Agricultural Policy Adjustments in East Asia: The Korean Rice Economy

The processes of agricultural policy decision-making in the East Asian economies of Japan, Taiwan, and Korea are characterized by the complex interactions of competing special interest groups in their respective political arenas. An analytical model is designed to investigate how adjustments in rice price policies are endogenously related to the political economic forces associated with macroeconomic changes. The model is tested against the case of Korean rice price policy, which has not been satisfactorily explained in earlier modeling efforts. A political preference function is used to estimate the relative political weights of producers, consumers, and government over a 25-year period (1961-1985) during which major macroeconomic changes occurred. A simultaneous 12-equation model is then constructed to explore the effects of the macroeconomic changes on the rice pricing decisions through the estimated political weights. Highly significant econometric results are obtained to explain the pattern of increasing political influence of producers relative to that of consumers and government. Simulation experiments show how the patterns in the rice economy are linked to macroeconomic change. The results obtained, thus far, open the way for methodological improvements to further our functional understanding of agricultural policy adjustments in Korea and other East Asian economies.endogenous rice policy, political macroeconomy, political preference function, political weights, econometric simulation, East Asia, Korea, Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries,

Partial power processing DC/DC MPPT Converters in Solar PV applications: Overview of Architectures

This paper presents an overview of partial power processing (PPP) DC/DC converter architectures in PV applications which has maximum power point tracking (MPPT) capability. The main objectives of PPP in PV applications target to increase the power density and efficiency while reducing overall cost. The converters applied to the PPP is called partial power converter (PPC) and there are three most actively explored topologies in the solar industrial fields: differential power converter (DPC), fractional power converter (FRPC), and partial power converter (PPC). Some previous studies analyze and compare several PPCs in a highly qualitative manner. In this work, PPP topologies are classified in a comprehensive manner, and their power processing capabilities are analyzed with the volt-ampere (VA) area modeling. Moreover, quantitative comparison of PPP topologies by means of utilization factor (UF) is presented and compared for a utility scale solar park scenario. Finally, overview of PPP architectures are compared and organized with the table

Neuroprotective Effects of Astaxanthin in Oxygen-Glucose Deprivation in SH-SY5Y Cells and Global Cerebral Ischemia in Rat

Astaxanthin (ATX), a naturally occurring carotenoid pigment, is a powerful biological antioxidant. In the present study, we investigated whether ATX pharmacologically offers neuroprotection against oxidative stress by cerebral ischemia. We found that the neuroprotective efficacy of ATX at the dose of 30 mg/kg (n = 8) was 59.5% compared with the control group (n = 3). In order to make clear the mechanism of ATX neuroprotection, the up-regulation inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and heat shock proteins (HSPs) together with the oxygen glucose deprivation (OGD) in SH-SY5Y cells were also investigated. The induction of various factors involved in oxidative stress processes such as iNOS was suppressed by the treatment of ATX at 25 and 50 µM after OGD-induced oxidative stress. In addition, Western blots showed that ATX elevated of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1; Hsp32) and Hsp70 protein levels in in vitro. These results suggest that the neuroprotective effects of ATX were related to anti-oxidant activities in global ischemia

Cigarette smoke exacerbates mouse allergic asthma through Smad proteins expressed in mast cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Many studies have found that smoking reduces lung function, but the relationship between cigarette smoke and allergic asthma has not been clearly elucidated, particularly the role of mast cells. This study aimed to investigate the effects of smoke exposure on allergic asthma and its association with mast cells.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>BALB/c mice were sensitized and challenged by OVA to induce asthma, and bone marrow-derived mast cells (BMMCs) were stimulated with antigen/antibody reaction. Mice or BMMCs were exposed to cigarette smoke or CSE solution for 1 mo or 6 h, respectively. The recruitment of inflammatory cells into BAL fluid or lung tissues was determined by Diff-Quik or H&E staining, collagen deposition by Sircol assay, penh values by a whole-body plethysmography, co-localization of tryptase and Smad3 by immunohistochemistry, IgE and TGF-β level by ELISA, expressions of Smads proteins, activities of signaling molecules, or TGF-β mRNA by immunoblotting and RT-PCR.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Cigarette smoke enhanced OVA-specific IgE levels, penh values, recruitment of inflammatory cells including mast cells, expressions of smad family, TGF-β mRNA and proteins, and cytokines, phosphorylations of Smad2 and 3, and MAP kinases, co-localization of tryptase and Smad3, and collagen deposition more than those of BAL cells and lung tissues of OVA-induced allergic mice. CSE solution pretreatment enhanced expressions of TGF-β, Smad3, activities of MAP kinases, NF-κB/AP-1 or PAI-1 more than those of activated-BMMCs.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The data suggest that smoke exposure enhances antigen-induced mast cell activation via TGF-β/Smad signaling pathways in mouse allergic asthma, and that it exacerbates airway inflammation and remodeling.</p

Filter for TV and video cameras

An infrared-cut filter for TV and video cameras was calculated and fabricated. The filter contains 28 alternating SiO₂ and TiO₂ layers. The filter was calculated using the principle of unequal-thickness layers. This filter has a transmittance of 95 % in 400 to 650 nm range and 1 % in 700 to1150 nm range

Nanomechanical In Situ Monitoring of Proteolysis of Peptide by Cathepsin B

Characterization and control of proteolysis of peptides by specific cellular protease is a priori requisite for effective drug discovery. Here, we report the nanomechanical, in situ monitoring of proteolysis of peptide chain attributed to protease (Cathepsin B) by using a resonant nanomechanical microcantilever immersed in a liquid. Specifically, the detection is based on measurement of resonant frequency shift arising from proteolysis of peptides (leading to decrease of cantilever's overall mass, and consequently, increases in the resonance). It is shown that resonant microcantilever enables the quantification of proteolysis efficacy with respect to protease concentration. Remarkably, the nanomechanical, in situ monitoring of proteolysis allows us to gain insight into the kinetics of proteolysis of peptides, which is well depicted by Langmuir kinetic model. This implies that nanomechanical biosensor enables the characterization of specific cellular protease such as its kinetics

SIRT6 Depletion Suppresses Tumor Growth by Promoting Cellular Senescence Induced by DNA Damage in HCC

The role of Sirtuin 6 (SIRT6) as a tumor suppressor or oncogene in liver cancer remains controversial. Thus, we identified the specific role of SIRT6 in the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). SIRT6 expression was significantly higher in HCC cell lines and HCC tissues from 138 patients than in an immortalized hepatocyte cell line, THLE-2 and non-tumor tissues, respectively. SIRT6 knockdown by shRNA suppressed the growth of HCC cells and inhibited HCC tumor growth in vivo. In addition, SIRT6 silencing significantly prevented the growth of HCC cell lines by inducing cellular senescence in the p16/Rb- and p53/p21-pathway independent manners. Microarray analysis revealed that the expression of genes involved in nucleosome assembly was apparently altered in SIRT6-depleted Hep3B cells. SIRT6 knockdown promoted G2/M phase arrest and downregulation of genes encoding histone variants associated with nucleosome assembly, which could be attributed to DNA damage. Taken together, our findings suggest that SIRT6 acts as a tumor promoter by preventing DNA damage and cellular senescence, indicating that SIRT6 represents a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of HCC.11137Ysciescopu