• Journal of Distribution Science
• /
• v.10 no.7
• /
• pp.33-41
• /
• 2012

The purpose of this study is to analyse the state of the energy industry and to determine the efficiency of its functioning on the basis of energy conservation principle and application of innovative technologies aimed at improving the ecological modernisation of agricultural sectors of Kazakhstan. The research methodology is based on an integrated approach of financial and economic evaluation of the effectiveness of the investment project, based on calculation of elasticity, total costs and profitability, as well as on comparative, graphical and system analysis. The current stage is characterised by widely spread restructuring processes of electric power industry in many countries through introduction of new technical installations of energy facilities and increased government regulation in order to enhance the competitive advantage of electricity market. Electric power industry features a considerable value of creating areas. For example, by providing scientific and technical progress, it crucially affects not only the development but also the territorial organisation of productive forces, first of all the industry. In modern life, more than 90% of electricity and heat is obtained by Kazakhstan's economy by consuming non-renewable energy resources: different types of coal, oil shale, oil, natural gas and peat. Therefore, it is significant to ensure energy security, as the country faces a rapid fall back to mono-gas structure of fuel and energy balance. However, energy resources in Kazakhstan are spread very unevenly. Its main supplies are concentrated in northern and central parts of the republic, and the majority of consumers of electrical power live in the southern and western areas of the country. However, energy plays an important role in the economy of industrial production and to a large extent determines the level of competitive advantage, which is a promising condition for implementation of energy-saving and environmentally friendly technologies. In these circumstances, issues of modernisation and reforms of this sector in Kazakhstan gain more and more importance, which can be seen in the example of economically sustainable solutions of a large local monopoly company, significant savings in capital investment and efficiency of implementation of an investment project. A major disadvantage of development of electricity distribution companies is the prevalence of very high moral and physical amortisation of equipment, reaching almost 70-80%, which significantly increases the operating costs. For example, while an investment of 12 billion tenge was planned in 2009 in this branch, in 2012 it is planned to invest more than 17 billion. Obviously, despite the absolute increase, the rate of investment is still quite low, as the total demand in this area is at least more than 250 billion tenge. In addition, industrial infrastructure, including the objects of Kazakhstan electric power industry, have a tangible adverse impact on the environment. Thus, since there is a large number of various power projects that are sources of electromagnetic radiation, the environment is deteriorated. Hence, there is a need to optimise the efficiency of the organisation and management of production activities of energy companies, to create and implement new technologies, to ensure safe production and provide solutions to various environmental aspects. These are key strategic factors to ensure success of the modern energy sector of Kazakhstan. The contribution of authors in developing the scope of this subject is explained by the fact that there was not enough research in the energy sector, especially in the view of ecological modernisation. This work differs from similar works in Kazakhstan in the way that the proposed method of investment project calculation takes into account the time factor, which compares the current and future value of profit from the implementation of innovative equipment that helps to bring it to actual practise. The feasibility of writing this article lies in the need of forming a public policy in the industrial sector, including optimising the structure of energy disbursing rate, which complies with the terms of future modernised development of the domestic energy sector.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
• /
• v.43 no.3
• /
• pp.347-358
• /
• 2016

Brassinosteroid (BR), a plant steroid hormone, plays key roles in numerous growth and developmental processes as well as tolerance to both abiotic and biotic stress. To understand the biological networks involved in BR-mediated signaling pathways and stress tolerance, we performed comparative genome-wide transcriptome analysis of a constitutively activated BR bes1-D mutant with an Agilent Arabidopsis $4{\times}44K$ oligo chip. As a result, we newly identified 1,091 (562 up-regulated and 529 down-regulated) significant differentially expressed genes (DEGs). The combination of GO enrichment and protein network analysis revealed that stress-related processes, such as metabolism, development, abiotic/biotic stress, immunity, and defense, were critically linked to BR signaling pathways. Among the identified gene sets, we confirmed more than a 6-fold up-regulation of NB-ARC and FLS2 in bes1-D plants. However, some genes, including TIR1, TSA1 and OCP3, were down-regulated. Consistently, BR-activated plants showed higher tolerance to drought stress and pathogen infection compared to wild-type controls. In this study, we newly developed a useful, comprehensive method for large-scale identification of critical network and gene sets with global transcriptome analysis using a microarray. This study also showed that gain of function in the bes1-D gene can regulate the adaptive response of plants to various stressful conditions.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.26 no.1
• /
• pp.101-108
• /
• 2016

