• Journal of Life Science
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.157-166
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• 2013

This study aimed to investigate whether nociceptin contributes to the alterations in cerebral blood flow (CBF) regulation following postnatal exposure to ethanol in Sprague-Dawley rats. Animals received ethanol twice a day, 2 hr apart, on postnatal 6, 7 and 8 days. The changes in regional CBF (rCBF) in response to the changes in mean arterial blood pressure were determined at 4-, 8-, and 12-week of age by laser-Doppler flowmetry. Hypotension was induced by the gradual withdrawal of blood from arterial catheter, and the reversal of blood pressure was produced by the reinfusion of blood. Expression of nociceptin-like immunoreactivity was determined in dura mater and cerebral cortex using immunohistochemistry. Postnatal exposure to ethanol almost abolished the autoregulation of rCBF in all age groups. Pretreatment with nociceptin but not with [$Nphe^1$]nociceptin(1-13)$NH_2$, a selective competitive nociceptin receptor antagonist, 5 min prior to ethanol administration preserved the autoregulation of rCBF in all age groups. Postnatal exposure to ethanol markedly increased the expressions of nociceptin-like immunoreactivity in the dura mater and cerebral cortex, both of which were significantly inhibited by pretreatment with 7-nitroindazole monosodium salt as well as aminoguanidine 5 min prior to ethanol administration in all age groups. The values of arterial blood gas analysis were not significantly different from the basal levels in all groups. These results suggest that nociceptin deeply contributes to the compensatory mechanisms for the nitric oxide-dependent alterations in CBF autoregulation following postnatal exposure to ethanol.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.39-75
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• 2009

The development of the biomedical science and technology has extended an argument about a status in constitutional law of unborn human life and a protection of the potential human life to that of an embryo and a gamete beyond a fetus. This argument has been focused on whether we should provide unborn or potential human life with human dignity and the right to life that are guaranteed by the constitutional law altogether or separately. If the right to life is given to unborn or potential human life, on what grounds can we restrict this right. Those who argue for the unity of the right to life with human dignity and the inseparability of those two claims that the right to life in itself should be guaranteed absolutely. According to the constitutional law, however, any constitutional right of the human person within the protection of essential part of the right can be compared with each other and restricted with some valid reasons from the legal perspective. This measure is unavoidable in reality because one right can come into conflict with another right frequently. Since fetus and embryo are in a process of developing into the human person, it is difficult to think that they are the same with the human person. For that reason, it is hard to consider that the right to life of fetus or embryo is the same with that of the human person. However, since a fetus has a special status as a potential human person, and an embryo also has a special value as a potential fetus upon an implantation, the right to life of fetus or embryo should be judged differently according to the stage of their development. A study on a constitutional status and protection of a fetus and an embryo is essential because unborn or potential human life is the origin of human person. Therefore, we have to make much account of their right to life and seek the legal respect for their inherent value.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.77-116
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• 2009

Owing to the development of Biotechnology, the involvement of humans in life before birth has been increasing. This means the need for the protection of unborn life takes on new importance. The respect for life and human beings which is based on fundamental constitutional principle should still be respected under civil law. This study examines how methods of respect for life are embodied in civil liability law. In particular, it enunciates the protection of unborn life within time-flow. Lastly, it studies the instruments of the civil liability law and the extent of protection for a fetus from the process of fertilization of an ovum by a sperm, development into an embryo and implantation. Especially, it looks into when and how the subject of the right changes. Besides, it critically scrutinizes the opinions of leading case lawyers and the Constitutional Court which conclude that, in order for a fetus to become the subject of Damage law, it is required to be born alive to comply with precedent. Furthermore, it suggests an alternative interpretation theory.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.11-38
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• 2009

"Bioethics" may have various meanings depending on its roles. It may mean professional ethics for scientists and physicians, etc. It may also mean an academic discipline using interdisciplinary approach as well as a philosophical or a legal approach. "Bioethics" as an interdisciplinary study should often deal with public policy on bioethical issues. I call this role bioethics as a study of bioethics policy, which has to be developed as a new discipline. From this perspective, I deal with bioethical issues relevant to a human life before birth. There are various and often conflicting arguments about the moral status of a human life before birth such as the fertilization argument, the argument of genetic identity, so-called the "14 days" argument focusing on the formation of primitive streak, the argument of sentient being, and Michael Sandle's argument of an embryo as a being between a thing and a person. I argue that each of them is reasonable. Thus we are faced with reasonable disagreement on the views over whether a human life before birth has the same right to life as that of a person or whether right to life may be considered to be a matter of degree. If we acknowledge reasonable disagreement, as John Rawls pointed out, we should tolerate the views from ours in a plural society. Therefore, we cannot help making a policy that allows abortion and embryonic research with some limitations. When we say a certain act is morally permissible, "moral permissibility" does not mean that the act is morally right for all. Rather it means that the act cannot help being morally allowed for some persons although the others do not believe its moral rightness because they cannot right now rationally persuade others to accept their view.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.127-133
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• 1997

The phytase(myo-inositol hexkisphosphate phosphohydrolase ; EC 3.1.3.8) activity was observed only in the homogenate of intestinal mucosa, though the activity of alkaline phisphatase was measurable in various organs. In addition, no protein bands were detected in any other organs on immunoblotting using the anti-90kDa phytase antiserum. Thses results suggest that phytase is specifically present in small intestinal mucosa, and that hydrolysis of phytic acid(inositol-hexakisphosphate) can be allotted for a physiological role of the intestine-specific enzyme. The activities of phytase was increased during development of rat. The 70kDa phytase appeared just after birth, but the 90kDa phytase was not observed until adult period, suggesting that the 90kDa phytase was synthesized in response to weanling.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.83-124
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• 2015

