• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.279-286
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• 2009

To study properties of the variation of the infrared emission of OH/IR stars, we collect and analyze the infrared observational data in K band for nine OH/IR stars. We use the observational data obtained for about three decades including recent data from the two micron all sky survey (2MASS) and the deep near infrared survey of the southern sky (DENIS). We use Marquardt-Levenberg algorithm to determine the pulsation period and amplitude for each star and compare them with previous results of infrared and radio investigations.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.34 no.10
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• pp.2937-2941
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• 2013

Fluorescence imaging is considered as one of the most powerful techniques for monitoring biomolecule activities in living systems. Near-infrared (NIR) light is advantageous for minimum photodamage, deep tissue penetration, and minimum background autofluorescence interference. Herein, we have developed a new NIR fluorescent dye, namely, RB-1, based on the Rhodamine B scaffold. RB-1 exhibits excellent photophysical properties including large absorption extinction coefficients, high fluorescence quantum yields, and high photostability. In particular, RB-1 displays both absorption and emission in the NIR region of the "biological window" (650-900 nm) for imaging in biological samples. RB-1 shows absorption maximum at 614 nm (500-725 nm) and emission maximum at 712 nm (650-825 nm) in ethanol, which is superior to those of traditional rhodamine B in the selected spectral region. Furthermore, applications of RB-1 for fluorescence imaging in living cells and small animals were investigated using confocal fluorescence microscopy and in vivo imaging system with a high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR = 10.1).

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.140.1-140.1
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• 2012

We investigate properties of maser emission for 3373 O-rich AGB stars. We divide the sample stars into four different groups whether they were detected by OH, SiO and $H_2O$ maser emission or not. To understand the nature of the maser sources, we present various infrared two-color diagrams (2CDs) using IRAS, near infrared and AKARI data. For each group, we compare the positions on the various infrared 2CDs with theoretical models. We find that OH maser sources generally show higher color indices and larger dust optical depths than SiO or $H_2O$ maser sources. This could be due to differences of the mass-loss rates and/or variability which may influence the maser pumping mechanisms.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.299-300
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• 2012

We investigate the relation between star formation activity and PAH $3.3{\mu}m$ emission. Our targets are mid-infrared-excess galaxies selected from the AKARI all-sky survey point source catalog. We performed AKARI near-infrared spectroscopy for them. As a result, we obtained $2.5-5{\mu}m$spectra of 79 galaxies, and selected 35 star-forming galaxies out of them. Comparing the PAH $3.3{\mu}m$ luminosities with the infrared luminosities, we find a linear correlation between them. However, by adding the results from literatures for luminous infrared galaxies and ultra-luminous infrared galaxies that are more luminous than our sample, the ratio of the PAH to the infrared luminosity is found to decrease towards the luminous end.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.285-288
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• 2004

Near-infrared imaging photometry supplemented by optical spectroscopy and narrow-band imaging of the H II region Sh 2-128 and its environment are presented. This region contains a developed H II region and the neighboring compact H II region S 128N associated with a pair of water maser sources. Midway between these, the core of a CO cloud is located. The principal ionizing source of Sh 2-128 is an 07 star close to its center. A new spectroscopic distance of 9.4 kpc is derived, very similar to the kinematic distance to the nebula. This implies a galactocentric distance of 13.5 kpc and z = 550 pc. The region is optically thin with abundances close to those predicted by galactocentric gradients. The $JHK_s$ images show that S 128N contains several infrared point sources and nebular emission knots with large near-infrared excesses. One of the three red Ks knots coincides with the compact H II region. A few of the infrared-excess objects are close to known mid- and far-infrared emission peaks. Star counts in J and $K_s$ show the presence of a small cluster of B-type stars, mainly associated with S 128N. The $JHK_s$ photometric properties together with the characteristics of the other objects in the vicinity suggest that Sh 2-128 and S 128N constitute a single complex formed from the same molecular cloud, with ages ${\~}10^6$ and < $3 {\times} 10^5$ years respectively. No molecular hydrogen emission was detected at 2.12 ${\mu}m$. The origin of this remote star forming region is an open problem.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.71.1-71.1
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• 2011

