• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.73-77
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• 2008

Recent studies have documented that testosterone relaxes several smooth muscles by modulating $K^+$ channel activities. Smooth muscles of seminal vesicles playa fundamental role in ejaculation, which might involve testosterone. This study was aimed to assess the role of testosterone in seminal vesicular motility by studying its effects on contractile agents and on the ion channels of single vesicular myocytes in a rabbit model. The contractile responses of circular smooth muscle strips of rabbit seminal vesicles to norepinephrine ($10{\mu}M$), a high concentration of KCI (70 mM), and testosterone ($10{\mu}M$) were observed. Single vesicular myocytes of rabbit were isolated using proteolytic enzymes including collagenase and papain. Inside-out, attached, and whole-cell configurations were examined using the patch clamp technique. The applications of $10{\mu}M$ norepinephrine or 70 mM KCl induced tonic contractions, and $10{\mu}M$ testosterone (pharmacological concentration) evoked dose-dependent relaxations of these precontracted strips. Various $K^+$ channel blockers, such as tetraethylammonium (TEA; $10{\mu}M$), iberiotoxin ($0.1{\mu}M$), 4-aminopyridine (4-AP, $10{\mu}M$), or glibenclamide ($10{\mu}M$) rarely affected these relaxations. Single channel data (of inside-out and attached configurations) of BK channel activity were also hardly affected by testosterone ($10{\mu}M$). On the other hand, however, testosterone reduced L-type $Ca^{2+}$ currents significantly, and found to induce acute relaxation of seminal vesicular smooth muscle and this was mediated, at least in part, by $Ca^{2+}$ current inhibition in rabbit.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.53 no.3
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• pp.193-199
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• 2017

This study was aimed to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of Penicillium purpurogenum ED76 on several clinically important microorganisms. The endophytic fungus P. purpurogenum ED76 was previously isolated from Swietenia macrophylla leaf. The antimicrobial efficacy of P. purpurogenum ED76 dichloromethane extract was determined via disc diffusion and broth microdilution assay. A kill curve study was conducted and the morphology of extract treated bacterial cells were viewed under scanning electron microscope. The dichloromethane extract showed significant inhibitory activity on 4 test bacteria and 2 test yeasts. The minimal inhibitory concentration of the extract ranged from 125 to $1,000{\mu}g/ml$, which indicates the different susceptibility levels of the test microorganisms to the fungal extract. The kill curve study has revealed a concentration-dependent inhibition for all test microorganisms. With the increase of the extract concentration, the microbial growth was significantly reduced. The scanning electron micrograph of dichloromethane extract-treated Staphylococcus aureus cells showed the total damage of the cells. The cell wall invagination of the bacterial cells also indicates the loss of cellular materials and metabolic activity. The gas chromatography mass spectrometry analysis of the extract also showed that the major compound was stigmasterol, which constitutes 45.30% of the total area. The dichloromethane extract of P. purpurogenum ED76 exhibited significant inhibitory activity on several clinically important bacteria and yeasts. The study proposed a possible mode of action that the extract cause significant damage to the morphology of S. aureus cells.

• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.374-378
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• 2004

The effects of various environmental factors such as pH (5, 6, 7, 8 and 9), temperature (30, 37 and $40^{\circ}C$) and rotational speed (150, 200 and 250 rpm) on the growth and the hepatitis B core antigen (HBcAg) production of Escherichia coli W3110IQ were examined in the present Study. The highest growth rate is achieved at pH 7, $37^{\circ}C$ and at a rotational Speed of 250 rpm which is 0.927 $h^{-1}$. The effect of pH on cell growth is more substantial compared to other parameters; it recorded a $123\%$ different between the highest growth rate (0.927 $h^{-1}$) at pH 7 and lowest growth at pH 5. The highest protein yield is achieved at pH 9, rotational speed of 250 rpm and $40^{\circ}C$. The yield of protein at pH 7 is $154\%$ higher compared to the lowest yield achieved at pH 5. There is about $28\%$ different of the protein yield for the E. coli cultivated at 250 rpm compared to that at 150 rpm which has the lowest HBcAg yield. The yield of protein at $40^{\circ}C$ is $38\%$ higher compared to the lowest yield achieved at $30^{\circ}C$.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.18
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• pp.7995-8001
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• 2014

