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The purpose of this study is to research the characteristics of music teacher training courses and teacher qualification systems in England, Australia and New Zealand. To this end, a literature study was conducted on the education system of each country, teacher education system, music teacher curriculum, and teacher qualification system. This study found that music teacher training courses and teacher qualifications in Australia and New Zealand are based on the England education system formed during the England colonial period. The three countries' music teacher training system is operated as a system that completes both the music major and teaching course in the course of a degree, or after the course of a music major, and becomes a music teacher. The appointments of music teachers are carried out differently depending on the characteristics of the region after completing the qualification criteria at the national level.

Cholesterol granuloma is commonly found in the mastoid air cells but is rare in the paranasal sinuses. The most commonly affected sinuses are the frontal sinus, followed by the maxillary sinus. Cholesterol granuloma can be difficult to diagnose because clinical manifestations and radiologic findings are similar to those of other sinonasal disorders. The authors observed 4 cases of cholesterol granuloma that were preoperatively suspected to be nasal polyps or mucoceles. Here, the authors report on their clinical presentation and their successful treatment using the endoscopic sinus approach. These cases expand the current literature on cholesterol granuloma in the paranasal sinuses.

Background Mesenchymal stemlike cells (MSLCs) have been detected in many types of cancer including brain tumors and have received attention as stromal cells in the tumor microenvironment. However, the cellular mechanisms underlying their participation in cancer progression remain largely unexplored. The aim of this study was to determine whether MSLCs have a tumorigenic role in brain tumors. Methods To figure out molecular and cellular mechanisms in glioma invasion, we have cultured glioma with MSLCs in a co-culture system. Results Here, we show that MSLCs in human glioblastoma (GBM) secrete complement component C5a, which is known for its role as a complement factor. MSLC-secreted C5a increases expression of zinc finger E-box-binding homeobox 1 (ZEB1) via activation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) in GBM cells, thereby enhancing the invasion of GBM cells into parenchymal brain tissue. Conclusion Our results reveal a mechanism by which MSLCs undergo crosstalk with GBM cells through the C5a/p38 MAPK/ZEB1 signaling loop and act as a booster in GBM progression. Key Points 1. MSLCs activate p38 MAPK-ZEB1 signaling in GBM cells through C5a in a paracrine manner, thereby boosting the invasiveness of GBM cells in the tumor microenvironment. 2. Neutralizing of C5a could be a potential therapeutic target for GBM by inhibition of mesenchymal phenotype.

본 연구는 한국의 주요 무역 상대국들을 대상으로 물류성과지표들이 한국의 수입과 수출에 어떠한 영향을 미치는지에 대하여 계량 분석하였다. 중력모형에 기초하여 한국의 무역대상국을 소득수준으로 구분하여 분석한 결과, 물류성과지표의 탄력도는 중력모형의 거리변수의 탄력도보다 계수가 크게 나타나 양국의 교역량에 물류성과지표의 개선이 중요한 의미를 지니는 것으로 나타났다. 특히 소득수준이 낮은 국가의 경우 한국으로의 수출에 더 큰 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났다. 또한 물류성과지표들을 세분화하여 분석한 결과, 저소득 국가의 한국으로의 수출에는 물류역량, 국제수송, 화물추적, 적시성이 통계적으로 유의하게 나타났으며, 중저소득의 국가의 경우는 물류시설과 화물추적이 유의하게 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났다. 중고소득의 경우는 모든 개별 지표, 즉, 통관, 물류시설, 물류역량, 국제수송, 화물추적, 적시성 변수가 통계적으로 유의하게 도출되어 물류성과지표가 미치는 무역에 미치는 영향이 가장 많은 것으로 분석되고 있다.

This article analyzes the effect of ethnic diversity on China’s economic performance. We claim that the conventional ethnic diversity indices may not be adequate for appropriately estimating the ef...

