Korean identity constructions in relation to racialized differences

This research critically analyzes discourses concerning Korean identities in public and private sphere. It focuses on the development of discourses from mono-ethnic to multicultural Korean identities during 1990s-2000s. The rising discourses of multicultural diversity in Korean society can be seen as a strategic choice of Korean government and individuals alike in order to be successfully integrated into the globalization process. Strategic identity constructions do not necessarily imply a linear, progressive and teleological development or westernization. Rather, it should be viewed as a flexible and sustainable developmental strategy that a nation, such as Korea, constantly transforms and adapting itself to neoliberal globalization within its constrained and changing conditions. This view of identity constructions as part of strategic globalization is based on an investigation of discourses of mono-ethnic and multicultural Koreanness in contemporary Korean society, using Foucault’s theory of governmentality and discourse as reference of framework. Analyses of the discourses were conducted in two different levels: public and individual. Public discourses were analyzed through investigations on K-12 textbooks in the field of ethics and social studies, and included public advertisements. Individual and small group interviews were conducted in order to analyze individual level discourses on what it means to be Korean in triangulation with the public discourses. The juxtaposition of these two discursive perspectives revealed different facets of the discursive constructions of Korean identities. Seemingly contradicting discourses of mono-ethnic homogeneity and multicultural diversity as Korean identities are not mutually exclusive. Rather, public discourses from the textbooks presented mono-ethnic loyalty and multicultural diversity as one desire of Koreans: the desire to establish a rich and strong nation advancing into the global world through peaceful unification with North Korea. For global advancement, Koreans should be multicultural citizens well-versed in diversity of any kind, but for unification, Koreans should keep their ethnic loyalty. Individual discourses demonstrated their desire to become active participants in the process of globalization, while coveting for more advantages in the society through different discourses on Koreanness. Individuals strategically engaged mono-ethnic and multicultural identities according to their needs in different contexts. Korean individuals did not fully abide by the government’s molding. Yet, they endeavor to acquire necessary multicultural sophistication in order to become a successfully globalized member of the Korean society. At the same time, they covet for more advantageous place in the society by objectifying the recent immigrant population or by hierarchically labelling the different cultures associated with different groups of people. In brief, seemingly shifting discourses on Koreanness as mono-ethnic to multicultural does not represent the changing identities of Koreans. On the contrary, the shift in discourses of Korean identities imply that discursive constitution of identities are strategically utilized as means of gaining global membership in Korean society, or gaining a superior legitimacy as a Korean. Korean individuals are developing more sophisticated strategies and concepts that racialize different groups of people through their discourses surrounding identities. Korean identity constructions can thus be viewed as a strategic and context-specific choice of Koreans for the sustained development in the context of neoliberal globalization

Clinical Characteristics of Monomorphic Post-transplant Lymphoproliferative Disorders

Post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorders (PTLD) are a heterogeneous group of lymphoproliferative disorders associated with immunosuppression and Epstein-Barr virus infection. PTLD is classified into three major categories: early lesions, polymorphic PTLD, and monomorphic PTLD. The majority of monomorphic PTLD cases are non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of B-cell origin. This retrospective study was conducted to investigate the incidence, clinical manifestation, treatment, and outcomes of monomorphic PTLD among 5,817 recipients of solid organ or allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation from five institutions. Fourteen patients with monomorphic PTLD were identified (male:female 11:3; median age 42.6 yr, range 24-60). The overall incidence rate was 0.24%. The most common disease type was diffuse large B cell lymphoma (n=7). The median time between the transplant and diagnosis of PTLD was 85.8 months. However, all cases of PTLD after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation occurred within 1 yr after transplantation. Ten of the 14 patients had EBV-positive tumor. Fourteen patients received combination systemic chemotherapy and four patients were treated with radiation therapy. Ten patients achieved a complete response (CR) and two patients a partial response (PR). The median follow-up period for surviving patients was 36.6 months. Nine patients remain alive (eight CR, one PR). Nine of 11 solid organ transplantations preserved graft function. The present study indicates a lower incidence rate and a longer median time before the development of PTLD than those of previous reports. Careful monitoring was needed after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for PTLD

Anti-diabetic effect of Cyclo-His-Pro (CHP)-enriched yeast hydrolysate in streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice

The present study was designed to investigate the hypoglycemic effects of the daily oral dose of 0.50 to 0.75 g/kg of yeast hydrolysate (YH) containing high Cyclo-His-Pro (51.0 mg CHP/g YH) on normal and streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats for 14 days. In STZ-induced diabetic rats, after administrations of the YH for 14 days, the body weight gain was significantly increased in dose dependent manner, and the plasma glucose levels were decreased approximately (60%) as compared to the STZ induced diabetic control group. Glucose level showed significant differences between the diabetic control (DC) and the YH administered groups in oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) (P<0.05). Results of the OGTT showed a significant decrease in the area under curve (AUC) value of YH supplemented groups as compared to the DC group. The present data suggests that the CHP-enriched YH has potential anti-diabetic effect, which can help in the cure and management of diabetes.Keywords: Yeast hydrolysate, Cyclo-His-Pro (CHP), diabetes, streptozotocin.African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(35), pp. 5473-547

