• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2008.06a
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• pp.117-117
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• 2008

In MIM capacitor, poly-Si bottom electrode is replaced with metal bottom electrode. Noble metals can be used as bottom electrodes of capacitors because they have high work function and remain conductive in highly oxidizing conditions. In addition, they are chemically very stable. Among novel metals, Ru (ruthenium) has been suggested as an alternative bottom electrode due to its excellent electrical performance, including a low leakage of current and compatibility to high dielectric constant materials. Chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) process has been suggested to planarize and isolate the bottom electrode. Even though there is a great need for development of Ru CMP slurry, few studies have been carried out due to noble properties of Ru against chemicals. In the organic chemistry literature, periodate ion ($IO_4^-$) is a well-known oxidant. It has been reported that sodium periodate ($NaIO_4$) can form $RuO_4$ from hydrated ruthenic oxide ($RuO_2{\cdot}nH_2O$). $NaIO_4$ exist as various species in an aqueous solution as a function of pH. Also, the removal mechanism of Ru depends on solution of pH. In this research, the static etch rate, passivation film thickness and wettability were measured as a function of slurry pH. The electrochemical analysis was investigated as a function of pH. To evaluate the effect of pH on polishing behavior, removal rate was investigated as a function of pH by using patterned and unpatterned wafers.

• Journal of Korean Society of Rural Planning
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.13-24
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• 2014

The pond wetlands in agricultural landscape are important natural resources that carry out the function of bio-diversity conservation. However, recently, those have been gradually embedded as their utility value were disappeared. And, the assessment methods used for pond wetlands are insufficient. Therefore, this study was conducted to examine the conservation value of pond wetlands by using the modified RAM, and present the improvement of assesment methods. The study sites, a total of 32 pond of 4 types by land use, were selected on the basis of Ramsar Convention. Through the analysis of precedent studies, the weighted 8 functions were adjusted. According to the assessment results, pond wetlands made the largest contribution to Fishery and Herpetile Habitat function. In addition, it also made large contribution to Floral Diversity, Wildlife Habitat, and Water Quality Protection function. On the other hand, it made a small contribution to Aesthetics and Recreation, Runoff Attenuation, Shoreline /Stream Bank Protection, and Flood/Storm Water Storage function due to the characteristics of small-scale pond wetlands. In the assessment of 8 functions, house type showed the worst assessment result, and mountain type showed the best assessment result. It is thought that those are due to land use type in terms of vicinity. 10 items among 52 of the modified RAM showed the same assessment results in all land use types. Accordingly, it is required to be deleted and modified the assessment method. On the other hand, it is required to add age, interference, and water use to the assessment method. It is thought that these results can be utilized for the development and modification of assessment methods focused on pond wetlands in rural area.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.212-217
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• 2022

Purpose: This study sought to investigate the effects of visual cue deprivation balance training by applying head control feedback to the balance function and the fall index in older people. Methods: The study was conducted on 26 older people at the S Hospital in Gyeongsansi. The patients were randomly divided into the experimental groupI (EGI, n=9), the experimental groupII (EGII, n=9), and the control group (CG, n=8). The three groups were trained for 30 minutes three times a week for four weeks. To assess the patients' static balance function, their limits of stability (LOS) was measured using the BioRescue system, (RM Ingenierie, France), composed of a pressure platform that can measure force in diverse ways, a computer, and a monitor. The dynamic balance function was measured using the Berg Balance Scale (BBS). Also, the fall index was measured to evaluate the risk of falling. A paired t-test was performed to compare pre- and post-training performance within the groups. One-way ANOVA was performed for comparing the three groups. A post hoc least significant difference (LSD) test was also performed. Results: The results of the LOS showed a significant difference after training in the EGI and EGII groups (p<0.05). As a result of the difference between the three groups, there was a significant difference after training (p<0.05). The results of the BBS showed a significant difference after training in the EGI group (p<0.05). As a result of the difference between the three groups, there was a significant difference after training (p<0.05). Conclusion: Visual cue deprivation balance training applying head control feedback is effective in improving the dynamic balance function in older people. It is also necessary to constantly maintain the head orientation by feedback and to properly control the head movement.