Currently, infertility and artificial insemination have increased. However, there is no detailed legislation about this. In this study, I'll consider the legal status of artificial insemination child. Through the examination of the overseas legislation, we may get the reference of the future legislation. If we consider the increasing of infertility, artificial insemination should be allowed. And due to the well-being of artificial insemination child, such as the United States and France, the artificial insemination child should be regarded the legal child of the infertile couples. When the contradiction between the subject's basic rights has occurred, we need to consider the welfare of the child preferentially. Because the artificial insemination child has no selection of opportunity in birth, unlike adults who select the artificial insemination in their own free will. The development of biotechnology should be for the treatment of human. But creation and improvement of human must be prohibited. In addition, the social investigation of recognition about A.R.T. and general public administrative legal regulation should be made. There is a need for balanced discipline through a multi-disciplinary research. This study may be providing a legal interpretation criteria of other biotechnology researches.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.117-168
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• 2009

Generally, criminal law protect the human life after he/she has born. Before the birth, the life of fetus are protected by prohibition of abortion, not of murder. Also, the fetus is not considered as an object of infliction of injury. A popular opinion and case law say that the fetus becomes a person at the point of an outset labor pains. Recently, some theories allege that traditional opinions is not sufficient in the case of induced delivery, so it should be decided by norm, not by a simple fact, whether a unborn child is a fetus or a person, and that the fetus should be considered as an object of infliction of injury. These theories can be meaningful because these could protect human life more comprehensively. In the other side, however, these could harm the legal stability and bring the excessive punishment. Abortion of negligence is not punishable in criminal law, and there is little possibility of the fetus injury without the injury of the pregnant woman. And the Contergan Case, if it happened again, must be dealt with as crime about environment or public health more severely. These new approaches are in conflict with the principle of "nulla poena sine lege" and other fundamental rules of the criminal law, and should lead to the excessive punishment and criminal provisions. Accordingly, the decision of Supreme Court of Korea about the beginning point of human being should be maintained.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.942-948
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• 2006

This study was performed to determine whether the length of the feeding of the controlled experimental diet to the dam resulted in changes to the dam milk or pup brain fatty acid composition. As a first method, females have been obtained at 3 weeks of age and fed the experimental diet throughout their growth to adulthood including mating, pregnancy, and lactational periods. As a second method, in order to shorten this long and expensive process, time-pregnant dams were obtained as early as possible from a commercial supplier, on day 3 of gestation, and immediately switched to the experimental diet. At birth, the milk of dams prepared by these two different methods was compared by collecting the stomach contents of the pups. This showed a slight increase in docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and arachidonic acid (AA) in the pup stomach contents from the time-pregnant dams. There were no significant changes in the brain fatty acid composition of pups between the two different lengths of the experimental diet intake. By the 10 days of age, there were only minor differences in the milk fatty acid composition of pup stomach contents from the two sets of dams. However, the pup brains of the time-pregnant groups at 10 days showed increased AA and DHA due to intake of the chow diet including AA, DHA and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). Thus, the history of the maternal feeding could affect the results under these particular circumstances, but the differences were minimal.

• Korea journal of population studies
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.27-51
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• 2006

In this paper, I have tested various kinds of methods for mortality projection and chose Lee-Carter method for projection of Korean mortality by age and sex. I reviewed the trends of life tables and life expectancies by age and sex from 2005 to 2050 projected by Lee-Carter method and found that the method was very applicable for Korean mortality projection. The differences between reported and estimated data for the period of 1971-2003 were small enough for both sexes and for all of the age groups. The projected life expectancies in 2051 were 82.73 years for males and 89.41 for females, and the differences decreased from 7.06 years in 2005 to 6.68 years. Because of the limitation of Korean infant mortality rate, I adopted the Japanese estimated IMR in 2050 as Korean object level in 2051. When the time series of IMR become long enough, we can use Korean IMR directly for the mortality projection. In addition, if we can estimate the changes of the main cause of death correctly in future, the mortality projection will be more correct and reliable. This will be available when we can produce a long series of life tables by cause of deaths.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.28 no.12
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• pp.1536-1544
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• 2018

Depression is a common, serious, and recurring mental disorder. The pathogenesis of depression involves many factors such as environmental factor, genetic factor and alteration of structure and function in neurobiological systems. Increasing evidence supports that epigenetic alteration may be associated with depression. The epigenetics is explained as the mechanisms by which environmental factor causes changes in chromatin structure and alters gene expression without changing DNA base sequence. DNA methylation and histone modification involving histone acetylation and methylation are the main epigenetic mechanisms. Animal studies have shown that stressful environment such as early life stress can leave persistent epigenetic marks in the genome, which alter gene expression and influence neural and behavioral function through adulthood. A potentially important gene in depression is brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). BDNF plays a central role in depression and antidepressant action. In studies of the rodent, exposure to stress at prenatal, postnatal, and adult stages alters BDNF expression through histone modification and DNA methylation of the BDNF gene which results in anxiety and depressive-like behavior. This review discusses recent advances in the study of the epigenetic mechanisms that contribute to depression, particularly histone modification and DNA methylation of the BDNF gene, that may help in the development of new targets for depression treatment.