• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.346-355
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• 2020

Purpose: Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR-γ) has a key role in hepatic fibrogenesis by virtue of its effect on the hepatic stellate cells (HSCs). Although many studies have shown that PPAR-γ agonists inhibit liver fibrosis, the mechanism remains largely unclear, especially regarding the cross-talk between PPAR-γ and other potent fibrogenic factors. Methods: This experimental study involved 25 male Wistar rats. Twenty rats were subjected to bile duct ligation (BDL) to induce liver fibrosis, further divided into an untreated group (BDL; n=10) and a group treated with the PPAR-γ agonist thiazolidinedione (TZD), at 14 days post-operation (BDL+TZD; n=10). The remaining 5 rats had a sham operation (sham; n=5). The effect of PPAR-γ agonist on liver fibrosis was evaluated by histopathology, protein immunohistochemistry, and mRNA expression quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Results: Histology and immunostaining showed markedly reduced collagen deposition, bile duct proliferation, and HSCs in the BDL+TZD group compared to those in the BDL group (p<0.001). Similarly, significantly lower mRNA expression of collagen α-1(I), matrix metalloproteinase-2, platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-B chain, and connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) were evident in the BDL+TZD group compared to those in the BDL group (p=0.0002, p<0.035, p<0.0001, and p=0.0123 respectively). Moreover, expression of the transforming growth factor beta1 (TGF-β1) was also downregulated in the BDL+TZD group (p=0.0087). Conclusion: The PPAR-γ agonist inhibits HSC activation in vivo and attenuates liver fibrosis through several fibrogenic pathways. Potent fibrogenic factors such as PDGF, CTGF, and TGF-β1 were downregulated by the PPAR-γ agonist. Targeting PPAR-γ activity may be a potential strategy to control liver fibrosis.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.191-197
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• 2009

We have investigated the effect of strong p-type organic semiconductor $F_4$-TCNQ-doped CuPc hole transport layer on the performance of p-i-n type bulk heterojunction photovoltaic device with ITO/PEDOT:PSS/CuPc: $F_4$-TCNQ(5 wt%)/CuPc:C60(blending ratio l:l)/C60/BCP/LiF/Al, architecture fabricated via vacuum deposition process, and have evaluated the J-V characteristics, short-circuit current ($J_{sc}$), open-circuit voltage($V_{oc}$), fill factor(FF), and power conversion efficiency(${\eta}_e$) of the device. By doping $F_4$-TCNQ into CuPc hole transport layer, increased absorption intensity in absorption spectra, uniform dispersion of organic molecules in the layer, surface uniformity of the layer, and enhanced injection currents improved the current photovoltaic device with power conversion efficiency(${\eta}_e$) of 0.16%, which is still low value compared to silicone solar cell indicating that many efforts should be made to improve organic photovoltaic devices.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.28 no.11
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• pp.659-662
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• 2018

We report the properties of infrared photodetectors based on two kinds of quantum dots(QDs): i) 2.0 ML InAs QDs by the Stranski-Krastanov growth mode(SK QDs) and ii) sub-monolayer QDs by $4{\times}[0.3ML/1nm\;In_{0.15}Ga_{0.85}As]$ deposition(SML QDs). The QD infrared photodetector(QDIP) structure of $n^+-n^-(QDs)-n^+$ is epitaxially grown on GaAs (100) wafers using molecular-beam epitaxy. Both the bottom and top contact GaAs layers are Si doped at $2{\times}10^{18}/cm^3$. The QD layers are grown with Si doping of $2{\times}10^{17}/cm^3$ and capped by an $In_{0.15}Ga_{0.85}As$ layer at $495^{\circ}C$. The photoluminescence peak(1.24 eV) of the SML QDIP is blue-shifted with respect to that (1.04 eV) of SK QDIPs, suggesting that the electron ground state of SML QDIP is higher than that of the SK QDIP. As a result, the photoresponse regime(${\sim}9-14{\mu}m$) of the SML QDIP is longer than that (${\sim}6-12{\mu}m$) of the SK QDIP. The dark current of the SML QDIP is two orders of magnitude smaller value than that of the SK QDIP because of the inserted $Al_{0.08}Ga_{0.92}As$ layer.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Laryngology, Phoniatrics and Logopedics
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.166-171
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• 2022

