• Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.379-390
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• 1998

In endodontic treatment, calcium hydroxide has been used as intracanal medicament. Although calcium hydroxide should be removed thoroughly before permanent root canal filling, no effective method for its removal has been reported. Because of irregularity of root canal walls, root curvatures and anatomic variations, it is insufficient to remove calcium hydroxide from the canal wall only by mechanical instrumentation Considering the chemical effects of irrigants on calcium hydroxide, $Ca^{++}$ dissolving effect from two calcium hydroxide products is investigated, using dis- tilled water, NaOCl, citric acid and EDTA. Vitapex$^{(R)}$ 0.1g and calcium hydroxide 0.03g were dissolved in distilled water, 5% NaOCl, 50% citric acid and 17% EDTA respectively, at 1, 3, 5, 10min. time interval. The solution was filtered using filter paper(pore size $5{\mu}m$) and $Ca^{++}$ concentration was determined by ion chromatography. The result were as follows : 1. Distilled water, NaOCl, citric acid and EDTA abstracted more $Ca^{++}$ from calcium hydroxide than Vitapex$^{(R)}$ except NaOCl 1, 5, 10 time interval. 2. EDTA and citric acid abstracted more $Ca^{++}$ from Vitapex$^{(R)}$ and calcium hydroxide than distilled water or NaOCl. The overall result support the view that water-based calcium hydroxide product is easily removed than oil-based calcium hydroxide product and EDTA, citric acid are more effective in $Ca^{++}$ elution than NaOCl or distilled water.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.29 no.10
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• pp.609-616
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• 2019

Oxide coatings are formed on die-cast AZ91D Mg alloy through an environmentally friendly plasma electrolytic oxidation(PEO) process using an electrolytic solution of $NaAlO_2$, KOH, and KF. The effects of PEO condition with different duty cycles (10 %, 20 %, and 40 %) and frequencies(500 Hz, 1,000 Hz, and 2,000 Hz) on the crystal phase, composition, microstructure, and micro-hardness properties of the oxide coatings are investigated. The oxide coatings on die-cast AZ91D Mg alloy mainly consist of MgO and $MgAl_2O_4$ phases. The proportion of each crystalline phase depends on various electrical parameters, such as duty cycle and frequency. The surfaces of oxide coatings exhibit as craters of pancake-shaped oxide melting and solidification particles. The pore size and surface roughness of the oxide coating increase considerably with increase in the number of duty cycles, while the densification and thickness of oxide coatings increase progressively. Differences in the growth mechanism may be attributed to differences in oxide growth during PEO treatment that occur because the applied operating voltage is insufficient to reach breakdown voltage at higher frequencies. PEO treatment also results in the oxide coating having strong adhesion properties on the Mg alloy. The micro-hardness at the cross-section of oxide coatings is much higher not only compared to that on the surface but also compared to that of the conventional anodizing oxide coatings. The oxide coatings are found to improve the micro-hardness with the increase in the number of duty cycles, which suggests that various electrical parameters, such as duty cycle and frequency, are among the key factors controlling the structural and physical properties of the oxide coating.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.633-638
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• 2019

Indoor air quality underground facilities are not equipped for the removal of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and they are usually treated by diffusion methods such as ventilation. In this study, an adsorption filter was prepared using various coating methods such as carbon nano fiber (CNF) and dip coating. As a result, the adsorption performance was improved by 2 to 20 times or more compared to that of using the metal foam support. This is maybe due to the enhancement of pore distribution which was confirmed by SEM. In addition, the adsorption performance was 13.95 mg/g by adding lignin, and also an average adsorption performance of 13.25 mg/g was maintained after washing indicating that a highly durable adsorption filter material was prepared. It can be suggested that the developed adsorption filter material can be a potential solution that can fundamentally control VOCs, not via the concentration reduction of mechanical ventilation in underground facilities.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.183-200
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• 2014

