• Membrane Journal
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.105-113
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• 2005

Silica membranes were prepared on a porous metal sheet by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis method for gas separation at high temperatures. In order to improve the permselectivity, silica was deposited in the sol-gel derived $silica/\gamma-alumina$ intermediate layer by pyrolysis of tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) at 873 K. The pyrolysis with forced cross flow through the porous wall of the support was very effective in plugging mesopores, Knudsen diffusion regime, that were left unplugged in the membranes. At permeation temperature of 523 K, the silica/alumina composite membrane showed $H_2/N_2$ and water/methanol selectivity as high as 17 and 16, respectively, by molecular sieve effect.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.109-116
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• 1997

An extracellular proteinase of Candida albicans was purified by a combination of 0~75% ammonium sulfate precipitation, DEAE Sepharose Fast Flow ion exchange chromatography, and Sephacryl S-200 HR molecular sieve chromatography. Its mlecular weight was approximately 41 kDa on SDS-PAGE and isoelectric point was 4.4. The enzyme was inhibited by pepstain A. Optimum enzyme activity ranged from pH 2.0 to 3.5 with its maximum at pH 2.5 and a temperature of 45$^{\circ}C$. The addition of divalent cations, $Ca^{2+}$, Zn$^{2+}$ and $Mg^{2+}$, resulted in no significant inhibition of enzymatic activity. However, some inhibitory effects were observed by Fe$^{2+}$, Ag$^{2+}$ and Cu$^{2+}$. With BSA as substrate, an apparent $K_m$ was determined to be 7$\times$10$^{-7}$ M and $K_i$, using pepstatin A as an inhibitor, was 8.05$\times$10$^{-8}$ M. N-terminal amino acid sequence was QAVPVTLXNEQ. Degradation of BSA and fibronectin was shown but not collagen, hemoglobin, immunoglobulin G, or lysozyme. The enzyme preferred peptides with Glu and Leu at the P$_1$ position, but the enzyme activity was highly reduced when the P$_2$ position was phe or pro. This enzyme showed antigenicity against sera of patients with candidiasis.

• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.77-82
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• 2008

Innate immune response is initiated by the recognition of unique microbial molecular patterns through pattern recognition receptors (PRRs). The purpose of this study is to dissect the expression of various PRRs in gingival epithelial cells of differentiated versus undifferentiated states. Differentiation of immortalized human gingival epithelial HOK-16B cells was induced by culture in the presence of high $Ca^{2+}$ at increased cell density. The expression levels of various PRRs in HOK-16B cells were examined by realtime reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RTPCR) and flow cytometry. In addition, the expression of human beta defensins (HBDs) was examined by real time RT-PCR and the amounts of secreted cytokines were measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. In undifferentiated HOK-16B cells, NACHT-LRR-PYDcontaining protein (NALP) 2 was expressed most abundantly, and toll like receptor (TLR) 2, TLR4, nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain (NOD) 1, and NOD2 were expressed in substantial levels. However, TLR3, TLR7, TLR8, TLR9, ICE protease-activating factor (IPAF), and NALP6 were hardly expressed. In differentiated cells, the levels of NOD2, NALP2, and TLR4 were different from those in undifferentiated cells at RNA but not at protein levels. Interestingly, differentiated cells expressed the increased levels of HBD-1 and -3 but secreted reduced amount of IL-8. In conclusion, the repertoire of PRRs expressed by gingival epithelial cells is limited, and undifferentiated and differentiated cells express similar levels of PRRs.

• Korea-Australia Rheology Journal
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.203-211
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• 2009

