Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been considered an alternative source of neuronal lineage cells, which are difficult to isolate from brain and expand in vitro. Previous studies have reported that MSCs expressing Nestin (Nestin+ MSCs), a neuronal stem/progenitor cell marker, exhibit increased transcriptional levels of neural development-related genes, indicating that Nestin+ MSCs may exert potential with neurogenic differentiation. Accordingly, we investigated the effects of the presence of Nestin+ MSCs in bone-marrow-derived primary cells (BMPCs) on enhanced neurogenic differentiation of BMPCs by identifying the presence of Nestin+ MSCs in uncultured and cultured BMPCs. The percentage of Nestin+ MSCs in BMPCs was measured per passage by double staining with Nestin and CD90, an MSC marker. The efficiency of neurogenic differentiation was compared among passages, revealing the highest and lowest yields of Nestin+ MSCs. The presence of Nestin+ MSCs was identified in BMPCs before in vitro culture, and the highest and lowest percentages of Nestin+ MSCs in BMPCs was observed at the third (P3) and fifth passages (P5). Moreover, significantly the higher efficiency of differentiation into neurons, oligodendrocyte precursor cells and astrocytes was detected in BMPCs at P3, compared with P5. In conclusion, these results demonstrate that neurogenic differentiation can be enhanced by increasing the proportion of Nestin+ MSCs in cultured BMPCs.

X-chromosome inactivation is one of the most complex events observed in early embryo developments. The epigenetic changes occurred in female X-chromosome is essential to compensate dosages of X-linked genes between males and females. Because of the relevance of the epigenetic process to the normal embryo developments and stem cell studies, X-chromosome inactivation has been focused intensively for last 10 years. Initiation and regulation of the process is managed by diverse factors. Especially, proteins and non-coding RNAs encoded in X-chromosome inactivation center, and a couple of transcription factors have been reported to regulate the event. In this review, we introduce the reported factors, and how they regulate epigenetic inactivation of X-chromosomes.

Evaluation of the antioxidant activity of the bakery products is important in order to establish healthy consumption patterns. Aronia and blackberry extract at different levels (0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20%) were used to investigate their comparative effects on the physical properties and antioxidant capacity of cookies. The final cookies were evaluated for physicochemical and sensory properties as well as total phenol content, DPPH radical scavenging activity, and FRAP assay. Substitution of aronia and blackberry extracts significantly (p<0.05) increased the moisture content and spread ratio compared to the control that did not contain the extract. However, types of the extract (aronia or blackberry) did not significantly affects the moisture and spread ratio of cookies at the same concentrations (p>0.05). The lightness and yellowness values of cookies were decreased while the redness value was increased by the amount of the extract compared to control (p<0.05). For textural properties, the hardness and chewiness of cookies were increased by the concentration of extract, and highest at 20% of both extracts. Polyphenol content in the cookies was increased with the concentration of the extract added into the cookies. Consistently, the antioxidant activity was significantly increased as the concentration of the extract was increased (p<0.05). Cookies with aronia extract showed higher antioxidant activity compared to that with blackberry (p<0.05), due to the presence of higher content of polyphenol. In terms of appearance, flavor, taste, texture and overall acceptability, the sensory evaluation scores of cookies with 20% aronia and 10% blackberry were significantly higher compared to the control (p<0.05). Based on above result, using more than 10% of the aronia or blackberry extracts would appropriate for making cookies.

For the development of processed food for hypoglcemia, it is important to construct model system to confirm factors that reduce the glycemic index in real food. This study was to investigate the relationship between the gel model system and real food the high amylose type of segoami using response surface methodology. The independent variables were concentration (X1; 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30%) and steaming time (X2; 30, 35, 40, 45, and 50 min). The predicted glycemic index (Y1) was analyzed as a dependent variable. The regression of pGI was 0.7343, indicating that the model fits the data well in the prediction test. The predict glycemic index of the gel was in the range of 71.38 ~ 83.78, depending on the gel preparation conditions and predicted optimum condition was 23.7% gel concentration and 43.8 minutes of gelatinization. The predict glycemic index of rice gel were decreased with an increase of gel concentration, rather than the steaming time. In order to confirm the effect on in vitro digestibility in real food, the real food (Garraedduk) was prepared by applying the optimal conditions. As a result, there was no significant difference between the predicted value (77.1) and the experiment value (76.6). This result showed that the in vitro digestibility in real food can be predicted by applying the gel model system.

