• Title/Summary/Keyword: Contrast enhancement

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Effects of phenylephrine-induced PKC activation on Mg2+ release in guinea pig heart and isolated ventricular myocytes (기니픽 심장과 심근세포에서 Phenylephrine에 의한 PKC 활성화가 Mg2+ 유리에 미치는 영향)

  • Chang, Sung-eun;Kang, Hyung-sub;Kim, Jin-sang
    • Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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    • v.38 no.1
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    • pp.29-42
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    • 1998
  • $Mg^{2+}$ is one of the most abundant divalent cations in mammalian body(0.2~1.0mM) and the important physiological roles are : first, the cofactor of many enzyme activities, second, the regulator of glycolysis and DNA synthesis, third, the important role of bioenergetics by regulating of phosphorylation, fourth, the influence of cardiac metabolism and function. In this work we have investigated the regulation of the $Mg^{2+}$ induced by ${\alpha}_1-adrenoceptor$ stimulation in perfused guinea pig hearts and isolated myocytes. The $Mg^{2+}$ content of the perfusate or the supernatant was measured by atomic absorbance spectrophotometry. The elimination of $Mg^{2+}$ in the medium increased the force of contraction of right ventricular papillary muscles, and the left ventricular pressure. Phenylephrine also enhanced the force of contraction in the presence of $Mg^{2+}-free$ medium. ${\alpha}_1-Agonists$ such as phenylephrine and methoxamine were found to induce $Mg^{2+}$ efflux in both perfused hearts and myocytes. These effects were blocked by prazosin, an ${\alpha}_1-adrenoceptor$ antagonist. The $Mg^{2+}$ influx could also be induced by phenylephrine and R59022, a diacylglycerol kinase inhibitor. In the presence of protein kinase C(PKC) inhibitors, phenylephrine produced an increase in $Mg^{2+}$ efflux from perfused hearts. Furthermore, $Mg^{2+}$ efflux by phenylephrine was amplified by phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate(PMA). This enhancement of $Mg^{2+}$ efflux by PMA was blocked by prazosin in perfused hearts. By contrast, the $Mg^{2+}$ influx could be induced by verapamil, nifedipine, ryanodine in perfused hearts, but not in myocytes. $W^7$, a $Ca^{2+}$/calmodulin antagonist, completely blocked the phenylephrine-induced $Mg^{2+}$ efflux in perfused hearts. In conclusion, $Mg^{2+}$ is responsible for the cardiac activity associated with ${\alpha}_1-adrenoceptor$ stimulation. The mobilization of $Mg^{2+}$ is decreased or increased by ${\alpha}_1-adrenoceptor$ stimulation in guinea pig hearts. These responses may be related specifically to the respective pathways of signal transduction. A decrease in $Mg^{2+}$ efflux by ${\alpha}_1-adrenoceptor$ stimulation in hearts can be through PKC dependent and intracellular $Ca^{2+}$ levels.

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Effect of $CO_2$ Enrichment on Photosynthetic Rates, Enzyme Activitiy and End Products of two Poplar Clones, 1-214 (Populus euramericana) and Peace (P. koreana x P. trichocarpa)

