• Journal of Life Science
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.388-396
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• 2000

The effect of the traditional herbal medicine Yukmijihwangtang-Jahage(YJ) on the improvement of insulin resistance and lipid profile was studied using a model for non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus, lean (Fa/-) and obese (fa/fa) Zucker rats. Yukmijihwangtang-Jahage feeding for 4 weeks resulted in a significant decrease in the concentration of plasma triglyceride in both lean and obese Zucker rats. Furthermore, Yukmijihwangtang-Jahage markedly decreased both plasma cholesterol and fasting plasma insulin, and significantly decreased the postprandial glucose level at 30 min during oral glucose tolerance test in obese Zucker rats. Although there was no statistical significance, the crude glucose transporter 4 protein level of Yukmijihwangtang-Jahage dieted obese rats tended to increase when compared to that of obese control rats. Therefore, the present results suggested that Yukmijihwangtang-Jahage may be useful in prevention and improvement of metabolic disorders characterized by hyperinsulinemia states such as non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus, syndrome X and coronary artery disease.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.11
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• pp.6281-6286
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• 2013

Background: To further investigate the molecular basis of lung cancer development, we utilize a microarray to identify differentially expressed genes associated with various TNM stages of adenocarcinoma, a subtype with increasing incidence in recent years in China. Methods: A 35K oligo gene array, covering about 25,100 genes, was used to screen differentially expressed genes among 90 tumor samples of lung adenocarcinoma in various TNM stages. To verify the gene array data, three genes (Zimp7, GINS2 and NAG-1) were confirmed by real-time RT-PCR in a different set of samples from the gene array. Results: First, we obtained 640 differentially expressed genes in lung adenocarcinomas compared to the surrounding normal lung tissues. Then, from the 640 candidates we identified 10 differentially expressed genes among different TNM stages (Stage I, II and IIIA), of which Zimp7, GINS2 and NAG-1 genes were first reported to be present at a high level in lung adenocarcinoma. The results of qRT-PCR for the three genes were consistent with those from the gene array. Conclusions: We identified 10 candidate genes associated with different TNM stages in lung adenocarcinoma in the Chinese population, which should provide new insights into the molecular basis underlying the development of lung adenocarcinoma and may offer new targets for the diagnosis, therapy and prognosis prediction.

• The Journal of the Korean Society for Microbiology
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.239-250
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• 2000

Sixty-eight clinical isolates of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia from inpatients of 2 university hospitals in Taegu were epidemiologically analyzed by using the minimum inhibitory concentrations of 25 antimicrobial drugs, biochemical reaction, pulsed-field gel elctropgoresis (PFGE), and PCR with enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus sequences as primer (ERIC-PCR). 1. All the strains were susceptible to minocycline. More than 57% were susceptible to sulfisomidine (Su), ciprofloxacin (Ci), Ofloploxacin (Of), nalidixic acid (Na), and chloramphenicol (Cm), and $19{\sim}35%$ to ceftazidime (Cd), trimethoprim (Tp), Ticacillin-clavulanic acid, and cefoperazone-sulbactam. Most isolates were resistant to ${\beta}$-lactam antibiotics such as ampicillin (Ap), carbenicillin (Cb), cefotaxim (Ct), cefoxitin (Cx), and aminoglycosides including gentamicin (Gm), tobramycin (Tb), amikacin (Ak). 2. All the isolates were multiply resistant of 5 to 17 drugs and showed 40 different resistance pattern types. 3. All the strains showed very similar biochemical reactions except ${\beta}$-galactosidase and nitrate reduction test. Fourteen strains selected randomly were classified 10 different pattern type by PFGE and ERIC-PCR. These two methods showed identical result. Four strains isolated from wound in 1994 showed similar MIC pattern and identical API 20NE profile, PFGE, and ERIC-PCR pattern indicating episodes of cross-infection among patients. These results indicate that PFGE or ERIC-PCR profile has comparable discriminatory power for epidemiological typing of S. maltophilia.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.270-274
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• 2012

