• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.11
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• pp.1771-1781
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• 2018

The emergence of multidrug-resistant microorganisms, as well as fungal infectious diseases that further threaten health, especially in immunodeficient populations, is a major global problem. The development of new antifungal agents in clinical trials is inferior to the incidence of drug resistance, and the available antifungal agents are restricted. Their mechanisms aim at certain characteristics of the fungus in order to avoid biological similarities with the host. Synthesis of the cell wall and ergosterol are mainly targeted in clinical use. The need for new approaches to antifungal therapeutic agents or development alternatives has increased. This review explores new perspectives on mechanisms to effectively combat fungal infections and effective antifungal activity. The clinical drug have a common feature that ultimately causes caspase-dependent cell death. The drugs-induced cell death pathway is associated with mitochondrial dysfunction, including mitochondrial membrane depolarization and cytochrome c release. This mechanism of action also reveals antimicrobial peptides, the primary effector molecules of innate systems, to highlight new alternatives. Furthermore, drug combination therapy is suggested as another strategy to combat fungal infection. The proposal for a new approach to antifungal agents is not only important from a basic scientific point of view, but will also assist in the selection of molecules for combination therapy.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.69.2-69.2
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• 2014

We present space-based near-IR (NIR) and optical photometry of globular clusters (GCs) of 16 early-type galaxies in the Fornax and Virgo Clusters. The NIR imaging data for the nearby galaxies was acquired with the IR Channel of the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3/IR) in the F110W ($J_{110}$) and F160W ($H_{160}$) bandpasses. We introduce the full sample of our WFC3/IR program, describe data reductions and photometric measurements including GC candidate selection criteria, and then show selected GCs' color-magnitude diagrams. The tilted features in the diagrams related to the morphological types of host galaxies are discussed in the context of galaxy formation and evolution histories. Combining F475W ($g_{475}$) and F850LP ($z_{850}$) data taken from the Advanced Camera for Surveys Virgo and Fornax Cluster Surveys with our NIR data, we investigate the bimodality in optical-NIR color distribution and the nonlinear feature of the optical-NIR color relation as a function of optical color for these extragalactic GC systems.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.67-81
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• 2001

Traditionally, genetic variability is generated by an extensive crossing program, which is complemented by strict selection to identify useful new recombinants. Plant biotechnology offers many opportunities for breeders to solve certain breeding problems at the molecular level. The tissue culture methodology and the genetic modification of economically important monocotyledons have undergone a revolution in the last decade. As the production of transgenic plants is a complex procedure, including the uptake of DNA molecules into the cells, the integration of foreign nucleotide sequences into the host genomic DNA and the expression of new genes in a controlled way, and as there are still many unsolved questions, further development is necessary. The methodology opens up the possibility of introducing novel genes that may induce resistance to diseases and abiotic stresses, allow the modification of dough quality and the dietetic quality of proteins, and increase the levels of micronutrients such as iron, zinc, and vitamins. In the present review, the authors would like to summarise the most important advances in wheat transformation.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.31.2-31.2
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• 2010

We have performed a spectroscopic study of globular cluster (GC) system associated with the Virgo cD galaxy M87 using the Subaru/FOCAS MOS mode. We derive ages, metallicities and abundance ratios from the GC spectra using Simple Stellar Population (SSP) models. The metallicity distribution function (MDF) obtained empirically based on Milky Way GCs is consistent with the MDF derived from SSP models. A comparison with a meta-analysis using literature data sample of 15 other GC systems shows good agreement with our results. The properties of GCs acquired from the spectra will be used to test the recent theoretical prediction of a significant inflection along the colour-metallicity relations (Yoon et al. 2006). If confirmed, the non-linearity of the relations would shed new light on the interpretation of the GC colour bimodality. The robustness of our results is being tested against the choice of a SSP model, measurement errors and sample selection towards the goal of better understanding the formation history of GCs and host galaxy.

• KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.883-900
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• 2017

In this paper block based blind secure gray image watermarking scheme based on discrete wavelet transform and singular value decomposition is proposed. In devising the proposed scheme, security is given high importance along with other two requirements: robustness and imperceptibility. The use of discrete wavelet transform not only improves robustness but the selection of bands with high tolerance towards noise caused an improvement in terms of imperceptibility. The robustness further improved due to the involvement of singular vectors along with singular values in watermark embedding and extraction process. Finally, to achieve security, the selected DWT band is decomposed into smaller blocks and random blocks are chosen for modification. Furthermore, the elements of left and right singular vectors of selected blocks are chosen based on their dependence upon each other for watermark embedding. Various experiments using different images as host and watermark were conducted to examine and validate the proposed technique. Additionally, the proposed technique is tested against various attacks like compression, affine transformation, cropping, translation, X shearing, scaling, Y shearing, filtering, blurring, different kinds of noises, histogram equalization, rotation, etc. Lastly, the proposed technique is compared with state-of-the-art watermarking techniques and their comparison shows significant improvement of proposed scheme over existing techniques.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.704-711
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• 1996

An optimal process design of a foreign protein production system was carried out using a bioprocess flowsheeting software, BioPro Designer, with a capability of economic analysis. The flowsheeting program was applied to a production system of the tailspike protein of Salmonella phage P22, and helped save time and efforts in selecting an optimal process. A wild type tailspike and two types of mutant tailspikes, tsf G244\longrightarrow,R and Su A334\longrightarrowV, were considered in this study to show that the folding characteristics of foreign protein produced inside host influenced the selection of the best production system. An optimal production system for mature tailspike was chosen under the criterion of capital investment per unit mass of mature protein recovered.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.358-366
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• 2003

