Agaricus bisporus, commonly known as the button mushroom, is widely cultivated throughout the world. To breed new strains with more desirable traits and improved adaptability, diverse germplasm, including wild accessions, is a valuable genetic resource. To better understand the genetic diversity available in A. bisporus and identify previously unknown diversity within accessions, a phylogenetic analysis of 360 Agaricus spp. accessions using single-nucleotide polymorphism genotyping was performed. Genetic relationships were compared using principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) among accessions with known origins and accessions with limited collection data. The accessions clustered into four groups based on the PCoA with regard to genetic relationships. A subset of 67 strains, which comprised a core collection where repetitive and uninformative accessions were not included, clustered into 7 groups following analysis. Two of the 170 accessions with limited collection data were identified as wild germplasm. The core collection allowed for the accurate analysis of A. bisporus genetic relationships, and accessions with an unknown pedigree were effectively grouped, allowing for origin identification, by PCoA analysis in this study.

Pleurotus species are commercially essential mushrooms and widely cultivated throughout the world. The production of Pleurotus mushrooms alone accounts for around 25% of that total cultivated mushrooms globally. In America and Europe, Pleurotus species are considered specialty mushrooms, whereas, in Korea, their cultivation is economically profitable, and it is one of the highly consumed species. Pleurotus species are predominantly found in tropical forests and often grow on fallen branches, dead and decaying tree stumps, and wet logs. Biographical studies have shown that the Pleurotus genus is among the more conspicuous fungi that induce wood decay in terrestrial ecosystems worldwide due to its formidable lignin-modifying enzymes, including laccase and versatile peroxidases. Pleurotus species can be grown easily due to their fast colonization nature on diversified agro-substrates and their biological efficiency 100%. Pleurotus mushrooms are rich in proteins, dietary fiber, essential amino acids, carbohydrates, water-soluble vitamins, and minerals. These mushrooms are abundant in functional bioactive molecules, though to influence health. Pleurotus mushrooms are finding unique applications as flavoring, aroma, and excellent preservation quality. Apart from its unique applications, Pleurotus mushrooms have a unique status delicacy with high nutritional and medicinal values. The present review provides an insight into the cultivation of Pleurotus spp. using different agro-waste as growth substances paying attention to their effects on the growth and chemical composition.

White strains of Hypsizygus marmoreus are more difficult to cultivate than are brown strains; therefore, new white strain breeding strategies are required. Accordingly, we constructed the genetic map of H. marmoreus. with 1996 SNP markers on 11 linkage groups (LGs) spanning 1380.49 cM. Prior to analysis, 82 backcrossed strains (HM8 lines) were generated by mating between KMCC03106-31 and the progenies of the F1 hybrid (Hami-18 × KMCC03106-93). Using HM8, the first 23 quantitative trait loci (QTLs) of yield-related traits were detected with high limit of detection (LOD) scores (1.98–9.86). The length, thickness, and hardness of the stipe were colocated on LG 1. Especially, length of stipe and thickness of stipe were highly correlated given that the correlation coefficients were negative (−0.39, p value ≤ .01). And a typical biomodal distribution was observed for lightness of the pileus and the lightness of the pileus trait belonged to the LG 8, as did traits of earliness and mycelial growth in potato dextrose agar (PDA) medium. Therefore, results for color traits can be suggested that color is controlled by a multi-gene of one locus. The yield trait was highly negatively correlated with the traits for thickness of the stipe (−0.45, p value ≤ .01). Based on additive effects, the white strain was confirmed as recessive; however, traits of mycelial growth, lightness, and quality were inherited by backcrossed HM8 lines. This new genetic map, finely mapped QTLs, and the strong selection markers could be used in molecular breeding of H. marmoreus.

