• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
• /
• v.17 no.3
• /
• pp.223-228
• /
• 2013

The calcium-activated $K^+$ ($BK_{Ca}$) channel is one of the potassium-selective ion channels that are present in the nervous and vascular systems. $Ca^{2+}$ is the main regulator of $BK_{Ca}$ channel activation. The $BK_{Ca}$ channel contains two high affinity $Ca^{2+}$ binding sites, namely, regulators of $K^+$ conductance, RCK1 and the $Ca^{2+}$ bowl. Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA, 1-radyl-2-hydroxy-sn-glycero-3-phosphate) is one of the neurolipids. LPA affects diverse cellular functions on many cell types through G protein-coupled LPA receptor subtypes. The activation of LPA receptors induces transient elevation of intracellular $Ca^{2+}$ levels through diverse G proteins such as $G{\alpha}_{q/11}$, $G{\alpha}_i$, $G{\alpha}_{12/13}$, and $G{\alpha}s$ and the related signal transduction pathway. In the present study, we examined LPA effects on $BK_{Ca}$ channel activity expressed in Xenopus oocytes, which are known to endogenously express the LPA receptor. Treatment with LPA induced a large outward current in a reversible and concentration-dependent manner. However, repeated treatment with LPA induced a rapid desensitization, and the LPA receptor antagonist Ki16425 blocked LPA action. LPA-mediated $BK_{Ca}$ channel activation was also attenuated by the PLC inhibitor U-73122, $IP_3$ inhibitor 2-APB, $Ca^{2+}$ chelator BAPTA, or PKC inhibitor calphostin. In addition, mutations in RCK1 and RCK2 also attenuated LPA-mediated $BK_{Ca}$ channel activation. The present study indicates that LPA-mediated activation of the $BK_{Ca}$ channel is achieved through the PLC, $IP_3$, $Ca^{2+}$, and PKC pathway and that LPA-mediated activation of the $BK_{Ca}$ channel could be one of the biological effects of LPA in the nervous and vascular systems.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
• /
• 1997.04a
• /
• pp.318-322
• /
• 1997

The (Sr$_{l-x}$.Ca$_{x}$)TiO$_3$(0.05$\leq$x$\leq$0.2) ceramics were fabricated to form semiconducting ceramics by sintering at about 1350[$^{\circ}C$] in a reducing atmosphere($N_2$gas). After being fired in a reducing atmosphere, metal oxides, CuO, was painted on the both surface of the specimens to diffuse to the grain boundary. They were annealed at 1100[$^{\circ}C$] for 2 hours and cooled to room temperature. The grain boundary was composed of the continuous insulating layers. The capacitance changes slowly and almost linearly in the temperature region of -30~+85[$^{\circ}C$]. The capacitance characteristics appears a stable value within $\pm$10[%]. The conduction mechanism of the specimens observed in the temperature range of 25~125[$^{\circ}C$], and is divined into three regions haying different mechanism as the current increased: the region I below 230[V/cm] shows the ohmic conduction. The region II can be explained by the Poole-Frenkel emission theory, and the region III is dominated by the tunneling effect.ect.

• Journal of Magnetics
• /
• v.19 no.4
• /
• pp.327-332
• /
• 2014

The effect of minor element additions (Ca, Al) on microstructural change and magnetic properties of Fe-Nb-Cu-Si-B alloy has been investigated, in this paper. The Fe-Si-B-Nb-Cu(-Ca-Al) alloys were prepared by arc melting in argon gas atmosphere. The alloy ribbons were fabricated by melt-spinning, and heat-treated under a nitrogen atmosphere at $520-570^{\circ}C$ for 1 h. The soft magnetic properties of the ribbon core were analyzed using the AC B-H meter. A differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was used to examine the crystallization behavior of the amorphous alloy ribbon. The microstructure was observed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscope (TEM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The addition of Ca increased the electrical resistivity to reduce the eddy current loss. And the addition of Al decreased the intrinsic magnetocrystalline anisotropy $K_1$ resulting in the increased permeability. The reduction in the size of the ${\alpha}$-Fe precipitates was observed in the alloys containing of Ca and Al. Based on the results, it can be concluded that the additions of Ca and Al notably improved the soft magnetic properties such as permeability, coercivity and core loss in the Fe-Nb-Cu-Si-B base nanocrystalline alloys.

