• Title/Summary/Keyword: Facilitating

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Influence of Various Biochars on the Survival, Growth, and Oxidative DNA Damage in the Earthworm Eisenia Fetida

  • Kim, Won-Il;Kunhikrishnan, Anitha;Go, Woo-Ri;Jeong, Seon-Hee;Kim, Gyeong-Jin;Lee, Seul;Yoo, Ji-Hyock;Cho, Namjun;Lee, Ji-Ho
    • Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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    • v.33 no.4
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    • pp.231-238
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    • 2014
  • BACKGROUND: Biochar (BC) has a great potential for enhancing soil fertility and carbon sequestration while facilitating beneficial waste disposition. Therefore, it is essential to assess and mitigate any inadvertent consequences associated with soil biochar amendment. Earthworm activity is very vital in the soil system, yet there are a limited number of studies that have examined their impact resulting from biochar application to soil. METHODS AND RESULTS: In this study, the survival, growth, reproductive tests, and oxidative DNA damage tests (measured by 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) and catalase (CAT) activities) to assess the potential toxicity to earthworm Eisenia fetida in artificial soil amended with BCs were investigated. The BCs derived from perilla meal, sesame meal, and pumpkin seed were pyrolyzed at 300 and $550^{\circ}C$, and then amended with soil at a rate of 5%. All the earthworms survived, but lost weight compared to control soil after 28 day incubation period. Moreover, the BC-amended soils did not significantly affect the cocoon numbers of earthworms. Slightly higher concentrations of 8-OHdG and CAT were observed in earthworms present in BC-treated soil than those in control soil. Furthermore, the 8-OHdG concentrations in the soil amended with BC produced at $550^{\circ}C$ were greater than those at $300^{\circ}C$, and it slightly decreased as the incubation time increased. CONCLUSION: These observations could be due to higher contents of toxic metal(loid)s and also higher pH in BCs pyrolyzed at $550^{\circ}C$ than $300^{\circ}C$. While BC is efficiently being used in agricultural fields, this study suggests that it is required to assess the unintended negative impacts of BC on soil ecosystems.

Assessment of Wear Comfort and the Development of One-piece Dresses with Persimmon Juice Dye-printed Fabrics (감즙염색 날염 소재 원피스 개발과 인체착용실험에 의한 생리반응 및 착용감 평가)

  • Park, Soon Ja;Kang, Inhyeng
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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    • v.38 no.1
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    • pp.73-86
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    • 2014
  • Persimmon juice dye-printed fabrics with printing were used for a Galot one-piece dress. The Galot dress was assessed in comparison to a white undyed one-piece dress of the same design through a wearing test conducted in a climatic chamber with an air temperature of $30{\pm}1^{\circ}C$, $50{\pm}5%$ R.H, and 0.2m/sec air movement on 4 healthy female subjects in their 20s. The subjects went through a 30-min stable period, a 30-min exercise of walking on a $5^{\circ}$ slope treadmill at 70m/min period, and a 20-min recovery period. In addition, a physiological reaction and subjective sensation were estimated. The results showed that significant differences were mostly observed from a sweating period that occurred during the latter half of the exercise. More specific results are as follows. First, skin temperature on the chest and mean skin temperature were significantly higher (p<.01) in rayon dyed sample dresses. Second, micro-humidity on the back showed a significant difference (p<.01). Both cotton and rayon persimmon juice dyed sample dresses produced lower microhumidity than their counterparts and as for cotton the difference occurred over the entire experimental period; however, it occurred after the middle of the exercise period for rayon. Third, the sweating rate on the back decreased in both cotton and rayon with persimmon juice dye but no significant difference was observed. Fourth, subjective three sensations revealed significant differences between cotton and rayon (p<.01), indicating that the subjects felt more cool, dryer and more comfortable in a cotton Galot. As described above, the analysis of physiological responses and the subjective sensation of undyed and dyed clothing shows the effect of persimmon juice dyeing. Persimmon juice dyeing also seemly increased air permeability, moisture regain and permeability facilitating body heat ventilation, as micro-humidity and sweat rate were lowered. However, this was not shown consistently in subjective responses on comfort especially when wearing rayon dresses.

