• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
• /
• v.19 no.8
• /
• pp.27-34
• /
• 2014

In this paper, we propose a pupil detection method using hybrid projection function and rank order filter. To reduce error to detect eyebrows as pupil, eyebrows are detected using hybrid projection function in face region and eye region is set to not include the eyebrows. In the eye region, potential pupil candidates are detected using rank order filter and then the positions of pupil candidates are corrected. The pupil candidates are grouped into pairs based on geometric constraints. A similarity measure is obtained for two eye of each pair using template matching, we select a pair with the smallest similarity measure as final two pupils. The experiments have been performed for 700 images of the BioID face database. The pupil detection rate is 92.4% and the proposed method improves about 21.5% over the existing method..

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Developmental Biology Conference
• /
• 2003.10a
• /
• pp.84-84
• /
• 2003

DNA methylation is involved in epigenetic processes such as X-chromosome inactivation, imprinting and silencing of transposons. DNA methylation is a highly plastic and critical component of mammalian development The DNA methyltransferases (Dnmts) are responsible for the generation of genomic methylation patterns, which lead to transcriptional silencing. The maintenance DNA methyltransferase enzyme, Dnmt 1, and the de novo methyltransferase, Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b, are indispensable for development because mice homozygous for the targeted disruption of any of these genes are not viable. The occurrence of DNA methylation is not random, and it can result in gene silencing The mechanisms underlying these processes are poorly understood. It is well established that DNA methylation and histone deacetylation operate along a common mechanistic pathway to repress transcription through the action of methyl-binding domain proteins (MBDs), which are components of, or recruit, histone deacetylase (HDAC) complexes to methylated DNA. As a basis for future studies on the role of the DNA-methyl-transferase in porcine development, we have isolated and characterized a partial cDNA coding for the porcine Dnmt1. Total RNA of testis, lung and ovary was isolated with TRlzol according to the manufacture's specifications. 5 ug of total RNA was reverse transcribed with Super Script II in the presence of porcine Dnmt 1 specific primers. Standard PCRs were performed in a total volume of 50 ul with cDNA as template. Two DNA fragmenets in different position were produced about 700bp, 1500bp and were cloned into pCR II-TOPO according to the manufacture's specification. Assembly of all sequences resulted in a cDNA from 158bp of 5'to 4861bp of 3'compare with the known human maintenance methyltransferase. Now, we are cloning the unknown Dnmt 1 region by 5'-RACE method and expression of Dnmt 1 in tissues from adult porcine animals.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• v.33 no.8
• /
• pp.2508-2512
• /
• 2012

Cold shock proteins (CSPs) are a family of proteins induced at low temperatures. CSPs bind to single-stranded nucleic acids through the ribonucleoprotein 1 and 2 (RNP 1 and 2) binding motifs. CSPs play an essential role in cold adaptation by regulating transcription and translation via molecular chaperones. The solution nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) or X-ray crystal structures of several CSPs from various microorganisms have been determined, but structural characteristics of psychrophilic CSPs have not been studied. Therefore, we optimized the purification process to obtain highly pure Lm-Csp and determined the three-dimensional structure model of Lm-Csp by comparative homology modeling using MODELLER on the basis of the solution NMR structure of Bs-CspB. Lm-Csp consists of a ${\beta}$-barrel structure, which includes antiparallel ${\beta}$ strands (G4-N10, F15-I18, V26-H29, A46-D50, and P58-Q64). The template protein, Bs-CspB, shares a similar ${\beta}$ sheet structure and an identical chain fold to Lm-Csp. However, the sheets in Lm-Csp were much shorter than those of Bs-CspB. The Lm-Csp side chains, E2 and R20 form a salt bridge, thus, stabilizing the Lm-Csp structure. To evaluate the contribution of this ionic interaction as well as that of the hydrophobic patch on protein stability, we investigated the secondary structures of wild type and mutant protein (W8, F15, and R20) of Lm-Csp using circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy. The results showed that solvent-exposed aromatic side chains as well as residues participating in ionic interactions are very important for structural stability. Further studies on the three-dimensional structure and dynamics of Lm-Csp using NMR spectroscopy are required.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.14 no.2
• /
• pp.631-637
• /
• 2013