In carcinoma, cancer-associated fibroblasts participate in force-mediated extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling, consequently leading to invasion of cancer cells. Likewise, the ECM remodeling actively occurs in glioblastoma (GBM) and the consequent microenvironmental stiffness is strongly linked to migration behavior of GBM cells. However, in GBM the stromal cells responsible for force-mediated ECM remodeling remain unidentified. We show that tumor-associated mesenchymal stem-like cells (tMSLCs) provide a proinvasive matrix condition in GBM by force-mediated ECM remodeling. Importantly, CCL2-mediated Janus kinase 1 (JAK1) activation increased phosphorylation of myosin light chain 2 in tMSLCs and led to collagen assembly and actomyosin contractility. Collectively, our findings implicate tMSLCs as stromal cells providing force-mediated proinvasive ECM remodeling in the GBM microenvironment, and reminiscent of fibroblasts in carcinoma. [BMB Reports 2018; 51(4): 182-187].

This study demonstrates that the Chile–Korea FTA in 2004 serves as a bridgehead FTA for the accessibility of Korean goods in the Latin American market. A bridgehead FTA can be defined as an FTA with one particular partner country serving as a base to increase exports to its neighboring countries. This effect is more pronounced as Chile and LAFTA countries are more integrated. Our result suggests that a trade policy such as FTA can serve to complement business strategy of firms.

Screening of newborn hearing is nowadays widespread, and as many as 3.4% of all screened infants are found to have unilateral hearing loss. However, we, as clinicians and parents, usually dismiss the severity of unilateral hearing loss in pediatric patients. Recently, we experienced the case of unilateral hearing loss since birth in a 2-year-old girl who was finally found to have bilateral enlarged vestibular aqueducts when the disorder progressed to bilateral hearing loss. Proper evaluation of the cause of hearing loss, including imaging studies of the inner ear, and consecutive hearing evaluations should be mandatory in children with unilateral sensorineural hearing loss, due to the possibility of progression of hearing loss bilaterally.

With sustainability being one of the most common issues facing consumers and society today, this paper explores the status of sustainable consumption in Korea and Japan&mdash, societies expected to drive the changes pertaining to sustainable consumption in Asia. Although Korea and Japan have been implementing sustainability-related policies, there is still room for development of sustainability in terms of consumers&rsquo, participation. As sustainable consumption is defined as consumers&rsquo, environmental decision-making process, which requires cognitive efforts, it is necessary to understand individual&rsquo, s sustainable consumption based on the conceptual model of behavior, in order to encourage the adoption of more sustainable consumer practices. Being grounded in the revised Theory of Reasoned Action, which adds consumers&rsquo, awareness, pro-environmental self-identity, and descriptive norm, this study contributes to a better empirical understanding of the factors that underlie sustainable consumption behaviors with respect to social-cognitive viewpoint. By involving a survey of Korean and Japanese respondents&rsquo, awareness, descriptive norm, practical behavior to 47 specific activities, as well as attitude and pro-environmental self-identity, the study works on two levels: on one level, it is a study of sustainability-related consumer activities and behaviors in Korea and Japan, on another level, it identifies key variables to explain sustainable consumption behavior through hierarchical regression analysis. The results show that among the numerous sectors requiring prioritized expansion of sustainable consumption, the area of consumer citizenship has received relatively little publicity. Another important finding is that the failure to practically engage in sustainability-related activities by consumers cannot simply be attributed to knowledge deficit, as consumers in both countries appropriately recognize sustainable consumption. Our results clearly illustrate that consumers perform sustainable consumption behavior based mostly on socially shared connotations&mdash, the descriptive norm&mdash, while the other key variables affecting sustainable consumption are awareness, and pro-environmental self-identity. However, we also observed that there is no significant effect on attitude, indicating that even a favorable attitude toward performing sustainability-related activities does not directly translate into actual behavior. This paper shows how consumer perceptions of the normality of environmentally friendly behaviors can be used for the design of strategies to promote sustainable consumption in Korean and Japanese societies. In addition, we provide practical guidelines for the expansion of sustainable consumption tailored for the characteristics of each society.

