• Biomaterials and Biomechanics in Bioengineering
• /
• 제4권1호
• /
• pp.21-32
• /
• 2019

Eggshell is a waste material after the usage of egg. In this work, biowaste chicken eggshells were used for preparing carbonated hydroxyapatite (HA) nanoparticles of high purity through aqueous precipitation method at room temperature. The eggshell-derived HA will be a cost-effective bioceramics for biomedical applications and an effective material-recycling technology. Additionally, mulberry leaf extract was used as a template to regulate the morphology, size and crystallinity of HA, and the effects of pH value were also examined. Characterization of the samples was performed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to determine the size, shape and morphology of HA. The results indicate that only one phase of HA were synthesized in the both absence and presence of mulberry leaf extract at pH of 7 and above, while DCPD or DCPA/DCPD phase was observed at pH 4 condition. The crystallite sizes of the HA samples obviously decreased when adding mulberry leaf extract as a template, while they decreased gradually as the solution pH levels increased. With increasing pH level from 7 to 14, the rod-like HA nanoparticles gradually changed to spherical shape at pH 14. Note that, the obtained product is Mg and Sr containing A- and B-type carbonate HA at alkaline pH and it can be a potential material for biomedical applications.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• 제29권9호
• /
• pp.519-524
• /
• 2019

Spherical $Li_3V_2(PO_4)_3$ (LVP) and carbon-coated LVP with a monoclinic phase for the cathode materials are synthesized by a hydrothermal method using $N_2H_4$ as the reducing agent and saccharose as the carbon source. The results show that single phase monoclinic LVP without impurity phases such as $LiV(P_2O_7)$, $Li(VO)(PO_4)$ and $Li_3(PO_4)$ can be obtained after calcination at $800^{\circ}C$ for 4 h. SEM and TEM images show that the particle sizes are $0.5{\sim}2{\mu}m$ and the thickness of the amorphous carbon layer is approximately 3~4 nm. CV curves for the test cell are recorded in the potential ranges of 3.0~4.3 V and 3.0~4.8 V at a scan rate of $0.01mV\;s^{-1}$ and at room temperature. At potentials between 3.0 and 4.8 V, the third $Li^+$ ions from the carbon-coated LVP can be completely extracted, at voltages close to 4.51 V. The carbon-coated LVP exhibits an initial specific discharge capacity of $118mAh\;g^{-1}$ in the voltage region of 3.0 to 4.3 V at a current rate of 0.2 C. The results indicate that the reducing agent and carbon source can affect the crystal structure and electrochemical properties of the cathode materials.

• Journal of the Korean Society for information Management
• /
• 제37권4호
• /
• pp.225-253
• /
• 2020

This study aims to investigate bibliometric services practices of foreign libraries by service types and suggest practical considerations for Korean libraries wishing to implement bibliometric services. Through the examination of previous research and library websites, nine types of bibliometric services were identified under two broad categories - education & consulting services and research evaluation & research trend services. According to the service types, a wide range of bibliometric services activities were analyzed and described. Recommendations from the study for service development include: building an institutional repository for scholarly output; developing subject guides and education programs at the initial phase of service and providing more advanced services such as consulting and analysis services at the later phase; identifying the potential service needs of researcher groups.

• New Physics: Sae Mulli
• /
• 제68권11호
• /
• pp.1183-1191
• /
• 2018

The plasmon behaviors in a superlattice of $GaAs/Al_xGa_{1-x}As$ multiple quantum wells with a half-parabolic confining potential due to different dielectric interfaces are studied under magnetic and electric fields perpendicular and parallel to the superlattice axis by using a previously published theoretical framework. From the density-density correlation functions by considering the intrasubband and the inter-subband transitions under the random phase approximation, we calculate the dispersion energies of the surface and the bulk states as functions of the composition of the multiple quantum well structure and of the magnetic field strength and the average electric field strength over the quantum well. The Raman intensities for various magnetic field strengths and average electric field strengths over the quantum well are also obtained as a function of the energy of the incoming light for these states.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• 제32권7호
• /
• pp.885-891
• /
• 2022

