Background : Allergy is a common disease caused by type I hypersensitivity reaction of the immune system. Unfortunately, there is no proper treatment for allergy. Therefore, the discovery of therapeutic drugs for allergy is essential. In this study, the crude extracts of 56 plant parts were screened for anti-allergy effects in RBL-2H3 cells. Methods and Results : IgE-sensitized RBL-2H3 cells were individually treated with 56 extracts of medicinal herbs at the final concentration of 20 ㎍/㎖ and stimulated with the antigen DNP-BSA. β-Hexosaminidase release, interleukin-4 (IL-4) secretion, and cell viability in the sample treated cells were measured. Among the tested samples, extracts from the root of Polygonatum stenophyllum Maxim., aerial part of Acer triflorum Kom., and leaf of Pyrus pyrifolia var. culta (Makino) Nakai showed inhibitory effects on β-hexosaminidase release. The aerial part of Peucedanum japonicum Thunberg and seed of Panax ginseng C.A.Mey. showed suppressive activities on IL-4 secretion. All of the extracts were not cytotoxic at the tested concentration. Conclusion : From the result, six extracts including Polygonatum stenophyllum Maxim. (root) and Acer triflorum Kom. (aerial part) inhibited both β-hexosaminidase release and IL-4 secretion in IgE-sensitized RBL-2H3 cells. The use of these extracts for developing anti-allergy materials is suggested.

Background : Five medicinal herbs have been selected from the preliminary screening for in vitro anti-allergy activity (in RBL-2H3 cells). The present study is conducted to investigate the inhibitory effects of the medicinal herbs on allergic inflammation in other kind of cells. Methods and Results : Cells treated with five extracts prepared from Betula costata Trautv. (aerial part), Camellia sinensis L. (aerial part), Polygonatum stenophyllum Maxim. (root), Pyrus pyrifolia var. culta (Makino) Nakai (leaf), and Rehmannia glutinosa (Gaertn.) Libosch. ex Steud. (root) were measured for mRNA levels of TNF-α on HaCaT keratinocytes stimulated by TNF-α /INF-γ and for mRNA levels of IL-2 in Jurkat T cells mediated by PMA/A23187. Pre-treatment with the five extracts reduced the mRNA levels of TNF-α in HaCaT cells and mRNA levels of IL-2 in Jurkat T cells. In particular, the leaf extract of Pyrus pyrifolia var. culta (Makino) Nakai significantly and dose-dependently decreased the mRNA levels of TNF-α and IL-2. To determine the toxicity of the extracts from the selected medicinal herbs to HaCaT cells and Jurkat T cells, the viabilities of the cells treated with several concentrations of the five extracts were measured by MTT assay. Extracts of Polygonatum stenophyllum Maxim. (root), Pyrus pyrifolia var. culta (Makino) Nakai (leaf), and Rehmannia glutinosa (Gaertn.) Libosch. ex Steud. (root) (up to 250 ㎍/㎖) did not show cytotoxic effects on HaCaT cells and Jurkat T cells. On the other hand, 250 ㎍/㎖ of extracts of Betula costata Trautv. (aerial part) and Camellia sinensis L. (aerial part) reduced cell viability in both cells. Conclusion : These results demonstrate that the leaf extract of Pyrus pyrifolia var. culta (Makino) Nakai has an anti-inflammatory effect by inhibiting pro-inflammatory cytokine expression. Therefore, the leaf of Pyrus pyrifolia var. culta (Makino) Nakai can be a useful resource for the development of anti-allergy/anti-inflammatory materials.

Background : Prenyltransferases catalyze the sequential addition of IPP units to allylic prenyl diphosphate acceptors and are classified as either trans-prenyltransferases (TPTs) or cis-prenyltransferases (CPTs). Although CPTs and TPTs share similar substrate preferences and reaction products, they can be easily distinguished by their primary amino acid sequences. The characterization of cis-prenyltransferases has been less studied than that of trans-prenyltransferases. Methods and Results : Gene expression patterns of PgCPT1 was analyzed by qRT-PCR. In planta transformation was generated by floral dipping using Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Yeast transformation was performed by lithium acetate and heat-shock for rer2Δ complementation and yeast-two-hybrid assay. Ginseng genome contains at least one family of three putative CPT genes. PgCPT1 is expressed in all organs, but more predominantly in the leaves. Overexpression of PgCPT1 did not show any plant growth defect, and can complement yeast mutant rer2Δ via possible protein-protein interaction with PgCPTL2. Conclusion : Partial complementation of the yeast dolichol biosynthesis mutant rer2Δ suggested that PgCPT1 is involved in some of dolichol biosynthesis. Direct protein interaction between PgCPT1 and a human Nogo-B receptor homolog suggests that PgCPT1 requires an accessory component for proper function.

