• Molecules and Cells
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• v.37 no.7
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• pp.547-553
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• 2014

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is one of the most common brain malignancies and has a very poor prognosis. Recent evidence suggests that the presence of cancer stem cells (CSC) in GBM and the rare CSC subpopulation that is resistant to chemotherapy may be responsible for the treatment failure and unfavorable prognosis of GBM. A garlic-derived compound, Z-ajoene, has shown a range of biological activities, including anti-proliferative effects on several cancers. Here, we demonstrated for the first time that Z-ajoene specifically inhibits the growth of the GBM CSC population. CSC sphere-forming inhibition was achieved at a concentration that did not exhibit a cytotoxic effect in regular cell culture conditions. The specificity of this inhibitory effect on the CSC population was confirmed by detecting CSC cell surface marker CD133 expression and biochemical marker ALDH activity. In addition, stem cell-related mRNA profiling and real-time PCR revealed the differential expression of CSC-specific genes, including Notch, Wnt, and Hedgehog, upon treatment with Z-ajoene. A proteomic approach, i.e., reverse-phase protein array (RPPA) and Western blot analysis, showed decreased SMAD4, p-AKT, 14.3.3 and FOXO3A expression. The protein interaction map (http://string-db.org/) of the identified molecules suggested that the AKT, ERK/p38 and $TGF{\beta}$ signaling pathways are key mediators of Z-ajoene's action, which affects the transcriptional network that includes FOXO3A. These biological and bioinformatic analyses collectively demonstrate that Z-ajoene is a potential candidate for the treatment of GBM by specifically targeting GBM CSCs. We also show how this systemic approach strengthens the identification of new therapeutic agents that target CSCs.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.10 no.11
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• pp.80-91
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• 2010

Typography is very important for the delivery of information and for its aesthetic functions, typography focuses on facilitating faster and easier legibility for audience in modern society. But analysis for pre-studies for typography are limited in trend in the center of Kinetic Typography, dissolution of typography and territory extend as well as its typography analyzed by plastic arts aspects to acutely requiring expressing strategy and study based on typographic theory in working-level are insufficient. This study is to apply systematic theory to typography in order to suggest guidelines for increasing utility of typography for graphic design. It presents case studies, organized by theme, focusing on graphic design artworks featured in world-renowned specialty publications like the Creative 38 Annual Awards during 2008 and 2009. For practical help to designers engaged in various projects, it also suggests practical tactics for development that may enhance creative strategies in the creation of designs adopting typography. This study offers systematic usage methods of typography to the practical graphic designers and expected to contribute to the development of graphic designs that stimulate the visual senses of their audiences.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.777-783
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• 2015

Wood is an anisotropic material that shows the changes in hardness, quality and dimensions depending on the types of cells on three cross sections, size, array and so on. It can also be used in different ways according to its use, which requires a meticulous research, in order to maximize the utilization by understanding the nature and use; and by clarifying the theory and technologies. The research on relationship among wood's physical properties, density, and elasticity of modulus have been studied in Korea and abroad, but those studies were based on correlation gained through standardized specimen. Rather, the study on complete product is rare. Moreover, the previous reports are mostly concentrating on vibration mode and batting, though the wood's physical properties as a material have not been in the main focus. Therefore, this study will carried out for analyzing MOE through figuring material property out and comparing frequency adapting to the Canadian HardMaple bat. For comparison of material properties, we studied the annual ring and density of the bat; calculated the MOE with resonance frequency and formula (ASTM C1259); and verified the repulsive force of this material. As a result, the relevance of the resonance frequency and annual ring is weak, and in comparison in the grain direction in wood, the MOE value is higher when the grain direction in wood is excited horizontally than when is excited vertically, because the material is repulsive when grain direction is horizontal.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.40.1-40.1
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• 2010

The Main payload of the STSAT-3 (Korea Science & Technology Satellite-3), MIRIS (Multipurpose Infra-Red Imaging System) has been developed for last 3 years by KASI, and its Flight Model (FM) is now being developed as the final stage. All optical lenses and the opto-mechanical components of the FM have been completely fabricated with slight modifications that have been made to some components based on the Engineering Qualification Model (EQM) performances. The components of the telescope have been assembled and the test results show its optical performances are acceptable for required specifications in visual wavelength (@633 nm) at room temperature. The ensuing focal plane integration and focus test will be made soon using the vacuum chamber. The MIRIS mechanical structure of the EQM has been modified to develop FM according to the performance and environment test results. The filter-wheel module in the cryostat was newly designed with Finite Element Analysis (FEM) in order to compensate for the vibration stress in the launching conditions. Surface finishing of all components were also modified to implement the thermal model for the passive cooling technique. The FM electronics design has been completed for final fabrication process. Some minor modifications of the electronics boards were made based on EQM test performances. The ground calibration tests of MIRIS FM will be made with the science grade Teledyne PICNIC IR-array.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.17-26
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• 2010

