• Applied Microscopy
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.83-91
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• 2006

The number and structure of synapses are dynamically changed in response to diverse physiological and pathological conditions. Since strength of synaptic transmission is closely related to the synaptic density on a neuron, both synaptogenesis and synapse loss may play important roles in controlling neuronal activity. Thus it is essential to estimate the number of synapses using an accurate quantitative method for better understanding of the numerical alteration of synapses under terrain experimental conditions. We applied physical disector principle to estimating the number of synapses per neuron in the dentate gyrus of adult mice. First, we measured the numerical density of granule cells using the physical disector principle. Second, the density of medial perforant path to granule cell synapses was estimated using the bidirectional physical disector. Then, the volume ratio of molecular layer to granule cell layer was measured. With these numerial values, we successfully calculated the number of synapses per neuron. Individual granule cells have approximately 6500 synapses in the dentate gyrus of adult mice $(6,545{\pm}330)$, which are comparable to those of other researchers. Our results showed that the estimation of synapse numbers per neuron using the physical disector principle would provide accurate and precise information on the numerical alteration of synapses in diverse physiological and pathological conditions. Following analyses of synapse numbers using this method will contribute to the better understanding of structural synaptic plasticity in a variety of experimental animal models.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.162-173
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• 2015

The cellular fatty acid composition is important for metabolic plasticity in Rhodobacter sphaeroides. We explored the effects of changing the cellular ratio of unsaturated fatty acids (UFAs) to saturated fatty acids (SFAs) in R. sphaeroides by overexpressing several key fatty acid biosynthetic enzymes through the use of expression plasmid pRK415. Bacteria containing the plasmid pRKfabI₁ with the fabI₁ gene that encodes enoyl-acyl carrier protein (ACP) reductase showed a reduction in the cellular UFA to SFA ratio from 4 (80% UFA) to 2 (65% UFA) and had decreased membrane fluidity and reduced cell growth. Additionally, the ratio of UFA to SFA of the chromatophore vesicles from pRKfabI₁-containing cells was similarly lowered, and the cell had decreased levels of light-harvesting complexes, but no change in intracytoplasmic membrane (ICM) content or photosynthetic (PS) gene expression. Both inhibition of enoyl-ACP reductase with diazaborine and addition of exogenous UFA restored membrane fluidity, cell growth, and the UFA to SFA ratio to wild-type levels in this strain. R. sphaeroides containing the pRKfabB plasmid with the fabB gene that encodes the enzyme β-ketoacyl-ACP synthase I exhibited an increased UFA to SFA ratio from 4 (80% UFA) to 9 (90% UFA), but showed no change in membrane fluidity or growth rate relative to control cells. Thus, membrane fluidity in R. sphaeroides remains fairly unchanged when membrane UFA levels are between 80% and 90%, whereas membrane fluidity, cell growth, and cellular composition are affected when UFA levels are below 80%.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.209-215
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• 2011

Objective : The authors investigated the changes of cortical sensorimotor activity in functional MRI (fMRI) and functional recovery in spinal cord injury (SCI) patients who had been treated by bone marrow cell transplantation. Methods : Nineteen patients with SCI were included in this study; ten patients with clinical improvement and nine without. The cortical sensorimotor activations were studied using the proprioceptive stimulation during the fMRI. Results : Diagnostic accuracy of fMRI with neurological improvement was 70.0% and 44.4% for sensitivity and specificity, respectively. Signal activation in the ipsilateral motor cortex in fMRI was commonly observed in the clinically neurological improved group (p-value=0.002). Signal activation in the contralateral temporal lobe and basal ganglia was more commonly found in the neurological unimproved group (p-value<0.001). Signal activation in other locations was not statistically different. Conclusion : In patients with SCI, activation patterns of fMRI between patients with neurologic recovery and those without varied. Such plasticity should be considered in evaluating SCI interventions based on behavioral and neurological measurements.

• Transactions of Materials Processing
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.341-347
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• 2012

The metallic bipolar plates of the molten carbonate fuel cell(MCFC) are composed of shielded slot plates and a center-plate. The shielded slot plates support the center-plate and the membrane electrode assembly. Compressive forces are applied to the shielded slot plate in order to increase the contact area between shielded slot plates and the membrane electrode assembly (MEA). In the design of the shielded slot plate, it is necessary to predict the mechanical behavior of the shielded slot plate. The shielded slot plates are manufactured by a three-stage forming process consisting of slitting, preforming and the final forming process. The mechanical behavior of the shielded slot plate is largely affected by the forming process. In this study, the simulation of the three-stage forming process was used to predict the mechanical behavior of the shielded slot plate. The present simulation approach showed good agreements with the experimental results.

