• Natural Product Sciences
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• 제27권3호
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• pp.141-150
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• 2021

This short review on the chemistry, pharmacological properties and patents of obovatol and obovatal from Magnolia obovata is the first publication. Pharmacological properties are focused on anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, anti-platelet and neuroprotective activities. Obovatol and obovatal were first isolated from the leaves of M. obovata. Also reported in the bark and fruits of M. obovata, obovatol and obovatal are neolignans i.e., biphenolic compounds bearing a C-O coupling. Other classes of compounds isolated and identified from M. obovata include sesquiterpene-neolignans, dineolignans, trineolignan, lignans, dilignans, phenylpropanoids, phenylethanoid glycosides, flavonoids, phenolic acids, alkaloids, sesquiterpenes, ketone and sterols. The anti-cancer properties of obovatol and obovatal involve apoptosis, inhibition of the growth, migration and invasion of cancer cell lines. However, obovatol displays cytotoxicity against cancer cells but not obovatal. Similarly, anti-inflammatory, anti-platelet, neuroprotective, anxiolytic and other pharmacological activities were only observed in obovatol. The disparity in pharmacological properties of obovatol and obovatal may be attributed to the -CHO group present in obovatal but absent in obovatol. From 2007 to 2013, eight patents were published on obovatol with one mentioning obovatal. They were all published at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office by scientists of the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB) as inventors and assignee, respectively. Some future research and prospects are suggested.

• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• 제46권1호
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• pp.30-38
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• 2021

Cudraxanthone D (CD) is a natural xanthone compound derived from the root barks of Cudrania tricuspidata. However, the biological functions of CD in human metabolism have been rarely reported until now. Autophagy is the self-degradation process related to cancer cell metastasis. Here, we elucidated the effects of CD on human oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) cells' metastatic ability. We confirmed that CD effectively decreased the proliferation and viability of SCC25 human OSCC cells in time- and dose-dependent manners. Also, the metastasis phenotype of the SCC25 cell (migration, invasion, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition [EMT]) was inhibited by CD. To further investigate the mechanism by which CD inhibited the metastatic capacity, we detected the relationship between EMT and autophagy in the SCC25 cells. The results revealed that CD inhibited the metastasis of the SCC25 cells by attenuating autophagy. Thus, our findings produced a potential novel agent for the treatment of human OSCC metastasis.

• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• 제45권4호
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• pp.152-161
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• 2020

D-pinitol is an analog of 3-methoxy-D-chiro-inositol found in beans and plants. D-pinitol has anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, and anticancer effects. Additionally, D-pinitol induces apoptosis and inhibits metastasis in breast and prostate cancers. However, to date, no study has investigated the anticancer effects of D-pinitol in oral cancer. Therefore, in this study, whether the anticancer effects of D-pinitol induce apoptosis, inhibit the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), and arrest cell cycle was investigated in squamous epithelial cells. D-pinitol decreased the survival and cell proliferation rates of CAL-27 and Ca9-22 oral squamous carcinoma cells in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. Evidence of apoptosis, including nuclear condensation, poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase, and caspase-3 fragmentation, was also observed. D-pinitol inhibited the migration and invasion of both cell lines. In terms of EMT-related proteins, E-cadherin was increased, whereas N-cadherin, Snail, and Slug were decreased. D-pinitol also decreased the expression of cyclin D1, a protein involved in the cell cycle, but increased the expression of p21, a cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor. Hence, D-pinitol induces apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in CAL-27 and Ca9-22 cells, demonstrating an anticancer effect by decreasing the EMT.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• 제54권6호
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• pp.461-470
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• 2021

Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of low physical activity (PA) in Peruvian adults and to identify associated factors. Methods: An analytical study was performed using data from the 2017-2018 Nutritional Food Surveillance by Life Stages survey. The outcome variable was low PA (yes or no), assessed using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-short form. Prevalence ratios were estimated as a measure of association. Results: Among the 1045 persons included in the analysis, the age-standardized prevalence of low PA was 61.9%. The adjusted model showed that being female and migrating from a rural to an urban area in the last 5 years were associated with a higher probability of having low PA than males and individuals who had not migrated, while residing in rural highlands and jungle areas was associated with a reduced probability of having low PA compared to people residing in other geographic domains. Conclusions: Being a female and migration from a rural to an urban area in the last 5 years were associated with a higher likelihood of having low PA. Therefore, promotion and prevention strategies related to PA are required, especially in the female and migrant populations.

