• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.52 no.6
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• pp.509-517
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• 2019

The birnessite (7Å manganate, δ-MnO₂) which is a manganese oxide and comprises manganese nodules, is a major manganese mineral on the earth surface and a precursor in the synthesis of todorokite. In this study birnessite was synthesized by three different methods: Feng et al. (2004) and Luo et al. (1998) based on redox reaction and Ma et al. (1999) based on reduction reaction. 12 birnessite samples were synthesized by different combinations of Na⁺ and K⁺ cations based on the base (OH^-) and permanganate (MnO₄^-) reagents in the synthesis. The mineral compositions of synthesized birnessite were identified by XRD, and the two cation ratio in the mineral was measured by ICP. The products obtained after hydrothermal treatment of Mg-buserite, by the precursor of birnessite, was examined by XRD, and then phase transition to todorokite and their characteristics were compared. Our results show that the byproducts and the characteristics of phase transition by each synthetic method have different trends. Hausmannite (γ-Mn₃O₄) and feitknechtite (β-MnOOH) were formed by both methods in the redox reaction mechanism. By Feng et al. (2004)'s method, manganite (γ-MnOOH) phase only appeared when cation was predominantly Na⁺. Two birnessite samples synthesized by redox reaction mechanism showed phase transition to todorokite (10Å manganate, OMS-1) when both NaOH and KMnO₄ were used together. However, single-phase birnessite was formed by Ma et al. (1999)'s method, and phase transition was confirmed only for the sample when the cation was only composed of Na⁺.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.221-232
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• 2002

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of deficiency of essential amino acid in diet on feed intake and concentrations of free amino acid in plasma and brain(prepyriform cortex, PPC), and thereby to know the brain area engaged in the mechanism of feed intake regulation. In all trials, experimental diets were formulated with pure amino acid mixture to level of 15% nitrogen. Rats were trained to eat a single meal for 6 hours daily(meal feeding, 17:00-21:00). Feed intake and body weight were measured hourly on and after 7th day of feeding. In Exp. 1, feed intake and body weight were measured every hour, and the free amino acid concentrations of plasma and PPC were analysed at 0, 1, 2, 3 and 6 h on the 11th day of feeding. In Exp. 2, the complete diet was replaced with lysine devoid diet at the 11th day, and feed intake, body weight and free amino acid concentrations in plasma and PPC were samely measured on Exp. 1. In Exp. 1, feed intake on complete diet was self-sufficiented to daily feed intake level(15g/day) from the 7th day. Free amino acid concentrations of plasma and PPC at the 11th day were plateau at 1 hour after feeding. In Exp. 2, feed intake was quickly reduced by the diet replacement(P$<$0.05), and the free lysine concentration of plasma and PPC was also significantly decreased at 2 hour after feeding. However, cumulative feed intake was significantly decreased at 4 hour after feeding. These results may indicate that the concentrations of free lysine in plasma and PPC, under the condition of devoided lysine in diet, were more quickly droped than the reduction of feed intake rate. Hence, it is expected that PPC in brain might be a part of response area for limited amino acid.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.438-447
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• 2017

Flowering is one of the most important development traits related to the production of Brassica rapa crops. After planting, a sudden low temperature triggers premature flowering, which leads to a reduction in the yield and quality of harvested production. Therefore, understanding the mechanism of flowering control is important in the agricultural productivity for preventing Brassica rapa crops. Vernalization is generally known as the main factor of flowering in the Brassica plant. However, in the subspecies of Brassica rapa, some accession such as Yellow sarson and Komatsuna display the flowering phenotype without vernalization. Circadian genes, which diurnally regulate plant physiology, have a role for photoperiodic flowering but are related to the regulation of the vernalizarion mechanism. In this report, the 22 B. rapa accession were divided into two groups, vernalization and non-vernalization, and the sequenced circadian gene, BrPRR1s. Among them, the BrPRR1b gene was found to have deletion regions, which could classify the two groups. The PCR primer was designed to amplify a short band of 422bp in the vernalization type and a long band of 451bp in the non-vernalization type. This primer set was applied to distinguish the flowering types in the 43 B. rapa accession and 4 Brassica genus crop, Broccoli, cabbage, mustard, and rape. The PCR analysis results and flowering time information of each crop demonstrated that the primer set can be used as marker to discern the flowering type in Brassica crops. This marker system can be applied to the B. rapa breeding when selecting the flowering character of new progenies or introducing varieties at an early stage. In addition, these results displayed that the circadian clock genes can be a good strategy for the flowering control of B. rapa crops.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.79-88
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• 1968

