Defense Genes Induced by Pathogens and Abiotic Stresses in Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer

Ok Ran Lee,Gayathri Sathiyaraj,Yu-Jin Kim,Jun-Gyo In,Woo-Seang Kwon,Ju-Han Kim,Deok-Chun Yang 고려인삼학회 2011 Journal of Ginseng Research Vol.35 No.1

Korean ginseng is a medicinally important perennial herb from the family Araliaceae. It has been cultivated for its highly valued medicinal properties for over 1,000 years in east Asian countries such as China, Korea, and Japan. Due to its longtime cultivation in shady areas, ginseng is frequently exposed to pathogenic infections. Plants protect themselves from microbial pathogens using an array of defense mechanisms, some of which are constitutively active, while others are activated upon pathogen invasion. These induced defense responses, controlled by defense-related genes, require tradeoffs in terms of plant fi tness. We hypothesize that ginseng, as with other plants, possesses regulatory mechanisms that coordinate the activation of attacker-specifi c defenses in order to minimize fi tness costs while attaining optimal resistance. Several classes of defense-related genes are induced by infection, wounds, irradiation, and other abiotic stresses. Both salicylates and jasmonates have been shown to cause such responses, although their specifi c roles and interactions in signaling and development are not fully understood in ginseng. This review summarizes possible defense-related genes in ginseng based on their expression patterns against biotic and abiotic stresses and describes their functional roles.

Six Taxa of Newly Recorded Species of Charophytes (Charophyta) in Korea

Lee, Nam Ju,Kim, Jee Hwan,Kim, Mi Ran,Lee, Ok Min Korean Society of Environmental Biology 2018 환경생물 : 환경생물학회지 Vol.36 No.3

Six taxa of unrecorded Korean species of charophytes are described. Freshwater and aerial charophytes were collected from the bark of trees, reservoirs, small ponds and swamps from April 2017 to September 2017. The newly recorded species of Korea were Cosmarium quadrifarium f. octastichum, Euastrum turneri, Spondylosium nitens var. triangulare, Staurastrum kouwetsii, Staurodesmus dickiei var. latus, and Klebsormidium subtile. K. subtile was transferred from Stichococcus subtilis.

Primary Angiomyolipoma of the Pelvic Region

Ok Ran Shin,Yun Seok Jung,Myung Sun Choi,Chang Hee Han,Sung Hak Kang,Yong Seok Lee 대한비뇨기종양학회 2010 대한비뇨기종양학회지 Vol.8 No.3

Angiomyolipoma (AML) is a benign tumor that is composed of adipose tissue, blood vessels and smooth muscle. The kidney is the most commonly affected organ. The incidence of AML is about 0.3-3% in the general population. AML is sometimes associated with tuberous sclerosis. Although rare, extrarenal AML has been reported to occur in other organs such as the liver, heart & mediastinum, spermatic cord, vaginal wall, and oral cavity. Primary AML in the pelvic region has very rarely been reported in the literature. Moreover, AML containing calcification is even rarer. A 61-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with a mass in the lower abdomen for 3 months. Open surgical excision was performed and the histopathological examination revealed AML. A one year postoperative follow-up showed no remarkable findings.

Feasibility and Effects of a Tai Chi Self-Help Education Program for Korean Gastric Cancer Survivors

Lee, Eun Ok,Chae, Young Ran,Song, Rhayun,Eom, Aeyong,Lam, Paul,Heitkemper, Margaret Oncology Nursing Society 2010 Oncology nursing forum Vol.37 No.1

