• YAKHAK HOEJI
• /
• v.49 no.5
• /
• pp.422-427
• /
• 2005

Our previous data showed the protein isolated from Coptidis Rhizoma (CRP) had antifungal activity. In present study, we examined mode of action of the CRP and its activity against subcutaneous candidiasis due to C. albicans yeast cells. Results showed that the CRP blocked hyphal production from yeast form of C. albicans. The CRP also activated RAW 264.7 monocyte/macrophage cell line, which resulted in nitiric oxide (NO) production from the cells. This activation seemed to increase macrophage phagocytosis to destroy the invaders. Like other antimicrobial peptides, CRP was influenced by ionic strength, thus resulting in a decrease of antifungal activity. In murine model of a subcutaneous candidiasis, the sizes of infected areas of the nude mice given the CRP after subcutaneous injection of C. albicans yeast cells to the dorsal skin were $90\%$ less than those of the nude mice groups that received DPBS instead of the CRP. All data indicate that the CRP, which appeared to act like an antimicrobial peptide and to inhibit the morphological transition from blastoconidia, was effec­tive against the subcutaneous disease.

• Macromolecular Research
• /
• v.13 no.3
• /
• pp.243-252
• /
• 2005

The effect of the vinyl acetate (VA) content on the thermal, viscoelastic, rheological, morphological and mechanical behaviors in various blends of ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA)/ethylene-$\alpha$-olefin copolymers was investigated using 28, 22 and $15 mol\%$ of VA in EVA. In the DSC melting and crystallization thermograms of all of the EVA systems blended with ethylene-$\alpha$-olefin copolymers, discrete peaks were observed which were related to the constituents. In the dynamic mechanical thermal analysis, the storage modulus increased with increasing content of ethylene-$\alpha$-olefin copolymers. In addition, the transition regions relating to the tan bpeaks varied with the VA content. The crossover point between G' and G" varied depending on the VA contents, and shear-thinning was more prominent in the EVA/EtBC system. In the SEM investigation, a discrete phase morphology was observed in both the EVA/EtBC and EVA/EtOC blends, but the contrast improved with decreasing VA content. However, the tensile strength and modulus improved, but the elongation at break reduced with decreasing VA content, implying that the ethylene-$\alpha$-olefin copolymers play the role of reinforcing materials. Thus, the EVA and ethylene-$\alpha$-olefin components in the copolymers are immiscible in the molten and solid states, but are nevertheless mechanically compatible.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
• /
• v.35 no.4
• /
• pp.199-204
• /
• 2009

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) induced by Snail transcription factor and Snail-transfected in vivo tumors with histopathological features. Materials and methods: We induced in vivo xenografted tumorigenesis in the oral vestibules of nude mice by a Snail transfected HaCaT cell line and investigated morphological and immunohistochemical features in Snail expressive tumors. Results: We identified tumor masses in 14 out of 15 nude mice in the HaCaT-Snail cell inoculation group, but no tumors were present in any of the HaCaT cell inoculation group. Induced tumors showed features of poorly differentiated carcinoma with invasion to neighboring muscles and bones. The HaCaT-Snail tumors showed decreased expressions of E-cadherin and cytokeratin, but showed increased expressions of vimentin and N-cadherin. Discussion: The Snail transfected xenograft can improve productivity of malignant tumors, show various histopathological features including invasive growth, and aid in the investigation of tumor progression and the interaction with surrounding tissues.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Combustion
• /
• v.9 no.2
• /
• pp.38-44
• /
• 2004

