• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.113-120
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• 2009

Embryonic lethal abnormal visual (elav) is a lethal gene in Drosophila inducing the abnormal development and function of nervous system. We cloned a Bm-elav gene by bioinformatics and biological experiment, based on sequence of ELAV protein and dbEST of Bombyx mori. The full-length of Bm-elav cDNA is 1498 bp, contains a 906 bp open read frame (ORF) encoding a precursor of 301 amino acid residues with a calculated molecular weight of 34 kDa and pI of 8.99. Bm-ELAV protein precursor contains three RNA recognition motifs (RRM) in $24{\sim}91$, $110{\sim}177$ and $222{\sim}295$ bit amino acid residues respectively, and belongs to RNA-binding protein family. Bm-ELAV shared varying positives, ranging from 56% to 60% (Identities from 41% to 45%), with RRM from other species of Xenopus tropicalis, Apis mellifera, Tribolium castaneum, Branchiostoma belcheri and Drosophila. Gene localization indicated that Bm-elav is a single-copy gene, gene mapping within 12-chromosome from 7916.68 knt to 7918.16 knt region of nscaf2993. Spatiotemporal expressions pattern analysis revealed that Bm-elav expressed higher in most tested tissues and developmental stages in whole generation, such as silk gland, fat body, midgut, hemopoietic organ and ovary, but almost no expression in terminated diapause eggs. This suggested that the expression of Bm-elav in early developmental embryonic stages might induce abnormal development like in Drosophila. Cloning of the Bm-elav gene enables us to test its potential role in controlling pests by transferring the gene into field lepidopteran insects in the future.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.28
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• pp.16.1-16.8
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• 2013

Objectives Fish vitellogenin (VTG) is produced in the female liver during oogenesis through the estradiol cycle and produced in the male liver by endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) such as alkylphenols. In this study, we propose that the VTG concentration in the pale chub could be detected using monoclonal antibodies and polyclonal antibodies against vitellin (Vn) in a VTG enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) system. Methods Monoclonal antibodies and polyclonal antibodies were produced using the Vn extracted from the matured ovum of the ovary. The VTG was extracted from the plasma of the male pale chub. The Vn and VTG were confirmed by measuring the molecular weight of their proteins using sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and the specificity of the antibodies was checked through western blotting methods. The assay system was validated with respect to optimal assay concentrations, specificity, recovery, and intra- and inter-assay variations. Results The Vn consisted of two protein bands with apparent molecular weights of 64 and 37 kDa. The SDS-PAGE indicated protein weights of 146 and 77 kDa in the VTG. The assay range was 15.6 ng/mL to 2,000 ng/mL, and the value of the intra- and inter-assay variations were within 10.0% and 14.7%, respectively. The recovery rate was $99.5{\pm}5.5%$. Conclusions A sandwich ELISA was developed that could be used to qualify the VTG of pale chub in screening for EDCs. Pale chub is an ideal species for observing estrogen activity in the environment because of its extensive habitat and extensive food chain. The ELISA developed here would be more favorable than those for other species for determining the effect of long-term food chain accumulation of EDCs in aquatic environments.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.33 no.4 s.92
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• pp.395-404
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• 2000

The gonadosomatic index (GSI), hepatosomatic Index (HSI), egg size distribution, gonad development and reproductive characteristics of venus fish, Aphyocypris chinensis, were examined during March 1997- March 1998 in agricultural waterways of the Sedo-myun, Puyo county, Chungnam Province, Korea. Annual reproductive cycle was classified into the following five successive phases by monthly changes in GSI and the characteristics of ovary: quiescent phase (January- February), secondary growing and mature phase (March-May), ripe and spawning phase (June-July), degenerating and resting phase (August-September) and primary growing phase (October-December). The hepatosomatic index (HSI) showed clear seasonal pattern with two separate peaks. However, it exhibited a negative correlation to changes of GSI values. The regression analysis suggested that fecundity showed a strong positive linear relationship ($r^2\;=\;0.91$, n = 34) with body weight. The sex ratio of female to male was 1.4 : 1 in the natural population during the study. The minimum reproductive size of female and male venus fish was 38 mm and 33 mm in fork length, respectively.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.67-83
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• 2011

