• Title/Summary/Keyword: Biophysics

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Considerations on Standardization in Smart Hospitals

  • Sun-Ju Ahn;Sungin Lee;Chi Hye Park;Da Yeon Kwon;Sooyeon Jeon;Han Byeol Lee;Sang Rok Oh
    • Health Policy and Management
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    • v.34 no.1
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    • pp.4-16
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    • 2024
  • Smart hospitals involve the use of recent ICT (information and communications technology) technologies to improve healthcare access, efficiency, and effectiveness. Standardization in smart hospital technologies is crucial for interoperability, scalability, policy formulation, quality control, and maintenance. This study reviewed relevant international standards for smart hospitals and the organizations that develop them. Specific attention was paid to robotics in smart hospitals and the potential for standardization in this area. The study used online resources and existing standards to analyze technologies, standards, and practices in smart hospitals. Key technologies of smart hospitals were identified. Relevant standards from ISO (International Organization for Standardization) and IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) were mapped to each core technology. Korea's leadership in smart hospital technology were highlighted. Approaches for standardizing smart hospitals were proposed. Finally, potential new international standard items for robotics in smart hospitals were identified and categorized by function: sampling, remote operation, delivery, disinfection, and movement tracking/contact tracing. Standardization in smart hospital technologies is crucial for ensuring interoperability, scalability, ethical use of artificial intelligence, and quality control. Implementing international standards in smart hospitals is expected to benefit individuals, healthcare institutions, nations, and industry by improving healthcare access, quality, and competitiveness.

Differential Activation of Ras/Raf/MAPK Pathway between Heart and Cerebral Artery in Isoproterenol-induced Cardiac Hypertrophy

  • Kim, Hyun-Ju;Kim, Na-Ri;Joo, Hyun;Youm, Jae-Boum;Park, Won-Sun;Warda, Mohamed;Kang, Sung-Hyun;Thu, Vu-Thi;Khoa, Tran-Minh;Han, Jin
    • The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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    • v.9 no.5
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    • pp.299-304
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    • 2005
  • Cardiac hypertrophy contributes an increased risk to major cerebrovascular events. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying cerebrovascular dysfunction during cardiac hypertrophy have not yet been characterized. In the present study, we examined the molecular mechanism of isoproterenol (ISO)-evoked activation of Ras/Raf/MAPK pathways as well as PKA activity in cerebral artery of rabbits, and we also studied whether the activations of these signaling pathways were altered in cerebral artery, during ISO-induced cardiac hypertrophy compared to heart itself. The results show that the mRNA level of c-fos (not c-jun and c-myc) in heart and these genes in cerebral artery were considerably increased during cardiac hypertrophy. These results that the PKA activity and activations of Ras/Raf/ERK cascade as well as c-fos expression in rabbit heart during cardiac hypertrophy were consistent with previous reports. Interestingly, however, we also showed a novel finding that the decreased PKA activity might have differential effects on Ras and Raf expression in cerebral artery during cardiac hypertrophy. In conclusion, there are differences in molecular mechanisms between heart and cerebral artery during cardiac hypertrophy when stimulated with β2 adrenoreceptor (AR), suggesting a possible mechanism underlying cerebrovascular dysfunction during cardiac hypertrophy.

Effects of Noradrenaline on the Spontaneous Contraction and Ionic Current in the Antral Circular Muscle of Guinea-pig Stomach

  • Jun, Jae-Yeoul;Lee, Sang-Jin;Kim, Sung-Joon;Suh, Jae-Yul;So, In-Suk;Hwang, Sang-Ik;Kim, Ki-Whan
    • The Korean Journal of Physiology
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    • v.27 no.2
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    • pp.115-122
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    • 1993
  • There is evidence that noradrenaline enhances spontaneous contractions dose-dependently in guinea-pig antral circular muscle. To investigate the mechanism of this excitatory action, slow waves and membrane currents were recorded using conventional microelectrode techniques in muscle strips and the whole cell patch clamp technique in isolated gastric myocytes. On recording slow waves, noradrenaline $(10^{-5}\;M)$ induced the hyperpolarization of the membrane potential, although the shape of the slow waves became tall and steep. Also, spike potentiaIs occurred at the peaks of slow waves. These changes were completely reversed by administration of phentolamine $(10^{-5}\;M),\;an\;{\alpha}-adrenoceptor$ blocker. Noradrenaline-induced hyperpolarization was blocked by apamin $(10^{-7}\;M)$, a blocker of a class of $Ca^{2+}\;-dependent\;K^+$ channels. To investigate the mechanisms for these effects, we performed whole cell patch clamp experiments. Norndrenaline increased voltage-dependent $Ca^{2+}$ currents in the whole range of test potentials. Noradrenaline also increased $Ca^{2+}\;-dependent\;K^+$\;currents, and this effects was abolished by apamin. These results suggest that the increase in amplitude and the generation of spike potentials on slow waves was caused by the activation of voltage-dependent $Ca^{2+}$ channel via adrenoceptors, and hyperpolarization of the membrane potential was mediated by activation of apamin-sensitive $Ca^{2+}\;-dependent\;K^+\;channels$.

