DGCR8 is a RNA-binding protein working with DROSHA involved in critical processes for microRNA production in the nucleus. To understand function of miRNAs in the uterus, we have produced uterus-specific Dgcr8 conditional knock-out mice using two well-known Cre mouse models, anti-Mullerian hormone receptor 2 (Amhr2)-Cre and progesterone receptor (PR)-Cre. Dgcr8flox/flox;PRcre/+ mice were mainly analyzed and considered as uDgcr8 KO in this study unless otherwise indicated as Dgcr8flox/flox;Amhr2cre/+ mice. Morphological and histological analyses, embryo cultures, genomic DNA PCR, realtime RT-PCR and Western blotting were performed. uDgcr8 KO females bred with fertile males did not produce any offspring, suggesting that these mice are infertile. Vaginal smear analyses showed that these mice do not undergo estrous cycle, whereas Dgcr8flox/flox;Amhr2cre/+ mice exhibited regular estrous cyclicity. In vitro culture of 2-cell stage embryos and histological analyses for CL in uDgcr8 KO demonstrated that they can respond to gonadotrophins to ovulate healthy oocytes with comparable fertilization potentials as compared to those in Dgcr8flox/flox mice (Control). Gross morphology, histology, and weight of uteri of uDgcr8 KO mice were similar to those of control at 3-week-old stage. However, uterus become extremely thinner and shorter from 4-week-old stage onward. Histological examination showed significant reduction in gland numbers and stromal area from 4-week-old stage. Interestingly, this phenotype is reflected by significant increase of PR expression in the uteri of 4-week-old mice. In addition, stromal cell proliferation of uDgcr8 KO is severely impaired. BrdU incorporation experiments showed that while epithelial cells undergo proliferation by E2 treatment, stromal cells do not incorporate BrdU under the uterine conditions provided with E2+P4. Collectively, these results conclude that microRNAs are essential for uterine stromal cell proliferation in mice.

Vitrification uses cryoprotectants and liquid nitrogen, which may cause osmotic stress and cryodamage to oocytes. Autophagy is widely considered as a survival or responsive mechanism to various environmental and cellular stresses. However, the status of autophagy in vitrified-warmed oocytes has not been studied. In this work, we investigated if vitrification-warming process induces autophagy in mouse oocytes. Four-week-old female ICR mice and GFP-LC3 transgenic mice were used. The mice were superovulated with 5IU PMSG and 5IU hCG and ovulated MII oocytes were collected from oviducts. Oocytes obtained from several mice were pooled and divided into three groups. Group1: fresh oocytes. Group2: oocytes treated with vitification solutions (1.3 M EG+1.1 M DMSO and 2.7 M EG+2.1 M DMSO+0.5 M sucrose for 2.5 min) and warming solutions (0.5 M, 0.25, 0,125, and 0 M sucrose at intervals 2.5 min). Group3: vitrified-warmed oocytes (loaded onto an EM copper grid, and were stored in LN2 for 2 weeks). RT-PCR and confocal live imaging of GFP-LC3 were performed to examine the effects of vitrification-warming process on autophagy in oocytes. In RT-PCR analyses, expression of autophagy related (Atg) genes, such as Atg5, Atg7, Atg12, LC3a, LC3b, and Beclin1 was examined. Expression of Atg7 and Atg12 was slightly reduced in Group 3 (vitrified-warmed oocytes). The expression levels of other Atg genes did not change. Confocal live imaging analysis using oocytes from GFP-LC3 transgenic mice revealed that some vitrified-warmed oocytes showed green puncta which indicate autophagic activation. All oocytes of Group 1 and Group 2 show no puncta formation. Our results suggest that induction of autophagy may serve as an indicator of conditions of vitrification-warming process. Moreover, it offers the possibility that development of methods to modulate autophagic response during cryopreservation could improve efficacy of oocyte cryopreservation.