The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationships between the expression of Heat shock protein70 (HSP70), Raf-1 and Bcl-2-associated athanogene-1 (BAG1) protein in diffuse type gastric carcinoma and examine association of HSP70, Raf-1 and BAG1 expression with various clinic-pathological factors and survival. Heat shock protein70 is induced in the cells in response to various stress conditions, including carcinogens. Overexpression of heat shock protein 70 has been observed in many types of cancer. The proto-oncoprotein Raf is pivotal for mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling, and its aberrant activation has been implicated in multiple human cancers. Overexpression of BAG1 protein has been documented in some type of human cancer. BAG1 has been reported to interact with protein involved with a variety of signal pathway, and regulation of cell differentiation, survival and apoptosis. These interaction partners include HSP70 and Raf-1. The percentage of tumors exhibiting HSP70 positivity was significantly in cases of positive lymph node metastasis (64.9%) compared to cases without lymph node metastasis (35.1%, p=0.007). HS70 expression was correlated with pathological N-stage (p=0.006). Expression of BAG1 was detected in the majority of diffuse type gastric carcinoma tissues (71.7%), especially in younger patients (80% vs 52.6%, p=0.035). Furthermore BAG1 expression was correlated with tumor size (p=0.020). Raf-1 expression was found to be significantly associated with tumor size (p=0.005). The result indicate that HSP70 was significantly correlated the progression of diffuse type gastric cancer. Expression of BAG1 and Raf-1 may be used as diagnostic markers for gastric carcinoma.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.23 no.1
• /
• pp.116-124
• /
• 2013

The aim was to examine resistance exercise-related genes after 8 weeks of resistance training. Thirty-two male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into four groups: 4 weeks sedentary (4 wks CON, n=8), 8 weeks sedentary (8 wks CON, n=8), 4 weeks exercise training (4 wks REG, n=8), and 8 weeks exercise training (8 wks REG, n=8). The rats were trained to climb a 1-m vertical incline (85-degree), with weights secured to their tails. They climbed 10 times, 3 days per week, for 8 consecutive weeks. Skeletal muscle was taken from the flexor halucis longus after the exercise training. After separating the total RNA, large-scale gene expression was investigated by beadarray (Illumina RatRef-12 Expression BeadChip) analysis, and qPCR was used to inspect the beadarray data and to analyze the RNA quantitatively. The detection p-value for the genes was p<0.01, the M-value {M=$log_2$(condition)-$log_2$(reference)} was >1.0, and the DiffScore was >20. In total, the expression of 30 genes significantly increased 4 weeks after the exercise training, and the expression of six genes decreased. At 8 weeks, the expression of five genes significantly increased and that of 12 decreased. Several genes are potentially involved in resistance exercise and muscle hypertrophy, including 1) regulation of cell growth (IGFBP1, PLA2G2A, OKL38); 2) myogenesis (CSRP3); 3) tissue regeneration and muscle development (MUSTN1, MYBPH); 4) hypertrophy (CYR61, ATF3, NR4A3); and 5) glucose metabolism (G6PC, PCK1). These results may help to explain previously reported physiological changes of the skeletal muscle and suggest new avenues for further investigation.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.28 no.5
• /
• pp.621-626
• /
• 2018

