• Genomics & Informatics
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• 제14권3호
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• pp.96-103
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• 2016

The influenza A (H1N1) virus, also known as swine flu is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality since 2009. There is a need to explore novel anti-viral drugs for overcoming the epidemics. Traditionally, different plant extracts of garlic, ginger, kalmegh, ajwain, green tea, turmeric, menthe, tulsi, etc. have been used as hopeful source of prevention and treatment of human influenza. The H1N1 virus contains an important glycoprotein, known as neuraminidase (NA) that is mainly responsible for initiation of viral infection and is essential for the life cycle of H1N1. It is responsible for sialic acid cleavage from glycans of the infected cell. We employed amino acid sequence of H1N1 NA to predict the tertiary structure using Phyre2 server and validated using ProCheck, ProSA, ProQ, and ERRAT server. Further, the modelled structure was docked with thirteen natural compounds of plant origin using AutoDock4.2. Most of the natural compounds showed effective inhibitory activity against H1N1 NA in binding condition. This study also highlights interaction of these natural inhibitors with amino residues of NA protein. Furthermore, among 13 natural compounds, theaflavin, found in green tea, was observed to inhibit H1N1 NA proteins strongly supported by lowest docking energy. Hence, it may be of interest to consider theaflavin for further in vitro and in vivo evaluation.

• ALGAE
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• 제35권1호
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• pp.61-78
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• 2020

Species belonging to the dinoflagellate genus Prorocentrum are known to cause red tides or harmful algal blooms. To understand the dynamics of a Prorocentrum sp., its growth and mortality due to predation need to be assessed. However, there are only a few Prorocentrum spp. for which heterotrophic protist predators have been reported. We explored feeding by the common heterotrophic dinoflagellates Gyrodinium dominans, Oxyrrhis marina, Pfiesteria piscicida, Oblea rotunda, and Polykrikos kofoidii and the naked ciliate Strombidinopsis sp. (approx. 90 ㎛ cell length) on the planktonic species Prorocentrum triestinum, P. cordatum, P. donghaiense, P. rhathymum, and P. micans as well as the benthic species P. lima and P. hoffmannianum. All heterotrophic protists tested were able to feed on the planktonic prey species. However, O. marina and O. rotunda did not feed on P. lima and P. hoffmannianum, while G. dominans, P. kofoidii, and Strombidinopsis sp. did. The growth and ingestion rates of G. dominans and P. kofoidii on one of the seven Prorocentrum spp. were significantly different from those on other prey species. G. dominans showed the top three highest growth rates when it fed on P. triestinum, P. cordatum, and P. donghaiense, however, P. kofoidii had negative growth rates when fed on these three prey species. In contrast, P. kofoidii had a positive growth rate only when fed on P. hoffmannianum. This differential feeding on Prorocentrum spp. between G. dominans and P. kofoidii may provide different ecological niches and reduce competition between these two common heterotrophic protist predators.

• 농촌계획
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• 제29권3호
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• pp.15-24
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• 2023

The sense of crisis regarding regional extinction due to low birth rates and an aging population is expanding. Generally, the local extinction index is used to analyze local extinction. However, it is challenging to diagnose the actual situation of village extinction risk in rural areas, even though the regional extinction index can be analyzed in units such as Si-Gun-Gu and Eup-Myeon-Dong. This difficulty arises because the regional extinction index solely relies on natural population growth indicators (elderly population and female population aged 20-39). Therefore, the purpose of this study is to develop a village extinction index that can identify the disappearance of rural villages. Additionally, the aim is to apply the developed indicators to the village (administrative ri) spatial unit. The existing regional extinction index used only mortality-related indicators as factors for natural population decline and fertility-related indicators as factors for natural population growth. However, the developed village extinction index included not only the factors of natural population change but also incorporated social population growth factors and factors related to the pace of village extinction. This is the key difference between the developed village extinction index and the existing regional extinction index. In this study, the indicators of "total population," "number of young women aged 20-44," "number of elderly population aged 70 or older," and "number of incoming population" were selected to develop a village extinction index. The village extinction index was developed by incorporating both natural population growth indicators and social population growth indicators. The developed village extinction index was applied to administrative villages. This research is expected to provide a more accurate understanding of the current state of rural villages facing extinction.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• 제21권2호
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• pp.13.1-13.19
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• 2021

