Insecticide resistance and activation of the metabolic detoxification enzymes of female Culex pipiens pallens by the blood meal were assessed using a micro-application bioassay and micro-plate enzyme activity assays. Four group of Cx. pipiens pallens were used, a susceptible non-engorging group at seven days after emerging, SNE7 Cp; a resistant non-engorging group at seven days after emerging, RNE7 Cp; a resistant engorged group at one day after blood feeding and a resistant engorged group at seven days after blood feeding, REG7 Cp. Insecticide resistance of Cx. pipiens pallans was increased by the blood feeding. Based on LC50 values, SNE7 Cp demonstrated >50 fold of higher susceptibility to all tested insecticides when compared with RNE7 Cp. RNE7 Cp showed higher susceptibility to all tested insecticides than REG1 Cp and REG7 Cp with a relative susceptibility LC50 (SRLC50) of 25.8 to 50.0 and 25.0 to 48.8. In micro-plate enzyme assays, the metabolic detoxification enzyme activity of Cx. pipiens pallans adult females was increased by the blood feeding. Activation of non-specific esterases (EST), glutathione-S-transferase (GST) and mixed function oxidase (MFO) in RNE7 were higher than in SNE7 and the all tested enzymes in REG1 and REG7 demonstrated significantly higher enzyme activation than RNE7, except for activation of GST in REG1. Activation of MFO in REG1 and REG7 were 209.4- and 74.6- fold higher than in REG7, respectively. Non-specific esterases (EST) and glutathione-S-transferase exhibited < 10 fold of higher Rr values. These results may be significant in terms of the criteria that are used to evaluate resistance, because blood fed female mosquitoes may show enhanced expression of the resistance phenotype, possibly allowing for earlier detection of insecticide resistance.

In the past four years, outbreaks of acute respiratory diseases associated with canine influenza H3N2 viruses in dogs and cats have been reported in South Korea and China. For prevention of disease from spread of the disease and for administration of timely medical treatments, including countermeasures for quarantine, use of a rapid and highly sensitive detection method are important to detection of the causative viruses. This study was conducted in order to develop a real time RT-PCR for the H3N2 subtype. It was based on primers targeting the highly homologous sequences of matrix, hemagglutinin, and neuraminidase genes. The detection limit of real time RT-PCR was 10 copies/ul with matrix and hemagglutinin genes, and 1 copy with neuraminidase genes, respectively. This real time RT-PCR was as sensitive as virus isolation in 52 clinical samples. The detection system developed in this study might provide more rapid and highly sensitive results than commercial rapid kits based on immunochromatographic assay.

This study was conducted to identify an insect species in Genus Ostrinia (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) that gave serious damage to the red bean, Vigna angularis. The species has ever been described as O. zaguliaevi in the previous presentation (Jung et al., 2010). Because, however, inconsistent information has been recognized for the species, we reviewed characteristics in morphological, molecular and sex pheromone levels, and host-range. Male genitalia had 3-lobed uncus and tibia of midleg showed massive type. The morphology indicated that the species might be one of O. zaguliaevi, O. scapulalis and O. zealis. Partial nucleotide sequences of cytochrome oxidase subunit Ⅰ(COⅠ) and Ⅱ genes were not identical with those of the 3 species in GenBank, respectively. The deduced amino acid sequence of COⅠ was not identical with that of O. zealis. In the 23 analyses that sex pheromones were checked, (Z)-9-tetradecenyl acetate, which was reported in the sex pheromone components of both O. zaguliaevi and O. zealis, was not detected at all. An intensive study in Japan has reported that the feeding habit of O. scapulalis is polyphagous, while that of O. zaguliaevi is monophagous (only in Petasites japonicus) (Ishikawa et al., 1999). After considering all these information, we concluded that it is reasonable to decide that the insect species in the red bean in Korea is O. scapulalis.

