• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.13 no.5
• /
• pp.1793-1797
• /
• 2012

Objective: To analyze the capacity of neurotrophic artemin to promote the motility and invasiveness of MIA PaCa-2 pancreatic cancer cells. Methods: MIA PaCa-2 was cultured in vitro and studied using transwell chambers for motility and invasiveness on treatment with different concentrations of aArtemin or its receptor $GFR{\alpha}3$ were also determined. Expression of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and epithelial cadherin (E-cadherin) was quantified using RT-PCR and Western blotting. Results: MIA PaCa-2 pancreatic cancer cell motility and invasiveness was significantly increased with artemin and its receptor $GFR{\alpha}3$ with dose dependence (P<0.01). MMP-2 production was also significantly increased (t = 6.35, t = 7.32), while E-cadherin was significantly lowered (t = 4.27, t = 5.61) (P <0.01). Conclusion: Artemin and its receptor $GFR{\alpha}3$ can promote pancreatic cancer cell motility and invasiveness and contribute to aggressive behavior. The mechanism may be related to increased expression of MMP-2 molecule and down-regulation of E-cadherin expression.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.14 no.9
• /
• pp.5017-5021
• /
• 2013

Objective: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a small class of non-coding, single-stranded RNAs with a critical role in genesis and maintenance of renal cancer mainly through binding to 3'-untranslated regions (3'UTR) of target mRNAs, which causes a block of translation and/or mRNA degradation. The aim of the present study was to investigate the potential effects of miR-122 in human renal cell carcinomas. Methods: The expression level of miR-122 was quantified by qRT-PCR. MTT, colony formation, invasion and migration assays were used to explore the potential functions of miR-122 in human renal cell carcinoma cells. Results: Cellular growth, invasion and migration in two A498 and 786-O cells were significantly increased after miR-122 transfection. Further experiments demonstrated that overexpression of miR-122 resulted in the increase of phospho-Akt (Ser473) and phospho-mTOR (Ser2448), then activation of mTOR targets, p70S6K and 4E-BP1. Conclusions: The up-regulation of miR-122 may play an important role in the progress of renal cancer through activating PI3K/Akt signal pathway and could be a potential molecular target for anti-cancer therapeutics.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
• /
• v.47 no.4
• /
• pp.337-344
• /
• 2009

In a previous study, we reported our discovery of Acanthamoeba contamination in domestic tap water; in that study, we determined that some Acanthamoeba strains harbor endosymbiotic bacteria, via our molecular characterization by mitochondrial DNA restriction fragment length polymorphism (Mt DNA RFLP). Five (29.4%) among 17 Acanthamoeba isolates contained endosymbionts in their cytoplasm, as demonstrated via orcein staining. In order to estimate their pathogenicity, we conducted a genetic characterization of the endosymbionts in Acanthamoeba isolated from domestic tap water via 16S rDNA sequencing. The endosymbionts of Acanthamoeba sp. KA/WP3 and KA/WP4 evidenced the highest level of similarity, at 97% of the recently published 16S rDNA sequence of the bacterium, Candidatus Amoebophilus asiaticus. The endosymbionts of Acanthamoeba sp. KA/WP8 and KA/WP12 shared a 97% sequence similarity with each other, and were also highly similar to Candidatus Odyssella thessalonicensis, a member of the $\alpha$-proteobacteria. The endosymbiont of Acanthamoeba sp. KA/WP9 exhibits a high degree of similarity (85-95%) with genus Methylophilus, which is not yet known to harbor any endosymbionts. This is the first report, to the best of our knowledge, to show that Methylophilus spp. can live in the cytoplasm of Acanthamoeba.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
• /
• v.22 no.2
• /
• pp.340-345
• /
• 2008

Extract of Acanthopanax senticosus has recently been demonstrated to possess significant antidiabetic potential, in accordance with the traditional use of this plant as an antidiabetic natural health product. The present study evaluated the effects of fermented extract (FE) of this plant on glucose-stimulated insulin secretion, glucose uptake, and streptozotocin-induced type 1 diabetes model. A 3 h pretreatment with FE prevented $IL-1{\beta}$ and $IFN-{\gamma}$ toxicity in isolated rat islets. However, it did not affect insulin-stimulated glucose uptake in C2C12 myotubes. In addition, pretreatment of mice with FE blocked the destruction of streptozotocin-induced islets and the development of type 1 diabetes. FE reduced blood glucose level, increased insulin secretion, and improved glucose tolerance in streptozotocin-treated mice, whereas nonfermented extract (NFE) had moderate effects. Immunohistochemical staining for insulin clearly showed that pretreatment with FE blocked the STZ-induced islets destruction and restored the number of islet cells that secreted insulin to the level of the control. Although the active principles and their mechanisms of action remain to be identified, FE may nevertheless represent a novel complementary therapy and a source of novel therapeutic agents against type 1 diabetes mellitus.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.26 no.11
• /
• pp.1871-1880
• /
• 2016

