• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.42.1-42.10
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• 2020

Long-lasting post-switched plasma cells (PCs) arise mainly from germinal center (GC) reactions, but little is known about the mechanism by which GC B cells differentiate into PCs. Based on our observation that the expression of the transcription factor CCAAT/enhancer binding protein β (C/EPBβ) is associated with the emergence of post-switched PCs, we enquired whether a cell-autonomous function of C/EPBβ is involved in the program for PC development. To address this, we generated C/EPBβ-deficient mice in which the Cebpb locus was specifically deleted in B cells after transcription of the Ig γ1 constant gene segment (Cγ1). In response to in vitro stimulation, B cells from these Cebpb^fl/flCγ1^Cre/+ mice had defects in the induction of B lymphocyte-induced maturation protein 1 (Blimp1) and the formation of IgG1⁺ PCs, but not in proliferation and survival. At steady state, the Cebpb^fl/flCγ1^Cre/+ mice had reduced serum IgG1 titers but normal IgG2c and IgM titers. Moreover, upon immunization with T-dependent Ag, the mice produced reduced levels of Ag-specific IgG1 Ab, and were defective in the production of Ag-specific IgG1 Ab-secreting cells. These results suggest that a cell-autonomous function of C/EPBβ is crucial for differentiation of post-switched GC B cells into PCs through a Blimp1-dependent pathway.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.271-276
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• 2016

Though various studies have analyzed the impact of physically being in the forest, consideration of the time factors is omitted in many of them. Since space and time mutually affect each other, the effects that resulted by the space factor can change when the time factor is introduced. In this paper, the focus was made on how the time spent in the forest influences the four resulting factors: live experiences, flow experiences, health perception and inner psychological perception. This research is based on the surveys taken from April to October, 2014. The focus of the questionnaire was to measure 'Live Experience (LE)', 'Flow (FL)', 'Health Perception (HP)' and 'Inner Psychological Perception (IPP)' levels among the participants. The respondents of the survey aged between 40 and 70, participating in Forest or ecological courses, living in the Northern area of Chungchungnam-do province of Korea. Additionally their past experiences ranged from as little as one year to as long as twenty years in forest related fields. It will be shown that the time spent in the forest affects the levels of LE, FL, HP, IPP, increasing them in proportion to the time with statistical significance. This result would be useful not only for those who are in charge of creating forest healing programs but also for people who study forest healing. Because the time spent in the forest influences the levels of LE, FL, HP, IPP, the forest healing programs will benefit by taking this result into consideration.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.330-339
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• 2006

This paper deals with novel electronic ballast based on single-stage power processing topology using a symmetrical half-bridge inverter and current injection circuit. The half-bridge inverter drives the output parallel resonant circuit and injects current through the power factor correction (PFC) circuit. Because of high frequency current injection and high frequency modulated voltage, the proposed circuit maintains the unity power factor (UPF) with low THD even under wide variation in ac input voltage. This circuit needs minimum and lower sized components to achieve the UPF and high efficiency. This leads to an increase in reliability of ballast at low cost. Furthermore, to reduce cost, the electronic ballast is designed for two series-connected fluorescent lamps (FL). The analysis and experimental results are presented for ($2{\times}36$ Watt) fluorescent lamps operating at 50 kHz switching frequency and input line voltage (230 V, 50 Hz).

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.48 no.6
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• pp.459-467
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• 2015