Background and Objectives Vocal fold (VF) scar is known to be the most common cause of dysphonia after laryngeal microsurgery (LMS). Steroids reduce postoperative scar formation by inhibiting inflammation and collagen deposition. However, the clinical evidence of whether steroids are helpful in reducing VF scar formation after LMS is still lacking. The purpose of this study is to determine whether intralesional VF steroid injection after LMS helps to reduce postoperative scar formation and voice quality. Materials and Method This study was conducted on 80 patients who underwent LMS for VF polyp, Reinke's edema, and leukoplakia. Among them, 40 patients who underwent VF steroid injection after LMS were set as the injection group, and patients who had similar sex, age, and lesion size and who underwent LMS alone were set as the control group. In each group, stroboscopy, multi-dimensional voice program, Aerophone II, and voice handicap index (VHI) were performed before and 1 month after surgery, and the results were statistically analyzed. Results There were no statistically significant differences in the distribution of sex, age, symptom duration, occupation and smoking status between each group. Both groups consisted of VF polyp (n=21), Reinke's edema (n=11), and leukoplakia (n=9). On stroboscopy, the lesion disappeared after surgery, and the amplitude and mucosal wave were symmetrical on both sides of the VFs in all patients. Acoustic parameters and VHI significantly improved after surgery in all patients. However, there was no significant difference between the injection and control group in most of the results. Conclusion There was no significant difference in the results of stroboscopy, acoustic, aerodynamic, and subjective evaluation before and after surgery in the injection group and the control group.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.8 no.12
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• pp.1158-1164
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• 1998

Aluminium sulfate solution was prepared by sulfuric acid treatment from gibbsite. Aluminium sulfate hydrate [$Al_2(SO_4)_3$ · $nH_2O$] was precipitated from aluminium sulfate solution by adding it into ethylalcohol. From XRD analysis as-prepared $Al_2(SO_4)_3$ · $nH_2O$ was confirmed to have mixed-crystalization water(n=18, 16, 12, 6). The average water of crystalization calculated from thermogravimetry(TG) was 14.7. Aluminium sulfate hydrate [$Al_2(SO_4)_3$ · $nH_2O$] was thermally decomposed and converted to $Al_2(SO_4)_3$ at $800^{\circ}C$, $\gamma-Al_2O_3$ at $900-1000^{\circ}C$, and $\alpha-Al_2O_3$ at $1200^{\circ}C$. Ni-doped $\gamma-Al_2O_3$, was synthesized from the slurry of as-prepared $\gamma-Al_2O_3$, with the ratio of [Ni]/[Al]=0.5. The reaction conditions of synthesis were determined as initial pH 9.0 and temperature $80^{\circ}C$ The basicity(pH) of slurry was controlled by using urea and $NH_4OH$ solution. Urea was also used for deposition-precipitation. For determining termination of reaction, the data acquisition was performed by oxidation reduction potential(ORP), conductivity and pH value in the process of reaction. Termination of the reaction was decided by observing the reaction steps and rapid decrease in conductivity. On the other hand, BET(Brunauer, Emmett and Teller) and thermal diffusity of Ni- doped $\gamma-Al_2O_3$, with various content of Ni were measured and compared. Thermal stability of Ni- doped $\gamma-Al_2O_3$ at $1250^{\circ}C$ was confirmed from BET and XRD analysis. The surface state of Ni-doped $\gamma-Al_2O_3$ was investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS). The binding energy at $Ni2P_{3/2}$ increased with increasing the formation of $NiAl_2O_4$ phase.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.551-557
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• 2013

