• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.103-134
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• 1977

The physiological and biochemical role of potassium for upland crops according to recent research reports and the nutritional status of potassium in Korea were reviewed. Since physical and chemical characteristics of potassium ion are different from those of sodium, potassium can not completely be replaced by sodium and replacement must be limited to minimum possible functional area. Specific roles of potassium seem to keep fine structure of biological membranes such as thylacoid membrane of chloroplast in the most efficient form and to be allosteric effector and conformation controller of various enzymes principally in carbohydrate and protein metabolism. Potassium is essential to improve the efficiency of phoro- and oxidative- phosphorylation and involve deeply in all energy required metabolisms especially synthesis of organic matter and their translocation. Potassium has many important, physiological functions such as maintenance of osmotic pressure and optimum hydration of cell colloids, consequently uptake and translocation of water resulting in higher water use efficiency and of better subcellular environment for various physiological and biochemical activities. Potassium affects uptake and translocation of mineral nutrients and quality of products. potassium itself in products may become a quality criteria due to potassium essentiality for human beings. Potassium uptake is greatly decreased by low temperature and controlled by unknown feed back mechanism of potassium in plants. Thus the luxury absorption should be reconsidered. Total potassium content of upland soil in Korea is about 3% but the exchangeable one is about 0.3 me/100g soil. All upland crops require much potassium probably due to freezing and cold weather and also due to wet damage and drought caused by uneven rainfall pattern. In barley, potassium should be high at just before freezing and just after thawing and move into grain from heading for higher yield. Use efficiency of potassium was 27% for barley and 58% in old uplands, 46% in newly opened hilly lands for soybean. Soybean plant showed potassium deficiency symptom in various fields especially in newly opened hilly lands. Potassium criteria for normal growth appear 2% $K_2O$ and 1.0 K/(Ca+Mg) (content ratio) at flower bud initiation stage for soybean. Potassium requirement in plant was high in carrot, egg plant, chinese cabbage, red pepper, raddish and tomato. Potassium content in leaves was significantly correlated with yield in chinese cabbage. Sweet potato. greatly absorbed potassium subsequently affected potassium nutrition of the following crop. In the case of potassium deficiency, root showed the greatest difference in potassium content from that of normal indicating that deficiency damages root first. Potatoes and corn showed much higher potassium content in comparison with calcium and magnesium. Forage crops from ranges showed relatively high potassium content which was significantly and positively correlated with nitrogen, phosphorus and calcium content. Percentage of orchards (apple, pear, peach, grape, and orange) insufficient in potassium ranged from 16 to 25. The leaves and soils from the good apple and pear orchards showed higher potassium content than those from the poor ones. Critical ratio of $K_2O/(CaO+MgO)$ in mulberry leaves to escape from winter death of branch tip was 0.95. In the multiple croping system, exchangeable potassium in soils after one crop was affected by the previous crops and potassium uptake seemed to be related with soil organic matter providing soil moisture and aeration. Thus, the long term and quantitative investigation of various forms of potassium including total one are needed in relation to soil, weather and croping system. Potassium uptake and efficiency may be increased by topdressing, deep placement, slow-releasing or granular fertilizer application with the consideration of rainfall pattern. In all researches for nutritional explanation including potassium of crop yield reasonable and practicable nutritional indices will most easily be obtained through multifactor analysis.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.554-562
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• 2006

