• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• 제16권5호
• /
• pp.1737-1742
• /
• 2015

Background: Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations have been shown to be associated with cancer. This study explored whether mtDNA mutations enhance cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) development in individuals. Materials and Methods: The whole mitochondrial genome sequences of 25 CCA patient tissues were determined and compared to those of white blood cells from the corresponding individuals and 12 healthy controls. The mitochondrial genome was amplified using primers from Mitoseq and compared with the Cambridge Reference Sequence. Results: A total of 161 mutations were identified in CCA tissues and the corresponding white blood cells, indicating germline origins. Sixty-five (40%) were new. Nine mutations, representing those most frequently observed in CCA were tested on the larger cohort of 60 CCA patients and 55 controls. Similar occurrence frequencies were observed in both groups. Conclusions: While the correspondence between the cancer and mitochondrial genome mutation was low, it is of interest to explore the functions of the missense mutations in a larger cohort, given the possibility of targeting mitochondria for cancer markers and therapy in the future.

• Molecules and Cells
• /
• 제41권4호
• /
• pp.351-361
• /
• 2018

Sucrose is a crucial compound for the growth and development of plants, and the regulation of multiple genes depends on the amount of soluble sugars present. Sucrose acts as a signaling molecule that regulates a proton-sucrose symporter, with its sensor being the sucrose transporter. Flavonoid and anthocyanin biosynthesis are regulated by sucrose, and sucrose signaling can affect flavonoid and anthocyanin accumulation. In the present study, we found a Myb transcription factor affecting accumulation of anthocyanin. AtMyb56 showed an increase in its expression in response to sucrose treatment. Under normal conditions, anthocyanin accumulation was similar between Col-0 (wild type) and atmyb56 mutant seedlings; however, under sucrose treatment, the level of anthocyanin accumulation was lower in the atmyb56 mutant plants than in Col-0 plants. Preliminary microarray analysis led to the investigation of the expression of one candidate gene, AtGPT2, in the atmyb56 mutant. The phosphate translocator, which is a plastidial phosphate antiporter family, catalyzes the import of glucose-6-phosphate (G-6-P) into the chloroplast. AtGPT2 gene expression was altered in atmyb56 seedlings in a sucrose-dependent manner in response to circadian cycle. Furthermore, the lack of AtMyb56 resulted in altered accumulation of maltose in a sucrose-dependent manner. Therefore, the sucrose responsive AtMyb56 regulates AtGPT2 gene expression in a sucrose-dependent manner to modulate maltose and anthocyanin accumulations in response to the circadian cycle.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
• /
• 제21권3호
• /
• pp.44.1-44.10
• /
• 2020

Background: Congenital portosystemic shunt (cPSS) is one of the most common congenital disorders diagnosed in dogs. Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a frequent complication in dogs with a cPSS and is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Despite HE been a major cause of morbidity in dogs with a cPSS, little is known about the cellular changes that occur in the central nervous system of dogs with a cPSS. Objectives: The objective of this study was to characterise the histological changes in the cerebral cortex and cerebellum of dogs with cPSS with particular emphasis on astrocyte morphology. Methods: Eight dogs with a confirmed cPSS were included in the study. Results: Six dogs had substantial numbers of Alzheimer type II astrocytes and all cases had increased immunoreactivity for glial fibrillary acidic protein in the cerebral cortex, even if there were minimal other morphological changes. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that dogs with a cPSS have marked cellular changes in the cerebral cortex and cerebellum. The cellular changes that occur in the cerebral cortex and cerebellum of dogs with spontaneously arising HE are similar to changes which occur in humans with HE, further validating dogs with a cPSS as a good model for human HE.