For the purpose of assessing the influence of the mamillary bodies on the general activity and stress response, mamillary body·damaged rats(mamillary body group), operated control rats, and normal control animals were prepared and 2 experiments were carried out. The mamillary bodies. were damaged electrolytically by passing 0.3 ma d.c. current through stereotaxically implanted electrodes. The operated control group received the same treatment except passage of current. In the 1st experiment, each subject belonging to the mamillary body group .(9 rats) or the operated control group (13 animals) was put individually into an activity cage across which an infrared beam traversed. The number of beam interruptions by the movement of the subject in the cage was. recorded hourly for 48 hours and was regarded as an index of general activity. In the 2nd experiment, each of the mamillary body group (52 animals), the operated control group (45 rats), and the normal control group (37 animals) was further divided into 4 subgroups and the adrenal ascorbic acid content of one of the 4 subgroups was measured before, another subgroup immediately after, a third subgroup 2 hours after, and the remaining subgroup 4 hours after termination of a cold stress ($-10^{\circ}C$ for 1 hour). Following results were obtained: 1. Though the total activities in 48 hours of the mamillary body group and the operated control group were not significantly different, the activities of the malnillary body group for a few hours. at the beginning of the measurement and also in the evenings of both the 1st and the 2nd experimental days were significantly greater than those of the operated control group. 2. Judged by the significant reduction in adrenal ascorbic acid content, the stress response of the mamillary body group was as marked as that of the operated control or the normal control group-immediately after termination of cold exposure. Recovery from the stress was accelerated significantly in the mamillary body group and insignificantly in the operated control group compared with that of the normal control group, the intergroup difference of the former two groups being insignificant. It was inferred from the above results that the mamillary bodies may exert an inconspicuous inhibitory influence upon the central mechanism of general activity, and that the mamillaryies bodies may not be the main seat of the stress mechanism, although more works are desirable to confirm the results.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.46 no.5
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• pp.636-644
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• 1999

Background : Tumor necrosis factor(TNF) has been considered as an important candidate for cancer gene therapy based on its potent anti-tumor activity. The mechanisms of TNF cytotoxicity are not clearly understood and some has reported that reactive oxygen species(ROS) might be associated with them, but there is controversy about antioxidant effect on TNF cytotoxicity. This study was designed to compare the TNF cytotoxicity after antioxidant pretreatment with that of control to evaluate the role of ROS in the mechanism of TNF cytotoxicity. Method : We compared the TNF cytotoxicies to WEHI164(murine fibrosarcoma cell line) and ME180(human cervix cancer cell line) after antioxidant pretreatment with those of control by MIT(dimethylthiazolyl-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay. Results : In the control group, the TNF cytotoxicities were $92.2{\pm}2.8%$(WEHI164) and $59.9{\pm}7.0%$(MEl80). In the TMTU(tetramethyl thiourea) pretreatment group, those were $91.4{\pm}3.7%$ and $74.6{\pm}7.0%$. In the PMZ(promethazine) pretreatment group, those were $90.2{\pm}2.5%$ and $62.5{\pm}5.7%$. In the BHT(butylated hydroxytoluene) pretreatment group, those were $93.2{\pm}1.3%$ and $66.3{\pm}6.1%$. So there was no reduction in TNF cytotoxicity after antioxidants pretreatment. Conclusion : The ROS may not have major role in the mechanisms of TNF cytotoxicity.

• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.123-137
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• 2007

