• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.7 no.5
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• pp.817-822
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• 2006

Diamonds have been widely employed as polishing media for precise machining and noble substrates for microelectronics. The recent development of the split sphere press has led to the enhancement of low quality natural diamonds. Synthesized and treated diamonds are sometimes traded deceptively as high quality natural diamonds because it is hard to distinguish among these diamonds with conventional gemological characterization method. Therefore, we need to develop a new identification method that is cheap, fast, and non-destructive. We proposed using a new method of micro-Raman spectroscopy for checking the local HPHT residual stress to distinguish these diamonds from natural ones. We observe unique ~10f compressive and tensile strains at Type I and Type II diamonds after HPHT treatment. Our result implies that our proposed methods may be appropriate fur identification of the treated diamonds with appropriate reference samples.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.253-262
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• 2004

Calcareous deposits are the consequence of pH increase of the electrolyte adjacent to metal surface affected by cathodic current in seawater. It obviously has several advantages over conventional coatings, since the calcareous deposit coating is formed from coating (Mg$^{2+}$, $Ca^{2+}$) naturally existing in seawater. In consideration of this respect, environment friendly calcareous deposit films were formed by an electro deposition technique on steel substrates submerged in 48$^{\circ}C$ natural seawater. And the influence of current density, coating time and attachment of steel mesh on composition ratio, structure and morphology of the electrodeposited films were investigated by Scanning Electron Microscopy(SEM), Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy(EDS) and X-Ray Diffractor(XRD), respectively. Accordingly, this study provides a better understanding of the composition between the growth of $Mg(OH)_2$ and $CaCO_3$ during the formation of electro deposit films on steel substrate under cathodically electrodeposition in $48^{\circ}C$ natural seawater. The Mg compositions, in general, are getting decreased regardless of current density but Ca compositions are getting increased as electrodeposition time runs. That is, $Mg(OH)_2$ compounds of brucite structure shaped as flat type is formed at the initial stage of electrodeposition, but CaCO$_3$ compounds of aragonite structure shaped as flower type is formed in large scale. Besides, $Mg(OH)_2$ compounds were much formed at 5 A/$\m^2$ environment condition compared to the 3 A/$\m^2$ and 4 A/$\m^2$ environment conditions. This is because that OH- which was comparatively largely generated at the metal surface is preferably combined with $Mg^{2+}$TEX>.

• Journal of environmental and Sanitary engineering
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.34-41
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• 2001

It is well known that bioassay on the low organic matters in water have developed from the two methods. One is assimilable organic carbon(AOC) that makes use of the maximum growth biomass of the pure strains for the standard substrates, the other is biodegradable dissolved organic carbon(BDOC) that determines the fraction of dissolved organic carbon(DOC) available for microbial utilization. The purpose of this study was to upgrade the measurement method of BDOC in natural water or drinking water. BBOC was determined by means of the bacterial growth and the DOC decrease at the same time. The origin inoculums were used to the suspended bacteria from Han River water, The initial optimum biomass and incubation time for initial DOC were induced by variation of nutrient repression and inoculums. The time reached to minimum DOC was selected as incubation time. The initial optimum biomass for Han river water was about 1000~5000 CFU/mL, respectively. In a sufficient biomass, suitable incubation time was about 3~5 day. It was indirectly calculated BDOC on maximum growth rate by measuring growth yield of indigenous bacteria. But it was difficult to adapt growth yield coefficient because of irregular bacterial growth. The measured 3 day BDOC was close to BDOC calculated with our proposed experimental equation between DOC and BDOC. It shows that the quantification of BDOC with this experimental equation can be used indirectly.

• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers P
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• v.65 no.1
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• pp.53-56
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• 2016

Because of the low pollution resistance of the porcelain electrical insulator itself, in this work the anti-pollution performance of insulator was improved by using the functional coating. The ceramic substrates that components were same as the porcelain electrical insulator were used in this experiment. The functional films were coated on the ceramic substrate by using a spray coating method, and then the coated substrate were annealed under different coating condition such as natural curing and annealing temperature of $200^{\circ}C$, $300^{\circ}C$ and $400^{\circ}C$. Then, the contact angles of the coated surfaces were measured and the minimum angle ($8.3^{\circ}$) was obtained at $400^{\circ}C$. The anti-contamination properties were measured, revealing that as the contact angle decreased, the anti-contamination properties improved. The hardness and adhesion were small at the natural curing condition however the excellent mechanical properties were obtained under higher temperature annealing.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.353-365
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• 2000

After their first appearance on Earth, bacteria have exerted significant influence on geochemical behavior of elements. Numerous evidence of their control on geochemistry through geologic history has been observed in a variety of natural environments. They have mediated weathering rate, formation of secondary minerals, redox transformation of metals and metalloids, and thus global cycling of elements. Such ability of bacteria receives so considerable attention from microbiologists, mineralogists, geologists, soil scientists, limnologists, oceanographers, and atmospheric scientists as well as geochemists that a new and interdisciplinary field of research called 'geomicrobiology' is currently expanding. Some recent subjects of geomicrobiology which are studied extensively are as follows: 1) Functional groups distributed on bacterial cell walls adsorb dissolved cations onto cell surfaces by electrostatic surface complexation, which is followed by hydrous mineral formation. 2) Dissimilatory metal reducing bacteria conserve energy to support growth by oxidation of organic matter coupled to reduction of some oxidized metals and/or metalloids. They can be effectively used in remediating environments contaminated with U, As, Se, and Cr. 3) Bacteria increase the rate of mineral dissolution by excreting proton and ligands such as organic acids into aqueous system. 4) Thorough investigation on the effects of biofilm on geochemical processes is needed, because most bacteria are adsorbed on solid substrates and form biofilms in natural settings.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.43 no.8
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• pp.671-685
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• 2020

The regulator of calcineurin (RCAN) was first reported as a novel gene called DSCR1, encoded in a region termed the Down syndrome critical region (DSCR) of human chromosome 21. Genome sequence comparisons across species using bioinformatics revealed three members of the RCAN gene family, RCAN1, RCAN2, and RCAN3, present in most jawed vertebrates, with one member observed in most invertebrates and fungi. RCAN is most highly expressed in brain and striated muscles, but expression has been reported in many other tissues, as well, including the heart and kidneys. Expression levels of RCAN homologs are responsive to external stressors such as reactive oxygen species, Ca²⁺, amyloid β, and hormonal changes and upregulated in pathological conditions, including Alzheimer's disease, cardiac hypertrophy, diabetes, and degenerative neuropathy. RCAN binding to calcineurin, a Ca²⁺/calmodulin-dependent phosphatase, inhibits calcineurin activity, thereby regulating different physiological events via dephosphorylation of important substrates. Novel functions of RCANs have recently emerged, indicating involvement in mitochondria homeostasis, RNA binding, circadian rhythms, obesity, and thermogenesis, some of which are calcineurin-independent. These developments suggest that besides significant contributions to DS pathologies and calcineurin regulation, RCAN is an important participant across physiological systems, suggesting it as a favorable therapeutic target.

• Journal of Photoscience
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.121-127
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• 2004

