• Advances in environmental research
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.19-33
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• 2013

Microalgae are receiving an increasing attention because of their potential use as $CO_2$ capture method and/or as feedstock for biofuels production. On the other hand the current microalgae-based technology is still not widespread since it is characterized by technical and economic constraints that hinder its full scale-up. In such contest the growth kinetics of Nannochloris eucaryotum (a relatively unknown marine strain) in batch and semi-batch photobioreactors is quantitatively investigated with the aim of obtaining the corresponding kinetic parameters suitable for process engineering and its optimization. In particular the maximum growth rate was evaluated to be 1.99 $10^{-3}\;h^{-1}$. Half saturation concentrations for nitrates ($K_N$) and phosphates uptake ($K_P$) were evaluated as 5.4 $10^{-4}\;g_N\;L^{-1}$ and 2.5 $10^{-5}\;g_P\;L^{-1}$, respectively. Yield factors for nitrogen ($Y_N$) and phosphorus ($Y_P$) resulted to be 5.9 $10^{-2}\;g_N\;g^{-1}$ biomass and 6.0 $10^{-3}\;g_P\;g^{-1}{_{biomass}}$, respectively. The possibility of using 100% (v/v) $CO_2$ gas as carbon source is also evaluated for the first time in the literature as far as N. eucaryotum is concerned. The strain showed a good adaptability to high concentrations of dissolved $CO_2$ as well as to low pH. The lipid content under 100% $CO_2$ is about 16.16 %wt $wt^{-1}$ and the fatty acid methyl esters composition of the extracted oil is in compliance with the European regulation for quality biodiesel.

• KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.801-825
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• 2024

For Internet of Things, it is more preferred to have immediate access to environment information from sensor nodes (SNs) rather than from gateway nodes (GWNs). To fulfill the goal, mutual authentication scheme between user and SNs with session key (SK) negotiation is more suitable. However, this is a challenging task due to the constrained power, computation, communication and storage resources of SNs. Though lots of authentication schemes with SK negotiation have been designed to deal with it, they are still insufficiently secure and/or efficient, and some even have serious vulnerabilities. Therefore, we design an efficient secure authentication scheme with session key negotiation (eSAS2KN) for wireless sensor networks (WSNs) utilizing fuzzy extractor technique, hash function and bitwise exclusive-or lightweight operations. In the eSAS2KN, user and SNs are mutually authenticated with anonymity, and an SK is negotiated for their direct and instant communications subsequently. To prove the security of eSAS2KN, we give detailed informal security analysis, carry out logical verification by applying BAN logic, present formal security proof by employing Real-Or-Random (ROR) model, and implement formal security verification by using AVISPA tool. Finally, computation and communication costs comparison show the eSAS2kN is more efficient and secure for practical application.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information and Communication Engineering
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• v.12 no.8
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• pp.1441-1447
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• 2008

It is possible to transfer huge data in mobile device by advancing mobile technology, and so in this base, various services are offered. Especially, E-commerce service is offering on mobile environment, and this service is based on XML(eXtensible Markup Language) Signature. XML Signature assure that process integrity, message authentication, and/or signer authentication. And WIPI(Wireless Internet Protocol for Interoperability) that is mobile internet integration platform was proposed to integrate mobile device platform. However, because WIPI transmits and exchanges message by tort of XML base, encryption of XML document and necessity of XML signature are increasing because of weakness of security. Therefor in this paper, Encryption and XML signature module of XML document that satisfy standard requirement in WIPI platform base design and implementation. System that was proposed in this paper used standard encryption and XML signature algorithm and supports safe encryption and XML signature through doing security simulation applied various algorithm for XML document of mobile environment.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.32 no.10
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• pp.1335-1343
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• 2022

COVID-19 is an emerging disease that poses a severe threat to global public health. As such, there is an urgent demand for vaccines against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Here, we describe a virus-like nanoparticle candidate vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 produced by an E. coli expression system. The fusion protein of a truncated ORF2-encoded protein of aa 439~608 (p170) from hepatitis E virus CCJD-517 and the receptor-binding domain of the spike protein from SARS-CoV-2 were expressed, purified and characterized. The antigenicity and immunogenicity of p170-RBD were evaluated in vitro and in Kunming mice. Our investigation revealed that p170-RBD self-assembled into approximately 24 nm virus-like particles, which could bind to serum from vaccinated people (p < 0.001) and receptors on cells. Immunization with p170-RBD induced the titer of IgG antibody vaccine increased from 14 days post-immunization and was significantly enhanced after a booster immunization at 28 dpi, ultimately reaching a peak level on 42 dpi with a titer of 4.97 log₁₀. Pseudovirus neutralization tests showed that the candidate vaccine induced a strong neutralizing antibody response in mice. In this research, we demonstrated that p170-RBD possesses strong antigenicity and immunogenicity and could be a potential candidate for use in future SARS-CoV-2 vaccine development.

