• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.232-238
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• 2013

Water temperature is key factor influencing growth and reproduction of fish and its increase give rise to various physiological changes including gene expression. Heat shock protein (Hsp), one of the molecular chaperones, is highly conserved throughout evolution and its expression is induced by various stressors such as temperature, oxidative, physical and chemical stresses. Here, we isolated partial cDNA clones encoding 70-kDa Hsp (Hsp70) and $\beta$-actin using reverse transcriptase-PCR (RT-PCR) from gut of Rhynchocypris kumgangensis, a Korean indigenous species and cold-water fish, and investigated expression profiles of Hsp70 under an increase of water temperature using $\beta$-actin as an internal control for RT-PCR. Cloned Hsp70 cDNA of R. kumgangensis showed homology to Ctenopharyngodon idella (96%), Hypophthalmichthys molitrix (96%), Danio rerio (93%) and Oncorhynchus mykiss (81%) Hsp70. Cloned $\beta$-actin cDNA of R. kumgangensis showed homology to D. rerio (98%), H. molitrix (97%), C. idella (97%) and O. mykiss (90%) $\beta$-actin. Both mRNA of Hsp70 and $\beta$-actin were expressed in gut, brain, and liver in R. kumgangensis. Futhermore, expression of Hsp70, in brain, was highly augmented by an increase of water temperature. These results suggest that Hsp70 mRNA expression level in brain can be used as a biological molecular marker to represent physiological stress against an increase of water temperature.

• Korean Institute of Interior Design Journal
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.100-111
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• 2010

'Pattern' is the term that is frequently used in the aspects of history, society, and science. It always appears in the remains or relics of the age of civilization when recording was started, and its evaluation and value differ by time. Patterns in the ancient civilization were symbolic, social, and spatially crucial. However, after the modernization, they were considered to be immoral and unnecessary, so the range of their significance came to reduce. Due to the development of science, ornament patterns lost the limitation of its range of use along with new interpretation of them. Especially with the advent of new scientific theories such as the evolution theory from the biological aspect, quantum mechanics, and super string theory, morphological possibilities more than the human scale perceived by men came to be discovered. Living organisms maintain their lives through patterns, structures, and processes in order to produce a system alive. Among them, patterns are the organization of relations determining the characteristics of the system. The present patterns may correspond to this meaning. The pattern in a space is the matter of how to relate the components after all. In a space, however, there are numerous components mingled with one another. If these tasks are conducted as analogue work, it will take a lot of time and effort. However, if digital media are utilized to perform the tasks like analysis, generation, or fabrication, it will produce a result with higher precision and efficiency. In this sense, parametric modeling is quite useful media. Opening morphological variation, it realizes more possibilities, connects conveniently the relations between complex components composing a space, and helps produce creative patterns.

• Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.192-207
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• 2012

To supply the morphological and ecological information of oligotrich ciliates in Korea, water samples were seasonally collected in Gwangyang Bay and Jinhae Bay from August, 2010 to February, 2012 and processed by quantitative protargol staining method. As a result, six species belonging to the genus Strombidium Clapar$\grave{e}$de and Lachmann, 1859 are identified: Strombidium emergens Kahl, 1932; S. dalum Lynn et al., 1988; S. epidemum Lynn et al., 1988; S. tressum Lynn et al., 1988; S. bilobum Lynn and Gilron, 1993; S. pollostomum Lynn and Gilron, 1993. These six species were newly reported from Korean coastal waters. Strombidium emergens is a middle sized Strombidium ($20-50{\mu}m$ in length) and has open and deep oral groove to girdle portion. Strombidium dalum is a small sized Strombidium (${\geq}20{\mu}m$ in length), that has torch-like spiral anterior membranelles and an inverted triangles-shaped macronucleus on the posterior pole. The small sized S. epidemum has conspicuous trichites surrounding the girdle portion and ventral membranelles distinctly separated from anterior membranelles. The small sized S. tressum has torch-like spiral and extremely long trichites among the cilia of anterior membranelles. The middle sized S. bilobum has a bilobed macronucleus. Strombidium pollostomum is also a small sized Strombidium but its ventral membranelles are continuously connected with anterior membranelles. The five species except S. emergens occurred frequently over the wide range of water temperatures and salinities.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics and Information Engineers
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• v.51 no.5
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• pp.51-57
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• 2014

