• KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.1845-1865
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• 2019

Current Internet is designed by lots of service providers with different objects and policies which make the direct deployment of radically new architecture and protocols on Internet nearly impossible without reaching a consensus among almost all of them. Network virtualization is proposed to fend off this ossification of Internet architecture and add diversity to the future Internet. As an important part of network virtualization, virtual network embedding (VNE) problem has received more and more attention. In order to solve the problems of large embedding cost, low acceptance ratio (AR) and environmental adaptability in VNE algorithms, cognitive method is introduced to improve the adaptability to the changing environment and a cognitive virtual network embedding algorithm based on weighted relative entropy (WRE-CVNE) is proposed in this paper. At first, the weighted relative entropy (WRE) method is proposed to select the suitable substrate nodes and paths in VNE. In WRE method, the ranking indicators and their weighting coefficients are selected to calculate the node importance and path importance. It is the basic of the WRE-CVNE. In virtual node embedding stage, the WRE method and breadth first search (BFS) algorithm are both used, and the node proximity is introduced into substrate node ranking to achieve the joint topology awareness. Finally, in virtual link embedding stage, the CPU resource balance degree, bandwidth resource balance degree and path hop counts are taken into account. The path importance is calculated based on the WRE method and the suitable substrate path is selected to reduce the resource fragmentation. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm can significantly improve AR and the long-term average revenue to cost ratio (LTAR/CR) by adjusting the weighting coefficients in VNE stage according to the network environment. We also analyze the impact of weighting coefficient on the performance of the WRE-CVNE. In addition, the adaptability of the WRE-CVNE is researched in three different scenarios and the effectiveness and efficiency of the WRE-CVNE are demonstrated.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.896-903
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• 2019

Objective: Qianbei-Pockmarked goats are affected by a disorder locally referred to as 'Ruanguzheng Disorder', which is characterized by emaciation, lameness, muscular relaxation, stiffness of the extremities, and abnormal curvatures of the long bones. Our objective was to determine the relationship between the disorder and phosphorus deficiency. Methods: Tissue samples were collected from affected and healthy animals, while soil and herbage samples were collected from affected and healthy pastures. Biochemical parameters were determined using an automatic biochemical analyzer (OLYMPUS AU 640, Olympus Optical Co., Tokyo, Japan). Mineral contents in soil, forage, and tissue were determined using a Perkin-Elmer AAS5000 atomic absorption spectrophotometer (Perkin-Elmer, Norwalk, CT, USA). Results: The results showed that phosphorus contents in herbages from affected pastures were markedly lower than those from healthy areas (p<0.01), and the ratio of calcium to phosphorus in the affected herbages was 12.93:1. The phosphorus contents of wool, blood, tooth, and bone from affected animals were also markedly lower than those from healthy animals (p<0.01). Serum phosphorus values in affected animals were much lower than those in healthy animals, while serum alkaline phosphatase values from affected animals were markedly higher than those from healthy animals (p<0.01). Inorganic phosphorus values from affected animals were approximately half of that in the control group. Supplementation of disodium hydrogen phosphate prevented and cured the disorder. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that Ruanguzheng disorder in Qianbei-Pockmarked goats is primarily caused by phosphorus deficiencies in herbage due to fenced pastures and natural habitat fragmentation.

• 한국사회정책
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.163-198
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• 2018

This study analyzed the change of the Korean welfare regime during the conservative government. It is clear that the welfare expanded during the conservative government, but this expansion was the process of realizing the constraint of expansion that reduces future welfare expenditure in Korea. In addition, as the public welfare centered on social insurance expanded after 10 years of liberal government, the backward selectivity of the Korean welfare regime strengthened in the conservative administration. Expanding social insurance itself does not reinforce the backward selectivity of the Korean welfare regime. However, the industrial structure created by the export-led growth system has intensified the fragmentation of the labor market, and expanding social insurance designed based on regular workers under these conditions has forced the backward selectivity of the social security system. It is for this reason that the backward selectivity has been reinforced during the conservative government.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.117-125
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• 2019

