• Journal of Life Science
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.64-72
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• 2023

Despite several advances in identification of cardiac transcription factors, there are still needs to find new bioactive molecules that promote cardiomyogenesis from stem cells to highly efficient myocardial differentiation. We analyzed Illumina expression microarray data of mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs)-derived cardiomyocytes. 276 genes were upregulated (≥ 4fold) in mESCs-derived cardiomyocytes compared undifferentiated ESCs. Secreted phosphoprotein 2 (Spp2) is one of candidates and is known to inhibit bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP2) signal transduction as a pseudoreceptor for BMP2. However, its function in cardiomyogenesis is unknown. We confirmed that Spp2 expression increased during the differentiation into functional cardiomyocytes using mESCs, TC-1/Kh2 and E14. Interestingly, Spp2 secretion transiently increased 3 days after formation of embryoid bodies (EBs), indicating that the extracellular secretion of Spp2 is involved in the differentiation of ESCs into cardiomyocytes. To characterize Spp2, we performed experiments using the C2C12 mouse myoblast cell line, which has the property of shifting the differentiation pathway from myoblastic to osteoblastic by treatment with BMP2. Similar to the differentiation of ESCs, transcription of Spp2 increased as C2C12 myoblasts differentiated into myotubes. In particular, Spp2 secretion increased dramatically in the early stage of differentiation. Furthermore, treatment with Spp2-Flag recombinant protein promoted the differentiation of C2C12 myoblasts into myotubes. Taken together, we suggest a novel bioactive protein Spp2 that differentiates ESCs into cardiomyocytes. This may be useful for understanding the molecular pathways of cardiomyogenesis and for experimental or clinical promotion of stem cell therapy for ischemic heart diseases.

• Proceedings of the Membrane Society of Korea Conference
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• 1999.07a
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• pp.39-42
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• 1999

Perfluoropolymers represent the ultimate resistance to hostile chemical environments and high service temperature, attributed to the presence of fluorine in the polymer backbone, i.e. to the high bond energy of C-F and C-C bonds of fluorocarbons. Copolymers of Tetrafluoroethylene (TEE) and 2, 2, 4Trifluoro-5Trifluorometoxy- 1, 3Dioxole (TTD), commercially known as HYFLON AD, are amorphous perfluoropolymers with glass transition temperature (Tg)higher than room temperature, showing a thermal decomposition temperature exceeding 40$0^{\circ}C$. These polymer systems are highly soluble in fluorinated solvents, with low solution viscosities. This property allows the preparation of self-supported and composite membranes with desired membrane thickness. Symmetric and asymmetric perfluoropolymer membranes, made with HYFLON AD, have been prepared and evaluated. Porous and not porous symmetric membranes have been obtained by solvent evaporation with various processing conditions. Asymmetric membranes have been prepared by th wet phase inversion method. Measure of contact angle to distilled water have been carried out. Figure 1 compares experimental results with those of other commercial membranes. Contact angles of about 120$^{\circ}$for our amorphous perfluoropolymer membranes demonstrate that they posses a high hydrophobic character. Measure of contact angles to hexandecane have been also carried out to evaluate the organophobic character. Rsults are reported in Figure 2. The observed strong organophobicity leads to excellent fouling resistance and inertness. Porous membranes with pore size between 30 and 80 nanometers have shown no permeation to water at pressures as high as 10 bars. However high permeation to gases, such as O2, N2 and CO2, and no selectivities were observed. Considering the porous structure of the membrane, this behavior was expected. In consideration of the above properties, possible useful uses in th field of gas- liquid separations are envisaged for these membranes. A particularly promising application is in the field of membrane contactors, equipments in which membranes are used to improve mass transfer coefficients in respect to traditional extraction and absorption processes. Gas permeation properties have been evaluated for asymmetric membranes and composite symmetric ones. Experimental permselectivity values, obtained at different pressure differences, to various single gases are reported in Tab. 1, 2 and 3. Experimental data have been compared with literature data obtained with membranes made with different amorphous perfluoropolymer systems, such as copolymers of Perfluoro2, 2dimethyl dioxole (PDD) and Tetrafluorethylene, commercialized by the Du Pont Company with the trade name of Teflon AF. An interesting linear relationship between permeability and the glass transition temperature of the polymer constituting the membrane has been observed. Results are descussed in terms of polymer chain structure, which affects the presence of voids at molecular scale and their size distribution. Molecular Dyanmics studies are in progress in order to support the understanding of these results. A modified Theodoru- Suter method provided by the Amorphous Cell module of InsightII/Discover was used to determine the chain packing. A completely amorphous polymer box of about 3.5 nm was considered. Last but not least the use of amorphous perfluoropolymer membranes appears to be ideal when separation processes have to be performed in hostile environments, i.e. high temperatures and aggressive non-aqueous media, such as chemicals and solvents. In these cases Hyflon AD membranes can exploit the outstanding resistance of perfluoropolymers.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.153-161
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• 2002

