• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.380-386
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• 2021

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has become a public health emergency of global concern. In China, traditional Chinese medicine has been widely administered to COVID-19 patients without sufficient evidence. To evaluate the efficacy of Shenhuang Granule (SHG) for treating critically ill patients with COVID-19, we included in this study 118 patients who were admitted to the ICU of Tongji Hospital between January 28, 2020 and March 28, 2020. Among these patients, 33 (27.9%) received standard care plus SHG (treatment group) and 85 (72.1%) received standard care alone (control group). Enrolled patients had a median (IQR) age of 68 (57-75) years, and most (79 [67.1%]) were men. At end point of this study, 83 (70.3%) had died in ICU, 29 (24.5%) had been discharged from ICU, and 6 patients (5.2%) were still in ICU. Compared with control group, mortality was significantly lower in treatment group (45.4% vs. 80%, p < .001). Patients in treatment group were less likely to develop acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) (12 [36.3%] vs. 54 [63.5%], p = 0.012) and cardiac injury (5 [15.1%] vs. 32 [37.6%], p = 0.026), and less likely to receive mechanical ventilation (22 [66.7%] vs. 72 [84.7%], p = 0.028) than those in control group. The median time from ICU admission to discharge was shorter in treatment group (32 [20-73] days vs. 76 [63-79] days, p = 0.0074). These findings suggest that SHG treatment as a complementary therapy might be effective for critically ill adults with COVID-19 and warrant further clinical trials.

• Mycobiology
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.66-78
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• 2022

The identification of oleaginous yeast species capable of simultaneously utilizing xylose and glucose as substrates to generate value-added biological products is an area of key economic interest. We have previously demonstrated that the Cutaneotrichosporon dermatis NICC30027 yeast strain is capable of simultaneously assimilating both xylose and glucose, resulting in considerable lipid accumulation. However, as no high-quality genome sequencing data or associated annotations for this strain are available at present, it remains challenging to study the metabolic mechanisms underlying this phenotype. Herein, we report a 39,305,439 bp draft genome assembly for C. dermatis NICC30027 comprised of 37 scaffolds, with 60.15% GC content. Within this genome, we identified 524 tRNAs, 142 sRNAs, 53 miRNAs, 28 snRNAs, and eight rRNA clusters. Moreover, repeat sequences totaling 1,032,129 bp in length were identified (2.63% of the genome), as were 14,238 unigenes that were 1,789.35 bp in length on average (64.82% of the genome). The NCBI non-redundant protein sequences (NR) database was employed to successfully annotate 11,795 of these unigenes, while 3,621 and 11,902 were annotated with the Swiss-Prot and TrEMBL databases, respectively. Unigenes were additionally subjected to pathway enrichment analyses using the Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), Cluster of Orthologous Groups of proteins (COG), Clusters of orthologous groups for eukaryotic complete genomes (KOG), and Non-supervised Orthologous Groups (eggNOG) databases. Together, these results provide a foundation for future studies aimed at clarifying the mechanistic basis for the ability of C. dermatis NICC30027 to simultaneously utilize glucose and xylose to synthesize lipids.

• International Journal of Stem Cells
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.123-134
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• 2023

Objective: The heart contains a pool of c-kit⁺ progenitor cells which is believed to be able to regenerate. The differentiation of these progenitor cells is reliant on different physiological cues. Unraveling the underlying signals to direct differentiation of progenitor cells will be beneficial in controlling progenitor cell fate. In this regard, the role of the mitochondria in mediating cardiac progenitor cell fate remains unclear. Specifically, the association between changes in mitochondrial morphology with the differentiation status of c-kit⁺ CPCs remains elusive. In this study, we investigated the relationship between mitochondrial morphology and the differentiation status of c-kit⁺ progenitor cells. Methods and Results: c-kit⁺ CPCs were isolated from 2-month-old male wild-type FVB mice. To activate differentiation, CPCs were incubated in α-minimal essential medium containing 10 nM dexamethasone for up to 7 days. To inhibit Drp1-mediated mitochondrial fragmentation, either 10 μM or 50 μM mdivi-1 was administered once at Day 0 and again at Day 2 of differentiation. To inhibit calcineurin, either 1 μM or 5 μM ciclosporin-A (CsA) was administered once at Day 0 and again at Day 2 of differentiation. Dexamethasone-induced differentiation of c-kit⁺ progenitor cells is aligned with fragmentation of the mitochondria via a calcineurin-Drp1 pathway. Pharmacologically inhibiting mitochondrial fragmentation retains the undifferentiated state of the c-kit⁺ progenitor cells. Conclusions: The findings from this study provide an alternative view of the role of mitochondrial fusion-fission in the differentiation of cardiac progenitor cells and the potential of pharmacologically manipulating the mitochondria to direct progenitor cell fate.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.483-494
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• 2019