Traffic Safety Evaluation Based on Vision and Signal Timing Data

With the advancement of recent image processing technologies numerous imaging applications have been developed to collect traffic information. In this study, image processing technology is applied to roadway safety to detect and measure the conflict between pedestrians and vehicular traffic and investigate the correlations between the conflict and signal timing data. By using an image processing technique, pedestrian and vehicular movements are detected and the distance between these two are calculated to detect conflicts between them. In this study, Machine Learning techniques are utilized to facilitate more accurate and efficient detection. It is assumed that the intersection is accident-prone if conflicts between pedestrian and vehicular traffic appear more frequently than other intersections and correlations exist depending on the status of signal timing, for example at the end of green signal for a particular movement. This approach is expected to identify accident-prone intersections without actually experiencing crashes; therefore, this would potentially reduce social costs associated with traffic accidents

Antioxidant effect of lidocaine and procaine on reactive oxygen species-induced endothelial dysfunction in the rabbit abdominal aorta

Background: Reactive oxygen species (ROS) induce lipid peroxidation and tissue damage in the endothelium. We tested the antioxidant effect of lidocaine and procaine on ROS-induced endothelial damage in the rabbit aorta. Methods: Aortic rings isolated from rabbits were suspended in an organ bath filled with Krebs-Henseleit (K-H) solution bubbled with 5% CO2 and 95% O 2 at 37.5??C. After precontraction with phenylephrine (PE, 10 -6 M), changes in tension were recorded following a cumulative administration of acetylcholine (ACh 3 ?? 10-8 to 10 -6 M). Differences were measured as percentages of ACh-induced relaxation of aortic rings before and after exposure to ROS as generated by electrolysis of the K-H solution. The aortic rings were pretreated with lidocaine or procaine (10-5 M to 3 ?? 10-3 M) to compare their effects, as well as ROS scavengers, catalase, mannitol, sodium salicylate, and deferoxamine, and a catalase inhibitor, 3-amino-1,2,4-triazole (3AT). Results: Lidocaine and procaine dose-dependently maintained endothelium-dependent relaxation induced by ACh despite ROS activity (P < 0.05 vs control value). The 3AT pretreated procaine (3 ?? 10-3 M) group decreased more significantly than the un-pretreated procaine group (P < 0.05). Conclusions: These findings suggest that lidocaine and procaine dose-dependently preserve endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation against ROS attack, potentially via hydrogen peroxide scavenging. Copyright ?? Korean Society of Anesthesiologists, 2010

Antibiotic resistance mechanisms inform discovery: identification and characterization of a novel amycolatopsis strain producing ristocetin.

Discovering new antibiotics is a major scientific challenge, made increasingly urgent by the continued development of resistance in bacterial pathogens. A fundamental understanding of the mechanisms of bacterial antibiotic resistance will be vital for the future discovery or design of new, more effective antibiotics. We have exploited our intimate knowledge of the molecular mechanism of glycopeptide antibiotic resistance in the harmless bacterium Streptomyces coelicolor to develop a new two-step cell wall bioactivity screen, which efficiently identified a new actinomycete strain containing a previously uncharacterized glycopeptide biosynthetic gene cluster. The screen first identifies natural product extracts capable of triggering a generalized cell wall stress response and then specifically selects for glycopeptide antibacterials by assaying for the induction of glycopeptide resistance genes. In this study, we established a diverse natural product extract library from actinomycete strains isolated from locations with widely varying climates and ecologies, and we screened them using the novel two-step bioassay system. The bioassay ultimately identified a single strain harboring the previously unidentified biosynthetic gene cluster for the glycopeptide ristocetin, providing a proof of principle for the effectiveness of the screen. This is the first report of the ristocetin biosynthetic gene cluster, which is predicted to include some interesting and previously uncharacterized enzymes. By focusing on screening libraries of microbial extracts, this strategy provides the certainty that identified producer strains are competent for growth and biosynthesis of the detected glycopeptide under laboratory conditions.This work was supported by funding from the Royal Society, UK (516002.K5877/ROG), the Medical Research council, UK (G0700141) and St. John’s College, University of CambridgeThis the the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from ASM at http://aac.asm.org/content/early/2014/07/09/AAC.03349-14.abstract

Effect of Agrimonia pilosa Ledeb Extract on the Antinociception and Mechanisms in Mouse

In the present study, the antinociceptive profiles of Agrimonia pilosa Ledeb extract were examined in ICR mice. Agrimonia pilosa Ledeb extract administered orally (200 mg/kg) showed an antinociceptive effect as measured by the tail-flick and hot-plate tests. In addition, Agrimonia pilosa Ledeb extract attenuated the writhing numbers in the acetic acid-induced writhing test. Furthermore, the cumulative nociceptive response time for intrathecal (i.t.) injection of substance P (0.7 µg) was diminished by Agrimonia pilosa Ledeb extract. Intraperitoneal (i.p.) pretreatment with yohimbine (α2-adrenergic receptor antagonist) attenuated antinociceptive effect induced by Agrimonia pilosa Ledeb extract in the writhing test. However, naloxone (opioid receptor antagonist) or methysergide (5-HT serotonergic receptor antagonist) did not affect antinociception induced by Agrimonia pilosa Ledeb extract in the writhing test. Our results suggest that Agrimonia pilosa Ledeb extract shows an antinociceptive property in various pain models. Furthermore, this antinociceptive effect of Agrimonia pilosa Ledeb extract may be mediated by α2-adrenergic receptor, but not opioidergic and serotonergic receptors