• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.36.1-36.19
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• 2023

The LIM domain-containing proteins are dominantly found in plants and play a significant role in various biological processes such as gene transcription as well as actin cytoskeletal organization. Nevertheless, genome-wide identification as well as functional analysis of the LIM gene family have not yet been reported in the economically important plant sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.). Therefore, we conducted an in silico identification and characterization of LIM genes in S. bicolor genome using integrated bioinformatics approaches. Based on phylogenetic tree analysis and conserved domain, we identified five LIM genes in S. bicolor (SbLIM) genome corresponding to Arabidopsis LIM (AtLIM) genes. The conserved domain, motif as well as gene structure analyses of the SbLIM gene family showed the similarity within the SbLIM and AtLIM members. The gene ontology (GO) enrichment study revealed that the candidate LIM genes are directly involved in cytoskeletal organization and various other important biological as well as molecular pathways. Some important families of regulating transcription factors such as ERF, MYB, WRKY, NAC, bZIP, C2H2, Dof, and G2-like were detected by analyzing their interaction network with identified SbLIM genes. The cis-acting regulatory elements related to predicted SbLIM genes were identified as responsive to light, hormones, stress, and other functions. The present study will provide valuable useful information about LIM genes in sorghum which would pave the way for the future study of functional pathways of candidate SbLIM genes as well as their regulatory factors in wet-lab experiments.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.105-110
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• 2002

Numerous hormones are involved in the regulation of reproduction. Among them, estrogen and progesterone are the most important ovarian steroid hormones regulating female fertility. On the other hand, diverse stressors impede female receptivity and fertility. Since norepinephrine(NE) and epinephrine(E) are released from the adrenal during stress, it might play a role in stress-induced disruptions of fEmale reproductive parameters. The present study was performed to analyze the changes in adrenal catecholaminergic activities in cycling rats. The tissue content and secretion level of catecholamines were determined by high performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrochemical detector(HPLC-ECD). Adrenomedullary content of norepinephrine(NE) was increased on proestrus stage (59.47 $\pm$ 6.86 ug/gland), peaked on diestrus I stage(65.22 $\pm$ 5.99 ug/gland), and was nadir on diestrus II stage(41.63 $\pm$ 1.33 ug/gland). The highest E content was observed on proestrus stage(361.86 $\pm$ 15.58 ug/gland) while the lowest level was on diestrus II stage(285.58 $\pm$ 12.25 ug/gland). In addition to these observations, a significant reduction of the NE : E ratio was observed (1 : 4.81 on diestrus I vs 1 : 6.13～7.02 on other stages). In vitro secretion of adrenal NE and E was increased on proestrus stage, peaked on estrus stage, and decreased on diestrus II stage. Interestingly, the NE : E ratio in conditioned media was significantly increased on estrus stage (1 : 3.32 vs 1 : 2.34～2.65 on other stages. The biosynthesis of NE and E is mediated by tyrosine hydroxylase(TH) and phenylethanolamine-N-methyltransferase(PNMT) which acts conversion of tyrosine into DOPA and NE into E, respectively. These finding demonstrated that sex steroids, during setrous cycle, seem to be able to modify the adrenal catecholamines biosynthesis and secretion with stage-specific manner by modulation of the enzyme activities.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.109-117
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• 2008

Application of biomarkers for assessing marine environmental health risk is a relatively new field. According to the National Research Council and the World Health Organization, biomarkers can be divided into three classes: biomarkers of exposure, biomarkers of effect, and biomarkers of susceptibility. In order to assess exposure to or effect of the environmental pollutants on marine ecosystem, the following set of biomarkers can be examined: detoxification, oxidative stress, biotransformation products, stress responses, apoptosis, physiological metabolisms, neuromuscular responses, reproductions, steroid hormones, antioxidants, genetic modifications. Since early 1990s, several biomarker research groups have developed health indices of marine organisms to be used for assessing the state of the marine environment. Biomarker indices can be used to interpret data obtained from monitoring biological effects. In this review, we will summarize Health assessment Index, Biomarker Index, Bioeffect Assessment Index and Generalized Linear Model. Measurements of biomarker responses and development of biomarker index in marine organisms from contaminated sites offer great a lot of information, which can be used in environmental monitoring programs, designed for various aspects of ecosystem risk assessment.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.264-270
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• 2017