Two lines of mice, M16 selected for rapid growth and a randomly selected control ICR as well as their reciprocal crosses were used to study the effects of genotype on whole-body energetics and intestinal responses to monensin. Six mice, eight weeks of age, from each line or reciprocal cross were assigned to one of two treatments, 1) drinking water containing 20 mmol/L monensin dissolved in 0.5% V/V ethanol, and 2) drinking water containing 0.5% V/V ethanol (control) for two weeks. After 11 days (age of 9 weeks and 4 days), whole-body $O_2$ consumption was measured. At the end of two weeks, jejunal $O_2$ consumption, intestinal tissue composition and histomorphometrics as well as the rate and efficiency of glucose absorption were estimated. In comparison with the control, monensin administration in drinking water resulted in less daily water intake (13.4 vs. 15.5 ml/mouse, p<0.01), less protein to DNA ratio of jejunal mucosa (5.41 vs. 6.01 mg/mg, p<0.05), lower villus width (88 vs. $100{\mu}m$, p<0.05), and less jejunal tissue $O_2$ consumption enhancement by alcohol (7.2 vs. 10.5%, p<0.01) in mice. Other than those changes, monensin had little (p>0.05) effect on variables measured in either line of mice or their reciprocal cross. In contrast, the M16 line, selected for rapid growth, as compared to the ICR controls or the reciprocal crosses, had less initial (pre-monensin treatment) whole-body $O_2$ consumption per gram of body weight (1.68 vs. $2.11-2.34{\mu}mol/min{\cdot}g$ BW, p<0.01) as compared to the ICR and reciprocal crosses. In addition, the M16 mice exhibited greater growth (412 vs. 137-210 mg/d, p<0.05), better feed efficiency (41.7 vs. 19.9-29.3 mg gain/g feed, p<0.05), shorter small intestines adjusted for fasted body weight (1.00 vs. 1.22-1.44 cm/g FBW, p<0.05), wider villi (109 vs. $87-93{\mu}m$, p<0.05), more mature height of enterocytes (28.8 vs. $24.4-25.1{\mu}m$, p<0.05) and a lower rate (91 vs. $133-145{\eta}mol\;glucose/min{\cdot}g$ jejunum, p<0.05) and less energetic efficiency (95 vs. $59-72{\eta}mol$ ATP expended/${\eta}mol$ glucose uptake, p<0.05) of glucose absorption compared to the ICR line and the reciprocal cross. Monensin had little (p>0.05) effect on whole-body $O_2$ consumption and jejunal function, whilst selection for rapid growth resulted in an apparent down-regulation of intestinal function. These data suggest that genetic selection for increased growth does not result in concomitant changes in intestinal function. This asynchrony in the selection for production traits and intestinal function may hinder full phenotypic expression of genotypic growth potential.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.43 no.11
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• pp.1681-1687
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• 2014

In the present study, we investigated the effect of ethyl acetate fraction from 50% ethanol extract of fermented Curcuma longa L. (FCEE) on lipid metabolism in 3T3-L1 cells. The safety range of FCEE was up to $300{\mu}g/mL$. Effects of FCEE on lipid accumulation and intracellular triglyceride (TG) content in 3T3-L1 cells were examined by Oil Red O staining and AdipoRed assay. Compared to adipocytes, lipid accumulation and intracellular TG content were significantly reduced by 10.2% and 13.7%, respectively, upon FCEE treatment at a concentration of $200{\mu}g/mL$. Glucose uptake by 3T3-L1 cells was significantly reduced by 36.6% compared to adipocytes at a concentration of $200{\mu}g/mL$. On day 8, free glycerol release into the culture medium was significantly reduced compared to adipocytes at concentrations of 50, 100, and $200{\mu}g/mL$ of FCEE. FCEE significantly stimulated RNA expression of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and suppressed mRNA expressions of sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1c (SREBP-1c), CCAAT/enhancer binding proteins ${\alpha}$ ($C/EBP{\alpha}$), and peroxisome proliferator- activated receptor ${\gamma}$ ($PPAR{\gamma}$) in 3T3-L1 cells. These results suggest that FCEE inhibits adipogenesis through activation of AMPK mRNA expressions and inhibition of SREBP-1c, $C/EBP{\alpha}$, and $PPAR{\gamma}$ mRNA expressions.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.33 no.1 s.89
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• pp.23-30
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• 2000

n situ sediment oxygen demand (SOD), which takes place with the uptake of dissolved oxygen for biological metabolism and chemical oxidation in sediments, ranged from 1.57 to $12.55\;mg\;O_2\;m^{-2}\;h^{-1}$ in onshore of Lake Paldang from April to November 1999. SOD was influenced by the amount of organics and oxygen diffusion. Comparing the oxygen demands partitioning between overlying water and sediment during initial phase, SOD accounted for $63.8{\sim}94%$ of total oxygen demand in Lake Paldang. The chemical SOD and nitrogenous oxygen demand ranged $1.2{\sim}18.3%$ and $8.3{\sim}51.7%$ of total SOD, respectively. This result indicated that SOD in Lake Paldang occurred mainly by aerobic respiration and nitrification. Although the flow velocity could increase SOD within a certain limit, the effect of sediment depth on SOD was dependent on physicochemical properties of the sediment. This study showed that SOD can represent a significant portion of the total oxygen up-take in Lake Paldang. Therefore, the assessment of SOD might be necessary for the control of water quality.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.290-303
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• 2003

