• The Journal of Korean Institute of Communications and Information Sciences
• /
• v.35 no.2B
• /
• pp.232-243
• /
• 2010

In this paper, various physiological signals of humans were measured and analyzed to inference their psychological state and biological information, and Bio-Signal Context aware system (BSC), which recognizes the current context of its users as well as the information of exterior environment and offers the service appropriate for them, was designed and implemented. The BSC extracts and analyzes the features from bio-signals, such as the measured electroencephalogram (EEG), electrocardiogram (ECG), and galvanic skin response (GSR), with its different sensors, has the input of the analyzed results, and discriminates four psychological states of rest, concentration, tension and melancholy. In addition to the results of the discriminated psychological states, the information of biological condition analyzed from the user's bio-signals, for example, heart rate variability (HRV), Galvanic skin response (GSR) and body temperature, and the information of external environment related to the user's are collected to offer the service fit for the user's present biological condition by inferring and recognizing the user's present situation.

• BMB Reports
• /
• v.34 no.6
• /
• pp.578-583
• /
• 2001

As a prototypic Thl vs Th2 cytokine, IFN-$\gamma$ and IL-4 activate distinct STAT proteins, STAT1 and STATE, respectively. In cytokine-producing Jurkat T cells, IL-4 is effectively rescued from cell death that is induced by dexamethasone, but IFN-$\gamma$ failed to do so. Since the Ras/MAPK pathway is known to play an important role in cytokine-induced cell survival, we investigated the mechanism of T cell survival through the analysis of functional cross-talk between Ras/MAPK and distinct STAT proteins that are activated by IL-4 and IFN-$\gamma$. Although IL-4 and IFN-$\gamma$ each induced the activation of STATE and STATI. in Jurkat T cells, respectively, only IL-4 was capable of inducing MAPK. Along with tyrosine kinase inhibitors, MEK/MAPK inhibitors also caused a significant suppression of the IL-4-induced STATE activity. This suggests a positive regulation of STATE by MAPK during IL-4 signal transduction. Furthermore, transfection studies with dominant active (da) vs dominant negative (dn) Ras revealed that daRas, but not dnRas, selectively up-regulated the expression and activity of STATE with a concomitant increase in MAPK activity. These results, therefore, suggest that there is a functional cross-talk between the Ras/MAPK and Jak/STAT6 pathways, which may have a role in the IL-4-induced T cell survival.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
• /
• v.20 no.4
• /
• pp.159-165
• /
• 2013

Objectives Mechanisms of clinical synergistic effects, induced by co-treatments of lithium and valproate, are unclear. Extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) has been suggested to play important roles in mechanisms of the action of mood stabilizers. In this study, effects of co-treatments of lithium and valproate on the ERK1/2 signal pathway and its down-stream transcription factors, ELK1 and C-FOS, were investigated in vitro. Methods PC12 cells, human pheochromocytoma cells, were treated with lithium chloride (30 mM), valproate (1 mM) or lithium chloride + valproate. The phosphorylation of ERK1/2 was analyzed with immunoblot analysis. Transcriptional activities of ELK1 and C-FOS were analyzed with reporter gene assay. Results Single treatment of lithium and valproate increased the phosphorylation of ERK and transcriptional activities of ELK1 and C-FOS, respectively. Combined treatments of lithium and valproate induced more robust increase in the phosphorylation of ERK1/2 and transcriptional activities of ELK1 and C-FOS, compared to those in response to single treatment of lithium or valproate. Conclusions Co-treatments of lithium and valproate induced synergistic increase in the phosphorylation of ERK1/2 and transcriptional activities of its down-stream transcription factors, ELK1 and C-FOS, compared to effects of single treatment. The findings might suggest potentiating effects of lithium and valproate augmentation treatment strategy.

• Journal of Radiation Industry
• /
• v.5 no.3
• /
• pp.221-225
• /
• 2011

To detect superoxide anion ($O_2{\cdot}^-$) or singlet oxygen ($^1O_2$) in biological systems during gamma irradiation, specific chemical probes, 4,5-dihydroxy-1,3-benzene disulfonic acid (Tiron) or 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-piperidine (TEMP), were evaluated. Tiron or TEMP spin adducts was structurally stable in aqueous solution during gamma irradiation up to 500 or 1,000 Gy, respectively. The signal of Tiron semiquinone radical, a spin adduct of Tiron upon reaction with $O_2{\cdot}^-$, was slightly increased by gamma irradiation. This trend was dose-dependently manifested in $O_2$-saturated aqueous solution using nitro blue tetrazolium (NBT), a common probe for both hydrated electron ($e{^-}_{aq}$) and $O_2{\cdot}^-$. In contrast, a spin adduct of TEMP, was never inducible by gamma irradiation, while its signal was substantially enhanced by photosensitization of riboflavin. These results suggest that Tiron and NBT or TEMP could be utilized to detect $O_2{\cdot}^-$ or $^1O_2$ in biological systems during gamma irradiation, although $O_2{\cdot}^-$ or $^1O_2$ are not the main reactive oxygen species produced by water radiolysis.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
• /
• v.16 no.1
• /
• pp.95-100
• /
• 1995

In this study, we have evaluated the effect of amplitude and frequency perturbation of EGG signal for single vowels associated with laryngeal pathology. The normal EGG signal was properly characterized by an autoregressive model which has an optimal order of ninth using the parametric method. This can be analyzed by determining the transfer function. Perturbations in the fundamental pitch and in the peak amplitude of EGG signal measured with a four-electrode system using the modulation/demodulation techniques were investigated for the purpose of developing a decision criteria for the laryngeal function analysis. The abnormal EGG signal has nonperiodic and unstable characteristics. It can be discriminated by the calculation of opening and closing time of glottis using the EGG signal. In case of normal and abnormal subjects, m$\pm$0.5*sd was discriminating line for frequency perturbation and m$\pm$2*sd for normal amplitude perturbations, respectively. Also, The normal and abnormal cases of the subjects can be discriminated effectively using the pattern of attractor derived with Hilbert transform of EGG signal.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
• /
• v.28 no.4
• /
• pp.494-502
• /
• 2007

