• Title/Summary/Keyword: Human structure and function

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Inhibition of Transient Receptor Potential Melastain 7 Enhances Apoptosis Induced by TRAIL in PC-3 cells

  • Lin, Chang-Ming;Ma, Ji-Min;Zhang, Li;Hao, Zong-Yao;Zhou, Jun;Zhou, Zhen-Yu;Shi, Hao-Qiang;Zhang, Yi-Fei;Shao, En-Ming;Liang, Chao-Zhao
    • Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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    • v.16 no.10
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    • pp.4469-4475
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    • 2015
  • Transient receptor potential melastain 7 (TRPM7) is a bifunctional protein with dual structure of both ion channel and protein kinase, participating in a wide variety of diseases including cancer. Recent researches have reported the mechanism of TRPM7 in human cancers. However, the correlation between TRPM7 and prostate cancer (PCa) has not been well studied. The objective of this study was to investigate the potential the role of TRPM7 in the apoptosis of PC-3 cells, which is the key cell of advanced metastatic PCa. In this study, we demonstrated the influence and potential function of TRPM7 on the PC-3 cells apoptosis induced by TNF-related apoptosis inducing-ligand (TRAIL). The study also found a novel up-regulated expression of TRPM7 in PC-3 cells after treating with TRAIL. Suppression of TRPM7 by TRPM7 non-specific inhibitors ($Gd^{3+}$ or 2-aminoethoxy diphenylborate (2-APB) ) not only markedly eliminated TRPM7 expression level, but also increased the apoptosis of TRAIL-treated PC-3 cells, which may be regulated by the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B (PI3K/AKT) signaling pathway accompany with up-regulated expression of cleaved Caspase-3, (TRAIL-receptor 1, death receptors 4) DR4, and (TRAIL-receptor 2, death receptors 5) DR5. Taken together, our findings strongly suggested that TRPM7 was involved in the apoptosis of PC-3 cells induced by TRAIL, indicating that TRPM7 may be applied as a therapeutic target for PCa.

The Effect of Jeju Wild Ginseng Extracts on Skin Barrier via Serine-Palmitoyltransferase (제주산양산삼이 세린-팔미토일 전이효소(Serine-Palmitoyltransferase)를 통해 피부 장벽에 미치는 효과에 대한 연구)

  • Kim, Hyo Min;Lee, Jung No;Kim, Jae Moon;Kim, Sung Kyu;Park, Sung-Min
    • Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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    • v.42 no.2
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    • pp.119-126
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    • 2016
  • Skin is the largest organ that protects the body from the external environmental factors such as smog, cigarette smoke, UV. Protective skin barrier is composed with keratinizational keratinocytes and intercellular lipids such as ceramides, cholesterols and fatty acids combined by the lamellar liquid crystal structure. In this research, we confirmed that the Jeju wild ginseng (JWG) extracts dose-dependently increased the expression of serine-palmitoyltransferase (SPT) protein which is associated with ceramide biosynthesis. In addition, emulsion containing 5% JWG extract was applied on skin of human volunteers for 2 weeks and then significantly reduced transepidermal water loss (TEWL) compared to that of control group. As a results, JWG extract increased the biosynthesis of ceramides that is the key components of the skin lipid through enhancing expression of SPT. In addition, JWG extract reduced TEWL resulting in improvement of skin barrier function. In this context, we suggest that JWG extract could be used as a skin barrier enhancer and moisturing agents in cosmetic fileds.