• BMB Reports
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• v.56 no.5
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• pp.308-313
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• 2023

Phenotypic features such as ataxia and loss of motor function, which are characteristics of Parkinson's disease (PD), are expected to be very closely related to cerebellum function. However, few studies have reported the function of the cerebellum. Since the cerebellum, like the cerebrum, is known to undergo functional and morphological changes due to neuroinflammatory processes, elucidating key functional factors that regulate neuroinflammation in the cerebellum can be a beneficial therapeutic approach. Therefore, we employed PD patients and MPTP-induced PD mouse model to find cytokines involved in cerebellar neuroinflammation in PD and to examine changes in cell function by regulating related genes. Along with the establishment of a PD mouse model, abnormal shapes such as arrangement and number of Purkinje cells in the cerebellum were confirmed based on histological finding, consistent with those of cerebellums of PD patients. As a result of proteome profiling for neuroinflammation using PD mouse cerebellar tissues, fetuin-A, a type of cytokine, was found to be significantly reduced in Purkinje cells. To further elucidate the function of fetuin-A, neurons isolated from cerebellums of embryos (E18) were treated with fetuin-A siRNA. We uncovered that not only the population of neuronal cells, but also their morphological appearances were significantly different. In this study, we found a functional gene called fetuin-A in the PD model's cerebellum, which was closely related to the role of cerebellar Purkinje cells of mouse and human PD. In conclusion, morphological abnormalities of Purkinje cells in PD mice and patients have a close relationship with a decrease of fetuin-A, suggesting that diagnosis and treatment of cerebellar functions of PD patients might be possible through regulation of fetuin-A.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.195-201
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• 2014

Body fluid has been studied for diverse fields like Ringer's solutions, artificial joint fluids, cell growth culture media because it plays a crucial role in controlling body temperature and acts as a solvent for diverse metabolite processes in the body and delivery media of mineral, energy source, hormone, signal and drug from and to cell via blood or lymphatic vessel by osmotic pressure or active uptake. Stratum corneum containing extracellular lipids and NMF (natural moisturizing factor) absorbs atmospheric water residing outside of cells and utilize it to hydrate inside of their own. This process is related to skin barrier function. In this study, we conducted the cell viability test with Cell Bio Fluid $Sync^{TM}$, which mimicks body fluids including amino acids, peptides, and monosaccharides to strengthen skin barrier, and the clinical skin improvement test with cosmetics containing Cell Bio Fluid $Sync^{TM}$. In the cell viability test, HaCaT cell was treated with PBS for 3 hours, followed by the treatment of a cell culture medium (DMEM) and isotonic solution (PBS) and Cell Bio Fluid $Sync^{TM}$ for 3 hours each. Then, MTT assay and image analysis were conducted. In the clinical skin improvement test, twenty-one healthy women participated. Participants applied cosmetics containing Cell Bio Fluid $Sync^{TM}$ on their face for a week and evaluated the skin hydration, skin roughness, brightness and evenness. All measurements were conducted after they washed off their face and took a rest under the constant temperature ($22{\pm}2^{\circ}C$) and constant humidity conditions ($50{\pm}5%$) for 20 minutes. All the data were analyzed by SPSS (version 21) software program. Results showed that Cell Bio Fluid $Sync^{TM}$ improved both the cell viability and in vivo skin conditions such as skin hydration, roughness, brightness and evenness.

• Interdisciplinary Bio Central
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.8.1-8.5
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• 2010

Introduction: Recently identified human homologues of ALKB protein have shown the activity of DNA damaging drugs, used for cancer therapy. Bioinformatics study of hABH2 and hABH3 had led to the discovery of a novel DNA repair mechanism. Very little is known about structure and function of hABH4, one of the members of this superfamily. Therefore, in present study we are intended to predict its structure and function through various bioinformatics tools. Materials and Methods: Modeling was done with modeler 9v7 to predict the 3D structure of the hABH4 protein. This model was validated with the program Procheck using Ramachandran plot statistics and was submitted to PMDB with ID PM0076284. The 3d2GO server was used to predict the functions. Residues at protein ligand and protein RNA binding sites were predicted with 3dLigandSite and KYG programs respectively. Results and Discussion: 3-D model of hABH4, ALKBH4.B99990003.pdb was predicted and evaluated. Validation result showed that 96.4 % residues lies in favored and additional allowed region of Ramachandran plot. Ligand binding residues prediction showed four Ligand clusters, having 24 ligands in cluster 1. Importantly, conserved pattern of Glu196-X-Pro198- Xn-His254 in the functional domain was detected. DNA and RNA binding sites were also predicted in the model. Conclusion and Prospects: The predicted and validated model of human homologue hABH4 resulted from this study may unveil the mechanism of DNA damage repair in human and accelerate the research on designing of appropriate inhibitors aiding in chemotherapy and cancer related diseases.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2014.02a
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• pp.425.1-425.1
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• 2014