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Effect of Cyclic GMP on the Calcium Current in Rabbit Ventricular Myocytes

  • Han, Jin;Leem, Chae-Hun;Ahn, Chul-Soo;So, In-Suk;Kim, Eui-Yong;Ho, Won-Kyung;Earm, Yung-E
    • The Korean Journal of Physiology
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    • v.27 no.2
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    • pp.151-162
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    • 1993
  • In order to investigate the effect of intracellular cyclic GMP on calcium current the whole-cell patch clamp technique with internal perfusion method was used in isolated ventricular myocytes of the rabbit. Cyclic GMP, 8-bromo-cyclic GMP, cyclic AMP, isoprenaline and forskolin were perfused into cells and their effects on calcium current were analysed by applying depolarizing step pulses of + 10 mV in amplitude far 300 msec from holding potential of - 40 mV. Not only cyclic AMP $(100\;{\mu}M)$ but also cyclic GMF $(100\;{\mu}M)$ increased the basal calcium current. 8-Bromo-cyclic GMP $(100\;{\mu}M)$, a good stimulator of the cyclic GMP-dependent protein kinase, also increased the basal calcium current and its peak amplitude of calcium current was larger than that in the presence of cyclic AMP or cyclic GMP alone. In the presence of $100\;{\mu}M$ cyclic GMP or $100\;{\mu}M$ 8-bromo-cyclic GMP, already augmented calcium current was potentiated by intracellular application of $100\;{\mu}M$ cyclic AMP or $1\;{\mu}M$ isoprenaline or $1\;{\mu}M$ forskolin. In the presence of cyclic GMP, acetylcholine reduced the calcium current only when the calcium current was increased by isoprenaline. From the above results it could be concluded that intracellular perfusion with cyclic GMP increases the basal calcium current via a mechanism involving a cyclic GMP-dependent protein kinase.

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Redesign of an Interhelical Loop of the Bacillus thuringiensis Cry4B delta-endotoxin for Proteolytic Cleavage

  • Krittanai, Chartchai;Lungchukiet, Panida;Ruangwetdee, Sarinthip;Tuntitippawan, Tipparut;Panyim, Sakol;Katzenmeier, Gerd;Angsuthanasombat, Chanan
    • BMB Reports
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    • v.34 no.2
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    • pp.150-155
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    • 2001
  • The mosquito-larvicidal Cry4B protein from Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensds was expressed in Escherichia coli. Upon activation by trypsin, the 130-kDa protoxin was processed into the 65-kDa active toxin containing two polypeptide fragments of ca. 47 and ca. 20 kDa. These two polypeptides are products of internal cleavages on the exposed loop connecting helices 5 and 6 in the seven-helical bundle domain. PCR-based mutagenesis was employed to introduce an additional cleavage site into the loop connecting helices 3 and 4. A series of amino acid changes were introduced into the targeted loop, resulting in seven mutant protoxins. Upon digestion with trypsin, a group of mutants with arginine introduced into the loop (EPRNQ, EPNRNQ, EPRNP, ESRNP and SSRNP) produced polypeptide products similar to those of the wild type (EPNNQ). When the loop, SSRNP, was expanded by an insertion of either asparagine (NSSRNP) or valine (VSSRNP), an additional cleavage was detected with proteolytic products of 47,12 and 6 kDa. This cleavage was confirmed to be at the introduced arginine residue by N-terminal sequencing. The mosquito larvicidal assay against Aedes aegypti demonstrated a relatively unchanged toxicity for the mutants without cleavage and reduced toxicity for those with an additional cleavage.

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Effects of Chlorpromazine·HCl on the Structural Parameters of Bovine Brain Membranes

  • Jang, Hye-Ock;Jeong, Dong-Keun;Ahn, Shin-Ho;Yoon, Chang-Dae;Jeong, Soo-Cheol;Jin, Seong-Deok;Yun, Il
    • BMB Reports
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    • v.37 no.5
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    • pp.603-611
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    • 2004
  • Fluorescence probes located in different membrane regions were used to evaluate the effects of chlorpromazine HCl on structural parameters (transbilayer lateral mobility, annular lipid fluidity, protein distribution, and lipid bilayer thickness) of synaptosomal plasma membrane vesicles (SPMVs) isolated from bovine cerebral cortex. The experimental procedure was based on the selective quenching of 1,3-di(1-pyrenyl)propane (Py-3-Py) by trinitrophenyl groups, radiationless energy transfer from the tryptophan of membrane proteins to Py-3-Py, and energy transfer from Py-3-Py monomers to 1-anilinonaphthalene-8-sulfonic acid (ANS). In this study, chlorpromazine HCl decreased the lateral mobility of Py-3-Py in a concentration dependent-manner, showed a greater ordering effect on the inner monolayer than on the outer monolayer, decreased annular lipid fluidity in a dose dependent-manner, and contracted the membrane lipid bilayer. Furthermore, the drug was found to have a clustering effect on membrane proteins.

Knockdown of microtubule actin crosslinking factor 1 inhibits cell proliferation in MC3T3-E1 osteoblastic cells

  • Hu, Lifang;Su, Peihong;Li, Runzhi;Yan, Kun;Chen, Zhihao;Shang, Peng;Qian, Airong
    • BMB Reports
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    • v.48 no.10
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    • pp.583-588
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    • 2015
  • Microtubule actin crosslinking factor 1 (MACF1), a widely expressed cytoskeletal linker, plays important roles in various cells by regulating cytoskeleton dynamics. However, its role in osteoblastic cells is not well understood. Based on our previous findings that the association of MACF1 with F-actin and microtubules in osteoblast-like cells was altered under magnetic force conditions, here, by adopting a stable MACF1-knockdown MC3T3-E1 osteoblastic cell line, we found that MACF1 knockdown induced large cells with a binuclear/multinuclear structure. Further, immunofluorescence staining showed disorganization of F-actin and microtubules in MACF1-knockdown cells. Cell counting revealed significant decrease of cell proliferation and cell cycle analysis showed an S phase cell cycle arrest in MACF1-knockdown cells. Moreover and interestingly, MACF1 knockdown showed a potential effect on cellular MTT reduction activity and mitochondrial content, suggesting an impact on cellular metabolic activity. These results together indicate an important role of MACF1 in regulating osteoblastic cell morphology and function.