Luteolin is a naturally occurring flavonoid present in many plants with diverse applications in pharmacology. Despite several studies elucidating its significant anti-cancer activity against various cancer cells, the mechanism of action in skin cancer is not well addressed. Hence, we investigated the effects of luteolin in HaCaT (human immortalized keratinocytes) and A375 (human melanoma) cells. The radical scavenging abilities of luteolin were determined spectrophotometrically, prior to a cytotoxic study (XTT assay). Inhibitory effects were assessed by colony formation assay. Further, the capability of luteolin to induce cell cycle arrest and apoptosis were demonstrated by flow cytometry and cellular DNA fragmentation ELISA, respectively. The results revealed that luteolin possesses considerable cytotoxicity against both HaCaT and A375 cells with $IC_{50}$ values of 37.1 ${\mu}M$ and 115.1 ${\mu}M$, respectively. Luteolin also inhibited colony formation and induced apoptosis in a dose and time-dependent manner by disturbing cellular integrity as evident from morphological evaluation by Wright-Giemsa staining. Accumulation of cells in G2/M (0.83-8.14%) phase for HaCaT cells and G0/G1 (60.4-72.6%) phase for A375 cells after 24 h treatment indicated cell cycle arresting potential of this flavonoid. These data suggest that luteolin inhibits cell proliferation and promotes cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in skin cancer cells with possible involvement of programmed cell death, providing a substantial basis for it to be developed into a potent chemopreventive template for skin cancer.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
• /
• 2014.02a
• /
• pp.411.2-411.2
• /
• 2014

The design of DNA nanostructures is of fundamental importance, the intrinsic value of DNA as a building-block material lies in its ability to organize other bio-molecules with nanometer-scale spacing. Here, we report the fabrication of DNA scaffolds with nano-pores (<10 nm size) that formed easily without the use of additives (i.e., avidin, biotin, polyamine, or inorganic materials) into large-scale structures by assembling DNA molecules at near room temperature ($30^{\circ}C$) and low pH (~5.5). Protein immobilization results also confirmed that a fibronectin (FN) proteins/large scale DNA scaffolds/aminopropylytriethoxysilane (APS)/SiO2/Si substrate with high sensitivity formed in a well-defined manner. The DNA scaffolds can be applied for use with DNA-based biochips, biophysics, and cell biology.

• Proceedings of the Korean Information Science Society Conference
• /
• 2005.11b
• /
• pp.283-285
• /
• 2005

단백질 상호작용 네트워크에는 단백질들로 구성된 패스웨이와 콤플렉스 등과 같은 의미 있는 바이오 컴포넌트들이 존재한다. 하지만, 단백질 상호작용 네트워크는 방대한 단백질들과 상호작용 관계들로 구성되어 있고 많은 잘못된 정보들을 포함하고 있다. 따라서, 사용자가 정확한 단백질에 대한 식별자로 구성된 질의를 통해 원하는 바이오 컴포넌트를 탐색하는 것은 쉽지 않다. 본 논문에서는 사용자가 원하는 바이오 컴포넌트를 식별자뿐만 아니라 단백질 및 상호작용 관계의 다양한 특징들을 이용하여 탐색할 수 있는 방법을 제시한다. 또한 단백질 상호작용 네트워크에는 잘못된 정보들이 많이 포함하고 있으므로 주어진 질의와 근접하게 일치하는 결과들도 제시할 수 있는 질의 연산자들을 제공하여 보다 다양한 관점에서 검토할 수 있도록 하였다.