A study on the improvement of distribution system by overseas agricultural investment (해외농업투자에 따른 유통체계 개선방안에 관한 연구)

  • Sun, Il-Suck;Lee, Dong-Ok
    • Journal of Distribution Science
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    • v.8 no.3
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    • pp.17-26
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    • 2010
  • Recently concerns have been raised due to the unbalanced supply of crops: the price of crops has been unstable and at one point the price went up so high that the word Agflation(agriculture+ inflation) was coined. Korea, in particular, is a small-sized country and needs to secure the stable supply of crops by investing in the produce importation at a national level. Investment in foreign produce importation is becoming more important as a measure for sufficient supply of crops, limited supply of domestic crops, weakened farming conditions worldwide, as well as recent changes in the use of crops due to the development of bio-fuels, influence of carbon emission on crops, the price increase in crops, and influx of foreign hot money. However, there are many problems with investing in foreign produce importation: lack of support from the government; lack of farming information and technology; difficulty in securing the capital; no immediate pay-off from the investment and insufficient management. Although foreign produce is originally more price-competitive than domestic produce, it loses its competiveness in the process of importation (due to high tariffs) and poor distribution system, which makes it difficult to sell in Korea. Therefore, investment in foreign produce importation is being questioned for feasibility; to make it possible, foreign produce must maintain the price-competitiveness. Especially, harvest of agricultural products depends on natural and geographical conditions of each country and those products have indigenous properties, so distribution system according to import and export of agricultural products should be treated more carefully than that of other industries. Distribution costs are differentiated into each item and include cost of sorting and wrapping, cost of wrapping materials, cost of domestic transport, cost of international transport and cost of clearing customs for import and export. So transporting and storing agricultural products generates considerable costs compared with other products. Also, due to upgrade of dietary life, needs for stability, taste and visible quality toward food including agricultural products are being raised and wrong way of storage causes decomposition of food and loss of freshness, making the storage more difficult than that in room temperature, so storage and transport in distribution of agricultural products needs specialty. In addition, because lack of specialty in distribution and circulation such as storage and wrapping does not solve limit factors in distance, the distribution and circulation has been limited to a form of import and export within short-distant region. Therefore, need for distribution out-sourcing which can satisfy specialty in managing distribution and circulation and it is needed to establish more effective distribution system. However, existing distribution system of agricultural products is exposed to various problems including problems in distribution channel, making distribution and strategy for distribution and those problems are as follows. First, in case of investment in overseas agricultural industry, stable supply of the products is difficult because areas of production are dispersed widely and influenced by outer factors due to including overseas distribution channels. Also, at the aspect of quality, standardization of products is difficult, distribution system is quite complicated and unreasonable due to long distribution channels according to international trade and financial and institutional support is not enough. Especially, there are quite a lot of ineffective factors including multi level distribution process, dramatic gap between production cost and customer's cost, lack of physical distribution facilities and difficulties in storage and transport due to lack of wrapping containers. Besides, because import and export of agricultural products has been manages under the company's own distribution according to transaction contract between manufacturers and exporting company, efficiency is low due to excessive investment in fixed costs and lack of specialty in dealing with agricultural products causes fall of value of products, showing the limit to lose price-competitiveness. Especially, because lack of specialty in distribution and circulation such as storage and wrapping does not solve limit factors in distance, the distribution and circulation has been limited to a form of import and export within short-distant region. Therefore, need for distribution out-sourcing which can satisfy specialty in managing distribution and circulation and it is needed to establish more effective distribution system. Second, among tangible and intangible services which promote the efficiency of the whole distribution, a function building distribution environment which includes distribution information, system for standard and inspection, distribution finance, system for diversification of risks, education and training, distribution administration and tax system is wanted. In general, such a function building distribution environment is difficult to be changed and supplement innovatively because its effect compared with investment does not appear immediately despite of its necessity. Especially, in case of distribution of agricultural products, as a function of collecting and distributing is performed individually through various channels, the importance of distribution information and standardization is getting more focus due to the problem of repetition of work and lack of specialty. Also, efficient management of distribution is quite difficult due to lack of professionals in distribution, so support to professional education is needed. Third, though effort to keep self-sufficiency ratio of staple food, rice is regarded as important at the government level, level of dependency on overseas of others crops is high. Therefore, plan for stable securing food resources aside from staple food is also necessary. Especially, governmental organizations of agricultural products distribution in Korea are production-centered and have unreasonable structure whose function at the aspect of distribution and consumption is quite insufficient. And development of new distribution channels which can deal with changes in distribution environment and they do not achieve actual results of strategy for distribution due to non-positive strategy for price distribution. That is, it implies the possibility that base for supply will become vulnerable because it does not mediate appropriate interests on total distribution channels such as manufacturers, wholesale dealers and vendors by emphasizing consumer protection excessively in the distribution of agricultural products. Therefore, this study examined fundamental concept and actual situation for our investment to overseas agriculture, drew necessities, considerations, problems, etc. of overseas agricultural investment and suggested improvements at the level of distribution for price competitiveness of agricultural products cultivated in overseas under five aspects; government's indirect support, distribution's modernization and distribution information function's strengthening, government's political support for distribution facility, transportation route, load and unloading works' improvement, price competitiveness' securing, professional manpower's cultivation by education and training, etc. Here are some suggestions for foreign produce importation. First, the government should conduct a survey on the current distribution channels and analyze the situation to establish a measure for long-term development plans. By providing each agricultural area with a guideline for planning appropriate production of crops, the government can help farmers be ready for importation, and prevent them from producing same crops all at the same time. Government can sign an MOU with the foreign government and promote the importation so that the development of agricultural resources can be stable and steady. Second, the government can establish a strategy for an effective distribution system by providing farmers and agriculture-related workers with the distribution information such as price, production, demand, market structure and location, feature of each crop, and etc. In order for such distribution system to become feasible, the government needs to reconstruct the current distribution system, designate a public organization for providing distribution information and set the criteria for level of produce quality, trade units, and package units. Third, the government should provide financial support and a policy to seek an efficient distribution channel for foreign produce to be delivered fresh: the government should expand distribution facilities (for selecting, packaging, storing, and processing) and transportation vehicles while modernizing old facilities. There should be another policy to improve the efficiency of unloading, and to lower the cost of distribution. Fourth, it is necessary to enact a new law covering exceptional cases for importing produce in order to maintain the price competitiveness; currently the high tariffs is keeping the imported produce from being distributed domestically. However, the new adjustment should be made carefully within the WTO regulations since it can create a problem from giving preferential tariffs. The government can also simplify the distribution channels in order to reduce the cost in the distribution process. Fifth, the government should educate distributors to raise the efficiency and to modernize the distribution system. It is necessary to develop human resources by educating people regarding the foreign agricultural environment, the produce quality, management skills, and by introducing some successful cases in advanced countries.