• Computers and Concrete
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• 제29권 6호
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• pp.433-444
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• 2022

Concrete's compressive strength is widely studied in order to understand many qualities and the grade of the concrete mixture. Conventional civil engineering tests involve time and resources consuming laboratory operations which results in the deterioration of concrete samples. Proposing efficient non-destructive models for the prediction of concrete compressive strength will certainly yield advancements in concrete studies. In this study, the efficiency of using radial basis function neural network (RBFNN) which is not common in this field, is studied for the concrete compressive strength prediction. Complementary studies with back propagation neural network (BPNN), which is commonly used in this field, have also been carried out in order to verify the efficiency of RBFNN for compressive strength prediction. A total of 13 input parameters, including novel ones such as cement's and fly ash's compositional information, have been employed in the prediction models with RBFNN and BPNN since all these parameters are known to influence concrete strength. Three different train: test ratios were tested with both models, while different hidden neurons, epochs, and spread values were introduced to determine the optimum parameters for yielding the best prediction results. Prediction results obtained by RBFNN are observed to yield satisfactory high correlation coefficients and satisfactory low mean square error values when compared to the results in the previous studies, indicating the efficiency of the proposed model.

• 국제학술발표논문집
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• The 1th International Conference on Construction Engineering and Project Management
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• pp.814-819
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• 2005

There is growing consciousness of the environmental performance of buildings in Hong Kong. The Buildings Department, the Lands Department and the Planning Department of the Hong Kong Government issued the first of a series of joint practice notes [1] to promote the construction of green and innovative buildings. Green features are architectural features used to mitigate migration of noise and various air-borne pollutants and to moderate the transport of heat, air and transmission of daylight from outside to indoor environment in an advantageous way. This joint practice note sets out the incentives to encourage the industry in Hong Kong to incorporate the use of green features in building development. The use of green features in building design not only improves the environmental quality, but also reduces the consumption of non-renewable energy used in active control of indoor environment. Larger window openings in the walls of a building may provide better natural ventilation. However, it also increases the penetration of direct solar radiation into indoor environment. The use of wing wall, one of the green features, is an alternative to create effective natural ventilation. This paper therefore presents a preliminary numerical study of its ventilation performance using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). The numerical results will be compared with the results of the wind tunnel experiments of Givoni.

• 국제학술발표논문집
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• The 9th International Conference on Construction Engineering and Project Management
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• pp.476-483
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• 2022

The novel coronavirus pandemic has had a significant impact on society and everyday life. The pandemic imposed a global shutdown leading to many challenges such as the suspension of academic programs at universities. The result of this suspension contributed to the rapid overnight migration of educational activities from traditional face-to-face learning to a virtual environment which until then was unfamiliar to both instructors and students. This study identified the experiences faced by built environment higher education instructors in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa during this sudden switch to online teaching and learning. This pilot study employed a quantitative research approach to survey instructor experiences on online teaching and learning during a global pandemic. The data was computed and analyzed using IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 27. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data collected. The study sample comprised of 20 higher education instructors in the region of the KwaZulu Natal province in South Africa. Findings from the study revealed that instructors faced adaptive challenges with rapidly having to redesign and remodel the mode of academic course delivery and assessments to suit an online platform. Additionally, instructors observed that students faced technological challenges such as connectivity and navigating the online learning management system platforms. The challenges identified by instructors and students can be effectively transformed to opportunities for future learning under the 'new normal'.

• International Journal of Knowledge Content Development & Technology
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• 제13권4호
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• pp.95-117
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• 2023

The Digitalia MUNI ARTS - a local node of the LINDAT/CLARIAH-CZ research infrastructure at the Faculty of Arts of Masaryk University constitutes a repository in the Islandora system. It is used for long-term preservation of research data together with their research environment in the form of digital platforms. We transfer the digital outputs of humanities scholars research to the repository according to a set plan, which is based on best practice recommendations for project management and digital curation. In this paper, we present how the results of interviews with platform developers and infrastructure stakeholders translate into the curation workflow, and a resulting model for migrating digital platforms to the repository. Reflecting on three types of problems we encountered during the implementation of platforms into the repository - communication problems, problems of external dependence, and management problems - we describe a modification of the migration process. We present six recommendations for repository administrators and curators in an academic setting - holding an introductory meeting with developers, researching significant and relevant theories of knowledge domain, consulting license experts, prioritizing requirements, and preparing handover protocol and progress reports.