In this paper, we introduce the adaptive threshold detection scheme based on an evolutionary arithmetic algorithm for the M-ary holographic data storage(HDS) system. The genetic algorithm is a particular class of evolutionary arithmetic based on the process of biological evolution, which is a very promising technique for optimization problem and estimation applications. In this study, to improve the detection performance that is degraded by the HDS channel environment and the pixel misalignment, the threshold value was assumed to be a population set of the evolutionary algorithm. The proposed method can find an appropriate population set of bit threshold, which minimizes bit error rate(BER) as increased generation. For performance evaluation, we consider severe misalignment effect in the 4-ary holographic data storage system. Furthermore, we measure the BER performance and compare the proposed methods with the conventional threshold detection scheme, which verifies the superiority of the proposed scheme.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.183-196
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• 2017

The research efforts directed at advancing water electrolysis technology continue to intensify together with the increasing interest in hydrogen as an alternative source of energy to fossil fuels. Among the various water electrolysis systems reported to date, systems employing a solid polymer electrolyte membrane are known to display both improved safety and efficiency as a result of enhanced separation of products: hydrogen and oxygen. Conducting water electrolysis in an alkaline medium lowers the system cost by allowing non-platinum group metals to be used as catalysts for the complex multi-electron transfer reactions involved in water electrolysis, namely the hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions (HER and OER, respectively). We briefly review the anion exchange membranes (AEMs) and electrocatalysts developed and applied thus far in alkaline AEM water electrolysis (AEMWE) devices. Testing the developed components in AEMWE cells is a key step in maximizing the device performance since cell performance depends strongly on the structure of the electrodes containing the HER and OER catalysts and the polymer membrane under specific cell operating conditions. In this review, we discuss the properties of reported AEMs that have been used to fabricate membrane-electrode assemblies for AEMWE cells, including membranes based on polysulfone, poly(2,6-dimethyl-p-phylene) oxide, polybenzimidazole, and inorganic composite materials. The activities and stabilities of tertiary metal oxides, metal carbon composites, and ultra-low Pt-loading electrodes toward OER and HER in AEMWE cells are also described.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.394-407
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• 2011

Better understanding of the complex factors leading to human diseases will be necessary for both long term prevention and for managing short and long-term health problems. The underlying causes, leading to a global health crisis in both acute and chronic diseases, include finite global health care resources for sustained healthy human survival, the population explosion, increased environmental pollution, decreased clean air, water, food distribution, diminishing opportunities for human self-esteem, increased median life span, and the interconnection of infectious and chronic diseases. The transition of our pre-human nutritional requirements for survival to our current culturally-shaped diet has created a biologically-mismatched human dietary experience. While individual genetic, gender, and developmental stage factors contribute to human diseases, various environmental and culturally-determined factors are now contributing to both acute and chronic diseases. The transition from the hunter-gatherer to an agricultural-dependent human being has brought about a global crisis in human health. Initially, early humans ate seasonally-dependent and calorically-restricted foods, during the day, in a "feast or famine" manner. Today, modern humans eat diets of caloric abundance, at all times of the day, with foods of all seasons and from all parts of the world, that have been processed and which have been contaminated by all kinds of factors. No longer can one view, as distinct, infectious agent-related human acute diseases from chronic diseases. Moreover, while dietary and environmental chemicals could, in principle, cause disease pathogenesis by mutagenic and cytotoxic mechanisms, the primary cause is via "epigenetic", or altered gene expression, modifications in the three types of cells (e.g., adult stem; progenitor and terminally-differentiated cells of each organ) during all stages of human development. Even more significantly, alteration in the quantity of adult stem cells during early development by epigenetic chemicals could either increase or decrease the risk to various stem cell-based diseases, such as cancer, later in life. A new concept, the Barker hypothesis, has emerged that indicates pre-natal maternal dietary exposures can now affect diseases later in life. Examples from the studies of the atomic bomb survivors should illustrate this insight.

• BMB Reports
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.22-27
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• 2009

Replication Protein A (RPA) is a single stranded DNA-binding protein involved in DNA metabolic activities such as replication, repair, and recombination. RPA-Interacting Protein $\alpha$ ($RIP{\alpha}$) was originally identified as a nuclear transporter of RPA in Xenopus. The human $RIP{\alpha}$ gene encodes several splice isoforms, of which $hRIP{\alpha}$ and $hRIP{\beta}$ are the major translation products in vivo. However, limited information is available about the alternative splicing of $RIP{\alpha}$ in eukaryotes, apart from that in humans. In this study, we examined the alternative splicing of RIP{\alpha} in the Drosophila, Xenopus, and mouse system. We showed that the number of splice isoforms of RIP{\alpha} was species-specific, and displayed a tendency to increase in higher eukaryotes. Moreover, a mouse ortholog of $hRIP{\alpha}$, $mRIP{\beta}2$, was not SUMOylated, in contrast to $hRIP{\alpha}$. Based on these results, we suggest that the $RIP{\alpha}$ gene gains more splice isoforms and additional modifications after molecular evolution.

