• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.46 no.9
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• pp.604-608
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• 2008

The layered compounds vanadium disulfide($VS_2$) and vanadium dioxide($VO_2$) intercalated with Li are investigated for using the Discrete Variational $(DV)-X{\alpha}$ molecular orbital method. The chemical bonding properties of the atoms were examined by bond overlap population of electronic states. The plot of density of states supports the covalent bonding properties by showing the overlap between the atoms. There is a strong tendency of covalent bonding between V-S and V-O. The intensity of covalent bonding of $VS_2$ is stronger than $VO_2$. The net charge of $LiVO_2$ is higher than that of $LiVS_2$. This results of the calculation of $VO_2$ and $VS_2$ indicate that $(DV)-X{\alpha}$ method can be widely applied in the new practical materials.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.189-211
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• 2021

An analytical solution is presented to analyze the thermoelastoplastic response of a rotating thick-walled cylindrical pressure vessel made of functionally graded material (FGM). The analysis is based on Tresca's yield condition, its associated flow rule and linear strain hardening material behaviour. The uncoupled theory of thermoelasticity is used, and the plane strain condition is assumed. The material properties except for Poisson's ratio, are assumed to vary nonlinearly in the radial direction. Elastic, partially plastic, fully plastic, and residual stress states are investigated. The heat conduction equation for the one-dimensional problem in cylindrical coordinates is used to obtain temperature distribution in the vessel. It is assumed that the inner surface is exposed to an airstream and that the outer surface is exposed to a uniform heat flux. Tresca's yield criterion and its associated flow rule are used to formulate six different plastic regions for a linearly hardening condition. All these stages are studied in detail. It is shown that the thermoelastoplastic stress response of a rotating FGM pressure vessel is affected significantly by the nonhomogeneity of the material and temperature gradient. The results are validated with those of other researchers for appropriate values of the system parameters and excellent agreement is observed.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.195-207
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• 2021

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a bacterial pathogen capable of causing human diseases, such as soft tissue infection, bacteremia, endocarditis, toxic shock syndrome, pneumonia, and sepsis. Although the incidence rate of diseases caused by MRSA has declined in recent years, these diseases still pose a clinical threat due to their consistently high morbidity and mortality rates. However, the role of virulence factors in staphylococcal infections remains incompletely understood. Methicillin resistance, which confers resistance to all β-lactam antibiotics in cellular islets, is mediated by the mecA gene in the staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec). Differences in SCCmec types and differences in their sizes and structures serve epidemiological purposes and are used to differentiate between hospital-associated (HA)-MRSA and community-associated (CA)-MRSA. Some virulence factors of S. aureus are also providing a distinction between HA-MRSA and CA-MRSA. These factors vary depending on the presence of toxins, adhesion, immune evasion, and other virulence determinants. In this review, we summarized an overview of MRSA such as resistance mechanisms, SCCmec types, HA- and CA-MRSA, and virulence factors that enhance pathogenicity or MRSA epidemiology, transmission, and genetic diversity.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.218-227
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• 2022

Glycosylation of aesculetin was performed using amylosucrase from the hyperthermophilic bacterium Deinococcus geothermalis DSM 11300 to improve the solubility and biological activity of aesculetin. A newly synthesized aesculetin glycoside was identified as α-cichoriin (aesculetin 7-α-D-glucoside) by nuclear magnetic resonance analysis. The solubility of α-cichoriin was 11 times higher than that of aesculetin because of the attached glucose moiety. Aesculetin and α-cichoriin had no significant effect on the proliferation of normal cells, such as RAW 264.7, but they showed a cell proliferation inhibitory effect on B16F10 melanoma cells. Unlike treatment with aesculetin and α-cichoriin, aesculin (aesculetin 6-β-D-glucoside) showed no antiproliferative activity in B16F10 cells. Based on the molecular structures of aesculin and α-cichoriin, the position where glucose binds to aesculetin and the anomeric configuration between glucose and aesculetin are thought to be important for exerting an antiproliferative effect on the B16F10 cell line. Based on these results, we propose that α-cichoriin, the α-glycosylated form of aesculetin, may serve as a model for developing phytochemical analogs with therapeutic potential for the treatment of diseases associated with tumor cell proliferation without cytotoxicity to normal cells.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.43.1-43.12
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• 2021

