• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.522-528
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• 2004

Microfiltration with in-line rapid coagulation for drinking water production was examined. The in-line rapid coagulation was conducted using newly developed mixing device instantaneous flash mixer. The flux decline during membrane filtration was monitored with coagulant dosage varied. Flux decline was minimized at 1.1mg/L of coagulant dosage, where streaming potential of coagulated water was near zero. The optimum dosage for the process control was explained by dimensionless distance (${\kappa}{\times}a$) of particle pairs, obtained from electrophoresis parameter describing electrostatic repulsion relative to Van der Waals energy between particle pairs in the pre-coagulated water.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.263-275
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• 1989

Mechanical contractions and electrical activities of the fundic longitudinal and antral circular muscle fibers were investigated in order to elucidate topical differences of gastric motility. K-induced contracture was produced by exposure of muscle strips to high K Tyrode solution. Membrane potential and mechanical contraction were simultaneously recorded by conventional glass microelectrode method and single sucrose-gap technique. All experiments were performed in tris-buffered Tyrode solution which was aerated with $100%\;O_2\;and\;kept\;35^{\circ}C$. The results obtained were as follows: 1) The resting membrane potential of circular muscle cells in the antral region was about 10 mV more negative than that in the fundic region. 2) The membrane potentials decreased almost linearly as the extracellular KCI concentration was increased both in antral circular muscle cells and in fundic longitudinal muscle cells. 3) The thresholdal K concentration of K-contracture was 15 mM (membrane potential, -48 mV) for the antral circular muscle strip and 20 mM for the fundic longitudinal muscle cells. 4) The ratio of membrane permeability coefficient for $Na^+\;and\;K^+,\;P_{Na}/P_K\;({\alpha})$ was 0.065 for antral circular muscle cells and was 0.108 for fundic longitudinal muscle cells. 5) K-contracture of antral and fundic smooth muscle strips showed the contracture composed of phasic and tonic components. The amplitude of the phasic component increased sigmoidally in a dose-dependent manner, whereas that of the tonic component was maximal at a concentration of 40 mM KCI and at the concentrations above or below 40 mM KCI the amplitude was reduced. 6) The inverse relationship between the amplitude of tonic component and extracellular KCI concentration in the range of 40 to 150 mM KCI was more prominent in the antral circular muscle strip than in the fundic longitudinal muscle strip, where the amplitude of the tonic component decreased less steeply and was maintained higher at the same high K concentrations. 7) The tonic component was totally dependent on the external $Ca^{2+}$ and completely abolished by verapamil, while tile phasic component was far less dependent on the external $Ca^{2+}$ and partially suppressed by verapamil. From the above results, the following conclusions could be made. 1) The phasic component of K-contracture is produced both by intracellular $Ca^{2+}$ mobilization and by $Ca^{2+}$-influx from outside, while the tonic component is generated and maintained by the $Ca^{2+}-influx$ through the potential-dependent $Ca^{2+}$ channel. 2) The mechanism of reducing the free $Ca^{2+}$ concentration in the myoplasm seems to be more developed in the antral circular muscle than in the fundic longitudinal muscle. 3) The lower resting membrane potential of the fundic longitudinal muscle cell reflects a relatively high $P_{Na}/P_K$ ratio of about 0.108.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.259-277
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• 2017

Adsorption is a widely used technique for the removal of dyes from wastewaters by variety of adsorbents. In this work, the main focus is on the potential assessment of anion exchange membrane for the removal of different dyes using batch system and investigation of experimental data by applying various kinetic and thermodynamic models. The removal of anionic dyes i.e., Eosin-B, Eriochrome Black-T and Congo Red by anion exchange membrane BII from aqueous solution was carried out and effect of various parameters such as contact time, membrane dosage, temperature and ionic strength on the percentage removal of anionic dyes was studied. The experimental data was assessed by kinetic models namely pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order, Elovich liquid film diffusion, Bangham and the modified Freundlich models equation have been used to analyze the experimental data. These results indicate that the adsorption of these anionic dyes on BII follows pseudo-second-order kinetics with maximum values of regression coefficient (0.992-0.998) for all the systems. The adsorption of dyes was more suitable to be controlled by a liquid film diffusion mechanism. The adsorptive removal of dye Eosin-B and Eriochrome Black-T were decreased with temperature and thermodynamic parameters such as free energy (${\Delta}G^o$), enthalpy (${\Delta}H^o$) and entropy (${\Delta}S^o$) for adsorption of dyes on membrane BII were calculated at 298 K, 308 K and 318 K. The values of enthalpy and entropy were negative for EB and EBT representing that the adsorption of these dyes on BII is physiosorptive and exothermic in nature. Whereas the positive values of enthalpy and entropy for CR adsorption on BII, indicating that its adsorption is endothermic and spontaneous in nature. It is evident from this study that anion exchange membrane has shown good potential for the removal of dyes from aqueous solution and it can be used as adsorbent for dues removal on commercial levels.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.395-404
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• 2017

