• Journal of Life Science
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.853-860
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• 2010

The DevSR two-component system is a major regulatory system involved in redox sensing in Mycobacterium smegmatis. The DevSR system consists of the DevS histidine kinase and its cognate DevR response regulator. When exposed to hypoxic conditions, the DevS histidine kinase is activated to phosphorylate the DevR response regulator, leading to the transcriptional activation of the DevR regulation. The ligand-binding state of the heme embedded in the N-terminal GAF domain of DevS determines the kinase activity of DevS. In this study, we demonstrated that the redox-responsive cysteine (C547) in the C-terminal kinase domain is involved in the redox-dependent control of DevS kinase activity. The formation of an intersubunit disulfide bond between the C547 residues in the presence of $O_2$ led to inactivation of DevS kinase activity. The reduction of the oxidized DevS with reductants such as $\beta$-mercaptoethanol and dithiothreitol resulted in the restoration of DevS kinase activity. It was demonstrated in vivo by complementation test that the substitution of C547 to alanine partially impaired the sensory function of DevS in M. smegmatis.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.28 no.9
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• pp.1354-1361
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• 2015

The complement system is a part of the natural immune regulation mechanism against invading pathogens. Complement activation from three different pathways (classical, lectin, and alternative) leads to the formation of C5-convertase, an enzyme for cleavage of C5 into C5a and C5b, followed by C6, C7, C8, and C9 in membrane attack complex. The C9 is the last complement component of the terminal lytic pathway, which plays an important role in lysis of the target cells depending on its self-polymerization to form transmembrane channels. To address the association of C9 with traits related to disease resistance, the complete porcine C9 cDNA was comparatively sequenced to detect single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in pigs of the breeds Hampshire (HS), Duroc (DU), Berlin miniature pig (BMP), German Landrace (LR), Pietrain (PIE), and Muong Khuong (Vietnamese potbelly pig). Genotyping was performed in 417 $F_2$ animals of a resource population (DUMI: $DU{\times}BMP$) that were vaccinated with Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae, Aujeszky diseases virus and porcine respiratory and reproductive syndrome virus at 6, 14 and 16 weeks of age, respectively. Two SNPs were detected within the third exon. One of them has an amino acid substitution. The European porcine breeds (LR and PIE) show higher allele frequency of these SNPs than Vietnamese porcine breed (MK). Association of the substitution SNP with hemolytic complement activity indicated statistically significant differences between genotypes in the classical pathway but not in the alternative pathway. The interactions between eight time points of measurement of complement activity before and after vaccinations and genotypes were significantly different. The difference in hemolytic complement activity in the both pathways depends on genotype, kind of vaccine, age and the interaction to the other complement components. These results promote the porcine C9 (pC9) as a candidate gene to improve general animal health in the future.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.94-103
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• 2008

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine whether celastrol, the triterpenoid component of Celastrus orbiculatus, offers neuroprotection against Parkinson's disease (PD) in mice administered 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6- tetrahydropyridine(MPTP). Methods: We examined how celastrol affected MPTP-induced neuronal loss of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)-positive dopaminergic neurons in substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) in the midbrain of mice. C57BL/6J mice were divided into four groups: (1) saline-saline, (2) saline-celastrol, (3) MPTP-saline, and (4) MPTP-celastrol. The mice were injected intraperitoneally (i.p.) with four administrations of MPTP (18mg/kg) at 2 h intervals and then i.p. administered celastrol (3mg/kg) two times at 12 h after last celastrol administration. Expression of TH on the SNpc of brain tissues were analyzed at 7 days after the treatments by immunohistochemistry and Western blot. Results: Immunohistochemical analysis using TH antibody showed that celastrol provided significantly protective effects against MPTP-induced loss of TH-positive dopaminergic neurons in the SNpc region of the midbrain of mice. Our Western blot study also showed that celastrol significantly inhibits the MPTP-induced neuronal damage via the up-regulation of TH protein levels in MPTP mice. Conclusions: The present results suggest that it may be possible to use celastrol for the prevention of nigral degenerative disorders including PD, caused by exposure to toxic substances.

