• BMB Reports
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• v.49 no.9
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• pp.457-458
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• 2016

Recent studies have strongly implicated postsynaptic scaffolding proteins such as SAPAP3 or Shank3 in the pathogenesis of various mood disorders, including autism spectrum disorder, bipolar disorder (BD), and obsessive-compulsive disorders. Neural Abelson-related gene-binding protein 2 (nArgBP2) was originally identified as a protein that interacts with SAPAP3 and Shank3. Recent study shows that the genetic deletion of nArgBP2 in mice leads to manic/bipolar-like behavior resembling symptoms of BD. However, the function of nArgBP2 at synapse, or its connection with the synaptic dysfunctions, is completely unknown. This study provides compelling evidence that nArgBP2 regulates the spine morphogenesis through the activation of Rac1/WAVE/PAK/cofilin pathway, and that its ablation causes a robust and selective inhibition of excitatory synapse formation, by controlling actin dynamics. Our results revealed the underlying mechanism for the synaptic dysfunction caused by nArgBP2 downregulation that associates with analogous human BD. Moreover, since nArgBP2 interacts with key proteins involved in various neuropsychiatric disorders, our finding implies that nArgBP2 could function as a hub linking various etiological factors of different mood disorders.

• Proceedings of the Membrane Society of Korea Conference
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• 1994.04a
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• pp.55-56
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• 1994

There has been many attempts to improve the membrane performance using pervaporation processes[l-3]. They are 1) blending polymer with the high flux and one with high selectivity, 2) an incorporation of functional groups interacting with permeants into a membrane through copolymerization or modification, 3) composite membrane or asymmetric membrane structure with a thin skin layer which acts as a selective layer. Among them, a polymeric membrane containing ion complex group receives an extensive attention recently because ionic complex is known to activate the water transport through ion-dipole interaction. It is especially advantageous in the separation of organic-water system. We applied the ideas of the activation of water transport through ion-dipole. We have reported on the in-sire complex membrane to separate water from aqueous aceiic acid and pyridme solution[4-5] based on the simple acid-base theory. Water transport was enhanced through in-situ complex between pyridine moiety in the membrane and the incoming acetic acid in the feed. In this case, catalytic transport mechanism was proposed. In the present study we used pyridine solution as a feed and the sulfonic acid group in the membrane.

• Advances in Traditional Medicine
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.225-231
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• 2009

The present study deals with the amelioration by Lagerstroemia speciosa Linn. leaf extract against hepatotoxicity induced by carbon tetrachloride ($CCl_4$), which was evaluated in terms of serum marker enzymes like serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase, serum glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase, alkaline phosphatase, serum total bilirubin, total protein levels along with concomitant hepatic and antioxidants like superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione, glutathione peroxidase and lipid peroxidation enzymes were monitored. These biochemical parameters altered by the single dose level of $CCl_4$ (0.75 ml/kg body weight, i.p). Pre treatment with L. speciosa prior to the administration of $CCl_4$, at the doses of 50 and 250 mg/kg. body weight/day, p.o. for 7 days, significantly restored all the serum and liver tissue parameters near to the normal levels, respectively. Silymarin was used as a reference standard, prior to the administration of $CCl_4$ to rats. These findings indicate the protective potential of L. speciosa against hepato toxicity which possibly involve mechanism related to its ability of selective inhibitors of (reactive oxygen species like antioxidants brought about significant inhibition of TBARS suggesting possible involvement of $O_2{\cdot}-$, $HO_2{\cdot}$, and ${\cdot}OH$. In conclusion, the amelioration may be attributed to the synergistic effects of its constituents rather than to any single factor as the leaves are rich in tannins, sterols, flavonoids, saponins etc.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.97-103
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• 2007

