• Applied Microscopy
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.242-248
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• 2015

In this paper, three carbon sources, i.e., solid graphite, gaseous CH4 and liquid ethanol, and one solid silicon source were employed to synthesize SiC/C nanocomposite powders by arc-discharge plasma. The processing conditions such as the component ratios of raw materials, atmospheric gases, etc. were adjusted for controllable synthesis of the nanopowders. It is indicated that both of solid graphite and silicon can be co-evaporated and reacted to form nanophases of cubic ${\beta}$-SiC with ~50 nm in mean size and a little free graphite; the carbon atoms decomposed from gaseous $CH_4$ favor to combine with the evaporated silicon atoms to form the dominant SiC nanophase; liquid carbon source of ethanol can also be used to harvest the main ${\beta}$-SiC and minor 6H-SiC phases in the assembly of nanoparticles. The as-prepared SiC/C nanocomposite powders were further purified by a heat-treatment in air and their photocatalytic performances were then greatly improved.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.25 no.10
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• pp.1176-1183
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• 2015

Ulmus macrocarpa has been used in Korean medicinal food material to physical disorder or tonic material. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate splenocyte life span expansion effects of Ulmus macrocarpa water extract (UMWE) in general cell culture condition. Splenocytes were handled in the presence of 100 μg/ml UMWE for several different time conditions. Live cells were detected with Hoechst 33,342 dye and cell survival molecules were identified through Western blot. Changes in level of cytokine synthesis were evaluated by ELISA. UMWE showed an effect on increased splenocyte survival. UMWE elevated slightly PI3K phosphorylation and ERK1/2 phosphorylation used at 48 hr and 96 hr. Moreover, Bcl-2 was elevated at 48 hr and 96 hr in UMWE-treated splenocytes. UMWE decreased caspase-3 level at 48 hr and 96 hr. ICAD protein increased at 48 hr culturing time. Hematopoietin IL-2 cytokine was down-regulated, however IL-4 hematopoietin cytokine was up-regulated in UMWE treated cell culture media. Increased IFN-γ levels were verified in the supernatant of UMWE-treated cells in all periods (48 hr and 96 hr). Increased patterns in the production of IL-12 cytokine occurred as compared with control after 48 and 96 hr in UMWE-treated-cell cultures. These results suggested that UMWE can prolong splenocyte life span by controlling various signal factors and cytokines.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.61-67
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• 2009

Electrolessly deposited Co (Re,P) was investigated as a possible capping layer for Cu wires. 50 nm Co (Re,P) films were deposited on Cu/Ti-coated silicon wafers which acted as a catalytic seed and an adhesion layer, respectively. To obtain the optimized bath composition, electroless deposition was studied through an electrochemical approach via a linear sweep voltammetry analysis. The results of using this method showed that the best deposition conditions were a $CoSO_4$ concentration of 0.082 mol/l, a solution pH of 9, a $KReO_4$ concentration of 0.0003 mol/l and sodium hypophosphite concentration of 0.1 mol/L at $80^{\circ}C$. The thermal stability of the Co (Re,P) layer as a barrier preventing Cu was evaluated using Auger electron spectroscopy and a Scanning calorimeter. The measurement results showed that Re impurities stabilized the h.c.p. phase up to $550^{\circ}C$ and that the Co (Re,P) film efficiently blocked Cu diffusion under an annealing temperature of $400^{\circ}C$ for 1hr. The good barrier properties that were observed can be explained by the nano-sized grains along with the blocking effect of the impurities at the fast diffusion path of the grain boundaries. The transformation temperature from the amorphous to crystal structure is increased by doping the Re.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.28-42
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• 1999