• Toxicological Research
• /
• 제32권4호
• /
• pp.353-358
• /
• 2016

The generation and collection of cigarette smoke (CS) is a prerequisite for any toxicology study on smoking, especially an in vitro CS exposure study. In this study, the effects on blood and vascular function were tested with two widely used CS preparations to compare the biological effects of CS with respect to the CS preparation used. CS was prepared in the form of total particulate matter (TPM), which is CS trapped in a Cambridge filter pad, and cigarette smoke extract (CSE), which is CS trapped in phosphate-buffered saline. TPM potentiated platelet reactivity to thrombin and thus increased aggregation at a concentration of $25{\sim}100{\mu}g/mL$, whereas 2.5~10% CSE decreased platelet aggregation by thrombin. Both TPM and CSE inhibited vascular contraction by phenylephrine at $50{\sim}100{\mu}g/mL$ and 10%, respectively. TPM inhibited acetylcholine-induced vasorelaxation at $10{\sim}100{\mu}g/mL$, but CSE exhibited a minimal effect on relaxation at the concentration that affects vasoconstriction. Neither TPM nor CSE induced hemolysis of erythrocytes or influenced plasma coagulation, as assessed by prothrombin time (PT) and activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT). Taken together, CS affects platelet activity and deteriorates vasomotor functions in vitro. However, the effect on blood and blood vessels may vary depending on the CS preparation. Therefore, the results of experiments conducted with CS preparations should be interpreted with caution.

• 대한약침학회지
• /
• 제11권1호
• /
• pp.5-12
• /
• 2008

목적 : 봉한소체가 성체줄기세포의 원천이며, 봉한관이 줄기세포 수송로일 가능성을 확인함. 방법 : 쥐의 내부 장기표면에서 봉한소체와 봉한관을 채취했다. 다양한 줄기세포 표지항체를 써서 면역조직학적 분석을 했다. 결과 : mesenchymal 줄기세포에 관한 Integrin ${\beta}1$, Collagen type 1, Fibronectin의 강한 발현을 확인했다. CD54는 발현되지 않았다. 조혈줄기세포에 관련하여 Thy 1의 발현이 있었다. 결론 : 골수조직과 유사하게 mesenchymal과 조혈줄기세포의 표지가 BHC에서 확인되었고, 봉한관에서는 vWF가 발현되어 줄기세포 수송로 가능성을 확인했다.

• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
• /
• 제12권6호
• /
• pp.2388-2398
• /
• 2017

In this study, we propose a robust face recognition system to pose variations based on automatic pose estimation. Radial basis function neural network is applied as one of the functional components of the overall face recognition system. The proposed system consists of preprocessing and recognition modules to provide a solution to pose variation and high-dimensional pattern recognition problems. In the preprocessing part, principal component analysis (PCA) and 2-dimensional 2-directional PCA ($(2D)^2$ PCA) are applied. These functional modules are useful in reducing dimensionality of the feature space. The proposed RBFNNs architecture consists of three functional modules such as condition, conclusion and inference phase realized in terms of fuzzy "if-then" rules. In the condition phase of fuzzy rules, the input space is partitioned with the use of fuzzy clustering realized by the Fuzzy C-Means (FCM) algorithm. In conclusion phase of rules, the connections (weights) are realized through four types of polynomials such as constant, linear, quadratic and modified quadratic. The coefficients of the RBFNNs model are obtained by fuzzy inference method constituting the inference phase of fuzzy rules. The essential design parameters (such as the number of nodes, and fuzzification coefficient) of the networks are optimized with the aid of Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO). Experimental results completed on standard face database -Honda/UCSD, Cambridge Head pose, and IC&CI databases demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of face recognition system compared with other studies.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• 제28권11호
• /
• pp.1945-1950
• /
• 2007

Two fluorene-based conjugated copolymers containing hexyl-thiophene derivatives, PF-1T and PF-4T, were synthesized via the palladium-catalyzed Suzuki coupling reaction. The number-average molecular weights (Mn) of PF-1T and PF-4T were found to be 19,100 and 13,200, respectively. These polymers were soluble in common organic solvents such as chloroform, chlorobenzene, toluene, etc. The UV-vis absorption maximum peaks of PF-1T and PF-4T in the film state were found to be 410 nm and 431 nm, respectively. Electrochemical characterization revealed that these polymers have low highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) levels, indicating good resistance against oxidative doping. Thin film transistor devices were fabricated using the top contact geometry. PF-1T showed much better thin-film transistor performance than PF-4T. A thin film of PF- 1T gave a saturation mobility of 0.001-0.003 cm2 V?1 s?1, an on/off ratio of 1.0 × 105, and a small threshold voltage of ?8.3 V. To support TFT performance, we carried out DSC, AFM, and XRD measurements.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• 제31권4호
• /
• pp.934-940
• /
• 2010

