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In this study, we investigated the cosmetic application of Acer mono sap through an ultra-high pressure process. Exposing Acer mono sap to a ultra-high pressure process resulted in 90.1% cell viability of human normal fibroblast cells (CCD-986sk) when added at the highest concentration. Acer mono sap also showed the hightest free radical scavenging activity after the ultra high pressure process. The melanogenesis inhibition rate in cloned M-3 cells was 59.0%. Tyrosinase was inhibited at a rate of 87.2% by adding 100% HPAMS. Anti-wrinkle activity was 78.1%. Acer mono sap showed enhanced storage following the ultra high pressure process. These results indicate that Acer mono sap may be a source for functional cosmetic agents capable of improving antioxidant, whitening, and antiwrinkling effects.

Half-Heusler alloys are one of the potential thermoelectric materials for medium to high temperature range application. As a part of fundamental study to establish processing route and to observe thermoelectric properties in undoped state, ZrCoSb was selected, processed and evaluated. In an attempt to produce a half-Heusler thermoelectric materials having ultra fine grain structures, ZrCoSb was synthesized by mechanical alloying of stoichiometric elemental powder compositions, and consolidated by vacuum hot pressing. Phase transformations during mechanical alloying and hot consolidation were investigated using XRD, SEM and EDS. Single-phase, half-Heusler was successfully produced by vacuum hot pressing using as-milled powders without subsequent annealing. Thermoelectric properties as functions of temperature were evaluated in terms of Seebeek coefficient, electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity and the figure of merit for the hot pressed specimens. Mechanically alloyed half-Heusler phase, ZrCoSb, appeared to have a great potential as a thermoelectric materials in this study.

In this study, the most optimal extraction conditions as regards to the immuno-modulatory activity of Rubus coreanus were determined to be 500 MPa with water at 60 °C for 15 min (HPE15). The extraction yield under these conditions was estimated to be 17.3%, which was higher than the yield obtained from the conventional extraction process (13.9%) with water at 100 °C (NE100). For most cases, the extract obtained under a high pressure of 500 MPa for 15 min HPE15 contained higher concentrations of the three main phenolic compounds relative to the conventional extraction procedure; catechin — 5.48 mg/L vs. 3.11 mg/L, caffeic acid — 12.34 mg/L vs. 10.14 mg/L and ferulic acid — 6.94 mg/L vs. 2.59 mg/L. It was found that the high amounts of bioactive components in HPE15 had a stronger beneficial effect on the growth of human B cell (> 20%) and NK cell (> 15%). In addition, the secretion of cytokines, IL-6 (> 10%) and TNF-α (> 12%), and NO- (> 20%) production from macrophages treated with the HPE15 extract was also higher than when the cells were treated with NE100. Based on these combined findings, we concluded that the immuno-modulatory activities of the HPE15 could be enhanced by simultaneous responses of high concentrations of key active components and their synergistic effects. These results clearly proved that high pressure treatment over the appropriate extraction time could effectively destroy the cell membrane and allow the solvents to easily penetrate into the cytoplasm, which can result in the large release of immuno-modulatory active components with less heat damage. Industrial relevance High pressure processing has been used for preservation purposes with no or minimal heat treatment where high temperature processing should be avoided. But, this process has not much studied yet on extracting useful compounds which are sensitive to heat from many food resources including medicinal plants even though this technology has many other advantages including a high yield and rapid extraction time within one hour without the need for thermal energy as well as with few impurities. Therefore, the results from this work about analyzing the ultra high pressure extraction process could definitely contribute to wide ranges of food industries for improving extraction yields correlated to their biological activities, which can expand this technology to process various natural resources having much nutritive and functional values as well as to overcome the mechanical limitations of manufacturing ultra high pressure extraction machines.

The effect of AgSbO3on the piezoelectric properties of (K0.5Na0.5)0.95Li0.05NbO3was examined. The AgSbO3doped KNLN samples sintered at 1050°C showed the maximum values of the sintering density of 4.56 g/cm3compared to un-doped KNLN samples sintered at same temperature with 4.25 g/cm3. Moreover, the addition of AgSbO3enhanced the piezoelectric and dielectric properties. Piezoelectric constant (d33), the planar electromechanical coupling factor (kp) and the relative dielectric permittivity (K33T) increased up to 230pC/N, 43.5%, 1080, respectively, with addition of AgSbO3.