Sox4, a transcription factor, consists of three functional domains: an HMG-box domain as a DNA binding domain, serine rich region as a transactivation domain and glycine rich region (GRR), an unknown functional domain. Although Sox4 is known to be functionally involved in heart, B-cell and reproductive system development, its physiological function remains to be elucidated. We used pGEX expression system to develop a simple and rapid method for purifying Sox4 protein in suitable forms for biochemical studies of their functions. Unexpectedly, we observed that full-length Sox4 appears to be protease-sensitive during expression and purification in E. coli. To map the protease-sensitive site in Sox4, we generated various constructs with each of functional domains of Sox4 and purified as the GST-Sox4 fusion proteins using glutathione beads. We found that the specific cleavage site for the proteolytic enzyme, which exists in E. coli, is localized within the novel GRR of Sox4. Our study suggest that the GRR of Sox4 may a target for the cellular protease action and this cleavage in the GRR may be involved in regulating physiological function of Sox4. Additionally, our study may provide a useful method for investigating the proteolytic cleavage of the target molecule in E. coli.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2012.08a
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• pp.184-184
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• 2012

Recently, InGaN/GaN multi-quantum well grown on GaN pyramid structures have attracted much attention due to their hybrid characteristics of quantum well, quantum wire, and quantum dot. This gives us broad band emission which will be useful for phosphor-free white light emitting diode. On the other hand, by using quantum dot emission on top of the pyramid, site selective single photon source could be realized. However, these structures still have several limitations for the single photon source. For instance, the quantum efficiency of quantum dot emission should be improved further. As detection systems have limited numerical aperture, collection efficiency is also important issue. It has been known that micro-cavities can be utilized to modify the radiative decay rate and to control the radiation pattern of quantum dot. Researchers have also been interested in nano-cavities using localized surface plasmon. Although the plasmonic cavities have small quality factor due to high loss of metal, it could have small mode volume because plasmonic wavelength is much smaller than the wavelength in the dielectric cavities. In this work, we used localized surface plasmon to improve efficiency of InGaN qunatum dot as a single photon emitter. We could easily get the localized surface plasmon mode after deposit the metal thin film because lnGaN/GaN multi quantum well has the pyramidal geometry. With numerical simulation (i.e., Finite Difference Time Domain method), we observed highly enhanced decay rate and modified radiation pattern. To confirm these localized surface plasmon effect experimentally, we deposited metal thin films on InGaN/GaN pyramid structures using e-beam deposition. Then, photoluminescence and time-resolved photoluminescence were carried out to measure the improvement of radiative decay rate (Purcell factor). By carrying out cathodoluminescence (CL) experiments, spatial-resolved CL images could also be obtained. As we mentioned before, collection efficiency is also important issue to make an efficient single photon emitter. To confirm the radiation pattern of quantum dot, Fourier optics system was used to capture the angular property of emission. We believe that highly focused localized surface plasmon around site-selective InGaN quantum dot could be a feasible single photon emitter.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.47 no.5
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• pp.479-486
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• 2003

In this study, poly(DL-lactide-co-glycolide) nanoparticles loaded with water-insoluble vitamins such as vitamin A (Retinol) and vitamin E acetate were prepared by the emulsification diffusion method. Polymer solution was prepared by the two water-miscible organic solvent, such as ethanol and acetone. Because of its biocompatible property, polyethyleneglycol-polypropyleneglycol diblock copolymer was used as surfactant and stabilizer. The influence of some preparative variables on the nanoparticle formation and on the loading efficiency of active agents, such as the type and concentration of stabilizing agent, the stirring methods, the water/oil phase ratio and the polymer concentration were investigated in order to control and optimize the process. After preparation of nanoparticles loaded with active agent, particle size and distribution were evaluated by the light scattering particle analyzer. The loading efficiency of active agents was evaluated by the UV-visible spectroscopy. As the results, particle size were 50-200 nm and dispersibility was monodisperse. The optimum loading efficiency of active agents was observed 50-60%. It was found that the appropriate of selections of binary solvent mixtures and polymeric concentrations in both organic and aqueous phases could provide good yield and favorable physical properties of PLGA nanoparticles.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.285-291
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• 2006

The effects of sorbitol mixture as plasticizers on moisture sorption property (MSP), water vapor permeability (WVP), color, tensile strength (TS), elongation at break (E), and total soluble matter (TSM) of soy protein isolate (SPI) films were investigated. Two different types of sorbitols, aqueous and crystalline, were added to film-forming solutions in various ratios of crystalline to aqueous (0:1, 0.25:0.75, 0.5:0.5, 0.75:0.25, or 1:0, based on weight). In addition, the characteristics of the SPI films plasticized by sorbitol mixtures and glycerin were compared with moisture sorption rate against time. Sorbitol-plasticized films had higher in TS, but lower in WVP and E than the glycerin-plasticized films. However the properties of SPI films did not differ appreciably by the type of sorbitol added to film-forming solutions. To explain the high solubility and low WVP of sorbitol-plasticized films, cumulative amounts of moisture content gained during adsorption and lost during desorption of films were compared between sorbitol and glycerin-plasticized films. The result suggest that use of sorbitol as a plasticizer for preparing SPI films improves moisture barrier properties of the films. However the high solubility of sorbitol-plasticized films needs to be reduced for improving the functionality of SPI films in potential packaging applications.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.538-546
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• 2016

