• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.21 no.7
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• pp.766-775
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• 2011

We investigated the effect of high molecular weight polygamma- glutamic acid (hm ${\gamma}$-PGA) on adiposity and lipid metabolism of rats in the presence of an obesity-inducing diet. Thirty-two Sprague-Dawley rats were fed either a normal-fat (11.4% kcal fat, NFC) or high-fat (51% kcal fat, HFC) diet. After 5 weeks, half of each diet-fed group was treated with hm ${\gamma}$-PGA (NFP or HFP) for 4 weeks. The HFC group had significantly higher body weight, visceral fat mass, fasting serum levels of total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and leptin, and lower serum HDL cholesterol level compared with those of the NFC group (p < 0.05). Treatment with hm ${\gamma}$-PGA decreased body weight gain and perirenal fat mass (p<0.05), fasting serum total cholesterol, and mRNA expression of glucose-6- phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD), regardless of dietary fat contents (p < 0.01). However, hm ${\gamma}$-PGA increased serum HDL cholesterol in the HFC group (p < 0.05). In vitro, 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme-A (HMGCoA) reductase activity was suppressed by the addition of hm ${\gamma}$-PGA. In agreement with observations in animal study, the supplementation of hm ${\gamma}$-PGA (150 mg/day) to 20 female subjects in an 8-week double-blind, placebocontrolled study resulted in a tendency to decrease total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol concentrations. We thus conclude that dietary supplementation of hm ${\gamma}$-PGA may act as a hypocholestrolemic agent, secondary to its inhibitor effect on HMG-CoA reductase, and decrease abdominal adiposity by decreasing hepatic lipogenesis. The present study is an important first step in establishing the effect of hm ${\gamma}$-PGA on cholesterol levels in rats and humans.

• Korean Institute of Interior Design Journal
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.35-42
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• 2009

In this study, the author aims to examine that the image for specific space coming through vision is to reveal how people perceive the space through vision and whether the perceived space includes the role as the catalyst that causes the following activities. It is believed that the fact which elements are remembered as the whole expression as well as the memorized images that humans have regarding the space should act as the important factor in terms of space perception. The conclusions from this study are as follow; 1) By analyzing the frequency of observation time that were obtained from the examinee, it was possible to classify the property of observation with S areas. Besides, it was possible to the meanings that the design elements have in each area. The establishment of the areas are considered as the important factor to examine which design elements have drawn the attention. 2) In case of I area which showed the most design factors that would lead examinee's vision or have interests in the examinee views, it showed that it stared the lower parts from the middle of the Image spatially, which was the most stable position from the image with strong tendency for staring at this area. 3) The most frequently stared area was the lower part of the middle, however, while the I area gazed the right side of the middle, II area faced the left side more so that it was revealed that it stared at the lower part of the middle and right side, then, moved to left. 4) Despite the frequent observation, some areas had very low or few observation data records and the area which was designed with monotonous color with relatively large size was also involved here so that it was identified that the simply treated area in design was rarely gazed.

• Management & Information Systems Review
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.21-34
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• 2019

It is a very important task for managers to motivate employees who work at service encounters where interaction with customers is important. The purpose of this study is to propose the trust of supervisor and supervisor's expressions as factors that can enhance or strengthen employees' prosocial behavior. Hierarchical regression analysis was used for this purpose. The results and implications are as follows. First, trust toward supervisors appeared to be a factor to improve employees'engagement. Second, job engagement has a positive effect on prosocial behavior of employees, that is, customer oriented behavior and organizational citizenship behavior. Finally, this work confirmed the moderating effect of the supervisor's gratitude expressions in the relationship between trust toward supervisor and job engagement. Research on gratitude in the marketing field is still in its infancy, and previous researches are focused on business and consumer relations. Expressing gratitude can be a natural tendency. This study suggests that gratitude expression should be introduced as part of organizational culture.

• Journal of the Architectural Institute of Korea Planning & Design
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• v.34 no.12
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• pp.39-48
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• 2018

In modern architecture, the concept is the central axis of the design process, but it is not yet a building. The concept is modified in the process of realization because it captures only a part of reality. However, in the works of some Japanese architects, the concept seems to have become almost a building. In this study, I tried to find the cause of such a contradictory situation centering on House N of Fujimoto Sou, which is a representative architect of such tendency. Specifically, I analyzed the concept of House N by dividing it into aspects of function and representation. The reason for this was to see if the functional aspects of the concept were not modified in the first place, or if the representational aspects of the concept covered the functional aspects. For this purpose, I used WLVAE, which is a visual analysis tool, to analyze the functions of design concepts, along with the analysis of photographs, drawings, and diagrams. As a result of the analysis, House N was also modified to conditions of reality in the process of building, but the initial purity was emphasized in the representation of the concept, so that the building seemed to be very conceptual. This fact suggests that the architect has divided the functional and representational aspects of the concept and has focused on the latter. In conclusion this can be seen as an expression of the architect's interpretation of the relationship between the house and the city through the building.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.69-76
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• 2018

