• Title/Summary/Keyword: Self development

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The Relationship between Perceived Stress and the Ways of Coping in the Elderly (노인의 지각된 스트레스와 대처방법과의 관계)

  • Hong, Min-Ju;Lee, Myung-Hwa
    • The Korean Journal of Rehabilitation Nursing
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    • v.6 no.1
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    • pp.26-39
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    • 2003
  • The elderly can experience a lot of stressful events and the stress acts as a various fluent that affects a well-being level, the self-contentment of lives, and the achievements by themselves. Also, the elderly are different from the young in many unexpressed stress and have diverse copings for perceived stress. Moreover, they mainly seem to use a problem-focused coping and an emotion-focused coping. To use whatever copings is to improve the quality of life in the old period and very important fact to achieve their ends. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between Perceived Stress and the Ways of Coping in the Elderly and to gain the baseline data for development of nursing intervention program for improve to the quality of life in the elderly. The design of this study was a correlational study. The subjects of this study consisted of 230 of the elderly living in Pusan. The data was collected from 1st July. to 1st September, 2002. The instruments used for this study were 'Perceived Stress Scale(20items, 5point. scale)' developed by Kang In(1990) and translated by Lee young-ja(1999), and its reliability is Cronbach's ${\alpha}=.89$. 'Coping Scale(30items, 4point. scale, 14 items about a problem-focused coping, 16 items about an emotion-focused coping, 4 points scale) developed by Lazarus & Folkman(1984) and translated by Yang Young-hee(1998). The reliability of this study is Cronbach's ${\alpha}=.90$. The data was analyzed by the SPSS WIN 10.0 program using frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, t-test, ANOVA & Scheffe test and Pearson's correlation coefficient. The results of this study were as follows; 1. The mean score of perceived stress was $31.75{\pm}10.23$(Min 20, Max 100), which the item mean score was $1.59{\pm}.51$(Min 1, Max 5). 2. The number of subjects in a problem-focused coping was 72(31.3%), the number of subjects in an emotion-focused coping was 158(68.7%) 3. There were statistically significant positive correlation between perceived stress and problem-focused coping method and the more emotion-focoused coping method.(r=.180, r= .209, P< .05). It means the more stress, the more problem-focused coping method and the more emotion-focused coping method. 4. There was significant difference the score of perceived stress according to sex (F=-5.057, P=.000)marital status, (F=-2.909, P=.004), economic level, (F=10.243, P=.000), paticipated meeting, (F=9.346, P=.000), perceived health status(F=5.117, P=.007). 5. There was significant difference the score of problem-focused coping method according to age(F=14.200, P=.000), marital status (F=2.432, P=.0160), economic level (F=14.410, P=.000), monthly income, (F=8.300. P=.000), income resource (F=10.235, P=.000), educational level (F=15.222, P=.000), occupation (F=1.544, P=.041), paticipated meeting (F=4.936, P=.008), perceived health status(F=5.655, P=.004). And there was significant difference the score of emotion-focused coping method according to monthly income(F=4.781, P=.009), income resource(F=2.930, P=.035), educational level(F=6.101, P=.003), religionF=2.698, P=.032), paticipated meetings(F=7.285, P=.001). As a result of the study, the elderly had a bit less stress and the two-thirds of the elderly used the emotion-focused coping. Thus, the more perceived stress, the more problem-focused coping method and the more emotion-focused coping method. Accordingly, to improve the quality of life of the elderly, there needs and applies a nursing intervention program that relieves the stress and use effective coping method.

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Development of Transgenic Crops and Research Projects for Biotechnology Application (유전자 전환작물 개발 연구 현황과 과제)

  • 정태영
    • Korean Journal of Plant Tissue Culture
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    • v.28 no.5
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    • pp.289-296
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    • 2001
  • The main objective of this topic is to establish strategies and to plan biotechnology researches which are related to the agricultural improvements especially focusing on the crop breeding in Korea. From 1960's to 1980's government policy had been emphasized to develope high yielding cultivars for the self sufficient supply of the staple food crops. As a result, considerable increase of rice production has been made with accumulating technology and man's powers. Recently genetically modified crops harboring useful characteristics have been developed using biotechnology and released in the developed countries. National research institutes and private companies have been developed biotechnology researches to establish competitive capabilities, however they have not been successfully used in commercialization. Therefore it is necessary to promote the practical. application by connecting molecular technology with conventional breeding. Proposed research projects are; (1) basic researches including plant genome studies, (2) developing new cultivars through gene transformation, (3) screening and producing antioxidants, secondary metabolite substances and edible vaccines. To set a government policy, both domestic and international research trends were reviewed and possibility of success based on the economic view point were discussed. The intellectual property and preservation of environment play a key role to decide the research priority. It is also necessary for us to make one step system for the distribution of research resources such as microorganisms, genes cloned, plant seeds and research informations for promoting research activities.