To investigate the effect of carnosine on exhaustive exercise, swimming tests were conducted weekly with loads corresponding to 5% of body weight attached to the tails of mice, and the swimming time to exhaustion was measured. Eighty male ICR mice were divided into four groups, to which carnosine was administered at doses of 0 (control), 10, 50, and 250 mg/kg/day, respectively, for a period of four weeks. At the end of swimming exercise challenges, serum biochemistry, oxidative stress enzyme activity, and antioxidant enzyme activity in tissues were determined. Treatment with 250 mg/kg carnosine resulted in a significant increase in swimming times to exhaustion, compared to the control group in the first (P<0.01) and third week (P<0.05). Significantly lower serum lactate levels were observed after the swimming exercise in the carnosine-treated groups (10 and 250 mg/kg), compared with the control (P<0.01). Malondialdehyde levels in the liver (10 and 50 mg/kg carnosine treated groups) and skeletal muscle (250 mg/kg carnosine treated group) were significantly lower, compared with the control (P<0.05). Significantly lower protein carbonyl levels in skeletal muscle were observed in the 50 and 250 mg/kg carnosine treated groups, compared with the control (P<0.01). Superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase activities in skeletal muscle did not differ significantly among the groups. These results indicate that carnosine may improve swimming exercise capacity by attenuating production of lactate and reducing oxidative stress in mice.

This study is intended to examine the motor skill learning and treadmill exercise on motor performance and synaptic plasticity in the cerebellar injured rats by harmaline. Experiment groups were divided into four groups and assigned 15 rats to each group. GroupⅠ was a normal control group(induced by saline); GroupⅡ was a experimental control group(cerebellar injured by harmaline); GroupⅢ was a group of motor skill learning after cerebellar injured by harmaline; GroupⅣ was a group of treadmill exercise after cerebellar injured by harmaline. In motor performance test, the outcome of groupⅡ was significantly lower than the groupⅢ, Ⅳ(especially groupⅢ)(p<.001). In histological finding, the experimental groups were destroy of dendrities and nucleus of cerebellar neurons. GroupⅢ, Ⅳ were decreased in degeneration of cerebellar neurons(especially groupⅢ). In immunohistochemistric response of synaptophysin in cerebellar cortex, experimental groups were decreased than groupⅠ. GroupⅢ's expression of synaptophysin was more increased than groupⅡ, Ⅳ. In electron microscopy finding, the experimental groups were degenerated of Purkinje cell. These result suggest that improved motor performance by motor skill learning after harmaline induced is associated with dynamically altered expression of synaptophysin in cerebellar cortex and that is related with synaptic plasticity.

본 연구에서는 azoxymethane (AOM)과 dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)로 유도된 대장 발암과정에 대한 셀레늄의 방어 효과를 조사하였다. 셀레늄 결핍(0.02 ppm Se), 정상(0.1 ppm Se), 과다(0.5 ppm Se)사료를 12주간 식이로 급여하여 혈액검사와 대장암 발생의 초기단계인 aberrant crypt foci (ACF)수를 측정했으며, 암 발생율을 조사하였다. ICP-AES 를 사용하여 간의 셀레늄 농도를 측정하였으며, 또한 셀레늄포함 항산화효소인 glutathione peroxidase (GPx) 활성을 알아보았다. 또한 TUNEL assay와 PCNA, β-catenin에 대한 면역조직 염색을 수행하였다. ACF 수 및 종양 발생률에 있어서, 셀레늄과다사료를 급여한 군이 정상셀레늄사료를 급여한 군보다 낮았으며, 셀레늄결핍사료를 급여한 군은 오히려 ACF 수 및 종양 발생률이 높았다. GPx 활성은 셀레늄의 섭취가 과다한 군에서 높게 나타났으며, 이 때, TUNEL 에서 apoptotic positive cell이 증가하는 것을 확인했다. 또 한 셀레늄의 섭취가 과다한 군에서 PCNA와 β-catenin의 발현이 감소됨을 볼 수 있었다. 본 마우스 모델실험에서 셀레늄은 여러 기전에 의해 대장암 발생을 억제할 수 있을 것으로 사료된다.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the distribution of trig˗ ger points(TrPs) on athletes with various sporting background. To achieve the purpose, a study was carried out through a survey from 180 athletes involved in 6 selected sports at Yong-In University. Selected sports included Judo, Taekwondo, Kendo, Ssi-reum(Korean traditional wrestling), Boxing, and Golf. An interview type survey and physical examination were conducted with each thirty athletes from each of the selected sports groups. Technical statistic(SPSS 15.0) was used to analyze the distribution of TrPs on these athletes. The most common TrPs observed in muscles of Trapezius, Quadratus Lumborum, Quadriceps in Judo. In Taekwondo, it was on the trapez˗ ius and triceps surae. Kendo athletes had TrPs at sites of trapezius, brachioradialis and triceps surae. Ssirem athletes were found to have TrPs on trapezius, deltoid and quadrates lumborum. In boxers, TrPs appearing at trapezius and brachioradialis were observed. Finally, Golf players were seen to have TrPs at trapezius, quadrates lumbo˗ rum and brachioradialis. Hence, the analysis shows that there are significant differences of the distribution of TrPs according to the different sport items of the athlete.