Elevated KRAS expression has been frequently associated with cancer progression including breast cancer; however, therapeutic approaches targeting KRAS have been widely unsuccessful and KRAS mutant cancers remain unsolved problem in cancer therapy. In this study, we found that a new 2-pyrone derivative, 5-bromo-3-(3-hydroxyprop-1-ynyl)-2H-pyran-2-one (BHP) can block KRAS-driven breast cancer progression. Importantly, treatment with BHP effectively suppressed the migratory and invasive properties along with epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in MDA-MB231 breast cancer cells that carry oncogenic KRAS and mesenchymal malignant phenotypes. In parallel, BHP also sensitized the cells to anticancer treatment. Consistently, forced-expression of oncogenic KRAS bestowed the migratory and invasive properties, mesenchymal transition and resistance to anticancer treatment into normal human mammalian breast cells MCF10A and relatively non-malignant MCF7 and SK-BR3 breast cancer cells; however, treatment with BHP blocked those KRAS-induced malignant phenotypes. Notably, BHP interfered the interaction of KRAS with Raf-1 in concentration-dependent manner, thereby blocking the downstream effectors of KRAS signaling that is PI3K/AKT and ERK. Taken together, our findings indicate that the BHP, an α-pyrone derivative, suppresses malignant breast cancer progression by targeting of oncogenic KRAS signaling pathways.

Glioblastoma remains an incurable brain disease due to the prevalence of its recurrence. Considerable evidence suggests that glioma stem-like cells are responsible for glioma relapse after treatment, which commonly involves ionizing radiation. Here, we found that fractionated ionizing radiation (2 Gy/day for 3 days) induced glioma stem-like cell expansion and resistance to anticancer treatment such as cisplatin (50 μM) or taxol (500 nM), or by ionizing radiation (10 Gy) in both glioma cell lines (U87, U373) and patient-derived glioma cells. Of note, concomitant increase of nitric oxide production occurred with the radiation-induced increase of the glioma stem-like cell population through upregulation of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). In line with this observation, downregulation of iNOS effectively reduced the glioma stem-like cell population and decreased resistance to anticancer treatment. Collectively, our results suggest that targeting iNOS in combination with ionizing radiation might increase the efficacy of radiotherapy for glioma treatment.

In the present study, the potential antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of Acanthopanax divaricatus vat. albeofructus (AE) and acanthoside-D (AD) isolated from AE against hepatic ischemia–reperfusion (I/R) injury were investigated in a rat model. Male Sprague–Dawley rats (200–220 g) were randomized into seven groups: normal controls; sham-operated controls; I/R injury model; I/R injury model with AE pretreatment at 150, 300, and 600 mg/kg body weight; and I/R injury model with AD pretreatment at 600 μg/kg body weight (equivalent to high dose of AE). The AE and AD pretreatments were administered orally for 2 weeks prior to I/R injury surgery. All rats recovered for 1 week with AE and AD treatment after surgery. Compared to the normal control groups, the I/R injury model group without supplemental treatment showed a significantly lower level of serum superoxide dismutase (SOD) and significantly higher levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α, interleukin (IL)-6, serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP), as well as lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity. The I/R-induced decrease in SOD and increases in TNF-α and IL-6 were resolved, at least partially, by AE and AD treatments, as evidenced by significantly higher antioxidant activities and significantly lower inflammatory cytokine levels in the treatment groups as compared to the I/R injury model group. The AE and AD treatment groups also showed significantly higher levels of serum IL-10 than I/R injury model group. Histological examination revealed that the AE and AD treated groups had less extensive liver necrosis than I/R injury model group. Concomitantly, AE lowered the I/R-induced increases in AST, ALT, ALP levels and LDH activity. In conclusion, AE and AD are capable of alleviating I/R-induced hepatic injury by inhibiting inflammatory cell infiltration, thereby mitigating the release of inflammatory cytokines and balancing the oxidant–antioxidant status mediated by p38 MAPK and JNK/SAPK signaling.

