tetrofosmin. Verapamil increased cellular uptakes of MIBI and tetrofosmin by HCT15/CL02 cell by 11.9- and 6.8-fold, by K562(Adr) cell by 14.3- and 8-fold and by K562(Vcr) cell by 7- and 5.7-fold in maximum, respectively. Cyciosporin A increased cellular uptakes of MIBI and tetrofosmin by HCT15/CL02 cell by 10- and 2.4-fold, by K562(Adr) cell by 44- and 13-fold and by K562(Vcr) cell by 18.8- and 11.8-fold in maximum, respectively Conclusion: Taking together, MIBI and tetrofosmin are considered as suitable radiopharmaceuticals for defecting multidrug resistance. However, MIBI seems to be a better tracer than tetrofosmin for evaluating MDR reversal effect of the modulators. Since cellular uptakes of both tracers might differ in different cell types, further experiments regarding differences in cellular uptakes between cell types should be explored.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.235-243
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• 2007

Human umbilical cord blood(HUCB) contains a rich source of hematopoietic stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells and endothelial cell precursors. Mesenchymal stem cells(MSCs) in HUCB are multipotent stem cells, differ from hematopoietic stem cells and can be differentiated into neural cells. We studied on transdifferentiation-promoting conditions in neural cells and cholinergic neuron induction of HUCB-derived MSCs. Neural differentiation was induced by addingdimethyl sulphoxide(DMSO) and butylated hydroxyanisole(BHA) in Dulbeco's Modified Essential Medium(DMEM) and fetal bovine serum(FBS). Differentiation of MSCs to cholinergic neurons was induced by combined treatment with basic fibroblast growth factor(bFGF), retinoic acid(RA) and sonic hedgehog(Shh). MSCs treated with DMSO and BHA rapidly assumed the morphology of multipolar neurons. Both immunocytochemistry and RT-PCR analysis indicated that the expression of a number of neural markers including $\beta$-tubulin III, GFAP and MBP, was markedly elevated during this acute differentiation. The differentiation rate was about $32.3{\pm}2.9%$ for $\beta$-tubulin III-positive cells, $11.0{\pm}0.9%$ for GFAP, and $9.4{\pm}1.0%$ for Gal-C. HUCB-MSCs treated combinatorially with bFGF, RA and Shh were differentiated into cholinergic neurons. After cholinergic neuronal differentiation, the $\beta$-tubulin III-positive cell population of total cells was $31.3{\pm}3.2%$ and of differentiated neuronal population, $70.0{\pm}7.8%$ was ChAT-positive showing 3 folds higher in cholinergic population than neural induction. Conclusively, HUCB-derived MSCs can be differentiated into neural and cholinergic neurons and these findings suggest that HUCB are alternative cell source of treatment for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease.