Class, gender, and housing in Korea

This paper examines the relation between class and housing, and between gender and housing in Korea. It also considers the income level as an intervening variable between these relations. This paper summarizes the theoretical debates on class, gender, and housing. Analyzing Population and Housing Census data for 1975, 1980, and 1985, it suggests that the housing consumption situation in Korea is seriously polarized between the new middle class and the working class. It is also found that working class female heads of households are doubly excluded from access to home ownership due to both their class position and their gender. In short, class cleavage is the most important factor in determining housing inequality in Korea and gender is also an important factor contributing to the inequalit

Homelessness and Community Attitudes in South Korea as Compared with Japan

This paper is based on the analysis of data from two surveys (one is of 225 homeless people in Busan, South Korea and the other is of 582 citizens in Busan, South Korea and Fukuoka, Japan). This paper examines four issues regarding homelessness in South Korea: the characteristics of homeless people, the causes of the length of homeless careers, the process of homelessness, and community attitudes towards homelessness. In order to explore community attitudes towards homelessness, we conducted a comparative study between South Korea and Japan. Our major findings are as follows. First, the street homeless people have longer stretches of homelessness, have higher percentages of people coming from the working class in total, have more cases of unstable mental health, and better adapt to homelessness than sheltered homeless people. Second, the homeless people who have had more years of education and have a higher percentage of time worked after the first job have shorter lengths of homeless careers. Homeless people who better adapt to the street have longer lengths of homeless careers. Third, the period between job loss and leaving the home is very short. The high prevalence of 'never return to the home' is a characteristic of the residential trajectories of homeless people. Finally, South Koreans have more positive attitudes towards homelessness, considering structural conditions to be the main cause of homelessness. Japanese have more negative attitudes towards homelessness, assuming personal problems to be the main cause.This work was supported by Pusan National Research Gran

The effects of exogenous hormones on genetic tumor formation in Nicotiana hybrids

The effect of exogenous auxin and cytokinin on cell proliferation and differentiation varies with the tissue system, and depends on the endogenous levels of the two hormones in the tissue. In this report, cytokinin (N6-benzyladenine, BA) and auxin (indole-3-acetic acid, IAA) were used to treat young seedlings, leaf explants, and genetic tumors of a Nicotiana hybrid. Exogenous BA markedly accelerated genetic tumor formation in young seedlings, while exogenous IAA inhibited it on young seedlings but not on leaf explants. Genetic tumors showed low sensitivity to exogenous BA and IAA. RAPD analysis of the genomes of the genetic tumors and normal tissue suggested that tumor formation is related to genomic instability

Violacein: Properties and Production of a Versatile Bacterial Pigment

Violacein-producing bacteria, with their striking purple hues, have undoubtedly piqued the curiosity of scientists since their first discovery. The bisindole violacein is formed by the condensation of two tryptophan molecules through the action of five proteins. The genes required for its production, vio ABCDE, and the regulatory mechanisms employed have been studied within a small number of violacein-producing strains. As a compound, violacein is known to have diverse biological activities, including being an anticancer agent and being an antibiotic against Staphylococcus aureus and other Gram-positive pathogens. Identifying the biological roles of this pigmented molecule is of particular interest, and understanding violacein's function and mechanism of action has relevance to those unmasking any of its commercial or therapeutic benefits. Unfortunately, the production of violacein and its related derivatives is not easy and so various groups are also seeking to improve the fermentative yields of violacein through genetic engineering and synthetic biology. This review discusses the recent trends in the research and production of violacein by both natural and genetically modified bacterial strains.open0

Expression of Heterologous OsDHAR Gene Improves Glutathione (GSH)-Dependent Antioxidant System and Maintenance of Cellular Redox Status in Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942.