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An Analysis of the Roles of Experience in Information System Continuance (정보시스템의 지속적 사용에서 경험의 역할에 대한 분석)

  • Lee, Woong-Kyu
    • Asia pacific journal of information systems
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    • v.21 no.4
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    • pp.45-62
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    • 2011
  • The notion of information systems (IS) continuance has recently emerged as one of the most important research issues in the field of IS. A great deal of research has been conducted thus far on the basis of theories adapted from various disciplines including consumer behaviors and social psychology, in addition to theories regarding information technology (IT) acceptance. This previous body of knowledge provides a robust research framework that can already account for the determination of IS continuance; however, this research points to other, thus-far-unelucidated determinant factors such as habit, which were not included in traditional IT acceptance frameworks, and also re-emphasizes the importance of emotion-related constructs such as satisfaction in addition to conscious intention with rational beliefs such as usefulness. Experiences should also be considered one of the most important factors determining the characteristics of information system (IS) continuance and the features distinct from those determining IS acceptance, because more experienced users may have more opportunities for IS use, which would allow them more frequent use than would be available to less experienced or non-experienced users. Interestingly, experience has dual features that may contradictorily influence IS use. On one hand, attitudes predicated on direct experience have been shown to predict behavior better than attitudes from indirect experience or without experience; as more information is available, direct experience may render IS use a more salient behavior, and may also make IS use more accessible via memory. Therefore, experience may serve to intensify the relationship between IS use and conscious intention with evaluations, On the other hand, experience may culminate in the formation of habits: greater experience may also imply more frequent performance of the behavior, which may lead to the formation of habits, Hence, like experience, users' activation of an IS may be more dependent on habit-that is, unconscious automatic use without deliberation regarding the IS-and less dependent on conscious intentions, Furthermore, experiences can provide basic information necessary for satisfaction with the use of a specific IS, thus spurring the formation of both conscious intentions and unconscious habits, Whereas IT adoption Is a one-time decision, IS continuance may be a series of users' decisions and evaluations based on satisfaction with IS use. Moreover. habits also cannot be formed without satisfaction, even when a behavior is carried out repeatedly. Thus, experiences also play a critical role in satisfaction, as satisfaction is the consequence of direct experiences of actual behaviors. In particular, emotional experiences such as enjoyment can become as influential on IS use as are utilitarian experiences such as usefulness; this is especially true in light of the modern increase in membership-based hedonic systems - including online games, web-based social network services (SNS), blogs, and portals-all of which attempt to provide users with self-fulfilling value. Therefore, in order to understand more clearly the role of experiences in IS continuance, analysis must be conducted under a research framework that includes intentions, habits, and satisfaction, as experience may not only have duration-based moderating effects on the relationship between both intention and habit and the activation of IS use, but may also have content-based positive effects on satisfaction. This is consistent with the basic assumptions regarding the determining factors in IS continuance as suggested by Oritz de Guinea and Markus: consciousness, emotion, and habit. The principal objective of this study was to explore and assess the effects of experiences in IS continuance, with special consideration given to conscious intentions and unconscious habits, as well as satisfaction. IN service of this goal, along with a review of the relevant literature regarding the effects of experiences and habit on continuous IS use, this study suggested a research model that represents the roles of experience: its moderating role in the relationships of IS continuance with both conscious intention and unconscious habit, and its antecedent role in the development of satisfaction. For the validation of this research model. Korean university student users of 'Cyworld', one of the most influential social network services in South Korea, were surveyed, and the data were analyzed via partial least square (PLS) analysis to assess the implications of this study. In result most hypotheses in our research model were statistically supported with the exception of one. Although one hypothesis was not supported, the study's findings provide us with some important implications. First the role of experience in IS continuance differs from its role in IS acceptance. Second, the use of IS was explained by the dynamic balance between habit and intention. Third, the importance of satisfaction was confirmed from the perspective of IS continuance with experience.

