• Title/Summary/Keyword: Stimuli-responsive

Search Result 62, Processing Time 0.03 seconds

UV-responsive intracellular signaling pathways: MAPK, p53, and their crosstalk

  • Matsuda, Naoki
    • Journal of Photoscience
    • /
    • v.9 no.2
    • /
    • pp.229-232
    • /
    • 2002
  • There are two distinct UV-responsive signaling pathways in UV-irradiated mammalian cells, i.e., the DNA damage-dependent and -independent pathways. The former occurs in nucleus and results in growth arrest and apoptosis via post-translational modification of p53. The latter is initiated by oxidative stress and/or by damages in cell membrane or cytoplasm, which activate signaling cascade through intracellular molecules including mitogen activated protein kinases (MAPK). In normal human fibroblastic cells, all of MAPK family members, extracellular signal-related kinases (ERK), c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNK) and p38, were rapidly phosphorylated following UV-irradiation. ERK phosphorylation was suppressed by an inhibitor of receptor tyrosine kinases (RTK). As ERK usually responds to mitogenic stimuli from RTK ligands, UV-induced ERK phosphorylation may be linked to the proliferation of survived cells. In contrast, phosphorylation of JNK and p38, as well as apoptosis, were modulated by the level of UV-generated oxidative stress Therefore, JNK and p38 may take part in oxidative stress-mediated apoptosis. Phosphorylation of p53 at Ser and Thr residues are essential for stabilization and activation of p53. Among several sites reported, we confirmed phosphorylation at Ser-15 and Ser-392 after UV-irradiation. Both of these were inhibited by a phosphoinositide 3-kinase inhibitor, presumably due to the shutdown of signals from DNA damage to p53. Phosphorylation at Ser-392 was also sensitive to an antioxidant and a p38 inhibitor, suggesting that Ser-392 of p53 is one of the possible points where DNA damage-dependent and -independent apoptic signals merge. Thus, MAPK pathway links UV-induced intracellular signals to the nuclear responses and modifies DNA damage-dependent cellular outcome, resulting in the determination of cell death.

  • PDF

Improvement of a Context-aware Recommender System through User's Emotional State Prediction (사용자 감정 예측을 통한 상황인지 추천시스템의 개선)

  • Ahn, Hyunchul
    • Journal of Information Technology Applications and Management
    • /
    • v.21 no.4
    • /
    • pp.203-223
    • /
    • 2014
  • This study proposes a novel context-aware recommender system, which is designed to recommend the items according to the customer's responses to the previously recommended item. In specific, our proposed system predicts the user's emotional state from his or her responses (such as facial expressions and movements) to the previous recommended item, and then it recommends the items that are similar to the previous one when his or her emotional state is estimated as positive. If the customer's emotional state on the previously recommended item is regarded as negative, the system recommends the items that have characteristics opposite to the previous item. Our proposed system consists of two sub modules-(1) emotion prediction module, and (2) responsive recommendation module. Emotion prediction module contains the emotion prediction model that predicts a customer's arousal level-a physiological and psychological state of being awake or reactive to stimuli-using the customer's reaction data including facial expressions and body movements, which can be measured using Microsoft's Kinect Sensor. Responsive recommendation module generates a recommendation list by using the results from the first module-emotion prediction module. If a customer shows a high level of arousal on the previously recommended item, the module recommends the items that are most similar to the previous item. Otherwise, it recommends the items that are most dissimilar to the previous one. In order to validate the performance and usefulness of the proposed recommender system, we conducted empirical validation. In total, 30 undergraduate students participated in the experiment. We used 100 trailers of Korean movies that had been released from 2009 to 2012 as the items for recommendation. For the experiment, we manually constructed Korean movie trailer DB which contains the fields such as release date, genre, director, writer, and actors. In order to check if the recommendation using customers' responses outperforms the recommendation using their demographic information, we compared them. The performance of the recommendation was measured using two metrics-satisfaction and arousal levels. Experimental results showed that the recommendation using customers' responses (i.e. our proposed system) outperformed the recommendation using their demographic information with statistical significance.

Self-healing Elastomers As Dream Smart Materials (꿈의 스마트 재료로서 자기치유 탄성체)

  • Kim, Il;Shin, Nam-Ho;Jo, Jung-Kyu;Hur, A-Young;Li, Haiqing;Ha, Chang-Sik
    • Elastomers and Composites
    • /
    • v.44 no.3
    • /
    • pp.196-208
    • /
    • 2009
  • Sophisticated polymeric materials with 'responsive' properties are beginning to reach the market. The use of reversible, noncovalent interactions is a recurring design principle for responsive materials. Recently developed hydrogen-bonding units allow this design principle to be taken to its extreme. Supramolecular polymers, where hydrogen bonds are the only force keeping the monomers together, form materials whose (mechanical) properties respond strongly to a change in temperature or solvent. In this review, we describe some examples of hydrogen-bonded supramolecular polymers that can be utilized for self-healing materials. Synthesis of a rubber-like material that can be recycled might not seem exciting. But one that can also repeatedly repair itself at room temperature, without adhesives, really stretches the imagination. Autonomic healing materials respond without external intervention to environmental stimuli in a nonlinear and productive fashion, and have great potential for advanced engineering systems.