In this study, we investigated antioxidant activities and whitening effects of Acer mono sap by encapsulation of nanoparticles. Acer mono sap was through ultra high pressure process and then encapsulated by lecithin. Nano-encapsulated The nanoparticles of Acer mono sap showed highest free radical scavengering effect as 89.7% in adding sample (1.0 mg/ml), compared to sap of non-encapsulation. It was showed strong inhibition effect on melanin production test by Clone M-3 cells as 47.8%. High inhibitory of tyrosinase was also measured as 85.8% by adding lecithin nano-particle of 1.0 mg/ml. The nano-particles also showed 14.8% of low cytotoxicity against human normal fibroblast cells in adding 1.0 mg/ml of the highest concentration. These results indicate that Acer mono sap may be a source of cosmetic agents capable of improving whitening effect and antioxidant activites.

This study was to investigate the effect of fermentation extracts on the concentration of serotonin and melatonin in the serum of the ICR mice. The ICR mice were divided into water control group, lactobacillus fermentation solution including (Lactobacillus paracasei and Bifidobacterium longum B6) control group, positive control group (milk and doxylamine succinate), negative control group (caffein) and the groups treated with the extracts of Berberis koreana bark (WE: water extracts, FE-L.P: fermentation extracts of Lactobacillus paracasei, FE-B.L: fermentation extracts of Bifidobacterium longum B6). After ten-day feeding treatment, the mean concentration of serotonin for water control, WE, FE-L.P and FEB. L group was 134.72, 183.01, 232.09 and , respectively. The mean concentration for FE-L.P and FE-B.L group were approximately 66% larger than that for water control group. The mean concentration of melatonin for water control, WE, FE-L.P and FE-B.L group was 76.92, 106.66, 157.56 and , respectively. The mean concentration of melatonin for FE-L.P and FE-B.L group were also larger than that for water control group. Our results indicated that the fermentation extracts of Berberis koreana bark have relatively greater potential to induce secretion of serotonin and melatonin. Therefore, the fermentation extracts have antidepressant effect.

Background: We analyzed the results of surgical reduction and fixation of ribs under thoracic epidural anesthesia and analgesia (TEA) in patients who had no more than 3 consecutive rib fractures with severe displacement to examine the clinical usefulness of this method. Materials and Methods: From May 2008 to March 2010, 35 patients underwent surgical reduction and fixation of ribs under TEA. We reviewed the indications for this technique, number of fixed ribs, combined surgical procedures for thoracic trauma, intraoperative cardiopulmonary events, postoperative complications, reestablishment of enteral nutrition, and ambulation. Results: The indications of TEA were malunion or nonunion of fractured ribs in 29 (82.9%; first operation) and incompletely ribs under previous general anesthesia in 6 (17.1%; second operation). The average number of fixed ribs per patient was 1.7 (range: 1∼3). As a combined operation for thoracic trauma, 17 patients (48.6%) underwent removal of intrathoracic hematomas, and we performed repair of lung parenchyma (2), wedge resection of lung (1) for accompanying lung injury and pericardiostomy (1) for delayed hemopericardium. No patient had any intraoperative cardiopulmonary event nor did any need to switch to general anesthesia. We experienced 3 postoperative complications (8.6%): 2 extrapleural hematomas that spontaneously resolved without treatment and 1 wound infection treated with secondary closure of the wound. All patients reestablished oral feeding immediately after awakening and resumed walking ambulation the day after operation. Conclusion: Thoracic epidural anesthesia and analgesia (TEA) may positively affect cardiopulmonary function in the perioperative period. Moreover, this technique leads to an earlier return of gastrointestinal function and early ambulation without severe postoperative complications, resulting in a shortened hospital stay and lowered costs.

This work was to investigate the effect of flavonoids from Angelica gigas Nakai on the proliferation and differentiation of PC12 cells. Several solvents including hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, butanol and water consecutively partitioned. We determined the ethanol crude extract of Angelica gigas Nakai. The hexane fraction was shown to contain the highest number of flavonoids as follows; 21.48 mg/g and the composition of the flavonoids was as follows: 12.24 mg/g of quercetin, 4.39 mg/g of myricetin and 2.58 mg/g of catechin. In addition, this hexane fraction greatly increased both cell growth and outgrowth of the neurite, and whose effects were three times higher than those of the other fractions. The length of the neurites was measured as ca. 110 μm in adding 50 μg/mL of the hexane fraction, which was about the same as the case of adding 50 ng/mL of NGF as a positive control. This result indicates that the differentiation of PC12 cells by the addition of the hexane fraction was comparable to the case of adding NGF. The hexane fraction was also determined to prevent apoptosis of PC12 cells by suppressing DNA fragmentation. It is interesting that the mixture of three major flavonoids, quercetin, myricetin and catechin showed stronger activity on, both PC12 cell growth and neuritis outgrowth, than when adding each flavonoid alone. We believe this was due to the synergistic effects of the three flavonoids. The activities of these flavonoids from Angelica gigas Nakai are reported for the first time in this study.

