• Title/Summary/Keyword: Model Organism

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Low-dose Radiation Induces Antitumor Effects and Erythrocyte System Hormesis

  • Yu, Hong-Sheng;Liu, Zi-Min;Yu, Xiao-Yun;Song, Ai-Qin;Liu, Ning;Wang, Hao
    • Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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    • v.14 no.7
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    • pp.4121-4126
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    • 2013
  • Objective: Low dose radiation may stimulate the growth and development of animals, increase life span, enhance fertility, and downgrade the incidence of tumor occurrence.The aim of this study was to investigate the antitumor effect and hormesis in an erythrocyte system induced by low-dose radiation. Methods: Kunming strain male mice were subcutaneously implanted with S180 sarcoma cells in the right inguen as an experimental in situ animal model. Six hours before implantation, the mice were given 75mGy whole body X-ray radiation. Tumor growth was observed 5 days later, and the tumor volume was calculated every other day. Fifteen days later, all mice were killed to measure the tumor weight, and to observe necrotic areas and tumor-infiltration-lymphoreticular cells (TILs). At the same time, erythrocyte immune function and the level of 2,3-diphosphoglyceric acid (2,3-DPG) were determined. Immunohistochemical staining was used to detect the expression of EPO and VEGFR of tumor tissues. Results: The mice pre-exposed to low dose radiation had a lower tumor formation rate than those without low dose radiation (P < 0.05). The tumor growth slowed down significantly in mice pre-exposed to low dose radiation; the average tumor weight in mice pre-exposed to low dose radiation was lighter too (P < 0.05). The tumor necrosis areas were larger and TILs were more in the radiation group than those of the group without radiation. The erythrocyte immune function, the level of 2,3-DPG in the low dose radiation group were higher than those of the group without radiation (P < 0.05). After irradiation the expression of EPO of tumor tissues in LDR group decreased with time. LDR-24h, LDR-48h and LDR-72h groups were all statistically significantly different from sham-irradiation group. The expression of VEGFR also decreased, and LDR-24h group was the lowest (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Low dose radiation could markedly increase the anti-tumor ability of the organism and improve the erythrocyte immune function and the ability of carrying $O_2$. Low-dose total body irradiation, within a certain period of time, can decrease the expression of hypoxia factor EPO and VEGFR, which may improve the situation of tumor hypoxia and radiosensitivity of tumor itself.

Understanding on the Fossilization of Middle School Students (화석 형성 과정에 대한 중학생들의 이해)

  • Hwang, Koo-Geun;Cho, Kyu-Seong;Huh, Min
    • Journal of the Korean earth science society
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    • v.30 no.3
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    • pp.305-316
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    • 2009
  • Experiments to explain fossilization have been introduced in elementary and middle school science textbooks. Most of them have explained the processes by the mold and cast formed by imprint of bivalve or leaf. The processes explained in the textbooks are more similar to that of trace fossil than body fossil, because the external molds from experiment are imprints after the model was taken off. However fossils of the figures in the textbooks are mostly body fossils. Therefore, the students may be willing to equate the experiment process with the fossilization of the body fossils. The misconceptions were confirmed in this study by the questionnaire which asked 9th grade students on this subject. Many students thought that the body fossils were fossilized imprints and the fossils of terrestrial organism were formed on land without transportation, that is, they did not understand well about biostratinomy and crustal movement. The misconception about the environment in which fossils formed was already reported in a survey on the elementary school students, but has not revised until ninth grade. Therefore, to remove the misconception related to the fossilization, the fossil models in the experiments may be replaced by trace fossils, or new experiments for body fossil should be designed.

Analysis of Ecological Factors Affecting School Life Satisfaction of Commercial High School Students (상업계열 고등학생들의 학교생활만족도에 영향을 미치는 생태체계 변인 분석)

  • Kim, Leejin;Chang, Inhee
    • The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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    • v.16 no.7
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    • pp.135-145
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    • 2016
  • This research intended to investigate, from an ecological perspective, significant predictors affecting school life satisfaction. The subjects were 312 students(2nd grade) of commercial high school in Kyonggido. Data collected by questionnaire survey were analyzed by SPSS Win 22.0 and descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, hierarchical linear regression, and stepwise regression were conducted. There were 21 independent variables: 8 organism variables (self-competence, interpersonal skills, internal control, mood awareness, emotional expression, empathy, emotional regulation, emotional capability), 9 microsystem variables(school variables: the relationship with teachers, school learning, classroom climate, school welfare facilities, school environment/peer variables: peer relationship/family variables: family functioning, education level of fathers, economic status), 2 mesosystem variables(parent-teacher relationship, parent-children's peer relationship), 1 exosystem variables(satisfaction with Korean educational system), 1 macrosystem variables(Korean's primal belief in educational achievement). The results are as follows; the significant variables were the relationship with teachers, satisfaction with Korean educational system, peer relationship, emotional capability, parent-teacher relationship($R^2=45.3%$); and the effect of microsystem was the strongest($R^2=35.7%$). This research is meaningful of analyzing school life satisfaction of commercial high school in terms of ecological perspective.

