• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.11
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• pp.1916-1927
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• 2018

Corynebacterium glutamicum is an excellent platform for the production of amino acids, and is widely used in the fermentation industry. Most industrial strains are traditionally obtained by repeated processes of random mutation and selection, but the genotype of these strains is often unclear owing to the absence of genomic information. As such, it is difficult to improve the growth and amino acid production of these strains via metabolic engineering. In this study, we generated a complete genome map of an industrial L-valine-producing strain, C. glutamicum XV. In order to establish the relationship between genotypes and physiological characteristics, a comparative genomic analysis was performed to explore the core genome, structural variations, and gene mutations referring to an industrial L-leucine-producing strain, C. glutamicum CP, and the widely used C. glutamicum ATCC 13032. The results indicate that a 36,349 bp repeat sequence in the CP genome contained an additional copy each of lrp and brnFE genes, which benefited the export of L-leucine. However, in XV, the kgd and panB genes were disrupted by nucleotide insertion, which increase the availability of precursors to synthesize L-valine. Moreover, the specific amino acid substitutions in key enzymes increased their activities. Additionally, a novel strategy is proposed to remodel central carbon metabolism and reduce pyruvate consumption without having a negative impact on cell growth by introducing the CP-derived mutant $H^+$/citrate symporter. These results further our understanding regarding the metabolic networks in these strains and help to elucidate the influence of different genotypes on these processes.

• Nutritional Sciences
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.124-130
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• 2006

To examine the effects of alcohol consumption on body fluid restoration and fat mobilization following exercise induced dehydration, nine healthy collegiate men ($24{\pm}2yrs,\;177{\pm}5cm,\;72{\pm}8kg,\;10.5{\pm}2.3%$ body fat) underwent three experiments. In each experiment, subjects ran on a treadmill to reduce individual body mass to $2.2{\pm}0.1%$ and consumed one of three beverages containing 0, 4, or 8% alcohol over 60 min followed by 4 hr of resting recovery. They consumed approximately 150% of weight loss $(2053{\pm}204,\;2091{\pm}149,\;and\;1943{\pm}295mL)$ and content of alcohol was $9.9{\pm}1.0(0%),\;71.9{\pm}5.1(4%)$, and $132.2{\pm}20.1g$ (8% trial). Body weight, urine volume and samples, blood samples, and thirst sensation were measured five times; at baseline, immediately after exercise, and 0, 1st, and 4th hr of recovery. Blood alcohol concentration after ingestion was $0.0{\pm}0.0(0%),\;0.1{\pm}0.02(4%)$, and $0.2{\pm}0.03%$ (8% trial). No differences in blood sodium and potassium concentrations, and urine specific gravity were noticed over time periods and trials. Thirst sensation tended to be elevated in all trials immediately after exercises and urine output was elevated during the recovery. The magnitude of changes in these variables was proportional to the alcohol concentrations, but not statistically significant. While serum osmolality was not different among trials and time periods in 0 and 4% trials, it was higher during recovery than the baseline in the 8% trial (P<0.01). Triglycerides did not change throughout the time period and among trials. Free fatty acids were elevated after exercise in all trials and 4th hr of recovery in 0% (P<0.05). Subjects' net body fluid balance at 4th hr of recovery was negatively maintained and proportional to alcohol concentrations. Only 8% trials showed a significant reduction at 1st and 4th hr of recovery compared to 0 hr. The results suggested that diuretic effect of alcohol after moderate level of dehydration appeared dose dependent, but beverage containing alcohol up to 4% did not induce impaired rehydration than alcohol free drinks. Alcohol effects on fat mobilization during recovery appeared to be minimal and the mechanism is unclear.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.242-253
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• 2017

We selected 81 universities (39.1%) for research and close analysis to analyze the current availability of courses in the field of clothing construction at four-year domestic universities. The results of the analysis shows that curriculum is currently composed of theoretical and practical courses that continue to be developed in diverse areas of study. Despite having classes with underlying similarities and differences, research shows that the course curriculum is constructed systematically with both theory and practice at each stage. Distribution of curriculum in the field of clothing construction were organized and analyzed by similar courses in 4 larger groupings and 9 sub-groups. Analysis of the large groupings showed that sewing courses (19.8%), pattern development courses (41.0%), advanced sewing courses (14.1%), and miscellaneous courses (26.1%) were established. Analysis of the sub-groups showed that basic theory and sewing courses (3.6%), sewing courses (16.1%), flat pattern courses (17.9%), draping pattern courses (14.6%), pattern CAD courses (7.3%), tailoring and advanced sewing courses (8.5%), scientific sewing and apparel production processing courses (1.4%), special sewing courses (3.9%), and miscellaneous and new subject courses (26.1%) were established. Overall analysis of the organization distribution was conducted in the order of pattern development (39.9%), miscellaneous & new subject (26.1%), basic theory and sewing (19.8%), and advanced sewing (14.0%). Field analysis from various angles indicates that pattern development, new subject courses, and miscellaneous courses had a relatively higher proportion than other major courses. From this it can be inferred that this trend is an effort to develop individuals to adapt to a rapidly changing fashion industry and environment. The composition of courses also shows great advancement towards diversification and course development. However, there is still insufficient exchange between industrial and education sites. As active exchange continue to be demanded, classification standards for new subject courses and titles of such studies have become unclear and have reached limitations.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.249-255
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• 2015

