Acacetin, which is present in damiana (Turnera diffusa ) and black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia ), has several pharmacologic activities such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-proliferative effects on cancer cells. However, the effect of acacetin on head and neck cancers has not been clearly established. This study aimed to examine the effects of acacetin on cell growth and apoptosis induction in FaDu human pharyngeal carcinoma cells. These were investigated by 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay, Live/Dead cell assay, 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole dihydrochloride staining, caspase-3 and caspase-7 activation assay, and immunoblotting in FaDu cells. Acacetin induced FaDu cell death in a dose-dependent manner, with an estimated IC50 value of 41.9 µM, without affecting the viability of L-929 mouse fibroblasts as normal cells. Acacetin treatment resulted in nuclear condensation in the FaDu cells. It promoted the proteolytic cleavage of procaspase-3, -7, -8, and -9 with increasing amounts of the cleaved caspase isoforms in FaDu cells. Acacetin-induced apoptosis in FaDu cells was mediated by the expression of Fas and activation of caspase-8, caspase-3, and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase. Immunoblotting showed downregulation of the anti-apoptotic mitochondrial proteins Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL, but upregulation of the mitochondria-dependent pro-apoptotic proteins Bax and Badin FaDu cells after acacetin treatment. These findings indicate that acacetin inhibits cell proliferation and induces apoptotic cell death in FaDu human pharyngeal carcinoma cells via both the death receptor-mediated extrinsic apoptotic pathway and the mitochondria-mediated intrinsic apoptotic pathway.

The fatty acid binding protein 4 (FABP4) gene plays an important role in lipid metabolism and homeostasis in adipocytes. The objective of this study was to analyze the association between a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), g.7516G>C, in the FABP4 gene and economic traits of Korean native cattle, Hanwoo. Primers were designed to target a region of the FABP4 gene between nucleotides 7417 and 7868 (AAFC01136716). The SNP, which was detected by polymerase chain reaction-based restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method using restriction enzyme MspA1I, was genotyped in 319 animals of Hanwoo steer population. Statistical analysis showed that the SNP genotype of the FABP4 gene significantly affected carcass weight (CW, p<0.01), longissimus muscle area (LMA, p<0.001), and marbling score (MS, p<0.001). GG allele of the SNP on 246 animals in a Wagyu × Limousin F2 reference population showed a higher MS (p<0.05) and subcutaneous fat depth (p<0.05) in previous report. But CC allele of the SNP showed greater values for MS, LMA, and CW in Hanwoo steers. These results suggest that the g.7516G>C SNP located in the FABP4 gene may affected differently depending on the cattle breed and can be used as a genetic selection marker in Korean native cattle.

The long-tailed goral (Naemorhedus caudatus) is an endangered animal species in all its habitats worldwide, including South Korea. The imbalanced sex ratio in fragmented habitats is closely associated with extinction. Therefore, sex identification using wild animal samples would be necessary. However, only a few studies have been reported about the sex identification of gorals. In this study, we thus aimed at comparing the efficiency of sex identification using various goral sample types as templates and the amelogenin (AMEL) and DEAD-box polypeptide 3 (DDX3) genes as target sequences. We extracted DNA from goral feces, tissues, and blood samples, then amplified the AMEL (SE47/SE48 and SE47/SE53 primer pairs) and DDX3 genes for sex identification, comparing the goral DDX3X and DDX3Y target sequences to those in cattle. Our results indicated that the tissue- and blood sample-derived AMEL amplicons showed an unspecific band pattern containing the sex-specific band in the case of both primer pairs we used, whereas the DDX3 amplicon showed only the sex-specific band. In the case of the feces samples, only the sex-specific band was amplified using both the AMEL and DDX3 primer pairs. However, we found that the DDX3 amplicon exhibited a clearer band pattern than the AMEL amplicon. Then, we compared the DDX3X and DDX3Y target sequences between cattle and gorals. We found 5 and 8 nucleotide differences in the DDX3X and DDX3Y sequences, respectively. In conclusion, the DDX3 gene-related sex identification of the long-tailed goral appears to be more efficient and precise than the AMEL gene-related approach. This method could be used for the sex identification of the members of the Bovidae family.