Effects of Newly Synthesized Recombinant Human Amyloid-β Complexes and Poly-Amyloid-β Fibers on Cell Apoptosis and Cognitive Decline

  • Park, Soojin;Huh, Jae-Won;Eom, Taekil;Park, Naeun;Lee, Youngjeon;Kim, Ju-Sung;Kim, Sun-Uk;Shim, Insop;Lee, Sang-Rae;Kim, Ekyune
    • Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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    • v.27 no.11
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    • pp.2044-2051
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    • 2017
  • The main pathological hallmark of Alzheimer's disease is the deposition of amyloid-beta ($A{\beta}$) peptides in the brain. $A{\beta}$ has been widely used to mimic several aspects of Alzheimer's disease. However, several characteristics of amyloid-induced Alzheimer's disease pathology are not well established, especially in mice. The present study aimed to develop a new Alzheimer's disease model by investigating how $A{\beta}$ can be effectively aggregated using prokaryotes and eukaryotes. To express the $A{\beta}42$ complex in HEK293 cells, we cloned the $A{\beta}42$ region in a tandem repeat and incorporated the resulting construct into a eukaryotic expression vector. Following transfection into HEK293 cells via lipofection, cell viability assay and western blotting analysis revealed that exogenous $A{\beta}42$ can induce cell death and apoptosis. In addition, recombinant His-tagged $A{\beta}42$ was successfully expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) and not only readily formed $A{\beta}$ complexes, but also inhibited the proliferation of SH-SY5Y cells and E. coli. For in vivo testing, recombinant His-tagged $A{\beta}42$ solution ($3{\mu}g/{\mu}l$ in $1{\times}PBS$ containing $1mM\;Ni^{2+}$) was injected stereotaxically into the left and right lateral ventricles of the brains of C57BL/6J mice (n = 8). Control mice were injected with $1{\times}PBS$ containing $1mM\;Ni^{2+}$ following the same procedure. Ten days after the sample injection, the Morris water maze test confirmed that exogenous $A{\beta}$ caused an increase in memory loss. These findings demonstrated that $Ni^{2+}$ is capable of complexing the 50-kDa amyloid and that intracerebroventricular injection of $A{\beta}42$ can lead to cognitive impairment, thereby providing improved Alzheimer's disease models.

Current Status of Systems Biology in Traditional Chinese medicine - in regards to influences to Korean Medicine (최근 중의학에서 시스템생물학의 발전 현황 - 한의학에 미치는 영향 및 시사점을 중심으로 -)

  • Lee, Seungeun;Lee, Sundong
    • Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
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    • v.21 no.2
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    • pp.1-13
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    • 2017
  • Objectives : This paper serves to explore current trends of systems biology in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and examine how it may influence the Traditional Korean medicine. Methods : Literature review method was collectively used to classify Introduction to systems biology, diagnosis and syndrome classification of systems biology in TCM perspective, physiotherapy including acupuncture, herbs and formula functions, TCM systems biology, and directions of academic development. Results : The term 'Systems biology' is coined as a combination of systems science and biology. It is a field of study that tries to understand living organism by establishing a theory based on an ideal model that analyzes and predicts the desired output with understanding of interrelationships and dynamics between variables. Systems biology has an integrated and multi-dimensional nature that observes the interaction among the elements constructing the network. The current state of systems biology in TCM is categorized into 4 parts: diagnosis and syndrome, physical therapy, herbs and formulas and academic development of TCM systems biology and its technology. Diagnosis and syndrome field is focusing on developing TCM into personalized medicine by clarifying Kidney yin deficiency patterns and metabolic differences among five patterns of diabetes and analyzing plasma metabolism and biomarkers of coronary heart disease patients. In the field of physical therapy such as acupuncture and moxibustion, researchers discovered the effect of stimulating acupoint ST40 on gene expression and the effects of acupuncture on treating functional dyspepsia and acute ischemic stroke. Herbs and formulas were analyzed with TCM network pharmacology. The therapeutic mechanisms of Si Wu Tang and its series formulas are explained by identifying potential active substances, targets and mechanism of action, including metabolic pathways of amino acid and fatty acid. For the academic development of TCM systems biology and its technology, it is necessary to integrate massive database, integrate pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, as well as systems biology. It is also essential to establish a platform to maximize herbal treatment through accumulation of research data and diseases-specific, or drug-specific network combined with clinical experiences, and identify functions and roles of molecules in herbs and conduct animal-based studies within TCM frame. So far, few literature reviews exist for systems biology in traditional Korean medicine and they merely re-examine known efficacies of simple substances, herbs and formulas. For the future, it is necessary to identify specific mechanisms of working agents and targets to maximize the effects of traditional medicine modalities. Conclusions : Systems biology is widely accepted and studied in TCM and already advanced into a field known as 'TCM systems biology', which calls for the study of incorporating TCM and systems biology. It is time for traditional Korean medicine to acknowledge the importance of systems biology and present scientific basis of traditional medicine and establish the principles of diagnosis, prevention and treatment of diseases. By doing so, traditional Korean medicine would be innovated and further developed into a personalized medicine.

