• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2005

Methylophaga aminosulfidovorans SK1 (KCTC 10323 BP) can utilize trimethylamine as a sole carbon, nitrogen, and energy source. The bacterial flavin-containing monooxygenase (bFMO) gene was identified in the strain and the recombinant enzyme expressed in E. coli oxidized trimethylamine. To study the function and regulation of the bfmo, over 8,000 nucleotide sequences of the neighboring regions including the bfmo were determined. Three open reading frames proceeding to the bfmo gene encoded analogues to highly conserved nitrate/nitrite sensing two-component system regulators and a methyl accepting protein. Two small open reading frames just downstream of the bfmo gene showed no similar proteins of known functions but the sequences were conserved among other bacteria. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis showed that the six putative genes consisted of three transcription units. The three regulatory genes located upstream of the bfmo gene formed two separate transcription units. The bfmo and the two downstream genes were transcribed from a single promoter.

• Environmental and Resource Economics Review
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.597-632
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• 2010

There is general agreement that global warming is occurring and that the main contributor to this probably is the buildup of green house gasses, GHG, in the atmosphere. Two main contributors are the utilization of fossil fuels and the deforestation of many regions of the world. The burning of fossil fuels increases atmospheric carbon while the burning of fuel-wood reducing fossil fuel consumption along with its forest source maintain an atmospheric carbon level. The standing timber in the forests is a carbon sink, as are wood buildings and structures, and fossil fuel in the ground. This paper is designed to examine a number of current issues related to mitigating the global warming problem through forestry. For this purpose, we develop a modeling approach by integrating timber market, fossil fuel market and carbon cycling model. We use discrete time optimal control theory to identify optimal time paths, the laws of motion, and stationary stats solutions of endogenous variables in the model. On the basis of these results, we identify the optimal amounts of subsidies to be provided or taxes to be imposed by the regulatory agency to mitigate atmospheric carbon accumulation. We also present a numerical example to help illustrate the characteristics of variables in the model when the social cost for atmospheric carbon incrementally shifts upward. A surprising result is that the social cost function for atmospheric carbon has a very smaller impact on the optimal rotation period than previous literature suggested.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.152-158
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• 2017

Objective: To identify the associations between polymorphisms of the 3'-untranslated region (UTR) of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene, which codes for an important regulatory enzyme primarily involved in folate metabolism, and idiopathic recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) in Korean women. Methods: The study population comprised 369 RPL patients and 228 controls. MTHFR 2572C > A, 4869C > G, 5488C > T, and 6685T > C 3'-UTR polymorphisms were genotyped by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis or by TaqMan allelic discrimination assays. Natural killer cell proportions were determined by flow cytometry. Results: The MTHFR 2572-5488-6685 (A-C-T) haplotype had an adjusted odds ratio of 0.420 (95% confidence interval, 0.178-0.994; p= 0.048) for RPL. Analysis of variance revealed that MTHFR 4869C > G was associated with altered $CD56^+$ natural killer cell percentages (CC, $17.91%{\pm}8.04%$; CG, $12.67%{\pm}4.64%$; p= 0.024) and folate levels (CC, $12.01{\pm}7.18mg/mL$; CG, $22.15{\pm}26.25mg/mL$; p= 0.006). Conclusion: Variants in the 3'-UTR of MTHFR are potential biomarkers for RPL. However, these results should be validated in additional studies of ethnically diverse groups of patients.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.44 no.9
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• pp.658-669
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• 2021

Enhancers have been conventionally perceived as cis-acting elements that provide binding sites for trans-acting factors. However, recent studies have shown that enhancers are transcribed and that these transcripts, called enhancer RNAs (eRNAs), have a regulatory function. Here, we identified putative eRNAs by profiling and determining the overlap between noncoding RNA expression loci and eRNA-associated histone marks such as H3K27ac and H3K4me1 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell lines. Of the 132 HCC-derived noncoding RNAs, 74 overlapped with the eRNA loci defined by the FANTOM consortium, and 65 were located in the proximal regions of genes differentially expressed between normal and tumor tissues in TCGA dataset. Interestingly, knockdown of two selected putative eRNAs, THUMPD3-AS1 and LINC01572, led to downregulation of their target mRNAs and to a reduction in the proliferation and migration of HCC cells. Additionally, the expression of these two noncoding RNAs and target mRNAs was elevated in tumor samples in the TCGA dataset, and high expression was associated with poor survival of patients. Collectively, our study suggests that noncoding RNAs such as THUMPD3-AS1 and LINC01572 (i.e., putative eRNAs) can promote the transcription of genes involved in cell proliferation and differentiation and that the dysregulation of these noncoding RNAs can cause cancers such as HCC.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.172-184
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• 2021

