• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• 제12권5호
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• pp.245-251
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• 2008

Single-channel recordings of TASK-1 and TASK-3, members of two-pore domain $K^+$ channel family, have not yet been reported in dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons, even though their mRNA and activity in whole-cell currents have been detected in these neurons. Here, we report single-channel kinetics of the TASK-3-like $K^+$ channel in DRG neurons and up-regulation of TASK-3 mRNA expression in tissues isolated from animals with spinal cord injury (SCI). In DRG neurons, the single-channel conductance of TASK-3-like $K^+$ channel was $33.0{\pm}0.1$ pS at - 60 mV, and TASK-3 activity fell by $65{\pm}5%$ when the extracellular pH was changed from 7.3 to 6.3, indicating that the DRG $K^+$ channel is similar to cloned TASK-3 channel. TASK-3 mRNA and protein levels in brain, spinal cord, and DRG were significantly higher in injured animals than in sham-operated ones. These results indicate that TASK-3 channels are expressed and functional in DRG neurons and the expression level is up-regulated following SCI, and suggest that TASK-3 channel could act as a potential background $K^+$ channel under SCI-induced acidic condition.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• 제23권3호
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• pp.191-201
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• 2019

The transient receptor potential canonical (TRPC) 5 channel, known as a nonselective cation channel, has a crucial role in calcium influx. TRPC5 has been reported to be activated by muscarinic receptor activation and extracellular pH change and inhibited by the protein kinase C pathway. Recent studies have also suggested that TRPC5 is extracellularly activated by englerin A (EA), but the mechanism remains unclear. The purpose of this study is to identify the EA-interaction sites in TRPC5 and thereby clarify the mechanism of TRPC5 activation. TRPC5 channels are over-expressed in human embryonic kidney (HEK293) cells. TRPC5 mutants were generated by site-directed mutagenesis. The whole-cell patch-clamp configuration was used to record TRPC5 currents. Western analysis was also performed to observe the expression of TRPC5 mutants. To identify the EA-interaction site in TRPC5, we first generated pore mutants. When screening the mutants with EA, we observed the EA-induced current increases of TRPC5 abolished in K554N, H594N, and E598Q mutants. The current increases of other mutants were reduced in different levels. We also examined the functional intactness of the mutants that had no effect by EA with TRPC5 agonists, such as carbachol or $GTP{\gamma}S$. Our results suggest that the three residues, Lys-554, His-594, and Glu-598, in TRPC5 might be responsible for direct interaction with EA, inducing the channel activation. We also suggest that although other pore residues are not critical, they could partly contribute to the EA-induced channel activation.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• 제3권2호
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• pp.77-98
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• 2012

A two-dimensional (2D) steady state numerical model of concentration polarisation (CP) phenomena in a membrane channel has been developed using the commercially available computational fluid dynamics (CFD) package CFX (Ansys, Inc., USA). The model incorporates the transmembrane pressure (TMP), axially variable permeate flux, variable diffusivity and viscosity, and osmotic pressure effects. The model has been verified against several benchmark analytical and empirical solutions from the membrane literature. Additionally, the model is able to predict the rejection of an arbitrary solute by the membrane using a pore model, given some basic knowledge of the geometry of the solute molecule or particle, and the membrane pore geometry. This allows for predictive design of membrane systems without experimental determination of the membrane rejection for the specified operating conditions. A demonstration of the model is presented against experimental results for two uncharged test compounds (sucrose and PEG1000) from the literature. The model will be extended to incorporate charge effects, transient simulations, three-dimensional (3D) geometry and turbulent effects in future work.

