Periodontal ligament (PDL) tissue is a connective tissue that is interposed between the roots of the teeth and the inner wall of the alveolar bone socket. PDL is always exposed to physiologic mechanical force such as masticatory force and PDL cells play important roles during orthodontic tooth movement by synthesizing and secreting different mediators involved in bone remodeling. The Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway was recently shown to play a significant role in the control of bone formation. In the present study, we applied cyclic tensile stress of 20% elongation to cultured human PDL cells and assessed its impact after six days upon components of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. RTPCR analysis showed that Wnt1a, Wnt3a, Wnt10b and the Wnt receptor LRP5 were down-regulated, whereas the Wnt inhibitor DKK1 was up-regulated in response to these stress conditions. In contrast, little change was detected in the mRNA expression of Wnt5a, Wnt7b, Fz1, and LRP6. By western blotting we found decreased expression of the β-catenin and p-GSK-3β proteins. Our results thus show that mechanical stress suppresses the canonical Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway in PDL cells.

Inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP₃) plays an important role in the release of Cα²+ from intracellular stores into the cytoplasm in a variety of cell types. IP₃ translocation dynamics have been studied in response to many types of cell signals. However, the dynamics of cytosolic IP₃ in salivary acinar cells are unclear. A green fluorescent protein (GFP)-tagged pleckstrin homology domain (PHD) was constructed and introduced into a phospholipase C δ1 (PLC δ1) transgenic mouse, and then the salivary acinar cells were isolated. GFP-PHD was heterogeneously localized at the plasma membrane and intracellular organelles in submandibular gland and parotid gland cells. Application of trypsin, a G protein-coupled receptor activator, to the two types of cells caused an increase in GFP fluorescence in the cell cytoplasm. The observed time course of trypsin-evoked IP₃movement in acinar cells was independent of cell polarity, and the fluorescent label showed an immediate increase throughout the cells. These results suggest that GFP-PHD in many tissues of transgenic mice, including non-cultured primary cells, can be used as a model for examination of IP₃intracellular dynamics.

This study was conducted to apply a horticultural therapy program to childhood cancer patients, to analyze their psychosocial changes and thus to examine its possibility as a way to manage the recovery of childhood cancer patients. This study was conducted on patients who were diagnosed with childhood cancer, and they were divided into the experimental group (8 patients who visited H association offices located in 3 cities and participated in the horticultural program) and the control group (5 patients who did not participate in the program). The homogeneity between the two groups before conducting the program was compared, and there was no statistically significant difference, which proved that the two groups were homogeneous. After conducting the program, the score of social immaturity, one of the sub-categories of problem behaviors, of the experimental group was statistically significantly lower than that of the control group (p=.019). Changes before and after the program within the groups were compared, and the somatization score (p=.039) of the experimental group (p=.039) after the program was 1.13, down from 2.13 before the program. The social immaturity score (p=.017) of the experimental group after the program was 1.00, down from 2.63 before the program, and the attention problem score (p=.026) of the group after the program was 1.25, down from 2.50 before the program. The total problem behavior score (p=.034) of the experimental group after the program was 9.63, down from 18.50 before the program, showing a statistically significant decrease. The cumulative subjective mood score (p=.000) of the experimental group throughout the entire sessions after the program was 7.82, up from 6.99 before the program, showing a statistically significant increase. Therefore, it can be concluded that the horticultural therapy program developed based on the ‘relaxationsocial support-cognitive behavior’ strategy was effective to reduce the negative psychosocial state of childhood cancer patients.

In this study, genetic diversity of wild Codonopsis lanceolata collected in Korea were analysed using SSR makers. Wild C. lanceolata roots were collected in Jeollanam-do Jangheung-gun Choentae Mountain as in roots. The wild C. lanceolata plants were cultivated in Chungbuk National University greenhouse and the leaves were sampled from 36 plants. The genomic DNA of C. lanceolata was extracted using CTAB. PCR was performed using a program of 35 cycles at 94℃ for 30 sec, 60℃ for 30 sec, and 72℃ for 30 sec with an pre-denaturation of 94℃ for 5 min and a final extension of 72℃ for 30 min. The PCR reaction mixture contains 5 pmole of primers and 20 ng of DNA template in a 20 μL reaction volume. The genotype of the analyzed samples were very different. Therefore, the wild C. lanceolata collected in Korea look genetically diverse.

Codonopsis lanceolata is a perennial climber. The roots are used as medicinal materials or vegetables. Recently, demand for C. lanceolata is increasing as a healthy food. C. lanceolata is distributed in India and East Asia such as China, Japan as well as Korea. In South Korea, this plant is widely cultivated in Gangwon-do province. No C. lanceolata varieties were developed in Korea. The objective of this study is to analyze genetic diversity of C. lanceolata cultivated in Korea using SSR makers. C. lanceolata roots were collected in each region were cultivated in Chungbuk National University greenhouse. Samples were obtained from fresh leaves of 5 plants from each collection region. The genomic DNA was extracted using CTAB. Genetic diversity was analysed using 4 sets of C. lanceolata SSR makers. PCR was performed in total 20 μL reaction volume containing 20 ng of DNA template, 5 pmole of primers. The genotypes of the analyzed samples were very similar. That means that the genetic diversity of C. lanceolata cultivated in Korea is very low.

The isolated single coronary artery is a rare congenital anomaly, in which both coronary arteries arise from a solitary ostium. Diagnosis of coronary anomalies and identification of the exact anatomy of coronary arteries has significant clinical importance, hence, myocardial ischemia or sudden cardiac death is usually related to its course of anomalous coronary artery. Most patients with a single coronary artery are asymptomatic and have normal electrocardiogram and negative stress tests. However, if the patient has other structural abnormalities, for example, ventricular hypertrophy, the exam is determined. This report describes a case of single coronary artery, where the right coronary artery originated from the distal left circumflex artery in a patient with hypertrophic ardiomyopathy.

The amount of genetic variability of a species is essential for its survival and adaptation in different environments, and studies of genetic diversity using molecular markers are necessary to understand the genetic structure of a population and to orientate effective strategies of germplasm conservation. The aim of current study was to determine the SSR markers that can be used rapidly and reliably to evaluated the pepper of Bulgaria landraces, and applied the markers to assement of introduce genetic diversity of the pepper germplasm. We used 22 polymorphic microsatellite markers to analysis of genetic diversity within 61 pepper collection of Bulgaria landraces germplasm, all SSR primers pairs produced 80 polymorphic and reproducible amplification fragments. An average value of polymorphic information contents (PIC) were 0.334 with a range of 0.061 to 0.63. The mean values of observed (HO) and expected heterozygosity (HE) were 0.383 and 0.154, respectively, indicating a considerable amount of polymorphism within this collection. A genetic distance-based phylogeny grouped into three distinct groups, which was the landrace, moderate and wilde type, genetic distance (GD) value was 0.540. An average day of flowering time was 53 days with a range of 45 to 60 days. The everage od fruit length and width were 9.38cm with a range 2.1 to 23.6cm, and 3.51cm with a range 0.6 to 8.9cm, respectively. Molecular data were complemented with morphological measurements according to the descriptor list for the pepper collection of Bulgaria landraces germplasm.