• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.1-14
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• 2007

The term, "food safety", has traditionally been viewed as a practical science aimed at assuring the prevention acute illnesses caused by biological microorganisms, and only to a minor extent, chronic diseases cause by chronic low level exposures to natural and synthetic chemicals or pollutants. "food safety" meant to prevent microbiological agents/toxins in/on foods, due to contamination any where from "farm to Fork", from causing acute health effects, especially to the young, immune-compromised, genetically-predisposed and elderly. However, today a broader view must also include the fact that diet, perse (nutrients, vitamins/minerals, calories), as well as low level toxins and pollutant or supplemented synthetic chemicals, can alter gene expressions of stem/progenitor/terminally-differentiated cells, leading to chronic inflammation and other mal-functions that could lead to diseases such as cancer, diabetes, atherogenesis and possibly reproductive and neurological disorders. Understanding of the mechanisms by which natural or synthetic chemical toxins/toxicants, in/on food, interact with the pathogenesis of acute and chronic diseases, should lead to a "systems" approach to "food safety". Clearly, the interactions of diet/food with the genetic background, gender, and developmental state of the individual, together with (a) interactions of other endogenous/exogenous chemicals/drugs; (b) the specific biology of the cells being affected; (c) the mechanisms by which the presence or absence of toxins/toxicants and nutrients work to cause toxicities; and (d) how those mechanisms affect the pathogenesis of acute and/or chronic diseases, must be integrated into a "system" approach. Mechanisms of how toxins/toxicants cause cellular toxicities, such as mutagenesis; cytotoxicity and altered gene expression, must take into account (a) irreversible or reversal changes caused by these toxins or toxicants; (b)concepts of thresholds or no-thresholds of action; and (c) concepts of differential effects on stem cells, progenitor cells and terminally differentiated cells in different organs. This brief Commentary tries to illustrate this complex interaction between what is on/in foods with one disease, namely cancer. Since the understanding of cancer, while still incomplete, can shed light on the multiple ways that toxins/toxicants, as well as dietary modulation of nutrients/vitamins/metals/ calories, can either enhance or reduce the risk to cancer. In particular, diets that alter the embryo-fetal micro-environment might dramatically alter disease formation later in life. In effect "food safety" can not be assessed without understanding how food could be 'toxic', or how that mechanism of toxicity interacts with the pathogenesis of any disease.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.308-316
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• 2012

Proper skin care promotes good metabolism and the biological activity of skin, helps maintain the skin in a healthy and beautiful state when combined with nutritional nourishment. Health functional foods are being used for the purpose of enhancing efficient skin care. Health functional foods related to skin care maintain the epidermis, dermal fibroblast layer and subcutaneous tissue that form the skin. Efficient functional foods alleviate the signs of endogenous aging that come with getting older and exogenous aging caused by sunlight. Even though the field of skin care related to health functional foods has received less attention and been the subject of less research compared to functional cosmetics which are developing widely, this area of skin care that maintains and improves the layer of dermal fibroblast through the intake of food, is expected to progress with the commercialization of products in many fields when the related technical research development is galvanized and the related patents are applied for. Research into health functional foods related to skin care in Korea started rather late in comparison to other advanced countries where patents for relevant techniques have been applied for since 1990's together with research conducted on how they might be used for practical purposes. This study used the key words 'skin care, health functional food' to search for Korean patents that have been applied for at the Korean Intellectual Property Office from 1983 to 2011 using the KIPRIS database, in order to help researchers in the related fields by organizing the patented formulas for health functional foods for skin care which have gained attention recently. According to the number of registrations in each industry field, the total number of patents was 1,120 we screened the major patents among them, the field with the largest number was food foodstuff non-alcoholic beverage and preparation or treatment(A23L) with 135, then natural plant medicine & medical supplies and cosmetics(A61K) with 112, microorganisms or enzymes(C12N) with 63, heterocyclic compounds(C07D) with 44, horticulture or cultivation of sea weeds, forestry(A01G) 16 times, listed from the highest to the lowest number of applications. It has been revealed that food, foodstuff, non-alcoholic beverage and preparation or treatment(A23L) was the industry field where the most patents for health functional foods related to skin care were registered.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.472-500
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• 1996

