• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• 제23권5호
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• pp.36.1-36.16
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• 2023

Thymic epithelial cells (TECs) play a critical role in thymic development and thymopoiesis. As individuals age, TECs undergo various changes that impact their functions, leading to a reduction in cell numbers and impaired thymic selection. These age-related alterations have been observed in both mice and humans. However, the precise mechanisms underlying age-related TEC dysfunction remain unclear. Furthermore, there is a lack of a comprehensive study that connects mouse and human biological processes in this area. To address this gap, we conducted an extensive transcriptome analysis of young and old TECs in mice, complemented by further analysis of publicly available human TEC single-cell RNA sequencing data. Our analysis revealed alterations in both known and unknown pathways that potentially contribute to age-related TEC dysfunction. Specifically, we observed downregulation of pathways related to cell proliferation, T cell development, metabolism, and cytokine signaling in old age TECs. Conversely, TGF-β, BMP, and Wnt signaling pathways were upregulated, which have been known to be associated with age-related TEC dysfunctions or newly discovered in this study. Importantly, we found that these age-related changes in mouse TECs were consistently present in human TECs as well. This cross-species validation further strengthens the significance of our findings. In conclusion, our comprehensive analysis provides valuable insight into the biological and immunological characteristics of aged TECs in both mice and humans. These findings contribute to a better understanding of thymic involution and age-induced immune dysfunction.

• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• 제48권4호
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• pp.33-44
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• 2023

In this review, the regulatory mechanisms of autophagy were described, and its interaction with apoptosis was identified. The role of autophagy in embryogenesis, tooth development, and cell differentiation were also investigated. Autophagy is regulated by various autophagy-related genes and those related to stress response. Highly active autophagy occurrences have been reported during cell differentiation before implantation after fertilization. Autophagy is involved in energy generation and supplies nutrients during early birth, essential to compensate for their deficient supply from the placenta. The contribution of autophagy during tooth development, such as the shape of the crown and root formation, ivory, and homeostasis in cells, was also observed. Genes control autophagy, and studying the role of autophagy in cell differentiation and development was useful for understanding human aging, illness, and health. In the future, the role of specific mechanisms in the development and differentiation of autophagy may increase the understanding of the pathological mechanisms of disease and development processes and is expected to reduce the treatment of various diseases by modulating the autophagic phenomenon.

• 대한안전경영과학회지
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• 제26권1호
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• pp.25-30
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• 2024

Considering the difficulties of the manufacturing industry by improving production efficiency in the era of high wages and aging in domestic automation facilities, automation facilities are considered an irreversible trend, but many serious related disasters are occurring due to the problems of increasing automation facilities due to the enlargement of manufacturing processes, line-up, and automation. The purpose of this study is to review the usage conditions and safety measures for industrial robots that are experiencing serious industrial accidents and are expected to continue to increase in facilities among automation facilities at the automation industrial site and propose ways to ensure the fundamental safety of the facilities at all times The suggestions are as follows. The purpose is to prevent safety accidents in advance by applying safety door aids to industrial sites and installing additional safety devices in safety slide door lock systems applied to safety fence doors of new and already installed facilities to detach safety keys and ensure that workers carry them at all times.

• Design & Manufacturing
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• 제18권2호
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• pp.35-40
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• 2024

Injection molding is a process widely used across various industries for molding plastics, and it is the most commonly applied process in root industries utilizing molds. Among the different types of injection molding, insert injection molding, where busbars are used as inserts, is increasingly being applied in the electric vehicle industry. However, currently, the insert injection molding process is manually performed, with workers placing insert components by hand before injection molding. This results in issues related to productivity, safety, and quality. Additionally, there is a growing demand for automation of such production lines due to hazardous working conditions, economic difficulties in the manufacturing industry, and the decline in the labor force caused by an aging population. This study focuses on the application of an automated system for the insert injection molding process used in electric vehicles. The development of an automated system for the transport and insertion of insert components, as well as the inspection and stacking processes after injection, has resulted in over a 25% improvement in productivity and more than a 27% reduction in defect rates.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• 제33권4호
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• pp.313-323
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• 2024

Deterioration of buildings is one of the biggest problems in modern society, and the importance of a safety diagnosis for old buildings is increasing. Therefore, most countries have legal maintenance and safety diagnosis regulations. However, the reliability of the existing safety diagnostic processes is reduced because they involve subjective judgments in the data collection. In addition, unstructured tasks increase rework rates, which are time-consuming and not cost-effective. Therefore, This paper proposed the method that can calculate the safety grade of deterioration automatically. For this, a DNN structure is generated by using existing precision inspection data and precision safety diagnostic data, and an objective building safety grade is calculated by applying status evaluation data obtained with a UAV, a laser scanner, and reverse engineering 3D models. This automated process is applied to 20 old buildings, taking about 40% less time than needed for a safety diagnosis from the existing manual operation based on the same building area. Subsequently, this study compares the resulting value for the safety grade with the already existing value to verify the accuracy of the grade calculation process, constructing the DNN with high accuracy at about 90%. This is expected to improve the reliability of aging buildings in the future, saving money and time compared to existing technologies, improving economic efficiency.