• Proceedings of the Korean Biophysical Society Conference
• /
• 2003.06a
• /
• pp.52-52
• /
• 2003

Junctate is a newly identified integral ER/SR membrane $Ca^{2+}$ binding protein, which is an alternative splicing form of the same gene generating aspartyl $\square$-hydroxylase and junctin. To elucidate the functional role of junctate in heart, transgenic (TG) mice overexpressing mouse cardiac junctate-1 under the control of mouse $\square$$^{~}$ myosin heavy chain promoter were generated. Overexpression of junctate in mouse heart resulted in cardiac hypertrophy, increased fibrosis, bradycardia, arrhythmias and impaired contractility. Overexpression of junctate also led to down-regulation of SERCA2, calsequestrin, calreticulin and RyR, but to up-regulation of NCX and PMCA. The SR $Ca^{2+}$ content decreased and the L-type $Ca^{2+}$ current density and the action potential durations increased in TG cardiomyocytes, which could be the cause for the bradycardia in TG heart. The present work has provided an important example of pathogenesis leading to cardiac hypertrophy and arrhythmia, which was caused by impaired $Ca^{2+}$ handling by overexpression of junctate in heart.n heart.

• Progress in Superconductivity
• /
• v.4 no.1
• /
• pp.10-13
• /
• 2002

We report the effect of Ca doping in $YBa_2Cu_3O_{7-\delta}$ (YBCO) thin films grown on the Rolling- Assisted, Biaxially Textured Substrates (RABiTS) with the architecture of $CeO_2/YSZ/CeO_2/Ni$. Critical currents of bilayer and trilayer structures of $YBCO/Y_{0.7}Ca_{0.3}Ba_2Cu_3O_{7-\delta}$/(YCaBCO) as well as undoped YBCO for comparison have been measured in a wide range of temperatures and fields. For $6-8^{\circ}$ grain boundaries, 30% Ca-doping in bilayer structure enhances $J_c$ as high as 35%. The enhancement is larger at low temperatures and at magnetic fields. On the other hand, 30% Ca-doping in trilayer structure reduces $J_c$ as high as 60%. Combined with slightly lower $T_c$, this indicates that Ca is overdoped in this structure and degrades GBs.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
• /
• v.5 no.2
• /
• pp.139-146
• /
• 2001

L-type $Ca^{2+}$ channels play an important role in regulating cytosolic $Ca^{2+}$ and thereby regulating hormone secretions in neuroendocrine cells. Since hormone secretions are also regulated by various kinds of protein kinases, we investigated the role of some kinase activators and inhibitors in the regulation of the L-type $Ca^{2+}$ channel currents in rat pituitary $GH_3$ cells using the patch-clamp technique. Phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate (PDBu), a protein kinase C (PKC) activator, and vanadate, a protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTP) inhibitor, increased the $Ba^{2+}$ current through the L-type $Ca^{2+}$ channels. In contrast, bisindolylmaleimide I (BIM I), a PKC inhibitor, and genistein, a protein tyrosine kinase (PTK) inhibitor, suppressed the $Ba^{2+}$ currents. Forskolin, an adenylate cyclase activator, and isobutyl methylxanthine (IBMX), a non-specific phosphodiesterase inhibitor, reduced $Ba^{2+}$ currents. The above results show that the L-type $Ca^{2+}$ channels are activated by PKC and PTK, and inhibited by elevation of cyclic nucleotides such as cAMP. From these results, it is suggested that the regulation of hormone secretion by various kinase activity in $GH_3$ cells may be attributable, at least in part, to their effect on L-type $Ca^{2+}$ channels.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
• /
• v.46 no.2
• /
• pp.361-368
• /
• 2019

