• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.215-222
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• 1978

Using tracer technique of $^{65}Zn$, a field experiment has been carried out to evaluate the efficiency of zinc fertilizer by rice plant grown under flooded conditions. The treatments include zinc slufate mixed throughout the soil with and without organic matter, combined urea-zinc fertilizer (N: 37.7%, Zn: 3.1%), and surface application at transplaning and two weeks after transplanting at the rate of 5kg Zn/ha respectively. Other treatments were zinc sulfate mixed throughout the soil at the rate of 10 kg and 20 kg Zn/ha respectively. Root dipping in 2 % ZnO suspension, only organic matter added, and control were also included. There was not much difference in rough grain yield between zinc levels and different application methods, but the highest yield was obtained from the treatment of the root dipping in 2% ZnO suspension. Among the 5kg Zn/ha treatments, the highest total zinc yield was observed from the zinc mixed throughout the soil. The organic matter treatment seemed to reduce the zinc fertilizer efficiency. In case of the zinc fertilizer levels, 5kg Zn/ha mixed throughout the soil showed the highest zinc fertilizer efficiency as compared with 10kg and 20kg Zn/ha treatments.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.43-47
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• 1974

Arsenic toxicity of rice and the interaction between As and Zn were studied in a greenhouse experiment. The symptom of As toxicity of rice was the growth retardation of tops and roots accompanied by wilting. The toxicity was observed even on the 1 ppm arsenic treated soils. Zinc applictiaon reduced As toxicity but it did not depress the As uptake by rice, while As reduced the Zn uptake by rice. There-fore, the applied Zn apparantly conpensated for the depressed Zn up-take due to As toxicity. Iron deficiency was observed during the experiment, and this was probably due to the relatively high soil reaction, pH of the Crowley silt loam.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.36-39
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• 2003

Many defined cell culture media were formulated over 3() years ago and may be deficient in certain micronutrients whose essentiality has only subsequently been recognised. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether alpha-minimal essential medium (MEM) supplemented with 10% foetal bovine serum contained sufficient selenium for optimal activity of the selenium containing enzymes cytosolic glutathione peroxidase (cGPx) and phospholipid hydroperoxide glutathione peroxidase (PHGPx) in cultured Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. Additionally, the effect of zinc deficiency and metallothionein (MT) overexpression on cGPx and PHGPx activity was studied. The addition of 100 nM of selenous acid to the culture medium increased cGPx expression by 10-fold and PHGPx by about 2-fold in both wild-type CHO-K1 cells and CHO-K1 cells overexpressing mouse MT-1. Zinc deficiency had no significant effect on enzyme activity, but cells overexpressing mouse MT-1 had higher levels of cGPx activity. Zinc deficiency decreased cell survival but overexpression of MT-1 was partially protective, probably because its presence in quantity favoured the uptake, sequestration and cellular retention of any remaining zinc. This study demonstrates that selenium in complete alpha-MEM is insufficient for optimal cGPx and PHGPx activity and may compromise the cellular response to oxidative stress.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.11 no.3_4
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• pp.45-51
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• 1996

Histopathological changes of gills and caudal fins isolated from fishes, Cyprinus carpio, Carassius auratus, and Hernibarbus labeo, which were killed by oxygen deficiency or toxic chemicals, were studied. The toxic chemicals were HCl, NaOH, chloroform, benzene, heavy metals(Cu, Cr, Zn, Pb, Hg), and o-dichlorobenzene. The exposure level was enough to kill the fishes within 30 minutes. Oxygen deficient water was prepared by aeration of nitrogen gas and the oxygen concentration was less than l ppm. Cryocutting was used for the rapid preparation of tissue slides and the tissues were stained by hematoxylin/eosin. In the fishes killed by hazardous chemicals, congestion and/or hyperplasia of secondary lamella and erosion of fin were found as the major histopathological changes. Whereas, these characteristics were not observed in gills or caudal fins of fishes killed by oxygen deficiency. These different bioindications appeared in the fishes killed by toxic substances or natural causes, can be used for the rapid identification of the causes of fish kills.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.323-330
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• 2020