A novel selective metallization process to fabricate the fine conductive line based on inkjet printing has been investigated. Recently, Inkjet printing has been widely used in flat panel display, electronic circuits, biochips and bioMEMS because direct inkjet printing is an alternative and cost-effective technology for patterning and fabricating objects directly from design without masks. The photosensitive etching resist used in this process is an organic polymer which becomes solidified when exposed to ultraviolet lights and has high viscosity at ambient temperature. A piezoelectric-driven inkjet printhead is used to dispense 20-30 ${\mu}m$ diameter droplets onto the copper substrate to prevent subsequent etching. Repeatability of circuitry fabrication is closely related to the formation of steady droplets, adhesion between etching resist and copper substrate. Therefore, the ability to form small and stable droplets and surface topography of the copper surface and chemical attack must be taken into consideration for fine and precise patterns. In this study, factors affecting the pattern formation such as adhesion strength, etching mechanism, UV curing have been investigated. As a result, microscale copper patterns with tens of urn high have been fabricated.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Plant Biotechnology Conference
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• 2004.10a
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• pp.29-34
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• 2004

Reduction in stratospheric ozone layer increases the amount of ultraviolet-B radiation (UVB: 280-320 nm) that reaches the earth ’ s surface. UVB radiationcan damage plants, resulting in decrease in growth and productivity. UVB-augmentation studies have indicated that the sensitivity to UVB radiation in plants varies among the species and cultivars. However. there are no definitive answers for the mechanisms of UVB-resistance in higher plants and for bioengineering design and development of UVB-tolerant plants. We have been studying physiological and biochemical aspects of the effects of UVB radiation on growth and yield of rice COryza sativa LJ. aiming to clarify the mechanism of resistance to UVB radiationin rice. At this meeting. weintroduce our research as followed: (1) supplementary UVB radiation has inhibitory effects on the growth. yield and grain development of rice; (2) UVB sensitivity of rice varies widely among cultivars; (3) among Japanese rice cultivars. Sasanishiki. a leading variety in northeast Japan. is more resistant to UVB. while Norin 1. a progenitor of Sasanishiki. is less resistant; (4)UV-sensitive Norin 1 cultivar is deficient in photorepair of UVB-induced cyclobutane pyrimidine dimer (CPD). and this deficiency results from one amino acid residue alteration of CPD photolyase. These results suggest that spontaneously occurring mutation in CPD photolyase gene could lead to difference in UVB sensitivity in rice. and that CPD photolyase might be a useful target for improving UVB-sensitivity in rice by selective breeding or bioengineering of UVB-tolerant rice.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.185-191
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• 2002

Alzheimer's disease (AD) involves neuronal degeneration with impaired cholinergic transmission, particularly in areas of the brain associated with learning and memory. Several cholinesterase inhibitors are widely prescribed to ameliorate the cognitive deficits in AD patients. In an attempt to examine if tacrine and donepezil, two well-known cholinesterase inhibitors, exhibit additional pharmacological actions in primary cultured rat cortical cells, we investigated the effects on neuronal injuries induced by glutamate or N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA), $\beta$-amyloid fragment ( $A_{{beta}25-35)}$), and various oxidative insults. Both tacrine and donepezil did not significantly inhibit the excitotoxic neuronal damage induced by glutamate. However, tacrine inhibited the toxicity induced by NMDA in a concentration-dependent fashion. In addition, tacrine significantly inhibited the $A_{{beta}25-35)}$-induced neuronal injury at the concentration of 50 $\mu$M. In contrast, donepezil did not reduce the NMDA- nor $A_{{beta}25-35)}$-induced neuronal injury. Tacrine and donepezil had no effects on oxidative neuronal injuries in cultures nor on lipid peroxidation in vitro. These results suggest that, in addition to its anticholinesterase activity, the neuroprotective effects by tacrine against the NMDA- and $A_{{beta}25-35)$-induced toxicity may be beneficial for the treatment of AD. In contrast, the potent and selective inhibition of central acetylcholinesterase appears to be the major action mechanism of donepezil.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2013.02a
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• pp.614-614
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• 2013