The advent of the Internet and related Web technologies has created an easily accessible link between a firm and its customers, and has provided opportunities to a firm to use information technology to support supplementary after-sale services associated with a product or service. It has been widely recognized that supplementary services are an important source of customer value and of competitive advantage as the characteristics of the product itself. Many of these supplementary services are information-based and need not be co-located with the product, so more and more companies are delivering these services electronically. Net-based customer service, which is defined as an Internet-based computerized information system that delivers services to a customer, therefore, is the core infrastructure for supplementary service provision. The importance of net-based customer service in delivering supplementary after-sale services associated with product has been well documented. The strategic advantages of well-implemented net-based customer service are enhanced customer loyalty and higher lock-in of customers, and a resulting reduction in competition and the consequent increase in profits. However, not all customers utilize such net-based customer service. The digital divide is the phenomenon in our society that captures the observation that not all customers have equal access to computers. Socioeconomic factors such as race, gender, and education level are strongly related to Internet accessibility and ability to use. This is due to the differences in the ability to bear the cost of a computer, and the differences in self-efficacy in the use of a technology, among other reasons. This concept, applied to e-commerce, has been called the "e-commerce divide." High Internet penetration is not eradicating the digital divide and e-commerce divide as one would hope. Besides, to accommodate personalized support, a customer must often provide personal information to the firm. This personal information includes not only name and address, but also preferences information and perhaps valuation information. However, many recent studies show that consumers may not be willing to share information about themselves due to concerns about privacy online. Due to the e-commerce divide, and due to privacy and security concerns of the customer for sharing personal information with firms, limited numbers of customers adopt net-based customer service. The limited level of customer adoption of net-based customer service affects the firm profits and the customers' welfare. We use a game-theoretic model in which we model the net-based customer service system as a mechanism to enhance customers' loyalty. We model a market entry scenario where a firm (the incumbent) uses the net-based customer service system in inducing loyalty in its customer base. The firm sells one product through the traditional retailing channels and at a price set for these channels. Another firm (the entrant) enters the market, and having observed the price of the incumbent firm (and after deducing the loyalty levels in the customer base), chooses its price. The profits of the firms and the surplus of the two customers segments (the segment that utilizes net-based customer service and the segment that does not) are analyzed in the Stackelberg leader-follower model of competition between the firms. We find that an increase in adoption of net-based customer service by the customer base is not always desirable for firms. With low effectiveness in enhancing customer loyalty, firms prefer a high level of customer adoption of net-based customer service, because an increase in adoption rate decreases competition and increases profits. A firm in an industry where net-based customer service is highly effective loyalty mechanism, on the other hand, prefers a low level of adoption by customers.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.261-276
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• 2009

Lactacystin, a microbial natural product synthesized by Streptomyces, has been commonly used as a selective proteasome inhibitor in many studies. Proteasome inhibitors is known to be preventing the proliferation of cancer cells in vivo as well as in vitro. Furthermore, proteasome inhibitors, as single or combined with other anticancer agents, are suggested as a new class of potential anticancer agents. This study was undertaken to examine in vitro effects of cytotoxicity and growth inhibition, and the molecular mechanism underlying induction of apoptosis in SCC25 human tongue sqaumous cell carcinoma cell line treated with lactacystin. The viability of SCC25 cells, human normal keratinocytes (HaCaT cells) and human gingiva fibroblasts (HGF-1 cells), and the growth inhibition of SCC25 cells were assessed by MTT assay and clonogenic assay respectively. The hoechst staining, hemacolor staining and TUNEL staining were conducted to observe SCC25 cells undergoing apoptosis. SCC25 cells were treated with lactacystin, and Western blotting, immunocytochemistry, confocal microscopy, FAScan flow cytometry, MMP activity, and proteasome activity were performed. Lactacystin treatment of SCC25 cells resulted in a time- and does-dependent decrease of cell viability and a does-dependent inhibition of cell growth, and induced apoptotic cell death. Interestingly, lactacytin remarkably revealed cytotoxicity in SCC25 cells but not normal cells. And tested SCC25 cells showed several lines of apoptotic manifestation such as nuclear condensation, DNA fragmentation, the reduction of MMP and proteasome activity, the decrease of DNA contents, the release of cytochrome c into cytosol, the translocation of AIF and DFF40 (CAD) onto nuclei, the up-regulation of Bax, and the activation of caspase-7, caspase-3, PARP, lamin A/C and DFF45 (ICAD). Flow cytometric analysis revealed that lactacystin resulted in G1 arrest in cell cycle progression which was associated with up-regulation in the protein expression of CDK inhibitors, $p21^{WAF1/CIP1}$ and $p27^{KIP1}$. We presented data indicating that lactacystin induces G1 cell cycle arrest and apoptois via proteasome, mitochondria and caspase pathway in SCC25 cells. Therefore our data provide the possibility that lactacystin could be as a novel therapeutic strategy for human tongue squamous cell carcinoma.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.61-71
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• 2000