Epigenetic events like DNA methylation and histone modification can alter heritable phenotypes. Zinc is required for the activity of various epigenetic enzymes, such as DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs), histone acetyltransferases (HATs), histone deacetylases (HDACs), and histone demethylases, which possess several zinc binding sites. Thus, the dysregulation of zinc homeostasis can lead to epigenetic alterations. Zinc homeostasis is regulated by Zinc Transporters (ZnTs), Zrt- and Irt-like proteins (ZIPs), and the zinc storage protein metallothionein (MT). Recent advances revealed that ZIPs modulate epigenetics. ZIP10 deficiency was found to result in reduced HATs, confirming its involvement in histone acetylation for rigid skin barrier formation. ZIP13 deficiency, which is associated with Spondylocheirodysplastic Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (SCD-EDS), increases DNMT activity, leading to dysgenesis of dermis via improper gene expressions. However, the precise molecular mechanisms remain to be elucidated. Future molecular studies investigating the involvement of zinc and its transporters in epigenetics are warranted.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.276-282
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• 2004

Marginal Zn deficiency is prevalent through the world and yet human zinc status has not been properly assessed due to the lack of a reliable diagnostic indicator. One potential possibility for zinc status assessment using Zn-binding protein, metallothionein (MT)-mRNA, has been proposed. The purpose of the present study was aimed to show whether measurement of mononuclear cell (MNC) MT mRNA, using a competitive-reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (competitive-RT-PCR) assay, could indicate zinc status in human subjects. In this study, MNC MT-mRNA expression was measured using a competitive-RT-PCR to compare before and after 14 days of zinc supplementation (50 mg Zn/das zinc gluconate). RT-PCR oligonucleotide primers which were designed to amplify both a 278 bp segment of the human MT-2A cDNA and a 198 bp mutant competitor cDNA template from MNCs, were prepared. MT-2A mRNA was normalized by reference to the housekeeping gene, $\beta$-actin, mRNA for which was also measured by competitive-RT-PCR. There was considerable inter-individual variation in MT-mRNA concentration and yet, the mean MT-2A mRNA level increased 4.7-fold after Zn supplementation, as compared to before Zn supplementation. This MT-2A mRNA level was shown as the same pattern and, even more sensitive assay, compared to the conventional plasma and red blood cells (RBCs) Zn assessment in which plasma and RBCs zinc levels increased 2.3- and 1.2-fold, respectively (p<0.05). We suggest that MT competitive-RT-PCR can be a useful assessment tool for evaluating human zinc status.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.53 no.6
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• pp.563-569
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• 2020

Purpose: The vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) in mature animals have implicated to play a major role in the progression of cardiovascular diseases such as atherosclerosis. This study aimed at optimizing the protocol in culturing primary VSMCs (pVSMCs) from rat thoracic aorta and investigating the effect of cellular zinc (Zn) deficiency on cell proliferation of the isolated pVSMCs. Methods: The thoracic aorta from 7-month-old Sprague Dawley rats was isolated, minced and digested by the enzymatic process of collagenase I and elastase, and then inoculated with the culture Dulbecco Modified Eagle Medium (DMEM) at 37℃ in an incubator. The primary cell culture morphology was observed using phase-contrast microscopy and cellular Zn was depleted using Chelex-100 resin (extracellular zinc depletion only) or 3 µM N,N,N',N'-tetrakis(2-pyridinylmethyl)-1,2-ethanediamine (TPEN) (extracellular and intracellular zinc depletion). Western blot analysis was used for the detection of SM22α and calponin as smooth muscle cell marker proteins and von Willebrand factor as endothelial cell marker protein to detect the culture purity. Cell proliferation by Zn depletion (1 day) was measured by MTT assay. Results: A primary culture protocol for pVSMCs from rat thoracic aorta was developed and optimized. Isolated cultures exhibited hill and valley morphology as the major characteristics of pVSMCs and expressed the smooth muscle cell protein markers, SM22α and calponin, while the endothelial marker von Willebrand factor was hardly detected. Zn deprivation for 1 day culture decreased rat primary vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation and this pattern was more prominent under severe Zn depletion (3 µM TPEN), while less prominent under mild Zn depletion (Chelexing). Conclusion: Our results suggest that cellular Zn deprivation decreased pVSMC proliferation and this may be involved in phenotypic modulation of pVSMC in the aorta.