Plant-based protein sources such as soybean meal have low digestibility and are generally promoted accumulation of undigested proteins into the intestine by enzymatic treatments. Moreover, potential intestinal pathogens ferment undigested proteins, producing harmful substances, such as ammonia, amines and phenols, leading to an overactive immune response and diarrhea in weaned pigs. As a solution, dietary proteases hydrolyze soybean-based antinutritive factors, which negatively affect immune responses and gut microbiota. In this study, we investigated the effects of dietary proteases (PRO) in a low-crude protein (CP) commercial diet on the immune responses and gut microbiota of weaned pigs. The experimental design consisted of three dietary treatments: a commercial diet as a positive control (PC; phase1 CP = 23.71%; phase 2 CP: 22.36%), a lower CP diet than PC as negative control (NC; 0.61% less CP than PC), and NC diet supplement with 0.02% PRO. We found that PRO tended to decrease the frequency of diarrhea in the first two weeks after weaning compared with PC and NC. In addition, pigs fed PRO showed decreased TNF-α and TGF-β1 levels compared with those fed PC and NC. The PRO group had a higher relative proportion of the genus Lactobacillus and lower levels of the genus Streptococcus than the PC and NC groups. In conclusion, the addition of PRO to a low CP commercial weaned diet attenuated inflammatory responses and modified gut microbiota in weaned pigs.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• 제53권2호
• /
• pp.603-610
• /
• 2021

The major drawback of zirconia-based materials, in view of their applications as targets for minor actinide transmutation, is their poor thermal conductivity. The addition of MgO, which has high thermal conductivity, to zirconia-based materials is expected to improve their thermal conductivity. On these grounds, the present study aims at phase characterization and thermophysical property evaluation of neodymium-substituted zirconia (Zr_0.8Nd_0.2O_1.9; using Nd₂O₃ as a surrogate for Am₂O₃) and its composites with MgO. The composite was prepared by a solid-state reaction of Zr_0.8Nd_0.2O_1.9 (synthesized by gel combustion) and commercial MgO powders at 1773 K. Phase characterization was carried out by X-ray diffraction and the microstructural investigation was performed using a scanning electron microscope equipped with energy dispersive spectroscopy. The linear thermal expansion coefficient of Zr_0.8Nd_0.2O_1.9 increases upon composite formation with MgO, which is attributed to a higher thermal expansivity of MgO. Similarly, specific heat also increases with the addition of MgO to Zr_0.8Nd_0.2O_1.9. Thermal conductivity was calculated from measured thermal diffusivity, temperature-dependent density and specific heat values. Thermal conductivity of Zr_0.8Nd_0.2O_1.9-MgO (50 wt%) composite is more than that of typical UO₂ fuel, supporting the potential of Zr_0.8Nd_0.2O_1.9-MgO composites as target materials for minor actinides transmutation.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
• /
• 제63권6호
• /
• pp.1286-1300
• /
• 2021

The objective of this study was to evaluate in vitro antimicrobial and anti-biofilm activity of sodium long chain polyphosphate (SLCPP) and effect of dietary supplementation of SLCPP on growth performance, organ characteristics, blood metabolites, and intestinal microflora of broilers. Antimicrobial activities of SLCPP were observed against Escherichia coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella enterica ser. Pullorum, Shigella sonnei, Klebsiella pneumonia, Pseudomonas aeruginosa in agar well diffusion assay. In addition, SLCPP demonstrated good anti-biofilm activity against K. pneumonia and P. aeruginosa. Furthermore, to investigate the dietary effect of SLCPP, a total of 480 1-day-old male Ross 308 broiler chicks were randomly allotted to three dietary treatment groups (4 replicates per group, 40 birds in each replicate): an antibiotic-free corn-soybean meal basal diet (NC); basal diet + enramycin 0.01% (PC); and basal diet + 0.1% SLCPP (SPP). The experiment lasted for 35 days. Results showed that birds fed with SLCPP had higher body weight (BW) and average daily gain (ADG), and lower feed conversion ratio (FCR) during the grower phase (days 7 to 21) (p < 0.05). Except for blood urea nitrogen, all other blood biochemical parameters remained unaffected by the dietary supplementation of SLCPP. Compared to the control group, lengths of the duodenum and ileum in the SPP group were significantly shorter (p < 0.05). Moreover, counts of lactic acid bacteria (LAB), total aerobes, and Streptococcus spp. in jejunum as well as LAB in cecum were increased in the SPP group than in the PC group (p < 0.05). These results suggest that dietary supplementation of SLCPP might promote the growth of broilers in their early growth phase.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
• /
• 제23권1호
• /
• pp.207-223
• /
• 2023