• 한국응용약물학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국응용약물학회 2007년도 Proceedings of The Convention
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• pp.79-92
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• 2007

Oxidative stress have known to be a risk factor for the degenerative processes and closely related to a lot of diseases. It is well established that antioxidants are good in protection and therapeutic means against oxidative damage. There is increasing interest in natural antioxidants and many natural antioxidants have been found and utilized as the possible protection for various diseases and skin aging. We have screened natural antioxidant agents for cosmeceuticals, nutraceuticals, and drugs as therapeutic and preventive means against oxidative stress, and have developed a number of novel antioxidants from various natural sources. A novel melanin synthesis inhibitor, Melanocin A, isolated from the metabolite of a fungal strain Eupenicillium shearii F80695 inhibited mushroom tyrosinase and melanin biosynthesis of B16 melanoma cells with $IC_{50}$ value of 9.0 nM and MIC value of $0.9\;{\mu}M$, respectively. Melanocin A also exhibited potent antioxidant activity by scavenging of DPPH and superoxide anion radicals. UV was found to increase the level of hydrogen peroxides and other reactive oxygen species (ROS) in skin tissues. This increase in ROS may not only alter the structure and function of many genes and proteins directly but may also modulate their expressions through signal transduction pathways and, ultimately, lead to skin damage. We investigated the effect of Melanocin A on UV-induced premature skin aging. Firstly, the effect of Melanocin A on UV-induced matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 expression in an immortalized human keratinocyte cell line, HaCaT in vitro was investigated. Acute UV irradiation induced MMP-9 expression at both the mRNA and protein levels and Melanocin A suppressed this expression in a dose-dependent manner. We then investigated UV-induced skin changes in hairless mice in vivo by Melanocin A. Chronic exposure of hairless mouse dorsal skin to UV increased skin thickness and induced wrinkle formation and the gelatinase activities of MMP-2 and MMP-9. Moreover, Melanocin A significantly suppressed UV-induced morphologic skin changes and MMP-2 and MMP-9 expression. These results show that Melanocin A can prevent the harmful effects of UV that lead to skin aging. Therefore, we suggest that Melanocin A should be viewed as a potential therapeutic agent for preventing and/or treating premature skin aging. Terrein is a bioactive fungal metabolite isolated from Penicillium species. Terrein has a relatively simple structure and can be easily synthesized. However, the biologic effects of terrein are comparatively unknown. We found for the first time that terrein potently inhibit melanin production in melanocytes and has a strong hypopigmentary effect in a spontaneously immortalized mouse melanocyte cell line, Mel-Ab. Treatment of Mel-Ab cells with terrein (10-100 mM) for 4 days significantly reduced melanin levels in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, terrein at the same concentration also reduced tyrosinase activity. We then investigated whether terrein influences the extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (ERK) pathway and the expression of microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF), which is required for tyrosinase expression. Terrein was found to induce sustained ERK activation and MITF down-regulation, and luciferase assays showed that terrein inhibits MITF promoter activity in a dose-dependent manner. To elucidate the correlation between ERK pathway activation and a decreased MITF transcriptional level, PD98059, a specific inhibitor of the ERK pathway, was applied before terrain treatment and found to abrogate the terrein-induced MITF attenuation. Terrein also reduced the tyrosinase protein level for at least 72 h. These results suggest that terrain reduces melanin synthesis by reducing tyrosinase production via ERK activation, and that this is followed by MITF down-regulation.

• 생명과학회지
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• 제21권5호
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• pp.693-699
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• 2011

Spermidine은 spermine의 전구체로 역할을 하는 putrescine로부터 합성되는 polycation의 한 형태이다. 최근에 spermidine는 수명연장에 중요한 역할을 하는 하나의 polyamine으로 알려져 있다. Hydroxyl radical, superoxide 및 hydrogen peroxide와 같은 활성산소(ROS)는 노화뿐만 아니라 다양한 병원성 과정에서 관여한다고 보고되고 있다. DPPH radical, $H_2O_2$ 및 hydroxyl radical에 대한 spermidine의 소거활성과 산화적 스트레스와 관련된 DNA oxidation에 대한 보호 효과가 in-vitro에서 평가되었다. Spermidine은 500 ${\mu}M$ 이상에서 DPPH radical와 $H_2O_2$에 대한 소거 효과를 보여주었다. 특히 활성산소종 중에서 spermidine는 hydroxyl radical에 대한 효과가 탁월하였다. 뿐만 아니라, spermidine는 500 ${\mu}M$에서 DNA oxidation에 대해서도 뚜렷한 보호 효과를 나타내었다. 더욱이 사람피부섬유아세포에서 superoxide dismutase와 같은 항산화 관련 단백질의 발현이 대조군과 비교시 spermidine 존재 하에 증가하였다. 이상의 결과로부터 spermidine은 암, 노화 및 염증을 포함하는 활성산소와 관련 있는 질병들을 예방하기 위한 항산화제로 이용될 수 있을 것이다.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• 제25권5호
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• pp.511-518
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• 2017

