• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.93-98
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• 2017

This experiment investigated characteristic changes in a $Cu_2ZnSnS_4$(CZTS) solar cell by applying a $Zn(O_x,S_{1-x})$ butter layer with various compositions on the upper side of the absorber layer. Among the four single layers such as $Zn(O_{0.76},S_{0.24})$, $Zn(O_{0.56},S_{0.44})$, $Zn(O_{0.33},S_{0.67})$, and $Zn(O_{0.17},S_{0.83})$, the $Zn(O_{0.76},S_{0.24})$ buffer layer was applied to the device due to its bandgap structure for suppressing electron-hole recombination. In the application of the $Zn(O_{0.76},S_{0.24})$ buffer layer to the device, the buffer layer in the device showed the composition of $Zn(O_{0.7},S_{0.3})$ because S diffused into the buffer layer from the absorber layer. The $Zn(O_{0.7},S_{0.3})$ buffer layer, having a lower energy level ($E_V$) than a CdS buffer layer, improved the $J_{SC}$ and $V_{OC}$ characteristics of the CZTS solar cell because the $Zn(O_{0.7},S_{0.3})$ buffer layer effectively suppressed electron-hole recombination. A substitution of the CdS buffer layer by the $Zn(O_{0.7},S_{0.3})$ buffer layer improved the efficiency of the CZTS solar cell from 2.75% to 4.86%.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.17 no.12
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• pp.963-968
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• 2009

Liquid crystal (LC; E7 and/or ML-0249)-embedded, poly(vinylidenefluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVdF-co-HFP)-based, polymer electrolytes were prepared for use in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The electrolytes contained 1-methyl-3-propylimidazolium iodide (PMII), tetrabutylammonium iodide (TBAI), and iodine ($I_2$), which participate in the $I_3^-/I^-$ redox couple. The incorporation of photochemically stable PVdF-co-HFP in the DSSCs created a stable polymer electrolyte that resisted leakage and volatilization. DSSCs, with liquid crystal(LC)-embedded PVdF-co-HFP-based polymer electrolytes between the amphiphilic ruthenium dye N719 absorbed to the nanocrystalline $TiO_2$ photoanode and the Pt counter electrode, were fabricated. These DSSCs displayed enhanced redox couple reduction and reduced charge recombination in comparison to that fabricated from the conventional PVdF-co-HFP-based polymer electrolyte. The behavior of the polymer electrolyte was improved by the addition of optimized amounts of plasticizers, such as ethylene carbonate (EC) and propylene carbonate (PC). The significantly increased short-circuit current density ($J_{sc}$, $14.60\;mA/cm^2$) and open-circuit voltage ($V_{oc}$, 0.68 V) of these DSSCs led to a high power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 6.42% and a fill factor of 0.65 under a standard light intensity of $100\;mW/cm^2$ irradiation of AM 1.5 sunlight. A DSSC fabricated by using E7-embedded PVdF-co-HFP-based polymer electrolyte exhibited a maximum incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency (IPCE) of 50%.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.42-48
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• 2011

Chloroplast genetic engineering of higher plants offers several unique advantages compared with nuclear genome transformation, such as high levels of transgene expression, a lack of position effect due to site-specific transgene integration by homologous recombination, multigene engineering in a single transformation event and reducing risks of gene flow via pollen due to maternal inheritance. We established a reproducible chloroplast transformation system of potato using a tobacco specific plastid transformation vector, pCtVG (trnI-Prrn-aadA-mgfp-TpsbA-trnA). Stable transgene integration into chloroplast genomes and the homoplasmic state of the transgenome were confirmed by PCR and Southern blot analyses. Northern, immunoblot analysis, and GFP fluorescence imaging revealed high expression and accumulation of GFP in the plastids of potato leaves. This system would provide new opportunities for genetic improvement and mass production of value added foreign proteins in this crop.

• The Journal of Dong Guk Oriental Medicine
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.141-148
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• 1999

A simple and rapid FoLT(formamide low temperature)-PCR, whereby human genomic DNA from blood can be amplified without DNA preparative stps, is described using human insulin genes. By applicatin of FoLT-PCR in human insulin genes, intragenic polymorphism in non-coding regions of the human insulin gene was shown after amplification and analysis by restriction enzyme digestion. All nucleotide sequences were the same as the reported, and four necleotides, at 4 different positions were polymorphic, and polymorphic alleles ${\alpha}4$, ${\alpha}5$, ${\alpha}6$, and ${\beta}2$ were identified. The new alleles were originated from homologous recombination between the ${\alpha}1$ and ${\beta}1$ alleles, and the alleles were founded in heterozygotes only. Although allele ${\alpha}1$ was dominant, the new alleles and ${\beta}1$ were recessive. From the results, it was suggested that the new method of FoLT-PCR was highly applicable in genetic variation analysis.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.23-29
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• 2005