• Transactions of Materials Processing
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.298-304
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• 2012

The shielded slot plates for a molten carbonate fuel cell(MCFC) have a sheared corrugated trapezoidal pattern. In the FEM simulations for the production of the shielded slot plate, the user material subroutine VUMAT in the commercial FEM software ABAQUS was used to implement a ductile fracture criterion. The critical damage value for the ductile fracture criterion was determined by comparing the experimental results of the shearing process with the simulation results. Using the ductile fracture criterion, the FEM simulation of the three-dimensional forming process of the shielded slot plate was conducted. The effects of the shearing process on the forming process were examined through FEM simulation and experiments. The forming simulation of nine unit cells was conducted. Using the simulation results of the forming process, the deformed shape after springback was calculated. The experimental result shows good agreement with the simulation.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.39 no.10
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• pp.762-767
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• 2016

Fasciclin II (FasII), the Drosophila ortholog of neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM), plays a critical role in synaptic stabilization and plasticity. Although this molecule undergoes constitutive cycling at the synaptic membrane, how its membrane trafficking is regulated to ensure proper synaptic development remains poorly understood. In a genetic screen, we recovered a mutation in Drosophila mical-like that displays an increase in bouton numbers and a decrease in FasII levels at the neuromuscular junction (NMJ). Similar phenotypes were induced by presynaptic, but not postsynaptic, knockdown of mical-like expression. FasII trafficking assays revealed that the recycling of internalized FasII molecules to the cell surface was significantly impaired in mical-like-knockdown cells. Importantly, this defect correlated with an enhancement of endosomal sorting of FasII to the lysosomal degradation pathway. Similarly, synaptic vesicle exocytosis was also impaired in mical-like mutants. Together, our results identify Mical-like as a novel regulator of synaptic growth and FasII endocytic recycling.

• Transactions of Materials Processing
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• v.17 no.8
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• pp.657-661
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• 2008

Recently, products of electronic industry and related parts are required to have the thickness thinner and thinner to reduce the part weight. To go with this trend, LGP(light guide plate) of LCD-BLU(Liquid Crystal Display-Back Light Unit: It is one of kernel parts of LCD) for cell phone has the thickness of ${\sim}0.3mm$ and the battery case of cell phone has ${\sim}0.25mm$. Accordingly, high speed injection molding is required to mold products which have thinner parts. To achieve high speed injection and proper control of hydraulic unit, various design was applied to conventional injection unit. In the present paper, we concentrated on the molding stability of hydro-mechanical high speed injection machine to make an LGP of 0.3mm thickness.

• Transactions of Materials Processing
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.273-278
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• 2011

Employing the TRIZ problem solving technique, a hybrid-type center plate for the molten carbonate fuel cell(MCFC) was developed for the purpose of improving gas sealing and maintenance. The manufacturing method of the hybrid-type center plate was divided into a trimming operation and a two-step bending process. In the latter, a modified punch shape was used to reduce springback. Using finite element(FE) simulations, bending stresses in the thickness and the in-plane directions were computed and the bending conditions were optimized. The optimized results of the two-step bending process were used as a basis for the design of the trimming process of the hybrid-type center plate. Finally, the external manifold-type center plate and the hybrid-type center plate were fabricated using a die set that accounts for the optimized conditions. It was found that the numerical simulation results were in good agreement with the experiments.

• Transactions of Materials Processing
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.171-177
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• 2014

The current collector for the molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC) which has sheared protrusions is manufactured by the three-stage forming process that integrates slitting, preforming and final forming. Due to the repetition of sheared protrusions, an effective simulation method is required to predict the mechanical behavior. In the current study, a sheet with sheared protrusions was assumed to be an orthotropic plate, which has the same length, width and height. FEM simulations were conducted to evaluate the homogenized properties of the current collector, which has 4 (longitudinal direction) x 4 (transverse direction) sheared protrusions. The simulation model was constructed using hexahedral mesh coarsening. From the verification examples, it was found that the proposed simulation method was efficient within reasonable accuracy. The calculated homogenized properties can be applied to the design of a stack for molten carbonate fuel cells and the prediction of mechanical behavior for other applications.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.153-164
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• 2023

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are a small population of tumor cells characterized by self-renewal and differentiation capacity. CSCs are currently postulated as the driving force that induces intra-tumor heterogeneity leading to tumor initiation, metastasis, and eventually tumor relapse. Notably, CSCs are inherently resistant to environmental stress, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy due to high levels of antioxidant systems and drug efflux transporters. In this context, a therapeutic strategy targeting the CSC-specific pathway holds a promising cure for cancer. NRF2 (nuclear factor erythroid 2-like 2; NFE2L2) is a master transcription factor that regulates an array of genes involved in the detoxification of reactive oxygen species/electrophiles. Accumulating evidence suggests that persistent NRF2 activation, observed in multiple types of cancer, supports tumor growth, aggressive malignancy, and therapy resistance. Herein, we describe the core properties of CSCs, focusing on treatment resistance, and review the evidence that demonstrates the roles of NRF2 signaling in conferring unique properties of CSCs and the associated signaling pathways.