In flows with deformation rates larger than the inverse Rouse time of the polymer chain, chains are stretched and their confining tubes become increasingly anisotropic. The pressures exerted by a polymer chain on the walls of an anisotropic confinement are anisotropic and limit chain stretch. In the Molecular Stress Function (MSF) model, chain stretch is balanced by an interchain pressure term, which is inverse proportional to the $3^{rd}$ power of the tube diameter and is characterized by a tube diameter relaxation time. We show that the tube diameter relaxation time is equal to 3 times the Rouse time in the limit of small chain stretch. At larger deformations, we argue that chain stretch is balanced by two restoring tensions with weights of 1/3 in the longitudinal direction of the tube (due to a linear spring force) and 2/3 in the lateral direction (due to the nonlinear interchain pressure), both of which are characterized by the Rouse time. This approach is shown to be in quantitative agreement with transient and steady-state elongational viscosity data of two monodisperse polystyrene melts without using any nonlinear parameter, i.e. solely based on the linear-viscoelastic characterization of the melts. The same approach is extended to model experimental data of four styrene-butadiene random copolymer melts in shear flow. Thus for monodisperse linear polymer melts, for the first time a constitutive equation is presented which allows quantitative modeling of nonlinear extension and shear rheology on the basis of linear-viscoelastic data alone.

• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.405-413
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• 2004

The rheological properties of an exopolysaccharide, EPS-R, produced by the marine bacterium Hahella chejuensis strain 96CJ 10356 were investigated. The $E_{24}$ of $0.5\%$ EPS-R was $89.2\%$, which was higher than that observed in commercial polysaccharides such as xanthan gum ($67.8\%$), gellan gum ($2.01\%$) or sodium alginate ($1.02\%$). Glucose and galactose are the main Sugars in EPS-R, with a molar ratio of ${\~}1:6.8$, xylose and ribose are minor sugar components. The average molecular mass, as determined by gel filtration chromatography, was $2.2{\times}10^3$ KDa, The intrinsic viscosities of EPS-R were calculated to be 16.5 and 15.9 dL/g using the Huggins and Kraemer equations, respectively, with a 2.3 dL/g overlap. In terms of rigidity, the conformation of EPS-R was similar to that of caboxymethyl cellulose ($5.0{\times}10^{-2}$). The rheological behavior of EPS-R dispersion indicated that the formation of a structure intermediate between that of a random-coil polysaccharide and a weak gel. The aqueous dispersion of EPS-R at concentrations ranging from 0.25 to $1.0\%$ (w/w) showed a marked shear-thinning property in accordance with Power-law behavior. In aqueous dispersions of $1.0\%$ EPS-R, the consistency index (K) and flow behavior index (n) were 1,410 and 0.73, respectively. EPS-R was Stable to pH and salts.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.525-530
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• 2005

The erosion rate of water wall tube has been measured and discussed in a commercial circulating fluidized bed combustor (200 ton steam/hr, $4.97{\times}9.90{\times}28.98m\;height$). Tube thickness was measured with ultrasonic method. Severe tube erosion rate was observed in the splash region on all waterwalls including wingwalls. The tube erosion rate increased after an initial decrease as height from the distributor increased. The difference of erosion rate among wing walls was found due to unbalanced distribution of gas and solid flow rates. The erosion rate of the wing wall increased as location of the wing wall became closer to the center of combustor crosssection.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.100-106
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• 2003

An on-line frontal analysis HPLC system was developed to determine the unbound concentration of (S)-perillyl alcohol, an potential anti-cancer agent, in human serum albumin (HSA) solution, The analysis was performed on a Develosil 100 Diol 5 (10 cm x 4.6 mm I.D.) high-performance frontal analysis (HPFA) column. Sodium phosphate solution was used as the mobile phase (pH 7.4, ionic strength 0.17) at a flow rate of 1 $m\ell$/min. UV wavelength was set at 205 nm. A injection volume of 600${mu}ell$ was chosen to ensure the compound eluted formed a zonal peak with a plateau. By Scatchard analysis, it was found that the binding constant(K) and binding number(n) of (S)-perillyl alcohol to molecular HSA were 2.05 x $10^6$ [$M{-1}$], 0.00428, respectively.