Researches on mineral nutrition, physiology and phyrsiological diseases, . cultivaction methods. brceding. pest control quality management and extension during 1976-1995 in Korea were reviewed Review in brceding and pest control was restricted to the researches directely related to cultivaction. Mineral nulrient up take. partion and varicos factors such as top dreasing. Light intersity etc. and interrelationship between minerals were investigated. Top dressing was not effective due to low minera1 requorement Physiological characteristics on tempelature light and water were well elucidated and applied to assess traditional cultivation method and its inovation. Photosyrnthetic pigments. light harvest proteins and activity of related enzymes were studied. In nitrogen metabolism arginine, praline, ammonium, threonine appeared to have important role in re growth of shoot Saponin metabolism was studied in relation to growth and new ginsenosides were found but physiological role of saponin was not clearly elucidated yet Endogenous growth regulators were reported and various erogenous growth regulators were studied for growth stimulation. short stem and seed pruning etc. Various physiological diseases were investigated for cause and control measures were established. Water culture was little studied Forest culture was studied but not retched the recommendable stage Drip irrigation straw mulching. seasonal shading and soil preparation method including soil fertility adjustment were established for practical application. Shading materials completely changed to polyethylene net and materials of polymers The research on ginseng cultivation in paddy field opened the way to establish the permanent ginseng cultivation plantation Ginseng harvester and seeder were developed in the late 1950s. Transplanted and many other machines were developed in the early 1990s. In ginseng breeding only pure line selection was of practical significance several verities were at the stage of seed propagation at ginseng plantations. Mutation breeding (${\gamma}$-ray. X-ray chemicals) was not successful. The research on plantlet formation through tissue culture was a little progressed but still far behind to vegetative propagation. Disease control research was concentrated in the isolation and identification of pathogans. their ecological charactelistics and biological control and soil humigation. Potato root rot nematodes was found and control method was established. Insect and small animal control research was greatly progresses in identification, ecological investigation, and ecological and physical control. Weed control was less important due to the development of mulching method of ridge and ditch. Quality factors of raw ginseng in relation to red ginseng process were extensively studied. Traditional quality measures were elucidated in accordance with modern analytical chemistry resulting in the importance of peptides in the centrat part rather than ginsenosides For large root production growth promoting rootzone micrcorganisms (PGPRM) were isolated and active compounds were identified. Field test on PGPRM was on going. Varictus methods formality improvement through cultivation were developed. Management research of ginseng production was rare Extension was active throuch official and private organizations and through workshop for the extension specialists, and direct lectures to grower's. Extension services made the researcher to understand the existing problems at grower's fields. Research environment for ginseng production was in prime time only for three years when Korea Ginseng Research Institute was established then gradually aggravated.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.401-408
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• 2005

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) contribute to the development of various human diseases. Cu,Zn-superoxide dismutase (SOD) is one of the major means by which cells counteract the deleterious effects of ROS. SOD activity is dependent upon bound copper ions supplied by its partner metallochaperone protein, copper chaperone for SOD (CCS). In the present study, we investigated the protective effects of PEP-1-CCS against neuronal cell death and ischemic insults. When PEP-1-CCS was added to the culture medium of neuronal cells, it rapidly entered the cells and protected them against paraquat-induced cell death. Moreover, transduced PEP-1-CCS markedly increased endogenous SOD activity in the cells. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that it prevented neuronal cell death in the hippocampus in response to transient forebrain ischemia. These results suggest that CCS is essential to activate SOD, and that transduction of PEP-1-CCS provides a potential strategy for therapeutic delivery in various human diseases including stroke related to SOD or ROS.