Background: Interleukin-7 receptor (IL-7R) ${\alpha}$-deficient mice have small numbers of B cells and ${\alpha}{\beta}$T cells in periphery, they totally lack ${\gamma}{\delta}$T cells. In addition, the V-J recombination and transcription of TCR ${\gamma}$ genes is also severely impaired in IL-7R ${\alpha}$-deficient mice. Stat5, a signaling molecule of the IL-7R, induces germline transcription in the TCR ${\gamma}$ locus, and promotes V-J recombination and ${\gamma}{\delta}$T cell development. However, the roles for IL-7R signaling pathway in thymic or extrathymic ${\gamma}{\delta}$T cell development are largely unknown. Methods: To clarify the role of the IL-7 receptor in proliferation and survival of ${\gamma}{\delta}$T cells, we introduced the TCR ${\gamma}{\delta}$ transgene, $V_{{\gamma}2}/V{\delta}_5$, into IL-7R ${\alpha}$-deficient mice, and investigated the development of ${\gamma}{\delta}$T cells. Results: We found that $V_{{\gamma}2}/V{\delta}_5$ transgene restored ${\gamma}{\delta}$T cells in the epithelium of the small intestine (IEL) but not in the thymus and the spleen. Further addition of a bcl-2 transgene resulted in partial recovery of ${\gamma}{\delta}$T cells in the thymus and the spleen of these mice. Conclusion: Taken together, this study revealed that the IL-7R ${\alpha}$ is indispensable for proliferation and survival mainly in thymic ${\gamma}{\delta}$T cell development.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Surface Engineering Conference
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• 2016.11a
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• pp.59-75
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• 2016

Reduced or black $TiO_{2-x}$ materials with oxygen-deficiency have been achieved by creating oxygen vacancies and/or defects at the surface using different methods. Fascinatingly, they exhibited an extended absorption in VIS and IR instead of only UV light with bandgap decrease from 3.2 (anatase) to ~1 eV. However, despite the dramatic enhancement of optical absorption in black $TiO_{2-x}$ materials, they have failed to show expected visible light-assisted water splitting efficiency. This was ascribed to the high concentration of the surface defects and/or oxygen vacancies, considered as an electron donor to enhance donor density and improve the charge transportation in black $TiO_2$ can also act as charge recombination centers, which eventually decrease photocatalytic activity. Therefore, a black ot reducd $TiO_2$ material with optimized properties would be highly desired for visible light photocatalysis. In this report, a new controlled magnesiothermic reduction has been developed to synthesize reduced black $TiO_{2-x}$ in the presence $H_2/Ar$ for photocatalytic $H_2$ production from methanol-water system. The material possesses an optimum band gap and band position, oxygen vacancies, and surface defects and shows significantly improved optical absorption in the visible and infrared region. The synergistic effects enable the reduced $TiO_{2-x}$ material to show an excellent hydrogen production ability along with long-term stability under the full solar wavelength range of light and visible light, respectively, in the methanol-water system in the presence of Pt as a co-catalyst. These values are superior to those of previously reported black $TiO_2$ materials. On the basis of all the results, it can be realized that the outstanding activity and stability of the reduced of $TiO_{2-x}$ NPs suggest that a balanced combination of different factors like $Ti^{3+}$, surface defects, oxygen vacancy, and recombination center is achieved along with optimized bandgap and band position during the preparation employing magnesiothermic reduction in the presence of $H_2$. The controlled magnesiothermic reduction in the presence of $H_2$ is one of the best alternative ways to produce active and stable $TiO_2-based$ photocatalyst for $H_2$ production.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.15 no.4 s.71
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• pp.542-547
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• 2005

