• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.386-391
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• 2014

Atmospheric-pressure nonthermal corona discharge plasma was applied to the sterilization of biologically contaminated scoria powder. Escherichia coli (E. coli) culture solution was uniformly sprayed throughout the scoria powder for artificial inoculation, which was well mixed to ensure uniformity of the batch. The effect of the key parameters such as discharge power, treatment time, type of gas and electrode distance on the sterilization efficiency was examined and discussed. The experimental results revealed that the plasma treatment was very effective for the sterilization of scoria powder; 5-min treatment at 15 W could sterilize more than 99.9% of E. coli inoculated into the scoria powder. Increasing the discharge power, treatment time or applied voltage led to an improvement in the sterilization efficiency. The effect of type of gas on the sterilization efficiency was in order of oxygen, synthetic air (20% oxygen) and nitrogen from high to low. The inactivation of E. coli under the influence of corona discharge plasma can be explained by cell membrane erosion or etching resulting from UV and reactive oxidizing species (oxygen radical, OH radical, ozone, etc.), and the destruction of E. coli cell membrane by the physical action of numerous corona streamers.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.10-16
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• 2018

Objective: Placental oxidative stress is known to be a factor that contributes to pregnancy failure. The aim of this study was to determine whether selenium could induce antioxidant gene expression and regulate invasive activity and mitochondrial activity in trophoblasts, which are a major cell type of the placenta. Methods: To understand the effects of selenium on trophoblast cells exposed to hypoxia, the viability and invasive activity of trophoblasts were analyzed. The expression of antioxidant enzymes was assessed by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction. In addition, the effects of selenium treatment on mitochondrial activity were evaluated in terms of adenosine triphosphate production, mitochondrial membrane potential, and reactive oxygen species levels. Results: Selenium showed positive effects on the viability and migration activity of trophoblast cells when exposed to hypoxia. Interestingly, the increased heme oxygenase 1 expression under hypoxic conditions was decreased by selenium treatment, whereas superoxide dismutase expression was increased in trophoblast cells by selenium treatment for 72 hours, regardless of hypoxia. Selenium-treated trophoblast cells showed increased mitochondrial membrane potential and decreased reactive oxygen species levels under hypoxic conditions for 72 hours. Conclusion: These results will be used as basic data for understanding the mechanism of how trophoblast cells respond to oxidative stress and how selenium promotes the upregulation of related genes and improves the survival rate and invasive ability of trophoblasts through regulating mitochondrial activity. These results suggest that selenium may be used in reproductive medicine for purposes including infertility treatment.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.28 no.11
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• pp.646-652
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• 2018

During a long-term operation of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells(PEMFCs), the fuel cell performance may degrade due to severe agglomeration and dissolution of metal nanoparticles in the cathode. To enhance the electrochemical durability of metal catalysts and to prevent the particle agglomeration in PEMFC operation, this paper proposes a hybrid catalyst structure composed of PtCo alloy nanoparticles encapsulated by porous carbon layers. In the hybrid catalyst structure, the dissolution and migration of PtCo nanoparticles can be effectively prevented by protective carbon shells. In addition, $O_2$ can properly penetrate the porous carbon layers and react on the active Pt surface, which ensures high catalytic activity for the oxygen reduction reaction. Although the hybrid catalyst has a much smaller active surface area due to the carbon encapsulation compared to a commercial Pt catalyst without a carbon layer, it has a much higher specific activity and significantly improved durability than the Pt catalyst. Therefore, it is expected that the designed hybrid catalyst concept will provide an interesting strategy for development of high-performance fuel cell catalysts.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.261-270
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• 2019

The separation permeation characteristics of $N_2-O_2$ gas in air at cell membrane model of skin which irradiated by high energy electron(linac 6 MeV) were investigated. The cell membrane model of skin used in this experiment was a sulfonated polydimethyl siloxane(PDMS) non-porous membrane. The pressure range of $N_2$ and $O_2$ gas were appeared from $1kg_f/cm^2$ to $6kg_f/cm^2$. In this experiment(temperature $36.5^{\circ}C$), the permeation change of $N_2$ and $O_2$ gas in non-porous membrane by non-irradiation were found to be $1.19{\times}10^{-4}-2.43{\times}10^{-4}$, $1.72{\times}10^{-4}-2.6{\times}10^{-4}cm^3(STP)/cm^2{\cdot}sec{\cdot}cmHg$, respectively. That of $N_2$ and $O_2$ gas in non-porous membrane by irradiation were found to be $0.19{\times}10^{-4}-0.56{\times}10^{-4}$, $0.41{\times}10^{-4}-0.76{\times}10^{-4}cm^3(STP)/cm^2{\cdot}sec{\cdot}cmHg$, respectively. The irradiated membrane was significantly decreased about 4-10 times than membrane which was not irradiated. And ideal separation factor of $N_2$ and $O_2$ gas by non-irradiation was found to be from 1.32 to 0.42 and that of $N_2$ and $O_2$ gas by irradiation was found to be from 0.237 to 0.125. The irradiated membrane was significantly decreased about 4-5 times than membrane which was not irradiated. When the operation change(cut) and pressure ratio(Pr) by non-irradiation were about 0, One was increased to the oxygen enrichment and the other was decreased to the oxygen enrichment. The irradiated membrane was significantly decreased about 4-19 times than membrane which was not irradiated. As the pressure of $N_2$ and $O_2$ gas was increased, the selectivity was decreased. As separation permeation characteristics of $N_2-O_2$ gas in cell membrane model of skin were abnormal, cell damages were appeared at cell.

