• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.157-166
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• 2014

ATP in quantity co-stored with neurotransmitters in the secretory vesicles of neurons, by being co-released with the neurotransmitters, takes an important role to modulate the stimulus-secretion response of neurotransmitters. Here, in this study, the modulatory effect of ATP was studied in $Ca^{2+}$ channels of cultured rat adrenal chromaffin cells to investigate the physiological role of ATP in neurons. The $Ca^{2+}$ channel current was recorded in a whole-cell patch clamp configuration, which was modulated by ATP. In 10 mM $Ba^{2+}$ bath solution, ATP treatment (0.1 mM) decreased the $Ba^{2+}$ current by an average of $36{\pm}6%$ (n=8), showing a dose-dependency within the range of $10^{-4}{\sim}10^{-1}mM$. The current was recovered by ATP washout, demonstrating its reversible pattern. This current blockade effect of ATP was disinhibited by a large prepulse up to +80 mV, since the $Ba^{2+}$ current increment was larger when treated with ATP ($37{\pm}5%$, n=11) compared to the control ($25{\pm}3%$, n=12, without ATP). The $Ba^{2+}$ current was recorded with $GTP{\gamma}S$, the non-hydrolyzable GTP analogue, to determine if the blocking effect of ATP was mediated by G-protein. The $Ba^{2+}$ current decreased down to 45% of control with $GTP{\gamma}S$. With a large prepulse (+80 mV), the current increment was $34{\pm}4%$ (n=19), which $25{\pm}3%$ (n=12) under control condition (without $GTP{\gamma}S$). The $Ba^{2+}$ current waveform was well fitted to a single-exponential curve for the control, while a double-exponential curve best fitted the current signal with ATP or $GTP{\gamma}S$. In other words, a slow activation component appeared with ATP or $GTP{\gamma}S$, which suggested that both ATP and $GTP{\gamma}S$ caused slower activation of $Ca^{2+}$ channels via the same mechanism. The results suggest that ATP may block the $Ca^{2+}$ channels by G-protein and this $Ca^{2+}$ channel blocking effect of ATP is important in autocrine (or paracrine) inhibition of adrenaline secretion in chromaffin cell.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.29 no.10
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• pp.1477-1482
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• 2016

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of diets with varying levels of calcium on egg production, shell quality and overall calcium status in aged laying hens. A total of five hundred 70-wk-old Hy-Line Brown layers were divided five groups and fed one of the five experimental diets with 3.5%, 3.8%, 4.1%, 4.4%, or 4.7% Ca, for 10 weeks. There were no significant differences in feed intake, egg production and egg weight among groups. The cracked eggs were linearly reduced as dietary Ca levels increased to 4.7% (p<0.01). A significant linear improvement for eggshell strength and thickness were determined with increasing dietary Ca levels (p<0.01). The contents of serum Ca and phosphorus were not affected by dietary Ca levels. With increase in dietary Ca levels, the tibial breaking strength slightly increased. There were no significant differences in the tibial contents of ash, Ca and phosphorus among groups. In conclusion, eggshell quality, as measured by appearance, strength and thickness of eggshell, were influenced by dietary Ca content as expected (p<0.05). These results suggested that aged laying hens require relatively higher level of Ca than required levels from current Korean feeding standards for poultry.

• Progress in Superconductivity and Cryogenics
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.21-25
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• 2002

The effect of Ca-doping on the superconducting properties of Nd-Ba-Cu-O bulk superconductors, fabricated by the oxygen-controlled melt growth process, has been systematically investigated. Various c-axis textured bulk samples were grown using precursors with the nominal compositions of $Nd_{1.8-x}Ca_{x]Ba_{2.4}Cu_{3.4}O_{y}$ (x= 0.00, 0.02, 0.05, 0.10, 0.15) in a reduced oxygen atmosphere of 1%O$_2$ in Ar. Magnetization measurements revealed that the critical temperatures(Tc) were almost linearly depressed from 95K to 86K with increasing the Ca dopant from x : 0.0 to 0.15, respectively, and thus critical current densities(Jc) at 77K and for H//c-axis of specimens were gradually degraded with increasing x. Compositional analyses revealed that although the amounts of the Ca dopant both in $NdBa_2Cu_2O_y(Nd123) and Nd_4Ba_2Cu_2O_{10}(Nd422)$,/TEX> were increased with increasing x, only less than half of the initial Ca compositions were detected in melt-grown Ca-doped Nd-Ba-Cu-O bulk crystals. The supression of Tc is attributed to an increased Nd substitution for the Ba site in the Nd123 superconducting matrix with increasing the amount of the Ca dopant.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.480-487
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• 1997

The present study was designed to examine how Ca intake contributes to the increase of peak bone mass with growing female rats. Weaned rats were fed experimental diets consisting in five levels of Ca; very low(0.1%), low(0.2%), moderate(0.5%), high(1.0%) and very high(1.5%) for 4, 8 and 12 weeks. Bone growth, metabolism and Ca metabolism were determined. As for the rats fed for 4 weeks, the bone weight, length and breaking force and bone metabolism were not significantly affected by dietary Ca levels, whereas the current intakes of Ca were observed to have significantly affected the rats fed for 8 or 12 weeks with regard to the bone weight, length and breaking force and bone metabolism. The bone ash and Ca contents of the rats were affected by dietary Ca levels for the total period of feeding. It is suggested that dietary Ca itself affected the mineralization process either during the growth or later, although the resulting bone mass is not a linear function of dietary Ca content.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.491-495
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• 1999

