• Title/Summary/Keyword: Protein engineering

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Design of MAHA Supercomputing System for Human Genome Analysis (대용량 유전체 분석을 위한 고성능 컴퓨팅 시스템 MAHA)

  • Kim, Young Woo;Kim, Hong-Yeon;Bae, Seungjo;Kim, Hag-Young;Woo, Young-Choon;Park, Soo-Jun;Choi, Wan
    • KIPS Transactions on Software and Data Engineering
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    • v.2 no.2
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    • pp.81-90
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    • 2013
  • During the past decade, many changes and attempts have been tried and are continued developing new technologies in the computing area. The brick wall in computing area, especially power wall, changes computing paradigm from computing hardwares including processor and system architecture to programming environment and application usage. The high performance computing (HPC) area, especially, has been experienced catastrophic changes, and it is now considered as a key to the national competitiveness. In the late 2000's, many leading countries rushed to develop Exascale supercomputing systems, and as a results tens of PetaFLOPS system are prevalent now. In Korea, ICT is well developed and Korea is considered as a one of leading countries in the world, but not for supercomputing area. In this paper, we describe architecture design of MAHA supercomputing system which is aimed to develop 300 TeraFLOPS system for bio-informatics applications like human genome analysis and protein-protein docking. MAHA supercomputing system is consists of four major parts - computing hardware, file system, system software and bio-applications. MAHA supercomputing system is designed to utilize heterogeneous computing accelerators (co-processors like GPGPUs and MICs) to get more performance/$, performance/area, and performance/power. To provide high speed data movement and large capacity, MAHA file system is designed to have asymmetric cluster architecture, and consists of metadata server, data server, and client file system on top of SSD and MAID storage servers. MAHA system softwares are designed to provide user-friendliness and easy-to-use based on integrated system management component - like Bio Workflow management, Integrated Cluster management and Heterogeneous Resource management. MAHA supercomputing system was first installed in Dec., 2011. The theoretical performance of MAHA system was 50 TeraFLOPS and measured performance of 30.3 TeraFLOPS with 32 computing nodes. MAHA system will be upgraded to have 100 TeraFLOPS performance at Jan., 2013.

Effects and Molecular Mechanisms of Eupatorium chinensis var. simplicifolium Extract on Abnormal Proliferation of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells (등골나물추출물의 혈관 평활근 세포의 비정상 증식에 대한 억제 효과 및 분자기작)

  • Kim, Min-Jeong;Kim, Jihee;Lee, Jin-Ho;Kim, Minah;Woo, Keunjung;Kim, Han Sung;Kim, Tack-Joong
    • Journal of Life Science
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    • v.31 no.9
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    • pp.787-795
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    • 2021
  • Eupatorium chinensis var. simplicifolium (EUC) has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. Young sprouts of EUC have been used as food for a long time, and the whole EUC plant has been used as an herbal remedy in oriental medicine. Arteriosclerosis, or chronic inflammation in arterial vessels, is a cardiovascular disease and is involved in various disorders. Cardiovascular diseases such as restenosis and neuropathic hyperplasia are mainly caused by abnormal growth and movement due to multiple growth factors in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). Platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) is a mitogen released from damaged vessel walls and is involved in the proliferation and migration of VSMCs. To determine the effects of EUC on the abnormal proliferation and migration of VSMCs, the present study investigated intracellular signaling pathways in PDGF-BB-induced VSMCs treated with and without EUC. Pretreating PDGF-BB-induced VSMCs with EUC tended to effectively decrease cell proliferation and migration. Subsequently, the intracellular growth-related signaling pathways of AKT, phospholipase C gamma (PLC-γ), and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) were investigated using western blotting to confirm inhibited phosphorylation. Furthermore, flow cytometry data showed that EUC blocked the cell cycle of VSMCs. These results suggest that EUC can inhibit the proliferation and migration of VSMCs by controlling the cell cycle and growth factor receptors. Furthermore, this indicates that EUC can be used as a preventative against cardiovascular disease resulting from abnormal proliferation and migration of VSMCs.