Half-Heusler alloys are one of the potential thermoelectric materials for medium to high temperature range application. As a part of fundamental study to establish processing route and to observe thermoelectric properties in undoped state, ZrCoSb was selected, processed and evaluated. In an attempt to produce a half-Heusler thermoelectric materials having ultra fine grain structures, ZrCoSb was synthesized by mechanical alloying of stoichiometric elemental powder compositions, and consolidated by vacuum hot pressing. Phase transformations during mechanical alloying and hot consolidation were investigated using XRD, SEM and EDS. Single-phase, half-Heusler was successfully produced by vacuum hot pressing using as-milled powders without subsequent annealing. Thermoelectric properties as functions of temperature were evaluated in terms of Seebeek coefficient, electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity and the figure of merit for the hot pressed specimens. Mechanically alloyed half-Heusler phase, ZrCoSb, appeared to have a great potential as a thermoelectric materials in this study.

Lead-free piezoelectric ceramic specimens of 0.94[(Bi 0.5 Na 0.5 )TiO 3 ]–0.06[Ba (1+ x ) TiO 3 ] (where 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.03) (abbreviated as nano-sized BNBT6( x )) compositions containing excess Ba were synthesized by a modified mixed oxide method. In this modified process (Bi 0.5 Na 0.5 )TiO 3 and Ba (1+ x ) TiO 3 were separately prepared by pre-milling the starting powders in high energy mill (HEM) in order to obtain nano-particle size. BNBT6( x ) specimens were also prepared by the conventional process to be compared with the former one. The pre-milling of the raw materials lowered the calcination temperatures of (Bi 0.5 Na 0.5 )TiO 3 and Ba (1+ x ) TiO 3 by 110 and 200 °C, respectively, as compared with the conventional process. High energy milling improved the reaction activity and homogeneity of the materials used throughout the process, enhanced the sintering density and grain uniformity, and decreased the grain size. The effects of excess Ba on the characteristic of nano-sized BNBT6( x ) specimens were systematically investigated. The piezoelectric and dielectric properties of BNBT6( x ) specimens containing various amounts of excess Ba show maximum values of the planar electromechanical coupling factor ( k p ) of 38% and the piezoelectric constant ( d 33 ) of 198 pC/N with Ba excess amount of 0.02 mol [BNBT6(0.02)]. The d 33 then decreases with increasing excess Ba content to 0.03 mol, whereas the relative dielectric permittivity ( K T 33 ) steadily increases with increasing excess Ba and reaches the maximum value of 785 for this composition. Besides, the depolarization temperature ( T d ) slightly decreased within the range of x = 0–0.01 mol and then tends to rapidly decrease with the excess Ba of 0.02 mol. In addition to this, the T d remains unchanged with the higher excess Ba of 0.03 mol. The modified mixing and milling method were considered to be a new and promising process for lead-free piezoelectric ceramics owing to their excellent piezoelectric/dielectric properties.

Targeted mRNA degradation by short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) offers a great potential to treat cancers. siRNA therapeutics for leukemias are, however, hindered by poor intracellular uptake, limited blood stability and nonspecific delivery. To solve these problems, we developed an anti-JL1 immunonanoplex (antibody-coupled nanocomplex) for siRNA delivery using anti-JL1 minibody (leukemia cell-specific minibody) conjugated to oligo-9-Arg peptide (9R) for effective siRNA delivery to leukemic cells. The anti-JL1 immunonanoplexes were able to deliver siRNA specifically to leukemic cells (CEM and Jurkat), but not to control cancer cells (H9). According to FACS and confocal microscopic analysis, siRNAs delivered by immunonanoplex particles were rapidly taken up by the JL1-positive cancer cells in 2 h. Furthermore, we showed that the anti-JL1 immunonanoplexes were effectively targeted to JL1-positive cells (CEM) inoculated in the mouse bone marrow. These results suggest that the anti-JL1 immunonanoplex is a powerful siRNA delivery system for human leukemia therapies.