α-Glucosidase, Tyrosinase, and Elastase Inhibitory Effects of Enzymatic Extracts from Ecklonia cava and its Alcohol Metabolizing Activity (감태(E. cava Kjellman) 효소분해산물의 항당뇨 및 알코올 분해능과 미용효과)

  • Kim, Hye-Youn;Cho, Eun-Kyung;Kang, Su-Hee;Bae, Jeong-Mi;Choi, Young-Ju
    • Journal of Life Science
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    • v.22 no.6
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    • pp.751-759
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    • 2012
  • Microbulbifer sp. was used to acquire the degrading products from Ecklonia cava (DPEC) and the products were investigated to determine the physiological activities. Firstly, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) activity and superoxide dismutase (SOD) assay were about 84.1% and 89.6% at 2.5 mg/ml, respectively. In addition, nitrite scavenging ability was shown to be 56.3% at 0.5 mg/ml on pH 1.2. ${\alpha}$-Glucosidase inhibitory activity was increased in a dose-dependent manner and was about 58.7% at 2.5 mg/ml. To determine the influence of DPEC on alcohol metabolism, the generating activity of reduced-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) by alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) were measured. Facilitating rates of ADH and ALDH activities by DPEC were 123.3% and 215.2% at 2.5 mg/ml, respectively. For analyses of anti-wrinkling and whitening effects, its elastase and tyrosinase inhibitory activities were measured and were about 73.1% and 42.2% at 2.5 mg/ml, respectively. These results indicated that DPEC has valuable biological attributes owing to its antioxidant, nitrite scavenging, and alcohol metabolizing activities and ${\alpha}$-glucosidase, elastase, and tyrosinase inhibitory activities.

An Analysis of Preservice Teachers' Lesson Plays: How Do Preservice Teachers Give Feedbacks to Students in an Imaginary Classroom Discourse? (예비교사들은 학생의 대답에 어떻게 피드백 하는가? - Lesson Play의 분석 -)

  • Lee, Jihyu
    • School Mathematics
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    • v.19 no.1
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    • pp.19-41
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    • 2017
  • The purpose of this article was to a) identify how preservice teachers conceive feedbacks and subsequent classroom discourses, and b) compare them with those in reform-oriented mathematics classroom video for mathematics teachers' professional development about classroom discourse. This article analyzes feedback patterns and subsequent classroom discourses in preservice teachers' imaginary classroom scripts (lesson plays) and compares them with those in the reform-oriented classroom video dealing with the same teaching situation. Most of the preservice teachers' feedbacks focused the evaluation of students' responses and transmission of meaning (univocal function), whereas the teacher's feedback in the reform-oriented classroom allowed the whole class to validate or challenge the answers, thereby facilitating students' generation of meaning (dialogic function). The comparison analysis between the univocal discourse in a preservice teacher's lesson play and the dialogical discourse in the reform-oriented classroom video shows that teacher feedback serves as an important indicator for the main function of classroom discourse and the levels of students' cognitive participation, and also as a variable that determines and changes them. This case study suggests that to improve the quality of classroom discourse, preservice and in-service teachers need experience of perceiving the variety of feedback patterns available in specific teaching contexts and exploring ways to balance the univocal and dialogical functioning in their feedback move during the teacher training courses.

Target Identification for Metabolic Engineering: Incorporation of Metabolome and Transcriptome Strategies to Better Understand Metabolic Fluxes