Schisandrae fructus [Schizandra chinensis (Turcz.) Baillon] is a medicinal herb widely used for treating various inflammatory and immune diseases in East Asian countries. The Schisandrae Semen essential oil (SSeo) from this plant has pharmacological activities, including antioxidant, antimicrobial, and antitumoral activities. Nevertheless, the biological activities and underlying molecular mechanisms of the potential anti-cancer effects of this oil remain unclear. In the present study, we investigated the potential inhibition of apoptosis signaling pathways by SSeo in human leukemia U937 cells and evaluated the underlying molecular mechanism. Exposure to SSeo resulted in a concentration-dependent growth inhibition due to apoptosis, which was verified by DNA fragmentation, the presence of apoptotic bodies, and an increase in the sub-G1 ratio. Induction of apoptotic cell death by SSeo was correlated with the down-regulation of members of the inhibitor of apoptosis protein (IAP) family (including X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein (XIAP), cIAP-1, and surviving) and anti-apoptotic Bcl-2, and with up-regulation of death receptor (DR) 4 and DR5, depending on dosage. SSeo treatment also induced Bid truncation, mitochondrial dysfunction, proteolytic activation of caspase-3, -8 and -9, and concomitant degradation of activated caspase-3 target proteins such as poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase. Taken together, these findings suggest that SSeo may be a potential chemotherapeutic agent for use in the control of human leukemia cells. Further studies are needed to identify its active compounds.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.219-228
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• 2015

Excessive microglial activation and subsequent neuroinflammation lead to synaptic loss and dysfunction as well as neuronal cell death, which are involved in the pathogenesis and progression of several neurodegenerative diseases. Thus, the regulation of microglial activation has been evaluated as effective therapeutic strategies. Although dieckol (DEK), one of the phlorotannins isolated from marine brown alga Ecklonia cava, has been previously reported to inhibit microglial activation, the molecular mechanism is still unclear. Therefore, we investigated here molecular mechanism of DEK via extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), Akt and nicotinamide adenine dinuclelotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase-mediated pathways. In addition, the neuroprotective mechanism of DEK was investigated in microglia-mediated neurotoxicity models such as neuron-microglia co-culture and microglial conditioned media system. Our results demonstrated that treatment of anti-oxidant DEK potently suppressed phosphorylation of ERK in lipopolysaccharide (LPS, $1{\mu}g/ml$)-stimulated BV-2 microglia. In addition, DEK markedly attenuated Akt phosphorylation and increased expression of $gp91^{phox}$, which is the catalytic component of NADPH oxidase complex responsible for microglial reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. Finally, DEK significantly attenuated neuronal cell death that is induced by treatment of microglial conditioned media containing neurotoxic secretary molecules. These neuroprotective effects of DEK were also confirmed in a neuron-microglia co-culture system using enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP)-transfected B35 neuroblastoma cell line. Taken together, these results suggest that DEK suppresses excessive microglial activation and microglia-mediated neuronal cell death via downregulation of ERK, Akt and NADPH oxidase-mediated pathways.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.736-744
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• 2010

The root of Playtcodon grandiflorum, called Platycodi radix, has been a favorite edible plant in Asia and contains a large amount of saponins. Melanoma cells (B16F10) were used to investigate the inhibitory effect of aged black Platycodi radix extract (ABPRE) on oxidative stress and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). Platycodon radix has been known to have a variety of medicinal effects such as prevention of gastric ulcers, antiallergenic activities, histamine release inhibition, and antioxidant effects. However, the mechanism of its action remains unclear in humans. ABPRE was prepared using ethanol extraction of aged black Platycodi radix. In an antioxidant effect study of ABPRE, it was observed that ABPRE specifically exhibited the scavenging activity of DPPH radical, but did not inhibit the production of malondialdehyde from lipid peroxidation. DNA oxidation was also blocked in the presence of ABPRE. In addition, ABPRE decreased the expression and activation of MMP-2 stimulated by phenazine methosulfate. Furthermore, ABPRE revealed the inhibitory effect on melanin production induced by L-dopa via antioxidant effect and the reduction of tyrosinase expression. Especially, the expression of antioxidant enzymes such as SOD-1 and SOD-2 regulated by Nrf2 was increased in the presence of ABPRE. Therefore, it appears that ABPRE may be a possible chemopreventive agent for the prevention of metastasis related to oxidative stress.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.11 no.5
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• pp.209-217
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• 2020