From the cosmopolitan superiority of the as the first world map completed in 1402 with surprisingly detailed images and contents on the Africa Continent it is reasonable to think that the Koreans in early fifteen century were already with highly up-to-date perspectives on the universe and world history and cultures. However, some 490 year later the first phytohydrographic plankton investigation in the neritic seas of Korea was performed by a Japanese company with sampling points covering from Tokyo Bay through Jeju neritic waters to Shanghai estuary, which was in turn preceded by the first oceanographic investigation other than the simple mapping Koreans seas by using two French sailboats. The first phytohydrographic plankton investigation in Korean seas were behind the world first oceanic plankton exploration, the German Plankton Expedition, by 25 years. Starting from the oceanographic investigation including phytohydrographic samplings in the whole Yellow Sea in 1915 the full-scale phytohydrographic plankton studies were tried in Korean seas which is well represented by the 1921 oceanographic investigation on the whole East Sea with 80 sampling stations. In 1932 two separate oceanographic investigations followed, one in the East Sea where 78 stations from Busan to southern Sakhalin Island were simultaneously visited by 50 research vessels for the physical, chemical, and biological oceanographic studies, and the other one in southern coast and western East Sea of Korea where ocean current observation as well as plankton sampling were made in 120 stations to understand the relationship between the ocean current and plankton distribution in the region. In 1933-1934 more intensified investigations on phytohydrography were carried out particularly in the East Sea as an integral part of the basic marine ecosystem studies for the Myeong-Tae (Alaska Pollock) resources estimation. Scientists' attitude for the marine investigation and research activities seemed to be almost unchanging even to the year 1943, which could be reflected by the fact that publication of the results from the investigations performed in 1945 were finally done in 1967 at Tokyo. Some 70 years later from the mid-twenty century we might be standing on the turning-point of "need to be prepared" for the new era of changing paradigm by reviewing, archiving, and analyzing the prior information big data from the previous ocean observation and biohydrographic investigations. At the same time each professional societies for the above mentioned sciences might trigger a continuous project to reorganize and update the records on related bibliography and its history every 30 years.

• Culinary science and hospitality research
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.151-166
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• 2016

The purpose of this study is to understand the influence of Chinese customer coffee sought benefits on satisfaction with, and attachment and loyalty to Korean coffee shops. Based on a total of 200 samples obtained for empirical research from 10 Mar. to 25 July, 2015, of self-administrated questionaries completed by patrons in Beijing, Shanghai, Haerbin in China, data were analyzed for frequency, exploratory factor analysis, reliability analysis, correlation analysis, multiple regression and hierarchical multiple regression analysis. The results of this study are summarized as follows. First, it was found that Chinese customer sought pursuits (functional & experimental benefits, symbolic benefit) had an effect on satisfaction of Korea coffee shop. Second, satisfaction influenced Korean coffee shop attachment and loyalty. Third, Korean wave attitude had a mediating effect between satisfaction, attachment and loyalty. From the results, we can conclude following implications: First, by providing atmosphere of South Korea, menu, barista service, we can predict that Korean coffee brands can prevail in competition through active promotions of their brands. Second, Korean coffee brands can make a strategy that includes providing full service from trained South Korean baristas and hosting talk shows between baristas from South Korea. Third, providing the opportunity to visit South Korea for local cafe tours is a good social event. These results will help control marketing strategies in China. Limitations and future research directions are also discussed.