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Landscape Composition Based on Placement and Harmony in the Namgea Suhwon (치(置)와 화(和)의 개념으로 분석한 남계서원의 경관짜임)

  • Rho, Jae-Hyun;Shin, Sang-Sup
    • Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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    • v.37 no.4
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    • pp.72-85
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    • 2009
  • This study attempts to examine the principles of landscape composition for a 'Suhwon(書院)' and the meaning and value of its traditional landscape architecture, in order to apply the results to the design of modern landscape architecture. A 'Suhwon' is a vital space containing the form and meaning of human activity. This study analyzes the characteristics of landscape composition in the construction of the Namgea Suhwon, located in Hamyang, by examining the form and meaning of its area and composition. The Namgea Suhwon was constructed with a suitable configuration and harmony in a good location, neither field nor mountain, and which encompasses transcendence and a return after passage through a period of birth and abundance. Its appearance means 'life existence and hidden death(生居死幽)'. Its spatial system is a reflection of the idea of Samshinoje(三神五帝: The three abilities of Providence and its five subjects) connected with Ilsangje -Samshin -Ohje. It was built based on the idea of Biryebudong(非禮不動) meaning that one should follow only good decorum and avoid discourtesy, complying with "the frame of decorum" developed by the family rites of Chu Hsi. The environmental design of the Namgea Suhwon was interrupted by the material confrontation between mountains and water and a binary code system, such as front to rear, length to breadth, and movement to stillness. The design did not adhere to stiff axes, but pursued the harmonic principles of asymmetric balance in the building and the yard, which are very naturalistic. The name 'Namgea Suhwon' is closely related with the view of placement(置) and harmony(和), which are unified with the function and meaning formed by connecting Sung Confucianism with the Pungsu-Sasinsa structure in the layout of the grounds. When examining the D/H ratio of the building and yard, it can be seen that the spaces of Ganghak, Yusang and Jehyang were built appropriately, according to the natural characteristics of each space, such as a sense of openness, enclosure, tension, relief, enhancement, and hierarchical order. The spaces also reflect human scale concepts that take advantage of auditory features. The transition process after the construction of 'Namgea Suhwon' reveals the intentions of the builder to create an ecological landscape composition based on Placement and Harmony. Placement embodies' a purposeful space in which nature and the building are connected naturally, 'incomplete open space pursuing completion', and 'potential beauty in which tension and relaxation are repeated'. Harmony embodies 'order and continuity having a sense of unity with the natural environment' and the 'sharing of daily life and memory'. 'Namgea Suhwon' contains many ideas for landscape planning, land use and the design of a campus environment.

