• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제29권6호
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• pp.923-932
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• 2019

Current strategies of strain improvement processes are mainly focused on enhancing the synthetic pathways of the products. However, excessive metabolic flux often creates metabolic imbalances, which lead to growth retardation and ultimately limit the yield of the product. To solve this problem, we applied a dynamic regulation strategy to produce $\text\tiny{L}$-phenylalanine ($\text\tiny{L}$-Phe) in Escherichia coli. First, we constructed a series of Phe-induced promoters that exhibited different strengths through modification of the promoter region of tyrP. Then, two engineered promoters were separately introduced into a Phe-producing strain xllp1 to dynamically control the expression level of one pathway enzyme AroK. Batch fermentation results of the strain xllp3 showed that the titer of Phe reached 61.3 g/l at 48 h, representing a titer of 1.36-fold of the strain xllp1 (45.0 g/l). Moreover, the $\text\tiny{L}$-Phe yields on glucose of xllp3 (0.22 g/g) were also greatly improved, with an increase of 1.22-fold in comparison with the xllp1 (0.18 g/g). In summary, we successfully improved the titer of Phe by using dynamic regulation of one key enzyme and this strategy can be applied for improving the performance of strains producing other aromatic amino acids and derived compounds.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• 제51권spc1호
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• pp.1057-1066
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• 2018

Climate change has been influenced on extreme precipitation events, which are major driving causes of flooding. Especially, most of extreme water-related disasters in Korea occur from floods induced by extreme precipitation events. However, future climate change scenarios simulated with Global Circulation Models (GCMs) or Reigonal Climate Models (RCMs) are limited to the application on medium and small size rivers and urban watersheds due to coarse spatial and temporal resolutions. Therefore, the current study introduces the state-of-the-art approaches and procedures of statistical downscaling techniques to resolve this limitation It is expected that the temporally downscaled data allows frequency analysis for the future precipitation and estimating the design precipitation for disaster prevention.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• 제33권1호
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• pp.33-41
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• 2019

Estimating fatigue damage is a very important issue in the design of ships. The springing and whipping response, which is the hydro-elastic response of the ship, can increase the fatigue damage of the ship. So, these phenomena should be considered in the design stage. However, the current studies on the the application of springing and whipping responses at the design stage are not sufficient. So, in this study, a prediction method was developed using fluid-structural interaction analysis to assess of the fatigue damage induced by springing and whipping. The stress transfer function (Stress RAO) was obtained by using the 3D FE model in the frequency domain, and the fatigue damage, including linear springing, was estimated by using the wide band damage model. We also used the 1D beam model to develop a method to estimate the fatigue damage, including nonlinear springing and whipping by the vertical bending moment in the short-term sea state. This method can be applied to structural members where fatigue strength is weak to vertical bending moments, such as longitudinal stiffeners. The methodology we developed was applied to 325K VLOC, and we analyzed the effect of the springing and whipping phenomena on the existing design.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• 제28권11호
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• pp.653-658
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• 2018

$ZrO_2$ is a candidate material for hip and knee joint replacements because of its excellent combination of biocompatibility, corrosion resistance and low density. However, the drawback of pure $ZrO_2$ is a low fracture toughness at room temperature. One of the most obvious tactics to cope with this problem is to fabricate a nanostructured composite material. Nanomaterials can be produced with improved mechanical properties(hardness and fracture toughness). The high-frequency induction heated sintering method takes advantage of simultaneously applying induced current and mechanical pressure during sintering. As a result, nanostructured materials can be achieved within very short time. In this study, W and $ZrO_2$ nanopowders are mechanochemically synthesized from $WO_3$ and Zr powders according to the reaction($WO_3+3/2Zr{\rightarrow}W+3/2ZrO_2$). The milled powders are then sintered using high-frequency induction heating within two minutes under the uniaxial pressure of 80MPa. The average fracture toughness and hardness of the nanostructured W-3/2 $ZrO_2$ composite sintered at $1300^{\circ}C$ are $540kg/mm^2$ and $5MPa{\cdot}m^{1/2}$, respectively. The fracture toughness of the composite is higher than that of monolithic $ZrO_2$. The phase and microstructure of the composite is also investigated by XRD and FE-SEM.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• 제57권4호
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• pp.519-524
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• 2019

Even though stainless steel foil is not a highly efficient material for film-type solar cell, it has strong passivation capability without additional process. In this study, silicone resin was employed during a-Si:H thin film solar cell fabrication for the purpose of planarization and electrical insulation. In the first stage of process, silicone resin was coat onto the stainless steel (STS) using spin coater with thickness of $2{\sim}3{\mu}m$ and followed by aluminum deposition using ion beam application. Unexpectedly buckling was formed during aluminum deposition process. After subsequent fabrication processes, solar cell performance was evaluated. In voltage-current data, slight increase of cell performance was obtained and interpreted by the increase of light scattering.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• 제43권3호
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• pp.368-376
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• 2019

