• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.9
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• pp.4827-4834
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• 2012

Tumor suppressor genes have received much attention for their roles in the development of human malignancies. Gelsolin has been found to be down-regulated in several types of human cancers, including leukemias. It is, however, expressed in macrophages, which are the final differentiation derivatives for the monocytic myeloid lineage, implicating this protein in the differentiation process of such cells. In order to investigate the role of gelsolin in leukaemic cell differentiation, stable clones over-expressing ectopic gelsolin, and a control clone were established from U937 leukaemia cells. Unlike the control cells, both gelsolin-overexpressing clones displayed retarded growth, improved monocytic morphology, increased NADPH and NSE activities, and enhanced surface expression of the ${\beta}$-integrin receptor, CD11b, when compared with the parental U937 cells. Interestingly, RT-PCR and western blot analysis also revealed that gelsolin enhanced p21CIP1 mRNA and protein expression in the overexpressing clones. Moreover, transient transfection with siRNA silencing P21CIP1, but not the control siRNA, resulted in a reduction in monocytic differentiation, accompanied by an increase in proliferation. In conclusion, our work demonstrates that gelsolin, by itself, is capable of inducing monocytic differentiation in U937 leukaemia cells, most probably through p21CIP1 activation.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.81-88
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• 2020

Regulator of calcineurin 1 (RCAN1) can be induced by an intracellular calcium increase and oxidative stress, which are characteristic features of temporal lobe epilepsy. Thus, we investigated the spatiotemporal expression and cellular localization of RCAN1 protein and mRNA in the mouse hippocampus after pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus (SE). Male C57BL/6 mice were given pilocarpine hydrochloride (280 mg/kg, i.p.) and allowed to develop 2 h of SE. Then the animals were given diazepam (10 mg/kg, i.p.) to stop the seizures and sacrificed at 1, 3, 7, 14, or 28 day after SE. Cresyl violet staining showed that pilocarpine-induced SE resulted in cell death in the CA1 and CA3 subfields of the hippocampus from 3 day after SE. RCAN1 immunoreactivity showed that RCAN1 was mainly expressed in neurons in the shammanipulated hippocampi. At 1 day after SE, RCAN1 expression became detected in hippocampal neuropils. However, RCAN1 signals were markedly enhanced in cells with stellate morphology at 3 and 7 day after SE, which were confirmed to be reactive astrocytes, but not microglia by double immunofluorescence. In addition, realtime reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction showed a significant upregulation of RCAN1 isoform 4 (RCAN1-4) mRNA in the SE-induced hippocampi. Finally, in situ hybridization with immunohistochemistry revealed astrocytic expression of RCAN1-4 after SE. These results demonstrate astrocytic upregulation of RCAN1 and RCAN1-4 in the mouse hippocampus in the acute and subacute phases of epileptogenesis, providing foundational information for the potential role of RCAN1 in reactive astrocytes during epileptogenesis.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2016.02a
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• pp.402.1-402.1
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• 2016

The performance of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) is directly related to the electrocatalytic activity of composite electrodes in which triple phase boundaries (TPBs) of metallic catalyst, oxygen ion conducting support, and gas should be three-dimensionally maximized. The distribution morphology of catalytic nanoparticle dispersed on external surfaces is of key importance for maximized TPBs. Herein in situ grown nickel nanoparticle onto the surface of fluorite oxide is demonstrated employing gadolium-nickel co-doped ceria ($Gd0.2-xNixCe0.8O2-{\delta}$, GNDC) by reductive annealing. GNDC powders were synthesized via a Pechini-type sol-gel process while maximum doping ratio of Ni into the cerium oxide was defined by X-ray diffraction. Subsequently, NiO-GNDC composite were screen printed on the both sides of yttrium-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) pellet to fabricate the symmetrical half cells. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) showed that the polarization resistance was decreased when it was compared to conventional Ni-GDC anode and this effect became greater at lower temperature. Ex situ microstructural analysis using scanning electron microscopy after the reductive annealing exhibited the exsolution of Ni nanoparticles on the fluorite phases. The influence of Ni contents in GNDC on polarization characteristics of anodes were examined by EIS under H2/H2O atmosphere. Finally, the addition of optimized GNDC into the anode functional layer (AFL) dramatically enhanced cell performance of anode-supported coin cells.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2016.02a
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• pp.319.1-319.1
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• 2016