BACKGROUND: Hemolysis, icterus, and lipemia (HIL) cause preanalytical interference and vary unpredictably with different analytical equipments and measurement methods. We developed an integrated reporting system for verifying HIL status in order to identify the extent of interference by HIL on clinical chemistry results. METHODS: HIL interference data from 30 chemical analytes were provided by the manufacturers and were used to generate a table of clinically relevant interference values that indicated the extent of bias at specific index values (alert index values). The HIL results generated by the Vista 1500 system (Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics, USA), Advia 2400 system (Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics), and Modular DPE system (Roche Diagnostics, Switzerland) were analyzed and displayed on physicians' personal computers. RESULTS: Analytes 11 and 29 among the 30 chemical analytes were affected by interference due to hemolysis, when measured using the Vista and Modular systems, respectively. The hemolysis alert indices for the Vista and Modular systems were 0.1-25.8% and 0.1-64.7%, respectively. The alert indices for icterus and lipemia were <1.4% and 0.7% in the Vista system and 0.7% and 1.0% in the Modular system, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The HIL alert index values for chemical analytes varied depending on the chemistry analyzer. This integrated HIL reporting system provides an effective screening tool for verifying specimen quality with regard to HIL and simplifies the laboratory workflow.
Blood Chemical Analysis/instrumentation/*methods/standards ; Female ; Hemoglobins/analysis ; *Hemolysis ; Humans ; Hyperlipidemias/metabolism/*pathology ; Jaundice/metabolism/*pathology ; Male ; Quality Control ; Reproducibility of Results

PURPOSE: To describe that Computer image recognition technique is more accurately and less invasive than other methods, which using contact lens with a search probe or electrodes for record of eye movements. METHODS: A reference marker which was infrared was attached to the center of the forehead of the patients and the infrared light was illuminated to both eyes. Video image sequences were recorded using digital CCD camera and the captured image frames (640 X 480) were processed using a image analysis program. From which each image frame captured, pupil area was saperated using difference of brightness in pupil and iris. And then the pupil center was determined by calculating the center-of-mass of black pixels to meet the pupil threshold criteria. RESULTS: In a post-processing process, we could acquire horizontal and vertical eye position and velocity data. Inverse fast fourier transformation(FFT) and digital filtering algorithm were applied to filter out noise due to limited resolution of the CCD camera and sampling rates. Experimental result showed that the system could detect about 0.2mm positional location and 30Hz horizontal and vertical eye movements simultaneously. CONCLUSIONS: We could accurately measure and record two dimensional eye movements of patients (horizontal and vertical simultaneously) in real time with some head movements.
Electrodes ; Eye Movements* ; Forehead ; Head Movements ; Humans ; Iris ; Noise ; Pupil

Radiation therapy is one of the most important treatment modalities following surgery of the primary malignant or metastatic brain tumors. But radiation can be harmful to normal healthy brain tissues around the tumor. There have been numerous reports of radiation induced damage such as delayed necrosis to human brain after therapeutic exposure. Apoptosis is a form of cell death with morphological and biochemical features that differ from those of necrosis. The aim of this study is to evaluate the apoptosis in normal rat brain after irradiation. Twenty one Sprague-Dawley rats were given a single dose of 10 Gy using high dose rate Ir-192 over 5 minutes at the right frontal region. Apoptosis was evaluated by the TUNEL method(In-situ end labelling technique) and mutant p53 protein, bc1-2 and bax genes were evaluated by immunohistochemical stain. Apoptosis was assessed at 1 week(group A, n=5), 2 week(group B, n=), 4 week(group C, n=), 6 week(group D, n=), 8 week(group E, n=) after irradiation. Apoptosis was noted with 20% of cases(1/5) in group A, 40% of cases(2/5) in group B, 60% of cases(3/5) in group C, 67% of cases(2/3) in group D and 100% of cases(3/3) in group E. Overall apoptosis positive rate was 52.4%(11/21). Apoptosis was most prominently found in external granular and external pyramidal layer(82%, 9/11) and found one case in internal pyramidal layer and the other one case in corticowhite matter junction. There were no positive stainning for mutant p53 protein, bc1-2 and bax gene in all cases pertaining to the phenomenon of apoptosis. In conclusion, apoptosis was evident in the rat brain after irradiation and the incidence of apoptosis was increased with time after irradiation. But the genes related to apoptosis after irradiation were not apparent in this study. Further evaluation including biochemical and clonogenic study needs to clarify the mechanism of apoptosis in normal brain after irradiation.
Animals ; Apoptosis* ; Brain Neoplasms ; Brain* ; Cell Death ; Humans ; In Situ Nick-End Labeling ; Incidence ; Necrosis ; Rats* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