An excess of reactive oxygen species (ROS) can cause severe oxidative damage to cellular components in photosynthetic cells. Antioxidant systems, such as the glutathione (GSH) pools, regulate redox status in cells to guard against such damage. Dehydroascorbate reductase (DHAR, EC 1.8.5.1) catalyzes the glutathione-dependent reduction of oxidized ascorbate (dehydroascorbate) and contains a redox active site and glutathione binding-site. The DHAR gene is important in biological and abiotic stress responses involving reduction of the oxidative damage caused by ROS. In this study, transgenic Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 (TA) was constructed by cloning the Oryza sativa L. japonica DHAR (OsDHAR) gene controlled by an isopropyl β-D-1-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG)-inducible promoter (Ptrc) into the cyanobacterium to study the functional activities of OsDHAR under oxidative stress caused by hydrogen peroxide exposure. OsDHAR expression increased the growth of S. elongatus PCC 7942 under oxidative stress by reducing the levels of hydroperoxides and malondialdehyde (MDA) and mitigating the loss of chlorophyll. DHAR and glutathione S-transferase activity were higher than in the wild-type S. elongatus PCC 7942 (WT). Additionally, overexpression of OsDHAR in S. elongatus PCC 7942 greatly increased the glutathione (GSH)/glutathione disulfide (GSSG) ratio in the presence or absence of hydrogen peroxide. These results strongly suggest that DHAR attenuates deleterious oxidative effects via the glutathione (GSH)-dependent antioxidant system in cyanobacterial cells. The expression of heterologous OsDHAR in S. elongatus PCC 7942 protected cells from oxidative damage through a GSH-dependent antioxidant system via GSH-dependent reactions at the redox active site and GSH binding site residues during oxidative stress

Enhancement of phase separation in the InGaN layer for self-assembled In-rich quantum dots

The enhancement of phase separation in the InGaN layer grown on a GaN layer with a rough surface was investigated for the formation of self-assembled In-rich quantum dots(QDs) in the InGaN layer. Transmission electron microscopy images showed that In-rich QDs with a size of 2–5 nm were formed even in an InGaN layer with a low indium content, and a layer thickness less than the critical thickness. The room-temperature photoluminescence(PL) spectrum of this layer showed emission peaks corresponding to In-rich QDs. The temperature-dependent PL spectra showed dominant peak shifts to the lower energy side, indicating that the self-assembled In-rich QDs are formed in the InGaN layer grown on a rough GaNsurface and that the carriers are localized in In-rich QDs

Self-assembly of Ni–Fe layered double hydroxide at room temperature for oxygen evolution reaction

Active and stable electrocatalysts are the key to water electrolysis for hydrogen production. This paper reports a facile direct growth method to synthesize NiFe-layered double hydroxides (LDHs) on nickel foil as an electrocatalyst for the oxygen evolution reaction. The NiFe-LDH is synthesized by a galvanic process at room temperature without any additional energy for synthesis. The synthesized NiFe-LDH is a karst landform with abundant active sites and efficient mass diffusion. The NiFe-LDH with an oxygen defect show excellent electrocatalytic performance for the OER, with a low overpotential (272 mV at 10 mA/cm2), a small Tafel slope (43 mV/dec), and superior durability. Direct growth synthesis provide excellent electrical conductivity as well as strong bonding between the catalyst layer and the substrate. In addition, this synthesis process is simple to apply in the fabrication of a large size electrode and is believed to be applicable to commercialized alkaline water electrolysis

Duodenal Mucosa-Associated Lymphoid Tissue Lymphoma: A Case Report

Primary duodenal mucosa associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma is very rare, and little is known about its clinical course or effective treatment. We describe a case of primary duodenal MALT lymphoma that was resistant to Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) eradication and regressed after chemotherapy with cyclophosphamide, vincristine, and prednisolone (CVP). A 71-year-old woman was referred to our department because of epigastric pain and dyspepsia. Gastroduodenoscopy revealed an irregular mucosal nodular lesion with ulceration extending from the bulb to the second portion of the duodenum. Histopathological examination of a biopsy specimen disclosed low-grade MALT lymphoma composed of atypical lymphoid cells with lymphoepithelial lesion. Abdominal CT scans revealed 0.5 to 1.5 cm lymph nodes in the peritoneal cavity, suggestive of lymph node metastasis. We successfully eradicated H. pylori but did not see signs of remission. We administered systemic CVP chemotherapy every 3 weeks. After 6 courses of CVP, the patient achieved complete remission and was followed up without recurrence for about a year