• Journal of Integrative Natural Science
• /
• v.6 no.1
• /
• pp.16-20
• /
• 2013

G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) superfamily is the largest known receptor family, characterized by seven transmembrane domains and considered to be an important drug target. In this study we focused on an orphan GPCR termed as GPR18. As there is no X-ray crystal structure has been reported for this receptor, we report on a homology model of GPR18. Template structure with high homology was used for modeling and ten models were developed. A model was selected and refined by energy minimization. The selected model was further validated using various parameters. Our results could be a starting point for further structure based drug design.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
• /
• 2013.08a
• /
• pp.92.1-92.1
• /
• 2013

Molecular electronics has been the subject of intese research for many years because of the fundamental interest in molecular charge transport and potential applications, such as (bio)nanosensors and molecular memory devices. Molecular electronics requires a method for making reliable eletrical contacts to singlemolecules. To date, several approaches have been reported: scanning-probe microscopy, mechanical break junctions, nano patterning, and direct deposition of electrode on a self-assembled monolayers. However, most methods are laborious and difficult for large-scale application and more importantly, cannot control the number of moleucles in the junction. Recently, DNA has been used as a template for metallic nanostructures (e.g., Ag, Pd, and Au nanowires) through DNA metallization process. Furthermore, oligodeoxynucleotides have been tethered to organic molecules by using conventional organic reactions. Collectively, these techniques should provide an efficient route toward reliable and reproducible molecular electronic devices with large-scale fabrication. Therefore, I will present a paradigm for the fabrication of moleuclar electronic devices by using micrometer-sized DNA-singe organic molecule and DNA triblock structures.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
• /
• v.39 no.4
• /
• pp.595-601
• /
• 2010

This study was conducted to detect and identify Staphylococcus aureus, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, and Salmonella enterica subsp. using simultaneous multiplex polymerase chain reaction (multiplex PCR) assay. 23S rRNA partial gene (S. aureus), tox R gene (V. parahaemolyticus), and inv A gene (S. enterica subsp.) as diagnostic marker gene were suggested, and their amplicon sizes were 482 bp, 368 bp, and 284 bp, respectively. Non specific amplicons by STA-5F/STA-5R primer, ToxR-F/ToxR-R primer, and 139/141 primer were not observed in genomic DNA of pathogen bacteria as Bacillus cereus, Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli, Proteus vulgaris, Streptococcus pyogenes, Candida albicans, and Shigella sonnei. The extracted crude DNA of targeted bacteria was detected as PCR template successfully. The detection limits were $10^5\sim10^4$ CFU/mL and 10 pg of purified genomic DNA of S. aureus, V. parahaemolyticus, and S. enterica subsp. by using simultaneous multiplex PCR.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• v.33 no.9
• /
• pp.2883-2889
• /
• 2012

LL-37 is the only antimicrobial peptide (AMP) of the human cathelicidin family. In addition to potent antimicrobial activity, LL-37 is known to have the potential to inhibit lipolysaccharide (LPS)-induced endotoxic effects. To provide the stability to proteolytic digestion and increase prokaryotic selectivity and/or anti-endotoxic activity of two Lys/Trp-substituted 19-meric antimicrobial peptides (a4-W1 and a4-W2) designed from IG-19 (residues 13-31 of LL-37), we synthesized the diastereomeric peptides (a4-W1-D and a4-W2-D) with D-amino acid substitution at positions 3, 7, 10, 13 and 17 of a4-W1 and a4-W2, respectively and the enantiomeric peptides (a4-W1-E and a4-W2-E) composed D-amino acids. The diastereomeric peptides exhibited the best prokaryotic selectivity and effective protease stability, but no or less anti-endotoxic activity. In contrast, the enantiomeric peptides had not only prokaryotic selectivity and anti-endotoxic activity but also protease stability. Our results suggest that the hydrophobicity and ${\alpha}$-helicity of the peptide is important for anti-endotoxic activity. In particular, the enantiomeric peptides showed potent anti-endotoxic and LPS-neutralizing activities comparable to that of LL-37. Taken together, both a4-W1-E and a4-W2-E holds promise as a template for the development of peptide antibiotics for the treatment of endotoxic shock and sepsis.