• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.47 no.5
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• pp.677-699
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• 2012

Climate changes may cause substantial changes in spatial patterns and distribution of vector-borne diseases (VBD's), which will result in a significant threat to humans and emerge as an important public health problem that the international society needs to solve. As global warming becomes widespread and the Korean peninsula characterizes subtropical climate, the potentials of climate-driven disease outbreaks and spread rapidly increase with changes in land use, population distributions, and ecological environments. Vector-borne diseases are typically infected by insects such as mosquitoes and ticks, and infected hosts and vectors increased dramatically as the habitat ranges of the VBD agents have been expanded for the past 20 years. Medical geography integrates and processes a wide range of public health data and indicators at both local and regional levels, and ultimately helps researchers identify spatiotemporal mechanism of the diseases determining interactions and relationships between spatial and non-spatial data. Spatial epidemiology is a new and emerging area of medical geography integrating geospatial sciences, environmental sciences, and epidemiology to further uncover human health-environment relationships. An introduction of GIS-based disease monitoring system to the public health surveillance system is among the important future research agenda that medical geography can significantly contribute to. Particularly, real-time monitoring methods, early-warning systems, and spatial forecasting of VBD factors will be key research fields to understand the dynamics of VBD's.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.471-478
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• 2014

Investigating gene expression of immune cells of whole blood or peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) under polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid (poly I:C) stimulation is valuable for understanding the immune response of organism to RNA viruses. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) is a standard method for quantification of gene expression studies. However, the reliability of qRT-PCR data critically depends on proper selection of reference genes. In the study, using two different analysis programs, geNorm and NormFinder, we systematically evaluated the gene expression stability of six candidate reference genes (GAPDH, ACTB, B2M, RPL4, TBP, and PPIA) in samples of whole blood and PBMC with or without poly I:C stimulation. Generally, the six candidate genes performed a similar trend of expression stability in the samples of whole blood and PBMC, but more stably expressed in whole blood than in PBMC. geNorm ranked B2M and PPIA as the best combination for gene expression normalization, while according to NormFinder, TBP was ranked as the most stable reference gene, followed by B2M and PPIA. Comprehensively considering the results from the two programs, we recommended using the geometric mean of the three genes, TBP, PPIA and B2M, to normalize the gene expression of whole blood and PBMC with poly I:C stimulation. Our study is the first detailed survey of the gene expression stability in whole blood and PBMC with or without poly I:C stimulation and should be helpful for investigating the molecular mechanism involved in porcine whole blood and PBMC in response to poly I:C stimulation.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.403-409
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• 2018

Objective: The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of a lipid-coated zinc oxide (ZnO) supplement Shield Zn (SZ) at the sub-pharmacological concentration on intestinal morphology and gene expression in weanling pigs, with an aim to gain insights into the mechanism of actions for SZ. Methods: Forty 22-day-old weanling pigs were fed a nursery diet supplemented with 100 or 2,500 mg Zn/kg with uncoated ZnO (negative control [NC] or positive control [PC], respectively), 100, 200, or 400 mg Zn/kg with SZ for 14 days and their intestinal tissues were taken for histological and molecular biological examinations. The villus height (VH) and crypt depth (CD) of the intestinal mucosa were measured microscopically following preparation of the tissue specimen; expression of the genes associated with growth and immune function was determined using the real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Results: There was no difference in daily gain, gain:feed, and diarrhea score between the SZ group and either of NC and PC. The VH and VH:CD ratio were less for the SZ group vs NC in the jejunum and duodenum, respectively (p<0.05). The jejunal mucosal mRNA levels of insulin-like growth factor (IGF-I) and interleukin (IL)-10 regressed and tended to regress (p = 0.053) on the SZ concentration with a positive coefficient, respectively, whereas the IL-6 mRNA level regressed on the SZ concentration with a negative coefficient. The mRNA levels of IGF-I, zonula occludens protein-1, tumor necrosis $factor-{\alpha}$, IL-6, and IL-10 did not differ between the SZ group and either of NC and PC; the occludin and transforming growth $factor-{\beta}1$ mRNA levels were lower for the SZ group than for PC. Conclusion: The present results are interpreted to suggest that dietary ZnO provided by SZ may play a role in intestinal mucosal growth and immune function by modulating the expression of IGF-I, IL-6, and IL-10 genes.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics and Information Engineers
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.11-23
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• 2014

Wireless Mesh Network(WMN) has drawn much attention due to easy deployment and good scalability. Recently, major power utilities have been focusing on R&D to apply WMN technology in Smart Grid Network. Smart Grid is an intelligent electrical power network that can maximize energy efficiency through bidirectional communication between utility providers and customers with ICT(Information Communication Technology). It is necessary to guarantee QoS of some important data in Smart Grid system such as real-time data delivery. In this paper, we suggest QoS enhancement method for WMN based Smart Grid system using IEEE 802.11s. We analyze Smart Grid Application characteristics and apply IEEE 802.11s WMN scheme for Smart Grid in domestic power communication system. Performance evaluation is progressed using NS-2 simulator implementing IEEE 802.11s. The simulation results show that the QoS enhancement scheme can guarantee stable bandwidth irrespective of traffic condition due to IEEE 802.11s reservation mechanism.