Purpose: We developed a method to load lycopene into maltodextrin and cyclodextrin in an attempt to overcome the poor bioavailability and improve the anti-inflammatory effect of this polyphenol. Methods: Nanosized lycopenes were encapsulated into biodegradable amphiphillic cyclodextrin and maltodextrin molecules prepared using a high pressure homogenizer at 15,000~25,000 psi. Cell damage was induced by lipopolysaccharides (LPS) in a mouse macrophage cell line, RAW 264.7. The cells were subjected to various doses of free lycopene (FL) and nanoencapsulated lycopene (NEL). RT-PCR was used to quantify the tumor necrosis factor (TNF-${\alpha}$), interleukin-$1{\beta}$ (IL-$1{\beta}$), IL-6, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), and cyclooxigenase-2 (COX-2) mRNA levels, while ELISA was used to determine the protein levels of TNF-${\alpha}$, IL-$1{\beta}$, and IL-6. Results: NEL significantly reduced the mRNA expression of IL-6 and IL-$1{\beta}$ at the highest dose, while not in cells treated with FL. In addition, NEL treatment caused a significant reduction in IL-6 and TNF-${\alpha}$ protein levels, compared to cells treated with a similar dose of FL. In addition, mRNA expression of iNOS and COX-2 enzyme in the activated macrophages was more efficiently suppressed by NEL than by FL. Conclusion: Overall, our results suggest that lycopene is a potential inflammation reducing agent and nanoencapsulation of lycopene can further improve its anti-inflammatory effect during tissue-damaging inflammatory conditions.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.243-247
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• 2012

Recent studies suggest that immunization with autologous dendritic cells (DCs) results in protective immunity and rejection of established tumors in various human malignancies. The purpose of this study is to determine whether DCs are generated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMNs) by using cytokines such as F1t-3 ligand (FL), granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF), IL-4, and TNF-${\alpha}$, and whether cytotoxic T cells activated against the thyroid cancer tissues by the DCs. Peripheral blood was obtained from 2 patients with thyroid cancer. DCs were established from PBMNs by culturing in the presence of FL, GM-CSF, IL-4, and TNF-${\alpha}$ for 14 days. At day 14, the differentiated DCs was analyzed morphologically. The immunophenotypic features of DCs such as CDla, CD83, and CD86 were analyzed by immunofluorelescence microscopy. At day 18, DCs and T cells were incubated with thyroid cancer tissues or normal thyroid tissues for additional 4 days, respectively. DCs generated from the PBMNs showed the typical morphology of DCs. Activated cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) were observed also. DCs and the CTLs were attached to the cancer tissues on scanning electron microscope. The DCs activated the CTLs, which able to specifically attack the thyroid cancer. This study provides morphologic evidence that the coculture of T cells/cancer tissues activated the T cells and differentiated CTLs. The CTLs tightly adhered to cancer tissues and lysed cancer tissues vigorously. Therefore DCs could be used as potential vaccines in the immunotherapy.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.159-166
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• 2017

Exposure to UV light, i.e., UV-A (320-400 nm) or UV-B (290-320 nm) radiation, can cause skin cancer. Titanium dioxide ($TiO_2$) effectively disperses UV light. Therefore, it is used as a physical UV filter in many UV light blockers. Usually, the $TiO_2$ content in commercialized UV blockers is 25 % at most. To block UV-B, a chemical UV blocker, octyl-methoxy cinnamate (OMC) is used. OMC is commonly used in combination with $TiO_2$. In this study, $TiO_2$ and OMC were mixed in different proportions to produce UV blockers with different compositions. Also the changes in the sun protection factor (SPF) based on the composition and $TiO_2$ particle sizes were investigated. In order to analyze the $TiO_2$ particle size, dynamic light scattering (DLS) and asymmetrical flow field-flow fractionation (AsFlFFF) were used. The results showed that the SPF was influenced by the proportion of $TiO_2$ and OMC, where the proportion of $TiO_2$ induced a more significant influence. In addition, changes in the $TiO_2$ particle size based on the proportion of OMC were observed.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.41 no.7
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• pp.695-702
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• 2018

