• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.205-217
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• 2006

This research was carried out to investigate the effects of some organic materials such as rice straw, compost, hairy vetch, phosphate rock, magnesium lime powder and ash in the organic paddy fields, and also to develope the new technique for better soil management using described materials. The results are as follows; Height and tiller of rice plants were higher in chemical fertilizer than rice straw or compost, however, those of rice plants in hairy vetch-rice cropping system reached to chemical fertilizer. The Eh value of soil has decreased consecutively since on 30th, May because of the rising of soil temperature by an increase in the activity of microbes. As a result of measuring yield and yield components, there is not significant difference between treatment. The application of organic materials enriched the contents of available phosphorus, exchangible potassium and calcium in soil, and, also improved the physical properties such as pore space rates and bulk density. From the viewpoint of soil management technology in organic paddy fields, the application of rice straw or organic compost might cause the decrease of yield compared with conventional cultivation system, chemical fertilizer, however, the application of hairy vetch residues of soil compensated for growth and yield as well as improved the physicochemical property. Therefore, it is assumed that the cultivation of hairy vetch for winter season can be one of the useful methods for organic farming system.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.25 no.11
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• pp.1290-1297
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• 2015

Studies of the inactivation of a gene encoding pyruvate decarboxylase, pdc, in an ethanol-producing bacterium, Zymomonas mobilis, identified a mutant strain with 50% reduced PDC activity. To evaluate the possibility of a carbon-flux shift from an ethanol pathway toward higher value fermentation products, including pyruvate, succinate, and lactate, fermentation studies were carried out. Despite attempts to silence pdc expression in the wild-type strain ZM4 using cat-inserted pdc and pdc-deleted homologs by electroporation, the strain isolated showed partial gene activation. Fermentation experiments with the PDC mutant strain showed that the reduced expression level of PDC activity resulted in decreased rates of substrate uptake and ethanol production, together with increased pyruvate accumulation of 2.5 g l^-1 , although lactate and succinate concentrations were not significantly enhanced in these modified strains. Despite numerous attempts, no strains were isolated in which complete pdc inactivation occurred. This result indicates that the ethanol fermentation pathway of this bacterium is totally dependent on the activity of the PDC enzyme. To ensure a redox balance of intracellular NAD and NADH levels, other enzymes, such as lactate dehydrogenase for lactate, and enzymes involved in the production of succinic acid, such as pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) and malic enzymes, may be needed for their increased end-product production.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.1247-1253
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• 1999

Yakju(rice wine) was sterilized with high-voltage pulses of short time on a batch pulsed electric field(PEF) system. The initial microbial counts of Yakju were 7.52 X $10^4\;CFU/mL$ for total aerobes, 2.20 X $10^4\;CFU/mL$ for lactic acid bacteria and 7.08 X $10^4\;CFU/mL$ for yeasts. The pH, acidity and electric conductivity of Yakju were 3.36, 0.462% and 1.24 mS/cm, respectively. Yakju was treated with 2-250 of pulses exponential-wave formed electric pulses under the field strength of 12.5-25 kV/cm. The critical strengths of the electrical field for the sterilization of Yakju were 7.5 kV/cm for total aerobes, 8.5 kV/cm for lactic acid bacteria and 6.5 kV/cm for yeasts. Logarithmic survival rates decreased linearly at low pulse number, but curvilinearly at high pulse number. The PEF sterilization kinetics of Yakju could be analysed by In s = In A-k In (n) and the sterilization rate constant increased with electric field strength and the size of target microorganisms. No changed in pH, acidity, and the growth of microorganisms were found in the PEF treated Yakju during the storage for 6 weeks at both $4^{\circ}C$ And $30^{\circ}C$.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.21-26
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• 1997

