Emotional Distress of the COVID-19 Cluster Infection on Health Care Workers Working at a National Hospital in Korea.

Background: Frontline healthcare workers responding to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) inevitably face tremendous psychological burden. Thus, the present study aimed to identify the psychological impact and the factors contributing to the likely increase in emotional distress of healthcare workers.

Methods: The participants include a total of 99 healthcare workers at Bugok National Hospital.

GadgetArm-Automatic Grasp Generation and Manipulation of 4-DOF Robot Arm for Arbitrary Objects Through Reinforcement Learning.

Automatic robot gripper system which involves the automated object recognition of work-in-process in production line is the key technology of the upcoming manufacturing facility achieving Industry 4.0. Automatic robot gripper enables the manufacturing system to be autonomous, self-recognized, and adaptable by using artificial intelligence of robot programming dealing with arbitrary shapes of work-in-processes.

[The Effects of an Acceptance-Commitment Therapy Based Stress Management Program on Hospitalization Stress, Self-Efficacy and Psychological Well-Being of Inpatients with Schizophrenia].

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to construct an acceptance-commitment therapy (ACT)-based stress management program for inpatients with schizophrenia and to examine its effects on hospitalization stress, self-efficacy, and psychological well-being.

Methods: A non-equivalent control group pretest-posttest design was used. Participants were 44 inpatients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia.

Perturbation of NCOA6 leads to dilated cardiomyopathy.

Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a progressive heart disease characterized by left ventricular dilation and contractile dysfunction. Although many candidate genes have been identified with mouse models, few of them have been shown to be associated with DCM in humans. Germline depletion of Ncoa6, a nuclear hormone receptor coactivator, leads to embryonic lethality and heart defects.

Monitoring of non-point source pollutants load from a mixed forest land use.

The aim of this study was to determine the unit load of NPS (non-point source) pollutants including organic variables such as BOD (biochemical oxygen demand), COD (chemical oxygen demand) and DOC (dissolved organic carbon), nitrogen and phosphorus constituents, and suspended solids (SS) and their event mean concentration (EMC) of runoff flows from a water-shed of mixed forest land use by intensive field experiments. Field monitoring for continuous measurements of rainfall, flow, and water quality was conducted over 12 storm events during 2008-2009 using automated and manual sampling methods. The EMCs of individual runoff event were estimated for each water quality constituent based on the flow rate and concentration data of runoff discharge.

RXR heterodimerization allosterically activates LXR binding to the second NR box of activating signal co-integrator-2.

ASC-2 (activating signal co-integrator-2) is a transcriptional co-activator that mediates the transactivation of NRs (nuclear receptors) via direct interactions with these receptors. ASC-2 contains two separate NR-interaction domains harbouring a core signature motif, LXXLL (where X is any amino acid), named the NR box. Although the first NR box (NR box-1) of ASC-2 interacts with many different NRs, the second NR box (NR box-2) specifically interacts with only LXR (liver X receptor), whose transactivation in vivo requires heterodimerization with RXR (retinoid X receptor).

One- plus two-hybrid system, a novel yeast genetic selection for specific missense mutations disrupting protein/protein interactions.

To facilitate analysis of protein/protein interaction interfaces, we devised a novel yeast genetic screening method, named the "one- plus two-hybrid system," for the efficient selection of missense mutations that specifically disrupt known protein/protein interactions. This system modifies the standard yeast two-hybrid system to allow the operation of dual reporter systems within the same cell. The one-hybrid system is first used to select the intact interacting partner (prey), resulting in the positive selection of informative missense mutants from a large library of randomly generated mutant alleles.

Regulation of MLL1 H3K4 methyltransferase activity by its core components.

Histone H3 Lys4 (H3K4) methylation is a prevalent mark associated with transcription activation. A common feature of several H3K4 methyltransferase complexes is the presence of three structural components (RbBP5, Ash2L and WDR5) and a catalytic subunit containing a SET domain. Here we report the first biochemical reconstitution of a functional four-component mixed-lineage leukemia protein-1 (MLL1) core complex.