• BMB Reports
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• v.51 no.11
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• pp.572-577
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• 2018

Recent studies showed that the PD-1/PD-L1 checkpoint blockade is a dramatic therapy for melanoma by enhancing antitumor immune activity. Currently, major strategies for the PD-1/PD-L1 blockade have mainly focused on the use of antibodies and compounds. Seeking an alternative approach, others employ endogenous proteins as blocking agents. The extracellular domain of PD-1 (ePD1) includes the binding site with PD-L1. Accordingly, we constructed a PD-1-based recombinantly tailored fusion protein (dFv-ePD1) that consists of bivalent variable fragments (dFv) of an MMP-2/9-targeted antibody and ePD1. The melanoma-binding intensity and antitumor activity were also investigated. We found the intense and selective binding capability of the protein dFv-ePD1 to human melanoma specimens was confirmed by a tissue microarray. In addition, dFv-ePD1 significantly suppressed the migration and invasion of mouse melanoma B16-F1 cells, and displayed cytotoxicity to cancer cells in vitro. Notably, dFv-ePD1 significantly inhibited the growth of mouse melanoma B16-F1 tumor cells in mice and in vivo fluorescence imaging showed that dFv-ePD was gradually accumulated into the B16-F1 tumor. Also the B16-F1 tumor fluorescence intensity at the tumor site was stronger than that of dFv. This study indicates that the recombinant protein dFv-ePD1 has an intensive melanoma-binding capability and exerts potent therapeutic efficacy against melanoma. The novel format of the PD-L1-blocked agent may play an active role in antitumor immunotherapy.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.22 no.E2
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• pp.69-77
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• 2006

Combined gas and aerosol measurements at a downwind area of the volcanic plume would be essential for helping to access the impact of the volcanic eruption on the local ecosystem and residents. An intensive and the fine time resolution measurement of $SO_2$, sulfate and PM2.5 was made to estimate their distribution in the Kanto area of Japan during the Miyakejima volcanic eruption period. In Tokyo, the 1 hr average $SO_2$ concentration observed before the eruption was 23.9 ppbv, while that of after eruption was 140.4 ppbv. In the Saitama Prefecture, the average concentration of $SO_2$ marked in the present study was two times higher than the average before the volcanic eruption. The PM2.5 mass concentrations in Sitama ranged from 3.8 to $136{\mu}g\;m^{-3}$. Sulfate accounts for $4.4{\sim}39.6%$ of PM2.5 in Sitama. The good correlationship between the concentrations of $SO_2$ and sulfate was obtained. The results of the VAFTAD and HYSPLIT models indicate that $SO_2$, sulfate, and PM2.5 measured in the present study would be expected to be significantly affected by the Miyakejima volcanic plume.

• KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
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• v.7 no.5
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• pp.1313-1327
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• 2013

How to make people keep both the confidentiality of the sensitive data and the privacy of their real identity in communication networks has been a hot topic in recent years. Researchers proposed privacy-preserving authenticated key exchange protocols (PPAKE) to answer this question. However, lots of PPAKE protocols need users to remember long secrets which are inconvenient for them. In this paper we propose a lightweight three-party privacy-preserving authentication key exchange (3PPAKE) protocol using smart card to address the problem. The advantages of the new 3PPAKE protocol are: 1. The only secrets that the users need to remember in the authentication are their short passwords; 2. Both of the users can negotiate a common key and keep their identity privacy, i.e., providing anonymity for both users in the communication; 3. It enjoys better performance in terms of computation cost and security. The security of the scheme is given in the random oracle model. To the best of our knowledge, the new protocol is the first provably secure authentication protocol which provides anonymity for both users in the three-party setting.

• BMB Reports
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• v.51 no.9
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• pp.456-461
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• 2018

Chemoresistance is a major barrier to successful cisplatin-based chemotherapy for epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC), and emerging evidences suggest that microRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in the resistance. In this study, it was indicated that miR-363 downregulation was significantly correlated with EOC carcinogenesis and cisplatin resistance. Moreover, miR-363 overexpression could resensitise cisplatin-resistant EOC cells to cisplatin treatment both in vitro and in vivo. In addition, data revealed that EMT inducer Snail was significantly upregulated in cisplatin-resistant EOC cell lines and EOC patients and was a functional target of miR-363 in EOC cells. Furthermore, snail overexpression could significantly attenuate miR-363-suppressed cisplatin resistance of EOC cells, suggesting that miR-363-regulated cisplatin resistance is mediated by snail-induced EMT in EOC cells. Taken together, findings suggest that miR-363 may be a biomarker for predicting responsiveness to cisplatin-based chemotherapy and a potential therapeutic target in EOC.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.74 no.5
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• pp.711-722
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• 2020

In this study, on-site testing was carried out to investigate the vibration serviceability of a composite steel-bar truss slab with steel girder system. Impulse excitations (heel-drop and jumping) and steady-state motion (walking and running) were performed to capture the primary vibration parameters (natural frequency and damping ratio) and distribution of peak acceleration. The composite floor possesses low frequency (<8.3Hz) and damping ratio (<2.47%). Based on experimental, theoretical, and numerical analyses on fundamental natural frequency, the boundary condition of SCSS (i.e., three edges simply supported and one edge clamped) is deemed more comparable substitutive for the investigated composite floor. Walking and running excitations by one person (single excitation) were considered to evaluate the vibration serviceability of the composite floor. The measured acceleration results show a satisfactory vibration perceptibility. For design convenience and safety, a crest factor β_rp describing the ratio of peak acceleration to root-mean-square acceleration induced from the walking and running excitations is proposed. The comparisons of the modal parameters determined by walking and running tests reveal the interaction effect between the human excitation and the composite floor.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.8
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• pp.3705-3708
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• 2012

Effects of Cantharidinate on apoptosis of human colorectal cancer UTC-116 cells were investigated by means of 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, H and E staining, flow cytometry, and Raman Spectra analysis. The results showed Cantharidinate to exert inhibitory action on proliferation of human colorectal cancer UTC-116 cells, inducing apoptosis, arresting cells in G1 phase, with decline of S and G2 phases. In addition, the results of Raman spectrum showed significant changes in the UTC-116 cells chemical structure with stretching after the application of Cantharidinate. Taken together, these results suggest that the treatment of human colorectal cancer with Cantharidinate may be associated with multiple molecular mechanisms for apoptosis. Furthermore, similar to fluorouracil, Cantharidinate should be considered as novel assistant drug for controlling the growth of human colorectal cancer UTC-116 cells.