Pb-Sn solder is rapidly being replaced by lead-free solder for board-level interconnection in microelectronic package assemblies due to the environmental protection requirement. There is a general lack of mechanical reliability information available on the lead-free solder. In this study, thermo-mechanical behaviors of wire-bond plastic ball grid array (WB-PBGA) package assemblies are characterized by high-sensitivity moire interferometry. Experiments are conducted for two types of WB-PBGA packages that have Pb-Sn solder and lead-free solder as joint interconnections. Using real-time moire setup, fringe patterns are recorded and analyzed for several temperatures. Bending deformations of the assemblies and average strains of the solder balls are investigated and compared for the two type of WB-PBGA package assemblies. Results show that shear strain in #3 solder ball located near the chip shadow boundary is dominant for the failure of the package with Pb-Sn solder, while normal strain in #7 most outer solder ball is dominant for that with lead-free solder. It is also shown that the package with lead-free solder has much larger bending deformation and 10% larger maximum effective strain than the package with Pb-Sn solder at same temperature level.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.53-60
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• 2016

Objectives: Preservatives are commonly used in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and other products to extend the expiration date and prevent the growth of microorganisms. Preservatives are generally effective in controlling mold and inhibiting yeast growth, and against a wide range of bacterial attacks as well. They also adversely affect the quality of sperm and cause precocious puberty in children. This study was performed to analyze seven preservatives used in pharmaceuticals and personal care products. Methods: Five kinds of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) were examined for analysis with a high performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector. Each sample was homogenized and the targeted compounds were extracted with methanol. The suspended particulate was removed by syringe filter. Next, the sample was injected into an HPLC system. The separation of the seven preservatives was achieved with a C18 column and gradient mode. The accuracies were between 73% and 120% and precision was lower than 11.58% (RSD). Results: All of the calibration curves showed good linearity with a coefficient of determination ($r^2$) over 0.999. Among the PPCP samples, the detection rate of preservatives was 32.5% for pharmaceuticals, 44.8% for toothpaste, 76.9% for mouthwash, 40.0% for body lotion and 56.0% for wet tissues. The average concentrations of the preservatives in PPCPs were BA 1141.0 mg/kg, MP 709.8 mg/kg, EP 624.9 mg/kg, PP 216.9 mg/kg, BP 167.8 mg/kg, and TCS 538.2 mg/kg. The most frequently detected preservatives in pharmaceuticals and personal care products were BA, MP and PP. The concentrations of preservatives exceeded Korean regulatory standards in 11 samples of medicines, three of mouthwash and two of body lotion. Conclusion: We found that most of the PPCP samples contained various preservatives. It is necessary to identify which preservatives were used and to determine the level of preservatives in PPCPs and to assess the health risk to susceptible populations such as children.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.20
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• pp.8893-8900
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• 2014

Dysregulated expression of microRNAs (miRNAs) has been shown to be closely associated with tumor development, progression, and carcinogenesis. However, their clinical implications for gastric cancer remain elusive. To investigate the hypothesis that genome-wide alternations of miRNAs differentiate gastric cancer tissues from those matched adjacent non-tumor tissues (ANTTs), miRNA arrays were employed to examine miRNA expression profiles for the 5-pair discovery stage, and the quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRTPCR) was applied to validate candidate miRNAs for 48-pair validation stage. Furthermore, the relationship between altered miRNA and clinicopathological features and prognosis of gastric cancer was explored. Among a total of 1,146 miRNAs analyzed, 16 miRNAs were found to be significantly different expressed in tissues from gastric cancer compared to ANTTs (p<0.05). qRT-PCR further confirmed the variation in expression of miR-193b and miR-196a in the validation stage. Down-expression of miR-193b was significantly correlated with Lauren type, differentiation, UICC stage, invasion, and metastasis of gastric cancer (p<0.05), while over-expression of miR-196a was significantly associated with poor differentiation (p=0.022). Moreover, binary logistic regression analysis demonstrated that the UICC stage was a significant risk factor for down-expression of miR-193b (adjusted OR=8.69; 95%CI=1.06-56.91; p=0.043). Additionally, Kaplan-Meier survival curves indicated that patients with a high fold-change of down-regulated miR-193b had a significantly shorter survival time (n=19; median survival=29 months) compared to patients with a low fold-change of down-regulated miR-193b (n=29; median survival=54 months) (p=0.001). Overall survival time of patients with a low fold-change of up-regulated miR-196a (n=27; median survival=52 months) was significantly longer than that of patients with a high fold-change of up-regulated miR-196a (n=21; median survival=46 months) (p=0.003). Hence, miR-193b and miR-196a may be applied as novel and promising prognostic markers in gastric cancer.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.10
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• pp.6103-6108
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• 2013