A Study of Content Analysis on ICU(Intensive Care Unit) Nurses' Knowledge of Basic Nursing Sciences (중환자실 간호사의 기초간호과학 지식의 필요성 분석)

  • Byeon, Young-Soon;Choe, Myoung-Ae;Kim, Hee-Seung;Park, Mi-Jung;Seo, Wha-Sook;Lee, Kyung-Sook;Choi, S-Mi;Hong, Hae-Sook
    • Journal of Korean Biological Nursing Science
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    • v.4 no.1
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    • pp.41-49
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    • 2002
  • The purpose of this study was to identify the knowledge contents of basic nursing sciences needed by nurses in the practices of the intensive care unit(ICU). To attain the goal of this study, the nurses working at 10 hospitals in the areas of Seoul and Kangwon Province were randomly selected. They were primarily interviewed, and the open question was secondarily put to them through the questionnaire. In the process of the 1st interview, the interviewees were asked of the question, "What is the knowledge of basic sciences such as anatomy, pathology, physiology. microbiology, pharmacology and the like thought to be lacking when you communicate with doctors in the ICU and when you carry out your nursing practices in it?" The contents of the interview were tape-recorded. The period of data collection ranged from May 1, 2001 to Sept 30. The interviews were conducted with total of 20 nurses. The open-end questionnaire was secondarily mailed to nurses. 113 questionnaires were returned. 100 questionnaires except 13 ones thought to be poorly completed in content were used for data analysis. Three coders classified data obtained from the interview and the questionnaire research into 5 detailed items relating to such as anatomical physiology, pathology, pharmacology. microbiology and basics of nursing. The three coders had experiences in nursing education of 18 years, 8 years and 6 years, respectively, and of them one coder was professor in basic nursing sciences. Data were statistically treated using frequency analysis and percentage by the SAS program. As a result, the following findings were obtained : It was found that the contents that ICU nurses responded were most needed in the field of Human structure and function were water and electrolytic balance(38%), blood and circulatory system(20%), changer in the patient's skin(12%), the arrangement of the human body(10%) and the endocrine system(10%), nervous system(6%), and assessment of the state of the patient's consciousness(4%). It was found that the contents that ICU nurses responded were most needed in the field of pathology were found to be the process of the progress of the disease(32%), symptoms of the disease(27%), prognosis of the disease(22%), followed by the injury-healing process, clinical pathological examination, and examination by radiation. It was found that the contents that nurses responded were most needed in the field of pharmacology were the effect of drug(25%), the side effect of drug(22%), the relationship between diseases and drug(20%), the relationship between disease-causing bacteria and drug(20%) and chemotherapy(2%). It was found that the contents that ICU nurses responded were most needed in the field of microbiology were the relationship between diseases and disease-causing bacteria(45%), Kinds and characteristics of disease-causing bacteria(18%), infection control(16%), application of the aseptic technique(12%), isolation(9%) and the like. It was found that the basic knowledge that ICU nurses responded were needed were the identification of the patient's current state(36%), understanding of the therapeutic process(22%), the operating principle of medical equipment and instrument(20%), medical terminology(9%), equipment and instrument management(7%), calculation of the dose of injection(2%) and the like.