Development of RAPD-SCAR Molecular Marker Related to Seed-hair Characteristic in Carrot (당근(Daucus carota var. sativa) 종자모 형질 관련 RAPD-SCAR 분자표지 개발)

  • Shim, Eun-Jo;Park, Sung-Kwan;Oh, Gyu-Dong;Jun, Sang-Jin;Park, Young-Doo
    • Horticultural Science & Technology
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    • v.31 no.6
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    • pp.756-763
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    • 2013
  • Mechanical hair removal of carrot seed causes seed injuries and suppresses the germination in carrot cultivation. This study was performed to develop molecular markers for breeding high quality cultivars with short-hair seed. To meet this objective, random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD)-sequence characterized amplified region (SCAR) markers specifically linked to seed-hair characteristic were identified using CT-SMR 616 OP 389-1 line with short-haired seed and CT-SMR 616 OP 616-33 line with long-haired seed, bred by self-pollination for 6 years from 2008 to 2013, as parents. After seed hair lengths of these lines were analyzed using microscope, next generations were advanced and compared with the molecular markers polymorphism. From RAPD analysis using fixed lines in 2011, twelve RAPD primers showing polymorphic bands specific between the two lines were identified from 80 random primers. To develop RAPD-SACR marker, SCAR primers were designed based on sequence analysis of these specific RAPD bands and more than three combinations of primers were tested. As a result, it was found that the $SCA2_{1.2}$ amplified single polymorphic band from short-haired seed line. To confirm this result, $SCA2_{1.2}$ marker was retested by applying to the 2012 and 2013 progenies. Finally, it was concluded that the developed $SCA2_{1.2}$ marker distinguished short-haired line from long-haired seed line. Therefore, SCAR marker, $SCA2_{1.2}$ is expected to be utilized for breeding of the short-haired seed cultivars.

A Study for Quality of Life in Musically Talented Students Using Experience Sampling Method (경험표집법(ESM)을 통해 본 음악영재의 삶의 질)

  • Lee, Hyun-Joo;Choe, In-Soo
    • Journal of Gifted/Talented Education
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    • v.21 no.1
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    • pp.57-81
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    • 2011
  • The purpose of this study was to explore the quality of life of musically talented students as measured by their external experiences (e.g., activities, companions) and internal experiences (e.g., flow, emotion). The participants in this study were 33 musically talented students (10 males, 23 females) aged 13 to 19. Study data were collected for 7 consecutive days using the Experience Sampling Method (ESM), which employs a cellular-phone as a signaling device. The results were as follows: First, in response to the 1625 random signals, musically talented students reported that 40.9% of their time was spent on productive activities. An additional 33.4% of time was used for maintenance activities and the rest of their time was spent on leisure/social activities. Also, musically talented students reported that 48.5% of their time was spent alone. When they were alone, they spent a lot of time engaging in productive activities (44.3%). Second, in order to measure the flow of their life, two methods were used. One used a 4-channel flow model (i.e. apathy, boredom, flow, anxiety) and the other used 8 dimensions and conditions of the flow experience (i.e. concentration, self-consciousness disappears, action and awareness merge, distorted sense of time, freedom from worry about failure, clear goals, immediate feedback, balance between challenges and skills). According to the former, when engaged in music-related activities, musically talented students usually reported flow (54.0%), while they felt apathy (41.3%) for daily routines activities. According to the latter method, musically talented students experienced flow for most productive activities, while they experienced flow least for maintenance activities. Emotional variables of ESF are comprised of 10 semantic scales (i.e. happy-sad, strong-weak, active-passive, sociablelonely, proud-ashamed, involved-detached, excited-bored, clear-confused, relaxed-worried, cooperative-competitive). Musically talented students reported experiencing the most positive emotion for social activities and experiencing the most negative emotion for maintenance activities. Results of this study assert that musically talented students had to trade off immediate enjoyment for developing their special gifts. They could not afford as much time for socializing with friends, and they had to spend more time alone compared to their peers without such gifts. Consequently, they were found to deprive themselves of the spontaneous good times that teenagers usually thrive on. They were helped in this respect by their autotelic personality traits, especially their strong need for achievement and endurance. The downside, however, is that the moment-to-moment quality of their moods suffered. The argument concerning musically talented students applies for all adolescents. The choices that talented students must make between immediate gratification and long-term development, and between solitude and companionship, are the same choices every young person must make, regardless of her or his level of talent. All of us have gifts that are potentially useful and worthy of being appreciated. But to develop these latent talents we must cultivate them, and this takes time and the investment of mental energy. The lifestyle that musically talented students develop can show us some of the choices all of us must make in order to cultivate our gifts.