Emodin Studies on Anti-inflammatory and Skin Barrier Improvement Activities (Emodin의 항염 및 피부장벽개선 활성 연구)

  • Kim, Se-Gie;Choi, Jae Gurn;Jang, Young-Ah
    • Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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    • v.38 no.6
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    • pp.1383-1392
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    • 2021
  • It has been reported that emodin, a major pharmacologically active ingredient of herbal medicines such as Polygonum cuspidatum, Polygonum multiflorum, Rheum palmatum, and Aloe vera, is effective in antioxidant, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and liver protection. In this study, to investigate the potential of emodin to be used as a skin disease and functional material, the activity related to the improvement of inflammation and skin barrier function was confirmed. To observe the anti-inflammatory effect on HaCaT cells, which are human keratinocytes, cytokine inhibition was confirmed by ELISA kit and protein expression by western blot. In HaCaT cells activated with TNF-α (10 ng/mL)/IFN-γ (10 ng/mL), emodin was treated with each concentration (5, 10, 20, 40) µM. As a result, It was confirmed that the production amount of TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 decreased as the concentration of emodin increased. In the experimental results on the expression levels of inflammation-related proteins iNOS and COX-2, it was confirmed that 48% of iNOS and 29% of COX-2 were inhibited compared to control at a concentration of 20 µM of emodin. As an indicator of skin barrier function improvement, the mRNA expression level of filaggrin, involucrin, and loricirn and the production amount of filaggrin, involucrin, and loricirn were confirmed. and excellent results were obtained with an emodin concentration-dependent increase. In particular, filaggrin, which was produced twice as much as the control at a concentration of 20 µM, is a protein involved in the formation of NMF, a natural moisturizing factor, and is known to play an important role in moisturizing the stratum corneum. In conclusion, it was confirmed that emodin can be used as a material for improving inflammation and improving skin barrier function, which is part of the potential for use as a skin disease and functional material. It is believed that if additional research is performed in the future, the scope of its application can be further expanded.

Relationship between Reactive Oxygen Species and Adenosine Monophosphate-activated Protein Kinase Signaling in Apoptosis Induction of Human Breast Adenocarcinoma MDA-MB-231 Cells by Ethanol Extract of Citrus unshiu Peel (진피 추출물에 의한 인간유방암 MDA-MB-231 세포의 apoptosis 유도에서 ROS 및 AMPK의 역할)

  • Kim, Min Yeong;HwangBo, Hyun;Ji, Seon Yeong;Hong, Su-Hyun;Choi, Sung Hyun;Kim, Sung Ok;Park, Cheol;Choi, Yung Hyun
    • Journal of Life Science
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    • v.29 no.4
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    • pp.410-420
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    • 2019
  • Citrus unshiu peel extracts possess a variety of beneficial effects, and studies on their anticancer activity have been reported. However, the exact mechanisms underlying this activity remain unclear. In the current study, the apoptotic effect of ethanol extract of C. unshiu peel (EECU) on human breast adenocarcinoma MDA-MB-231 cells and related mechanisms were investigated. The results showed that the survival rate of MDA-MB-231 cells treated with EECU was significantly inhibited in a concentration-dependent manner, which was associated with the induction of apoptosis. EECU-induced apoptosis was associated with the activation of caspase-8 and caspase-9, which initiate extrinsic and intrinsic apoptosis pathways, respectively, and caspase-3, a representative effect caspase. EECU suppressed the expression of the inhibitor of apoptosis family of proteins, leading to an increased Bax/Bcl-2 ratio and proteolytic degradation of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase. EECU also enhanced the loss of the mitochondrial membrane potential and cytochrome c release from the mitochondria to the cytosol, along with truncation of Bid. In addition, EECU activated AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), and compound C, an AMPK inhibitor, significantly weakened EECU-induced apoptosis and cell viability reduction. Furthermore, EECU promoted the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which acted as upstream signals for AMPK activation as pretreatment of cells, with the antioxidant N-acetyl cysteine reversing both EECU-induced AMPK activation and apoptosis. Collectively, these findings suggest that EECU inhibits MDA-MB-231 adenocarcinoma cell proliferation by activating intrinsic and extrinsic apoptotic pathways, which was mediated through ROS/AMPK-dependent pathways.

