• Animal cells and systems
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.227-231
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• 2006

Micro-deletions at specific loci of the Y chromosome have been observed frequently in male infertility patients, suggesting that genes in these regions are involved in male germ cell development. DAZ is a representative male infertility gene at the AZFc locus of the Y chromosome. Since DAZ contains an RNA binding motif along with so-called a DAZ domain, it was proposed to participate in RNA metabolism during spermatogenesis. A mouse gene homologous to the human DAZ gene has been cloned and named Dazl (DAZlike). Dazl is autosomal and expressed in the testis and also at a low level in the ovary. Male mice homozygous for the Dazl null allele have small testes with a few spermatogonia and almost complete absence of germ cells beyond the spermatogonial stage, suggesting the requirement of Dazl for entry or progression through meiosis. However, its exact cellular functions have not been understood yet. In order to investigate cellular functions of Dazl, we decided to isolate candidate interacting protein genes of the mouse Dazl, using yeast two-hybrid screening. A number of candidate Dazlinteracting proteins have been isolated, such as Bprp, Acf, Hgs, Murr1, Nbak3 and Ranbp9, but dynein light chain 1 (Dlc1) was most predominant. A strong interaction of Dazl with Dlc1 suggests that Dazl might function as an mRNA adaptor to the dynein motor complex.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.9
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• pp.1392-1398
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• 2006

We investigated a possible coordination between the biosyntheses of two polyketides in the cereal head blight fungus Gibberella zeae, zearalenone (ZEA) and aurofusarin (AUR), which are catalyzed by the polyketide synthases (PKS) PKS4/PKS13 and PKS12, respectively. To determine if the production of one polyketide influences that of the other, we used four different transgenic strains of G zeae; three were deficient for either ZEA or AUR or both, and one was an AUR-overproducing strain. The mycelia of both the wild-type and ${\Delta}PKS4$ strain deficient for ZEA produced AUR normally, whereas the mycelia of both the ${\Delta}PKS12$ and ${\Delta}PKS4::{\Delta}PKS12$ strain showed no AUR accumulation. All the examined deletion strains caused necrotic spots on the surface of com kernels and were found to produce the nonpolyketide mycotoxins trichothecenes to the same amount as the wild-type strain. In contrast, the AUR-deficient ${\Delta}PKS12$ strains produced greater quantities of ZEA and its derivatives than the wild-type progenitor on both a rice substrate and a liquid medium; the AUR-overproducing strain did not produce ZEA on either medium. Furthermore, the expression of both PKS4 and PKS13 was induced earlier in the ${\Delta}PKS12$ strains than in the wild-type strain, and there was no difference in the transcription of PKS12 between the two strains. Therefore, these results indicate that the ZEA biosynthetic pathway is negatively regulated by the accumulation of another polyketide (AUR) in G zeae.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.203-207
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• 2009

The target of rapamycin (TOR) signaling pathway conserved from yeast to human plays critical roles in regulation of eukaryotic cell growth. It has been shown that TOR pathway is involved in several cellular processes, including ribosome biogenesis, nutrient response, autophagy and aging. However, due to the functional diversity of TOR pathway, we do not know yet some key effectors of the pathway. To find unknown effectors of TOR signaling pathway, we took advantage of a green fluorescent protein (GFP)-tagged collection of budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We analyzed protein abundance changes by measuring the GFP fluorescence intensity of 4156 GFP-tagged yeast strains under inhibition of TOR pathway. Our proteomic analysis argues that 83 proteins are decreased whereas 32 proteins are increased by treatment of rapamycin, a specific inhibitor of TOR complex 1 (TORC1). We found that, among the 115 proteins that show significant changes in protein abundance under rapamycin treatment, 37 proteins also show expression changes in the mRNA levels by more than 2-fold under the same condition. We suggest that the 115 proteins indentified in this study may be directly or indirectly involved in TOR signaling and can serve as candidates for further investigation of the effectors of TOR pathway.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.41 no.7
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• pp.505-509
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• 1998

