• Molecules and Cells
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.26-32
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• 2015

Toll-like receptors (TLR) 7 and 9 transduce a cellular signal through the MyD88-dependent pathway and induce the production of inflammatory mediators against microbial nucleotide components. The repeated stimulation of TLR4 leads to endotoxin tolerance, but the molecular mechanisms of tolerance induced through the costimulation of individual TLR has not yet been established, although endosomal TLRs share signaling pathways with TLR4. In the present study, mouse macrophages were simultaneously stimulated with the TLR7 agonist, gardiquimod (GDQ), and the TLR9 agonist, CpG ODN 1826, to examine the mechanism and effector functions of macrophage tolerance. Compared with individual stimulation, the costimulation of both TLRs reduced the secretion of TNF-${\alpha}$ and IL-6 through the delayed activation of the NF-${\kappa}B$ pathway; notably, IL-10 remained unchanged in costimulated macrophages. This tolerance reflected the early induction of suppressor of cytokine signaling-1 (SOCS-1), according to the detection of elevated TNF-${\alpha}$ secretion and restored NF-${\kappa}B$ signaling in response to the siRNA-mediated abrogation of SOCS-1 signaling. In addition, the restimulation of each TLRs using the same ligand significantly reduced the expression of both TLRs in endosomes. These findings revealed that the costimulation of TLR7 and TLR9 induced macrophage tolerance via SOCS-1, and the restimulation of each receptor or both TLR7 and TLR9 downregulated TLR expression through a negative feedback mechanisms that protects the host from excessive inflammatory responses. Moreover, the insufficient and impaired immune response in chronic viral infection might also reflect the repeated and simultaneous stimulation of those endosomal TLRs.

• Journal of KIISE:Software and Applications
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• v.36 no.9
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• pp.706-717
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• 2009

A web application is implemented by reusing the library provided by framework and has hierarchical architecture. Also, to deal with the user request from a screen, the web application has an execution flow, called 'Business Logic', which starts with a screen, executes its composed component and comes back to the screen via database. To test web application effectively, it should reflect the characteristics of web application. In this paper we propose to test web applications via user screens with the black-box testing approach and verify its source codes with the web interface white-box test coverage that covers all the business logics of the test target and their corresponding interfaces. We analyze the proposing testing method through its tool: Testopiacov.

• BMB Reports
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• v.47 no.10
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• pp.575-580
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• 2014

In this study, we investigate whether arsenite-induced DNA damage leads to p53-dependent premature senescence using human glioblastoma cells with p53-wild type (U87MG-neo) and p53 deficient (U87MG-E6). A dose dependent relationship between arsenite and reduced cell growth is demonstrated, as well as induced ${\gamma}H2AX$ foci formation in both U87MG-neo and U87MG-E6 cells at low concentrations of arsenite. Senescence was induced by arsenite with senescence-associated ${\beta}$-galactosidase staining. Dimethyl- and trimethyl-lysine 9 of histone H3 (H3DMK9 and H3TMK9) foci formation was accompanied by p21 accumulation only in U87MG-neo but not in U87MG-E6 cells. This suggests that arsenite induces premature senescence as a result of DNA damage with heterochromatin forming through a p53/p21 dependent pathway. p21 and p53 siRNA consistently decreased H3TMK9 foci formation in U87M G-neo but not in U87MG-E6 cells after arsenite treatment. Taken together, arsenite reduces cell growth independently of p53 and induces premature senescence via p53/p21-dependent pathway following DNA damage.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.501-509
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• 2016

Shikonin, which derives from Lithospermum erythrorhizon, has been traditionally used against a variety of diseases, including cancer, in Eastern Asia. Here we determined that shikonin inhibits proliferation of gastric cancer cells by inducing apoptosis. Shikonin's biological activity was validated by observing cell viability, caspase 3 activity, reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, and apoptotic marker expressions in AGS stomach cancer cells. The concentration range of shikonin was 35-250 nM with the incubation time of 6 h. Protein levels of Nrf2 and p53 were evaluated by western blotting and confirmed by real-time PCR. Our results revealed that shikonin induced the generation of ROS as well as caspase 3-dependent apoptosis. c-Jun-N-terminal kinases (JNK) activity was significantly elevated in shikonin-treated cells, thereby linking JNK to apoptosis. Furthermore, our results revealed that shikonin induced p53 expression but repressed Nrf2 expression. Moreover, our results suggested that there may be a co-regulation between p53 and Nrf2, in which transfection with siNrf2 induced the p53 expression. We demonstrated for the first time that shikonin activated cell apoptosis in AGS cells via caspase 3- and JNK-dependent pathways, as well as through the p53-Nrf2 mediated signal pathway. Our study validates in partly the contribution of shikonin as a new therapeutic approaches/agent for cancer chemotherapy.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.539-545
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• 2016