With the multiple practices of bone graft using different artificial bone regenerative substitutes, the bone graft procedures have been widely performed to increase the bony stabilization of dental implant. Xenogenic bone graft materials have been well developed because of their good biocompatibility and abundant source of bone materials. The present study demonstrated the histological findings from excellent bony remodeling in xenogenic bone graft biopsies compared to those findings in autogenous bone graft. For the graft bone biopsies which were usually done in 5-9 months after graft bone insertion, five types of histological grades including excellent, favorable, partial, degenerative, and poor bony remodeling could be assessed to give prognostic information for dental implant. However, recently the xenograft bone materials have been much improved and produced strong osteogenic effect. Among 239 cases of trephine bur-supported core bone biopsy the excellent bony remodeling was found in 20 cases (13.1%) out of 153 xenogenic bone grafts and in 13 cases (43.3%) out of 30 autogenous bone grafts. They produced abundant new bones on the surface of the graft bones in 5–9 months, and the graft bones were partly resorbed and also surrounded by the repetitive deposition of new bone. The osteophytic new bones showed strong birefringence under polarizing microscope, and were gradually elongated and anastomosed with each other to form trabecular bony networks which became proper stress-baring structures for dental implant. Their marrow stromal tissues were composed of loose connective tissue which was well vascularized but rarely infiltrated with inflammatory cells. The present study compared the histological features of excellent bony remodeling between xenogenic and autogenous bone grafts. Although the ratio of excellent bony remodeling in xenogenic bone graft was still low, 13.1%, the recent advance of xenogeic bone products was remarkable in biological aspect and almost comparable to the autogenous bones. Therefore, it was suggested that the xenogenic bone graft will be applicable to the bone regeneration procedures for dental implant with beneficial output in the near future.

The native human saliva obtained through the centrifugation of whole saliva showed characteristic salivary protein complex (SPC) peaks in gel filtration high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) using Superose 12 column1,2). In the previous study the SPC peaks in chromatography were explored to know their composition and functions by different detection methods, but still the nature of SPCs was not clearly elucidated so far. In this study the SPC peaks were examined by direct antibody interaction in order to target different antimicrobial and protective proteins distributed in the SPCs via gel filtration HPLC. As the SPC peak shape and migration speed can be changed by antibody binding to specific proteins of SPC, it was found that mucin1 is evenly distribution in all SPCs, while PRPs are more abundant in the late dominant SPC than the early dominant SPC and also in the intermediated SPCs. Most of antimicrobial proteins including lysozyme, LL-37, lactoferrin, β-defensin-1, -2, -3, IgA, mucocidin, and α1-antitrypsin were more abundant in the late dominant SPC than the early dominant SPC, while histatin showed relatively even distribution in all SPCs. Therefore, it was presumed that the late dominant SPC containing abundant antimicrobial and protective proteins could be applied as a biomarker to measure the defensive potential of whole saliva in oral diseases.

Chlorhexidine has long been used in mouth washes for the control of dental caries, gingivitis and dental plaque. Minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) is the lowest concentration of an antimicrobial substance to inhibit the growth of bacteria. Concentrations lower than the MIC are called sub minimal inhibitory concentrations (sub-MICs). Many studies have reported that sub-MICs of antimicrobial substances can affect the virulence of bacteria. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of sub-MIC chlorhexidine on biofilm formation and coaggregation of oral early colonizers, such as Streptococcus gordonii, Actinomyces naeslundii and Actinomyces odontolyticus. The biofilm formation of S. gordonii, A. naeslundii and A. odontolyticus was not affected by sub-MIC chlorhexidine. However, the biofilm formation of S. mutans increased after incubation with sub-MIC chlorhexidine. In addition, cell surface hydrophobicity of S. mutans treated with sub-MIC of chlorhexidine, decreased when compared with the group not treated with chlorhexidine. However, significant differences were seen with other bacteria. Coaggregation of A. naeslundii with A. odontolyticus reduced by sub-MIC chlorhexidine, whereas the coaggreagation of A. naeslundii with S. gordonii remained unaffected. These results indicate that sub-MIC chlorhexidine could influence the binding properties, such as biofilm formation, hydrophobicity and coaggregation, in early colonizing streptococci and actinomycetes.