The background of the research is the following. With the prosperity of drone industry, the government has been actively promoting measures to nominate 'drone photographing free areas'. However, existing laws, and procedures are rather unclear with related environmental factors in discordance with one another. Hence, voices in need for establishing a clear precondition for nominating drone photography free area have been rising. The purpose of the research is to provide measures for the preconditions to establish photography free areas for convenient drone photographing. The research utilizes literary methods, conducting focus group interviews to coordinate with specialists who can participate and discuss so that they can provide improvement measures. The research renders improvement measures in different sectors including 2x items in aviation security law, 8x items in free area nomination and procedure, 4x items in infrastructure establishment and information management area. The expected effects are the following: by attaching drone photography with aviation security law, nominating photography free area can be linked up with the Ministry of Land Infrastructure and Technology. Secondly, by enlarging photography restricted area to upper mid-air, a three dimensional drone security will be possible. Thirdly, by providing a 'Yongin area standard model', free area nomination will become more easy. Future research will focus on enhancing aviation security law regarding drone photographing. In addition, the promotion to nominate free areas for 33x responsible areas in accordance with the National Intelligence service will be required.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.278-285
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• 2016

Epidemiological studies have shown the association between transportation of live animals and the potential transmission of infectious disease between premises. This finding was also observed in the 2014-2015 foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak in Korea. Furthermore, slaughterhouses played a key role in the global spread of the FMD virus during the epidemic. In this context, in-depth knowledge of the structure of direct and indirect contact between slaughterhouses is paramount for understanding the dynamics of FMD transmission. But the social network structure of vehicle movements to slaughterhouses in Korea remains unclear. Hence, the aim of this study was to configure a social network topology of vehicle movements between slaughterhouses for a better understanding of how they are potentially connected, and to explore whether FMD outbreaks can be explained by the network properties constructed in the study. We created five monthly directed networks based on the frequency and chronology of on- and off-slaughterhouse vehicle movements. For the monthly network, a node represented a slaughterhouse, and an edge (or link) denoted vehicle movement between two slaughterhouses. Movement data were retrieved from the national Korean Animal Health Integrated System (KAHIS) database, which tracks the routes of individual vehicle movements using a global positioning system (GPS). Electronic registration of livestock movements has been a mandatory requirement since 2013 to ensure traceability of such movements. For each of the five studied networks, the network structures were characterized by small-world properties, with a short mean distance, a high clustering coefficient, and a short diameter. In addition, a strongly connected component was observed in each of the created networks, and this giant component included 94.4% to 100% of all network nodes. The characteristic hub-and-spoke type of structure was not identified. Such a structural vulnerability in the network suggests that once an infectious disease (such as FMD) is introduced in a random slaughterhouse within the cohesive component, it can spread to every other slaughterhouse in the component. From an epidemiological perspective, for disease management, empirically derived small-world networks could inform decision-makers on the higher potential for a large FMD epidemic within the livestock industry, and could provide insights into the rapid-transmission dynamics of the disease across long distances, despite a standstill of animal movements during the epidemic, given a single incursion of infection in any slaughterhouse in the country.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.55 no.4
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• pp.376-389
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• 2022

Despite the consumption of disinfectants have been increased by COVID-19 pandemic, the fate of the chemicals in aquatic food webs are still unclear. In order to understand the trophic transfer of the chemicals, the concentration of disinfectants including six benzalkonium chloride (BACs) and five didecyldimethylammonium chlorides(DDACs) were measured at the Geum (2020), Han (2021), and Yeongsan River (2021), before and after rainfall. The highest concentration of ∑BACs (mainly C12 and C14) and ∑DDACs (mainly C10 and C14) were observed in the Han River, followed by Yeongsan River, Geum River Estuary, and Gapcheon. After rainfalls, both concentration and detection frequency were decreased in all sites. Although the BAC and DDAC seems to be accumulated in organisms, they were bio-diluted rather than magnified in the aquatic food web with the biomagnification factor(BMF) of less than 1, trophic magnification slope (TMS) from -0.236 to 0.001, and trophic magnification factor(TMF) from 0.85 to 1.01.

• Information Systems Review
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.189-212
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• 2023

This study uses various methods, including media analysis, expert interviews, and large-scale surveys, to derive notable digital business trends in 2023. Most trend studies have yet to deal with digital business trends in Korea. They also often have limitations in the objectivity of the results using unclear methods. On the other hand, this study emphasizes the validity of the results by collecting opinions from Korean digital business experts in various fields. First, Korean IT news articles were collected and analyzed through topic modeling analysis. Then, based on the results, interviews were conducted with 13 academic and industrial experts to derive 16 IT business trend candidates. Then, a survey was conducted on 210 experts to finalize the list of Korean IT business trends. Finally, to compare overseas and domestic views, we conducted an additional survey using the items developed by the Society for Information Management, SIM. This study is meaningful in that it drew prospects for digital business trends in consideration of the domestic business environment by scientifically converging various opinions of Korean digital business leaders. Our study contributes to developing strategies for IT technology and IT service business markets.