Thermal transport in nanomaterials is not only scientifically interesting but also technological important for various future electronic, bio, and energy device applications. Among the various computation approaches to investigate lattice thermal transport phenomena in nanoscale, the atomistic nonequilibrium Green's function approach based on first-principles density functional theory calculations appeared as a promising method given the continued miniaturization of devices and the difficulty of developing classical force constants for novel nanoscale interfaces. Among the nanometerials, carbon atomic chains, namely the cumulene (all-doulble bonds, ${\cdots}C=C=C=C{\cdots}$) and polyyne (alternation of single and triple bonds, ${\cdots}C{\equiv}C-C{\equiv}C{\cdots}$) can be considered as the extream cases of interconnction materials for nanodevices. After the discovery and realization of carbon atomic chains, their electronic transport properties have been widely studied. For the thermal transport properties, however, there have been few literatures for this simple linear chain system. In this work, we first report on the development of a non-equilibrium Green's function theory-based computational tool for atomistic thermal transport calculations of nanojunctions. Using the developed tool, we investigated phonon dispersion and transmission properties of polyethylene (${\cdots}CH2-CH2-CH2-CH2{\cdots}$) and polyene (${\cdots}CH-CH-CH-CH{\cdots}$) structures as well as the cumulene and polyyne. The resulting phonon dispersion from polyethylene and polyene showed agreement with previous results. Compared to the cumulene, the gap was found near the ${\Gamma}$ point of the phonon dispersion of polyyne as the prediction of Peierls distortion, and this feature was reflected in the phonon transmission of polyyne. We also investigated the range of interatomic force interactions with increase in the size of the simulation system to check the convergence criteria. Compared to polyethylene and polyene, polyyne and cumulene showed spatially long-ranged force interactions. This is reflected on the differences in phonon transport caused by the delicate differences in electronic structure.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.326-331
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• 2008

This study investigated the effects of dietary slander glasswort extract on improvements in bowel function and constipation relief. Balb/C mice were used to measure transit movement of a charcoal meal after slander glasswort extract was added to their drinking water at 0.36, 0.72, and 1.5 mg/mL concentrations. The extract's constipation relief effects were investigated in Sprague-Dawley rats with loperamide-induced constipation by adding 2, 3, and 4 mg/mL of the extract to their drinking water, and by feeding yogurt containing 0.0, 0.25, and 0.50% slander glasswort extract mixed into a 10-fold amount of water. The mice receiving the extract at 1.5 mg/mL via drinking water had a 16.4% increase in the rate of transit as compared to the controls. In addition, the rats receiving the extract via drinking water and yogurt had increased in constipation relief from 128 to 156% and from 107 to 150%, respectively, as compared to the controls. Based on the results, slander glasswort is considered to have effects on improving bowel function and relieving constipation.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.165-171
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• 2011

Fractional solvent extraction by organic solvents such as hexane, chloroform, ethylacetate, and butanol was carried out using 70% ethanol extract of apple flower leaves. Biological activities including antioxidant, whitening, antimicrobial and anti-wrinkle activities were investigated and bio-active materials of the extracts were identified using GC/MSD. Among the tested solvent fractions, ethylacetate fraction showed the highest total polyphenol content (1218.94 ${\mu}g/mL$), and flavonoid (140 ${\mu}g/mL$). The DPPH radical scavenging activities was over 80% at a dry matterbased concentration of 200 ${\mu}g/{\mu}L$ and SOD-like activity was over 90% at 50 ${\mu}g/mL$ concentration in ethylacetate fraction that was slightly lower than of ascorbic aicd. Tyrosinase inhibition activity related to skin-whitening was over 60% by ethylacetate fraction of 100 ${\mu}g/mL$. As an anti-aging effect, elastase inhibitory activity was about 45% in ethylacetate fraction. Also, it showed a significantly antimicrobial activity against P. acenes. From GC/MSD analysis, a characteristic peak of high content in ethylacetate fraction was identified as kaempferol, which has been reported as a bioactive compound.

• International Journal of Stem Cells
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.145-155
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• 2023

Background and Objectives: Embryologically, mesodermal development is closely related to the development of various organs such as muscles, blood vessels, and hearts, which are the main organs that make up the body. However, treatment for mesoderm developmental disorders caused by congenital or acquired factors has so far relied on surgery and drug treatment for symptom relief, and more fundamentally, treatment for mesoderm developmental disorders is needed. Methods and Results: In our study, microRNA (miRNA), which plays an important role in the mesoderm development process, was identified and the developmental function was evaluated. miRNAs consist of small nucleotides, which act as transcription factors that bind to the 3' untranslated region and suppressed target gene expression. We constructed the human embryonic stem cell (hESC) knockout cell line and analyzed the function and characteristics of miR-5739, which plays an important role in mesoderm lineage. miR-5739 acts as a transcription factor targeting SMA, Brachyury T, Hand1, which controls muscle proliferation and differentiation, and KDR gene, which regulates vessel formation in vitro. In vivo results suggest a role in regulating muscle proliferation and differentiation. Gene ontology analysis confirmed that the miR-5739 is closely related to genes that regulate muscle and vessel proliferation and differentiation. Importantly, abnormal expression of miR-5739 was detected in somatic cells derived from patients with congenital muscle disease. Conclusions: Our study demonstrate that miR-5739 gene function significantly affects transcriptional circuits that regulate muscle and vascular differentiation during embryonic development.