Macrophages are important for the first line of defense against microbial pathogens. Integrin CD11b, which is encoded by Itgam, is expressed on the surface of macrophages and has been implicated in adhesion, migration, and cell-mediated cytotoxicity. However, the functional impact of CD11b on the inflammatory responses of macrophages upon microbial infection remains unclear. Here, we show that CD11b deficiency resulted in increased susceptibility to sepsis induced by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection by enhancing the pro-inflammatory activities of macrophages. Upon infection with MRSA, the mortality of Itgam knockout mice was significantly higher than that of control mice, which is associated with increased production of TNF-α and IL-6. In response to MRSA, both bone marrow-derived macrophages and peritoneal macrophages lacking CD11b produced elevated amounts of pro-inflammatory cytokines and nitric oxide. Moreover, CD11b deficiency upregulated IL-4-induced expression of anti-inflammatory mediators such as IL-10 and arginase-1, and an immunomodulatory function of macrophages to restrain T cell activation. Biochemical and confocal microscopy data revealed that CD11b deficiency augmented the activation of NF-κB signaling and phosphorylation of Akt, which promotes the functional activation of macrophages with pro-inflammatory and immunoregulatory phenotypes, respectively. Overall, our experimental evidence suggests that CD11b is a critical modulator of macrophages in response to microbial infection.

• 한국수산과학회지
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• 제46권5호
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• pp.598-606
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• 2013

The blackfin flounder Glyptocephalus stelleri is a commercially important species in the East Sea of Korea, but its catches and biomass have decreased gradually in recent years. This study estimated the optimal catch (acceptable biological catch, ABC) for the effective management of this species by estimating population ecology parameters and the stock biomass of blackfin flounder in the East Sea of Korea. The estimated instantaneous coefficient of total mortality (Z) of blackfin flounder was 1.0542/year, the survival rate (S) was 0.3485, and the instantaneous coefficient of natural mortality (M) was 0.3637/year. From the values of S and M, the instantaneous coefficient of fishing mortality (F) was calculated to be 0.6905/year. The age at first capture was 1.304 years, and the total length was 11.5 cm at that time. On the basis of these parameters, the annual biomass was estimated by a biomass-based cohort analysis using annual catch data in weight by year for 1991-2012 in the East Sea of Korea. The annual biomass peaked in 1997 at about 12,800 mt and then subsequently declined continuously to a level of 10,500 mt in 2004 and to 9,800 mt in 2011 and 2012. The maximum sustainable yield and $F_{0.1}$ were estimated as 3,547 mt and 0.3595/year, respectively. Using these estimations, the ABC was estimated to be 3,571 mt in tier 5, 3,397 mt in tier 4, and 2,622 mt in tier 3.

• 생태와환경
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• 제43권1호
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• pp.82-90
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• 2010

본 연구는 섬진강 중 상류 수계의 꺽지자원에 대해서 자원평가의 기초로 사용되는 자원생태학적 특성치들을 분석하고자 하였다. 연령사정을 위한 연령형질로서 이석(otolith)을 사용하였으며, 연령사정 결과, 최고연령은 5세로 나타났다. 체장(BL)과 체중(BW)의 관계식은 $BW=0.0195BL6{3.08}$($R^2=0.966$) 이었으며, 윤문이 형성되었을 때의 체장을 역계산하기 위한 체장(BL)과 이석경(R)과의 관계식은 BL=3.882R+1.66($R^2=0.944$)로 나타났다. 비선형회귀방법을 이용한 von Bertalanffy 성장모델의 매개변수는 이론적 최대체장($L_{\infty}$)이 19.68 cm, 이론적 최대체중($L_{\infty}$)이 188.64 g, 성장계수(K)가 0.17, 체장이 0 일 때의 연령이 -1.46세 등으로 각각 추정되었다. 이를 통해 추정된 성장식은 Lt=19.68(1-$e^{-0.17(t+1.46)}$)($R^2=0.997$)로 나타났다. 생존율을 추정하는 6가지 방법 중 평방오차합(Sum of squared error: SSQ) 이 가장 작은 어획물곡선법을 이용하여 생존율을 추정하였으며, 추정된 생존율(S)는 $0.666\;year^{-1}$으로 확인되었다. 순간자연사망계수(M)와 순간전사망계수(Z)는 $0.346\;year^{-1}$과 $0.407\;year^{-1}$로 각각 추정 되었으며, 이를 통해 확인된 순간어획사망계수(F)는 $0.061\;year^{-1}$로 확인되었다.