  • Lindley, Nic
    • Proceedings of the Korean Society for Applied Microbiology Conference
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    • 2004.06a
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    • pp.60-61
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    • 2004
  • Metabolic engineering is now a well established discipline, used extensively to determine and execute rational strategies of strain development to improve the performance of micro-organisms employed in industrial fermentations. The basic principle of this approach is that performance of the microbial catalyst should be adequately characterised metabolically so as to clearlyidentify the metabolic network constraints, thereby identifying the most probable targets for genetic engineering and the extent to which improvements can be realistically achieved. In order to harness correctly this potential, it is clear that the physiological analysis of each strain studied needs to be undertaken under conditions as close as possible to the physico-chemical environment in which the strain evolves within the full-scale process. Furthermore, this analysis needs to be undertaken throughoutthe entire fermentation so as to take into account the changing environment in an essentially dynamic situation in which metabolic stress is accentuated by the microbial activity itself, leading to increasingly important stress response at a metabolic level. All too often these industrial fermentation constraints are overlooked, leading to identification of targets whose validity within the industrial context is at best limited. Thus the conceptual error is linked to experimental design rather than inadequate methodology. New tools are becoming available which open up new possibilities in metabolic engineering and the characterisation of complex metabolic networks. Traditionally metabolic analysis was targeted towards pre-identified genes and their corresponding enzymatic activities within pre-selected metabolic pathways. Those pathways not included at the onset were intrinsically removed from the network giving a fundamentally localised vision of pathway functionality. New tools from genome research extend this reductive approach so as to include the global characteristics of a given biological model which can now be seen as an integrated functional unit rather than a specific sub-group of biochemical reactions, thereby facilitating the resolution of complexnetworks whose exact composition cannot be estimated at the onset. This global overview of whole cell physiology enables new targets to be identified which would classically not have been suspected previously. Of course, as with all powerful analytical tools, post-genomic technology must be used carefully so as to avoid expensive errors. This is not always the case and the data obtained need to be examined carefully to avoid embarking on the study of artefacts due to poor understanding of cell biology. These basic developments and the underlying concepts will be illustrated with examples from the author's laboratory concerning the industrial production of commodity chemicals using a number of industrially important bacteria. The different levels of possibleinvestigation and the extent to which the data can be extrapolated will be highlighted together with the extent to which realistic yield targets can be attained. Genetic engineering strategies and the performance of the resulting strains will be examined within the context of the prevailing experimental conditions encountered in the industrial fermentor. Examples used will include the production of amino acids, vitamins and polysaccharides. In each case metabolic constraints can be identified and the extent to which performance can be enhanced predicted

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New Paradigm for Patients with Pulmonary Nodule Expecting Thoracoscopic Resection (흉강경수술이 예상되는 폐결절 환자에서의 새로운 방침)

  • 조민섭;심성보;왕영필;조건현;서종희;곽문섭;이선희;김학희;문석환
    • Journal of Chest Surgery
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    • v.36 no.10
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    • pp.748-753
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    • 2003
  • Background: The pulmonary nodules (PN), when indicated, need thoracoscopic resection, especially in cases of non-diagnostic or technically infeasible PCNA (percutaneous needle aspiration). In the difficult situations of small or deeply seated PN, several techniques facilitating thoracoscopy have been used for detecting them. Our new protocol for managing PN was developed and prospectively reviewed. Material and Method: In the procedure of PCNA, we firstly placed the tip of the needle in the center of, or just in contact with PN under CT guidance, and loaded one or two segments of platinum radiomarker inside the needle after removing the stylet. Then, we forced the radiomarker to move to the tip of the needle by pushing the stylet. Finally, if the tip of the needle was not within PN, it was reoriented to the their center to obtain the sample for PCNA. Result: Between May 1999 and May 2000, radiomarkers were successfully placed in 28 PN of 26 patients, with the exception of one. In 18 (85%) of 21 nodules needing throacoscopy, intraoperative fluoroscopy was used to detect them or guide stapling resection during thoracoscopy. Conclusion: The advantages of this technique are that there is that there is no need for further localization for thoracoscopy even in cases of unsuccessful PCNA, and it was more effective in respect to both cost and time. Therefore, this strategy for PN expecting thoracoscopy will be helpful to patients and medical staff alike.

