• Honam Mathematical Journal
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.85-92
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• 2012

Our purpose of this paper is to introduce and study some properties related to approximations by points. More precisely, we introduce strongly AP, strongly AFP, strongly ACP, and strongly WAP properties which are stronger than AP, AFP, ACP, and WAP respectively. Also they are weaker than strongly Fr$\acute{e}$chet property. And we study general properties and topological operations on such spaces and give some examples.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.135-141
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• 2010

Embryoid bodies (EBs) generated from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) include spontaneously induced endodermal lineage cells (ELCs). Activin-A plays important roles in the endoderm differentiation of hESCs. Despite studies on the generation of ELCs from hESCs with treatment of Actvin-A, it was unclear for localization and pattern of ELCs by Activin-A during differentiation of hESCs. Accordingly in this study, we knew that Actvin-A increased the cystic EBs formation, including the highly enriched AFP (endoderm lineage specific marker)-expressing cells in the surface of cystic EBs. To induce the EBs formation from undifferentiated hESCs, cells were transferred onto petri-dish and cultured in suspension condition without bFGF removed hESC media (EB media) for 3 days. Next to investigate the effect of Activin-A, EBs were subsequently cultured in EB media supplement with 100 ng/ml Activin-A for 3 days. After 5~7 days of Activin-A treatment, cystic EBs began to appear which increased in numbers reaching ~60% of initially formed EBs over 5 days. Endoderm lineage marker, AFP were highly expressed and specifically localized at the surface region of cystic EBs comparison with normal EBs. We next attached the cystic EBs onto gelatin-coated plates and cultured for 5 days. In the results of real-time PCR and immunocytochemistry analysis, AFP-expressing cells migrated and localized at the outgrowth region of attached cystic EBs. To obtain the AFP-expressing cells of the outgrowth region, we manually isolated by using micro-dissection and cultured them. These cells strongly express AFP over 70% of isolated cells post re-plating. Here, we first showed an expression pattern of specifically localized ELCs by Activin-A during differentiation of hESCs. From this observation, we could highly purified ELCs from undifferentiated hESCs. Taken together, our system will provide a novel and efficient option to generate ELCs from hESCs.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.7
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• pp.2979-2986
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• 2014

Background: Recently, peroxiredoxin3 (PRDX3) was identified as a novel molecular marker for the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, its potential clinical application as a serum marker for the early diagnosis and prognosis of HCC has not been investigated. Methods: PRDX3, alpha-fetaprotein (AFP), and other biochemical parameters were measured in serum samples from 297 Chinese patients, including 96 with HCC, 98 with liver cirrhosis (LC), and 103 healthy controls (HCs). Correlations between serum PRDX3 expression and clinicopathological variables and the relationship between serum PRDX3 expression and prognosis were analyzed. Results: Serum PRDX3 was significantly higher in HCC patients than in the LC and HC groups. The sensitivity and specificity of serum PRDX3 for the diagnosis of HCC were 85.9% and 75.3%, respectively, at a cutoff of 153.26 ng/mL, and the area under the curve was 0.865. Moreover, serum PRDX3 expression was strongly associated with AFP level, tumor diameter, TNM stage, and portal vein invasion. Kaplan-Meier curve analysis revealed that HCC patients with high serum PRDX3 expression had a shorter median survival time than those with low PRDX3 expression. Moreover, serum PRDX3 expression was an independent risk factor for overall survival. The inverse correlation between serum PRDX3 and patient survival remained significant in patients with early-stage HCC and in those with normal serum AFP levels. Conclusions: Serum PRDX3 can be used as a noninvasive biomarker for the diagnosis and/or prognosis of HCC.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.886-897
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• 2016

The physical properties of rooting media for the establishment of plugs in a greenhouse are modified according to variations in the greenhouse environment throughout the season. In this study, we established a standard for rooting media for the production of plug seedlings for each growing season (summer, winter and spring fall). Eight types of peatmoss (PM) and 4 types of perlite (PL) commonly used in Korea were collected and blended with the ratio of 7 parts PM to 3 parts PL (v/v) to make 32 different rooting media blends. We determined the total porosity (TP), container capacity (CC), air-filled porosity (AFP), pH, and electrical conductivity (EC) of the 32 media blends, and 6 media blends were selected for seasonal use. We also conducted additional analyses for plant easily available water (EAW), buffering water (BW), cation exchange capacity (CEC), and nutrient contents in the 6 media blends. The TP, CC, and AFP of the 32 media blends ranged from 64.7 to 96.0%, 42.9 to 90.1%, and 1.3 to 27.8%, respectively, indicating that the physical properties were strongly influenced by the type of PM and PL. The pH and EC of the PMs ranged from 2.96 to 3.81 and 0.08 to $0.47dS{\cdot}m^{-1}$, respectively. However, after blending the PM with the PL the pH was raised and the EC was lowered The media blends selected for the summer growing season were Blonde Golden peatmoss (BG) + No. 1 perlite size < 1 mm (PE1) and Latagro 0-10 mm (L1) + No. 2 perlite size 1-2 mm (PE2). These two media blends had 89.8-90.9% of TP, 80.8-81.3% of CC, and 9.0-9.7% of AFP. The media blends selected for the winter growing season were Sfagnumi Turvas (ST) + PE2 and Latagro 20-40 mm (L3) + PE2. These media blends had 79.9-86.7% of TP, 60.4-74.9% of CC, and 11.8-19.6% of AFP. The TP, CC, and AFP of two media blends, BG + No.3 perlite 2-5 mm (PE3) and Orange peatmoss (O) + PE3, selected for the spring and fall growing seasons, respectively, were 85.2-87.3%, 77.9%, and 7.4-9.4%, respectively. The percentage of EAW of the media blends selected for the spring, summer, and winter growing seasons ranged from 24.2-24.9%, 22.0-28.6%, and 18.0-21.8%, respectively, but the percentages of BW were not significantly different among the selected root media blends. The pH, EC, and CEC of the 6 selected media blends ranged from 3.11-3.97, $0.06-0.26dS{\cdot}m^{-1}$, and $97-119meq{\cdot}100g^{-1}$, respectively.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.747-752
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• 2013

Oncostatin M (OSM) is a multifunctional cellular regulator acting on a wide variety of cells, which has potential roles in the regulation of gene activation, cell survival, proliferation and differentiation. Previous studies have shown that OSM can induce morphological and/or functional differentiation and maturation of many tumor cells. However, the action of OSM on the induction of differentiation of human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has not been reported. Here, we investigated the effects of different concentrations of OSM on human HCC cell line SMMC-7721 growth, proliferation, cell cycling, apoptosis and differentiation in vitro. Cell growth was determined via MTT assay, proliferation by cell cycle analysis, apoptosis by flow cytometry, morphology by transmission electronic microscopy, and cell function by detection of biochemical markers. Our results demonstrated that OSM strongly inhibited the growth of SMMC-7721 cells in a dose-dependent manner, associated with decreased clonogenicity. Cell cycle analysis revealed a decreased proportion of cells in S phase, with arrest at G0/G1. The apotosis rate was increased after OSM treatment compared to the control. These changes were associated with striking changes in cellular morphology, toward a more mature hepatic phenotype, accompanied by significant reduction of the expression of AFP and specific activity of ${\gamma}$-GT, with remarkable increase in secretion of albumin and ALP activity. Taken together, our findings indicate that OSM could induce the differentiation and reduce cell viability of SMMC-7721 cells, suggesting that differentiation therapy with OSM offers the opportunity for therapeutic intervention in HCC.