• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.10 no.1 s.13
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• pp.1-9
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• 2001

The objective of this study is to examine the characteristics of historical papers and cloths found at Neunggasa temple, Goheunggun, Chonnam Province, Korea, using light microscopy, image analysis and SEM-EDS for fiber morphology and trace metal composition. All papers were made from paper mulberry. Transparent membrane, which was separated from bast fiber, was unique in these fibers. The papers found on the wall of Daewungjun were most highly degraded and those of the books, which were excavated under Cheungwangmun, were relatively well preserved. The cloths found under the statue 'Dong-bangjiguk' were silk, very narrow fiber without any marks. In the analysis of SEM-EDS, high content of silica was detected. Also small content of calcium was taken into consideration. Content of iron and chlorine were discussed from the viewpoint of potentially harmful elements for the conservation of paper. The composition of trace elements could not be used to determine the origins of papers.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.20 no.8
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• pp.1249-1253
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• 2010

Sericin is a type of high molecular weight water-soluble glycoprotein surrounding fibroin (silk protein) that has been used as a cell culture supplement and accelerates cell proliferation in various serum-free media. The purpose of this study was to investigate the enhancing effect of thyroglobulin (Tg) secretion by sericin in thyrocytes, FRTL-5 cells. While Tg-mRNA expression was not enhanced, a secreted form of Tg was obviously increased by sericin. In this status, expression of both endoplasmic reticulum (ER) molecular chaperones (Bip & calreticulin) and ER membrane proteins (IRE1, PERK & ATF6) was enhanced. The proximal step of IRE1, XBP1 mRNA splicing was slightly detected however, the proximal step of PERK, phosphorylation of $eIF2{\alpha}$, was changeless. In addition, sericin enhanced cell viability by the MTT assay. The above results showing the ability of sericin to promote protein production demonstrated its potential usefulness as a new biomaterial.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.721-726
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• 2016

It has already been reported that short neuropeptide F (sNPF) stimulates feeding behaviors in a wide variety of insect species. In the present study, we cloned cDNA, encoding a sNPF receptor homologue from a silkworm, Bombyx mori, named BsNPF-R. The amino acid sequence of BsNPF-R was compared with those of sNPF-R thus far reported, which is shared with humans (36%), mice (34%), zebrafish (35%), and fruit flies (51%), respectively. A BsNPF-R protein’s mass was theoretically estimated to be 42,731 Da and it is a putative plasma membrane-penetrating protein. The mRNA expression of BsNPF-R was tested; the results showed that a strong expression was detected at the midgut, post-silk gland, Malpighian, and testis; however, a weak expression was at the fat body, hemocyte, and ovary. In addition, the synthesized sNPF of a silkworm regulated the BsNPF-R mRNA expression through the cell-based functional analysis.