Chitinase, which is one of the pathogenesis-related proteins, was examined from Rehmannia glutinosa. Rehmannia chitinases were classified into basic and acidic groups by chitin affinity column chromatography. According to the chitinase pattern by native PAGE, basic chitinases of low Rf values were extracted more under an acidic condition (pH 2.9) than a basic condition (pH 8.8), while acidic chitinases having high Rf values were mainly detected in basic extracts. There were in total seven chitinase isoforms of three basic and four acidic isoforms in Rehmannia. The range of molecular weight of Rehmannia chitinase was from 28 to 32 kD. It showed the possibility of tissue specific expression of acidic chitinases and basic chitinases were mainly detected in root.

• Atmosphere
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.311-326
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• 2021

To improve the predictability of high-impact weather phenomena around Seoul, where a larger number of people are densely populated, KMA conducted the intensive observation from 22 June to 20 September in 2020 over the Seoul area. During the intensive observation period (IOP), the dropsonde from NIMS Atmospheric Research Aircraft (NARA) and the radiosonde from KMA research vessel Gisang1 were observed in the Yellow Sea, while, in the land, the radiosonde observation data were collected from Icheon and Incheon. Therefore, in this study, the effects of radiosonde and dropsonde data during the IOP were investigated by Observing System Experiment (OSE) based on Korean Integrated Model (KIM). We conducted two experiments: CTL assimilated the operational fifteen kinds of observations, and EXP assimilated not only operational observation data but also intensive observation data. Verifications over the Korean Peninsula area of two experiments were performed against analysis and observation data. The results showed that the predictability of short-range forecast (1~2 day) was improved for geopotential height at middle level and temperature at lower level. In three precipitation cases, EXP improved the distribution of precipitation against CTL. In typhoon cases, the predictability of EXP for typhoon track was better than CTL, although both experiments simulated weaker intensity as compared with the observed data.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.71-84
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• 2021

This study aimed to determine the effects of breed on meat quality characteristics of porcine Boston butt muscles (M. subscapularis) from three different pig breeds: Landrace×Yorkshire×Duroc (LYD), Berkshire, and Ibérico available in Korean market. Ibérico showed significantly higher fat content, yellowness (CIE b⁎), cooking loss, and lower shear force values than LYD and Berkshire. Moreover, the contents of oleic acid (18:1) and palmitic acid (16:0) were significantly higher in Ibérico breed, but stearic acid (18:0) was higher in LYD. As linoleic acid (18:2) and arachidonic acid (20:4) were higher in Berkshire sows as compared to the other breeds, atherogenicity and thrombogenicity indexes were significantly lower in Berkshire sow. Ibérico had lower the ω-6/ω-3 fatty acids ratio, and higher taurine and free amino acids compared with the others. Ibérico also showed significantly greater lipid oxidation, lower antioxidant capacity, and higher hypoxanthine contents, whereas the Berkshire had higher inosine-5'-monophosphate and lower K-index value as compared to the Ibérico. The breed did not impart any significant effect on the size and density of muscle fibers. Thus, quality characteristics of Boston butt varied from breed to breed, and certain consumer preferences for Ibérico can be explained, in part, by the unique quality characteristics imparted by higher contents of intramuscular fat, oleic acid, and free amino acids.

• Korean Journal of Transplantation
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.157-169
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• 2017