• 한국콘텐츠학회논문지
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• 제21권12호
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• pp.585-594
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• 2021

가족결합은 이주민의 행복과 사회통합에 중요한 요인이다. 따라서 유엔은 난민협약상 난민으로 인정되지는 않지만, 출신국으로 귀환할 경우 심각한 위해를 입을 상당한 근거가 있어 국제적 보호가 필요하다고 판단되는 보충적 보호대상자에 대해서도 난민과 같은 수준에서의 가족결합권 보장을 권고하고 있다. 한국은 보충적 보호 대상자와 유사한 인도적 체류자 제도가 있지만, 난민과 달리 가족결합권을 보장받지 못한다. 본 연구는 보충적 보호 대상자의 가족결합권과 관련하여 스웨덴, 아일랜드, 호주, 캐나다 등 해외사례를 살펴봄으로써 한국의 인도적 체류자 가족결합 보장에 대한 대안을 도출하고자 하였다. 분석결과 국가별로 허용기간이나 범위에 있어 차이가 있지만 공통적으로 가족결합을 인정하고 있었다. 또한 가족결합권은 국제규약에서 기본적 인권으로 간주할 뿐만 아니라 인도적 체류자처럼 취약한 상황에 있는 이들에게는 수용국에서의 적응을 위한 심리적 기반이라는 점에서 우리나라도 인도적 체류자의 가족결합권 보장을 구체화할 것을 제안하였다.

• 한국언론정보학보
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• 제43권
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• pp.385-426
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• 2008

사회가 점차 개방적이고 세계적 변화 양상을 띠면서 지구화는 지구 곳곳에서 일어나는 보편적인 현상이 되었고 국제결혼을 통한 지구화 현상(globalization)은 한국에서도 쉽게 찾아볼 수 있는 현상이다. 특히 한국에서 일어나고 있는 국제결혼은 1995년을 기점으로 이주여성이라고 범주화하는 집단의 여성 비율이 남성을 능가하면서 이주의 여성화 경향으로 나타나고 있다. 이와 관련하여 이주의 여성화는 아시아 여성들이 성산업으로 유입되거나 매매혼 등 섹슈얼리티와 관련된 젠더 관계로 집중되면서 아시아 여성들이 이주를 통해 겪는 문제가 심각한 상황이다. 따라서 한국 내에서 이루어지고 있는 국제결혼의 모습은 지구화로 인한 이주 현상의 한 맥락이자 이주의 여성화현상이라고 할 수 있다. 본 연구는 최근 사회학적, 인류학적, 문화이론적, 그리고 탈식민주의 페미니즘의 다양한 학문적 범주에서 다루어지는 디아스포라 논의에 대해 미디어에 재현되는 국제결혼의 모습에 집중하여 살펴보았다. 본 연구는 텔레비전 프로그램의 형식에 따라 드라마, 리얼리티 프로그램, 시사 보도 프로그램, 그리고 영화와 인터넷 미디어를 통해 국제결혼을 통해 한국으로 이주한 아시아 여성의 재현 방식을 살펴보았다. 연구 결과, 디아스포라 과정에서 국제결혼을 통해 이주한 아시아 여성들이 한국 미디어 내에서 여전히 남성 위주의 가부장적인 질서하에 놓여 있다는 것을 발견할 수 있었다. 아시아 여성들이 겪고 있는 강도 높은 가사 노동이 정당화되고 있으며 그것들이 '착한 며느리', '순종적인 아내'라는 친밀한 역할로 정형화되면서 남성에 의한 '타자화'가 일어나고 있거나 아니면 매매혼을 통해 피해자나 가해자로 사회적인 측면에서 '타자화'시키는 경우, 그리고 그들을 아예 성적인 대상으로 상품화시키는 과정을 살펴볼 수 있었다. 이로써 현재의 미디어 담론들은 국제결혼을 한 아시아 여성에게 '타자화'된 시선으로만 살펴보고 있으며 이들이 한국 사회의 구성원으로서 이야기되어야 할 것들이 무엇인지, 앞으로 미디어 담론은 이를 통해 어떠한 시선을 가져야 그들의 문제를 우리의 문제로 다룰 수 있는지 고민하게 해야 할 것이다.