• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.175-183
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• 2006

The discovery of deep-sea hydrothermal vents and their ecosystems is a monumental landmark in the history of Ocean Sciences. Deep-sea hydrothermal vents are scattered along the global mid-ocean ridges and back-arc basins. Under sea volcanic phenomena related to underlying magma activities along mid-ocean ridges generate extreme habitats for highly specialized communities of animals. Multidisciplinary research efforts during past three decades since the first discovery of hydrothermal vents along the Galapagos Rift in 1977 revealed fundamental components of physiology, ecology, and evolution of specialized vent communities of micro and macro fauna. Heterogeneous regional geological settings and tectonic plate history have been considered as important geophysical and evolutionary factors for current patterns of taxonomic composition and distribution of vent faunas among venting sites in the World Ocean basins. It was found that these communities are based on primary production of chemosynthetic bacteria which directly utilize reduced compounds, mostly $H_2S$ and $CH_4$, mixed in vent fluids. Symbioses between these bacteria and their hosts, vent invertebrates, are foundation of the vent ecosystem. Gene flow and population genetic studies in parallel with larval biology began to unveil hidden dispersal barrier under deep sea as well as various dispersal characteristics cross taxa. Comparative molecular phylogenetics of vent animals revealed that vent faunas are closely related to those of cold-water seeps in general. In perspective additional interesting discoveries are anticipated particularly with further refined and expanded studies aided by new instrumental technologies.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.139-154
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• 2015

We carry out three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations of the supernova remnants (SNRs) produced inside molecular clouds (MCs) near their surface using the HLL code (Harten et al. 1983). We explore the dynamical evolution and the X-ray morphology of SNRs after breaking through the MC surface for ranges of the explosion depths below the surface and the density ratios of the clouds to the intercloud media (ICM). We find that if an SNR breaks out through an MC surface in its Sedov stage, the outermost dense shell of the remnant is divided into several layers. The divided layers are subject to the Rayleigh-Taylor instability and fragmented. On the other hand, if an SNR breaks through an MC after the remnant enters the snowplow phase, the radiative shell is not divided to layers. We also compare the predictions of previous analytic solutions for the expansion of SNRs in stratified media with our onedimensional simulations. Moreover, we produce synthetic X-ray surface brightness in order to research the center-bright X-ray morphology shown in thermal composite SNRs. In the late stages, a breakout SNR shows the center-bright X-ray morphology inside an MC in our results. We apply our model to the observational results of the X-ray morphology of the thermal composite SNR 3C 391.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.99-101
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• 2015

Massive stars are some of the most influential objects in the Universe, shaping the evolution of galaxies, creating chemical elements and hence shaping the evolution of the Universe. However, the processes by which they form and how they shape their environment during their birth processes are not well understood. We use $NH_3$ data from "The $H_2O$ Southern Galactic Plane Survey" (HOPS) survey to define the positions of dense cores/clumps of gas in the southern Galactic plane that are likely to form stars. Then, using data from "The Millimetre Astronomy Legacy Team 90 GHz" (MALT90) survey, we search for the presence of infall and outflow associated with these cores. We subsequently use the "3D Molecular Line Radiative Transfer Code" (MOLLIE) to constrain properties of the infall and outflow, such as velocity and mass flow. The aim of the project is to determine how common infall and outflow are in star forming cores, and therefore to provide valuable constraints on the timescales and physical process involved in massive star formation. Preliminary results are presented here.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.331-339
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• 2007

It has been suggested that the structure and function of nuclear receptors are evolutionally conserved. Here, we compare the molecular functions of the nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) small heterodimer partner (nSHP/NR0B2) and the Dosage-sensitive sex reversal AHC critical region on X chromosome gene 1 (nDAX-1/NR0B1) with those of human SHP and DAX-1 (hSHP and hDAX-1, respectively). We found that, upon transient cotransfection of human cells, nDAX-1 repressed the activity of tilapia SF-1 (nSF-1) but not that of human SF-1, although the physical interaction with human SF-1 was retained. Similarly, nSHP repressed the activity of nSF-1, whereas hSHP did not, pointing to divergent evolution of SHP/SF-1 in fish and human. We thus propose that the repressive functions of SHP and DAX-1 have been conserved in fish and mammals although with different transcriptional targets and mechanisms. These differences provide new insights into the physiological diversification of atypical orphan nuclear receptors during vertebrate evolution.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.29 no.12
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• pp.812-817
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• 2019

A zinc-air battery is one of most promising advanced batteries due to its high specific energy density, low cost, and environmental friendliness. However, zinc anodes in zinc-air batteries lead to several issues including self-discharge, corrosion reaction, and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). In this paper, viscosity of electrolyte has been controlled to suppress the corrosion reaction, HER, and self-discharge behavior. Various viscosity average molecular weights of poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) are adopted to prepare the electrolyte. The evaporation of electrolytes is proportional to the increase in molecular weight. In addition, enhanced self-discharge behavior is obtained when the gelling agent with high molecular weight is used. In addition, the zinc-air cell assembled with lower viscosity average molecular weight of PAA (M_v ~ 450,000) delivers 510.85 mAh/g and 489.30 mAh/g of discharge capacity without storage and with 6 hr storage, respectively. Also, highest capacity retention (95.78 %) is obtained among studied materials.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.394-400
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• 2006

When the papain, which is a sort of Cystein protease, is applied to the outer skin, it decomposes the protein which forms the peeled outer skin and speeds up metabolism. Therefore, it is one of the most important cosmetics compositic which keeps the function of skin normal. When the papain is used in cosmetics with surfactant, the activity of papain is reduced rapidly. In this study, the modified papain with extreme stability negative ionic environment was developed by directed evolution

