• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.27 no.10
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• pp.513-517
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• 2017

An optimum route to fabricate a hybrid-structured W powder composed of nano and micro size powders was investigated. The mixture of nano and micro W powders was prepared by a ball milling and hydrogen reduction process for $WO_3$ and W powders. Microstructural observation for the ball-milled powder mixtures revealed that the nano-sized $WO_3$ particles were homogeneously distributed on the surface of large W powders. The reduction behavior of $WO_3$ powder was analyzed by a temperature programmed reduction method with different heating rates in Ar-10% $H_2$ atmosphere. The activation energies for the reduction of $WO_3$, estimated by the slope of the Kissinger plot from the amount of reaction peak shift with heating rates, were measured as 117.4 kJ/mol and 94.6 kJ/mol depending on reduction steps from $WO_3$ to $WO_2$ and from $WO_2$ to W, respectively. SEM and XRD analysis for the hydrogen-reduced powder mixture showed that the nano-sized W particles were well distributed on the surface of the micro-sized W powders.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.113-118
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• 2014

Ribes fasciculatum which belongs to Saxifragaceae has been widely used as a traditional medicine for the treatment of symptoms associated with lacquer poison. However, pharmacological studies on the R. fasciculatum are extremely limited until now. Thus, in this study, we evaluated the possible anti-inflammatory effects of ethyl acetate fraction of R. fasciculatum (ERF) using IFN-${\gamma}$/LPS-stimulated peritoneal macrophage model. We investigated the change in nitrite level in the absence or presence of ERF after LPS stimulation, and we found that ERF effectively attenuates the NO production in a dose dependent manner without notable toxicity. To determine the mechanism of the inhibitory action of ERF on NO production, we performed iNOS enzyme activity assay and Western blotting. Here we showed that both of iNOS enzyme activities and iNOS expressions were significantly down-regulated by ERF, indicating that these dual activities of ERF are responsible for ERF-mediated NO suppression. In addition, ERF inhibitied the expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), an another key enzyme in inflammation through suppression of NF-${\kappa}B$ activation. We also tested anti-inflammatory properties of ERF not only in vitro, but in vivo using trypsin-induced paw edema model in mice. Our results revealed that the increased paw volume in response to trypsin injection was recovered by ERF supplement dose dependently.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.450-460
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• 2020

The occurrence of exotic weeds and their influx into farmlands due to climate change poses many problems. Therefore, it is necessary to generate a prediction model for the occurrence pattern of these exotic weeds based on scientific evidence and devise prevention measures. The photosynthetic apparatus is known as the most temperature-sensitive component of a plant cell and its initial response to temperature stress is to inhibit the activation of photosystem II. This study investigated the potential of OJIP transients in assessing temperature stress in exotic weeds. The four exotic weeds currently flowing into Korean farmlands include Amaranthus spinosus, Conyza bonariensis, Crassocephalum crepidioides, and Amaranthus viridis. These weeds were treated at 5℃, 10℃, 15℃, 20℃, 25℃, 30℃, 35℃, and 40℃ and the OJIP curves and JIP parameters were measured and analyzed. The results showed that heat and chilling stress affected the photosystem II(PSII) electron transport of A. spinosus, whereas C. crepidioides and A. viridis were more affected by high-temperature stress than by low-temperature stress. Lastly, C. bonariensis showed resistance to both high and low-temperature stress. The results of this study suggest that OJIP transients and JIP parameters can be used to analyze damage to the photosynthetic apparatus by temperature stress and that they can serve as sensitive indicators for the occurrence pattern of exotic weeds.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.36-41
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• 2014