Some N-p-substituted phenyl uracil-5-sulphonamide derivatives have been synthesized to be evaluated as molluscicides against Biomphalaria alexandrina snails, the intermediate host of Schistosoma mansoni. Schistosoma mansoni infected mice were treated with hemolymph obtained from pre-treated Biomphalaria alexandrina snails with the products 4a, 10a, 10b and 4b or obtained from non-treated snails. The selection of the concentration based on the predetermined dose which caused mortality of less than 50% of snails/24 h. $LC_{50}$ of compounds 4a, 10a, 10b and 4b was 50, 100, 200 and 50 ppm respectively. The result showed that immuno-stimulatory effect of treated hemolymph with compounds 4a, 10a and 4b was related to significant protective effects (44.4, 34.6 and 50.4% reduction in worm burden respectively). In addition, mean total worm burdens were significantly reduced in non treated hemolymph by 33.8%. The effect of hemolymph obtained from treated or non treated snails on S. mansoni adult worms antigens was studied by indirect immunofluorescence technique using chronic mouse sera (CMS). The results indicated that there was a strong reaction with epitopes in gut epithelium, tubercles, teigument and subtegumental musculature of untreated and treated S. mansoni adult worms antigens. Therefore, treatment of hemolymph obtained from pre-treated snails with compounds 4a, 10a, and 4b can stimulate specific immune response and induce protective effects against S. mansoni infection.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.251-268
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• 1986

Selecting a site for the safe disposal of radioactive waste requires the evaluation of a wide range of geologic, mineralogic, hydrologic, and physicochemical properties. Although highly diverse, these properties are in fact interrelated. Site requirements are also diverse because they are influenced by the nature of the radionuclides in the waste, for example, their half-lives, specific energy, and chemistry. A fundamental consideration in site selection is the mineralogy of the host rock, and one of the most ubiquitous mineral groups is clay minerals. Clays and clay minerals as in situ lithologic components and engineered barriers may playa significant role in retarding the migration of radionuclides. Their high sorptivity, longevity (stability), low permeability, and other physical factors should make them a very effective retainer of most radionuclides in nuclear wastes. There are, however, some unanswered questions. For example, how will their longevity and physicochemical properties be influenced by such factors as radionuclide concentration, radiation intensity, elevated temperatures, changes in redox condition, pH, and formation fluids for extended periods of time? Understanding of mechanisms affecting clay mineral-radionuclide interactions under prevailing geochemical conditions is important; however, the utilization of experimental geochemical information related to physicochemical properties of clays and clay-bearing materials with geohydrologic models presents a uniquely challenging problem in that many assessments have to be based on model predictions rather than on experiments. These are high-priority research investigations that need to be addressed before complete reliance for disposal area performance is made on clays and clay minerals.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.582-595
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• 2021

Researchers have endeavored to identify the etiology of inflammatory bowel diseases, including Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Though the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel diseases remains unknown, dysregulation of the immune system in the host gastrointestinal tract is believed to be the major causative factor. Omics is a powerful methodological tool that can reveal biochemical information stored in clinical samples. Lipidomics is a subset of omics that explores the lipid classes associated with inflammation. One objective of the present systematic review was to facilitate the identification of biochemical targets for use in future lipidomic studies on inflammatory bowel diseases. The use of high-resolution mass spectrometry to observe alterations in global lipidomics might help elucidate the immunoregulatory mechanisms involved in inflammatory bowel diseases and discover novel biomarkers for them. Assessment of the characteristics of previous clinical trials on inflammatory bowel diseases could help researchers design and establish patient selection and analytical method criteria for future studies on these conditions. In this study, we curated literature exclusively from four databases and extracted lipidomics-related data from literature, considering criteria. This paper suggests that the lipidomics approach toward research in inflammatory bowel diseases can clarify their pathogenesis and identify clinically valuable biomarkers to predict and monitor their progression.

• Journal of Auto-vehicle Safety Association
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.30-36
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• 2019

This paper suggests a car-following algorithm for urban environment, with multiple target candidates. Until now, advanced driver assistant systems (ADASs) and self-driving technologies have been researched to cope with diverse possible scenarios. Among them, car-following driving has been formed the groundwork of autonomous vehicle for its integrity and flexibility to other modes such as smart cruise system (SCC) and platooning. Although the field has a rich history, most researches has been focused on the shape of target trajectory, such as the order of interpolated polynomial, in simple single-lane situation. However, to introduce the car-following mode in urban environment, realistic situation should be reflected: multi-lane road, target's unstable driving tendency, obstacles. Therefore, the suggested car-following system includes both in-lane preceding vehicle and other factors such as side-lane targets. The algorithm is comprised of three parts: path candidate generation and optimal trajectory selection. In the first part, initial guesses of desired paths are calculated as polynomial function connecting host vehicle's state and vicinal vehicle's predicted future states. In the second part, final target trajectory is selected using quadratic cost function reflecting safeness, control input efficiency, and initial objective such as velocity. Finally, adjusted path and control input are calculated using model predictive control (MPC). The suggested algorithm's performance is verified using off-line simulation using Matlab; the results shows reasonable car-following motion planning.