• Annals of Clinical Neurophysiology
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.43-50
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• 2007

Analysis of intraepidermal nerve fibers using skin biopsy is a recently developed technique, providing diagnostic information on small fiber neuropathies. The specimens are obtained by 3 mm punch biopsy, which is safe and minimally invasive. Immunohistochemical staining by Protein gene product (PGP) 9.5 demonstrate not only intraepidermal nerve fibers but dermal structures, such as sweat gland and erector papillae. Up to now, many studies agree that intraepidermal nerve fiber density is dramatically reduced in various sensory neuropathies. The utility of density measure was confirmed with high sensitivity in the diagnosis of sensory neuropathy, comparable to sural nerve biopsy or quantitative sensory testing. Besides quantitative methods, morphological changes like axonal swelling and fragmentation can be used as predegenerative markers. This article reviews the technique of skin biopsy and clinical and experimental usefulness of skin biopsy in diagnosing and monitoring peripheral neuropathies.

• The Korean Journal of Cytopathology
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.170-174
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• 2007

Granular cell tumor is a rare tumor of the soft tissue and this is characterized by proliferation of large cells with granular appearing eosinophilic cytoplasm. We report the imprint cytologic features of a case of granular cell tumor in the left calf of a 52-year-old woman. Microscopic examination showed moderate cellularity. The tumor cells were arranged both as single cells and in clusters. The cells were large polygonal-shaped and they had small round nuclei with finely granular chromatin and occasionally conspicuous nucleoli. The cytoplasm was abundant eosinophilic and granular. Naked nuclei and spindle-shaped tumor cells were occasionally noted. No mitosis and necrosis were present. The background showed cytoplasmic granular materials. The tumor cells showed positivity for S-100 protein. Ultrastructurally, abundant lysosomes were present in the cytoplasm of the tumor cells.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Rheology Conference
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• 2006.06a
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• pp.61-64
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• 2006

Soft materials, such as polymer solutions, gels and filamentous protein materials in cells, show complicated behavior due to their complex structures and dynamics with multiple characteristic time and length scales. Several complementary techniques have been developed to measure viscoelastic of soft materials. Especially, particle tracking microrheology, using the Brownian motion of particles in a medium to get rheological properties, has recently been improved both theoretically and experimentally. Compared to other conventional methods, video particle tracking microrheology has some advantages such as small sample volume, detecting spatial variation of local rheological properties, and less damage to sample materials. With these advantages, microrheology is more suitable to measure the properties of complex materials than other mechanical rheometries.

• Journal of Marine Bioscience and Biotechnology
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.38-41
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• 2008

Fish is a major source of protein for the Senegalese population. Fishing plays a dominant role in the Government's policy towards generating employment. It currently generates about 100,000 direct jobs (fishermen) for nationals, of which more than 90% are in small-scale fishing. The fishing industry also contributes to Government revenue through different agreements. In addition to associated dues, fishing agreements imply a series of economic, trade and technical counterparts. Under the latest fishing agreement concluded by Senegal and the European Union (1997-2001), direct financial compensation amounts to about CFAF 32 billion. Despite its economic and social importance, the sector has to face serious disequilibria both in resource exploitation and market supply: the coastal demersal (deep lying fish) stocks with high market value (mostly exported) are fully and even over-exploited, with a serious risk of local market supply shortages looming ahead as the fishing effort shifts from locally consumed species to export-oriented ones.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.39 no.6
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• pp.447-450
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• 2006

Cerebral amyloid angiopathy[CAA] is characterized by the deposition of amyloid ${\beta}-protein$ in the walls of small to medium-sized arteries of the leptomeninges and cerebral cortex. While often asymptomatic, CAA can develop into intracerebral hemorrhage facilitated by arterial hypertension. We report the case of a 52-year-old man with CAA and arterial hypertension who developed recurrent cerebral hemorrhages on three different occasions and in multiple non-overlapping loci over a period of nine years. Based on our findings, we recommend brain biopsies for all patients undergoing evacuation of multiple recurrence or atypical pattern intracerebral hemorrhages.

