• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.269-275
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• 1996

Biosynthesis and secretion of anterior pituitary hormones are under the control of specific hypothalamic stimulatory and inhibitory factors. Among them, Growth Hormone Releasing Hormone (GHRH) is the major stimulator of pituitary somatotrophs activating GH gene expression and secretion. Human GHRH is a polypeptide of 44 amino acids initially isolated from pancreatic tumors, and the gene for the hypothalamic form of GHRH is organized into 5 exons spanning over 10 kilobases (kb) on genomic DNA and encodes a messenger RNA of 700-750 nucleotides. Several neuropeptides classically associated with the hypothalamus have been found in the extrahypothalamic regions, suggesting the existence of novel sources, targets and functions. GHRH-like immunoreactivity has been found in several peripheral sites, including placenta, testis, and ovary, indicating that GHRH may also have regulatory roles in peripheral reproductive organs. Furthermore, higher molecular weight forms of the GHRH transcripts were identified from these organs (1.75 kb in testis; 1.75 and >3 kb in ovary). These tissue-specific expression of GHRH gene suggest the existence of unique regulatory mechanism of GHRH expression and function in these organs. In fact, placenta-specific and testis-specific promoters for GHRH transcripts which are located in about 10 kb upstream region of hypothalamic promoter were reported. The use of unique promoters in extrahypothalamic sites could be refered in a different control of GHRH gene and different functions of the translated products in these tissues. Somatotrophs and lactotrophs have been thought to be derived from a common bipotential progenitor, the somatolactotrophs, which give origins to either phenotypes. Although the precise mechanism responsible for the lactotroph differentiation in the anterior pituitary gland has not been yet clalified, there are several candidators for the generation of lactotrophs. In human, the presence of GHRH peptides with different size from authentic hypothalamic form in the normal anterior pituitary and several types of adenoma were demonstrated. Recently our group found the existence of immunoreactive GHRH and its transcript from the normal rat anterior pituitary (gonadotroph> somatotroph> lactotroph), and the GHRH treatment evoked the increased proliferation rate of anterior pituitary cells in vitro. The transgenic mouse models clearly shown that GHRH or NGF overexpression by anterior pituitary cells induced development of pituitary hyperplasia and adenomas particularly GH-oma and prolactinoma. Taken together, we hypothesize that the pituitary GHRH could serve not only as a modulator of hormone secretion but as a paracrine or autocrine regulator of anterior pituitary cell proliferation and differentiation. Interestingly enough, the expression of Pit-1 homeobox gene (the POU class transcription factor) was confined to somatotrophs, lactotrophs and somatolactotrophs in which GHRH receptors are expressed commonly. Concerning the mechanism of somatolactotroph and lactotroph differentiation in the anterior pituitary, we have focused following two possibilities; (1) changes in the relative levels or interactions of both hypothalamic and intrapituitary factors such as dopamine, VIP, somatostatin, NGF and GHRH; (2) alterations of GHRH-GHRH receptor signaling and Pit-1 activity may be the cause of lactotroph differentiation or pituitary hyperplasia and adenoma formation. Extensive further studies will be necessary to solve these complicated questions.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.231-238
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• 2015

Genome-wide reanalyzed data of 25 Flammulina strains were compared against the reference genome (KACC42780) to establish a genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP). The rate of mapping differences between the strains reflected in the strain variation in its result. Genome-wide SNPs distribution divided into types of homozygous SNP and heterozygous SNP moreover all of the strains demonstrated a wide variation in all of the regions. In the further study of topological relationship between the collected strains, phylogenetic tree was separated into 3 major groups. Group I contained F. velutipes var. related strains of ASI 4062, 4148, 4195. Group 2 contained strains that are different species of ASI 4188 F. elastica, ASI 4190 F. fennae, and ASI 4194 F. rossica. The other 19 strains F. velutipes were classified as a single group. However, further experiment to discriminate its genetic relationship between the white group and brown group did not verify its validity. The inferred tree exhibited a phylogenetic relationship between Korea white fruitbody forming strains of ASI 4210, 4166, 4178 and Japan white fruitbody forming strains of ASI 4209, 4167 confirmed to be genetically closely related.