The repellent efficacy of wood vinegar was assessed against mosquitoes under laboratory conditions at 1, 5, 10, 20, 40, 60 and 80% concentrations. The study evaluated whether wood vinegar is able to repel Culex pipiens pallens Coquillet and Aedes togoi (Theobald) from the human body and if so at what concentrations. The tests were conducted using the arm-in-cage method in 80 × 40 × 40 cm screened mosquito cages. The data were analyzed and compared with those of N,N-Diethyl-3-methylbenzamide (deet) at 10.3% concentration. The results showed that wood vinegar provided mosquito repellence of varying degree depending on the concentration used. The observed repellence averaged from as low as 39.6% at 5.0% concentration to as high as 100% at 80% concentration against Ae. togoi. Repellence against Cx. pipiens pallens was high being 90.3% at 20% concentration, 92.2% at 40% concentration, 93.9% at 60% concentration and 100% at 80% concentration. The duration of protection time tests showed that the 40% and 60% concentrations of the wood vinegar give protection from landing of Ae. togoi for a period of up to 7 h, though the lower concentration gave lower protection after the first five hours. The results indicated that wood vinegar has mosquito repellent characteristics that tend to vary with the concentration used and the species of mosquitoes. Wood vinegar in this case was very effective in repelling Cx. pipiens pallens, even at lower concentrations while higher concentrations were required to repel Ae. togoi.

dielectric ceramics are widely used to multi-layer ceramic capacitor. The powder was synthesized at by using a solid state reaction and grinded by using a high-energy mill. And then, 2.53 wt% glass frit was added to the synthesized powders for lowering the sintering temperature. The mixed powders were sintered at various temperatures of , , . Microstructures of the sintered ceramics were inspected by SEM and crystal structures were analyzed by XRD method. The relative dielectric constant was measured by using a impedance/gain phase analyzer. The synthesized powder had the tetragonal perovskite structure without secondary phase and the particle size was below 200 nm. The relative densities measured at the samples sintered at the temperature above were about 95%. The relative dielectric constant showed maximum value of 2310, which was measured in the specimen sintered at . From these results, we could know that the added glass frit had effects on both lowering the sintering temperature and improving the dielectric property.

(Bi 0.5 Na 0.5 ) 0.94 Ba 0.06 TiO 3 (abbreviated as BNBT6) ceramic of near MPB composition was synthesized by two different processes. The first one is the addition of pre-synthesized BaTiO 3 and pre-milled Bi 2 O 3 , Na 2 CO 3 , BaCO 3 powders and calcination powder milled with a high energy milling machine in order to obtain a nano-particle size. The second one is a conventional one to compare with the former process. The pre-milling and the pre-synthesis process of raw materials lowered the calcination temperature to the extent of 59 °C as compared with conventionally fabricated BNBT6. The particle size of the powder exposed to heavy high energy milling reduced to 50–70 nm, whereas that of the conventionally ball-milled powder without the pre-milling and the pre-synthesis process had a larger size of ∼280 nm. To investigate the effects of the modified process on the characteristic of BNBT6 ceramics, the dielectric and the piezoelectric properties of sintered specimens fabricated by the two different processes were evaluated. It was found that the properties of the nano-sized BNBT6 ceramic near the MPB composition were increased by the modified mixing and milling method, showing superior characteristics in terms of the piezoelectric/dielectric constant and sintering density compared with those of the conventional process. The modified mixing and milling method was considered to be a new and promising process for lead-free piezoelectric ceramics owing to their excellent piezoelectric/dielectric properties.

To identify a non-acylguanidine NHE-1 inhibitor, an acylguanidne group was replaced with an imidazole group in the potent NHE-1 inhibitors with furan or benzothiphene core template, found from our previous studies. We synthesized and biologically evaluated 4-heteroaryl-2-amino-5-methylimidazole derivatives. All those imidazole compounds (16-18) represented the potent NHE-1 inhibitory activities, similar to the corresponding acylguanidine compounds.

Toxocariasis is one of the causes of pulmonary eosinophilic infiltrate that is increasing in Korea. This study was designed to identify the prevalence of toxocara seropositivity in patients with unexplained pulmonary patchy infiltrate and to evaluate associated factors. We evaluated 102 patients with unexplained pulmonary patchy infiltrate on chest computed tomography (CT) scan. As a control set, 116 subjects with normal chest CT were also evaluated. History of allergic disease, drug use, parasitic disease and raw cow liver intake were taken. Blood eosinophil count and total IgE level were measured. Specific serum IgG antibody to Toxocara canis larval antigen and specific IgG antibodies to 4 other parasites were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In the infiltrate group, 66.7% subjects were toxocara seropositive whereas 22.4% of the control group were seropositive (p