A Study of EMG-Controlled FES System Implementation for primitive-walking of Paraplegics (하반신 마비 환자의 보행을 위한 근전도 제어 FES 시스템 구현에 관한 연구)

  • Kim, K.S.;Kim, K.H.;Kim, J.W.;Hong, W.H.;Kim, S.H.
    • Proceedings of the KOSOMBE Conference
    • /
    • v.1991 no.05
    • /
    • pp.34-38
    • /
    • 1991
  • This paper describes and discusses the employment of EMG pattern analysis to provide upper-motor-neuron paraplegics with patient-responsive control of FES (functional electrical stimulation) for the purpose of walker-supported walking. The use of above - lesion EMG signals as a solution to the control problem is considered. The AR (autoregressive) parameters are identified by Kalman filter algorithm using DSP chip and classified by fuzzy theory. The control and stimuli part of the below-lesion are based on microprocessor(8031). The designed stimulator is a 4-channel version. The experiments described above have only attempted to discriminate between standing function and sit-down function. A further advantage of the this system is applied for motor rehabilitation of social readaption of paralyzed humans.

  • PDF

Expressed Sequence Tag Analysis of Antarctic Hairgrass Deschampsia antarctica from King George Island, Antarctica

  • Lee, Hyoungseok;Cho, Hyun Hee;Kim, Il-Chan;Yim, Joung Han;Lee, Hong Kum;Lee, Yoo Kyung
    • Molecules and Cells
    • /
    • v.25 no.2
    • /
    • pp.258-264
    • /
    • 2008
  • Deschampsia antarctica is the only monocot that thrives in the tough conditions of the Antarctic region. It is an invaluable resource for the identification of genes associated with tolerance to various environmental pressures. In order to identify genes that are differentially regulated between greenhouse-grown and Antarctic field-grown plants, we initiated a detailed gene expression analysis. Antarctic plants were collected and greenhouse plants served as controls. Two different cDNA libraries were constructed with these plants. A total of 2,112 cDNA clones was sequenced and grouped into 1,199 unigene clusters consisting of 243 consensus and 956 singleton sequences. Using similarity searches against several public databases, we constructed a functional classification of the ESTs into categories such as genes related to responses to stimuli, as well as photosynthesis and metabolism. Real-time PCR analysis of various stress responsive genes revealed different patterns of regulation in the different environments, suggesting that these genes are involved in responses to specific environmental factors.

The Effects of Sochongryong-tang on Pulmonary Function and Quality-of-Life in Asthmatic Patients (소청용탕이 기관지천식 환자의 폐기능과 삶의 질에 미치는 영향)

  • 허태석;황우석;주창엽;정희재;이형구;정승기
    • The Journal of Korean Medicine
    • /
    • v.22 no.4
    • /
    • pp.131-141
    • /
    • 2001
  • Objectives : Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder in which the airway smooth muscle undergoes exaggerated constriction and is abnormally responsive to external stimuli and clinically manifests dyspnea, cough, and wheezing. Recently in Korea, the number of asthma patients has tended to increase as air pollution increases and new allergens appear. This study aimed to identify the therapeutic effects of Sochongryong-tang, which has been used on asthmatic patients in Oriental Medicine for a long time. Methods : We studied 10 asthmatic patients who had visited the Division of Respiratory System, Department of Internal Medicine of Kyunghee Oriental Medical Center from February 1, 2001 to June 30, 2001, which examined the patients by the pulmonary function test (PFT) and Quality of Life Questionnaire for adult Korean Asthmatics (QLQAKA) before and after taking Sochongryong-tang for two weeks. The data was analyzed using paired t-test. Results : After treatment with Sochongryong-tang for two weeks, FEV 1.0 showed a significant increase of 14.2%, FVC a significant increase of 9.3% and PEFR a significant increase of 16.2% in results of patients examined asthmatic by PFT. In the results of QLQAKA, the mean of scores increased significantly over 0.5 points in total score, symptom domain, emotion domain, and environmental domain. Conclusions : This study shows that Sochongryong-tang has the effect of improvements of pulmonary function and quality of life in asthmatic patients.

  • PDF

Reduced Graphene Oxide Field-Effect Transistor for Temperature and Infrared Sensing

  • Trung, Tran Quang;Tien, Nguyen Thanh;Kim, Do-Il;Lee, Nae-Eung
    • Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
    • /
    • 2012.02a
    • /
    • pp.552-552
    • /
    • 2012
  • We fabricated reduced graphene oxide field-effect transistor (RGO-FET) on glass for highly sensitive temperature and IR detection. The device has the channels of RGO responsive to physical stimuli such as temperature and IR. The RGO sensing layers are fabricated from exfoliated graphene oxide sheets that are deposited to form a thin continuous network by electrostatic assembly. These graphene oxide networks are reduced toward reduce graphene oxide by exposure to a hydrazine hydrate vapor. To improve performance and eliminate interferences from oxygen and water vapor absorption to electrical properties of RGO-FET, the sensor devices were encapsulated by the tetratetracontane layer after annealing treatment. The device with encapsulation layer showed lower hysteresis, improved stability, and better repeatability. The temperature response of RGO-FET is examined by measuring changing the temperature, the device exhibited the high sensitivity and repeatability even with the temperature interval of 1 K. We also demonstrated that our devices have capability of IR sensing.

