• Journal of the Semiconductor & Display Technology
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.41-46
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• 2013

Efficient and inexpensive solar cells are necessary for photo-voltaic to be widely adopted for mainstream electricity generation. For this to occur, the recombination losses of charge carriers (i.e. electrons or holes) must be minimized using a surface passivation technique suitable for manufacturing. Recently it has been shown that aluminum oxide thin films are negatively charged dielectrics that provide excellent surface passivation of silicon solar cells to attract positive-charged holes. Especially aluminum oxide thin film is a quite suitable passivation on the rear side of p-type silicon solar cells. This paper, it demonstrate the interfacial microstructure and electrical properties of mono-crystalline silicon surface passivated by $Al_2O_3$ films during firing process as applied for screen-printed solar cells. The first task is a comparison of the interfacial microstructure and chemical bonds of PECVD $Al_2O_3$ and of PEALD $Al_2O_3$ films for the surface passivation of silicon. The second is to study electrical properties of double-stacked layers of PEALD $Al_2O_3$/PECVD SiN films after firing process in the temperature range of $650{\sim}950^{\circ}C$.

• Applied Science and Convergence Technology
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.201-210
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• 2014

The influence of electron irradiation and hydrogen adsorption on the electronic structure of the $SrTiO_3$ (001) surface was investigated by ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy (UPS). Upon electron irradiation of the surface, UPS revealed an electronic state within the band gap (in-gap state: IGS) with the surface kept at $1{\times}1$. This is considered to originate from oxygen vacancies at the topmost surface formed by electron-stimulated desorption of oxygen. Electron irradiation also caused a downward shift of the valence band maximum indicating downward band-bending and formation of a conductive layer on the surface. With oxygen dosage on the electron-irradiated surface, on the other hand, the IGS intensity was decreased along with upward band-bending, which points to disappearance of the conductive layer. The results indicate that electron irradiation and oxygen dosage allow us to control the surface electronic structure between semiconducting (nearly-vacancy free: NVF) and metallic (oxygen de cient: OD) regimes by changing the density of the oxygen vacancy. When the NVF surface was exposed to atomic hydrogen, in-gap states were induced along with downward band bending. The hydrogen saturation coverage was evaluated to be $3.1{\pm}0.8{\times}10^{14}cm^{-2}$ with nuclear reaction analysis. From the IGS intensity and H coverage, we argue that H is positively charged as $H^{{\sim}0:3+}$ on the NVF surface. On the OD surface, on the other hand, the IGS intensity due to oxygen vacancies was found to decrease to half the initial value with molecular hydrogen dosage. H is expected to be negatively charged as $H^-$ on the OD surface by occupying the oxygen vacancy site.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.34-43
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• 2005

The poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)-based thin film composite nanofiltration (NF) membranes were prepared by coating polysulfone ultrafiltration membranes, sulfonated polyethersulfone and polyamide NF membranes with aqueous PVA solution by a pressurizing method. The PVA was cross-linked with aqueous glutaraldehyde solution. The NF membranes coated with a very low concentration of PVA on all the support membranes was successfully prepared. With increasing the hydrophilicity of the support membranes, the water flux increased. Especially, ζ-potential of negatively charged polyamide NF membrane was reduced by coating the membrane with PVA. A fouling experiment was carried out with positively charged surfactant, humic acid, complex of humic acid and calcium ion and bovine serum albumin. A non-coated polyamide NF membrane was significantly fouled by various foulants. The fouling process when using humic acid and protein occurred at the isoelectric point. There was severe fouling when using humic acid and adding bivalent cations. By coating the polyamide NF membrane with aqueous PVA solution, fouling was reduced. The polyamide NF membrane coated with PVA was resistant to the acidic and basic solution.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.64 no.2
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• pp.282-288
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• 2021

Objective : Electrooculography (EOG) records eyeball movements as changes in the potential difference between the negatively charged retina and the positively charged cornea. We aimed to investigate whether reliable EOG waveforms can be evoked by electrical stimulation of the oculomotor and abducens nerves during skull base surgery. Methods : We retrospectively reviewed the records of 18 patients who had undergone a skull base tumor surgery using EOG (11 craniotomies and seven endonasal endoscopic surgeries). Stimulation was performed at 5 Hz with a stimulus duration of 200 μs and an intensity of 0.1-5 mA using a concentric bipolar probe. Recording electrodes were placed on the upper (active) and lower (reference) eyelids, and on the outer corners of both eyes; the active electrode was placed on the contralateral side. Results : Reproducibly triggered EOG waveforms were observed in all cases. Electrical stimulation of cranial nerves (CNs) III and VI elicited positive waveforms and negative waveforms, respectively, in the horizontal recording. The median latencies were 3.1 and 0.5 ms for craniotomies and endonasal endoscopic surgeries, respectively (p=0.007). Additionally, the median amplitudes were 33.7 and 46.4 μV for craniotomies and endonasal endoscopic surgeries, respectively (p=0.40). Conclusion : This study showed reliably triggered EOG waveforms with stimulation of CNs III and VI during skull base surgery. The latency was different according to the point of stimulation and thus predictable. As EOG is noninvasive and relatively easy to perform, it can be used to identify the ocular motor nerves during surgeries as an alternative of electromyography.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.45-50
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• 2023