Gastric cancer (GC) is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Under the standard of care, patients with advanced GC (AGC) have a median survival time of approximately 12-15 months. With the emergence of immunotherapy as a key therapeutic strategy in medical oncology, relevant changes are expected in the systemic treatment of GC. In the phase III ATTRACTION-2 trial, nivolumab, a monoclonal anti-programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) antibody, as a third- or later-line treatment improved overall survival (OS) compared with placebo in patients with AGC. Furthermore, nivolumab in combination with 5-fluorouracil and platinum as a first-line treatment improved OS in patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2)-negative AGC in the global phase III CheckMate-649 study. Another anti-PD-1 antibody, pembrolizumab, in combination with trastuzumab and cytotoxic chemotherapy as a first-line treatment, significantly improved the overall response rate in patients with HER2-positive AGC. Therefore, immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are essential components of the current treatment of GC. Subsequent treatments after ICI combination therapy, such as ICI rechallenge or combination therapy with agents having other modes of action, are being actively investigated to date. On the basis of the success of immunotherapy in the treatment of AGC, various clinical trials are underway to apply this therapeutic strategy in the perioperative and postoperative settings for patients with early GC. This review describes recent progress in immunotherapy and potential immunotherapy biomarkers for GC.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
• /
• 제31권5호
• /
• pp.550-558
• /
• 2023

Hair loss is a common condition that can have a negative impact on an individual's quality of life. The severe side effects and the low efficacy of current hair loss medications create unmet needs in the field of hair loss treatment. Hyaluronan and Proteoglycan Link Protein 1 (HAPLN1), one of the components of the extracellular matrix, has been shown to play a role in maintaining its integrity. HAPLN1 was examined for its ability to impact hair growth with less side effects than existing hair loss treatments. HAPLN1 was predominantly expressed in the anagen phase in three stages of the hair growth cycle in mice and promotes the proliferation of human hair matrix cells. Also, recombinant human HAPLN1 (rhHAPLN1) was shown to selectively increase the levels of transforming growth factor-β receptor II in human hair matrix cells. Furthermore, we observed concomitant activation of the ERK1/2 signaling pathway following treatment with rhHAPLN1. Our results indicate that rhHAPLN1 elicits its cell proliferation effect via the TGF-β2-induced ERK1/2 pathway. The prompt entering of the hair follicles into the anagen phase was observed in the rhHAPLN1-treated group, compared to the vehicle-treated group. Insights into the mechanism underlying such hair growth effects of HAPLN1 will provide a novel potential strategy for treating hair loss with much lower side effects than the current treatments.

• International Journal of Computer Science & Network Security
• /
• 제23권4호
• /
• pp.172-178
• /
• 2023

When the mobile device moves from the coverage of one access point to the radio coverage of another access point it needs to maintain its connection with the current access point before it successfully discovers the new access point, this process is known as handoff. During handoff the acceptable delay a voice over IP application can bear is of 50ms whereas the delay on medium access control layer is high enough that goes up to 350-500ms. This research provides a suitable methodology on medium access control layer of the IEEE 802.11 network. The medium access control layer comprises of three phases, namely discovery, reauthentication and re-association. The discovery phase on medium access control layer takes up to 90% of the total handoff latency. The objective is to effectively reduce the delay for discovery phase to ensure a seamless handoff. The research proposes a scheme that reduces the handoff latency effectively by scanning channels prior to the actual handoff process starts and scans only the neighboring access points. Further, the proposed scheme enables the mobile device to scan first the channel on which it is currently operating so that the mobile device has to perform minimum number of channel switches. The results show that the mobile device finds out the new potential access point prior to the handoff execution hence the delay during discovery of a new access point is minimized effectively.