• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.463-472
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• 1998

Biotechnology is the process of using biological system for the production of materials. Genetic engineering, a subset of biotechnology, is the process of altering biological systems by the purposeful manipulation of DNA It is a new field in biology and no topic in biology is more likely to impact our personal lives and is therefore more worthy of our attention and understanding. The purpose of this study was to investigate students' understanding of the concepts of biotechnology, and a test tool which is made up of 20 basic questions was developed for the study. The subject of this study was high school students and the sample size was 486. In order to find out the source of students' misunderstanding, we also analysed high school textbooks and teachers were given the same tool applied to students. Two-way ANOVA was used for the analysis. Major findings of this study are as following; 1. Mean score of students was 41, and there was a significant difference between the scores of boys and girls(p<0.05). Female students scored higher than male students. The variables "region" and "major" had no significant influence. 2. Students' the most misunderstood concepts were "monoclonal antibody" and "gene cloning". Many students thought that a plamid DNA originally has a useful DNA in it, which is apparently wrong. 3. Mean score of teachers was 82, and the variabes of gender and career did not have statistically significant influence on the result(p>0.05). 4. Teachers got the lowest scores on the concepts of "gene therapy", "the accomplishment of biotechnology in agriculture and medicine", and "plasmid DNA". The results of item analysis implied that teachers' misunderstanding might be a part of the sources of students' misunderstaning. 5. Out of 18 basic concepts selected in the study, only 10 concepts were explained well enough in most textbooks. The results of item analysis indicated that textbooks also could be a part of the source of students' misunderstanding.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.115-121
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• 2007

Objetives : Identification of target genes for ethanol in neurons is important for understanding its molecular and cellular mechanism of action and the neuropathological changes seen in alcoholics. The purpose of this study is to identify of altered gene expression after acute treatmet of ethanol in rat gliom cells. Methods : We used high density cDNA microarray chip to measure the expression patterns of multiple genes in cultured rat glioma cells. DNA microarrays allow for the simultaneous measurement of the expression of several hundreds of genes. Results : After comparing hybridized signals between control and ethanol treated groups, we found that treatment with ethanol increased the expression of 15 genes and decreased the expression of 12 genes. Upregulated genes included Orthodenticle(Drosophila) homolog 1, procollagen type II, adenosine A2a receptor, GATA bindning protein 2. Downregulated genes included diacylglycerol kinase beta, PRKC, Protein phosphatase 1, clathrin-associated protein 17, nucleoporin p58, proteasome. Conclusion : The gene changes noted were those related to the regulation of transcription, signal transduction, second messenger systems. modulation of ischemic brain injury, and neurodengeneration. Although some of the genes were previously known to be ethanol responsive, we have for the most part identified novel genes involved in the brain response to ethanol.

• Cross-Cultural Studies
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• v.44
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• pp.411-430
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• 2016

One of central issues in the Literature and Science discourses during the Victorian era is the relation of physiology to psychology. Many thinkers tackle the question of whether or not psychic phenomena can be reducible to their physiological bases. For instance, Victorian physiologist William Benjamin Carpenter claims that there should be a boundary between physiological and psychological qualities. Yet, his contemporary writer Grant Allen contends for the reduction of psychology into physiology. In the essay, I discuss Grant Allen's work Physiological Aesthetics (1877) so as to eventually problematize his physiological reductionism. I especially highlight the paradox of his physiological aesthetics. In order to clarify my argument, I introduce two concepts: evolutionary aesthetics and physiological reductionism. On the one hand, Allen argues for the development of aesthetic appreciation. The gradual evolution from gaudy to serene colors, for instance, reflects the fine differentiation of sensory organs. He believes that the existence of varied aesthetic pleasures corresponds to the evolution of sensory nerve structures. Nonetheless, Allen ironically gives more weight to the commonality of aesthetic experiences than to this teleological ordering of aesthetic experiences. He argues that there is no fundamental difference among humans in terms of their aesthetic assessments. Furthermore, there is even no essential distinction among plants, animals, and humans in light of their aesthetic appraisals, he states firmly. Although he asserts the gradual advance of aesthetic feelings caused by the intricacy of nervous systems, he simultaneously trivializes the evolution of aesthetic appraisal. In the essay, I highlight this paradox in Allen's physiological aesthetics. It should be underscored, lamentably enough, that Allen seeks biological purity by erasing fine lines among physiology, psychology, and sociality. He estranges aesthetic experiences from subjective variations and their socio-cultural contexts. He makes great efforts to eliminate individual differences and socio-cultural specificities in order to extremely biologize aesthetic experiences. Hence, Allen's physiological aesthetics is marked as the politics of physiological purification.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2019

