Tessaracoccus flavescens sp. nov., isolated from marine sediment.

A novel actinobacterium, designated strain SST-39T, was isolated from a marine sediment sample collected in Jeju, Republic of Korea. Cells were facultatively anaerobic, Gram-positive, non-endospore-forming, non-motile rods. Colonies were circular, slightly convex, opaque and brilliant yellow.

Evaluation of biomolecular interactions of sulfated polysaccharide isolated from Grateloupia filicina on blood coagulation factors.

An edible marine red alga, Grateloupia filicina, collected from Jeju Island of Korea was hydrolyzed by cheap food-grade carbohydrases (Viscozyme, Celluclast, AMG, Termamyl, and Ultraflo) to investigate its anticoagulant activity. Among the tested enzymatic extracts of G. filicina, a Termamyl extract showed the highest anticoagulant activity.

Citrus fruit intake and stomach cancer risk: a quantitative systematic review.

Background: The purpose of this systematic review was to investigate the association between dietary intake of citrus fruits and gastric cancer risk.

Methods: We searched electronic databases and the reference lists of publications on diet and stomach cancer studies until April 2007. All of the epidemiological studies that obtained individual data on dietary intake of citrus fruits and presented risk estimates of the association between intake of citrus fruits and risk of stomach cancer were identified and included in this review.

Molecular characterization and expression analysis of regucalcin in disk abalone (Haliotis discus discus): intramuscular calcium administration stimulates the regucalcin mRNA expression.

Regucalcin is a novel calcium (Ca(2+)) binding protein and it has been demonstrated to play a multifunctional role in many organisms. Here, we report the molecular cloning of invertebrate regucalcin cDNA from disk abalone Haliotis discus discus. The full length cDNA showed 1321 bp of nucleotides with a polyadenylated sequence (AATAAA).

A novel C-type lectin from abalone, Haliotis discus discus, agglutinates Vibrio alginolyticus.

Owing to its specific binding to carbohydrates, lectins play important roles in pathogen recognition and clearance in invertebrate animals. In this study, a novel C-type lectin (designated CLHd) gene was isolated from abalone, Haliotis discus discus, cDNA library. The complete cDNA sequence of the CLHd gene is 508 base pairs in length, and encodes 151 amino acids.

[Distribution of hepatitis C virus genotypes in Jeju Island].

Backgrounds/aims: The hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype affects clinical outcomes of HCV infection, in terms of the response to antiviral therapy and progression of chronic liver diseases, and shows geographic differences in distribution. The aim of this study was to elucidate the HCV genotypes in patients with chronic HCV infection in Jeju, which is an island off the Korean peninsula.

Methods: The study population consisted of 162 patients with anti-HCV antibodies and HCV-RNA.

Bcl-2 overexpression attenuates SP600125-induced apoptosis in human leukemia U937 cells.

SP600125 is a specific inhibitor of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) that is known to strongly induce apoptosis and block cell cycle progression in G2/M phase. In this study, we demonstrated that treatment of U937 cells with SP600125 resulted in significant G2/M cell cycle arrest that was due to decreased cyclin B1 and cdc25c protein levels. Moreover, SP600125 promoted LDH release and DNA fragmentation that was associated with caspase-3 activation and degradation of its substrates.

Effect of ion beam irradiation on the structure of ZnO films deposited by a dc arc plasmatron.

The deposition of polycrystalline ZnO film on a cold substrate was performed by using a plasmatron in rough vacuum condition. Low energy oxygen ion beam generated by a cold cathode ion source was introduced during the deposition process. The change of film property on the ion beam energy was checked.

Gossypol suppresses NF-kappaB activity and NF-kappaB-related gene expression in human leukemia U937 cells.

Recent studies indicate that gossypol possesses potent antitumor activities in vitro and in vivo. The nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kappaB) plays an important role in tumor cell growth, proliferation, invasion, and survival. In this study, we investigated the effects and the molecular mechanisms of gossypol on NF-kappaB activation and NF-kappaB-related gene expression in human leukemia U937 cells.

beta-Sitosterol induces G2/M arrest, endoreduplication, and apoptosis through the Bcl-2 and PI3K/Akt signaling pathways.

beta-Sitosterol (SITO) is a potentially valuable candidate for cancer chemotherapy, however the cellular and molecular mechanisms responsible for its anti-cancer activity are unknown. Therefore, we attempted to elucidate the mechanisms responsible for SITO-induced anti-proliferation in human leukemia cells. Treatment with SITO increased caspase-3 activation and DNA fragmentation in U937 and HL60 cells.

Fate of untreated asymptomatic osteonecrosis of the femoral head.

Background: Magnetic resonance imaging has made it possible to detect asymptomatic lesions of osteonecrosis of the femoral head before abnormalities appear on plain radiographs. The extent of a necrotic lesion is known to be an important prognostic factor. In this study, we evaluated the fate of untreated asymptomatic osteonecrosis of the femoral head with an emphasis on the size of the lesion.

The Effects of on the Apoptosis Induction and the Reversal of Multidrug Resistance in HL-60/MX2.

The present study investigated the anti-proliferative and chemosensitizing effects of var. against multi-drug resistant (MDR) cancer cells. The 80% methanol extract, chloroform (CHCI) fraction and butanol (BuOH) fraction of inhibited the growth of mitoxantrone (MX) resistant HL-60 (HL-60/MX2) cells.

Radioprotective properties of eckol against ionizing radiation in mice.