• BMB Reports
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• v.53 no.10
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• pp.521-526
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• 2020

Endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) are retrotransposons present in various metazoan genomes and have been implicated in metazoan evolution as well as in nematodes and humans. The long terminal repeat (LTR) retrotransposons contain several regulatory sequences including promoters and enhancers that regulate endogenous gene expression and thereby control organismal development and response to environmental change. ERVs including the LTR retrotransposons constitute 8% of the human genome and less than 0.6% of the Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) genome, a nematode genetic model system. To investigate the evolutionarily conserved mechanism behind the transcriptional activity of retrotransposons, we generated a transgenic worm model driving green fluorescent protein (GFP) expression using Human endogenous retroviruses (HERV)-K LTR as a promoter. The promoter activity of HERV-K LTR was robust and fluorescence was observed in various tissues throughout the developmental process. Interestingly, persistent GFP expression was specifically detected in the adult vulva muscle. Using deletion constructs, we found that the region from positions 675 to 868 containing the TATA box was necessary for promoter activity driving gene expression in the vulva. Interestingly, we found that the promoter activity of the LTR was dependent on che-1 transcription factor, a sensory neuron driver, and lin-15b, a negative regulator of RNAi and germline gene expression. These results suggest evolutionary conservation of the LTR retrotransposon activity in transcriptional regulation as well as the possibility of che-1 function in non-neuronal tissues.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.243-250
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• 2015

Patterning of the polar axis during the early leaf developmental stage is established by cell-to-cell communication between the shoot apical meristem (SAM) and the leaf primordia. In a previous study, we showed that the DRL1 gene, which encodes a homolog of the Elongator-associated protein KTI12 of yeast, acts as a positive regulator of adaxial leaf patterning and shoot meristem activity. To determine the evolutionally conserved functions of DRL1, we performed a comparison of the deduced amino acid sequence of DRL1 and its yeast homolog, KTI12, and found that while overall homology was low, well-conserved domains were presented. DRL1 contained two conserved plant-specific domains. Expression of the DRL1 gene in a yeast KTI12-deficient yeast mutant suppressed the growth retardation phenotype, but did not rescue the caffeine sensitivity, indicating that the role of Arabidopsis Elongator-associated protein is partially conserved with yeast KTI12, but may have changed between yeast and plants in response to caffeine during the course of evolution. In addition, elevated expression of DRL1 gene triggered zymocin sensitivity, while overexpression of KTI12 maintained zymocin resistance, indicating that the function of Arabidopsis DRL1 may not overlap with yeast KTI12 with regards to toxin sensitivity. In this study, expression analysis showed that class-I KNOX genes were downregulated in the shoot apex, and that YAB and KAN were upregulated in leaves of the Arabidopsis drl1- 101 mutant. Our results provide insight into the communication network between the SAM and leaf primordia required for the establishment of leaf polarity by mediating histone acetylation or through other mechanisms.

• Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.25-33
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• 2011

Three morphospecies of the genus Uronychia, i.e. U. setigera Calkins, 1902, U. binucleata Young, 1922, and U. multicirrus Song, 1997, were collected from the coastal waters of Gumjin-ri on the East Sea and the public waterfront of Incheon on the Yellow Sea in Korea, respectively. These species are described based on live observation, protargol impregnation, silver nitrate impregnation, and their morphometrics. Diagnostic keys for these species are also provided. In addition, their small subunit ribosomal DNA sequences were compared with previously known sequences of Uronychia species. Diagnostics of three Uronychia species are as follows: U. setigera: $50-80\;{\mu}m$ long in vivo, oval-shaped, 2 macronuclear nodules (Ma), 1 spur on the left margin, 11 adoral membranelles (AM) 1, 4 AM2, 1 buccal cirrus (BC), 4 frontal cirri (FC), 3 left marginal cirri (LMC), 2 ventral cirri (VC), 5 transverse cirri (TC), 3 caudal cirri (CC), 6 dorsal kineties (DK), and approximately 23 cilia in the leftmost kinety. U. binucleata: $70-110\;{\mu}m$ long in vivo, oval to slightly rectangular shaped, 2 Ma, 1 micronucleus (Mi), 2 spurs on the posterior region, 11 AM1, 4 AM2, 1 BC, 4 FC, 3 LMC, 2 VC, 5 TC, 3 CC, 6 DK, and approximately 37 cilia in the leftmost kinety. U. multicirrus: $140-200\;{\mu}m$ long in vivo, oval to slightly rectangular shaped, ca. 7 Ma, 1 Mi, 11 AM1, 4 AM2, 1 BC, 4 FC, 3 LMC, approximately 8 VC, 5 TC, 3 CC, and 6 DK. This study presents the first record of this genus in Korea.