In the present study, pristine carbon nanotube (p-CNT) and thiolated carbon naotube (t-CNT) electrodes were investigated to improve their detectabilities for cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb). In addition, we evaluate which reaction mechanism is used when the electrolyte contains both Cd and Pb metals. Square wave stripping was employed for analyzing the sensitivity for the metals. A frequency of 30 Hz, a deposition potential of -1.2 V vs. Ag/AgCl and a deposition time of 300 s were used as optimal SWSV parameters. t-CNT electrodes show the better sensitivity for both Cd and Pb metals than that of p-CNT electrodes. In case of Cd, sensitivities of p-CNT and t-CNT electrodes were $3.1{\mu}A/{\mu}M$ and $4.6{\mu}A/{\mu}M$, respectively, while the sensitivities for Pb were $6.5{\mu}A/{\mu}M$ (p-CNT) and $9.9{\mu}A/{\mu}M$ (t-CNT), respectively. The better sensitivity of p-CNT electrodes is due to the enhancement in the reaction rate of metal ions that are facilitated by thiol groups attached on the surface of CNT. When sensitivity was measured for the detection of Cd and Pb metals present simultaneously in the electrolyte, Pb indicates better sensitivity than Cd irrespective of electrode types. It is ascribed to the low standard electrode potential of Pb, which then promotes the possibility of oxidation reaction of the Pb metal ions. In turn, the Pb metal ions are deposited on the electrode surface faster than that of Cd metal ions and cover the electrode surface during deposition step, and thus Pb metals that cover the large portion of the surface are more easily stripped than that of Cd metals during stripping step.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.42-54
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• 1995

$Ta_2O_5$ thin film IS a promising material for the high dielectrics of ULSI DRAM. In this study, $Ta_2O_5$ thin film was grown on p-type( 100) Si wafer by thermal metal organic chemical vapo deposition ( MCCVD) method and the effect of operating varialbles including substrate temperature( $T_s$), bubbler temperature( $T_ \sigma$), reactor pressure( P ) was investigated in detail. $Ta_2O_5$ thin film were analyzed by SEM, XRD, XPS, FT-IR, AES, TEM and AFM. In addition, the effect of various anneal methods was examined and compared. Anneal methods were furnace annealing( FA) and rapid thermal annealing( RTA) in $N_{2}$ or $O_{2}$ ambients. Growth rate was evidently classified into two different regimes. : (1) surface reaction rate-limited reglme in the range of $T_s$=300 ~ $400 ^{\circ}C$ and (2: mass transport-limited regime in the range of $T_s$=400 ~ $450^{\circ}C$.It was found that the effective activation energies were 18.46kcal/mol and 1.9kcal/mol, respectively. As the bubbler temperature increases, the growth rate became maximum at $T_ \sigma$=$140^{\circ}C$. With increasing pressure, the growth rate became maximum at P=3torr but the refractive index which is close to the bulk value of 2.1 was obtained in the range of 0.1 ~ 1 torr. Good step coverage of 85. 71% was obtained at $T_s$=$400 ^{\circ}C$ and sticking coefficient was 0.06 by comparison with Monte Carlo simulation result. From the results of AES, FT-IR and E M , the degree of SiO, formation at the interface between Si and TazO, was larger in the order of FA-$O_{2}$ > RTA-$O_{2}$, FA-$N_{2}$ > RTA-$N_{2}$. However, the $N_{2}$ ambient annealing resulted in more severe Weficiency in the $Ta_2O_5$ thin film than the TEX>$O_{2}$ ambient.