A Moral Education Development of Security Martial Arts (경호무도 수련의 도덕교육 발전방안)

  • Oh, Se-Kwang;Park, Jun-Seok
    • Korean Security Journal
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    • no.23
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    • pp.65-86
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    • 2010
  • The conclusion for this paper is as following as to plan for advancing security. First, Depending on situation, security martial arts technique is necessary in security work, but the case that the client need to be covered by security guards to avoid the danger often happens. If there is no self-sacrifice and loyalty to the clients, the meaningful security work is not completed in this situation. Therefore, the basic views on education of security leaders need to be defensive than aggressive, and be spirit-equipped than technical feature. Second, more time has to be taken training mentality along with focusing on technical education of security martial arts. To escape from danger spreaded around, security guards must be strong mentally and physically, then they are able to finish the situation. If someone is chosen as a security guard, one's physical strength is already approved. This means that the rest part for the perfect accomplishment is strict discipline on mental one's mind, and basically physical training has to be continued. In conclusion, The elements that the instructor has to acquire are not only extensive theoretical knowledge of the security martial arts and real experiences through techniques but also personality cultivation which maximize the morality training. Accordingly, this could bring the client personally change in perception of the security guard, furthermore greatly expand the academic and professional security work of security department.

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Interstitial Vaginal Needle Implantation in Gynecological Tumors : Design and Construction of Applicator (부인과암에서 조직내 삽입 방사선치료 - Applicator의 고안 및 제작-)

  • Kang, Seung-Hee;Chun, Mi-Son;Kang, Hae-Jin;Jung, Chil;Son, Jeong-Hyae
    • Radiation Oncology Journal
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    • v.16 no.2
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    • pp.167-175
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    • 1998
  • Purpose : It is not a simple task to achieve the ideal isodose curve with a standard vaginal applicator or sing1e plane needle impant in the paravaginal tissue when primary or recurrent gynecological neoplasms(cervical cancers, vaginal cancers and vulvar cancers) are treated as a boost following external beam radiotherapy. The authors introduce the development and construction of a simple, inexpensive, customized applicator for volume implant to maximize the radiation dose to the tumor while minimizing the dose to the rectum and the bladder. Materials and Methods : Nine patients underwent Ir-192 transperineal interstitial implantation for either recurrent(5 cases) or primary(3 cases) cervical cancers or primary vaginal cancer(1 case) between August 1994 and February 1998 at Ajou university hospital. First 3 cases were performed with a sing1e plane implant guided by digital palpation. Because of inadequate isodose coverage in the tumor volume in first 3 cases, we designed and constructed interstitial vaginal applicator for volume implant to improve tumor dose distribution and homogeneity while sparing the surrounding normal tissue. Our applicators consist of vaginal obturator and perineal template that made of the clear acrylamide and dental mold material$(Provil^{(R)})$. The applicators were customized individually according to the tumor size and its location Both HDR and LDR irradiation were given with these applicators accomodating 6 Fr needles(Microselectron Nucletron). The pretreatment planning prior to actual implant was performed whenever possible. Results : Needles can be inserted easily and evenly into the tumor volume through the holes of templates, requiring less efforts and time for the implant procedure. Our applicators made of materials available from commercial vendors. These have an advantage that require easy procedure, and spend relatively short time to construct. Also it was possible to fabricate applicators to individualize according to the tumor size and its location and to achieve the ideal isodose coverage. We found an accurate needle arrangement and ideal dose distribution through the CT scan that was obtained in 3 cases after needle implant. Three patients with primary cervical and vaginal cancers were controlled locally at final follow up. But all recurrent cases failed to do so. Conclusion : The authors introduce inexpensive, simple interstitial vaginal templates which were self-designed and constructed using materials available from commercial vendors such as acrylanide and dental mold material $(Provil^{(R)})$.

