This study investigated the antidiabetic effect of amaranth grain ethanol extract (AEE) in a diabetic animal model, db/db mouse. The mice were divided into 4 groups: normal control mice (C57BL/6J), diabetic mice (C57BL/6J db/db), diabetic mice fed a lower concentration of AEE (0.3 mg/kg), and diabetic mice fed a higher concentration of AEE (0.5 mg/kg). After 10 weeks of treatment, body weights, blood insulin levels and blood glucose levels of each group were compared. At the end of treatment, the results showed that both AEE supplemented groups had lower body weights than those in the diabetic groups although higher than those in the normal groups. Moreover, in both AEE supplemented groups, serum insulin levels were higher and blood glucose levels were lower than those in the diabetic groups although both values were higher than those in the normal groups. The results of this study suggest that AEE can alleviate many of the common symptoms of diabetes in diabetic mice and, therefore, has potential as a therapeutic supplement for normalization of blood glucose and insulin levels in humans.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a representative inflammation-associated cancer and known to be the most frequent tumor. However, the preventive agents for hepatocarcinogenesis are unsatisfactorily identified. We investigated the protective effect of steamed and freeze-dried mature silkworm larval powder (SMSP) on diethylnitrosamine (DEN)-induced hepatotoxicity in mice and compared the effect of three silkworm varieties: white-jade, golden-silk, and light-green strains. The mice were fed with diet containing 0.1, 1, and 10 g/kg of three types of SMSP for two weeks while DEN (100 mg/kg, i.p.) was injected 18 h before the end of this experiment. Liver toxicity was determined as serum indicator, histopathological examination, and expression of inflammatory enzyme. Pretreatment with SMSP reduced necrotic and histopathological changes induced by DEN in the liver. The measurement of serum biochemical indicators showed that pretreatment with SMSP also decreased DEN-induced hepatotoxicity, the levels of alkaline phosphatase (ALP), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and aspartate aminotransferase (AST). In addition, SMSP inhibited the expressions of inflammatory enzymes, cyclooxygenase-2 and inducible nitric oxide synthase. White-jade SMSP showed the most effective hepatoprotective results against hepatotoxicity among the three silkworm strains used in this study. SMSP may have a protective effect against acute liver injury by inhibiting necrosis and inflammatory response in DEN-treated mice.

Interferon tau (IFNT), produced by the mononuclear trophectoderm, signals the process of maternal recognition of pregnancy in ruminants, but its expression in vivo is not well characterized. Objectives of this study were to determine IFNT gene isoforms expressed in the bovine uterus, and to identify differences in promoter sequences of IFNT genes that differ in their expression. Through the RNA-seq analysis of bovine conceptuses on days 17, 20 and 22 (day 0 = day of estrus), the expression of only two IFNT transcripts, IFNT1 and IFNTc1, were found, which were indeed classified into the IFNT gene clade. IFNT mRNAs were highest on day 17, and then decreased on days 20, and 22, which were also supported by the results of quantitative RT-PCR. Bovine ear-derived fibroblast (EF) cells were then cotransfected with luciferase reporter constructs carrying 5‘-upstream (positions -1000 to +51) regions of IFNT1 or IFNTc1 and various transcription factor expression plasmids. CDX2, either alone or with other Ap-1, ETS2 and/or CREBBP transcription factors, was found to increase luciferase activity approximately 10 and 18 fold more than twice of those cotransfected with bIFNT1, c1-Luc construct. Furthermore, The degree of transcriptional activation by a combination of the AP1, ETS2, CREBBP and/or CDX2 expression vectors was similar to that of CDX2 along plasmid. However, expression patterns of these Luc activity differented. Whereas bIFNTc1-Luc showed lowest antivity had than bIFNT1-Luc reports. Although, lowest antivity had of the bIFNTc1 –Luc report, cotransfected with the bIFNTc1-Luc construct and AP1(JUN) or/and ETS2 expression plasmid, Luc activity was enhanced approximately 2 and 4-fold more than the bIFNT1-Luc. Furthermore, along CDX2 expression factor had high effect on activity of bIFNT1-Luc reporter than the c1 gene in EF cells. These results suggest that two forms of IFNT genes are expressed in utero and their transcriptional regulations differ.

Multiple interferon tau (IFNT) genes exist in bovine. An antiluteolytic substance secreted by the bovine conceptus and primarily responsible for maternal recognition of pregnancy is bovine trophoblast protein 1 (bIFNT1), one of new type I interferon tau (IFNT) genes. The objectives of this research were to investigate whether multiple, distinct gene encode bIFNT1 and other type I bIFNT gene in the bovine genome or not and to examine the expression of bIFNT1 and other bIFNTc1 mRNAs during conceptus development. The transcription of these genes could be regulated through caudal-related homeobox-2 (CDX2) and ETS2 and/or AP1(JUN) expression, a transcription factor implicated in the control of cell differentiation in the trophectoderm. The presence of mRNAs encoded by bIFNT1 and type I bIFNTc1 genes were examined quantitatively via reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis of total cellular RNA (tcRNA) extracted from on the days 17, 20 and 22 bovine conceptuses. bIFNT1 was highly expressed on the day 17 and transcripts were gradually and weakly detectable on the days 20 and 22. However, the other bIFNTc1 gene examined transcripts was highly expressed on the day 20 and transcripts were weakly detectable on the days 17 and 22 bovine conceptuses. Furthermore, human choriocarcinoma JEG3 was co-transfected with an -1kb-bIFNT1/c1-Luc constructs and several transcription factor expression plasmids. Compared to each -1kb-bIFNT1/c1-Luc increased when this constructs were co-transfected with, ETS2, AP1(JUN), CREBBP and/or CDX2. Also, bIFNTc1 gene was had higher effect on activity by alone ETS2, and AP1(JUN) expression factors in choriocarcinoma JEG3 cell. However, bIFNT1 gene expression of the upstream region was not idented. These results demonstrate that these genes display differential, tissue-specific expression and developmental regulation during pregnancy.