This study was undertaken to examine the expression of EGF-R protein on ICM obtained from mouse IVF/IVC blastocyst by immunosurgery and indirect immunofluorescence(IIF). ICM cells used for this experiment were obtained from immunosurgery of mouse blatstocysts produced at 96 h after IVF, and recovered ICMs were assayed for cell viability and expression of EGF-R. The results obtained in this experiment were summarized as follows: when blastocysts were exposed to rabbit anti-mouse serum (antiserum) for 15-30 min. and then transferred them to guinea pig serum (complement) for 15-60 min., recovery rates of isolated ICMs were 8.0-84.2%. Especially, the best recovery (84.2%) of ICMs was obtained when exposure time to antiserum and complement was 30 min. and 60 min., respectively. In addition, when viability of isolated ICMs after immunosurgery was assessed by live/dead staining method, in all groups viability (93.8-100.0%) of isolated ICMs were not damaged if separated from TE cell. Also, we detected the expression of EGF-R on ICM cell by IIF. Therefore, these results suggest that EGF-R expression on the ICMs can stimulate the higher usablity of exogenous EGF to improve the preimplantation embryo development in vitro.

• Asian Journal of Turfgrass Science
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.25-31
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• 2006

'Meyer' zoysiagrass(Zoysia japonica Steud.) is a popular turfgrass species used for transition zone golf course fairways and tees in mfd U.S.A golf courses because it is generally winter hardy while providing an excellent playing surface with minimal chemical and irrigation inputs. However, its functionality declines easily in many of the shaded areas of these courses. Reduced irradiance causes excessive shoot elongation, reduced tillering, and weak plants that are poorly suited to tolerate or recover from traffic and devoting. Trinexapac-ethyl (TE) effectively reduces gibberellic acid (GA) biosynthesis and subsequent shoot cell elongation. This study was initiated to evaluate TE effect on shoot elongation and stand persistence under two levels of shade in 'Meyer' zoysiagrass. A mature stand of 'Meyer' was treated with all combinations of three levels of shade(0%, 79%, and 92%) and three levels of monthly TE [0, 48 $g{\cdot}ha^{-1}$ a.i(0.5x) and 96 $g{\cdot}ha^{-1}$ a.i(1x)]. In full sun, the TE at 48 $g{\cdot}ha^{-1}$ a.i reduced clipping yield by 18% over a four-week period and, whereas the TE at 96 $g{\cdot}ha^{-1}$ a.i by 30% to 38%. Monthly application of TE at the 96 $g{\cdot}ha^{-1}$ a.i increased 'Meyer' tiller density in full sun and under 79% shade. Both rates of TE consistently reduced shoot growth under shade relative to the shaded control. Only the monthly applications of the TE at 96 $g{\cdot}ha^{-1}$ a.i consistently delayed loss of quality under 79% shade. Our results indicate TE can be an effective management practice to increase 'Meyer' zoysiagrass persistence in shaded environments.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.83-88
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• 2012

Background: This study was conducted to evaluate the usefulness of the BACTEC MGIT (Mycobacterium Growth Indicator Tube) 960 system for mycobacteria culture and immunochromatographic assay to identify Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) in positive MGIT culture. Methods: Mycobacteria-culture-positive cases were retrospectively analyzed from December 2010 to July 2011. The detection rates and the recovery times of the mycobacteria between the Ogawa media and the MGIT were compared. An immunochromatographic assay (ICA) (SD BIO-LINE) was also performed in the positive MGIT culture for identification, and the results were compared with those of the Ogawa media in the Korea National Tuberculosis Association. Results: Among the 261 patients (M:F, 168:93; mean age, $61.6{\pm}17.16$ yrs), 450 specimens (sputa, 365; bronchial washing, 61; and pleural effusion, 24) were found positive with mycobacteria. Mycobacteria were grown both on the MGIT and Ogawa media in 310 cases (68.9%); only on the MGIT in 115 cases (22.6%); and only on the Ogawa media in 25 cases (5.5%) (p<0.05). The recovery time was $28.2{\pm}8.9$ days in the Ogawa media and $11.1{\pm}5.8$ days in the MGIT (p<0.05). Among the 127 cases from the positive MGIT culture, all 92 cases that were confirmed as MTB cases bythe Korea National Tuberculosis Association were identified as MTB by ICA, with 100% sensitivity. Conclusion: MGIT increases the detection rate and shortens the recovery time of mycobacteria in clinical respiratory specimens, and the TB Ag MPT64 kit using ICA is useful in identifying MTB in a positive MGIT culture.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.15 no.7
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• pp.1066-1070
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• 2002

