• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers
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• v.18 no.7
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• pp.1713-1721
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• 1994

Intermetallic-matrix composites(IMCs) have the potential of combing matrix properties of oxidation resistance and high temperature stability with reinforcement properties of high specific strength and modulus. One of the major limiting factors for successful applications of these composite at high temperatures is the formation of interfacial reactions between matrix and ceramic reinforcement during composite process and during service. The purpose of the present investigation is to develop a better understanding of the nature of creep fracture mechanisms in a $Ni_{3}Al$ composite reinforced with both $TiB_{2}$ and SiC particulates. Emphasis is placed in the roles of the products of the reactions in determining the creep lifetime of the composite. In the present study, creep rupture specimens were tested under constant ranging from 180 to 350 MPa in vacuum at $760^{\cric}C$. The experimental data reveal that the stress exponent for power law creep for the composite is 3.5, a value close to that for unreinforced $Ni_{3}Al$. The microstructural observations reveal that most of the cavities lie on the grain boundaries of the $Ni_{3}Al$ matrix as opposed to the large $TiB_{2}/Ni_{3}Al$ interfaces, suggesting that cavities nucleate at fine carbides that lie in the $Ni_{3}Al$ grain boundaries as a result of the decomposition of the $SiC_{p}$. This observation accounts for the longer rupture times for the monolicthic $Ni_{3}Al$ as compared to those for the $Ni_{3}Al/SiC_{p}/TiB_{2} IMC$. Finally, it is suggested that creep deformation in matrix appears to dominate the rupture process for monolithic $Ni_{3}Al$, whereas growth and coalescence of cavities appears to dominate the rupture process for the composite.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.16-23
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• 2005

Peroxiredoxins (Prxs) are a superfamily of thiol-specific antioxidant proteins present in all organism and involved in the hydroperoxide detoxification of the cell. To determine the structural organization of yeast-Prx, electron microscopic analysis was performed. The average images of yeast-Prxs revealed three different structure, i.e. spherical-shaped structure, ring-shaped structure and irregularly-shaped small particles. In order to analyze the conformational change of yeast-Prx by reduction and oxidation, Prxs were subjected to DTT and $H_2O_2$. In presence of DTT, yeast-Prx showed a high tendency to form a decamer. However, they changed into dimeric or spherical structure in the oxidized state. Here we also show ionic interaction between dimeric subunits is primarily responsible for yeast-Prx oligomerization.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.37-41
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• 2011

This study investigated the antioxidative action of Corni Fructus aqueous extract on kidneys of diabetic mice. The electron donating abilities of Corni Fructus aqueous extract and its antioxidant activities (XO, SOD, CAT, GST, eNOS) in kidneys of C57BL/6 or db/db mice were evaluated. For in vivo study, seven week-old male mice were divided into normal control group (NC, C57BL/6 mice), diabetic control group (DC, db/db mice) and Corni Fructus (500 mg/kg/day for 8 weeks) treated diabetic group (DCF, db/db mice). The electron donating abilities of Corni Fructus aqueous extract exhibited 7%, 24.4%, and 42.7% at concentrations of 100, 500, and $1000\;{\mu}g/ml$, respectively. The activity of XO in the DCF group was significantly lower than the DC group by 35% (p < 0.05). The SOD activity was significantly higher in the DCF group than the DC group by 26% (p < 0.05). The activities of CAT and GST were lowered in the DCF group than the DC group by 26% (p < 0.05) and 7.6%, respectively. The mRNA expression of eNOS in kidneys was lower in the DCF group than the DC group by 24%. These results indicate that Corni Fructus reduced oxidation stress as evidenced by the restoration of the enzymatic antioxidative defense system in renal tissues of db/db mice. It is suggested that these antioxidative actions of Corni Fructus on renal tissues in db/db mice could contribute to its renoprotective effects on diabetic nephropathy.

• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.229-236
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• 2014