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A Review on Constitutional Discordance Adjudication of the Constitutional Court to Total Ban on Abortion ('낙태죄' 헌법재판소 헌법불합치 결정의 취지와 법률개정 방향 - 헌법재판소 2019. 4. 11. 선고 2017헌바127 전원재판부 결정에 따라 -)

  • Lee, Seok-Bae
    • The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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    • v.20 no.2
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    • pp.3-39
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    • 2019
  • Even after the Constitutional Court decided on August 23, 2012 that the provisions of abortion were constitutional, discussions on the abolition of abortion continued. The controversy about abortion is not only happening recently, but it has already existed since the time when the Penal Code was enacted, and it shares the history of modern legislation with the Republic of Korea. Legislators whom submitted amendment while insisting upon the eradication of abortion in the process of enacting criminal law at that time, presented social and economic adaptation reasons as the core reason. From then on, the abolition of abortion has been discussed during the development dictatorship, but this was not intended to guarantee women's human rights, but it was closely connected to the national policy projects of "Contraception" and "Family Planning" of the Park's dictatorship. Since then, the enactment of the Mother and Child Health Law, which restrictively allow artificial abortion, was held on February 8, 1973, in an emergency cabinet meeting that replaced the legislative power after the National Assembly was disbanded. It became effected May 10th. The reason behind the Mother and Child Health Law that included legalization of abortion in part was that the Revitalizing Reform at that time did not allow any opinion, so it seem to be it was difficult for the religious to express opposition. The "Maternal and Child Health Law" enacted in this way has been maintained through several amendments. It can be seen that the question of maintenance of abortion has been running on parallel lines without any significant difference from the time when the Penal Code was enacted. On August 23, 2012, the Constitutional Court decided that the Constitutional Opinion and the unonstitutional Opinion were 4: 4. However, it was decided by the Constitution without satisfying the quorum for unconstitutional decision of the Constitutional Court. This argument about abolition of abortion is settled for the the time being with the decision of the constitutional inconsistency of the Constitutional Court, and now, the National Assembly bears the issue of new legislation. In other words, the improved legislation must be executed until December 31, 2020, and if the previous improved legislation is not implemented, the crime of abortion (Article 269, Paragraph 1, Article 270 of the Criminal Code) Article 1 (1) will cease to be effective from 1 January 2021. Therefore, in the following, we will look into the reason of the Constitutional Court's constitutional discordance adjudication on criminal abortion(II), and how it structurally differs from the previous Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court. After considering key issues arised from the constitutional discordance adjudication(III), the legislative direction and within the scope of legislative discretion in accordance with the criteria presented by the Constitutional Court We reviewed the proposed revisions to the Penal Code and the Mather and Child Health Act of Korea(IV).

Role of Citrate Synthase in Acetate Utilization and Protection from Stress-Induced Apoptosis