10 male piglets at 5-6 weeks old with similar body weight (BW) were randomly assigned into the experimental (EXP) and control (CON) groups. The animals in EXP received intro-muscular injection with daidzein (DA) at the dose of 0.5 mg DA per kg start BW on day 1. The same procedures were repeated once every 3 days for eight times. The animals in CON received the injection only with same volume of control peanut oil. The animals were weighted on day 14 and 28 and the blood samples were obtained at different stages of the treatment for determining IGF-I levels and blood parameters. At the end of the experiment, the thymus and spleen from all the animals were surgically taken out and weighted. The results showed that BW and average daily gain (ADG) were not significantly different between the groups in term of the whole period, but ADG between days 14-28 was higher in EXP than in CON (p<0.05). On days 18, 21 and 25, IGF-I levels in EXP group were 20.53% (p<0.05), 15.92% (p>0.05) and 23.46% (p<0.05), respectively, higher than those in CON. The weights of thymus and spleen, the ratios of their weights to BW and red blood count (RBC) did not significantly differ between the groups at all stages. White blood count (WBC) in EXP steadily increased from day 22, reached its apex on day 24, which was higher than in CON (p<0.05) and its own levels on day 20 and 22 (p<0.01 or p<0.05), and remained higher on the later time (p=0.058). The results of percentage of T-Lymphocytes also demonstrated similar trend to WBC, but TLymphocyte transformation rate (%) appeared no significant change between the groups. In conclusion, Daidzein could stimulate male piglet growth and elevate serum IGF-I levels at certain stages of the treatment. It could also increase WBC and T-Lymphocyte rates, but had no significant impacts on RBC and T-Lymphocyte transformation rate.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.13 no.12
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• pp.1659-1666
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• 2000

Two experiments were conducted to determine the effects of Leucaena leucocephala (leucaena) and Gliricidia sepium (gliricidia) supplementation on intake, digestion, outflow rates, microbial protein yield and live-weight changes in sheep fed with ammoniated rice straw (ARS). In experiment 1, three rumen cannulated Japanese Corriedale wether (mean body weight of 35.6 kg) in $3{\times}3$ Latin Square Design were used. Animals were fed ad libitum ARS alone, or supplemented with 200 g of either leucaena or gliricidia. In experiment 2, twenty-four growing native Philippine sheep with average body weight of $13.5{\pm}0.25kg$ were used in a completely randomized design (CRD) and offered similar diets to those of experiment 1. Supplementation increased total dry matter intake and nutrient digestibility except for fiber (p<0.05) without affecting ARS consumption. Nitrogen balance revealed that absorbed and retained N was significantly higher in leucaena and gliricidia. The significant improvement in N utilization and more digestible OM intake brought about by the inclusion of leucaena and gliricidia to ARS resulted in increased (p<0.05) microbial N yield. Efficiency of microbial N supply in supplemented group was not significantly different, but higher (p<0.05) than the 24.92 g N/kg DOMR for ARS group. Liquid outflow rate was 7.8 and 6.8 %/h, while the solid phase of rumen digesta was 4.4 and 3.8 %/h for the leucaena and gliricidia group respectively, which were significantly higher than 5.30 and 2.50 %/h in the control diet. The increase in total DMI resulted to higher (p<0.01) growth performance and efficient feed utilization. Average daily gain (ADG) was 19.3, 34.6 and 33.9 g/d for the ARS, leucaena and gliricidia respectively. It is therefore concluded that addition of leucaena and gliricidia to ARS in could increase nutrient intake and digestibility, subsequently improving N utilization and livestock performance.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.1589-1595
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• 2014

