• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.15-20
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• 2007

Background: Lipo-prostaglandin E1 (Lipo-$PGE_1$) has vasodilating and platelet aggregation inhibitory characteristics and it has been used as a treatment for patients with blood flow dysfunction disease. Based on the mechanisms of lumbar spinal stenosis, including veno congestion, neuro-ischemia and mechanical compression, we aimed to study whether intravenous Lipo-$PGE_1$ injection has any therapeutic effect on hyperalgesia in a rat foraminal stenosis model. Methods: In this study, twenty male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into the control (n = 10) and Lipo-$PGE_1$ (n = 10) groups. A small stainless steel rod was inserted into the L5-6 intervertebral foramen to induce intervertebral foramen stenosis and chronic DRG compression. In the Lipo-$PGE_1$ group, $0.15{\mu}g/kg$ of Lipo-$PGE_1$ were injected intravenously via a tail vein for 10 days starting from the $3^{rd}$ day after operation. Behavioral testing for mechanical and thermal hyperalgesia was performed for 3 weeks after the injections. Results: From the $10^{th}$ day after Lipo-$PGE_1$ injection, the rats in the experimental group showed significant recovery of their mechanical threshold, and this effect was maintained for 3 weeks. No significant differences of the thermal hyperalgesia were observed between the two groups. Conclusions: These findings suggest that intravenously injected Lipo-$PGE_1$ may be effective for alleviating neuropathic pain, which isthe main symptom of spinal stenosis, by improving the blood flow dysfunction.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.221-233
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• 2024

Lignin, a prominent constituent of woody biomass, is abundant in nature, cost-effective, and contains various functional groups, including hydroxyl groups. Owing to these characteristics, they have the potential to replace petroleum-based polyols in the polyurethane industry, offering a solution to environmental problems linked to resource depletion and CO₂ emissions. However, the structural complexity and low reactivity of lignin present challenges for its direct application in polyurethane materials. In this study, Kraft lignin (KL), a representative technical lignin, was fractionated with ethanol, an eco-friendly solvent, and mixed with conventional polyols in varying proportions to produce polyurethane films. The results of ethanol fractionation showed that the polydispersity of ethanol-soluble lignin (ESL) decreased from 3.71 to 2.72 and the hydroxyl content of ESL increased from 4.20 mmol/g to 5.49 mmol/g. Consequently, the polyurethane prepared by adding ESL was superior to the KL-based film, exhibiting improved miscibility with petrochemical-based polyols and reactivity with isocyanate groups. Consequently, the films using ESL as the polyol exhibited reduced shrinkage and a more uniform structure. Optical microscope and scanning electron microscope observations confirmed that lignin aggregation was lower in polyurethane with ESL than in that with KL. When the hydrophobicity of the samples was measured using the water contact angle, the addition of ESL resulted in higher hydrophobicity. In addition, as the amount of ESL added increased, an increase of 7.4% in the residual char was observed, and a 4.04% increase in Tmax the thermal stability of the produced polyurethane was effectively improved.

• Clean Technology
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.46-53
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• 2022

The agglomeration characteristics of coal and silica sand were investigated under various conditions using mixed samples consisting of coal, silica sand, and potassium hydroxide, which is an agglomeration accelerator. The samples were prepared by either physically mixing or using aqueous solutions. The experiments using the physically mixed powder samples were performed with a two hour reaction time. The results showed that the number of aggregates generated increased as the reaction temperature and the total potassium content increased. The experiments using aqueous solutions were performed at 880 ℃, which is the operating temperature of a fluidized bed boiler, and at 980 ℃, which assumes a local hot spot. The amount of agglomeration generated as the reaction time increased and the total potassium content increased was identified. In the experiment performed at 880 ℃, the amount of aggregate generated clearly increased with the reaction time, and in the experiment performed at 980 ℃, assuming a local hot spot, a large amount of aggregate was generated in a relatively short time. The aggregates became harder as the potassium content increased. When the total potassium content was less than 1.37 wt.%, the aggregates were weak at both temperatures and collapsed even with a slight impact. Additionally, the surface characteristics of the silica sand and ash aggregates were observed by SEM-EDS analysis. The analysis revealed a large amount of potassium at the bonding sites. This result indicates that there is a high possibility of aggregation in the form of a eutectic compound when the alkali component is increased.

