• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Machine Tool Engineers Conference
• /
• 2004.10a
• /
• pp.134-138
• /
• 2004

The discrepancies between theoretical values and measured data of PEFC(Proton Exchange Fuel Cell) is carried out for the machine tool power generation. Rudimental approach of theoretical fuel cell open circuit potential using Gibbs free energy is employed for the examination of PEFC module. The stack temperature, stack voltage and stack current are measured during the operation of PEFC module. It is found that stack voltage and current values show the pronounced discrepancy with the results calculated by Gibbs free energy approach. It is analysed that the discrepancy is due to activation polarization, concentration overvoltage and ohmic overvoltage.

• Proceedings of the KIPE Conference
• /
• 2006.06a
• /
• pp.197-199
• /
• 2006

The Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCs) are being used in a variety of applications including portable power generation, transportation and back-up power systems. In this paper presents a novel circuit model for a PEMFC that can be used to design and analyze fuel-cell power system. The Pspice-based model uses BJTs, L and C elements available in the Pspice library with some modification. The model includes the phenomena like activation polarization, ohmic polarization and mass transport effect present in a PEM fuel cell. Simulated characteristics of the fuel cell were compared with the experimental results obtained on a commercial fuel cell.

• Molecules and Cells
• /
• v.37 no.4
• /
• pp.275-285
• /
• 2014

Macrophages, found in circulating blood as well as integrated into several tissues and organs throughout the body, represent an important first line of defense against disease and a necessary component of healthy tissue homeostasis. Additionally, macrophages that arise from the differentiation of monocytes recruited from the blood to inflamed tissues play a central role in regulating local inflammation. Studies of macrophage activation in the last decade or so have revealed that these cells adopt a staggering range of phenotypes that are finely tuned responses to a variety of different stimuli, and that the resulting subsets of activated macrophages play critical roles in both progression and resolution of disease. This review summarizes the current understanding of the contributions of differentially polarized macrophages to various infectious and inflammatory diseases and the ongoing effort to develop novel therapies that target this key aspect of macrophage biology.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
• /
• v.58 no.3
• /
• pp.217-227
• /
• 2020

Trichomonas vaginalis causes inflammation of the prostate and has been detected in tissues of prostate cancers (PCa), prostatitis and benign prostatic hyperplasia. Obesity is a risk factor for PCa and causes a chronic subclinical inflammation. This chronic inflammation further exacerbates adipose tissue inflammation as results of migration and activation of macrophages. Macrophages are the most abundant immune cells in the PCa microenvironment. M2 macrophages, known as Tumor-Associated Macrophages, are involved in increasing cancer malignancy. In this study, conditioned medium (TCM) of PCa cells infected with live trichomonads contained chemokines that stimulated migration of the mouse preadipocytes (3T3-L1 cells). Conditioned medium of adipocytes incubated with TCM (ATCM) contained Th2 cytokines (IL-4, IL-13). Macrophage migration was stimulated by ATCM. In macrophages treated with ATCM, expression of M2 markers increased, while M1 markers decreased. Therefore, it is suggested that ATCM induces polarization of M0 to M2 macrophages. In addition, conditioned medium from the macrophages incubated with ATCM stimulates the proliferation and invasiveness of PCa. Our findings suggest that interaction between inflamed PCa treated with T. vaginalis and adipocytes causes M2 macrophage polarization, so contributing to the progression of PCa.

• BMB Reports
• /
• v.38 no.6
• /
• pp.661-667
• /
• 2005

Since conflicting results have been reported on non-specific immune response in type 1 diabetes, this study evaluates polymorphonuclear neutrophil (PMN) functions in the infection free Long Evan diabetic rats (type 1) by using tests that include: polarization assay, phagocytosis of baker's yeasts (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) dye reduction. Polarization assay showed that neutrophils from diabetic rats were significantly activated at the basal level compared to those from the controls (p < 0.001). After PMN activation with N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (FMLP), control neutrophils were found to be more polarized than those of the diabetic neutrophils and the highest proportions of polarization were found to be 67% and 57% at $10^{-7}\;M$ FMLP, respectively. In the resting state, neutrophils from the diabetic rats reduced significantly more NBT dye than that of the controls (p < 0.001). The percentages of phagocytosis of opsonized yeast cells by the neutrophils from control and diabetic rats were 87% and 61%, respectively and the difference was statistically significant (p < 0.001). Evaluation of the phagocytic efficiency of PMNs revealed that control neutrophils could phagocytose $381{\pm}17$ whereas those from the diabetic rats phagocytosed $282{\pm}16$ yeast cells, and the efficiency of phagocytosis varied significantly (p < 0.001). Further, both the percentages of phagocytosis and the efficiency of phagocytosis by the diabetic neutrophils were inversely related with the levels of their corresponding plasma glucose (p = 0.02; r = -0.498 and p < 0.05; r = -0.43, respectively), which indicated that increased plasma glucose reduced the phagocytic ability of neutrophils. Such relationship was not observed with the control neutrophils. These data clearly indicate that PMN functions are altered in the streptozotocin (STZ) - induced diabetic rats, and hyperglycemia may be the cause for the impairment of their functions leading to many infectious episodes.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
• /
• v.8 no.11
• /
• pp.287-292
• /
• 2017