• Journal of Plant Biology
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.14-21
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• 1959

The bamboo, one of staples of South-East Asia, has 1, 250 species in 46 Genus throughout the world South-East Asia, it's main habitat, has 1, 180 species, while South America has about 70 species or so. Major places of it's production in Asia are Korea, southern China, Japan, Malay, Ceylon, Formosa, and Philipine, but of these, Korea, southern China, and Japan are the most famous places for their production of excellant bamboo. In Korea, Kyongsang-Namdo and Cholla-Namdo are known as it's home, occupying 80 per cent of the total area of bamboo production in this country. Kyongsang-Pukdo, Cholla-Pukdo, Chungehong-Namdo, and Kangwon-do are also known as it's minor production. The importance of the bamboo can not be ignored, considering it's role in the industrial development of this country; the bamboo-ware is indispensable for the culture of laver which annually secures a considerable amount of foreign money. But it has long been regreted that the home-made bamboo-ware is far from being able to meet the ever increasing demand in quantity and is forced to be imported annually. In the light of the above mentioned fact, much interested; I undertook the task of investigating the bamboo in this country, Primarily concerned in it's kind and distribution, and could draw the following conclusions as the first phase of my investigation: (1). The amount of the bamboo accumulation in this country, compared with that of pre-worldwar II, is reduced as much as 300, 000 fagots(on fagot amounts to 25 pieces), and now the acreage of the bamboo field is 32, 200$\textrm{km}^2$s. (2). At a mountian peak in Kunoe-myon Wando-kun Cholla-Namdo, I found out a new specis. (Shasamorpha chiisanensis NAKAI Forma wan-Ponia H. P. CHONG) (3). The kinds of the autogenous wild bamboo in this country are as follows; a). 8 kinds in Sinoarundinaria. (5 Spp; 2 For; 1 Var) b). 1 kinds in Pieioplastus. (1 Spp) c). 2 kinds in Pseudosasa. (1 Spp; 1Var.) d) 4 kinds in Sasamorpha. (2 Spp; 1 For.; 1 Var.) e). 4 kinds in Sasa. (4 Spp) In total there are nineteen(19) kinds of autogenous wild bamboo in this country. When adding to this thethirty five (35) species which the japanese has transplanted in Kyongsang-Namdo Forestry Expreimental stations, there are in all fifty four (54) spe ies in this country. (4). As for the distribution of the Northern limitation of the bamboo growing, I found that Sinoarundinaria nigra OHWI var, Henonis HONDA can be cultivated as for as Kosongkun, Kangwon-Do, andSinoarundinaria pubescens HONDA as for as Clung Chong Namdo, and Sinoarundinaria reticulata as far as chung Chong-Pukdo.

• The Korean Journal of Zoology
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.125-136
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• 1985

The present study has been undertaken to elucidate whether there are developmentally regulated proteins in chick myogenesis by observing cellular and plasma membrane glycoproteins by use of labelled-Con A staining. At least three classes and five classes of glycoproteins can be identified in terms of their occurrence and their change in levels, respectively. As to the former, there are glycoproteins which are specific to cellular fraction are eight, those which are specific to plasma membrane are four, and those which occur in both fraction are nine. Likewise, as to the latter, there are glycoproteins which are invariant, those which increase in level, those which decrease, those which increase and subsequently decrease, and those which decrease and subsequently increase. The present experiment reveals that the level of fibronectin does decrease after the fusion and that the apparent conflicting results so far reported may be due to the difference in time point setting during fusion and myotube stages. It is thought to be a general tendency that glycoproteins of high-molecular-weight decrease and those of low-molecular-weight increase in relative levels as the fusion proceeds. These results are suggestive of the fact that a major structural reorganization of glycoproteins does occur in association with myoblast fusion.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.25 no.7
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• pp.839-848
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• 2015

