• Journal of Adhesion and Interface
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2019

Fabrication of monolayer is important method for enhancing physical and chemical characteristics such as light shielding and antireflection while maintaining thin film properties. In previous studies, monolayers were fabricated by various methods on small substrates, but processes were complicated and difficult to form monolayers with large area. We used rod coating equipment with a small amount of coating liquid to form a HCP (hexagonal closed packing) coating of PMMA beads on PET(poly(ethylene terephthalate)) substrate with $20cm{\times}20cm$ size. We observed that changes in morphologies of monolayers by using the solvents with different boiling points and vapor pressures, by adapting surfactants on particles and by applying plasma treatment on substrates. The coverage was increased by 20% by optimizing the coating conditions including meniscus of beads, control of the attraction - repulsion forces and surface energy. This result can potentially be applied to optical films and sensors because it is possible to make a uniform and large-scale monolayer in a simple and rapid manner when it is compared to the methods in previous studies.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.83-89
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• 2021

Uu-ilys, an i-type lysozyme from spoon worm (Urechis unicinctus), is an innate immune factor that plays an important role in the defense against pathogens. It also possesses non-enzymatic antibacterial activity. Thus, there is a possibility to develop an antimicrobial model peptide from Uu-ilys. In this study, we report the design, production, and antibacterial activity of an Uu-ilys analog that exhibits antibacterial activity. The Uu-ilys structure was fragmented according to its secondary structures to predict the regions with antimicrobial activity using antimicrobial peptide (AMP) prediction tools from different AMP databases. A peptide containing the C-terminal fragment was predicted to exert antimicrobial activity. The chosen fragment was designated as an Uu-ilys analog containing the C-terminal fragment, Uu-ilys-CF. To examine the possibility of developing an AMP using the sequence of Uu-ilys-CF, recombinant fusion protein (TrxA-Uu-ilys-CF) was produced in an expression system that was heterologous. The produced fusion protein was cleaved after methionine leaving Uu-ilys-CF free from the fusion protein. This was then isolated through high performance liquid chromatography and reverse phase column, CapCell-Pak C18. The antibacterial activity of Uu-ilys-CF against different microbial strains (four gram-positive, six gram-negative, and one fungal strain) were assessed through the ultrasensitive radial diffusion assay (URDA). Among the bacterial strains tested, Salmonella enterica was the most susceptible. While the fungal strain tested was not susceptible to Uu-ilys-CF, broad spectrum antibacterial activity was observed.

• Journal of Korea Foundry Society
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• v.41 no.6
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• pp.535-542
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• 2021

In this study, to improve the interfacial bond strength of cast iron-aluminum dissimilar materials, graphite was removed to a certain depth from the cast iron surface through de-graphitization heat treatment. As the heat treatment time increased, the depth at which graphite was removed increased, showing a linear relationship between the heat treatment time and depth. Aluminum was filled to a certain depth on the de-graphitized cast iron surface through die-casting method, and no intermetallic compounds were formed on the cast iron-aluminum interface. The interfacial bonding strength showed a value of 90 MPa regardless of the heat treatment time, which is very high compared to the 12MPa bonding strength of the material without de-graphitization heat treatment. This result is thought to be due to the mechanical bonding of the undercut structure as the liquid aluminum, penetrated by the high pressure die-casting process, solidified in the de-graphitized region of the cast iron.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.126-132
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• 2022

Alkaline fuel cells using liquid fuels such as hydrazine and ammonia are gaining great attention as a clean and renewable energy solution possibly owing to advantages such as excellent energy density, simple structure, compact size in fuel container, and ease of storage and transportation. However, common shortcomings including cathode flooding, fuel crossover, side yield reactions, and fuel security and toxicity are still challenging issues. Real time monitoring of fuel concentrations integrated into a fuel cell device can help improving fuel cell performance via predicting any loss of fuels used at a cathode for efficient energy production. There have been extensive research efforts made on developing real-time sensing platforms for hydrazine and ammonia. Among these, recent advancements in electrochemical sensors offering high sensitivity and selectivity, easy fabrication, and fast monitoring capability for analysis of hydrazine and ammonia concentrations will be introduced. In particular, research trend on the integration of metallic and metal oxide nanoparticles and also their hybrids with carbon-based nanomaterials into electrochemical sensing platforms for improvement in sensitivity and selectivity will be highlighted.

• Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.69-78
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• 2022

Geotextile tubes are widely used to prevent erosion in coastal areas and to replace the backfill for shore slopes in the reclamation of land using dredged soil. In this study, The triaxial confining pressures were chosen as 10kPa, 50kPa, or 100kPa for the specimens reinforced with geotextile considering the condition in the site. The strain behavior under various compressive stresses was then identified. At strains 0% to 7%, the stress-strain behavior was the same due to the effect of initial strain hardening, in which the force was exerted according to the relaxation of the geotextile regardless of the confining pressure (≤100kPa). At strains of 7% or more, the specimen with the small confining pressure had smaller deformation under load, which increases the tensile resistance provided by the reinforcing geotextile. Brittle fracture was then observed due to strain softening and the deviator stress abruptly decreased. This is different from the phenomenon in which the shear strength increases as the confining pressure increases in general triaxial compression tests. In the geoxtile-confined tests, geotextiles are primarily subjected to tensile displacement. Thereafter, the modulus of elasticity increases rapidly, which exhibits the elastic behavior of the geotextile.