Assessment of the Bioavailability and Nutritive Function of Genetically Modified β-Carotene-biofortified Rice by Using Wistar Rats (유전자변형 β-carotene 강화 쌀의 생체 이용과 영양기능성 탐색)

  • Lee, Young-Tack;Lee, Kyung-Won;Seong, Ki-Seung;Kim, Sung-Soo;Lee, Jong Seok;Lee, Ok-Hwan;Cho, Hyun-Seok;Suh, Seok-Chul;Han, Chan-Kyu
    • Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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    • v.46 no.2
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    • pp.213-218
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    • 2014
  • The purpose of this study was to investigate the bioavailability and nutritive functions of Nak-Dong rice or genetically modified ${\beta}$-carotene-biofortified rice (GM rice) in an experimental animal model. Wistar rats fed either GM rice or Nak-Dong rice did not show differences in bioavailability, growth, organ weights, or visceral fat, suggesting that the nutrient content of GM rice is compositionally equivalent to that of conventional Nak-Dong rice. In addition, GM rice showed improved nutritive function in terms of increased defecation, decreased lipids, and decreased blood glucose.

Molecular genetic analysis of phytochelatin synthase genes in Arabidopsis

  • Ha, Suk-Bong
    • Proceedings of the Botanical Society of Korea Conference
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    • 2002.04a
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    • pp.62-72
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    • 2002
  • This study has investigated the biosynthesis and function of the heavy metal binding peptides, the phytochelatins, in plants. PCs are synthesised enzymatically from glutathione by the enzyme PC synthase in the presence of heavy metal ions. Using Arabidopsis thaliana as a model organism cadmium-sensitive, phytochelatin-deficient mutants have been isolated and characterised in previous studies. The cadl mutants have wildtype levels of glutathione, are PC deficient and lack PC synthase activity. Thus, the CADl gene has been proposed to encode PC synthase. The CADl gene was isolated by a positional cloning strategy The gene was mapped and a candidate identified. Each of four cadl mutants had a single base pair change in the candidate gene and the cadmium-sensitive, cadl phenotype was complemented by the candidate gene. This demonstrated the CADl gene had been cloned. A homologous gene in the fission yeast, Schizosaccharomyces pombe was identified through database searches. A targeted-deletion mutation of this gene was constructed and the mutant, like cadl mutants of Arabidopsis, was cadmium-sensitive and PC-deficient. A comparison of the redicted amino acid sequences reveals a highly conserved N-terminal region Presumed to be the catalytic domain and a variable C-terminal region containing multiple Cys residues proposed to be involved in activation of the enzyme by metal ions. Similar genes were also identified in animal species. The Arabidopsis CADl/AtPCSl and S. pombe SpbPCS genes were expressed in E. coli and were shown to be sufficient for glutathione-dependent, heavy metal activate PC synthesis in vitro, thus demonstrating these genes encode PC synthase enzymes. Using RT-PCR, AtPCSl expression appeared to be independent of Cd exposure. However, at higher levels of Cd exposure a AtPCSl-CUS reporter gene construct appeared to be more highly expressed. Using the reporter gene construct, AtPCSl was expressed most tissues. Expression appeared to be greater in younger tissues and same higher levels of expression was observed in some regions, including carpels and the base of siliques. AtPCS2 was a functional gene encoding an active PC synthase. However, its Pattern of expression and the phenotype of a mutant (or antisense line) have not been determined. Assuming the gene is functional then it has clearly been maintained through evolution and must provide some selective advantage. This implies that, at least in some cells or tissue, it is likely to be the dominant PC synthase expressed. This remains to be determined

