• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
• /
• v.27 no.1
• /
• pp.85-94
• /
• 2023

Ion channels regulate a large number of cellular functions and their functional role in many diseases makes them potential therapeutic targets. Given their diverse distribution across multiple organs, the roles of ion channels, particularly in age-associated transcriptomic changes in specific organs, are yet to be fully revealed. Using RNA-seq data, we investigated the rat transcriptomic profiles of ion channel genes across 11 organs/tissues and 4 developmental stages in both sexes of Fischer 344 rats and identify tissue-specific and age-dependent changes in ion channel gene expression. Organ-enriched ion channel genes were identified. In particular, the brain showed higher tissue-specificity of ion channel genes, including Gabrd, Gabra6, Gabrg2, Grin2a, and Grin2b. Notably, age-dependent changes in ion channel gene expression were prominently observed in the thymus, including in Aqp1, Clcn4, Hvcn1, Itpr1, Kcng2, Kcnj11, Kcnn3, and Trpm2. Our comprehensive study of ion channel gene expression will serve as a primary resource for biological studies of aging-related diseases caused by abnormal ion channel functions.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
• /
• v.43 no.2
• /
• pp.194-199
• /
• 2014

The aim of this study was to investigate the anti-obesity effects of Lentinus edodes water extract powder (LEP) in mice fed a high fat diet (HF, 45% kcal fat). Mice were administrated a HF diet supplemented with 1%, 3%, or 5% LEP for 12 weeks. Consumption of HF diet caused increases in body weight, serum lipid profiles, and adipose tissue weights. Serum TC and TG levels in the LEP-supplemented groups were lower than those in the NC group. Supplementation with 5% LEP significantly suppressed body weight gain and reduced the weight of subcutaneous adipose tissue compared to the HF group. HF diet ingestion resulted in higher lipid content and increased lipid peroxidation in the liver. However, LEP supplementation inhibited accumulation of hepatic lipids induced by HF diet, considerably decreased MDA levels, and elevated total antioxidant activity in the livers of mice in the 5% LEP group. Histopathological analysis indicated that the livers of mice fed HF diet developed hepatic steatosis, whereas LEP-treated groups showed small fat droplets. These results suggest that long-term supplementation with LEP may also have an ameliorating effect on HF-induced obesity.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.19 no.12
• /
• pp.1764-1768
• /
• 2009

This study was carried out to examine a concentration of steroid hormones and in vitro development of mouse embryos in culture supernatant of bovine granulosa cells (GC). To obtain the culture supernatant, granulosa cells were retrieved from mature follicles (6~15 mm diameter) and immature follicles (2~5 mm diameter) of bovine ovary and were cultured, respectively, in media of Ham's F-10 with 15% FCS for 16 days. Mature and immature granulosa cells formed their monolayers easily and showed similar growth patterns in culturing. There was no morphological difference between mature and immature granulosa cells. High levels of both progesterone and estradiol were detected in the culture supernatant of mature granulosa cells and immature granulsa cells, and the endocrine profiles of the two types of cells were similar. Progesterone secretion of granulosa cells was high in the late stage of culturing and estradiol secretion was high in the early stage of culturing. In vitro development rates of mouse embryos to morula, blastocyst and hatched blastocyst were significantly (p<0.05) higher in culture supernatant of mature granulosa cells (92.7%, 78.1% and 34.5%) and in culture supernatant of immature granulosa cells (96.4%, 78.5% and 26.8%) than in Ham's F-10 (86.7%, 41,7% and 13.3%). However, there was no difference between the culture supernatant of mature granulosa cells and the culture supernatant of immature granulosa cells in the development of embryos.

