• Development and Reproduction
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.43-49
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• 2009

We examined the effects of the vibration stress on cortisol secretion and hematological characteristics in soft-shelled turtle, Pelodiscus sinensis. For the stressed group vibration of $45{\sim}78 dB(V)$ from electric vibrator applied for 30 min with 2-h intervals during daytime ($08:00{\sim}18:00$) up to 28 days. Using the blood samples collected from ten turtles held once a week after vibration stress, we measured hematocrit, hemoglobin, red blood cells, cortisol, glucose, lactic acid, osmolality, $Na^+,\;K^+,\;Cl^－$, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and alanine aminotransferase (ALT). The results have showed that P. sinensis received vibration stress exhibit the 'typical' stress-induced physiological responses (cortisol, glucose, lactic acid, osmolality, ions, hematocrit and hemoglobin) induced by vibration stress. Our data suggested that chronic vibration stress caused substantial stress in the animal, and in particular, the persisting elevated levels of AST and ALT would be highly correlated with the adverse effects of the stress. The high hematological characteristics during entire experimental period showed that the P. sinensis could not adapt to chronic stimuli provoked by vibration stress.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.25 no.8
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• pp.1281-1290
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• 2015

Thermolysin and its homologs are a group of metalloproteases that have been widely used in both therapeutic and biotechnological applications. We here report the identification and characterization of a novel thermolysin-like protease, BtsTLP1, from insect pathogen Bacillus thuringiensis serovar Sichuansis strain MC28. BtsTLP1 is extracellularly produced in Bacillus subtilis, and the active protein was purified via successive chromatographic steps. The mature form of BtsTLP1 has a molecule mass of 35.6 kDa as determined by mass spectrometry analyses. The biochemical characterization indicates that BtsTLP1 has an apparent K_m value of 1.57 mg/ml for azocasein and is active between 20℃ and 80℃. Unlike other reported neutral gram-positive thermolysin homologs with optimal pH around 7, BtsTLP1 exhibits an alkaline pH optimum around 10. The activity of BtsTLP1 is strongly inhibited by EDTA and a group of specific divalent ions, with Zn²⁺ and Cu²⁺ showing particular effects in promoting the enzyme autolysis. Furthermore, our data also indicate that BtsTLP1 has potential in cleaning applications.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.12
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• pp.1705-1713
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• 2012

A gene encoding ${\beta}$-glucosidase was cloned from Weissella cibaria 37, an isolate from human feces. Sequence analysis showed that the gene could encode a protein of 415 amino acids in length, and the translated amino acid sequence showed homology (34-31%) with glycosyl hydrolase family 1 ${\beta}$-glucosidases. The gene was overexpressed in E. coli BL21(DE3) using pET26b(+) and a 50 kDa protein was overproduced, which matched well with the calculated size of the enzyme, 49,950.87 Da. Recombinant ${\beta}$-glucosidase was purified by using a his-tag affinity column. The purified ${\beta}$-glucosidase had an optimum pH and a temperature of 5.5 and $45^{\circ}C$, respectively. Among the metal ions (5mM concentration), $Ca^{2+}$ slightly increased the activity (108.2%) whereas $Cu^{2+}$ (46.1%) and $Zn^{2+}$ (56.7%) reduced the activity. Among the enzyme inhibitors (1 mM concentration), SDS was the strongest inhibitor (16.9%), followed by pepstatin A (45.2%). The $K_m$ and $V_{max}$ values of purified enzyme were 4.04 mM and 0.92 ${\mu}mol/min$, respectively, when assayed using pNPG (p-nitrophenyl-${\beta}$-D-glucopyranoside) as the substrate. The enzyme liberated reducing sugars from carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC).