In this study, we focus on Ca contaminant which affects on the roughness Si substrate after thermal process. The initial Si substrates were contaminated intentionally by using a standard Ca solution. The contamination levels of Ca impurity were measured by TXRF and the chemical composition of that was analyzed by AES. Then we gre the thermal oxide to investigate the effect of Ca contaminants. The microroughness of the Si surface, the thermal oxide surface, and the surface after removing the thermal oxide were measured to examine the electrical characteristics. The initial substrates that were contaminated with the standard solution of Ca exhibited the contamination levels of 10\ulcorner~10\ulcorneratoms/$\textrm{cm}^2$ which was measured by TXRF. The Ca contaminants were detected by AES and exhibited the peaks of Ca, SI, C and O.After intentional contamination, the surface microroughness of this initial substrate was increased from $1.5\AA$ to 4$\AA$ as contamination levels became higher. The microroughness of the thermal oxide surfaces of both contaminated and bare Si substrates exhibits similar values. But the microroughness of the contaminated$ Si/SiO_2$ interface was increased as contamination increased. The thermal oxide of contaminated substrate exhibited the small minority carrier diffusion length, low breakdown voltage, and slightly high leakage current.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.203-215
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• 2015

Chlor-alkali (CA) membrane process is based on salined water electrolysis employing cation condutive polymer electrolytes, which has been used for the conventional production of both sodium hydroxide and chlorine gas. The CA membrane process has advantages such as relatively low environmental impacts and fairly reduced energy consumption, when compared with diaphragm and mercury process. In this review articles, basic concepts, fundamental characteristics, key technologies of CA membrane process are dealt with in detail. In addition, advanced technologies associated with CA membrane process are described. They include zerogap and oxygen depolarized cathode technologies to improve energy efficiency during the electrolysis. Carbon dioxide mineralization technology will also be introduced as an example of hybridization with different technologies. Finally, current market trend in CA membrane process will be presented.

• Spatial Information Research
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.185-206
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• 2001

Cellular Automata(CA) have been investigated and utilized as a theoretical framework and/or methodology for analyzing and simulating the properties and behaviors of many complex systems in various physical science and engineering field. Due to the conceptual elegance and effectiveness of implementing spatio-temporal dynamic models and the compatibility with raster GISs, recently a variety of modeling works using both CA and GIS have been published in GIS fields Most of spatial dynamic models introduced in previous research, however, were very limited and furthermore integrated CA-GIS system for practical modeling purpose are not developed yet. This study aims to develop an integrated CA-GIS system in which a CA simulator is used as an analytical engine for GIS providing a multipurpose spatial dynamic modeling functionalities. This integrated CA-GIS system is anticipated radically enhancing the current lacking dynamic modeling functionalities of GIS and being utilized as an powerful and effective tool for practical spatial dynamic modeling research.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.56 no.2
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• pp.108-115
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• 2012

The hyperpolarization-activated current ($I_h$) is an inward cation current activated by hyperpolarization of the membrane potential and plays a role as an important modulator of action potential firing frequency in many excitable cells. In the present study we investigated the effects of extracellular divalent cations on $I_h$ in dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons using whole-cell voltage clamp technique. $I_h$ was slightly increased in $Ca^{2+}$-free bath solution. BAPTA-AM did not change the amplitudes of $I_h$. Amplitudes of $I_h$ were decreased by $Ca^{2+}$, $Mg^{2+}$ and $Ba^{2+}$ dose-dependently and voltage-independently. Inhibition magnitudes of $I_h$ by external divalent cations were partly reversed by the concomitant increase of extracellular $K^+$ concentration. Reversal potential of $I_h$ was significantly shifted by $Ba^{2+}$ and $V_{1/2}$ was significantly affected by the changes of extracellular $Ca^{2+}$ concentrations. These results suggest that $I_h$ is inhibited by extracellular divalent cations ($Ca^{2+}$, $Mg^{2+}$ and $Ba^{2+}$) by interfering ion influxes in cultured rat DRG neurons.

• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
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• 1993.11a
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• pp.213-215
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• 1993

Silver-sheathed Bi-Pb-Sr-Ca-Cu-O wires by the powder-in-tube method were preparated to study on the superconducting properties with cooling conditions. Superconducting wires were cooled down in the furnace, air and liquid $N_2$ after sintering at $840^{\circ}C$. Critical current density of sample cooled in the furnace is $5.1{\times}10^3\;A/cm^2$ at 77K, zero magnetic field and Jc of sample cooled in the air is very low. 2223 high-Tc superconducting phase of sample cooled in the air was distroyed. Therefore, we knew that superconducting wire need to cool slowly to get the high critical current density.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.149-154
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• 2010

The feasibility of lead removal by electrolytic coprecipitation was investigated. Electrolysis bath was divided into anode and cathode chamber with anion exchange resin filled membrane. Sea water was electrolyzed and pH of the electrolyte in cathode chamber was increased. Consequently it induced the formation of $Mg(OH)_2$ and $CaCO_3$. The colloidal type precipitates, hich have high surface area, adsorbed lead ions in sea water and coprecipitated. Sea water electrolyses were conducted at different current density. Concentrations of Mg, Ca and Pb in the solution were measured with titration and ASV method. Morphology and crystallography were analyzed with SEM, EDS and XRD. As pH and current density increased, most of lead ions in the sea water were successfully removed.