Coccophora langsdorfii (Turner) Greville (Fucales) is an intertidal brown alga that is endemic to Northeast Asia and increasingly endangered by habitat loss and climate change. We sequenced the complete circular plastid and mitochondrial genomes of C. langsdorfii. The circular plastid genome is 124,450 bp and contains 139 protein-coding, 28 tRNA and 6 rRNA genes. The circular mitochondrial genome is 35,660 bp and contains 38 protein-coding, 25 tRNA and 3 rRNA genes. The structure and gene content of the C. langsdorfii plastid genome is similar to those of other species in the Fucales. The plastid genomes of brown algae in other orders share similar gene content but exhibit large structural recombination. The large in-frame insert in the cox2 gene in the mitochondrial genome of C. langsdorfii is typical of other brown algae. We explored the effect of this insertion on the structure and function of the cox2 protein. We estimated the usefulness of 135 plastid genes and 35 mitochondrial genes for developing molecular markers. This study shows that 29 organellar genes will prove efficient for resolving brown algal phylogeny. In addition, we propose a new molecular marker suitable for the study of intraspecific genetic diversity that should be tested in a large survey of populations of C. langsdorfii.

No abstract

ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to evaluate the relation between idiopathic scoliosis and facial deformity in the horizontal, vertical, and anteroposterior planes.MethodsA total of 123 female patients aged 14 years or older, who visited the Spine Clinic at the Department of Orthopedics, Korea University Guro Hospital for treatment of idiopathic scoliosis, were enrolled. Whole-spine anteroposterior and lateral radiographs were taken with the patient in a naturally erect position, and frontal and lateral cephalograms were taken in an erect position with the Frankfort horizontal line parallel to the floor. Scoliosis was classified according to the Cobb angle and Lenke classification of six curve types. Cephalometric tracing in all cases was carried out with V-Ceph 5.5 by the same orthodontist. The Kruskal-Wallis test was performed to determine whether any relation existed between each group of the idiopathic scoliosis classification and the cephalometric measurements of frontal and lateral cephalograms.ResultsThe measurements did not reveal any significant association between the Cobb angle and cephalometric measurements and between the curve type based on the Lenke classification and cephalometric measurements.ConclusionsBased on the results of this study, no apparent relation was observed between the severity of scoliosis and facial form variations in idiopathic scoliosis patients.

No abstract

Rehmannia glutinosa (RG) is a widely cultivated medicinal crop in Korea. Its rhizomes are commonly distributed in dried form as a food or traditional medicine. However, very little research into the drying methods for R. glutinosa has been conducted. This study was performed to determine the effect of the drying temperature on the quality characteristics of R. glutinosa. The famous domestic cultivar 'Dagang' was used for the study. The drying experiments were carried out at 40, 50, 60, 70, and 80℃ in a hot air dryer. All samples were dried until their moisture content was less than 12%; the moisture content of the raw root was 78.97±1.27%. Under the hot-air drying conditions, the drying process required 288 h at 40℃, 144 h at 50℃, 45 h at 60℃, 22 h at 70℃, 12 h at 80℃. The physical properties of RG were different for each drying temperature. When the temperature was increased, the lightness color value decreased. Hardness which is an important texture factor, was high for a drying temperature of 50-60℃ and relatively low for 40℃, 70℃, and 80℃. The catalpol content increased with increasing temperature up to 70℃, and then decreased at higher temperature. Considering the overall characteristics of the dried RG, hot-air drying at 60℃ is optimal to achieve desirable physical properties and high active content. These results should provide useful information for the manufacture of high-quality dried RG.