Background: Leydig cells, crucial for testosterone production, express ion channels like ANO1 that influence hormone secretion. This study investigates the expression and role of the Tandem of P domains in a weak inward rectifying K+ channel-related Acid-Sensitive K+-1 (TASK-1) channel in these cells, exploring its impact on testicular function and steroidogenesis. Methods: TASK-1 expression in Leydig cells was confirmed using immunostaining, while RT-PCR and Western Blot (WB) validated its expression in the TM3 Leydig cell line. The effect of a TASK-1 channel blocker on cell viability was assessed through live/dead staining and MTT assays. Additionally, the blocker’s effect on testosterone secretion was evaluated by measuring testosterone levels. Results: Immunohistochemical analysis revealed a predominant presence of TASK- 1, along with c-Kit and ANO-1, in Leydig cells adjacent to seminiferous tubules and also in Sertoli and spermatogenic cells. Expression levels of TASK-1 mRNA and protein were significantly higher in TM3 Leydig cells compared to TM4 Sertoli cells. In addition, blocking TASK-1 in TM3 cells with ML365 induced cell death but did not affect LHinduced testosterone secretion. Conclusions: These findings suggest that TASK-1 in Leydig cells is crucial for their viability and proliferation, highlighting its potential importance in testicular physiology.

With the enforcement of the “Act on decisions on life-sustaining treatment for patients at the end of life” in February 2018, discussion on advanced care planning (ACP) has increased. However, as decisions on life-sustaining treatments are still made in the intensive care unit, deaths related to the suspension of life-sustaining treatment account for a large proportion of deaths in the intensive care unit. The nurses encounter challenges in supporting the patient's dignified death; they experience an ethical dilemma in the ambiguity due to a lack of guidance on legal responsibilities regarding decisions on life-sustaining treatment. In order for the nurses to perform as a supporter providing care to the patients and as a advocate during the process of decision-making on life-sustaining treatment, there should be a systemic change to ensure the nurses' participation. In addition, an open and continuous discussion should be proposed to cultivate nurses’ ethical sensitivity and moral courage. This paper reports two ethical examples related to the decisions on life-sustaining treatment occurred in intensive care units of a tertiary hospital.

Adhesive capsulitis of the shoulder is a common cause of pain that occurs during shoulder movement, thereby restricting shoulder rotation in clinical practice. Although most patients respond to pain relief treatment (NSAID or corticosteroids) by improving their range of motion, it remains poorly understood without any definitive treatment algorithm. In addition to immune cells, synoviocytes, chondrocytes and osteoblasts in the joint are known to produce pro-inflammatory mediators such as reactive oxygen species (ROS), inflammatory cytokines and lipid mediators, presumably contributing to the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis (OA) and adhesive capsulitis. Although inflammation and also fibrosis are proposed to be the basic pathological changes of a frozen shoulder, there is a lack of information regarding the downstream targets of the pro-inflammatory ROS signaling pathway in the synoviocytes and also how these ROS targets are modulated at the transcription level by a corticosteroid - dexamethasone. In this study, we used human fibroblast like synoviocytes (HFLS) to characterize the signaling targets of ROS by employing a human DNA microarray tool and studied the role of dexamethasone in this process. Our data suggest that several genes such as FOS, FOSB and NFkBIZ, which are known to be involved in pro- or anti- inflammation response, are modulated at the transcription level by ROS and dexamethasone.

