• Title/Summary/Keyword: Western culture

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Activation plans of the Cultural Exchanges between Korea' and the Czech Republic's Animation (한국과 체코의 애니메이션 교류를 통한 문화교류 활성화 연구)

  • Park, Ki Bok
    • Cartoon and Animation Studies
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    • s.36
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    • pp.619-641
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    • 2014
  • Animation is an important tool to establish the identity of mutually related countries, as cultural contents with the economic value. That is, it is necessary that the Korean animation should extend the previous boundary of exchange, for the status of representative cultural industry in the 21st century global market. Especially, to overcome the regionally prejudiced and unbalanced cultural exchange, the possibility of extension with Czech animation, which has not had an active exchange with Korea, will be considered and the efficient method will be proposed. The Czech Republic is geopolitically located in the center of Europe and its infrastructure like industrial construction, investment environment, human resources is outstanding among Visegrad Group. The Czech Republic has a remarkable cultural border-crossing phenomenon, and as a complex country of cultural and religious characteristics of eastern and western European, it is a powerful nation leading Central Europe. Therefore, the animation exchange of Czech and Korea is valuable in culture and economy of both nations. Through such an animation exchange of both nations, not only Korean animation secures the diversity of exchange but also insignificant cultural exchange after formal establishment of diplomatic relations in 1990, will be revitalized and international firm relationship of both nations will be established. Therefore, as an activation plan or cultural exchange of Korea and the Czech Republic, concrete plan like Stop Motion Animation Workshop is proposed.

Effect of Moutan Cortex Radicis on Gene Expression Profile of Differentiated PC12 Rat Cells Oxidative-stressed with Hydrogen Peroxide (모단피의 PC12 cell 항산화 효과와 관련 HO, MIF, COMT 유전자 발현에 미치는 영향)

  • Son Mu Song;Rho Sam Woong;Ko Eun Jung;Na Youn Gin;Bae Hyun Su;Hong Moo Chang;Shin Min Kyu
    • Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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    • v.17 no.4
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    • pp.905-913
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    • 2003
  • Oriental medicine explains aging as the weakening of Kidney-ai, and Kidney-strengthening herbal medicines such as Yukmijihwang-tang have been studied for anti-aging effects. In Western Medicine, the hypothesis that reactive oxidant species(ROS) contribute to the aging process is generally accepted. It has been reported that Moutan Cortex Radicis extract (MCR) was the most effective constituent of Yukmijihwang-tang in decreasing ROS production in oxidative-stressed cells. The purpose of this study is to confirm the anti-oxidant effect of MCR on PC12 cells, the expression of Heme oxygenase (HO), Macrophage migradon inhibitory factor (MIF), Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) using real time RT PCR. PC12 cells were treated without or with hydrogen peroxide in the presence or absence of MCR using MTS assay. Hydrogen peroxide decreased the viability of PC12 cells by 53% and MCR did not influence that of stressed PC 12 cells irrespective of dose or incubation period. However, MCR showed an inhibitory effect on production of ROS in stressed cells, both dose and incubation time dependently. In particular, 1 ㎎/㎖ of MCR for 24 h culture almost returned to normal level. In the quantiation of anti-aging related gene expression, MCR at 1 ㎎/㎖ increased the expression of HO by 370%, MIF by 180% and COMT by 280% through real time RT PCR. In conclusion, MCR treatment protected PC12 cells from hydrogen peroxide and decreased ROS production and enhanced anti-oxidative gene expression such as HO, COMT and MIF, which suggests that MCR is involved in controlling anti-aging of nerve cells through elimination of cytotoxic stimuli.