The expansivity of clayey soils is a complicated phenomenon which may affect the stability of geotechnical structures and geo-environmental projects. In all common factors for the monitoring of soil expansion, less attention is given to anion type of pore space solutions. Therefore, this paper is concerned with the impact of various concentrations of different inorganic salts including NaCl, $Na_2SO_4$, and $Na_2CO_3$ on the macro and microstructure behavior of the expandable smectite clay. Comparison of the responses of the smectite/NaCl and smectite/$Na_2SO_4$ mixtures indicates that the effect of anion valance on the soil engineering properties is not very pronounced, regardless of the electrolyte concentration. However, at presence of carbonate as potential determining ions (PDIs) the swelling power increases up to 1.5 times compared to sulfate or chloride ions. The samples with $Na_2CO_3$ are also more deformable and show lower osmotic compressibility than the other mixtures. This demonstrates that the barrier performance of smectite greatly decreases in case of anions with the non-specific adsorption (e.g., $Cl^-$ and $SO{_4}^{2-}$) as the salinity of solution increases. Based on the results of the X-ray diffraction and sedimentation tests, the high soil volumetric changes upon exposure to carbonate is attributed to an increase in the repulsive forces between smectite basic unit layers due to the PDI effect of $CO{_3}^{2-}$ and increasing the pH level which enhance the buffering capacity of smectite. The study concluded that the nature of anion through its influence on the re-arrangement of soil microstructure and osmotic phenomena governs the hydro-mechanical parameters of expansive clays. It seems not coinciding with the double layer theory of the Gouy-Chapman double layer model.

• Journal of Marine Bioscience and Biotechnology
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.81-90
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• 2020

Sialic acid, which is contained in about 60-160 mg/kg in the edible bird's nest (EBN), is known to facilitate in the proper formation of synapses and improve memory function. The objective of this study is to extract effectively the sialic acid from edible bird's nest using affinity bead technology (ABT). After preparing the non-polar polymeric bead "KJM-278-28A" having a porous network structure, and then desorbed sialic acid was concentrated and dried. The analysis of the physicochemical properties of bead "KJM-278-28A" showed that the particle size was 400-700 ㎛, the moisture holding capacity was 67-70%, the surface area (BET) was 705-900 ㎡/g, and the average pore diameter 70-87 Å. The adsorption capacity of the bead "KJM-278-28A" for sialic acid was shown a strong physical force to bind sialic acid to the bead surface of 400 mg/L. In addition, as a result of analyzing the adsorption and desorption effects of sialic acid on water, ethanol, and 10% ethanol on the bead, it was confirmed that desorption effectively occurs from the beads when only ethanol is used. As a result of HPLC measurement of the separated sialic acid solution, a total of four sialic acid peaks of N-acetyl-neuraminic acid (Neu5Ac), α,β-anomer of Neu5Ac and N-glycoly-neuraminic acid were identified. Through these results, it was confirmed that it is possible to separate sialic acid from EBN extract with efficient and high yield when using ABT.

• Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.673-697
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• 2018

BACKGROUND: Cartilage tissue engineering (CTE) aims to obtain a structure mimicking native cartilage tissue through the combination of relevant cells, three-dimensional scaffolds, and extraneous signals. Implantation of 'matured' constructs is thus expected to provide solution for treating large injury of articular cartilage. Type I collagen is widely used as scaffolds for CTE products undergoing clinical trial, owing to its ubiquitous biocompatibility and vast clinical approval. However, the long-term performance of pure type I collagen scaffolds would suffer from its limited chondrogenic capacity and inferior mechanical properties. This paper aims to provide insights necessary for advancing type I collagen scaffolds in the CTE applications. METHODS: Initially, the interactions of type I/II collagen with CTE-relevant cells [i.e., articular chondrocytes (ACs) and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs)] are discussed. Next, the physical features and chemical composition of the scaffolds crucial to support chondrogenic activities of AC and MSC are highlighted. Attempts to optimize the collagen scaffolds by blending with natural/synthetic polymers are described. Hybrid strategy in which collagen and structural polymers are combined in non-blending manner is detailed. RESULTS: Type I collagen is sufficient to support cellular activities of ACs and MSCs; however it shows limited chondrogenic performance than type II collagen. Nonetheless, type I collagen is the clinically feasible option since type II collagen shows arthritogenic potency. Physical features of scaffolds such as internal structure, pore size, stiffness, etc. are shown to be crucial in influencing the differentiation fate and secreting extracellular matrixes from ACs and MSCs. Collagen can be blended with native or synthetic polymer to improve the mechanical and bioactivities of final composites. However, the versatility of blending strategy is limited due to denaturation of type I collagen at harsh processing condition. Hybrid strategy is successful in maximizing bioactivity of collagen scaffolds and mechanical robustness of structural polymer. CONCLUSION: Considering the previous improvements of physical and compositional properties of collagen scaffolds and recent manufacturing developments of structural polymer, it is concluded that hybrid strategy is a promising approach to advance further collagen-based scaffolds in CTE.