Most Korean men spend at least two years in the military service usually in their early twenties. The aim of this study was to identify the long-term effect of exposure to military noise during military service by comparing two regressions of age-related hearing loss between groups with and without exposure to military noise.Cross-sectional observational study.Finally, 4079 subjects were included, among 10,286 data of men's audiogram from January 2004 to April 2010. We excluded repeated testers and any subjects who had other known external causes or had an asymmetric audiogram. We grouped subjects with exposure to military noise (N = 3163) and those without as the control group (N = 916).There was a significant effect of exposure to military noise at 4 and 8 kHz after controlling for the effect of age. The annual threshold deterioration rates were faster in the military noise exposed group than in the control group at 1, 2 and 4 kHz (p 0.05).The long-term effect of exposure to military noise on age-related hearing loss showed an adding effect at 8 kHz and an accelerating effect in the frequency region from 1 to 4 kHz.

Glioma cells with stem cell properties, termed glioma stem-like cells (GSCs), have been linked to tumor formation, maintenance, and progression and are responsible for the failure of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Because conventional glioma treatments often fail to eliminate GSCs completely, residual surviving GSCs are able to repopulate the tumor. Compounds that target GSCs might be helpful in overcoming resistance to anticancer treatments in human brain tumors. In this study, we showed that 5-bromo-3-(3-hydroxyprop-1-ynyl)-2H-pyran-2-one (BHP), a new 2-pyrone derivative, suppressed the maintenance of the GSC population in both a glioma cell line and patient-derived glioma cells. Treatment of GSCs with BHP effectively inhibited sphere formation and suppressed the CD133(+) cell population. Treatment with BHP also suppressed expression of the stemness-regulating transcription factors Sox2, Notch2, and β-catenin in sphere-cultured glioma cells. Treatment of GSCs with BHP significantly suppressed two fundamental characteristics of cancer stem cells: self-renewal and tumorigenicity. BHP treatment dramatically inhibited clone-forming ability at the single-cell level and suppressed in vivo tumor formation. BHP markedly inhibited both phosphoinositide 3-kinase/Akt and Ras/Raf-1/extracellular signal-regulated kinase signaling, which suggests that one or both of these pathways are involved in BHP-induced suppression of GSCs. In addition, treatment with BHP effectively sensitized GSCs to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Taken together, these results indicate that BHP targets GSCs and enhances their sensitivity to anticancer treatments and suggest that BHP treatment may be useful for treating brain tumors by eliminating GSCs.

Ki-Chun Yoo1, Chang-Hwan Yoon1, Dongwook Kwon2, Kyung-Hwan Hyun1, Soo Jung Woo1, Rae-Kwon Kim1, Eun-Jung Lim1, Yongjoon Suh1, Min-Jung Kim1, Tae Hyun Yoon2, Su-Jae Lee11Laboratory of Molecular Biochemistry, 2Laboratory of Nanoscale Characterization and Environmental Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Hanyang University, Seoul, Republic of KoreaBackground: Titanium dioxide (TiO2) has been widely used in many areas, including biomedicine, cosmetics, and environmental engineering. Recently, it has become evident that some TiO2 particles have a considerable cytotoxic effect in normal human cells. However, the molecular basis for the cytotoxicity of TiO2 has yet to be defined.Methods and results: In this study, we demonstrated that combined treatment with TiO2 nanoparticles sized less than 100 nm and ultraviolet A irradiation induces apoptotic cell death through reactive oxygen species-dependent upregulation of Fas and conformational activation of Bax in normal human cells. Treatment with P25 TiO2 nanoparticles with a hydrodynamic size distribution centered around 70 nm (TiO2P25–70) together with ultraviolet A irradiation-induced caspase-dependent apoptotic cell death, accompanied by transcriptional upregulation of the death receptor, Fas, and conformational activation of Bax. In line with these results, knockdown of either Fas or Bax with specific siRNA significantly inhibited TiO2-induced apoptotic cell death. Moreover, inhibition of reactive oxygen species with an antioxidant, N-acetyl-L-cysteine, clearly suppressed upregulation of Fas, conformational activation of Bax, and subsequent apoptotic cell death in response to combination treatment using TiO2P25–70 and ultraviolet A irradiation.Conclusion: These results indicate that sub-100 nm sized TiO2 treatment under ultraviolet A irradiation induces apoptotic cell death through reactive oxygen species-mediated upregulation of the death receptor, Fas, and activation of the preapoptotic protein, Bax. Elucidating the molecular mechanisms by which nanosized particles induce activation of cell death signaling pathways would be critical for the development of prevention strategies to minimize the cytotoxicity of nanomaterials.Keywords: TiO2, reactive oxygen species, apoptotic cell death, Fas upregulation, Bax activation, mitochondrial membrane potential loss, caspase activation

