• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제24권9호
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• pp.1216-1225
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• 2014

Biofilm-related infections of Candida albicans are a frequent cause of morbidity and mortality in hospitalized patients, especially those with immunocompromised status. Options of the antifungal drugs available for successful treatment of drug-resistant biofilms are very few, and as such, new strategies need to be explored against them. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of phenylpropanoids of plant origin against planktonic cells, important virulence factors, and biofilm forms of C. albicans. Standard susceptibility testing protocol was used to evaluate the activities of 13 phenylpropanoids against planktonic growth. Their effects on adhesion and yeast-to-hyphae morphogenesis were studied in microplate-based methodologies. An in vitro biofilm model analyzed the phenylpropanoid-mediated prevention of biofilm development and mature biofilms using XTT-metabolic assay, crystal violet assay, and light microscopy. Six molecules exhibited fungistatic activity at ${\leq}0.5mg/ml$, of which four were fungicidal at low concentrations. Seven phenylpropanoids inhibited yeast-to-hyphae transition at low concentrations (0.031-0.5 mg/ml), whereas adhesion to the solid substrate was prevented in the range of 0.5-2 mg/ml. Treatment with ${\leq}0.5mg/ml$ concentrations of at least six small molecules resulted in significant (p < 0.05) inhibition of biofilm formation by C. albicans. Mature biofilms that are highly resistant to antifungal drugs were susceptible to low concentrations of 4 of the 13 molecules. This study revealed phenylpropanoids of plant origin as promising candidates to devise preventive strategies against drug-resistant biofilms of C. albicans.

• 통합자연과학논문집
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• 제3권3호
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• pp.143-147
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• 2010

Since it is of great importance to know how a ligand binds to a receptor, there have been a lot of efforts to improve the quality of prediction of docking poses. Earlier efforts were focused on improving search algorithm and scoring function in a docking program resulting in a partial improvement with a lot of variations. Although these are basically very important and essential, more tangible improvements came from the reduction of search space. In a normal docking study, the approximate active site is assumed to be known. After defining active site, scoring functions and search algorithms are used to locate the expected binding pose within this search space. A good search algorithm will sample wisely toward the correct binding pose. By careful study of receptor structure, it was possible to prioritize sub-space in the active site using "receptor-based pharmacophores" or "hot spots". In a sense, these techniques reduce the search space from the beginning. Further improvements were made when the bound ligand structure is available, i.e., the searching could be directed by molecular similarity using ligand information. This could be very helpful to increase the accuracy of binding pose. In addition, if the biological activity data is available, docking program could be improved to the level of being useful in affinity prediction for a series of congeneric ligands. Since the number of co-crystal structures is increasing in protein databank, "Ligand-Guided Docking" to reduce the search space would be more important to improve the accuracy of docking pose prediction and the efficiency of virtual screening. Further improvements in this area would be useful to produce more reliable docking programs.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• 제42권2호
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• pp.199-207
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• 2018

Background: Ginseng is a well-known traditional Chinese medicine that has been widely used in a range of therapeutic and healthcare applications in East Asian countries. Microbial transformation is regarded as an effective and useful technology in modification of nature products for finding new chemical derivatives with potent bioactivities. In this study, three minor derivatives of ginsenoside compound K were isolated and the inducing effects in the Wingless-type MMTV integration site (Wnt) signaling pathway were also investigated. Methods: New compounds were purified from scale-up fermentation of ginsenoside Rb1 by Paecilomyces bainier sp. 229 through repeated silica gel column chromatography and high pressure liquid chromatography. Their structures were determined based on spectral data and X-ray diffraction. The inductive activities of these compounds on the Wnt signaling pathway were conducted on MC3T3-E1 cells by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis. Results: The structures of a known 3-keto derivative and two new dehydrogenated metabolites were elucidated. The crystal structure of the 3-keto derivative was reported for the first time and its conformation was compared with that of ginsenoside compound K. The inductive effects of these compounds on osteogenic differentiation by activating the Wnt/b-catenin signaling pathway were explained for the first time. Conclusion: This study may provide a new insight into the metabolic pathway of ginsenoside by microbial transformation. In addition, the results might provide a reasonable explanation for the activity of ginseng in treating osteoporosis and supply good monomer ginsenoside resources for nutraceutical or pharmaceutical development.