The development of drugs from natural plant sources is at growing interest due to the limitations of chemical drugs in terms of side effects and cost-effective factors of natural medicines. Among the various components contained in natural plant materials, flavonoids are of increasing interest because of their extended biological benefits. Flavonoids are classified into various types according to their structure and possess different activities depending on the structure. In this study, the flavonoids contained in Artemisia, native to Korea were examined and reviewed. HPLC chromatograms of three Artemisia species (Artemisia annua L., Artemisia iwayomogi and Artemisia argyi H.) were examined from published sources and their component analysis by MS data were summarized. The various flavonoids of Artemisia were classified into 12 types according to the main structure, and 10 flavonoids based on various activities were examined. The 10 flavonoids were identified as quercetin, kaempferol, rhamnetin, diosmetin, luteolin, methoxyflavone, catechin, apigenin, malvidin and genkwanin with extensive reported studies till date. The ten flavonoids examined have been reported to be effective in preventing and treating various diseases and exhibit activities such as anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antiviral, anti-obesity, anti-diabetic and anti-Alzheimer. The collective results from the reported studies suggest that the three types of Korean native Artemisia, contains various flavonoids with beneficial activities and may have therapeutic effects against diseases.

Reliability analysis of the components frequently starts with the data that manufacturer provides. If enough failure data are collected from the field operations, the reliability should be recomputed and updated on the basis of the field failure data. However, when the failure time record for a component contains only a few observations, all statistical methodologies are limited. In this case, where the failure records for multiple number of identical components are available, a valid alternative is combining all the data from each component into one data set with enough sample size and utilizing the useful information in the censored data. The ROK Navy has been operating multiple Patrol Killer Guided missiles (PKGs) for several years. The Korea Multi-Function Control Console (KMFCC) is one of key components in PKG combat system. The maintenance record for the KMFCC contains less than ten failure observations and a censored datum. This paper proposes a Bayesian approach with a Dirichlet mixture model to estimate failure time density for KMFCC. Trends test for each component record indicated that null hypothesis, that failure occurrence is renewal process, is not rejected. Since the KMFCCs have been functioning under different operating environment, the failure time distribution may be a composition of a number of unknown distributions, i.e. a mixture distribution, rather than a single distribution. The Dirichlet mixture model was coded as probabilistic programming in Python using PyMC3. Then Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampling technique employed in PyMC3 probabilistically estimated the parameters’ posterior distribution through the Dirichlet mixture model. The simulation results revealed that the mixture models provide superior fits to the combined data set over single models.

This study examines the domestic and international bulletproof test standards of armor and plate which are supplied to the domestic market. In addition, improvements and suggestions for the test standard were presented. Experiments were conducted to clarify the distances to the edge, the difference between ammunition makers, and the position of the impact point of the bulletproof plate, which have been discussed in the conventional bulletproof test. As a result of the study, it was confirmed that the bulletproof performance is excellent as the distance from the edge increases. Next, performance differences between ammunition makers were not found. Finally, plates should be applied to the US ESAPI test specification to provide a clear and reproducible test method.

This study was carried out to develop bulletproof helmet with improved bulletproof performance. In modern warfare, the role of personal protection materials in combat is very important because of increase of personal safety. Bulletproof helmets are being developed in the advanced countries in consideration of complex factors such as bulletproof performance improvement and light weight for reducing combat load. In order to develop the bulletproof helmet with improved bulletproof performance to be used in the future, the bulletproof performance test method is presented. The test was carried out under various environmental conditions for the evaluation of the bulletproof helmet.

Precedent research and development of personal armor and anti-stab wearing system has been conducted since 2018 as a part of the government-affiliated cooperative development project to create the best utilization of present technology and achievement according to the civil and military technical cooperation project promotion law. At present, the armor system operated by the ROK(Republic of Korea) military, the police, and the marine police is utilizing only basic armor using armor vests and plates. Therefore it is necessary to develop the personal armor and anti-stab wearing system which is suitable for various tasks in army with maximum protection capability. In this paper, we analyzed the study about international technologies, market trends of the developed countries and scope of research, utilization plan, R&D results for the best armor and anti-stab wearing system development.

Resveratrol (3,4',5,-trihydroxystilbene), a phytoalexin present in grapes, exerts a variety of actions to reduce superoxides, prevents diabetes mellitus, and inhibits inflammation. Resveratrol acts as a chemo-preventive agent and induces apoptotic cell death in various cancer cells. However, the role of resveratrol in odontoblastic cell differentiation is unclear. In this study, the effect of resveratrol on regulating odontoblast differentiation was examined in MDPC-23 mouse odontoblastic cells derived from mouse dental papilla cells. Resveratrol significantly accelerated mineralization as compared with the control culture in differentiation of MDPC-23 cells. Resveratrol significantly increased expression of ALP mRNA as compared with the control in differentiation of MDPC-23 cells. Resveratrol significantly accelerated expression of ColⅠmRNA as compared with the control in differentiation of MDPC-23 cells. Resveratrol significantly increased expressions of DSPP and DMP-1 mRNAs as compared with the control in differentiation of MDPC-23 cells. Treatment of resveratrol did not significantly affect cell proliferation in MDPC-23 cells. Results suggest resveratrol facilitates odontoblast differentiation and mineralization in differentiation of MDPC-23 cells, and may have potential properties for development and clinical application of dentin regeneration materials.