Washington, D.C. is not only the national capital of the United States, but it is also an international arena in which world political issues are substantially dealt with. Immigrants in the United States represent influence in world politics, exerting their leverage on policy makers in Washington, D.C. The Korean-American Comfort Women Movement in 2007 and the Japanese-American Redress Movement from 1970 to 1992 share common ground in terms of their norms and strategies for success. This article conducts comparative analysis on the two grassroots movements based on Resource Mobilization Theory, and suggests their realistic implications to political dynamics in Washington, D.C.

A subpopulation of cancer cells with stem cell properties is responsible for tumor maintenance and progression, and may contribute to resistance to anticancer treatments. Thus, compounds that target cancer stem-like cells could be usefully applied to destroy cancer. In this study, we investigated the effect of Eckol, a phlorotannin compound, on stemness and malignancies in glioma stem-like cells. To determine whether Eckol targets glioma stem-like cells, we examined whether Eckol treatment could change the expression levels of glioma stem-like cell markers and self-renewal-related proteins as well as the sphere forming ability, and the sensitivity to anticancer treatments. Alterations in the malignant properties of sphere-derived cells by Eckol were also investigated by soft-agar colony forming assay, by xenograft assay in nude mice, and by cell invasion assay. Treatment of sphere-forming glioma cells with Eckol effectively decreased the sphere formation as well as the CD133(+) cell population. Eckol treatment suppressed expression of the glioma stem-like cell markers and the self-renewal-related proteins without cell death. Moreover, treatment of glioma stem-like cells with Eckol significantly attenuated anchorage-independent growth on soft agar and tumor formation in xenograft mice. Importantly, Eckol treatment effectively reduced the resistance of glioma stem-like cells to ionizing radiation and temozolomide. Treatment of glioma stem-like cells with Eckol markedly blocked both phosphoinositide 3-kinase-Akt and Ras-Raf-1-Erk signaling pathways. These results indicate that the natural phlorotannin Eckol suppresses stemness and malignancies in glioma stem-like cells, and thereby makes glioma stem-like cells more sensitive to anticancer treatments, providing novel therapeutic strategies targeting specifically cancer stem-like cells.

Hypertrophic pachymeningitis is a progressive disease resulting in a diffuse thickening of dura mater due to inflammation, tumor or autoimmune diseases, but most cases are idiopathic. It is seldom reported to be related to sensorineural hearing loss, but it can cause sensorineural hearing loss which can be potentially reversed through treatment. Here, we report the case of a 54-year-old woman who had progressive, bilateral, worse in the left, sensorineural hearing loss and visual disturbance with an accompanying headache over several months. Brain MRI showed diffusely thickened dura mater, highly enhanced after gadolinium administration, which was consistent with pachymeningitis. It was assumed to be related to autoimmune pathogenesis on the basis of elevated serum myeloperoxidase-antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (MPO-ANCA) titers. After empirical steroid and cyclophosphamide therapy, auditory impairment improved, especially in the high frequency region of the pure tone audiogram, and significant improvement in the word recognition test. Moreover, a follow-up MRI revealed much decreased enhancement of the dura mater, and the MPO-ANCA titer decreased to within the normal range. In the case of rapidly progressive sensorineural hearing loss or hearing impairment accompanying other cranial neuropathy, pachymeningitis should be taken into consideration, and brain MRI with gadolinium enhancement is the best method of detecting it. Also, to ensure proper treatment, a cautious evaluation including an ANCA work-up should be performed.