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.37 no.7
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• pp.540-546
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• 2014

Several types of genetic and epigenetic regulation have been implicated in the development of drug resistance, one significant challenge for cancer therapy. Although changes in the expression of non-coding RNA are also responsible for drug resistance, the specific identities and roles of them remain to be elucidated. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are a type of ncRNA (> 200 nt) that influence the regulation of gene expression in various ways. In this study, we aimed to identify differentially expressed lncRNAs in 5-fluorouracil-resistant colon cancer cells. Using two pairs of 5-FU-resistant cells derived from the human colon cancer cell lines SNU-C4 and SNU-C5, we analyzed the expression of 90 lncRNAs by qPCR-based profiling and found that 19 and 23 lncRNAs were differentially expressed in SNU-C4R and SNU-C5R cells, respectively. We confirmed that snaR and BACE1AS were down-regulated in resistant cells. To further investigate the effects of snaR on cell growth, cell viability and cell cycle were analyzed after transfection of siRNAs targeting snaR. Down-regulation of snaR decreased cell death after 5-FU treatment, which indicates that snaR loss decreases in vitro sensitivity to 5-FU. Our results provide an important insight into the involvement of lncRNAs in 5-FU resistance in colon cancer cells.

• BMB Reports
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.386-390
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• 2005

Based on the reported cDNA sequences of $BmK{\alpha}Txs$, the genes encoding toxin $BmK{\alpha}Tx11$ and $BmK{\alpha}Tx15$ were amplified by PCR from the Chinese scorpion Buthus martensii Karsch genomic DNA employing synthetic oligonucleotides. Sequences analysis of nucleotide showed that an intron about 500 bp length interrupts signal peptide coding regions of $BmK{\alpha}Tx11$ and $BmK{\alpha}Tx15$. Using cDNA sequence of $BmK{\alpha}Tx11$ as probe, southern hybridization of BmK genome total DNA was performed. The result indicates that $BmK{\alpha}Tx11$ is multicopy genes or belongs to multiple gene family with high homology genes. The similarity of $BmK{\alpha}$-toxin gene sequences and southern hybridization revealed the evolution trace of $BmK{\alpha}$-toxins: $BmK{\alpha}$-toxin genes evolve from a common progenitor, and the genes diversity is associated with a process of locus duplication and gene divergence.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.9 no.6
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• pp.695-703
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• 1999

We have studied the stereospecificities of various pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP) dependent enzymes for the hydrogen transfer between the C-4' of a bound coenzyme and the C-2 of a substrate in the transamination catalyzed by the enzymes. Stereospecificities reflect the structures of enzyme active-sites, in particular the geometrical relationship between the coenzyme-substrate Schiff base and the active site base participating in an $\alpha$-hydrogen abstraction. The PLP enzymes studied so far catalyze only a si-face specific (pro-S) hydrogen transfer. This stereochemical finding suggests that the PLP enzymes have the same topological active-site structures, and that the PLP enzymes have evolved divergently from a common ancestral protein. However, we found that o-amino acid aminotransferase, branched chain L-amino acid aminotransferase, and 4-amino-4-deoxychorismate lyase, which have significant sequence homology with one another, catalyze a re-face specific (pro-R) hydrogen transfer. We also showed that PLP-dependent amino acid racemases, which have no sequence homology with any aminotransferases, catalyze a non-stereospecific hydrogen transfer: the hydrogen transfer occurs on both faces of the planar intermediate. Crystallographical studies have shown that the catalytic base is situated on the re-face of the C-4' of the bound coenzyme in o-amino acid aminotransferase and branched chain L-amino acid aminotransferase, whereas the catalytic base is situated on the si-face in other aminotransferases (such as L-aspartate aminotransferase) catalyzing the si-face hydrogen transfer. Thus, we have clarified the stereospecificities of PLP enzymes in relation with the primary structures and three-dimensional structures of the enzymes. The characteristic stereospecificities of these enzymes for the hydrogen transfer suggest the convergent evolution of PLP enzymes.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.142-148
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• 2005

The immune response-related genes have been suggested to be the most favorable genes for positive selection during evolution. Comparing the entire DNA sequence of chimpanzee chromosome 22 (PTR22) with human chromosome 21 (HSA21), we have identified 15 orthologs having indel in their coding sequences. Among them, interferon-${\alpha}$ receptor-1 gene (IFNAR1), an immuneresponse-related gene, is subjected to comparative genomic analysis. Chimpanzee IFNAR1 showed the same genomic structure as human IFNAR1 (11 exons and 10 introns) except the 3 bp insertion in exon 4. The sequence alignment of IFNAR1 coding sequence indicated that 'ISPP' amino acid sequence motif is highly conserved in chimpanzee and other animals including mouse and chicken. However, the human IFNAR1 shows that one proline residue is missing in the sequence motif. The homology modeling of the IFNAR1 structures suggests that the proline deletion in human IFNAR1 leads to the formation of the following ${\alpha}$-helix, whereas two sequential prolines in chimpanzee IFNAR1 inhibit it. As a result, human IFNAR1 may adopt a characteristic structure distinct from chimpanzee IFNAR1. This human specific trait could contribute to specific immune response in the most optimized manner for humans. Further molecular biological studies on the IFNAR1 will help us to gain insights into the molecular implication of species-specific host-pathogen interaction in primate evolution.