Nafamostat mesilate (NM), a synthetic serine protease inhibitor, has anticoagulant and anti-inflammatory properties. The intracellular mediator and external anti-inflammatory external signal in the vascular wall have been reported to protect endothelial cells, in part due to nitric oxide (NO) production. This study was designed to examine whether NM exhibit endothelium dependent vascular relaxation through Akt/endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) activation and generation of NO. NM enhanced Akt/eNOS phosphorylation and NO production in a dose- and time-dependent manner in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and aorta tissues obtained from rats treated with various concentrations of NM. NM concomitantly decreased arginase activity, which could increase the available arginine substrate for NO production. Moreover, we investigated whether NM increased NO bioavailability and decreased aortic relaxation response to an eNOS inhibitor in the aorta. These results suggest that NM increases NO generation via the Akt/eNOS signaling pathway, leading to endothelium-dependent vascular relaxation. Therefore, the vasorelaxing action of NM may contribute to the regulation of cardiovascular function.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.78-87
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• 2012

Purpose: Troglitazone (TRO) is a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor ${\gamma}$ ($PPAR{\gamma}$) agonist. TRO has antiproliferative activity on many kinds of cancer cells via G1 arrest. TRO also increases $Cu^{2+}/Zn^{2+}$-superoxide dismutase (CuZnSOD) and catalase. Cell cycle, and SOD and catalase may affect on radiation sensitivity. We investigated the effect of TRO on radiation sensitivity in cancer cells in vitro. Materials and Methods: Three human cervix cancer cell lines (HeLa, Me180, and SiHa) were used. The protein expressions of SOD and catalase, and catalase activities were measured at 2-10 ${\mu}M$ of TRO for 24 hours. Cell cycle was evaluated with flow cytometry. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) was measured using 2',7'-dichlorofluorescin diacetate. Cell survival by radiation was measured with clonogenic assay. Results: By 5 ${\mu}M$ TRO for 24 hours, the mRNA, protein expression and activity of catalase were increased in all three cell lines. G0-G1 phase cells were increased in HeLa and Me180 by 5 ${\mu}M$ TRO for 24 hours, but those were not increased in SiHa. By pretreatment with 5 ${\mu}M$ TRO radiation sensitivity was increased in HeLa and Me180, but it was decreased in SiHa. In Me180, with 2 ${\mu}M$ TRO which increased catalase but not increased G0-G1 cells, radiosensitization was not observed. ROS produced by radiation was decreased with TRO. Conclusion: TRO increases radiation sensitivity through G0-G1 arrest or decreases radiation sensitivity through catalase-mediated ROS scavenging according to TRO dose or cell types. The change of radiation sensitivity by combined with TRO is not dependent on the PPAR ${\gamma}$ expression level.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.12
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• pp.1968-1976
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• 2006

Recombinant E. coli ACV 1003 (recA:: lacZ) was used to measure low concentrations of DNA-damaging chemicals, which produce $\beta$-galactosidase via an SOS regulon system. Very low $\beta$-galactosidase activities of less than 0.01 unit/ml, $\beta$-galactosidase produced through an SOS response corresponding to the 10 ng/ml (ppb) of DNA damaging chemicals in the environment, can be rapidly determined by using an alternative interferometric biosensor with optically flat thin films of porous silicon rather than by the conventional time-consuming Miller's enzyme assay as well as the ELISA method. fu order to enhance the sensitivity in the interferometry, it needs to obtain more uniform distribution and higher biolinking efficiency, whereas interferometric sensing is rapid, cheap, and advantageous in high throughput by using a multiple-well-type chip. In this study, pore size adjusted to 60 nm for the target enzyme $\beta$-galactosidase to be bound on both walls of a Si pore and a calyx crown derivative was apllied as a more efficient biolinker. Furthermore, anti-$\beta$-galactosidase was previously functionalized with the biolinker for the target $\beta$-galactosidase to be specifically bound. When anti-$\beta$-galactosidase was bound to the calyx-crown derivative-linked surface, the effective optical thickness was found to be three times as high as that obtained without using anti-$\beta$-galactosidase. The resolution obtained was very similar to that afforded by the time-consuming ELISA method; however, the reproducibility was still unsatisfactory, below 1 unit $\beta$-galactosidase/ml, owing to the microscopic non-uniform distribution of the pores in the etched silicon surface.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.344-359
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• 2019