Modern agriculture has been heavily dependent on chemical fertilizers to meet the food demands of ever increasing population. Progressive depletion of major plant nutrients in soil due to intensive cultivation practices has also necessitated the use of higher dose of chemical fertilizers particularly in soils where the organic matter content is very low. Indiscriminate use of chemical fertilizers and pressure on agriculturists to enhance per area crop yields has led to fast depletion of fossil fuel resources with concomitant increase in the prices of chemical fertilizers and also led to environmental pollution. Hence, the current trend throughout the world is to explore the possibility of using alternate nutrient sources or increasing the efficiency of chemical fertilizers by supplementing them with organic fertilizers and bioinoculants comprising largely microbes like, bacteria, fungi, algae etc to enhance nitrogen and phosphates in the soil thus creating a sustainable agricultural environment. Among the different microbial inoculants or biofertilizers, Azospirillum could be a potential candidate due to its non specific host root colonization. It had the capability to fix $N_2$ in wide pH regimes and even in presence of combined nitrogen. Azospirillum inoculation can increase the crop yield to 10-25% and substitute 25% of recommended doses of nitrogenous fertilizers. Apart from nitrogen fixation, Azospirillum is also involved in the root improvement, the activity which was attributed to an increase in the rate of water and mineral uptake by roots. The ability of Azospirillum to produce phytohormones was reported to enhance the root respiration rate, metabolism and root proliferation. They have also been reported to produce polyhydroxybutyrate, that can be used as a biodegradable thermosplastic. A lot of studies have addressed improvements in enhancing its efficiency to fix nitrogen fixation and hormone production.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.29 no.11
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• pp.1294-1303
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• 2019

Perchlorate is an anionic pollutant that is very soluble and stable in water. It has been detected not only in soil/ground water but also in surface water, drinking water, food, fish, and crops. Perchlorate inhibits iodine uptake by the thyroid gland and reduces production of thyroid hormones that are primarily responsible for regulation of metabolism. Although various technologies have been developed to remove perchlorate from the environment, biodegradation is the method of choice since it is economical and environmentally friendly. However there is limited information on perchlorate biodegradation in salt environment such as salt water. Therefore this paper reviews biodegradation of perchlorate in salt water and related microorganisms. Most biodegradation research has employed heterotrophic perchlorate removal using organic compounds such as acetate as electron donors. Biodegradation research has focused on perchlorate removal from spent brine generated by ion exchange technology that is primarily employed to clean up perchlorate-contaminated ground water. Continuous removal of perchlorate at up to 10% NaCl was shown when bioreactors were inoculated with enriched salt-tolerant perchlorate-reducing bacteria. However the reactors did not show long-term stable removal of perchlorate. Microorganisms belonging to ${\beta}$- and ${\gamma}$-Proteobacteria were dominant in bioreactors used to remove perchlorate from salt water. This review will help our understanding of perchlorate removal from salt water to develop a decent biotechnology for the process.

• Food Engineering Progress
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.273-279
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• 2017

Curcumin have various health-beneficial properties in numerous studies. However, its bioavailability is low due to its limited intestinal uptake and rapid metabolism. This study aimed to evaluate the pharmacokinetics of newly developed sub-micron particle curcumin with increased water dispersibility (Theracurmin(R) CR-033P). Plasma curcumin levels were measured at 0, 1, 2, 4, 8 h after Theracurmin(R) CR-033P intake using high-performance liquid chromatography. For analyzing pharmacokinetics of Theracurmin(R) CR-033P, eighteen healthy subjects were recruited and received Theracurmin(R) CR-033P at a single oral dose containing curcumin 30 mg. $C_{max}$ was 28.14 ng/ml, and the area under the curve for 8 h was estimated to be 104.36 ng/ml. Based on the area under the plasma concentration (AUC), the bioavailability of sub-micron particle curcumin was higher 22-, 35-, 28-fold than native curcumin in men, women, and all subjects, respectively. For comparing by formulation, seven healthy subjects were recruited and received two type of treatment: (1) existing dosage form 300 mg (contained curcumin 30 mg) ${\times}$ 3 capsule, (2) high dosage form 300 mg (contained curcumin 90 mg) ${\times}$ 1 capsule + placebo 300 mg ${\times}$ 2 capsule. In the cross-over study, there was no significant differences in $C_{max}$ and AUC of plasma curcumin. In conclusion, submicron particle curcumin with increased water dispersibility significantly improved its oral bioavailability and women absorbed curcumin more effectively than men. Different formulation of Theracurmin(R) CR-033P has shown equivalent to the reference in terms of pharmacokinetics.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.588-597
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• 2020