Out-of-School Educatin for the Gifted and Talented around the World

  • Freeman, Joan
    • Journal of Gifted/Talented Education
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    • v.14 no.3
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    • pp.41-52
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    • 2004
  • No educational provision for the gifted and talented works in a cultural vacuum, and this is as true for out-of-school activities as for what happens in school itself. There is evidence that excellence in children's achievements can come from widely differing special provision or from no special provision at all. Cultural influences affect attitudes as to who might be gifted and talented and what might be done for them. Whatever the size and influence of special centres anywhere, there is always overlap between in-school and out-of-school activities. For all styles of provision, cooperation between the two is a vital aspect of success. The major cultural dichotomy in this field is between the perception, usually found in the Far East that 'most children have gifted potential' and the largely Western view that 'few children have gifted potential'. It is safe to say that children who are selected for aptitude and ability, and who are keen to learn, will get more from special enrichment than those who of equal potential who have not had that experience. But this does not necessarily show the provision as the best possible method for enhancing gifts and talents. In fact, I do not know of a single scientific investigation, either cross-culturally or within one country, which compares any aspect of an out-of-school programme with another. As a result it is hard to say what type of provision would be most appropriate and effective in any given situation. Outcomes are also dependent on the enthusiasm, organisation and money put into any scheme - as well as the way youngsters are chosen for it. Some of the largest and most influential out-of-school American institutions were founded on the psychological understanding of human abilities that was current in the 1920s. These early influences of seeking an IQ cut-off point (or equivalent) to identify the gifted still affect their practice. in addition, the big American Talent Searches so often select youngsters for summer-schools not only by their high-level achievements, but also by their parent's ability to pay the sometimes high fees. Opinions about the identification of the brightest children and consequential educational practice underlie all provision for their education, whether in or outside school hours. Because of cross-cultural differences, it would not seem wise to copy any action directly from one culture to another without recognising these influences and possibly modifying the model. The growing trend around the world is to offer high-level opportunities to as many youngsters as possible, so that no keen learner is turned away without even a change of sampling them.

Effects of Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors on Vascular Reactivity and Alterations of Cyclooxygenase Expression (혈관 반응성에 대한 Cyclooxygenase 억제제 효과와 Cyclooxygenase 발현 변화)

  • Lee, Ki-Young;Park, Jin-Woo;Eum, Eun-A;Kang, Young-Jin;Lee, Kwang-Youn;Choi, Hyoung-Chul
    • Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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    • v.23 no.1
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    • pp.36-44
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    • 2006
  • Background: There is controversy regarding whether COX-2 specific inhibitors are associated with elevation of blood pressure. We compared the effects of aspirin, indomethacin, and celecoxib for vascular reactivity induced by phenylephrine. We also tested the effects of indomethacin and NO donor on COX-1 and COX-2 protein expression, as well as nitrite production in culture medium of vascular smooth muscle cells. Materials and Methods: In this experiment, we used the isometric tension study for vascular reactivity. After 45 minutes of pretreatment with aspirin, indomethacin, celecoxib, and phenylephrine induced contractions were tested. COX-1 and COX-2 protein expressions were analyzed by Western blot and nitrite production by the Griess reaction. Results: Although celecoxib pretreatment caused enhanced arterial contraction, aspirin pretreatment induced more potent arterial contraction than celecoxib in the isometric tension study of rabbit femoral artery. COX-1 protein expression was unchanged by indomethacin, SNP and NOR-3; COX-2 protein expression was increased by the addition of indomethacin, SNP, and NOR-3. Especially, NOR-3, a NO donor, significantly increased COX-2 protein expression with unstimulated conditions as well as LPS stimulation. Induction of nitrite production was higher with NOR-3 treatment than SNP treatment with LPS stimulation. Conclusion: These results suggest that aspirin caused more potent vascular contraction than celecoxib and indomethacin. COX-2 expression in VSMC depended on the types of NO donor and LPS stimulation.

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Confucian philosophy on social welfare (유교의 사회복지 정신)

  • Kim, Ki-Hyun
    • Korean Journal of Social Welfare Studies
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    • v.44 no.1
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    • pp.217-237
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    • 2013
  • It seems that it is hard to find the idea of social welfare from Confucianism if we consider it as feudalism. However, there is plentiful source of philosophical anthropology and social philosophy in Confucianism. It is the matter of how we understand Confucianism. This paper tries to look over the misunderstandings of Confucianism, and find out its essence from the view of philosophical anthropology and social philosophy. We could elicit the philosophy of social welfare from the series of work. Confucianism contains the idea of communalism on a view of human being. It means that he is born to be communal, not individual. Therefore it regards individualism as a vice. This let us conjecture the fact that Confucianism has different philosophy of welfare from the western culture which is based on the individualism. It will make us reflect upon the problems caused by individualism nowadays. Confucianism concentrates on the spiritual welfare no less than material welfare. If we state the word "welfare" differently into "happiness", Confucianism regards that the real happiness comes from the spirit, not matter. The spirit aims to realize moral value such as love, righteousness, and courtesy. Therefore Confucianism's philosophy of welfare ideally aimed the society that morally harmonized among people. The ideal of family-minded society was what it tried to realize.

