• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.159-165
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• 2007

For the development of basic genetic materials for specific and effective therapeutic approach to suppress multiplication of hepatitis C virus (HCV), HCV internal ribosome entry site (IRES)-targeting hammerhead ribozyme which activity is allosterically regulated by HCV regulatory protein, NS5B RNA replicase, was developed. The ribozyme targeted most effectively to +382 nucleotide (nt) site of HCV IRES RNA. The allosteric ribozyme was designed to be composed of sequence of RNA aptamer to HCV NS5B, communication module sequence which can transfer structural transition for inducing ribozyme activity upon binding NS5B to the aptamer, and sequence of ribozyme targeting +382 nt of HCV IRES. Noticeably, we employed in vitro selection technology to identify the most appropriate communication module sequence which can induce ribozyme activity depending on the US5B protein. We demonstrated that the ribozyme was nonfunctional either in the absence of any proteins or in the presence of control bovine serum albumin. In sharp contrast, the allosteric ribozyme can induce activity of cleavage reaction with HCV IRES RNA in the presence of the HCV NS5B protein. This allosteric ribozyme can be used as lead compound for specific and effective anti-HCV agent, tool for highthroughput screening to isolate lead chemicals for HCV therapeutics, and ligand for biosensor system for HCV diagnosis.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.914-921
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• 2010

In this study, we carried out a series of experiments to know whether melatonin, an anti-oxidative and immunosuppressive agent, played an important role in endothelial cells. It was revealed that melatonin had little or no effect on endothelial proliferation, cell death or migration. Additionally, melatonin had no effect on adhesion of THP-1 leukocytes to bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAECs) and THP-1 homotypic cell aggregation. In contrast, it was shown that melatonin diminished the basal level of nitric oxide by PP2A-mediated dephosphorylation of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), leading to enhanced detachment of BAEC from the extracellular matrix. Collectively, melatonin in high doses decreases the NO production via regulations of PP2A and eNOS activities, inducing detachment of endothelial cells, a possible initial step for thrombosis.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.42-51
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• 2006

Schwann cell, one of important components of peripheral nervous system, interact with neurons to mutually support the growth and replication of embryonal nerves and to maintain the different functions of adult nerves. The Ara-C, known as an antimitotic agent, have been used to have high effectiveness in eliminating fibroblasts during Schwann cell culture period. This enrichment effect is also known to be cummulative with each successive pulse of Ara-C applied and is due to a progressive loss of fibroblasts. But the cytotoxicity by Ara-C is also cummulative and noticeable over the period. To determine the most effective application time and interval of Ara-C in the Schwann cell culture, we observed the Schwann cell purity and density with the Ara-C treatment in plain and three-dimensional culture from dorsal root ganglion of new born rat. By culturing dispersed dorsal root ganglia, we can repeatedly generate homogenous Schwann cells, and cellular morphology and cell count with mean percentages were evaluated in the plain culture dishes and in the immunostainings of S-100 and GFAP in the three-dimensional culture. The Ara-C treated cultures showed a higher Schwann cell percentage (31.0%${\pm}$8.09% in P4 group to 65.5%${\pm}$24.08% in P2 group), compared with that obtained in the abscence of Ara-C (17.6%${\pm}$6.03%) in the plain culture after 2 weeks. And in the three-dimensional culture, S-100 positive cells increased to 56.22%${\pm}$0.67% and GFAP positive cells to 66.46%${\pm}$1.83% in G2 group (p<0.05), higher yield than other groups with Ara-C application. Therefore, we concluded that the Ara-C treatment is effective for the proliferation of Schwann cells contrast to the fibroblasts in vitro culture, and the first application after 24 hours from cell harvesting and subsequent 2 pulse treatment (P2 group in plain culture and G2 group in three-dimensional culture) was more effective than other application protocols.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.161-165
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• 2011