Mebendazole (MBZ), a microtubule depolymerizing drug commonly used for the treatment of helminthic infections, has recently been noted as a repositioning candidate for angiogenesis inhibition and cancer therapy. However, the definite anti-angiogenic mechanism of MBZ remains unclear. In this study, we explored the inhibitory mechanism of MBZ in endothelial cells (ECs) and developed a novel strategy to improve its anti-angiogenic therapy. Treatment of ECs with MBZ led to inhibition of EC proliferation in a dose-dependent manner in several culture conditions in the presence of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) or FBS, without selectivity of growth factors, although MBZ is known to inhibit VEGF receptor 2 kinase. Furthermore, MBZ inhibited EC migration and tube formation induced by either VEGF or bFGF. However, unexpectedly, treatment of MBZ did not affect FAK and ERK1/2 phosphorylation induced by these factors. Treatment with MBZ induced shrinking of ECs and caused G2-M arrest and apoptosis with an increased Sub-G1 fraction. In addition, increased levels of nuclear fragmentation, p53 expression, and active form of caspase 3 were observed. The marked induction of autophagy by MBZ was also noted. Interestingly, inhibition of autophagy through knocking down of Beclin1 or ATG5/7, or treatment with autophagy inhibitors such as 3-methyladenine and chloroquine resulted in marked enhancement of anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic effects of MBZ in ECs. Consequently, we suggest that MBZ induces autophagy in ECs and that protective autophagy can be a novel target for enhancing the anti-angiogenic efficacy of MBZ in cancer treatment.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.32 no.8_spc
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• pp.1266-1274
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• 2019

This paper presents a review of dairy goat production in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) from 2010- 2017, its current state, constraints and prospects for research and development. Since the introduction of dairy goats in SSA in pre-colonial times, their populations have continued to increase due to declining land size as a result of land fragmentation and increasing demand for goat milk. The current goat population in SSA is 372,716,040 head of which only 15.98% used for milk production. Populations in the Eastern and Western regions of SSA have shown an increasing trend from 2010 to 2017. The Southern Africa goat population is on the decline at an annual rate of about 1.77% whereas Central Africa has had a constant goat population within the same period. Eastern Africa reported the highest increase in the population of goats used for milk production. Milk production was highest in Eastern Africa and lowest in Southern Africa. However, dairy goat productivity remained constant in the Eastern region throughout the review period. Dairy goats are mainly raised under smallholder mixed crop-livestock systems. To enhance the development of the dairy goat, concerted efforts should be made to alleviate the constraints that stifle its growth. These constraints can be categorized into nutrition and feeding, breeding and reproduction, diseases, parasites, climate change, and underdeveloped dairy goat products market. Effective management of dairy goats requires a holistic approach and there is the need to expand the markets by further sensitization on the nutritional and medicinal advantages of dairy goat products. In order to achieve rapid development in the dairy goat sub sector, research and development initiatives should be directed towards alleviating the hurdles in nutrition and feeding, breeding, animal health and resilience as well as dairy goat markets.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.368-376
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• 2019

Background: In the current phytochemical research on ginseng, the differentiation and structural identification of ginsenosides isomers remain challenging. In this paper, a two-dimensional mass spectrometry (2D-MS) method was developed and combined with statistical analysis for the direct differentiation, identification, and relative quantification of protopanaxadiol (PPD)-type ginsenoside isomers. Methods: Collision-induced dissociation was performed at successive collision energy values to produce distinct profiles of the intensity fraction (IF) and ratio of intensity (RI) of the fragment ions. To amplify the differences in tandem mass spectra between isomers, IF and RI were plotted against collision energy. The resulting data distributions were then used to obtain the parameters of the fitted curves, which were used to evaluate the statistical significance of the differences between these distributions via the unpaired t test. Results: A triplet and two pairs of PPD-type ginsenoside isomers were differentiated and identified by their distinct IF and RI distributions. In addition, the fragmentation preference of PPD-type ginsenosides was determined on the basis of the activation energy. The developed 2D-MS method was also extended to quantitatively determine the molar composition of ginsenoside isomers in mixtures of biotransformation products. Conclusion: In comparison with conventional mass spectrometry methods, 2D-MS provides more direct insights into the subtle structural differences between isomers and can be used as an alternative approach for the differentiation of isomeric ginsenosides and natural products.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology and Dermatology
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.1-12
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• 2019

Objectives: Amygdalin is abundant in the seeds of bitter almond and apricots of the Prunus genus and other rosaceous plants. Amygdalin is known to have antitussive and anticancer activities. Apoptosis, also known as programmed cell death, is an important mechanism in cancer treatment. Methods: In the present study, we investigated whether the aqueous extract of Amygdalin induces apoptotic cell death in ME-180 cervical cancer cells. For this study, 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, terminal deoxynuclotidyl transferase (TdT)-mediated dUTP nick end-labeling (TUNEL) assay, 4,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) staining, flow cytometric analysis, DNA fragmentation assay, Western blot, and caspase-3 enzyme assay were performed on ME-180 cervical cancer cells. Results: Through morphological and biochemical analyses, it was demonstrated that ME-180 cells treated with Amygdalin exhibit several apoptotic features. The treatment of Amygdalin increased the Bax expression and caspase-3 enzyme activity and decreased Bcl-2 expression. Here, we have shown that Amygdalin induces apoptotic cell death in ME-180 cervical cancer cells through Bax-dependent caspase-3 activation. These results suggest the possibility that Amygdalin exerts anti-tumor effect on human cervical cancer.

