• Title/Summary/Keyword: Biological aspects

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Biological roles and an evolutionary sketch of the GRF-GIF transcriptional complex in plants

  • Kim, Jeong Hoe
    • BMB Reports
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    • v.52 no.4
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    • pp.227-238
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    • 2019
  • GROWTH-REGULATING FACTORs (GRFs) are sequence-specific DNA-binding transcription factors that regulate various aspects of plant growth and development. GRF proteins interact with a transcription cofactor, GRF-INTERACTING FACTOR (GIF), to form a functional transcriptional complex. For its activities, the GRF-GIF duo requires the SWITCH2/SUCROSE NONFERMENTING2 chromatin remodeling complex. One of the most conspicuous roles of the duo is conferring the meristematic potential on the proliferative and formative cells during organogenesis. GRF expression is post-transcriptionally down-regulated by microRNA396 (miR396), thus constructing the GRF-GIF-miR396 module and fine-tuning the duo's action. Since the last comprehensive review articles were published over three years ago, many studies have added further insight into its action and elucidated new biological roles. The current review highlights recent advances in our understanding of how the GRF-GIF-miR396 module regulates plant growth and development. In addition, I revise the previous view on the evolutionary origin of the GRF gene family.

Autophagy Is Pro-Senescence When Seen in Close-Up, but Anti-Senescence in Long-Shot

  • Kwon, Yoojin;Kim, Ji Wook;Jeoung, Jo Ae;Kim, Mi-Sung;Kang, Chanhee
    • Molecules and Cells
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    • v.40 no.9
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    • pp.607-612
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    • 2017
  • When mammalian cells and animals face a variety of internal or external stresses, they need to make homeostatic changes so as to cope with various stresses. To this end, mammalian cells are equipped with two critical stress responses, autophagy and cellular senescence. Autophagy and cellular senescence share a number of stimuli including telomere shortening, DNA damage, oncogenic stress and oxidative stress, suggesting their intimate relationship. Autophagy is originally thought to suppress cellular senescence by removing damaged macromolecules or organelles, yet recent studies also indicated that autophagy promotes cellular senescence by facilitating the synthesis of senescence-associated secretory proteins. These seemingly opposite roles of autophagy may reflect a complex picture of autophagic regulation on cellular senescence, including different types of autophagy or a unique spatiotemporal activation of autophagy. Thus, a better understanding of autophagy process will lead us to not only elucidate the conundrum how autophagy plays dual roles in the regulation of cellular senescence but also helps the development of new therapeutic strategies for many human diseases associated with cellular senescence. We address the pro-senescence and anti-senescence roles of autophagy while focusing on the potential mechanistic aspects of this complex relationship between autophagy and cellular senescence.

Ubiquitination of p53 is Involved in Troglitazone Induced Apoptosis in Cervical Cancer Cells

  • Chen, Hui-Min;Zhang, Ding-Guo;Wu, Jin-Xiz;Pei, Dong-Sheng;Zheng, Jun-Nian
    • Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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    • v.15 no.5
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    • pp.2313-2318
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    • 2014
  • Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR-${\gamma}$), a ligand-dependent nuclear transcription factor, has been found to widely exist in tumor tissues and plays an important role in affecting tumor cell growth. In this study, we investigated the effect of PPAR-${\gamma}$ on aspects of the cervical cancer malignant phenotype, such as cell proliferation and apoptosis. Cell growth assay, Western blotting, Annexin V and flow cytometry analysis consistently showed that treatment with troglitazone (TGZ, a PPAR-${\gamma}$ agonist) led to dose-dependent inhibition of cervical cancer cell growth through apoptosis, whereas T0070907 (another PPAR-${\gamma}$ antagonist) had no effect on Hela cell proliferation and apoptosis. Furthermore, we also detected the protein expression of p53, p21 and Mdm2 to explain the underlying mechanism of PPAR-${\gamma}$ on cellular apoptosis. Our work, finally, demonstrated the existence of the TGZ-PPAR-${\gamma}$-p53 signaling pathway to be a critical regulator of cell apoptosis. These results suggested that PPAR-${\gamma}$ may be a potential therapeutic target for cervical cancer.