Historical Contemplation on the Korean Landscape Characteristics as Affected by Religious Environment (시대 및 종교적 환경과 한국의 조경 경관형성 소고)

  • Shim, Jai-Sung;Bae, Jeong-Kwan;Seo, Byung-Key;Choi, Jong-Myung
    • The Journal of Natural Sciences
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    • v.12 no.1
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    • pp.85-101
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    • 2002
  • Landscape civilization in Korea originated in Cochosun(Ancient Chosun) era, this again succeeding to the period of the Three States - Koguryo, Baekje and Silla. The distribution of this culture showed great progress with the association of two particular religions - Buddhism and Confucianism.. Landscape development in Korea has greatly changed during specific times of both cultural and political upheaval in various societies. Religion has had a great deal of influence on landscape development. Traditionally Korean people have had a tendency to favor more natural landscape than man-made structures in landscape : This trend was a quite different concept from that of other oriental countries, not to mention of western countries. In particular, Buddhism influenced natural landscape, far from artificial craftsmanship in landscape. Oriental garden is a typical 'tabloid edition' of natural landscape which consists lakes, islands, ponds, stone monuments, and fruit trees, quite often raising animal in parks and courtyard style house. This style of garden influenced in Chosun Dynasty landscape. Landscaping was usually for royal gardens, cemetery parks or high level of officer's residence. However, landscaping in Chosun Dynasty which had established Confucianism as a state religion gave us a specific designation. It was neither ethnic imitation of the garden style of both China and Japan : People were used to enjoy nature-friendly landscape or sink into the ecstasy of natural scenery itself. The trend that landscape or establishing garden had been aimed at royal family- or bureaucrat-centered formatives was to become an obstacle to the development of landscape techniques in Korea. An example represented in a beautiful garden with fabulous decoration which established in places. This was completely not fit for the nation's feeling.

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Inhibition of Melanoma Differentiation by Melanogenesis Inhibitor Isolated from Yeast (효모에서 분리한 멜라닌 생성 억제 물질의 세포분화 억제)

  • Choe Taeboo;Lee Seungsun;Jung Hokwon;Chul Oh
    • Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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    • v.31 no.1 s.49
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    • pp.25-33
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    • 2005
  • Melanocytes synthesize melanin within discrete organelle termed melanosomes which are transferred to the surrounding keratinocytes and can be produced in varying sizes, numbers and densities. Skin whitening products have become increasingly popular in the past few years. The most successful natural skin whitening agents are: arbutin, vitamin C, kojic acid, and mulberry, which are all tyrosinase inhibitors. In this work, melanoston, a melanogenesis inhibitor isolated from yeast was studied to understand its mechanism of melanogenesis inhibition. It was found that melanoston was not a tyrosinase inhibitor, while when melanoston was applied to the B16 melanoma cell culture media, the intracellular tyrosinase activity was decreased by more than $30\%$. When B16 melanoma was stimulated with $\alpha$-MSH, cell morphololgy was dramatically changed to have lots of dendrites on the cell membrane surface. On the other hand, B16 was treated with $\alpha$-MSH and melanoston, simultaneously, the change of cell morphologv was not so great. This inhibitory effect of melanoston was found to be related to the inhibition of intracellar activation and transportation of tyrosinase, which was observed by irmmunostaining of B16 melanoma using anti-tyrosinase antibody. From these results, melanoston was regarded as an inhibitor to the differentiation of melanoma cells.

A Study on the Development of Cultural Contents based on the Mural Painting of Afrasiab Palace (아프라시압 궁전벽화를 활용한 문화콘텐츠 개발 방안 연구)