Campylobacter jejuni is one of the most prevalent organisms associated with foodborne illness across the globe causing campylobacteriosis and gastritis. Many proteins of C. jejuni are still unidentified. The purpose of this study was to determine the structure and function of a non-annotated hypothetical protein (HP) from C. jejuni. A number of properties like physiochemical characteristics, 3D structure, and functional annotation of the HP (accession No. CAG2129885.1) were predicted using various bioinformatics tools followed by further validation and quality assessment. Moreover, the protein-protein interactions and active site were obtained from the STRING and CASTp server, respectively. The hypothesized protein possesses various characteristics including an acidic pH, thermal stability, water solubility, and cytoplasmic distribution. While alpha-helix and random coil structures are the most prominent structural components of this protein, most of it is formed of helices and coils. Along with expected quality, the 3D model has been found to be novel. This study has identified the potential role of the HP in 2-methylcitric acid cycle and propionate catabolism. Furthermore, protein-protein interactions revealed several significant functional partners. The in-silico characterization of this protein will assist to understand its molecular mechanism of action better. The methodology of this study would also serve as the basis for additional research into proteomic and genomic data for functional potential identification.

• BMB Reports
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• v.55 no.5
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• pp.232-237
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• 2022

The Wnt/β-catenin signaling plays crucial roles in early development, tissue homeostasis, stem cells, and cancers. Here, we show that RNF152, an E3 ligase localized to lysosomes, acts as a negative regulator of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway during Xenopus early embryogenesis. Overexpression of wild-type (WT) RNF152 inhibited XWnt8-induced stabilization of β-catenin, ectopic expression of target genes, and activity of a Wnt-responsive promoter. Likewise, an E3 ligase-defective RNF152 had repressive effects on the Wnt-dependent gene responses but not its truncation mutant lacking the transmembrane domain. Conversely, knockdown of RNF152 further enhanced the transcriptional responses induced by XWnt8. RNF152 morphants exhibited defects in craniofacial structures and pigmentation. In line with this, the gain-of-RNF152 function interfered with the expression of neural crest (NC) markers, whereas its depletion up-regulated NC formation in the early embryo. Mechanistically, RNF152 inhibits the polymerization of Dishevelled, which is key to Wnt signaling, in an E3 ligase-independent manner. Together, these results suggest that RNF152 controls negatively Wnt/β-catenin signaling to fine-tune its activity for NC formation in Xenopus embryo.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.41-47
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• 2023

The rapid development of mRNA vaccines has contributed to the management of the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, suggesting that this technology may be used to manage future outbreaks of infectious diseases. Because the antigens targeted by mRNA vaccines can be easily altered by simply changing the sequence present in the coding region of mRNA structures, it is more appropriate to develop vaccines, especially during rapidly developing outbreaks of infectious diseases. In addition to allowing rapid development, mRNA vaccines have great potential in inducing successful antigen-specific immunity by expressing target antigens in cells and simultaneously triggering immune responses. Indeed, the two COVID-19 mRNA vaccines approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have shown significant efficacy in preventing infections. The ability of mRNAs to produce target proteins that are defective in specific diseases has enabled the development of options to treat intractable diseases. Clinical applications of mRNA vaccines/therapeutics require strategies to safely deliver the RNA molecules into targeted cells. The present review summarizes current knowledge about mRNA vaccines/ therapeutics, their clinical applications, and their delivery strategies.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.425-433
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• 2023