Polysilanes with sterically bulky substituents, -[2-( $R^1R^2$-phenyl)propyl]Si[$R^3$]-, such as poly(2-phenylpropyl)(n-hexyl)silane [$R^1=R^2$=H, $R^3$=n-hexyl] were prepared by Wurtz-type coupling reactions with Na using a sonochemical method. The high-intensity ultrasound provided the formation of high quality Na dispersion in toluene and its active surface which was important for the synthesis of polysilanes in Wurtz-type coupling reaction was freshly and continuously regenerated during the process. The polysilanes products were mixtures of high molecular weight polymers with $\={M}_W$ of ∼$10^6$ and low molecular weight polymers with $\={M}_W$ of ∼$10^3$. It was found that the formation of high molecular weight polymerr was greatly influenced by the substituents $R^3$, directly attached to Si. On the contrary, changes on substituents ($R^1, R^2$) gave no influences at all. Overall yields for polysilanes were 75-99% in general but high molecular weight polysilanes were obtained as a major product when substituent $R^3$ is n-hexyl group and low molecular weight polysilanes were obtained as a major product when substituent $R^3$ is cyclohexyl and 2-phenylethyl groups. Effects of reaction conditions to polysilane yields were investigated.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.205-211
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• 1999

We investigated optimal conditions for the microbial transformation of $\gamma$-butyrobetaine into L-carnitine by using Achromobacter cycloclast ATCC 21921. When the cells were cultivated in the medium containing $\gamma$-butyrobetaine as the sole carbon source for both cell growth and L-carnitine production, the maximum L-carnitine production was 2.9 g/L and the conversion yield from $\gamma$-butyrobetaine to L-carnitine was as low as 30.9 mol%. In order to enhance the L-carnitine production and the conversion yield, various carbon sources were added to the $\gamma$-butyronetaine containing basal medium. In the medium supplemented with glycerol, L-carnitine production was as high as 4.6 g/L and the conversion yield was 88.2 mol%, showing a significant improvement in L-carnitine synthesis compared to those in the medium without glycerol. We also examined the additional effect of quaternary ammonium compounds such as betaine and choline, which are similar in structure to $\gamma$-butyrobetaine and L-carnitien. It was observed that in the presence of those quaternary ammonium compounds, both the L-carnitine production rate and the conversion yield increased. In addition, we found that cell growth was inhibited by a $\gamma$-butyrobetaine concentration of more than 3%, while L-carnitine production was efficient at the $\gamma$-butyrobetaine concentration of 2-3%. By cultivating the cells in the optimal medium containing glycerol and choline, we obtained an L-carnitine concentration of 7.2 g/L with the conversion yield of 98.7 mol% in 4 days.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.337-343
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• 2010

It has been well known that organic solvents like t-butanol and n-hexane can protect lipases from the inhibition by short-chain alcohols in the enzymatic transesterification. However, use of the organic solvents should be minimized considering their negative effects on environment and human health. Therefore, use of the greener solvents has been pursued in various are as including the enzymatic biotranformation. In this study, the liquid carbon dioxide ($LCO_2$) was employed as an alternative media for the enzymatic transesterification of canola oil. The conversion in the $LCO_2$ was comparable with those in organic solvents and the supercritical carbon dioxide, and under optimum conditions, the value reached 99.7%. It is expected that this method can provide a new type of biodiesel production process with higher energy efficiency and lower environmental impact.

• ALGAE
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.253-262
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• 2020

Haematococcus pluvialis is a commercial microalga that can produce high quantities of astaxanthin. Under induced conditions, some important changes in the subcellular structures related to astaxanthin accumulation were observable. For example, a large number of astaxanthin granules, oil structures and starch granules appeared in the thick-walled cells; Astaxanthin granules gradually dissolved into the oil structures and spread throughout the entire cell with the fusion and diffusion process of oil structures during the middle and late stages of induction; The plastoglobules were closed to the newly formed structures, and some plastoglobules would abnormally increase in size under stress. Based on observations of cell damage, the degradation of membrane structures, such as chloroplasts, was found to be the primary form of damage during the early stage of induction. During the middle stage of induction, some transparent holes were exposed in the dissolving astaxanthin granules in the cytoplasm. In thick-walled cells, these transparent holes were covered by oil substances dissolving astaxanthin, thereby avoiding further damage to cells. Given the relatively few oil structures, in non-thick-walled cells, the transparent holes expanded to form multiple transparent areas, eventually resulting in the rupture and death of cells. These results suggested that the high level of synthesis and the wide range diffusion of oil explained the expansion of astaxanthin in H. pluvialis.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.407-410
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• 2009