Anti-tumor Effect of a Combination of Hongyoung Ethanol Extract and Cisplatinin YD-10B Oral Cancer Cells (YD-10B 구강암세포에서 홍영 에탄올 추출물과 시스플라틴 병용에 의한 항암 효과)

  • Eun-Jung Kim;Sung-Hee Hwang;Sangwook Park
    • Journal of Life Science
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    • v.33 no.6
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    • pp.498-505
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    • 2023
  • Solanum tuberosum Linnaeus cv Hongyoung, which represents red potato, was developed in Korea. Hongyoung is known to have anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, and anti-tumor properties, but no research has been conducted on the growth inhibition and apoptosis effects of hongyoung in YD-10B oral cancer cells. In this study, the combined treatment of hongyoung ethanol extract (HEE) and cisplatin were examined to determine its ability to inhibit cancer cell growth, induce apoptosis, and inhibit matrix metalloproteinases (MMP)-2 and MMP-9 cancer metastasis. The cell viability was investigated using a 2-(2-methoxy-4-nitrophenyl)-3-(4-nitrophenyl)-5-(2,4-disulfophenyl)-2H- tetrazolium monosodium salt (MTS) assay, and the ability to induce apoptosis was analyzed using an FACS analyzer. The mRNA expression and protein activity of MMP-2 and MMP-9 were measured via RT-PCR and zymography. The YD-10B oral cancer cells showed an increase in growth inhibition as the concentration of HEE increased. The combination of 200 µM cisplatin and 500 ㎍/ml HEE reduced the growth of the YD-10B oral cancer cells by more than 50% compared to cisplatin alone. When phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA)-treated YD-10B oral cancer cells were co-treated with 200 µM cisplatin and 500 ㎍/ml HEE, both the mRNA expression and protein activity of the MMP-2 and MMP-9 decreased. In addition, the percentage of the sub-G1 phase, which indicates apoptosis ability, more than doubled when treated in combination with 200 µM cisplatin and 500 ㎍/ml HEE than when cisplatin alone was used. The results of this study therefore suggest the possibility of using a combination of HEE and cisplatin in the development of effective drugs to treat oral cancer.

Preparations of Universal, Functionalized Long-Chain Alkylthiol Linkers for Self-assembled Monolayers (자기조립단분자막을 위한 보편적이고 기능화된 긴 사슬 알킬티올 연결자의 제조)

  • Yoo, Dong-Jin;Lee, Kyong-Sub;Kim, Ae-Rhan;Nahm, Kee-Suk
    • Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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    • v.49 no.3
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    • pp.330-337
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    • 2011
  • In this research, the preparation processes for making a series of $\omega$-mercapto alkylamine 1 and $\omega$-mercapto alkanoic acid 2 useful for studying of the self-assembled monolayer(SAM) are described. The preparation methods of the first goal materials, $\omega$-mercapto alkylamines 1 were carried out as follows: First, $\omega$-phthalimide alkanol 3 was synthesized from commercially available potassium phthalimide derivatives and $\omega$-bromoalkanol in DMF at $80{^{\circ}C}$ via substitution reaction. After refluxing $\omega$-phthalimide alkanol 3 with hydrazine hydrate in ethanol followed by treating with c-HCl, $\omega$-aminoalkanol 4 was obtained in 76-98% yield, accompanied with side-product 5. Bromination of hydroxyl moiety of $\omega$-aminoalkanol 4 using aqueous hydrobromic acid furnished $\omega$-bromoamine 6 in 34-97% yields. Substitution reaction 6 with thiourea in 95% ethanol gave $\omega$-aminoalkanthiuronium 7, which was treated with aqueous strong base and aqueous strong sulfuric acid gave desired products, $\omega$-mercapto alkylamines 1 through overall 5 steps. The second target material, $\omega$-mercapto alkanoic acid 2 was prepared via 2 steps. $\omega$-bromo alkanoic acid was reacted with thiourea to give $\omega$-thiourea alkanoic acid 7 in 69-85%, which was treated with aqueous strong base and strong acid to furnish $\omega$-mercapto alkanoic acid 2 in 50-98%. The fabricated long-chain alkylthiol(LCAT) can be used as linkers to immobilize protein, enzyme and various kinds of biomolecules on the surface of metallic materials(Au, Pt, Ti) by SAM, and can be useful chemical tools for the application study on the surface modification of metallic materials.

