• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.194-198
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• 2010

Cubic boron nitride (c-BN) is a promising material for use in many potential applications because of its outstanding physical properties such as high thermal stability, high abrasive wear resistance, and super hardness. Even though 316L austenitic stainless steel (STS) has poor wear resistance causing it to be toxic in the body due to wear and material chips, 316L STS has been used for implant biomaterials in orthopedics due to its good corrosion resistance and mechanical properties. Therefore, in the present study, c-BN films with a $B_4C$ layer were applied to a 316L STS specimen in order to improve its wear resistance. The deposition of the c-BN films was performed using an r.f. (13.56 MHz) magnetron sputtering system with a $B_4C$ target. The coating layers were characterized using XPS and SEM, and the mechanical properties were investigated using a nanoindenter. The friction coefficient of the c-BN coated 316L STS steel was obtained using a pin-on-disk according to the ASTM G163-99. The thickness of the obtained c-BN and $B_4C$ were about 220 nm and 630 nm, respectively. The high resolution XPS spectra analysis of B1s and N1s revealed that the c-BN film was mainly composed of $sp^3$ BN bonds. The hardness and elastic modulus of the c-BN measured by the nanoindenter were 46.8 GPa and 345.7 GPa, respectively. The friction coefficient of the c-BN coated 316L STS was decreased from 3.5 to 1.6. The wear property of the c-BN coated 316L STS was enhanced by a factor of two.

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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• 2003.11a
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• pp.56-56
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• 2003

BaTiO$_3$, SrTiO$_3$단일막과 BaTiO$_3$ (BTO)/SrTiO$_3$ (STO) 산화물 인공격자를 pulsed laser deposition (PLD) 법에 의해서 100 nm 두께의 (La,Sr)CoO3 (LSCO) 산화물 전극이 코핑된 MgO 단결정 기판 위에 증착시켰다. 이러한 기판위에서 2 unit cell의 적층 두께를 갖는 BTO/STO 초격자 (=BTO2/STO2)를 100～5 nm까지 변화시켰다. 또한 BTO와 STO 단일막도 같은 두께로 변화시켰다. 이러한 두께 범위에서 BTO, STO 단일막과 초격자의 격자변형에 따른 유전특성을 살펴 보았다. 두께 변화에 따른 단일막과 초격자의 구조 분석은 포항 방사광 가속기의 x-ray 회절에 의해서 이루어졌다. 다양한 두께를 갖는 BTO2/STO2 초격자에서 BTO와 STO 충은 in-plane 방향으로 격자정합을 유지하면서 변형되었다. 두께가 얇아지면서 하부 LSCO영향으로 BTO, STO의 n-plane 격자상수는 LSCO 격자상수 쪽으로 접근하였다. Out-of-plane 방향의 BTO 격자상수는 두께가 얇아지면서 증가하였고 반면에 STO 격자상수는 감소하였다. STO와 BTO 단일막의 격자변형은 두께가 얇아지면서 in-plane 방향으로 압축응력으로 인해 증가하였다. 그러나, 격자부정합도가 큰 BTO격자에서 더 많이 변형되었다. 또한 초격자에서 BTO격자가 BTO 단일막보다 더 많이 변형되었는데 초격자에서는 BTO, STO 두 층의 발달된 변형뿐만 아니라 하부 LSCO/MgO 기판의 영향을 함께 받고 있기 때문이다. 초격자와 단일막의 유전상수를 살펴보면은 두께가 감소하면서 유전상수가 감소하는 size effect을 보이고 있다. 하지만 초격자에서의 유전상수가 단일막보다 우수한 유전특성을 보이고 있다. 이러한 결과로 볼 때 격자변형이 size effect 영향을 끼치는 중요한 요소임을 확인하였다.