Objectives : Dracocephalum palmatum Stephan (Lamiaceae) is a medicinal plant used by the East-Russian nomads but there were few studies on this plant. This study was to evaluate anti-cancer effects of D. palmatum Stephan leaf hexane fraction on human derived prostate cancer cell death. Methods : The dried leaves of D. palmatum were dissolved in methanol, and hexane fraction (DpLH) was again obtained from lyophilized methanol extract (DpLM). DpLH was investigated by measuring by MTT assay and annexin V/PI staining to evaluate its effects on the cell viability and apoptosis of PC-3 cells. The ROS generations were detected by DCF-DA dye. The protein expressions were confirmed by p-AKT, Bcl-2, Bax, procaspase-3 activities. Results : After treatment of DpLH to PC-3 cells, the cell proliferation was significantly inhibited, and in addition, DpLH treatment also accelerated apoptosis of PC-3 cells. When DpLH was treated to the PC-3 cells, its ROS production significantly decreased. The proportion of all proteins (p-AKT/actin, Bcl-2/Bax and procaspase-3/actin ratios) showed decreasing tendency of expression compared with the control group. Conclusions : As shown in the above results, the extract from D. palmatum inhibits ROS production and promotes cell death, which is considered to be a relatively safe induction of cell death when administered to a living body. In conclusion, these results suggested that DpLH may have anti-cancer effect in human prostate cancer cell.

• Journal of English Language & Literature
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.243-260
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• 2007

This article explores how Richard Powers' The Gold Bug Variations, an interdisciplinary novel through the new concepts of biocriticism and bioliterature is connected with literature/art and science/technology. Powers uses Edgar Allen Poe's "The Gold Bug" and Johann Sebastian Bach's "The Goldberg Variations" for decoding DNA in order to analogize a genomic metaphor. He imagines literature as "the book of life" genome, written by DNA code due to the complexity and multiplicity of the genome. His novel, as 'genomic narrative,' shows the articulation of the genomic reading, and expression in the life language through the discourses of the information technology and the rhetorical tropes in biology. New biological ideas are continually required to articulate these processes. In the present tendency of the Human Genome Project, such advanced devices as biocybernetics offer the potential to open up new possibilities to researching the complexity of the genome. This can only happen if the following two ideas are followed: One is to comply with advanced technologies for processing the rapidly increasing data of the genome sequence; The other is to admit the necessary paradigm shift in biology. As shown above, the complexity and multiplicity of the genomic reality is not so simple. We must go beyond determinism, even if representation of a biological reality reveals the possibility of expressing its constituent elements by the advanced biotechnology. Consequently, in the unstoppable advances of the art of decoding the genome, The Gold Bug Variations interrelates to the interdisciplinary approaches through the rhetorical tropes that unfold the complex discursive world of the genome. Powers shows that the complex mechanisms of the genome in the microworld of every cell as the plot of "the book of life" can be designed and written using DNA language. At the same time, his genomic reading and writing demonstrate the historical processes of the shifting center of new genomic development and polysemous interpretation.

• Journal of Fashion Business
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.124-146
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• 2023

This study analyzes the characteristics of each element of neo-deconstructivist fashion design and examines fashion expression methods and techniques. This study combines theoretical research and case analysis to analyze the aesthetic characteristics of neo-deconstructivist fashion and the expressive characteristics of neo-deconstructivist fashion. Through analysis of previous research, the aesthetic characteristics of neo-deconstructivism were derived as inclusiveness, playfulness, communication, and intertextuality. Inclusivity in fashion refers to including various people, body types, aesthetics, and cultural backgrounds in the scope of design, and does not limit the scope of clothing design based on individual differences such as body type or gender. Playfulness is a neo-deconstructive fashion brand that combines exaggerated makeup, vibrant colors, intriguing designs, and imaginative fashion shows to spread upbeat and playful ideas. Communication in neo-deconstructivist fashion demonstrates communication through the use of creative themes and items that reflect consumers' needs through design and the consumer's fashion presentation method. Through the mutual quotation of aspects like traits, status, T.P.O., and materials that can reveal opposing texts, intertextuality emerged as a tendency to break up binary oppositions or break away from genres. The expressive qualities of neo-deconstructivist fashion design were examined and applied to the creation of innovative fashion design through examination of the case's silhouette, color, and material. Six sets of women's clothing were designed and produced. The results of this study can be used as basic data for the development of neo-deconstructivist fashion design, and are expected to provide a wide range of inspiration for fashion design ideas.

