• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.11
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• pp.4571-4576
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• 2015

Background: To investigate the inhibitory effect and the underlying mechanism of triptolide on cultured human endometrial carcinoma HEC-1B cells and corresponding xenograft. Materials and Methods: For in vitro studies, the inhibition effect of proliferation on HEC-1B cell by triptolide was determined by MTT assay; cell cycle and apoptosis of the triptolide-treated and untreated cells were detected by flow cytometry. For in vivo studies, a xenograft tumor model of human endometrial carcinoma was established using HEC-1B cells, then the tumor-bearing mice were treated with high, medium, and low-dose ($8{\mu}g$, $4{\mu}g$ and $2{\mu}g/day$) triptolide or cisplatin at $40{\mu}g/day$ or normal saline as control. The mice were treated for 10-15 days, during which body weight of the mice and volume of the xenograft were weighted. Then expression of Bcl-2 and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) was analyzed by SABC immunohistochemistry. Results: Cell growth was significantly inhibited by triptolide as observed by an inverted phase contrast microscope; the results of MTT assay indicated that triptolide inhibits HEC-1B cell proliferation in a dose and time-dependent manner; flow cytometry showed that low concentration (5 ng/ml) of triptolide induces cell cycle arrest of HEC-1B cells mainly at S phase, while higher concentration (40 or 80 ng/ml) induced cell cycle arrest of HEC-1B cells mainly at G2/M phase, and apoptosis of the cells was also induced. High-dose triptolide showed a similar tumor-inhibitory effect as cisplatin (-50%); high-dose triptolide significantly inhibited Bcl-2 and VEGF expression in the xenograft model compared to normal saline control (P<0.05). Conclusions: triptolide inhibits HEC-1B cell growth both in vitro and in mouse xenograft model. Cell cycle of the tumor cells was arrested at S and G2/M phase, and the mechanism may involve induction of tumor cell apoptosis and inhibition of tumor angiogenesis.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.613-619
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• 2018

In this study, various influent sludge pre-treatment methods and the internal recirculation of thickened sludge from effluents using a liquid/solid separation unit were adopted to investigate their effects on the sludge digestion and methane production in a combined mesophilic anaerobic and thermophilic aerobic sludge digestion process. A lab-scale combined sludge digestion process was operated during 5 phases using different feed sludge pre-treatment strategies. In phase 1, the feed sludge was pre-treated with a thermal-alkaline method. In contrast, in phases 2, 3 and 4, the internal recirculation of thickened sludge from the effluent and thermal-alkaline, thermal, and alkaline pre-treatment (7 days) were applied to the combined process. In phase 5, the raw sludge without any pre-treatment was used to the combined process. With the feed sludge pre-treatment and internal recirculation, the experimental results indicated that the volatile suspended solid (VSS) removal was drastically increased from phases 1 to 4. Also, the methane production rate with the thermal-alkaline pre-treatment and internal recirculation was significantly improved, showing an increment to 285 mL/L/day in phase 2. Meanwhile, the VSS removal and methane production in phase 5 were greatly decreased when the raw sludge without any pre-treatment was applied to the combined process. Considering all together, it was concluded that the combined process with the thickened sludge recirculation and thermal-alkaline pre-treatment can be successfully employed for the highly efficient sewage sludge reduction and methane gas production.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2017.06a
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• pp.369-369
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• 2017

To improve the reclaimed land soil, we put organic materials (Chopped kenaf, decomposed rice hull, rice straw, pellet type manure compost) into reclaimed land for 3,000 kg per 10a. As a result, EC of reclaimed soil was lowered by 58% ($1.2dS/m{\rightarrow}0.5$), content of soil organic material was risen from 6.7 g/kg to 16.0 (1.4 fold ${\uparrow}$), porosity of soil was elevated from 1.57 % to 1.31 (16.6% ${\downarrow}$), soil hardness was reduced from 20.2 mm to 17.9 (11.4% ${\downarrow}$) and plow layer soil was deepen from 19.8 cm to 26.8 (35% ${\uparrow}$). In the wake of physiochemical improvement of reclaimed soil, the growth phase of crops became better contrast to non-treatment. For example the plant height of Kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.) cultivated in reclaimed land containing organic materials was lengthen by 18.8%. Especially, the improvment effect of pellet type manure compost and rice straw was more preferable. When the kenaf was cultivated in reclaimed land containing organic materials, the yield was become higher. The average yield of organic materials treatment was 9,218 kg/10a, and it was 2.1 times higher than non-treatment (4,368kg/10a). And the effective treatments to increase yields were pellet type manure compost (10,848 kg/10a, 148% ${\uparrow}$), rice straw (120% ${\uparrow}$) and chopped kenaf (95% ${\uparrow}$). To intensify the effect of physicochemical enhancement of reclaimed land soil and improving yields, we put into various physical types of organic materials (pellet type, liquid type, powdered type). The most effective organic materials type for enhancement of physicochemical properties (EC of reclaimed soil was lowered, content of soil organic material was risen, porosity of soil was elevated, soil hardness was reduced, plow layer soil was deepen) was pellet. And source to maintain better growth phase and get more yield were liquid and pellet types. When we used pellet type organic material, the plant height of kenaf was lengthen by 41% in comparison with non-treatment and yield was more than 122% more. And also liquid type could get more yield (by 127%) and growth phase (by 38%)