• Cartoon and Animation Studies
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• s.51
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• pp.129-158
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• 2018

China has had many excellent Chinese-style animation since the 1950s. These animations are of distinctive Chinese national characteristics. They have won many awards both at home and abroad, such as "Feelings of Mountains and Waters", "Uproar In Heaven", "Why is the Crow Black-Coated" and so on. But nowadays, Chinese animations that mimics Japanese and American animation are very often, and there are few animation works with rich traditional Chinese culture. There are some works in the name of Chinese style, but they have not been fully accepted by the audiences. If one wants to create animated works of Chinese style, the author must have an in-depth understanding of Chinese traditional and folk art. Animation can not be designed only on the surface. This paper mainly studies the traditional five color concept in China and its application in animation. The purpose is to provide some references to differentiate Chinese animation from other countries in terms of style and color. The main content of this paper is to understand the concept and history of Chinese traditional five color views, and to know that this color system has reflected the ancestors' concept of nature and society. On the basis of five monochromatic colors, red, yellow, green, white and black, it is a kind of complex color concept that has been developed and perfected continuously after a long period of accumulation and precipitation in the practice of life. It is the theoretical basis of Chinese traditional color system and a complete set of historical, cultural, philosophical and religious theories. Finally, this paper analyzes the colors and their symbolic meanings of the main roles in "Uproar In Heaven", a color long animation produced by Shanghai Animation Film Studio, including Sun Wukong, the Jade Emperor and Na Zha. Color is the first visual language. The use of color symbols to express the inner feelings, status, good and evil of the characters will affect the audience's emotions, behaviors and opinions imperceptibly. The traditional Chinese five color concept has gone through such a long history, and its symbolic meaning has a more profound impact on Chinese people. Applying the color concept and symbolic meaning of Chinese traditional five color concept will further highlight the personalities and emotions of the roles in Chinese style animations. This paper takes the five-color view as the theoretical basis, and through the analysis of cartoons with traditional Chinese color, the author finds ways to flexibly use traditional Chinese culture.

• The Korean Journal of Air & Space Law and Policy
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• no.spc
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• pp.137-163
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• 2007

The air market in Asia has already entered upon the age of limitless competition. It means a very important moment in Asia air market. Each Asian country thus has put a lot of effort into a development plan and support to their hub airport. In order to achieve such a plan, first of all we should build closer cooperation system between the two countries Japan and Korea. The Korea and Japan are very fast growing in the northeast countries within the global air transport market. Air passenger and cargo traffic volumes between Korea and Japan have increased dramatically, since the 1990s. In response to such a trend, both countries have opened new airports and expanded existing facilities in the hopes of laying claims to the main international hub airport in Asia. Apart from the trend, air transportation between Korea and Japan's metropolitan areas is the only transportation in substance, even if they are located very closely in geographical position. The air transportation between the two countries shows that it is necessary to get fast and more convenient because of the economic and cultural interchange and exchange concentrated on the metropolitan areas, and that will promote the economic growth of Korea and Japan. However, within the air transportation industry field, there have no sufficient seats/slots to supply the air demand from the capital cities of each country, as well as no counterplan for some problems regarding capacityand sustain ability of metropolitan airports. Thus, it is necessary for us to consider in all aspects and solve them to improve air transportation between Korea and Japan. This paper is to try to demonstrate this matter and from all angles, that is, in legal and political aspects, facilities and given environmental conditions and cooperation between Korea and Japan. I think that it is indeed a great necessary and convenient for many Korean and Japanese tourists to conclude a new 'Open Sky Agreement' between Japan and Korea in order to the prepare the increase of the shuttle flight between Haneda-Gimpo and opening of air route newly for shuttle flight between Haneda and Cheongju as well as opening of air route for shuttle flight between Haneda-Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport and Beijing International Airport for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Furthermore it is a great desirable thing for us to conclude a new 'Open Sky Agreement' in cooperation reciprocally among the Japan, China and Korea for opening the new air route by the shuttle flight.

