• The Journal of Information Systems
• /
• v.8 no.1
• /
• pp.149-176
• /
• 1999

Regional information infrastructure(RII) plays an increasingly important role in determining the competitiveness of companies operating within the region. The purposes of this research are (1) to identify the types of RII demanded by the companies operating within Pusan and KyungNam areas in Republic of Korea, (2) to explain the levels of RII demand using variables including organizational environment, organizational strategy, and the importance of information systems for the organization, and (3) to examine whether the types of RII demand are different depending on the competition strategies that companies are pursuing. The most important type of RII that region companies demand is information systems personnel having knowledge in systems control, systems planning, communication network, database administration, and system construction. In addition, demanded are TSDN, satellite communication network, and shareable software and hardware. The levels of RII demand are different depending on the importance of information systems(IS) roles for the businesses. The more important IS role is for a company, the more sharable computing equipments and facilities are demanded. The importance of IS role is affected by the organizational environment and organizational strategy. The levels of RII demand are different also depending on the competitive advantages that companies are pursuing. Companies focusing on achieving short-term and direct benefits using information technology tend to have higher demands on sharable computing equipments and facilities as well as on information communication services. This research is explorative in nature One major limitation of this research, therefore, is that the plausibility of the postulated hypotheses was not examined simultaneously. This research is meaningful in that it first attempted to measure the demands of regional companies for RII.

• Molecules and Cells
• /
• v.26 no.1
• /
• pp.87-92
• /
• 2008

We employed dual color Fluorescence Cross Correlation Spectroscopy (FCCS) to measure the interaction between PKA regulatory (RII) and catalytic subunits (CAT) in living cells. Elevation of intracellular cAMP with forskolin decreased the cross-correlation amplitude between RFP-fused RII (RII -mRFP) and GFP-fused CAT (CAT-EGFP) by 50%, indicating that cAMP elevation leads to dissociation of RII-CAT complexes. Moreover, diffusion coefficient analysis showed that the diffusion rate of CAT-EGFP was significantly increased, suggesting that the decreased RII-CAT association caused by cAMP generated free CAT subunits. Our study demonstrates that in vivo FCCS measurements and their quantitative analysis permit one not only to directly quantify protein-protein interactions but also to estimate changes in the intracellular cAMP concentration.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.43 no.4
• /
• pp.394-398
• /
• 2010

Background: The overexpression of transforming growth factor-beta 1 receptor II (TGF-${\beta}1$RII) and transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-${\beta}1$) ligand may be involved in the formation of a bulla. In this study, we tested if serum TGF-${\beta}1$ ligand levels correlated with the expression level of TGF-${\beta}1$RII and TGF-${\beta}1$ in bullous tissues from patients with spontaneous pneumothorax. Material and Method: Bullous lung tissues and blood samples were obtained from 19 patients with spontaneous pneumothorax, 18 males and 1 female, aged 17 to 35 years old. The bullous tissues were obtained by video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS), fixed in formalin, embedded in paraffin, and cut into $5{\sim}6{\mu}m$ thick slices. Sections were immunohistochemically stained with primary antibodies against TGF-${\beta}1$ or TGF-${\beta}1$RII, and serum levels of TGF-${\beta}1$ in patients and normal controls was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Result: Of the 19 patients, 16 were TGF-${\beta}1$ positive and 10 were TGF-${\beta}1$RII positive. Among the 16 TGF-${\beta}1$ positives, 9 were also TGF-${\beta}1RII$ positive. As seen previously, strong immunohistochemical staining of TGF-${\beta}1$RII and TGF-${\beta}$ was detected in the boundary region between the bullous and normal lung tissues. Average TGF-${\beta}1$ blood levels of both TGF-${\beta}1$ and TGF-${\beta}1$RII positive patients was $38.36{\pm}16.2ng/mL$, and that of five controls was $54.06{\pm}15ng/mL$. Conclusion: These results suggest that overexpression of TGF-${\beta}1$ and TGF-${\beta}1$RII expression may be involved in the formation of bullae. TGF-${\beta}1$ blood levels in patients with primary spontaneous pneumothorax is lower than normal people, suggesting that the high level of local TGF-${\beta}1$ expression in the bullous tissue region, but not in the whole blood, may contribute more in the formation of bullae.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
• /
• v.35 no.1
• /
• pp.47-54
• /
• 1997

