UPAYA DIPLOMASI PUBLIK KOREA SELATAN DALAM MENYEBARKAN HALLYU DI AMERIKA SERIKAT PADA PEMERINTAHAN MOON JAE IN

Hubungan antara Amerika Serikat dan Korea Selatan pada Pemerintahan Moon Jae In mengalami pasang-surut yang berdampak pada masalah keamanan Korea Selatan. Selain itu, sentimen publik Amerika Serikat terhadap Korea Selatan masih menunjukkan angka yang tinggi jika dibandingkan dengan negara lain. Namun penyebaran hallyu ternyata menuai keberhasilan dengan menurunnya sentimen publik Amerika Serikat terhadap Korea Selatan dan hallyu dari 35,6% pada tahun 2017 menjadi 16,5% pada tahun 2020 serta popularitas produk hallyu di negara tersebut. Penelitian ini kemudian bertujuan untuk menganalisis upaya diplomasi publik yang dilakukan oleh Korea Selatan dalam menyebarkan hallyu di Amerika Serikat guna memperbaiki hubungannya yang mengalami pasang-surut serta memperbaiki citra Korea Selatan sebagai negara yang menarik dan berbudaya di kalangan publik Amerika Serikat, sebagaimana yang disebutkan dalam Public Diplomacy Act 2017-2021. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode kualitatif dengan pendekatan deskriptif analitis dan memanfaatkan data dari sumber sekunder. Penelitian ini menggunakan konsep diplomasi publik Fitzpatrick yang membagi aktivitas diplomasi publik ke dalam enam indikator. Berdasarkan konsep tersebut, peneliti menemukan bahwa terdapat lima aktivitas yaitu advokasi kebijakan dan budaya Korea Selatan melalui media digital, komunikasi elit pemerintah Korea Selatan kepada publik Amerika Serikat, membangun hubungan jangka panjang dengan berbagai aktor, promosi seni dan budaya melalui festival, film, dan pameran, serta memberikan bantuan politis kepada pemerintah Amerika Serikat yang dilakukan oleh Korea Selatan. Menariknya, dalam pelaksanaan seluruh aktivitas yang dilakukan tersebut, peneliti menemukan bahwa pemerintah Korea Selatan kerap kali mengikutsertakan bintang hallyu di dalammnya sehingga mempercepat penyebaran hallyu di Amerika Serika

Molecular and Genetic Strategies to Enhance Functional Expression of Recombinant Protein in Escherichia coli

The versatile Escherichia coli facilitates protein expression with relative simplicity, high cell density on inexpensive substrates, well known genetics, variety of expression vectors, mutant strains, co-overexpression technology, extracytoplasmic secretion systems, and recombinant protein fusion partners. Although, the protocol is rather simple for soluble proteins, heterologous protein expression is frequently encountered by major technical limitations including inefficient translation, formation of insoluble inclusion bodies, lack of posttranslational modification mechanisms, degradation by host proteases, and impaired cell physiology due to host/protein toxicity, in achieving functional expression of stable, soluble, and bioactive protein.. In this thesis, model protein expression systems are used to address the technical issues for enhancing recombinant protein expression in E. coli. When yellow fluorescence protein (YFP) was displayed on E. coli cell surface, the integrity of the cell envelope was compromised and cell physiology was severely impaired, resulting in poor display performance, which was restored by the coexpression of Skp, a periplasmic chaperone. On the basis of monitoring the promoter activities of degP, rpoH, and cpxP under various culture conditions, it was demonstrated that the cell-surface display induced the σE extracytoplasmic stress response, and PdegP::lacZ was proposed to be a suitable “sensor” for monitoring extracytoplasmic stress. Intracellular proteolysis has been recognized as one of the key factors limiting recombinant protein production, particularly for eukaryotic proteins heterologously expressed in the prokaryotic expression systems of E. coli. Two amino acids, Leu149 and Val223, were identified as proteolytically sensitive when Pseudozyma antarctica lipase (PalB) was heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli. The functional expression was enhanced using the double mutant for cultivation. However, the recombinant protein production was still limited by PalB misfolding, which was resolved by DsbA coexpression. The study offers an alternative genetic strategy in molecular manipulation to enhance recombinant protein production in E. coli. To overcome the technical limitations of protein misfolding, ineffective disulfide bond formation, and protein instability associated with intracellular proteolysis in the functional expression of recombinant Pseudozyma antarctica lipase B (PalB) in Escherichia coli, an alternative approach was explored by extracellular secretion of PalB via two Sec-independent secretion systems, i.e. the α-hemolysin (Type I) and the modified flagellar (Type III) secretion systems, which can export proteins of interest from the cytoplasm directly to the exterior of the cell. Bioactive PalB was expressed and secreted extracellularly either as HlyA fusion (i.e. PalB-HlyA via Type I system) or an intact protein (via Type III system) with minimum impact on cell physiology. However, the secretion intermediates in the intracellular fraction of culture samples were non-bioactive even though they were soluble, suggesting that the extracellular secretion did mediate the development of PalB activity. PalB secretion via Type I system was fast with higher specific PalB activities but poor cell growth. On the other hand, the secretion via Type III system was slow with lower specific PalB activities but effective cell growth. Functional expression of lipase from Burkholderia sp. C20 (Lip) in various cellular compartments of Escherichia coli was explored. The poor expression in the cytoplasm was improved by several strategies, including coexpression of the cytoplasmic chaperone GroEL/ES, using a mutant E. coli host strain with an oxidative cytoplasm, and protein fusion technology. Fusing Lip with the N-terminal peptide tags of T7PK, DsbA, and DsbC was effective in boosting the solubility and biological activity. Non-fused Lip or Lip fusions heterologously expressed in the periplasm formed insoluble aggregates with a minimum activity. Biologically active and intact Lip was obtained upon the secretion into the extracellular medium using the native signal peptide and the expression performance was further improved by coexpression of the periplasmic chaperon Skp. The extracellular expression was even more effective when Lip was secreted as a Lip-HlyA fusion via the α-hemolysin transporter. Finally, Lip could be functionally displayed on the E. coli cell surface when fused with the carrier EstA