This study is aimed for a scale of assessing the work performance, educational operations, and so on of preschool teachers by the peers. It has been previously discussed the studies of scale assesment of preschool teachers, however, the scale assesment had been a self-assesment or a transitory assesment by the senior teachers and principals only. This study is developed to assess the preschool teachers through the peer- teachers. Peer-assesment has strong points that to assess the teachers constantly can be more accurate, the assessment result can be used as the basic material for peer scholarship, and it can give the preschool teachers an opportunity to be recognised on tasks. There are 51 questions are developed to assess the peers. 9 sections total; 1) 6 questions on body human nature 2) 6 questions on view on career 3) 3 questions on self-development 4) 4 questions on curriculum planing 5) 12 questions on administering and managing 6) 6 questions on understanding children 7) 4 questions on managing a class 8) 7 questions on work performance 9) 3 questions on teaching practice. Each section is surveyed by 150 preschool teachers, and the all questions are analysed statistically appropriate of a scale(validity of contents, validity of surveyors, inter-item consistency) and appropriate of each section. It is known this peer assesment of preschool teachers is an appropriate scale.

Objectives The purpose of this study was to obtain sex- and age-specific reference level for hearing threshold of normal aging in Korean and to determine if the rate of change in pure-tone hearing thresholds differed by sex. Methods Subjects were clients who visited the Health Promotion Center, Daegu Fatima Hospital, Daegu, Korea, from January 2004 to September 2005. Pure-tone audiometric measures were obtained from 3,470 subjects who also completed a hearing questionnaire. The slope of a linear regression was used to estimate the rate of change in pure-tone thresholds at 0.25 to 8 kHz for each ear in 214 men and 902 women without past history of otorrhea, usage of ototoxic drugs, head injury, job in noisy environment, and military service. Results Hearing thresholds were elevated with age in all test frequencies. Significant sex differences were found in pure-tone thresholds at 4 and 8 kHz after adjusting for age using analysis of covariance. In those high frequencies, hearing was worse in men than in women. The average rate of change in threshold was 0.28 and 0.24 dB per year at 0.25 kHz, increasing gradually to 1.27 and 1.05 dB per year at 8 kHz for men and women, respectively. Men had significantly faster rates of threshold increase at 4 and 8 kHz than women. Conclusion These cross-sectional measures of hearing levels and rate of threshold increases at 4 and 8 kHz showed significant sex differences in Korean men and women with little evidence of noise-induced hearing loss.

The formation of foam cells is the hallmark of early atherosclerotic lesions, and the uptake of modified low-density lipoprotein (LDL) by macrophage scavenger receptors is thought to be a key process in their formation. In this study, we examined the role of lectin-like oxLDL receptor-1 (Lox-1) and NADPH oxidase 1 (Nox1) in toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9)-mediated foam cell formation. TLR9 activation of Raw264.7 cells or mouse primary peritoneal macrophages by CpG ODN treatment enhanced Lox-1 gene and protein expression. In addition, CpG ODN-induced Nox1 mRNA expression, which in turn increased foam cell formation. The inhibition of CpG ODN-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation by treatment with antioxidants, as well as with knockdown of Nox1 using siRNA, suppressed the formation of foam cells. The induction of Lox-1 and Nox1 by CpG ODN was regulated via the TLR9-p38 MAPK signaling pathway. CpG ODN also increased NFkappaB activity, and a potent inhibitor of NFkappaB that significantly blocked CpG-induced Nox1 expression, suggesting that Nox1 regulation is mediated through an NFkappaB-dependent mechanism. Taken together, these results suggest that a combination of Lox-1 and Nox1 plays a key role in the TLR9-mediated formation of foam cells via the p38 MAPK pathway.