This study aimed to verify the whitening effect of Cordyceps militaris, which is distributed in several countries worldwide, including Korea, Japan, and China, and has various medical effects. To screen the efficacy of C. militaris, the inhibitory activity of tyrosinase, which was 66% at a concentration of 1 mg/mL, was measured. Thereafter, the survival rate of melanoma cells was measured, and cell experiments were conducted at a concentration of 90% or more in which C. militaris was not toxic to cells. After measuring the inhibitory effect of TRP-1, TRP-2, tyrosinase protein, and mRNA expression, which are factors influencing melanin synthesis, C. militaris was found to decrease in all factors, with an expression level that was significantly lower compared to quercetin. This confirmed that C. militaris stimulated with LED has excellent whitening activity and can be used as a functional whitening cosmetics material.

본 논문은 백제 사비시대 부여와 익산의 왕실사찰인 정림사지, 제석사지, 그리고 미륵사 지에서 출토된 3점의 塑像에 대한 분석을 통해 6세기 후반~7세기 전반 백제 미술의 對中交 流 양상을 고찰했다. 구체적으로는 3인이 하나의 세트를 이루는 세속 인물상의 자세 및 의복, 그리고 두 보살상의 두발 표현 등을 중국 남북조시대 및 隋唐代 자료와 비교분석하였다. 3인상의 경우, 남북조의 출행도 및 예불도와 유사성이 지적된 바 있었다. 본 연구에서는 먼저, 기존 연구가 남북조시대 출행도에서 나타나는 지역적 차이를 간과했음에 주목했다. 3 인의 자세, 인물 구성, 侍者의 성별과 역할, 그리고 폐슬과 소매가 넓은 포복의 형태 등에서 나타나는 차이를 실마리로 백제 3인상이 북조가 아닌 남조 문화와 더욱 밀접하게 관련되어 있음을 확인했다. 무왕이 건립했다고 전하는 제석사지와 미륵사지에서 발견된 두 점의 보살상 頭部에는 連 弧形 髮際線이 출현한다. 연호형 발제선은 중국에서는 이미 4~5세기부터 출현했지만, 중국 전역으로 보급된 것은 대략 6세기 말부터이며, 그 연원은 장안양식과 관련이 있다. 연호형 발 제선은 삼국에서는 7세기에 비로소 등장하며, 이후 통일기 신라에서 유행한다. 그러므로 백제의 두 사찰 출토 소상에서 출현하는 연호형 발제선은 6세기 말부터 백제가 행한 적극적인 수 당 교류의 결과이자, 백제 미술에 미친 수당대 장안양식의 한 사례로서 주목할 만하다.

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the most common type of head and neck cancer and is associated with high recurrence, poor treatment, and low survival rates. Hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) is a transcription factor that regulates the response to hypoxia, a major factor in the tumor microenvironment that affects tumor development and progression in various cancer types. However, microRNA (miRNA) sequence analysis revealed that only a few miRNAs targeting HIF-1α had been discovered. In the present study, we investigated HIF-1α expression in OSCC and the effect of HIF-1α-targeting miRNAs on the progression and metastatic potential of OSCC. We analyzed public databases to explore which miRNAs target HIF-1α expression. In addition, the expression of proteins involved in the cell cycle, proliferation, and apoptosis in HSC-2 cells was analyzed after miRNA-126 mimic treatment. Furthermore, to investigate the effect of miRNA-126 on the proliferation and invasion ability of OSCC cells, 5-ethynyl-2′-deoxyuridine and Transwell assays were performed. The activities of MMP-2 and MMP-9 were evaluated via gelatin zymography. Our results showed that miRNA-126, which targets HIF-1α, enhances OSCC cell proliferation by regulating the cell cycle and reinforces the cell mobility of OSCC via HIF-1α expression. These findings suggest that miRNA-126 may be a novel marker for OSCC treatment and the development of new tools for patients with OSCC.

Simulacre means a copy of the original, an ostensible representation of someone or something. This study closely looks at the 2017 <VOGUE like a painting exhibition> hosted by the fashion magazine Vogue. The purpose of this study is to use both theoretical and empirical analysis to analyze the simulacre developed in fashion photographs inspired by famous paintings in the exhibition booklet. The booklet is divided into four sections: portrait, rococo, landscape painting, from avant-garde to pop art. It also contains 55 pieces comparing the original masterpieces to the works of 26 photographers inspired by them. The fashion photographs were analyzed using Jean Baudrillard’s four stages of simulacre transformation: represent, denature, dissimulate, and replace image change theory. The degree of simulacre expression was indicated three times on a four-point Likert scale by five fashion majors, and the results were integrated and analyzed. As a result, in fashion photography, simulacre— due to the development of photography technology and the photographer’s artistry— appeared in various ways; image denature was most preferred, followed by dissimulate, represent, and replace. This study shows that image analysis of fashion photographs and applying the perspective of simulacre when creating artworks can be a way to obtain rich qualitative data in the future.