The number of reported mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes) from the monotypic Lasiocampoidea has been limited until recently. In this study, we sequenced the complete mitogenome of the lappet moth, Kunugia undans (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae), and compared it to those of other lasiocampid species and macroheteroceran superfamilies (59 species in six superfamilies). The 15,570-bp long K. undans genome had the typical set of genes found in animal mitogenomes, with the exception of one additional trnR that are located between trnA and trnN loci. Considering that the two trnR copies are located in tandem with proper secondary structures and identical anticodons, a gene duplication event might be responsible for the presence of the two tRNAs. In summary, the general mitogenome characteristics of Lasiocampoidea did not differ greatly from the remaining macroheteroceran superfamilies, but it did exhibit some unique features.

Currently, only limited number of mitochondrial genomes (mitogenome) is available from Odonata. In order to extend current mitogenome data for comparative biology and phylogeny we sequenced complete mitogenomes of two endangered dragonfly species, Libellula angelina and Nannophya pygmaea (Ododana: Libellulidae). The whole genomes were 15,233 bp in L. angelina and 15,112 bp in N. pygmaea and included a typical set of genes (13 protein-coding genes, two rRNA genes, and 22 tRNA genes) and one major non-coding A+T-rich region. The arrangement of the genomes was identical to typical one found in insects. Phylogenetic reconstruction using concatenated sequences of 13 PCGs and two rRNAs of Odonata (17 species in eight families in three suborders) using both Bayesian Inference (BI) and Maximum Likelihood (ML) methods have shown a strong support for monophyletic Zygoptera (BI, BPP = 1 and ML, 100%). Currently, further scrutinized analysis is under progress.

The spotted-wing drosophila (SWD), Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae), is an economically damaging pest that feeds on most thin-skinned fruits. In this study, we sequenced portions of the mitochondrial (mt) COI and ND4 genes from a total of 195 individuals collected mainly from Korea. A total of 139 haplotypes were obtained from the concatenated COI and ND4 sequences. A dataset combining GenBank sequences with our own data identified a total of 94 worldwide COI haplotypes with a maximum sequence divergence of 5.433% (32 bp). A rough estimate of genetic diversity in each country showed higher diversity in ancestral distributional ranges, but the invasion over Asian countries seems to have been substantial because haplotype diversity was only 2.35-3.97-fold lower in the USA, Canada, and Italy than that in the populations ancestral ranges.

Currently, phylogenetic relationships of Macroheterocera with the inclusion of Bombycoidea have been reconstructed using molecular data, but generated several hypotheses on familial relationships within Bombycoidea and among-superfamilial relationships within Macroheterocera. Thus, in this study, mitogenome-based superfamilial relationships of Macroheterocera and familial relationships among macroheteroceran superfamily, Bombycoidea, were tested with different algorithms and partition schemes. Additionally, two unrecorded species of Bombycoidea (Saturnia jonasii and Kentrochrysalis streckeri) detected in Korea using morphological and molecular data are presented.

Composite resins are developed as restorative materials to improve esthetics and mechanical properties. To improve the physical properties of resin material, resin filler have to be added. However, no imaging method is adopted for resin filler distribution. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a optical imaging technique to delineate microscopic structures within biological tissue. The OCT application to dental composites resin and its filler is not described yet. So, this new and advanced optical method is needed for clinical application for evaluation of dental composite resin. To analyze the spatial distribution of dental composite resin and to evaluate the resin restoration in cavity, frequency domain optical coherence tomography (FD-OCT) was used for their analysis. Resin restored tooth was prepared. For morphological observation, serially sectioned teeth, conventional X-ray taking and micro computed-tomography (CT) images were compared with OCT images. The experiment has done to evaluate the success of the resin restoration using 3 dimensional structure OCT image. In this research, OCT is evaluated as a new technique to image resin restoration. The evaluation of resin restored tooth was performed by OCT. Inappropriate restoration such as marginal adaptation, large porosities, internal integrity and poor contour could be detected. Resin filler also could be checked by OCT. The distribution, number, regularity and size of resin filler can be differentiated from several commercial products. Considering the characteristics of the OCT, it can be used to evaluate the defects of resin restoration, resin filler distribution, and internal integrity between resin material and tooth structure. The OCT can be considered to be a new and advanced method for the evaluation of resin restorations.

In this study, bulk nickel-carbon nanotube (CNT) nanocomposites are synthesized by a novel method which includes a combination of ultrasonication, electrical explosion of wire in liquid and spark plasma sintering. The mechanical characteristics of the bulk Ni-CNT composites synthesized with CNT contents of 0.7, 1, 3 and 5 wt.% are investigated. X-ray diffraction, optical microscopy and field emission scanning electron microscopy techniques are used to observe the different phases, morphologies and structures of the composite powders as well as the sintered samples. The obtained results reveal that the as-synthesized composite exhibits substantial enhancement in the microhardness and values more than 140 HV are observed. However an empirical reinforcement limit of 3 wt.% is determined for the CNT content, beyond which, there is no significant improvement in the mechanical properties.