• BMB Reports
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.25-30
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• 2013

Gap junctions and their structural proteins, connexins (Cxs), have been implicated in carcinogenesis. To explore the involvement of Cx32 in gastric carcinogenesis, immunochemical analysis of Cx32 and proliferation marker Ki67 using tissue-microarrayed human gastric cancer and normal tissues was performed. In addition, after Cx32 overexpression in the human gastric cancer cell line AGS, cell proliferation, cell cycle analyses, and $p21^{Cip1}$ and $p27^{Kip1}$ expression levels were examined by bromodeoxyuridine assay, flow cytometry, real-time RT-PCR, and western blotting. Immunohistochemical study noted a strong inverse correlation between Cx32 and Ki67 expression pattern as well as their location. In vitro, overexpression of Cx32 in AGS cells inhibited cell proliferation significantly. $G^1$ arrest, up-regulation of cell cycle-regulatory proteins $p21^{Cip1}$ and $p27^{Kip1}$ was also found at both mRNA and protein levels. Taken together, Cx32 plays some roles in gastric cancer development by inhibiting gastric cancer cell proliferation through cell cycle arrest and cell cycle regulatory proteins.

• BMB Reports
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• v.39 no.5
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• pp.492-501
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• 2006

Since differentiation therapy is one of the promising strategies for treatment of leukemia, universal efforts have been focused on finding new differentiating agents. In that respect, we used guanosine 5'-triphosphate (GTP) to study its effects on K562 cell line. GTP, at concentrations between 25-200 ${\mu}M$, inhibited proliferation (3-90%) and induced 5-78% increase in benzidine-positive cells after 6-days of treatments of K562 cells. Flow cytometric analyses of glycophorine A (GPA) showed that GTP can induce expression of this marker in more mature erythroid cells in a time- and dose-dependent manner. These effects of GTP were also accompanied with inhibition of DNA synthesis (measured by [$^3H$]-thymidine incorporation) and early S-phase cell cycle arrest by 96 h of exposure. In contrast, no detectable effects were observed when GTP administered to unstimulated human peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL). However, GTP induced an increase in proliferation, DNA synthesis and viability of mitogen-stimulated PBL cells. In addition, growth inhibition and differentiating effects of GTP were also induced by its corresponding nucleotides GDP, GMP and guanosine (Guo). In heat-inactivated medium, where rapid degradation of GTP via extracellular nucleotidases is slow, the anti-proliferative and differentiating effects of all type of guanine nucleotides (except Guo) were significantly decreased. Moreover, adenosine, as an inhibitor of Guo transporter system, markedly reduced the GTP effects in K562 cells, suggesting that the extracellulr degradation of GTP or its final conversion to Guo may account for the mechanism of GTP effects. This view is further supported by the fact that GTP and Guo are both capable of impeding the effects of mycophenolic acid. In conclusion, our data will hopefully have important impact on pharmaceutical evaluation of guanine nucleotides for leukemia treatments.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.216-223
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• 2008

It has been reported that bone marrow (BM)-side population (SP) cells, with hematopoietic stem cell activity, can transdifferentiate into cardiomyocytes and contribute to myocardial repair. However, this has been questioned by recent studies showing that hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) adopt a hematopoietic cell lineage in the ischemic myocardium. The present study was designed to investigate whether BM-SP cells can in fact transdifferentiate into functional cardiomyocytes. Phenotypically, BM-SP cells were $19.59%{\pm}9.00\;CD14^+$, $8.22%{\pm}2.72\;CD34^+$, $92.93%{\pm}2.68\;CD44^+$, $91.86%{\pm}4.07\;CD45^+$, $28.48%{\pm}2.24\;c-kit^+$, $71.09%{\pm}3.67\;Sca-1^+$. Expression of endothelial cell markers (CD31, Flk-1, Tie-2 and VEGF-A) was higher in BM-SP cells than whole BM cells. After five days of co-culture with neonatal cardiomyocytes, $7.2%{\pm}1.2$ of the BM-SP cells expressed sarcomeric ${\alpha}$-actinin as measured by flow cytometry. Moreover, BM-SP cells co-cultured on neonatal cardiomyocytes fixed to inhibit cell fusion also expressed sarcomeric ${\alpha}$-actinin. The co-cultured BM-SP cells showed neonatal cardiomyocyte-like action potentials of relatively long duration and shallow resting membrane potential. They also generated calcium transients with amplitude and duration similar to those of neonatal cardiomyocytes. These results show that BM-SP cells are capable of functional cardiomyogenic differentiation when co-cultured with neonatal cardiomyocytes.