Effects of the Fair Value of Biological Assets on the Cost of Debt: An International Study

  • ERFAN, Neven;ALI, Ijaz;KHAN, Soha;KHAN, Imran Ahmad
    • The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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    • v.9 no.8
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    • pp.71-80
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    • 2022
  • This study aims to investigate the effects of fair value valuation of biological assets and bearer plants measured at historical cost on the cost of third-party capital. The study contributes to the agricultural sector and the International Accounting Standard - IAS 41, which has been modified to remove the requirement to apply fair value for bearer plants, one of the primary biological assets with no active market. For this, 182 companies from 39 countries were studied in the years 2020 and 2021, with information taken from the Thomson Reuters Eikon platform. The methodology involves regression by the ordinary least squares method based on the model of Daly and Skaife (2016). The results show that the biological asset at fair value does not influence the cost of debt and that the measurement of bearer plants at historical cost has no effect on the cost of debt. Fair value did not change the perceived cost of debt of the analyzed companies in the studied period, contrary to Daly and Skaife (2016). Finally, the cost of third-party capital can be influenced by other aspects related to profit quality, which were not examined in this paper, such as profit management.

Life Cycle Assessment on the End-of-Life Vehicle Treatment System in Korea (국내 폐자동차 처리시스템에 대한 전과정평가)

  • Hong, Seok-Jin;Jeong, Kee-Mo;Hong, John-Hee;Yun, Ju-Ho;Hur, Tak
    • Transactions of the Korean Society of Automotive Engineers
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    • v.13 no.6
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    • pp.105-112
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    • 2005
  • This study aims at evaluating the environmental impacts stemmed from the End-of-Life Vehicle(ELV) treatment systems in Korea, using Life Cycle Assessment(LCA) method. In this study, both environmental burden from the ELV dismantling process & recycling processes and environmental benefit which were derived from the avoided environmental impacts by substituting recycled materials for virgin materials were considered. First of all, the key issues which were defined as the environmental aspects that account for more than $1\%$ out of the total environmental impacts were identified from the Life Cycle Impact Assessment(LCIA). $CO_2$, crude oil, natural gas, coal, etc. were found out to be the key issue parameters. From the LCI Analysis and LCIA studies, it was shown that the significant environmental aspects were related with the recycling process of ferro scrap, the shredding process of compressed car bodies and the dismantling process of end-of-life engines. In particular, the recycling process of ferro scrap has the most significant effects on the environmental impacts of the ELV treatment systems. Based on these results, it is recommended to improve the recycling process of ferro scrap in order to make the ELV treatment systems more environmentally sound.

Affordable method of video recording for ecologists and citizen-science participants

  • Yang, Eunjeong;Lee, Keesan;Ha, Jung-moon;Kim, Woojoo;Song, Ho-Kyung;Hwang, Injae;Lee, Sang-im;Jablonski, Piotr G.
    • Journal of Ecology and Environment
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    • v.42 no.2
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    • pp.85-89
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    • 2018
  • Observations and video documentation of interactions between animals living in dens, cavities, and other enclosed spaces are difficult, but they play an important role in field biology, ecology, and conservation. For example, bird parents visiting nests and feeding their nestlings may provide crucial information for testing of ecological hypotheses and may easily attract attention of participants of citizen-science ecological and conservation projects. Because of the nest concealment of cavity-nesting birds, their behaviors in the nest can only be studied by using video surveillance. Professional wildlife surveillance systems are extremely expensive. Here, we describe an inexpensive video setup that can be constructed with relatively little effort and is more affordable than any previously described system. We anticipate that the relatively low cost of about 250 USD for a battery-operated system is an important feature for citizen-science type of projects and for applications in heavily populated areas where the potential for theft and vandalism may be high. Based on our experiences, we provide methodological advice on practical aspects of using this system in the field for ecological research on birds. We highlight the low cost, easiness of construction, and potential availability to a large number of observers taking part in wildlife monitoring projects, and we offer technical help to participants of such research projects.

Clinical significance linked to functional defects in bone morphogenetic protein type 2 receptor, BMPR2