Three actinobacterial strains exhibiting broad spectrum antibiotic activities were isolated from soil, and characterized. Through the comparative analysis of 16S rRNA genes, the three isolates could be assigned to the genus Streptomyces, as S. tanashiensis, S. nashivillensis, and S. rubiginosohelvolus were found to be the mostly related species, but the strains formed independent phylogenetic lineage. Each strain exhibited different antimicrobial profile against Gram-positive bacteria Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus, Gram-negative bacteria Salmonella typhi, Enterobacter cloacae, Serratia marcescens, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and also fungi Candida tropicalis and Candida krusei. In addition to the antimicrobial profile, the strains also differed in API ZYM test results, which implies that the three strains might produce difference antimicrobial substances.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.367-375
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• 2016

In the present study, we conducted genetic characterization of 90 commercial maize varieties and parental lines using microsatellite markers. Thirteen microsatellite markers were selected from 100 primer pairs in the maize genome data on the basis of polymorphism information contents (PIC) value and distinct amplification products. These markers detected 5 to 24 alleles, with an average of 13.69. The mean PIC value was 0.865 and ranged from 0.716 to 0.942. The unweighted pair-group method with arithmetical average (UPGMA) analysis was conducted for constructing the dendrogram using Jaccard's genetic similarity coefficient. The genetic similarity varied from 0.07 to 0.824. Thirteen microsatellite markers identified all 90 maize varieties and parental lines. The maize varieties were clustered into 5 major groups consistent with type and pedigree information. The microsatellite profile database of maize varieties could be used to select comparative varieties through genetic relationship analysis between existing varieties and candidate varieties in distinctness tests.

• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.90-101
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• 2008

The chemical compositions of $PM_{2.5}$ and $PM_{10}$ and associated high-molecular-weight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were investigated during winter and summer at a roadside and an urban background site in Saitama, Japan. The average concentrations of $PM_{2.5}$ exceeded the United States Environmental Protection Agency standards during both periods. Carbonaceous components were abundant in both the observed and calculated (by means of a mass closure model) chemical composition of $PM_{2.5}$. Traffic-related pollutants (elemental carbon and high-molecular-weight PAHs) were strongly associated with $PM_{2.5}$ rather than with larger particles. The mass concentrations of $PM_{2.5}$, as well as those of EC and PAHs associated with the particles, at the two sites were strongly correlated. Comparison of our data with source profile ratios indicates that diesel-powered vehicles were probably the main source of the measured PAHs. The PAHs concentrations were affected by meteorological conditions during our study. Our results highlight the need for the establishment of standards for $PM_{2.5}$ in Japan.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.12
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• pp.2214-2223
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• 2016

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) can recognize conserved molecular patterns and initiate a wide range of innate and adaptive immune responses against invading infectious agents. The aim of this study was to assess the transcript profile of mink TLRs (mTLRs) in mink peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and a range of tissues, and to explore the potential role of mTLRs in the antiviral immune response process. The results indicated that the mTLR partial nucleotide sequences had a high degree of nucleotide identity with ferret sequences (95-98%). Phylogenetic analysis showed that mammalian TLRs grouped into five TLR families, with a closer relationship of the mTLRs with those of ferret than the other mammalian sequences. Moreover, all the mTLRs were ubiquitously expressed in lymphoid organs (spleen and lymph nodes) and PBMCs. Interestingly, the mTLR expression patterns in lung, uterus, and heart showed quite a lot of similarity. Another remarkable observation was the wide expression of mTLR1-3 mRNAs in all tissues. Among the analyzed tissues, skeletal muscle was revealed to being the lowest repertoire of mTLR expression. Additionally, mink PBMCs exposed to the canine distemper virus revealed significant upregulation of mTLR2, mTLR4, mTLR7, and mTLR8 mRNAs, indicating that mTLRs have a role in innate immunity in the mink. Collectively, our results are the first to establish the basic expression patterns of mTLRs and the relationship between mTLRs and a virus, which will contribute to better understanding of the evolution and the functions of mTLRs in the innate immune system in minks.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.164-167
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• 2013