  • Lee, Yong-Joo;Kang, Hong-Yong;Maeng, Pil Jae
    • Proceedings of the Microbiological Society of Korea Conference
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    • 2008.05a
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    • pp.39-41
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    • 2008
  • The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been shown to contain three isoforms of citrate synthase (CS). The mitochondrial CS, Cit1, catalyzes the first reaction of the TCA cycle, i.e., condensation of acetyl-CoA and oxaloacetate to form citrate [1]. The peroxisomal CS, Cit2, participates in the glyoxylate cycle [2]. The third CS is a minor mitochondrial isofunctional enzyme, Cit3, and related to glycerol metabolism. However, the level of its intracellular activity is low and insufficient for metabolic needs of cells [3]. It has been reported that ${\Delta}cit1$ strain is not able to grow with acetate as a sole carbon source on either rich or minimal medium and that it shows a lag in attaining parental growth rates on nonfermentable carbon sources [2, 4, 5]. Cells of ${\Delta}cit2$, on the other hand, have similar growth phenotype as wild-type on various carbon sources. Thus, the biochemical basis of carbon metabolism in the yeast cells with deletion of CIT1 or CIT2 gene has not been clearly addressed yet. In the present study, we focused our efforts on understanding the function of Cit2 in utilizing $C_2$ carbon sources and then found that ${\Delta}cit1$ cells can grow on minimal medium containing $C_2$ carbon sources, such as acetate. We also analyzed that the characteristics of mutant strains defective in each of the genes encoding the enzymes involved in TCA and glyoxylate cycles and membrane carriers for metabolite transport. Our results suggest that citrate produced by peroxisomal CS can be utilized via glyoxylate cycle, and moreover that the glyoxylate cycle by itself functions as a fully competent metabolic pathway for acetate utilization in S. cerevisiae. We also studied the relationship between Cit1 and apoptosis in S. cerevisiae [6]. In multicellular organisms, apoptosis is a highly regulated process of cell death that allows a cell to self-degrade in order for the body to eliminate potentially threatening or undesired cells, and thus is a crucial event for common defense mechanisms and in development [7]. The process of cellular suicide is also present in unicellular organisms such as yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae [8]. When unicellular organisms are exposed to harsh conditions, apoptosis may serve as a defense mechanism for the preservation of cell populations through the sacrifice of some members of a population to promote the survival of others [9]. Apoptosis in S. cerevisiae shows some typical features of mammalian apoptosis such as flipping of phosphatidylserine, membrane blebbing, chromatin condensation and margination, and DNA cleavage [10]. Yeast cells with ${\Delta}cit1$ deletion showed a temperature-sensitive growth phenotype, and displayed a rapid loss in viability associated with typical apoptotic hallmarks, i.e., ROS accumulation, nuclear fragmentation, DNA breakage, and phosphatidylserine translocation, when exposed to heat stress. Upon long-term cultivation, ${\Delta}cit1$ cells showed increased potentials for both aging-induced apoptosis and adaptive regrowth. Activation of the metacaspase Yca1 was detected during heat- or aging-induced apoptosis in ${\Delta}cit1$ cells, and accordingly, deletion of YCA1 suppressed the apoptotic phenotype caused by ${\Delta}cit1$ mutation. Cells with ${\Delta}cit1$ deletion showed higher tendency toward glutathione (GSH) depletion and subsequent ROS accumulation than the wild-type, which was rescued by exogenous GSH, glutamate, or glutathione disulfide (GSSG). Beside Cit1, other enzymes of TCA cycle and glutamate dehydrogenases (GDHs) were found to be involved in stress-induced apoptosis. Deletion of the genes encoding the TCA cycle enzymes and one of the three GDHs, Gdh3, caused increased sensitivity to heat stress. These results lead us to conclude that GSH deficiency in ${\Delta}cit1$ cells is caused by an insufficient supply of glutamate necessary for biosynthesis of GSH rather than the depletion of reducing power required for reduction of GSSG to GSH.

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Agricultural Geography of Rice Culture in California (미국 캘리포니아주(州)의 벼농사에 관한 농업지리학적 연구)

  • Lee, Jeon;Huh, Moo-Yul
    • Journal of the Korean association of regional geographers
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    • v.2 no.1
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    • pp.51-67
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    • 1996
  • There are three main rice-growing regions in the United States: the prairie region along the Mississippi River Valley in eastern Arkansas; the Gulf Coast prairie region in southwestern Louisiana and southeastern Texas; and the Central Valley of California. The Central Valley of California is producing about 23% of the US rice(Fig. 1). In California. most of the crop has been produced in the Colusa, Sutter, Butte, Glenn Counties of the Sacramento Valley since 1912, when rice was commercially grown for the first time in the state(Fig. 2). Roughly speaking, the average annual area sown to rice in California is about 300,000 acres to 400,000 acres during the last forty years(Fig. 3). California rice is grown under a Mediterranean climate characterized by warm, dry, clear days, and a long growing season favorable to high photosynthetic rates and high rice yields. The average rice yield per acre is probably higher in California than in any other rice-growing regions of the world(Fig. 4). A dependable supply of irrigation water must be available for a successful rice culture. Most of the irrigation water for California rice comes from the winter rain and snow-fed reservoir of the Sierra Nevada mountain ranges. Less than 10 percent of rice irrigation water is pumped from wells in areas where surface water is not sufficient. It is also essential to have good surface drainage if maximum yields are to be produced. Rice production in California is highly mechanized, requiring only about four hours of labor per acre. Mechanization of rice culture in California includes laser-leveler technology, large tractors, self-propelled combines for harvesting, and aircraft for seeding, pest control, and some fertilization. The principal varieties grown in California are medium-grain japonica types with origins from the cooler rice climates of the northern latitudes (Table 1). Long-grain varieties grown in the American South are not well adapted to California's cooler environment. Nearly all the rice grown recently in California are improved into semidwarf varieties. Choice of variety depends on environment, planting date, quality desired, marketing, and harvesting scheduling. The Rice Experiment Station at Biggs is owned, financed, and administered by the rice industry. The station was established in 1912, as a direct result of the foresight and effort of Charles Edward Chambliss of the United States Department of Agriculture. Now, The station's major effort is the development of improved rice varieties for California.

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