A Parametric Study of Pervaporation-facilitated Esterification (전산모델링을 통한 투과증발-촉진 에스테르화 반응에 대한 연구)

  • Yeom, C.K.;Choi, Seung-Hak;Park, You-In;Chang, Sung-Soon
    • Membrane Journal
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    • v.17 no.2
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    • pp.146-160
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    • 2007
  • A parametric study on pervaporation-facilitated esterification was performed by using a practical model based on non-perfect separation through membrane which is not perfectly permselective to water. Thus, membrane selectivity as well as membrane capability to remove water should be taken into account in establishing the simulation model to explain how the membrane separation influence the esterification reaction process. It was shown by simulation that in the reaction systems with non-perfect separation, the permeation of reactants which are acid or/and alcohol retards the reaction by inducing the backward reaction so that reaction conversion curve is located between a reaction system coupled with pervaporation process having a perfect permselectivity to water and a reaction system without pervaporation process. The volume change of reaction system occurs as a result of the permeation through the membrane. The reaction volume change which can be characterized by the reaction ratio of $r_{\Psi}\;to\;r_{{\Psi}=1}$ affects reaction kinetics by concentrating reactants and products, respectively, with different extent with time; reactant-concentrating effect is dominant during the initial stage of reaction, resulting in facilitating the reaction, and then product-concentrating effect is exerted more on reaction, causing to slow down the reaction. When pervaporative dehydration is applied to the reaction system plays an important role in the reaction as well. The effect of timing to impose pervaporation on reaction system affected the reaction kinetics in terms of reaction rate and reaction conversion. A relationship was derived to explain membrane unit capacity and reaction parameters that will be used as a design tool to determine membrane unit capacity at a given reaction conditions or reaction parameters at a membrane unit capacity.

A Study on Factors Influencing Dementia Management Strategies and Their relationships with Primary Caregivers' Burden (치매주간호자의 치매관리전략 영향요인과 부양부담 관계 연구)

  • Lee, Hyeon-Sun;Oh, Jin-Joo
    • Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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    • v.13 no.4
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    • pp.629-638
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    • 2002
  • The impact of chronic diseases on patients and their families depends on how well the family members cope with it. Therefore, research on strategies for facilitating the coping of the families in a desirable manner is very important. Dementia management strategies refer to specific means families of dementia patients use to cope with dementing illness of their family members. This study was designed to examine type of dementia management strategies utilized by families and to identify factors influencing them. The subjects in this study were 103 conveniently selected demented patients and their primary caregivers who were registered to a public health center located in Chungcheong Province. The subjects were visited by 20 home visiting nurses, and the data were collected using a structured questionnaire. The data were collected form May 2, 2001 to June 2, 2001. The findings of this study were as follows. 1. The most frequently used types of dementia management strategies were active management (M=3.36, S.D=.96), and encouragement (M=2.94, S.D=.99). Criticism was least used type of dementia management strategy (M=2.71, S.D=.99). 2. The factors influencing each management strategy were as follows; 1) The criticism management strategy was most frequently used by the primary caregivers who graduated elementary school (F=3.21, p<.05). 2) The encouragement strategy was most frequently used by the primary caregivers in a case when the patients were in the mild stage of dementia (F=2.76, p<.05), when the patients never had any treatment experiences (F=2.01, p<.05), when the family could afford the provision of treatment for the patients (F=-2.44, p<.050), and when the primary caregiver had a job (t=2.90, p<.01). 3) The active management strategy was most widely used by the primary caregivers who could afford the provision of treatment for the patients (F=-2.31, p<.05) and were in their 70s (F=3.04, p<.05). This type of management strategy was significantly more used by those who discussed the difficulties of caring with their family members (F=3.46, p<.05). 3. The use of criticism management strategies was significantly correlated with the total level of burden of the primary caregivers. But the types of encouragement and active management strategies had negative correlations with the caregivers' burden although they were not significant. Since the findings of this study showed that the criticism management strategy had a significant positive relationship with caregivers' burden, those who are more likely to use the negative management strategy should be identified in future studies. The primary caregivers who are more likely to use negative strategy should be more closely monitored and be focused as the group who should be intervened in future studies.