The evolution of incipient soot particles has been examined by high resolution electron microscopy (HRTEM) and elemental analyzer in ethylene-air inverse diffusion flames. Laser Induced Incandescence(LII) and laser scattering methods were introduced for examining the soot volume fraction and morphological properties in combustion generated soot qualitatively. Soot particles, collected by thermophoretic sampling, were analyzed by using HRTEM to examine the nano structure of precursor particles. HRTEM micrographs apparently reveal a transformation of condensed phase of semitransparent tar-like material into precursor particles with relatively distinct boundary and crystalline which looks like regular layer structures. During this evolution histories, C/H analysis was also performed to estimate the chemical evolution of precursor particles. The changes of C/H ratio of soot particles with respect to residence time can be divided into two parts: one is a very slowly increasing regime where tar-like materials are transformed into precursor particles (inception process) the other is an increasing region with constant rate where surface growth affects the increase of C/H ratio dominantly (surface growth process). These results provide a clear picture of a transition to mature soot from precursor materials.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• v.32 no.1
• /
• pp.95-99
• /
• 2011

$CaTi_{1-x}Fe_xO_3(0{\leq}x{\leq}0.4)$ solid solution photocatalysts were synthesized by iron doping during the conventional solid state reaction at $1100^{\circ}C$ for 5 h and characterized by ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) absorption spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, morphological analysis. We found that $CaTi_{1-x}Fe_xO_3$ samples not only absorb UV but also the visible light photons. This is because the Fe substitution at Ti-site in $CaTi_{1-x}Fe_xO_3$ lattice induces the band transition from Fe3d to the Fe3d + Ti3d hybrid orbital. The photocatalytic activity of Fe doped $CaTiO_3$ samples for hydrogen production under UV light irradiation decreased with the increase in the Fe concentration. There exists an optimized concentration of iron in $CaTiO_3$, which yields a maximum photocatalytic activity under visible light ($\lambda\geq420nm$) photons.

• Mycobiology
• /
• v.41 no.2
• /
• pp.67-72
• /
• 2013

Pathogenic microbes secrete various enzymes with lipolytic activities to facilitate their survival within the host. Lipolytic enzymes include extracellular lipases and phospholipases, and several lines of evidence have suggested that these enzymes contribute to the virulence of pathogenic fungi. Candida albicans and Cryptococcus neoformans are the most commonly isolated human fungal pathogens, and several biochemical and molecular approaches have identified their extracellular lipolytic enzymes. The role of lipases and phospholipases in the virulence of C. albicans has been extensively studied, and these enzymes have been shown to contribute to C. albicans morphological transition, colonization, cytotoxicity, and penetration to the host. While not much is known about the lipases in C. neoformans, the roles of phospholipases in the dissemination of fungal cells in the host and in signaling pathways have been described. Lipolytic enzymes may also influence the survival of the lipophilic cutaneous pathogenic yeast Malassezia species within the host, and an unusually high number of lipase-coding genes may complement the lipid dependency of this fungus. This review briefly describes the current understanding of the lipolytic enzymes in major human fungal pathogens, namely C. albicans, C. neoformans, and Malassezia spp.

• Journal of Surface Science and Engineering
• /
• v.49 no.1
• /
• pp.1-13
• /
• 2016

This review deals with one of the surface modification techniques, chemical conversion coating and particularly cerium-based conversion coatings (CeCC) as a promising substitute for chromium and phosphate conversion coating on magnesium and its alloys. The CeCCs are commonly considered environmentally friendly. The effects of surface preparation, coating thickness, bath composition, and e-paint on the corrosion behavior of CeCCs have been studied on the AZ31 magnesium alloy. This review also correlates the coating microstructural, morphological, and chemical characteristics with the processing parameters and corrosion protection. Results showed that the as-deposited coating system consists of a three layer structure (1) a nanocrystalline MgO transition layer in contact with the Mg substrate, (2) a nanocrystalline CeCC layer, and (3) an outer amorphous CeCC layer. The nanocrystalline CeCC layer thickness is a function of immersion time and cerium salt used. The overall corrosion protection was crucially dependent on the presence of coating defects. The corrosion resistance of AZ31 magnesium alloy was better for thinner CeCCs, which can be explained by the presence of fewer and smaller cracks. On the other hand, maximum corrosion protection was achieved when AZ31 magnesium samples with thin CeCCs are e-painted. The e-paint layer further restricts and hinders the movement of chloride and other aggressive ions present in the environment from reaching the magnesium surface.