Iron catalyzes the production of free radicals, which can be related to a variety of pathological events, such as cancer and aging. The effect of dietary iron was investigated on formation of colonic aberrant crypt foci (ACF) induced by azoxymethane in male F344 rats. Animals were fed three different diets, including iron-deficient (3 ppm Fe), iron-normal (35 ppm Fe), and iron-overloaded (350 ppm Fe) diets for eight weeks. During the first and second weeks of the experiment, animals received two subcutaneous injections of azoxymethane (AOM, 15 mg/kg body weight) to induce ACF. After staining with methylene blue, the total numbers of ACF and aberrant crypts (AC) were counted on the colonic mucosa. Analysis of blood and serum was performed using a blood cell differential counter and an automatic serum analyzer. Iron-deficient diets induced a significant decrease in red blood cell counts and the values of hemoglobin concentration, hematocrit, mean corpuscular hemoglobin, and mean corpuscular volume, while an iron-overloaded diet did not affect these values. The iron-overloaded diet induced an increase in deposits of iron in the liver of rats, as determined by the ICP method and Perl’s staining. The numbers of ACF per colon showed a slight increase in iron-overloaded or iron-deficient rats, without statistical significance, compared to iron-normal rats. The number of total AC per colon in iron-overloaded rats was significantly higher than that in iron-normal rats (p<0.05). The number of large ACF (≥ 4 AC per ACF) in iron-overloaded rats was also significantly higher than that in iron-normal rats (p<0.05). These results suggest that dietary iron intake may play an important role in colon carcinogenesis in humans and animals.

We report for the first time the occurrence of DWV-infected bumble bees (Bombus ignitus). For the present study, the detection of DWV virus from the female and male bumble bee was investigated in the same colony. The Deformed wing virus (DWV) of honeybee (Apis mellifera) is closely associated with characteristic wing deformities, abdominal bloating, paralysis, and rapid mortality of emerging adult bees. Using specific RT-PCR protocols for the detection of DWV followed by sequencing of the PCR products we could demonstrate that the bumble bees were indeed infected with DWV. The virus was detected from Bombus ignitus, and its partial DWV gene was cloned and sequenced. The partial DWV gene encoding the polyprotein is 711-nt of 235 amino acid residues. The deduced nucleotide sequence of the polyprotein partial gene of DWV showed 96.9%, 96.2%, 96.8%, and 96.5% homology to other structure polyprotein partial gene of DWV from insects, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis further conformed that the deduced nucleotide sequence of the polyprotein partial gene of DWV divided to the outside tree. We describe the first time that presence of Deformed wing virus(DWV) from bumble bee(Bombus terrestris) in korea using RT-PCR.

Placenta is the main nutrition source for the fetus during pregnancy. Thus, it has a pivotal function in the pregnant process. Many functions of the placenta have been elucidated. An abnormal placenta is associated with a high rate of pregnancy failure in somatic cloned bovine. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were examined in a comparison between normal and cloned bovine placenta using annealing control primer (ACP)-based GeneFishing PCR. Using 120 ACPs, nearly 80 genes were identified and the fragments of 42 DEGs were sequenced. 38 of these genes were known genes and four were unknown. To determine the DEGs result, six target clones expressing on one-side of a normal and a clone placenta were selected. Through an analysis of the target genes using the real-time PCR, the expressing pattern was found to be somewhat different from the DEGs. Additionally, several genes appeared with the same expression pattern. Taken together, this suggests that the target genes would be essential for research into what influences the placental formative mechanisms during fetal development.

