• BMB Reports
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• v.44 no.8
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• pp.506-511
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• 2011

Mammalian Target of Rapamycin (mTOR) is a serine/threonine kinase and that forms two multiprotein complexes known as the mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1) and mTOR complex 2 (mTORC2). mTOR regulates cell growth, proliferation and survival. mTORC1 is composed of the mTOR catalytic subunit and three associated proteins: raptor, mLST8/$G{\beta}L$ and PRAS40. mTORC2 contains mTOR, rictor, mLST8/$G{\beta}L$, mSin1, and protor. Here, we discuss mTOR as a promising anti-ischemic agent. It is believed that mTORC2 lies down-stream of Akt and acts as a direct activator of Akt. The different functions of mTOR can be explained by the existence of two distinct mTOR complexes containing unique interacting proteins. The loss of TSC2, which is upstream of mTOR, activates S6K1, promotes cell growth and survival, activates mTOR kinase activities, inhibits mTORC1 and mTORC2 via mTOR inhibitors, and suppresses S6K1 and Akt. Although mTOR signaling pathways are often activated in human diseases, such as cancer, mTOR signaling pathways are deactivated in ischemic diseases. From Drosophila to humans, mTOR is necessary for Ser473 phosphorylation of Akt, and the regulation of Akt-mTOR signaling pathways may have a potential role in ischemic disease. This review evaluates the potential functions of mTOR in ischemic diseases. A novel mTOR-interacting protein deregulates over-expression in ischemic disease, representing a new mechanism for controlling mTOR signaling pathways and potential therapeutic strategies for ischemic diseases.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.354-365
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• 1993

A novel control method with automatic tuning of PID controller parameters has been developed for efficient regulation of dissolved oxygen concentration in fed-batch fermentations of Escherichia coli. Agitation speed and oxygen partial pressure in the inlet gas stream were chosen to be the manipulated variables. A heuristic reasoning allowed improved tuning decisions from the supervision of control performance indices and it coule obviate the needs for process assumptions or disturbance patterns. The control input consisted of feedback and feedforword parts. The feedback part was determined by PID control and the feedforward part is determined from the feed rate. The proportional gain was updated on-line by a set of heuristics rules based on the supervision of three performance indices. These indices were output error covariance, the average value of output error, and input covariance, which were calculated on-line using a moving window. The integral and derivative time constants were determined from the period of output response. The specific growth rate was maintained at a low level to avoid acetic acid accumulation and thus to achieve a high cell density. The specific growthe rate was estimated from the carbon dioxide evolution rate. In fed-batch fermentation, the simutaneous control of dissolved oxygen concentration (at 0.2; fraction of saturated value) and specific growth rate (at 0.25$hr^{-1}$) was satisfactory for the entire culture period in spite of the changes in the feed rate and the switching of control input.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.119-127
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• 2015

Chalcones (1,3-diaryl-2-propen-1-ones), a subfamily of flavonoid, are widely known to possess potent anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties. In this study, we investigated the effect of 3-(4-Hydroxyphenyl)-1-(thio3-(4-Hydroxyphenyl phen-2-yl)prop-2-en-1-one (TI-I-175), a synthetic chalcone derivative, on endotoxin-induced expression of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), one of the key chemokines that regulates migration and infiltration of immune cells, and its potential mechanisms. TI-I-175 potently inhibited MCP-1 mRNA expression stimulated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in RAW 264.7 macrophages without significant effect on cell viability. Treatment of cells with TI-I-175 markedly prevented LPS-induced transcriptional activation of activator protein-1 (AP-1) as measured by luciferase reporter assay, while nuclear factor-${\kappa}B$ (NF-${\kappa}B$) activity was not inhibited by TI-I-175, implying that TI-I-175 suppressed MCP-1 expression probably via regulation of AP-1. In addition, TI-I-175 treatment significantly inhibited LPS-induced Akt phosphorylation and led to a significant decrease in reactive oxygen species (ROS) production by LPS, which act as up-stream signaling events required for AP-1 activation in RAW 264.7 macrophages. Taken together, these results indicate that TI-I-175 suppresses MCP-1 gene expression in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages via suppression of ROS production and Akt activation.