  • Park Shin-Young;Furukawa Akio
    • Environmental Sciences Bulletin of The Korean Environmental Sciences Society
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    • v.1 no.1
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    • pp.51-59
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    • 1997
  • Two comparative poplar clones (I-214: Populus euramericana, Peace: P koreana x P. trichocarpa) were exposed to two $CO_2$ concentrations (350 or 2,000 ${\mu}L\;L^{-1}\;CO_2)$ for 21 days. When both poplar clones were compared at growth conditions, the net photosynthetic rate $(P_N)$ in $CO_2-enriched$ (2,000 ${\mu}L\;L^{-1}\;CO_2=C_{2,000})$ plants become about $50-60\%$ higher than that of 350 ${\mu}L\;L^{-1}\;CO_2(=C_{350})$ plants on 7 days treatment. But the enhancement of $P_N$ by high $CO_2$ was not maintained throughout all the experimental period. At 21 days, there was no difference of photosynthetic rates between $C_{350}\;and\;C_{2,000}$ plants. In contrast with photosynthesis, the response of leaf conductance to the elevated $CO_2$ concentration was very different between I-214 and Peace. During all experimental period, leaf conductance $(g_s)$ of $C_{2,000}$ plants is $50\%$ lower than that of the $C_{350}$ plants for I-214, while there is no difference of $g_s$ between the plants of $C_{350}\;and\;C_{2,000}$ on for Peace. The results of gs in Peace indicate that decreased photosynthetic rate after 21 days in $C_{2,000}$ on plants for two poplar clones is possibly due to non-stomatal factors. To investigate the non-stomatal factors, starch accumulation and ribulose-1,6-bisphosphate carboxylase (RuBPCase) were measured. We found significant accumulation of starch in two poplar clones exposed to high $CO_2,$ especially starch of I-214 in $C_{2,000}$ become 3.5 times higher than in $C_{350}$ plants at 21 days. This suggests that high proportion of photosynthates was directed into starch. After 21 days, the activity of ribulose-1, 6-bisphosphate carboxylase of $C_{2,000}$ plants become decreased in $40-50\%$ compared with that of the $C_{350}$ plants. Two poplar clones show the same trend to RuBPCase declines under high $CO_2$ concentration, although the decline is more significant for I-214. The results reported here suggest that starch accumulation and decreased RuBPCase activity in $C_{2,000}$ plants can be partly ascribed to the loss of photosynthetic efficiency of high $CO_2-grown$ poplar plants.

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Comparative Bioreactor Studies in Terms of Oxygen Transfer between Suspended and Immobilized Fungal Systems for Cyclosporin A Fermentation (Cyclosporin A 생산을 위한 액체배양과 고정화배양의 생물반응기에서의 산소전달 비교 연구)

  • 전계택
    • KSBB Journal
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    • v.9 no.2
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    • pp.211-223
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    • 1994
  • In fermentations with a 4-liter stirred tank bioreactor, a better than two-fold enhancement of the gas-liquid mass transfer coefficient$(k_La)$ in the celite-immobilized fungal cultures of Tolypocladium in flatum over the parallel conventional free-cell was observed at identical biomass concentrations, despite the higher specific oxygen uptake rate of the immobilized fungi during exponential growth. As a result oxygen sufficient conditions, i. e., dissolve oxygen(D.O.) concentrations exceeding 75% air saturation, could be maintained throughout exponential growth period of the immobilized culture, in contrast to the suspended fungal culture, whose D.O. levels fell below 50% air saturation. A linear monotonic dependence of $k_La$ upon impeller agitaion rate was found for both immobilized and conventional cultivation modes over a range of 250 to 550rpm, the slope being a function of biomass concentration for the free but not for the immobilized cell system In contrasts oxygen transfer rate was a much weaker function of aeration rate up to about 2.5 vvm for both culture configurations. Above this level, aeration rate had no further effect on the mass transfer. In addition, the immobilized cultures sustained good morphological and physiological states, leading to almost two times higher cyclosporln A (CyA) productivity overt the parallel free cell system. These experiments suggest that the celite-immobilized fungal system in a stirred tank reactor has considerable promise for scaling up cyclosporin A production in terms of high-density cultivation.

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Effect of $CO_2$ Enrichment on Photosynthetic Rates, Enzyme Activity rind End Products of toro Poplar Clones, 1-214 (Populus euramericana) and Peace (P. Koreana x P. trichocarpa)

