• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.326-336
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• 2016

Saccharomyces cerevisiae is one of the most employed cell factories for the production of bioproducts. Although monomeric hexose sugars constitute the preferential carbon source, this yeast can grow on a wide variety of nitrogen sources that are catabolized through central nitrogen metabolism (CNM). To evaluate the effects of internal perturbations on nitrogen utilization, we characterized strains deleted or overexpressed in GLT1, encoding for one of the key enzymes of the CNM node, the glutamate synthase. These strains, together with the parental strain as control, have been cultivated in minimal medium formulated with ammonium sulfate, glutamate, or glutamine as nitrogen source. Growth kinetics, together with the determination of protein content, viability, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation at the single cell level, revealed that GLT1 modulations do not significantly influence the cellular physiology, whereas the nitrogen source does. As important exceptions, GLT1 deletion negatively affected the scavenging activity of glutamate against ROS accumulation, when cells were treated with H₂O₂, whereas Glt1p overproduction led to lower viability in glutamine medium. Overall, this confirms the robustness of the CNM node against internal perturbations, but, at the same time, highlights its plasticity in respect to the environment. Considering that side-stream protein-rich waste materials are emerging as substrates to be used in an integrated biorefinery, these results underline the importance of preliminarily evaluating the best nitrogen source not only for media formulation, but also for the overall economics of the process.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.228-235
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• 2011

Objectives : This study was conducted to compare the object relations and parenting behavior of the mothers of children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with that of the mothers with normal children. Methods : In this study, we studied 64 mothers of children who were diagnosed with ADHD and 90 mothers of normal children. The mothers completed the Bell Object Relations Inventory (BORI), the Parenting Behavior Inventory (PBI), the Parenting Stress Index (PSI) and the Parenting Sense of Competence (PSOC) scale. Results : As compared with the mothers of normal children, the mothers of children with ADHD showed significantly different results for the parenting stress and parenting efficacy. For parenting behavior, the mothers of children with ADHD perceived their mothering as being more neglectful. On the other hand, the mothers of the normal control group perceived their mothering as being more affectionate and the fathers as being more reasonable and monitoring. Conclusion : This study suggests there is a significant difference of object relation between the mothers of children with ADHD and the mothers with normal children. The object relation pathology of the mothers of children with ADHD might contribute to impaired parenting behavior. The result of the present study indicate that inadequate grandparental rearing behavior affects the insecure object relation of their child (the mother), and a mother's insecure object relation affects their parental stress and parenting efficacy.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.159-165
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• 2020

Previously, we reported adverse effects of low-dose nonylphenol (NP) exposure on the reproductive parameters of F1 female mice. In the present study we further investigated the pathohistological effect of NP exposure on the reproductive organs in F1 female mice. NP exposures were continuously conducted from parental pre-mating period until the postnatal day (PND) 33 of F1 offspring for vaginal examination. Mice were sacrificed on PND 30 and the reproductive tissue weights were measured. The initial (at PND 21) body weights of the NP-50 group animals were significantly lower than those of control group animals, and the weight deficit were recovered when the terminal (PND 33) body weights were measured. Early vaginal opening was found in NP group animals (p<0.05). Pathohistological studies revealed that NP-treated F1 animals showed prominent increase in the ovarian follicle numbers (p<0.01), and decrease in the diameter of uterine myometrium (p<0.01), and increase in the diameter of luminal epithelium (p<0.05). The present study demonstrated that the subchronic low-dose NP exposure induced early beginning of puberty and pathohistological abnormalities in ovary and uterus of F1 mice. Further studies are needed to achieve a better understanding on the action mechanism of NP in pubertal onset and to find a way to avoid a hazardous situation provoked by NP exposure.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.388-393
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• 2010

Recently, a number of successful research reports are accumulated to increase the carotenoid level in potato tuber such as $\beta$-carotene, precursor of vitamin A and keto-carotenoid like astaxanthin in which is not synthesized in most plants tissue since it does not contain a specific enzyme to add keto-ring in carotenoid molecule. In particular, keto-carotenoids are more interested due to their strong antioxidant activity. Currently, the content of $\beta$-carotene was increased up to 3,600-fold ($47\;{\mu}g/g$ dry weight) when compared to the control potato tuber, parental cultivar for genetic modification. In addition, astaxanthin, one of the major keto-carotenoid was accumulated up to $14\;{\mu}g/g$ dry weight in potato tuber with red color by over expressing the gene encoding $\beta$-carotene ketolase isolated from marine microorganisms. In this article, we summarized carotenogenesis-related genes that have been used for metabolic engineering of carotenoid biosynthetic pathway in potato. Furthermore, strategies for the accumulation of carotenoids and ketocarotenoids in specific potato tuber, bottle necks, and future works are discussed.