18~19 wt% $KMnO_4$/$SiO_2-Al_2O_3$ with Si/Al = 1/5 and 1/10, and 20 wt% $KMnO_4$/$Al_2O_3$ were prepared by solvent evaporation method. Catalytic activity of ethylene abatement over those samples were evaluated and compared under the conditions of GHSV $1125h^{-1}$, ethylene gas (ethylene 0.2%, air 99.8%, relative humidity 50%) at 30, 40, 60 and $120^{\circ}C$ using a fixed-bed reactor. $KMnO_4$/$SiO_2-Al_2O_3$ was showed better performance than $KMnO_4$/$Al_2O_3$ by 170~210% at 30, $40^{\circ}C$, and by 60% at 60, $150^{\circ}C$, respectively.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.402-409
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• 2016

It has been found that 4-isopropyl-2,6-bis(1-phenylethyl)phenol (KTH-13), a novel compound isolated from Cordyceps bassiana, is able to suppress tumor cell proliferation by inducing apoptosis. To mass-produce this compound, we established a total synthesis method. Using those conditions, we further synthesized various analogs with structural similarity to KTH-13. In this study, we aimed to test their anti-cancer activity by measuring anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic activities. Of 8 compounds tested, 4-methyl-2,6-bis(1-phenylethyl)phenol (KTH-13-Me) exhibited the strongest anti-proliferative activity toward MDA-MB 231 cells. KTH-13-Me also similarly suppressed the survival of various cancer cell lines, including C6 glioma, HCT-15, and LoVo cells. Treatment of KTH-13-Me induced several apoptotic signs in C6 glioma cells, such as morphological changes, induction of apoptotic bodies, and nuclear fragmentation and chromatin condensation. Concordantly, early-apoptotic cells were also identified by staining with FITC-Annexin V/PI. Moreover, KTH-13-Me highly enhanced the activation of caspase-3 and caspase-9, and decreased the protein level of Bcl-2. In addition, the phosphorylation levels of Src and STAT3 were diminished in KTH-13-Me-treated C6 cells. Therefore, these results suggest that KTH-13-Me can be developed as a novel anti-cancer drug capable of blocking proliferation, inducing apoptosis, and blocking cell survival signaling in cancer cells.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.93-102
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• 2008

Experimental studies were conducted to characterize the synthesized nanoscale zero-valent iron (NZVI) which is resistant to oxidation in the atmospheric environment. XRD, XPS, and TEM analyses revealed that the oxidation-resistant NZVI particles formed under various controlled air contact conditions (4, 8 and 12 mL/min) have shells with ${\sim}$5 nm thickness. The shells consist of magnetite (${Fe_3}{O_4}$) and maghemite (${\gamma}-{Fe_2}{O_3}$), predominantly. No substantial differences were found in the shell components and thickness among NZVI particles formed under the various air flow rates. On the other hand, shell was not detected in the TEM image of rapidly oxidized NZVI particles. NZVI particles synthesized under the various air flow rates showed similar TCE degradation performances ($k_{obs}$= 0.111, 0.102, and 0.086 $hr^{-1}$), which are equivalent to approximately 80% of those obtained by the fresh NZVI particles. TCE degradation efficiencies of the NZVI particles(fresh, controlled air contact and rapidly oxidized) were improved after equilibrating with water for one day, indicating that depassivation of the shells occurred. The performances of NZVI particles decreased to 90% and 50% of those of the fresh NZVI particles, when they were equilibrated with the atmosphere for a week and two months, respectively. The NZVI particles synthesized under the controlled air contact would have advantages over traditional NZVI particles in terms of practical application into the site, because of their inertness toward atmospheric oxygen.