This study is related to the preparation of biocompatible gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) which are stable in aqueous solutions for a long time. Ultrasmall polyethyleneimine (PEI)-capped AuNPs (PEI-AuNPs) with limited agglomeration were prepared in aqueous solutions at room temperature, which were based on the roles of PEI as a reductant and a stabilizer. PEI-AuNPs with an average size of 8~12 nm formed highly stable nanocolloids with an average hydrodynamic cluster size of around 50 nm in aqueous media. At a low concentration of metal precursor hydrogen tetrachloroaurate (III), the particle size was reduced noticeably. The typical peaks of gold were observed in the X-ray diffraction pattern of AuNPs. The cell viability of 98% was obtained in the case of PEI-AuNPs, while PEI was cytotoxic. The PEI-AuNP is considered to be a potential candidate as a contrast agent for computed tomography.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.29 no.7
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• pp.1303-1310
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• 2008

Inhibitors of farnesyltransferase (FT), a key enzyme in the post-translational modifications of Ras proteins, have been extensively studied as novel anticancer agents in the preclinical stages, some of which are currently in clinical development. Previously, it has been reported that a novel FT inhibitor LB42907 inhibits Ras farnesylation in the nanomolar range in vitro. The aim of this study was to assess the antitumor efficacy of LB42907 in vitro and in vivo. Anchorage-independent growth of various human tumor cell lines was potently inhibited by treatment with LB42907, comparable to other FT inhibitors in clinical development. In the nude mouse, oral administration of LB42907 demonstrated potent antitumor activity in several human tumor xenograft models including bladder, lung and pancreas origin. Interestingly, significant tumor regression in EJ (bladder) and A549 (lung) xenografts was induced by LB42907 treatment. The effectiveness of LB42907 was also investigated in simultaneous combination with paclitaxel, vincristine, cisplatin or gemcitabine against NCI-H460, A549, and HCT116 cells in vitro using median-effect analysis. LB42907 markedly synergized with most anticancer drugs tested in this study in NCI-H460 cell. In contrast, LB42907 displayed antagonism or partial synergism with these drugs in A549 and HCT116 cells, depending on the class of combined drugs and/ or the level of cytotoxicity. Our results demonstrate that LB42907 is an effective antitumor agent in vitro and in vivo and combination of LB42907 with other chemotherapeutic drugs results in synergistic or antagonistic effects mainly in a cell line-dependent manner. Further preclinical study is warranted.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea CI
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• v.45 no.5
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• pp.63-73
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• 2008

Recent years have seen an explosion of interest in interactive agents motivating human learners to engage in edutainment systems which are designed to be entertaining and educational at the same time. Especially, work on socio-emotional processes has focus on understanding of human's social behavior in training and entertainment a applications. In contrast with work on social emotion, where research groups have developed detailed models of emotional processes, models of personality have emphasized shallow surface behavior. Here, we build on computational appraisal models of emotion to better characterize dispositional differences in how people come to understand social situations. Known as explanatory style, this dispositional factor plays a key role in social interactions and certain socio-emotional disorders, such as depression. Building on appraisal and attribution theories, we model key conceptual variables underlying the explanatory style, and enable agents to exhibit different explanatory tendencies with respect to their personalities. Furthermore, we developed an interactive AR agent based on our framework and applied it into an interactive teaming system that allows participants to explore individual differences in the explanation of social events, with the goal of encouraging the development of perspective laking and emotion-regulatory skills.

• Journal of the Korean Recycled Construction Resources Institute
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.97-106
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• 2009

self-loading, various problems related to construction can be solved as well as the save of construction cost. Thus, this study has an aim of applying foam concrete to structural purpose by adding bottom ash as a reinforcing material like fine aggregate, in contrast to conventional non-structural usage such as soundproofing or insulating materials. In addition, it was evaluated in terms of unit volume weight, flow value, air void, water absorption and dosage of foam agent wether replacement of cement by granulated blast furnace slag or fly-ash has an effect on the material characteristics of foam concrete. As results of experiments, it can be found that the increase of fine aggregate ratio, that is to say, the increase of bottom ash results in the increase of unit volume weight, while decreasing air void and flow value. But, appropriate addition of bottom ash to foam concrete makes it easy to control a homogeneous and uniform quality in foam concrete due to less sensitive to bubbles. As the replacement ratio of mineral admixtures such as granulated blast furnace slag and fly-ash increases, as unit volume weight tends to decrease. In the meanwhile, serious effects were shown on fluidity of foam concrete when more than limit of replacement ratio was applied.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.367-373
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• 2015