Autophagy is a major cellular catabolic pathway and is tightly associated with survival and death of cells. The involvement of autophagy during prolonged survival of blastocysts in the uterus is established and it was assumed that ovarian steroid hormones – estrogen (E2) and progesterone (P4) – play important roles in its regulation. The uterus is a major target organ of E2 and P4. To examine if E2 or P4 modulate autophagy in the mouse uterus in vivo, the following three systems were used. 1) Normal pregnancy model (days 1 to 8); 2) delayed implantation model; 3) ovariectomized (OVX) mice model treated with single steroid hormone. Six-week-old virgin ICR mice were used for pregnancy and OXV. OVX mice received P4 (1 mg/0.1 ml) or E2 (100 ng/0.1 ml) after 12 days of rest. Collected uteri were subjected to Western blotting and immunofluorescence staining using anti-LC3B antibody to monitor autophagy. In pregnant mouse uterus, the autophagic response was downregulated after implantation. In OVX model, either E2 or P4 injection downregulated the autophagic response in the uterus within several hours. To confirm whether hormone-induced downregulation is mediated by classical estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR), receptor antagonists (ICI 182,780 and RU-486) were co-treated. Antagonist-treated uteri showed recovery of autophagic response, suggesting that ER or PR mediates hormonal effects on autophagy. In oder to determine which signaling pathway is involved in autophagic regulation by E2, rapamycin (5 mg/kg), a mTOR inhibitor, and LY294002 (5 mg/kg), a PI3 kinase inhibitor, were used. Rapamycin and LY294002 were injected just before E2 injection to OVX mice. Western blotting was performed by using anti-phospho-mTOR and anti-AKT antibodies. We observed that rapamycin treatment partially antagonized downregulation of autophagic activation by E2, whereas LY294002 treatment did not have any effect. Therefore, downregulation of autophagy by E2 seems to be partially mediated by mTOR pathway. Collectively, this study suggests that ovarian steroid hormones are upstream controllers of autophagic response in the mouse uterus.

We used a microarray dataset that is deposited in the public database to evaluate plant responses to heat stress and selected two genes, OsSHSP1 (Os03g16030) and OsSHSP2 (Os01g04380), that are highly expressed under heat stress in rice. OsSHSP1 and OsSHSP2 gene transcripts were highly induced in response to salt and drought. In addition, OsSHSP1 and OsSHSP2 gene transcripts were induced under ABA and SA. Subcellular localization of proteins of 35S::OsSHSP1 were associated with the cytosol, whereas those of and 35S::OsSHSP2 were associated with the cytosol and nucleus. Heterogeneous overexpression of both genes exhibited higher germination rates than those of wild-type plants under the salt treatment, but not under heat or drought stress. The network of both genes harboring 9 sHSPs as well as at least 13 other chaperone genes might support the idea of a role for sHSPs in the chaperone network. Our findings might provide clues to shed light on the molecular functions of OsSHSP1 and OsSHSP2 in response to abiotic stresses, especially heat stress.

Rice is a staple food crop in the world. A number of agronomically important traits including enhancement of stress tolerance, quality improvement, and nutrition value increases have been introduced to rice. In this study, an Oryza sativa cDNA containing a U-box motif was cloned; its deduced amino acid sequence was compared to that of other U-box genes and indicated that encodes a U-box-containing E3 ligase. E3 ligases are structurally divided into three groups. We isolated the OsUPS gene from rice (Oryza sativa). The OsUPS protein has domain which is a single~70-amino acid region of the protein and GKL domain containing conserved Glycine, Lysine/ Araginine residues and leucine-rich feature. A full-length expression of OsUPS was up-regulated in the rice plant and in cell culture in the absence of phosphate. To express the OsUPS cDNA, it was inserted into the pGEX-2T vector. And the gene was expressed in E.coli strain BL21 (DE3). Induced after 3h of IPTG treatment and was isolated by affinity chromatography. Using the GUS reporter genes regulated by the OsUPS promoter, we have carried out the analysis of transcriptional and spatial regulation of gene expression. To investigate the function of these genes, the CaMV 35S promoter-driven these genes were introduced into Arabidopsis and rice via Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated gene transformation. We found that full-length expression of OsUPS was up-regulated in both rice plants and cell culture in the absence of inorganic phosphate (Pi). A self-ubiquitination assay indicated that the bacterially expressed OsUPS protein had E3 ligase activity, and subcellular localization results showed that OsUPS was located in the chloroplast. These results support the notion that OsUPS plays an important role in the Pi signaling pathway through the ubiquitin-26S proteasome system.

Rice is not only a model plant of monocots but also one of the most important crops all over the world. Despite the importance of leaf shape for achieving effective plant architecture for photosynthesis, little is known about the genetic mechanisms that determine leaf morphological characteristics. Explanation of the genetic basis of the control of leaf shape could be of use in the manipulation of crop traits, leading to increased crop production. Many mutants related to leaf morphology have been identified and classified according to their function in determining leaf morphology. search on the genetics of leaf development has used mutagensis to create loss-of-function mutations that change leaf shape. To understand the molecular mechanism of leaf morphogenesis, we identified a rice mutant gene, which was characterized by a phenotype of narrow leaves. While the mutation resulted in reduced leaf width, no significant morphological changes at the cellular level in leaves were observed, except in bulliform cells. The gene locus guess that it encodes a adenosine kinase, which displays sequence homology with ribokinase pfkB like superfamily. To test function of gene, we cloned gene which have 1140 nucleotides and 379 amino acids. This gene was transcribed in various tissues and was mainly expressed in panicles and leaves. NAL7, NAL1 and SLL1 were found to be downregulated, whereas OsAGO7 and NRL1 were upregulated in the mutant. These findings suggested that there might be a functional association between these genes in regulating leaf development.