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A Study on the Naejeong (內庭) of Daesoon Jinrihoe Temple Complexes: Focusing on Literary Sources and Context (대순진리회 도장 건축물 내정(內庭)에 대한 연구 - 내정의 문헌 출처와 그 맥락을 중심으로 -)

  • Cha, Seon-keun
    • Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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    • v.37
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    • pp.1-52
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    • 2021
  • The Naejeong, the inner court, which is one of the structures found in the temple complexes of Daesoon Jinrihoe. It serves the function of leading and controlling the operation and direction of Korean religions in general. Considering that the dictionary meaning of 'Naejeong' is 'a place to manage the affairs of the state from inside a palace,' the name and function of the structure appear to be in harmony. However, in the Daesoon Jinrihoe context, it is said that the name 'Naejeong (內庭 'Neiting' in Chinese)' is related to a verse from a Daoist scripture. It has not been revealed whether or not the scripture is historical, and what contents or contextual meanings it contains. This study tries to pursue this matter and introduce the original source of the Naejeong in Daesoon Jinrihoe as likely coming from Qianbapinxianjing (前八品仙經, The Former Scripture of the Eight Phases That Reveal the Means to Acquire Immortality). This scripture was compiled in Lüzu-quanshu(呂祖全書, The Entire Collection of Ancestor Lü). This text and its contextual meanings will also be examined. The origin of Qianbapinxianjing dates back to either the late Ming Dynasty or the early Qing. In those days, there existed a group of literati who worshipped Ancestor Lü because he had saved people and taught the art of immortality. The group organized Daoist Spirit-Writing Altars (鸞壇道敎) and invoked the spirit of Ancestor Lü. They were said to have been taught through messages received from spirit-writing sessions (降乩) with Ancestor Lü and several Daoist scriptures were composed by them in this manner. At Immortals-Gathering Pavilion (集仙樓) of Wandian (萬店) in Guangling (廣陵), China, some literati in that group conducted a spirit-writing session with Ancestor Lü between 1589 and 1626, and they produced a scripture which contained the passage, "A crow and a rabbit gather in the middle valley (烏兎結中谷) while a turtle entwined with a snake is in the inner court (龜蛇盤內庭)." They titled the scripture, The Five Movements and Filial Piety (五行端孝). This passage symbolically expresses the accomplishment of immortality in Neidan (internal alchemy) which, within the human body, combines the two energies of yin and yang which are Water and Fire in the Five Movements scheme. This kind of cultivation is said to be achieved only by maintaining the highest possible degree of filial piety. In this context, the Naejeong where a turtle is entwined with a snake (龜蛇合體) was a term that symbolically depicted a place wherein one transforms into an immortal through cultivation. The Five Movements and Filial Piety was included in Qianbapinxianjing after it had been compiled with the other scriptures containing Ancestor Lü's teachings. In 1744, Qianbapinxianjing was included in Lüzu-quanshu, the entire 32-volume collection of Ancestor Lü and printed for the first time. This underlies the belief in Ancestor Lü (呂祖信仰) which embraces the idea of the redemption of people, teaches the arts of immortality, and features Daoist Spirit-Writing Altars, filial piety, the art of Neidan, and the combination of Water and Fire.

Half a cenury of the rural geography in Korea(1945-1995):review and prospect (촌락지리학 50년(1945-1995)의 회고와 전망)