Ubiquitous location based services (u-LBS) will be interested to an important services. They can easily recognize object position at anytime, anywhere. At present, many researchers are making a study of the position recognition and tracking. This paper consists of postion recognition and user identification system. The position recognition is based on location under services (LBS) using a signal strength map, a database is previously made use of empirical measured received signal strength indicator (RSSI). The user identification system automatically controls instruments which is located in home. Moreover users are able to measures body signal freely. We implemented the multi-hop routing method using the Star-Mesh networks. Also, we use the sensor devices which are satisfied with the IEEE 802.15.4 specification. The used devices are the Nano-24 modules in Octacomm Co. Ltd. A RSSI is very important factor in position recognition analysis. It makes use of the way that decides position recognition and user identification in narrow indoor space. In experiments, we can analyze properties of the RSSI, draw the parameter about position recognition. The experimental result is that RSSI value is attenuated according to increasing distances. It also derives property of the radio frequency (RF) signal. Moreover, we express the monitoring program using the Microsoft C#. Finally, the proposed methods are expected to protect a sudden death and an accident in home.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
• /
• v.18 no.4
• /
• pp.397-407
• /
• 1997

In this paper, we present a signal analysis environment with visual programming capability, which is called Signal Analysis and Visualization Environment( SAVE). The system allows a user to perform visually programmed analysis of signals and visualize the results. The visualization facility enables the user to compare original signals with processed ones arid also to display signals overlaid synchronously with the events extracted from the signals. The SAVE system has an extensible architecture: each signal processing algorithm is implemented as a separate building block object module, which can be freely added or removed from the SAVE system without any code modification. We describe the overall structure of the SAVE system and the building block objects, which provide the extensibility in collaboration with together. We illustrate some test runs in order to five a taste of how to use and where to use the system.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
• /
• v.27 no.4
• /
• pp.154-163
• /
• 2006

A 64-channel magnetocardiogram (MCG) system using low-noise superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) planar gradiometers was developed for the measurements of cardiac magnetic fields generated by the heart electric activity. Owing to high flux-to-voltage transfers of double relaxation oscillation SQUID (DROS) sensors, the flux-locked loop electronics for SQUID operation could be made simpler than that of conventional DC SQUIDs, and the SQUID control was done automatically through a fiber-optic cable. The pickup coils are first-order planar gradiometers with a baseline of 4 em. The insert has 64 planar gradiometers as the sensing channels and were arranged to measure MCG field components tangential to the chest surface. When the 64-channel insert was in operation everyday, the average boil-off rate of the dewar was 3.6 Lid. The noise spectrum of the SQUID planar gradiometer system was about 5 fT$_{rms}$/$\checkmark$Hz at 100 Hz, operated inside a moderately shielded room. The MCG measurements were done at a sampling rate of 500 Hz or 1 kHz, and realtime display of MCG traces and heart rate were displayed. After the acquisition, magnetic field mapping and current mapping could be done. From the magnetic and current information, parameters for the diagnosis of myocardial ischemia were evaluated to be compared with other diagnostic methods.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.17 no.8
• /
• pp.1316-1323
• /
• 2007

In order to induce high levels of protein secretion, we have constructed a recombinant plasmid, designated pBP244, into which was incorporated key components of the type-II See-dependent secretion system, including LepB (signal peptidase), SecA (ATPase), and SecB (chaperone). The biological activities of the LepB, SecA, and SecB components expressed from genes harbored by pBP244 appeared to play their normal roles. In order to evaluate the protein secretion, a pspA (Streptococcus $\underline{p}neumoniae\;\underline{s}urface\;\underline{p}rotein\;\underline{A}$) gene was cloned into pBP244, resulting in pBP438. S. typhimurium harboring pBP438 grown until the stationary phase, secreted a higher level of PspA into the culture supernatants than did the strain harboring pYA3494. The strain harboring pBP438 secreted a supernatant amount 1.71-fold, a periplasmic space amount 1.47-fold, and an outer membrane amount 1.49-fold higher than that of pYA3494. S. typhimurium ${\chi}8554$ kept the $Asd^+$ plasmid pBP244 and pBP438 for 60 generations in LB broth harboring DAP, thereby indicating that pBP244 and pBP438 were quite stable in the Salmonella strain.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.26 no.10
• /
• pp.1746-1754
• /
• 2016

Recently, spherical beads entrapping quorum quenching (QQ) bacteria have been reported as effective moving QQ-media for biofouling control in MBRs for wastewater treatment owing to their combined effects of biological (i.e., quorum quenching) and physical washing. Taking into account both the mass transfer of signal molecules through the QQ-medium and collision efficiencies of the QQ-medium against the filtration membranes in a bioreactor, a cylindrical medium (QQ-cylinder) was developed as a new shape of moving QQ-medium. The QQ-cylinders were compared with previous QQ-beads in terms of the QQ activity and the physical washing effect under identical loading volumes of each medium in batch tests. It was found that the QQ activity of a QQ-medium was highly dependent on its specific surface area, regardless of the shape of the medium. In contrast, the physical washing effect of a QQ-medium was greatly affected by its geometric structure. The enhanced anti-biofouling property of the QQ-cylinders relative to QQ-beads was confirmed in a continuous laboratory-scale MBR with a flat-sheet membrane module.