• BMB Reports
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• v.54 no.6
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• pp.311-316
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• 2021

Ethanol often causes critical health problems by altering the neuronal activities of the central and peripheral nerve systems. One of the cellular targets of ethanol is the plasma membrane proteins including ion channels and receptors. Recently, we reported that ethanol elevates membrane excitability in sympathetic neurons by inhibiting Kv7.2/7.3 channels in a cell type-specific manner. Even though our studies revealed that the inhibitory effects of ethanol on the Kv7.2/7.3 channel was diminished by the increase of plasma membrane phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PI(4,5)P₂), the molecular mechanism of ethanol on Kv7.2/7.3 channel inhibition remains unclear. By investigating the kinetics of Kv7.2/7.3 current in high K⁺ solution, we found that ethanol inhibited Kv7.2/7.3 channels through a mechanism distinct from that of tetraethylammonium (TEA) which enters into the pore and blocks the gate of the channels. Using a non-stationary noise analysis (NSNA), we demonstrated that the inhibitory effect of ethanol is the result of reduction of open probability (P_O) of the Kv7.2/7.3 channel, but not of a single channel current (i) or channel number (N). Finally, ethanol selectively facilitated the kinetics of Kv7.2 current suppression by voltage-sensing phosphatase (VSP)-induced PI(4,5)P₂ depletion, while it slowed down Kv7.2 current recovery from the VSP-induced inhibition. Together our results suggest that ethanol regulates neuronal activity through the reduction of open probability and PI(4,5)P₂ sensitivity of Kv7.2/7.3 channels.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.353-366
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• 2021

In this study, photocatalytic degradation of ammonia in petrochemical wastewater is investigated by solar light photocatalysis. Two-dimensional ultra-thin atomic layer structured MoS₂ are synthesized via a simple hydrothermal method. We examine all prepared samples by means of physical techniques, such as SEM-EDX, HRTEM, FT-IR, BET, XRD, XPS, DRS and PL. And, we use fullerene modified MoS₂ nanosheets to enhance the activity of photochemically generated oxygen (PGO) species. Surface area and pore volumes of the MoS₂-fullerene samples significantly increase due to the existence of MoS₂. And, PGO oxidation of MB, TBA and TMST, causing its concentration in aqueous solution to decrease, is confirmed by the results of PL. The generation of reactive oxygen species is detected through the oxidation reaction from 1,5-diphenyl carbazide (DPCI) to 1,5-diphenyl carbazone (DPCO). It is found that the photocurrent density and the PGO effect increase in the case with modified fullerene. The experimental results show that this heterogeneous catalyst has a degradation of 88.43% achieved through visible light irradiation. The product for the degradation of NH₃ is identified as N₂, but not NO^2- or NO^3-.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.270-279
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• 2022

In this study, N/S co-doped carbon felt (N/S-CF) was prepared and characterized as an electrode material for electric double-layer capacitors (EDLCs). A commercial carbon felt (CF) was immersed in an aqueous solution of thiourea and then thermally treated at 800 ℃ under an inert atmosphere. The prepared N/S-CF showed a large specific surface area with hierarchical pore structures. The electrochemical performance of the N/S-CF-based electrode was evaluated using both 3-electrode and 2-electrode systems. In the 3-electrode system, the N/S-CF-based electrode showed a good specific capacitance of 177 F/g at 1 A/g and a good rate capability of 41% at 20 A/g. In the 2-electrode system (symmetric capacitor), the freestanding N/S-CF-based electrode showed a specific capacitance of 275 mF/cm² at 2 mA/cm², a rate capability of 62.5 % at 100 mA/cm², a specific power density of ~ 25,000 mW/cm² at an energy density of 23.9 mWh/cm², and a cycling stability of ~ 100 % at 100 mA/cm² after 20,000 cycles. These results indicate the N/S co-doped carbon felts can be a promising candidate as a new electrode material in a symmetric capacitor.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.465-474
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• 2022

The suction pressure was measured with respect to operational time by the backwashable flat sheet membrane module in membrane bioreactor (MBR). The membrane module having the nominal pore size of 0.2 ㎛ and the effective membrane area of 128cm² was submerged in MLSS 8,000 mg/L active sludge aqueous solution. The suction pressure was observed with respect to permeation flux and the quorum quenching (QQ) treatment. The effects of FR and SFCO operation methods were compared and analyzed in the experimental groups: vacant bead (VB), BH4 and DKY-1 beads. The suction pressure reduction was the most effective for the permeation flux 40 L/m² ⋅h with the injection of DKY-1 QQ beads. Also, the suction pressure reduction by the backwashing method was more than twice for using DKY-1 QQ beads.