A molecular marker is a molecule contained within a sample taken from an organism or other matter. The development of molecular techniques for genetic analysis has led to a great contribution to our knowledge of plant genetics and our understanding of the structure and behavior of various genomes in plants. Recently, functional molecular markers have been developed to detect the presence of major genes from the analysis of pedigreed data in absence of molecular information. DNA markers have developed into many systems based on different polymorphism-detecting techniques or methods such as RFLP, AFLP, RAPD, SSR, SNP, etc. A new class of very useful DNA markers called genic molecular markers utilizing the ever-increasing archives of gene sequence information being accumulated under the EST sequencing projects on a large number of plant species. Functional markers are derived from polymorphic sequences, and are more likely to be involved in phenotypic trait variation. Based on this conceptual framework, the marker systems discussed below are all (gene)-targeted markers, which have the potential to become functional. These markers being part of the cDNA/EST-sequences, are expected to represent the functional component of the genome i.e., gene(s), in contrast to all other random DNA based markers that are developed/generated from the anonymous genomic DNA sequences/domains irrespective of their genic content/information. Especially I sited Poczai et al’ reviews, advances in plant gene-targeted and functional markers. Their reviews may be some useful information to study molecular markers in plants.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.407-416
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• 2008

Thirteen near-isogenic lines (NILs) of japonica rice were developed via a backcross method using the recurrent parent Chucheong, which is of good eating quality but is susceptible to Magnaporthe grisea, and three blast resistant japonica donors, Seolak, Daeseong and Bongkwang. The agro-morphological traits of these NILs, such as heading date, culm length, and panicle length, were similar to those of Chucheong. In a genome-wide scan using 158 SSR markers, chromosome segments of Chucheong were identified in most polymorphic regions of the 13 NIL plants, and only a few chromosome segments were found to have been substituted by donor alleles. The genetic similarities of the 13 NILs to the recurrent parent Chucheong averaged 0.961, with a range of 0.932-0.984. Analysis of 13 major blast resistance (R) genes in these lines using specific DNA markers showed that each NIL appeared to contain some combination of the four R genes, Pib, Pii, Pik-m and Pita-2, with the first three genes being present in each line. Screening of nine M. grisea isolates revealed that one NIL M7 was resistant to all nine isolates; the remaining NILs were each resistant to between three and seven isolates, except for NIL M106, which was resistant to only two isolates. In a blast nursery experiment, all the NILs proved to be more resistant than Chucheong. These newly developed NILs have potential as commercial rice varieties because of their increased resistance to M. grisea combined with the desirable agronomic traits of Chucheong. They also provide material for studying the genetic basis of blast resistance.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.390-396
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• 2008

Calreticulin (CRT) is one of the major $Ca^{2+}$ binding chaperone proteins of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and an unusual luminal ER protein. Postnatally elevated expression of CRT leads to impaired development of the cardiac conductive system and may be responsible for the pathology of complete heart block. In this study, the molecular mechanisms that affect $Ca^{2+}$-dependent signal cascades were investigated using CRT-overexpressing cardiomyocytes. In particular, we asked whether calreticulin plays a critical role in the activation of $Ca^{2+}$-dependent apoptosis. In the cells overexpressing CRT, the intracellular calcium concentration was significantly increased and the activity of PKC and level of SECAR2a mRNA were reduced. Phosphorylation of Akt and ERKs decreased compared to control. In addition the activity of the anti-apoptotic factor, Bcl-2, was decreased and the activities of pro-apoptotic factor, Bax, p53 and caspase 8 were increased, leading to a dramatic augmentation of caspase 3 activity. Our results suggest that enhanced CRT expression in mature cardiomyocytes disrupts intracellular calcium regulation, leading to calcium-dependent apoptosis.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.38 no.11
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• pp.950-958
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• 2015