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nitrogen species (RNS) are implicated in cellular signaling processes and as a cause of oxidative stress. Recent studies indicate that ROS and RNS are important signaling molecules involved in nociceptive transmission. Xanthine oxidase (XO) system is a well-known system for superoxide anions ($O{_2}^{{\cdot}_-}$) generation, and sodium nitroprusside (SNP) is a representative nitric oxide (NO) donor. Patch clamp recording in spinal slices was used to investigate the role of $O{_2}^{{\cdot}_-}$ and NO on substantia gelatinosa (SG) neuronal excitability. Application of xanthine and xanthine oxidase (X/XO) compound induced membrane depolarization. Low concentration SNP ($10{\mu}M$) induced depolarization of the membrane, whereas high concentration SNP (1 mM) evoked membrane hyperpolarization. These responses were significantly decreased by pretreatment with phenyl N-tert-butylnitrone (PBN; nonspecific ROS and RNS scavenger). Addition of thapsigargin to an external calcium free solution for blocking synaptic transmission, led to significantly decreased X/XO-induced responses. Additionally, X/XO and SNP-induced responses were unchanged in the presence of intracellular applied PBN, indicative of the involvement of presynaptic action. Inclusion of GDP-${\beta}$-S or suramin (G protein inhibitors) in the patch pipette decreased SNP-induced responses, whereas it failed to decrease X/XO-induced responses. Pretreatment with n-ethylmaleimide (NEM; thiol-alkylating agent) decreased the effects of SNP, suggesting that these responses were mediated by direct oxidation of channel protein, whereas X/XO-induced responses were unchanged. These data suggested that ROS and RNS play distinct roles in the regulation of the membrane excitability of SG neurons related to the pain transmission.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.227-234
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• 2015

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: We investigated the effects of a combination of grape pomace (Vitis labrusca, Campbell Early) and Omija fruit (Schizandra chinensis, Baillon) ethanol extracts on lipid metabolism and antioxidant defense system in diet-induced obese mice. MATERIALS/METHODS: Forty male C57BL/6J mice were divided into four groups and fed high-fat diet (control group, CON) or high-fat diet added 0.5% grape pomace extract (GPE), 0.05% Omija fruit extract (OFE) or 0.5% GPE plus 0.05% OFE (GPE+OFE) for 12 weeks. RESULTS: In contrast to the GPE- or OFE-supplemented groups, the GPE+OFE group showed significantly lower body weight and white adipose tissue weights than the CON group. Moreover, GPE+OFE supplementation significantly decreased plasma total cholesterol and increased the plasma HDL-cholesterol/total-cholesterol ratio (HTR) compared to the control diet. The hepatic triglyceride level was significantly lower in the GPE+OFE and GPE groups by increasing ${\beta}$-oxidation and decreasing lipogenic enzyme compared to the CON group. Furthermore, GPE+OFE supplementation significantly increased antioxidant enzyme activities with a simultaneous decrease in liver $H_2O_2$ content compared to the control diet. CONCLUSIONS: Together our results suggest that supplementation with the GPE+OFE mixture may be more effective in improving adiposity, lipid metabolism and oxidative stress in high-fat diet-fed mice than those with GPE and OFE alone.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.27 no.8
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• pp.1398-1408
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• 2003

Tensile and LCF(low cycle fatigue) tests were carried out in air at wide temperature range 20$^{\circ}C$-750$^{\circ}C$ and strain rates of 1${\times}$10$\^$-4//s-1${\times}$10$\^$-2/ to ascertain the influence of strain rate on tensile and LCF properties of prior cold worked 316L stainless steel, especially focused on the DSA(dynamic strain aging) regime. Dynamic strain aging induced the change of tensile properties such as strength and ductility in the temperature region 250$^{\circ}C$-600$^{\circ}C$ and this temperature region well coincided with the negative strain rate sensitivity regime. Cyclic stress response at all test conditions was characterized by the initial hardening during a few cycles, followed by gradual softening until final failure. Temperature and strain rate dependence on cyclic softening behavior appears to result from the change of the cyclic plastic deformation mechanism and DSA effect. The DSA regimes between tensile and LCF loading conditions in terms of the negative strain rate sensitivity were well consistent with each other. The drastic reduction in fatigue resistance at elevated temperature was observed, and it was attributed to the effects of oxidation, creep and dynamic strain aging or interactions among them. Especially, in the DSA regime, dynamic strain aging accelerated the reduction of fatigue resistance by enhancing crack initiation and propagation.

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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• 2010.05a
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• pp.6.2-6.2
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• 2010

Stainless steel is widely known to have superior corrosion properties. However, in some harsh conditions it still suffers various kinds of corrosions such as galvanic corrosion, pitting corrosion, intergranular corrosion, chloride stress corrosion cracking, and etc. For the corrosion protection of stainless steel, the ceramic coatings such as protective silica film can be used. The sol-gel coating technique for the silica film has been extensively studied especially because of the cost effectiveness. It has been proved that silica can improve the oxidation and the acidic corrosion resistance of metal surface in a wide range of temperatures due to its high heat and chemical resistance. However, in the sol-gel coating process there used to engage a heat treatment at an elevated temperature like $500^{\circ}C{\sim}600^{\circ}C$ where cracks in the silica film would be formed because of the thermal expansion mismatch with the metal. The cracks and pores of the film would deteriorate the corrosion resistance. When the heat treatment temperature is reduced while keeping the adhesion and the density of the film, it could possibly give the enhanced corrosion resistance. In this respect, inorganic protective silica film was tried on the surface of stainless steel using a sol-gel chemical route where silica nanoparticles, tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) and methyltriethoxysilane (MTES) were used. Silica nanoparticles with different sizes were mixed and then the film was deposited on the stainless steel substrate. It was intended by mixing the small and the large particles at the same time a sufficient consolidation of the film is possible because of the high surface activity of the small nanoparticles and a modest silica film is obtained with a low temperature heat treatment at as low as $200^{\circ}C$. The prepared film showed enhanced adhesion when compared with a silica film without nanoparticle addition. The films also showed improved protect ability against corrosion.

