• Title/Summary/Keyword: R&D activity

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Comparative Analysis of $\alpha$-glucosidase Activity in Bombyx mori and Antheraea yamamai

  • Kang, Kyung-Don;Kamita, Shizuo George;Suzuki, Koichi;Seong, Su-Il
    • International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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    • v.21 no.2
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    • pp.163-167
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    • 2010
  • [ $\alpha$ ]Glucosidase (EC 3.2.1.20) is a glycosidase that hydrolyzes disaccharides, oligosaccharides, and polysaccharides resulting in the release of α-D-glucose. In this study, $\alpha$-glucosidase activity in the hemolymph and midgut of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori and Japanese oak silkmoth Antheraea yamamai was measured using maltose, sucrose, trehalose, and p-nitrophenyl $\alpha$-D-glucopyranoside as substrates. In general, hemolymph $\alpha$-glucosidase activity was higher in B. mori than in A. yamamai. In contrast, midgut $\alpha$-glucosidase activity was higher in A. yamamai than in B. mori for all of the substrates tested. $\alpha$-Glucosidase activity in the midgut of both B. mori and A. yamamai showed similar responses to changes in pH and temperature for all of the substrates tested. Native (7.5%) PAGE of hemolymph and midgut proteins from B. mori and A. yamamai followed by staining with 4-methylumbelliferyl $\alpha$-D-glucoside (MUG) indicated that the $\alpha$-glucosidases of these related lepidopterans are functionally similar but structurally different. In comparison to $\alpha$-glucosidase activity from A. yamamai, $\alpha$-glucosidase activity from B. mori was generally less sensitive to the $\alpha$-glucosidase inhibitors, 1-deoxynojirimycin (DNJ), acarbose, and voglibose when the activity was determined using maltose, sucrose, and trehalose.

The Determinants of Korean Manufacturing Firms' Innovative Activity: Do Firm Size and Appropriabilities Matter? (한국 제조업체의 혁신활동 결정요인: 기업규모와 전유성의 역할)

  • Song, Ji-Hyun
    • Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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    • v.21 no.2
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    • pp.565-577
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    • 2020
  • This study empirically examined how a firm size affects the determinants of innovative activities using the data of the Korean Innovation Survey (KIS) 2016. With data from 2,003 firms in the manufacturing sector, we performed logistic regression analysis and zero-inflated negative binomial regression analysis. R&D expenditure and patent applications were used as proxies for innovative activity. The independent variables included the firm's characteristics variables such as the firm's age, tech-level industry, RDemp (R&D employee ratio), venture, export, and industrial characteristics variables such as networking, appropriability, and spillovers. The empirical findings are that there are some differences in firms' innovative activity determinants among the firms' size groups. Next, strategic appropriability has negative impacts on small firms' R&D expenditure and medium-firms' patents. Networking is an important determinant of innovative activity for all firms, except for large firms. Furthermore, in deciding R&D activities, small and medium-sized firms were significantly influenced by industrial characteristics as compared to that of large firms. Our findings suggest some R&D promotion policies. Policies fostering firms' technological interaction would allow firms to take advantage of technological spillovers and thus raise the probability of investing in R&D.

The effect of L-carnitine in the expression of matrix metalloproteinases by human dermal fibroblasts