Micrococcus lutus is common gram-positive aerobic cocci present in soil, water, dust, and the skin of humans and animals. A 72-year-old man was admitted to the hospital with a complaint of abdominal pain and a turbid peritoneal dialysate. He was empirically treated with intraperitoneal (IP) cefazolin and ceftazidime. Seven day after admission, Gaffkya species was identified from the peritoneal effluent. He was treated with same organism one month ago and discharged with the dialysis catheter intact. So, we suspected that organism is true pathogen, and identified M. luteus by culture. We changed the antibiotics to cefoxitin, which were given for the total of 14 days. This is the first report of relapsing peritonitis by M. luteus and successful treatment without catheter removal.

This study describes results on sexual maturation and characteristics of natural spawned eggs to develop a method for the production of stable, healthy fertilized eggs from captive-reared yellowtail kingfish, Seriola lalandi. A total of 59 yellowtail kingfish were captured off the coast of Jeju Island, after which the broodstock was cultured in indoor culture tank (100 m3) until they were 6.1–14.9 kg in body weight. As part of the rearing management for induced sex maturation, the intensity of illumination was maintained at 130 lux. The photoperiod (light/dark; L/D) was set to a 12 L/12 D from October 2013 to January 2014, and 15 L/9 D from February 2014 to June 2014. Feeds comprised mainly EP (Extruded Pellets), with squid cuttlefish added for improvement of egg quality, and was given from April to June 2014. The first spawning of yellowtail kingfish occurred in May 3, 2014, at a water temperature of 17.0°C. Spawning continued until June 12, 2014, with the water temperature set at 20.5°C. Time of spawning was 26 times at this period. The total number of eggs that spawned during the spawning period was 4,449×103. The buoyant rate of spawning eggs and fertilization rate of buoyant eggs during the spawned period were 76.1% and 100%, respectively. The diameters of the egg and oil globule were 1.388 ± 0.041 mm and 0.378 ± 0.029 mm, respectively, which was higher in early eggs than in those from late during the spawned period.

Background : This study was development of moisture tolerance and high-yielding Rehmannia glutinosa cultivar. Methods and Results : Segang is developed by the medicinal crop breeding team of National Institute of Horticulture and Herbal Science(NIHHS), Rural Development Administration(RDA), during the period from 2005 to 2015. The reproduction of Rehmannia glutinosa has been accomplished mainly by vegetative propagation with its seedlings have many variants. The cultivar was selected from seedling of Jihwang 1(check variety). The plant type of Segang is some rising from ground. Regional yield trials conducted at three site from 2014 to 2015. The root yield of Segang was 21.1ton per hectare, which was increased 12% compared with Jihwang 1. Also, Segang has higher catalpol content and dried root ratio compared with Jihwang 1. Conclusion : Segang is a moisture tolerance and high-yielding Rehmannia glutinosa cultivar.

Next generation sequencing technologies provide opportunities to reveal the genetic variants and differentially expressedgenes. The genetic variants are closely relevance to understanding of genes and phenotypic differences related to agronomic characteristics among cultivars. In this study, we conducted RNA-seq using two Korean soybean accessions, including Daewon and Hwangkeum, by using next generation sequencing against Williams 82 genome as reference. A number of variants such assingle nucleotide variants (SNV), multiple nucleotide variants (MNV), insertion/deletion (InDel) and replacement, was 34,411 and 55,544 in Daewon and Hwangkeum, respectively. Among these variants, 9,611 nonsynonymous variants were detected within 4,290 genes in Daewon and 13,225 non-synonymous variants were located on 5,672 genes in Hwangkeum. The distribution of nonsynonymous variants and expression values of genes can serve as invaluable resource for genotyping and study of traits within genes for soybean improvements.