• Journal of Dairy Science and Biotechnology
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.37-41
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• 2016

Melatonin is a hormone produced by the pineal gland in dark conditions. It plays a major role in the regulation of the sleep-wake cycle. Melatonin synthesis is known to be suppressed by environmental light. Cortisol is a steroid hormone that is a major indicator of physiological alterations due to stressful stimuli. It also displays a circadian rhythm, like melatonin. The highest levels are encountered during early morning and the lowest levels are observed at around midnight. In the present study, the effects of milking time on the melatonin and cortisol concentrations of raw milk and milk powder at the summer and winter solstices were examined. The melatonin concentration in milk increased significantly if cows were milked in the dark at night (p<0.05). The melatonin concentration in milk powder showed the same pattern with respect to the milking time (p<0.05). However, no significant difference in the cortisol concentration was observed between day- and night-time milk. Although the time of day did not affect the level of milk cortisol, seasonal factors affected the release of cortisol in milk (p<0.05). In conclusion, night-time milk is rich in endogenous melatonin. In this respect, it has potential applications for the development of melatonin rich-dairy products, which serve as natural sources of melatonin.

• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.21-28
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• 2009

Mutations in DLX3 are associated with both autosomal dominant hypoplastic hypomaturation amelogenesis imperfecta (ADHHAI) and tricho-dento-osseous (TDO) syndrome. ADHHAI is caused by a c.561_562delCT (2bp-del DLX3) mutation whereas TDO syndrome is associated with a c.571_574delGGGG (4bp-del DLX3) mutation. However, although the causal relationships between DLX3 and an enamel phenotype have been established, the pathophysiological role of DLX3 mutations in enamel development has not yet been clarified. In our current study, we prepared expression vectors for wild type and deletion mutant DLX3 products (4bp-del DLX3, 2bp-del DLX3) and examined the effects of their overexpression on the expression of the enamel matrix proteins and proteases. Wild type DLX3 enhanced the expression of matrix metalloprotease 20 (MMP20) mRNA and protein in murine ameloblast-like cells. However, neither a 4bp-del nor 2bp-del DLX3 increased MMP20 expression. Wild type DLX3, but not the above DLX3 mutants, also increased the activity of reporters containing 1.5 kb or 0.5 kb of the MMP20 promoter. An examination of protein stability showed that the half-life of wild type DLX3 protein was less than 12 h whilst that of both deletion mutants was longer than 24 h. Endogenous Dlx3 was also found to be continuously expressed during ameloblast differentiation. Since inactivating mutations in the gene encoding MMP20 are associated with amelogenesis imperfecta, the inability of 4bp-del or 2bp-del DLX3 to induce MMP20 expression suggests a possible involvement of such mutations in the enamel phenotype associated with TDO syndrome or ADHHAI.

• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.189-203
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• 1992

Any money model should address the most important phenomenon of a monetary economy, which is the phenomenon of the rate of return dominance. Even if the holding returns on financial or nonfinancial assets are higher than the rate of return on fiat money holding, which is typically zero, people still hold and use money. In a period of accelerating inflation, number of dominating assets increases continuously, yet people continue to hold and use money. Wallace's (1980) overlapping generations model cannot address the rate of return dominance phenomenon. His model does not capture the mediun of exchange role of fiat money. In this paper, an overlapping types model of fiat money is constructed, in which different types of consumers have different preferences on different types of goods, are endowed with different types of goods, are located at seperated regions, and live for only two periods. In this model, people hold and use money despite the dominating assets, even if inflation accelates. Money in this case serves as a pure medium of exchange, whereas in Wallace's model, money serves as a pure store of value, and money disappears if a dominating asset exists. An interesting feature of the overlapping types model presented in this paper is that money does not provide a cheap approximation to an idealized and efficient real allocation. A monetary economy is always superior to a nonmonetary economy, because money helps overcome the incompleteness of the overlapping types friction. In a monetary economy, however, a pareto optimal allocation cannot always be achieved, because money cannot always overcome the overlapping types friction itself. Therefore, with the criterion of optimality of real allocations, the monetary economy is more optimal than a nonmonetary economy but less optimal than a complete Arrow-Debreu economy. This feature has important implications on macro modelling. Because of the difficulty in introducing money into a macro model in an essential and endogenous manner as in the overlapping types model of this paper, a macro model typically ignores money and studies real allocations without the money factor. The possible inefficiencies of a monetary economy, relative to a complete real Arrow-Debreu economy, may indicate differences in real allocations between the two models.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.22 no.12
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• pp.1600-1607
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• 2012

The matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) family plays essential roles in physiological processes such as embryonic development, angiogenesis, wound healing, and tissue homeostasis as a consequence of MMPr capacity for breaking down many types of extracellular matrix proteins. Imbalanced regulation of MMP expression can also lead to pathological conditions such as tumor progression. We recently reported that the Drosophila Mmp1 gene is highly expressed in the digestive tract and is required for the maintenance of intestinal homeostasis such as by restriction of uncontrolled intestinal stem cell proliferation. However, the regulatory mechanisms of MMP gene expression in the intestine remain unclear. In this study, we determined that the expression of Mmp1 is regulated by the homeodomain transcription factor Caudal. Experiments using the targeted expression of Caudal under the regulation of Gal4-UAS system indicated that endogenous Caudal is required for the Mmp1 gene expression in the adult Drosophila intestine and that exogenous Caudal induces Mmp1 expression. Transient transfection experiments indicated that Caudal can activate the promoter activity of Mmp1 and that several putative Caudal binding sites in the 5'-flanking region of the Mmp1 gene may be critical to the upregulation by Caudal. Our data suggest that Mmp1 is one of the target genes of Caudal in physiological normal condition and in tumorigenesis.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.277-281
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• 2008

HIV affects many organ systems. Patients with HIV infection have substantially increased risk of developing various cancers, primarily by opportunistic infection with oncogenic viruses due to their immunocompromised status. However, extensive evidence also indicates that the viral protein, Tat itself, may playas a major factor in the development of AIDS-related neoplasms. The molecular mechanism underlying Tat's oncogenic activity may include deregulation of cellular genes. Therefore, in this study, we examined the effect of HIV-l Tat on CD99 as one of the target cellular genes, which is a well-known tumor marker in several cancers. By using established HeLa clones that are stably expressing Tat, we found that CD99 is upregulated by endogenous Tat, whereas STAT3 is down regulated. Upon the screening of genes differentially expressed between Tat-stable cells and the control cells by using the gene fishing technique, DEG, we detected 3 genes which expression is affected by the presence of Tat. Furthermore, the methylation specific PCR analysis of the stably Tat expressing cell lines revealed that the CD99 promoter is de methylated in the presence of Tat. Taken together, these results open a potential role of CD99 in AIDS-related oncogenesis via epigenetic regulation by HIV-1 Tat.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.171-182
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• 1998

A total of nine Korean native kids and two Corriedale lambs, 1-20 days old, were each inoculated per os with a single dose of 2 × 107 oocysts of Cwptospori,mum muris (strain MCR) originated from mice to elucidate the kinetics and developmental stages of the coccidium in small ruminants. Irrespective of host's age, the prepatent period for both animals ranged from 19 to 35 days (28.1 days, on the average) and the patent period 16-85 days (47.8 days), and the total oocyst outputs showed enormous differences. Infection with greater numbers of oocyst outputs was not ordinarily established by transmission experiments. Oocysts discharged from the kids retained their infectivity by the mouse titration method. The immunogenicity of the coccidium and oocyst reproduction were proven by challenge infection and administration of prednisolone acetate. respectively. All the developmental stages of the coccidium in parasitophorous vacuoles were found by transmission electron microscopy in the pits of the gastric glands of a kid inoculated with oocysts and then necropsied on day 44 postinoculation. It indicated the full course of the host-parasite relationship in kids and lambs as well as mice.