• Environmental and Resource Economics Review
• /
• v.30 no.3
• /
• pp.395-433
• /
• 2021

This paper aims to examine the effects of homeownership and residential types on the economic values of urban green spaces. Green open spaces as public goods provide positive externalities that are comprised of pecuniary and technological externalities. Seoul, South Korea, is used as a case study using choice experiments, with split-sample online respondents of 1,000. The study results evidenced that the differentiation between the two types of externalities is imperative for equitable provisions and efficient management of various urban open spaces. There is a positively significant and substantial impact of homeownership for apartment dwellers, ceteris paribus, but not for house dwellers. For apartments, the efficiency loss can be reduced by increasing green spaces up to the critical point where the marginal cost is at equilibrium with tenants' marginal values. For non-apartment houses, it is not homeownership but the monthly household income that has a significant impact on the amenity value. In general, public benefits from green spaces are equivalent to 16% to 33% of the current residential prices on average for a view or access. Different residential types do not cause a significant impact on the access values. Residential profiles for green spaces were developed, together with tailor-made policy suggestions.

• Animal Bioscience
• /
• v.35 no.3
• /
• pp.461-474
• /
• 2022

Objective: This experiment investigated the effects of supplementing vitamin D₃-fortified sow and progeny diets with 25(OH)D₃ on growth performance, carcass characteristics, immunity, and pork meat quality. Methods: The present study involved the assessment of supplementing the diet of sows and their progeny with or without 25 (OH)D₃ in a 2×2 factorial arrangement on the performance and production characteristics of wean-finish pigs. Forty-eight multiparous sows were assigned to a basal diet containing 2000 IU/kg vitamin D₃ and supplemented without (CON) or with (TRT) 50 ㎍/kg 25 (OH)D₃. At weaning, a total of 80 pigs each from CON and TRT sows were allocated to weaning and growing-finishing basal diets fortified with 2,500 and 1,750 IU/kg vitamin D₃ respectively and supplemented without or with 50 ㎍/kg 25(OH)D₃. Results: Sows fed 25(OH)D₃-supplemented diets improved pre-weaning growth rate of nursing piglets. A significant sow and pig weaning diet effect was observed for growth rate and feed efficiency (p<0.05) during days 1 to 42 post-weaning. Pigs consuming 25(OH)D₃-supplemented diets gained weight faster (p = 0.016), ate more (p = 0.044) and tended to convert feed to gain more efficiently (p = 0.088) than those fed CON diet between days 98 and 140 post-weaning. Supplemental 25(OH)D₃ improved water holding capacity and reduced drip loss of pork meat, increased serum 25(OH)D₃ level, produced higher interleukin-1 and lower interleukin-6 concentrations in blood circulation, downregulated myostatin (MSTN) and upregulated myogenic differentiation (MYOD) and myogenic factor 5 (MYF5) gene expressions (p<0.05). Conclusion: Supplementing vitamin D₃-fortified sow and wean-finish pig diets with 50 ㎍/kg 25(OH)D₃ significantly improved production performance suggesting their current dietary vitamin D₃ levels are insufficient. In fulfilling the total need for vitamin D, it is strongly recommended to add 50 ㎍/kg 25(OH)D₃ "on top" to practical vitamin D₃-fortified sow and wean-finish pig diets deployed under commercial conditions.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
• /
• v.43 no.3
• /
• pp.143-148
• /
• 2016

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of dietary egg yolk antibody (IgY) powder supplementation on the growth performance, blood component profile, intestinal microflora, and immunoglobulin G in ducks. A total of 300 1-day-old ducks (Cherry Valley) were randomly divided into 5 groups, with 3 replicates of 20 birds. The treatment groups were the negative (NC), positive (PC), egg yolk antibody powder 0.1% (T1), egg yolk antibody powder 0.5% (T2), and egg yolk antibody powder 1.0% (T3) groups. In the growth performance of ducks during the entire experimental period, the IgY groups and positive control group (PC) showed significantly higher (P<0.05) body weights and body weight gains compared to the negative control group (NC). However, no significant differences were observed in the feed intake and feed conversion ratio. The blood component profiles showed that the IgY 0.1 and 1.0% groups decreased in total cholesterol content compared to the NC group. The aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotranferease (ALT) contents were lower in the IgY 1.0% group, but there were no significant differences. Regrading the leukocyte content after feeding IgY, the heterophil: lymphocyte ratio decreased in the IgY groups, especially in the IgY 0.1% group, which had a lower content than the other groups. However, these results showed no significant differences. The Lactobacillus count in the intestines significantly increased (P<0.05) in the IgY 0.1 and 0.5% groups, the level of IgY increased, and the Escherichia coli count decreased. However, no significant difference was observed in the total plate count. The immunoglobulin G content was lower in the IgY groups than in the NC group, and compared with the IgY groups, the IgY 0.5% had a lower content, which was not a significant difference.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.22 no.3
• /
• pp.356-364
• /
• 2009