  • Park, Ga Young;Lee, Kyoung Joo;Jung, Dae Yul
    • Asia-pacific Journal of Multimedia Services Convergent with Art, Humanities, and Sociology
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    • v.9 no.2
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    • pp.481-491
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    • 2019
  • The wall paintings of the Afrasiab Palace in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, located at the center of the Silk Road where the culture of the East and the West crossed from ancient times to the Middle Ages, have been unearthed in 1960s and attracted attention from academia. In particular, two characters wearing a Korean ancient hat (Jougwan), who were considered to be ancient Korean, were found in the western wall. The wall depicted the Coronation of King Barfuman of Sogdiana Kingdom in 7th century. It is being used as an important feed for studying the international situation and cultural characteristics at that time. This mural, which is now in the Historical Museum of Afrasiab, contain four different paintings at each side, and has its own cultural characteristics and elements. Nevertheless, there has been no development of storytelling and cultural contents using it. The purpose of this study is to find out how to develop and utilize cultural contents and characters based on the paintings of west wall of Afrasiab palace. To this end, we visited the museum and investigated the mural as well as surveyed many academic materials.

A Study on the Concept of Forgiveness in Paul Ricoeur's Eschatology (폴 리쾨르의 종말론적 지평 속에 나타난 '용서'(par-don) 개념 연구)

  • Kim, Hye-ryung
    • Cross-Cultural Studies
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    • v.52
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    • pp.79-110
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    • 2018
  • This purpose of this study was to address the issue of forgiving unforgivable crimes, inevitably raised in Paul Ricoeur's thoughts. He explores the possibility of righteous historical representation of tragic events in Western history. Being aware of injustices of amnesty indiscriminately extended by the government, he studied the process through in which a genuine pardon should unfold before granting amnesty. He believes that this process called the "odyssey of forgiveness" presupposes the process of "imputability," in which the perpetrator should acknowledge his/her wrongdoing as his/her act and take reasonable responsibilities for it in a modest position. However, such acknowledgement of wrongdoing cannot be any reason for the victim to necessarily grant forgiveness to the perpetrator. According to him, forgiveness is a gift and the power of love enabled by a complete forgiver only. The initiative of forgiveness is attributable to the forgiver only. To never relinquish tension between love and justice in the forgiving process, he devises a way of planning an equation of forgiveness in a vertical scheme. Finally, he explains the process of requesting and granting forgiveness in a form of a righteous historical representation against the oblivion of past tragic events. He contends that this event of forgiveness promises a new life and a new era to all seeking and granting forgiveness, and that write a righteous history in eschatological hope.

MicroRNA-200a Targets Cannabinoid Receptor 1 and Serotonin Transporter to Increase Visceral Hyperalgesia in Diarrhea-predominant Irritable Bowel Syndrome Rats

  • Hou, Qiuke;Huang, Yongquan;Zhang, Changrong;Zhu, Shuilian;Li, Peiwu;Chen, Xinlin;Hou, Zhengkun;Liu, Fengbin
    • Journal of Neurogastroenterology and Motility
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    • v.24 no.4
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    • pp.656-668
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    • 2018
  • Background/Aims MicroRNAs (miRNAs) were reported to be responsible for intestinal permeability in diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-D) rats in our previous study. However, whether and how miRNAs regulate visceral hypersensitivity in IBS-D remains largely unknown. Methods We established the IBS-D rat model and evaluated it using the nociceptive visceral hypersensitivity test, myeloperoxidase activity assay, restraint stress-induced defecation, and electromyographic (EMG) activity. The distal colon was subjected to miRNA microarray analysis followed by isolation and culture of colonic epithelial cells (CECs). Bioinformatic analysis and further experiments, including dual luciferase assays, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, western blot, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, were used to detect the expression of miRNAs and how it regulates visceral hypersensitivity in IBS-D rats. Results The IBS-D rat model was successfully established. A total of 24 miRNAs were differentially expressed in the distal colon of IBS-D rats; 9 were upregulated and 15 were downregulated. Among them, the most significant upregulation was miR-200a, accompanied by downregulation of cannabinoid receptor 1 (CNR1) and serotonin transporter (SERT). MiR-200a mimic markedly inhibited the expression of CNR1/SERT. Bioinformatic analysis and luciferase assay confirmed that CNR1/SERT are direct targets of miR-200a. Rescue experiments that overexpressed CNR1/SERT significantly abolished the inhibitory effect of miR-200a on the IBS-D rats CECs. Conclusions This study suggests that miR-200a could induce visceral hyperalgesia by targeting the downregulation of CNR1 and SERT, aggravating or leading to the development and progression of IBS-D. MiR-200a may be a regulator of visceral hypersensitivity, which provides potential targets for the treatment of IBS-D.