• The korean journal of orthodontics
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• v.54 no.3
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• pp.142-152
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• 2024

Objective: This retrospective cohort study aimed to assess and compare the accuracy of 3 different Invisalign^® treatment regimens in terms of variations of aligner change frequency and type of aligner material in achieving maxillary dental buccal expansion. Methods: Altogether, 120 adult patients whose treatment involved maxillary dental expansion with Invisalign^® were included. The patients were divided into 3 groups, with each group comprising 40 patients as follows: SmartTrack^® 1-week changes (ST1), SmartTrack^® 2-week changes (ST2), and EX30^® 2-week changes (EX2). The groups were assessed by comparing actual changes achieved with those prescribed by ClinCheck^®. The rates of clinically significant inaccuracies (CSI) observed for buccal expansion (≥ 0.5 mm) and buccolingual inclination (≥ 2°) during expansion were then determined. Results: In terms of expansion, the ST1 group demonstrated the highest CSI rate at all tooth levels, whereas the ST2 group had the lowest rate of CSI and the lowest mean inaccuracy for each tooth level. In terms of buccolingual inclination, the ST1 group had the highest CSI rate across all tooth levels, whereas the EX2 group had the lowest CSI rate at all tooth levels except for the canine level where the ST2 group had the lowest CSI rate. A tendency toward overexpression of buccal crown inclination, and underexpression of buccal expansion was observed at all tooth levels. Conclusions: Two-week aligner change regimens offer improved accuracy compared with 1-week aligner changes. SmartTrack^® 2-week changes were the most accurate for buccal expansion, whereas EX30^® 2-week changes were the most accurate for buccolingual inclination.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.149-157
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• 2023

We investigated the involvement of autophagy with steroidogenesis in testicular Leydig cells. Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG)-stimulated T production in Leydig cells was not remarkably altered in the presence of an autophagy inhibitor 3-methyladenine (3-MA). Although pretreatment with 3-MA demonstrated a tendency to decrease hCG-induced T production, the differences were significant only at a higher time point of 24 h following hCG. Microtubule associated protein light chain 3 (LC3)-II was detectable in the control cells in all the experiments. The hCG-induced increase in steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR) and cytochrome P450 side chain cleave (P450scc) protein levels were not significantly altered by 3-MA. Leydig cells isolated from immature rat testes 12 h following hCG treatment showed relatively increased levels of LC3-II protein compared to the control group. Furthermore, LC3-II levels shown in these cells reached almost the identical to those from normal adult testes. However, LC3-II protein levels were almost comparable or even slightly lower than the controls at 48 h following hCG. Expression of StAR and P450scc was upregulated at both 12 and 48 h after hCG. We also used MA-10 cells, the mouse Leydig cell line, in this experiment. When dibutyryl cyclic-AMP was treated with MA-10 cells, P4 levels were significantly increased in the cell culture medium. However, P4 levels tended to decrease in the presence of 3-MA, but the difference was not statistically significant. This was consistent with the results of the rat Leydig cell experiments. Together, we believe that although autophagy participates in steroidogenesis and enhances steroidogenic efficacy of Leydig cells, it may not be a decisive cellular process for steroidogenesis, specifically in the mature Leydig cells.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.548-555
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• 2018

Objective: This experiment was conducted to investigate whether asparagine (Asn) could improve liver energy status in weaning pigs when challenged with lipopolysaccharide. Methods: Forty-eight weaned pigs ($Duroc{\times}Large\;White{\times}Landrace$, $8.12{\pm}0.56kg$) were assigned to four treatments: i) CTRL, piglets received a control diet and injected with sterile 0.9% NaCl solution; ii) lipopolysaccharide challenged control (LPSCC), piglets received the same control diet and injected with Escherichia coli LPS; iii) lipopolysaccharide (LPS)+0.5% Asn, piglets received a 0.5% Asn diet and injected with LPS; and iv) LPS+1.0% Asn, piglets received a 1.0% Asn diet and injected with LPS. All piglets were fed the experimental diets for 19 d. On d 20, the pigs were injected intraperitoneally with Escherichia coli LPS at $100{\mu}g/kg$ body weights or the same volume of 0.9% NaCl solution based on the assigned treatments. Then the pigs were slaughtered at 4 h and 24 h after LPS or saline injection, and the liver samples were collected. Results: At 24 h after LPS challenge, dietary supplementation with 0.5% Asn increased ATP concentration (quadratic, p<0.05), and had a tendency to increase adenylate energy charges and reduce AMP/ATP ratio (quadratic, p<0.1) in liver. In addition, Asn increased the liver mRNA expression of pyruvate kinase, pyruvate dehydrogenase, citrate synthase, and isocitrate dehydrogenase ${\beta}$ (linear, p<0.05; quadratic, p<0.05), and had a tendency to increase the mRNA expression of hexokinase 2 (linear, p<0.1). Moreover, Asn increased liver phosphorylated AMP-activated protein kinase (pAMPK)/total AMP-activated protein kinase (tAMPK) ratio (linear, p<0.05; quadratic, p<0.05). However, at 4 h after LPS challenge, Asn supplementation had no effect on these parameters. Conclusion: The present study indicated that Asn could improve the energy metabolism in injured liver at the late stage of LPS challenge.