Regulation of insulin secretion and beta-cell mass by activating signal cointegrator 2.

Activating signal cointegrator 2 (ASC-2) is a transcriptional coactivator of many nuclear receptors (NRs) and other transcription factors and contains two NR-interacting LXXLL motifs (NR boxes). In the pancreas, ASC-2 is expressed only in the endocrine cells of the islets of Langerhans, but not in the exocrine cells. Thus, we examined the potential role of ASC-2 in insulin secretion from pancreatic beta-cells.

Mammalian two-hybrid assay for detecting protein-protein interactions in vivo.

Mammalian two-hybrid assay is a convenient, powerful tool to investigate protein-protein interactions in vivo. In particular, this method has a major advantage over the better known yeast version in that one can study interactions between mammalian proteins that may not fold correctly in yeast or that require post-translational modification or external stimulation that are not present in yeast.

Differential recruitment of nuclear receptor coactivators may determine alternative RNA splice site choice in target genes.

The biological consequences of steroid hormone-mediated transcriptional activation of target genes might be difficult to predict because alternative splicing of a single neosynthesized precursor RNA can result in production of different protein isoforms with opposite biological activities. Therefore, an important question to address is the manner in which steroid hormones affect the splicing of their target gene transcripts. In this report, we demonstrate that individual steroid hormones had different and opposite effects on alternative splicing decisions, stimulating the production of different spliced variants produced from genes driven by steroid hormone-dependent promoters.

Interactions between activating signal cointegrator-2 and the tumor suppressor retinoblastoma in androgen receptor transactivation.

Activating signal cointegrator-2 (ASC-2), a cancer-amplified transcription coactivator of nuclear receptors and numerous other transcription factors, was previously shown to contain two LXXLL motifs, each of which interacts with a distinct set of nuclear receptors. In this work, we showed that ASC-2 has an indirect, separate binding site for androgen receptor (AR). Interestingly, this region overlapped with the direct interaction interfaces with the tumor suppressor retinoblastoma (Rb).

Interaction and functional cooperation of the cancer-amplified transcriptional coactivator activating signal cointegrator-2 and E2F-1 in cell proliferation.

Activating signal cointegrator-2 (ASC-2), a novel coactivator, is amplified in several cancer cells and known to interact with mitogenic transcription factors, including serum response factor, activating protein-1, and nuclear factor-kappaB, suggesting the physiological role of ASC-2 in the promotion of cell proliferation. Here, we show that the expression pattern of ASC-2 was correlated with that of E2F-1 for protein increases at G(1) and S phase. Furthermore, cells stably overexpressing ASC-2 had an increased cell proliferation profile.

Expression of MIS in the testis is downregulated by tumor necrosis factor alpha through the negative regulation of SF-1 transactivation by NF-kappa B.

The expression of Mullerian inhibiting substance (MIS), a key molecule in sex differentiation and reproduction, is tightly regulated. It has been suggested that meiotic germ cells repress MIS expression in testicular Sertoli cells, although the substance responsible for this cell-cell communication remains unknown. Here, we present the cytokine tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) as a strong candidate for such a substance and its downstream molecular events.

Activating signal cointegrator 2 required for liver lipid metabolism mediated by liver X receptors in mice.

Activating signal cointegrator 2 (ASC-2), a cancer-amplified transcriptional coactivator of nuclear receptors and many other transcription factors, contains two LXXLL-type nuclear receptor interaction domains. Interestingly, the second LXXLL motif is highly specific to the liver X receptors (LXRs). In cotransfection, DN2, an ASC-2 fragment encompassing this motif, exerts a potent dominant-negative effect on transactivation by LXRs, which is rescued by ectopic coexpression of the full-length ASC-2 but not by other LXXLL-type coactivators, such as SRC-1 and TRAP220.

Dynamic inhibition of nuclear receptor activation by corepressor binding.