NIRS AS AN ESSENTIAL TOOL IN FOOD SAFETY PROGRAMS: FEED INGREDIENTS PREDICTION H COMMERCIAL COMPOUND FEEDING STUFFS

  • Varo, Ana-Garrido;MariaDoloresPerezMarin;Cabrera, Augusto-Gomez;JoseEmilioGuerrero Ginel;FelixdePaz;NatividadDelgado
    • Proceedings of the Korean Society of Near Infrared Spectroscopy Conference
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    • 2001.06a
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    • pp.1153-1153
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    • 2001
  • Directive 79/373/EEC on the marketing of compound feeding stuffs, provided far a flexible declaration arrangement confined to the indication of the feed materials without stating their quantity and the possibility was retained to declare categories of feed materials instead of declaring the feed materials themselves. However, the BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy) and the dioxin crisis have demonstrated the inadequacy of the current provisions and the need of detailed qualitative and quantitative information. On 10 January 2000 the Commission submitted to the Council a proposal for a Directive related to the marketing of compound feeding stuffs and the Council adopted a Common Position (EC N$^{\circ}$/2001) published at the Official Journal of the European Communities of 2. 2. 2001. According to the EC (EC N$^{\circ}$ 6/2001) the feeds material contained in compound feeding stufs intended for animals other than pets must be declared according to their percentage by weight, by descending order of weight and within the following brackets (I :< 30%; II :> 15 to 30%; III :> 5 to 15%; IV : 2% to 5%; V: < 2%). For practical reasons, it shall be allowed that the declarations of feed materials included in the compound feeding stuffs are provided on an ad hoc label or accompanying document. However, documents alone will not be sufficient to restore public confidence on the animal feed industry. The objective of the present work is to obtain calibration equations fur the instanteneous and simultaneous prediction of the chemical composition and the percentage of ingredients of unground compound feeding stuffs. A total of 287 samples of unground compound feeds marketed in Spain were scanned in a FOSS-NIR Systems 6500 monochromator using a rectangular cup with a quartz window (16 $\times$ 3.5 cm). Calibration equations were obtained for the prediction of moisture ($R^2$= 0.84, SECV = 0.54), crude protein ($R^2$= 0.96, SECV = 0.75), fat ($R^2$= 0.86, SECV = 0.54), crude fiber ($R^2$= 0.97, SECV = 0.63) and ashes ($R^2$= 0.86, SECV = 0.83). The sane set of spectroscopic data was used to predict the ingredient composition of the compound feeds. The preliminary results show that NIRS has an excellent ability ($r^2$$\geq$ 0, 9; RPD $\geq$ 3) for the prediction of the percentage of inclusion of alfalfa, sunflower meal, gluten meal, sugar beet pulp, palm meal, poultry meal, total meat meal (meat and bone meal and poultry meal) and whey. Other equations with a good predictive performance ($R^2$$\geq$0, 7; 2$\leq$RPD$\leq$3) were the obtained for the prediction of soya bean meal, corn, molasses, animal fat and lupin meal. The equations obtained for the prediction of other constituents (barley, bran, rice, manioc, meat and bone meal, fish meal, calcium carbonate, ammonium clorure and salt have an accuracy enough to fulfill the requirements layed down by the Common Position (EC Nº 6/2001). NIRS technology should be considered as an essential tool in food Safety Programs.

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Enhanced Anaerobic Degradation of Food Waste by Employing Rumen Microorganisms (Rumen 미생물을 이용한 주방폐기물 혐기성소화의 효율증진 방안)