• Current Research on Agriculture and Life Sciences
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.18-24
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• 2013

This work attempted to fabricate organic/inorganic nanocomposite by combining organic cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs), isolated by 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxy radical (TEMPO)-mediated oxidation of native cellulose with inorganic nanoclay. The morphology and dimension of CNFs, and tensile properties and thermal stability of CNF/clay nanocomposites were characterized by transmission electron microscope (TEM), tensile test, and thermogravimetry (TG), respectively. TEM observation showed that CNFs were fibrillated structure with a diameter of about $4.86{\pm}1.341nm$. Tensile strength and modulus of the hybrid nanocomposite decreased as the clay content of the nanocomposite increased, indicating a poor dispersion of CNFs or inefficient stress transfer between the CNFs and clay. The elongation at break increased at 1% clay level and then continuously decreased as the clay content increased, suggesting increased brittleness. Analysis of TG and derivative thermogravimetry (DTG) curves of the nanocomposites identified two thermal degradation peak temperatures ($T_{p1}$ and $T_{p2}$), which suggested thermal decomposition of the nanocomposites to be a two steps-process. We think that $T_{p1}$ values from $219.6^{\circ}C$ to $235^{\circ}C$ resulted from the sodium carboxylate groups in the CNFs, and that $T_{p2}$ values from $267^{\circ}C$ to $273.5^{\circ}C$ were mainly responsible for the thermal decomposition of crystalline cellulose in the nanocomposite. An increase in the clay level of the CNF/clay nanocomposite predominately affected $T_{p2}$ values, which continuously increased as the clay content increased. These results indicate that the addition of clay improved thermal stability of the CNF/clay nanocomposite but at the expense of nanocomposite's tensile properties.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.290-298
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• 2013

This study examined the effects of calcium (Ca) gluconate on collagen-induced DBA mouse rheumatoid arthritis (CIA). A single daily dose of 200, 100 or 50 mg/kg Ca gluconate was administered orally to male DBA/1J mice for 40 days after initial collagen immunization. To ascertain the effects administering the collagen booster, CIA-related features (including body weight, poly-arthritis, knee and paw thickness, and paw weight increase) were measured from histopathological changes in the spleen, left popliteal lymph node, third digit and the knee joint regions. CIA-related bone and cartilage damage improved significantly in the Ca gluconate-administered CIA mice. Additionally, myeloperoxidase (MPO) levels in the paw were reduced in Ca gluconate-treated CIA mice compared to CIA control groups. The level of malondialdehyde (MDA), an indicator of oxidative stress, decreased in a dose-dependent manner in the Ca gluconate group. Finally, the production of IL-6 and TNF-${\alpha}$, involved in rheumatoid arthritis pathogenesis, were suppressed by treatment with Ca gluconate. Taken together, these results suggest that Ca gluconate is a promising candidate anti-rheumatoid arthritis agent, exerting anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative and immunomodulatory effects in CIA mice.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.173-180
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• 2015

Extract from Gryllus bimaculatus crickets inhibits oxidation at the DNA level, with reduced production of 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG). Microarray analyses were performed with a rat 28K cDNA clone set array to identify the gene expression profiles of aged (10 months old) Wistar Kyoto rats treated for one month with 100 mg/kg G. bimaculatus ethanol extract to assess the effects. The extract produced a meaningful anti-edema effect, evident by the inhibition of creatinine phosphokinase activity. The weights of abdominal and ovarian adipose tissues were reduced and the proportion of unsaturated fatty acids in adipose tissues was increased in an extract dose-dependent manner. Compared with untreated control rats, rats treated with the extract displayed the upregulation of 1053 genes including Fas (tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily, member 6), Amigo3 (adhesion molecule with an immunoglobulin-like domain), Reticulon 4, 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme (Hmgcr; a reductase), related anti-fatigue (enzyme metabolism), and Rtn antioxidant, and the downregulation of 73 genes including Ugt2b (UDP glycosyltransferase 2 family), Early growth response 1, and Glycoprotein m6a. Data suggest that G. bimaculatus extract may have value in lessening the effects of aging, resulting in a differential gene expression pattern indicative of a marked stress response and lower expression of metabolic and biosynthetic genes.