• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2010.06a
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• pp.11-11
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• 2010

Thin-film-transistors (TFTs) that can be deposited at low temperature have recently attracted lots of applications such as sensors, solar cell and displays, because of the great flexible electronics and transparent. Transparent and flexible transistors are being required that high mobility and large-area uniformity at low temperature [1]. But, unfortunately most of TFT structures are used to be $SiO_2$ as gate dielectric layer. The $SiO_2$ has disadvantaged that it is required to high driving voltage to achieve the same operating efficiency compared with other high-k materials and its thickness is thicker than high-k materials [2]. To solve this problem, we find lots of high-k materials as $HfO_2$, $ZrO_2$, $SiN_x$, $TiO_2$, $Al_2O_3$. Among the High-k materials, $Al_2O_3$ is one of the outstanding materials due to its properties are high dielectric constant ( ~9 ), relatively low leakage current, wide bandgap ( 8.7 eV ) and good device stability. For the realization of flexible displays, all processes should be performed at very low temperatures, but low temperature $Al_2O_3$ grown by sputtering showed deteriorated electrical performance. Further decrease in growth temperature induces a high density of charge traps in the gate oxide/channel. This study investigated the effect of growth temperatures of ALD grown $Al_2O_3$ layers on the TFT device performance. The ALD deposition showed high conformal and defect-free dielectric layers at low temperature compared with other deposition equipments [2]. After ITO was wet-chemically etched with HCl : $HNO_3$ = 3:1, $Al_2O_3$ layer was deposited by ALD at various growth temperatures or lift-off process. Amorphous InGaZnO channel layers were deposited by rf magnetron sputtering at a working pressure of 3 mTorr and $O_2$/Ar (1/29 sccm). The electrodes were formed with electron-beam evaporated Ti (30 nm) and Au (70 nm) bilayer. The TFT devices were heat-treated in a furnace at $300^{\circ}C$ and nitrogen atmosphere for 1 hour by rapid thermal treatment. The electrical properties of the oxide TFTs were measured using semiconductor parameter analyzer (4145B), and LCR meter.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.74 no.5
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• pp.207-214
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• 2013

Background: Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is one of the leading causes of death among the elderly. Several studies have reported the clinical usefulness of serum procalcitonin, a biomarker of bacterial infection. However, the association between the levels of procalcitonin and the severity in the elderly with CAP has not yet been reported. The aim of this study was to evaluate usefulness of procalcitonin as a predictor of severity and mortality in the elderly with CAP. Methods: This study covers 155 CAP cases admitted to Pusan National University Hospital between January 2010 and December 2010. Patients were divided into two groups (${\geq}65$ years, n=99; <65 years, n=56) and were measured for procalcitonin, C-reactive protein (CRP), white blood cell, confusion, uremia, respiratory rate, blood pressure, 65 years or older (CURB-65) and pneumonia severity of index (PSI). Results: The levels of procalcitonin were significantly correlated with the CURB-65, PSI in totals. Especially stronger correlation was observed between the levels of procalcitonin and CURB-65 in the elderly (procalcitonin and CURB-65, ${\rho}$=0.408 with p<0.001; procalcitonin and PSI, ${\rho}$=0.293 with p=0.003; procalcitonin and mortality, ${\rho}$=0.229 with p=0.023). The correlation between the levels of CRP or WBC and CAP severity was low. The existing cut-off value of procalcitonin was correlated with mortality rate, however, it was not correlated with mortality within the elderly. Conclusion: The levels of procalcitonin are more useful than the levels of CRP or WBC to predict the severity of CAP. However, there was no association between the levels of procalcitonin and mortality in the elderly.