<P>Purpose/Objectives: To determine the feasibility of conducting a study of a tai chi self-help education program in Korean adults with gastric cancer and to describe the effects of a six-month tai chi self-help education program on depression, health-related quality of life (HRQOL), and immune markers.Design: One-group, pre- and post-test design.Setting: Outpatient clinics of two large hospitals in the Republic of Korea.Sample: Convenience sample of 33 Korean adults with gastric cancer diagnoses after gastrectomy.Methods: The Korean gastric cancer survivors participated in a 24-week tai chi self-help education program. The participants completed the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression (Korean version) and the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (Korean version) for HRQOL and provided blood samples for immune markers. All measurements were conducted at baseline and at one week following the 24-week intervention.Main Research Variables: Feasibility was determined as the percentage of participants completing the 24-week protocol. Preliminary data on depression, HRQOL, and immune markers were obtained.Findings: The dropout rate was 36.4%; 21 of 33 survivors participated in the tai chi self-help education program for 24 weeks. No complications or injuries occurred to the participants during the program. No significant differences were noted in depression, HRQOL, and immune markers before and after the intervention.Conclusions: Tai chi exercise, in combination with a self-help program, can be safe and feasible for Korean gastric cancer survivors. This feasibility study did not show that the tai chi self-help education program improves depression, HRQOL, and immune markers in Korean gastric cancer survivors.Implications for Nursing: Additional studies are needed to determine the long-term impact relative to usual care.</P>

Defense Genes Induced by Pathogens and Abiotic Stresses in Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer

Lee, Ok-Ran,Sathiyaraj, Gayathri,Kim, Yu-Jin,In, Jun-Gyo,Kwon, Woo-Seang,Kim, Ju-Han,Yang, Deok-Chun The Korean Society of Ginseng 2011 Journal of Ginseng Research Vol.35 No.1

Korean ginseng is a medicinally important perennial herb from the family Araliaceae. It has been cultivated for its highly valued medicinal properties for over 1,000 years in east Asian countries such as China, Korea, and Japan. Due to its longtime cultivation in shady areas, ginseng is frequently exposed to pathogenic infections. Plants protect themselves from microbial pathogens using an array of defense mechanisms, some of which are constitutively active, while others are activated upon pathogen invasion. These induced defense responses, controlled by defense-related genes, require tradeoffs in terms of plant fitness. We hypothesize that ginseng, as with other plants, possesses regulatory mechanisms that coordinate the activation of attacker-specific defenses in order to minimize fitness costs while attaining optimal resistance. Several classes of defense-related genes are induced by infection, wounds, irradiation, and other abiotic stresses. Both salicylates and jasmonates have been shown to cause such responses, although their specific roles and interactions in signaling and development are not fully understood in ginseng. This review summarizes possible defense-related genes in ginseng based on their expression patterns against biotic and abiotic stresses and describes their functional roles.

APE1/Ref-1 Inhibits Phosphate-Induced Calcification and Osteoblastic Phenotype Changes in Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells

Lee, Ki Mo,Lee, Eun Ok,Lee, Yu Ran,Joo, Hee Kyoung,Park, Myoung Soo,Kim, Cuk-Seong,Choi, Sunga,Jeong, Jin-Ok,Jeon, Byeong Hwa MDPI 2017 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES Vol.18 No.10

<P>Vascular calcification plays a role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, diabetes, and chronic kidney disease; however, the role of apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1/redox factor-1 (APE1/Ref-1) in inorganic phosphate (Pi)-induced vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) calcification remains unknown. In this study, we investigated the possible role of APE1/Ref-1 in Pi-induced VSMC calcification. We observed that Pi decreased endogenous APE1/Ref-1 expression and promoter activity in VSMCs, and that adenoviral overexpression of APE1/Ref-1 inhibited Pi-induced calcification in VSMCs and in an ex vivo organ culture of a rat aorta. However, a redox mutant of APE1/Ref-1(C65A/C93A) did not reduce Pi-induced calcification in VSMCs, suggesting APE1/Ref-1-mediated redox function against vascular calcification. Additionally, APE1/Ref-1 overexpression inhibited Pi-induced intracellular and mitochondrial reactive oxygen species production, and APE1/Ref-1 overexpression resulted in decreased Pi-induced lactate dehydrogenase activity, pro-apoptotic Bax levels, and increased anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 protein levels. Furthermore, APE1/Ref-1 inhibited Pi-induced osteoblastic differentiation associated with alkaline phosphatase activity and inhibited Pi-exposure-induced loss of the smooth muscle phenotype. Our findings provided valuable insights into the redox function of APE1/Ref-1 in preventing Pi-induced VSMC calcification by inhibiting oxidative stress and osteoblastic differentiation, resulting in prevention of altered osteoblastic phenotypes in VSMCs.</P>

ON THE COMPUTATION OF EIGENVALUE BOUNDS OF ANHARMONIC OSCILLATOR USING AN INTERMEDIATE PROBLEM METHOD

Lee, Gyou-Bong,Lee, Ok-Ran 한국전산응용수학회 2002 The Korean journal of computational & applied math Vol.9 No.1

We apply an Intermediate Problem Method to compute eigenvalues of an anharmonic oscillator. The method produces lower bounds to the eigenvalues while the Rayleigh-Ritz method yields upper bounds. We show the convergence rate of the Intermediate Problem Method is the same as the rate of the Rayleigh-Ritz method.