  • ;Lee, Moon-Jong
    • Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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    • v.31 no.2
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    • pp.213-254
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    • 1996
  • The Korean Geographical Society was founded in 1945, when Korea was liberated from the Japanese rule. And The Journal of the Korean Geography activated academic studies of geography by publishing research papers in it. Professor Kang, Dae-Hyun wrote the first two specialized papers of rural geography in 1966: " Flood Plain Settlements on the Han River" and "The Location and Form of the Dispersed Villages around Dae-Cwan-Ryung". The early studies of rural geography were not based on serious academic foundations, such as the adjustment of theoretical notions and a good grasp of subjects. After choosing subjects that came to hand without academic consideration. they simply enumerated generalized items of the results of the field work investigation such as the location the landscape and the process of formation of the settlements. In the 1970s and 1980s, however, rural settlement studies progressed remarkably in Korea. More than 80% of 318 dissertations, theses, or papers collected for this review were written in the late 1980s, and the subjects and methodology became diversified. As may be expected, recent studies are found very systematic and problem-solving in the various fields - contexual understanding spatial structure, the development of clan villages according to the socialization process, the effects of rural-out migration on the change of villages etc. Such a trend can be understood as a reaction to the circumstances under which, as the Western society already experienced, rural villages become washed out by the waves of industralization and urbanization and hardly continue to exist. In this paper, geographical studies of rural settlement which have been carried out in Korea last fifty years will be reviewed under the four headings on the studies related to a) farming villages; b) fishing villages; c) mountain villages: and d) special function villages. Studies of farming villages and related ones are very diverse. The results of the studies carried out last fifty years can be classified into sixteen subjects. Just as, in the West, studies of rural settlement have been mainly concerned with farming villages since rural geography came into being, so, in Korea, they have been centred on farming villages. It is a natural result considering the history of human life. Even in Korea, however the rural settlement is no more an isolated life space which keeps unique traditions of old life style, but it begins to form a dynamic life space connected to big cities by heavy traffic. Because the modern farming villages of Korea have an undetachable connection with the cities, special methodology to solve new problems has been posed in the studies of rural settlement. Many scholars have produced a lot of studies of farming villages, and three of them are prominent: Oh. Hong-Seok, Choi, Ki-Yeop, and Lee, Moon-Jong. Oh, Hong-Seok is a versatile and hard-working scholar who has published more papers than anyone else in the various fields of rural geography such as farming villages, fishing villages, mountain villages, and reclamation villages. And he has expanded his concerns to environment issues in recent years. Choi, Ki-Yeop has maintained that the prototype of Korean rural villages is clan villages continuing to write a series of good papers in which he pursues their regionalizion in the process of socialization. Lee, Moon-Jong divides the spatial organization of side settlement, sahachon (settlement near the temple), religion settlement, orchard settlement, settlement near the foreign military camp, displaced people's settlement. Chung Gam Lok settlement, etc. Though The Korean Geographical Society has half a century's history, academic activties in the field of rural settlement have been performed no more than thirty years. We cannot help saying that it is admirable that in such a rather short time we have five academical schools of the rural geography in Korea. geography in Korea.

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Overexpression and Activity Analysis of Cystathionine γ-Lyase Responsible for the Biogenesis of H2S Neurotransmitter (새로운 신경전달물질 H2S 발생 효소, cystathionine γ-lyase의 대량발현 조건과 활성측정)

  • Kim, Kyoung-Ran;Byun, Hae-Jung;Cho, Hyun-Nam;Kim, Jung-Hyun;Yang, Seun-Ah;Jhee, Kwang-Hwan
    • Journal of Life Science
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    • v.21 no.1
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    • pp.119-126
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    • 2011
  • There is a growing recognition of the significance of $H_2S$ as a biological signaling molecule involved in vascular and nervous system functions. In mammals, two enzymes in the transsulfuration pathway, cystathionine ${\beta}$-synthase (CBS) and cystathionine ${\gamma}$-lyase (CGL), are believed to be chiefly responsible for $H_2S$ biogenesis. Genetic inborn error of CGL leads to human genetic disease, cystathioninuria, by accumulating cystathionine in the body. This disease is secondarily associated with a wide range of diseases including diabetes insipidus and Down's syndrome. Although the human CGL (hCGL) overexpression is essential for the investigation of its function, structure, reaction specificity, substrate specificity, and protein-protein interactions, there is no clear report concerning optimum overexpression conditions. In this study, we report a detailed analysis of the overexpression conditions of the hCGL using a bacterial system. Maximum overexpression was obtained in conditions of low culture temperature after inducer addition, performing low aeration during overexpression, and using a low concentration inducer (0.1 mM, IPTG) for induction. Expressed hCGL was purified by His-tag affinity column chromatography and confirmed by Western blot using hCGL antibody and enzyme activity analysis. We also report that the His tag with TEV site attached protein exhibits 76% activity for ${\alpha}-{\gamma}$ elimination reaction with L-cystathionine and 88% for ${\alpha}-{\beta}$ elimination reaction with L-cysteine compared to those of wild type hCGL, respectively. His tag with TEV site attached protein also exhibits a 420 nm absorption maximum, which is attributed to the binding cofactor, pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP).