  • Shin, Hang-Sik;Song, Young-Chae;Son, Sung-Sub;Bae, Byung-Uk
    • Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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    • v.1 no.1
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    • pp.103-113
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    • 1993
  • Every year, over $3.37{\times}10^7$ ton of municipal solid waste is generated in Korea, of which about 28% is organic food waste from restaurant, dining halls and households etc. Methane conversion of the food waste by anaerobic digestion could be a viable approach for energy recovery as well as safe disposal of the waste. However, as food waste is composed of highmolecular complex polymers such as cellulose, lignin and protein, anaerobic digestion of food waste has not been efficient in terms of volumetric loading rate, solid retention time and extent of anaerobic degradation. In this research, the improved anaerobic degradation of food waste was attemped by applying rumen microorganisms to anaerobic digestion. Acidification efficiency of food waste by rumen microorganisms was compared with that of conventional acidogenesis. And optimum acidification conditions by rumen microorganisms were also determined. For the experiments, anaerobic batch reactors of 600 mL was fed with the processed (dried and milled) food waste obtained from a restaurant. Ultimate volatile fatty acid (VFA) yield produced by rumen microorganisms was about 8.4 meq VFA/g volatile solid (VS) that is 95% of the theoretical value. This yield was not much different from that of conventional acidogenesis, but hydrolysis rate was about twice faster. Cumulative VFA concentration increased from 66 meq/L to 480 meq/L, when the initial TS was increased from 1% to 15%. But VFA yield at 15% TS was half of that at 1% TS. This inhibition on the acidification might be caused by the rapid drop of pH and higher concentration of nonionized VFA. Optimal pH and temperature range for the acidification were about 6.0~7.5 and $35{\sim}45^{\circ}C$, respectively.

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Development of medium for Pleurotus eryngii cultivation using Kojongsi persimmon peels (감과피를 이용한 큰느타리버섯 배지 개발)

  • Kim, Chul Hwan;Kim, Hye Soo;Kim, Hong Chul;Kwon, Hyun Sook;Cheong, Jong-Chun;Kong, Won-Sik;Cho, Soo Jeong
    • Journal of Mushroom
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    • v.13 no.4
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    • pp.314-318
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    • 2015
  • This study was carried out to investigated the avaiability of dried Koojongsi persimmon peels (KPP) as a useful mushroom medium using Pleurotus eryngii ASI 2312. Mushroom cultivation medium used in this study was mixed with medium mixture, corn cob and sawdust (220:65:15, v/v). Dried KPP was replaced mushroom cultivation medium (control) with 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 40, 50% dried KPP. The T-N content of dried KPP treatments decreased to increase replaced ratio of the dried KPP and C/N ratio was increased to increase replaced ratio of the dried KPP. But T-C content of dried KPP treatments was similar to untreated control. The average cultivating periods of mycelium on dried KPP treatments was delayed to increase replaced ratio of the dried KPP and cultivating periods was delayed over 30% dried KPP treatments. The length of stipe of dried KPP treatments was longer than that of the untreated control to increase replaced ratio of the dried KPP and thickness of stipes was tend to be thinner than that of the untreated control to increase replaced ratio of the dried KPP. The moisture, carbohydrate, crude protein and crude ash content of mycelial were similar to untreated control, but crude fatty acid was increased to increase replaced ratio of the dried KPP. The ${\beta}-glucan$ content of 10% and 15% treatments were higher than untreatment control. The results based on cultivation yield and ${\beta}-glucan$ content indicated that optimal mixture ratio dried KPP was 15%.

Anti-inflammatory Effect of Lactuca sativa L. Extract in Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells and Improvement of Lipid Levels in Mice Fed a High-fat Diet (상추 추출물(Lactuca sativa L.)의 혈관내피세포에서 항염증 작용과 고지방 식이 생쥐에서 혈중 지질농도 개선에 미치는 영향)

  • Hwang-Bo, Jeon;Jang, Kyung Ok;Chung, Hayoung;Park, Jong-Hwa;Lee, Tae Hoon;Kim, Jiyoung;Chung, In Sik
    • The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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    • v.29 no.6
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    • pp.998-1007
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    • 2016
  • The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of a lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) extract on the inflammation of human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) and blood lipid improvement in hypercholesterolemic mice fed a high cholesterol diet. The lettuce extract (100% ethanol extract) inhibited the expression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 in HUVEC treated with tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$ (TNF-${\alpha}$). The lettuce extract suppressed the adhesion of THP-1 to TNF-${\alpha}$-treated HUVEC. The lettuce extract decreased the TNF-${\alpha}$-stimulated production of proinflammatory cytokine interleukin-6, interleukin-8 and chemokine monocyte chemotactic protein 1. In hypercholesterolemic mice, the lettuce extract reduced serum total cholesterol, triglyceride, and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol level, while the lettuce extract elevated high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol level, resulting in the decrease of atherogenic index and cardiac risk factor level. These results suggested that lettuce extract can be an useful resource to show an anti-inflammatory effect and improve lipid metabolism.