Microfluidic preconcentration technologies, which collect or extract low-abundance analytes in a specific location, have been spotlighted in various applications such as medical and bio-engineering. Here, we conducted extensive studies on the variables to be considered when concentrating target samples based on electrophoresis in an electromembrane system utilizing an ion exchange membrane. Using negatively charged Alexa Fluor 488 and positively charged Rhodamine 6G as fluorescent dyes, we examined the effects of flow velocity of the main channel, channel electrolyte concentration, and applied voltage on sample preconcentration. As a result, it was found that the preconcentration of the target sample occurs much better when the flow velocity is slow and the concentration of the main channel containing the sample is high, given that the channel concentration ratio (main and buffer) is constant. In addition, based on the experimental data acquired in this study, the electrophoretic mobility values of Alexa Fluor 488 and Rhodamine 6G were experimentally calculated and compared.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.3.1-3.10
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• 2023

Characterization as well as prediction of the secondary and tertiary structure of hypothetical proteins from their amino acid sequences uploaded in databases by in silico approach are the critical issues in computational biology. Severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV), which is responsible for pneumonia alike diseases, possesses a wide range of proteins of which many are still uncharacterized. The current study was conducted to reveal the physicochemical characteristics and structures of an uncharacterized protein Q6S8D9_SARS of SARS-CoV. Following the common flowchart of characterizing a hypothetical protein, several sophisticated computerized tools e.g., ExPASy Protparam, CD Search, SOPMA, PSIPRED, HHpred, etc. were employed to discover the functions and structures of Q6S8D9_SARS. After delineating the secondary and tertiary structures of the protein, some quality evaluating tools e.g., PROCHECK, ProSA-web etc. were performed to assess the structures and later the active site was identified also by CASTp v.3.0. The protein contains more negatively charged residues than positively charged residues and a high aliphatic index value which make the protein more stable. The 2D and 3D structures modeled by several bioinformatics tools ensured that the proteins had domain in it which indicated it was functional protein having the ability to trouble host antiviral inflammatory cytokine and interferon production pathways. Moreover, active site was found in the protein where ligand could bind. The study was aimed to unveil the features and structures of an uncharacterized protein of SARS-CoV which can be a therapeutic target for development of vaccines against the virus. Further research are needed to accomplish the task.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.329-338
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• 2017

Nanofiltration (NF) technology is a membrane-based separation process, which has been pervasively used as the high-effective technology for drinking water treatment. In this study, a kind of composite polyamide NF thin film is selected to investigate the removal efficiencies and mechanisms of 14 trace drugs, which are commonly and frequently detected in the drinking water. The results show that the removal efficiencies of most drugs are quite high, indicating the NF is an effective technology to improve the quality of drinking water. The removal efficiencies of carbamazepine, acetaminophen, estradiol, antipyrine and isopropyl-antipyrine in ultrapure water are $78.8{\pm}0.8%$, $16.4{\pm}0.5%$, $65.4{\pm}1.8%$, $71.1{\pm}1.5%$ and $89.8{\pm}0.38%$, respectively. Their rejection rates increase with the increasing of their three-dimensional sizes, which indicates that the steric exclusion plays a significant role in removal of these five drugs. The adsorption of estradiol with the strongest hydrophobicity has been studied, which indicates that adsorption is not negligible in terms of removing this kind of hydrophobic neutral drugs by NF technology. The removal efficiencies of indomethacin, diclofenac, naproxen, ketoprofen, ibuprofen, clofibric acid, sulfamethoxazole, amoxicillin and bezafibrate in ultrapure water are $81{\pm}0.3%$, $86.3{\pm}0.5%$, $85.7{\pm}0.4%$, $93.3{\pm}0.3%$, $86.6{\pm}2.5%$, $90.6{\pm}0.4%$, $59.7{\pm}1.7%$, $80.3{\pm}1.4%$ and $80{\pm}0.5%$, respectively. For these nine drugs, their rejection rates are better than the above five drugs because they are negatively charged in ultrapure water. Meanwhile, the membrane surface presents the negative charge. Therefore, both electrostatic repulsion and steric exclusion are indispensable in removing these negatively charged drugs. This study provides helpful and scientific support of a highly effective water treatment method for removing drugs pollutants from drinking water.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.105-113
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• 1989