  • Yoon, Eun-Jeong;Lee, Kyoung-Eun;Sim, Kwan-Sup;Lee, Bum-Chun;Pyo, Hyeong-Bae;Choe, Tae-boo
    • Proceedings of the SCSK Conference
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    • 2003.09b
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    • pp.12-25
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    • 2003
  • L-camitine ($\beta$ -hydroxy-${\gamma}$ -trimethyl-ammoniumbutyric acid) is a small water-soluble molecule important in mammalian fat metabolism. It is essential for the normal oxidation of fatty acids by the mitochondria, and is involved in the trans-esterification and excretion of acyl-CoA esters. In this paper, to investigate the relationship between aging and L-camitine, we investigated the effects of in vitro MMP inhibition and activity and expression of UVA-induced MMP 1 in human skin fibroblasts. Fluorometric assays of the proteolytic activities of MMP-l were performed using fluorescent collagen substrates. ELISA (enzyme linked immuno sorbent assay), gelatin-substrate zymography, and RT-PCR ELISA techniques were used for the effects of L-camitine on MMP expression and activity, MMP mRNA expression in UVA irradiated fibroblast. L-camitine inhibited the activities of MMP-l in a dose-dependent manner and the $IC_{50}$/ values calculated from semi-log plots were 2.45mM, and L-carnitine showed strong inhibition on MMP-2 (gelatinase) activity in UVA irradiated fibroblast by zymography. Also, UVA induced MMP expression was reduced 40% by treated with L-carnitine, and MMP-l mRNA expression was reduced dose-dependent manner. Therefore L-carnitine was able to significantly inhibition the MMP activity, regulation of MMP expression in protein and mRNA level. All these results suggest that L-carnitine may be useful as new anti-aging cofactor for protection against UVA induced MMP expression and activity.

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Temperature-Dependency Urease Activity in Vibrio parahaemolyticus is Related to Transcriptional Activator UreR

  • Park, Kwon-Sam;Lee, Soo-Jae;Chung, Yong-Hyun;Iida, Tetsuya;Honda, Takeshi
    • Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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    • v.19 no.11
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    • pp.1456-1463
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    • 2009
  • Vibrio parahaemolyticus possessing urease-positive property is relatively rare, but such strains consistently exhibit the TDH-related hemolysin (TRH) gene. In this study, we examined the effects of incubation temperature on urease activity expression, using the TH3996 and AQ4673 strains where the enzyme activity is known to be temperature-dependent and -independent, respectively. In the TH3996 strain, $\beta$-galactosidase activity was 4.4-fold lower after $30^{\circ}C$ cultivation than after $37^{\circ}C$ in a ureR-lacZ fusion strain, but temperature dependency was not found in ureD- or nikA-lacZ fusion strains. However, ureR-, ureD-, and nikA-lacZ fusions of the AQ4673 strain was not influenced by incubation temperature. We compared the promoter sequences of ureR between the above two strains. Intriguingly, we detected mismatches of two nucleotides between the two strains located at positions -66 and -108 upstream of the methionine initiation codon for UreR. Additionally, urease activity was not affected by culture temperature at either $30^{\circ}C$ or $37^{\circ}C$ by allelic introduction of the AQ4673 ureR gene into the TH3996 ureR deletion mutant. Taken together, our study demonstrates that the transcriptional factor UreR is involved in the temperature dependency of urease activity, and two nucleotides within the ureR promoter region are of particular importance for the urease activity dependency of V. parahaemolyticus.

BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITES OF PLANT LEAF EXTRACTS; AVAILABILITY OF STAR FRUIT LEAF EXTRACT AGAINST SKIN AGING

  • Yoshihito Kawashima;Zhou, Yan-Yang;Naoko Kishida;Nobuaki Ohto;Daisuke Araho;Yoko Ito;Toshimitsu Kambara;Zhou, Wan-Hua
    • Proceedings of the SCSK Conference
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    • 2003.09a
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    • pp.645-658
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    • 2003
  • We evaluated activities of various plant leaf extracts and found the availability against skin aging in the leaf extract of star fruit (Averrhoa carambola L), and developed Star Fruit Leaf Extract BG30 as an ingredient of cosmetics. Star Fruit Leaf Extract BG30 was found to show scavenging activities of reactive oxygen species and an inhibitory effect on the activity of matrix metalloproteinase-1. It showed increasing activity of type I collagen and recovery effect from damage of UV-B irradiation in human fibroblast. We performed the separation of the active principal from Star Fruit Leaf Extract BG30 to give isofurcatin 2"-Ο-$\alpha$-L-rhamnopyranoside, which showed increasing activity of type I collagen. To examine the anti-wrinkle effect of Star Fruit Leaf Extract BG30, seven volunteers applied a Star Fruit Leaf Extract BG30 1 % cream in double blind manner to one-side of the corner of their eye and the placebo cream to the opposite side. Clinical evaluation of wrinkling was performed every week for 5 weeks using a silicone rubber replica. A statistically significant improvement of Star Fruit Leaf Extract BG30-treated site was seen in decreased wrinkles. Star Fruit Leaf Extract BG30 results in clinically visible improvement in wrinkling when used topically for 5 weeks.