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.24
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• pp.10659-10663
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• 2015

Background: Rapamycin is an effective anti-angiogenic drug. However, the mode of its action remains unclear. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to elucidate the antitumor mechanism of rapamycin, hypothetically via apoptotic promotion, using MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Materials and Methods: MCF-7 cells were plated at a density of $1{\times}10^5$ cells/well in 6-well plates. After 24h, cells were treated with a series of concentrations of rapamycin while only adding DMEM medium with PEG for the control regiment and grown at $37^{\circ}C$, 5% $CO_2$ and 95% air for 72h. Trypan blue was used to determine the cell viability and proliferation. Untreated and rapamycin-treated MCF-7 cells were also examined for morphological changes with an inverted-phase contrast microscope. Alteration in cell morphology was ascertained, along with a stage in the cell cycle and proliferation. In addition, cytotoxicity testing was performed using normal mouse breast mammary pads. Results: Our results clearly showed that rapamycin exhibited inhibitory activity on MCF-7 cell lines. The $IC_{50}$ value of rapamycin on the MCF-7 cells was determined as $0.4{\mu}g/ml$ (p<0.05). Direct observation by inverted microscopy demonstrated that the MCF-7 cells treated with rapamycin showed characteristic features of apoptosis including cell shrinkage, vascularization and autophagy. Cells underwent early apoptosis up to 24% after 72h. Analysis of the cell cycle showed an increase in the G0G1 phase cell population and a corresponding decrease in the S and G2M phase populations, from 81.5% to 91.3% and 17.3% to 7.9%, respectively. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that rapamycin may potentially act as an anti-cancer agent via the inhibition of growth with some morphological changes of the MCF-7 cancer cells, arrest cell cycle progression at G0/G1 phase and induction of apoptosis in late stage of apoptosis. Further studies are needed to further characterize the mode of action of rapamycin as an anti-cancer agent.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.58-66
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• 2009

The thermotropic liquid crystalline behavior of the homologous series of cellulose tri[4-{4'-(nitrophenylazo) phenoxycarbonyl}] alkanoates (NACEn, n=2$\sim$8, 10, the number of methylene units in the spacer) have been investigated. All of the homologoues formed monotropic nematic phases. The isotropic-nematic transition temperature ($T_{iN}$) decreased when n is increased up to 7, but it became almost constant when n is more than 7. The plot of transition entropy at $T_{iN}$ against n had a sharp negative inflection at n=7. The sharp change at n=7 may be attributed to the difference in arrangement of the side groups. The melting temperature ($T_m$) and associated entropy change at $T_m$, in contrast with $T_{iN}$ and associated entropy change at $T_{iN}$, exhibited a distinct odd-even effect, suggesting that the average shape of the side chains in the crystalline phase is different from that in the nematic phase. The thermal stability and degree of order of the nematic phase observed for NACEn were significantly different from those reported for the homologous series of side-chain and combined type liquid crystal polymers bearing azobenzene or biphenyl units in the side chains. The results were discussed in terms of the differences in the chemical structure, the flexibility of the main chain, the mode of chemical linkage of the side group with the main chain, and the number of the mesogenic units per repeating unit.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.22 no.12
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• pp.1964-1973
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• 2021

Objective: To investigate the diagnostic performance of CT fractional flow reserve (CT-FFR) for myocardial bridging-related ischemia using dynamic CT myocardial perfusion imaging (CT-MPI) as a reference standard. Materials and Methods: Dynamic CT-MPI and coronary CT angiography (CCTA) data obtained from 498 symptomatic patients were retrospectively reviewed. Seventy-five patients (mean age ± standard deviation, 62.7 ± 13.2 years; 48 males) who showed myocardial bridging in the left anterior descending artery without concomitant obstructive stenosis on the imaging were included. The change in CT-FFR across myocardial bridging (ΔCT-FFR, defined as the difference in CT-FFR values between the proximal and distal ends of the myocardial bridging) in different cardiac phases, as well as other anatomical parameters, were measured to evaluate their performance for diagnosing myocardial bridging-related myocardial ischemia using dynamic CT-MPI as the reference standard (myocardial blood flow < 100 mL/100 mL/min or myocardial blood flow ratio ≤ 0.8). Results: ΔCT-FFR_systolic (ΔCT-FFR calculated in the best systolic phase) was higher in patients with vs. without myocardial bridging-related myocardial ischemia (median [interquartile range], 0.12 [0.08-0.17] vs. 0.04 [0.01-0.07], p < 0.001), while CT-FFR_systolic (CT-FFR distal to the myocardial bridging calculated in the best systolic phase) was lower (0.85 [0.81-0.89] vs. 0.91 [0.88-0.96], p = 0.043). In contrast, ΔCT-FFR_diastolic (ΔCT-FFR calculated in the best diastolic phase) and CT-FFR_diastolic (CT-FFR distal to the myocardial bridging calculated in the best diastolic phase) did not differ significantly. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that ΔCT-FFR_systolic had largest area under the curve (0.822; 95% confidence interval, 0.717-0.901) for identifying myocardial bridging-related ischemia. ΔCT-FFR_systolic had the highest sensitivity (91.7%) and negative predictive value (NPV) (97.8%). ΔCT-FFR_diastolic had the highest specificity (85.7%) for diagnosing myocardial bridging-related ischemia. The positive predictive values of all CT-related parameters were low. Conclusion: ΔCT-FFR_systolic reliably excluded myocardial bridging-related ischemia with high sensitivity and NPV. Myocardial bridging showing positive CT-FFR results requires further evaluation.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2016.02a
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• pp.307.2-307.2
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• 2016