Objective: Forkhead box C2 (FOXC2) is a member of the winged helix/forkhead box (Fox) family of transcription factors. It has been suggested to regulate tumor vasculature, growth, invasion and metastasis, although it has not been studied in cervical cancer. Here, we analyzed FOXC2 expression in cervical tissues corresponding to different stages of cervical cancer development and examined its correlation with clinicopathological characteristics. In addition, we examined the effects of targeting FOXC2 on the biological behavior of human cervical cancer cells. Methods: The expression of FOXC2 in normal human cervix, CIN I-III and cervical cancer was examined by immunohistochemistry and compared among the three groups and between cervical cancers with different pathological subtypes. Endogenous expression of FOXC2 was transiently knocked down in human Hela and SiHa cervical cells by siRNA, and cell viability and migration were examined by scratch and CCK8 assays, respectively. Results: In normal cervical tissue the frequency of positive staining was 25% (10/40 cases), with a staining intensity (PI) of $0.297{\pm}0.520$, in CIN was 65% (26/40cases), with a PI of $3.00{\pm}3.29$, and in cancer was 91.8% (68/74 cases), with a PI of $5.568 {\pm}3.449$. The frequency was 100% in adenocarcinoma (5/5 cases) and 91.3% in SCCs (63/69 cases). The FOXC2 positive expression rate was 88.5% in patients with cervical SCC stage I and 100% in stage II, showing significant differences compared with normal cervix and CIN. With age, pathologic differentiation degree and tumor size, FOXC2 expression showed no significant variation. On transient transfection of Hela and SiHa cells, FOXC2-siRNA inhibition rates were 76.2% and 75.7%; CCK8 results showed reduced proliferation and relative migration (in Hela cells from $64.5{\pm}3.16$ to $49.5{\pm}9.24$ and in SiHa cells from $60.1{\pm}3.05$ to $44.3{\pm}3.98$) (P < 0.05). Conclusion: FOXC2 gene expression increases with malignancy, especially with blood vessel hyperplasia and invasion degree. Targeted silencing was associated with reduced cell proliferation as well as invasion potential.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.224-234
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• 2018

An efficient method to select drought tolerant Korean native plants using in vitro culture system was established in this study. While the plant growths and root inductions of each plant were proportionately affected by concentrations of mannitol on in vitro culturing seven plant species to test tolerance to osmotic stress, growth index (GI) and number of root induction of Chrysanthemi zawadskii var. latilobum and Dianthus chinensis var. semperflorens plantlets were higher than the others in 125mM mannitol. In test with polyethylene glycol (PEG), plantlets of C. zawadskii var. latilobum and D. chinensis var. semperflorens showed higher GI and number of root induction than the others in 33.3mM. On testing whether the well grown plants under osmotic stress are tolerant to virtual drought stress, there were significant differences in the withering rates of C. zawadskii var. latilobum and D. chinensis and those of were Aster yomena and Centaurea cyanus after 12 days without watering. It was found that significantly lower stomata numbers were shown in both drought tolerant plants than the sensitive plants. Averages of the stomata circumferences and the stomata area in the plantlets of the tolerant species were larger than those of the sensitive plants D. chinensis var. semperflorens showed the lowest transpiration level per unit area. The highest stomatal area per unit area was found in C. zawadskii, followed by D. chinensis var. semperflorens, Aster yomena and C. cyanus. In conclusion, C. zawadskii var. latilobum and D. chinensis var. semperflorens were more tolerant to drought than other two species. Furthermore in vitro selection was successfully used to screen drought tolerance species of native plant species.