The objective of the current study was to determine calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P) utilization in 4 different hatchery by-products (HBPs) for broiler chickens. The four different HBPs included infertile eggs (IFE), unhatched eggs (UHE), low grade and dead chicks (LDC), and a mixture (MIX) of 55% IFE, 10% UHE, and 10% LDC with 25% hatched eggshells. A total of sixty four 50-day-old Ross 308 broiler chickens were randomly allotted to 1 of 4 dietary treatments with 8 replicates per treatment. Two birds were placed together in one metabolic cage. Additional 16 birds were used to measure the endogenous losses of Ca and P. A forcefeeding procedure (i.e., crop intubation) was used to measure the apparent and true total tract retention (ATTR and TTTR, respectively) of Ca and P in the 4 HBPs. The results showed that the TTTR of Ca in the UHE was less (p < 0.05) than that in the IFE, LDC, and MIX. The amounts of available Ca in the MIX were greater (p < 0.05) than those in the IFE and UHE, which were greater (p < 0.05) than those in the LDC. The TTTR of P was not different among the 4 HBPs. However, the amounts of available P in the LDC were greater (p < 0.05) than those in the IFE and UHE, which were greater (p < 0.05) than those in the MIX. In conclusion, HBPs contain high amounts of available Ca and P because of high concentrations of total Ca and P with a high utilization rate. Therefore, the use of HBPs in broiler diets can reduce costs on Ca and P supplements.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
• /
• v.11 no.11
• /
• pp.1014-1021
• /
• 1998

We evaluated the effect of processing variables on microstructural evolution interface irregularity between Ag sheath and superconductor core and resultant critical current density(J$_{c}$) of (Bi,Pb)$_2$Sr$_2$Ca$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{x}$(2223) superconductor tape. The value of J$_{c}$ was significantly influenced by the interface irregularity, degree of texturing and relative 2223 content. The interface became more irregular(sausage effect), while the degree of texturing gradually improved as the dimension of tape decreased during forming process. As the dimension of wire/tape were changed from diameter of 3.25 mm to thickness of 0.20 mm, J$_{c}$ value was observed to be increased by 10 times. In addition, optimum sintering temperature for improved J$_{c}$ was observed to be 835$^{\circ}C$ in a ambient atmosphere probably due to combined effect of both improved texturing and high 2223 content. Microstructural investigation showed the degree of texturing was degraded by the existence of both second phases and interface irregularity. It was observed that larger grain size and better texturing was developed near relatively flat interface compared to those inside superconducting core.ting core.

• Progress in Superconductivity
• /
• v.4 no.2
• /
• pp.104-108
• /
• 2003

We have measured the transport properties of $Bi_2$$Sr_2$$CaCu_2$$O_{8+d}$ (BSCCO) intrinsic Josephson junction mesa. Transport measurements with current flow along the c-axis, perpendicular to the layer of mesa showed multi-branch structures on the current-voltage characteristics. For single intrinsic junctions, the microwave radiation appears in the form of three different modes of oscillations, which include Josephson emission, nonequilibrium broad emission and sharp coherent microwave emission. Mutual phase interactions between two-mesas structures of BSCCO intrinsic Josephson junctions were studied. The results were explained within the framework of the Josephson plasma excitation model due to quasiparticle injection.n.

• Progress in Superconductivity
• /
• v.4 no.1
• /
• pp.90-93
• /
• 2002

The sintering process of BSCCO 2223 tapes is a complex process that is very sensitive to parameters, such as temperature, oxygen partial pressure, heating and cooling rate and holding time. During the first heat treatment, 2212 phase of precursor powder is partially transformed into 2223 phase and some residual secondary phases, such as $(Bi,Pb)_2$$Sr_2$CuO／sub y／(2201), $(Ca,Sr)_2$CuO／sub y／(2/1AEC), (Ca,Sr)／sub 14／Cu／sub 24／O／sub 41／(14／24 AEC) etc. The secondary phases are difficult to be removed from the BSCCO 2223 matrix on the heat treatment. These secondary phases degrade the critical current density. In order to minimize the amount and size of alkaline earth cuprate(AEC) particles step heat treatment is applied during the first heat treatment under the varying atmosphere. Experimental results showed that by adapting the step heat treatment process, the amount and particle size of the secondary phases in the final tapes are decreased. Consequently, the BSCCO 2223grain texture and Jc properties are improved.