• Journal of the Korean Magnetics Society
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.187-192
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• 2003

The magnetic and thermal properties of NiFe/[IrMn-Mn]/CoFe with Mn additions have been studied. As-deposited CoFe pinned layers with [IrMn-Mn]layer had dominantly larger exchange biasing field ( $H_{ex}$) and blocking temperature ( $T_{b}$) than those with pure I $r_{22}$M $n_{78}$ used. The $H_{ex}$ and $T_{b}$ improved with 76.8-78.1 vol% Mn, but those of the NiFe/IrMn/CoFe dropped considerably with more addition of 0.6 vol % Mn. The average x-ray diffraction peak ratios of fcc [(111)CoFe, NiFe]/(111)IrM $n_3$ textures for the Mn inserted total vol of 75.5, 77.5, and 79.3% were about 1.4, 0.8, and 0.6, respectively. For the sample without Mn inserted layer, the $H_{ex}$ between IrMn and CoFe layers was almost zero, but it increased to 100 Oe after annealing of 250 $^{\circ}C$. For as-grown two multilayers samples with ultra-thin Mn layers of 77.5 and 78.7 vol %, the $H_{ex}$s were 259 and 150 Oe, respectively. In case of IrMn with 77.5 vol% Mn, the $H_{ex}$ was increased up to 475 Oe at 350 $^{\circ}C$ but decreased to 200 Oe at 450 $^{\circ}C$, respectively. The magnetic properties and thermal stabilities of NiFe/[IrMn-Mn]/CoFe multilayer were enhanced with Mn additions. In applications where higher $H_{ex}$ and $T_{b}$ are required, proper contents of Mn can be used. be used. used.

• BMB Reports
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.723-730
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• 2007

Kinesin is an ATP-driven microtubule motor protein that plays important roles in control of microtubule dynamics, intracellular transport, cell division and signal transduction. The kinesin superfamily is composed of numerous members that are classified into 14 subfamilies. Animal kinesins have been well characterized. In contrast, plant kinesins have not yet to be characterized adequately. Here, a novel plant-specific kinesin gene, GhKCH2, has been cloned from cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) fibers and biochemically identified by prokaryotic expression, affinity purification, ATPase activity assay and microtubule-binding analysis. The putative motor domain of GhKCH2, $M_{396-734}$ corresponding to amino acids Q396-N734 was fused with 6$\times$His-tag, soluble-expressed in E. coli and affinity-purified in a large amount. The biochemical analysis demonstrated that the basal ATPase activity of $M_{396-734}$ is not activated by $Ca^{2+}$, but stimulated 30-fold max by microtubules. The enzymatic activation is microtubule-concentration-dependent, and the concentration of microtubules that corresponds to half-maximum activation was about 11 ${\mu}M$, much higher than that of other kinesins reported. The cosedimentation assay indicated that $M_{396-734}$ could bind to microtubules in vitro whenever the nucleotide AMP-PNP is present or absent. As a plant-specific microtubule-dependent kinesin with a lower microtubule-affinity and a nucleotide-independent microtubule-binding ability, cotton GhKCH2 might be involved in the function of microtubules during the deposition of cellulose microfibrils in fibers or the formation of cell wall.

• Journal of the Korean Magnetics Society
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.82-89
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• 1997

Dependence of magnetoresistance on the thickness of Cu, type and thickness of buffer layer, and the stacking number of multilayer in the form buffer /$[Co(17{\AA}/Cu(t{\AA})]_{20}$ were investigated. To evaluate effect of annealing on this samples, X-ray diffraction analysis, vibrating sample magnetometer analysis, and magnetoresistance measurement (4-probe method) were performed. The magnetoresistance ratio exhibits a maximum of 21% for the multilayer with Cu thickness of 24$\AA$ and Fe buffer layer thickness of 50$\AA$. Deposition of film under low base pressure induces in increase magnetoresistance ratio by preventing oxidation. The multilayer annealed below 30$0^{\circ}C$ temperature allowed larger textured grain without loss in the periodicity. Magnetoresistance ratios of the multilayer with Cu thickness of 24$\AA$ and 36$\AA$ were increased due to the increase in the antiferromagnetically coupled fraction after annealing.