In an effort to enhance dielectric properties and sinterability in a BaTiO3–CaTiO3 composite, substitution of Ca ion to Ba-site and Zr ion to Ti-site as well as tin doping were considered. Nominal forms of (Ba1−xCax)(Ti0.96−yZrySn0.04)O3 (0.15 ≤ x ≤ 0.20, 0.09 ≤ y ≤ 0.14) were synthesized by conventional solid-state processing technique, and their subsequent sinterability and dielectric properties were investigated. As Ca content was increased more than 15 mol%, the precipitation of second phase, whose main composition was CaTiO3, started to form and the fraction of second phase was increased. Increase in Ca content appears to decrease the Curie temperature by the factor of 1.7°/mol% and to decrease the maximum dielectric constant by the factor of 200 (mol%)−1 possibly due to the effect of second phase having relatively lower dielectric constant. Increase in Zr content was also shown to decrease the Curie temperature by the factor of 10°/mol%, and to decrease the maximum dielectric constant by the factor of 217 (mol%)−1 presumably due to the increase of a diffuse phase transition (DPT). Sinterability and withstanding voltage characteristics were shown to improve by suppressing the abnormal grain growth due to the incorporation of second phases. An appropriate composition compatible with the Y5U (EIA standard) condenser which needs high breakdown voltage and dielectric constant is possible to be developed by controlling a DPT, in other words controlling the temperature stability, with incorporating Zr ion into the composite.

To fabricate a multi-layered piezoelectrics/electrodes structure, the piezoelectrics should be sintered at the temperature lower than to use the silver electrode, which is cheaper than the electrodes containing noble metals such as Pd and Pt. Therefore, in this study, we modified the composition of -based material as to lower the sintering temperature and to improve the piezoelectric properties. Small amount of , , and were also added to lower the sintering temperature of the ceramic. The prepared raw powders were mixed by using a ball mill for 24 hours. And then the mixed powders were calcinated for 2 hours at . The calcinated powders were again crushed with the ball mill for 72 hours. The final powders were pressed for making the shape of disk. The disk-type samples were sintered at temperature range of . The crystal phases of the sintered specimens were perovskite structure without secondary phases. All of the measured electrical properties such as electromechanical coupling coefficients (), mechanical quality factors (), and piezoelectric charge constants () were decreased with decreasing the sintering temperatures. The electrical properties measured at the sample sintered at were 54% of , 503 of , and 390 pC/N of , respectively. These properties were considered to be fairly good for the application of multi-layered piezoelectric generators or actuators.

The piezoelectric properties of (1−x)(Bi0.5Na0.5)TiO3-xBaTiO3 ceramics were reported and their piezoelectric properties reach extreme values near the MPB (about x = 0.06). The X-ray analysis of (Bi0.5Na0.5)0.94Ba0.06TiO3 ceramics for all compositions exhibited a pure perovskite structure without any secondary phase. Within a certain ratio of contents, the co-doped ceramics enhanced piezoelectric coefficient (d 33 ), lowered the dielectric loss, and increased the sintered density. The temperature dependence of relative dielectric permittivity (K 33 T ) reveals that the solid solutions experience two phase transitions, ferroelectric to anti-ferroelectric and anti-ferroelectric to relaxor ferroelectric, which can be proven by P-E hysteresis loops at different temperatures. In addition, the specimen containing 0.04/0.01 wt.% CaO/MnO showed that the coercive field E c was a minimum value of 26.7 kV/cm, while the remnant polarization P r was a maximum value of 38.7 μC/cm2, corresponding to the enhancement of piezoelectric constant d33 of 179 pC/N, electromechanical coupling factor k p of 37.3%, and relative dielectric permittivity K 33 T of 1137. (Bi0.5Na0.5)0.94Ba0.06TiO3 ceramics co-doped with CaO/MnO were considered to be a new and promising candidate for lead-free piezoelectric ceramics owing to their excellent piezoelectric/dielectric properties, which are superior to an un-doped BNBT system.

In order to increase the brightness, the relative dielectric constant of the dielectric layer inserted between rear electrode and phosphor layer should be high. We manufactured BaTiO3-PVDF 0-3 type composite film for the application of the dielectric layer in the high brightness inorganic electro-luminescence (EL) device. The pastes for the BaTiO3-PVDF composite film were made with various mixing ratio by using 3-roll milling mixer. The pastes were coated on the phosphor layer by screen-printing method. The phosphor layer was also coated on a substrate by using the same screen-printing system. The substrate is an indium tin oxide (ITO) film deposited on PET (polyethylene terephthalate) polymer film. The others of rear electrode and insulating layer were also coated by the screen-printing method. Both the relative dielectric constant and the brightness of the fabricated EL device were increased with increasing the weight percent of BaTiO3 dielectric material in the composite films. The brightness ...