• Osong Public Health and Research Perspectives
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• v.9 no.6
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• pp.289-298
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• 2018

Objectives: To describe the distribution of social factors, lifestyle habits and anthropometric measurements according to hypertension and Type-2 diabetes. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Gaza City, Palestine that included 379 patients (20-60 years) who had hypertension and/or diabetes. Three groups of patients were involved; 106 hypertensive (HT), 109 diabetic (T2DM) and 164 hypertensive diabetics (HT + T2DM). Results: The HT + T2DM group were older and had a higher body mass index compared to HT and T2DM groups. There were 62.3% patients who were female, 49.2% were highly educated HT patients, and 49.3% patients had a low level of education and were HT + T2DM. There were 55.8% patients who lived in large families. Patients who were passive smokers or never smoked before were mostly HT + T2DM, while active smokers and past smokers had T2DM. There were 48.2% patients who were highly physically active who had HT, 40.9% whom were moderately active had T2DM, and 53.8% of patients who had a low level of activity were HT + T2DM. Multivariate linear regression showed that having a diseased mother, living in a large family, being a past or passive smoker, or never having smoked, having a low or moderate level of activity, and having HT or HT + T2DM, were significantly associated with an increased body mass index. Conclusion: Parental health/disease conditions and environmental factors (social network and lifestyle habits) played the greatest role in the development of obesity and disease.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.158-167
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• 2021

Background: To identify work-family balance and level of happiness among married women dental hygienists in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province. The goal of this study is to use the outcome as basic data to determine the compatibility of dental hygienists with work and family, systems, and improvement of happiness levels. Methods: From July 3 to August 10, 2020, 250 dental hygienists in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province were targeted. The questionnaire comprised 65 questions, including general characteristics (perception of work-family balance, perception of work-family balance system, job satisfaction, parenting type, happiness level) whether or not they were implemented. The results were obtained through a self-control questionnaire. Results: The perception of work-family balance was significantly different in job rank and average income, while that of the work-family balance system had significant differences in workplace type, total work experience, current job work experience, childcare system status, and parental leave period. Happiness level and job satisfaction were significantly different in job rank, average income, and childcare system status. Additionally, the perception of work-family balance and that of the work-family balance system showed a positive correlation with job satisfaction and happiness level. Finally, the perception of married women dental hygienists toward work-family compatibility was determined, where the higher the satisfaction with the job, the higher the level of happiness. Conclusion: To improve the work-family balance and job satisfaction of dental hygienists and their levels of happiness, changes in social perception and improvement of the working environment such as proper staffing, flexible work systems, and incentive systems should be considered.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.19 no.7
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• pp.271-282
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• 2021

This study was conducted to develop a model for predicting the length of stay for premature infants through machine learning. For the development of this model, 6,149 cases of premature infants discharged from the hospital from 2011 to 2016 of the discharge injury in-depth survey data collected by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were used. The neural network model of the initial hospitalization was superior to other models with an explanatory power (R²) of 0.75. In the model added by converting the clinical diagnosis to CCS(Clinical class ification software), the explanatory power (R²) of the cubist model was 0.81, which was superior to the random forest, gradient boost, neural network, and penalty regression models. In this study, using national data, a model for predicting the length of stay for premature infants was presented through machine learning and its applicability was confirmed. However, due to the lack of clinical information and parental information, additional research is needed to improve future performance.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.31 no.11
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• pp.1591-1600
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• 2021

Streptomyces coelicolor is a filamentous soil bacterium producing several kinds of antibiotics. S. coelicolor abs8752 is an abs (antibiotic synthesis deficient)-type mutation at the absR locus; it is characterized by an incapacity to produce any of the four antibiotics synthesized by its parental strain J1501. A chromosomal DNA fragment from S. coelicolor J1501, capable of complementing the abs- phenotype of the abs8752 mutant, was cloned and analyzed. DNA sequencing revealed that two complete ORFs (SCO6992 and SCO6993) were present in opposite directions in the clone. Introduction of SCO6992 in the mutant strain resulted in a remarkable increase in the production of two pigmented antibiotics, actinorhodin and undecylprodigiosin, in S. coelicolor J1501 and abs8752. However, introduction of SCO6993 did not show any significant difference compared to the control, suggesting that SCO6992 is primarily involved in stimulating the biosynthesis of antibiotics in S. coelicolor. In silico analysis of SCO6992 (359 aa, 39.5 kDa) revealed that sequences homologous to SCO6992 were all annotated as hypothetical proteins. Although a metalloprotease domain with a conserved metal-binding motif was found in SCO6992, the recombinant rSCO6992 did not show any protease activity. Instead, it showed very strong β-glucuronidase activity in an API ZYM assay and toward two artificial substrates, p-nitrophenyl-β-D-glucuronide and AS-BI-β-D-glucuronide. The binding between rSCO6992 and Zn²⁺ was confirmed by circular dichroism spectroscopy. We report for the first time that SCO6992 is a novel protein with β-glucuronidase activity, that has a distinct primary structure and physiological role from those of previously reported β-glucuronidases.