• BMB Reports
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.215-225
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• 1999

Phytochromes (with gene family members phyA, B, C, D, and E) are a wavelength-dependent light sensor or switch for gene regulation that underscore a number of photo responsive developmental and morphogenic processes in plants. Recently, phytochrome-like pigment proteins have also been discovered in prokaryotes, possibly functioning as an auto-phosphorylating/phosphate-relaying two-component signaling system (Yeh et al., 1997). Phytochromes are photochromically convertible between the light sensing Pr and regulatory active Pfr forms. Red light converts Pr to Pfr, the latter having a "switch-on" conformation. The Pfr form triggers signal transduction pathways to the downstream responses including the expression of photosynthetic and other growth-regulating genes. The components involved in and the molecular mechanisms of the light signal transduction pathways are largely unknown, although G-proteins, protein kinases, and secondary messengers such as $Ca^{2+}$ ions and cGMP are implicated. The 124-127 kDa phytochromes form homodimeric structures. The N-terminal half contains the tetrapyrrolic phytochromobilin for red/far-red light absorption. The C-terminal half includes both a dimerization motif and regulatory box where the red light signal perceived by the chromophore-domain is recognized and transduced to initiate the signal transduction cascade. A working model for the inter-domain signal communication within the phytochrome molecule is proposed in this Review.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.7 no.11
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• pp.1113-1122
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• 2020

The purpose of this study is to examine how the Indian banks have adjusted their risk-based capital ratios during 2009-2018 to meet the regulatory requirements. Banks can, in principle, increase their risk-based regulatory capital ratio, either by increasing their levels of regulatory capital or by shrinking their risk-weighted assets by adjusting asset growth or risk in the portfolio. We investigate banks' capital behavior by decomposing the change in the capital ratio into the contribution of its components and analyzing their variance across regulatory regimes and banks' ownerships. We further investigate how each component of the capital ratio is adjusted by the banks by breaking down them into balance sheet items. We find that the banks' capital behavior significantly differed between public and private sector banks and between the two regulatory regimes. During Basel II, banks, in general, followed a strategy of aggressive asset growth with increased risk-taking. The decline in the CRAR because of such an expansionary strategy was adjusted by augmenting additional capital. However, during Basel III, due to higher capital requirements, both in terms of quantity and quality, banks followed a strategy of cutting back their asset growth and reducing the risk in their portfolio to maintain their CRAR.

• International Journal of Automotive Technology
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.575-581
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• 2007

As current and future automobile emission regulations become more stringent, the research on flow distribution for an exhaust manifold and close-coupled catalyst(CCC) has become an interesting and remarkable subjects. The design of a CCC and exhaust manifold is a formidable task due to the complexity of the flow distribution caused by the pulsating flows from piston motion and engine combustion. Transient flow at the exhaust manifold can be analyzed with various computational fluid dynamics(CFD) tools. However, the results of such simulations must be verified with appropriate experimental data from real engine operating condition. In this study, an experimental approach was performed to investigate the flow distribution of exhaust gases for conventional cast types and stainless steel bending types of a four-cylinder engine. The pressure distribution of each exhaust sub-component was measured using a simulated dynamic flow bench and five-hole pitot probe. Moreover, using the results of the pitot tube measurement at the exit of the CCC, the flow distribution for two types of manifolds(cast type and bending type) was compared in terms of flow uniformity. Based on these experimental techniques, this study can be highly applicable to the design and optimization of exhaust for the better use of catalytic converters to meet the PZEV emission regulation.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.19-26
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• 2005