• BMB Reports
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• v.52 no.8
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• pp.526-531
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• 2019

The vertebrate body plan is accomplished by left-right asymmetric organ development and the heart is a representative asymmetric internal organ which jogs to the left-side. Kupffer's vesicle (KV) is a spherical left-right organizer during zebrafish embryogenesis and is derived from a cluster of dorsal forerunner cells (DFCs). Cadherin1 is required for collective migration of a DFC cluster and failure of DFC collective migration by Cadherin1 decrement causes KV malformation which results in defective heart laterality. Recently, loss of function mutation of A-kinase anchoring protein 12 (AKAP12) is reported as a high-risk gene in congenital heart disease patients. In this study, we demonstrated the role of $akap12{\beta}$ in asymmetric heart development. The $akap12{\beta}$, one of the akap12 isoforms, was expressed in DFCs which give rise to KV and $akap12{\beta}$-deficient zebrafish embryos showed defective heart laterality due to the fragmentation of DFC clusters which resulted in KV malformation. DFC-specific loss of $akap12{\beta}$ also led to defective heart laterality as a consequence of the failure of collective migration by cadherin1 reduction. Exogenous $akap12{\beta}$ mRNA not only restored the defective heart laterality but also increased cadherin1 expression in $akap12{\beta}$ morphant zebrafish embryos. Taken together, these findings provide the first experimental evidence that $akap12{\beta}$ regulates heart laterality via cadherin1.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.320-331
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• 2019

Background: Dioecious plant species having both male and female plants have been investigated regarding sex-related characteristics such as sex ratio, sex-differential resource requirements, and spatial segregation of the sexes. Habitat loss and fragmentation are major threats to the survival of plant populations, but dioecious species are particularly more prone to such habitat degradation than non-dioecious species because of their dimorphic sexual system. We examined the sex-related demographics of two Ilex cornuta populations being different regarding land use history. Methods: During 2016-2017, we examined I. cornuta trees with a basal diameter ${\geq}1.5cm$ in the Yongsu-ri population (YS population) and the Gotjawal Provincial Park population (GP population). Plant sex (male, female, or unsexed) was identified. The tree size (basal diameter and height of the main stem), clonal production (the ramet numbers per genet), and vitality for each clone were measured. The associations between population, sex, tree size, clonal production, and vitality were examined using ANOVAs and contingency table analyses. Finally, point pattern analyses using O-ring statistics were conducted to assess spatial patterns. Results: Upon excluding unsexed trees, the YS population with 74 trees was significantly male-biased (0.66), while the GP population with only 26 trees had a 1:1 sex ratio. In both populations, males and females did not differ in tree size. Although the mean number of ramets differed significantly between populations, females tended to produce more ramets than males. The proportion of weak trees was significantly higher in the YS than in the GP population. Neither population showed evidence of spatial segregation of the sexes. Conclusions: The two populations of dioecious I. cornuta are characterized by the small number of trees and relatively high frequencies of non-reproductive trees. Both indicate that these populations are quite susceptible to environmental and genetic stochasticity. On the other hand, the differences between populations in sex ratio, clonal production, and vitality suggest that conservation efforts for I. cornuta need to be population-specific. In order to help recover and enable this vulnerable species to persist, it is necessary to find ways to enhance their sexual reproduction and simultaneously reduce habitat disturbances due to anthropogenic activities.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.22-29
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• 2019

Objective: As paternal age increases, the quality of sperm decreases due to increased DNA fragmentation and aneuploidy. Higher levels of structural chromosomal aberrations in the gametes ultimately decrease both the morphologic quality of embryos and the pregnancy rate. In this study, we investigated whether paternal age affected the euploidy rate. Methods: This study was performed using the medical records of patients who underwent in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures with preimplantation genetic screening (PGS) from January 2016 to August 2017 at a single center. Based on their morphological grade, embryos were categorized as good- or poor-quality blastocysts. The effects of paternal age were elucidated by adjusting for maternal age. Results: Among the 571 total blastocysts, 219 euploid blastocysts were analyzed by PGS (38.4%). When the study population was divided into four groups according to both maternal and paternal age, significant differences were only noted between groups that differed by maternal age (group 1 vs. 3, p= 0.031; group 2 vs. 4, p= 0.027). Further analysis revealed no significant differences in the euploidy rate among the groups according to the morphological grade of the embryos. Conclusion: Paternal age did not have a significant impact on euploidy rates when PGS was performed. An additional study with a larger sample size is needed to clarify the effects of advanced paternal age on IVF outcomes.