The authors present a statistical survey of the general incidence, age distribution, and preferential site of 631 tumors of the brain which have been surgically treated at Korea university medical center, department of neurosurgery over the last period of 10 years from 1985 to 1994. Among them 269 cases were males and 362 were females. Of the 631 intracranial neoplasms verified histologically, tumors of neuroepithelial tissue comprised 34%(212 cases), tumors of meninges 23%(148 cases), pituitary adenoma 18%(114 cases), metastatic tumors 8%(50 cases), neurilemmomas 8%(49 cases), germ cell tumors 3%(13 cases), cyst and tumor like lesions 3%(16 cases), and lymphomas 1%(5 cases). Of the 178 gliomas, astrocytic tumors comprised 83%(148 cases), oligodendroglial tumors 11%(20 cases), ependymal tumors 3%(6 cases) and mixed gliomas 1.7%(3 cases). Brain tumors occurred most frequently in the age group of 45-50 years, as seen by an incidence of 63 cases(10%). The male to female ratio was 0.74: 1. Tumors that showed a definitive preponderance of females over males were meningiomas, neurilemmomas, and pituitary adenomas. Supratentoral and infratenorial cases were 73%(461 cases) and 26%(162 cases), respectively and the remaining cases involved both sites. Of the 114 cases of childhood and adolescent tumors, 60 were male and 54 were female. Supratentorial tumors were 56% and infratentorial were 44%. The tumors in order of frequency were astrocytomas(28%), primitive neuroectodermal tumors(21%), craniopharyngioma(10%) and so on. Meningiomas occurred most frequently in parasagittal/falx area(25%), followed by cerebral convexity 23%, sphenoid 14%, posterior fossa 13%. Among pituitary adenomas, prolactinomas(32%) were the most common and followed by null cell adenomas 31%, growth hormone cell adenomas 15%, mixed GH-PRL cell adenomas 11%.
Academic Medical Centers ; Adenoma ; Adolescent ; Age Distribution ; Astrocytoma ; Brain Neoplasms* ; Brain* ; Female ; Glioma ; Growth Hormone ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea* ; Lymphocytes, Null ; Lymphoma ; Male ; Meninges ; Meningioma ; Neoplasms, Germ Cell and Embryonal ; Neural Plate ; Neurilemmoma ; Neurosurgery ; Pituitary Neoplasms ; Supratentorial Neoplasms