• Polymer(Korea)
• /
• v.24 no.3
• /
• pp.399-406
• /
• 2000

A thermotropic liquid crystalline polymer (TLCP) containing a flexible spacer was synthesized from hydroquinone, p-hydrofybenzoic acid, and 1,6-dibromohexane. Intercalation of TLCP in layered clays is accomplished by heating the polymer with dodecyl ammonium-montmorillonite (C$_{12}$-MMT) above melt transition temperature (T$_{m}$). Liquid crystallinity of the TLCP/C$_{12}$-MMT hybrid was not observed when $C_{12}$-MMT content was above 1 wt%. Some of the $C_{12}$-MMTs in TLCP were highly dispersed in a nanometer scale, but some of them were agglomerated. Thermal and morphological properties of the nanocomposites were examined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA), polarized optical microscope, and electron microscopes (SEM and TEM). TEM).

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• v.18 no.9
• /
• pp.929-933
• /
• 1997

Morphological studies in the micro-end-to-end (m-E-E) and micro-side-by-side (m-S-S) aggregations were conducted by using of scanning electron microscope (SEM) for the samples precipitated by heating of the end-products of the transition of FormⅡ (left-handed helix, three peptides per turn, 31) Form Ⅰ (right-handed helix, 3.3 peptides per turn, 103) in poly(L-proline) (PLP) in acetic acid(water)-propanol (1:9 v/v) solvent. The observed morphology for the solide state shows a rope (or super helical) type and pebbles type aggregate for the (m-E-E) and (m-S-S) aggregate respectively. The viscosities were also measured during the heat-precipitation in order to elucidate the process of formation of the rope- and pebbles-type aggregates. The result for the (m-E-E) aggregations exhibit two steps, i.e., at first, the viscosity increases with time (step 1), thereafter it decrease until attain the last value (step 2). But the (m-S-S) aggregations show only one step in the decreases in viscosity. On the bases of all experimental results it is possible to propose a reasonable mechanism for the formation of the two types of aggregates of the (m-E-E) and (m-S-S).

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.33 no.11
• /
• pp.1837-1847
• /
• 2020

Objective: To evaluate the pancreatic differentiation potential of α-1,3-galactosyltransferase knockout (GalTKO) pig-derived bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) using epigenetic modifiers with different pancreatic induction media. Methods: The BM-MSCs have been differentiated into pancreatic β-like cells by inducing the overexpression of key transcription regulatory factors or by exposure to specific soluble inducers/small molecules. In this study, we evaluated the pancreatic differentiation of GalTKO pig-derived BM-MSCs using epigenetic modifiers, 5-azacytidine (5-Aza) and valproic acid (VPA), and two types of pancreatic induction media - advanced Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (ADMEM)-based and N2B27-based media. GalTKO BM-MSCs were treated with pancreatic induction media and the expression of pancreas-islets-specific markers was evaluated by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction, Western blotting, and immunofluorescence. Morphological changes and changes in the 5'-C-phosphate-G-3' (CpG) island methylation patterns were also evaluated. Results: The expression of the pluripotent marker (POU class 5 homeobox 1 [OCT4]) was upregulated upon exposure to 5-Aza and/or VPA. GalTKO BM-MSCs showed increased expression of neurogenic differentiation 1 in the ADMEM-based (5-Aza) media, while the expression of NK6 homeobox 1 was elevated in cells induced with the N2B27-based (5-Aza) media. Moreover, the morphological transition and formation of islets-like cellular clusters were also prominent in the cells induced with the N2B27-based media with 5-Aza. The higher insulin expression revealed the augmented trans-differentiation ability of GalTKO BM-MSCs into pancreatic β-like cells in the N2B27-based media than in the ADMEM-based media. Conclusion: 5-Aza treated GalTKO BM-MSCs showed an enhanced demethylation pattern in the second CpG island of the OCT4 promoter region compared to that in the GalTKO BM-MSCs. The exposure of GalTKO pig-derived BM-MSCs to the N2B27-based microenvironment can significantly enhance their trans-differentiation ability into pancreatic β-like cells.