This study investigated possible involvement of photoperiodic regulation in reproductive endocrine system of female olive flounder. To investigate the influence on brain-pituitary axis in endocrine system by regulating photoperiod, compared expression level of Kisspeptin and sbGnRH mRNA in brain and FSH-β, LH-β and GH mRNA in pituitary before and after spawning. Photoperiod was treated natural photoperiod and long photoperiod (15L:9D) conditions from Aug. 2013 to Jun. 2014. Continuous long photoperiod treatment from Aug. (post-spawning phase) was inhibited gonadal development of female olive flounder. In natural photoperiod group, the Kiss2 expression level a significant declined in Mar. (spawning period). And also, FSH-β, LH-β and GH mRNA expression levels were increasing at this period. However, in long photoperiod group, hypothalamic Kiss2, FSH-β, LH-β and GH mRNA expression levels did not show any significant fluctuation. These results suggest that expression of hypothalamic Kiss2, GtH and GH in the pituitary would change in response to photoperiod and their possible involvement of photoperiodic regulation in reproductive endocrine system of the BPG axis.

Korea Ministry of Environment (Korea MOE) enacted the “Greenhouse Gas and Energy Target Management System (GETMS), which requires annual GHG reporting to establish GHG reduction targets for large-scale business places (458) emitting large amount of greenhouse gases (60% of total amount in Korea). The waste sector has higher potential for reduction of greenhouse gases compared to other sectors. Thus, this paper reviewed the methodologies modified based on national guidelines and estimated the greenhouse gas emissions for three categories of the waste sector in Daejeon Metropolitan City (DMC), South Korea. Further analysis for basic unit, i.e., greenhouse gas emissions per ton of solid waste, wastewater, and purified water in the waste sector was conducted to figure out main contributors for GHG emissions. Direct emissions (Scope 1) and indirect emissions (Scope 2) of 11 environmental infrastructures managed by DMC were selected for quantifying and managing of regional GHG emissions. The annual estimation for greenhouse gas emissions in the waste sector in DMC with a population of 1.52 million people was 254,235 tons CO₂ equiv. per year, which includes the main contributor of wastewater treatment 78,063 tons CO2 equiv., waste incineration 76,186 tons CO₂ equiv., and managed waste disposal sites 70,455 tons CO₂ equiv. Basic unit showed that most contributors were waste incineration, followed by the waste disposal site, biological treatment of solid waste, wastewater treatment, and public water supplies. Solid waste treatment/ disposal has best potential role in reducing GHG emissions. In general, therefore, it seems that reduction strategies for the main contributor should be prior to other categories and lead to best practice for managing GHG emissions, especially considering annual budgets.

Peritonitis is a common, major complication in continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) patients and tuberculous (TB) peritonitis has been reported to constitute 1-2% of all peritonitis cases. In CAPD patients, TB peritonitis is often diagnosed late and has a high mortality rate. In a recent recommendation made regarding the treatment of TB peritonitis, primary removal of a peritoneal dialysis catheter has been advised in addition to anti-TB drugs. Here, we describe two cases of TB peritonitis in CAPD patients successfully treated without peritoneal dialysis catheter removal.

Italian Ryegrass is a high productivity and feed value, and an upright grass that behaves like a biennial or short-lived perennial. It grows vigorously in winter and early spring. Italian ryegrass and a related species, perennial ryegrass, Lolium perenne, are the two common weedy ryegrassses. Italian ryegrass and perennial ryegrass can hybridize, resulting in offspring that are difficult to identify as either species. Ryegrasses are cultivated for turf and forage. Sometimes Italian ryegrass is grown as cover crop. It has the potential to produce high yields and, with proper management, can be high quality with good animal performance. To develop of a high quality, productivity and early variety, 20 varieties examined growth and yield characteristics. The heading date of Green farm with high cold tolerance was on 28 April. Most of Introduced varieties except Grazer have mid and late heading date.

“Onnuri” is a new orchardgrass(Dactylis glomerata L.) variety developed by the National Institue of Animal Science (NIAS) in 2011. To develope the new variety of orchardgrass, 5 superior clones were selected and polycrossed for seed production. Agronomic growth characteristics and forage production of “Onnuri” were examined at Cheonan from 2009 to 2011, and regional trials were conducted in Cheonan, Pyungchang Jinzu and Jeju from 2009 to 2011, respectively. “Onnuri” showed medium type growth habit in fall and spring and medium in length of flag leaf and long upper internode. Plant height of “Onnuri” was more than 10cm that of standard variety, “Amba” and heading date was 5 days earlyer than 16th May compared to Amba. Characteristics such as waterlogging, disease resistance of “Onnuri” were stronger or better than those of Amba, specially “Onnuri” showed 18% higher dry matter yield (14,775kg/ha) compared to Amaba(12,523kg/ha). Nutritive value was appeared to be similar in both varieties.