• Laboraroty Animal Research
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• 제33권2호
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• pp.57-67
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• 2017

The inhibitory effects of Asparagus cochinchinensis against inflammatory response induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS), substance P and phthalic anhydride (PA) treatment were recently reported for some cell lines and animal models. To evaluate the hepatotoxicity and nephrotoxicity of A. cochinchinensis toward the livers and kidneys of ICR mice, alterations in related markers including body weight, organ weight, urine composition, liver pathology and kidney pathology were analyzed in male and female ICR mice after oral administration of 150, 300 and 600 mg/kg body weight/day saponin-enriched extract of A. cochinchinensis (SEAC) for 14 days. The saponin, total flavonoid and total phenol levels were found to be 57.2, 88.5 and 102.1 mg/g in SEAC, respectively, and the scavenging activity of SEAC gradually increased in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, body and organ weight, clinical phenotypes, urine parameters and mice mortality did not differ between the vehicle and SEAC treated group. Furthermore, no significant alterations were measured in alkaline phosphatase (ALP), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and the serum creatinine (Cr) in the SEAC treated group relative to the vehicle treated group. Moreover, the specific pathological features induced by most toxic compounds were not observed upon liver and kidney histological analysis. Overall, the results of the present study suggest that SEAC does not induce any specific toxicity in the livers and kidneys of male and female ICR mice at doses of 600 mg/kg body weight/day.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• 제33권1호
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• pp.69-69
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• 2006

병합임신은 두 개의 수정란이 자궁강 내와 자궁강 외에 동시에 착상되어 임신되는 것을 말한다. 그 예가 드물어 자연발생빈도는 약 30,000건의 임신 중 1명으로 나타나지만, 최근에는 불임환자의 체외 수정을 위한 배란 유도제의 사용이나 기타 생식 보조술의 발달, 골반내 염증, 난관수술로 인해 증가하고 있다. 병합임신은 조기 진단이 어려워 이에 따른 모성 사망률, 이환율이 높아지므로, 진단에 있어서 신중함이 중요하다. 저자들은 경찰병원에서 자연 생리주기에서 7주간의 무월경과 심한 하복부 통증을 주소로 내원한 29세 여환에서 발견된 좌측 난관임신과 자궁강 내 임신이 공존하는 병합임신을 간단한 문헌 고찰과 함께 보고하는 바이다.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• 제15권2호
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• pp.91-99
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• 2015

Herpes simplex virus (HSV) is a common causative agent of genital ulceration and can lead to subsequent neurological disease in some cases. Here, using a genital infection model, we tested the efficacy of vinegar-processed flos of Daphne genkwa (vp-genkwa) to modulate vaginal inflammation caused by HSV-1 infection. Our data revealed that treatment with optimal doses of vp-genkwa after, but not before, HSV-1 infection provided enhanced resistance against HSV-1 infection, as corroborated by reduced mortality and clinical signs. Consistent with these results, treatment with vp-genkwa after HSV-1 infection reduced viral replication in the vaginal tract. Furthermore, somewhat intriguingly, treatment of vp-genkwa after HSV-1 infection increased the frequency and absolute number of $CD3^-NK1.1^+NKp46^+$ natural killer (NK) cells producing interferon (IFN)-${\gamma}$ and granyzme B, which indicates that vp-genkwa treatment induces the activation of NK cells. Supportively, secreted IFN-${\gamma}$ was detected at an increased level in vaginal lavages of mice treated with vp-genkwa after HSV-1 infection. These results indicate that enhanced resistance to HSV-1 infection by treatment with vp-genkwa is associated with NK cell activation. Therefore, our data provide a valuable insight into the use of vp-genkwa to control clinical severity in HSV infection through NK cell activation.

• ALGAE
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• 제32권4호
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• pp.309-324
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• 2017

Recently, the heterotrophic nanoflagellate Katablepharis japonica has been reported to feed on diverse red-tide species and contribute to the decline of red tides. However, if there are effective predators feeding on K. japonica, its effect on red tide dynamics may be reduced. To investigate potential effective protist predators of K. japonica, feeding by the engulfment-feeding heterotrophic dinoflagellates (HTDs) Oxyrrhis marina, Gyrodinium dominans, Gyrodinium moestrupii, Polykrikos kofoidii, and Noctiluca scintillans, the peduncle-feeding HTDs Luciella masanensis and Pfiesteria piscicida, the pallium-feeding HTD Oblea rotunda, and the naked ciliates Strombidium sp. (approximately $20{\mu}m$ in cell length), Pelagostrobilidium sp., and Miamiensis sp. on K. japonica was explored. We found that none of these heterotrophic protists fed on actively swimming cells of K. japonica. However, O. marina, G. dominans, L. masanensis, and P. piscicida were able to feed on heat-killed K. japonica. Thus, actively swimming behavior of K. japonica may affect feeding by these heterotrophic protists on K. japonica. To the contrary, K. japonica was able to feed on O. marina, P. kofoidii, O. rotunda, Miamiensis sp., Pelagostrobilidium sp., and Strombidium sp. However, the specific growth rates of O. marina did not differ significantly among nine different K. japonica concentrations. Thus, K. japonica may not affect growth of O. marina. Our findings suggest that the effect of predation by heterotrophic protists on K. japonica might be negligible, and thus, the effect of grazing by K. japonica on populations of red-tide species may not be reduced by mortality due to predation by protists.