Skin disease is one of the most common diseases and its incidence is increasing dramatically in modern society. Specially, many attempts have been made to treat chronic skin inflammation diseases, such as psoriasis and atopic dermatitis, but effective therapies for the immune cell-mediated skin diseases, including psoriasis and atopic dermatitis have not been developed. Until recently, several drug candidates which were claimed to be effective for skin diseases have been reported, but most of them are not used to treat chronic skin disease. Especially, Psoriasis is characterized by excessive growth and aberrant differentiation of keratinocytes, but is fully reversible with appropriate therapy. The trigger of the keratinocyte response is thought to be activation of the cellular immune system, with T cells and various immune-related cytokines. Formation of new blood vessels starts with early psoriatic changes and disappears with disease clearance. Several angiogenic mediators are up-regulated in psoriasis development. Contact- and mediator-dependent factors derived from keratinocytes, mast cells and immune cells may contribute to the strong blood vessel formation of psoriasis. New technologies and experimental models provide new insights into the role of angiogenesis in psoriasis pathogenesis. TMP and its derivatives themselves effectively inhibited in vitro cell migration, tube formation, and the expression of angiogenic factors. However, TMP and its derivatives induced side effects including hemolysis and local side effects. Therefore, in an attempt to reduce the toxicity and the undesirable side effects of TMP and derivatives, a liposomal formulation was prepared and tested for its effectiveness. TMP and derivatives liposomes retained the effectiveness of TMP in vitro while side effects were reduced. These results support the conclusion that TMP effectively inhibits in vitro angiogenesis, with the possibility that use as a psoriasis relief agent.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.6 no.5
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• pp.233-238
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• 2007

Due to the occasional occurrence of a localizedcorrosion such as a SCC and pitting in steam generator tubing(Alloy 600), leading to a significant economical loss, an effective repair technology is needed. For a successful electrodeposition inside a tube, many processes should be developed. Among these processes, an anode to be installed inside a tube, a degreasing condition to remove any dirt and grease, an activation condition for a surface oxide elimination, a strike layer forming condition which needs to be adhered tightly between an electroforming layer and a parent tube and a condition for an electroforming layer should be established. Through a combination of these various process condition parameters, the desired material properties can be acquired. Among these process parameters, various material properties including a mechanical property and its variation along with the height of the electrodeposit inside a tube as well as its thermal stability and SCC resistance should be assessed for an application in a plant. This work deals with the material properties of the Ni electrodeposits formed inside a tube by using the anode developed in this study such as the current efficiency, hardness, tensile property, thermal stability and SCC behavior of the electrodeposit in a 40wt% NaOH solution at $315^{\circ}C$. It was found that a variation of the material properties within the entire length of the electrodeposit was quite acceptable and the Ni electrodeposit showed an excellent SCC resistance.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.1080-1086
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• 2017

The quality and the nutritional ingredients and the functional activation of Nypa fruticans flower stalk was evaluated in this research. It consisted of 7.5% of water, 13.56% of crude protein, 0.84% of crude fat, 9.25% of crude ash, and 68.85% of carbohydrate. 12 kinds of minerals were identified, where the top 3 of them being K, Cl, and Na in order. There were a total of 15 types of amino acid analyzed, with the main amino acids of arginine 30.25%, aspartic acid 26.90%, and glutamic acid 17.12%. Total polyphenol content was 20,190.73 mg/100 g, and the total flavonoid content was 71.73 mg/100 g. The $IC_{50}$ for DPPH radical scavenging ability was $0.017{\pm}0.00mg/mL$ for Nypa fruticans Wurmb flower stalk, $0.672{\pm}0.01mg/mL$ for blueberry, and $1.282{\pm}0.03mg/mL$ for ginseng. The $IC_{50}$ for ABTS radical scavenging ability was $0.070{\pm}0.00mg/mL$ for Nypa fruticans Wurmb flower stalk, $2.918{\pm}0.13mg/mL$ for blueberry, and $4.131{\pm}0.24mg/mL$ for ginseng. For this reason, it is considered that containing plenty of polyphenol and antioxidant, Nypa fruticans Wurmb is related to antiinflammation. This research will contribute to production of functional foods and high value materials using Nypa fruticans Wurmb.

• BMB Reports
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• v.52 no.11
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• pp.641-646
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• 2019

The Ron proto-oncogene is a human receptor for macrophage-stimulating protein (MSP). The exclusion of exon 11 in alternative splicing generates ${\Delta}RON$ protein that is constitutively activated. Heterogenous ribonucleaoprotein (hnRNP) $C_1/C_2$ is one of the most abundant proteins in cells. In this manuscript, we showed that both hnRNP $C_1$ and $C_2$ promoted exon 11 inclusion of Ron pre-mRNA and that hnRNP $C_1$ and hnRNP $C_2$ functioned independently but not cooperatively. Moreover, hnRNP $C_1$ stimulated exon 11 splicing through intron 10 activation but not through intron 11 splicing. Furthermore, we showed that, whereas the RRM domain was required for hnRNP $C_1$ function, the Asp/Glu domain was not. In conclusion, hnRNP $C_1/C_2$ promoted exon 11 splicing independently by stimulating intron 10 splicing through RRM but not through the Asp/Glu domain.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.559-569
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• 2021