Development of Natural Antioxidants and Whitening Agents for Cosmeceuticals

  • Kim, Jong-Pyung
    • Proceedings of the Korean Society of Applied Pharmacology
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    • 2007.11a
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    • pp.79-92
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    • 2007
  • Oxidative stress have known to be a risk factor for the degenerative processes and closely related to a lot of diseases. It is well established that antioxidants are good in protection and therapeutic means against oxidative damage. There is increasing interest in natural antioxidants and many natural antioxidants have been found and utilized as the possible protection for various diseases and skin aging. We have screened natural antioxidant agents for cosmeceuticals, nutraceuticals, and drugs as therapeutic and preventive means against oxidative stress, and have developed a number of novel antioxidants from various natural sources. A novel melanin synthesis inhibitor, Melanocin A, isolated from the metabolite of a fungal strain Eupenicillium shearii F80695 inhibited mushroom tyrosinase and melanin biosynthesis of B16 melanoma cells with $IC_{50}$ value of 9.0 nM and MIC value of $0.9\;{\mu}M$, respectively. Melanocin A also exhibited potent antioxidant activity by scavenging of DPPH and superoxide anion radicals. UV was found to increase the level of hydrogen peroxides and other reactive oxygen species (ROS) in skin tissues. This increase in ROS may not only alter the structure and function of many genes and proteins directly but may also modulate their expressions through signal transduction pathways and, ultimately, lead to skin damage. We investigated the effect of Melanocin A on UV-induced premature skin aging. Firstly, the effect of Melanocin A on UV-induced matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 expression in an immortalized human keratinocyte cell line, HaCaT in vitro was investigated. Acute UV irradiation induced MMP-9 expression at both the mRNA and protein levels and Melanocin A suppressed this expression in a dose-dependent manner. We then investigated UV-induced skin changes in hairless mice in vivo by Melanocin A. Chronic exposure of hairless mouse dorsal skin to UV increased skin thickness and induced wrinkle formation and the gelatinase activities of MMP-2 and MMP-9. Moreover, Melanocin A significantly suppressed UV-induced morphologic skin changes and MMP-2 and MMP-9 expression. These results show that Melanocin A can prevent the harmful effects of UV that lead to skin aging. Therefore, we suggest that Melanocin A should be viewed as a potential therapeutic agent for preventing and/or treating premature skin aging. Terrein is a bioactive fungal metabolite isolated from Penicillium species. Terrein has a relatively simple structure and can be easily synthesized. However, the biologic effects of terrein are comparatively unknown. We found for the first time that terrein potently inhibit melanin production in melanocytes and has a strong hypopigmentary effect in a spontaneously immortalized mouse melanocyte cell line, Mel-Ab. Treatment of Mel-Ab cells with terrein (10-100 mM) for 4 days significantly reduced melanin levels in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, terrein at the same concentration also reduced tyrosinase activity. We then investigated whether terrein influences the extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (ERK) pathway and the expression of microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF), which is required for tyrosinase expression. Terrein was found to induce sustained ERK activation and MITF down-regulation, and luciferase assays showed that terrein inhibits MITF promoter activity in a dose-dependent manner. To elucidate the correlation between ERK pathway activation and a decreased MITF transcriptional level, PD98059, a specific inhibitor of the ERK pathway, was applied before terrain treatment and found to abrogate the terrein-induced MITF attenuation. Terrein also reduced the tyrosinase protein level for at least 72 h. These results suggest that terrain reduces melanin synthesis by reducing tyrosinase production via ERK activation, and that this is followed by MITF down-regulation.