Brassinosteroid (BR), a plant steroid hormone, plays a critical role in the growth and developmental processes through its canonical signaling and crosstalk with various internal and external signaling pathways. Recent studies have revealed the essential interplay mechanisms between BR and ABA during seed germination and early seedling establishment. However, molecular mechanisms for this important signaling crosstalk are largely unknown. To understand the crosstalk between BR-mediated signaling pathways and ABA functions during early seedling development, we carried out a comparative genome-wide transcriptome analysis with an Agilent Arabidopsis $4{\times}44K$ oligo chip. We selected and compared the expression patterns of ABA response genes in ABA-insensitive bes1-D mutant with wild type seedlings on which ABA was exogenously applied. As a result, we identified 2,353 significant differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in ABA-treated bes1-D and wild type seedlings. GO enrichment analysis revealed that ABA signaling, response, and metabolism were critically down-regulated by BR-activated signaling pathways. In addition, the genome-wide transcriptome analysis data revealed that BR-regulated signaling pathways were tightly connected to diverse signal cues including abiotic/biotic stress, auxin, ROS etc. In this study, we newly identified the molecular mechanisms of BR-mediated repression of ABA signaling outputs. Also, our data suggest that interplay among diverse signaling pathways is critical for the adaptive response of the plant to various environmental factors.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.129-137
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• 2009

Calcium ($Ca^{2+}$) plays pivotal roles as an intracellular second messenger in response to a variety of stimuli, including light, abiotic. and biotic stresses and hormones. $Ca^{2+}$ sensor is $Ca^{2+}$-binding protein known to function in transducing signals by activating specific targets and pathways. Among $Ca^{2+}$-binding proteins, calmodulin (CaM) has been well reported to regulate the activity of down-stream target proteins in plants and animals. Especially plants possess multiple CaM genes and many CaM target proteins, including unique protein kinases and transcription factors. Thus, plants are possible to perceive different signals from their surroundings and adapt to the changing environment. However, the function of most of CaM or CaM-related proteins have been remained uncharacterized and unknown. Hence, a better understanding of the function of these proteins will help in deciphering their roles in plant growth, development and response to environmental stimuli. This review focuses on $Ca^{2+}$-CaM messenger system, CaM-associated proteins and their role in responses to external stimuli of both abiotic and biotic stresses in plants.

• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.129-135
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• 2020

Background: Postoperative fluid retention is a factor that causes delay in recovery and unexpected adverse events. It is important to prevent intraoperative fluid retention, which is putatively caused by intraoperative release of stress hormones, such as ADH (anti-diuretic hormone) or others. We hypothesized that intraoperative analgesia may prevent pathological fluid retention. We retrospectively explored the relationship between analgesics and in-out balance in surgical patients from anesthesia records. Methods: Anesthetic records of 80 patients who had undergone orthognathic surgery were checked in this study. Patients were anesthetized with either TIVA (propofol and remifentanil) or inhalational anesthesia (sevoflurane and remifentanil). During surgery, acetated Ringer's solution was infused for maintenance at a rate of 3-5 ml/kg/h at the discretion of the anesthetist. The perioperative parameters, including the amount of crystalloid and colloid infused, and the amount of urine and bleeding were checked. Furthermore, we checked the amount and administration rate of remifentanil during the surgical procedure. The correlation coefficient between the remifentanil dose and the in-out balance or the urinary output was analyzed using the Pearson correlation coefficient. The contributing factor to fluid retention, including urinary output, was statistically examined by means of multivariate logistic regression analysis. Results: A significant positive correlation was found between remifentanil dose and urinary output. Urinary output less than 0.04 ml/kg/min was suggested to cause positive fluid balance. Although in-out balance approaches zero balance with increase in remifentanil administration rate, no contributing factor for near-zero fluid balance was statistically picked up. The remifentanil administration rate was statistically picked up as the significant factor for higher urinary output (> 0.04 ml/kg/min) (OR, 2,644; 95% CI, 3.2-2.2 × 10⁶) among perioperative parameters. Conclusions: In conclusion, remifentanil contributes in maintaining the urinary output during general anesthesia. Although further prospective study is needed to confirm this hypothesis, it was suggested that fluid retention could be avoided through suppressing intraoperative stress response by means of appropriate maintenance of remifentanil infusion rate.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2023

Function of salivary gland and saliva composition can be an indicator of individual's health status. Recently, saliva has been thought to have a high potential for usage in the biomedical field to diagnose, evaluate, and prevent systemic health due to the technological advances in analyzing and detecting small elements such as immunological and metabolic products, viruses, microorganisms, hormones in saliva. As a diagnostic specimen, saliva has some useful advantages compared to serum. Because of simple non-invasive method, saliva sampling is quite comfort for the patient, and it doesn't require specialists to collect samples. The possibility of infection during the collection process is also low. For this reason, proteins, genetic materials, and various biomarkers in saliva are actively being utilized on studying stress, microbiomics, genetics, and epigenetics. For the research on collecting big data related to systemic health, the needs on biobank has been focused. Regeneration of salivary gland based on tissue engineering has been also on advancement. However, there are still many issues to be solved, such as the standardization of sample collection, storage, and usage. This review focuses on the recent trends in the field of saliva research and highlight the future perspectives in biomedical and other applications.

