To detect exoplanets and study pulsation of K giant stars, we have observed precise RV (radial velocity) of about 55 early K giant (K0 - K4) stars brighter than V = 5 magnitude since 2003 by using BOES, a high resolution Echelle spectrograph attached to the 1.8 m telescope at BOAO (Bohyunsan Optical Astronomy Observatory). We detected periodic RV variation of KO III star β Gem (HD 62509) with a period P=596.6 ± 2.3 days and a semi-amplitude K=44.8 ± 0.7 ms-1 If we adopt 1.7 M⊙ for the mass of β Gem, this yields the minimum mass of the companion m sin i = 2.64 M Jupiter results agree well with Hatzes et al. (2006) and Reffert et al. (2006), and confirm their discovery of a planetary object around β Gem. We also confirmed about 192 minutes short period stellar oscillation found by Hatzes and Zechmeister (2007). This is the first report of exoplanet detection using BOES and demonstrates that the RV observation using BOES is accurate and stable enough to detect exoplanets around bright K giant stars.

Endocrine disruptors are exogenous chemicals that their endocrine disrupting effects mediated by androgenic signaling plays crucial roles in the control of development and several androgen-related diseases. However, there are no authorized in vitro screening and testing methods to evaluation of (anti-)androgenic activity. To find out a better in vitro cell line model, we have previously reported that 22Rv1 cells, a human prostate cancer cells contained functional Androgen Receptor (AR), might be an appropriate model for the evaluation of (anti-)androgenic endocrine disruptors. Based on this result, we developed a stable 22Rv1/mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV) cell line to test AR-mediated transcriptional activation (TA). Using 22Rv1/MMTV cells, we established the test protocol and optimized the testing condition for AR-TA assay. In this study, we performed the inter-validation assay by four different laboratories to evaluate the 20 coded chemicals which were selected from the ICCVAM list (ICCVAM, 2003) or academic articles that exhibited exact (anti-) androgenic activity. The statistical analysis of the results of the inter-laboratory validation study revealed that there was reproducibility between the four participating laboratories. In conclusion, 22Rv1/MMTV AR-TA assay might be a quick and relatively inexpensive method, which can be used to screen large numbers of chemicals for their potential to activate or inhibit AR-mediated gene transcription. Furthermore, it will provide mechanistic data relevant to understanding adverse reactions observed in intact organisms.