• BMB Reports
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• v.39 no.6
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• pp.686-695
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• 2006

Interleukin-2 enhancer binding factor 2 (ILF2) was reported to regulate transcription of interleukin-2 (IL-2), a central cytokine in the regulation of T-cell responses. This property of ILF2 was well characterized in human and mammals, but little is known in bony fish. In this paper, an ILF2 homologue was cloned and well characterized from Tetraodon nigrovirid is for the further investigation of the function of ILF2 in bony fish. The full-length Tetraodon ILF2 cDNA was 1380 bp in size and contained an open reading frame (ORF) of 1164 bp that translates into a 387 amino-acid peptide with a molecular weight of 42.9 kDa, a 5' untranslated region (UTR) of 57 bp, and a 3' UTR of 159 bp containing a poly A tail. The deduced peptide of Tetraodon ILF2 shared an overall identity of 58%~93% with other known ILF2 sequences, and contained two N-glycosylation sites, two N-myristoylation sites, one RGD cell attachment sequence, six protein kinase C phosphorylation sites, one amino-terminal RGG-rich single-stranded RNA-binding domain, and a DZF zinc-finger nucleic acid binding domain, most of which were highly conserved through species compared. Constitutive expression of Tetraodon ILF2 was observed in all tissues examined, including gill, gut, head kidney, spleen, liver, brain and heart. The highest expression was detected in heart, followed by liver, head kidney and brain. Stimulation with LPS did not significantly alter the expression of Tetraodon ILF2. Gene organization analysis showed that the Tetraodon ILF2 gene have fifteen exons, one more than other known ILF2 genes in human and mouse. Genes up- and down-stream from the Tetraodon ILF2 were Rpa12, Peroxin-11b, Smad4, Snapap and Txnip homologue, which were different from that in human and mouse.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.38 no.spc
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• pp.44-53
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• 2005

The Nakdong River, which lies in a monsoon climate zone with warm rainy summers and cold dry winters, is a typical ecosystem showing the attributes of a regulated river. In 2003, the total annual rainfall (1,805 mm) was higher than the average of the past nine years from 1994 to 2002 (1,250 mm). In September a powerful typhoon, Maemi, caused a big impact on the limnology of the river for over two months. Among the limnological variables, turbidity in 2003 (37.4 ${\pm}$ 94.1 NTU, n = 54) was higher than the annual average for ten years (18.5 ${\pm}$ 2.3 NTU, n = 486) in the lower part of the river (Mulgum: RK 28). Furthermore, physical disturbance (e.g. stream bank erosion within channel) in the upstream of the Imha Dam (RK ca. 350; river distance in kilometer from the estuary barrage) in the upper part of the river was a source of high turbidity, and impacted on the limnological dynamics along a 350 km section of the middle to lower part of the river. After the typhoon, high turbidity persisted more than two months in the late autumn from September to November in 2003. Flow regulation and the extended duration of turbid water are superimposed on the template of existing main channel hydroecology, which may cause spatial changes in the population dynamics of plankton in the river.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.63 no.2
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• pp.137-145
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• 2020

Oxidative stress is one of the pathogenic mechanisms of various neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease. Neuroglia, the most abundant cells in the brain, is thought to play an important role in the antioxidant defense system and neuronal metabolic support against neurotoxicity and oxidative stress. We investigated the protective effect of paeoniflorin (PF) against oxidative stress in C6 glial cells. Exposure of C6 glial cells to hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂, 500 μM) significantly decreased cell viability and increased amounts of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release, indicating H₂O₂-induced cellular damage. However, treatment with PF significantly attenuated H₂O₂-induced cell death as shown by increased cell survival and decreased LDH release. The H₂O₂-stimulated reactive oxygen species production was also suppressed, and it may be associated with improvement of superoxide dismutase activity by treatment with PF. In addition, an increase in ratio of Bcl-2/Bax protein expression was observed after treatment with PF. In particular, the down-stream of the apoptotic signaling pathway was inhibited in the presence of PF, mostly by reduction of cleaved-poly ADP ribose polymerase, cleaved caspase-3, and -9 protein expression. Furthermore, H₂O₂-induced phosphorylation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase and extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 was attenuated by treatment with PF. Taken together, neuroprotective effect of PF against oxidative stress probably result from the regulation of apoptotic pathway in C6 glial cells. In conclusion, our findings suggest that PF may be a potent therapeutic agent for neurodegenerative disorders.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.27 no.7
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• pp.477-488
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• 2018