• Composites Research
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.180-185
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• 2023

This paper investigates the impact of fiber dispersion on the internal structure and mechanical strength of SiC_f/SiC composites manufactured using spread SiC fibers. The fiber volume ratio of the specimen to which spread SiC fiber was applied decreased by 9%p compared to the non-spread specimen, and the resin slurry impregnated between the fibers more smoothly, resulting in minimal matrix porosity. In order to compare the fiber dispersion of each specimen, a method was proposed to quantify and evaluate the separation distance between fibers in composite materials. The results showed that the distance between fibers in the spread specimen increased by 2.23 ㎛ compared to the non-spread specimen, with a significant 42.6% increase in the distance between fiber surfaces. Furthermore, the 3pt bending test demonstrated a 49.3% higher flexural strength in the spread specimen, accompanied by a more uniform deviation in test data. These findings highlight the significant influence of SiC fiber dispersion on achieving uniform densification of the SiC_f/SiC matrix and increasing mechanical strength.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.68-77
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• 2024

Airborne particulate matter (PM) is an environmentally hazardous pollutant that originates from various sources. PM is comprised of solid particles and liquid droplets of diverse composition and size. Hazardous chemical compositions of PM include elemental and organic carbon, organic compounds, biological compounds and metals. Upon acute and chronic PM exposure, toxic contaminants enter and accumulate within physiological systems and prompt cell structure changes accompanied with intracellular endoplasmic reticulum stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, inflammation, lipid accumulation, and cell cycle arrest. Ultimately, these cellular response leads to the development of key characteristics of aging. In addition, PM internalization enhances autophagy reflux and lysosomal dysfunction, which is involved in cell aging. Previous studies have emphasized a positive association between PM and increased mortality or decreased lifespan, although these are evidenced mostly by observational studies. Direct evidence of the link between PM and aging is still limited. This review evaluates the evidence from not only observational studies but also in vitro and in vivo evidence of PM on aging progression and age-related diseases development. This evidence is based on age-associated cellular changes including endoplasmic reticulum stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, inflammation, adipose accumulation, autophagy, which strengthen the association between PM exposure and aging. Understanding the underlying cellular responses under PM may allow for the development of new therapeutic targets for PM-induced aging.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.66
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• pp.477-483
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• 2023

The flowers of Carthamus tinctorius (Safflower) were extracted with 80% aqueous methanol (CTex) and the concentrates were partitioned into EtOAc (CTE), n-BuOH (CTB), and H₂O (CTW) fractions. Repeated silica gel (SiO₂) and octadecyl silica gel column chromatographies for the EtOAc and n-BuOH fractions led to isolation of four flavonol glycosides. Nuclear magnetic resornance, infrarad spectroscopy, and mass spectroscopy revealed the chemical structure of the isolated compounds, astragalin (1), isoquercetin (2), nicotiflorin (3), and rutin (4). Quantitative analysis of four isolated compounds in CTex was performed by HPLC. CTex was found to contain 1 at 0.107, 2 at 0.367, 3 at 6.752, and 4 at 0.991 mg/g, respectively. Through this study, an experiment was conducted to evaluate the protective effect on pancreatic islets of the extract, solvent fractions, and all isolated compounds using a zebrafish larvae damaged by alloxan. Pancreatic islet size treated with EtOAc (CTE), n-BuOH (CTB), and H₂O (CTW) fractions and compounds 1-4 significantly increased compared to the alloxan-induced group. These results indicate that C. tinctorius flowers and its isolated compounds are used as potential anti-diabetic agents.

• Transactions of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.48-57
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• 2015

In a sodium-cooled fast reactor, which is a Generation-IV reactor, refueling is conducted by rotating, but not opening, the reactor head to prevent a reaction between the sodium, water and air. Therefore, an inspection technique that checks for the presence of any obstacles between the reactor core and the upper internal structure, which could disturb the rotation of the reactor head, is essential prior to the refueling of a sodium-cooled fast reactor. To this end, an ultrasound-based inspection technique should be employed because the opacity of the sodium prevents conventional optical inspection techniques from being applied to the monitoring of obstacles. In this study, a ranging inspection technique using a plate-type ultrasonic waveguide sensor was developed to monitor the presence of any obstacles between the reactor core and the upper internal structure in the opaque sodium. Because the waveguide sensor installs an ultrasonic transducer in a relatively cold region and transmits the ultrasonic waves into the hot radioactive liquid sodium through a long waveguide, it offers better reliability and is less susceptible to thermal or radiation damage. A 10 m horizontal beam waveguide sensor capable of radiating an ultrasonic wave horizontally was developed, and beam profile measurements and basic experiments were carried out to investigate the characteristics of the developed sensor. The beam width and propagation distance of the ultrasonic wave radiated from the sensor were assessed based on the experimental results. Finally, a feasibility test using cylindrical targets (corresponding to the shape of possible obstacles) was also conducted to evaluate the applicability of the developed ranging inspection technique to actual applications.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.51-59
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• 2001

Column and box tests were performed to investigate the removal efficiency of NAPL using the surfactant enhanced flushing In heterogeneous medium. Homogeneous Ottawa sand and heterogeneous soil were used to verify the increase of remediation efficiency for the surfactant enhanced flushing in column test. Box tests with two different heterogeneous sub-structure were performed to quantify the capability of the surfactant enhanced flushing as a remediation method to remove NAPL from the heterogeneous medium. Two different grain size sand layers were repeated in the box to simulate the heterogeneous layer formation and the modified fault structure was built to simulate the fault system in the box. O-xylene as a LNAPL and PCE as a DNAPL were used and oleamide as a non-ionic surfactant. The maximum NAPL effluent concentration with 1% oleamide flushing in the homogeneous column test increased about 460 times compared to that with only water flushing and about 250 times increased in the real soil column test. In heterogeneous medium, the maximum effluent concentration increased about 150 times in 1% oleamide flushing and most of NAPL were removed from the box within 8 pore volume flushing, suggesting that the removal efficiency increased very much compared to in only water flushing. Results investigated the capability of the surfactant enhanced remediation method to remove NAPL even in heterogeneous medium.