• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.138-145
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• 2020

Adipocytes are the main constituent of adipose tissue. Understanding the molecular basis of adipogenesis is pivotal to finding the therapeutic targets for treatment of obesity. Melatonin is associated with obesity and its mechanism is currently under intensive investigation. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of melatonin on adipogenesis in differentiating preadipocytes. 3T3-L1 preadipocytes were cultured in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (DMEM) containing 5% calf serum at 37℃ with 5% CO₂ in a humidified incubator. Differentiation was induced using DMEM with 10% fetal bovine serum supplemented with MDI two days after cell confluence (day 0). Cells were treated with 0, 10 and 100 μM melatonin on either day 0 or day 5. 72 hours after each treatment, lipid accumulation was measured by oil red O staining. Proteins were resolved by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and transferred to membranes. As a result, lipid accumulation decreased with melatonin treatment. ERK pathway, activated when differentiation is induced, also decreased with an increase in melatonin concentration. Furthermore, the expression of key adipogenic factors, C/EBPα, C/EBPβ, and PPARγ, were reduced by melatonin treatment. These results imply that melatonin may inhibit the process of adipogenesis and may have a role as a new anti-obesity agent.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.371-376
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• 2014

In this study, modified catalytic chemical vapor deposition (CCVD) method was applied to control the CNTs (carbon nanotubes) growth. Since titanium (Ti) substrate and iron (Fe) catalysts react one another and form a new phase ($Fe_2TiO_5$) above $700^{\circ}C$, the decrease of CNT yield above $800^{\circ}C$ where methane gas decomposes is inevitable under common CCVD method. Therefore, we synthesized CNTs on the Ti substrate by dividing the tube furnace into two sections (left and right) and heating them to different temperatures each. The reactant gas flew through from the end of the right tube furnace while the Ti substrate was placed in the center of the left tube furnace. When the CNT growth temperature was set $700/950^{\circ}C$ (left/right), CNTs with high yield were observed. Also, by examining the micro-structure of CNTs of $700/950^{\circ}C$, it was confirmed that CNTs show the bamboo-like structure.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.78-83
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• 2014

In this research, we evaluated the performance and characteristics of carbon supported PtM (M = Ni and Y) alloy catalysts (PtM/Cs) synthesized by a modified polyol method. With the PtM/Cs employed as a catalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) of cathodes in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), their catalytic and ORR activities and electrical performance were investigated and compared with those of commercial Pt/C. Their particle sizes, particle distributions and electrochemically active surface areas (EAS) were measured by TEM and cyclic voltammetry (CV), while their ORR activity and electrical performance were explored using linear sweeping voltammetries with rotating disk electrodes and rotating ring-disk electrodes as well as PEMFC single cell tests. TEM and CV measurements show that PtM/Cs have the compatible particle size and EAS with Pt/C. When it comes to ORR activity, PtM/C showed the equivalent or better half-wave potential, kinetic current density, transferred electron number per oxygen molecule and $H_2O_2$ production(%) to or than commerical Pt/C. Based on results gained by the three electrode tests, when the PEMFC single cell tests were carried out, the current density measured at 0.6 V and maximum power density of PEMFC single cell adopting PtM/C catalysts were better than those adopting Pt/C catalyst. It is therefore concluded that PtM/C catalysts synthesized by modified polyol can result in the equivalent or better ORR catalytic capability and PEMFC performance to or than commercial Pt/C catalyst.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.35-51
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• 2021

Advancements in thin-film nanocomposite (TFN) membrane technology for nanofiltration is crucial for removing pollutants from natural resources. In recent years, various metal-organic framework (MOF) modifications have been tested to overcome the drawbacks that are inevitable with conventional thin-film composite (TFC) and TFN membranes. In general, MIL-101(Cr), UiO-66, ZIF-8, and HKUST-1 [Cu3(BCT2)] are MOFs that were proven to exhibit excellent membrane performance in terms of solvent permeability and solute rejection; their respective studies are reviewed in this article. Other novelties, such as the simultaneous use of different MOFs and unique MOF layering techniques (e.g., dip-coating, spray pre-disposition, Langmuir-Schaefer film, etc.) are also discussed as they present alternate solutions for membrane enhancement and/or preparation convenience. Not only are these MOF-modified TFN membranes frequently shown to improve separation performance from their respective TFC and TFN membranes, but many reports also explain their potential for a cost-effective and environmentally friendly process. In this review the thin film nanocomposite nanofiltration membrane is discussed.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.16-27
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• 2000