• The Korean Journal of Pharmacology
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.161-166
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• 1990

Infusion of bradykinin (BK) into the renal arteries increases sodium excretion. However, it is not clear whether natriuresis results from the renal hemodynamic effects or from the direct effect on renal tubular sodium transport. Therefore, we examined the effects of BK on the transport-dependent oxygen consumption in the distal tubule (DT) and cortical collecting tubule (CCT) of deoxycorticosterone-treated rats. BK inhibited oxygen consumption in a dose-dependent way with a maximal reduction at $0.1\;{\mu}M$ BK. The inhibitory effect of BK was not present in the absence of sodium or in the presence of ouabain (1 mM). These data imply that the inhibitory effect of BK is restricted to the sodium transport-dependent oxygen consumption. We also investigated the relationship between the effect of BK on oxygen consumption and arachidonic acid metabolism. Mepacrine $(10\;{\mu}M)$, an inhibitor of membrane phospholipases, prevented the inhibitory effect of BK, but indomethacin (0.5 mM) didn't. These results suggest that BK decreases the sodium transport-related oxygen consumption in the rat DT and/or CCT, and that it may be mediated by products of enzymes other than cyclooxygenase.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.307-311
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• 2019

The ejector type microbubble generator, which is the method to supply air to water by using cavitation in the nozzle, does not require any air supplier so it is an effective and economical. Also, the distribution of the size of bubbles is diverse. Especially, the size of bubbles is smaller than the bubbles from a conventional air diffuser and bigger than the bubbles from a pressurized dissolution type microbubble generator so it could be applied to the aeration tank for wastewater treatment. However, the performance of the ejector type microbubble generator was affected by hydraulic pressure and MLSS(Mixed Liquor Suspended Solid) concentration so many factors should be considered to apply the generator to aeration tank. Therefore, this study was performed to verify effects of hydraulic pressure and MLSS concentration on oxygen transfer of the ejector type microbubble generator. In the tests, the quantity of sucked air in the nozzle, dissolved oxygen(DO) concentration, oxygen uptake rate(OUR), oxygen transfer coefficient were measured and calculated by using experimental results. In case of the MLSS, the experiments were performed in the condition of MLSS concentration of 0, 2,000, 4,000, 8,000 mg/L. The hydraulic pressure was considered up to $2.0mH_2O$. In the results of experiments, oxygen transfer coefficient was decreased with the increase of MLSS concentration and hydraulic pressure due to the increased viscosity and density of wastewater and decreased air flow rate. Also, by using statistical analysis, when the ejector type microbubble generator was used to supply air to wasterwater, the model equation of DO concentration was suggested to predict DO concentration in wastewater.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.322-328
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• 2011

This study was performed to investigate the characteristics of nutrient removal of municipal wastewater in the membrane bioreactor system with the different types of membrane. Membrane bioreactor consists of three reactors such as two intermittent anaerobic and the submerged membrane aerobic reactor with flat sheet and hollow fiber membrane, respectively. The removal efficiencies of $COD_{cr}$, BOD, SS, TN and TP on the flat sheet membrane bioreactor were 94.3%, 99.0%, 99.9%, 70.3% and 63.1%, respectively. In addition, The removal efficiencies of $COD_{cr}$, BOD, SS, TN and TP on the hollow fiber membrane bioreactor were 94.0%, 99.3%, 99.9%, 69.9% and 66.9%, respectively. The estimated true biomass yield, specific denitrification rate (SDNR), specific nitrification rate (SNR) and phosphorus removal content on the flat sheet membrane bioreactor were $0.33kgVSS/kgBOD{\cdot}d$, $0.043mgNO_3-N/mgVSS{\cdot}d$, $0.031mgNH_4-N/mgVSS{\cdot}d$, and 0.144 kgP/d, respectively. In addition, the estimated true biomass yield, specific denitrification rate (SDNR), specific nitrification rate (SNR) and phosphorus removal content on the hollow fiber membrane bioreactor were $0.30kgVSS/kgBOD{\cdot}d$, $0.067mgNO_3-N/mgVSS{\cdot}d$, $0.028mgNH_4-N/mgVSS{\cdot}d$, and 0.121 kgP/d, respectively. There was little difference between the flat sheet and hollow fiber on the nutrient removal efficiencies except SNR and SDNR. These differences between them were caused by the air demand to prevent the membrane fouling. The flux and oxygen demand for air scouring were $19.0L/m^2/hr$ and $2.28m^3/min$ for the flat sheet membrane, and $20.7L/m^2/hr$ and $1.77m^3/min$ for the hollow fiber membrane on an average.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.322-328
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• 2009