Interferon-gamma (IFN-${\gamma}$) has been used to treat various malignant tumors. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the direct anti-proliferative activity of IFN-${\gamma}$ are poorly understood. In the present study, we examined the in vitro antitumor activity of IFN-${\gamma}$ on two human non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) cell lines, H322M and H226. Our findings indicated that IFN-${\gamma}$ treatment caused a time-dependent reduction in cell viability and induced apoptosis through a FADD-mediated caspase-8/tBid/mitochondria-dependent pathway in both cell lines. Notably, we also postulated that IFN-${\gamma}$ increased indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) expression and enzymatic activity in H322M and H226 cells. In addition, inhibition of IDO activity by the IDO inhibitor 1-MT or tryptophan significantly reduced IFN-${\gamma}$-induced apoptosis and death receptor 5 (DR5) expression, which suggests that IDO enzymatic activity plays an important role in the anti-NSCLC cancer effect of IFN-${\gamma}$. These results provide new mechanistic insights into interferon-${\gamma}$ antitumor activity and further support IFN-${\gamma}$ as a potential therapeutic adjuvant for the treatment of NCSLC.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.11
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• pp.6399-6402
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• 2013

Hematological malignancies (HM) are a group of neoplasms derived from the cells of the bone marrow and lymphatic system. Genetic factors leading to susceptibility to HM have been investigated for years but little is known yet. Low molecular weight polypeptide (LMP) 2 and LMP7 genes are important subunits of the immunoproteasome and play significant role in antigen presentation. The polymorphisms of LMP genes have been reported to be risk factors for various types of diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of LMP2 and LMP7 polymorphisms with the occurrence of particular types of HM. A total of 132 patients with HM and 130 control subjects were investigated. No significant difference was obtained in the distribution of genotype and allele frequencies of LMP7 gene in HM patients and the control group. On the other hand, the prevalence of LMP2-AA genotype was found to be higher in acute myeolid leukemia (AML) patients while it was significantly lower in multiple myeloma (MM) cases than in the control subjects. Our results suggested that LMP7 could not be a risk factor for susceptibility to HM, whereas LMP2 polymorphisms could play a role in the development of AML and MM.

• BMB Reports
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.509-516
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• 2001

A genomic DNA fragment that contains the gene, which codes for a novel extracellular serine protease in Burkholderia pseudomallei, was cloned by using pQE40 as a vector. It was maintained in Escherichia coli JM109. The expression of the gene(s) resulted in the production of a 52 kDa protease. The recombinant protease was purified from the culture filtrate via ammonium sulfate fractionation, gel filtration, and anion-exchange chromatography. The purified protease had an optimum pH and temperature of pH 8.9 and $38^{\circ}C$, respectively. The protease activity was inhibited by EGTA, EDTA, and PMSF, but not 1,10-phenanthroline. The first 11 amino acid residues from the N-terminus of the purified protease were identified as LAPNDPYYYGY. PNDPYY was found to show homology to the Bacillus cereus microbial serine protease and B. subtilis PD498 serine protease. These results indicate that the protease that was purified in this study is an extracellular calcium-dependent serine protease. The purified protease was able to digest the human serum 19A, IgG, albumin, and transferrin, as well as bovine muscle actin and myosin. Furthermore, it was able to promote or cause dermonecrosis in experimental rabbits. These results propose the possible role of a novel B. pseudomallei extracellular calcium-dependent serine protease in the virulence of the pathogen.

• Bulletin of the Korean Mathematical Society
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• v.54 no.3
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• pp.875-894
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• 2017

