The Analysis of the Beginning of the Telephone Conversations from the Middle School English Textbooks in Korea

This study aims at analyzing the beginning sequence and the anchor point of the telephone conversations in the English textbooks for Korean middle school based on the telephone conversation study in Schegloff(1986). Furthermore, it is discussed whether the beginning sequence of the telephone conversation in the English textbooks follows the native speakers unique features found in Schegloffs previous research(1986). Throughout the investigation, the distributions in the English textbooks contrasts sharply with the canonical pattern, and these differences might hinder the L2 learners to be exposed in the real talk-in-interaction

Transplantation of Adipose Derived Stromal Cells into the Developing Mouse Eye

Adipose derived stromal cells (ADSCs) were transplanted into a developing mouse eye to investigate the influence of a developing host micro environment on integration and differentiation. Green fluorescent protein-expressing ADSCs were transplanted by intraocular injections. The age of the mouse was in the range of 1 to 10 days postnatal (PN). Survival dates ranged from 7 to 28 post transplantation (DPT), at which time immunohistochemistry was performed. The transplanted ADSCs displayed some morphological differentiations in the host eye. Some cells expressed microtubule associated protein 2 (marker for mature neuron), or glial fibrillary acid protein (marker for glial cell). In addition, some cells integrated into the ganglion cell layer. The integration and differentiation of the transplanted ADSCs in the 5 and 10 PN 7 DPT were better than in the host eye the other age ranges. This study was aimed at demonstrating how the age of host micro environment would influence the differentiation and integration of the transplanted ADSCs. However, it was found that the integration and differentiation into the developing retina were very limited when compared with other stem cells, such as murine brain progenitor cell

In Vitro Exploration of ACAT Contributions to Lipid Droplet Formation During Adipogenesis

As adipose tissue is the major cholesterol storage organ and most of the intracellular cholesterol is distributed to lipid droplets (LDs), cholesterol homeostasis may have a role in the regulation of adipocyte size and function. ACATs catalyze the formation of cholesteryl ester (CE) from free cholesterol to modulate the cholesterol balance. Despite the well-documented role of ACATs in hypercholesterolemia, their role in LD development during adipogenesis remains elusive. Here, we identify ACATs as regulators of de novo lipogenesis and LD formation in murine 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Pharmacological inhibition of ACAT activity suppressed intracellular cholesterol and CE levels, and reduced expression of genes involved in cholesterol uptake and efflux. ACAT inhibition resulted in decreased de novo lipogenesis, as demonstrated by reduced maturation of SREBP1 and SREBP1-downstream lipogenic gene expression. Consistent with this observation, knockdown of either ACAT isoform reduced total adipocyte lipid content by approximately 40%. These results demonstrate that ACATs are required for storage ability of lipids and cholesterol in adipocytes

What Is It to Be Mentally Healthy from the North Korean Refugees' Perspective?:Qualitative Research on the Changes in Mental Health Awareness among the North Korean Refugees

Objective: We investigated how mental health awareness among North Korean refugees transformed depending on temporal-spatial context changes. Methods: In 2013, we conducted interviews with 10 refugees (eight women) who had been in South Korea for over a year and performed a qualitative analysis of the change in mental health awareness in the differences between living in North Korea, escape (a related period of forced sojourn in a third country), and settlement in South Korea. Results: We classified 39 concepts into five main categories. The first two categories (while living in North Korea) were "a mindset for the system, but not for individual mental health" and "being confined in a social environment that was indifferent to mental health." A third category appeared during escape: "focusing on survival amid continuity of intense suffering." The final two categories appeared when settling in South Korea: "recognition of mental health amid cultural shock" and "introspection and sorting oneself out". Conclusion: This qualitative study enabled a better multi-dimensional understanding of the social and cultural aspects involved in improving mental health awareness among North Korean refugees in South Korea. It is desirable to integrate mental health as a part of daily life and to expand training for North Korean settlers

Cell-free synthesis of functional phospholipase A1 from Serratia sp.

Additional file 1: Figure S1 Gas chromatography analysis of sesame oil incubated with cell-free synthesized PLA1

Hepatic Parasitic Abscess Caused by Clonorchiasis: Unusual CT Findings of Clonorchiasis

Clonorchiasis is caused by a chronic infestation of liver flukes, Clonorchis sinensis, and these reside mainly in the medium- and small-sized intrahepatic bile ducts. Therefore, diffuse, uniform, minimal or mild dilatation of these bile ducts, particularly in the periphery, without dilatation of the extrahepatic bile duct is the typical finding on several imaging modalities. We report here on the CT findings of an unusual case of hepatic parasitic abscess that was caused by clonorchiasis; this malady mimicked cholangiocarcinoma, and there was no dilatation of the intrahepatic bile ducts

Large-scale preparation of active caspase-3 in E. coli by designing its thrombin-activatable precursors