Regulatory T cells (Treg) naturally rein in immune attacks, and they can inhibit rejection of transplanted organs and even reverse the progression of autoimmune diseases in mice. The initial safety trials of Treg against graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) provided evidence that the adoptive transfer of Treg is safe and capable of limiting disease progression. Supported by such evidence, numerous clinical trials have been actively investigating the efficacy of Treg targeting autoimmune diseases, type I diabetes, and organ transplant rejection, including kidney and liver. The limited quantity of Treg cells harvested from peripheral blood and subsequent in vitro culture have posed a great challenge to large-scale clinical application of Treg; nevertheless, the concept of CAR (chimeric antigen receptor)-Treg has emerged as a potential resolution to the problem. Recently, two CAR-T therapies, tisagenlecleucel and axicabtagene ciloleucel, were approved by the US FDA for the treatment of refractory or recurrent acute lymhoblastic leukemia. This approval could serve as a guideline for the production protocols for other genetically engineered T cells for clinical use as well. The phase I and II clinical trials of these agents has demonstrated that genetically engineered and antigen-targeting T cells are safe and efficacious in humans. In conclusion, both the promising results of Treg cell therapy from the clinical studies and the recent FDA approval of CAR-T therapies are paving the way for CAR-Treg therapy in clinical use.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.410-418
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• 2016

This study was conducted to improve the analysis method used for N-nitrosamines and to investigate the occurrences of N-nitrosamines in tributaries of the Han-river, intake stations, water treatment plants and tap water used within the city of Seoul. The samples were pretreated through a solid phase extraction and analyzed using a gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometer (GC-MS/MS). The GC-MS/MS in CI mode was compared with the GC-MS/MS in EI mode by the method detection limits (MDLs). MDLs by GC-CI/MS/MS and GC-EI/MS/MS were 0.2 ~ 1.1 ng/L and 0.2 ~ 1.4 ng/L, respectively. Samples were collected from ten tributaries of the Han-river (T1 ~ T10), six intake stations (I1 ~ I6), six water treatment plants (P1 ~ P6) and 25 taps in Seoul city. The maximum levels of N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) were 0.013 μg/L, 0.008 μg/L, 0.006 μg/L and 0.002 μg/L in tributary water, raw water, finished water and tap water samples, respectively. Detected levels were much lower than 0.1 μg/L corresponding to the guideline value of WHO.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.101-109
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• 2019

This paper examines the classification of five coniferous species, including larch (Larix kaempferi), red pine (Pinus densiflora), Korean pine (Pinus koraiensis), cedar (Cryptomeria japonica), and cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa), using near-infrared (NIR) spectra. Fifty lumber samples were collected for each species. After air-drying the lumber, the NIR spectra (wavelength = 780-2500 nm) were acquired on the wide face of the lumber samples. Soft independent modeling of class analogy (SIMCA) was performed to classify the five species using their NIR spectra. Three types of spectra (raw, standard normal variated, and Savitzky-Golay $2^{nd}$ derivative) were used to compare the classification reliability of the SIMCA models. The SIMCA model based on Savitzky-Golay $2^{nd}$ derivatives preprocessing was determined as the best classification model in this study. The accuracy, minimum precision, and minimum recall of the best model (PCA models using Savitzky-Golay $2^{nd}$ derivative preprocessed spectra) were evaluated as 73.00%, 98.54% (Korean pine), and 67.50% (Korean pine), respectively.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.86 no.3
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• pp.196-202
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• 2023

Background: The Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) update 2023 proposed new definitions of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and COPD exacerbation. However, an agreement on the definitions has not been made, either internationally or domestically. This study aimed to reach an agreement between experts on the new definitions of COPD and COPD exacerbation in South Korea. Methods: A modified Delphi method was used to make an agreement on the definitions of COPD and COPD exacerbation proposed by the GOLD update 2023. We performed two rounds of the survey including 15 Korean experts on COPD, asthma, and tuberculosis. Results: More than two-thirds of the experts agreed on 12 of the 13 statements related to the definitions of COPD and COPD exacerbation in the two rounds of the survey. The experts agreed on the definitions of COPD and COPD exacerbation that should be revised in line with the definitions proposed by the GOLD update 2023. However, the experts showed an uncertain opinion on the statement that the definition of COPD includes patients with persistent airflow obstruction due to bronchiectasis. Conclusion: Based on this Delphi survey, experts' agreement was made on the definitions of COPD and COPD exacerbation proposed by the GOLD update 2023.