• 전자공학회논문지 IE
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.18-23
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• 2012

In this paper, a potable device application for DC-DC converter was designed for voltage protection circuit. Voltage protection circuit to offer the under voltage lock out and over voltage protection consists of a comparator and bais circuits were implemented using. XFAB 1um CMOS process, SPICE simulations was confirmed through the characteristics. Simulation results, under voltage lock out input voltage is 4.8 V higher when the turn-on and, 4.2 V less when turn-off. When the input voltage is low voltage is applied can be used to prevent malfunction of the circuit. Over voltage protection is 3.8 V reference voltage when the output voltage caused by blocking circuit prevents device destruction can be used to improve the stability and reliability. The virtual control circuits of the DC-DC converter connected. According to the results of the abnormal voltage, voltage protection circuit behavior was confirmed. The proposed voltage protection circuit of the DC-DC converter cell is useful are considered.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.151-163
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• 2012

Digestive cells of the bivalves have a highly developed lysosomal system and the system is known to be sensitive to changes in environmental qualities. In this study, we measured lysosomal responses of the digestive cells in wild oyster, Crassostrea gigas using frozen section. Oysters were collected in June 2010 from intertidal areas in the inner and outer bay of Gwangyang off the south coast of Korea. From the tissue sections, we measured the digestive cell lysosomal membrane stability (LMS), level of neutral lipids (NL), lipofuscin (LF) and the digestive gland atrophy (DGA). The DGA and condition index of oysters from the inner bay were significantly lower (P<0.05). The statistical test indicated that LMS levels of oysters in the inner bay and the outer bay were not significantly different since a shorter activity was displayed by oysters from the inner bay than that of oysters in outer bay. The LF deposition level of the oysters in the inner bay displayed significantly higher levels than the outer bay (P<0.05). In contrast, the NL accumulation measured from oysters in outer bay was significantly higher than the level observed in the inner bay (P<0.05). Different levels of DGA and LF that were observed in the inner and outer bays were thought to be associated to different level of environmental contamination and these two assays are considered to be good biomarkers.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2014.02a
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• pp.454-454
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• 2014

Silicon microwire array is one of the promising platforms as a means for developing highly efficient solar cells thanks to the enhanced light trapping efficiency. Among the various fabrication methods of microstructures, deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) process has been extensively used in fabrication of high aspect ratio microwire arrays. In this presentation, we show precisely controlled Si microwire arrays by tuning the DRIE process conditions. A periodic microdisk arrays were patterned on 4-inch Si wafer (p-type, $1{\sim}10{\Omega}cm$) using photolithography. After developing the pattern, 150-nm-thick Al was deposited and lifted-off to leave Al microdisk arrays on the starting Si wafer. Periodic Al microdisk arrays (diameter of $2{\mu}m$ and periodic distance of $2{\mu}m$) were used as an etch mask. A DRIE process (Tegal 200) is used for anisotropic deep silicon etching at room temperature. During the process, $SF_6$ and $C_4F_8$ gases were used for the etching and surface passivation, respectively. The length and shape of microwire arrays were controlled by etching time and $SF_6/C_4F_8$ ratio. By adjusting $SF_6/C_4F_8$ gas ratio, the shape of Si microwire can be controlled, resulting in the formation of tapered or vertical microwires. After DRIE process, the residual polymer and etching damage on the surface of the microwires were removed using piranha solution ($H_2SO_4:H_2O_2=4:1$) followed by thermal oxidation ($900^{\circ}C$, 40 min). The oxide layer formed through the thermal oxidation was etched by diluted hydrofluoric acid (1 wt% HF). The surface morphology of a Si microwire arrays was characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM, Hitachi S-4800). Optical reflection measurements were performed over 300~1100 nm wavelengths using a UV-Vis/NIR spectrophotometer (Cary 5000, Agilent) in which a 60 mm integrating sphere (Labsphere) is equipped to account for total light (diffuse and specular) reflected from the samples. The total reflection by the microwire arrays sample was reduced from 20 % to 10 % of the incident light over the visible region when the length of the microwire was increased from $10{\mu}m$ to $30{\mu}m$.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.31-38
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• 2008

