• Development and Reproduction
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.79-89
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• 1997

Recent studies have demonstrated that apoptotic cell death plays an important role in the mechanism underlying follicular atresia and luteolysis. However, the mechanisms responsible for initiating these processes have not been elucidated. In in vitro fertilization (IVF) programs, it is highly possible that continuous and repeated administration of FSH/hMG and GnRH agonists for the usage of ovarian hyperstimulation may induce apoptotic death of granulosa cells leading to atresia in the human ovarian follicles. The present study was performed to investigate whether FSH/hMG and GnRh agonists used for a longer period in controlled ovarian hyperstimulation has any effect on the apoptosis of granulosa-luteal (GL) cells obtained from hyperstimulated ovaries. To examine apoptotic cell death in the GL cells, cells were stained with acridie orange followed by observed in some of GL cells. Similar but distinct staining of apoptotic GL cells was observed when the cells were examined by using in situ TUNEL method. The healthy-looking cells with normal nuclear morphology were not stained, whereas cells with pyknotic nuclei or with apoptotic nuclei were intensively stained. After examining the ultrastructural features of GL cells by TEM, it was confirmed that the majority of cells seemed to have normal nuclei while GL cells undergoing apoptotic cel death were rarely found. The DNA extracted from GL cells showed a typical pattern of fragmentation following DNA electrophoretic analysis. We have confirmed that the apoptosis occurs in granulosa-luteal cells obtained from hyperstimulated ovaries. Technically, in situ apoptosis detection method is simple and reproducible and is well suited to identify the quality of oocytes retrieved from hyperstimulated ovaries.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.51-57
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• 1985

Delta-endotoxin in Bacillus thuringiensis var. finitimus, HD-1, HD-9 and HD-73 strains were isolated by NaBr, CsCl and Renografin density gradients. The purity of the toxin was about 98%. The purified o-endotoxin was analyzed by SDS-PAGE, electron microscopic observation and bioassay. According to SDS-PAGE, the molecular weight of subunits of the o-endotoxin were about 66,000 and 130,000 daltons. The shapes of the crystal toxin observed by TEM except finitimus strain were bipyramidal. When the purified endotoxin was bioassayed against tobacco horn worm, the entomocidal activities ($1{\mu}g/ml$) of HD-1 and HD-73 strains were, respectively, 60% and 100% at nine days after treated. The molecular weights of the plasmids isolated from B. thuringiensis were various from 0.5 to 120 Kb. The numbers of plasmids in HD-1, HD-9 and HD-73 strains were 12, 3 and 11, respectively, but B. thuringiensis var. finitimus strain had no plasmid.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.367-374
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• 2001

Leaves of two developmental stages of Salsola species, young and mature, were examined to reveal the structural and functional relationships in the photosynthetic tissue using anatomical and ultrastructural criteria. Both young and mature leaves had Kranz anatomy of the Salsolid type with two layers of chlorenchyma on the leaf periphery: an outer layer of palisade mesophyll cells and an inner layer of compact bundle sheath cells with centripetally arranged organelles. The chlorenchyma was continuous in young leaves , while it was discontinuous in mature leaves. The main vascular bundle occupied the central position in the leaf. but the small peripheral vascular bundles were in contact with the chlorenchyma. Structural dimorphism of chloroplasts was obvious in bundle sheath cells of mature leaves exhibiting noticeable grana reduction, whereas mesophyll cell chloroplasts had well developed grana in all cases. Plasmodesmata were less numerous and rather simple in young leaves relative to well-developed secondary plasmodesmata of the later stage. According to the current data, features of two stages of Salsola leaves corresponded to NADP-ME bio-chemical subtype on the basis of photosynthetic cell ultrastructure. Implications of developing such anatomical and ultrastructural data of Sulsola species and biochemical characteristics reported in other C-4 species have been discussed.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Pressure Vessels and Piping
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.1-6
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• 2009

Nuclear power plants (NPP) using Alloy 600 (Ni 75wt%, Cr 15wt%, Fe 10wt%) as a heat exchanger tube of the steam generator (SG) have experienced various corrosion problems by ageing such as pitting, intergranular attack (IGA) and stress corrosion cracking (SCC). In spite of much effort to reduce the material degradations, SCC is still one of important problems to overcome. Especially lead is known to be one of the most deleterious species in the secondary system that cause SCC of the alloy. Even Alloy 690 (Ni 60wt%, Cr 30wt%, Fe 10wt%) as an alternative of Alloy 600 because of outstanding superiority to SCC is also susceptible to leaded environment. An oxide on SG tubing materials such as Alloy 600 and Alloy 690 is formed and modified expanding to complex sludge throughout hideout return (HOR) of various impurities including Pb. Oxide formation and breakdown is requisite for SCC initiation and propagation. Therefore it is expected that an oxide property such as a passivity of an oxide formed on steam generator tubing materials is deeply related to PbSCC and an inhibitor to hinder oxide modification by lead efficiently can be found. In the present work, the SCC susceptibility obtained by using a slow strain rate test (SSRT) in aqueous solutions with and without lead was discussed in view of the oxide property. The oxides formed on Alloy 600 and Alloy 690 in aqueous solutions with and without lead were examined by using a transmission electron microscopy (TEM), an energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDXS), an x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and an electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS).

