• Applied Microscopy
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• 제50권
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• pp.16.1-16.11
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• 2020

Silk is produced by a variety of insects, but only silk made by terrestrial arthropods has been examined in detail. To fill the gap, this study was designed to understand the silk spinning system of aquatic insect. The larvae of caddis flies, Hydatophylax nigrovittatus produce silk through a pair of labial silk glands and use raw silk to protect themselves in the aquatic environment. The result of this study clearly shows that although silk fibers are made under aquatic conditions, the cellular silk production system is quite similar to that of terrestrial arthropods. Typically, silk production in caddisworm has been achieved by two independent processes in the silk glands. This includes the synthesis of silk fibroin in the posterior region, the production of adhesive glycoproteins in the anterior region, which are ultimately accumulated into functional silk dope and converted to a silk ribbon coated with gluey substances. At the cellular level, each substance of fibroin and glycoprotein is specifically synthesized at different locations, and then transported from the rough ER to the Golgi apparatus as transport vesicles, respectively. Thereafter, the secretory vesicles gradually increase in size by vesicular fusion, forming larger secretory granules containing specific proteins. It was found that these granules eventually migrate to the apical membrane and are exocytosed into the lumen by a mechanism of merocrine secretion.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제21권1호
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• pp.93-99
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• 2011

Amongst a number of potential nonviral vectors, cationic liposomes have been actively researched, with both gemini surfactants and bola amphiphiles reported as being in possession of good structures in terms of cell viability and in vitro transfection. In this study, a cholesterol-based diquaternary ammonium gemini surfactant (Chol-GS) was synthesized and assessed as a novel nonviral gene vector. Chol-GS was synthesized from cholesterol by way of four reaction steps. The optimal efficiency was found to be at a weight ratio of 1:4 of lipid:DOPE (1,2-dioleoyl-L-${\alpha}$- glycero-3-phosphatidylethanolamine), and at a ratio of between 10:1~15:1 of liposome:DNA. The transfection efficiency was compared with commercial liposomes and with Lipofectamine, 1,2-dimyristyloxypropyl-3-dimethylhydroxyethylammonium bromide (DMRIE-C), and N-[1-(2,3-dioleoyloxy)propyl]-N,N,N-trimethylammonium chloride (DOTAP). The results indicate that the efficiency of Chol-GS is greater than that of all the tested commercial liposomes in COS7 and Huh7 cells, and higher than DOTAP and Lipofectamine in A549 cells. Confirmation of these findings was observed through the use of green fluorescent protein expression. Chol-GS exhibited a moderate level of cytotoxicity, at optimum concentrations for efficient transfection, indicating cell viability. Hence, the newly synthesized Chol-GS liposome has the potential of being an excellent nonviral vector for gene delivery.

• 한국세라믹학회지
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• 제48권4호
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• pp.298-302
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• 2011

This study developed a pigment by doping Cr to Pyrochlore-type stannate crystals and investigated the chromogenic relationship in a glaze. Crystal phases of the pigment according to firing temperatures were analyzed by XRD, and the doping relationship was analyzed by Raman Spectroscopy. Color and reflection rate of the pigment were measured by UV-vis Spectrophotometer. Consequently, stannate characteristic band appeared at 307, 408, 505 and $755cm^{-1}$ until 0.1 mole substitution of $Cr_2O_3$. However, as amount of $Cr_2O_3$ increased, the stannate characteristic peak was decreased and shift happened at the left hand side due to Cr-dope. In composition of 0.12~0.14 mole substituted, the unreacted $Cr_2O_3$ stannate characteristic peak, which was not engaged, was shown. This result shows the maximum limit of solid solution was 0.1 mole $Cr_2O_3$. The color of the glaze, which was produced by adding 6 wt% of $Y_2Sn_{1.94}Cr_{0.06}O_7$ pigment in a lime or a lime-magnesia glaze and fired the mixture at $1260^{\circ}C$, was grayish pink with $L^*$ 70.29, $a^*$ 5.68 and $b^*$ 6.27. It showed gray with $L^*$ 68.82, $a^*$ 3.07and $b^*$ 8.13 for $Y_2Sn_{1.9}Cr_{0.1}O_7$.