• Osteoporosis and Sarcopenia
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.117-122
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• 2017

Sarcopenia is the degenerative loss of muscle mass and function with aging. Recently sarcopenia was recognized as a clinical disease by the International Classification of Disease, 10th revision, Clinical Modification. An imbalance between protein synthesis and degradation causes a gradual loss of muscle mass, resulting in a decline of muscle function as a progress of sarcopenia. Many mechanisms involved in the onset of sarcopenia include age-related factors as well as activity-, disease-, and nutrition-related factors. The stage of sarcopenia reflecting the severity of conditions assists clinical management of sarcopenia. It is important that systemic descriptions of the disease conditions include age, sex, and other environmental risk factors as well as levels of physical function. To develop a new therapeutic intervention needed is the detailed understanding of molecular and cellular mechanisms by which apoptosis, autophagy, atrophy, and hypertrophy occur in the muscle stem cells, myotubes, and/or neuromuscular junction. The new strategy to managing sarcopenia will be signal-modulating small molecules, natural compounds, repurposing of old drugs, and muscle-specific microRNAs.

• Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.203-210
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• 2017

After transcription, RNAs are always associated with RNA binding proteins (RBPs) to perform biological activities. RBPs can interact with target RNAs in sequence- and structure-dependent manner through their unique RNA binding domains. In development and progression of carcinogenesis, RBPs are aberrantly dysregulated in many human cancers with various mechanisms, such as genetic alteration, epigenetic change, noncoding RNA-mediated regulation, and post-translational modifications. Upon deregulation in cancers, RBPs influence every step in the development and progression of cancer, including sustained cell proliferation, evasion of apoptosis, avoiding immune surveillance, inducing angiogenesis, and activating metastasis. To develop therapeutic strategies targeting RBPs, RNA interference-based oligonucleotides or small molecule inhibitors have been screened based on reduced RBP-RNA interaction and changed level of target RNAs. Identification of binding RNAs with high-throughput techniques and integral analysis of multiple datasets will help us develop new therapeutic drugs or prognostic biomarkers for human cancers.

• Korean Journal of Plant Taxonomy
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.332-336
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• 2021

The complete chloroplast (cp) genome sequence of Neolitsea sericea was determined by Illumina sequencing. The complete cp genome was 152,446bp in length, containing a large single-copy region of 93,796 bp and a small single-copy region of 18,506bp, which were separated by a pair of 20,072bp inverted repeats. A total of 112 unique genes were annotated, including 78 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 30 transfer RNAs, and four ribosomal RNAs. Among the PCGs, 18 genes contained one or two introns. A very low level of sequence variation between two cp genomes of N. sericea was found with seven insertions or deletions and only one single nucleotide polymorphism. An analysis using the maximum likelihood method showed that N. sericea was closely related to Actinodaphne trichocarpa.

• Korean Journal of Plant Taxonomy
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.337-344
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• 2021

The chloroplast genome of Limonium tetragonum (Thunb.) Bullock, a halophytic species, was sequenced to understand genetic differences based on its geographical distribution. The cp genome of L. tetragonum was 154,689 bp long (GC ratio is 37.0%) and has four subregions: 84,572 bp of large single-copy (35.3%) and 12,813 bp of small single-copy (31.5%) regions were separated by 28,562 bp of inverted repeat (40.9%) regions. It contained 128 genes (83 protein-coding genes, eight rRNAs, and 37 tRNAs). Thirty-five single-nucleotide polymorphisms and 33 INDEL regions (88 bp in length) were identified. Maximum-likelihood and Bayesian inference phylogenetic trees showed that L. tetragonum formed a sister group with L. aureum, which is incongruent with certain previous studies, including a phylogenetic analysis.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.64 no.6
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• pp.269-279
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• 2021

Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats and CRISPR-associated protein 9 (CRISPR-Cas9) is an ancient prokaryotic defense system that precisely cuts foreign genomic DNA under the control of a small number of guide RNAs. The CRISPR-Cas9 system facilitates efficient double-stranded DNA cleavage that has been recently adopted for genome editing to create or correct inherited genetic mutations causing disease. Congenital heart disease (CHD) is generally caused by genetic mutations such as base substitutions, deletions, and insertions, which result in diverse developmental defects and remains a leading cause of birth defects. Pediatric CHD patients exhibit a spectrum of cardiac abnormalities such as septal defects, valvular defects, and abnormal chamber development. CHD onset occurs during the prenatal period and often results in early lethality during childhood. Because CRISPR-Cas9-based genome editing technology has gained considerable attention for its potential to prevent and treat diseases, we will review the CRISPR-Cas9 system as a genome editing tool and focus on its therapeutic application for CHD.