Effects of various types of zeolite on the catalytic performance of hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of bio-oil obtained from waste larch wood pyrolysis were investigated herein. Bifunctional catalysts were prepared via wet impregnation. The catalysts were characterized through XRD, BET, and SEM. Experimental results demonstrated that HDO enhanced the fuel properties of waste wood bio-oil, such as higher heating values (HHV) (20.4-28.3 MJ/kg) than bio-oil (13.7 MJ/kg). Water content (from 19.3 in bio-oil to 3.1-16.6 wt% in heavy oils), the total acid number (from 150 in bio-oil to 28-77 mg KOH/g oil in heavy oils), and viscosity (from 103 in bio-oil to $40-69mm^2/s$ in heavy oils) also improved post HDO. In our experiments, depending on the zeolite support, NiFe/HBeta exhibited a high Si/Al ratio of 38 with a high specific surface area ($545.1m^2/g$), and, based on the yield of heavy oil (18.3-18.9 wt%) and HHV (22.4-25.2 MJ/kg), its performance was not significantly affected by temperature and solvent concentration variations. In contrast, NiFe/zeolite Y, which had a low Si/Al ratio of 5.2, exhibited the highest improved quality for heavy oil at high temperature, with an HHV of 28.3 MJ/kg at $350^{\circ}C$ with 25 wt% of solvent.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.45 no.10
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• pp.749-760
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• 2022

Osteoclast generation from monocyte/macrophage lineage precursor cells needs to be tightly regulated to maintain bone homeostasis and is frequently over-activated in inflammatory conditions. PARK2, a protein associated with Parkinson's disease, plays an important role in mitophagy via its ubiquitin ligase function. In this study, we investigated whether PARK2 is involved in osteoclastogenesis. PARK2 expression was found to be increased during the receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand (RANKL)-induced osteoclast differentiation. PARK2 gene silencing with siRNA significantly reduced osteoclastogenesis induced by RANKL, LPS (lipopolysaccharide), TNFα (tumor necrosis factor α), and IL-1β (interleukin-1β). On the other hand, overexpression of PARK2 promoted osteoclastogenesis. This regulation of osteoclastogenesis by PARK2 was mediated by IKK (inhibitory κB kinase) and NF-κB activation while MAPK (mitogen-activated protein kinases) activation was not involved. Additionally, administration of PARK2 siRNA significantly reduced osteoclastogenesis and bone loss in an in vivo model of inflammatory bone erosion. Taken together, this study establishes a novel role for PARK2 as a positive regulator in osteoclast differentiation and inflammatory bone destruction.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Building Construction
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.181-191
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• 2024

In the realm of cement manufacturing, concerted efforts are underway to mitigate the emission of greenhouse gases. A significant portion, approximately 60%, of these emissions during the cement clinker sintering process is attributed to the decarbonation of limestone, which serves as a fundamental ingredient in cement production. Prompted by these environmental concerns, there is an active pursuit of alternative technologies and admixtures for cement that can substitute for limestone. Concurrently, initiatives are being explored to harness technology within the cement industry for the capture of carbon dioxide from industrial emissions, facilitating its conversion into carbonate minerals via chemical processes. Parallel to these technological advances, economic growth has precipitated a surge in construction activities, culminating in a steady escalation of construction waste, notably waste concrete. This study is anchored in the innovative production of calcium silicate cement clinkers, utilizing finely powdered waste concrete, followed by a thorough analysis of their mineral phases. Through X-ray diffraction(XRD) analysis, it was observed that increasing the substitution level of waste concrete powder and the molar ratio of SiO₂ to (CaO+SiO₂) leads to a decrease in Belite and γ-Belite, whereas minerals associated with carbonation, such as wollastonite and rankinite, exhibited an upsurge. Furthermore, the formation of gehlenite in cement clinkers, especially at higher substitution levels of waste concrete powder and the aforementioned molar ratio, is attributed to a synthetic reaction with Al₂O₃ present in the waste concrete powder. Analysis of free-CaO content revealed a decrement with increasing substitution rate of waste concrete powder and the molar ratio of SiO₂/(CaO+SiO₂). The outcomes of this study substantiate the viability of fabricating calcium silicate cement clinkers employing waste concrete powder.