• 한국전기전자재료학회논문지
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• 제14권2호
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• pp.104-110
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• 2001

Structural, optical and electrical properties of Cd$_{1-x}$ Zn$_{x}$S films deposited by chemical bath deposition(CBD), which is a very attractive method for low-cost and large-area solar cells, are presented. Especially, in order to control more effectively the zinc component of the films, zinc acetate, which was used as the zinc source, was added in the reaction solution after preheating the reaction solution and the pH of the reaction solution decreased with increasing the concentration of zinc acetate. The films prepared after preheating and pH control had larger zinc component and higher optical band gap. The crystal structures of Cd$_{1-x}$ Zn$_{x}$S films was a wurtzite type with a preferential orientation of the (002) plane and the lattice constants of the films changed from the value for CdS to those for ZnS with increasing the mole ratio of the zinc acetate. The minimum lattice mismatch between Cd$_{1-x}$ Zn$_{x}$S and CdTe were 2.7% at the mole ratio of (ZnAc$_2$)/(CdAc$_2$+ZnAc$_2$)=0.4. As the more zinc substituted for Cd in the films, the optical transmittance improved, while the absorption edge shifted toward a shorterwavelength. the photoconductivity of the films was higher than the dark conductivity, while the ratio of those increased with increasing the mole ratio of zinc acetate. acetate.

• Molecules and Cells
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• 제37권2호
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• pp.100-108
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• 2014

Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) is an intracellular pathogen that has evolved to survive in the phagosome of macrophages. The periplasmic copper-binding protein CueP was initially known to confer copper resistance to S. Typhimurium. Crystal structure and biochemical studies on CueP revealed a putative copper binding site surrounded by the conserved cysteine and histidine residues. A recent study reported that CueP supplies copper ions to periplasmic Cu,Zn-superoxide dismutase (SodCII) at a low copper concentration and thus enables the sustained SodCII activity in the periplasm. In this study, we investigated the role of CueP in copper resistance at a high copper concentration. We observed that the survival of a cueP-deleted strain of Salmonella in macrophage phagosome was significantly reduced. Subsequent biochemical experiments revealed that CueP specifically mediates the reduction of copper ion using electrons released during the formation of the disulfide bond. We observed that the copper ion-mediated Fenton reaction in the presence of hydrogen peroxide was blocked by CueP. This study provides insight into how CueP confers copper resistance to S. Typhimurium in copper-rich environments such as the phagosome of macrophages.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국신재생에너지학회 2007년도 추계학술대회 논문집
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• pp.17-18
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• 2007

Solid oxide fuel cells are clean, pollution-free technology for the electrochemical generation of electricity at high efficiency. Specially, the polarization resistance between electrolyte and electrode of SOFC unit cell is of importance, because it is desirable to develop SOFC operating at intermediate temperature below $800^{\circ}C$. The LSCF cathode prepared using modified oxalate method was investigated with different electrolyte. A precursor was prepared with oxalic acid, ethanol and $NH_4OH$ solution. The LSCF precursor was prepared at $80^{\circ}C$, and pH control was 2, 6, 8, 9 and 10. The precursor powder was calcined at $800^{\circ}C$, $1000^{\circ}C$ and $1200^{\circ}C$ for 4hrs. The crystal of LSCF powders show single phase at pH 2, 6, 8 and 9, and the average particle size was about $3{\mu}m$. The LSCF cathode with heat treatment at $1200^{\circ}C$ showed a plot of electric conductivity versus temperature. Unit cell prepared from the LSCF cathode, buffer layer between cathode and electrolyte and the LSGM, YSZ, ScSZ and CeSZ electrolyte. Also interface reaction between LSCF, buffer layer and electrolyte were measured by EPMA and the polarization resistance for unit cell with cycle measure using a Solatron 1260 analyzer.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제17권4호
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• pp.2311-2314
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• 2016

Pistagremic acid (PA) is a bioactive triterpenoid isolated from various parts of Pistacia integerrima plants. The aim of this research was to investigate PA for reversion of multidrug resistant (MDR) mediated by P-glycoprotein using rhodamine-123 exclusion study on a multidrug resistant human ABCB1 (ATP-binding cassette, sub-family B, member 1) gene-transfected mouse T-lymphoma cell line in vitro. Results were similar to those with verapamil as a positive control. Docking studies of PA and standard Rhodamine123 were carried out against a P-gp crystal structure which showed satisfactory results. Actually, PA cannot bind exactly where co-crystallized ligand of P-gp is already present. However, the docking study predicted that if a compound gives a lesser score then it may have some potency. The docking scores of PA and Rhodamine were similar. Therefore, we can conclude that there are certain important chemical features of PA which are responsible for the inhibiting potency of P-gp.

• 한국진공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국진공학회 2014년도 제46회 동계 정기학술대회 초록집
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• pp.367-367
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• 2014