Capsinoids which were found recently in non-pungent pepper show the same biological effects as capsaicinoid including anticancer and anti-obesity. A precursor of capsaicinoids, vanillyl alcohol, is known to be produced by mutations in the p-aminotransferase (pAMT) gene. In the previous study, we showed that capsinoid production is also controlled by the capsaicin synthase (CS) gene. However correlation between the CS gene expression and capsinoids contents has not been fully understood. This study was conducted to elucidate correlation between the expression level of CS gene and capsinoids contents. Through germplasm screening, we identified one C. chinese pepper cultivar, SNU11-001, which contained capsinoids as much as C. annuum ‘CH-19 Sweet’. SNU11-001 was crossed with five Capsicum cultivars (ECW, Takanotsume, Yuwolcho, Habanero and Jolokia) containing different levels of capsaicin, ‘ECW’ is non-pungent pepper line, and ‘Takanotsume’ and ‘Yuwolcho’ have mild pungency, and ‘Habanero’ and ‘Jolokia’ is known to be included in the most pungent pepper lines. When we analyzed the expression of CS and pAMT genes using the six Capsicum cultivars, the expression levels of CS were higher in pungent Capsicum cultivars. To test whether the expression levels of CS also control capsinoids contents, we will analyze several F2 populations derived from crosses between SNU11-001 and Capsicum cultivars containing different levels of capsaicin.

The high temperature due to climate change may result in the intensification of several drought and heat stress on crops including potato. These abiotic stress affect on potato development staages; sprout development, tuber initiation and maturation. Potatoes need moderate amounts of nitrogen and cool night for good tuber growth. Especially, high temperature in soil will delay tuber initiation and induce malformation. Therefore, to identify quickly heat tolerant lines and breeding potato lines adapt to high temperature in the field are needed. The objectives of this study were as follows; To apply in vitro screening method for identifying potato lines adapted to high temperature conditions. To verify these results under field assays carried out under natural high temperature field conditions. We used in vitro screening methods with breeding lines from Intranational Potato Center(CIP) under three temperature regime, 18℃, 25℃ and 30℃. All breeding liens had some genotype that produced microtubers at 18℃ and 25℃, with a clear tendency for lower percentage of tuberization at the high temperature. To verify in vitro screening methods for heat tolerance lines, we carried out natural high temperature filed evaluation at Tacna, La Molina and Sanramon in Peru. The results of both the in vitro test and the field assay showed clear relationship and similar expression of tuberization percentage. This finding supports the use of the in vitro assay as a rapid screening methods that represents performance at the field level. But the correlation between performance of the breeding lines under the in vitro and field condions was low. This could be due to differential response to breeding lines to characteristics of the field environment, such as soil salinity, drought, which were not represented in the in vitro assay.

Morus Folium (Sang-yeop in Korean) is one of the most important Oriental medicinal plants. In Korea, both M. alba and M. cathayana are regarded as the botanical sources for Morus Folium. In order to discriminate M. alba and M. cathayana from their adulterant, M. tricuspidata, mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase subunit 7 (nad7) intron 2 region was targeted for molecular analysis with universal primers. DNA polymorphisms, including SNP sites, insertions, and deletions, were detected among these three species sequencing data. Based on these DNA polymorphisms, specific primers were designed for the three species respectively. Multiplex PCR was conducted for molecular authentication of M. alba, M. cathayana, and M. tricuspidata with specific primers. The present results indicate that it is possible to identify Morus Folium from its adulterant using mitochondrial nad7 intron 2 region. The established multiplex-PCR system was proved to be effective for identification of Morus Folium. The results indicate that mitochondrial introns can be used for inter-specific polymorphic study, and the described method can be applied for molecular identification of medicinal materials.

The research concerned of the regeneration of plants from embryos obtained from anther cultures of ginseng (Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer). The aim was to determine the influence of the regeneration medium on the efficiency of the regeneration process. We conducted to determine the optimum conditions such as cold pretreatment, plant growth regulators and carbon sources on anther culture of P. ginseng. Highest callus formation rate was obtained when flower buds pretreated at 4℃ for 1 day. Among the treated growth regulators with various degrees of concentration in Murashige and Skoog's (MS) medium, 4.53 μm of 2.4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid and 4.44 μm of 6-benzylaminopurine gives the most responsive callus with the frequency of 73.89% and 129.53 g of fresh weight. When we used 3-9% of sucrose and maltose among the different kinds and various concentrations of carbohydrates, callus was formed highest 67.29% in the medium with 3% of sucrose. Shoots induced from callus supplemented with 28.9 μm of gibberellic acid and rooted in Gamborg's B5 medium supplemented with 14.7 μm of indole-3-butyric acid.

