Varieties of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) crystal proteins, Cry proteins, have so far been found as one of the most successful biological control agents which are safe to natural environments for a long time. Recently, cry genes encoding these Cry proteins have been widely applied for construction of transgenic crops resistant to pest insects. In this study, through the 3D structure prediction and accompanying mutagenesis study for the Mod-Cry1Ac, 7 and 16 amino acid residues from domain I and II, respectively, responsible for its insecticidal activity against larvae of Spodoptera exigua and Ostrinia furnacalis were identified. To construct novel cry genes with improved insecticidal activity, we randomly mutated these 23 amino acid sequences by in vitro muti site-directed mutagenesis, resulting in totally 24 mutant cry genes. For further characterization, these mutant cry genes were expressed as a fusion protein with polyhedrin using baculovirus expression system. SDS-PAGE analysis of the recombinant polyhedra revealed that expressed Cry proteins was occluded into polyhedra and activated stably to 65 kDa by trypsin. In the further study, we plan to investigate their insecticidal activity against Plutella xylostella, S. exigua and O. furnacalis larvae.

Background: We evaluated the effect of ulinastatin on paw withdrawal threshold (PWT), IL-6, and IL-10 in SD rats after spinal nerve ligation (SNL). Methods: Group C received N/S and Group E received ulinastatin IV for three days following SNL. PWT, IL-6, and IL-10 were measured on the 3rd, 5th, and 7th day. Results: Group E showed higher PWT compared to group C. IL-6 was lower in group E than in group C. No differences in IL-10 were observed between group C and group E. Conclusion: Ulinastatin increased the PWT and its effect appears to be involved with IL-6, not IL-10.

Cholesterol embolization syndrome (CES) is a multiple systemic disease caused by the embolization of cholesterol crystals from an atherosclerotic plaque of a proximal large-caliber artery, which results in the occlusion of distal small to mediumsized arteries. CES is characterized by development of a multitude of small emboli over time, and should be distinguished from arterial thromboembolism, which occurs through the obstruction of medium-sized to large arteries by one or a few large emboli. We report on a case of CES initially presenting as acute limb ischemia following an intervention for iliac artery occlusion.

The effects of the transferred green rice leafhopper (GRH) resistant gene on yield and grain quality were analyzed by using 7 near-isogenic lines (NILs) with introgressed GRH resistance gene in rice cultivar "Ilpumbyeo". The genotype analysis using SSR markers indicated that all NILs were recovered more than 95% as compared with recurrent parent "Ilpumbyeo". All NILs showed no significant differences compared to recurrent parent for grain yield. No significant differences were observed between NILs and their recurrent parent for physicochemical traits (protein content, amylose content and alkali spreading value) and eating quality. But there were significant differences for appearance of brown and milled rice and pasting properties between some NILs and their recurrent parent. It means that these grain appearance and pasting traits of NILs were very similar or more improved compared to recurrent parent "Ilpumbyeo". Thus, it could be possible to develop GRH resistant variety with high ,quality in segregating populations.