Bio-oxidation is an effective technology for treatment of refractory gold concentrates. However, the unsatisfactory oxidation rate and long residence time, which cause a lower cyanide leaching rate and gold recovery, are key factors that restrict the application of traditional bio-oxidation technology. In this study, the oxidation rate of refractory gold concentrates and the adaption of microorganisms were analyzed to evaluate a newly developed two-step pretreatment process, which includes a high temperature chemical oxidation step and a subsequent bio-oxidation step. The oxidation rate and recovery rate of gold were improved significantly after the two-step process. The results showed that the highest oxidation rate of sulfide sulfur could reach to 99.01 % with an extreme thermophile microbial community when the pulp density was 5%. Accordingly, the recovery rate of gold was elevated to 92.51%. Meanwhile, the results revealed that moderate thermophiles performed better than acidophilic mesophiles and extreme thermophiles, whose oxidation rates declined drastically when the pulp density was increased to 10% and 15%. The oxidation rates of sulfide sulfur with moderate thermophiles were 93.94% and 65.73% when the pulp density was increased to 10% and 15%, respectively. All these results indicated that the two-step pretreatment increased the oxidation rate of refractory gold concentrates and is a potential technology to pretreat the refractory sample. Meanwhile, owing to the sensitivity of the microbial community under different pulp density levels, the optimization of microbial community in bio-oxidation is necessary in industry.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
• /
• v.16 no.10
• /
• pp.465-477
• /
• 2018

The purpose of this study is how it affect them what the effect of skin recognition on the purchasing behavior and propensity to buy facial cleanser in 311 women in their 20s and 50s. This study analyzed by importance, interest, and satisfaction of skin recognition, and type of impulse buying, type of depending on brand, type of planning buying. The group with high interest in skin recognition had a long time to clean. As they got a purchasing information the group with low knowledge had the information from nearby, and the group with high knowledge got information from internet. At the view of purchasing propensity the women who are highly interested in the skin have a tendency of type of impulse buying and type of planning buying, and the women with high skin importance are less inclined to type of impulse buying. In conclusion, Skin recognition uses purchasing behavior and propensity to buy facial cleanser.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.29 no.2
• /
• pp.135-154
• /
• 2008

The moving vehicle loads on a bridge deck is one of the most important live loads of bridges. They should be understood, monitored and controlled before the bridge design as well as when the bridge is open for traffic. A MOM-based algorithm (MOMA) is proposed for identifying the timevarying moving vehicle loads from the responses of bridge deck in this paper. It aims at an acceptable solution to the ill-conditioning problem that often exists in the inverse problem of moving force identification. The moving vehicle loads are described as a combination of whole basis functions, such as orthogonal Legendre polynomials or Fourier series, and further estimated by solving the new system equations developed with the basis functions. A number of responses have been combined, some numerical simulations on single axle, two axle and multiple-axle loads, being either constant or timevarying, have been carried out and compared with the existing time domain method (TDM) in this paper. The illustrated results show that the MOMA has higher identification accuracy and robust noise immunity as well as producing an acceptable solution to ill-conditioning cases to some extent when it is used to identify the moving force from bridge responses.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.29 no.2
• /
• pp.155-169
• /
• 2008

A MOM-based algorithm (MOMA) has been developed for moving force identification from dynamic responses of bridge in the companion paper. This paper further evaluates and investigates the properties of the developed MOMA by experiment in laboratory. A simply supported bridge model and a few vehicle models were designed and constructed in laboratory. A series of experiments have then been conducted for moving force identification. The bending moment and acceleration responses at several measurement stations of the bridge model are simultaneously measured when the model vehicle moves across the bridge deck at different speeds. In order to compare with the existing time domain method (TDM), the best method for moving force identification to date, a carefully comparative study scheme was planned and conducted, which includes considering the effect of a few main parameters, such as basis function terms, mode number involved in the identification calculation, measurement stations, executive CPU time, Nyquist fraction of digital filter, and two different solutions to the ill-posed system equation of moving force identification. It was observed that the MOMA has many good properties same as the TDM, but its CPU execution time is just less than one tenth of the TDM, which indicates an achievement in which the MOMA can be used directly for real-time analysis of moving force identification in field.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
• /
• v.15 no.7
• /
• pp.27-39
• /
• 2017

To grasp the current status of smart campus and look for future directions, this study investigated the usage rate and perceived usefulness of digital devices and services by conducting online survey of 580 university students. The main results are as follows. First, smartphones have the highest ownership rate, followed by laptops, desktops, and digital cameras. Purchase intention of virtual reality devices is highest followed by smart watches/bands, and tablets. Second, mobilization in campus life is almost realized, however the usage of desktops is still high in education and administration context. Digital devices have been perceived particularly useful when searching and sharing information. Third, students use digital services such as search engines, messengers, and online libraries in their learning, and they use messengers, music and video services in their lives. Service usage rate and perceived usefulness are not proportional.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
• /
• v.44 no.2
• /
• pp.238-246
• /
• 2020

Background: Dietary fat has been suggested to be the cause of various health issues. Obesity, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, dyslipidemia, and kidney disease are known to be associated with a high-fat diet (HFD). Obesity and associated conditions, such as type 2 diabetes mellitus and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), are currently a worldwide health problem. Few prospective pharmaceutical therapies that directly target NAFLD are available at present. A Traditional Chinese Medicine, ginseng-plus-Bai-Hu-Tang (GBHT), is widely used by diabetic patients to control glucose level or thirst. However, whether it has therapeutic effects on fat-induced hepatic steatosis and metabolic syndrome remains unclear. Methods: This study was conducted to examine the therapeutic effect of GBHT on fat-induced obesity, hepatic steatosis, and insulin resistance in mice. Results: GBHT protected mice against HFD-induced body weight gain, hyperlipidemia, and hyperglycemia compared with mice that were not treated. GBHT inhibited the expansion of adipose tissue and adipocyte hypertrophy. No ectopic fat deposition was found in the livers of HFD mice treated with GBHT. In addition, glucose intolerance and insulin sensitivity in HFD mice was also improved by GBHT. Conclusion: GBHT prevents changes in lipid and carbohydrate metabolism in a HFD mouse model. Our findings provide evidence for the traditional use of GBHT as therapy for the management of metabolic syndrome.