• Journal of Life Science
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• v.21 no.11
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• pp.1636-1640
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• 2011

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease, resulting in the loss of cognitive function. Mitochondrial aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH2) has been proposed to be a risk factor for the development of AD, but there is still controversy about that. In this study, we demonstrated the role of ALDH2 enzyme activity on amyloid-beta (A${\beta}$) and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-${\kappa}B$) expression in mice brain following ethanol exposure for 8 weeks. Five male Aldh2 (+/+) and Aldh2 (-/-) mice, 8 weeks-old of age (C57BL/6J strain), in each group were exposed to ethanol for 8 weeks (2 g/kg wt./day) using gavage. Those in the control groups received 0.9% saline alone. Results showed a difference in expression level of A${\beta}$ in the hippocampus after ethanol exposure according to the ALDH2 enzyme activity (p<0.05), but not in the level of NF-${\kappa}B$). Our results suggest a possibility that ALDH2 enzyme activity may be an important role in the development of AD.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.94-100
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• 2022

Chronic infection by hepatitis B virus (HBV) greatly increases the risk for liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The outcome of HBV infection is shaped by the complex interplay of the mode of transmission, host genetic factors, viral genotype, adaptive mutations, and environmental factors. The pregenomic RNA transcription of HBV for their replication is regulated by the core promoter activation. Core promoter mutations have been the reason for acute liver failure and are associated with HCC development. We obtained HBV genes from a patient in Myanmar who was infected with HBV and identified gene variations in the core promoter region. For measuring the relative transactivation activity of the core promoter, we prepared the core-promoter reporter construct. Among the gene variations of the core promoter, the mutations of C1731T and G1806A were associated with increase in the transactivation of the HBV core promoter. Through computer analysis for searching for a tentative transcription factor binding site, we showed that the mutations of C1713T and G1806A newly created C/EBPβ and XBP1-responsive elements of the core promoter, respectively. The ectopic expression of C/EBPβ largely increased the HBV core promoter containing the C1713T mutation and that of XBP1 activated the M95 promoter containing the G1806A mutation. Our efforts to treat and prevent HBV infections are hampered by the emergence of drug-resistant mutations and vaccine-escape mutations. Our results provide the biological properties and clinical significance of specific HBV core promoter mutations.

• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.33-39
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• 2000

Purpose: Our study was designed to investigate the association of MHC Class II (DR, DQ) allele with IgA nephropathy and its significance as a prognostic factor for progression to ESRD Material and Methods: 69 children with IgA nephropathy with normal renal function(serum creatinine $\leq$ 1.5mg/dL) was classified as group A and 70 patients who received renal transplantation due to IgA nephropathy were selected as group B. The HLA-DQB1 and HLA-DRB1 alleles were studied by polymerase chain reaction using sequence specific primers. We have compared the difference in alleles between these two groups and with normal control and also examined any possible effect of the MHC class II genes on the histopathological severity and prognosis of IgAN. Results: Mean age was $8.8{\pm}2.9$ years in group A and $35.0{\pm}15.5$ years in group B. Male to female ratio was 2.8:1 in group A and 2.5:1 in group B. There was a significantly higher frequency of HLA-$DQB1^*03\;and\;DQB1^*05$ in Group B. The frequency of HLA-$DQB1^*0302\;and\;^*05031$ allele had increasing tendency in Group B(P<0.05). HLA-$DRB1^*03\;and\;^*05$ were more common in Group B(P<0.05). HLA-$DRB1^*04$ allele was the most common DR alleles in both group, but there was no statistical significance. There were no significant correlation with MHC class 13 genes on the hjstopathological severity in Group A. Conclusion: In conclusion, $HLA-DQB1^*0302\;and\;HLA-DQB1^*05031 $ allele seemed to be more common in transplanted patients compared to group with normal renal function suggesting that this allele is associated with poor prognosis in IgAN. However larger studies and follow up are required to confirm this due to uncharacterized heterogeneity in etiopathogenesis of IgA nephropathy and possibly one or more than one gene may exert influence in determining susceptibility to the diseases.

• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.181-188
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• 2013

노인에게서 두드러지게 나타나고 있는 저근육형 비만은 근육감소를 동반한 체지방의 증가로 신체상의 뚜렷한 체성분의 변화를 야기 시킨다. 이때 골감소증을 동반하여 신체기능의 감소 및 골절장애 그리고 대사성 관련 질환의 위험도가 올라가는 것으로 보고되고 있다. 노화로 인한 체성분의 변화는 단순한 저근육형일 경우와 비만일 때 보다 급격히 증가된 복부내장 지방조직에서 분비되는 염증성 사이토카인, C-반응성 단백질(CRP), 인터루킨(IL)-6, IL-8 및 종양 괴사 인자(TNF-${\alpha}$)들이 단백질 대사를 저해하여 근육량의 감소를 더욱 촉진시키며, 염증관련 대사질환의 유병률에 중요한 요인이다. 본 연구에서는 DNA 메틸화가 당뇨병, 심혈관질환, 암과 같은 만성염증성 질환에 관계하고 있다는 최근 연구 결과를 기초로 하여 항염증 영양소와 생리활성을 갖는 식품인자들의 충분한 섭취가 염증조절에 중요하게 기여할 것으로 생각되며, 또한 염증성 질환의 주요 표식자인 DNA 메틸화와 히스톤 변형을 유발하는 효소의 활성 또는 비 암호화된 RNA의 발현을 조절함으로써 근육량 증가와 체지방 감소에 중요한 역할을 하는 것을 살펴보았다. 따라서 최근 새롭게 인식되는 후생유전학적 연구의 중심에 있는 항염증 영양소의 효과와 체성분 변화와의 긍정적 관계를 중심으로 저근육형 비만의 예방 및 인구고령화에 건강한 노화를 위한 효과적인 방법을 제시하였다.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2010.02a
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• pp.113-113
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• 2010

유비쿼터스 시대를 맞이하여 현재의 전자제품은 초고주파 환경에서의 소형화된 마이크로파 소자를 요구하고 있다. 마이크로파 대역에서 세라믹 소재는 대부분의 폴리머 소재에 비해 낮은 유전손실 값을 보이고 있어 향후 확대되는 고주파화에 적합한 소재로 평가되고 있다. 하지만 세라믹 재료는 깨지기 쉬운 특성을 가지고 있어 공정 및 취급이 어려우며 높은 소결온도를 가지고 있어 융점이 낮은 재료와의 집적화에 있어서 난점을 가지고 있다. 이를 위해 본 연구실에서는 실온에서 세라믹을 비롯한 금속 및 폴리머 재료의 치밀한 코팅막의 성막 및 이종 접합이 가능한 Aerosol Deposition (AD 법)에 주목하였고 마이크로파 소자 제작 공정으로서 AD 법의 응용 가능성을 연구하였다. 마이크로파 소자의 기판으로서는 AD 법을 이용하여 유전손실이 낮고 플렉서블한 $Al_2O_3$-PTFE 혼합 기판을 제작하고 적용하였다. 금속 선로 패터닝 제작 공정으로는 도금법이 대표적이지만 고비용 및 복잡한 공정 절차, 폐화학용액으로 인한 환경문제 등의 단점을 지니고 있어 이를 대체하는 금속 선로 패터닝 공정이 절실히 요구되고 있다. 이를 위해 본 연구에서는 AD 법을 이용하여 금속 필름을 제작하고 대체 공정으로서의 가능성을 확인하였다. 하지만 AD 법을 이용한 세라믹 필름 제작에 관한 연구는 크게 활성화되어 있는 반면에 금속 필름의 제작, 특성 측정 및 개선에 관한 연구는 그에 비해 미비한 수준이다. 이를 위해 이번 연구에서는 AD 법을 이용하여 금속 필름을 성막 시에 영향을 미치는 요인을 고찰하였으며 또한 마이크로파 소자의 도체 손실에 크게 관계되는 금속 필름의 비저항 특성의 측정 및 개선에 관한 연구를 수행하였다. 이를 위해 본 연구에서는 정전장 시뮬레이션을 활용하여 AD 법으로 성막된 금속 필름의 정밀한 비저항 측정에 관한 연구방법을 마련하고 후열처리를 통한 비저항 특성을 개선시키는 연구를 진행하였다.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.95 no.6
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• pp.672-679
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• 2006

Postharvest nut quality, and changes of soluble solids content and kernel hardness during cold storage in 13 Korean prevailing chestnut cultivars were investigated to establish the chestnut grading and standardization for marketing and processing industry. Chestnut quality attributes such as nut weight, soluble solids content, kernel hardness, % with the pericarp split, and % of polyembryonic nuts were measured from 2001 to 2005. There were significant difference among cultivars in quality characteristics, and also annual variation within same cultivar, corresponded to the high genetic and environmental variability. During cold storage at $2^{\circ}C$ for 16 weeks, remarkable changes in soluble solids content were observed, and Isseumo showed the highest increase of 8% at 16 weeks of cold storage compared with postharvest. In case of most cultivars except early ripening cultivars, soluble solids content of chestnut increased until 12 weeks during cold storage, followed by decreased gradually thereafter. Kernel hardness of most cultivars except lshizuchi during cold storage increased slightly, but it was not statistically significant. This work would be a useful reference to the quality of each chestnut cultivar for the growers and breeders alike.