Osteoclasts are originated from hemopoietic progenitors of the monocyte/macrophage lineage and resorb mineralized tissues. Elevated osteoclast numbers and activity result in bone disease such as osteoporosis, Paget's disease, and tumor osteolysis. In order to identify the genes that are involved in osteoclast differentiation, microarray was performed after treated with RANKL for 12 h and 24 h in osteoclast precursors. The genes that changed by RANKL treatment were grouped by biological process or molecular function. Among them, the number of genes involved in signal transduction and nucleic acid binding was 6065 and 3066, respectively. When analyzed the number of genes changed more than 1.5 fold in the cells treated with RANKL for 12 h or 24 h compared to when RANKL was not treated, 83 and 62 genes were up-regulated; 56 and 62 genes were downregulated, respectively. To verify the microarray results, real-time RT-PCR for Cxcl1 and Slfn1genes that have not been reported yet related to osteoclast differentiation, as well as Ccl2 gene associated with osteoclast differentiation were carried out. Both experiments showed a similar result of more than 1.5 fold induction of these genes by RANKL treatment. These results suggest the possibility that Cxcl1 and Slfn1 may associate with osteoclastogenesis and provide that microarray is a useful tool to analyze the profile of genes changed during osteoclast differentiation by RANKL. Moreover, this gene profile contributes to understand the regulatory mechanisms involved in osteoclast differentiation and the pathogenesis, thus developing therapeutics of bone diseases such as osteoporosis.

• Journal of the Korean Crystal Growth and Crystal Technology
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.231-237
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• 2007

For an aspect ratio (transport length-to-width) of 5, Pr=3.34, Le=0.078, Pe=4.16, Cv=1.01, $P_B=50$ Torr, only thermally buoyancy-driven convection ($Gr=4.83{\times}10^5$) is considered in this study in spite of the disparity in the molecular weights of the component A ($Hg_2Cl_2$) and B which would cause thermally and/or solutally buoyancy-driven convection. The crystal growth rate and the maximum velocity vector magnitude are decreased exponentially for $3{\le}Ar{\le}5$, for (1) adiabatic walls and (2) the linear temperature profile, with a fixed source temperature. This is related to the finding that the effects of side walls tend to stabilize convection in the growth reactor. The rate for the linear temperature profiles walls is slightly greater than for the adiabatic walls far varied temperature differences and aspect ratios. With the imposed thermal profile, a fixed source region, both the rate and the maximum velocity vector magnitude increase linearly with increasing the temperature difference for $10{\le}{\Delta}T{\le}50K$.

• Molecular & Cellular Toxicology
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.205-210
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• 2008

Recent studies suggest that activated microglial cells play an essential role in the inflammatory responses and neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. This study was conducted to evaluate the protective mechanisms of Asiasarum sieboldi (AS) on LPS-induced activation of BV-2 microglial cells. The effects of AS on gene expression profiles in activated BV-2 microglial cells were evaluated using microarray analysis. BV-2 microglial cells were cultured in a 100 mm dish ($1{\times}10^7$/mL) for 24 h and then pretreated with 1 ${\mu}g$/mL AS or left untreated for 30 min. Next, 1 ${\mu}g$/mL LPS was added to the samples and the cells were reincubated at $37^{\circ}C$ for 30 min and 1 hr. The gene expression profiles of the BV-2 microglial cells varied depending on the AS. The microarray analysis revealed that MAPK signaling pathway-related genes were downregulated in AS-treated BV-2 microglial cells. AS can affect the neuroinflammatory-related pathway such as MAPK signaling pathway in activated BV-2 microglial cells.