This studies was conducted to compare functional diversity of terrestrial arthropods in commercial apple orchards under conventional and organic practices. We collected terrestiral arthropods using pitfall traps in four conventional and seven organic apple orchards from April to October, 2012-2014. Sampled arthropods were identified at the species level and then classified three functional groups (detritivores, herbivores and beneficial arthropods included pollinators, parasitoids and predators). Biodiversity was analyzed with species richness, abundance and shannon index for each group and compared between conventional and organic orchards. In results, species richness of detritivores and benefical arthropods were higher in organic orchards than in conventional orchards (detritivores: t=-2.68, df=9, P=0.03; beneficial arthropods: t=-3.98, df=9, P=0.003). Organic orchards showed significant difference at abundance of beneficial arthropods (t=-3.33, df=9, P=0.008) and higher shannon index at detritivores (t=-2.36, df=9, P=0.04) than conventional orchards. However, all biodiversity indices of herbivores were not significantly different between conventional and organic orchards at 95% confidence level.

The nematode Bursaphelenchus xylophilus is the causal pathogen of pine wilt disease in Korea. Currently, it is reported that B. mucronatus also has a low pathogenicity. Despite this difference in pathogenicity, it is very difficult to differentiate these two species due to similarity in morphological characters. The sequence variation of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and intergenic spacer (IGS) regions of ribosomal DNA has been used for species identification and phylogeny of B. xylophilus and B. mucronatus. But, the IGS region sequence data of B. mucronatus has been only reported in Portugal. In this study, We analyzed genetic variation on ITS and IGS regions of B. xylophilus and B. mucronatus (Asian genotype, European genotype) based on rDNA gene sequences, and conducted phylogeography using TCS network. When the each isolates was determined the phylogenetic analysis using the neighbor-joining method, Bursaphelenchus species were divided into each groups, and showed low variation within each species. In the TCS analysis, The isolate of B. xylophilus and B. mucronatus (Asian genotype and European genotype) were divided into each groups and confirmed slightly genetic distance within species. B. mucronatus European genotype has possibility of new species different with Asian genotype.

Minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) is the lowest antibiotic concentration that inhibits the visible growth of bacteria. Sub-minimal inhibitory concentration (Sub-MIC) is defined as the concentration of an antimicrobial agent that does not have an effect on bacterial growth but can alter bacterial biochemistry, thus reducing bacterial virulence. Many studies have confirmed that sub-MICs of antibiotics can inhibit bacterial virulence factors. However, most studies were focused on Gram-negative bacteria, while few studies on the effect of sub-MICs of antibiotics on Gram-positive bacteria. In this study, we examined the influence of sub-MICs of doxycycline, tetracycline, penicillin and amoxicillin on biofilm formation and coaggregation of Streptococcus gordonii, Streptococcus mutans, Actinomyces naeslundii, and Actinomyces odontolyticus. In this study, incubation with sub-MIC of antibiotics had no effect on the biofilm formation of S. gordonii and A. naeslundii. However, S. mutans showed increased biofilm formation after incubation with sub-MIC amoxicillin and penicillin. Also, the biofilm formation of A. odontolyticus was increased after incubating with sub-MIC penicillin. Coaggregation of A. naeslundii with S. gordonii and A. odontolyticus was diminished by sub-MIC amoxicillin. These observations indicated that sub-MICs of antibiotics could affect variable virulence properties such as biofilm formation and coaggregation in Gram-positive oral bacteria.

In order to know the characteristic roles of salivary protein complex (SPC) the gel-filtration chromatography was performed using the unstimulated and the stimulated whole saliva separately. The first and second dominant SPC peaks were fractionated and analyzed by immunoprecipitation HPLC (IP-HPLC) using antibodies against the essential salivary proteins including α-amylase, mucin-1, proline rich proteins (PRPs), histatin, cystatin, LL-37, lysozyme, lactoferrin, -defensin-1, -2, -3, IgA, transglutaminase 4 (TGase 4), mucocidin, α1-antitrypsin, cathepsin G. In the gel-filtration chromatography the stimulated whole saliva showed much reduced amount of SPCs than the unstimulated whole saliva, but the proportional patterns of both whole saliva were almost similar each other. Through IP-HPLC analysis both of the first and second dominant SPCs were variably positive for the essential salivary proteins, however, α-amylase, mucin-1, PRPs, lysozyme, and cathepsin G were predominant in the first dominant SPC, while cystatin, lactoferrin, β-defensin-1, -2,-3, IgA, mucocidin, TGase 4, and α1-antitrypsin were predominant in the second dominant SPC. And more, the α1-antitrypsin and cathepsin G which were mostly derived from gingival crevicular fluid were also consistently found in the SPCs. These data may suggest that the first dominant SPC, rich in α-amylase, mucin-1, PRPs, lysozyme, and cathepsin G, may play a role in food digestion, protein degradation, and mucosa lubrication, while the second dominant SPC, rich in cystatin, lactoferrin, β-defensin-1, -2, -3, mucocidin, IgA, TGase 4, and α1-antitrypsin, may play a role in the mucosa protection and antimicrobial defense.