A periodic mesoporous organosilica material was synthesized by microwave heating (PMO-M) using 1,2-bis(trimethoxysilyl)ethane as a precursor in a cationic surfactant solution, and textural properties werecompared with those of the product produced by conventional convection heating (PMO-C). These synthesizedmaterials were characterized using XRD, TEM/SEM, N

This paper describes micromachined piezoelectric microspeakers that can produce an audible signal supplied from an MP3 player through the use of 5Vpeak-to-peak signal amplification circuit modules. The Sound Pressure Level (SPL) of the fabricated microspeakers is higher than that of previous results even though the input voltage is reduced. The success of this technology is based upon two distinct features; one is the use of a high quality compressive ZnO thin film, the other is the implementation of a floating electrode beneath the piezoelectric ZnO film in order to induce more strain in the diaphragm of the microspeaker when two top electrodes are biased with different polarities. A high quality piezoelectric ZnO film is achieved using an Ar/O2 gas ratio of 4:1, an R.F. power of 1,500W, a substrate temperature of 150°C, and a chamber pressure of 23mTorr. In this condition, the deposited ZnO film shows a compressive residual stress of −1.3GPa. The fabricated piezoelectric microspeakers were tested over a frequency range of 400Hz to 12kHz with a 5Vpeak-to-peak input signal, the maximum SPL of the fabricated microspeakers was shown to be more than 97.2dB at 7.1kHz with a distance of 3mm between the fabricated microspeakers and the reference microphone (B&K type 2,669 and 4,192L).

Nanocomposite of mesoporous swollen MCM-41 (S-MCM-41) with conducting polypyrrole (PPY) (PPY/S-MCM-41) confined inside uniformly aligned one-dimensional channels of the S-MCM-41 was prepared, and its physical and electrorheological (ER) characteristics when dispersed in silicone oil were examined under an applied electric field. N 2 -adsorption isotherm and XRD analysis were employed to confirm successful insertion of the PPY chain into host channels of the S-MCM-41. ER responses of the nanocomposite based ER fluid were investigated using a rotational rheometer, showing typical ER characteristics of the increment of shear stress as a function of an applied electric field strength.

Processing and properties of a dome-shaped piezoelectric transformer with a composition of 0.03Pb(Sb0.5Nb0.5)O3-0.03Pb(Mn1/3Nb2/3)O3-0.465PbTiO3-0.475PbZrO3 have been investigated. A dome-shaped sample was fabricated by powder injection molding. The dimension of the dome-shaped sample was a 28 mm in diameter and 2.1mm in thickness with a curvature radius of 18 mm. Finite element modeling for the complicated piezoelectric transformer was applied to simulate vibration mode in the sample. The high power characteristics of a dome-shaped piezoelectric transformer were examined by the lighting test for a 55W PL lamp. The 55W PL lamp was successfully driven by the dome-shaped piezoelectric transformer with sustaining efficiency higher than 98%. The transformer with ring/dot area ratio of 2.1 exhibited the maximum properties in terms of output power, efficiency and temperature stability.

0.03Pb(Sb0.5Nb0.5)O3-0.03Pb(Mn1/3Nb2/3)O3-(0.94-x)PbTiO3-xPbZrO3 ceramics doped with CeO2 were synthesized by conventional bulk ceramic processing technique. Phases analysis, microstructures and piezoelectric properties were investigated as a function of CeO2 contents (0.03, 0.05, 0.1 0.3, 0.5 and 0.7wt%). Microstructures and phases information were characterized using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and an X-ray diffractometer (XRD). Relative dielectric constant (K33 T) and coupling factor (kp) were obtained from the resonance measurement method. Both K33 T and kp were shown to reach to the maximum at 0.1wt% CeO2. In order to evaluate the stability of resonance frequency and effective electromechanical coupling factor (Keff) as a function of CeO2 addition under strong electric field, the variation of resonance and anti-resonance frequency were also measured using a high voltage frequency response analyzer(FRA5096) under various alternating electric fields from 10V/mm to 80V/mm. It was shown that effective electromechanical coupling factor was increased by increasing the CeO2 additions.