Degree of Premenstrual Mood Cyclicity is Predictive of Elevated Tonic Interleukin-6 Levels in Women with Menstrually-Related Mood Disorder

Menstrually-Related Mood Disorder (MRMD) is characterized by cyclical luteal phase onset of severe emotional symptoms with resolution during menses. Despite the symptomatic similarities with chronic anxiety and mood disorders, the menstrual cycle entrainment of symptoms in MRMD presents a unique challenge for treatment. More information about the pathophysiology of MRMD could help improve treatment options. Low-grade inflammation is implicated in the pathophysiology of some psychiatric disorders with symptom profiles similar to MRMD. We hypothesize that women with both (1) greater peripheral inflammation at baseline ( tonic inflammation), and (2) greater changes in inflammation in response to acute stress, will prospectively report a greater premenstrual elevation of symptoms relative to their own follicular baseline (i.e., greater cyclicity of symptoms). Women completed 2-4 months of daily symptom ratings. Our sample consisted of 51 women meeting prospective criteria for MRMD on the basis of these daily ratings. For each woman, an average premenstrual symptom elevation in several symptom domains was calculated for each women. Each woman then reported to the laboratory during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle, and the participant’s response to stress was measured in serum at baseline and during the Trier social stress test (TSST). High-sensitivity ELISA kits were used to measure IL-6 levels as a marker of inflammation. Multilevel models in SAS PROC MIXED (with time points nested within women) predicted IL-6 at each time point from (1) time, (2) degree of cyclicity in each symptom, and (3) the interaction of cyclicity and time. In a sample of 51 women with prospectively-confirmed MRMD, the degree of symptom cyclicity across several domains was positively correlated with elevated baseline levels of inflammation (IL-6). However, degree of symptom cyclicity was not associated with the degree of stress-related increase in inflammation during the TSST. This work provides the first evidence that prospectively-measured premenstrual symptom severity is associated with elevated tonic inflammation; this similarity to major depressive disorders may provide insights into prevention and treatment.Bachelor of Scienc

Ultrasound assisted esterification of Moringa oleifera oil and its optimization by central composite design

224-230The present work describes the esterification of Moringa oleifera oil (MOO) using ultrasound treatment at a frequency of 60 kHz. The influence of process parameters of esterification such as methanol to oil ratio, catalyst concentration and reaction time on acid value reduction have been analyzed by central composite design (CCD) of Response surface methodology (RSM). ANOVA table indicate the significance of methanol to oil ratio and interaction between catalyst concentration and ultrasonication time. Using Numerical optimization tool, the acid value is reduced to 3mg KOH/g of oil using 2 vol% conc. H2SO4, 0.4:1 volumetric ratio of methanol to oil in 60 min at 60°C. Meanwhile, the conversion of free fatty acid (FFA) into methyl ester is further confirmed with the Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis

L (+) lactic acid fermentation and its product polymerization

Lactic acid has been first introduced to us as early as 1780 as a sour component of milk. Ever since we have found its applications in food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic industries etc. Now there are emerging uses as a potential feedstock for the biodegradable polymer industry. The microorganisms being used for lactic acid fermentation, the raw materials reported, the various novel fermentation processes and its processing methods have been reviewed. The properties and applications of lactic acid, its derivatives and polymer have been discussed. The various routes to polymerization and the companies presently involved in lactic acid production have been covered

Isolation of adh mutant of Lactobacillus rhamnosus for production of L(+) Lactic acid

Lactobacillus rhamnosus , a facultative anaerobe, which produces L (+) lactic acid and ethanol under anaerobic conditions, is used in the present study. An adh- mutant of Lactobacillus rhamnosus MTCC 1408, was developed by chemical mutagenesis, which could produce pure L(+) lactic acid as the only product. Batch fermentation kinetics of the wild type and the mutant strain were studied in glucose-yeast extract medium under conditions of temperature 40\ub0C and pH 6.2 anaerobically. The biomass yield was similar in both wild type and mutant strains, however lactic acid yield increased by 6.6%. A chemically defined media was optimized for supplementation of succinate, acetate and citrate for better biomass formation using single variable optimisation. It was further optimised for varying concentrations of vitamins, amino acids and trace metals by response surface method. The batch biomass yield (0.1g/g) and lactic acid yield (0.88g/g) in the optimised chemically defined media were similar to those obtained in the glucose-yeast extract medium