It is generally accepted that parasite-specific IgE plays a crucial role in host defense against helminthic parasites. However, the role of high levels of nonspecific IgE in helminthic infections is still controversial. To investigate the role of nonspecific IgE in primary infections with P. westemani the effect of anti-lgE mAb treatment on serum IgE, $Fc{\varepsilon}RII/CD23$ expression and worm burden in Parcgonimus-infected mice were examined. In mice treated with anti-lgE antibody, the total IgE levels were not detectable ($1{\;}{\mu\textrm{g}/ml}$) throughout the experiment compared with untreated infected mice. The mean percentages of $Fc{\varepsilon}RII/CD23$ positive splenic B cells in anti-lgE treated mice (ridge: 20.3 - 30.5) were also decreased throughout the experiment compared with untreated infected mice (range: 35.7-44.4). Reduction of the total IgE and expression of $Fc{\varepsilon}RII/CD23$ on splenic B cells resulted in decreased worm burden six weeks post infection. These results suggest that high levels of nonspecific IgE in mice with primary infections of P. westemnni play a harmful, rather than beneficial, role for the host, perhaps by interfering with CD23-dependent cellular pathways.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
• /
• v.22 no.1
• /
• pp.1-8
• /
• 1999

Transforming growth factor-$\beta$ (TGF-$\beta$) is the prototypical multifunctional cytokine, participating in the regulation of vital cellular activities such as proliferation and differentiations as well as a number of basic physiological functions. The effects of TGF-$\beta$ are critically dependent on the expression and distribution of a family of TGF-$\beta$ receptors, the TGF-$\beta$ types I, II, and III. It is now known that a wide variety of human pathology can be caused by aberrant expression and function of these receptors. the coding sequence of the type II receptor (RII) appears to render it uniquely susceptible to DNA replication errors in the course of normal cell division. By virtue of its key role in the regulation of cell proliferation, TGF-$\beta$ RII should be considered as a tumor suppressor gene. High levels of mutation in the TGF-$\beta$ RII gene have been observed in a wide range of primarily epithelial malignancies, including colon and gastric cancer. It appears likely that mutation of the TGF-$\beta$ RII gene may be a very critical step in the pathway of carcinogenesis.

• Toxicological Research
• /
• v.16 no.1
• /
• pp.59-61
• /
• 2000

A single nucleotide polymorphism in the transforming growth factor-$\beta$ type II receptor (TGE$\beta$RII) gene of the rat was studied. TGF$\beta$RII is a tumor suppressor that is frequently inactivated by mutation in human colon cancers. A novel nucleotide polymorphism of G to A(or A to G), which causes a silent mutation at codon 129, was found in G:C rich sequence in the TGF$\beta$RII gene of Sprague-Dawley rats. The results suggest that genetic polymorphism occures without a strain of the laboratory animal.

• BMB Reports
• /
• v.46 no.2
• /
• pp.107-112
• /
• 2013

Although BMP6 is highly capable of inducing osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal progenitor cells (MPCs), the molecular mechanism involved remains to be fully elucidated. Using dominant negative (dn) mutant form of type I and type II $TGF{\beta}$ receptors, we demonstrated that three dn-type I receptors (dnALK2, dnALK3, dnALK6), and three dn-type II receptors (dnBMPRII, dnActRII, dnActRIIB), effectively diminished BMP6-induced osteogenic differentiation of MPCs. These findings suggested that ALK2, ALK3, ALK6, BMPRII, ActRII and ActRIIB are essential for BMP6-induced osteogenic differentiation of MPCs. However, MPCs in this study do not express ActRIIB. Moreover, RNA interference of ALK2, ALK3, ALK6, BMPRII and ActRII inhibited BMP6-induced osteogenic differentiation in MPCs. Our results strongly suggested that BMP6-induced osteogenic differentiation of MPCs is mediated by its functional $TGF{\beta}$ receptors including ALK2, ALK3, ALK6, BMPRII, and ActRII.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.40 no.5
• /
• pp.381-387
• /
• 2007