Objective: To investigate the value of combined chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) and conventional magnetization transfer imaging (MT) in detecting metabolic and structural changes of renal fibrosis in rats with unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) at 3T MRI. Materials and Methods: Thirty-five Sprague-Dawley rats underwent UUO surgery (n = 25) or sham surgery (n = 10). The obstructed and contralateral kidneys were evaluated on days 1, 3, 5, and 7 after surgery. After CEST and MT examinations, ¹⁸F-labeled fluoro-2-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography was performed to quantify glucose metabolism. Fibrosis was measured by histology and western blots. Correlations were compared between asymmetrical magnetization transfer ratio at 1.2 ppm (MTR_asym(1.2ppm)) derived from CEST and maximum standard uptake value (SUV_max) and between magnetization transfer ratio (MTR) derived from MT and alpha-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA). Results: On days 3 and 7, MTR_asym(1.2ppm) and MTR of UUO renal cortex and medulla were significantly different from those of contralateral kidneys (p < 0.05). On day 7, MTR_asym(1.2ppm) and MTR of UUO renal cortex and medulla were significantly different from those of sham-operated kidneys (p < 0.05). The MTR_asym(1.2ppm) of UUO renal medulla was fairly negatively correlated with SUV_max (r = -0.350, p = 0.021), whereas MTR of UUO renal medulla was strongly negatively correlated with α-SMA (r = -0.744, p < 0.001). Conclusion: CEST and MT could provide metabolic and structural information for comprehensive assessment of renal fibrosis in UUO rats in 3T MRI and may aid in clinical monitoring of renal fibrosis in patients with chronic kidney disease.

• Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.263-270
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• 2006

Purpose: Several radioisotope-labeled thymidine derivatives such as $[^{11}C]$thymidine was developed to demonstrate cell proliferation in tumor. But it is difficult to track metabolism with $[^{11}C]$thymidine due to rapid in vivo degradation and its short physical half-life. 3'-$[^{18}F]$fluoro-3'-deoxythymidine ($[^{18}F]$FLT) was reported to have the longer half life of fluorine-18 and the lack of metabolic degradation in vivo. Here, we described the synthesis of the 3'-$[^{18}F]$fluoro-3'-deoxythymidine ($[^{18}F]$FLT) and compared with $([^{18}F]FET)\;and\;([^{18}F]FDG)$ in cultured 9L cell and obtained the biodistribution and PET image in 9L tumor hearing rats. Material and Methods: For the synthesis of $[^{18}F]$FLT, 3-N-tert-butoxycarbonyl-(5'-O-(4,4'-dimet hoxytriphenylmethyl)-2'-deoxy-3'-O-(4-nitrobenzenesulfonyl)-${\beta}$-D-threopentofuranosyl)thymine was used as a FLT precursor, on which the tert-butyloxycarbonyl group was introduced to protect N3-position and nitrobenzenesulfonyl group. Radiolabeling of nosyl substitued precursor with $^{18}F$ was performed in acetonitrile at $120^{\circ}C$ and deproteced with 0.5 N HCI. The cell uptake was measured in cultured 9L glioma cell. The biodistribution was evaluated in 9L tumor bearing rats after intravenous injection at 10 min, 30 min, 60 min and 120 min and obtained PET image 60 minutes after injection. Results: The radiochemical yield was about 20-30% and radiochemical purity was more than 95% after HPLC purification. Cellular uptake of $[^{18}F]$FLT was increased as time elapsed. At 120 min post-injection, the ratios of tumor/blood, tumor/muscle and tumor/brain were $1.61{\pm}0.34,\;1.70{\pm}0.30\;and\;9.33{\pm}2.22$, respectively. The 9L tumor was well visualized at 60 min post injection in PET image. Conclusion: The uptake of $[^{18}F]$FLT in tumor was higher than in normal brain and PET image of $[^{18}F]$FLT was acceptable. These results suggest the possibility of $[^{18}F]$FLT at an imaging agent for brain tumor.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.47 no.6
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• pp.1087-1094
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• 2005

The uptake of glucose for metabolism and growth is essential to most animal cells and is mediated by glucose transport protein. In the glucose transport protein family, GLUT4 plays a key role in cellular glucose uptake stimulated by insulin in skeletal muscles and adipose tissue in rodents and human. In this studies, we reported the identification, characterization, and expression of Hanwoo GLUT4 gene. The Hanwoo GLUT4 cDNA includes a 1527 bp open reading frame encoding a protein of 509 amino acids. The GLUT4 amino acid sequences of the Hanwoo show strong conservation with the corresponding sequences reported in other species. The highest mRNA expression of GLUT4 was detected in heart and lower expression was detected in rib meat, sirloin, and colon. We confirmed the expression of GLUT4 in the subcutaneous and small intestinal adipose tissue using RT-PCR. To investigate the expression of GLUT4 in the bovine intramuscular adipose differentiation, fibroblast-like cells were isolated from the sirloin of Hanwoo bull aged 12 months by collagenase digestion of minced tissue and cultured with activators of PPAR gamma. We identified that GLUT4 mRNA expression decreased during differentiation of preadipocytes into adipocyte in Korean cattle. These results indicated that function of GLUT4 in bovine adipose tissue was different from that of mouse and human.