Comparative Leaf Structure of Both Panax ginseng Meyer and Panax quinquefolius

Ok Ran Lee(이옥란),Ngoc Quy Nguyen,Young Chang Kim(김영창) 한국약용작물학회 2016 한국약용작물학회 학술대회논문집 Vol.2016 No.2

In silico analysis of MeJA-induced comparative transcriptomes in Brassica oleraceae L. var. capitata

Lee, Ok Ran,Kim, Dae-Soo The Korean Society of Plant Biotechnology 2016 식물생명공학회지 Vol.43 No.2

Brassica oleraceae var capitata is a member of the Brassicaceae family and is widely used as an horticultural crop. In the present study, transcriptome analysis of B. oleraceae L. var capitata was done for the first time using eight-week old seedlings treated with $50{\mu}m$ MeJA, versus mock-treated samples. The complete transcripts for both samples were obtained using the GS-FLX sequencer. Overall, we obtained 275,570 and 266,457 reads from seedlings treated with or without $50{\mu}m$ MeJA, respectively. All the obtained reads were annotated using biological databases and functionally classified using gene ontology (GO), the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomics (KEGG). By using GO analyses, putative transcripts were examined in terms of biotic and abiotic stresses, cellular component organization, biogenesis, and secondary metabolic processes. The KEGG pathways for most of the transcripts were involved in carbohydrate metabolism, energy metabolism, and secondary metabolite synthesis. In order to double the sequenced data, we randomly chose two putative genes involved in terpene biosynthetic pathways and studied their transcript patterns under MeJA treatment. This study will provide us a platform to further characterize the genes in B. oleracea var capitata.

Factors Related to Body Mass Index and Body Mass Index Change in Korean Children: Preliminary Results from the Obesity and Metabolic Disorders Cohort in Childhood

Lee, Hyun Hye,Park, Hyun Ah,Kang, Jae Heon,Cho, Young Gyu,Park, Jin Kyun,Lee, Ran,Yoon, Ji Ye,Kim, Ok Hyun The Korean Academy of Family Medicine 2012 Korean Journal of Family Medicine Vol.33 No.3

<P><B>Background</B></P><P>This preliminary study is to assess risk factors associated with children's body mass index (BMI) and their changes over a 2-year period based on the analysis of the Obesity and Metabolic Disorders Cohort in Childhood registry.</P><P><B>Methods</B></P><P>A total of 1,504 children comprised of 474 1st graders and 1,030 4th graders were included in the study. Data on physical activity, dietary intake, and socioeconomic status were obtained through self-administered questionnaires, and height and weight were measured annually for 2 years.</P><P><B>Results</B></P><P>In a cross-sectional analysis, BMI of 1st graders was associated with higher parental BMI (both P < 0.001) and frequent snack consumption (P = 0.049). BMI of 4th graders was additionally associated with shorter sleep duration (P = 0.001), lower household income (P = 0.016), higher fat intake (P = 0.017), and frequent meal skipping (P = 0.020). During a 2-year follow-up, BMI increased by 0.8 ± 1.4 kg/m<SUP>2</SUP> in 1st graders and by 1.3 ± 1.4 kg/m<SUP>2</SUP> in 4th graders. In a longitudinal analysis, higher exercise frequency (P = 0.007), shorter sleep duration (P = 0.027), lower household income (P = 0.002), and higher paternal BMI (P = 0.002, 0.043) were significant predictors of BMI changes in the 1st graders whereas only higher maternal BMI (P=0.035), and frequent snack consumption (P = 0.010) were predictors for the 4th graders BMI changes.</P><P><B>Conclusion</B></P><P>Our findings indicate that parental obesity, short sleep duration, low socioeconomic status, and frequent snacking are associated with BMI and BMI changes.</P>