• Journal of Christian Education in Korea
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• v.68
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• pp.345-374
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• 2021

This study is a paper which studies the fact that autobiographical writing in Christian educational books is an important channel for studying the identity of Christian educators. The identity of Christian educators is the background and foundation of the study of Christian education theory. It was found through research that the scholar's identity is more evident in autobiographical writing from a first-person perspective experienced by the author than in argumentative writing with objective and cognitive limitations. This study examined the concept and characteristics of autobiographical writing research, the relationship of autobiographical writing research and self-identity, the relationship between autobiographical writing and Christian education, and discovered autobiographical writing in Christian educational scholars' books. Through the autobiographical writing of Maria Harris' Teaching and Religious Imagination, Parker Palmer's The Courage to Teach, and Elizabeth Moore's Teaching as a Sacrament Act, we studied that the identity of Christian educators can meet, transform, and expand learners' identity as well. Through research, it has been confirmed that autobiographical writing takes the form of a story, but as a story distinct from the story, it becomes a place where the authors' identity and readers' identity can meet, wrestle and expand. Autobiographical writing has a relationship with story and self-identity. These characteristics are also linked to Christian educational goals that focus on the formation and transformation of self-identity. The autobiographical writing in Harris, Palmer, and Moore's writings shows the identity of a teacher, including scholars' theological perspectives and views on education. As the writing of Christian education books so far has become argumentative and objective writing, readers has felt a sense of disparity and disconnection. If autobiographical writing becomes educational books' style, it can invite readers to empathize with who the author is. Christian education will experience more fundamental changes with autobiographical writing.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.45-67
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• 2010

On July 21st in 2005, People's Bank of China (PBOC) turned the currency peg against the U.S. dollar into managed currency system based on a basket of unnamed currencies under China's exchanged rate regime. This change means that China's enterprises are not free from currency fluctuations. The purpose of this study is to analyze the relations between Renminbi fluctuations in the floating exchange rate and financial results of venture companies. The process and outcomes of this study are as follows, First, in order to measure the financial results of venture companies, I choose venture companies in Shandong Province listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) at random and several quarter financial sheets according to safety ratios, profitability ratios, growth ratios, activity ratios. Second, I arrange the daily Renminbi exchange rate data announced from July 21st, 2005 to December 31st, 2008 by PBOC into the quarterly data. Third, in order to confirm the relations between Renminbi fluctuations and financial results of venture companies, I carry out Pearson's correlation analysis. As a result, the revaluation of the Chinese Renminbi has weakly negative effects on debt ratio, total assets turnover ratio and equity turnover ratio in statistics. But the revaluation of the Chinese Renminbi is not related to other financial index in statistics. The result of this study is that the revaluation of the Chinese Renminbi has little influence on the export and import of Chinese venture companies and certifies the fact that Chinese venture companies have much foreign currency assets. In addition to avoid the currency exposure risk, this study shows the effective method about currency exposure risk which adjusts proportion of Renminbi to foreign currency.

• Cartoon and Animation Studies
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• s.20
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• pp.75-86
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• 2010

Recently, as the number of female players has increased rapidly, the electronic gaming industry has begun to look at ways to appeal to the largely untapped female market. According to the latest game market investigative report by China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), the total number of game players in China increased by 24.8% in 2009, reached 69,130,000 people, and 38.9% of them are female players. This growth in the number of female player is corroborated by a series of investigative reports from IResearch Company in Shanghai, China: from 2003 to 2009, the number of female players grew from 8% to more than 49%. Therefore, no matter how much attention the game production companies have given to male players or how they have ignored the female players before, the companies would be sensible to face up this reality and adjust their marketing policy a bit more. This article analyzes gender preferences in video games which shows that male players are more likely to be attracted to elements of aggression, violence, competition and fast action in electronic game-playing, while female players are drawn to emotional and social aspects of the games such as an understanding of character relationships. The literatures cited indicates that female players also show apparent preference for games with familiar environments, games that allow players to work together, games that have more than one way to win, and games in which characters do not die. It also discusses the characteristics of female-friendly games from the aspect of emotion, pointing out that the simulation games involving pet, dressing-up, and social simulation games are very popular with female players. Because these are the most suitable game types to fill with emotions of love, share, jealousy, superiority, mystery, these are absolutely attractive to female players. Finally, in accord with the above, I propose some principles of designing female-oriented games, including presenting a good-looking leading character, making the story interesting with "live" NPCs(Non-Playing Characters), and finding ways to satisfy female nature instincts such as taking care of others and the inborn interest of classifying and selecting.