The electrodeposition of Zn on the automotive parts has been adapted However, because Zn electrodeposit needs to increase thickness for corrosion protection, it has problem of destruction of electrodeposit Zn-based electrodeposit have teen studied for corrosion protection and decreasing electrodeposit thickness. Especially; Zn-Co electrodeposit have much attention In this study, the Composition of Zn-Co electrodeposit in various manufacturing condition such as temperature, current density and electrolyte content was investigated to understand effect of electrolysis condition on Co content of specimen. The results were explained by cathode overvoltage and diffusion coefficient. As the current density increases, the electrolyte temperature decreases, and as the electrolyte concentration decreases, the overvoltage of the cathode increases. As the overvoltage of the cathode increases, the concentration polarization becomes more important than the activation polarization. Concentration polarization is determined by the diffusion of the mass transfer in the diffusion layer. In a constant concentration polarization, a large amount of elements with a large diffusion coefficient is diffused. That is, as the overvoltage of the cathode increases, the Zn content having a large diffusion coefficient increases.

• BMB Reports
• /
• v.53 no.11
• /
• pp.600-604
• /
• 2020

Macrophages are re-educated and polarized in response to myocardial infarction (MI). The M2 anti-inflammatory phenotype is a known dominator of late stage MI. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) represent a promising tool for cell therapy, particularly heart related diseases. In general, MSCs induce alteration of the macrophage subtype from M1 to M2, both in vitro and in vivo. We conjectured that hypoxic conditions can promote secretome productivity of MSCs. Hypoxia induces TGF-β1 expression, and TGF-β1 mediates M2 macrophage polarization for anti-inflammation and angiogenesis in infarcted areas. We hypothesized that macrophages undergo advanced M2 polarization after exposure to MSCs in hypoxia. Treatment of MSCs derived hypoxic conditioned medium (hypo-CM) promoted M2 phenotype and neovascularization through the TGF-β1/Smad3 pathway. In addition, hypo-CM derived from MSCs improved restoration of ischemic heart, such as attenuating cell apoptosis and fibrosis, and ameliorating microvessel density. Based on our results, we propose a new therapeutic method for effective MI treatment using regulation of macrophage polarization.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
• /
• v.32 no.3
• /
• pp.359-365
• /
• 1995

The grain boundary effect on the ionic conductivity was investigated using a.c. admittance analysis in (Bi2O3)0.715(CaO)0.285 oxygen-ion conducting solid electrolyte. As a separated arc representing grain boundary polarization was not observed in the admittance plane, bulk conductivity was measrued for samples with various grain sizes in the temperature range from 48$0^{\circ}C$ to 72$0^{\circ}C$ and the conductivity distribution between grain interior and grain boundary was determined by the reported analytical methods. In the above temperature range, grain boundary worked as a high conductive path instead of blocking layer and ionic conduction through grain boundary was significant. The activation energy for conduction through grain and grain boundary was 78 and 106 kJ/mol, respectively.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
• /
• v.29 no.6
• /
• pp.678-684
• /
• 2021

Luteolin, a flavonoid present in several fruits, vegetables, nuts, and herbs reportedly exhibits anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties. However, the effect of luteolin on endometriosis, a painful condition characterized by the ectopic growth of endometrial tissue and pelvic inflammation, remains elusive. Herein, we observed that luteolin inhibited cell growth and induced apoptosis of 12Z human endometriotic cells by activating caspase-3, -8, and -9. Additionally, luteolin significantly inhibited the expression of key chemokines, C-C motif chemokine ligand 2 (CCL2) and CCL5, required for monocyte/macrophage influx at endometriotic sites. In macrophages stimulated by endometriotic cells, luteolin treatment suppressed the intracellular expression of M2 markers and endometriosis-promoting factors. Collectively, our data suggest that luteolin exerts anti-endometriotic effects by stimulating endometriotic cell apoptosis and hindering the alternative activation of macrophages.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Surface Engineering Conference
• /
• 2017.05a
• /
• pp.126-126
• /
• 2017

Using first principles calculations we unveil fundamental mechanism of hydrolysis reactions of two hazardous chemicals $PCl_3$ and $POCl_3$ with molecular water clusters nearby. It is found that the water molecules play a key role as a catalyst significantly lowing the activation barriers by transferring its protons to the reaction intermediates. Interestingly, torsional angles of molecular complexes at transition states are identified as a vital descriptor on the reaction rate. Analysis of charge distribution over the complexes further reinforces the finding with atomic level correlation between the torsional angle and variation of the orbital hybridization state of P in the complex. Electronic charge separation (or polarization) enhances thermodynamic stability of the activated complex at transition state and reduces the activation energy through hydrogen bonding network with water molecules nearby. Calculated potential energy surfaces (PES) for the hydrolysis reactions of $PCl_3$ and $POCl_3$ depict their two contrastingly different profiles of double- and triple-deep wells, respectively. It is ascribed to the unique double-bonding O=P in the $POCl_3$. Our results on the activation free energy show well agreements with previous experimental data within $7kcalmol^{-1}$ deviation.