Hypersensitivity of cells lacking Brcal to DNA interstrand .ross-link (ICL) agents such as cisplatin and mitomycin C(MMC) implicates the important role of Brcal in cellular response following ICL treatment. Brca1 plays an essential role in DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair through homologous recombination (HR)-dependent and -independent process. Recently, our group has been reported that Brca1 involves in cellular ICL response through HR-dependent repair process (Yun J. et at., Oncogene 2005). In this report, the involvement of Brca1 protein in HR-independent repair process is examined using isogenic $p53^{-/-}\;and\;p53^{-/-}\;Brcal^{-/-}$ mouse embryonic fibroblast (MEF) and psoralen cross-linked reporter reactivation assay. Brcal-deficient MEFs showed significantly low HR-independent repair activity compare to Brca1-proficient MEFs. Hypersensitivity to MMC and ICL reporter repair activity were restored by the reconstitution of Brca1 expression. Interestingly, MEFs expressing exon 11-deleted isoform of Brca1 $(Brca1^{\Delta11/\Delta11})$ showed high resistance to MMC and ICL reporter repair activity comparable to Brca1-reconstituted MEFs. Taken together, these results suggest that Brca1 involves in ICL repair through not only HR-dependent process but also HR-independent process using N-terminal RINC finger domain or C-terminal BRCT domain rather than exon 11 region which mediate interaction with Rad50.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.1253-1257
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• 2011

The surface structures, adsorption conditions, and thermal desorption behaviors of cyclopentanethiol (CPT) self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on Au(111) were investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and thermal desorption spectroscopy (TDS). STM imaging revealed that although the adsorption of CPT on Au(111) at room temperature generates disordered SAMs, CPT molecules at $50^{\circ}C$ formed well-ordered SAMs with a $(2{\surd}3{\times}{\surd}5)R41^{\circ}$ packing structure. XPS measurements showed that CPT SAMs at room temperature were formed via chemical reactions between the sulfur atoms and gold surfaces. TDS measurements showed two dominant TD peaks for the decomposed fragments ($C_5H_9^+$, m/e = 69) generated via C-S bond cleavage and the parent molecular species ($C_5H_9SH^+$, m/e = 102) derived from a recombination of the chemisorbed thiolates and hydrogen atoms near 440 K. Interestingly, dimerization of sulfur atoms in n-alkanethiol SAMs usually occurs during thermal desorption and the same reaction did not happen for CPT SAMs, which may be due to the steric hindrance of cyclic rings of the CPT molecules. In this study, we demonstrated that the alicyclic ring of organic thiols strongly affected the surface structure and thermal desorption behavior of SAMs, thus providing a good method for controlling chemical and physical properties of organic thiol SAMs.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2004.05a
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• pp.142-145
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• 2004

In this work, we have investigated the application of rapid thermal processing (RTP) and plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD) for surface passivation. Rapid thermal oxidation (RTO) has sufficiently low surface recombination velocities (SRV) $S_{eff}$ in spite of a thin oxides and short process time. The effective lifetime is increasing with an increase of the oxide thickness. In the same oxide thickness, The effective lifetime is independent on the process temperature and time. $S_{eff,max}$ is exponentially decreased with increasing oxide thickness. $S_{eff,max}$ can be reduced to 200 cm/s with only 10 nm oxide thickness. On the other hand, three different types of SiN are reviewed. SiN1 layer has a thickness of about 72 nm and a refractive index of 2.8. Also, The SiN1 has a high passivation quality. The effective lifetime and SRV of 1 $\Omega$ cm Float zone (FZ) silicon deposited with SiN1 is about 800 s and under 10 cm/s, respectively. The SiN2 is optimized for the use as an antireflection layer since a refractive index of 2.3. The SiN3 is almost amorphous silicon caused by less contents of N2 from total process. The effective lifetime on the FZ 1 ${\Omega}cm$ is over 1000 ${\mu}s$.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.99-107
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• 2015

A natural hybrid of a probable intergeneric mating between the striped shiner Pungtungia herzi and the stone morocco Pseudorasbora parva (Cypriniformes: Cyprinidae) was captured in the Geumho River, a tributary of the Nakdong River basin in Korea. Morphological characters and DNA sequences were analyzed to verify its hybrid state and identify the parentage of its parent species. The hybrid exhibited a phenotypic intermediacy between the two parent species in the number of vertebrae and the mouth shape. Out of 1,488 base pair (bp) positions of the nuclear recombination activating gene 1 gene (rag1), which has a biparental mode of inheritance, 41-bp substitutions were detected between the two parent species, whereas an electropherogram of the hybrid displayed polymorphic double peaks at all of the base positions, along with one additional one, strongly indicating its hybrid state. Meanwhile, sequence comparison of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene (mt-cyb) (1,140 bp), which has a maternal mode of inheritance, showed only 5-22-bp differences (97.6-99.5% identities) between the hybrid and Pu. herzi, but as many as 158-168-bp differences (85.2-86.1% identities) between the hybrid and Ps. parva, clearly indicating Pu. herzi as the maternal species. Thus, combined analyses of independent data sets (i.e., morphology and nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequences) offered convincing evidence for the hybrid state of a naturally occurring hybrid resulting from intergeneric mating between a female Pu. herzi and a male Ps. parva.