The time course of hydroxyl radical generation in the brain and the intensity of brain hydroxyl radical(OH) generation were examined in rat during the first four hours after postischemia reperfusion. Hydroxyl radical production was measured using the salicylate trapping method in which the production of 2, 3-dihydroxybenzoic acid(DHBA) in hippocampus(CA1) 5 minutes after salicylate administration was used as an index of OH formation. The interstitial concentration changes of salicylate and 2, 3-DHBA were detected by intracerebral microdialysis following the intraperitoneal administration of salicylate(150mg/kg) using high pressure liquid chromatography-electrochemical(HPLC-EC) and -ultraviolet(-UV). Adult Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to 20 minutes of bilateral carotid artery occlusion(BCAO) in either normotensive or hypotensive state. Serial changes of cerebral blood flow(CBF) were monitored by H2 clearance method. CBF of normotensive BCAO group(n=6) was found to be decreased only to 52% of baseline value, and OH production after reperfusion did not develop in this group. Rats in the BCAO hypotensive group(n=10) showed remarkable reduction of CBF to 27% of baseline(p<0.05) and 2~4 folds increase of 2, 3-DHBA/salicylate during the first 40 minutes of recirculation . Hydroxyl radical production in rats died(n=5) after the insult was significantly higher and lasted longer than that in rats survived(n=5)(p<0.05). Concentration of salicylate in perfusate increased during 100 minutes after the peritoneal injection and before reaching to a plateau, which lasted for 3 hours. The changes of cerebral tissue concentration of 2, 3-DHBA differed from those of salicylate. In 2, 3-DHBA, the plateau was reached rather slowly than that of salicylate and lasted for 2 hours. These data indicate that lobal cerebral ischemia could be induced by temporary BCAO only if the systemic hypotenion is accompanied, it can not be induced in normotensive group. The hydroxyl radical produced brain damage is prone to develop early in the reperfusion period and is correlated with the severity of ischemic insult.
Adult ; Animals ; Brain ; Brain Ischemia* ; Carotid Arteries ; Hippocampus ; Humans ; Hydroxyl Radical* ; Microdialysis ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Reperfusion Injury* ; Reperfusion*

Hyperglycemia during either global or regional ischemia is widely known to be detrimental, and ischemia induced release of diverse neurotransmitters and the ensuing activation of specific postsynaptic receptors have been suggested to play a important role in the development of ischemic selective vulunerability. This study was undertaken to investigate the influence of blood glucose change on tissue concentration of some catecholamines ; dopamine, norepinephrine, serotonin, of the transient ischemic rat's brain, estimated by high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC) assay system, following transient bilateral forebrain ischemia in the rat's model subjected to 20 minutes of normothermic ischemia by two vesseles occulusion plus profound cortex, hippocampus and striatum respectively by HLPC. The concentrations of catecholamines were significantly decreased in all sampled areas in experimental groups compared with the control group(p<0.05), respectively(average decrease rate : norepinephrine 71%, dopamine 89%, serotonin 80% in frontal cortex ; norepinephrine 71%, dopamine 93%, serotonin 81% in hippocampus ; norepinephrine 33%, dopamine 35%, serotonin 78% in striatum). Dopamine was relatively decreased in concentration in frontal cortex and hippocampus, and serotonin was relatively decreased in striatum. But no statistic significancy(p>0.05) of catecholamines level between each experimental group(hyper-, hypo- and normoglycemic group) according to the change of blood sugar. The results suggested that blood glucose level did not influence the tissue concentration of dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin in frontl cortex, hippocampus and striatum of transient ischemic rat's brain.
Blood Glucose* ; Brain* ; Catecholamines ; Dopamine* ; Frontal Lobe* ; Hippocampus* ; Hyperglycemia ; Ischemia ; Neurotransmitter Agents ; Norepinephrine* ; Prosencephalon ; Serotonin*

The patients with degenerative lumbar spine disease were treated using TSRH(Texas Scottish Rite Hospital) universal instrumentation system. The patient population consisted of 6 men and 4 women with a mean age of 56 years(43 to 65 years). All patients suffered chronic back pain with other neurological symptoms and signs. Neurological improvement was obtained in all cases postoperatively. Complication include pneumonia in 1 case, deep vein thrombosis in 1 case, flaccid neurogenic bladder in 1 case. Autogenous bone graft, obtained from iliac bone, between transverse process provided excellent bony fusion in 7 cases on radiologic evaluation between 9 months to 12 months after operation. TSRH universal instrumentation system have several advantages compared with other pedicle screw rod systems ; easy to handle, low morbidity, shorter operative time and easier relieval of root compression.
Back Pain ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Operative Time ; Pneumonia ; Spine ; Transplants ; Urinary Bladder, Neurogenic ; Venous Thrombosis