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A Study on medical Qigong mentioned in ${\ll}$Samilshingo${\gg}$ (三一神誥) (${\ll}$삼일신고(三一神誥)${\gg}$에 나타난 의료기공(醫療氣功)에 관(關)한 연구(硏究))

  • Ban, Chang-Yul
    • Journal of Korean Medical Ki-Gong Academy
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    • v.7 no.2
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    • pp.40-94
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    • 2004
  • Recently, meditation, Zen meditation and Qigong became popular in western. For that reason, Value of Korea traditional methods for health promotion have been evaluated but theoretical evidence about that is insufficient. ${\ll}$The Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic${\gg}$ (黃帝內經). So, I reviewed history of Korea Qigong according to period, in order to produce theoretical evidence of Korea medical Qigong and investigated ${\ulcorner}$Han${\lrcorner}$ thought (${\ulcorner}$${\lrcorner}$ 思想) as theoretical evidence of Korea Qigong. I have obtained following results by comparing meaning of god, a view of human body and practice method of the ${\ll}$Samilshingo${\gg}$ (三一神誥) with ${\ll}$The Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic${\gg}$ (黃帝內經). Sinsundo(神仙道) of native to race became active during the period of the Three Kingdoms but more disappeared due to under the influence of Taoism. So only has been remained in existence since the period of the unity silla. There could accept positively the foreign ideas belonging to Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism have been brought since the period of the Three Kingdoms because ${\ll}$Samilshingo${\gg}$ (三一神誥), one of three the scriptures as the origin of ${\ulcorner}$Han${\lrcorner}$ thought(${\ulcorner}$${\lrcorner}$ 思想) included the original form of three religion belonging to Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism. Three common results as theoretical evidence of Qigong were found out by comparing ${\ll}$Samilshingo${\gg}$ (三一神誥) with ${\ll}$The Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic${\gg}$ (黃帝內經). First, in meaning of god, there is not only different from the gods of heaven and the gods of human but also keep understanding with each other and there was common feature of logical structure that function of god was divided into three. Second, In a view of human body, there were in common with ${\ll}$Samilshingo${\gg}$ (三一神誥) as theory of only as energy(氣一元論), theory of bisection as truth false(眞妄二分論), theory of trisection as spirit(性) destiny(命) nature(精) and mind(心) energy(氣) body(身)(性 命 精, 心 氣 身의 三分論) and ${\ll}$The Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic${\gg}$ (黃帝內經) as theory of only as energy(氣一元論), theory of bisection as shape and god(形神二分論), theory of trisection as nature(精) energy(氣) god(神) or shape(形) energy(氣) god(神)(精 氣 神, 形 氣 神의 三分論) according to formal part. Also, spirit(性) destiny(命) nature(精) as truths of three(三眞) were understand as nature(精) energy(氣) god(神) as treasure of three(三寶) by part of reason and mind(心) energy(氣) body(身) as false of three(三妄) were understand as nature(精) energy(氣) god(神) as treasure of three(三寶) by part of function. Third, In practice method, pause of thinking(止感) modulation of breath(調息). prohibition of sensibility(禁觸) mentioned in ${\ll}$Samilshingo${\gg}$ (三一神誥) as practice method each were understand regulation of an etiological cause as an internal cause, an external cause and not internal and external cause in oriental medicine. Namely, pause of thinking(止感) was understand as regulation method of emotion, mind and nature. modulation of breath(調息) was not only as modulation of energy from the inner parts of the body but also that from the internal and external parts of the body, prohibition of sensibility(禁觸) was understand as regulation method of ear, eye, mouth, and nose and posture, life style. These results suggest that ${\ll}$Samilshingo${\gg}$ (三一神誥) is worth meaning of Korea medical Qigong because meaning of god, a view of human body, practice method of mentioned in ${\ll}$Samilshingo${\gg}$ (三一神誥) is common with that of ${\ll}$The Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic${\gg}$ (黃帝內經) as theoretical evidence of Qigong.