Kochujang was prepared by replacement of rice (25%, control) with pumpkin or purple sweet potato by 0. 5, 10, and 15% (total addition ratio of rice and sweet potato=25% of sample). Effects of the addition of sweet potato on physiochemical properties of fermented Kochujang were investigated. Viable cells of yeast decreased in the sweet potato-added Kochujang at the later stage of fermentation, while there was no significant difference in the number of bacteria among the test groups. As the addition ratio sweet potato increased, ${\alpha}$-amylase activity increased while protease activity decreased. Hunter L, a, and b values of Kochujang prepared with purple sweet potato were lower than those with pumpkin sweet potato. Changes in ${\Delta}E$ value was greater in Kochujang prepared with pumpkin sweet potato than that with purple sweet potato. Oxidation-reduction potential and water activity were higher in sweet potato-Kochujang than control, but reducing sugar content was higher in control. Alcohol and amino-type nitrogen contents were higher in Kochujang prepared with pumpkin sweet potato than that with purple sweet potato, but it was not significant. Overall sensory acceptability was highest in Kochujang prepared with 10% of purple sweet potato while that with 15% pumpkin sweet potato was the least preferred.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.194-200
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• 2000

The main objective of this study was to characterize physico-chemical properties, sensory property and oxidative stability of safflower seed obtained by various roasting temperature and time. The contents of water soluble solids decreased in the higher roasting temperature and time. Sensory evaluation of safflower seed roasted in various conditions showed significant differences in taste, color, flavor and palatability. The safflower seed roasted at $190^{\circ}C$ for 20min had the best palatability. At the change of Hunter's values, L values were decreased, and a, b and ${\Delta}E$ values were increased in the higher roasting temperature and time. The content of free sugars such as sucrose and raffinose were reduced significantly in higher roasting time of $190^{\circ}C$ and $210^{\circ}C$. During the storage period after roasting treatment, peroxide values (POV) were highly increased after eight months at the all treatment except for $150^{\circ}C$. Therefore, it is inadequate over eight months after roasting treatment.

• The Journal of Society for e-Business Studies
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.127-146
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• 2020

Overseas advanced countries are aware of the importance of research equipment and are providing a lot of policy support to revitalize the research equipment industry. However, Korea does not have any law to support policies or related projects to revitalize the research equipment industry. Therefore, there is an urgent need for legislation to support policies and projects for revitalizing research equipment industry. It is considered necessary to establish a separate special law for revitalizing the research equipment industry so that it can gain competitiveness in the global market of the research equipment industry. As we have seen, the necessary articles in the relevant laws should be specified so that various promotion policies can be developed to foster the research equipment industry. In order to promote the development of research equipment industry, there are three essential items to be specified in the law. First is research and development support, second is infrastructure development, and third is business incubation. The following contents should be included in each contents. First of all, "research and development support" includes research and envelopment project promotion and support policy items, research equipment development trends and investment trends, joint research between industry, academia, And research and development support for fusion, hybrid and commercialization. Next, the items to be included in "infrastructure development" should include the establishment of research equipment clusters, related support items, training of professional manpower, and research equipment development base area and institutions. Finally, the items that should be included in "business incubation." include support matters for the development of excellent companies (priority purchase system, etc.), matters related to technology transfer and marketing, matters concerning the protection of intellectual property, And matters for promoting overseas expansion.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.61-69
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• 2004

Building stones are used mainly as a material for making decoration and sculpture, and consequently they must have predominant physical properties extensively. Among various physical properties, the coefficient of pore dominates the usefulness of building stones, so the plans were made for establishing the quality classification of building stones with respect to the nature of pore. For this study, bore-hole core samples according to the depth of the biotite granites and the granitic gneiss were applicated. From the related chart between porosity and absorption ratio, Mungyeong granitic gneiss($Gn_1$) shows the widest phase of distribution in the range of measurement values, and the values decrease in the order of Pocheon granite($Gr_2$) and Mungyeong granite($Gr_1$) in the range. The strength of each rock mass varies with the degree of alteration. Also in correlation between compressive strength and tensile strength, the range of measurement values decrease in the order of $Gn_1$, $Gr_2$and $Gr_1$. Porosity is adopted as a representative physical property for establishing the quality classification of building stones, and then relative evaluation was made with regard to various physical properties. From the related chart between porosity(n)-specific gravity(G), absorption ratio(Ab), compressive strength(${\sigma}_{c}$), tensile strength(${\sigma}_{t}$), shore hardness(Hs) and Young's modulus($E_{t}$), standard of each grade is established.