Korean ginseng has been used for thousands of years as an important medicinal plant. Lime-Bordeaux mixture (LBM) was made with copper sulfate and quicklime, which was sprayed instead of pesticides in ginseng field. Net photosynthesis (PN) was compared between Treatment and Non-treatment of LBM in 3 Year Old Ginseng. PN in control plot recorded 2.94μmol (CO2) m-2s-1 at the first day of experiment, which was similar until the last day of experiment. However, The PN in LBM recorded 2.23μmol (CO2) m-2s-1, which was lower than that in control plot. As time goes by, The PN in LBM was gradually increased up to 3.21μmol (CO2) m-2s-1 and finally, it was similar with that in control plot at 7th day as a 3.20μmol (CO2) m-2s-1).

Purpose - objective of this research is to investigate individual, organizational and environmental factors influence tacit knowledge sharing among healthcare professionals. The transmission of Tacit Knowledge is crucial for organizations to ensure that TK will be passed throughout organization, rather than stored in single employee. Research design, data, and methodology - In this study investigate organizational, individual and environmental factors that influence on TK sharing. To test hypothesizes, the survey method was chosen. Sample size was 100 but 74% of questioners returned. Results - The main findings of this research are related to influence of personal, social cultural and behavioral factors on tacit knowledge sharing. According to extracted data all factors have influence on tacit knowledge sharing except Emotional stability that was found to be negatively related to tacit knowledge sharing. That may means anxiety and stress level of workplace applies negative enhance on tacit knowledge sharing. And finally results show that social environment, team oriented culture and organizational commitment have strongest influences on tacit knowledge sharing. Conclusion - the findings of this study shows that personal, social cultural and behavioral factors influence on tacit knowledge sharing. And also indicates that, social and organizational factors enhance strongly on tacit knowledge sharing.

Purpose - Labor productivity is extremely important to the profitability and competitive advantage of organizations that provide services to customers, such as banks. This study investigates the factors driving labor productivity in Iran’s Melli Bank. Research design, data, methodology - Five managerial, psychosocial, cultural, and individual factors are identified and their relative importance for labor productivity prioritized using AHP. The required data are then collected through a questionnaire designed for a pairwise comparison of the driving factors of labor productivity and their subcategories. Results - The study outcomes reveal that the managerial and individual factors are the most important. Specifically, the most important factors in increasing labor productivity in the branches of Melli Bank are having a competent supervisor, promotion opportunities, fair working conditions, conscientiousness, the right tools, and a correspondence between skills and work. Conclusions - Implementing AHP using Expert Choice software revealed that, among the driving factors of labor productivity (i.e., managerial, psychosocial, cultural, environmental, and personal), managerial factors were considered the most important by the respondents.

We statistically investigated the properties of low-latitude Pi2 pulsations using Bohyun (BOH, Mlat = 29.8°, L = 1.35) ground magnetometer data in 2008. For this 1-year interval, 582 Pi2 events were identified when BOH was in the nightside from 1800 to 0600 local times. We found the following Pi2 characteristics. (1) The occurrence distribution of Pi2s is relatively constant in local times. (2) The Pi2 frequency varies in local times. That is, Pi2 pulsations in postmidnight sector had higher frequency than in premidnight sector. (3) Pi2 power in premidnight sector is stronger than in postmidnight sector. (4) Pi2 frequency has positive correlation with solar wind speed and AE index. (5) Pi2 power has not a clear correlation with solar wind parameters. This indicates that Pi2 power is not controlled by external sources. (6) It is found that the most probable-time between Pi2 onsets is Δt ~ 37.5 min: This is interpreted to be the period between Pi2 pulsations when they occur cyclically. We suggest that Δt ~ 37.5 min is the occurrence rate of reconnection of open field lines in the tail lobe.

The use of generating functions for solving optimal rendezvous problems has an advantage in the sense that it does not require one to guess and iterate the initial costate. This paper presents how to apply generating functions to analyze spacecraft optimal reconfiguration between projected circular orbits. The series-based solution obtained by using generating functions demonstrates excellent convergence and approximation to the nonlinear reference solution obtained from a numerical shooting method. These favorable properties are expected to hold for analyzing optimal formation reconfiguration under perturbations and non-circular reference orbits.

A collision-free formation reconfiguration trajectory subject to the linearized Hill’s dynamics of relative motion is analytically developed by extending an algorithm for gravity-free space. Based on the initial solution without collision avoidance constraints, the final solution to minimize the designated performance index and avoid collision is found, based on a gradient method. Simple simulations confirm that satellites reconfigure their positions along the safe trajectories, while trying to spend minimum energies. The algorithm is applicable to wide range of formation flying under the Hill’s dynamics.