Transparent conductive oxides (TCOs) 박막은 가시광선영역에서의 높은 투과율과 낮은 저항 특성을 동시에 갖고 있어 최근 smart windows, solar cells, liquid crystal displays (LCD), organic light emitting devices (OLED)등과 같은 최첨단 기기에 필수적인 구성요소로 활발히 사용되고 있다. 따라서, 현재까지 FTO ($SnO_2:F$), ITO ($In_2O_3:Sn$), ATO ($SnO_2:Sb$)등과 같은 다양한 TCO들이 많은 연구자들에 의해 연구되고 있다. 그 중 ITO는 우수한 전기적(${\sim}10^{-4}{\Omega}cm$) 및 광학적(~85%) 특성 때문에 현재 상업적으로 활발히 응용되고 있는 대표적인 물질이다. 하지만 ITO의 주된 구성요소인 indium은 제한적인 매장량과 과도한 소비량 때문에 원가가 비싸다는 문제점이 있다. 반면에, ATO는 우수한 전기적(${\sim}10^{-3}{\Omega}cm$) 및 광학적(~80%) 특성뿐만 아니라 구성물질들의 매장량이 풍부하여 ATO의 원가가 저렴하다는 장점을 가지고 있어 현재 ITO을 대체 할 수 물질로 관심 받고 있다 [1]. 지금까지 우수한 특성을 갖는 ATO박막을 합성하는 방법으로 sol-gel spin coating, sputtering, spray pyrolysis, chemical vapor deposition (CVD)등이 알려져 있다. 이 중에서도, sol-gel spin coating과 spray pyrolysis은 solution기반의 합성법으로 분류되며 합성과정이 간단하고 비용이 저렴하다는 장점이 있고 현재까지 많은 연구가 보고되었다. 그러나, 진공기반이 아닌 우수한 특성을 갖는 solution기반의 ATO박막을 합성하기 위해서는 새로운 합성법의 개발이 학문적으로나 산업적으로도 매우 중요한 이슈이다. 따라서, 본 연구에서는 electrospray을 활용하여 solution기반의 ATO박막을 처음으로 합성하였다. 게다가 ATO박막에 열처리온도에 따른 구조, 화학, 전기, 광학적 특성을 확인하기 위하여 X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Hall Effect Measurement System, UV spectrophotometer를 사용하였다. 이러한 실험 결과들을 바탕으로 electrospray을 통해 합성된 solution기반의 ATO박막에 자세한 특성을 본 학회에서 다루도록 하겠다.

• 한국전기전자재료학회논문지
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• 제14권5호
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• pp.383-390
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• 2001

We have investigated the L $i_{1+x}$M $n_2$ $O_4$system as a cathode material for lithium rechargeable batteries. To improve the cycle performance of spinel LiM $n_2$ $O_4$ as the cathode of 4V class lithium secondary batteries, spinel phase L $i_{1+x}$M $n_2$ $O_4$(x=0, 0.025, 0.05, 0.075) was prepared at 75$0^{\circ}C$ for 48h. The preparation of L $i_{1+x}$M $n_2$ $O_4$ from L $i_2$ $O_3$ and Mn $O_2$ under air is studied. The compounds were synthesized by using solid-state reaction. Structural refinements were carried out with a Rietveld-refinement program. Electrochemical properties were examined using the Li/L $i_{1+x}$M $n_2$ $O_4$ cells. The capacity of L $i_{1+x}$M $n_2$ $O_4$ decreases with increases lithium content, while the cycle life improves. The initial discharge capacity are 118mAh/g and 116mAh/g for LiM $n_2$ $O_4$ decreases with increases lithium content, while the cycle life improves. The initial discharge capacity are 118mAh/g and 116mAh/g for LiM $n_2$ $O_4$ and L $i_{1.025}$M $n_2$ $O_4$, respectively.pectively.

• 한국표면공학회지
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• 제29권6호
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• pp.862-868
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• 1996

Cadmium sulfide is commonly used as the window material for thin film solar cells, and can be prepared by several techniques such as sputtering, spray pyrolysis, close spaced sublimation (CSS), thermal evaporation, solution growth methods, etc. In this study, CdS films were deposited by thermal evaporation, close spaced sublimation, and solution growth methods, respectively, and the effects of the methods on physical properties of polycrystalline CdS deposited on ITO/glass were investigated. Also, the effects of variously prepared CdS thin films on the physical properties of CdTe deposited on the CdS were investigated. The thickness of polycrystalline CdS films was maintained at $0.3\mu\textrm{m}$ except for the solution grown CdS when $0.2\mu\textrm{m}$ thick CdS was deposited. After the deposition, all the samples were annealed at $400^{\circ}C$ or $500^{\circ}C$ in H2 atmosphere. To investigate physical properties of the deposited and annealed CdS thin films, UV-VIS spectro-photometry, X-ray diffractometry (XRD), and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), and cross sectional transmission electron microscopy(XTEM) were used to analyze grain size, crystal structure, preferred orientation, optical properties, etc. The annealed CdS showed the bandedge transition at 510nm and the optical transmittance high than 80% for all of the variously deposited films. XRD results showed that CdS thin films variously deposited and annealed had the same hexagonal structures, however, showed different preferred orientations. CSS grown CdS had [103] preferred orientation, thermally evaporated CdS had [002], and CdS grown by the solution growth had no preferred orientation. The largest grain size was obtained for the CSS grown CdS while the least grain size was obtained for the solution grown CdS. Some of the physical properties of CdTe deposited on the CdS thin film such as grain size at the junction and grain orientation were affected by the physical properties of CdS thin films.