Objective: Vanin1 (VNN1) is a pantetheinase that can catalyze the hydrolysis of pantetheine to produce pantothenic acid and cysteamine. Our previous studies showed that VNN1 is specifically expressed in chicken liver. In this study, we aimed to investigate the roles of peroxisome proliferators activated receptor α (PPARα) and miRNA-181a-5p in regulating VNN1 gene expression in chicken liver. Methods: 5'-RACE was performed to identify the transcription start site of chicken VNN1. JASPAR and TFSEARCH were used to analyze the potential transcription factor binding sites in the promoter region of chicken VNN1 and miRanda was used to search miRNA binding sites in 3' untranslated region (3'UTR) of chicken VNN1. We used a knock-down strategy to manipulate PPARα (or miRNA-181a-5p) expression levels in vitro to further investigate its effect on VNN1 gene transcription. Luciferase reporter assays were used to explore the specific regions of VNN1 targeted by PPARα and miRNA-181a-5p. Results: Sequence analysis of the VNN1 promoter region revealed several transcription factor-binding sites, including hepatocyte nuclear factor 1α (HNF1α), PPARα, and CCAAT/enhancer binding protein α. GW7647 (a specific agonist of PPARα) increased the expression level of VNN1 mRNA in chicken primary hepatocytes, whereas knockdown of PPARα with siRNA increased VNN1 mRNA expression. Moreover, the predicted PPARα-binding site was confirmed to be necessary for PPARα regulation of VNN1 gene expression. In addition, the VNN1 3'UTR contains a sequence that is completely complementary to nucleotides 1 to 7 of miRNA-181a-5p. Overexpression of miR-181a-5p significantly decreased the expression level of VNN1 mRNA. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that PPARα is an important transcriptional activator of VNN1 gene expression and that miRNA-181a-5p acts as a negative regulator of VNN1 expression in chicken hepatocytes.

• Journal of Technology Innovation
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.1-21
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• 1997

The objective of this paper is to think about what structural reforms of the Korean government S&T development management system might be. Korean society is currently experiencing a drastic socio-economic transformation. The results of this transformation should be reflected on the determining process of the directions and breadths of structural reforms of government S&T development management system. Because the government system design will be based on the premises of socio-economic conditions under which administrative activities perform and also this socio-economic changes can influence on changes of the premises of government management system design. Moreover, S&T development management system is a subsystem of government system so that the directions of structural reform of those subsystems should be considered in the broad framework changes in the development management system of the government. For the last forty years, the Korean government S&T development management system has been based on the premises including transformation from an agrarian society to an industrial society, authoritarianism and centrally controlled institutions, and exteremely small portions of private investments for science and thechonology R & D of the total. Recently, however, the premises of Korean government S&T development management system have rapidly changed. the characteristics of these changes are including tranformation from an industrial society to a knowledge and information intensive society, globalization, localization, and relatively large portion of private investments for science and technology R & C of the total. The basis of government reforms in Korea was the realization of the performances and values through the enhancement of national competitive capacity, attainment of lean government, decentralization and autonomy. However, the Korean government has attached a symbolic value of strategic organizations representing strong policy intentions of government for the science and technology based development. Most problems associated with the Korean government S&T development management system have grown worse during 1990s. Many people perceive that considerable part of this problem was generated because the government could not properly adapt itself to new administrative environment and the paradigm shift in its role. First of all, the Korean government S&T development management system as a whole failed to develop an integrated vision under which processes in formulating science and thechology development goals and developing consistent government plans concerning science and technology development are guided. Second, most of the local governments have little organizational capacity and manpowers to handle localized activities to promote science and technology in their regions. Third, the measure to coordinate and set priorities to invest resources for the development of science and technology was not effective. Fourth, the Most has been losing its reputation as the symbol of ideological commitment of the top policy maker to promote science and technology. Various ideas to reform government S&T development management system have been suggested recently. Most frequently cited ideas are as follow : (ⅰ)strengthen the functions of MoST by supplementing the strong incentive and regulatory measures; (ⅱ)create a new Ministry of Education, Science & Technology and Research by merging the Ministry of Education and the MoST; (ⅲ)create a new Ministry of Science & Technology and Industry ; and(ⅳ)create a National Science and Technology Policy Council under the chairmanship of the President. Four alternatives suggested have been widely discussed among the interested parties and they each have merits as well as weaknesses. The first alternative could be seen as an alternative which cannot resolve current conflicts among various ministries concerning priority setting and resource allocation. However, this alternatives can be seen as a way of showing the top policymaker's strong intention to emphasize science and technology based development. Second alternative is giving a strategic to emphasize on the training and supplying qualified manpower to meet knowledge and information intensive future society. This alternative is considered to be consistent with the new administrative paradigm emphasizing lean government and decentralization. However, opponents are worrying about the linkages and cooperative research between university and industry could be weakening. The third alternative has been adopted mostly in nations which have strong basic science research but weak industrial innovation traditions. Main weakness of this alternative for Korea is that Korean science and technology development system has no strong basic science and technology research traditions. The fourth alternative is consistent with new administrative paradigms and government reform bases. However, opponents to this alternative are worried that the intensive development of science and technology because of Korea's low potential research capabilities in science and technology development. Considerning the present Korean socio-economic situation which demands highly qualified human resources and development strategies which emphasizes the accumulations of knowledge-based stocks, I would like to suggest the route of creating a new Ministry of Education, Science & Technology and Research by intergrating education administration functions and science & technology development function into one ministry.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.62 no.5
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• pp.406-416
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• 2007