The${\beta}$-glucosidases occur widely in all living organisms and has in general a tendency to form oligomers of varying numbers of subunits or aggregates, although the functional implications of such diverse oligomerization schemes remain unclear. In particular, the assembly mode of the oat ${\beta}$-glucosidase is very unique in that it multimerizes by linear stacking of a hexameric building block to form long fibrillar multimers. Some structural proteins such as actin and tubulin assemble into long fibrils in a helical fashion and several enzymes such as GroEL and Pyrodictium ATPase functional complexes, 20S proteasome of the archaebacterium Thermoplasma acidophilum, and lutamine synthetase fromblue-green algae, assemble into discrete oligomers upto 4 stacked rings to maintain their enzymatic activities. In particular, oat ${\beta}$-glucosidase exists in vivo as a discrete long fibrillar multimer assembly that is a novel structure for enzyme protein. It is assembled by linear stacking of hollow trimeric units. The fibril has a long central tunnel connecting to the outer medium via regularly distributed side fenestrations. The enzyme active sites are located within the central tunnel and multimerization increases enzyme affinity to the substrates and catalytic efficiency of the enzyme. Although it is suggested that oligomerization may contribute to the enzyme stability and catalytic efficiency of ${\beta}$-glycosidases, the functional implications of such diverse oligomerization schemes remain unclear so far.

• Mycobiology
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• v.50 no.5
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• pp.326-344
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• 2022

The fungal-like family Saprolegniaceae (Oomycota), also called "water mold," includes mostly aquatic saprophytes as well as notorious aquatic animal pathogens. Most studies on Saprolegniaceae have been biased toward pathogenic species that are important to aquaculture rather than saprotrophic species, despite the latter's crucial roles in carbon cycling of freshwater ecosystems. Few attempts have been made to study the diversity and ecology of Saprolegniaceae; thus, their ecological role is not well-known. During a survey of oomycetes between 2016 and 2021, we investigated the diversity and distribution of culturable Saprolegniaceae species in freshwater ecosystems of Korea. In the present study, members of Saprolegniaceae were isolated and identified at species level based on their cultural, morphological, and molecular phylogenetic analyses. Furthermore, substrate preference and seasonal dynamics for each were examined. Most of the species were previously reported as animal pathogens; however, in the present study, they were often isolated from other freshwater substrates, such as plant debris, algae, water, and soil sediment. The relative abundance of Saprolegniaceae was higher in the cold to cool season than that in the warm to hot season of Korea. This study enhances our understanding of the diversity and ecological attributes of Saprolegniaceae in freshwater ecosystems.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.68 no.1
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• pp.25-31
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• 2024

The p97 adenosine triphosphatase is a key player in protein homeostasis, responsible for unfolding ubiquitylated substrates. It engages with various adaptor proteins through its N-terminal domain, with the p97-p47 complex attracting particular attention for its involvement in membrane remodeling. Although the structures of p97 in complex with the Ubiquitin regulatory X (UBX) domain from various adaptors have been reported, the stoichiometry is conflicting. Here, we report the crystal structure of the p97 N-D1 hexamer in complex with the p47 UBX domain at a resolution of 2.7 Å. The structure reveals a stoichiometry of 6:6 between the p97 N-D1 and the p47 UBX domain. These findings provide valuable insights into the binding stoichiometry of p97 N-D1 and p47 UBX domain, which are crucial for understanding the role of p97 and adaptor proteins in cellular processes such as the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway, membrane fusion, and cell cycle regulation.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.673-680
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• 2024

Kombucha, a fermented beverage, is gaining popularity due to its numerous beneficial health effects. Various substrates such as herbs, fruits, flowers, and vegetables, have been used for kombucha fermentation in order to enhance the flavor, aroma, and nutritional composition. This study aims to investigate the potential suitability of cascara as a novel ingredient for kombucha production. Our findings suggested that cascara is a suitable substrate for kombucha production. Fermentation elevated the total phenolic and flavonoid content in cascara, which enhanced the antioxidant, antibacterial, and prebiotic characteristics of the product. Furthermore, the accumulation of acetic acid-induced the pH lowering reached 2.7 after 14 days of fermentation, which achieved the microbiological safety of the product. Moreover, 14 days of fermentation resulted in a balanced amalgamation of acidity, sweetness, and fragrance according to sensory evaluation. Our findings not only highlight the potential of cascara kombucha as a novel substrate for kombucha production but also contribute to repurposing coffee by-products, promoting environmentally friendly and sustainable agricultural development.