Fungal cell walls and cell membranes are the main targets of antifungals. In this study, we report on the antifungal activity of an ethanol extract from Paeonia lactiflora against Candida albicans, showing that the antifungal activity is associated with the synergistic actions of preventing cell wall synthesis, enabling membrane depolarization, and compromising permeability. First, it was shown that the ethanol extract from P. lactiflora was involved in damaging the integrity of cell walls in C. albicans. In isotonic media, cell bursts of C. albicans by the P. lactiflora ethanol extract could be restored, and the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the P. lactiflora ethanol extract against C. albicans cells increased 4-fold. In addition, synthesis of $(1,3)-{\beta}-{\small{D}}-glucan$ polymer was inhibited by 87% and 83% following treatment of C. albicans microsomes with the P. lactiflora ethanol extract at their $1{\times}MIC$ and $2{\times}MIC$, respectively. Second, the ethanol extract from P. lactiflora influenced the function of C. albicans cell membranes. C. albicans cells treated with the P. lactiflora ethanol extract formed red aggregates by staining with a membrane-impermeable dye, propidium iodide. Membrane depolarization manifested as increased fluorescence intensity by staining P. lactiflora-treated C. albicans cells with a membrane-potential marker, $DiBAC_4(3)$ ((bis-1,3-dibutylbarbituric acid) trimethine oxonol). Membrane permeability was assessed by crystal violet assay, and C. albicans cells treated with the P. lactiflora ethanol extract exhibited significant uptake of crystal violet in a concentration-dependent manner. The findings suggest that P. lactiflora ethanol extract is a viable and effective candidate for the development of new antifungal agents to treat Candida-associated diseases.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.233-241
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• 1995

The nonapeptide bradykinin has been shown to exhibit an array of biological activities including relaxation/contraction of various smooth muscles. In order to investigate the effects of bradykinin on the contractility and the electrical activity of antral circular muscle of guinea-pig stomach, the isometric contraction and membrane potential were recorded. Also, using standard patch clamp technique, the $Ca^{2+}-activated$ K currents were recorded to observe the change in cytosolic $Ca^{2+}$ concentration. $0.4 {\mu}M$ bradykinin induced a triphasic contractile response (transient contraction-transient relaxation-sustained contraction) and this response was unaffected by pretreatment with neural blockers (tetrodotoxin, atropine and guanethidine) or with apamin. Bradykinin induced hyperpolarization of resting membrane potential and enhanced the amplitude of slow waves and spike potentials. The enhancement of spike potentials was blocked by neural blockers. Both the bradykinin-induced contractions and changes in membrane potential were reversed by the selective $B_2$-receptor antagonist $(N{\alpha}-adamantaneacetyl-_{D}-Arg-[Hyp, Thy,_{D}-Phe]-bradykinin)$. In whole-cell patch clamp experiment, we held the membrane potential at -20 mV and spontaneous and transient changes of Ca-activated K currents were recorded. Bradykinin induced a large transient outward current, consistent with a calcium-releasing action of bradykinin front the intracellular calcium pool, because such change was blocked by pretreatment with caffeine. Bradykinin-induced contraction was also blocked by pretreatment with caffeine. From these results, it is suggested that bradykinin induces a calciumrelease and contraction through the $B_{2}$ receptor of guinea-pig gastric smooth muscle. Enhancement of slow wave activity is an indirect action of bradykinin through enteric nerve cells embedded in muscle strip.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.388-394
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• 2018

Carbon nanotube (CNT) based membranes are promising candidates for separation membranes by showing high water transport rate and ion rejection rate according to their radii. The ion selectivity is an important factor to discover the full potential of CNT membranes, and it is affected by the functionalization of CNTs. With multivalent/size ion mixtures, the ion selectivity is affected by not only ion-functional groups interaction but also ion-ion interactions and ion size exclusion in a complex manner. In this study, molecular dynamics simulations are performed to study the ion selectivity of functionalized carbon nanotubes when multivalent/size ions are contained. The permeation energy barriers are calculated by plotting potential of mean force profiles, and various factors, such as CNT size and partial charges, affecting ion selectivity are investigated. The results presented here will be useful for designing CNT membranes for ion separation, biomimetic ion channels, etc.