We have investigated the radioprotective efficacy of eckol, a component of brown seaweed Ecklonia cava, against the gamma ray-induced damage in vivo. Our results showed that eckol significantly decreased the mortality of lethally irradiated mice. The mechanisms of eckol's protection were found to include: an improvement in hematopoietic recovery, the repair of damaged DNA in immune cells and an enhancement of their proliferation, which had been severely suppressed by ionizing radiation.

Mitochondrial thioredoxin-2 from disk abalone (Haliotis discus discus): molecular characterization, tissue expression and DNA protection activity of its recombinant protein.

Thioredoxin-2 is a mitochondria-specific member of the thioredoxin (TRx) super-family that plays an important role as a component of the mitochondrial antioxidant system. The gene coding mitochondrial TRx-2 was isolated from the disk abalone (Haliotis discus discus) cDNA library, denoted as AbTRx-2. It contains 1214-bp full length with 519-bp open reading frame, encoding 173 amino acids.

Chemical composition and biological activities of essential oils extracted from Korean endemic citrus species.

The aim of this study was to analyze the chemical composition of 14 kinds of citrus oils and to test their biological activities. Citrus essential oils were obtained by steam distillation from immature fruits collected from Jeju Island and were analyzed using gas chromatograph (GC)- flame ionization detectors (FID) and GC-MS. Limonene (55.

Comparative study of two thioredoxin peroxidases from disk abalone (Haliotis discus discus): cloning, recombinant protein purification, characterization of antioxidant activities and expression analysis.

Thioredoxin peroxidase (TPx), also named peroxiredoxin (Prx), is an important peroxidase, which can protect organisms against various oxidative stresses. Two TPxs were isolated from a disk abalone (Haliotis discus discus) cDNA library, named as AbTPx1 and AbTPx2, respectively. AbTPx1 and AbTPx2 consist of 1315 and 1045 bp full-length cDNA with 753 and 597 bp open reading frames encoding 251 and 199 amino acids, respectively.

Brevibacterium marinum sp. nov., isolated from seawater.

A novel yellow-pigmented actinobacterium was isolated from seawater collected from Hwasun Beach in Jeju, Republic of Korea. A comparative analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence indicated that the organism, designated HFW-26(T), was closely related to members of the genus Brevibacterium. As found for other species of the genus Brevibacterium, strain HFW-26(T) possessed meso-diaminopimelic acid as the diagnostic cell-wall diamino acid, contained MK-8(H(2)) as the major menaquinone, contained polar lipids that included diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylinositol and an unknown phospholipid, and had anteiso-C(15 : 0) and anteiso-C(17 : 0) as the predominant fatty acids.

Aspirin-associated intracerebral hemorrhage in a patient with CADASIL.

Cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL) is a hereditary disease characterized by ischemic stroke, cognitive impairment, migraine and neuropsychological deficit. Although intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) has been described in patients with CADASIL, the cause of such ICH is still unknown. We present a 39-year-old man with CADASIL who had two years history of untreated hypertension.

Chronic daily headache with analgesics overuse in professional women breath-hold divers.

Objective: The object of this study is to investigate the prevalence and characteristics of headache in Korean professional women breath-hold divers, including their overuse of analgesics.

Background: Headache is a common problem encountered in clinical practice, and undersea divers exhibit unique causes of headache in addition to other common primary headaches. Many scuba divers are known to use various types of drugs to overcome dive-related symptoms or to enhance their underwater performance.

Cloning, characterization and tissue expression of disk abalone (Haliotis discus discus) catalase.

Catalase is an antioxidant enzyme that plays a significant role in protection against oxidative stress by detoxification of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). A gene coding for a putative catalase was isolated from the disk abalone (Haliotis discus discus) cDNA library and denoted as Ab-catalase. The full-length (2864 bp) Ab-catalase cDNA contained 1,503 bp open reading frame (ORF), encoding 501 amino acid residues with 56 kDa predicted molecular weight.

Environmental risk assessment of genetically engineered herbicide-tolerant Zoysia japonica.

Herbicide-tolerant Zoysia grass (Zoysia japonica Steud.) has been generated previously through Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation. The genetically modified (GM) Zoysia grass survived Basta spraying and grew to maturity normally while the wild-type (WT) grass stopped growing and died.

Nocardioides hwasunensis sp. nov.

Two novel actinomycete strains, designated HFW-18 and HFW-21(T), were isolated from a water sample around Hwasun Beach on the coast of Jeju Island, Republic of Korea. The cells of the organisms were aerobic, Gram-positive, non-motile rods. The temperature and initial pH ranges for growth were 4-37 degrees C and pH 5.

Immunomodulatory effects of an enzymatic extract from Ecklonia cava on murine splenocytes.

We investigated whether the brown seaweed Alariaceae Ecklonia cava (E. cava) has immunological effects on splenocytes in vitro. For that purpose, we prepared an enzymatic extract from E.

Effect of onion and beet on plasma and liver lipids, platelet aggregation, and erythrocyte Na efflux in simvastatin treated hypercholesterolmic rats.

This study was purposed to investigate the effect of onion or beet on plasma and liver lipids, erythrocyte Na efflux channels and platelet aggregation in simvastatin (SIM) treated hypercholesterolemic rats. Forty Sprague Dawley rats were divided into four groups and fed 0.5% cholesterol based diets containing 2 mg/kg BW simvastatin or simvastatin with 5% onion or beet powder.