Ultraviolet (UV) irradiation is a relevant environment factor to induce cellular senescence and photoaging. Both autophagy- and silent information regulator T1 (SIRT1)-dependent pathways are critical cellular processes of not only maintaining normal cellular functions, but also protecting cellular senescence in skin exposed to UV irradiation. In the present studies, we investigated whether modulation of autophagy induction using a novel synthetic SIRT1 activator, heptasodium hexacarboxymethyl dipeptide-12 (named as Aquatide), suppresses the UVB irradiation-induced skin aging. Treatment with Aquatide directly activates SIRT1 and stimulates autophagy induction in cultured human dermal fibroblasts. Next, we found that Aquatide-mediated activation of SIRT1 increases autophagy induction via deacetylation of forkhead box class O (FOXO) 1. Finally, UVB irradiation-induced cellular senescence measured by $SA-{\beta}-gal$ staining was significantly decreased in cells treated with Aquatide in parallel to occurring SIRT1 activation-dependent autophagy. Together, Aquatide modulates autophagy through SIRT1 activation, contributing to suppression of skin aging caused by UV irradiation.

• 한국산학기술학회논문지
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• 제19권10호
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• pp.483-489
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• 2018

고령운전자의 운전행동은 신체적 및 인지적 기능의 저하로 돌발 상황이나 시내주행에서 안전운전에 취약하다고 보고되고 있다. 본 연구는 성인 자가운전자를 대상으로 연령대에 따라서 운전행동양상에 차이가 있는지 알아보고 정상적인 노화로 인하여 발생하는 운전에 관한 신체적 기능변화를 제언하기 위함이었다. 연구 참여자는 운전면허를 소지하고 실제로 자가운전을 하는 75명(20세-39세 21명, 40-64세 40명, 65세 14명)을 대상으로 하였다. 연구 참여자는 자기-기입 설문지를 통하여 성별, 우세 손, 약물복용 여부, 운동 여부, 연령 및 운전 기간을 응답하였다. 또한 조용한 운전능력 실험실에서 운전운동평가 기기를 통하여 조향, 가속 및 제어 등의 운전운동평가를 실시하였다. 연구결과, 파워검사는 연령대에 따라서 유의한 차이가 없었으나, 타이머검사 및 응급제어검사의 총 시간은 연령에 따라 유의미하게 차이가 있으며, 20세~39세에서 가장 빠르고, 65세 이상의 노인에서 가장 느리게 나타났다. 본 연구결과를 바탕으로 정상적인 노화는 고령 운전자의 운전행동양상과 연관된 지각-인지과정에 영향을 미친다고 제언하는 바이다.

• 한국분말재료학회지
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• 제13권3호
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• pp.178-186
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• 2006

The effect of use of $H_2O$ as PCA(process control agent) to prevent the carbon contamination during mechanical alloying process and the precipitation behavior in Ni-20Cr-20Fe-5Nb bulk alloy after aging were investigated. NbC and $Cr_2O_3$ were formed during mechanical alloying and consolidation processes in the Ni-20Cr-20Fe-5Nb alloy in which methanol($CH_3OH$) was added as PCA. Formation of NbC in this alloy decreased the amount of Nb dissolved in the Ni matrix. The use of $H_2O$ as PCA in Ni-20Cr-20Fe-5Nb alloy prevented the formation of NbC and increased the hardness. The increase of hardness in this alloy was attributed to the increased amount of Nb dissolved in the Ni matrix. After aging treatment for 20 hours at $600^{\circ}C\;and\;720^{\circ}C$ of Ni-20Cr-20Fe-5Nb bulk alloy in which $H_2O$ added as PCA, ${\gamma}"$$(Ni_3Nb,\;tetragonal)\;and\;{\delta}\;(Ni_3Nb,\;orthorhombic)$ precipitates were formed, respectively. The precipitation temperatures of ${\gamma}"$ and ${\delta}$ in this bulk alloy were lower than those in commercial IN 718 alloy. It seemed that the lower precipitation temperatures for ${\gamma}"$ and ${\delta}$ in this bulk alloy than in commercial IN 718 alloy were due to severe plastic deformation during mechanical alloying.