  • PDF

General picture of co-nonsolvency for linear and ring polymers

  • Park, Gyehyun;Lee, Eunsang;Jung, YounJoon
    • Proceeding of EDISON Challenge
    • /
    • 2016.03a
    • /
    • pp.147-154
    • /
    • 2016
  • Co-nonsolvency is a puzzling phenomenon that a polymer swells in a good solvent individually, but it collapses in a mixture of good solvents. This structural transition with changing solvent environment has been drawing attention due to practical application for stimuli-responsive polymer. The aim of this work is to describe the physical origin of the co-nonsolvency. In this work, we present Monte Carlo simulations for polymer solutions by using simple and general model. We simulate linear and ring polymers to compare their co-nonsolvency behaviors. Calculating Flory exponents and bridging fractions gives a good description for polymer structures. While the polymer structure shows non-monotonous behavior with increasing the cosolvent fraction, the chemical potential decreases monotonously. This indicates that coil-to-globule transition of polymers is purely controlled by free energy and can be regarded as a thermodynamics transition. We also present that ring polymers have higher looping probability than linear polymers, thus the bridging fraction remains higher at high cosolvent fraction. Our study provides a new perspective to understand polymer structure when the polymer "dissolves well" in any solvent.

  • PDF

Auxin-responsive SMALL AUXIN UP RNA genes : recent research progress and its application for crop improvement (옥신 반응 SMALL AUXIN UP RNA 유전자의 최근 연구 동향 및 작물 개량을 위한 적용)

  • Lee, Sang Ho
    • Journal of Plant Biotechnology
    • /
    • v.40 no.2
    • /
    • pp.59-64
    • /
    • 2013
  • Auxin is a key plant hormone which regulates overall plant growth development. A number of researches to investigate auxin signaling identified three major classes of early auxin response genes: AUX/IAA, GH3 and SMALL AUXIN UP RNA (SAUR). Among these genes, in planta functions of SAUR gene family are largely ambiguous, while both AUX/IAA and GH3 genes are analyzed to mediate negative feedback on auxin response. SAUR genes encode small plant-specific proteins. SAUR gene products are highly unstable and transiently expressed in the tissue- and developmental-specific manners in response to auxin and various environmental stimuli. In the decades, molecular and genetic approaches to elucidate in planta functions of SAURs have been hampered by several factors such as the unstable molecular features and functional redundancy among them. However, a series of recent studies focusing on several subgroups of SAUR gene family made significant progress in our understanding of its biochemical and physiological functions. These works suggest that many SAUR proteins mainly regulate auxin-related cell expansion and auxin transport. In this review, the recent progress in SAUR research and prospects for crop improvement through its genetic manipulation are discussed.

Liquid Crystal Elastomer-Based Soft Actuators (액정 엘라스토머 기반 소프트 액추에이터)

  • Bae, Jaehee;Kim, Keumbee;Choi, Subi;Ahn, Suk-kyun
    • Prospectives of Industrial Chemistry
    • /
    • v.24 no.6
    • /
    • pp.19-31
    • /
    • 2021
  • 자극응답성 액정 엘라스토머(liquid crystal elastomer)는 하이드로겔(hydrogel), 형상 기억 고분자(shape memory polymer)와 더불어 생체 특성을 모방한 인공 근육, 소프트 액추에이터 및 소프트 로봇을 위한 스마트 소재로 최근 높은 관심을 받고 있다. 특히, 액정 엘라스토머는 고무 탄성과 액정 이방성이 결합된 비등방성 탄성 고분자로, 열, 빛, 전기 및 수분과 같은 외부자극에 반응하여 가역적이며, 액정 분자들의 배향조절을 통한 프로그램된 변형이 가능하다. 액정 엘라스토머가 개념 증명을 하는 수준을 넘어 실제로 유용한 소프트 액추에이터 및 로봇 시스템에 적용되기 위해서는 우수한 구동력 및 작업 용량, 높은 구동 변형률, 빠른 응답 시간, 낮은 구동 온도, 다양한 외부 자극반응성 및 높은 에너지 전환 효율 등을 확보하는 것이 중요하다. 본 기고문에서는 액정 엘라스토머의 개념에 대해 소개하고, 이러한 소재가 소프트 액추에이터로써 광범위하게 활용될 수 있도록 다양한 성능들을 향상시킬 수 있는 방법에 대해 소개하고자 한다.