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.277-289
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• 2018

The exponential increase in the use of mobile communication has triggered public concerns about the potential adverse effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) emitted by mobile phones on the central nervous system (CNS). In this study, we explored the relationship between calcium channels and apoptosis or autophagy in the hippocampus of C57BL/6 mice after RF-EMF exposure with a specific absorption rate (SAR) of 4.0 W/kg for 4 weeks. Firstly, the expression level of voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCCs), a key regulator of the entry of calcium ions into the cell, was confirmed by immunoblots. We investigated and confirmed that pan-calcium channel expression in hippocampal neurons were significantly decreased after exposure to RF-EMF. With the observed accumulation of autolysosomes in hippocampal neurons via TEM, the expressions of autophagy-related genes and proteins (e.g., LC3B-II) had significantly increased. However, down-regulation of the apoptotic pathway may contribute to the decrease in calcium channel expression, and thus lower levels of calcium in hippocampal neurons. These results suggested that exposure of RF-EMF could alter intracellular calcium homeostasis by decreasing calcium channel expression in the hippocampus; presumably by activating the autophagy pathway, while inhibiting apoptotic regulation as an adaptation process for 835 MHz RF-EMF exposure.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2013.08a
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• pp.147-147
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• 2013

Multiferroic material $BiFeO_3$ (BFO) is a typical multiferroic material with a room-temperature magnetoelectric coupling in view of high magnetic- and ferroelectric-ordering temperatures (Neel temperature $T_N$ ~ 647 K and Curie temperature TC ~1,103 K). Rare-earth ion substitution at the Bi sites is very interesting, which induces suppressed volatility of the Bi ion and improved ferroelectric properties. At the same time, the Fe-site substitution with magnetic ions is also attracting, since the enhanced ferromagnetism was reported. In this study, BFO, $Bi_{0.9}Dy_{0.1}FeO_3$ (BDFO), $BiFe_{0.97}Co_{0.03}O_3$ (BFCO) and $Bi_{0.9}Dy_{0.1}Fe_{0.97}Co_{0.03}O_3 $ (BDFCO) compounds were prepared by conventional solid-state reaction and wet-mixing method. High-purity $Bi_2O_3$, $Dy_2O_3$, $Fe_2O_3$ and $Co_3O_4$ powders with the stoichiometric proportions were mixed, and calcined at $500^{\circ}C$ for 24 h. The samples were immediately put into an oven, which was heated up to 800oC and sintered in air for 1 h. The crystalline structure of samples was investigated at room temperature by using a Rigaku Miniflex powder diffractometer. The field-dependent magnetization measurements were performed with a vibrating-sample magnetometer. The electric polarization was measured at room temperature by using a standard ferroelectric tester (RT66B, Radiant Technologies). Dy and Co co-doping at the Bi and the Fe sites induce the enhancement of both magnetic and ferroelectric properties of $BiFeO_3$.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.22 no.7
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• pp.335-341
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• 2012

Recently, the demand for the miniaturization of printed circuit boards has been increasing, as electronic devices have been sharply downsized. Conventional multi-layered PCBs are limited in terms their use with higher packaging densities. Therefore, a build-up process has been adopted as a new multi-layered PCB manufacturing process. In this process, via-holes are used to connect each conductive layer. After the connection of the interlayers created by electro copper plating, the via-holes are filled with a conductive paste. In this study, a desmear treatment, electroless plating and electroplating were carried out to investigate the optimum processing conditions for Cu via filling on a PCB. The desmear treatment involved swelling, etching, reduction, and an acid dip. A seed layer was formed on the via surface by electroless Cu plating. For Cu via filling, the electroplating of Cu from an acid sulfate bath containing typical additives such as PEG(polyethylene glycol), chloride ions, bis-(3-sodiumsulfopropyl disulfide) (SPS), and Janus Green B(JGB) was carried out. The desmear treatment clearly removes laser drilling residue and improves the surface roughness, which is necessary to ensure good adhesion of the Cu. A homogeneous and thick Cu seed layer was deposited on the samples after the desmear treatment. The 2,2'-Dipyridyl additive significantly improves the seed layer quality. SPS, PEG, and JGB additives are necessary to ensure defect-free bottom-up super filling.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.11 no.5
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• pp.189-196
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• 2007

The purpose of this study was to analyze steel corrosion resistance of concrete containing copper slag. The specimens were made with normal portland cement and pozzolan materials with various replacement ratio and with W/B ratio ranging from 35% to 55%. Compressive strength, coefficient of chloride diffusion, corrosion area ratio and weight reduction ratio were determinated for the test. The results show that the concrete with pozzolan materials is superior resistant to chloride ions compared to the concrete without pozzolan materials. It was observed that blast furnace slag replacement ratio of 20% gives the best results with respect to chloride ion penetration and corrosion tests and observed that copper slag replacement ratio of 10% gives the seperior resistance compared to normal concrete.