  • Kim, Myung-Jin;Park, Seon Young;Chang, Hae Ryung;Jung, Eun Young;Munkhjargal, Anudari;Lim, Jong-Seok;Lee, Myeong-Sok;Kim, Yonghwan
    • BMB Reports
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    • v.50 no.6
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    • pp.308-317
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    • 2017
  • Bone morphogenetic protein type 2 receptor (BMPR2) is one of the transforming growth $factor-{\beta}$ ($TGF-{\beta}$) superfamily receptors, performing diverse roles during embryonic development, vasculogenesis, and osteogenesis. Human BMPR2 consists of 1,038 amino acids, and contains functionally conserved extracellular, transmembrane, kinase, and C-terminal cytoplasmic domains. Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) engage the tetrameric complex, composed of BMPR2 and its corresponding type 1 receptors, which initiates SMAD proteins-mediated signal transduction leading to the expression of target genes implicated in the development or differentiation of the embryo, organs and bones. In particular, genetic alterations of BMPR2 gene are associated with several clinical disorders, including representative pulmonary arterial hypertension, cancers, and metabolic diseases, thus demonstrating the physiological importance of BMPR2. In this mini review, we summarize recent findings regarding the molecular basis of BMPR2 functions in BMP signaling, and the versatile roles of BMPR2. In addition, various aspects of experimentally validated pathogenic mutations of BMPR2 and the linked human diseases will also be discussed, which are important in clinical settings for diagnostics and treatment.

A Study on the Parenting Experiences of Adoptive Mothers with their Biological Children (유자녀 입양가족 어머니의 양육경험에 관한 연구)

  • Lim, Gyoung-Mi;Yang, Sung-Eun
    • Journal of Families and Better Life
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    • v.29 no.5
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    • pp.33-50
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    • 2011
  • This study aims to examine experiences of adoptive families, mainly focusing on mothers with their biological children and adopted a child, through a phenomenological approach. The subjects of this study are adoptive family's mothers with their biological children according to a criterion-based selection. 15 mothers who adopted children under 12 months, who are currently aged over 6, are selected and given personal and in-depth interviews, questions ranging from the process before adoption, foster care and changes in family relationships to the issues caused by adoption and coping methods. 6 steps of a phenomenological method that Colaizzi(1978) proposed are applied to analyze the data. The results of this study are as follows. The central theme of this study is 'A family which has harmonized with love beyond blood ties'. First, the participants have shown difficulties in different aspects over adoption than those of sterile families. The motive of their adoption is to let adopted children experience a happy childhood in a loving family. Secondly, the participants have adjusted themselves to new adoptive families, have committed to the care of their new children, and have experienced a change in family relationships. Finally, adoptive families have successfully been settled while overcoming difficulties together.

Ubiquitin E3 ligases controlling p53 stability

  • Lee, Seong-Won;Seong, Min-Woo;Jeon, Young-Joo;Chung, Chin-Ha
    • Animal cells and systems
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    • v.16 no.3
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    • pp.173-182
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    • 2012
  • The p53 protein plays a pivotal role in tumor suppression. The cellular level of p53 is normally kept low by proteasome-mediated degradation, allowing cell cycle progression and cell proliferation. Under stress conditions, such as DNA damage, p53 is stabilized and activated through various post-translational modifications of itself as well as of its regulatory proteins for induction of the downstream genes responsible for cell cycle arrest, DNA repair, and apoptosis. Therefore, the level of p53 should be tightly regulated for normal cell growth and for prevention of the accumulation of mutations in DNA under stress conditions, which otherwise would lead to tumorigenesis. Since the discovery of Mdm2, a critical ubiquitin E3 ligase that destabilizes p53 in mammalian cells, nearly 20 different E3 ligases have been identified and shown to function in the control of stability, nuclear export, translocation to chromatin or nuclear foci, and oligomerization of p53. So far, a large number of excellent reviews have been published on the control of p53 function in various aspects. Therefore, this review will focus only on mammalian ubiquitin E3 ligases that mediate proteasome-dependent degradation of p53.

The Approach Method for the Performance Comparison of Magnetic Resonance Imager (자기공명영상장치의 성능비교를 위한 접근방법)

  • Yi, Y.;Ju, H.Y.;Kim, I.Y.;Lee, M.W.;Ahn, C.B.;Oh, C.H.;Lee, H.K.
    • Proceedings of the KOSOMBE Conference
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    • v.1997 no.05
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    • pp.75-78
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    • 1997
  • In the accessment of the performance of a magnetic resonance imaging unit, there are many parameters to be measured. Such measured parameters are not often meaning by itself. Namely, it need to be compared with some standard. Since there is no gold standard MRI, only can be compared with a worldly renowned product. In this report, we attempted to compare a few MRI parameters for the accessment of the performance of 1 Tesla MRI unit which is domestically developed. Though we did not measure all the parameters related to hardware aspects and software aspects for the full comparison, there few parameters may elucidate some important aspects of MRI unit.

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