• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.2305-2309
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• 2012

Crocin, the main pigment of Crocus sativus L., has been shown to have antiproliferative effects on cancer cells, but the involved mechanisms are only poor understood. This study focused on probable effect of crocin on the immortality of hepatic cancer cells. Cytotoxicity of crocin ($IC_{50}$ 3 mg/ml) in hepatocarcinoma HepG2 cells was determined after 48 h by neutral red uptake assay and MTT test. Immortality was investigated through quantification of relative telomerase activity with a quantitative real-time PCR-based telomerase repeat amplification protocol (qTRAP). Telomerase activity in 0.5 ${\mu}g$ protein extract of HepG2 cells treated with 3 mg/ml crocin was reduced to about 51% as compared to untreated control cells. Two mechanisms of inhibition, i.e. interaction of crocin with telomeric quadruplex sequences and down regulation of hTERT expression, were examined using FRET analysis to measure melting temperature of a synthetic telomeric oligonucleotide in the presence of crocin and quantitative real-time RT-PCR, respectively. No significant changes were observed in the $T_m$ telomeric oligonucleotides, while the relative expression level of the catalytic subunit of telomerase (hTERT) gene showed a 60% decrease as compared to untreated control cells. In conclusion, telomerase activity of HepG2 cells decreases after treatment with crocin, which is probably caused by down-regulation of the expression of the catalytic subunit of the enzyme.

• Journal of Magnetics
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.177-180
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• 2011

0.30 mm thick and 90 mm wide thin foils made of Fe-6.5wt.%Si alloy were successfully fabricated by traditional rolling. The as-rolled sheets had good shapes and shining metal luster. The effects of annealing temperature on the magnetic properties of the sheets were investigated. Excellent Dc properties ($H_c$: 11.55 A/m, ${\mu}_m$: 23710, and $B_s$: 1.439 T) were obtained at an annealing temperature of 1453 K for 1.5 h. At low frequencies ($\leq$ 1 kHz), heat treatment temperature has little effect on iron loss which remained at the level of 9.8 W/kg. Annealing at 1273 K for 1.5 h is optimum for frequencies above 5 kHz.

• Journal of Drive and Control
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.11-17
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• 2015

An intelligent deburring control (IDC) device is used to control the constant force for a deburring tool mounted on the end-effector of a robotic arm. This device maintains a constant contact force between the deburring tool and the workpiece in order to provide a good deburring performance. In this paper, we build a mathematical model in Matlab/Simulink to estimate the force control mechanism of the pneumatic system for the IDC device. The Simulink blocks are built for each separate part and are linked into an integrated simulation system. Such a model also relies on the effects of the flow rate through the valve, air compressibility in the cylinder, and time delay in the pressure valve. The results of the simulation are compared to a simple experiment in which convenient math modeling is performed. These results are then used to optimize the mechanical design and to develop a force control algorithm for the pneumatic cylinder.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.10 no.6
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• pp.395-404
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• 2019

The influence of chlorine on marine bacterial communities was examined in this study. A non-chlorine-adapted marine bacterial community (NCAM) and a chlorine-adapted bacterial community (CAM, bacterial community treated with $0.2mg-Cl_2/L$ chlorine) were cultivated for 1 month. A distinct difference was observed between the NCAM and CAM, which shared only eight operational taxonomic units (OTUs), corresponding to 13.1% of the total number of identified OTUs. This result suggested that chlorine was responsible for the changes in the marine bacterial communities. Kordiimonas aquimaris was found to be a chlorine-resistant marine bacterium. The effect of intermittent chlorination on the two marine biofilm communities formed on the reverse osmosis (RO) membrane surface was investigated using various chlorine concentrations (0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6 and 0.8 mg $Cl_2/L$). Although the average number of adherent marine bacteria on the RO membrane over a period of 7 weeks decreased with increasing chlorine concentration, disinfection efficiencies showed substantial fluctuations throughout the experiment. This is due to chlorine depletion that occurs during intermittent chlorination. These results suggest that intermittent chlorination is not an effective disinfection strategy to control biofilm formation.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.38-47
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• 2022