S. aureus is reported as a major cause of nosocomial infections after dental care and involved in endocarditis, bacteremia, osteomyelitis, peritonitis, and soft tissues etc. It is very important to identify the distribution and the diversity of toxin gene associated with the S. aureus expression in dental care patients with periodontitis directly for an effective prevention and treatment of dental diseases. Fifty four strains of S. aureus were isolated from the saliva of 129 patients who were diagnosed with periodontitis at dental clinics and hospitals located in Seoul. The distribution of the virulence gene and the genetic diversity of the strains were studied using the polymerase chain reaction with isolated strains. The enterotoxin test showed Seb was the most frequent gene with 88.9%. The hemolysin gene of Hla, Hib and Hld were the most frequently gene with 98.1% (53 strains), leukocidins gene of lukM showed 90.7% (49 strains), and laminin binding protein gene of Eno showed 100% (54 strains), respectively. The diversity of the enterotoxin gen was held as Seb-Seg-Sei gene of 35.2% (19 strains), the diversity of hemolysin gene of Hla-Hlb-Hld gene was 98.1% (53 strains) and the diversity of leukocidins gene of LukD-LukM were 88.9% (48 strains), respectively. Patients with dental disease showed somehow high toxin gene expression so that S. aureus in dental care area is judged to show very highly pathogen with a high and infection rate. In the future, additional studies for these toxin genes seem to be required.

This studies was conducted to define community structure and diversity of epigeal spiders in apple orchards under different farming practices (organic and conventional). In 11 commercial apple orchards, epigeal spider community structure was investigated during 2012-2014 (3 orchards, 2012; 3 orchards, 2013, 5 orchards, 2014). Epigeal spiders were collected by pitfall traps from April to October, 2012 in Danyang-gun, Chungcheongbuk-do; 2013 in Muju-gun, Jeollabuk-do; 2014 in Cheongsong-gun and Uiseong-gun, Gyeongsangbuk-do, Korea. Sampled spiders were identified to the species level. Biodiversity was analyzed with species richness (total numbers of spider species), abundance (total numbers of individuals) and Shannon-Wiener diversity index (H΄) for each site and compared between organic and conventional orchards. In all regions, abundance of the spider communities were relatively higher in organic orchards than in conventional orchards. But, no significant difference in species richness and specie diversity (H΄) between organic and conventional orchards. Lycosidae was the most dominant family in all orchards regardless farming practices. However, Linyphiidae dominated in organic orchards only. The most dominant species were Pardosa laura (Lycosidae), Erigone koshiensis (Linyphiidae) in organic, Piratula procurvus (Lycosidae) in conventional orchards.

Gender has been considered as a very important factor in influencing the effectiveness of sex appeal advertising, yet only biological sex (male or female) has been examined. Therefore, this paper aims to examine the role of gender identity (masculinity, femininity or androgynous) in how people respond to sexual appeals in advertising. By studying the influence of this variable, present research would help in building a more comprehensive picture of why people respond to sexual appeals as they do.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are approximately 22 nucleotides of small noncoding RNAs that control gene expression at the posttranscriptional level through translational inhibition and destabilization of their target mRNAs. The miRNAs are phylogenetically conserved and have been shown to be instrumental in a wide variety of key biological processes including cell cycle regulation, apoptosis, metabolism, imprinting, and differentiation. Recently, a paper has shown that expression of the miRNA-302/367 cluster expressed abundantly in mouse and human embryonic stem cells (ESCs) can directly reprogram mouse and human somatic cells to induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) efficiently in the absence of any of the four factors, Oct4, Sox2, c-Myc, and Klf4. To apply this efficient method to porcine, we analyzed porcine genomic sequence containing predicted porcine miRNA-302/367 cluster through ENSEMBL database, generated a non-replicative episomal vector system including miRNA-302/367 cluster originated from porcine embryonic fibro-blasts (PEF), and tried to make porcine iPSCs by transfection of the miRNA-302/367 cluster. Colonies expressing EGFP and forming compact shape were found, but they were not established as iPSC lines. Our data in this study show that pig miRNA-302/367 cluster could not satisfy requirement of PEF reprogramming conditions for pluripotency. To make pig iPSC lines by miRNA, further studies on the role of miRNAs in pluripotency and new trials of transfection with conventional reprogramming factors are needed.