Let $[n]=\{1,2,{\ldots},n\}$. A set ${\mathbf{A}}=\{A_1,A_2,{\ldots},A_l\}$ is a minimal cover of [n] if ${\cup}_{1{\leq}i{\leq}l}A_i=[n]$ and $$\bigcup_{{1{\leq}i{\leq}l,}\\{i{\neq}j_0}}A_i{\neq}[n]\text{ for all }j_0{\in}[l]$$. Let ${\mathcal{C}}(n)$ denote the collection of all minimal covers of [n], and write $C_n={\mid}{\mathcal{C}}(n){\mid}$. Let ${\mathbf{A}}{\in}{\mathcal{C}}(n)$. An element $u{\in}[n]$ is critical in ${\mathbf{A}}$ if it appears exactly once in ${\mathbf{A}}$. Two minimal covers ${\mathbf{A}},{\mathbf{B}}{\in}{\mathcal{C}}(n)$ are said to be restricted t-intersecting if they share at least t sets each containing an element which is critical in both ${\mathbf{A}}$ and ${\mathbf{B}}$. A family ${\mathcal{A}}{\subseteq}{\mathcal{C}}(n)$ is said to be restricted t-intersecting if every pair of distinct elements in ${\mathcal{A}}$ are restricted t-intersecting. In this paper, we prove that there exists a constant $n_0=n_0(t)$ depending on t, such that for all $n{\geq}n_0$, if ${\mathcal{A}}{\subseteq}{\mathcal{C}}(n)$ is restricted t-intersecting, then ${\mid}{\mathcal{A}}{\mid}{\leq}{\mathcal{C}}_{n-t}$. Moreover, the bound is attained if and only if ${\mathcal{A}}$ is isomorphic to the family ${\mathcal{D}}_0(t)$ consisting of all minimal covers which contain the singleton parts $\{1\},{\ldots},\{t\}$. A similar result also holds for restricted r-cross intersecting families of minimal covers.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.85-93
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• 1998

This study is to analyze and predict the contaminant transport based on the hydrauli characteristics using 2-dimensional finite element model. The dynamic wate quality model. RMA-4. is used to predict the contaminant transport using the hydrulic characteristics obtained from RMA-2v model. The study region is from downstream of Cham-sil weir to upstream of Shin-Kok weir. From the results of contaminant transport analysis. it is shown that the variations of discharge and velocity give quite large effect to the transport and dispersion of contaminant material. and that the water qualities of Joong-Rang and Tan streams play an important role to the downstream also. when the incidental contaminant accident occurs and contaminant material moves to the downstream. it is resulted the decreasing of the maximum COD and the increasing of the duration time to be affected by contaminant. Finally. 2-dimensional analysis is required in the case of large river like Han River. since the large difference of contaminant concentration has been investigated in the left and right bank.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.1039-1049
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• 2012

The first category of Affective Domain objectives in Bloom's Taxonomy is about "Receiving". In it, the first subdivision listed is "Awareness" (Krathwohl, Bloom & Masia, 1964). Since these categories are intended to be hierarchical in ascending order of internalization, it is important that young learners be given ample opportunities in their learning experiences in class to be aware of positive values and effective life skills. This paper reports a feasibility study on the adoption of an integrative cognitive-affective learning approach in a primary school science lesson. 37 primary six students in a Singapore primary school were taught the concept of centre of gravity, including a hands-on activity to find the centre of gravity of an irregularly shaped cardboard by using a plumbline. After reviewing how a plumbline works, their teacher then led them into a discussion on the question "Who is the plumbline in your life?" a reference to identifying positive role models in their lives. From the transcript of the students' in-class sharing and their written responses to the question, it is clear that the integrative cognitive-affective learning approach did enable students to present their ideas and learning experiences in the affective domain quite readily. This conclusion provides a valuable lead to a follow-up project on whether students who are exposed to such integrative learning approaches will be more capable and more aware of identifying important positive social habits or values. If so, then the teaching of values in schools could take on a whole new dimension, that of borrowing students' learning energy in the cognitive domain to learn values and life skills in the affective domain.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.43-50
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• 2002

The channel improvement plan has contributed to the flood damage reduction studies and the plan has mainly performed by the levee construction which creates the cut river. The cut river has mainly used as the agricultural and housing purposes. Recently, however, it is considered as a natural wetland for the purposes of a flood control and preservation of nature. So, this study compares the economical benefits according to the purposes of the cut river utilizations such as an agricultural, levee construction for flood damage reduction, and wetland. The study area is the downstream part of Kok-Neung stream which is a main tributary of Han river. The agricultural and levee construction benefits are estimated based on the 'Agricultural and Forestry Statistical Year' (2000) and the 'Standard for River Design' (2001). The benefit or value for the wetland utilization of the cut river is estimated by the enquete using questionnaire. As a results, for the case of which the cut river is used as an agricultural land, the present net benefit is estimated as 195.81 million won, for the levee construction, as 20853.00 million won and for the wetland, as 24692.89 million won. Therefore, the wetland is the best choice for the cut river utilization.