Background: Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), which consist of a substitution of a single nucleotide pair, are the most abundant form of genetic variations occurring with a frequency of approximately 1 per 1000 base pairs. SNPs by themselves do not cause disease but can predispose humans to disease, modify the extent or severity of the disease or influence the drug response and treatment efficacy. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), particularly those within the regulatory regions of the genes often influence the expression levels and can modify the disease. Studies examining the associations between SNP and the disease outcome have provided valuable insight into the disease etiology and potential therapeutic intervention. Traditionally, the genotyping of SNPs has been carried out using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism(PCR-RFLP), which is a low throughput technique not amenable for use in large-scale SNP studies. Recently, TaqMan real-time PCR chemistry was adapted for use in allelic discrimination assays. This study validated the accuracy and utility of real-time PCR technology for SNPs genotyping Methods: The SNPs in promoter sequence (-37 and -524) of lung cancer suppressor gene, RRM1 (ribonucleotide reductase M1 subunit) with the genomic DNA samples of 89 subjects were genotyped using both real-time PCR and PCR-RFLP. Results: The discordance rates were 2.2% (2 mismatches) in -37 and 16.3% (15 mismatches) in -524. Auto-direct sequencing of all the mismatched samples(17 cases) were in accord with the genotypes read by real-time PCR. In addition, 138 genomic DNAs were genotyped using real-time PCR in a duplicate manner (two separated assays). Ninety-eight percent of the samples showed concordance between the two assays. Conclusion: Real-time PCR allelic discrimination assays are amenable to high-throughput genotyping and overcome many of the problematic features associated with PCR-RFLP.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Traditional Landscape Architecture
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.38-47
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• 2013