• 한국분말야금학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국분말야금학회 2006년도 Extended Abstracts of 2006 POWDER METALLURGY World Congress Part 1
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• pp.219-220
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• 2006

To understand the effect of powder characteristics on the thermal debinding behavior, PIM parts produced with powders with different particle sizes and particle shapes were examined to determine their weight losses during thermal debinding. The results show that the average diameter of the pore channel in the compact increased when the temperature increased and when coarse powders were used. However, the weight loss rates did not increase proportionally with the pore size. This suggests that the different powders that are frequently used in PIM parts do not affect the thermal debinding rate significantly. This is because the pore size is much larger than the mean free path of the decomposed gas molecules. Thus, the diffusion rates of the gases are not rate-controlling in thermal debinding. The controlling mechanism of the thermal debinding rate is the decomposition of the backbone binder in the PIM parts.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• 제21권3호
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• pp.41.1-41.11
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• 2023

The Dengue virus M protein is a 75 amino acid polypeptide with two helical transmembranes (TM). The TM domain oligomerizes to form an ion channel, facilitating viral release from the host cells. The M protein has a critical role in the virus entry and life cycle, making it a potent drug target. The oligomerization of the monomeric protein was studied using ab initio modeling and molecular dynamics simulation in an implicit membrane environment. The representative structures obtained showed pentamer as the most stable oligomeric state, resembling an ion channel. Glutamic acid, threonine, serine, tryptophan, alanine, isoleucine form the pore-lining residues of the pentameric channel, conferring an overall negative charge to the channel with approximate length of 51.9 Å. Residue interaction analysis for M protein shows that Ala94, Leu95, Ser112, Glu124, and Phe155 are the central hub residues representing the physicochemical interactions between domains. The virtual screening with 165 different ion channel inhibitors from the ion channel library shows monovalent ion channel blockers, namely lumacaftor, glipizide, gliquidone, glisoxepide, and azelnidipine to be the inhibitors with high docking scores. Understanding the three-dimensional structure of M protein will help design therapeutics and vaccines for Dengue infection.

• ALGAE
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• 제36권4호
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• pp.315-326
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• 2021

Ion channels are membrane protein complexes mediating passive ion flux across the cell membranes. Every organism has a certain set of ion channels that define its physiology. Dinoflagellates are ecologically important microorganisms characterized by effective physiological adaptability, which backs up their massive proliferations that often result in harmful blooms (red tides). In this study, we used a bioinformatics approach to identify homologs of known ion channels that belong to 36 ion channel families. We demonstrated that the versatility of the dinoflagellate physiology is underpinned by a high diversity of ion channels including homologs of animal and plant proteins, as well as channels unique to protists. The analysis of 27 transcriptomes allowed reconstructing a consensus ion channel repertoire (channelome) of dinoflagellates including the members of 31 ion channel families: inwardly-rectifying potassium channels, two-pore domain potassium channels, voltage-gated potassium channels (K_v), tandem K_v, cyclic nucleotide-binding domain-containing channels (CNBD), tandem CNBD, eukaryotic ionotropic glutamate receptors, large-conductance calcium-activated potassium channels, intermediate/small-conductance calcium-activated potassium channels, eukaryotic single-domain voltage-gated cation channels, transient receptor potential channels, two-pore domain calcium channels, four-domain voltage-gated cation channels, cation and anion Cys-loop receptors, small-conductivity mechanosensitive channels, large-conductivity mechanosensitive channels, voltage-gated proton channels, inositole-1,4,5-trisphosphate receptors, slow anion channels, aluminum-activated malate transporters and quick anion channels, mitochondrial calcium uniporters, voltage-dependent anion channels, vesicular chloride channels, ionotropic purinergic receptors, animal volage-insensitive cation channels, channelrhodopsins, bestrophins, voltage-gated chloride channels H⁺/Cl^- exchangers, plant calcium-permeable mechanosensitive channels, and trimeric intracellular cation channels. Overall, dinoflagellates represent cells able to respond to physical and chemical stimuli utilizing a wide range of G-protein coupled receptors- and Ca²⁺-dependent signaling pathways. The applied approach not only shed light on the ion channel set in dinoflagellates, but also provided the information on possible molecular mechanisms underlying vital cellular processes dependent on the ion transport.