The cellular communication network factor (CCN) family proteins regulate many biological events such as angiogenesis, tumor growth, placentation, implantation, and embryogenesis. The expression and function of CCN1, CCN2, and CCN3 at the maternal-conceptus interface are established in humans and rodents, but little is known about the role of CCN4 to CCN6 in the reproductive organs in any other species. Several studies in transcriptome analysis in pigs have shown that the expression of CCN4 and CCN6 increases in the endometrium during early pregnancy. However, their expression, regulation, and function in the endometrium throughout the estrous cycle and pregnancy have not been fully understood in pigs. Thus, we determined the expression, localization, and regulation of CCN4 and CCN6 during the estrous cycle and at the maternal-conceptus interface in pigs. We found that the levels of CCN4, but not CCN6, changed during the estrous cycle. The levels of CCN4 were greater during mid- to late pregnancy than in the early stage, and the levels of CCN6 were greatest on Day 15 of pregnancy. CCN4 and CCN6 were detected in conceptus tissues during early pregnancy and in chorioallantoic tissues during the later stage of pregnancy. CCN4 mRNA was mainly localized to epithelial cells, CCN6 mRNAs to epithelial and stromal cells in the endometrium. In endometrial explant cultures, CCN4 expression was increased by progesterone, and CCN6 expression by interferon-γ. These results suggest that CCN4 and CCN6 may play roles in the establishment and maintenance of pregnancy by regulating the endometrial epithelial cell functions in pigs.

옥수수의 내습성은 우리나라 옥수수 재배면적 확대와 자급률 향상을 위해 고려되어야 할 중요한 요소 중 하나이다. 본 연구는 내습성 옥수수 계통 개발을 위한 기초 연구로서, 토양의 표면침수조건에서 변화하는 옥수수 뿌리의 대사체를 분석하여 옥수수의 내습성 관련 생리 기작을 구명하고자 수행되었다. 우리나라 옥수수 유전자원(Zea mays L.)과 야생종 옥수수(Zea mays spp. parviglumis) 간 교배를 통하여 내습성이 향상된 계통을 개발했고, 그 중 19KT-32P를 유묘단계(V3)에 7일 동안 침수시킨 후 뿌리에서 발현되는 대사체를 탐색하고 분석하였다. 총 180개 대사체가 확인되었 고, 그 중에서 ℽ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), putrescine, citrulline, Gly, Ala 등 8개 대사체는 각각 2.5배 이상 발현이 증가 또는 감소하였다. 확인된 대사체는 식물에서 pH, 삼투압, K+/Ca++ 및 ATPase 활성을 조절하는 비생물적 스트레스와 관련이 있었다. 특히 가장 발현이 높은 GABA는 glutamate decarboxylase (GAD) 효소에 의해 축적되며, 본연구에서 분석한 결과 10개의 유전자형이 확인되었다. 특히 첫 번째 엑손은 매우 보존적이었지만, 두번째 엑손부터 많은 SNP 다형성이 확인되었다. 이러한 결과는 앞으로 내습성 옥수수 선발을 위한 분자마커로 활용되어 육종 효율을 높이는 좋은 수단으로 이용될 수 있을 것으로 생각된다.

이 논문은 보컬의 변칙리듬의 활용 방법에 대해 연구하였다. 연구목적은 노래가 포함된 곡을 만드는 작곡, 작사, 편곡, 프로듀서, 보컬 등의 뮤지션이 좀 더 다양하고 독창적인 보컬 리듬을 활용할 수 있도록 방법을 제시하는 것이다. 연구방법은 대표적인 퓨전재즈 보컬 알 자로의 앨범과 라이브 공연에서 사용된 변칙적인 리듬의 선율 및 스캣을 분석한 후 그루핑의 구조 관점으로 도 출해 본 음악의 박자와 변형된 박자의 구조를 한 눈에 비교하고 인식 할 수 있도록 하였다. 연구결 과 <Spain>과 <Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing> 그리고 <Step By Step>은 한마디 안에 4분음표가 한 박의 길이를 가진 4분의 4박자 리듬 구조의 곡에서 4분음표와 8분음표의 길이가 합쳐진 그루핑 구조를 사용하였다. <Last Night>는 4분음표와 16분음표 길이가 합쳐진 그루핑 구조를 활용하여 보컬을 제외한 모든 악기가 한마디에 네 박으로 연주하는 리듬에서 변칙적인 그루핑을 적용하여 독특한 노래와 스캣이 만들어졌음을 도출하였다.

Expression changes of stress-induced peroxidase (swpa2 and swpa4) and storage root-specific sporamin (spo-A and spo-B) genes were examined using qRT-PCR after treatment with wounding and bacterial pathogens on leaves of sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas) plants. As a result of examining the expression change in the wounding treatment condition for 48 hours after treatment, which is a representative physical stress, the expression of all genes increased after 12 hours of wounding treatment, but the expression pattern of each gene group showed distinct differences thereafter. Expression levels of swpa2 and swpa4 strongly increased up to 36 or 48 hours after wounding treatment, whereas spo-A and spo-B expression levels strongly decreased after 24 or 36 hours after wounding treatment. Peroxidase and sporamin genes are involved in the early response after wounding treatment and, in particular, the peroxidase swpa2 and swpa4 genes are also involved in the late response after wounding treatment. Gene expression analysis after infection with P. chrysanthemi, which causes softness in sweetpotato, showed that the swpa2 and swpa4 genes were weakly induced after 8 hours and then strongly induced after 20 hours during pathogen infection. Expression of the spo-A gene was weakly induced in the pathogen-treated group after 20 hours, whereas spo-B showed an expression pattern similar to that of the peroxidase genes. The above results indicate that expression of the stress-induced peroxidase gene used in this study is induced not only by abiotic stress but also by biological stress caused by bacterial pathogen invasion and that peroxidase plays an important function in the initial defense response.