The reduction of [$Os_3(CO)_{11}P(OMe)_3$] and subsequent ionic coupling of the reduced species with $[Ru({\eta}^5-C_5H_5)(CH_3CN)_3]^+$ resulted in the formation of [$Os_3(CO)_{11}P(OMe)_3(Ru({\eta}^5-C_5H_5))_2$] which can be converted to spiked tetrahedral cluster, [$HOs_3(CO)_{11}P(OMe)_3Ru_2({\eta}^5-C_5H_5)(C_5H_4)$] via the intramolecular hydrogen transfer. Due to the unavailability of a suitable single crystal, the PW91/SDD and LDA/SDD density functional methods were used to predict possible structures and the available spectroscopic information (IR, NMR) of [$Os_3(CO)_{11}P(OMe)_3(Ru({\eta}^5-C_5H_5))_2$]. The most probable geometry found by constrained search is the isomer (a2) in which the phosphite, $P(OMe)_3$, occupies an axial position on one of the two osmium atoms that is edge bridged by the $Ru(CO)_2({\eta}^5-C_5H_5)$ unit. By using the most probably geometry, the predicted infrared frequencies and $^1H$, $^{13}C$ and $^{31}P$ NMR chemical shifts of the compound are in the same range as the experimental values. For this type of complex, the LDA/SDD method is appropriate for IR predictions whereas the OPBE/IGLO-II method is appropriate for NMR predictions. The activation energy and reaction energy of the intramolecular hydrogen transfer coupled with the structural change of the transition metal framework were estimated at the PW91/SDD level to be 110.32 and -0.14 kcal/mol respectively.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
• /
• 제25권8호
• /
• pp.450-461
• /
• 2022

A randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled clinical study was used to determine the cognitive functions related to working memory (WM) and antioxidant properties of fermented Laminaria japonica (FLJ) on healthy volunteers. Eighty participants were divided into a placebo group (n = 40) and FLJ group (n = 40) that received FLJ (1.5 g/day) for 6 weeks. Memory-related blood indices (brain-derived neurotrophic factor, BDNF; angiotensin-converting enzyme; human growth hormone, HGH; insulin-like growth factor-1, IGF-1) and antioxidant function-related indices (catalase, CAT; malondialdehyde, MDA; 8-oxo-2'-deoxyguanosine, 8-oxo-dG; thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, TBARS) were determined before and after the trial. In addition, standardized cognitive tests were conducted using the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Batteries. Furthermore, the Korean Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (K-WAIS)-IV, and the Korean version of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA-K) were used to assess the pre and post intake changes on WM-related properties. According to the results, FLJ significantly increased the level of CAT, BDNF, HGH, and IGF-1. FLJ reduced the level of TBARS, MDA, and 8-oxo-dG in serum. Furthermore, FLJ improved physical activities related to cognitive functions such as K-WAIS-IV, MoCA-K, Paired Associates Learning, and Spatial Working Memory compared to the placebo group. Our results suggest that FLJ is a potential candidate to develop functional materials reflecting its capability to induce antioxidant mechanisms together with WM-related indices.

• Journal of Communications and Networks
• /
• 제18권6호
• /
• pp.975-988
• /
• 2016

Large access providers (ISPs) are seeking for new types of business agreements and pricing models to manage network costs and monetize better the provision of last-mile services. A typical paradigm of such new pricing norms is the proliferation of paid peering deals between ISPs and content providers (CPs), while on top of this, some ISPs are already experimenting with usage-based tariffs, usually through data-plans, instead of the typical fixed-based charging. In this work we define as common platform, the infrastructure in which a single ISP transacts with several CPs through peering agreements. In this context, we examine whether, and under which market conditions, the profitability of the involved stakeholders improves when the establishment of this platform is accompanied by a monetary compensation from the CPs to the ISP (paid peering), v.s. a scenario where their deal is a typical settlement-free one. In both cases, we assume that the ISP implements a usage-based access pricing scheme, implying that end-users will pay more for higher transaction rates with the CPs. Our framework captures some of the most important details of the current market, such as the various business models adopted by the CPs, the end-users' evaluation towards the ISP's and CPs' level of investments and the traffic rates per transaction for the offered services. By analysing the equilibrium derived by a leader-follower game, it turns out (among other practical takeaways) that whether or not the profitability of a CP improves, it highly depends on whether its business model is to sell content, or if it obtains its revenue from advertisements. Finally, we extract that consumer surplus is considerably higher under paid peering, which in turn implies improved levels of social welfare.