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Regulation of SPIN90 by Cell Adhesion and ERK Activation

  • Kim Sung Hyun;Kim Dae Joong;Song Woo Keun
    • Proceedings of the Microbiological Society of Korea Conference
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    • 2004.05a
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    • pp.141-146
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    • 2004
  • SPIN90 was identified to farm molecular complex with $\betaPIX$, WASP and Nck. This complex shows that SPIN90 interacts with Nck in a manner dependent upon cell adhesion to extracellular matrix, but $SPIN90{\cdot}{\beta}PIX{\cdot}WASP$ complex was stable even in suspended cells. This suggests that SPIN90 serves as an adaptor molecule to recruit other proteins to Nck at focal adhesions. SPIN90 was phosphorylated by ERK1, which was, itself, activated by cell adhesion and platelet-derived growth factor. Such phosphorylation of SPIN90 likely promotes the interaction of the $SPIN90{\cdot}{\beta}PIX{\cdot}WASP$ complex and Nck. It thus appears that the interaction of the $SPIN90{\cdot}{\beta}PIX{\cdot}WASP$ complex with Nck is crucial for stable cell adhesion and can be dynamically modulated by SPIN90 phosphorylation that is dependent on cell adhesion and ERX activation. SPIN90 directly binds syndapin I, syndapin isoform II-1 and II-s via its PRD region in vitro, in vivo and also associates with endocytosis core components such as clathrin and dynamin. In neuron and fibroblast, SPIN90 colocalizes with syndapins as puntate form, consistent with a role for SPIN90 in clathrin-mediated endocytosis pathway. Overexpression of SPIN90 N-term inhibits receptor-mediated endocytosis. Interestingly, SPIN90 PRD, binding interface of syndapin, significantly blocks internalization of transferrin, demonstrating SPIN90 involvement in endocytosis in vivo by interacting syndapin. Depletion of endogenous SPIN90 by introducing $\alpha-SPIN90$ also blocks receptor-mediated endocytosis. Actin polymerization could generate farce facilitating the pinch-out event in endocytosis, detach newly formed endocytic vesicle from the plasma membrane or push out them via the cytosol on actin tails. Here we found that SPIN90 localizes to high actin turn over cortical area, actin-membrane interface and membrane ruffle in PDGF treated cells. Overexpression of SPIN90 has an effect on cortical actin rearrangement as filopodia induction and it is mediated by the Arp2/3 complex at cell periphery. Consistent with a role in actin organization, CFP-SPIN90 present in actin comet tail generated by PIP5 $kinase\gamma$ overexpression. Therefore this study suggests that SPIN90 is functional linker between endocytosis and actin cytoskeleton.

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Systematizing and Improving of Spatial Environment Data for the Establishment of Spatial Environment Planning (공간환경계획 수립을 위한환경정보의 체계화와 개선방안)

  • Eum, Jeong-Hee;Choi, Hee-Sun;Lee, Gil-Sang
    • Journal of Environmental Policy
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    • v.9 no.2
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    • pp.111-133
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    • 2010
  • Environmental conservation plan, notwithstanding their feasibility and potential utility in construction of environment-friendly spaces, has long been perceived in practice as "declarative" and a "formality." Such perceptions are largely the result of the failure to provide spatial planning that is directly relevant to development of the space in question, and to sufficiently interconnect with urban development plan. This demonstrates the need for ways to link disparate plans, i.e. to enact "spatial environment plan." In response to these issues, this study proposes the systematization of spatial environment data as a necessary prerequisite to the establishment of spatial environment plan, which would provide both linkages with other plans, and ensure the applicability of environmental conservation plan. To this end, this study analyzed existing environmental data, and then proposed systems for links with spatial environment plan. In respect of this, the study examined spatial data systems, and then classified applicable spatial according to each environmental medium. The study also produced spatial information and planning items that can be included in spatial environment plans for each of the nine environmental media, and then constructed a system that could link the existing spatial information system, current spatial environment data, and spatial environment management plan. Furthermore, the study proposed matters for improvement in the construction of spatial environmental data to ensure the activation of spatial environment plan. The construction of a systematic spatial database, by facilitating the smooth establishment of spatial environment plan, can enhance and upgrade environmental conservation plan, while contributing to enhanced linkages with related spatial plans.

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