This paper describes a micromachined piezoelectric bimorph microphone, which is built on a low stress Parylene diaphragm with high quality ZnO films. The ZnO thin film has fine grain with the average grain size less than 1 and the grain orientation is perpendicular to the substrate. The highest sensitivity of piezoelectric bimorph microphone fabricated in this study is about 0.74 mV/Pa, which is twice higher than that of an individual segmented electrode. Based upon the experimental results, we proposed the equivalent electrical circuit model of piezoelectric bimorph microphone.

Processing and properties of a dome-shaped piezoelectric transformer with a composition of 0.03Pb(Sb0.5Nb0.5)O3-0.03Pb(Mn1/3Nb2/3)O3-0.465PbTiO3-0.475PbZrO3 have been investigated. A dome-shaped sample was fabricated by powder injection molding. The dimension of the domeshaped sample was a 28 mm in diameter and 2.1mm in thickness with a curvature radius of 18 mm. Finite element modeling for the complicated piezoelectric transformer was applied to simulate strains and vibration mode in the sample. The high power characteristics of a dome-shaped piezoelectric transformer were examined by the lighting test for 27 and 34 watt T5 circle lamps connected in series. The series connected T5 circle lamps were successfully driven by the domeshaped piezoelectric transformer with sustaining efficiency higher than 98.5%. The transformer with ring(input)/dot(output) electrode ratio of 2.5 exhibited the maximum properties in terms of output power, efficiency and temperature stability.

0.03Pb(Sb0.5Nb0.5)O3-0.03Pb(Mn1/3Nb2/3)O3-(0.94-x)PbTiO3-xPbZrO3 ceramics doped with Y2O3 were synthesized by conventional bulk ceramic processing technique. Phases analysis, microstructures and piezoelectric properties were investigated as a function of Y2O3 contents (0.03, 0.05, 0.1 0.3, 0.5 and 0.7 wt.%). Microstructures and phases information were characterized using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and an X-ray diffractometer (XRD). Relative dielectric constant (K33 T) and coupling factor (kp) were obtained from the resonance measurement method. Both K33 T and kp were shown to reach to the maximum at 0.1wt.% Y2O3. In order to evaluate the stability of resonance frequency and effective electromechanical coupling factor (Keff) as a function of Y2O3 contents under strong electric field, the variation of resonance and anti-resonance frequency were also measured using a high voltage frequency response analyzer(FRA5096) under various alternating electric fields from 10V/mm to 80V/mm. It was shown that the effective electromechanical coupling factor was stabilized along with increasing Y2O3 contents.

The electromechanical properties of a newly proposed 3-dimensional piezoelectric actuator have been investigated. Especially, the effects of 3-dimensional geometry on the maximum tip displacement were carefully investigated. As a result, it was found that the maximum strain of the 3-dimensional piezoelectric device was significantly enhanced up to 4.5 times higher than that of a disk shape device. This data was in good agreement with the finite element model analysis of strains and vibration modes. Moreover, the field -induced displacement stability of dome-shaped 3- dimensional piezoelectric actuator at various ac freguencies was superior to Rainbow actuator.

Diabetic wounds are a major health issue associated with diabetes mellitus. To surmount this issue, we developed polyurethane foams (PUFs) incorporating varying amounts of recombinant human epidermal growth factor (rhEGF) (rhEGF-PUFs) as a wound dressing for diabetic wounds. From electron microscopy images, it was found that the pore size of the rhEGF-PUFs surface (the wound contact layer) was less than 100μm, regardless of rhEGF content. The release of rhEGF from the PUFs was evaluated using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The result showed that the release of rhEGF was time and concentration dependent, i.e., the amount of released rhEGF significantly increased as the immersion time and the rhEGF content of the PUFs increased. In vitro cytotoxicity testing showed that rhEGF-PUFs increased the viability of HaCaT human keratinocytes and CCD986-sk human fibroblasts, which indicated that the incorporated rhEGF maintained its biological activity. In an in vitro scratch wound healing assay, the wound closure rate was faster in CCD986-sk human fibroblasts than in HaCaT human keratinocytes. Finally, the rhEGF-PUFs were evaluated as an in vivo treatment in a full-thickness wound model in diabetized Sprague-Dawley rats. The result indicated that compared with PUFs, rhEGF-PUFs accelerated wound healing by promoting wound contraction, re-epithelialization, collagen deposition and the formation of a skin appendage. These findings demonstrate that rhEGF-PUFs are a promising dressing for diabetic wounds.