본 연구에서는 poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)와 poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) (EVA) 혼합으로 구성된 막을 통한 단일기체(N2, O2, CO2)의 투과 성질을 조사하였다. FT-IR 분석 결과 제조된 막에서 새로운 흡수피크는 보이지 않았는데, 이 것은 PEO와 EVA가 물리적으로 혼합되었음을 나타낸다. SEM 관찰에서는 PEO/EVA 혼합 매트릭스에서 EVA 함량이 증가 함에 따라 PEO의 결정상이 감소함을 보여 주었다. DSC 분석결과 PEO/EVA 혼합막의 결정화도는 EVA 함량이 증가함에 따 라 감소하였다. 기체투과 실험은 4~8 bar의 공급압력에서 이루어졌다. PEO/EVA 혼합막에서 CO2의 투과도는 공급 압력 증 가에 따라 증가하였다. 그러나 N2와 O2의 투과도는 공급 압력에 무관하였다. 반면에, PEO/ EVA 혼합막의 모든 기체의 투과 도는 반결정성 PEO에서 무정형 EVA의 함량이 증가함에 따라 증가하였다. 특히, 40 wt% EVA 혼합막은 64 Barrer의 CO2 투과도와 61.5의 CO2/N2 이상선택도를 보였다. 높은 CO2 투과도와 CO2/N2 이상선택도는 PEO의 극성 에테르기 또는 EVA의 극성 에스터기와 극성 CO2 간의 강한 친화성에 기인한다.

탄소나노튜브(MWCNT)는 그 구조적 특징에 따라 열적, 기계적 안정성이 우수하며 고분자 매트릭스 내에 소량만 첨가하여도 향상된 물성을 얻을 수 있다. 그러나 탄소나노튜브를 고분자 복합체에 응용 시 분산이 필수적으로 요구되기 때문에 전처리 기술이 필요하다. 본 연구에서는 PEO 막의 CO2 투과도 향상을 위해 PEO/EVA 혼합물에 산처리를 통해 표면에 친수성기가 도입된 다중벽 탄소나노튜브(MWCNT-COOH)를 첨가하여 PEO/EVA/MWCNT 혼성막을 제조하였다. 제조된 혼성막의 특성을 FT-IR, TGA, SEM 분석으로 확인하였다.

탄소나노튜브(MWCNT)를 고분자에 첨가하게 되면 그 물성을 향상시킬 수 있다. 기존의 연구 결과에서 PEO 막에 EVA 를 첨가함으로써 막의 기체투과도와 선택도의 향상을 확인하였다. 본 연구에서는 탄소나노튜브의 분산을 위하여 산처리 과정을 통해 표면에 카르복실기를 도입한 탄소나노튜브(MWCNTCOOH) 를 제조하여 PEO/EVA/MWCNT 혼성막을 제조하였다. 제조된 막의 특성은 TGA, SEM 분석으로 확인하였으며 막의 CO2, O2, N2 기체에 대한 투과도와 선택도 또한 확인하였다.

Medical mushroom, Phellinus linteus and Phellinus baumii called as “Sanghwang” have cultivated in Korea. PL has been studied extensively for its extraordinary capacity of suppressing cancer or enhancing body immunity. The mycelial materials of PL have mainly been used as research samples worldwide because fruiting bodies was difficult to be artificially cultivated. Alternatively, P. baumii (variety, ‘Jangsu’) have been cultivated in Korea. However, fruiting body morphology of P. baumii is clearly different to that of PL. Generally, Phellinus spp. including P. linteus slowly grow on artificial medium such as Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA). In contrast, P. baumii strains were rapidly grown on the artificial media when compared to other Phellinus spp. and thus it was considerable that its mycelial growing ability can be acted as a factor for producing fruiting bodies. This study aimed to find Phellinus isolates having high mycelial growth rate. Five Phellinus isolates that show rapid growth rate on YGM medium were selected from 36 Phellinus isolates collected in Korea. They were identified on nucleotide sequences of rDNA-ITS region. Phellinus linteus strain and Phellinus spp. showing mycelial growth rate comparing to P. baumii were characterized on cultural and bioactive characteristics (antioxidant activity and immune activation).

Poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)내 극성 에테르기는 CO2에 대한 높은 친화력을 가지므로 CO2 분리막의 중요 소재로 이용되고 있으나 PEO막은 높은 결정성과 낮은 기체 투과도를 보이는 단점이 있어 다른 고분자와의 공중합이나 혼합을 통한 개질막이 연구되고 있다. Poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) (EVA)는 기계적, 열적 안정성이 양호하며 산업적으로 널리 이용되고 있고 극성 카보닐기를 가지고 있다. 본 연구에서는 CO2에 대한 우수한 투과선택도를 갖는 분리막 개발을 위해 PEO와 EVA의 혼합막을 제조하였다. 실험 범위에서 PEO와 EVA는 혼화성이 양호하였고 유연한 제막 특성을 나타내었다. 혼합막 특성은 DSC, SEM 등으로 관찰하였고, 기체 투과도를 측정하였다.