In this study, we synthesized Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) in polyacrylonitrile (PAN) thin films using a simple annealing process in the solid phase. The synthetic conditions were systematically controlled and optimized by varying the concentration of the Au salt solution and the annealing temperature. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) confirmed their chemical state, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) verified the successful synthesis, size, and density of AuNPs. Au nanoparticles were generated from the thermal decomposition of the Au salt and stabilized during the cyclization of the PAN matrix. For actual device applications, previous synthetic techniques have required the synthesis of AuNPs in a liquid phase and an additional process to form the thin film layer, such as spin-coating, dip-coating, Langmuir-Blodgett, or high vacuum deposition. In contrast, our one-step synthesis could produce gold nanoparticles from the Au salt contained in a solid matrix with an easy heat treatment. The PAN:AuNPs composite was used as the charge trap layer of an organic nano-floating gate memory (ONFGM). The memory devices exhibited a high on/off ratio (over $10^6$), large hysteresis windows (76.7 V), and a stable endurance performance (>3000 cycles), indicating that our stabilized PAN:AuNPs composite film is a potential charge trap medium for next generation organic nano-floating gate memory transistors.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.55 no.6
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• pp.570-575
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• 2018

Hydroxyapatites (HAps) were synthesized using the powdered waste of fishery products, i.e., fish scales and crab shells, as starting materials. HAp was synthesized by a wet-chemistry method followed by calcination at 600 and $800^{\circ}C$. Calcined crabshell powder revealed a single HAp phase and fine powder, while calcined fish-scale powder showed a ${\beta}-TCP$ secondary phase, even at the higher calcination temperature. Dense HAp pellets were obtained from the crab-shell powder by spark plasma sintering at $1000^{\circ}C$ for 10 min under applied pressures of 40 and 80 MPa in a vacuum state, giving sample densities of 2.93 and $3.06g/cm^3$, respectively. The estimated grain size of HAp was $448{\pm}96$ and $283{\pm}59nm$ for applied pressures of 40 and 80 MPa, respectively. In contrast, the HAp obtained using the pressureless sintering technique showed excessive grain growth without further densification.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.63-71
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• 2009

In this study, polysulfone which has excellent mechanical and thermal stability with low cost was used for preparing a non-conducting polymer matrix as a reinforced composite membrane for fuel cell application. The membranes were prepared by phase separation method. Polymer concentration and retention time were controlled to investigate the effects on the membrane morphology. The resaltant membranes showed all sponge-like structure independent of polymer concentration. The mechanical and thermal stability were improved with increasing polymer concentration in contrast to the membrane porosity. As a result, the membranes prepared with the retention time for 2 mins using 20 wt% of polymer solution was suitable for a fuel cell compositite membrane providing optimum properties such as approximately 80% of high porosity, 1.3 MPa of tensile strength, and less than 1% of thermal shrinkage both machine and transverse direction.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.137-142
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• 2000

Background: Systemic or intrathecal administration of gabapentin has been shown to reverse various pain states. However, until now, the effect of intracerebroventricular (ICV) gabapentin to noxious stimuli has not been reported. The authors' aim of this study was to determine the effect of ICV gabapentin on the inflammatory nociceptive model, formalin test, in rats. Methods: ICV catheters were implanted under halothane anesthesia. For the nociceptive test, $50{\mu}l$ of 5% formalin was subcutaneously injected into the hindpaw. The effect of ICV gabapentin, administered 10 min before formalin injection, were examined on flinching, mean arterial pressure and heart rate evoked by a injection of formalin. Results: Injection of formalin into the paw resulted in a biphasic flinching and cardiovascular response. ICV gabapentin produced a dose-dependent suppression of the flinching and mean arterial pressure response during phase 1. In contrast, in phase 2, ICV gabapentin did not attenuate the pain behavior. ICV gabapentin did not affect on the baseline mean arterial pressure and heart rate. Conclusions: ICV gbapentin was effective for the acute noxious stimulus but it had no effect on the facilitated states induced by tissue injury.