Background: In the current phytochemical research on ginseng, the differentiation and structural identification of ginsenosides isomers remain challenging. In this paper, a two-dimensional mass spectrometry (2D-MS) method was developed and combined with statistical analysis for the direct differentiation, identification, and relative quantification of protopanaxadiol (PPD)-type ginsenoside isomers. Methods: Collision-induced dissociation was performed at successive collision energy values to produce distinct profiles of the intensity fraction (IF) and ratio of intensity (RI) of the fragment ions. To amplify the differences in tandem mass spectra between isomers, IF and RI were plotted against collision energy. The resulting data distributions were then used to obtain the parameters of the fitted curves, which were used to evaluate the statistical significance of the differences between these distributions via the unpaired t test. Results: A triplet and two pairs of PPD-type ginsenoside isomers were differentiated and identified by their distinct IF and RI distributions. In addition, the fragmentation preference of PPD-type ginsenosides was determined on the basis of the activation energy. The developed 2D-MS method was also extended to quantitatively determine the molar composition of ginsenoside isomers in mixtures of biotransformation products. Conclusion: In comparison with conventional mass spectrometry methods, 2D-MS provides more direct insights into the subtle structural differences between isomers and can be used as an alternative approach for the differentiation of isomeric ginsenosides and natural products.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• 제23권5호
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• pp.317-328
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• 2019

It is known that top-down associative inputs terminate on distal apical dendrites in layer 1 while bottom-up sensory inputs terminate on perisomatic dendrites of layer 2/3 pyramidal neurons (L2/3 PyNs) in primary sensory cortex. Since studies on synaptic transmission in layer 1 are sparse, we investigated the basic properties and cholinergic modulation of synaptic transmission in layer 1 and compared them to those in perisomatic dendrites of L2/3 PyNs of rat primary visual cortex. Using extracellular stimulations of layer 1 and layer 4, we evoked excitatory postsynaptic current/potential in synapses in distal apical dendrites (L1-EPSC/L1-EPSP) and those in perisomatic dendrites (L4-EPSC/L4-EPSP), respectively. Kinetics of L1-EPSC was slower than that of L4-EPSC. L1-EPSC showed presynaptic depression while L4-EPSC was facilitating. In contrast, inhibitory postsynaptic currents showed similar paired-pulse ratio between layer 1 and layer 4 stimulations with depression only at 100 Hz. Cholinergic stimulation induced presynaptic depression by activating muscarinic receptors in excitatory and inhibitory synapses to similar extents in both inputs. However, nicotinic stimulation enhanced excitatory synaptic transmission by ~20% in L4-EPSC. Rectification index of AMPA receptors and AMPA/NMDA ratio were similar between synapses in distal apical and perisomatic dendrites. These results provide basic properties and cholinergic modulation of synaptic transmission between distal apical and perisomatic dendrites in L2/3 PyNs of the visual cortex, which might be important for controlling information processing balance depending on attentional state.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• 제23권5호
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• pp.381-392
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• 2019

Sperm function and male fertility are closely related to pH dependent $K^+$ current (KSper) in human sperm, which is most likely composed of Slo3 and its auxiliary subunit leucine-rich repeat-containing protein 52 (LRRC52). Onion peel extract (OPE) and its major active ingredient quercetin are widely used as fertility enhancers; however, the effect of OPE and quercetin on Slo3 has not been elucidated. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of quercetin on human Slo3 channels. Human Slo3 and LRRC52 were co-transfected into HEK293 cells and pharmacological properties were studied with the whole cell patch clamp technique. We successfully expressed and measured pH sensitive and calcium insensitive Slo3 currents in HEK293 cells. We found that OPE and its key ingredient quercetin inhibit Slo3 currents. Inhibition by quercetin is dose dependent and this degree of inhibition decreases with elevating internal alkalization and internal free calcium concentrations. Functional moieties in the quercetin polyphenolic ring govern the degree of inhibition of Slo3 by quercetin, and the composition of such functional moieties are sensitive to the pH of the medium. These results suggest that quercetin inhibits Slo3 in a pH and calcium dependent manner. Therefore, we surmise that quercetin induced depolarization in spermatozoa may enhance the voltage gated proton channel (Hv1), and activate non-selective cation channels of sperm (CatSper) dependent calcium influx to trigger sperm capacitation and acrosome reaction.

• The Korean Journal of Archival Studies
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• 제44호
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• pp.217-241
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• 2015

The sinking of the Sewol ferry has not only induced an intense conflict in Korean society but also been developed into a sociopolitical issue. This paper divides this accident into five stages and examines the records produced at each stage. The Sewolho Citizen Archive Network and the Ansan Citizen Record Committee began the archiving of Sewol and created the 416 Archives. The records of Sewol are social and political records that hold envidencial and historical value. They can be used to rebuild and recover the wounded community as well as to investigate the truth behind the case. Accident archiving collects materials different to the ones which public archiving does, allowing people to view the incident from a different standpoint. It is also characterized as an archiving of the current issue, social movement and regional community. Accident archiving is a method which ensures credibility and impartiality in memory. In light of Sewol archives, accident archiving can contribute to form mature democracy.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• 제57권3호
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• pp.438-443
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• 2019

A new measurement method is suggested to quantify the phosphate poisoning of cathodic Pt catalyst for HT-PEMFC. To do that, hydrogen peroxide was used as an indicator to reduce the error which has been occurred in conventional electrochemical measurement such as CV or ORR RDE with high concentration of phosphate ions. As a result, the current density induced from the reaction of hydrogen peroxide decomposition increased proportionally to the concentration of phosphate ion while the conventional methods show has a significant error with high concentration of phosphate ion. Thus, it is confirmed that the suggested way is superior to the conventional measurement method for the quantification of phosphate ion poisoning in an atmosphere similar to the actual operation condition of HT-PEMFC.