Objective: Excision repair cross-complementing group 6 (ERCC6) is a major component of the nucleotide excision repair pathway that plays an important role in maintaining genomic stability and integrity. Several recent studies suggested a link of ERCC6 polymorphisms with susceptibility to various cancers. However, the relation of ERCC6 polymorphism with gastric cancer (GC) risk remains elusive. In this sex- and age-matched case-control study including 402 GC cases and 804 cancer-free controls, we aimed to investigate the association between a potentially functional polymorphism (rs1917799 T>G) in the ERCC6 regulatory region and GC risk. Methods: The genotypes of rs1917799 were determined by Sequenom MassARRAY platform and the status of Helicobacter pylori infection was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Odd ratios (ORs) and 95% confidential interval (CI) were calculated by logistic regression analysis. Results: Compared with the common TT genotype, the ERCC6 rs1917799 GG genotype was associated with increased GC risk (adjusted OR=1.46, 95%CI: 1.03-2.08, P=0.035). When compared with (GT+TT) genotypes, the GG genotype also demonstrated a statistical association with increased GC risk (adjusted OR=1.38, 95%CI: 1.01-1.89, P=0.044). This was also observed for the male subpopulation (GG vs. TT: adjusted OR=1.71, 95%CI: 1.12-2.62, P=0.013; G allele vs. T allele: adjusted OR=1.32, 95%CI: 1.07-1.62, P=0.009). Genetic effects on increased GC risk tended to be enhanced by H. pylori infection, smoking and drinking, but their interaction effects on GC risk did not reach statistical significance. Conclusions: ERCC6 rs1917799 GG genotype might be associated with increased GC risk in Chinese, especially in males.

• Herbal Formula Science
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.11-29
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• 2008

Objective : The aim of this study was to analyse the latest trend of medical science articles about Bojungikki-Tang published in Japan. Methods : We searched medical science articles published from 2003 to 2008 in Japan on the web site, CiNii and then these articles were reviewed and classified according to experimental subject and method. Results : Fifty-two articles, related to Bojungikki-Tang were searched and these were classified into three classes, pharmacological signaling studies, clinical case studies and the others. As a result of classification, clinical case studies were most abundant by 38 cases, pharmacological signaling studies were 10 and the others were 4. This result suggested that the study of Bojungikki-Tang was mainly focused on clinical study rather than experimental study. Among the clinical case studies, clinical studies related to immune disease took the most greatest number and number of other clinical studies were evenly distributed over the various disease. Immune intensification effect of Bojungikki-Tang can be thought continuous with reinforce the middle Jiao Qi in company with improvement effect on growth hormone failure and male infertility. A fact that the one prescription, Bojungikki-Tang could be used to treat various diseases reflects a viewpoint of Oriental medicine that is based on the respect for and understanding of individual constitution and disposition while paying attention to the gender difference and individuality. The clinical usefulness of Bojungikki-Tang on obstructive sleep apnea syndrome and visceroptosis concerns with ascend Yang and treat Qi sinking. Pharmacological signaling studies were mainly focused on diseases that were treated Bojungikki-Tang in clinic, however, there was one study that experimented on changes of numerous gene expression according to the treatment of Bojungikki-Tang using DNA array. Conclusion : The therapeutic system of Oriental medicine is different in various aspects form that of Western medicine and appropriate harmonization of east and west is expected to improve the quality of medical care. In this regard, continuous investigation and analysis about herbal medical science papers in Japan can also be useful to make progress in Korean traditional medicine.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.52 no.5
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• pp.357-366
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• 2010

The emergence of next-generation sequencing technologies has lead to application of new computational and statistical methodologies that allow incorporating genetic information from entire genomes of many individuals composing the population. For example, using single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) obtained from whole genome amplification platforms such as the Ilummina BovineSNP50 chip, many researchers are actively engaged in the genetic evaluation of cattle livestock using whole genome relationship analyses. In this study, we estimated the genomic relationship matrix (GRM) and compared it with one computed using a pedigree relationship matrix (PRM) using a population of Hanwoo. This project is a preliminary study that will eventually include future work on genomic selection and prediction. Data used in this study were obtained from 187 blood samples consisting of the progeny of 20 young bulls collected after parentage testing from the Hanwoo improvement center, National Agriculture Cooperative Federation as well as 103 blood samples from the progeny of 12 proven bulls collected from farms around the Kyong-buk area in South Korea. The data set was divided into two cases for analysis. In the first case missing genotypes were included. In the second case missing genotypes were excluded. The effect of missing genotypes on the accuracy of genomic relationship estimation was investigated. Estimation of relationships using genomic information was also carried out chromosome by chromosome for whole genomic SNP markers based on the regression method using allele frequencies across loci. The average correlation coefficient and standard deviation between relationships using pedigree information and chromosomal genomic information using data which was verified using a parentage test andeliminated missing genotypes was $0.81{\pm}0.04$ and their correlation coefficient when using whole genomic information was 0.98, which was higher. Variation in relationships between non-inbred half sibs was $0.22{\pm}0.17$ on chromosomal and $0.22{\pm}0.04$ on whole genomic SNP markers. The variations were larger and unusual values were observed when non-parentage test data were included. So, relationship matrix by genomic information can be useful for genetic evaluation of animal breeding.