As one of the major types of lung cancer, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for the majority of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Treatments for NSCLC includes surgery, chemotherapy, and targeted therapy. Among the targeted therapies, resistance to inhibitors of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is common and remains a problem to be solved. MET (hepatocyte growth factor receptor) amplification is one of the major causes of EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) resistance. Therefore, there exists a need to find new and more efficacious therapies. Deoxypodophyllotoxin (DPT) extracted from Anthriscus sylvestris roots exhibits various pharmacological activities including anti-inflammation and anti-cancer effects. In this study we sought to determine the anti-cancer effects of DPT on HCC827GR cells, which are resistant to gefitinib (EGFR-TKI) due to regulation of EGFR and MET and their related signaling pathways. To identify the direct binding of DPT to EGFR and MET, we performed pull-down, ATP-binding, and kinase assays. DPT exhibited competitive binding with ATP against the network kinases EGFR and MET and reduced their activities. Also, DPT suppressed the expression of p-EGFR and p-MET as well as their downstreat proteins p-ErbB3, p-AKT, and p-ERK. The treatment of HCC827GR cells with DPT induced high ROS generation that led to endoplasmic-reticulum stress. Accordingly, loss of mitochondrial membrane potential and apoptosis by multi-caspase activation were observed. In conclusion, these results demonstrate the apoptotic effects of DPT on HCC827GR cells and signify the potential of DPT to serve as an adjuvant anti-cancer drug by simultaneously inhibiting EGFR and MET.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.54-64
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• 2021

The chemical warfare agents (CWAs) have been developed for offensive or defensive purposes and used as chemical weapons in war and terrorism. The CWAs are exposed to the natural environment, transported through the water system and then eventually contaminate soil and groundwater. Therefore, effective decontamination technology to remediate CWAs are needed. The CWAs are extremely dangerous and prodution is strictly prohibited, therefore, it is difficult to use CWAs even in experimental purpose. In this study, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) was chosen as a model representative CWA because it is a simulant of anti-plant CWAs and one of the major component of agent orange. The optimum degradation conditions such as oxidant:activator ratio were determined. The effects of hydroxylamine and chelating agents such as citric acid (CA), oxalic acid (OA), malic acid (MA), and EDTA addition to increase Fe2+ activation were also investigated. Scavenger experiments using tert-butyl alcohol (TBA) and ethanol confirmed that although both sulfate (SO4•-) and hydroxyl radical (•OH) existed in Fe2+-persulfate system, sulfate radical was the predominant radical. To promote the Fe2+ activator effect, the effect of hydroxylamine as a reducing agent was investigated. In chelating agents assisted Fe2+-persulfate oxidation, the addition of 2 mM of CA and MA enhanced 2,4-D degradation. In contrast, EDTA and OA inhibited the 2,4-D removal due to steric hindrance effect.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.507-513
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• 2022

When X-ray energy above 8 MV is used, photoneutrons are generated by the photonuclear reaction, which activates the components of linear accelerator (linac). Safely managing the radioactive material, when disposing linac or replacing components, is difficult, as the standards for the radioactive material management are not clear in Korea. We surveyed the management status of radioactive components occurred from medical linacs in Korea. And we also measured the activation of each part of the discarded Elekta linac using a survey meter and portable High Purity Germanium (HPGe) detector. We found that most medical institutions did not perform radiation measurements when disposing of radioactive components. The radioactive material was either stored within the institution or collected by the manufacturer. The surface dose rate measurements showed that the parts with high surface dose rates were target, primary collimator, and multileaf collimator (MLC). ⁶⁰Co nuclide was detected in most parts, whereas for the target, ⁶⁰Co and ¹⁸⁴Re nuclides were detected. Results suggest that most institutions in Korea did not have the regulations for disposing radioactive waste from linac or the management procedures and standards were unclear. Further studies are underway to evaluate short-lived radionuclides and to lay the foundation for radioactive waste management from medical linacs.