• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.26 no.12
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• pp.1079-1086
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• 2003

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of trauma on cytochrome P450 (CYP) gene expression and to determine the role of Kupffer cells in trauma-induced alteration of CYP isozymes. Rats underwent closed femur fracture (FFx) with associated soft-tissue injury under anesthesia. To deplete Kupffer cells in vivo, gadolinium chloride ($GdCl_3$) was intravenously injected at 7.5 mg/kg body wt., 1 and 2 days prior to FFx surgery. At 72 h of FFx, liver tissues were isolated to determine the mRNA and protein expression of CYP isozymes and NADPH-P450 reductase by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and Western immunoblotting, respectively. In addition, the mRNA levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-$\alpha$), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) were evaluated. FFx increased the mRNA level of CYP1A1; an increase that was not prevented by $GdCl_3$. There were no significant differences in the mRNA expression of CYP1A2, 2B1 and 2E1 among any of the experimental groups. The protein levels of CYP2B1 and 2E1 were significantly decreased by FFx; a decrease that was not prevented by $GdCl_3$ treatment. The gene expression of NADPH-P450 reductase was unchanged by FFx. FFx significantly increased the expression of TNF-$\alpha$ mRNA; an increase that was attenuated by $GdCl_3$. The mRNA expression of HO-1 was increased by FFx, but not by $GdCl_3$ . Our findings suggest that FFx differentially regulates the expression of CYP isozyme through Kupffer cell-independent mechanisms.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.49 no.6
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• pp.595-603
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• 2016

Rare-earth zirconates, including lanthanum zirconate and gadolinium zirconate, have been investigated as ones of the most promising candidates for next-generation thermal barrier coating (TBC) materials due to their excellent properties such as low thermal conductivity, chemical stability at high temperature and so on. In this study, TBCs with three compositions, in the $La_2O_3-Gd_2O_3-ZrO_2$ system with reduced rare-earth contents from $RE_2Zr_2O_7$ compositions, were fabricated by using suspension plasma spray with different suspension preparation methods. The phase formation, microstructure, and thermal properties of TBCs were examined. In particular, each coating exhibited single fluorite phase and a dense, vertically-separated microstructure. The potential of coatings with rare-earth zirconates for TBC applications was also discussed.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.49 no.6
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• pp.604-611
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• 2016

In order to comply with demand for high efficient gas turbines operating at higher temperatures, considerable amounts of research efforts have been performed with searching for the next-generation thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) with respect to coating materials as well as processing methods. In this study, thermal barrier coatings in the $(La_{1-x}Gd_x)_2Zr_2O_7$ system, which is one of the most versatile materials replacing yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ), are fabricated by suspension plasma spray with suspension made of synthesized powders via solidstate reaction. Dense, $100{\sim}400{\mu}m$ thick coatings of fluorite-phase zirconate with moderate amount of segmented microstructures are obtained by using suspension plasma spray. Phase formation and thermal diffusivity are characterized with coating compositions. The feasibility of $(La_{1-x}Gd_x)_2Zr_2O_7$ coatings for TBC applications is also discussed.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.164-168
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• 2016

Lean duplex stainless steels with 0.087 wt.% gadolinium (Gd) were inert arc-melted and cast in molds of size $10mm{\times}10mm{\times}20mm$. The micro-hardnesses of the rolling direction (RD), transverse direction (TD) and short transverse (ST) direction were $258.5H_V$, $292.3H_V$, and $314.7H_V$, respectively. A 33% cold rolled specimen had the crystallographic texture that (100) pole was mainly concentrated to the normal direction (ND) and (110) pole was concentrated in the center of ND and RD. The corrosion potential and corrosion rate in artificial seawater and $0.1M\;H_2SO_4$ solution were in the range of $105.6-221.6mV_{SHE}$, $0.59-1.06mA/cm^2$, and $4.75-8.25mV_{SHE}$, $0.69-1.68mA/cm^2$, respectively. The friction coefficient and wear loss of the 0.087 w/o Gd-lean duplex stainless steels in artificial seawater were about 67% and 65% lower than in air, whereas the wear efficiency was 22% higher. The corrosion and wear behaviors of the 0.087 w/o Gd-lean duplex stainless steels significantly depended on the Gd phases.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.53 no.5
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• pp.494-499
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• 2016

In this work, the effects of different sintering inhibitors added to $La_{0.8}Sr_{0.2}MnO_{3-{\partial}}$ (LSM) were studied to obtain an optimum cathode material for cathode-supported type of Solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) in terms of phase stability, mechanical strength, electric conductivity and porosity. Four different sintering inhibitors of $Al_2O_3$, $CeO_2$, NiO and gadolinium doped ceria (GDC) were mixed with LSM powder, sintered at $1300^{\circ}C$ and then they were evaluated. The phase stability, sintering behavior, electrical conductivity, mechanical strength and microstructure were evaluated in order to assess the performance of the mixture powder as cathode support material. It has been found that the addition of $Al_2O_3$ undesirably decreased the electrical conductivity of LSM; other sintering inhibitors, however, showed sufficient levels of electrical conductivity. GDC and NiO addition showed a promising increase in mechanical strength of the LSM material, which is one of the basic requirements in cathode-supported designs of fuel cells. However, NiO showed a high reactivity with LSM during high temperature ($1300^{\circ}C$) sintering. So, this study concluded that GDC is a potential candidate for use as a sintering inhibitor for high temperature sintering of cathode materials.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.7 no.5
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• pp.801-804
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• 2006