• The Korean Journal of Ceramics
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.36-40
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• 2001

In order to fabricate uncooled IR sensors for pyroelectric applications, multilayered thin films of Pt/PbTiO$_3$/Pt/Ti/Si$_3$N$_4$/SiO$_2$/Si and thermally isolating membrane structures of square-shaped/cantilevers-shaped microstructures were prepared. Cavity was also fabricated via direct silicon wafer bonding and etching technique. Metallic Pt layer was deposited by ion beam sputtering while PbTiO$_3$ thin films were prepared by sol-gel technique. Micromachining technology was used to fabricate microstructured-membrane detectors. In order to avoid a difficulty of etching active layers, silicon-nitride membrane structure was fabricated through the direct bonding and etching of the silicon wafer. Although multilayered thin film deposition and device fabrications were processed independently, these could b integrated to make IR micro-sensor devices.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.371-380
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• 2013

Doxorubicin is still main drug in chemotherapy with limitation of use due to adverse drug reaction. Increased oxidative stress and alteration of nitric oxide control have been involved in cardiotoxicity of doxorubicin (DOX). A Disintegrin And Metalloproteinase (ADAMs) are transmembrane ectoproteases to regulate cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions, but role in cardiac disease is unclear. The aim of this study was to determine whether DOX activates peroxynitrite and ADAM 10 and thus ADAM and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) induce cardiac remodeling in DOX-induced cardiomyopathy. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to cardiomyopathy by DOX (6 times of 2.5 mg/kg DOX over 2-weeks), and were randomized as four groups. Then followed by 3, 5, 7, and 14 days after cessation of DOX injection. DOX-injected animals significantly decreased left ventricular fractional shortening compared with control by M-mode echocardiography. The expressions of cardiac nitrotyrosine by immunohistochemistry were significant increased, and persisted for 2 weeks following the last injection. The expression of eNOS was increased by 1.9 times (p<0.05), and iNOS was marked increased in DOX-heart compared with control (p<0.001). Compared to control rats, cardiac ADAM10- and MMP 9- protein expressions increased by 20 times, and active/total MMP 9 proteolytic activity showed increase tendency at day 14 after cessation of DOX injection (n=10, each group). DOX-treated $H_9C_2$ cell showed increased ADAM10 protein expression with dose-dependency (p<0.01) and morphometric changes showed the increase of ventricular interstitial, nonvascular collagen deposition. These data suggest that activation of cardiac peroxynitrite with increased iNOS expression and ADAM 10-dependent MMP 9 expression may be a molecular mechanism that contributes to left ventricular remodeling in DOXinduced cardiomyopathy.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.527-536
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• 2020

Liver fibrosis constitutes a significant health problem worldwide due to its rapidly increasing prevalence and the absence of specific and effective treatments. Growing evidence suggests that apoptosis-signal regulating kinase 1 (ASK1) is activated in oxidative stress, which causes hepatic inflammation and apoptosis, leading to liver fibrogenesis through a mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) downstream signals. In this study, we investigated whether selonsertib, a selective inhibitor of ASK1, shows therapeutic efficacy for liver fibrosis, and elucidated its mechanism of action in vivo and in vitro. As a result, selonsertib strongly suppressed the growth and proliferation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) and induced apoptosis by increasing Annexin V and TUNEL-positive cells. We also observed that selonsertib inhibited the ASK1/MAPK pathway, including p38 and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) in HSCs. Interestingly, dimethylnitrosamine (DMN)-induced liver fibrosis was significantly alleviated by selonsertib treatment in rats. Furthermore, selonsertib reduced collagen deposition and the expression of extracellular components such as α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), fibronectin, and collagen type I in vitro and in vivo. Taken together, selonsertib suppressed fibrotic response such as HSC proliferation and extracellular matrix components by blocking the ASK1/MAPK pathway. Therefore, we suggest that selonsertib may be an effective therapeutic drug for ameliorating liver fibrosis.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2007.06a
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• pp.339-342
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• 2007