  • Shin-Young Park;Akio Furukawa
    • Journal of Environmental Science International
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    • v.1 no.1
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    • pp.51-59
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    • 1992
  • Two comparative poplar clones (I-214: Populus euramerinm, Peace: P koreana x p. trihocarpa) were exposed to two $CO_2$ concentrations (350 or 2, 000 ${\mu}L L^{-1} CO_2$) for 21 days. When both poplar clones were compared at growth conditions, the net photosynthetic rate ($P_N$) in $CO_2$-enriched ($2, 000{\mu}L L^{-1} CO_2 = C_{2, 000}$) plants become about 50-60% higher than that of 350 ${\mu}L L^{-1} CO_2 (=C_{350}$ Plants on 7 days treatment. But the enhancement of PN by high $CO_2$ was not maintained throughout all the experimental period. At 21 days, there was no difference of photosynthetic rates between $C_{350}$ and $C_{2000}$ plants. In contrast with photosynthesis, the response of leaf conductance to the elevated $CO_2$ concentration was very different between I-214 and Peace. During all experimental period, leaf conductance ($g_{s}$) of $C_{2000}$ plants is 50% lower than that of the $C_{350}$ plants for I-214, while there is no difference of gs between the plants of $C_{350}$ and $C_{2, 000}$ for Peace. The results of gs in Peace indicate that decreased photosynthetic rate after 21 days in $C_{2, 000}$ Plants for two poplar clones is possibly due to non-stomatal factors. To investigate the non-stomatal factors, starch accumulation and ribulose-1, 6-bisphosphate carboxylase (RuBPCase) were measured. We found significant accumulation of starch in two poplar clones exposed to high $CO_2$, especially starch of I-214 in $C_{2, 000}$ become 3.5 times higher than in $C_{350}$ plants at 21 days. This suggests that high proportion of photosynthates was directed into starch. After 21 days, the activity of ribulose-1, 6-bisphosphate carboxylase of $C_{2, 000}$ plants become decreased in 40-50% compared with that of the $C_{350}$ plants. Two poplar clones show the same trend to RuBPCase declines under high $CO_2$ concentration, although the decline is more significant for I-214. The results reported here suggest that starch accumulation and decreased RuBPCase activity in $C_{2, 000}$ plants can be partly ascribed to the loss of photosynthetic efficiency of high $CO_2$-grown poplar plants.

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CT Findings and Accuracy of Preoperative Pathologic Diagnosis in Bronchial Carcinoid According to Subtype (기관지 유암종의 아형에 따른 CT 소견과 수술전 병리학적 진단의 정확성)

  • 임준석;홍용국;정경영;최규옥
    • Journal of Chest Surgery
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    • v.31 no.4
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    • pp.380-387
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    • 1998
  • We evaluated CT findings of bronchial carcinoid and accuracy of preoperative pathological diagnosis according to two subtypes. The subjects were 10 cases(typical;5, atypical;5), confirmed by surgery and tissue pathology. Sputum cytology(n=10), percutaneous aspiration(n=1) and bronchoscopic biopsy (n=8) were performed, preoperatively. The CT findings were analysed according to two subtypes. Typical carcinoid shows central location in all, and bronchial lumens just proximal to tumor were widened in two, whereas atypical carcinoid presented as peripheral leison in two. Among central atypical carcinoid, two cases showed flat meniscus appearance of lumen. Remaining one showed diffuse wall thickening. Intratumoral low density by necrosis was noted in one. Both subtypes show contrast enhancement. For preoperative diagnosis, sputum cytology & percutaneous aspiration were not conclusive at all. As for bronchoscopic biopsy, only 3 cases were accurately diagnosed as typical carcinoid. Typical carcinoid presented as endobronchial mass in all, whereas atypical carcinoid presented in various appearance. In all atypical & some typical carcinoid were misdiagnosed as primary lung cancer, preoperatively. However, in typical carcinoid, conservative surgery was possible. In conclusion, if there is discrepancy between CT findings & preoperative pathological diagnosis, full understanding of CT findings of bronchial carcinoid is imperative to choose appropriate surgical modality.

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IgG4-related Ophthalmic Disease Associated with Adult Xanthogranulomatous Disease (황색육아종과 동반된 면역글로불린G4관련안질환 1예)