The advantage of simultaneous nitrification and denitrification (SND) is to reduce requirement of oxygen as well as tank volume. The fludized media was used in the oxic (aerobic) tank of Membrane-BNR to enhance the efficiency of SND. Nowadays, the interest of applying membrane to the wastewater treatment plant has been increased, which is proved by a lot of research published about the MBR. The Membrane-BNR, consisted of total 5 reactors might be called the compact process by using the fludized media and having short HRT of 6.5 hr. It could attain the further removal of not only the organics but also nutrients such as T-N and T-P. The mode A and B were identified with or without the step feed of influent. The mode A was classified with 3 modes according to the different DO concentration in the fludized media aerobic reactor, and the mode B with step feed was operated with the optimum DO condition. The step-feed was capable of improving TN removal efficiency under the domestic wastewater with the low ratio C/N. On the other hand, the efficiency of SND with the 1.0~1.5 mg/L DO in the oxic media tank was better than the one with below 1.0 mg/L, on which the nitrification did not happen enough, and with above 3.5 mg/L, on which the reduction of anoxic area in the tank happened. It means that the profitable nitrification should be performed prior to the denitrification step. The removal efficiency of nitrogen by SND was about 20% among of total denitrified nitrogen. And some organic carbon consumed could be reduced by the endogeneous denitrification.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2009.06a
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• pp.373-373
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• 2009

Relative humidity, membrane conductivity and water activity are critical parameters of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) for high performance and reliability. These parameters are closely related with temperature. Moreover, the ideal values of these parameters are not always identical along the channels. Therefore, the cooling channel design and its operating condition should be well optimized along the all location of the channels. In the present study, we have performed a numerical investigation on the effects of cooling channels on performance of a PEMFC. Three-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations are solved with the energy equation including heat generated by the electrochemical reactions in the fuel cell. The present numerical model includes the gas diffusion layers (GDL) and serpentine channels for both anode and cathode gas flows, as well as cooling channels. To accurately predict the water transport across the membrane, the distribution of water content in the membrane is calculated by solving a nonlinear differential equation with a nonlinear coefficient, i.e., the water diffusivity which is a function of water content as well as temperature. Main emphasis is placed on the heat transfer between the solid bipolar plate and coolant flow. The present results show that local current density is affected by cooling channels due to the change of the oxygen concentration and the membrane conductivity as well as the water content. It is also found that the relative humidity is influenced by the generated water and the gas temperature and thus it affects the distribution of fuel concentration and the conductivity of the membrane, ultimately fuel cell performance. Unit-cell experiments are also carried out to validate the numerical models. The performance curves between the models and experiments show reasonable results.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.11
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• pp.1457-1466
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• 2012

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) exert antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, fungi, and viruses by various mechanisms. AMPs commonly possess particular characteristics by harboring cationic and amphipathic structures and binding to cell membranes, resulting in the leakage of essential cell contents by forming pores or disturbing lipid organization. These membrane disruptive mechanisms of AMPs are possible to explain according to the various structure forming pores in the membrane. Some AMPs inhibit DNA and/or RNA synthesis as well as apoptosis induction by reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation and mitochondrial dysfunction. Specifically, mitochondria play a major role in the apoptotic pathway. During apoptosis induced by AMPs, cells undergo cytochrome c release, caspase activation, phosphatidylserine externalization, plasma or mitochondrial membrane depolarization, DNA and nuclei damage, cell shrinkage, apoptotic body formation, and membrane blebbing. Even AMPs, which have been reported to exert membrane-active mechanisms, induce apoptosis in yeast. These phenomena were also discovered in tumor cells treated with AMPs. The apoptosis mechanism of AMPs is available for various therapeutics such as antibiotics for antibiotic-resistant pathogens that resist to the membrane active mechanism, and antitumor agents with selectivity to tumor cells.