• Oncology Letters
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.3981-3989
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• 2019

Tamoxifen (TAM) is the most widely used treatment for estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer patients. Unfortunately, the majority of these patients exhibit TAM resistance following treatment. We previously reported that proliferation and migration were greater in TAM-resistant MCF-7 (TAMR-MCF-7) cells than in parental MCF-7 cells. Janus kinases (JAKs) are cytosolic tyrosine kinases that transduce signals from plasma membrane cytokines and growth factor receptors. JAK2 selectively phosphorylates signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT)-3, and the JAK2-STAT3 signaling pathway is known as a crucial signaling pathway for the regulation of cancer progression and metastasis. In the present study, basal phosphorylation of STAT3 was revealed to be greater in TAMR-MCF-7 cells than in control MCF-7 cells. Ruxolitinib, a potent JAK2 inhibitor, was demonstrated to attenuate STAT3 phosphorylation and the proliferation of TAMR-MCF-7 cells. Ruxolitinib also suppressed the enhanced cell migration of TAMR-MCF-7 cells through the inhibition of epithelial mesenchymal transition. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a representative target gene of the JAK2-STAT3 pathway, functions as a key regulator of invasion and angiogenesis. Ruxolitinib significantly inhibited VEGF mRNA expression and transcriptional activity. The present study also performed a chick embryo chorioallantoic membrane assay to assess tumor growth and angiogenesis in TAMR-MCF-7 cells. Ruxolitinib reduced tumor weight and the number of blood vessels produced by TAMR-MCF-7 cells in a concentration-dependent manner. These results indicated that JAK2 could be a new therapeutic target for TAM-resistant breast cancer.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.54-66
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• 1998

Objectives：This study was to investigate the impact of parental psychiatric disorder on offspring's depression, anxiety, self concept, perception of familial relationship compared with offspring of normal control. In offsprings of parents with psychiatric disorder, this study explored whether their psychopathology, self concept, and perception of familial relationship were influenced by parent’s sex, onset time of parent’s psychiatric disorder and parent’s psychiatric diagnosis. Methods：52 offsprings aged 10-18 years of 39 psychiatric outpatient were surveyed from June, 1997 to April, 1998 and completed several questionnaaire, including Korean from of the Family Environment Scale, Korean form of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children, Korean form of Kovac’s Children’s Depression Inventory, and Korean form of Piers-Harris Children’s Self-Concept Scale. Their score was compared with offsprings’ of normals. In offsprings of parents with psychiatric disorder, they were compared according to parent’s sex, onset time of parent's psychiatric disorder and parent’s psychiatric diagnosis. Results：The results were as follows：1) Offsprings of parents with psychiatric disorder reported higher level of state anxiety and lower level of the FES expressive subscale than offsprings of normals(p<0.05). But they reported higher level of PHCSCS intellectual & school status subscale and popularity subscale than normals(p<0.05). 2) There were no differences in anxiety, depression, self concept, and perception of familial relationship between patient’s sex. 3) Offsprings less than 3 years old when parent’s psychiatric disorder had developed showed higher level of trait anxiety and lower level of FES control subscale than offsprings more than 3 years old (p<0.05). 4) There were no diferences in anxiety, depression, self concept, and perception of familial relationship between patient’ diagnostic groups(schizophrenia spectrum disorder-mood disoderneurosis). Conclusion：The finding indicated that self reported scale of anxiety and depression showed no significant difference between offsprings of psychiatric patients and offsprings of normals. In offsprings of parents with psychiatric disorder, parent’s sex and psychiatiric diagnosis had no influence on offspring’s psychopathology. But the offspring’s age(before 3 years old) when the parent’s psychiatriric disorder developed had influence on higher level of offspring’s trait anxiety. For further high risk group study, direct interview and evaluation of parent-child agreement or teacher-child agreement will be needed in longitudinal study.