  • Lee, Seunghyun;Chung, Sokjoong;Heo, Jinhyung;Lew, Helen
    • Journal of The Korean Ophthalmological Society
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    • v.59 no.11
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    • pp.1071-1076
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    • 2018
  • Purpose: To report a case of immunoglobulin G4 (IgG4)-related ophthalmic disease associated with adult xanthogranulomatous disease. Case summary: A 38-year-old male with a history of cholecystectomy visited our clinic for bilateral periorbital swelling. Histopathology of the orbital biopsy showed diffuse infiltration of foamy histiocytes with Touton giant cells and lymphoid follicles, with a diagnosis of adult-onset xanthogranuloma. After excisional biopsy, he was treated with azathioprine and prednisolone. Four years after treatment, he again visited the clinic due to bilateral, yellowish eyelid masses. Serological examinations were all nonspecific findings, except for elevation of IgG and IgG4 levels. Magnetic resonance imaging showed bilateral symmetric soft tissue enlargement with slightly heterogeneous T1/T2 isosignal intensity, with contrast enhancement at the superolateral aspect of extraconal spaces. Excisional biopsy and blepharoplasty were performed. Immunohistochemical sections showed that the IgG4+/IgG plasma cell ratio was 10-20% and the IgG4 plasma cell count was 22/high power field (HPF). His past sections of 2013 from the pathology department were again stained and showed that the IgG4+/IgG plasma cell ratio was 40-50% and the IgG4 plasma cell count was 59/HPF. Thus, he was definitely diagnosed with IgG4-related ophthalmic disease. Conclusions: If there is recurrent eyelid swelling, IgG4-related ophthalmic disease should be considered as a differential diagnosis. And the patient with adult xanthogranulomatous disease can be diagnosed with IgG4-related ophthalmic disease.

Effects of Ginseng Saponins in Energy Metabolism, Memory, and Anti-neurotoxicity

  • Wang Lawrence C.H.;Lee Tze-fun
    • Proceedings of the Ginseng society Conference
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    • 2002.10a
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    • pp.55-65
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    • 2002
  • Ginseng has been used as a key constituent in traditional medicine prescriptions for centuries. Other than its well-known anti-stress and adaptogenic properties, ginseng has also been shown to be very effective in treating age-related deterioration in metabolic and memory functions. Although it is generally believed that the saponin (GS) fraction of the ginseng root accounts for the bioactivity of ginseng, a direct demonstration on which ginsenoside does what is still generally lacking. In the past decade, our laboratory has endeavored to identify the active GS components involved in energy metabolism, memory, and anti-neurotoxicity. To examine the ergogenic effects of GS in enhancing aerobic capacity, rats were subjected to either severe cold ($40^{\circ}C$ under helium-oxygen, two hours) or exercise workload $(70\%\;VO_{2}max,$ to exhaustion). Acute systemic injection (i.p.) of ginseng GS (5-20 mg/kg) significantly elevated both the total and maximum heat production in rats and improved their cold tolerance. However, pretreating the animal with the optimal dose (10 mg/kg) of GS devoid of $Rg_1\;and\;Rb_1$ failed to elicit any beneficial effects in improving cold tolerance. This indicates that either $Rb_1\;and/or\;Rg_1$ may be essential in exemplifying the thermogenic effect of GS. Further studies showed that only pretreating the animals with $Rb_1(2.5-5\;mg/kg),\;but\;not\;Rg_l,$ resulted in an increase in thermogenesis and cold tolerance. In contrast to the acute effect of GS on cold tolerance, enhancement of exercise performance in rats was only observed after chronic treatment (4 days). Further, we were able to demonstrate that both $Rb_1\;and\;Rg_1$ are effective in enhancing aerobic endurance by exercise. To illustrate the beneficial effects of GS in learning and memory, a passive avoidance paradigm (shock prod) was used. Our results indicated that the scopolamineinduced amnesia can be significantly reversed by chronically treating (4 days) the rats with either $Rb_1\;or\;Rg_1$ (1.25 - 2.5 mg/kg). To further examine its underlying mechanisms, the effects of various GS on ${\beta}-amyloid-modulated$ acetylcholine (ACh) release from the hippocampal slices were examined. It was found that inclusion of $Rb_1$ (0.1 ${\mu}M$), but not $Rg_1$, can attenuate ${\beta}-amyloid-suppressed$ ACh release from the hippocampal slices. Our results demonstrated that $Rb_1\;and\;Rg_1$ are the key components involved in various beneficial effects of GS but they may elicit their effects through different mechanisms.