The current ruminant feeding models require parameterization of the digestion kinetics of carbohydrate fractions in feed ingredients to estimate the supply of nutrients from a ration. Using an automated gas production technique, statistically welldefined digestion rate of carbohydrate, including soluble carbohydrate, can be estimated in a relatively easy way. In this study, the gas production during in vitro fermentation was measured and recorded by an automated gas production system to investigate degradation kinetics of carbohydrate fractions of a wide range of ruminant feeds: corn silage, rice straw, corn, soybean hull, soybean meal, and cell mass from lysine production (CMLP). The gas production from un-fractionated, ethanol insoluble residue and neutral detergent insoluble residue of the feed samples were obtained. The gas profiles of carbohydrate fractions on the basis of the carbohydrate scheme of the Cornell Net Carbohydrate and Protein System (A, B1, B2, B3 and C) were generated using a subtraction approach. After the gas profiles were plotted with time, a curve was fitted with a single-pool exponential equation with a discrete lag to obtain kinetic parameters that can be used as inputs for modern nutritional models. The fractional degradation rate constants (Kd) of corn silage were 11.6, 25.7, 14.8 and 0.8%/h for un-fractioned, A, B1 and B2 fractions, respectively. The values were statistically well estimated, assessed by high t-value (>12.9). The Kd of carbohydrate fractions in rice straw were 4.8, 21.1, 5.7 and 0.5%/h for un-fractioned, A, B1 and B2 fractions, respectively. Although the Kd of B2 fraction was poorly defined with a t-value of 4.4, the Kd of the other fractions showed tvalues higher than 21.9. The un-fractioned corn showed the highest Kd (18.2%/h) among the feeds tested, and the Kd of A plus B1 fraction was 18.7%/h. Soybean hull had a Kd of 6.0, 29.0, 3.8 and 13.8%/h for un-fractioned, A, B1 and B2, respectively. The large Kd of fraction B2 indicated that NDF in soybean hull was easily degradable. The t-values were higher than 20 except for the B1 fraction (5.7). The estimated Kd of soybean meal was 9.6, 24.3, 5.0%/h for un-fractioned, A and B1 fractions, respectively. A small amount of gas (5.6 ml at 48 ho of incubation) was produced from fermentation of CMLP which contained little carbohydrate. In summary, the automated gas production system was satisfactory for the estimation of well defined (t-value >12) kinetic parameters and Kd of soluble carbohydrate fractions of various feedstuffs that supply mainly carbohydrate. The subtraction approach, however, should be applied with caution for some concentrates, especially those which contain a high level of crude protein since nitrogen-containing compounds can interfere with gas production.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
• /
• v.62 no.6
• /
• pp.812-823
• /
• 2020