The attachment and adhesion of RAW 264.7 and MC3T3-E1 cells to titanium (Ti) discs with various degrees of roughness was investigated. The attachment, adhesion, and proliferation of these cells were evaluated after 4 hr, 24 hr and 7 day incubations. Both RAW 264.7 and MC3T3-E1 cells showed a time-dependant correlation between attachment and adhesion on the surface of the titanium discs. Both types of cells tended to have higher survival rate on these discs as the surface roughness increased. The percentage of adherent inflammatory RAW 264.7 cells was greater than MC3T3-E1 cells at 24 hr, but this was reversed at 7 days in culture. The morphology of osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells at 24 hr, determined using a surface emission microscope (SEM), appeared flattened and spread out while inflammatory RAW 264.7 cells were predominantly spherical in shape. The adhesion of both cell types on the titanium discs was dependant on the levels of fibronectin adsorbed on the disc surface, indicating that serum constituents modulate the efficient adhesion of these cells. Our data indicate that the cellular response to the titanium surface is dependent on the types of cells, surface roughness and serum constituents.

This study was carried out to investigate effect of herbal extracts mixtures on hair growth in an alopecia model of C57BL/6 mice. There were 4 experimental groups including distilled water (DW, negative control), 25% ethanol(EtOH, vehicle control) and two herbal extract mixtures (HE-1 and HE-2). HE-1 included Polygonum and Brassica campestris extracts and HE-2 included Mulberry root and Gardenia extracts. The 6 weeks-old C57BL/6 male mice were shaved with an electric clipper and the test compounds were topically treated with 0.2 ml per mouse daily for 3 weeks. The hair re-growth was photographically determined at days 0, 4, 7, 10, 14, 17, and 21. The number of mast cells which is an important modulator of hair growth was counted in 1 cm of dorsal skin section of mice. There were no clinical signs in all experimental groups. As the results of photometric analysis, the topical application of the herbal extracts (HE-1 & 2) for 2 weeks to dorsal skin accelerated hair re-growth remarkably faster than that of DW group (p＜0.05). Activity of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) was significantly increased in EtOH group compared to DW group (p＜0.05). Both herbal extract mixtures also increased the ALP activity, but it was not significantly different from DW. Treatment of mice with HE-2 significantly increased mast cell population compared to EtOH. Taken together, these results suggest that herbal extract mixtures used in this study may have hair-growth promoting activities and can be useful for treatment for male pattern baldness or alopecia in humans.

Phytic acid (PA) is a naturallu occurring polyphosphorylated carbohydrate that is present in substantial amounts in almost all plants and mammalian cells. Recently PA has received much attention for its role in anticancer activity. We investigated the preventive effect of PA on the formation of colonic aberrant crypt foci (ACF), a preneoplastic lesion, induced by azoxymethane (AOM). After acclimation for one week, six-week old male ICR mice were fed on the AIN-93G purified diet and PA (0.5% or 2% PA in water) for 8 weeks. The animals were treated with azoxymethane (AOM, 10 mg/kg b.w.) three times (0, 1, and 2 weeks) to induce colonic aberrant crypt foci (ACF). After sacrifice, the total numbers of aberrant crypts (AC) and ACF in colonic mucosa were counted after staining with methylene blue. Blood and serum were analyzed with a blood cell differential counter and an automatic serum analyzer. AOM treatment without PA induced the total numbers of 85.7 ± 12.9 and 115.2 ± 19.9, respectively. PA at the dose of 2% AC/colon by PA at the dose of 0.5% were 73.4 ± 12.9 and 115.2 ± 19.9, respectively. PA at the dose of 2% significantly decreased the ACF and AC numbers to 56.5 ± 14.6 and 95.4 ± 17.2, respectively (p＜0.01). PA at the doses of 0.5 and 2% decreased the numbers of ACF and AC/colon in a dose-dependent manner. Although some parameters in blood counts and serum chemistry were changed compared with the control, no specific toxicity was found. Theses findings suggest that phytic acid can be a chemopreventive agent for colon carcinogenesis resulting from inhibition of the development of ACF in ICR mice.