Recently, the Al-doped ZnO (ZnO:Al) films are intensively used in thin film a-Si solar cell applications due to their high transmittance and good conductivity. The textured ZnO:Al films are used to enhance the light trapping in thin film solar cells. The wet etch process is used to texture ZnO:Al films by dipping in diluted acidic solutions like HCl or HF. During that process the glass substrate could be damaged by the acidic solution and it may be difficult to apply it for the inline mass production process since it has to be done outside the chamber. In this paper we report a new technique to control the surface morphology of RF-sputtered ZnO:Al films. The ZnO:Al films are textured with vaporized HF formed by the mixture of HF and H2SiO3 solution. Even though the surface of textured ZnO:Al films by vapor etching process showed smaller and sharper surface structures compared to that of the films textured by wet etching, the haze value was dramatically improved. We achieved the high haze value of 78% at the wavelength of 540 nm by increasing etching time and HF concentration. The haze value of about 58% was achieved at the wavelength of 800 nm when vapor texturing was used. The ZnO:Al film texture by HCl had haze ratio of about 9.5 % at 800 nm and less than 40 % at 540 nm. In addition to low haze ratio, the texturing by HCl was very difficult to control etching and to keep reproducibility due to its very fast etching speed.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2015.08a
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• pp.236.1-236.1
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• 2015

The surface morphology of front transparent conductive oxide (TCO) films is very important to achieve high current density in amorphous silicon (a-Si) thin film solar cells since it can scatter the light in a better way. In this study, we present the low cost hydrothermal deposited uniform zinc oxide (ZnO) nano-flower structure with various aspect ratios for a-Si thin film solar cells. The ZnO nano-flower structures with various aspect ratios were grown on the RF magnetron sputtered AZO films. The diameters and length of the ZnO nano-flowers was controlled by varying the annealing time. The length of ZnO nano-flowers were varied from 400 nm to $2{\mu}m$ while diameter was kept higher than 200 nm to obtain different aspect ratios. The ZnO nano-flowers with higher surface area as compared to conventional ZnO nano structure are preferred for the better light scattering. The conductivity and crystallinity of ZnO nano-flowers can be enhanced by annealing in hydrogen atmosphere at 350 oC. The vertical aligned ZnO nano-flowers showed higher haze ratio as compared to the commercially available FTO films. We also observed that the scattering in the longer wavelength region was favored for the high aspect ratio of ZnO nano-flowers. Therefore, we proposed low cost and vertically aligned ZnO nano-flowers for the high performance of thin film solar cells.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.331-337
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• 2010

A highly porous Biphasic Calcium Phosphate (BCP) scaffold was fabricated by the sponge replica method with a microwave sintering technique. The BCP scaffold had interconnected pores ranging from $80\;{\mu}m$ to $1000\;{\mu}m$, which were similar to natural cancellous bone. To enhance the mechanical properties of the porous scaffold, infiltration of polycaprolactone (PCL) was employed. The microstructure of the BCP scaffold was optimized using various volume percentages of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) for the infiltration process. PCL successfully infiltrated into the hollow space of the strut formed after the removal of the polymer sponge throughout the degassing and high pressure steps. The microstructure and material properties of the BCP scaffold (i.e., pore size, morphology of infiltrated and coated PCL, compressive strength, and porosity) were evaluated. When a 30 vol% of PMMA was used, the PCL-BCP scaffold showed the highest compressive strength. The compressive strength values of the BCP and PCL-BCP scaffolds were approximately 1.3 and 2MPa, respectively. After the PCL infiltration process, the porosity of the PCL-BCP scaffold decreased slightly to 86%, whereas that of the BCP scaffold was 86%. The number of pores in the $10\;{\mu}m$ to $20\;{\mu}m$ rage, which represent the pore channel inside of the strut, significantly decreased. The in-vitro study confirmed that the PCL-infiltrated BCP scaffold showed comparable cell viability without any cytotoxic behavior.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.153-166
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• 1988

The fine structure of the salivary glands of the pine moth, Dendrolimus spectabilis Butler, at the last larval period is observed using light and electron microscopes. The moths have single paired tubular salivary glands which openings are connected to the oral cavity through the upper jaw. By the external morphology and its functions, the glands are subdivided into three regions which are anterior reabsorptive region, middle storage region and posterior secretory region. Along the inner canal of the salivary gland two columns of the large glandular cells are connected each other and oriented to ring-like forms. By this cellular orientation, the glands have long and large tubular structure. From anterior to posterior region large nuclei of the glands are ramified like twigs of the tree, and in the cytoplasm of the cell numerous mitochondria and vacuoles are seen. Moreover, basal plasma membranes of the gland cells are heavily infolded. The anterior region of the glands keeps several characteristics related to the reabsorption of the material from the inner cavity to the glandular cells whereas, main salivary material is synthesized and secreted through the long and convoluted posterior region. The apical plasma membranes of the cells are the most heavily invaginated at the posterior regoin, but trachea and tracheoles are distributed only at the middle and posterior regions. In the cytoplasm of the middle region Golgi complexes appeared at the vicinity of the vesicles, and at the posterior region of the salivary glands multivesicular bodies are also observed.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.27-33
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• 1989