For selective purification of proteins in Pleurotus cornucopiae, affinity chromatography was performed by p-aminoanilinylsuccinyl-AH-Sepharose 4B gel synthesized by treating p-phenylene diamine with succinyl-AH-Sepharose 4B, which was prepared by treating AH-Sepharose 4B with succinic anhydride. The capacity of p-aminoanilinyl ligand group was 6.1 micromole per milliliter of gel. Total apparent molecular weight of the affinity proteins eluted from the synthesized gel was 167 KD, which were a protein complex of 130 KD and 37 KD. The contents of the nonpolar, polar, positively and/or negatively charged amino acids in the affinity protein were 44.57%, 24.75%, 21.25%, and 9.43%, respectively. Total apparent molecular weight of the affinity proteins eluted from the AH-Sepharose 4B gel was 95.2 KD, which were a protein complex of 61 KD, 31 KD and 3.2 KD. The contents of the nonpolar, positively and/or negatively charged amino acids in the affinity protein by AH-Sepharose 4B gel were 44.05%, 29.13%, and 12.91% respectively.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.157-163
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• 2015

Nanotechnology has advanced at an extremely rapid pace over the past several years in numerous fields of research. However, the uptake of nanoparticles (NPs) into the body after administration through various routes may pose a risk to human health. In this study, we investigated the potential ocular toxicity of 20-nm, negatively- charged zinc oxide (ZnO) NPs in rats using micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) and histopathological assessment. Animals were divided into four groups as control group, ZnO NPs treatment group (500 mg/kg/day), control recovery group, and ZnO NPs treatment and recovery group. Ocular samples were prepared from animals treated for 90 days (10 males and 10 females, respectively) and from recovery animals (5 males and 5 females, respectively) sacrificed at 14 days after final treatment and were compared to age-matched control animals. Micro-CT analyses represented the deposition and distribution of foreign materials in the eyes of rats treated with ZnO NPs, whereas control animals showed no such findings. X-ray fluorescence spectrometry and energy dispersive spectrometry showed the intraocular foreign materials as zinc in treated rats, whereas control animals showed no zinc signal. Histopathological examination revealed the retinopathy in the eyes of rats treated with ZnO NPs. Neuronal nuclei expression was decreased in neurons of the ganglion cell layer of animals treated with ZnO NPs compared to the control group. Taken together, treatment with 20-nm, negatively-charged ZnO NPs increased retinopathy, associated with local distribution of them in ocular lesions.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.37-43
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• 2006

Gap junction is an ion channel forming between adjacent cells. It also acts as a membrane channel like sodium or potassium channels in a single cell. The amino acid residues up to the $10^{th}$ position in the amino (N)-terminus of gap junction hemichannel affect gating polarity as well as current-voltage (I-V) relation. While wild-type Cx32 channel shows negative gating polarity and inwardly rectifying I-V relation, T8D channel in which threonine residue at $8^{th}$ position is replaced with negatively charged aspartate residue shows reverse gating polarity and linear I-V relation. It is still unclear whether these changes are resulted from the charge effect or the conformational change of the N-terminus. To clarify this issue, we made a mutant channel harboring cysteine residue at the $8^{th}$ position (T8C) and characterized its biophysical properties using substituted-cysteine accessibility method (SCAM). T8C channel shows negative gating polarity and inwardly rectifying I-V relation as wild-type channel does. This result indicates that the substitution of cysteine residue dose not perturb the original conformation of wild-type channel. To elucidate the charge effect two types of methaenthiosulfonate (MTS) reagents (negatively charged $MTSES^-$ and positively charged $MTSET^+$) were used. When $MTSES^-$ was applied, T8C channel behaved as T8D channel, showing positive gating polarity and linear I-V relation. This result indicates that the addition of a negative charge changes the biophysical properties of T8C channel. However, positively charged $MTSET^+$ maintained the main features of T8C channel as expected. It is likely that the addition of a charge by small MTS reagents does not distort the conformation of the N-terminus. Therefore, the opposite effects of $MTSES^-$ and $MTSETT^+$ on T8C channel suggest that the addition of a charge itself rather than the conformational change of the N-terminus changes gating polarity and I-V relation. Furthermore, the accessibility of MTS reagents to amino acid residues at the $8^{th}$ position supports the idea that the N-terminus of gap junction channel forms or lies in the aqueous pore.