The objective of this work is to study transdermal delivery of levodopa using iontophoresis and evaluate various factors which affect the transdermal transport. Levodopa is unstable in aqueous solution, and, in order to establish a stable condition for levodopa for the duration of experiment, we investigated the stability of levodopa in aqueous solutions of different pHs with/without the addition of dextrose or the application of current. Using stable aqueous solution, we have studied the effect of pH, polarity and penetration enhancer (ethanol) on transdermal flux and compared the results. We also investigated the iontophoretic flux from hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) hydrogel. In vitro flux study was performed at $33^{\circ}C$, using side-by-side diffusion cell. Full thickness hairless mouse skin and rat skin were used for this work. Current densities applied were 0.4 or $0.6mA/cm^2$ and current was off after 6 hour application. Stability study showed that levodopa solution with a pH 2.5 or 4.5 maintained the initial concentration of levodopa for 24 hours with the addition of 5% dextrose. However, at pH 9.5, levodopa was unstable and 30 to 40% of levodopa degraded within 24 hours, even with the addition of 5% dextrose. Hydrogel swollen with dextrose added levodopa solution maintained about 97% of the initial concentration of levodopa for 13 days, when stored in $4^{\circ}C$. The application of current did not affect the stability of levodopa in hydrogel. Flux study from levodopa solution with pH 2.5 showed that cathodal delivery of levodopa was higher than passive or anodal delivery. When the pH of the donor solution was 4.5, anodal delivery of levodopa was higher than passive or cathodal delivery. These results seem to indicate that electroosmosis plays more dominant role than electrorepulsion in the flux of levodopa at pH 2.5, and the reverse situation applies for pH 4.5. The passive flux was unexpectedly high for the ionized levodopa. Similar to the results from aqueous solution, cumulative amount of levodopa transported trom HPC hydrogel by cathodal delivery was significantly higher than passive or anodal delivery. The treatment of 70% ethanol cotton ball by scrubbing increased passive, anodal and cathodal flux, with the largest increase for anodal flux. These results indicate that iontophoretic delivery of zwitterion such as levodopa is much complicated than that can be expected from small ionic molecules with single charge. The results also indicate that the balance between electroosmosis and electrorepulsion plays a very important role in the transport through skin.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.310-315
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• 2001

Flavor modifing effects of ${\beta}-cyclodextrin$ on the flavor of Chungkookjang(Korean traditional fermented bean paste) were investigated with varied substitution levels of 10, 20, and 30%. The 20% substituted sample groups showed significantly lower amount of protein and ash contents compared to those of control. The L value of brightness had significantly the largest value of 53.99 with 30% substituted sample group, and lower a and b values. Internal structures of control group observed using the scanning electronic microscope, had irregular round type shape with viscous materials, and they had tendencies to be less rough and organized making even and ordered internal cell structures as the substituted levels were increased. Results of sensory characteristics showed significantly lower off-odor and salty flavor with the 20% substituted sample groups compared to those of control. Results of this study showed the possibilities of flavor moderating effects of ${\beta}-cyclodextrin$ when it was used as one of the flavor modifier of the Chungkookjang. Future studies of finding the optimum level of substitution is further required.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.38 no.6
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• pp.373-380
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• 2008