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Caspase-3, a principal apoptotic effector that cleaves the majority of cellular substrates, is an important medicinal target for the treatment of cancers and neurodegenerative diseases. Large amounts of the protein are required for drug discovery research. However, previous efforts to express the full-length caspase-3 gene in <it>E. coli </it>have been unsuccessful.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Overproducers of thrombin-activatable full-length caspase-3 precursors were prepared by engineering the auto-activation sites of caspase-3 precursor into a sequence susceptible to thrombin hydrolysis. The engineered precursors were highly expressed as soluble proteins in <it>E. coli </it>and easily purified by affinity chromatography, to levels of 10–15 mg from 1 L of <it>E. coli </it>culture, and readily activated by thrombin digestion. Kinetic evaluation disclosed that thrombin digestion enhanced catalytic activity (<it>k</it>_cat/<it>K</it>_<it>M</it>) of the precursor proteins by two orders of magnitude.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>A novel method for a large-scale preparation of active caspase-3 was developed by a strategic engineering to lack auto-activation during expression with amino acid sequences susceptible to thrombin, facilitating high-level expression in <it>E. coli</it>. The precursor protein was easily purified and activated through specific cleavage at the engineered sites by thrombin, generating active caspase-3 in high yields.</p

Functional characterization of the pathogenesis-related protein family 10 gene, PgPR10-4, from Panax ginseng in response to environmental stresses

Pathogenesis-related proteins (PRs) are known to function in higher plants as a protein-based defensive system against abiotic and biotic stress, particularly pathogen infections. A full-length cDNA sequence of PR BetV1 was isolated and characterized from a 14-year-old ginseng expressed sequence tags library and we named this as PgPR10-4, because of similar identities with previous isolated PgPR10s sequences. The PgPR10-4 gene encodes a 477 bp open reading frame and its deduced protein contains 158 amino acids with a 53 % identity with that of the Actinidia chinensis BetV1 allergen. The expression of PgPR10-4 gene was abundant in leaves and its transcripts showed differentially up-regulated patterns against several ginseng pathogens and abiotic stimuli such as high light and salinity. In addition, PgPR10-4 expression was strongly responsive towards the stress signaling molecules H2O2 and jasmonic acid (JA), while weekly responsive to salicylic acid and abscisic acid. A functional role of PgPR10-4 in environmental stress tolerance was further validated through its overexpression in Arabidopsis. An analysis of T2 transgenic Arabidopsis plants overexpressing the PgPR10-4 gene showed an enhanced tolerance to bacterial and fungal infection, but not to salt stress. When we tagged with cyan fluorescent protein fusion protein, the PgPR10-4-was found to localize to the cytoplasm. The enhanced antifungal activity observed from the Arabidopsis transgenic lines suggests the possible involvement of PgPR10-4 in a defense-related mechanism via the JA signaling pathway

Impact of vancomycin-induced changes in the intestinal microbiota on the pharmacokinetics of simvastatin

The pharmacokinetic (PK) properties of drugs are affected in several ways by interactions with microbiota. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of oral vancomycin on the gut microbiota and, consequently, on the PKs of simvastatin. An open-label, single arm, sequential crossover study was conducted in six healthy Korean male subjects. After 6 days on a control diet, simvastatin 40 mg was orally administered to the subjects before and after 1 week of oral vancomycin treatment. Blood samples for PK analysis and fecal samples for metagenomic and metabolomic analyses were collected. After vancomycin treatment, the richness of microbiota considerably decreased, and the composition was altered. In particular, the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes decreased, whereas that of proteobacteria increased. In addition, changes in fecal metabolites, including D-glucuronic acid, were observed. However, systemic exposure of simvastatin was not changed whereas that of hydroxysimvastatin showed a tendency to increase. The relationship between the change of PKs of simvastatin and the change of gut microbiota and fecal metabolites were not clearly observed

Depletion of Mitochondrial Components from Extracellular Vesicles Secreted from Astrocytes in a Mouse Model of Fragile X Syndrome

Mitochondrial dysfunction contributes to neurodegenerative diseases and developmental disorders such as Fragile X syndrome (FXS). The cross-talk between mitochondria and extracellular vesicles (EVs) suggests that EVs may transfer mitochondrial components as intermediators for intracellular communication under physiological and pathological conditions. In the present study, the ability of EVs to transfer mitochondrial components and their role in mitochondrial dysfunction in astrocytes were examined in the brains of Fmr1 knockout (KO) mice, a model of FXS. The amounts of mitochondrial transcription factor NRF-1, ATP synthases ATP5A and ATPB, and the mitochondrial membrane protein VDAC1 in EVs were reduced in cerebral cortex samples and astrocytes from Fmr1 KO mice. These reductions correspond to decreased mitochondrial biogenesis and transcriptional activities in Fmr1 KO brain, along with decreased mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) with abnormal localization of vimentin intermediate filament (VIF) in Fmr1 KO astrocytes. Our results suggest that mitochondrial dysfunction in astrocytes is associated with the pathogenesis of FXS and can be monitored by depletion of components in EVs. These findings may improve the ability to diagnose developmental diseases associated with mitochondrial dysfunction, such as FXS and autism spectrum disorders (ASD). © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.1