• 제목/요약/키워드: Biological Education

검색결과 1,182건 처리시간 0.027초

Roles of Oncogenic Long Non-coding RNAs in Cancer Development

  • Do, Hyunhee;Kim, Wanyeon
    • Genomics & Informatics
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    • 제16권4호
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    • pp.18.1-18.9
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    • 2018
  • Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are classified as RNAs that are longer than 200 nucleotides and cannot be translated into protein. Several studies have demonstrated that lncRNAs are directly or indirectly involved in a variety of biological processes and in the regulation of gene expression. In addition, lncRNAs have important roles in many diseases including cancer. It has been shown that abnormal expression of lncRNAs is observed in several human solid tumors. Several studies have shown that many lncRNAs can function as oncogenes in cancer development through the induction of cell cycle progression, cell proliferation and invasion, anti-apoptosis, and metastasis. Oncogenic lncRNAs have the potential to become promising biomarkers and might be potent prognostic targets in cancer therapy. However, the biological and molecular mechanisms of lncRNA involvement in tumorigenesis have not yet been fully elucidated. This review summarizes studies on the regulatory and functional roles of oncogenic lncRNAs in the development and progression of various types of cancer.

Purification and Physicochemical Characterization of a Recombinant Phospholipid Hydroperoxide Glutathione Peroxidase from Oryza sativa

  • Wang, Zebin;Wang, Feng;Duan, Rui;Liu, Jin-Yuan
    • BMB Reports
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    • 제40권3호
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    • pp.412-418
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    • 2007
  • Phospholipid hydroperoxide glutathione peroxidase (PHGPx) is an unique antioxidant enzyme that directly reduces lipid hydroperoxides in biomembranes. In the present work, the entire encoding region for Oryza sativa PHGPx was expressed in Escherichia coli M15, and the purified fusion protein showed a single band with 21.0 kD and pI = 8.5 on SDS- and IFE-PAGE, respectively. Judging from CD and fluorescence spectroscopy, this protein is considered to have a well-ordered structure with 12.2% $\alpha$-helix, 30.7%$\beta$-sheet, 18.5% $\delta$-turn, and 38.5% random coil. The optimum pH and temperature of the enzyme activity were pH 9.3 and 27$^{\circ}C$. The enzyme exhibited the highest affinity and catalytical efficiency to phospholipid hydroperoxide employing GSH or Trx as electron donor. Moreover, the protein displayed higher GSH-dependent activity towards t-Butyl-OOH and $H_2O_2$. These results show that OsPHGPx is an enzyme with broad specificity for hydroperoxide substrates and yielded significant insight into the physicochemical properties and the dynamics of OsPHGPx.

Exploiting Natural Diatom Shells as an Affordable Polar Host for Sulfur in Li-S Batteries

  • Hyean-Yeol Park;Sun Hyu Kim;Jeong-Hoon Yu;Ji Eun Kwon;Ji Yang Lim;Si Won Choi;Jong-Sung Yu;Yongju Jung
    • Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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    • 제15권1호
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    • pp.198-206
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    • 2024
  • Given the high theoretical capacity (1,675 mAh g-1) and the inherent affordability and ubiquity of elemental sulfur, it stands out as a prominent cathode material for advanced lithium metal batteries. Traditionally, sulfur was sequestered within conductive porous carbons, rooted in the understanding that their inherent conductivity could offset sulfur's non-conductive nature. This study, however, pivots toward a transformative approach by utilizing diatom shell (DS, diatomite)-a naturally abundant and economically viable siliceous mineral-as a sulfur host. This approach enabled the development of a sulfurlayered diatomite/S composite (DS/S) for cathodic applications. Even in the face of the insulating nature of both diatomite and sulfur, the DS/S composite displayed vigorous participation in the electrochemical conversion process. Furthermore, this composite substantially curbed the loss of soluble polysulfides and minimized structural wear during cycling. As a testament to its efficacy, our Li-S battery, integrating this composite, exhibited an excellent cycling performance: a specific capacity of 732 mAh g-1 after 100 cycles and a robust 77% capacity retention. These findings challenge the erstwhile conviction of requiring a conductive host for sulfur. Owing to diatomite's hierarchical porous architecture, eco-friendliness, and accessibility, the DS/S electrode boasts optimal sulfur utilization, elevated specific capacity, enhanced rate capabilities at intensified C rates, and steadfast cycling stability that underscore its vast commercial promise.

Initial Preliminary Studies in National Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) Stations of Daechung Reservoir

  • Lee, Sang-Jae;Lee, Jae-Hoon;Kim, Jong-Im;La, Geung-Hwan;Yoem, Min-Ae;Shin, Woong-Ghi;Kim, Hyun-Woo;Jang, Min-Ho;An, Kwang-Guk
    • 생태와환경
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    • 제42권4호
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    • pp.476-486
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    • 2009
  • Major objective of our study was to introduce initial researches of national long-term ecological monitoring studies on Daechung Reservoir, as one of the representative lentic reservoir ecosystems in Korea. For the long-term ecological research (LTER), we conducted preliminary field monitoring during 2008~2009 and analyzed biological parameters such as phytoplankton, zooplankton, and freshwater fish along with chemical water quality and empirical model analysis. According to phytoplankton surveys, major taxa have varied largely depending on seasons and sites sampled. Overall phytoplankton data showed that cyanophyta dominated in the summer period and diatoms dominated in the winter. In zooplankton analysis, 25 species including 20 rotifers, 3 cladocerans and 2 copepods were collected during the survey. The relative abundance of rotifers (86.5%) was always greater than that of cladocerans (6.3%) or copepods (5.1%). There were distinct spatial and inter-annual changes in the abundance of zooplankton in the reservoir, displaying similar patterns in three sites with the exception of S3 during the study. According to fish surveys, 8 families and 39 species were observed during 2008~2009. The most dominant fish was an exotic species of Lepomis macrochirus (23%), indicating an severe influence of exotic species to the ecosystem. TP averaged $17.9\;{\mu}g\;L^{-1}$ ($6{\sim}80\;{\mu}g\;L^{-1}$), which was judged as a mesotrophy, and showed a distinct longitudinal gradients. TN averaged $1.585\;{\mu}g\;L^{-1}$ during the study and judged as hypereutrophic condition. Unlike TP, TN didn't show any large seasonal and spatial variations. Under the circumstances, nitrogen limitation may not happen in this system, indicating that nitrogen control is not effective in the watershed managements. These data generated in the LTER station will provide key information on long-term biological and water quality changes in relation to global warming and some clues for efficient reservoir ecosystem managements.

Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Heterocyclic Ring-substituted Chalcone Derivatives as Novel Inhibitors of Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase 1B

  • Chen, Zhen-Hua;Sun, Liang-Peng;Zhang, Wei;Shen, Qiang;Gao, Li-Xin;Li, Jia;Piao, Hu-Ri
    • Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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    • 제33권5호
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    • pp.1505-1508
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    • 2012
  • Protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) is a key factor in negative regulation of the insulin pathway, and is a promising target for the treatment of type-II diabetes, obesity and cancer. Herein, compound ($\mathbf{4}$) was first observed to have moderate inhibitory activity against PTP1B with an $IC_{50}$ value of $13.72{\pm}1.53{\mu}M$. To obtain more potent PTP1B inhibitors, we synthesized a series of chalcone derivatives using compound ($\mathbf{4}$) as the lead compound. Compound $\mathbf{4l}$ ($IC_{50}=3.12{\pm}0.18{\mu}M$) was 4.4-fold more potent than the lead compound $\mathbf{4}$ ($IC_{50}=13.72{\pm}1.53{\mu}M$), and more potent than the positive control, ursolic acid ($IC_{50}=3.40{\pm}0.21{\mu}M$). These results may help to provide suitable drug-like lead compounds for the design of inhibitors of PTP1B as well as other PTPs.

식물형태학에서 사용하는 종자식물의 생식구조에 관한 한글 용어의 분석 (Analysis of Some Korean Terminologies on the Reproductive Structures of Seed Plants in Plant Morphology)

  • 이규배
    • 통합자연과학논문집
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    • 제1권3호
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    • pp.195-209
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    • 2008
  • Some Korean terminologies on reproductive structures of seed plants in plant morphology, written incorrectly in many books, were analysed to propose accurately expressed terminologies. 31 books in areas such as general biology, plant biology, plant morphology, and biological dictionaries and glossaries were selected to analyse the accuracy of the terminologies for reproductive structures in gymnosperms, e.g., cone or strobilus, seed (or ovulate) cone and pollen cone, and conifer(s) or coniferous plants, and for flower structures in angiosperms, e.g., corolla, anther, filament, pistillate (or female) flower and staminate (or male) flower, apocarpous, and syncarpous. The definition and etymology of the terminologies were traced in 4 textbooks of plant anatomy and 2 dictionaries of biology and botany written in English. On the basis of the definition, etymology, and principles for terminology formation according to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO 704:2000), reasonably expressed Korean terminologies were proposed. All of the 8 terminologies examined in this study were included in the glossary of biological terminologies, published by the Korean Association of Biological Sciences in 2005, and designated as an editorial source for science and biology textbooks for middle and high schools by Ministry of Education in 2007. However, the only 1 of the 8 terminologies described in the glossary were consistent with the proposed expression in the present study. These inconsistencies indicated the need for a reassessment of this glossary of biological terminologies. The newly proposed terminologies would facilitate mutual understanding between teachers and students of plant biology.

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식물형태학 분야에서 사용하는 줄기의 구조에 관한 한글 용어의 분석 (Analysis of Some Korean Terminologies on the Stem Structures in Plant Morphology)

  • 이규배
    • 통합자연과학논문집
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    • 제1권3호
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    • pp.234-246
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    • 2008
  • Korean terminologies on stem structures in plant morphology, written incorrectly in many books, were analysed to propose accurately expressed terminologies. 35 books in areas such as general biology, plant biology, plant morphology, and biological dictionaries and glossaries were selected to analyse the accuracy of the terminologies for seed structures, e.g., shoot and shoot system, rhizome, apical dominance, anticlinal and periclinal divisions, and intercalary and lateral meristems. The definition and etymology of the terminologies were traced in 4 textbooks of plant anatomy and 2 dictionaries of biology and botany written in English. On the basis of the definition, etymology, and principles for terminology formation according to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO 704:2000), reasonably expressed Korean terminologies were proposed. All of the 8 terminologies examined in this study were included in the glossary of biological terminologies, published by the Korean Association of Biological Sciences in 2005, and designated as an editorial source for science and biology textbooks for middle and high schools by Ministry of Education in 2007. However, the only 1 of the 8 terminologies described in the glossary were consistent with the proposed expression in the present study. These inconsistencies indicated the need for a reassessment of this glossary of biological terminologies. The validity of the proposed Korean terminologies was tested in a questionnaire sent to 17 professors teaching plant morphology or/and taxonomy at universities. A mean of 91.9% of the total respondents agreed with the Korean expressions proposed in this study. The new, proposed terminologies would facilitate mutual understanding between teachers and students of plant biology.

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