The health benefits associated with consumption of fresh produce have been clearly demonstrated and encouraged by international nutrition and health authorities. However, since fresh produce is usually minimally processed, increased consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables has also led to a simultaneous escalation of foodborne illness cases. According to the report by the World Health Organization (WHO), 1 in 10 people suffer from foodborne diseases and 420,000 die every year globally. In comparison to other processed foods, fresh produce can be easily contaminated by various routes at different points in the supply chain from farm to fork. This review is focused on the identification and characterization of possible sources of foodborne illnesses from chemical, biological, and physical hazards and the applicable methodologies to detect potential contaminants. Agro-chemicals (pesticides, fungicides and herbicides), natural toxins (mycotoxins and plant toxins), and heavy metals (mercury and cadmium) are the main sources of chemical hazards, which can be detected by several methods including chromatography and nano-techniques based on nanostructured materials such as noble metal nanoparticles (NMPs), quantum dots (QDs) and magnetic nanoparticles or nanotube. However, the diversity of chemical structures complicates the establishment of one standard method to differentiate the variety of chemical compounds. In addition, fresh fruits and vegetables contain high nutrient contents and moisture, which promote the growth of unwanted microorganisms including bacterial pathogens (Salmonella, E. coli O157: H7, Shigella, Listeria monocytogenes, and Bacillus cereus) and non-bacterial pathogens (norovirus and parasites). In order to detect specific pathogens in fresh produce, methods based on molecular biology such as PCR and immunology are commonly used. Finally, physical hazards including contamination by glass, metal, and gravel in food can cause serious injuries to customers. In order to decrease physical hazards, vision systems such as X-ray inspection have been adopted to detect physical contaminants in food, while exceptional handling skills by food production employees are required to prevent additional contamination.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.67 no.1
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• pp.41-52
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• 2022

As a cultivar of Korean wheat, 'Keumgang' wheat variety has a fast growth period and can be grown stably. Hexaploid wheat (Triticum aestivum) has moderately high salt tolerance compared to tetraploid wheat (Triticum turgidum L.). However, the molecular mechanisms related to salt tolerance of hexaploid wheat have not been elucidated yet. In this study, the candidate genes related to salt tolerance were identified by investigating the genes that are differently expressed in Keumgang variety and examining salt tolerant mutation '2020-s1340.'. A total of 85,771,537 reads were obtained after quality filtering using NextSeq 500 Illumina sequencing technology. A total of 23,634,438 reads were aligned with the NCBI Campala Lr22a pseudomolecule v5 reference genome (Triticum aestivum). A total of 282 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in the two Triticum aestivum materials. These DEGs have functions, including salt tolerance related traits such as 'wall-associated receptor kinase-like 8', 'cytochrome P450', '6-phosphofructokinase 2'. In addition, the identified DEGs were classified into three categories, including biological process, molecular function, cellular component using gene ontology analysis. These DEGs were enriched significantly for terms such as the 'copper ion transport', 'oxidation-reduction process', 'alternative oxidase activity'. These results, which were obtained using RNA-seq analysis, will improve our understanding of salt tolerance of wheat. Moreover, this study will be a useful resource for breeding wheat varieties with improved salt tolerance using molecular breeding technology.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.52-62
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• 2023