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.21-30
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• 2003

Seasonal fluctuations of physico-chemical and biological aspects of the environment were studied in Vladivostok harbour (Golden Horn Bay, the East Sea/Sea of Japan). The benthic community structure was described with a focus on size-spectra (bacteria, meio- and macrofauna) related with the chemical environment and chemical fluxes in sediment and to reveal their possible ecological role in the process of bioremediation of the environment. Samples from two sites with different concentrations of heavy metals (Fe, Zn, Cu, Pb, Mn, Cr, Ni Cd, Co) and petroleum hydrocarbon were assessed by a number of methods. These included plate counts of culturable bacteria, observation through a scanning electron (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). These approaches were complemented with microscopic assessments of the diversity of the benthic community. The specific communities had a limited number of species, tolerant to abnormally high levels of toxic compounds. The dominant species were presented by several sho.1-lived small polychaetes (Capitella capitata) and nematodes (Oncholaimium ramosum). The highest population density was recorded in microbenthos, in various diatoms, various physiological groups of bacteria which participate in biomineralization: marine heterotrophic bacteria, which oxidized oil, black oil in addition to groups resistant to heavy metals. They have the entire set of mechanisms for neutralizing the negative effect of those compounds, forming the detrital food web and biogeochemical circulation of material in sediments, which results in the biological self-recycling of sea basins. Macro- and meiobenthic organisms were more sensitive to a greater extent of $H_2S$ and petroleum hydrocarbons than to metal content, but the within-site rankings were the same as those achieved for microbiological analyses.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.12-18
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• 2009

The 20% Pt/C catalysts were synthesized using the chemical reduction method for polymer electrolyte fuel cell cathode and were heat-treated in the temperature range from 300 to $600^{\circ}C$. The oxygen reduction reaction of the catalysts was evaluated using the electrochemical measurement. The oxygen reduction reaction of the heat-treated Pt/C at $300^{\circ}C$ had high catalytic activity and the oxygen reduction reaction current of that was 2 times than that of non-heat treatment catalyst. It is considered that the change of the crystallinity and particle size by heat treatment could increase the catalytic activity.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.285-290
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• 2007

Ag nanoparticles were distributed onto polystyrene nanoparticle (PS-Ag) beads using two synthetic methodologies. In the first methodology, polystyrene (PS) beads were prepared via emulsion polymerization, with Ag nanoparticles subsequently loaded onto the surface of the PS beads. The polymerization of styrene was radiolytically induced in an ethanol (EtOH)/water medium, generating PS beads. Subsequently, Ag nanoparticles were loaded onto the PS beads via the reduction of Ag ions. The results from the morphological studies, using field emission transmission electron microscopy (FE-TEM), reveal the PS particles were spherical and nanosized, and the average size of the PS spherical particles decreased with increasing volume % of water in the polymerization medium. The size of the PS spherical particles increases with increasing radiation dose for the polymerization. Also, the amount of Ag nanoparticle loading could be increased by increasing the irradiation dose for the reduction of the Ag ions. In the second methodology, the polymerization of styrene and reduction of Ag ions were simultaneously performed by irradiating a solution containing styrene and Ag ions in an EtOH/water medium. Interestingly, the Ag nanoparticles were preferentially homogeneously distributed within the PS particles (not on the surface of the PS particles). Thus, Ag nanoparticles were distributed onto the surface of the PS particles using the first approach, but into the PS clusters of the particles via the second. The antimicrobial efficiency of a cloth coated with the Ag-PS composite nanoparticles was tested against bacteria, such as Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumoniase, for 100 water washing cycles.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.38-44
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• 2010

Core-shell particles of inorganic/organic pair were synthesized from $CaCO_3$ absorbed sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate(SDBS) surfactant. Shell components were synthesized by sequential emulsion polymerization. Various monomers were used as shell components such as methyl methacrylate(MMA), ethyl acrylate(EA), butyl acrylate(BA), and styrene(St). Ammonium persulfate(APS) was used as an initiator and 2-ethylhexyl acylate(2-EHA) was used as a functional monomer, In the $CaCO_3$/organic core-shell particle polymerization, $CaCO_3$ absorbed surfactant SDBS of 0.5 wt% was prepared first and then core $CaCO_3$ was encapsulated by emulsion polymerization. 0.1 wt% of APS was added sequentially to minimize the formation of new monomer particle during shell polymerization. The structure of inorganic/organic core-shell particles were characterized by measuring the decomposition degree of $CaCO_3$ using HCl solution, thermogravimetric analyzer, scanning electron microscope, and transmission electron microscope.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.429-434
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• 2009

In this study, electro spinning conditions for PMMA were studied. Namely, the ratio of DMF and THF and its maximum concentration were examined. Conductivity of the polymer solution containing silver nanoparticles and its effect on fiber diameter were also studied. As the results, the maximum concentration for the electro spinning of PMMA was found at 18 wt%, and the ratio of DMF/THF was 7:3. The diameter of nanofibers obtained was 100-400 nm when the PMMA solution containing 1000 ppm silver was electrospun. It was found, from TEM results, that silver nanoparticles were distributed on the edge of fibers and the resulting nanofiber mats showed a good antibacterial activity.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.544-549
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• 2014

Double layered film consisting of polyimide/polysiloxane and interface with nano domain structure was fabricated through stepwise layer formation and subsequent aging steps. During aging of film, nano phase separation occurred between the top layer polysiloxane and the upper layer of polyimide, which was observed by transmission electron microscope (TEM). A stable and uniform polysiloxane layer was obtained, showing the reproducible pressure-sensitive adhesion (PSA) property with the peel strength of 8-13 g/inch at even $300^{\circ}C$. In addition, the resulting polymide/polysiloxane film was thermo-stable up to $435^{\circ}C$, providing the promising properties suitable for application in microelectronics processing.