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine the single dose toxicity with oral administration and genotoxicities of Ssanghwa-tang fermented with Lactobacillus acidophyllus. Materials and Methods: Clinical signs, weight changes, lethal doses$(LD_{50})$, and postmortem evaluation were determined by Globally Harmonized Classification System(GHCS) in a single-dose oral toxicity study. In vitro mammalian chromosomal aberration test was conducted with Ames test by cell proliferation suppression assessment using the cultivated CHO-K1(Chinese hamster ovary fibroblast) origins. Bacterial reversion assay was performed using Salmonella typhimurium (TA98, TA100, TA1535, and TA1537) and Escherichia coli (WP2uvrA). In vivo micronucleus test was performed using ICR mouse bone marrow. Results: No clinical sign was observed and none of the groups with doses up to 2000 mg/kg showed significant acute oral toxicity in the single dose oral administration. None of the sample doses taken during the 6 to 18 hour groups showed significant aberrant metaphases comparing to the negative control group in the in vitro mammalian chromosomal aberration test. No evidence of mutagenicity was seen for Escherichia coli (WP2uvrA) or Salmonella typhimurium (TA98, TA100, TA1535, and TA1537). No significant increase in the frequency of micronuclei was seen in the micronucleus test. Conclusion: These results indicate that the $LD_{50}$ value of Ssanghwa-Tang fermented with Lactobacillus acidophyllus may be over 2000 mg/kg and it have no acute oral toxicity and genotoxicity.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.438-441
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• 2001

Two female Yorkshire terrier was referred to Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, Seoul National University. In case 1, clinical signs were vomiting, anorexia and weight loss. Cystic intraabdominal mass was identified in radiographic and ultrasonographic examination. In case 2, clinical sign was abdominal distension. In radiographic and ultrasonographic examination, cellular ascites and bilateral intraabdominal masses next to kidneys were observed. Many clusters of glandular epithelial cells with anisocytosis, anisokaryosis, high N:C ratio coarse chromatin and prominent nucleoli were shown in cytologic examination of sanguineous ascites. In all two cases exploratory laparotomy was performed and enlarged ovaries were observed (Rt: 6$\times$5$\times$5 cm and Lt: 3$\times$2$\times$1 cm in case 1 and 3$\times$2$\times$1 cm bilaterally in case 2). After ovariohysterectomy histopathologic examinations were performed. Histopathologically the masses were diagnosed as ovarian adenocarcinoma and ovarian cystadenocarcinoma in case 1 and case 2, respectively. In both dogs no further chemotherapy was carried out. These two dogs had no gross evidence of tumor recurrence at the time of 3 months after tumor resection, but long-term follow-up might be needed.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.801-809
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• 2019

Abeliophyllum distichum Nakai is a deciduous shrub of a flowering plant in Oleaceae. It is an important plant resource and consists of only one species in the entire world. A. distichum Nakai is well known an edible, medicinal herb in its habitat districts, but the toxicological evaluation for the safe use of its extract is still insufficient. The study characterized the toxicity of an Abeliophyllum distichum Nakai ethanol extract in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats and determined the safe dosage levels in a 13 weeks toxicity study. Abeliophyllum distichum Nakai ethanol extract was orally administered once daily for 2 weeks at 0, 500, 1,000 and 2,000 mg/kg/day to male and female SD rats. while recording the clinical signs of toxicity, body weight, food intake/consumption, eye test and urine analysis. Only the total protein frequency in the urine of male SD rats (p<0.05), the right ovary of the 500 mg/kg group (p<0.01) and the right adrenal gland of the 1,000 mg/kg group (p<0.05) in the female rats showed statistically significant changes. But no toxic effects were noted from repeated-dose administration of the Abeliophyllum distichum Nakai ethanol extract in the SD rats during the observation period. The post-mortem examinations showed no test substance-mediated changes. The hematological analysis and clinical blood chemistry data demonstrated no toxic effects from repeated-dose administration of Abeliophyllum distichum Nakai ethanol extract in the SD rats during the observation period. Based on these results, this data suggests that a dose of 1,000 mg/kg/day is a highest treatment to administer when conducting a further 13 weeks toxicity study.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.67-73
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• 1999

The insulin-like growth factor (IGF)s are believed to one of several growth factors that play an adjunctive role in ovarian follicular development. These factors circulate bound to a family of IGF-binding protein (IGFBP)s. It is known that circulating IGFBPs are involved in the transport of IGFs to tissues and modulate IGFs actions at local tissue. The purposes of this study were to evaluate changes in serum IGFBPs profiles during normal ovulatory menstrual cylce and to compare serum IGFBPs profiles in periovulatory phase of between normal ovulatory menstrual cylce and controlled hyperstimulated cycle. Fasting blood samples were obtained from 15 normal healthy women throughout normal ovulatory menstural cyle and on the day of aspiration of oocyte from 10 patients undergoing ovarian hyperstimuation for in vito fertilization-embryo transfer. Serum IGFBP-1 - IGFBP-4 were measured by western ligand blot and immunoprecipitation. Serum $17{\beta}$-estradiol was determined by radioimmunoassay. Type and molecular weight of serum IGFBP did not changed during normal ovulatory menstural cycle. No significant variation in the relative proportion and level of each IGFBP was found throughout normal ovulatory menstural cyle. Also, the relative proportion and level of each IGFBP did not correlated with serum $17{\beta}$-estradiol level. There was no significant difference in the relative proportion and level of each serum IGFBP between on the day of ovulation in normal ovulatory menstrual cylce and on the day of aspiration of oocyte in controlled hyperstimulated cycle. Our data indicate that IGFBPs have regulatory functions in ovary through an paracrine and autocrine rather than endocrine mechanism during normal ovulatory menstural cycle.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.250-255
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• 2011

Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is a very common endocrine disorder in women of reproductive age. Nerve growth factor (NGF) may be involved in the pathogenesis of PCOS. In this study, we investigated the effect of Korean red ginseng extract (KRGE) on the ovarian morphology and NGF expression in an estradiol valerate (EV)-induced rat model. Polycystic ovaries were induced by a single intramuscular injection of estadiol valerate (4 mg, dissolved in sesame oil) in adult cycling rats. KRGE was administered orally (200 mg/kg body weight/day) for 60 consecutive days, beginning 60 days after the induction. Ovarian morphology was almost normalized and NGF was normalized in the EV+KRGE group. KRGE lowered the high numbers of antral follicles and increased the number of corpora lutea in the polycystic ovaries. The results are consistent with a beneficial effect of KRGE in the treatment of PCOS.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.34 no.11
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• pp.1766-1775
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• 2021

Objective: The oxidative stress status and changes of chicken ovary tissue after shading were studied, to determine the mechanism of the effect of shading on follicular development. Methods: Twenty healthy laying hens (40 weeks old) with uniform body weight and the same laying rate were randomly divided into two groups (the shading group and normal light group). In the shading group, the cage was covered to reduce the light intensity inside the cage to 0 without affecting ventilation or food intake. The normal lighting group received no additional treatment. After 7 days of shading, oxidative stress related indicators and gene expression were detected. Results: Analysis of paraffin and ultrathin sections showed that apoptosis of ovarian granulosa cells (GCs) increased significantly after light shading. Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay results revealed that the levels of total antioxidant capacity, malondialdehyde, superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione, catalase (CAT), and other substances in the sera, livers, ovaries, and follicular GCs of laying hens increased significantly after shading for 7 days; and reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels in the livers of laying hens also increased significantly. ROS in the serum, ovarian and GCs also increased. After shading for 7 days, the levels of 8-hydroxy-2 deoxyguanosine in the sera and ovarian tissues of laying hens increased significantly. Cell counting kit-8 detection showed that the proliferation activity of GCs in layer follicles decreased after shading for 7 days; the expression level of the anti-apoptotic gene B-cell lymphoma-2 in ovarian tissue and follicular GCs was significantly reduced, and the expression levels of pro-apoptotic caspase 3 (casp3), and SOD, glutathione peroxidase 2 (GPX2), and CAT were all significantly increased. Conclusion: Oxidative stress induced by shading light has a serious inhibitory effect on follicular development during reproduction in laying hens.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.35 no.11
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• pp.1744-1751
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• 2022

Objective: The present study aimed to investigate the effect of xylo-oligosaccharides (XOS) administration on egg production, reproductive hormones, serum lipids and adipokines of hens at the late cycle of reproduction. Methods: Four treatments included control (basal diet) and XOS addition at 2.0 (XOS-2), 4.0 (XOS-4), or 6.0 (XOS-6) g/kg of diet using 288 commercial Hy-Line brown hens from 73 to 84 wk of age. Egg production, body fat deposition, reproductive tract and hormones, lipid metabolism and adipokines were determined. Results: At 84 wk, compared to the control, XOS supplementation at the three doses increased (p<0.001) egg-laying rates by 13.2% averagely, which led to a higher egg mass by 131 g/hen throughout the whole trial period. Abdominal fat and skinfold of XOS treatments were decreased (p<0.001) by 26.1% and 18.6%, respectively; large follicles and ovary weight were increased (p<0.001) by 0.73 follicle/hen and 18.6%, respectively. For serum parameters, cholesterol and triglyceride were decreased (p<0.001) by 17.5% and 29.2%, respectively; luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, and progesterone were increased (p≤0.001) by 16%, 31%, 29%, respectively; adiponectin and visfatin were increased (p<0.001) by 34% and 44%, respectively; but chemerin and leptin were decreased (p≤0.001) by 22% and 14%, respectively. With the increased XOS doses, linear decreases (p<0.05) were found on abdominal skinfold and serum triglyceride. Conclusion: The obtained data indicate that XOS can be used as an additive to improve fecundity by beneficially modulating fat deposition, lipid metabolism, reproductive hormones, and adipokines of hens at the late cycle of reproduction.