• Korean Journal of Animal Reproduction
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.45-51
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• 2003

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of castration and ovariectomy on growth performance and plasma hormone concentration in pigs. A total of 48 pigs of 35 days of age were used. The results obtained in the present study are summarized as follows: 1. No significant difference was found in average daily gain between ovariectomy group (898.6g) and control gilt group (862.7g), and between castration group (926.0g) and control boar group (945.5g), respectively. Average daily gain of control boar group, however, was significantly higher than that of control gilt group (p<0.05). There was no significant difference in feed/gain between ovariectomy and control gilt group and between castration and control boar group, respectively. Backfat thickness was significantly (p<0.05) higher in ovariectomy or castration group than in control gilt or boar group, respectively. 2. Plasma concentration of IGF-I was significantly (p<0.05) increased during the period of 5 weeks of age (45.1 $\pm$0.72 ng/ml) to 15 weeks of age (356.3$\pm$3.05 ng/ml), and maintained constantly afterwards in control gilt group, as was in control boar group. That of ICF-I tended to be lower in ovariectomy or castration group than in control gilt or boar group, respectively. Regarding steroid hormones of estradiol-17$\beta$, progesterone, and testosterone, the concentration was extremely low at 5 weeks of age, however, increased from 11 weeks to 23 weeks of age in control gilt or boar group, while it was nearly under detection limit in ovariectomy or castration group. 3. Chemical compositions of pork loins were not affected by ovariectomy or castration, except that crude ash content was significantly (p<0.05) higher in castration group than in control boar group. These results indicated that ovariectomy or castration had no effects on growth performance and feed utilization. However, the concentration of sex steroid hormones was under detection limit in ovariectomy and castration group. Further studies, however, are needed to develope the techniques which minimize the stress related with castration or ovariectomy for the production of high quality pork.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.143-147
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• 2005

Purpose : The aim of the this study was to evaluate the effect of various perinatal conditions on TSH and thyroid hormone levels in cord blood. Methods : Cord blood samples were collected from 130 neonates immediately after birth. TSH, $T_3$, and free $T_4$ levels were measured by the radioimmunoassay(RIA) method. The effects of gestational age, sex, birth weight, delivery method, perinatal asphyxia, maternal diabetes mellitus(DM), and preeclampsia on TSH and thyroid hormone levels were assessed by ANOVA test, Student t-test, and multiple regression analysis. Results : Birth weight and sex did not affect TSH and thyroid hormone levels. TSH level increased according to gestational age(P<0.05). TSH level was $4.42{\pm}0.66{\mu}IU/mL$ in infants born vaginally, which was higher than that of cesarian section delivery($3.31{\pm}0.33{\mu}IU/mL$)(P<0.05). TSH level was $5.18{\pm}0.93{\mu}IU/mL$ in asphyxiated newborns and $2.97{\pm}0.84{\mu}IU/mL$ in non-asphyxiated newborns(P<0.05). TSH level in infants with maternal DM($8.911{\pm}1.25{\mu}IU/mL$) was higher than that of infants without maternal DM($4.32{\pm}0.42{\mu}IU/mL$)(P<0.05). TSH level was $5.28{\pm}0.42{\mu}IU/mL$ in infants with maternal preeclampsia and $3.65{\pm}0.46{\mu}IU/mL$ in infants without maternal preeclampsia(P<0.05). Thyroid hormones were lower in infants with perinatal asphyxia(P<0.05). In asphyxiated infants, $T_3$ level was $75.33{\pm}55.65ng/mL$ and free $T_4$ was $0.54{\pm}0.21ng/mL$. $T_3$ and free $T_4$ level was $109.85{\pm}41.77ng/mL$ and $0.76{\pm}0.22ng/mL$ each in infants without perinatal asphyxia. Among the perinatal factors, gestational age, 1 min Apgar score and maternal DM influenced TSH level independently. Conclusion : In our study, cord blood TSH and thyroid hormone levels were affected by perinatal stress events.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.195-203
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• 2012

Recurrent aphthous ulcer(RAU) is the most frequent form of oral ulceration with a prevalence in the general population ranging between 5% and 60%. The peak age of onset is between 10 and 19 years of age, and it can persist into adulthood and throughout the patient's lifespan, with no gender predilection. The disease is characterized clinically into three types: minor aphthous ulcer, major aphthous ulcer and herpeticform ulcers. The cause of RAU is unknown and thought to be multifactorial with many triggers or precipitating factors that include familial tendency or genetic predisposition, allergy, medications, hormones, stress or anxiety, and immunologic abnormalities. The need for consideration of psychological factors in the pathogenesis of oral disease has been increasingly acknowledged over the last decades and many studies have highlighted the psycho-social impact of oral conditions. In this study, we tried to evaluate the influence of emotional stress in RAU. There were thirty patients with a clinical diagnosis of RAU and other subjects who did not show any signs of systemic disorders include RAU. They are evaluated by using modified Holmes and Rahe's Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS). As a result, a significantly higher level of stress was found in the RAU patients than the control group. Therefore it can be concluded that psychological stressors play an important role in the RAU.