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Image Enhancement for 3D Shape Measurement Using Large Aperture Projection System (오목거울을 이용한 3차원 형상측정을 위한 모아레 영상 획득 방법)

  • Yoon, Doo-Hyun;Kim, Hak-Il
    • Korean Journal of Optics and Photonics
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    • v.19 no.4
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    • pp.327-333
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    • 2008
  • In general, a lens with large NA makes image quality better. There are many kinds of cheap concave mirrors with large aperture and NA. This paper presents a method that uses a large aperture projection imaging system to enhance the image used for 3D shape measurement. This method makes it possible to enhance reflection uniformity on the object surface and increases SNR (Signal to Noise Ratio). Using a large aperture lens, it is possible to obtain a brighter image, reducing the shading nature in the image boundary, and enhancing the reflection uniformity even on woven surfaces. Because of the exorbitant cost of a large aperture projection lens larger than 150 mm in diameter, a refractive lens was exchanged with a concave mirror resulting in the same optical effect. In experiment, changing NA $0.15{\sim}0.8$, image contrast was enhanced from 46 to 1.33. Incidentally, the effect of the concave mirror was tested successfully through the experiment.

Limitation in Attraction Efficacy of Aggregation Pheromone or Plant Volatile Lures to Attract the Western Flower Thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis Infesting the Hot Pepper, Capsicum annuum, in Greenhouses (시설 고추재배지에서 꽃노랑총채벌레 집합페로몬과 식물 휘발성 유인제 효능의 한계성)

  • Kim, Chulyoung;Gwon, Gimyeon;Kim, Yonggyun
    • Korean journal of applied entomology
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    • v.60 no.4
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    • pp.369-377
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    • 2021
  • Mass trapping of the western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis, has been considered as an option to control this pest. This study applied the commercial lures to the hot pepper-cultivating greenhouses and assessed the enhancement of the attracting efficiency by adding to sticky traps. There was no color difference in the attracting efficiency between blue and yellow sticky traps. However, the installation position of the traps was crucial in the greenhouses. The more thrips were captured within host cropping area than outside areas of the crop. In vertical trap position, it was the most optimal to install the traps at the crop crown. Using these installation parameters, the yellow sticky traps captured approximately 1% population of the thrips. To enhance the trapping efficiency, the commercial lures containing aggregation pheromone or 4-methoxybenzaldehyde were added to the yellow sticky traps. However, these commercial lures did not significantly enhance the trapping efficiency compared to the yellow sticky trap alone. In contrast, Y-tube olfactometry assays confirmed the high efficiency of the aggregation pheromone or another plant volatile (methyl isonicotinate) to attract the thrips. Interestingly, these lure components had lower attracting efficiencies compared to the hot pepper flowers. The high attractive efficiency of the flowers was supported by the observation that the commercial lure was effective to enhance the trapping efficiency of the yellow sticky trap against F. occidentalis in Welsh onion (Allium fistulosum) field without any flowers. This study indicates the limitation of the commercial lures in application to hot pepper fields for the mass trapping of F. occidentalis. It also suggests active volatile component(s) from hot pepper flowers to attract F. occidentalis.

Scalable Video Coding using Super-Resolution based on Convolutional Neural Networks for Video Transmission over Very Narrow-Bandwidth Networks (초협대역 비디오 전송을 위한 심층 신경망 기반 초해상화를 이용한 스케일러블 비디오 코딩)

  • Kim, Dae-Eun;Ki, Sehwan;Kim, Munchurl;Jun, Ki Nam;Baek, Seung Ho;Kim, Dong Hyun;Choi, Jeung Won
    • Journal of Broadcast Engineering
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    • v.24 no.1
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    • pp.132-141
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    • 2019
  • The necessity of transmitting video data over a narrow-bandwidth exists steadily despite that video service over broadband is common. In this paper, we propose a scalable video coding framework for low-resolution video transmission over a very narrow-bandwidth network by super-resolution of decoded frames of a base layer using a convolutional neural network based super resolution technique to improve the coding efficiency by using it as a prediction for the enhancement layer. In contrast to the conventional scalable high efficiency video coding (SHVC) standard, in which upscaling is performed with a fixed filter, we propose a scalable video coding framework that replaces the existing fixed up-scaling filter by using the trained convolutional neural network for super-resolution. For this, we proposed a neural network structure with skip connection and residual learning technique and trained it according to the application scenario of the video coding framework. For the application scenario where a video whose resolution is $352{\times}288$ and frame rate is 8fps is encoded at 110kbps, the quality of the proposed scalable video coding framework is higher than that of the SHVC framework.