We introduced the physiological responses of aging, active aging and also suggest the impact of physical exercise on body health status and elderly immunity. In this purpose, we searched the Pub Med data base for the articles (include our experimental papers) and review papers having the terms 'Aging', 'Active aging' and 'Physical activity and elderly' in the title, published from 1999 until 2018. The results were as follows: Exercise training has been extensively studied about the reduction of inflammation, oxidative stress, disease, and aging in syndrome X patients and elderly. Combined and aerobic or resistance exercise training could reduce obesity, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes and hypertension. Exercise training has been extensively studied in cancer settings as part of prevention or treatment strategies. From this research, regular exercise has the potential to target tumor growth through regulation of inflammation and immune responses such as lactate clearance, NK cell activation (innate immunity), activation of cytotoxic immune cells, T cell activation (adaptive immunity), and immune surveillance. However, Endurance physical activity not only induces thermogenesis and diverse sports injuries but also elicits mobilization and functional enhancement of monocytes, neutrophils (which is caused by the cytokine changes such as TNF-alpha, IL-1) whereas it suppresses cell mediated immunity causing to increased susceptibility to inflammation and infections like cough and URTIs (upper respiratory track infections) in young and especially in elderly people. Therefore, Strategies to prevent physical fatigue, sports injuries include avoid overtraining, Adequate recovery and various type of rest during and after physical activity and assuring adequate nutrition supplementation such as glutamine, vitamin B, vitamin C, carbohydrate, ion or berry-contain sports beverages is helpful in physically active elderly.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.19 no.11
• /
• pp.1581-1590
• /
• 2009

Hizikia fusiforme is a kind of brown edible seaweed that mainly grows in the temperate seaside areas of the northwest pacific, including Korea, Japan and China, and has been widely used as a health food for hundreds of years. Recently, H. fusiforme has been known to exert pharmacological activities including antioxidant, antimutagenic and anticoagulant activities. However, the molecular mechanisms of H. fusiforme in malignant cells have not been clearly elucidated yet. In this study, the effects of ethyl alcohol extract of H. fusiforme (EAHF) on the anti-proliferative effects of MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 human breast cancer cells were investigated. EAHF treatment resulted in a concentration-dependent growth inhibition by including apoptosis in MDA-MB-231 cells and G1 phase arrest in MCF-7 cells, which could be proved by MTT assay, DAPI staining, agarose gel electrophoresis and flow cytometry analysis. In MDA-MB-231 cells, the increase in apoptosis induced by EAHF treatment correlated with up-regulation of pro-apoptotic Bax expression. EAHF treatment induced the proteolytic activation of caspase-3 and caspase-9, and a concomitant inhibition of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase, $\beta$-catenin, phospholipase-${\gamma}1$ protein and DNA fragmentation factor 45/inhibitor of caspase-activated DNase. Taken together, these findings provide important new insights into the possible molecular mechanisms of the anti-cancer activity of H. fusiforme.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.23 no.3
• /
• pp.389-398
• /
• 2013

Platycodin D is a major constituent of triterpene saponins, which is found in the root of Platycodon grandiflorum, Platycodi Radix, which is widely used in traditional Oriental medicine for the treatment of many chronic inflammatory diseases. Several pharmacological effects of this compound have been reported recently, such as anti-inflammation, immunogenicity, anti-adipogenesis, lowered cholesterol, and anti-cancer activity. However, the mechanism by which this action occurs is poorly understood. In this study, we found that platycodin D greatly increased the potential of the anti-proliferative effect in various cancer cell lines. Our data revealed that platycodin D treatment resulted in a time- and concentration-response growth inhibition of U937 cells by inducing apoptosis, as evidenced by the formation of apoptotic bodies, chromatin condensation, and the accumulation of cells in the sub-G1 phase. Apoptosis induction of U937 cells by platycodin D correlated with an increase in the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio and caused the down-regulation of IAP family members. In addition, platycodin D treatment resulted in proteolytic activation of caspase-3, the concomitant degradation of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerases, and the collapse of the mitochondria membrane potential (${\Delta}{\Psi}_m$). However, the cytotoxic effects induced by platycodin D treatment were significantly inhibited by z-DEVD-fmk, a caspase-3 inhibitor, which demonstrated the important role that caspase-3 played in the observed cytotoxic effect. These findings suggest that platycodin D may be a potential chemotherapeutic agent for use in the control of human leukemia U937 cells. These findings also provided important new insights into possible molecular mechanisms of the anti-cancer activity of platycodin D.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
• /
• v.44 no.7
• /
• pp.975-982
• /
• 2015