• Journal of Genetic Medicine
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.34-40
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• 2008

Purpose : Preeclampsia is a major cause of maternal and perinatal mortality and morbidity and is considered to be a multifactorial disorder involving a genetic predisposition and environmental factors. Endothelin-1 (ET-1) is a potent vasoconstrictor peptide, and alterations in the ET-1 system are thought to play a role in triggering the vasoconstriction seen with preeclampsia. The aim of this study was to examine the frequency of the 4 common single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (c.1370T>G, c.137_139delinsA, c.3539+2T>C, and c.5665G>T) of the ET-1 gene in normotensive and preeclamptic pregnancies and to investigate whether these SNPs are associated with preeclampsia in pregnant Korean women. Methods : We analyzed blood samples from 206 preeclamptic and 216 normotensive pregnancies using a commercially available SNapShot kit and an ABI Prism 3100 Genetic analyzer. Results : There were no significant differences in genotype or allele frequencies of the 4 SNPs in the ET-1 gene between preeclamptic and normotensive pregnancies. The respective frequencies of the 3 haplotypes (TDTG, GDCT, and TICT; >10% haplotype frequency) were 61%, 13% and 13%, respectively, in preeclampsic pregnancies and 62%, 14% and 12%, respectively, in normotensive pregnancies. The frequencies of these haplotypes were similar for both groups. Using multiple logistic regression analysis, we did not observe an increase in the risk of preeclampsia for the 4 SNPs of the ET-1 gene under either a recessive or dominant model. Conclusion : This study suggests that the 4 SNPs of the ET-1 gene are not associated with an increased risk for preeclampsia in pregnant Korean women.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.46 no.1 s.145
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• pp.57-62
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• 2007

Reproductive incompatibility is an Important factor to select a specific biologlcal control agent for successful augmentation of the corresponding endogenous population. An endoparasitoid, Cotesia plutellae (Kurdjumov), is an effective control agent to diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L.) and has been known to be classified into two groups in terms of reproductive incompatibility. This study analyzed an Korean population of C. plutellae in terms of morphological characters and mitochondrial DNA marker, which did not match with either of two reproductive incompatibility groups. These results suggest that a Korean population of C. plutellae can be involved in a novel reproductive group. For any augmentation program of C. plutellae in Korea, reproductive incompatibility should be seriously considered to select a particular exotic population.

• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.47-61
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• 2007

In SCM (supply chain management), companies are pursuing a new approach through which overall functions within the supply chain, ranging from material purchase to production, distribution, and sales are designed, planned, and managed in an integrated way. The core functions among them are production planning and distribution planning. As these problems are mutually related, they should be dealt with simultaneously in an integrated manner. SCM is large-scale and multi-stage problems. Also, its various kinds of internal or external factors can, at any time, dynamically bring a change to the existing plan or situation. Recently, many enterprises are moving toward an open architecture for integrating their activities with their suppliers, customers and other partners within the supply chain. Agent-based technology provides an effective approach in such environments. Multi-agent systems have been proven suitable to represent domains such as supply chain networks which involve interactions among manufacturing organization, their customers, suppliers, etc. with different individual goals and propriety information. In this paper, we propose a multi-agent system based on the genetic algorithm that make it possible to integrate the production and distribution planning on a real-time basis in SCM. The proposed genetic algorithm produced near optimal solution and we checked that there is a great difference in the results between integrated planning and non-integrated planning.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.261-271
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• 2016

Citrus is an economically important fruit crop widely growing worldwide. However, citrus production largely depends on natural hybrid selection and bud sport mutation. Unique botanical features including long juvenility, polyembryony, and QTL that controls major agronomic traits can hinder the development of superior variety by conventional breeding. Diverse factors including drastic changes of citrus production environment due to global warming and changes in market trends require systematic molecular breeding program for early selection of elite candidates with target traits, sustainable production of high quality fruits, cultivar diversification, and cost-effective breeding. Since the construction of the first genetic linkage map using isozymes, citrus scientists have constructed linkage maps using various DNA-based markers and developed molecular markers related to biotic and abiotic stresses, polyembryony, fruit coloration, seedlessness, male sterility, acidless, morphology, fruit quality, seed number, yield, early fruit setting traits, and QTL mapping on genetic maps. Genes closely related to CTV resistance and flesh color have been cloned. SSR markers for identifying zygotic and nucellar individuals will contribute to cost-effective breeding. The two high quality citrus reference genomes recently released are being efficiently used for genomics-based molecular breeding such as construction of reference linkage/physical maps and comparative genome mapping. In the near future, the development of DNA molecular markers tightly linked to various agronomic traits and the cloning of useful and/or variant genes will be accelerated through comparative genome analysis using citrus core collection and genome-wide approaches such as genotyping-by-sequencing and genome wide association study.