Nuclear receptors adopt dramatically different conformations in the presence or absence of ligand, and such liganded (holo) and unliganded (apo) receptors are specifically recognized by transcriptional coactivators and corepressors, respectively. These two states likely exist in dynamic equilibrium, contrary to the conventional model of static off and on conformations. First, corepressor SMRT [for silencing mediator of thyroid hormone receptor (TR) and retinoic acid receptor (RAR)] inhibits the interaction of coactivator steroid receptor coactivator-1 with liganded TR/RAR.

Activating signal cointegrator 2 belongs to a novel steady-state complex that contains a subset of trithorax group proteins.

Many transcription coactivators interact with nuclear receptors in a ligand- and C-terminal transactivation function (AF2)-dependent manner. These include activating signal cointegrator 2 (ASC-2), a recently isolated transcriptional coactivator molecule, which is amplified in human cancers and stimulates transactivation by nuclear receptors and numerous other transcription factors. In this report, we show that ASC-2 belongs to a steady-state complex of approximately 2 MDa (ASC-2 complex [ASCOM]) in HeLa nuclei.

Multiple developmental defects derived from impaired recruitment of ASC-2 to nuclear receptors in mice: implication for posterior lenticonus with cataract.

ASC-2, a recently isolated transcriptional coactivator molecule, stimulates transactivation by multiple transcription factors, including nuclear receptors. We generated a potent dominant negative fragment of ASC-2, encompassing the N-terminal LXXLL motif that binds a broad range of nuclear receptors. This fragment, termed DN1, specifically inhibited endogenous ASC-2 from binding these receptors in vivo, whereas DN1/m, in which the LXXLL motif was mutated to LXXAA to abolish the receptor interactions, was inert.

Activating signal cointegrator 1 is highly expressed in murine testicular Leydig cells and enhances the ligand-dependent transactivation of androgen receptor.

Activating signal cointegrator 1 (ASC-1) has been recently reported as a coactivator of some nuclear receptors. In the present study, we have analyzed the expression of ASC-1 in the mouse testis and investigated its capacity to modulate the transcriptional activity of androgen receptor (AR). We found that although ASC-1 mRNA was ubiquitously expressed at a low level in mouse tissues, a couple of testis-specific mRNAs were expressed in the adult testis.

Defining requirements for heterodimerization between the retinoid X receptor and the orphan nuclear receptor Nurr1.

Nurr1, an orphan nuclear receptor mainly expressed in the central nervous system, is essential for the development of the midbrain dopaminergic neurons. Nurr1 binds DNA as a monomer and exhibits constitutive transcriptional activity. Nurr1 can also regulate transcription as a heterodimer with the retinoid X receptor (RXR) and activate transcription in response to RXR ligands.

Novel transcription coactivator complex containing activating signal cointegrator 1.

Human activating signal cointegrator 1 (hASC-1) was originally isolated as a transcriptional coactivator of nuclear receptors. Here we report that ASC-1 exists as a steady-state complex associated with three polypeptides, P200, P100, and P50, in HeLa nuclei; stimulates transactivation by serum response factor (SRF), activating protein 1 (AP-1), and nuclear factor kappaB (NF-kappaB) through direct binding to SRF, c-Jun, p50, and p65; and relieves the previously described transrepression between nuclear receptors and either AP-1 or NF-kappaB. Interestingly, ectopic expression of Caenorhabditis elegans ASC-1 (ceASC-1), an ASC-1 homologue that binds P200 and P100, like hASC-1, while weakly interacting only with p65, in HeLa cells appears to replace endogenous hASC-1 from the hASC-1 complex and exerts potent dominant-negative effects on AP-1, NF-kappaB, and SRF transactivation.

Molecular cloning and characterization of CAPER, a novel coactivator of activating protein-1 and estrogen receptors.

Transcriptional coactivators either bridge transcription factors and the components of the basal transcription apparatus and/or remodel the chromatin structures. We isolated a novel nuclear protein based on its interaction with the recently described general coactivator activating signal cointegrator-2 (ASC-2). This protein CAPER (for coactivator of activating protein-1 (AP-1) and estrogen receptors (ERs)) selectively bound, among the many transcription factors we tested, the AP-1 component c-Jun and the estradiol-bound ligand binding domains of ERalpha and ERbeta.