• Carbon letters
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• 제11권3호
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• pp.176-183
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• 2010

PAN precursor fibers were produced via wet-spinning process, and effects of polymerization and spinning processes, especially the stretching process, were investigated on mechanical properties and micro-morphologies of precursor fibers. An increase in molecular weight, dope solid and densification and a decrease in surface defects were possible by controlling polymerization temperature, the number of heating rollers for densification and the jet stretch ratio, which improved the mechanical properties of precursor fibers. The curves for strength, modulus, tensile power and diameter as a function of stretch ratio can be divided into three stages: steady change area, little change area and sudden change area. With the increase of stretch ratio, the fiber diameter became smaller, the degree of crystallization increased and the structure of precursor fibers became compact and homogeneous, which resulted in the increase of strength, modulus and tensile power of precursor fibers. Empirical relationship between fiber strength and stretch ratio was studied by using the sub-cluster statistical theory. It was successfully predicted when the strengths were 0.8 GPa and 1.0 GPa under a certain technical condition, the corresponding stretch ratio of the fiber were 11.16 and 12.83 respectively.

• 전기학회논문지
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• 제60권6호
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• pp.1169-1174
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• 2011

CdTe thin-film solar cell technology is well known that it can theoretically improve its conversion efficiency and manufacturing costs compared to the conventional silicon solar cell technology, due to its optical band gap energy (about 1.45eV) for solar energy absorption, high light absorption capability and low cost requirements for producing solar cells. Although the prior studies obtained the high light absorption, CdTe thin film solar cell has not been come up to the sufficient efficiency yet. So, doping method was selected for the improvement of the electrical characteristics in CdTe solar cells. Some elements including Cu, Ag, Cd and Te were generally used for the p-dopant as substitutional acceptors in CdTe thin film. In this study, the sputtering-deposited CdTe thin film was immersed in $AgNO_3$ solution for ion exchange method to dope Ag ions. The effects of immersion temperature and Ag-concentration were investigated on the optical properties and electrical characteristics of CdTe thin film by using Auger electron spectroscopy depth-profile, UV-visible spectrophotometer, and a Hall effect measurement system. The best optical and electrical characteristics were sucessfully obtained by Ag doping at high temperature and concentration. The larger and more uniform diffusion of Ag ions made increase of the Ag ion density in CdTe thin film to decrease the series resistance as well as mede the faster diffusion of light by the metal ions to enhance the light absorption.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제14권12호
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• pp.7473-7482
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• 2013

The G-protein coupled receptor 87 (GPR87) is a recently discovered orphan GPCR which means that the search of their endogenous ligands has been a novel challenge. GPR87 has been shown to be overexpressed in squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) or adenocarcinomas in lungs and bladder. The 3D structure of GPR87 was here modeled using two templates (2VT4 and 2ZIY) by a threading method. Functional assignment of GPR87 by SVM revealed that along with transporter activity, various novel functions were predicted. The 3D structure was further validated by comparison with structural features of the templates through Verify-3D, ProSA and ERRAT for determining correct stereochemical parameters. The resulting model was evaluated by Ramachandran plot and good 3D structure compatibility was evidenced by DOPE score. Molecular dynamics simulation and solvation of protein were studied through explicit spherical boundaries with a harmonic restraint membrane water system. A DRY-motif (Asp-Arg-Tyr sequence) was found at the end of transmembrane helix3, where GPCR binds and thus activation of signals is transduced. In a search for better inhibitors of GPR87, in silico modification of some substrate ligands was carried out to form polar interactions with Arg115 and Lys296. Thus, this study provides early insights into the structure of a major drug target for SCCs.