• Korean Journal of Plant Tissue Culture
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.31-37
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• 2000

Proton extrusion by hairy roots of Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer was enhanced by iron-deficiency or single salt solutions of nitrate or ammonium salts. The enhancement effect of iron-deficiency was confined to the apical zones, whereas that of nitrate and ammonium was confined to the basal root zones. tinder iron-deficiency medium, the proton extrusion of ginseng hairy roots was higher at two times than that grown in the medium of iron-sufficiency. According to pH in the medium, uptake of inorganic elements showed various patterns for the kind of inorganic elements. $Ca^{2＋}$, $Mg^{2＋}$ and Fe$^{2＋}$ were highest uptake at the pH 4.8 and Mn$^{2＋}$, Zn$^{2＋}$ and Cu$^{2＋}$ were highest uptake at the pH 3.8. Free sugars and ginsenosides were analyzed by HPLC. Five kinds of free sugars were indentified in ginseng hairy roots. Glucose, fructose and sucrose were a major sugar in ginseng hairy roots and contents of free sugars were highest at pH 6.8 and pH 4.8, respectively. The contents of ginsenosides and phenolic compounds were highest at pH 5.8. This physiological responses in ginseng hairy root indicated that it may well be a good model system for the study of mechanism of mobilization and uptake of inorganic elements related with the red-colored phenomenon in ginseng roots.

• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.15-18
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• 1998

The entanol productivity of superoxide dismutase (SOD)-deficient mutants of Saccharo-Myces cerevisiae was examined under the oxidative stress by Paraquat. It was observed that MnSOD-deficient mutant of S. cerevisiae had higher ethanol productivity than wild type or CuZnSOD-deficient yeast both in aerobic and in anaerobic culture condition. Pyruvated dehydrogenase activity decreased by 35% and alcohol dehydrogenase activity increased by 32% were observed in MnSOD-deficient yeast grown aerobically. When generating oxygen radicals by Paraquat, the ehanol productivity was increased by 40% in CuZnSOD-deficient or wild strain, resulting from increased activity of alcohol dehydrogenase and decreased a activity of pyruvate dehydrogenase. However, the addition of ascorbic acid with Paraquat returned the enzyme activities at the level of control. These results imply that SOD-deficiency in yeast strains may cause the metabolic flux to shift into anaerobic ethanol fermentation in order to avoid their oxidative damages by Paraquat.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.389-395
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• 1992

Nutritional status of trace minerals (Se, Cu and Zn) in goats grazed on the native pasture was investigated during 2 years in Luzon Island, Republic of the Philippines. Three regions (South, Central and North) were objected to collect the samples of blood of goats and forages on the pasture. Se content of major species forages in the pasture was $24.7{\mu}g/kg$ DM, and was clearly lower than the value ($200{\mu}g/kg$ DM) required commonly for ruminant feed. The Cu and Zn contents of all forage samples ranged from 7.6 to 24.3 and 11.4 to 50.6 mg/kg DM, respectively, and these values almost exceeded the dietary level required for sheep. The blood Se levels in about 55% of goats grazed alone were under the normal range ($20{\mu}g/l$), but it in goats fed some concentrates as a supplement were almost within a normal ranges ($20-200{\mu}g/l$), though the Cu content of forages almost exceeded the dietary level required commonly. The 4-13% of plasma samples of goats without supplement showed the Zn level below the lower limit (0.6 mg/l) of normal range. The Zn deficiency was mostly improved by the addition of a small amount of concentrates. From these results, it will be necessary to study about unstable Cu status of grazed goats in Luzon Island regarding an interaction of Cu and other elements known to relate to the malabsorption of dietary Cu.