The inner ear is a complex sensory organ responsible for hearing and balance. Formation of the inner ear is dependent on tight regulation of spatial and temporal expression of genes that direct a series of developmental processes. Recently, epigenetic regulation has emerged as a crucial regulator of the development of various organs. However, what roles higher-order chromatin organization and its regulator molecules play in inner ear development are unclear. CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF) is a highly conserved 11-zinc finger protein that regulates the three-dimensional architecture of chromatin, and is involved in various gene regulation processes. To delineate the role of CTCF in inner ear development, the present study investigated inner ear-specific Ctcf knockout mouse embryos (Pax2-Cre; $Ctcf^{fl/fl}$). The loss of Ctcf resulted in multiple defects of inner ear development and severely compromised otic neurogenesis, which was partly due to a loss of Neurog1 expression. Furthermore, reduced Neurog1 gene expression by CTCF knockdown was found to be associated with changes in histone modification at the gene's promoter, as well as its upstream enhancer. The results of the present study demonstrate that CTCF plays an essential role in otic neurogenesis by modulating histone modification in the Neurog1 locus.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2017.06a
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• pp.125-125
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• 2017

The roots of Platycodon grandiflorum are commonly used for treating bronchitis, asthma, tuberculosis, diabetes, and other inflammatory diseases. Since the molecular mechanism underlying the roots of the plant is unclear. Therefore, the present study was conducted to profile proteins from liquid cultured tetraploid roots of Platycodon grandi orum fl using high throughput proteome approach. Two-dimensional gels stained with CBB, a total of 659 differentially expressed proteins were identified from the liquid medium cultured tetraploid roots of which 32 proteins spots (${\geq}1.5-fold$) were sorted for mass spectrometry analysis. Out of these 32 proteins, a total of 15 proteins were up-regulated such as Serine carboxypeptidase-like 27, Transcription factor bHLH150, 60 kDa jasmonate-induced protein, Cytosolic Fe-S cluster assembly factor NBP35, Regulatory associated protein of TOR 2 and a total of 17 proteins were down-regulated such as Protein G1-like2, Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase, Fructokinase-2, Trihelix transcription factor GT-3a, Guanine nucleotide-binding protein alpha-1 subunit. However, the frequency distribution of identified proteins was carried out within functional categories based on molecular functions, cellular components, and biological processes. Functional categorization revealed that the most of the identified proteins from the explants were mainly associated with the nucleic acid binding, oxidoreductase, transferase activity, protein binding and hydrolase activity. In addition, the proteomic feedback of tetraploid roots of P. grandiflorum may potentially be used to understand the characteristics of proteins and their functions.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.53 no.1
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• pp.9-18
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• 2020

We investigated the maturity and spawning dynamics of chub mackerel Scomber japonicus in Korean waters using samples collected by a large purse seine fishery from January 2013 to December 2017. We analyzed sex ratio, monthly maturity stage, gonadosomatic index (GSI), Fulton's condition factor (K), and fork length at 50% group maturity. Spawning occurred from March to June, with a peak in May. We detected a significant difference in sex ratio (χ² test, P<0.05). The relationship between fork length and body weight was expressed as BW=0.0025FL^3.4693. We estimated 50% group maturity at a female fork length of 29.3 cm.

• Plant Resources
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.147-154
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• 2004

Antifreeze proteins (AFPs) accumulate in the leaves of barley during cold acclimation, where they may inhibit ice recrystallization and produce freezing resistance of the plant. Four parental diallel crosses of the barley varieties were used to determine the heritability of AFPs and the relationship between the accumulation level of AFPs and freezing resistance. The concentration of apoplastic proteins in the cold-acclimated leaves was increased in the mean by four-fold over as compared with that of nonacclimated. The diallel cross analyses revealed that the gene of Sacheon 6 was dominant and those of Reno and Dongbori 1 were recessive. The AFPs had high narrow-sense heritabilities. The general combining ability effects of Reno and Dongbori 1 were much higher than the other parents. The bands of 32-kD for GLP, 35-& 28-kD for CLP and 25-, 22- & 16-kD for TLP were observed in the apoplastic extracts from cold-acclimated plants, but there were no clear differences between the parents and Fl hybrids. The concentrations of AFPs were significantly correlated with the degree of freezing resistance, indicating that the concentration of AFPs in the plant is the very important factor for freezing resistance.