The present study focused on lithocholic acid (LCA), a secondary bile acid that contributes to cholestatic pruritus. Although recent studies have found that LCA acts on MAS-related G protein-coupled receptor family member X4 (MRGPRX4) in humans, it is unclear which subtypes of MRGPRs are activated by LCA in mice since there is no precise ortholog of human MRGPRX4 in the mouse genome. Using calcium imaging, we found that LCA could activate mouse Mrgpra1 when transiently expressed in HEK293T cells. Moreover, LCA similarly activates mouse Mrgprb2. Importantly, LCA-induced responses showed dose-dependent effects through Mrgpra1 and Mrgprb2. Moreover, treatment with QWF (an antagonist of Mrgpra1 and Mrgprb2), YM254890 (Gα_q inhibitor), and U73122 (an inhibitor of phospholipase C) significantly suppressed the LCA-induced responses, implying that the LCA-induced responses are indeed mediated by Mrgpra1 and Mrgprb2. Furthermore, LCA activated primary cultures of mouse sensory neurons and peritoneal mast cells, suggesting that Mrgpra1 and Mrgprb2 contribute to LCA-induced pruritus. However, acute injection of LCA did not induce noticeable differences in scratching behavior, implying that the pruritogenic role of LCA may be marginal in non-cholestatic conditions. In summary, the present study identified for the first time that LCA can activate Mrgpra1 and Mrgprb2. The current findings provide further insight into the similarities and differences between human and mouse MRGPR families, paving a way to understand the complex roles of these pruriceptors.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.61-65
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• 2012

A $Li_2O-2SiO_2$ ($LS_2$) glass was investigated as a lithium-ion conducting oxide glass, which is applicable to a fast ionic conductor even at low temperature due to its high mechanical strength and chemical stability. The $Li_2O-2SiO_2$ glass is likely to be broken into small pieces when quenched; thus, it is difficult to fabricate a specifically sized sample. The production of properly sized glass samples is necessary for device applications. In this study, we applied spark plasma sintering (SPS) to fabricate $LS_2$ glass samples which have a particular size as well as high transparency. The sintered samples, $15mm\phi{\times}2mmT$ in size, ($LS_2$-s) were produced by SPS between $480^{\circ}C$ and $500^{\circ}C$ at 45MPa for 3~5mim, after which the thermal and dielectric properties of the $LS_2$-s samples were compared with those of quenched glass ($LS_2$-q) samples. Thermal behavior, crystalline structure, and electrical conductivity of both samples were analyzed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and an impedance/gain-phase analyzer, respectively. The results showed that the $LS_2$-s had an amorphous structure, like the $LS_2$-q sample, and that both samples took on the lithium disilicate structure after the heat treatment at $800^{\circ}C$. We observed similar dielectric peaks in both of the samples between room temperature and $700^{\circ}C$. The DC activation energies of the $LS_2$-q and $LS_2$-s samples were $0.48{\pm}0.05eV$ and $0.66{\pm}0.04eV$, while the AC activation energies were $0.48{\pm}0.05eV$ and $0.68{\pm}0.04eV$, respectively.

• Journal of Genetic Medicine
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.26-33
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• 2008

Purpose : Phenylketonuria(PKU) is an inborn error of metabolism and a genetic disorder resulting from a deficiency of phenylalanine hydroxylase(PAH) and decreased activity of tetrahydrobiopterin(BH4).In this study the correlation between the DNA mutation and clinical manifestations was investigated and PAH DNA mutations were compared bewteen Asian and Caucasian populations. Methods : DNA was isolated from peripheral leukocytes. The PAH gene was amplified by Polymerase Chain Reaction(PCR) and the sequence was analyzed with Multiplex Ligation-dependent Probe Amplification(MLPA). Results : We characterized the PAH gene of 102 independent Korean patients with PKU. PAH nucleotide sequence analysis revealed 44 different mutations, including 10 novel mutations comprising 9 missense mutations(N207D, K95del, A447P, G344D, P69S, S391I, A202T, G103S, and I306L) and 1 novel splice-site variant mutation(IVS10-3C>G). R243Q was the most prevalent mutation in this study. A259T has not previously been reported in Asian populations, but we found that this mutation had a frequency of 10.1% in our study. Furthermore, the genotypes of $BH_4$ responsive patients were analyzed and were divided into two groups: $BH_4$ medication-only group and $BH_4$ medication with diet therapy group. In the $BH_4$ medication-only group and $BH_4$ medication with diet therapy group, R241C was the most common mutation. Conclusion : Novel mutations in the PAH gene of PKU patients are still being discovered. Additional information as to the frequency of mutations in the tetrahydrobiopterine responsive gene is also accumulating. We anticipate that knowledge of these PKU gene mutations will assist the diagnosis, genetic counseling, and therapeutic treatment of PKU patients in future.

• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.7-14
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• 2009

The effect of water temperature (T) and body weight (W) on oxygen consumption of fasted starry flounder Platichthys stellatus was investigated in order to assess the metabolic response of this species at given conditions. The oxygen consumption rate (OCR) was measured under six different water temperatures (4, 7, 10, 13, 16 and $19^{\circ}C$) and at two different body weights (mean weight of fry group : 1.5 g; fingerling group : 37.4 g) at an interval of 5 minutes for 24 hours using a continuous flow-through respirometer. In each treatment three replicates were set up and a total 540 fish in fry groups and 90 fish in fingerling groups were used. The OCRs increased with increase of water temperature in both groups (p<0.001). Mean OCRs at 4, 7, 10, 13, 16 and $19^{\circ}C$ were 1386.0, 1601.7, 1741.0, 1799.2, 2239.1 and $2520.3mg\;O_2\;kg\;fish^{-1}\;h^{-1}$ in fry groups, and 83.8, 111.4, 126.3, 147.1, 187.7 and $221.3mg\;O_2\;kg\;fish^{-1}\;h^{-1}$ in fingerling groups, respectively. The OCRs decreased with increasing body weights at six different water temperatures (p<0.001). The relationship between water temperature and body weight is described by the following equation : OCR=1520.91+40.85T-49.22W ($r^2=0.95$, p<0.001). The energy loss by metabolic response increased with an increase in water temperature and a decrease in body weight (p<0.001). Mean energy loss rates by oxygen consumption at 4, 7, 10, 13, 16 and $19^{\circ}C$ were 907.9, 1046.5, 1141.6, 1177.0, 1467.3 and $1650.1kJ\;kg\;fish^{-1}\;d^{-1}$ in fry groups and 54.8, 73.0, 82.9, 96.2, 122.9 and $144.6kJ\;kg\;fish^{-1}\;d^{-1}$ in fingerling groups, respectively. The $Q_{10}$ values of fingerling groups were higher than those of fry groups at given temperature ranges. The $Q_{10}$ values at $4{\sim}7^{\circ}C$, $7{\sim}10^{\circ}C$, $10{\sim}13^{\circ}C$, $13{\sim}16^{\circ}C$ and $16{\sim}19^{\circ}C$ were 1.62, 1.32, 1.12, 2.07 and 1.48 in fry groups, and 2.59, 1.52, 1.67, 2.25 and 1.73 in fingerling groups, respectively.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.175-185
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• 1996

The mitogen-activated protein(MAP) kinase signal transduction pathway represents an important mechanism by which mitogen, such as serum and PMA, regulate cell proliferation and differentiation. Target substrates of the MAP kinase are located within several compartments containing plasma membranes and nucleus. We now report that serum addition induces proliferation of the P388 murine leukemia cell, but PMA does not, while both serum and PMA treatment cause translocation of the MAP kinase, mainly p42$^{mapk}$ isoform, from cytosol into the nucleus, which was monitored by immunoblot analysis using polyclonal anti-ERK1 antibodies. We investigated whether the MAP kinase was capable of phosphorylating c-Jun protein and GST-fusion proteins, the P562$^{kk}$N-terminal peptides (1-77 or 1-123 domain) of the T cell tyrosine kinase, using the partially purified MAP kinase by SP-sephadex C-50, phenyl superose and Mono Q column chromatography. We found that the partially purified MAP kinase was able to phosphorylate c-Jun protein and the GST-fusion protein expressed using E.coli DH5$\alpha$ which is transformed with pGEX-3Xb plasmid vector carrying of p562$^{kk}$N-terminal peptide-encoding DNA. These results imply that tyrosine kinase receptor/Ras/Raf/MAP kinase pathway is a major mechanism for mitogen-induced cell proliferation in P388 murine leukemia cell and that the various MAP kinase isoforms may have their own target substrates located in distinct subcellular compartments.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.121-130
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• 2010

Metals and sulfate can be considerably dissolved at low pH condition in the acid mine drainage(AMD) and it would make an environmental problems. There are only few of acid mine drainage treatment systems in Korea which are operating, but these still have an effect on the surrounding stream. In this study, quantification of indicator microorganisms was conducted to judge the environmental impact of AMD on microflora by quantitative real-time PCR in the drainage samples of four mines and the water samples of each surrounding stream. Two species of iron reducing bacteria(Rhodoferax ferrireducens T118 and Acidiphilium cryptum JF-5) were selected for indicator bacteria based on 16S rRNA cloning analysis, and sulfate reducing bacteria(Desulfosporosinus orientus), iron and sulfur oxidizing bacteria(Acidothiobacillus ferrooxidans) and iron oxidizing bacteria(Leptosprillum ferrooxidans) were included into indicator since these were found in the previous studies on the mining area. Thereafter, the comparative analysis of four mines were established by the microbiological variation index and it was determined that the biological environment effect of AMD is highest in Samtan mine which doesn t contain treatment system by the value.