Six cases of ovarian fibrous stromal neoplasm were studied clinically, light microscopically and ultrastructurally for the clinico-pathological evidences of hormone production. Of the six cases, two cases were fibroma, three cases were fibrothecoma, and one case was thecoma. Two cases of fibroma and one fibrothecoma were associated with clinical history of menstrual abnormality, however fat staining of the tumor was negative or weakly positive. Two cases of fibrothecoma and one thecoma were negative for the clinical history of hormone imbalance. Fat stain of those cases revealed positive in varying intensity. Ultrastructural examination of fibroma-thecoma group revealed dark and pale cells by their nuclear characteristics. The dark cells had indented nucleus and abundant cytoplasmic organelles of rough ER, Golgi apparatus and mitochondria. Intracytoplasmic cisternal spaces were seen in the dark cell cytoplasm and some lipid droplets were seen around the cisternae. Pale cells had pale swollen nucleus and fine chromatins. Their cytoplasm showed scanty amount of organelles. Fibroma-thecoma spectrum showed varying degree of population of dark cells, light cells and intervening collagenous stroma. Lipid droplet was structurally associated with intracytoplasmic cisterna and they were frequently seen in thecoma and two of the fibrothecoma. But clinical history of hormone imbalance was poorly related to the light microscopic morphology and ultrastructural organization.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.10-22
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• 1994

To investigate the morphology of the synovial lining cells, synovitis was induced by carrageenin injection into the rat knee joint cavities. Synovial membranes were excised at 1, 3, 5, 7 and 14 days, and histologic, electron microscopic, histochemical (periodic acid Schiff: PAS, toluidine blue), and enzyme histochemical (acid phosphatase: ACP, nonspecific esterase: NSE and endogenous peroxidase) studies were performed. The results are as follows: Carrageenin induced synovial membrane hypertrophy with synovial cell proliferation and granuloma formation. The proliferated synovial lining cells and macrophages in the granulomatous lesion had round to oval nuclei and large, plump cytoplasm with many phagocytotic materials and vacuoles. Electron microscopically, these cells had small number of granular endoplasmic reticulum and many lysosomes, phagosomes and vaculoes. Mitotic figures were observed at early stage of experiment. PAS and toluidine blue stains showed strongly positive reaction in the cytoplasm of the proliferated lining cells and macrophages in granulomatous lesion. ACP and NSE activities were strong positive in the cytoplasm of the proliferated synovial lining cells and macrophages in the granulomatous lesion. But endogenous peroxidase stains were negative in all prolifeative lining cells and macrophages in granulomatous lesion. Conclusively, carrageenin-induced synovitis showed proliferation of synovial lining cells and granuloma formation in deep layer. The macrophages, which consisted of the lesions and have active phagocytic function, were speculated to proliferate by mitosis of superficial synovial A cells and histiocytes in the deep layer of the synovial membrane.

• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.31-35
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• 2011

Teeth develop via a reciprocal induction between the ectomesenchyme originating from the neural crest and the ectodermal epithelium. During complete formation of the tooth morphology and structure, many cells proliferate, differentiate, and can be replaced with other structures. Apoptosis is a type of genetically-controlled cell death and a biological process arising at the cellular level during development. To determine if apoptosis is an effective mechanism for eliminating cells during tooth development, this process was examined in the rat mandible including the developing molar teeth using the transferase-mediated dUTP-biotin nick labeling (TUNEL) method. The tooth germ of the mandibular first molar in the postnatal rat showed a variety of morphological appearances from the bell stage to the crown stage. Strong TUNEL-positive reactivity was observed in the ameloblasts and cells of the stellate reticulum. Odontoblasts near the prospective cusp area also showed a TUNEL positive reaction and several cells in the dental papilla, which are the forming pulp, were also stained intensively in this assay. Our results thus show that apoptosis may take place not only in epithelial-derived dental organs but also in the mesenchyme-derived dental papilla. Hence, apoptosis may be an essential biological process in tooth development.