Cordyceps species including Cordyceps bassiana are a notable anti-cancer dietary supplement. Previously, we identified several compounds with anti-cancer activity from the butanol fraction (Cb-BF) of Cordyceps bassiana. To expand the structural value of Cb-BF-derived anti-cancer drugs, we employed various chemical moieties to produce a novel Cb-BF-derived chemical derivative, KTH-13-amine-monophenyl [4-isopropyl-2-(1-phenylethyl) aniline (KTH-13-AMP)], which we tested for anti-cancer activity. KTH-13-AMP suppressed the proliferation of MDA-MB-231, HeLa, and C6 glioma cells. KTH-13-AMP also dose-dependently induced morphological changes in C6 glioma cells and time-dependently increased the level of early apoptotic cells stained with annexin V-FITC. Furthermore, the levels of the active full-length forms of caspase-3 and caspase-9 were increased. In contrast, the levels of total forms of caspases-3, caspase-8, caspase-9, and Bcl-2 were decreased in KTH-13-AMP treated-cells. We also confirmed that the phosphorylation of STAT3, Src, and PI3K/p85, which is linked to cell survival, was diminished by treatment with KTH-13-AMP. Therefore, these results strongly suggest that this compound can be used to guide the development of an anti-cancer drug or serve as a lead compound in forming another strong anti-proliferative agent.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.61-67
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• 2021

This work investigated the cementation of iridium from iridium-containing hydrochloric acid leachate. Zinc powder was used as the reducing agent, and the effects of the stoichiometric ratio of Zn/Ir, initial Ir concentration, initial pH, reaction time, and ultrasound irradiation on iridium recovery were investigated. When only the stirrer was used for cementation, the iridium recovery increased with the addition amount of zinc, and the recovery of about 70% at 40 times the stoichiometric ratio of Zn/Ir. In contrast, when employing ultrasonic irradiation with stirring, the recovery of iridium decreased at 20 times or less the stoichiometric amount of zinc. The recovery of iridium increased at 40 times the stoichiometric ratio of Zn/Ir. This result may be due to the ionization of zinc and re-dissolution of iridium during the ultrasound irradiation treatment. When a combination of ultrasonic irradiation and stirring was used for cementation, the iridium recovery increased by more than 27% compared to that when using only the stirrer. It was possible to recover 99% of iridium under the following conditions: reaction time, 60 min; initial pH, 0.01; volume of leachate, 100 mL; 1770 ppm Ir, 40 times the stoichiometric ratio of Zn/Ir.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.28 no.8
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• pp.655-667
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• 2019

This research aims to identify the possibility of developing A horizon resources that can be used for construction and civil engineering work. As such, the utility of A horizon resources was examined by establishing planting ground through a mixture of soil layers and by analyzing the growth and development of Pinus densiflora. The physicochemical and physical properties of the soil were as follows: the A horizon was sandy clay loam, B horizon was sandy loam, and the mixture of two layers appeared as sandy loam, which was identical to the B horizon. The experimental groups did not show any significant difference in their physical properties of porosity and degree of water-stable aggregates. With regards to chemical properties, the A horizon as well as the mixture of A and B horizon showed acidity while the B horizon showed alkalinity. The figures of organic matter, total nitrogen, available phosphate, and replaceable potassium were greater as the A horizon content increased, whereas the figures of replaceable calcium, replaceable magnesium, and conductivity increased as the A horizon content decreased. As a result of the growth and development of Pinus densiflora in each planting ground, the final survival rates were all above 100%. However, the tree height and the rate of growth for the diameter of root were higher in the order of A horizon > A horizon + B horizon > B horizon,indicating that the increased A horizon content is related to the growth and development of Pinus densiflora. The treatment of soil with improvement agents, used to recover the functions of in-situ soil showing poor growth and development, did not have a clear impact on the soil texture and porosity. However, the degree of water-stable aggregates increased significantly when using O horizon as the soil improvement agent among the types of in-situ soil. In contrast, all items related to the chemical properties showed significant differences following the treatment by soil improvement agents. The survival rate according to the treatment of soil improvement agents for the growth and development of Pinus densiflora was higher in the order of organic horizon = no treatment > compound fertilizer > organic fertilizer + compound fertilizer > organic fertilizer; this result was statistically significant with a marginal significance value of the log-rank test(p < 0.05).