During liver injury, hepatic stellate cells can differentiate into myofibroblast-like structures, which are more susceptible to proliferation, migration, and extracellular matrix generation, leading to liver fibrosis. Anaerobic glycolysis is associated with activated stellate cells and glyceraldehyde (GA) is an inhibitor of glucose metabolism. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the anti-fibrotic effects of GA in human stellate LX-2 cells. In this study, we used cell viability, morphological analysis, fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS), western blotting, and qRT-PCR techniques to elucidate the molecular mechanism underlying the anti-fibrotic effects of GA in LX-2 cells. The results showed that GA significantly reduced cell density and inhibited cell proliferation and lactate levels in LX-2 cells but not in Hep-G2 cells. We found that GA prominently increased the activation of caspase-3/9 for apoptosis induction, and a pan-caspase inhibitor, Z-VAD-fmk, attenuated the cell death and apoptosis effects of GA, suggesting caspase-dependent cell death. Moreover, GA strongly elevated reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and notably increased the phosphorylation of ERK and JNK. Interestingly, it dramatically reduced α-SMA and collagen type I protein and mRNA expression levels in LX-2 cells. Thus, inhibition of ERK and JNK activation significantly rescued GA-induced cell growth suppression and apoptosis in LX-2 cells. Collectively, the current study provides important information demonstrating the anti-fibrotic effects of GA, a glycolytic metabolite, and demonstrates the therapeutic potency of metabolic factors in liver fibrosis.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.65.3-66
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• 2020

We use the IllustrisTNG cosmological hydrodynamical simulation to study the evolution of star formation rate (SFR)-density relation over cosmic time. We construct several samples of galaxies at different redshifts from z=2.0 to z=0.0, which have the same comoving number density. The SFR of galaxies decreases with local density at z=0.0, but its dependence on local density becomes weaker with redshift. At z≳1.0, the SFR of galaxies increases with local density (reversal of the SFR-density relation), and its dependence becomes stronger with redshift. This change of SFR-density relation with redshift still remains even when fixing the stellar masses of galaxies. The dependence of SFR on the distance to a galaxy cluster also shows a change with redshift in a way similar to the case based on local density, but the reversal happens at a higher redshift, z~1.5, in clusters. On the other hand, the molecular gas fraction always decreases with local density regardless of redshift at z=0.0-2.0 even though the dependence becomes weaker when we fix the stellar mass. Our study demonstrates that the observed reversal of the SFR-density relation at z≳1.0 can be successfully reproduced in cosmological simulations. Our results are consistent with the idea that massive, star-forming galaxies are strongly clustered at high redshifts, forming larger structures. These galaxies then consume their gas faster than those in low-density regions through frequent interactions with other galaxies, ending up being quiescent in the local universe.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.41.1-41.11
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• 2023

The Dengue virus M protein is a 75 amino acid polypeptide with two helical transmembranes (TM). The TM domain oligomerizes to form an ion channel, facilitating viral release from the host cells. The M protein has a critical role in the virus entry and life cycle, making it a potent drug target. The oligomerization of the monomeric protein was studied using ab initio modeling and molecular dynamics simulation in an implicit membrane environment. The representative structures obtained showed pentamer as the most stable oligomeric state, resembling an ion channel. Glutamic acid, threonine, serine, tryptophan, alanine, isoleucine form the pore-lining residues of the pentameric channel, conferring an overall negative charge to the channel with approximate length of 51.9 Å. Residue interaction analysis for M protein shows that Ala94, Leu95, Ser112, Glu124, and Phe155 are the central hub residues representing the physicochemical interactions between domains. The virtual screening with 165 different ion channel inhibitors from the ion channel library shows monovalent ion channel blockers, namely lumacaftor, glipizide, gliquidone, glisoxepide, and azelnidipine to be the inhibitors with high docking scores. Understanding the three-dimensional structure of M protein will help design therapeutics and vaccines for Dengue infection.