• The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.1-15
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• 2018

Objectives Alismatis Rhizoma has been known to suppress inflammation and allergic reaction. However, the cellular target of Alismatis Rhizoma and its mechanism of action remain unclear. This study was designed to examine the effect of Alismatis Rhizoma extract (ALC) on the RBL-2H3 mast cells in vitro and on the OVA/alum sensitized mice ex vivo. Methods In the study, RBL-2H3 mast cells were cultured in minimal essential medium (MEM) for 24 hours, and treated separately with cyclosporin A and varying doses of ALC, and then stimulated with Phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) (50 ng/ml) and Ionomycin ($0.5{\mu}M$). The levels of IL-13, IL-4 were measured by ELISA analysis. The mRNA levels of IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-13, GM-CSF, $TNF-{\alpha}$ were analyzed with Real-time PCR. Also, manifestations of MAPKs transcription factors and $NF-{\kappa}B$ p65 translocation were analyzed by western blotting in vitro. Subsequently, for ex vivo experiment, we induced allergic inflammation on Balb/c mice by OVA/alum and administered ALC orally. And we measured serum OVA-specific IgE level and IL-4, IL-13 in the splenocyte culture supernatant by ELISA analysis. Results ALC was shown to suppress mRNA expression of IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-13, GM-CSF, $TNF-{\alpha}$, and to inhibit the IL-13, IL-4 production. Also ALC reduced an activation of mast cells specific signal MAPKs transcription factors and $NF-{\kappa}B$ p65 from the western blot analysis in in vitro experiment. In ex vivo, ALC oral adminstration decreased the level of OVA-specific IgE in serum, and IL-4, IL-13 in the splenocyte culture supernatant. Conclusions ALC is shown to reduce inflammation and allergic response by suppressing Th2 cytokines through the regulation of transcription factors MAPKs and $NF-{\kappa}B$ p65 in mast cells. Administration of ALC suppressed OVA-specific IgE in ovalbumin allergy model through the inhibition of Th2 cytokine. In conclusion, ALC can be considered as an effective treatment for allergic diseases such as atopic dermatitis.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.419-427
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• 2016

There is a high association of heat shock on the alteration of energy and lipid metabolism. The alterations associated with thermal stress are composed of gene expression changes and adaptation through biochemical responses. Previous study showed that Angelica gigas Nakai (AGN) root extract promoted adipogenic differentiation in murine 3T3-L1 preadipocytes under the normal temperature condition. However, its effect in heat shocked 3T3-L1 cells has not been established. In this study, we investigated the effect of AGN root hot water extract in the adipogenic differentiation of murine 3T3-L1 preadipocytes following heat shock and its possible mechanism of action. Thermal stress procedure was executed within the same stage of preadipocyte confluence (G0) through incubation at $42^{\circ}C$ for one hour and then allowed to recover at normal incubation temperature of $37^{\circ}C$ for another hour before AGN treatment for both cell viability assay and Oil Red O. Cell viability assay showed that AGN was able to dose dependently (0 to $400{\mu}g/mL$) increase cell proliferation under normal incubation temperature and also was able to prevent cytotoxicity due to heat shock accompanied by cell proliferation. Confluent preadipocytes were subjected into heat shock procedure, recovery and then AGN treatment prior to stimulation with the differentiation solution. Heat shocked preadipocytes exhibited reduced differentiation as supported by decreased amount of lipid accumulation in Oil Red O staining and triglyceride measurement. However, those heat shocked preadipocytes that then were given AGN extract showed a dose dependent increase in lipid accumulation as shown by both evaluation procedures. In line with these results, real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blot analysis showed that AGN increased adipogenic differentiation by upregulating heat shock protection related genes and proteins together with the adipogenic markers. These findings imply the potential of AGN in heat shock amelioration among 3T3-L1 preadipocytes through heat shock factor and proteins augmentation and enhanced adipogenic marker expression.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.39-47
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• 2008