In order to produce raw material powder of advanced magnetic material by spray roasting process, newly modified spray roasting system was developed in this work. In this spray roasting system, raw material solution was effectively atomized and sprayed into the reaction furnace. Also, uniform temperature distribution inside reaction furnace made thermal decomposition process fully completed, and produced powder was effectively collected in cyclone and bag filter. This system equipped with apparatus which can purify hazard produced gas. In this study complex acid solution was prepared by dissolution of mill scale and ferro-Mn into the acid solution, and the pH of this complex acid solution was controlled about to 4. It was conformed that mill scale and ferro-Mn containing a lot of impurities such as $SiO_2$, P and Al could be used as raw material by reducing the impurities content of complex acid solution below 20 ppm. Complex oxide powder of Fe-Mn system was produced by spraying purified complex acid solution into the spray roaster through nozzle, and the variations of produced powder characters were studied by changing he reaction conditions such as reaction temperature, the injection velocity of solution and air, nozzle tip size and concentration of solution. The morphology of produced powder had spherical shape under the most experimental conditions, and concentration of solution. The morphology of produced powder has spherical shape under the most experimental conditions, and the composition and the particle size distribution were almost uniform, which tells the excellence of this spray roasting system. The grain size of most produced powder was below 100 nm. From the above results, it will be possible to produce ultra fine oxide powder from the chloride of Fe, Mn, Ni, Cu and rare earth by using this spray roasting system, and also to produce ultra fine pure metal powder by changing reaction atmosphere.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.61-66
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• 2012

Chemical Mechanical Planarization (CMP) is a polishing process used in the microelectronic fabrication industries to achieve a globally planar wafer surface for the manufacturing of integrated circuits. Pad conditioning plays an important role in the CMP process to maintain a material removal rate (MRR) and its uniformity. For metal CMP process, highly acidic slurry containing strong oxidizer is being used. It would affect the conditioner surface which normally made of metal such as Nickel and its alloy. If conditioner surface is corroded, diamonds on the conditioner surface would be fallen out from the surface. Because of this phenomenon, not only life time of conditioners is decreased, but also more scratches are generated. To protect the conditioners from corrosion, thin organic film deposition on the metal surface is suggested without requiring current conditioner manufacturing process. To prepare the anti-corrosion film on metal conditioner surface, vapor SAM (self-assembled monolayer) and FC (Fluorocarbon) -CVD (SRN-504, Sorona, Korea) films were prepared on both nickel and nickel alloy surfaces. Vapor SAM method was used for SAM deposition using both Dodecanethiol (DT) and Perfluoroctyltrichloro silane (FOTS). FC films were prepared in different thickness of 10 nm, 50 nm and 100 nm on conditioner surfaces. Electrochemical analysis such as potentiodynamic polarization and impedance, and contact angle measurements were carried out to evaluate the coating characteristics. Impedance data was analyzed by an electrical equivalent circuit model. The observed contact angle is higher than 90o after thin film deposition, which confirms that the coatings deposited on the surfaces are densely packed. The results of potentiodynamic polarization and the impedance show that modified surfaces have better performance than bare metal surfaces which could be applied to increase the life time and reliability of conditioner during W CMP.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.464-472
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• 2020

We suggest a hydroponic cultivation system combined with a plasma generator to investigate the changes in the growth and functional substance content of lettuces during the cultivation period. Lettuce seedlings of uniform size were planted in semi-DFT after seeding for 3 weeks, and the plasma-activated water was intermittently operated for 1 hour at an 8 hours cycle for 4 weeks. Lettuces grew with or without plasma-activated water with the nutrient solution in hydroponics culture systems. Among the reactive oxygen species generated during plasma-activated water treatment, brown spots and necrosis appeared in the individuals closer to the plasma generating device due to O₃, and there was no significant difference in the growth parameters. While the rutin and total phenolic content of the lettuce shoot grown in the nutrient solution were higher than that of the plasma-activated water, epicatechin contents in plasma-activated water were significantly greater than the nutrient solution. However, in the roots, all kinds of secondary metabolites measured in this work, rutin, epicatechin, quercetin, and total phenolic contents, were significantly higher in the plasma-activated water than the control. These results were indicated that the growth of lettuce was decreased due to the reactive oxygen species such as ozone in the plasma-activated water, but the secondary metabolites in the root zone increased significantly. It has needed to use this technology for the cultivation of root vegetables with the modified plasma-activated water systems to increase secondary metabolite in the roots.