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A pattern of cell death induced by 40 kHz ultrasound in yeast cell model (40 kHz 초음파에 의해 유도된 효모세포 모델에서 세포사멸 패턴)

  • Kim, Ji Wook;Kong, Hee Jeong;Kim, Young H.;Kang, Kwang Il
    • The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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    • v.36 no.3
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    • pp.172-178
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    • 2017
  • Ultrasound has been widely used for biological and medical applications including induction of cell death, but a precise mechanism of induced cell death by ultrasound is controversial. In this study, an irradiation system with 40 kHz ultrasound was developed for a suitable cell death test of a representative unicellular organism, yeast, and used to study the biological effect of ultrasound on inducing cell death. Potassium Iodide (KI) dosimetry was used to devise an optimal system that successfully delivers 40 kHz ultrasound and produces reactive oxygen species in a 1.5 ml Eppendorf tube. Cell death was observed in an ultrasound transmission time-dependent fashion in this system. Thermal effect during irradiation was not observable in ultrasound induced cell death. Co-treatment of 40 kHz ultrasound and hydrogen peroxide showed a synergistic effect in inducing cell death. This finding suggests that 40 kHz ultrasound is related to reactive oxygen species formation. However, NAC (N-acetyl-L-cysteine) oxygen scavenger slightly inhibited the cell death by 40 kHz ultrasound. It was also found that 40 kHz ultrasound induced cell death was slightly inhibited by inhibitors of necrosis or apoptosis (glycyrrhizin or zVAD-fmk). This study suggests that cell death induced by 40 kHz ultrasound may not be exclusively related to reactive oxygen species formation and thermal effects in irradiated yeast cells.

Effect of Methoxy PEG-45 Thioctate (LA-PEG) against Oxidative Protein Damage and Anti-glycation (Methoxy PEG-45 Thioctate (LA-PEG)의 항노화 효과에 대한 연구)

  • Kim, Jin Hwa;Oh, Jung Young;Bae, Jun Tae;Lee, Geun Soo;Pyo, Hyeong Bae
    • Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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    • v.43 no.3
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    • pp.239-245
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    • 2017
  • Aging is a physiological and irreversible, progressive process involving changes in the ability to maintain cellular functionality. It affects tissues, organs and the whole organism and thus finally cause to death. Oxidative stress has been postulated to contribute significantly to the accelerated accumulation of advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs) in collagen, which is implicated in the process of skin aging. In the present study, glycation inhibitory activity of methoxy PEG-45 thioctate (LA-PEG), and its inhibitory effect of cellular oxidation and senescence was investigated. Treatment of LA-PEG significantly showed lower fluorescent intensity induced by AGEs. In addition, LA-PEG was significantly reduced the formation of ROS induced by AGEs. High antioxidant and anti-glycation activities of LA-PEG in glycated collagen model indicated its contribution to anti-aging process. Cellular senescence leads to an increase in senescence-associated ${\beta}$-galactosidase ($SA-{\beta}-gal$) activity, which can be used as a biomarker to identify senescent cells. Treatment with LA-PEG showed a dose-dependent, statistically significant decreased in $SA-{\beta}-gal$ indicating reduced senescence. These results suggest that LA-PEG may have potent anti-aging effects and can be used as new functional materials against cellular accumulation of AGEs.

Media Access Control Protocol based on Dynamic Time Slot Assignment in Underwater Mobile Ad-hoc Network (동적 타임 슬롯 할당에 기반한 수중 모바일 Ad-hoc 네트워크에서의 매체접근제어 프로토콜)

  • Shin, Seung-Won;Kim, Yung-Pyo;Yun, Nam-Yeol;Park, Soo-Hyun
    • Journal of the Korea Society for Simulation
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    • v.20 no.4
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    • pp.81-89
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    • 2011
  • Underwater wireless network can be useful in various fields such as underwater environment observation, catastrophe prevention, ocean resources exploration, ocean organism research, and vessel sinking exploration. We need to develop an efficient design for Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol to improve multiple data communication in underwater environment. Aloha protocol is one of the basic and simple protocols, but it has disadvantage such as collision occurs oftenly in communication. If there is collision occured in RF communication, problem can be solved by re-sending the data, but using low frequency in underwater, the re-transmission has difficulties due to slow bit-rate. So, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) based MAC protocol is going to be used to avoid collisions, but if there is no data to send in existing TDMA, time slot should not be used. Therefore, this paper proposes dynamic TDMA protocol mechanism with reducing the time slots by sending short "I Have No Data" (IHND) message, if there is no data to transmit. Also, this paper presents mathematic analysis model in relation to data throughput, channel efficiency and verifies performance superiority by comparing the existing TDMA protocols.