UV irradiation causes skin-aging involving coarse wrinkles, thickening, dyspigmentation, and rough skin surface. These phenomena in complex skin tissue is controlled with receptor of cell surface growth factor and cytokine receptors. The activation of receptors induces multiple downstream signaling pathways including expression of MMPs (matrix metalloproteinases). This study was aimed to elucidate the mechanism for anti-wrinkle activity of Korean red ginseng, Torilis fructus and Corni fructus mixture (KTNG0345). In this animal study, we have investigated decreasing effects of Korean red ginseng mixture on MMP-3 synthesis through diminishing $TNF-{\alpha}$ signaling that express MMP-1, -3, and -9. c-Jun and c-fos as a component of transcription factor AP-1 (activator protein-1) were analyzed the expression level using real time PCR and western blotting. c-Jun was decreased dose dependent manner both gene and protein level where as cfos was not changed. In upstream, JNK and PAK was not changed, but p38 was decreased in down stream. MMP-3, final product in this pathway was significantly decreased in dose dependent manner. These results suggest that Korean red ginseng mixture have a anti-wrinkle activity through $TNF-{\alpha}$ mediated MMPs expression pathway.

• The KIPS Transactions:PartA
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• v.10A no.6
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• pp.691-700
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• 2003

Due to the fast development of wire&wireless internet and computer hardware, more and more internet services are being developed, such as Internet broadcast, VoD (Video On Demand), etc. So QoS (Qualify of Service) is essentially needed to guarantee the quality of these services. Traditional Internet is Best-Effort service in which all packets are transported in FIFO (First In First Out) style. However, FIFO is not suitable to guarantee the quality of some services, so more research in QoS router and QoS protocol are needed. Researched QoS router and protocol are high cost and inefficient because the existing infra is not used. To solve this problem, a new QoS control method, named Network Adaptive QoS, is introduced and applied to client/server-based streaming systems. Based on network bandwidth monitoring mechanism, network adaptive QoS control method can be used in wire&wireless networks to support QoS in real-time streaming system. In order to reduce application cost, the existing streaming service is used in NAQoS. A new module is integrated into the existing server and client. So the router and network line are not changed. By simulation in heavy traffic network conditions, we proved that stream cannot be seamless without network adaptive QoS method.

• The KIPS Transactions:PartB
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• v.15B no.2
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• pp.137-146
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• 2008

Fault localization plays a significant role in enormous distributed system because it can identify root cause of observed faults automatically, supporting self-managing which remains an open topic in managing and controlling complex distributed systems to improve system reliability. Although many Artificial Intelligent techniques have been introduced in support of fault localization in recent research especially in increasing complex ubiquitous environment, the provided functions such as diagnosis and prediction are limited. In this paper, we propose fault localization for self-managing in performance evaluation in order to improve system reliability via learning and analyzing real-time streams of system performance events. We use probabilistic reasoning functions based on the basic Bayes' rule to provide effective mechanism for managing and evaluating system performance parameters automatically, and hence the system reliability is improved. Moreover, due to large number of considered factors in diverse and complex fault reasoning domains, we develop an efficient method which extracts relevant parameters having high relationships with observing problems and ranks them orderly. The selected node ordering lists will be used in network modeling, and hence improving learning efficiency. Using the approach enables us to diagnose the most probable causal factor with responsibility for the underlying performance problems and predict system situation to avoid potential abnormities via posting treatments or pretreatments respectively. The experimental application of system performance analysis by using the proposed approach and various estimations on efficiency and accuracy show that the availability of the proposed approach in performance evaluation domain is optimistic.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.56 no.2
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• pp.135-145
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• 2018

Due to the critical location and physiological activities of the retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cell, it is constantly subjected to contact with various infectious agents and inflammatory mediators. However, little is known about the signaling events in RPE involved in Toxoplasma gondii infection and development. The aim of the study is to screen the host mRNA transcriptional change of 3 inflammation-related gene categories, PI3K/Akt pathway regulatory components, blood vessel development factors and ROS regulators, to prove that PI3K/Akt or mTOR signaling pathway play an essential role in regulating the selected inflammation-related genes. The selected genes include PH domain and leucine- rich-repeat protein phosphatases (PHLPP), casein kinase2 (CK2), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF), glutamate-cysteine ligase (GCL), glutathione S-transferase (GST), and NAD(P)H: quinone oxidoreductase (NQO1). Using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), we found that T. gondii up-regulates PHLPP2, $CK2{\beta}$, VEGF, GCL, GST and NQO1 gene expression levels, but down-regulates PHLPP1 and PEDF mRNA transcription levels. PI3K inhibition and mTOR inhibition by specific inhibitors showed that most of these host gene expression patterns were due to activation of PI3K/Akt or mTOR pathways with some exceptional cases. Taken together, our results reveal a new molecular mechanism of these gene expression change dependent on PI3K/Akt or mTOR pathways and highlight more systematical insight of how an intracellular T. gondii can manipulate host genes to avoid host defense.