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In vitro and in vivo Antibacterial Activities of the New Quinolone, DWQ-013 (새로운 퀴놀론계 항균제 DWQ-013의 항균작용)

  • Yu, Young-Hyo;Park, Nam-Jun;Kim, Byung-O;Choi, Moon-Jung;Shim, Jeom-Soon;Kang, Tae-Chung;Lee, Jae-Wook;Kim, Dae-Young
    • YAKHAK HOEJI
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    • v.38 no.3
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    • pp.265-273
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    • 1994
  • ln vitro and in vivo antibacterial activities of DWQ-013(1-cyclopropyl-6,8-difluoro-7-(3-methylthiomethylpyrrolidinyl)-1,4-dihydro-4-oxo-3-quinolinecarboxylic acid), a new fluoroquinolone antibacterial agent, were compared with those of ciprofloxacin, sparfloxacin and ofloxacin against aerobic and anaerobic standard strains and clinical isolates. DWQ-013 had a broad spectrum and potent antibacterial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The antibacterial activity of DWQ-013 against Staphylococcus aureus was equal to that of sparfloxacin(SPFX) and superior to those of ciprofloxacin(CPFX). The antibacterial activity against Gram-negative bacteria was slightly lower than those of ciprofloxacin and sparfloxacin. MIC of DWQ-013 against Pseudomonas aeruginosa$(0.781{\sim}1.563\;{\mu}g/ml)$ was usually equal to that of sparfloxacin$(0.781\;{\mu}g/ml)$ and was inferior to that of ciprofloxacin$(0.098\;{\mu}g/ml)$. The number of viable cells was decreased rapidly after addition of DWQ-013 at concentration of $1{\sim}2$ folds of MIC.

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2D-QSAR and HQSAR on the Inhibition Activity of Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase 1B with Oleanolic Acid Analogues

  • Chung, Young-Ho;Jang, Seok-Chan;Kim, Sang-Jin;Sung, Nack-Do
    • Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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    • v.50 no.2
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    • pp.52-57
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    • 2007
  • Quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSARs) on the inhibition activities by oleanolic acid analogues (1-19) as a potent inhibitor against protein tyrosine phosphatase-1B were studied quantitatively using 2D-QSAR and HQSAR methodologies. The inhibition activity was dependent on the variations of $R_{4-}$substituent, and as shown in 2D-QSAR model ($r^2=0.928$), it has a tendency to increase as the negative Randic Indice (RI) goes up. The size of the molecular fragments used in HQSAR varied from five to eight. The fragment distinctions had the best statistic value, whose predictability is $q^2=0.785$ and correlation coefficient is $r^2=0.970$, on condition of connections. From the atomic contribution maps, the factor that contributes to the inhibition activities is the $C_{15}{\sim}C_{17}$ bond in the D ring. From the analysis result of these two the models, the structural distinctions and descriptors that contribute to the inhibition activities were obtained.

Duopoly R&D competition with flexible spillovers

  • Kim, Hyoun-Jong;Yu, Pyung-Il
    • Proceedings of the Korean Operations and Management Science Society Conference
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    • 1995.04a
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    • pp.363-374
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    • 1995
  • A duopoly model of R&D competition is presented to investigate whether an equilibrium R&D level with flexible spillovers is insufficient (or excessive) from the viewpoint of social welfare. The model focus on flexible spillovers which include much portion of externality occurring in R&D activity. Flexible spillovers refer to the spillovers that vary with industry equilibrium level of R&D. Innovating firms have incentives to cooperate in R&D in the presence of large spillovers. For any symmetric R&D profile, socially desirable equilibrium output is larger than equilibrium output produced in duopoly. Cooperative equilibrium R&D investment is observed to be socially insufficient in terms of welfare criterion irrespective of the magnitude of spillovers. While noncooperative R&D yields socially excessive expenditure on research project for a certain range of spillovers.

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