This study was conducted to investigate the community structure and species distribution of ground beetle assemblages in western part of Yeongwol-gun, Korea. Ground beetles were collected by pitfall traps from 9 study sites during July to October in 2013. A total of 30 species were identified from 4,439 collected ground beetles. Two dominant species, Synuchus nitidus (1,916 individuals) and Synuchus cycloderus (1,900 individuals) were occupied 85.8% of total. Interestingly, Pterostichus orientalis orientalis and Synuchus melantho were only collected in relative high altitude above 350 m, such as Beopheung-ri, Unhak-ri, and Yongseok-ri. Large-sized beetles, such as Damaster, Leptocarabus, and Carabus species, were generally more collected from Suju-myeon (Beopheung-ri and Unhak-ri) and Jucheon-myeon (Docheon-ri and Yongseok-ri) as well-conserved area, but not occurred in Yeongwol-eup and Hanbando-myeon, which forests may have lower habitat quality for these species. These differences also lead to increasing of dissimilarity among study sites, which were diverged into 3 groups at 53.0% of similarity. In particular, species composition of Samok-ri was significantly different at 8.2% of similarity because of difference in habitat characteristics as river side. This study has an important value to provide the fundamental information of inventory and monitoring in Yeongwol-gun. For detail mapping of species distribution in Yeongwol-gun, however, further studies are necessary, especially eastern parts of Yeongwol-gun.

Epigeic spiders (Araneae) were surveyed in apple orchards under different farming practices (organic and conventional) in Muju-gun, Jeollabuk-do, Korea. The study was conducted from April to October in 2013 with 2 weeks interval using pitfall traps. Collected spiders were identified as 20 species of 6 families from 819 individuals in organic orchardⅠ, 19 species of 10 families from 759 individuals in orchardⅡ and 16 species of 8 families from 209 individuals in conventional orchard for from 1,787 captured spiders. Biodiversity was analyzed with species richness, abundance and Shannon diversity index (H΄). Species richness was statistically higher in organic orchard than in conventional orchard. Organic orchardⅡ comprised the greatest abundance followed by organic orchard and conventional. But species diversity was the highest in organic orchardⅡ, intermediate in conventional orchard and the lowest in orchardⅠ. Lycosidae was the most dominant family in all orchards regardless farming practices. However, Linyphiidae dominated in organic orchards only. The most dominant species were Erigone koshiensis (Linyphiidae) in organicⅠ, Pardosa laura (Lycosidae) in organicⅡ and Arctosa pungcheunensis (Lycosidae) in conventional orchard.

Selecting surrogated species is the first step for environmental risk assessment of GM crop on non-target arthropods. To select surrogated species considering the domestic environment, we surveyed the arthropod fauna in five main localities (Changnyeong-gun in Gyeongsangnam-do, Goesan-gun in Chungcheongbuk-do, Gokseong-gun in Jeollanam-do, Hongcheon-gun in Gangwon-do and Hwaseong-si in Gyeonggi-do) in which maize was cultivated with large scale. Maize is one of the main imported GM crop in Korea. Arthropods were surveyed with yellow sticky traps and pitfall traps from May to August with a week interval considering the crop growing season in 2012 and 2013. A total of 135 species of 51 families in 13 orders were identified from the 17,470 arthropods. Six orders (Coleoptera, Araneae, Hemiptera, Diptera, Hymenoptera and Lepidoptera) were dominant in species richness and three orders (Collembola, Thysanoptera and Diptera) in abundance, representing 84% and 86% of the total, respectively. In the composition of fuctional guilds, herbivore group was the most dominant followed by predator group occupying 40% and 37% of the total abundance.

In apple orchards under different farming practices (organic and conventional), arthropod community structure was investigated. Arthropods were collected with pitfall traps, band traps, yellow sticky traps and pheromone traps from May to December, 2012 in Danyang-gun, Chungcheongbuk-do, Korea. Biodiversity was analyzed with species richness and Shannon diversity index (H΄). Sampled arthropods were identified 37 families in 14 orders from 21,618 individuals in organic orchard-1 and 33 families in 10 orders from 11,318 individuals in organic orchard-2 and 35 families in 13 orders from 27,711 individuals in conventional orchard. Species richness was relatively highest in organic orchard-1, intermediate in conventional orchard and lowest in organic orchard-2. In ecologically functional group, abundance of pests was higher in conventional orchard than in organic orchards due to the high occurrence of Phyllonorycte ringoniella (Gracillariidae) and Lyonetia prunifoliella (Lyonetiidae). Organic orchards showed higher abundance, species richness and species diversity of epigeic predators and those of parasitoids above ground than conventional orchard. Abundance of detritivores, mainly collembola, were higher in organic orchard than in conventional orchard.