• Advances in nano research
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.127-140
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• 2017

Metal nanoparticles have been intensively studied within the past decade. Nano-sized materials have been an important subject in basic and applied sciences. Zinc oxide nanoparticles have received considerable attention due to their unique antibacterial, antifungal, and UV filtering properties, high catalytic and photochemical activity. In this study, microbiological aspects of scale formation in PVC pipelines bacteria and fungi were isolated. In the emerging issue of increased multi-resistant properties in water borne pathogens, zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticle are being used increasingly as antimicrobial agents. Thus, the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) and minimum fungal concentration of ZnO nanoparticles towards pathogens microbe were examined in this study. The results obtained suggested that ZnO nanoparticles exhibit a good anti fungal activity than bactericidal effect towards all pathogens tested in in-vitro disc diffusion method (170 ppm, 100 ppm and 30 ppm). ZnO nanoparticles can be a potential antimicrobial agent due to its low cost of production and high effectiveness in antimicrobial properties, which may find wide applications in various industries to address safety issues. Stable ZnO nanoparticles were prepared and their shape and size distribution characterized by Dynamic light scattering (35.7 nm) and transmission electron microscopic TEM study for morphology identification (20 nm), UV-visible spectroscopy (230 nm), X-ray diffraction (FWHM of more intense peak corresponding to 101 planes located at $36.33^{\circ}$ using Scherrer's formula), FT-IR (Amines, Alcohols, Carbonyl and Nitrate ions), Zeta potential (-28.8). The antimicrobial activity of ZnO nanoparticles was investigated against Bacteria and Fungi present in drinking water PVC pipelines biofilm. In these tests, Muller Hinton agar plates were used and ZnO nanoparticles of various concentrations were supplemented in solid medium.

• Mass Spectrometry Letters
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.179-185
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• 2021

Collision-induced dissociation (CID) combined with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) was used to obtain structural information on rat islet amyloid polypeptide (rIAPP) monomers (M) and dimers (D) observed in the multiply charged state in the MS spectrum. MS/MS analysis indicated that the rIAPP monomers adopt distinct structures depending on the molecular ion charge state. Peptide bond dissociation between L₂₇ and P₂₈ was observed in the MS/MS spectra of rIAPP monomers, regardless of the monomer molecular ion charge state. MS/MS analysis of the dimers indicated that D⁵⁺ comprised M²⁺ and M³⁺ subunits, and that the peptide bond dissociation process between the L₂₇ and P₂₈ residues of the monomer subunit was also maintained. The observation of (M+ b₂₇)⁴⁺ and (M+ y₁₀)³⁺ fragment ions were deduced to originate from the two different D⁵⁺ complex geometries, the N-terminal and C-terminal interaction geometries, respectively. The fragmentation pattern of the [M_rIAPP + M_hIAPP]⁵⁺ MS/MS spectrum showed that the interaction occurred between the two N-terminal regions of M_rIAPP and M_hIAPP in the heterogeneous dimer (hetero-dimer) D⁵⁺ structure.

• Journal of the Korean Crystal Growth and Crystal Technology
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.21-24
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• 2010

The effects of mole ratio(A/B) m and Ti-ion on the dielectric properties and microstructure of the microwave dielectric ceramics $(Ca_{0.7}Sr_{0.3})_m(Ti_yZr_{1-y})O_3$ were investigated. Ti ions substituted on Zr-sites in these modified $CaZrO_3$ composition strongly affect the sintering density and microstructure of the fired ceramic body. With increasing the amount of Ti substituted on Zr-sites, the sintered density rapidly increased and the dense microstructure was obtained for the compositions having mole ratio of 1.01, whereas the sintered density and microstructure are nearly constant with the content of Ti-ion for the compositions having mole ratio of 0.99. With increasing the content of Ti ion, the curve of TCC (Temperature Coefficient of Capacitance) as a function of temperature rotated clockwise and satisfied the COG characteristics for both of compositions with mole ratio of 0.99 and 1.01. The content of Ti ion seems to be more effective than mole with respect to the controlling of firing and TCC.