$Cu(In_{1-x}Ga_{x})Se_2$(CIGS)는 매우 큰 광흡수계수를 가지고 있으므로 박막형 태양전지의 광흡수층 재료로서 많은 연구가 진행되고 있다. 박막이 태양전지의 광흡수층으로 이용되기 위해서는 큰 결정크기와 평탄한 표면, 적당한 전기적 특성을 가져야 한다. 이러한 특성들은 CIGS 박막의 조성에 큰 영향을 받고 있는 것으로 보고되고 있다. 본 연구에서는 동시증발법을 이용하여 Cu/(In+Ga) 비를 0.9로 고정한 후 Ga 조성(Ga/(In+Ga)의 비 : 0.32, 0.49, 0.69, 0.8, 1)을 변화시켜 Wide band gap CIGS 박막태양전지를 만들었다. 기판은 soda line glass를 사용하였고 뒷면 전극으로는 Mo를 스퍼터링법으로 증착하였다. 또한 버퍼층으로는 기존에 쓰이고 있는 CdS를 CBD(Chemical Bath Deposition)법으로 층착시켰으며, 윈도우층으로는 i-ZnO/n-ZnO를 스파터링 법으로 층착하였다. 그리고 앞면전극으로는 Al을 E-beam 으로 증착하였다. 분석은 XRD, SEM, QE로 분석하였다. 위 실험에서 얻은 결과로는 Ga/(In+Ga)비가 증가할수록 Cu(In,Ga)Se2 박막은 회절 peak들이 큰 회절각으로 이동하였고, 이것은 Ga 원자와 In 원자의 원자반경의 차이에서 기인된 것으로 사료된다. 또한 Ga 조성이 증가할수록 단파장 쪽으로 이동하는 것을 볼 수 있으며, Voc가 증가하다가 에너지 밴드캡이 1.62 eV 이상에서는 Voc가 감소하는 것을 볼 수 있는데 이것은 Ga 조성이 증가할수록 에너지 밴드캡이 커지면서 defect level 이 존재하기 때문인 것으로 사료된다. Ga/(In+Ga)비가 1일 때의 변환효율은 8.5 %이고， Voc : 0.74 (V), Jsc : 17.2 ($mA/cm^{2}$), F.F : 66.6(%) 이다.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2007.06a
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• pp.250-253
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• 2007

An evaporated Ti/Pd/Ag contact system is most widely used to make high-efficiency silicon solar cells, however, the system is not cost effective due to expensive materials and vacuum techniques. Commercial solar cells with screen-printed contacts formed by using Ag paste suffer from a low fill factor and a high shading loss because of high contact resistance and low aspect ratio. Low-cost Ni and Cu metal contacts have been formed by using electroless plating and electroplating techniques to replace the Ti/Pd/Ag and screen-printed Ag contacts. Ni/Cu alloy is plated on a silicon substrate by electro-deposition of the alloy from an acetate electrolyte solution, and nickel-silicide formation at the interface between the silicon and the nickel enhances stability and reduces the contact resistance. It was, therefore, found that nickel-silicide was suitable for high-efficiency solar cell applications. The Ni contact was formed on the front grid pattern by electroless plating followed by anneal ing at $380{\sim}400^{\circ}C$ for $15{\sim}30$ min at $N_{2}$ gas to allow formation of a nickel-silicide in a tube furnace or a rapid thermal processing(RTP) chamber because nickel is transformed to NiSi at $380{\sim}400^{\circ}C$. The Ni plating solution is composed of a mixture of $NiCl_{2}$ as a main nickel source. Cu was electroplated on the Ni layer by using a light induced plating method. The Cu electroplating solution was made up of a commercially available acid sulfate bath and additives to reduce the stress of the copper layer. The Ni/Cu contact was found to be well suited for high-efficiency solar cells and was successfully formed by using electroless plating and electroplating, which are more cost effective than vacuum evaporation. In this paper, we investigated low-cost Ni/Cu contact formation by electroless and electroplating for crystalline silicon solar cells.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.631-642
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• 1998