Piceatannol (trans-3,4,3',5'-trihydroxystilbene), a natural stilbene, is an analogue of resveratrol. In the present study, possible mechanisms by which piceatannol exerts its pro-apoptotic action in cultured human oral cancer YD-15 cells were investigated. To investigate whether or not piceatannol has effects on cancer cell viability, human oral YD-15 cells were treated with piceatannol (0, 50, and $100{\mu}M$). Piceatannol treatment ($100{\mu}M$) showed the strongest inhibition of cell proliferation and reduced cell viability in a dose-dependent manner. Chromatin condensation detected by DAPI staining significantly increased in a concentration-dependent manner, indicating apoptosis. Piceatannol treatment activated initiator Bax (pro-apoptotic) and cPARP in a concentration-dependent manner. Further, piceatannol induced down-regulation of Bcl-2 (anti-apoptotic). We also evaluated the activity of piceatannol against oral cavity cancer tumors in mice. Piceatannol-treated nude mice bearing YD-15 xenograft tumors exhibited significantly reduced tumor volume and weight due to the potent effect of piceatannol on tumor cell apoptosis, as determined by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling assay. Immunohistochemistry staining showed elevated expression of cleaved-caspase-3 as well as reduced expression of Ki-67 in the piceatannol-treated group. Therefore, piceatannol can be developed as a cancer preventive medicine due to its growth inhibitory effects and induction of apoptosis in human oral cancer cells.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
• /
• v.4 no.1
• /
• pp.57-74
• /
• 1990