Objectives: This study was conducted in order to determine how the association between socioeconomic position(SEP) and health status changes with age among Seoul residents aged 25 and over. Methods: We utilized the 2001 and 2005 Seoul Citizens Health Indicators Surveys. We used self-rated 'poor' health status as an outcome variable, and family income as an indicator of SEP. In order to characterize the differential effects of socioeconomic position on health by age, we conducted separate multivariate analyses by 10-year age groups, controlling for sociodemographic covariates. In order to assess the relative health inequality across socioeconomic groups, we estimated the Relative Index of Inequality (RII). Results: The risk of 'poor health' is significantly high in low family income groups, and this increased risk is seen at all ages. However, the magnitude of relative socioeconomic inequality in health, as measured by the odds ratio and RII, is not identical across age groups. The difference in health across income groups is small in early adulthood (ages 25-34), but increases with age until relatively late in life (ages 35-64). It then decreases among the elderly population (ages more than 65). When the RII reported in 2005 is compared to that reported in 2001, RII can be seen to have increased across all ages, with the exception of individuals aged 25-34. Conclusions: The magnitude of health inequality is the greatest during mid- to late adulthood (ages 45-64). In addition, health inequalities have worsened between 2001 and 2005 across all age groups after economic crisis.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.39 no.11 s.268
• /
• pp.805-809
• /
• 2006

Background: In our previous study, we demonstrated that transforming growth factor-beta 1 receptor II(TGF-${\beta}1RII$) may have a role in the formation of bullae. In this study, we investigated if expression of transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-${\beta}1$) ligand was altered in a bullous lung tissue by immunohistochemical staining of bullous tissues from patients with primary spontaneous pneumothorax. Material and Method: Bullous lung tissues were obtained from 36 patients with primary spontaneous pneumothorax, including 34 males and 2 females aged 14 to 38 years old. Result: Of the 36 patients, 19 were TGF-${\beta}1$ positive and 24 were transforming growth factor-beta 1 receptor II(TGF-${\beta}1RII$) positive. Among the 19 TGF-${\beta}1$ positives, 15 were also TGF-${\beta}1RII$ positive, observation at high magnification showed that strong immunohistochemical stain was detected in the boundary region between the bullous and normal lung tissues. Conclusion: These results suggest that overexpression of TGF-${\beta}1$ may be involved in the formation of a bulla as well as the alteration of TGF-${\beta}1RII$ expression. Further molecular studies are needed to elucidate the more detailed molecular mechanisms of the bulla formation.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.47 no.3
• /
• pp.362-379
• /
• 2015

In this study, Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) construction schedule delay risk assessment methodology is developed and the construction delay risk is assessed for turnkey international NPP projects. Three levels of delay factors were selected through literature review and discussions with nuclear industry experts. A questionnaire survey was conducted on the basis of an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and Relative Importance Index (RII) methods and the schedule delay risk is assessed qualitatively and quantitatively by severity and frequency of occurrence of delay factors. This study assigns four main delay factors to the first level: main contractor, utility, regulatory authority, and financial and country factor. The second and the third levels are designed with 12 sub-factors and 32 sub-sub-factors, respectively. This study finds the top five most important sub-sub-factors, which are as follows: policy changes, political instability and public intervention; uncompromising regulatory criteria and licensing documents conflicting with existing regulations; robust design document review procedures; redesign due to errors in design and design changes; and worldwide shortage of qualified and experienced nuclear specific equipment manufacturers. The proposed combined AHP-RII methodology is capable of assessing delay risk effectively and efficiently. Decision makers can apply risk informed decision making to avoid unexpected construction delays of NPPs.