We demonstrated an effective way of preparing melt spinnable mesophase pitches via catalytic hydrogenation of petroleum residue (fluidized catalytic cracking-decant oil) and their subsequent thermal soaking. The mesophase pitches thus obtained were analyzed in terms of their viscosity, elemental composition, solubility, molecular weight, softening point and optical texture. We found that zeolite-induced catalytic hydrogenation under high hydrogen pressure contributed to a large variation in the properties of the pitches. As the hydrogen pressure increased, the C/H ratio decreased, and the solubility in n-hexane increased. The mesophase pitch with entirely anisotropic domains of flow texture exhibited good meltspinnability. The mesophase carbon fibers obtained from the catalytically hydrogenated petroleum residue showed moderate mechanical properties.

목적 : 이 설문 연구는 안경사법에 대한 일반소비자 집단의 인식도를 조사하고, 그로부터 안경사법을 입 법하기 위한 효과적인 입법 전략을 도출하는 것을 목적으로 하였다. 방법 : 2016년 5월부터 8월까지 서울 지역에서 일반인 200 명을 상대로 무작위 1대1 대면 설문조사를 실 시하고 그 결과를 시력교정 경험자와 미경험자 집단으로 구분하여 분석하였다. 결과 : 일반 소비자 집단의 안경원법에 대한 인식도는 매우 낮은 편이었으며, 그로 인하여 안경사법에 대 한 찬반 의견이나 안경사법의 통과 가능성을 묻는 설문에도 ‘모르겠다’는 중립적 답변이 매우 많았다. 안경 사법이 통과되기 어려운 이유와 그에 대한 해결 방법을 묻는 설문에서는, ‘안과의사들의 반대’와 ‘국민적 합 의 미흡’을 이유로 답하고 해결 방법도 ‘안과의사들과의 합의’와 ‘국민적 합의 제고’라고 응답한 비율이 높았 다. 안경사의 타각적 굴절검사가 허용되면 수용하겠다는 긍정적인 답변이 60%를 넘었으며, 안경사의 타각 적 굴절검사는 의료행위가 아닌 광학적 측정이라는 답변 또한 높은 응답률을 기록하였다. 결론 : 안경사법의 입법 과정에서 일반 소비자들의 낮은 인식도가 큰 걸림돌로 작용하고 있음을 알 수 있 었다. 안경사법의 입법을 위해서는 일반인을 대상으로 하는 홍보를 강화하고, 안과의사 집단과의 합의에 주 력하는 것이 가장 효과적인 방법임을 설문 결과로부터 유추할 수 있다. 일반 소비자 집단은 타각적 굴절검사 가 의료행위라는 인식이 약하고 안경사의 타각적 굴절검사 수용에 적극적이므로, 안경사법의 내용에 대한 대국민 홍보가 강화된다면 안경사법의 입법 과정에 크게 기여할 수 있으리라 예상된다.

Colletotrichum acutatum J. H. Simmonds is an important fungal pathogen that causes anthracnose disease in crops. In this study, 59 C. acutatum isolates from regions in South Korea were collected and phenotypically compared. The average colony diameters of isolates from Gyeongsangbuk-do, Chungcheongbuk-do, and Gangwon-do were 4.36 cm, 4.24 cm, and 4.38 cm, respectively, following 6 days of growth on V8 juice agar. The average conidium concentrations of the isolates from each province were 14.43, 12.83, and 10.17 × 104/mL after 7 days of growth on V8A. Amplified fragment length polymorphism(AFLP) analysis using three primer pairs identified 5 polymorphic bands and 56 monomorphic bands. Two polymorphic bands were identified using the E-ACC/M-CTT primer pair, one polymorphic band was identified using the E-ACG/M-CTG primer pair, and two polymorphic bands were identified using the E-ACG/M-CTT primer pair. A dendrogram was constructed using the AFLP data, and four clusters were identified.