The last two decades have shown a marked expansion in publications of diverse effects of Panax ginseng. Ginsenosides, as active ingredients of Panax ginseng, are saponins found in only ginseng. Recently, a line of evidences shows that ginsenosides regulate various types of ion channel activity such as $Ca^{2+},\;K^+,\;Na^+,\;Cl^-$, or ligand gated ion channels (i.e. $5-HT_3$, nicotinic acetylcholine, or NMDA receptor) in neuronal, non-neuronal cells, and heterologously expressed cells. Ginsenosides inhibit voltage-dependent $Ca^{2+},\;K^+,\;and\;Na^+$ channels, whereas ginsenosides activate $Ca^{2+}-activated\;Cl^-\;and\;Ca^{2+}-activated\;K^+$ channels. Ginsenosides also inhibit excitatory ligand-gated ion channels such as $5-HT_3$, nicotinic acetylcholine, and NMDA receptors. This review will introduce recent findings on the ginsenoside-induced differential regulations of ion channel activities and will further expand the possibilities how these ginsenoside-induced ion channel regulations are coupled to biological effects of Panax ginseng.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Pressure Vessels and Piping
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.49-58
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• 2018

The regulatory periodic inspection program (PSI) conducted at every overhaul period is the most important process for confirming the safety of nuclear power plants. The PSI for operating nuclear power plants in Korea mainly consist of component level performance check that had been developed based on deterministic approach putting the same degree of importance to all the inspection items. This inspection methodology is likely to be effective for preoperational inspection. However, once the plant is put into service, the PSI must be focused on whether to minimize the risk of accident using defense-in-depth concept and risk insight. The incorporation of defense-in-depth concept and risk insight into the deterministic based safety inspection has not been well studied so far. In this study, two track approaches are proposed to make sure that core damage be avoided: one is to secure success path and the other to block the failure path in a specific event tree of PSA. The investigation shows how to select safety important components and how to set up inspection group to ensure that core damage would not occur for a given initiating event, which results in strengthening defense-in-depth level 3.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.24-33
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• 2019

A new modeling method for AC-AC switched capacitor converters (SCCs) is introduced in this study. The proposed analytical method aims to accurately describe the input-output characteristics of AC-AC SCCs and establish a mathematical model for static voltage conversion ratio and equivalent resistance, which are key performance metrics for SCCs. A quantitative analysis of converter regulation capability is addressed on the basis of the modeling method. In this analysis, the effects of the control parameters and individual components on SCCs are illustrated extensively. Component stresses, such as the peak value and transient variation of the voltage/current of the converter, are also presented. The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by comparing it with the existing modeling method and applying it to an AC-AC SCC with a conversion ratio of three. Two 1 kW prototypes are built in a laboratory, and their experimental results exhibit good agreement with the theoretical analysis.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.77-82
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• 2001

Erwinia amylovora causes a devastating disease called fire blight in rosaceous trees and shrubs such as apple, pear, and raspberry. To successfully infect its hosts, the pathogen requires a set of clustered genes termed hrp. Studies on the hrp system of E. amylovora indicated that it consists of three functional classes of genes. Regulation genes including hrpS, hrpS, hrpXY, and hrpL produce proteins that control the expression of other genes in the cluster. Secretion genes, many of which named hrc, encode proteins that may form a transmembrane complex, which is devoted to type III protein secretion. Finally, several genes encode the proteins that are delivered by the protein secretion apparatus. They include harpins, DspE, and other potential effector proteins that may contribute to proliferation of E. amylovora inside the hosts. Harpins are glycine-rich heat-stable elicitors of the hypersensitive response, and induce systemic acquired resistance. The pathogenicity protein DseE is homologous and functionally similar to an avirulence protein of Pseudomonas syringae. The region encompassing the hrpldsp gene cluster of E. amylovora shows features characteristic of a genomic island : a cryptic recombinase/integrase gene and a tRNA gene are present at one end and genes corresponding to those of the Escherichia coli K-12 chromosome are found beyond the region. This island, designated the Hrp pathogenicity island, is more than 60 kilobases in size and carries as many as 60 genes.