• Composites Research
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.316-322
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• 2017

Carbon fiber is a material with excellent mechanical, electrical and thermal properties, which is widely used as a composite material made of a polymer matrix. However, this composite material has a weak point of interlaminar delamination due to weak interfacial bond with polymer matrix compared with high strength and elasticity of carbon fiber. In order to solve this problem, it is essential to use reinforcements. Due to excellent mechanical properties, graphene have been expected to have large improvement in physical properties as a reinforcing material. However, the aggregation of graphene and the weak interfacial bonding have resulted in failure to properly implement reinforcement effect. In order to solve this problems, dispersibility will be improved. In this study, functionalization of graphene nanoplatelet was proceeded with melamine and mixed with epoxy polymer matrix. The carbon fiber reinforced polymer composites were fabricated using the prepared graphene nanoplatelet/epoxy and flexural properties and interlaminar shear strength were measured. As a result, it was confirmed that the dispersibility of graphene nanoplatelet was improved and the mechanical properties of the composite material were increased.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.16 no.2 s.76
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• pp.23-31
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• 2007

In this study, the crystallization of neodymium carbonate from neodymium chloride solution by addition of ammonium bicarbonate was investigated. The concentration of reactants such as neodymium chloride and ammonium bicarbonate, and reaction temperature play an important part in order to obtain the crystal of neodymium carbonate. It seemed that amorphous neodymium carbonate was prepared by aggregation of primary particles formed through nucleation. If reaction rate was increased by increasing the concentration of reactants and reaction temperature, then neodymium carbonate crystal could be obtained. Lanthanite-type neodymium carbonate[$Nd_2(CO_3)_3{\cdot}8H_2O$] and tengerite-type neodymium carbonate[$Nd_2(CO_3)_3{\cdot}2.5H_2O$] could be obtained with reaction renditions. Lanthanite-type neodymium carbonate was sensitive to temperature. The thermal decomposition of neodymium carbonate contained the processes or dehydration, decarbonation and crystalization of $Nd_2O_3$. The shape of lanthanite-type neodymium carbonate was irregular lump type, and tengerite-type neodymium carbonate had the shape of needle type. The shape of $Nd_2O_3$ was affected by the shape of neodymium carbonate.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.233-240
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• 2000

In order to fabricate dense cordierite ceramics without sintering aid, thermal behavior of Mg-Al-Si compounds during sintering was investigated. The dispersibility of cordierite suspension in aqueous media was measured by ESA(electrokinetic sonic amplitude). To prevent aggregation and insufficient dispersion of the cordierite sol, the pH of the suspension was controlled to 1.03 and 8.30 by adding $2N\;HNO_3$ and $2N\;NH_4OH$, respectively. Magnesium-aluminum-silicate complex gel coexisted in the specimen which has been gelled at $150^{\circ}C$ fir 12 hours, however several metastable phase such as ${\mu}-cordierite(Mg_2Al_4Si_5O_{18}),\;spine(MgAl_2O_4)\;and\;mullite(Al_6Si_2O_{13})$ existed below $1300^{\circ}C$ Nucleation rates of the two suspension were similar, but densification of the gel was sensitive to the pH of the sol. Densification of the sol with the pH of 8.3 was more pronounced than that of the sol with pH of 1.63.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.499-510
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• 2013

Among 25 isolates, Aspergillus fumigatus ASH (JX006238) was identified as a potent producer of homocysteine ${\gamma}$-lyase. The nutritional requirements to maximize the enzyme yield were optimized under submerged (SF) and solid-state fermentation (SSF) conditions, resulting in a 5.2- and 2.3-fold increase, respectively, after the last purification step. The enzyme exhibited a single homogenous band of 50 kDa on SDS-PAGE, along with an optimum pH of 7.8 and pH stability range of 6.5 to 7.8. It also showed a pI of 5.0, as detected by pH precipitation with no glycosyl residues. The highest enzyme activity was obtained at $37-40^{\circ}C$, with a $T_m$ value of $70.1^{\circ}C$. The enzyme showed clear catalytic and thermal stability below $40^{\circ}C$, with $T_{1/2}$ values of 18.1, 9.9, 5.9, 3.3, and 1.9 h at $30^{\circ}C$, $35^{\circ}C$, $40^{\circ}C$, $50^{\circ}C$, and $60^{\circ}C$, respectively. Additionally, the enzyme $K_r$ values were 0.002, 0.054, 0.097, 0.184, and 0.341 $S^{-1}$ at $30^{\circ}C$, $35^{\circ}C$, $40^{\circ}C$, $50^{\circ}C$, and $60^{\circ}C$, respectively. The enzyme displayed a strong affinity to homocysteine, followed by methionine and cysteine when compared with non-S amino acids, confirming its potency against homocysteinuria-related diseases, and as an anti-cardiovascular agent and a specific biosensor for homocysteinuria. The enzyme showed its maximum affinity for homocysteine ($K_m$ 2.46 mM, $K_{cat}\;1.39{\times}10^{-3}\;s^{-1}$), methionine ($K_m$ 4.1 mM, $K_{cat}\;0.97{\times}10^{-3}\;s^{-1}$), and cysteine ($K_m$ 4.9 m M, $K_{cat}\;0.77{\times}10^{-3}\;s^{-1}$). The enzyme was also strongly inhibited by hydroxylamine and DDT, confirming its pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP) identity, yet not inhibited by EDTA. In vivo, using Swiss Albino mice, the enzyme showed no detectable negative effects on platelet aggregation, the RBC number, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, or creatinine titer when compared with negative controls.