The effect of graphene growth parameters on the number of graphene layers were systematically studied and growth mechanism on copper substrate was proposed. Parameters that could affect the thickness of graphene growth include the pressure in the system, gas flow rate, growth pressure, growth temperature, and cooling rate. We hypothesis that the partial pressure of both the carbon sources and hydrogen gas in the growth process, which is set by the total pressure and the mole fraction of the feedstock, could be the factor that controls the thickness of the graphene. A synthetic method to produce such large area graphene films with precise thickness from mono- to few-layer would be ideal for chemists and physicists to explore the promising electronic applications of these materials. Here, large-area uniform mono-, bi-, and few-layer graphene films were successfully synthesized on copper surface in selective growth windows, with a finely tuned total pressure and $CH_4$/$H_{2gas}$ ratio. Our findings may facilitate both the large-area synthesis of well-controlled graphene features and wide range of applications of graphene.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.220-225
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• 2004

A new ion beam extraction system is designed using a simple ion mass filter and a micro mass balance and a QMS based detecting system. A quadrupole Mass Filter is used for selective ion beam formation from inductively coupled high density plasma sources with appropriate electrostatic lens and final analyzing QMS. Also a quartz crystal microbalance is set between a QMF and a QMS to measure the etching and polymerization rate of the mass selected ion beam. An inductively coupled plasma was used as a ion/radical source which had an electron temperature of 4-8 eV and electron density of $4${\times}$10^{11}$＃/㎤. A computer interfaced system through 12bit AD-DA board can control the pass ion mass of the qmf by setting RF/DC voltage ratio applied to the quadrupoles so that time modulation of pass ion's mass is possible. So the direct measurements of ion - surface chemistry can be possible in a resolution of $1\AA$/sec based on the qcm's sensitivity. A full set of driving software and hardware setting is successfully carried out to get fundamental plasma information of the ICP source and analysed $Ar^{+}$ beam was detected at the $2^{nd}$ QMS.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.54 no.5
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• pp.366-379
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• 2017

Nanostructured materials have attracted considerable research interest over the recent decades because of their potential applications in nanoengineering and nanotechnology. On the other hand, the developments in nanotechnology are strongly dependent on the availability of new materials with novel and engineered morphologies. Among the novel nanomaterials reported thus far, composite nanofibers (NFs) have attracted considerable attention in recent years. In particular, metal oxide NFs have great potential for the development of gas sensors. Highly sensitive and selective gas sensors can be developed by using composite NFs owing to their large surface area and abundance of grain boundaries. In composite NFs, gas sensing properties can be enhanced greatly by tailoring the conduction channel and surface properties by compositional modifications using the synergistic effects of different materials and forming heterointerfaces. This review focuses on the gas sensing properties of composite NFs synthesized by an electrospinning (ES) method. The synthesis of the composite NFs by the ES method and the sensing mechanisms involved in different types of composite NFs are presented along with the future perspectives of composite NFs.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.29 no.2E
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• pp.55-63
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• 2010

High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) is a noninvasive surgical method mainly targeting deeply located cancer tissue. Ultrasound is generated from an extemally located transducer and the beam is focused at the target volume, so that selective damage can be achieved without harm to overlying or surrounding tissues. The mechanism for cell killing can be combination of thermal and cavitational damage. Although cavitation can be an effective means of tissue destruction, the possibility of massive hemorrhage and the unpredictable nature of cavitational events prevent clinical application of cavitation. Hence, thermal damage has been a main focus related to HIFU research. 2D phased array transducer systems allow electronic scanning of focus, multi-foci, and anti-focus with multi-foci, so that HIFU becomes more applicable in clinical use. Currently, lack of noninvasive monitoring means of HIFU is the main factor to limit clinical applications, but development in MRI and Ultrasound Imaging techniques may be able to provide solutions to overcome this problem. With the development of advanced focusing algorithm and monitoring means, complete noninvasive surgery is expected to be implemented in the near future.