This study focused on determining the specific causes and prevention methods of mass fish deaths occurred in five reservoirs (Gagugi, Neupgokgi, Danggokgi, Sagokji, and Hangokji) in Andong-si. For this purpose, a survey of agricultural land and livestock in the upper part of the reservoirs and analysis of water quality in the reservoir irrespective of whether it rains or not were conducted. We attempted to examine the changes in dissolved oxygen (DO) in the surface and bottom layers of reservoirs and changes in DO depending on the amount of livestock compost and time. Based on the above investigations, treatment plans were established to efficiently control the inflow of contaminated water into reservoirs. The rainfall and farmland areas in the upper part of the reservoir were investigated using Google and aviation data provided by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport. The current status of livestock farms distributed around the reservoirs was also examined because compost from these farms can flow into the reservoir when it rains. Various water quality parameters, such as phosphate phosphorus (PO₄-P) and ammonium nitrogen (NH₃-N), were analyzed and compared for each reservoir during the rainy season. Changes in the DO concentration and electrical conductivity (EC) were also observed at the inlet of the reservoir during raining using an automated instrument. In addition, DO was measured until the concentration reached 0 ppm in 10 min by adding livestock compost at various concentrations (0.05%, 0.1%, 0.3%, and 0.5% by wt.), where the concentration of the livestock compost represents the relative weight of rainwater. The DO concentration in the surface layer of reservoirs was 3.7 to 5.3 ppm, which is sufficient for fish survival. However, the fish could not survive at the bottom layer with DO concentration of 0.0-2.1 ppm. When the livestock compost was 0.3%, DO required 10-19 h to reach 0 ppm. Considering these results, it was confirmed that the DO in the bottom layer of the reservoir could easily change to an anaerobic state within 24 h when the livestock compost in the rainwater exceeds 0.3%. The results show that the direct cause of fish mortality is the inflow of excessive livestock compost into reservoirs during the first rainfall in spring. All the surveyed reservoirs had relatively good topographical features for the inflow of compost generated from livestock farms. This keeps the bottom layer of the reservoir free of oxygen. Therefore, to prevent fish death due to insufficient DO in the reservoir, measures should be undertaken to limit the amount of livestock compost flowing into the reservoir within 0.3%, which has been experimentally determined. As a basic countermeasure, minerals such as limestone, dolomite, and magnesia containing calcium and magnesium should be added to the compost of livestock farms around the reservoir. These minerals have excellent pollutant removal capabilities when sprayed onto the compost. In addition, measures should be taken to prevent fish death according to the characteristics of each reservoir.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.274-283
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• 1998

It has generally been accepted that quality of ginseng should be determined not by the content of a single component but by composition and balance of total active principles. However, there still can be an exception with a product in which a given ginsenoside is used for the treatment of a specific disease. Although ginsenosides have been regarded to be major active components of ginseng and employed as index components for the quality control, it does not consistent with the traditional concept on ginseng quality creterion; main root has been more highly appreciated than the lateral or fine root. Content of ginsenosides in the lateral or fine root is much higher than that in main root. However, the ratio of protopanaxadiol (PD) and protopanaxatriol (PT) saponins existing in various part of ginseng root is greatly different. The ratio of PD/PT saponins in main root is well balanced but the thinner the root is the higher the ratio. Thus far, a total of 34 different kinds of ginsenosides have been isolated from Korean (red) ginseng, and their pharmacological activities were elucidated partly. Interestingly, different ginsenoside shows similar or contrary effects to each other in biological systems, thus indicating the significance of absolute content of single ginsenoside as well as compositional patterns of each ginsenoside. Therefore, pharmacological activities of ginseng should be determined as a wholly concept. In these regards, standardization of ginseng material (fresh ginseng root) should be preceded to the standardization of ginseng products because ginsenoside content and non-saponin active principles such as polysaccharides and nitrogen (N)-containing compound including proteins are significantly different from part to part of the root. In other words, the main root contains less ginsenosides than other lateral or fine roots. Contents of polysaccharides and N-containing compound in main root is higher. However, the quality control of ginseng products focused on non-saponin compounds has limitation in applying to the analytical method, because of the difficult chemical analysis of these compounds. Content of ginsenosides, and ratios of PD/PT and ginsenoside Rb,/Rg, are inversely proportional to the diameter of ginseng root. Therefore, these can be served as the chemical parameters for the indirect method of evaluating from what part of the root does the material originate. Furthermore, contents of polysaccharides and N-containing compounds show inverse relationship to saponin content. Therefore, it seems that index for analytical chemistry of saponin can be applied to the indirect method of evaluating not only saponin but also non-saponin compounds of ginseng. From these viewpoints, it is strongly recommended that quality of ginseng or ginseng products be judged not only by the absolute content of given ginsenoside but also by varieties and compositional balance of ginsenosides, including contents of non-saponin active principles.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.606-610
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• 2010

Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (aaRSs) play vital roles in protein biosynthesis of living organisms and are interesting antibacterial drug targets. In order to find out new inhibitor candidate molecules as antibacterial agent, the binding modes of the candidate molecules were investigated at the active sites of aaRSs by molecular docking study. The docking simulations were performed with 48 compounds from four different scaffolds into the eight different aaRSs. The results show that scaffolds 3 and 4 compounds have consistently better binding capabilities, specifically for HisRS (E. coli) and IleRS (S. aureus). The binding modes of the best compounds with the proteins were well compatible with those of two ligands in crystal structures. Therefore, we expect that the final compounds we present may have reasonable aaRS inhibitory activity.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF PACKAGING SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.49-59
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• 2002

The main function of plastic materials in food packaging is to preserve a food for safe transportation and storage. The interactions between food and plastic materials in food packaging have become increasingly important for food quality and safety because monomer, low molecular weight components, or additives of plastic packaging materials can migrate into a food. The use of antioxidants in plastic materials can help protect the degradation of film itself and retard the oxidation of a packaged food containing lipid, through the migration of antioxidant from the packaging to a product via an evaporation / sorption mechanism. Nowadays, antioxidant (BHT) impregnated plastic materials are used for commercial food packaging application with the intention of achieving an extended shelf life of food in USA. Alpha tocopherol, as one of the most important free radical scavengers, has been well known in biological systems. Moreover, the potential use of alpha tocopherol as an additive for polymers used in the packaging industry may offer the most positive perception from both consumers and manufacturers. Alpha tocopherol has been used as an antioxidant for polyolefin resins fabricated to both bottles and film and has applications in the food packaging industry as a replacement for BHT. Today, alpha tocopherol offers an attractive choice for use as an antioxidant in polymers. This paper provides an overview of antioxidant effectiveness and applications for its use by the food packaging industry based on the evaporation-sorption mechanism of a packaging model product, where quality is associated with lipid oxidation. Important analytical techniques for predicting antioxidant interaction between the package system and product are discussed.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.351-356
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• 2011

Citrus unshiu (C. unshiu) Markovich were dried peel of mandarin orange, of which fresh fruit was one of the famous foods in Korea and Eastern Asia. In the oriental medicine, C. unshiu peel was known to have a diuretic effect and to strengthen spleen function. Recently, natural flavonoids of C. unshiu peel have been investigated. In this study, C. unshiu peel extract containing flavonoid-glycosides was cultured with Schizophyllum commune (S. commune) mycelia producing ${\beta}$-glu- cosidase and its biological activities were investigated. ${\beta}$-glucosidase of S. commune mycelia converted the flavonoid-glycosides (rutin and hesperidin) into aglycones (naringenin and hesperetin). Fermented C. unshiu peel extract compounds were analyzed by HPLC system. The photoprotective potential of fermented C. unshiu peel extract was tested in human dermal fibroblasts (HDFs) exposed to UVA. Fermented C. unshiu peel extract extract also showed notable in vitro anti-inflammatory effect on cellular systems generating cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX) metabolites. Also, UVB-induced production of interleukin-$1{\alpha}$ in human HaCaT cells was reduced in a dose-dependent manner by treatment with fermented C. unshiu peel extract. These results suggest that fermented C. unshiu peel extract may mitigate the effects of photoaging in skin by reducing UV-induced adverse skin reaction.