The morphological changes of fresh beef treated with ficin(0.1% : 2 hrs, 6 hrs)were examined with transmission electron microscope(TEM), the results obtained were as follows ; Connective tissue protein in fresh beef treated with ficin became gradually fragmentation and was occured stabilization with time. The length of sarcomere in myofibrillar protein was elongated, M-line became dim, and the I-band of Z-line was broken and became fragmentation with time.

Background : The white jelly mushroom (Tremella fuciformis), one of the most popular edible fungi, has medicinal properties. However, the effects of T. fuciformis in skin whitening or anti-wrinkle efficacy has not been defined to date. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of T. fuciformis extracts on whitening and anti-wrinkle efficacy in skin cells. Methods and Results :We prepared T. fuciformis extracts with water. The extracts (80℃) contained 12.11 ㎎/g polyphenol and 8.54 ㎎/g flavonoid concentration. T. fuciformis extracts markedly decreased melanin contents and tyrosinase activity in α-MSHstimulated melanocytes (B16F10 cells). In addition, the mRNA expression of melanin formation factors, such as microphthalmiaassociated transcription factor (MITF), tyrosinase-related protein-1 (TRP-1) and tyrosinase-related protein-2 (TRP-2) were significantly down-regulated in α-MSH-stimulated melanocyte. Furthermore, T. fuciformis extracts increased the synthesis of type I procollagen and reduced mRNA expression of matrix metalloproteinase 1 (MMP-1) in the human dermal fibroblast (HDFn cells). These data indicated that T. fuciformis extracts induce repression of cellular melanogenesis and protect against wrinkles caused by UVB-stimulated damage. Conclusions : Thus T. fuciformis extracts could be a cosmetic candidate for skin whitening and anti-wrinkle effects.

Cleft palates with or without cleft lip is one of the most common congenital craniofacial defects in dogs. It has been reported that monogenic autosomal recessive inheritance caused this defect in this species. However, here, we aimed to report cleft palate in a cloned dog. A fibroblast cell line was established from skin tissues of an eight-year-old German shepherd dog. Blood was collected from oocyte donor dogs, and serum progesterone concentration was measured by chemiluminescence enzyme immunoassay method. Ovulation was determined when serum progesterone results reached 5-10 ng/ml, and in vivo matured oocytes were collected surgically about 72 hr after ovulation. Donor cells were cultured with Dulbecco’s modified Eagle medium supplemented with 10% (v/v) fetal bovine serum until confluence. An in vivo matured oocyte was enucleated, and a donor cell was injected into the perivitelline space. The oocyte-cell couplet was electrically fused, and chemically activated. Reconstructed embryos were transferred to an oviduct of a recipient. Pregnancy diagnosis was performed 27 days after the embryo transfer, and ultrasonography of fetal heart beat, and rectal temperature and serum progesterone value of recipient was monitored until the day of delivery. Microsatellite analysis was performed using genomic DNA of cell donor, clones, and oocyte donors. As results, a total of 74 cloned embryos were transferred to five recipients, and one recipient diagnosed as pregnant with two fetuses by ultrasonography and radiology. Caesarean section was performed on day 58 after embryo transfer due to a decreased heart beat of a fetus, which was lower than 180. Two cloned puppies with 640g and 320g of birth weight were delivered safety, but the small one was born with a cleft palate. Microsatellite analysis results of both clones were identical with the cell donor. Cleft palate of the clone was surgically corrected on day 40 after birth. To our knowledge, there has been no report about cleft palate in cloned dogs, and also, no report about clones with different phenotype of cleft palate in dogs. Therefore, this study can give a clue of cleft palate in dogs, which might not be a genetic cause. Further studies about aberrant epigenetic reprogramming in those clones are needed.

In order to develop near isogenic lines (NILs) the heterozygous rice plants for alkali digestibility value(ADV) were selected and tested in every generation from F5 to F9 of a cross, Seratus malam/Suwon 345. Finally several sets of NILs, which were six low ADV lines and four medium-high ADV lines, were selected among F10 lines. No differences of the plant growth characteristics, amylose content and protein content of rice grain were found between low and medium-high ADV lines. Rice flour of low ADV lines showed longer gel length in gel consistency test than medium-high ADV lines, and also showed different gelatinization characteristics measured by rapid visco analyzer compared with medium-high ADV lines. The result of genetic analysis indicated that ADV-NILs developed were differed in a pair of major gene controlling ADV, and low ADV was dominant over medium-high ADV.