• 공업화학
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• 제26권6호
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• pp.681-685
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• 2015

본 연구에서는 열 변색 물질로 알려진 순수한 $BiVO_4$ 분말과 금속이 도핑된 $M-BiVO_4$ (M = Mg, Cu) 분말들을 bismuth nitrate ($Bi(NO_3)_3$)와 ammonium vanadate ($NH_4VO_3$)의 혼합 수용액으로부터 고압반응기에서 수열 합성법을 통하여 성공적으로 제조하였다. 시료들의 결정구조, 미세구조 및 열 변색 특성들은 FE-SEM, FT-IR, XRD, DSC, UV-Vis-NIR 분광기 및 colorimeter를 이용하여 분석하였다. 시료를 상전이 온도 이상으로 가열시키면, 순수한 $BiVO_4$ 시료에 비하여 $M-BiVO_4$ (M = Mg, Cu) 시료의 색상이 상대적으로 선명하게 열 변색하였다.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• 제1권3호
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• pp.215-230
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• 2010

Poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene), PVDF-HFP, hollow fiber membranes were prepared by the dry/wet spinning technique using different polyethylene glycol (PEG) concentrations as non-solvent additive in the dope solution. Two different PEG concentrations (3 and 5 wt.%). The morphology and structural characteristics of the hollow fiber membranes were studied by means of optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and void volume fraction. The experimental permeate flux and the salt (NaCl) rejection factor were determined using direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) process. An increase of the PEG content in the spinning solution resulted in a faster coagulation of the PVDF-HFP copolymer and a transition of the cross-section internal layer structure from a sponge-type structure to a finger-type structure. Pore size, nodule size and roughness parameters of both the internal and external hollow fiber surfaces were determined by AFM. It was observed that both the pore size and roughness of the internal surface of the hollow fibers enhanced with increasing the PEG concentration, whereas no change was observed at the outer surface. The void volume fraction increased with the increase of the PEG content in the spinning solution resulting in a higher DCMD flux and a smaller salt rejection factor.

• BMB Reports
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• 제44권11호
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• pp.758-763
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• 2011

Immunostimulatory CpG-DNA targeting TLR9 is one of the most extensively evaluated vaccine adjuvants. Previously, we found that a particular form of natural phosphodiester bond CpG-DNA (PO-ODN) encapsulated in a phosphatidyl-${\beta}$-oleoyl-${\gamma}$-palmitoyl ethanolamine (DOPE) : cholesterol hemisuccinate (CHEMS) (1 : 1 ratio) complex (Lipoplex(O)) is a potent adjuvant. Complexes containing peptide and Lipoplex(O) are extremely useful for B cell epitope screening and antibody production without carriers. Here, we showed that IL-12 production was increased in bone marrow derived dendritic cells in a CpG sequence-dependent manner when PO-ODN was encapsulated in Lipoplex(O), DOTAP or lipofectamine. However, the effects of Lipoplex(O) surpassed those of PO-ODN encapsulated in DOTAP or lipofectamine and also other various forms of liposome-encapsulated CpG-DNA in terms of potency for protein antigen-specific IgG production and Th1- associated IgG2a production. Therefore, Lipoplex(O) may have a unique potent immunoadjuvant activity which can be useful for various applications involving protein antigens as well as peptides.

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• 제10권1호
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• pp.24-27
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• 2009

N-doped ZnO thin films were deposited on n-type Si(100) and homo-buffer layer, and undoped ZnO thin film was also deposited on homo-buffer layer by RF magnetron sputtering method. After deposition, all films were in-situ annealed at $800^{\circ}C$ for 5 minutes in ambient of $O_2$ with pressure of 10Torr. X -ray diffraction shows that the homo-buffer layer is beneficial to the crystalline of N-doped ZnO thin films and all films have preferable c-axis orientation. Atomic force microscopy shows that undoped ZnO thin film grown on homo-buffer layer has an evident improvement of smoothness compared with N-dope ZnO thin films. Hall-effect measurements show that all ZnO films annealed at $800^{\circ}C$ possess p-type conductivities. The undoped ZnO film has the highest carrier concentration of $1.145{\times}10^{17}cm{-3}$. The photoluminescence spectra show the emissions related to FE, DAP and many defects such as $V_{Zn}$, $Zn_O$, $O_i$ and $O_{Zn}$. The p-type defects ($O_i$, $V_{Zn}$, and $O_{Zn}$) are dominant. The undoped ZnO thin film has a better p-type conductivity compared with N-doped ZnO thin film.