When irradiate the power ultrasound into the aqueous solutions, water vapor is decomposed by the heat of very high temperature in the cavitation bubble to produce OH (hydroxyl radical) and H (hydrogen radical), and these radicals play a role in decomposing the substances in aqueous solution by oxidation and/or reduction, and in producing the hydrogen peroxide. Accordingly it is possible to predict that the quantity of hydrogen peroxide produced may correlate with the sonolysis mechanism of the substance in aqueous solution. Thus to confirm this prediction, the quantities of hydrogen peroxide produced from each of the air saturated distilled water and three aqueous solutions of TCE, benzene, and 2,4-DCP that are prepared by dissolving them into distilled water are measured. As a result, it showed that the quantity of hydrogen peroxide produced from the distilled water and three aqueous solutions are increased in order of distilled water>TCE solution>2,4-DCP solution>benzene solution, and decrease with decrease in concentration of organic substance, which coincide with the sonolysis mechanisms reported that TCE in aqueous solution is decomposed directly by the pyrolysis in and around the cavitation bubbles when its concentration is high and by the radical reaction when low, however, benzene and 2,4-DCP are decomposed not only by the pyrolysis but also by the radical reactions. Effects of such experimental parameters as the acoustic frequency and power and as the concentration showed that the higher the acoustic frequency and the lower the acoustic power, the less the quantity of hydrogen peroxide was produced. This result coincide with the theory of ultrasound for the relation between the cavitation that is the energy source of the power ultrasound in aqueous solution and these experimental parameters.

• Journal of Animal Environmental Science
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.207-214
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• 2005

To reduce phosphorus and nitrogen from the swine wastewater, magnesium chloride $(MgCl_2)$ was used as a reaction material for both soluble phosphorus (SP) and ammonia-nitrogen (AN). The initial value of SP content were $471mg/\ell$ far aeration test and $515 mg/\ell$ for NaOH addition test, but treatment of $MgCl_2$ reduced SP value to $5mg/\ell$ and $4mg/\ell$. The removal efficiency of $MgCl_2$ for SP showed $99\%$ in both treatment, and the removal efficiency of $MgCl_2$ for AN showed $15\%$ with treatment of aeration and $18\%$ with NaOH. All the experiments were done in a low temperature of 6 to $8^{\circ}C$, suggesting that this methods are possibly able to apply to a cold weather conditions. Moreover, the struvite crystal structure was identified by electronic microscope, implying that $MgCl_2$ is an effective material for removal of SP from swine wastewater In addition to the increased removal rate of the AN in wastewater, both $MgCl_2$ and $KH_2PO_4$ were added. The SP value was reduced by $99\%$ with 2g addition of the phosphate. The SP removal rate by 4g addition of the phosphate was increased only as $15-19\%$, but the quantity of removed SP was higher than that of 2g addition test. The value of AN was not reduced as expected by adding $KH_2PO_4$. The AN removal rate were low as $18\%$ and $15\%$ like as the level of the former test with $MgCl_2$ alone. Therefore, it is needed to examine closely the reaction mechanism f3r reducing both SP and AN simultaneously.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.105-114
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• 2009

Ethane 1,2-dimethane sulfonate (EDS) is a well-known alkylating agent used as selective Leydig cell (LC) toxicant to create a testicular dysfunction model. Previous studies including our own clearly demonstrated the dramatic weight loss of the androgen dependent accessory sex organs such as epididymis, seminal vesicle and prostate gland in this 'LC knock-out' rats. The present study was performed to evaluate the effect of EDS administration on histological changes of the epididymis, seminal vesicle and prostate in adult rats. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats (350$\sim$400 g B.W.) were injected with a single dose of EDS (75 mg/kg, i.p.) and sacrificed on weeks 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7. Tissue weights (testis, epididymis, seminal vesicle and prostate gland) were measured. The histological changes of tissue were observed by a light microscopy using hematoxylin & eosin staining. Weights of the reproductive and accessory organs progressively declined after the EDS treatments (weeks 1, 2 and 3). After this, the decrease was stopped, then gradually returned to the normal levels. There was a partial (about 60%) recovery of the epididymis weight during weeks $6{\sim}7$. The cross section of epididymis revealed an increase in thickness of the epithelium during weeks $1{\sim}3$. In contrast, considerable reduction of epithelial thickness in seminal vesicle was observed during same period. Similarly, a reduction in thickness of prostate epithelial layer was found during weeks $1{\sim}3$, then it was back to normal thickness after week 4. Taken together, the present study demonstrated that the temporally induced androgen-deficiency by EDS treatment could result the prominent alterations in histology of the accessory sex organs. Further studies on the physiological and molecular regulation of these androgen-sensitive organs using EDS model will be helpful to understand the normal and pathological development and differentiation mechanism of these organs.