BCS1L gene encodes mitochondrial protein and is a member of conserved AAA protein family. This gene is involved in the incorporation of Rieske FeS and Qcr10p into complex III of respiratory chain. In our previous study, AluYRa2-derived alternative transcript in rhesus monkey genome was identified. However, this transcript has not been reported in human genome. In present study, we conducted evolutionary analysis of AluYRa2-exonized transcript with various primate genomic DNAs and cDNAs from humans, rhesus monkeys, and crabeating monkeys. Remarkably, our results show that AluYRa2 element has only been integrated into genomes of Macaca species. This Macaca lineage-specific integration of AluYRa2 element led to exonization event in the first intron region of BCS1L gene by producing a conserved 3' splice site. Intriguingly, in rhesus and crabeating monkeys, more diverse transcript variants by alternative splicing (AS) events, including exon skipping and different 5' splice sites from humans, were identified. Alignment of amino acid sequences revealed that AluYRa2-exonized transcript has short N-terminal peptides. Therefore, AS events play a major role in the generation of various transcripts and proteins during primate evolution. In particular, lineage-specific integration of Alu elements and species-specific Alu-derived exonization events could be important sources of gene diversification in primates.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.1001-1008
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• 1996

Staphylococcal food poisoning is the major cause of bacterial food poisoning occurring in this country. Therefore government regulates commercial foods through Official Dictionary of Food that there should be free of enterotoxigenic Staphylococcus aureus in Korean rice cakes, bread, and a box lunch. Since at least 5 days are required to identify the S. aureus by the official method in the Dictionary it is difficult to prevent the food poisoning and the investigation of the outbreaks. In this report an improved determination method of the S. aureus has been developed using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique. Sense and antisense primers for specific amplification of genes encoding staphylococcal enterotoxins were designed and synthesized for the PCR. Rapid chromosomal DNA isolation method was also developed from S. aureus using lysostaphin. The PCR condition was developed as follows. Reaction solution $(50\;{\mu}l)$ consisted of target DNA $2\;{\mu}l$ (about 20ng), 10X buffer $5\;{\mu}l$, primer 100pmole, dNTP (10 mM) $4\;{\mu}l$ and Taq DNA polymerase 2.5 unit in a thin-wall tube. Operation condition of the PCR was 5 min pre-denaturation at $94^{\circ}C$, 15 sec denaturation at $94^{\circ}C$, 15 sec annealing at $50^{\circ}C$, 20 sec extension at $72^{\circ}C$, and 5 min post-extension at $72^{\circ}C$, and 30 cycles of denaturation-annealing- extension. Using the PCR with Perkin Elmer GeneAmp PCR system 2400, types of enterotoxigenic S. aureus could be identified from Ddok or bread in a day.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.542-553
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• 2018

Since many previous studies reported the health effect of air pollution and indicated traffic as a major pollution source, significant policy efforts have been made to control traffic to reduce air pollution. However, there have been few studies that evaluated such policy implementation. In Seoul, Korea, the exclusive median bus lane system was implemented in 2004, and the metropolitan government applied air pollution reduction policies such as conversion of diesel buses to compressed natural gas buses and installation of emission control devices. This paper aimed to investigate the impact of the exclusive median bus lane system on air pollution reduction. Using hourly concentrations of particulate matter ($PM_{10}$) and nitrogen dioxide ($NO_2$) measured at 131 regulatory monitoring sites in Seoul and Gyeonggi-do for 2001-2014, we calculated annual and daily average concentrations at each site. We assessed the impact of the policy using differences-in-differences analysis by annual and daily average models after adjusting for geographic and/or meteorological variables. This method divides population into treatment and control groups with and without policy application, and compares the difference between the two time periods before and after the policy implementation in the treatment group with the difference in the control group. We classified all monitoring sites into treatment and control groups using two definitions: 1) Seoul vs. Gyeonggi-do; 2) within vs. outside 300 meters from the median bus lane. Pre- and post-policy periods were defined as 2001-2005 and 2006-2014, and 2004 and 2014 in the annual and daily models, respectively. The decrease in $PM_{10}$ concentrations between the two periods across monitoring sites in the treatment group was larger by $1.73-5.88{\mu}g/m^3$ than in the control group. $NO_2$ also showed the decrease without statistical significance. Our findings suggest that an efficient public transport policy combined with pollution abatement policies can contribute to reduction in air pollution.