Fall-out particles were collected by the modified British deposit gauges at 35 sampling sites in Suwon area from January to November, 1996. Twenty chemical species (Al. Ba, Cd, Cr, K, Pb, Sb, Zn, Cu, Fe, Ni, V, F-, Cl-, NO3-, 5042-, Na+, NH4+, Mg2+, and Ca2+) were analyzed by AAS and If. The purposes of this study were to estimate qualitatively various emission sources of the fell-out particle by applying multivariate statistical techniques such as factor analysis, multiple regression analysis, and discriminant analysis. During the study, outlier sites were determined by a z-score method. Cl-, Na+, Mg2+, and SO42- were highly correlated due to their common marine related source. Wind speed was the most influential factor for the deposition fluxes of the particle itself and all the chemical species as well. When applying the factor analysis, 8 source patterns were qualitatively obtained, such as marine source, soil source, oil burning source, Cr related source, tire source, Cd related source, agriculture source, and F- related source. As a result of the multiple regression analysis, we could suggest that some chemical compounds may possibly exist in the form of CaSO4, NaN03, NaCl, MgC12, (NH4)2SO4, NaF, and CaCl2 in the fall-out particles. Finally, spatial and seasonal classification study performed by a discriminant analysis showed th.at SO42-, Ca2+, Cl-, and Fe were dominant in the group of spatial pattern; however, SO42-, Cl-, Al, and V were in the group of seasonal pattern.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.298-306
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• 2018

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Obesity is a global health problem of significant importance which increases mortality. In place of anti-obesity drugs, natural products are being developed as alternative therapeutic materials. In this study, we investigated the effect of Brassica juncea L. leaf extract (BLE) on fat deposition and lipid profiles in high-fat, high-cholesterol diet (HFC)-induced obese rats. MATERIALS/METHODS: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into four groups (n = 8 per group) according to diet: normal diet group (ND), high-fat/high-cholesterol diet group (HFC), HFC with 3% BLE diet group (HFC-A1), and HFC with 5% BLE diet group (HFC-A2). Each group was fed for 6 weeks. Rat body and adipose tissue weights, serum biochemical parameters, and tissue lipid contents were determined. The expression levels of mRNA and proteins involved in lipid and cholesterol metabolism were determined by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and western blot analysis, respectively. RESULTS: The HFC-A2 group showed significantly lower body weight gain and food efficiency ratio than the HFC group. BLE supplementation caused mesenteric, epididymal, and total adipose tissue weights to decrease. The serum levels of triglyceride, total cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol were significantly reduced, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol was significantly increased in rats fed BLE. These results were related to lower glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, acetyl-coA carboxylase, and fatty acid synthase mRNA expression, and to higher expression of the cholesterol $7{\alpha}$-hydroxylase and low density lipoprotein-receptor, as well as increased protein levels of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor ${\alpha}$. Histological analysis of the liver revealed decreased lipid droplets in HFC rats treated with BLE. CONCLUSIONS: Supplementation of HFC with 3% or 5% BLE inhibited body fat accumulation, improved lipid profiles, and modulated lipogenesis- and cholesterol metabolism-related gene and protein expression.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.333-337
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• 2003

We report a new fabrication process for carbon nanotube field emitters with high performance. The key of the fabrication process is trim-and-leveling the carbon nanotubes grown in trench structures by employing a planarization process, which leads to a uniform distance from the carbon nanotube tip to the electrode. In order to enable this processing, spin-on-glass liquid is applied over the CNTs grown in trench to have them stubborn adhesion among themselves as well as to the substrate. Thus fabricated emitters reveal an extremely stable emission and aging characteristics with a large current density of 40 ㎃/$\textrm{cm}^2$ at 4.5 V/$\mu\textrm{m}$. The field enhancement factor calculated from the F-N plot is $1.83${\times}$10^{5}$ $cm^{－1}$ , which is a very high value and indicates a superior quality of the emitter originating from the nature of open-tip and high stability of the carbon nanotubes obtained new process.