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of Korean rice wine residue (RWR) on the growth performance and blood profiles of Hanwoo steers in the fattening stage. In situ and in vivo experiments were conducted to analyze rumen fermentation characteristics and total tract digestibility, respectively. Three cannulated Hanwoo steers (mean body weight: 448 ± 30 kg) were used in both analyses. The growth performance of 27 experimental animals in the fattening stage (initial body weight: 353.58 ± 9.76 kg) was evaluated after 13 months of feeding. The animals were divided into three treatment groups (n = 9/group). The treatments comprised total mixed ration (TMR) only (CON), TMR + 10% RWR (10% RWR), and TMR + 15% RWR (15% RWR). The diets of equal proportions were fed daily at 08:00 and 18:00 h based on 2% of the body weight. The animals had free access to water and trace mineral salts throughout the experiment. Supplementation of 15% RWR significantly decreased (p < 0.05) the rumen fluid pH compared with the control treatment, but there was no significant difference in the total volatile fatty acid concentration. It also significantly increased (p < 0.05) dry matter digestibility compared with the other treatments. The total weight gain and average daily gain of the animals in the RWR-supplemented groups were significantly higher (p < 0.05) than those in the control group. Furthermore, the feed intake and feed efficiency of the RWR-supplemented groups were higher than those of the control group. Supplementation of RWR did not affect the alcohol, albumin, glucose, total cholesterol, triglyceride, and low-density lipoprotein concentrations, and aspartate aminotransferase and alanine transaminase activities in the blood; these parameters were within the normal range. The high-density lipoprotein and creatinine concentrations were significantly higher in the 15% RWR group, whereas the blood urea nitrogen concentration was significantly higher in the 10% RWR group than in the other groups. These results suggest that TMR with 15% RWR can serve as an alternate feed resource for ruminants.

• KIPS Transactions on Computer and Communication Systems
• /
• v.10 no.3
• /
• pp.59-70
• /
• 2021

With the recent advancements in the Internet of Things, context-aware system that provides customized services become important to consider. The existing context-aware systems analyze data generated around the user and abstract the context information that expresses the state of situations. However, these datasets is mostly unstructured and have difficulty in processing with simple approaches. Therefore, providing context-aware services using the datasets should be managed in simplified method. One of examples that should be considered as the unstructured datasets is a deep learning application. Processes in deep learning applications have a strong coupling in a way of abstracting dataset from the acquisition to analysis phases, it has less flexible when the target analysis model or applications are modified in functional scalability. Therefore, an abstraction model that separates the phases and process the unstructured dataset for analysis is proposed. The proposed abstraction utilizes a description name Analysis Model Description Language(AMDL) to deploy the analysis phases by each fat client is a specifically designed instance for resource-oriented tasks in edge computing environments how to handle different analysis applications and its factors using the AMDL and Fat client profiles. The experiment shows functional scalability through examples of AMDL and Fat client profiles targeting a vehicle image recognition model for vehicle access control notification service, and conducts process-by-process monitoring for collection-preprocessing-analysis of unstructured data.

• Environmental and Resource Economics Review
• /
• v.15 no.4
• /
• pp.693-712
• /
• 2006

A pre-feasibility test is done for renewable energy hybrid power systems at off~grid islands in which the current power supply is provided only by diesel generation. We apply Homer (Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewables) which was developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) for the analysis to identify the cost-minimizing combination of power generating facilities for the given load profiles. Chuja-Do, Geomun-Do and Youngsan-Do have been selected for our analysis considering the wind resources data of the Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER). Information on wind speed, solar radiation and temperature is also used for the analysis. System component cost information from overseas market has been used due to the lack of domestic information. Site specific Load profile for electricity demand for those islands are reconstructed based on the partial survey results obtained form other sources. The LCOE of the least cost hybrid power systems for Chuja-Do, Geomun-Do and Youngsan-Do are $0.278/kWh, $0.234/kWh and $0.353/kWh, respectively Considering the fact that diesel generation is being subsidized at the price of $0.300/kWh by the government, first 2 cases are economically feasible for the introduction of renewable energy hybrid systems to those islands. But the third case of Youngsan-Do does not meet the criteria. The basic differences of these pre-feasibility test results are from the differences of the site specific renewable energy conditions, especially wind resources. In summary, promoting hybrid systems in the off-grid remote island should be based on the economic feasibility test results. Not all the off-grid islands are feasible for introducing this renewable energy hybrid system.