Significant discrepancies have been found between the dust masses of edge-on spiral galaxies derived from various tracers (optical/near-infrared, far-infrared/sub-millimeter observations, and the variation of dust attenuation with viewing angle). Here we report the first detection of a vertically extended far-ultraviolet (FUV) and near-UV (NUV) emission in an edge-on spiral galaxy NGC 891. The vertically extended emission is interpreted as the dust-scattered light due to a extraplanar dust layer in NGC 891 that contains about the same mass as the standard thin dust disk. This new dust component completely encloses the stellar disk and bulge, and solves the puzzle of dust mass.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.223.2-223.2
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• 2012

Grating spectrograph observation in near-infrared bands requires wavelength calibrations. We first need to extract order-strips from the echellogram data using flat images, and then to correct the spatial distortions and wavelength scales of the order strips using calibration arc lamps or the telluric OH emission lines. For very high resolution spectrograph using echelle, however, the arc lamps do not have enough emission lines in the order-strips, so we usually use the OH lines for accurate wavelength calibrations in wavelengths shorter than 2.3 microns. In this poster, we present wavelength calibration methods for longer wavelength bands using the telluric absorption lines in early-type stellar spectra and the telluric atmospheric transmission models. This technique will be applied to the data reduction pipeline for the IGRINS.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.79.1-79.1
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• 2014

We present the result of near-infrared (near-IR) imaging polarimetry of star-forming regions in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). We compiled near-IR photometric and polarimetric data of N159/160 regions. The photometric and polarimetric data were simultaneously obtained in J, H, and Ks bands using SIRPOL, an imaging polarimeter of the InfraRed Survey Facility (IRSF), in 2007 February. We measured Stokes parameters of point-like sources to derive their degree of polarization and polarization position angles. In this poster, we present polarization properties of these star-forming regions. We also discuss the polarization structure in these regions compared with mid-infrared dust emission structure from the Spitzer SAGE survey.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.145-148
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• 2015

Young Galactic supernova remnants (SNRs) are where we can observe closely supernova (SN) ejecta and their interaction with the circumstellar/interstellar medium. They also provide an opportunity to explore the explosion and the final stage of the evolution of massive stars. Near-infrared (NIR) emission lines in SNRs mostly originate from shocked dense material. In shocked SN ejecta, forbidden lines from heavy ions are prominent, while in shocked circumstellar/interstellar medium, [Fe II] and $H_2$ lines are prominent. [Fe II] lines are strong in both media, and therefore [Fe II] line images provide a good starting point for the NIR study of SNRs. There are about twenty SNRs detected in [Fe II] lines, some of which have been studied in NIR spectroscopy. We will review the NIR [Fe II] observations of SNRs and introduce our recent NIR spectroscopic study of the young core-collapse SNR Cas A where we detected strong [P II] lines.

• Journal of Radiopharmaceuticals and Molecular Probes
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.62-73
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• 2015

We developed an evans blue-indocyanine green-$^{99m}Tc$-human serum albumin conjugate for sentinel lymph node mapping and we describe its unique potential usage for clinical implications. This conjugate has combined the strengths of visible blue dye, near-infrared fluorescence and radioisotope into one single conjugate without any additional weakness/disadvantage. All the components of evans blue-indocyanine green-$^{99m}Tc$-human serum albumin are safe and of low cost, and they have already been clinically used. This conjugate was stable in the serum, it showed a long retention time in the lymphatic system and the lymph nodes showed a much higher signal-to-noise ratio after the conjugate was injected intradermally into the paw of mice. Both the single-photon emission computed tomography and near-infrared fluorescent images of the mice were successfully obtained at the same time as the excised sentinel lymph nodes showed blue color. The visual color, near-infrared fluorescence and gamma ray from this agent could be complementary for each other in all the steps of sentinel lymph node sampling: exploring and planning sentinel lymph node before excision with visualization of the exact sentinel lymph node location during an operation. Therefore, the triple modal agent will possibly be very ideal for sentinel lymph node mapping because of the high signal-to-noise ratio for non-invasive imaging and its complementary multimodal nature, easy preparation and safety. It is promising for clinical applications and it may have great advantages over the traditional single modal methods.