As the whole world took on the tendency to be highly industrialized, it became necessary for each field of occupation to require professional man power. Especially, since the World War n, the participation of woman power in economic activities has been continually increasing. In our country also, because of the rapid economic growth, change in the way of thinking of women as well as their participation in economic activities are increasing. Thus, woman power is being utilized in various occupational fields from simple physical labor to those that require high-professional skill. Also, continued economic development policies, by setting the establishment of welfare society as the ideology to be fulfilled, brought expansion of medical facilities in the field of public health and increase in man power in that field. As for the nursing specialists, more than 6000 have been being produced per year and as of the end of 1988, the total number of nursing specialists, reached 123, 115. Therefore, this study is done to recognize the professional knowledge and ability of nursing specialists, who take up $40\%$ of the total public-health related man power in our country, through evaluating their working environment and their disposition of character. This study, which was done from September 18th to September 30th 1989, took on the method of using formed questionnaires that had been amended and supplemented during two preparatory investigations, 322 of such questionnaires were used as an analytical material. In the formation of questionnaires, 12 questions were related to the working environment, and 26 in fortotal were related to the disposition of character, 5 for wise-disposition, 11 for activedisposition and 10 for open-disposition. The measuring method, which used 5-point-standard, allowed 5 points for affirmative recognition of the working environment, also 5 points for showing wise, active and open disposition of character and only point in opposite cases. Collected materials were analyzed, through an electronic calculation, into the average value, the standard deflection percentage, pearson corelative number and stepwise multiple regression. Summarizing the results from this study is as follows: 1. It was shown that the nursing specialists with the average of 3.07 have affirmative recognition of their working environment. The questions which drew most affirmative reaction were those concerning finance-management system such as hand, the questions that received negative reaction were those concerning communication method with the average of 2.49. Such reaction seems to have resulted from the cramming regulation by the superior authorities. Concerning the recognition of working environment in relation to employment conditions, more affirmative recognition is shown with the average of 3.14. at hospitals where injection job is not performed. The nursing specialists working at regular hospitals show more affirmative recognition than those at general hospitals, the averages being respectiely 3.16 and 3.03. 2. As for the disposition of character of the nursing specialists, active-disposition was highest with the average of 3.38, next was wise-disposition with 3.20 and the lowest was open-diposition with 2.98. Variable-wise disposition of character shows that wise-disposition and academic background are beneficially correlated by 0.12. Ative-disposition and open-disposition show correlation to the office term by respectively 0.16 and 0.21. In other words. better academic background leads to higher wise-disposition and more - experience results in higher active and open disposition. Also, the class that performs the injection job, in relation to the working environment, might cause change in the self-conceit that identify those in that class with the nurses; however, as far as professional judgment and action, in dealing with nursing job, being wise, active and open is concerned, not much effect is made. 3. The relation between the recognition of the working environment and the disposition of character is that more afirmative recognition- a nursing specialist has about her working environment, the higher the active-disposition becomes by 0.13. The degrees of the relation between recongnition of environment and wise and open dispositions show respectively 0.06 and -0.06 and -0.06. That is to say that when having more affirmative recognition of the working environment, a nursing specialist shows wise but closed disposition of character. This, howerver, didn't mean much statistically. When observing the results mentioned above, it is conspicuous that the nursing specialists, working as substitutes for the nurse at medical institutions of various sizes, get the feeling of being somewhat equal to the nurses and to some extent, fulfill their desire to accomplish their ego; however, as far as professional ability expansion if concerned. they lack wise and open dispositions. Therefore, considiering upon the results of this study, in medical institutions where the work of nursing specialists is regaded equal to that of the nurses, as a medical member who deals with human lives, it is desirable to make the nursing specialists work under the supervision of the nurses and to offer them continuous education to strengthen and improve their natural dispositions.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
• /
• v.46 no.4
• /
• pp.417-425
• /
• 2017

Cnidium monnieri (L.) Cusson is distributed in China and Korea, and the fruit of C. monnieri is used as traditional Chinese medicine to treat carbuncle and pain in female genitalia. In this study, we examined the anti-proliferation and cell cycle arrest effects of ethanol extracts from C. monnieri (CME) in AGS gastric cancer cells. Our results show that CME suppressed cell proliferation and induced release of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in AGS cells by 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide assay and LDH assay. Cell morphology was altered by CME in a dose-dependent manner. In order to identify the cell cycle arrest effects of CME, we investigated cell cycle analysis after CME treatment. In our results, CME induced cell cycle arrest at G1 phase. Protein kinase B (Akt) plays a major role in cell survival mechanisms such as growth, division, and metastasis. Akt protein regulates various downstream proteins such as glycogen synthase kinase-$3{\beta}$ (GSK-$3{\beta}$) and tumor protein p53 (p53). Expression levels of p-Akt, p-GSK-$3{\beta}$, p53, p21, cyclin E, and cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK2) were determined by Western blot analysis. Protein levels of p-Akt, p-GSK-$3{\beta}$, and cyclin E were reduced while those of p53, p21, and p-CDK2 (T14/Y15) were elevated by CME. Moreover, treatment with CME, LY294002 (phosphoinositide 3-kinase/Akt inhibitor), BIO (GSK-$3{\beta}$ inhibitor), and Pifithrin-${\alpha}$ (p53 inhibitor) showed that cell cycle arrest effects were mediated through regulation of the Akt/GSK-$3{\beta}$/p53 signaling pathway. These results suggest that CME induces cell cycle arrest at G1 phase via the Akt/GSK-$3{\beta}$/p53 signaling pathway in AGS gastric cancer cells.