Humic acid (HA) is known to consist of various kinds of polymeric organics, their detailed structures can vary depend on sample sources such as organic manure, composts, peat, and lignite brown coal, and largely exists in grassland soils. HA possesses diverse positive effects that not only increase plant growth but also improve soil fertility. Recently, we have manufactured a co-polymeric product of catechol and vanillic acid (CAVA) synthesized artificially, and found that CAVA as a HA mimic increases seed germination and salt tolerance in Arabidopsis. In this study, we examined whether HA or CAVA affects to seedling growth in alfalfa. Foliar application of HA or CAVA increased alfalfa seedling growth including aerial and in root parts. HA or CAVA dramatically enhanced size of leaf and root, whereas HA significantly displayed higher bioactivity than CAVA. Taken together, CAVA acts like as a HA mimic in alfalfa that could apply as an alternation supplement to enhance plant growth and productivity.

Programmed cell death (PCD) is decisive in eliminating affected cells in human cancers, whereas there are increasing cases of cancer-related death due to side effects of modern treatment methods. There is an urge for new methods of growth inhibition and elimination of cancer cells with a lower cytotoxicity to normal cells. Irregularity along PCD pathways plays a crucial role in cancer cell carcinogenesis. Apoptosis is a distinct cell death mechanism occurring in multicellular organisms and also called type one programmed cell death. Autophagy and paraptosis are non-apoptotic PCD occurring in multicellular organisms. Natural compounds are the fundament of pharmacological treatments, and flavonoids are natural polyphenolic compounds which are unique due to their diverse chemical structures and various biological active mechanisms like anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antioxidative and much more. This gives an increasing number of studies indicating that some flavonoids from medicinal plants could be promising candidates for new natural anticancer drugs, which attract high interests of academic researchers and advanced users. An understanding of the underlying mechanism of PCD induced by flavonoids in cancer cells is important as it plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of many diseases. This systematic review is to report flavonoids and their derivatives as new anticancer candidates to stimulate PCD with a different mechanism based on the pharmacological evidence.

We report the use of carrot, a new and inexpensive biomaterial source, for preparing high quality carbon dots (CDs) instead of semi-conductive quantum dots for bioimaging application. The as-derived CDs possessing down and up-conversion photoluminescence features were obtained from carrot juice by commonly used hydrothermal treatment. The corresponding physiochemical and optical properties were investigated by electron microscopy, fluorescent spectrometry, and other spectroscopic methods. The surfaces of obtained CDs were highly covered with hydroxyl groups and nitrogen groups without further modification. The quantum yield of as-obtained CDs was as high as 5.16%. The cell viability of HaCaT cells against a purified CD aqueous solution was higher than 85% even at higher concentration (700 μg mL−1) after 24 h incubation. Finally, CD cultured cells exhibited distinguished blue, green, and red colors, respectively, during in vitro imaging when excited by three wavelength lasers under a confocal microscope. Offering excellent optical properties, biocompatibility, low cytotoxicity, and good cellular imaging capability, the carrot juice derived CDs are a promising candidate for biomedical applications.

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.

The tyrosinase (TYR) genes have been accepted as major genes involved in the plumage pigmentation of chickens. Tyrosinase (TYR) gene is located on chromosome 1 in chicken and it is composed of five exons and four introns. TYR gene is described as a key enzyme in melanin biosynthesis. Especially, most examples of color patterns in chicken have been due to differential in the tyrosinase gene. This study was conducted to the association of feather color and sequence polymorphism in the Tyrosinase(TYR) gene was investigated using Korean native chickens(red plumage, red-line plumage, Ogol = KNC) and white leghorn(WL). From WL and KNC breed analyses, 232 differential SNPs were detected in 4th exon and 4th intron of TYR gene respectively. The genotype frequencies for 50 SNPs were compared between KCR, KCRD and KCO represented homozygous SNP types in all the analyzed SNP positions while KNC displayed various SNP types. In this study, we conclude that the variation of a wild type sequence in intron 4 of the tyrosinase gene is pigmentation of the original native chickens in korean. This work was supported by a grant from the “Livestock Preservation of Genetic Resources", Rural Development Administration, Republic of Korea.

Caloptilia Hübner, 1825 is one of the largest genera in Gracillariidae. 314 species have been known around the world. To date, 19 species were known from Korea. In the present study, one species, C. acericola (Kumata, 1966), is newly recognized from South Korea. Caloptilia acericola was first described from Japan and it also distribute Russian Far East. The name of this species was derived from the genus name (Acer, Aceraceae) of its host plant. We redescribed with illustrations of adults and genitalic structures to distinguish the species from the congeneric species in South Korea.