• 한국지반공학회논문집
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• 제27권11호
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• pp.83-92
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• 2011

무질서하고 불균질한 형상을 갖는 지반 재료 내 간극 구조는 하중에 의한 재료의 변형 및 간극 내 유체의 흐름 등 물리 역학적 거동에 중요한 영향 인자이다. 최근 들어 X-ray CT에 의한 비파괴 검사를 통해 지반 재료의 내부 구조를 마이크로미터 단위의 높은 해상도를 통해 평가하는 기법이 사용되고 있다. CT 이미지는 재료의 많은 정보를 포함하고 있음에도 그에 따른 이미지 해석 기법의 개발이 다소 미흡하여 2, 3차원 이미지의 정성적 관찰 및 간극비와 같은 거시적인 물성치 획득만이 이루어지고 있다. 본 연구에서는 연속적으로 획득된 글라스 비드의 2차원 CT 이미지에 기반하여 3차원 입자 및 간극 구조를 형성하고, 복잡한 간극구조를 간극셀과 간극채널로 정량적 분리를 실시하였다. 이를 위해 좌표 변환법, 이진화, 들로네 삼각망, 그리고 유클리디안 거리변환법과 같은 이미지 프로세싱 기법을 3차원 CT 이미지에 적용하였고 불균질한 글라스 비드의 간극구조에 대해 정량적으로 간극셀의 분포 및 간극간의 연결도 평가가 가능함을 확인하였다.

• 한국분말재료학회지
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• 제27권4호
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• pp.325-332
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• 2020

In this study, the effects of kaolin addition on the properties of reticulated porous diatomite-kaolin composites are investigated. A reticulated porous diatomite-kaolin composite is prepared using the replica template method. The microstructure and pore characteristics of the reticulated porous diatomite-kaolin composites are analyzed by controlling the PPI value (45, 60, and 80 PPI) of the polyurethane foam (which are used as the polymer template), the ball-milling time (8 and 24 h), and the amount of kaolin (0-50 wt. %). The average pore size decreases as the amount of kaolin increases in the reticulated porous diatomite-kaolin composite. As the amount of kaolin increases, it can be determined that the amount of inter-connected pore channels is reduced because the plate-shaped kaolin particles connect the gaps between irregular diatomite particles. Consequently, a higher kaolin percentage affects the overall mechanical properties by improving the pore channel connectivity. The effect of kaolin addition on the basic properties of the reticulated porous diatomite-kaolin composite is further discussed with characterization data such as pore size distribution, scanning electron microscopy images, and compressive strength.

• 한국수정란이식학회지
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• 제30권4호
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• pp.277-282
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• 2015

Cryopreservation affects osmotic tolerance and intracellular ion concentration through changes in expression levels of water and ion channels. Control of these changes is important for cell survival after cryopreservation. Relatively little is known about changes in $K^+$ channel expression compared to water channel expression. This study was performed to investigate changes in TASK-2 channel (KCNK5: potassium channel, subfamily K, member 5), a member of two-pore domain $K^+$ channel family, in cryopreserved mouse ovaries. Cryopreservation increased TASK-2 mRNA expression in mouse ovaries. In addition, TASK-2 protein expression was upregulated in vitrified and slowly frozen ovaries. TASK-2 protein was expressed in all area of granulosa cells that surround the oocyte within the follicle, except nucleus. Viability of cells overexpressed with TASK-2 was higher than that of vector-transfected cells. Our results found that TASK-2 expression was increased by cryopreservation and overexpression of TASK-2 decreased cryopreservation-induced cell death. These results suggest that TASK-2 upregulation might reduce cryodamage.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국신재생에너지학회 2009년도 춘계학술대회 논문집
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• pp.374-377
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• 2009

The operating temperature of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) usually has to be limited under $100^{\circ}C$ to maintain the proper ionic conductivity. Therefore, the only product from reaction, water, is in the liquid phase. Two-phase flow makes the flow phenomenon in the channel difficult to understand and predict. Water blocking in the PEMFC channel or the pore of Gas Diffusion Layer (GDL), called flooding, is known as the main effect of PEMFC degradation. To analyze two-phase flow, the PEMFC with transparent acrylic plate was used. Two-phase flow patterns were observed by varying the current density. When the PEMFC is mounted horizontally, water in the cathode is mainly transported on the interface between the channel and GDL.