In this study, heavy metal levels at the sediment monitoring network site upstream of the Gangjeong-Goryeong weir in the Nakdong River were surveyed from 2012 to 2016. We assessed the sediment pollution level using various pollution indexes based on ICP-MS analysis. The stream sediment pollution assessment standard, established through Regulation No. 687 of the National Institute of Environmental Research (2015), pollution load index (PLI), potential ecological risk index (RI), and mean PEL Quotient (mPELQ) were used to evaluate the sediment pollution level. We verified the representativeness of the monitoring point through the distribution of sedimentation and scour behavior by river bed surveying using anacousticDopplercurrentprofiler.

• Journal of Korean Society of Rural Planning
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.115-128
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• 2019

The A1B scenario predicts that the mean air temperature of South Korea will rise up to $3.8^{\circ}C$ by 2071. However, the effects of ecosystem services are declining because of various environmental problems, including climate change, land use change, stream intensification, non-point pollution, and untreated garbage. Moreover, horticultural sites which have various ecosystem services suffer highly absorbed heat from the heat island phenomenon associated with climate change. Therefore, we analyzed the heat island phenomenon occurring in an protected horticulture estimated area in Saemanguem, South Korea. Using an advanced measurement method, we examined the air temperature change derived from water channels as well as open spaces. The CFD analysis of coverage ratio 85% design showed wind speed of 2.09 m/s and temperature of $38.07^{\circ}C$. At a coverage ratio of 70%, the wind speed was improved to 2.61 m/s and the temperature was improved to $36.89^{\circ}C$. In Alternative 2 with wetlands and trees, the wind speed was 2.71 m/s and the temperature was $35.90^{\circ}C$. When the coverage ratio decreases to 55%, the wind speed increases showing 3.06 m/s and the temperature decreases showing $35.18^{\circ}C$.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Hazard Mitigation
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.101-109
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• 2008

Automated rainfall warning system is a facility to prevent casualties who were recreating in the down stream region with operating lead broadcasting or signaling warning automatically when torrential rainfall occurs in mountainous area. But standard of conventional warning does not consider the characteristics of basin, and warning signal. Evacuation signal 1 and evacuation signal 2 are uniformly signaled when the 10minute moving total of observed rainfall is higher than 4 mm, 6 mm, and 8 mm respectively. therefore, local governments and relative agencies had re-established the standard of warning by analyzing the risk water level, critical discharge and reference rainfall, which are considering the characteristics of basin. In this study the standard of conventional and re-established warning of weolseong basin, which is available to acquire a real rainfall. There are analyzed by considering the risk water level, critcal discharge and reference rainfall. Also this study compares rainfall of conventional and re-established warning standard and indentifies problems by analyzing adequacy of rainfall estimation for warning and proposes alternative. The standard of conventional warning which investigates with the converted rainfall(unit of a minute) issued too many alarm. The re-established standard upward has the necessity which will be regulated about the alarm announcement number of times. Considers the safety, upward regulation of alarm standard rainfall is a necessity which will be prudent.

• Explosives and Blasting
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.23-35
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• 2003

An analytical diffusion model for flood routing with backwater effects and lateral flows is developed. The basic diffusion equation is linearized about an average depth of (H + h), and is solved using the boundary conditons which take into account the effects of backwater and lateral flows. Scouring phenomenon around pier which affects on the support function of pier and the stabilization if river bed is a complex problem depending on flow properties and river bed state as well as pier geometry. therefore, there is no uniting theory at present which would enable the designer to estimate, with confidence, the depth of scour at bridge piers. The various methods used in erosion control are collectively called upstream engineering, HEC-RAS Model, underwater blasting. They consist of reforestation, check-dam construction, planting of burned-over areas, contour plowing and regulation of crop and grazing practices. Also included are measures for proper treatment of high embankments and cuts and stabilization of streambanks by planting or by revetment construction. One phase of reforestation that may be applied near a reservoir is planting of vegetation screens. Such screens, planted on the flats adjacent to the normal stream channel at the head of a reservoir, reduce the velocity of silt-laden storm inflows that inundate these areas. This stilling action causes extensive deposition to occur before the silt reaches the main cavity of the reservoir.