In order to develop optimal formulation and iontophoresis condition for the transdermal delivery of levodopa, we have evaluated the effect of two permeation enhancers, ethanol and oleic acid in microemulsion, on transdermal delivery of levodopa. In vitro flux studies were performed at $33^{\circ}C$, using side-by-side diffusion cell and full thickness hairless mouse skin. Current density applied was $0.4\;mA/cm^2$ and current was off after 6 hours application. Levodopa was analysed by HPLC at 280 nm. The o/w microemulsions of oleic acid in buffer solution (pH 2.5 & 4.5) were prepared using oleic acid, Tween 80 and ethanol. The existence of microemulsion regions were investigated in pseudo-ternary phase diagrams. Contrary to our expectation, cumulative amount of levodopa transported from microemulsion (pH 2.5) for 10 hours was similar to that from aqueous solution in all delivery methods (passive, anodal and cathodal). When pH of the micro-emulsion was pH 4.5, cumulative amount of levodopa transported for 10 hours increased about 40% (anodal) to 50% (cathodal), when compared to that from aqueous solution. Flux from pH 4.5 microemulsion showed higher value than that from pH 2.5 in all delivery methods. These results seem to indicate that electroosmosis plays more dominant role than electrorepulsion in the flux of levodopa at pH 2.5. The effect of ethanol on iontophoretic flux was studied using pH 2.5 phosphate buffer solution containing 3% or 5% (v/v) ethanol. Flux enhancement was observed in passive and anodal delivery as the concentration of the ethanol increased. Without ethanol, cathodal delivery showed higher flux than anodal delivery. Anodal delivery increased the cumulative amount of levodopa transported 1.6 fold by 5% ethanol after 10 hours. However, in cathodal delivery, no flux enhancement of levodopa was observed during current application and only marginal increase in cumulative amount transported after 10 hours was observed by 5% ethanol. These results seem to be related to the decrease in dielectric constant of the medium and the lipid extraction of the ethanol, which decrease the electroosmotic flow, and thus decrease the flux. Overall, the results provide important insights into the role of electroosmosis and electrorepulsion in the transport of levodopa through skin, and provide some useful informations for optimal formulation for levodopa.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.321-334
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• 2017

Process surveillance within agricultural biogas plants (BGPs) was concurrently studied by high-throughput 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and an optimized quantitative microscopic fingerprinting (QMF) technique. In contrast to 16S rRNA gene amplicons, digitalized microscopy is a rapid and cost-effective method that facilitates enumeration and morphological differentiation of the most significant groups of methanogens regarding their shape and characteristic autofluorescent factor 420. Moreover, the fluorescence signal mirrors cell vitality. In this study, four different BGPs were investigated. The results indicated stable process performance in the mesophilic BGPs and in the thermophilic reactor. Bacterial subcommunity characterization revealed significant differences between the four BGPs. Most remarkably, the genera Defluviitoga and Halocella dominated the thermophilic bacterial subcommunity, whereas members of another taxon, Syntrophaceticus, were found to be abundant in the mesophilic BGP. The domain Archaea was dominated by the genus Methanoculleus in all four BGPs, followed by Methanosaeta in BGP1 and BGP3. In contrast, Methanothermobacter members were highly abundant in the thermophilic BGP4. Furthermore, a high consistency between the sequencing approach and the QMF method was shown, especially for the thermophilic BGP. The differences elucidated that using this biphasic approach for mesophilic BGPs provided novel insights regarding disaggregated single cells of Methanosarcina and Methanosaeta species. Both dominated the archaeal subcommunity and replaced coccoid Methanoculleus members belonging to the same group of Methanomicrobiales that have been frequently observed in similar BGPs. This work demonstrates that combining QMF and 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing is a complementary strategy to describe archaeal community structures within biogas processes.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.166-172
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• 2003

Changes in the number of microorganisms, chemical composition, and sensory quality of chungkukjang by gamma-irradiation up to 120 kGy were investigated. The total viable cell counts in chungkukjang irradiated with 10 kGy decreased from $10^9\;CFU/g$ of the control to $10^5\;CFU/g$. Proximate chemical composition and pH of chungkukjang were not much affected by irradiation. Acidity of chungkukjang decreased by irradiation with over 20 kGy. Fatty acid contents of chungkukjang irradiated under 20 kGy were the same as those of the nonirradiated ones. Polyunsaturated fatty acids content, decreased at over 40 kGy. The color and odor of chungkukjang were not significantly affected by irradiation up to 20 kGy. Unpalatable odor (p<0.01), off-flavor (p<0.001), and fish-odor (p<0.001) increased, and brown intensity (p<0.05) and acceptability (p<0.001) decreased at over 20 kGy. Results indicate 20 kGy is sufficient to decrease the microbial count of chungkukjang and prevent decrease in the content of polyunsaturated fatty acids.