본 연구에서는 Chloroform에 Poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)와 poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) (EVA)를 10%(w/v)로 용해시켜 glass plate에 캐스팅한 후 상온에 방치하여 용매를 완전히 날린 후 70℃에서 24시간 이상 건조시켰다. Blend 조성은 PEO/EVAc-1(wt/wt) 80/20, 60/40, 40/60, 20/80으로 제조하였고 제조된 막의 두께는 100-150μm 이다. 사용한 PEO는 MW100,000,EVA의 VAc 함량은 40wt%이다. 기체투과 실험은 B. S. Chem 사의 GPA-2001을 사용하여 측정하였으며, 기체 투과막의 단면적은 14.7cm²이다.

We define hydrogel as a polymer network containing a large amount of water or biological fluid in a 3-D structure. Because of the physical or chemical chains present in a hydrogel, it is stable in aqueous environment. Therefore, it has been used in diverse medical fields. In addition, by controlling the gelation degree of polymer solution (the state prior to hydrogel) hydrogels can be easily applied to damaged tissue area. This unique structure and properties of hydrogel shares a similarity with ECM (Extracellular matrix) in that it has a potential to be applied in tissue engineering field. Especially, the injectable property and ECM like structure can be applied to bone regeneration. Out of several polymers can be form hydrogels, silk fibroin (SF) has an excellent biocompatibility, biodegradability and it can be used to create bone regeneration scaffold in the form of hydrogel. In this study, we fabricated a SF hydrogel containing hydroxyapatite nanoparticle (HAp). To improve the dispersibility of HAp in the SF aqueous solution, we chemically modified the surface of HAp particles using hyaluronic acid (HA) – dopamine (DA) conjugate. Since SF aqueous solution has a long term gelation time, we utilized ultra-sonication method to induce a rapid gelation. Stability of HAp in SF aqueous solution was measured by ELS and TGA. Finally, FT-IR and WAXD were used to evaluate the changes of secondary structure of silk hydrogel according to concentrations of hydroxyapatite nanoparticle concentration.

UDP-glucose 4-epimerase (UGE; EC 5.1.3.2) is an enzyme that plays an essential role in the interconverts UDP-D-glucose (UDP-Glc) and UDP-Dgalactose (UDP-Gal). Five members of the Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa) UDP-glucose 4-epimerase gene family, designated BrUGE1 to BrUGE5, have been cloned and characterized. Quantitative PCR shows that the BrUGE1and BrUGE4 mRNA are most abundant among other BrUGE genes, accounting for more than 55% of total BrUGE transcripts in most of the tissues examined. All genes showed organ specific expression pattern, two of which (BrUGE1 and 4) actively responded after Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum infection, while four genes (BrUGE-1, -3, -4 and -5)were shown to respond considerably against salt, drought and abscisic acid (ABA) treatments. To better understand the function of the UGE gene, we constructed a recombinant pART vector carrying the BrUGE1 gene under the control of the CaMV 35S promoter and nos terminator and transformed using Agrobacterium tumefaciens. We then investigated BrUGE1 overexpressing rice lines at the physiological and molecular levels under biotic and abiotic stress conditions. Bioassay of T3 progeny lines of the transgenic plants in Yoshida solution containing 120 mM Nacl for 2 weeks, confirmed that the BrUGE1 enhances salt tolerance to transgenic rice plants. Also T3 progeny lines of the transgenic plants, when exposed to infection caused by Xanthomonas oryzae pv oryzae, showed tolerance to bacterial blight. These results showed that BrUGE1 can be used as potential genetic resource for engineering Brassica with multiple stress resistance.