[ $GdAlO_3(GAO)$ ] buffer layer for $YBa_2Cu_3O_{7-{\delta}}(YBCO)$ coated superconductor wire was fabricated by sol-gel processing. Precursor solution was prepared by dissolving 1:1 stoichiometric quantaties of gadolinium nitrate hexahydrate and aluminum nitrate nonahydrate in methanol. The solution was spin-coated on $SrTiO_3(STO)$(100) single crystal substrates and heated at $1000^{\circ}C$ for 2h in wet $N_2-5%\; H_2$, atmosphere. A SEM(scanning electron microscopy) observation of the surface morphology of the GAO layer has shown that it has a faceted morphology indicating epitaxy. It was shown from x-ray diffraction(XRB) that GAO buffer layer was highly c-axis oriented epitaxial thin film with both good out-of-plane($FWHM=0.29^{\circ}$ for the (002) reflection) and in-plane ($FWHM=1.10^{\circ}$ for the {112} reflection) alignment.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.304-309
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• 2008

Cryptand series ion exchange resins were synthesized with 1-aza-12-crown-4 macrocyclic ligand attached to styrene (4 series dangerous matter) divinylbenzene (DVB) copolymer with crosslink of 1％, 2％, 4％ and 8％ by a substitution reaction. The synthesis of these resins was confirmed by content of chlorine, element analysis, electron micrograph, and IR-spectrum. The effects of pH, time, dielectric constant of solvent and crosslink on adsorption of uranium (${UO_2}^{2+}$) ion were investigated. The uranium ion showed a fast adsorption on the resins above pH 3. The optimum equilibrium time for adsorption of metallic ions was about two hours. The adsorption selectivity determined in ethanol was in increasing order uranium (${UO_2}^{2+}$) > nickel ($Ni^{2+}$) > gadolinium ($Gd^{3+}$) ion. The adsorption was in order of 1％, 2％, 4％, and 8％ crosslinked resin and adsorption of resin decreased in proportion to order of dielectric constant of solvents.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.43-47
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• 2005

We have developed a small bore x-ray CT for small animal imaging with a linear x-ray detector array and small-scale slip rings. The linear x-ray detector array consists of 1024 elements of 400□m×400□m with a gadolinium oxysulfide (GOS) scintillator on top of them. To avoid use of expensive large diameter slip rings for projection data transmission from the X­ray detector to the image reconstruction system, we used the wireless LAN technology. The projection data are temporally stored in the data acquisition system residing on the rotating gantry during the scan and they are transmitted to the image reconstruction system after the scan. With the wireless LAN technology, we only needed to use small-scale slip rings to deliver the AC electric power to the X-ray generator and the power supply on the rotating gantry. The performances of the small animal CT system, such as SNR, contrast, and spatial resolution, have been evaluated through experiments using various phantoms. It has been experimentally found that the SNR is almost linearly proportional to the tube current and tube voltage, and the minimum resolvable contrast is less than 30 CT numbers at 40kVp/3.0㎃. The spatial resolution of the small animal CT system has been found to be about 0.9Ip/㎜. Postmortem images of a piglet is also presented.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.55 no.4
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• pp.226-229
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• 2014

We describe a rare case of intradural-extramedullary primary spinal cysticercosis. A 42-year-old man visited our institute for lower back pain. He denied having consumed raw meet. Magnetic resonance (MR) images revealed an intradural pure cystic mass at the L3-L4 level. A radiologic diagnosis of spinal arachnoid cyst was established. Three years later, he complained of aggravated back pain, and follow-up MR examination showed a markedly expanded cyst, occupying the subarachnoid space from the T11 to the S1 level. L2 hemilaminectomy was performed, and a yellowish infected cyst bulged out through the dural opening. The cyst was removed en bloc. The histopathological findings of the cyst were consistent with parasitic infection. Serum enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) confirmed the presence of spinal cysticercosis. As there was no intracranial lesion, the final diagnosis was primary spinal cysticercosis, which is very rare. MR imaging is a sensitive diagnostic tool for detecting cystic lesions in the spine; however, it is difficult to distinguish cysticercosis from non-infectious cysts such as an arachnoid cyst without using gadolinium enhancement. Clinicians treating spinal cysts with an unusual clinical course should include cysticercosis as a differential diagnosis. We recommend contrast-enhanced MR imaging and serum ELISA in the diagnostic work-up of such cases.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.90-97
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• 2020

Background: To minimize damage to the ovarian reserve, it is necessary to evaluate the follicular density in the ovarian tissue surrounding endometriosis on preoperative imaging. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the usefulness of subtraction pelvic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to detect ovarian reserve. Methods: A subtracted T1-weighted image (^subT1WI) was obtained by subtracting unenhanced T1WI from contrast-enhanced T1WI (^ceT1WI) with similar parameters in 22 patients with ovarian endometriosis. The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in ovarian endometriosis, which was classified into the high signal intensity and iso-to-low signal intensity groups on the T2-weighted image, was compared to that in normal ovarian tissue. To evaluate the effect of contrast enhancement, a standardization map was obtained by dividing ^subT1WI by ^ceT1WI. Results: On visual assessment of 22 patients with ovarian endometriosis, 16 patients showed a high signal intensity, and 6 patients showed an iso-to-low signal intensity on T1WI. Although SNR in endometriosis with a high signal intensity was higher than that with an iso-to-low signal intensity, there was no difference in SNR after the subtraction (13.72±77.55 vs. 63.03±43.90, p=0.126). The area of the affected ovary was smaller than that of the normal ovary (121.10±22.48 vs. 380.51±75.87 ㎟, p=0.002), but the mean number of pixels in the viable remaining tissue of the affected ovary was similar to that of the normal ovary (0.53±0.09 vs. 0.47±0.09, p=0.682). Conclusion: The subtraction technique used with pelvic MRI could reveal the extent of endometrial invasion of the normal ovarian tissue and viable remnant ovarian tissue.