• Journal of Korean Society of Coastal and Ocean Engineers
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.116-129
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• 2000

The interaction of incident monochromatic waves with a tensioned, flexible, circular membrane submerged horizontally below free surface is investigated in the frame of three-dimensional linear hydro-elastic theory. The velocity potential is split into two parts i.e. the diffraction potential representing the scattering of incident waves by a rigid circular disk and the radiation potential describing motion induced waves by elastic responses of flexible membrane. The fluid domain is divided into three regions, and the diffraction and radiation potentials in each region are expressed by the Fourier Bessel series. The displacement of circular membrane is expanded with a set of natural functions, which satisfy the membrane equation of motion and boundary conditions. The unknown coefficients in each region are determined by applying the continuity of pressure and normal velocity at the matching boundaries. The results show that various types of wave focusing are possible by controlling the size, submergence depth, and tension of membrane.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.211-219
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• 2012

To enhance the efficiency of water treatment and reduce the extent of membrane fouling, the membrane separation process is frequently preceded by other physico-chemical processes. One of them might be ion exchange. The aim of this work was to compare the efficiency of natural organic matter removal achieved with various anion-exchange resins, and to verify their potential use in water treatment prior to the ultrafiltration process involving a ceramic membrane. The use of ion exchange prior to ceramic membrane ultrafiltration enhanced final water quality. The most effective was MIEX, which removed significant amounts of the VHA, SHA and CHA fractions. Separation of uncharged fractions was poor with all the resins examined. Water pretreatment involving an ion-exchange resin failed to reduce membrane fouling, which was higher than that observed in unpretreated water. This finding is to be attributed to the uncharged NOM fractions and small resin particles that persisted in the water.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.91-103
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• 1992

Synthetic membrane processes are being increasingly integrated into existing reaction, isolation, and recovery schemes for the production of valuable biological molecules. In many cases they are replacing traditional unit processes. The properties of membrane systems which are most often exploited for both upstream and downstream processing and their permselectivity, high surface area per unit volume, are their potential for controlling the level of contact and/or mixing between two separate phases. Advances in both membrane materials and module design and operation have led to better control of concentration polarization and membrane fouling. After presenting some recent advances in membrane materials and fluid mechanics, we demonstrate how membranes have been integrated into cellular and enzymatic reaction schemes. This is followed by a review of established and emerging synergism between biological processes and synthetic membranes.

• Journal of the Institute of Convergence Signal Processing
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.222-230
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• 2013

Retinal bipolar cells according to the light stimulus respond to potential slowly, emit neurotransmitter release(glutamine acid) to depend on membrane potential. In this paper, the several physiological information on neurotransmitter release mechanism in the presynaptic terminal of the ON-type bipolar cells are incorporated into the formula model. The source of fast components and slow components of neurotransmitter release was arranged in parallel, this model was able to reproduce the membrane potential and intracellular $Ca^{2+}$ concentration dependence of neurotransmitter release faithfully. In addition, because the fast releasable components of neurotransmitter was represented by the membrane potential dependence of trapezoid type, whereas the slow releasable components was represented by the membrane potential dependence of a bell type, $Ca^{2+}$ concentration rise in intracellular is suppressed by $Ca^{2+}$ buffer to reduce slow releasable components, it was confirmed that the membrane potential dependence of neurotransmitter release was characteristics of a trapezoid type. And, in the light response of ON type bipolar cell, the result of the simulation of the neurotransmitter release caused by the components of transient and persistent was that the start of light response occurred the fast release of neurotransmitter, it was confirmed that the transient component and persistent component of the light response occurred the slow release. It was confirmed that the later of persistent component of the light response occurred due to the continuous release by synaptic vesicle supplemented from the storage pool.