This study was performed in order to preserve and protect the scenic sites and surrounding environment is located in the Urban Residential Area. After classifying the type of area surrounding parcels of Seongbuk-dong is located in Seongragwon, Satisfaction Survey, scenic sites designated areas for residents living near the analyzed. Research methods, Cadastral research, literature survey, field survey, and the survey was conducted. Cultural heritage awareness about the collected questionnaires of frequency analysis, and reliability analysis for cultural heritages around satisfaction, satisfaction analysis by parcel area, parcel area for the verification of specific differences regression analysis for the full-on relationship satisfaction, one-way ANOVA was conducted for each. Overall Cultural awareness analysis results, the residence is located close to the Seoul Seonjamdanji, Seongragwon, Simujang, Sanghoe Lee Tae-Joon's houses, Seoul Hanyang castle showed that cultural heritage were know unfulfilled cultural heritage. The purpose of cultural heritage visit was to break/walks. Preservation was usually level and there is no inconvenience caused as a cultural heritage. Regulatory intensity level was usually level and showed a positive reaction to the impact of cultural heritage in Seongbuk-dong image mostly. cultural heritage have a positive impact on the image of the town. but access to cultural heritage is not easy and doesn't affect the life is expected. Overall satisfaction for cultural heritages in the surrounding space, the larger the size of the lot, and higher satisfaction. Seongbuk-dong most of the residents satisfaction was higher. Small lots of residents showed low satisfaction for safety when walking at night, heritage value rise, private ownership of heritage use, harmony with surrounding environment, Building exterior, non-physical uniqueness like culture art mental. It can be interpreted that small lots of residential environment quality is low compared to the large lots, influx of residents in other regions due to the redevelopment of one of Seongbuk-dong, private ownership of heritage use. And generally lower satisfaction on the harmonization of the facility(street lights, signs, etc.). Therefore cultural heritage signs for facility expansion, cultural educational programs, will be needed to maintain the uniqueness village when scenic sites in the city center around the area of management strategy.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.43 no.10
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• pp.1477-1483
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• 2014

This study investigated the anti-obesity effects of African mango (Irvingia gabonesis, IGOB $131^{TM}$) extract in leptin-deficient obese mice. Experimental groups were treated with two different doses of IGOB $131^{TM}$ (1% and 2% in each AIN93G supplement) for 8 weeks. Treatment of obese mice with both low and high dose of IGOB $131^{TM}$ significantly reduced body weight gain by 10.9% and 13.3%, respectively, compared to control obese mice. Subcutaneous adipose tissue weight of mice was significantly reduced by 18% by low-dose and 23% by high-dose supplementation. This result was supported by micro-CT analysis around the abdominal regions of mice, indicating that the adipose tissue area and volume were significantly reduced by treatment with IGOB $131^{TM}$. Serum levels of triglycerides in the low- and high-dose groups were reduced by 36.5% and 43.8%, respectively, upon treatment with IGOB $131^{TM}$, whereas total cholesterol levels were reduced by 31.8% and 35.4%. Interestingly, the serum LDL level decreased upon treatment with IGOB $131^{TM}$ while the serum level of HDL dramatically increased upon high-dose treatment with IGOB $131^{TM}$, resulting in a significant reduction in the LDL to HDL ratio of 59.2%. These results were supported by the expression levels of enzymes and proteins related to lipid metabolism assessed by real-time PCR. There was a significant increase of in adiponectin expression as well as significant decreases in the expression of FAS, LPL, and lipid regulatory transcription factors such as PPAR-${\gamma}$, C/EBP, and SREBP upon both low- and high-dose IGOB $131^{TM}$ treatment. However, there was no statistical difference between low- and high-dose treatments. These results suggest that IGOB $131^{TM}$ is able to regulate the serum lipid profiles by reducing triglyceride and increasing HDL levels as well as regulate expression of lipid metabolic factors, resulting in reduction of a weight gain in leptin-deficient obese mice.

• 한국사회정책
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.125-163
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• 2018

Social and health problems related to drinking are serious. Drinking behavior is affected not only by personal factors but also by environment factors. The purpose of this study is to find out how the alcoholic beverage stores in community influence the drinking behaviors of individuals after adjusting the individual level variables and provide it as basic data for alcohol related regulatory policies. In order to identify the factors affecting drinking behavior, we conducted a multilevel logistic regression analysis with high-risk drinking and current drinking as dependent variables. Individual-level data provided by 2015 community health survey from respondents of urban residents, and regional level data provided by the National Statistical office. The variables such as age, education level, and income level were used as individual level variables and the number of basic living allowances, divorce rate, and the number of pubs were used as community level variables. According to the research results, after controlling all variables, the number of bar, retail per $1km^2$ in residential area effect on current drinking. But, they are not effect on high risk drinking. In the high risk drinking, only the divorce rate effect on drinking behavior. As a result of the stratified analysis, there was no difference in the current drinking. But, it shows that the higher the number of retail stores and the total alcohol availability, the higher risk drinking behavior in the 60s. The results of this study suggest that policies aimed not only on individuals but also on the local environment are necessary.