목 적: 이 설문 연구의 목적은 의료민영화와 안경원 법인화 정책에 대한 안경사들의 인식을 조사하는 것 이었다. 방 법: 2014년 6월부터 8월까지 서울 지역에서 근무하는 임상안경사 100명을 대상으로 대면 설문 조사 를 실시하였다. 설문 대상자 가운데 안경원 원장이 48명이고 고용 안경사가 52명이었다. 결 과: 의료민영화와 안경원 법인화 문제에 대한 인식도는 높은 편이었으며, 반대 의견이 매우 많았다. 안경사들은 의료민영화 문제에 대해서는 의료서비스의 소비자로서 반응하고, 안경원 법인화 문제에 대해서 는 공급자로서 반응하는 양상을 나타냈다. 안경원 법인화 문제에 대해서 고용 안경사 집단에 비해 안경원 원 장 집단이 더 강한 반대 의견과 비관적인 예상을 보였다. 결 론: 안경사들은 의료민영화 문제가 어느 정도 안경원 법인화 문제와 연결되어 있다고 인식하고 있었으 나, 그 영향에 대해서는 일반 국민들과 마찬가지로 자신들이 의료서비스의 소비자 위치에 있다고 생각하고 있었다. 고용 안경사들에 비해 안경원 원장들이 안경원 법인화에 더 비관적이고 강하게 반대하고 있었다.

The bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) mainly contributes to the structural integrity, survival and protection barrier against harsh environments. Therefore, the early stages in LPS or lipid A biosynthesis are attractive targets in the identification and development of inhibitors which would be effective against infections caused by Gram-negative bacteria. The bacterial outer membrane proteins (OMPs) meanwhile function as maintenance for structure, adhesion to other cells and substances, as well as development of resistance to antimicrobials. The LPS and LPS-related molecules, and OMPs are important immunogenic components of several important pathogens including Brucella, which have been extensively used in immunological studies and in the diagnosis of diseases. Here we review the importance, structure, functions and immunogenic aspects of LPS and OMPs particularly of Brucella which can be targeted for the prevention and diagnosis of brucellosis.

This study was conducted to know effects of forage cutting height and inoculants application on chemical composition, fermentation characteristics and fatty acid profile of barley silage. Barley forage(Yuyeon hybrid) was harvested at two different cutting heights(5 vs. 15cm) and applied with or without Lactobacillus plantarum, and ensiled for 0, 2, 7, 28, 49 and 100days. On 0 to 49-d of ensiling, higher cutting height resulted rapid drop (p<0.05) in pH caused by higher lactate content. Crude protein (p<0.01) content of 100-d silage was decreased by inoculation, but increased by higher cutting height. However, neutral detergent fiber and acid detergent fiber contents were decreased (p<0.05) by both inoculation and cutting height. In vitro dry matter digestibility was improved by higher cutting height (p=0.01), while yeast and mold counts were reduced (p<0.0001). The C18:3n-3 content in barley silage was decreased (p=0.001) by inoculation, but increased (p=0.034) by higher cutting height. The DNA analysis indicated L. plantarum dominating fermentation in inoculated silages. The results showed that higher cutting height can improve silage quality in terms of increasing crude protein content and digestibility as well as reducing yeast and mold counts in barley silage.

To date, most serodiagnostic methods for brucellosis screening are based on antibodies against lipopolysaccharides of Brucella spp. However, this approach has the drawback of yielding false-positive results due to cross-reactivity with lipopolysaccharides of other related pathogens, especially Yersinia enterocolitica O:9. In this study, Brucella abortus AspC was cloned and expressed by PCR amplification into a pCold TF expression system to obtain recombinant AspC (rAspC). The immunogenicity of rAspC was confirmed by western blotting of Brucella-positive bovine serum. rAspC-based ELISA was performed to determine whether rAspC could be used in the serodiagnosis of bovine brucellosis. rAspC reacted strongly with anti-Brucella antibodies in positive sera in the tube agglutination test (TAT), but did not show strong reaction with most negative samples. In particular, the average OD492 value at the highest TAT titer showed a 1.4-fold increase with respect to the cutoff value. The accuracy, specificity, and sensitivity of rAspC were 71.88%, 78.33%, and 68%, respectively. These findings suggest that rAspC might be valuable for the serological diagnosis of bovine brucellosis.

Brucellosis is an important and re-emerging zoonotic disease worldwide. The prevention of human infection is achieved predominantly through the control of brucellosis in agricultural animals, which in turn depends on accurate diagnosis and vaccination. However, conventional serological diagnosis of brucellosis has several limitations, and currently available vaccines for animals have several drawbacks, including the ability to cause infection in humans. Phosphoglycerate kinase (Pgk) is one of the specific proteins reactive with mouse sera in the early stage of Brucella infection, and deletion of the pgk gene in B. abortus strain 2308 resulted in extreme attenuation of this strain in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, the B. abortus pgk mutant has been used as a live vaccine, and in challenge experiments, it induced protection that was superior to that conferred by commercial strains. In this study, the pgk gene from Brucella abortus 544 was successfully amplified and cloned into a maltose binding protein fusion protein expression vector (pMAL). The recombinant protein was expressed in Escherichia coli DH5α and purified. The immunogenicity of purified recombinant B. abortus 544 Pgk (rPgk) was evaluated by western blot analysis using Brucella-positive mouse sera. rPgk could be used as an antigenic component for future serological tests and potential vaccine development.