0.03Pb ceramics doped with were synthesized by conventional bulk ceramic processing technique. Phases analysis, microstructures and piezoelectric properties were investigated as a function of content (0.03, 0.05, 0.1 0.3, 0.5 and 0.7 wt%). Microstructures and phases information were characterized using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and an X-ray diffractometer (XRD). Mechanical quality factor () and coupling factor(kp) were obtained from the resonance measurement method. Both and were shown to reach to the maximum at 0.1 wt% . In order to evaluate the stability of resonance frequency and effective electromechanical coupling factor () as a function of , the variation of resonance and anti-resonance frequency were also measured using a high voltage frequency response analyzer under various alternating electric fields from 10 V/mm to 80 V/mm. It was shown that the stability of resonance frequency and effective electromechanical coupling factor were increased with increasing the contents.

To enhance high power characteristics for piezoelectric transformer, an alloy design approach in PZT base ceramic system was considered. Various Zr/Ti ratio compositions in 0.03Pb(Sb0.5Nb0.5)O3- 0.03Pb(Mn1/3Nb2/3)O3-(0.94-x)PbTiO3-xPbZrO3 (0.445x0.475 mol)[PSN - PMN - PZT] system were synthesized by the conventional bulk ceramic processing technique. To improve high power characteristics at their morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) composition of PSN-PMN-PZT system, various spectra of Zr/Ti ratio were systematically experimented, and their effects on the subsequent piezoelectric properties and dielectric properties for high power piezoelectric transformer application were investigated using an impedance analyzer and a laser vibrometer. Microstructure and phase information were characterized using X-ray diffractometer (XRD) and a scanning electron microscope (SEM). When the Zr/Ti ratios were 0.475/0.465, the mechanical quality factor and electromechanical coupling factor were shown to reach the maximum, indicating that this alloy design can be a feasible composition for high power transformer.

Since the discovery of relaxor behavior in Pb(Mg 1/3 Nb 2/3 )O3 (referred to as PMN), the studies of relaxor ferroelectrics with Pb(B'1/3B"2/3)O3 type perovskites have intensified because of their excellent dielectric and electromechanical properties. The present study is mainly focused on the quantitative analysis of micro-macro domain transition, using dielectric spectroscopy, hot-stage TEM. The deviation from Curie-Weiss behavior was investigated over a broad range of temperature. As the relative contents of PbZrO3 increased, the Curie-Weiss temperature decreased, while the Curie-Weiss constant increased. However, the Lorentz polarization factor (γ) decreased with increasing PbZrO3 content, indicating an enhanced relaxor behavior in the PNN-PT-PZ(x) system at higher PZ content. A microscopic examination demonstrates that the relaxor-normal ferroelectric transition corresponds to a micro-macro domain switching. The long-range ferroelectric domains below the transition temperature were characterized by twin-like 90o macro domains with tetragonal symmetry and by the subdomains, which presumably relieves the internal electrostrictive strains associated with the polarization nonuniformity caused by the polar nanodomains.

In an approach to acclimate ourselves to the recent ecological consciousness trends, a lead free piezoelectric material, bismuth sodium barium titanate (Bi0.5Na0.5)0.94Ba0.06TiO3 (BNBT), was considered as an environment-friendly alternative to the PZT system. A perovskite BNBT was synthesized by the conventional bulk ceramic processing technique.La2O3 as a dopant was incorporated into the BNBT system up to 0.025 mol, and the doping effects on subsequent piezoelectric and dielectric properties were systematically investigated. In the case of La2O3 addition, the formation of grain boundary coherency was remarkably increased, and the sintered density was increased with increasing La2O3 contents. Piezoelectric and dielectric properties were shown to have the maximum value at 0.02 mol of La2O3 addition. La3+ ions were believed to act as a softener in the BNBT system and to enhance dielectric and piezoelectric properties in this study.

Highly ordered iron-containing mesoporous material, Fe-MCM-41, with 0.5–4 Fe/Si mol% loading was prepared and characterization was performed using XRD, SEM/TEM, EDS, N2-sorption, and FT-IR and UV–vis spectroscopies. Fe-MCM-41 exhibited high catalytic activity in phenol hydroxylation using H2O2 as oxidant, giving phenol conversion of ca. 60% at 50 8C [phenol:H2O2 = 1:1, water solvent]. Effects of Fe contents in Fe-MCM-41 and catalyst concentration, temperature, solvent used, phenol/H2O2 mole ratios and H2O2 feeding method, and catalyst calcination temperature on conversion profiles were examined. Catalyst recycling was performed to investigate the extent of potential metal leaching. Comparisons in performance were also made using nano-sized Fe2O3 particles and Fe-salt impregnated MCM-41 as catalyst. Catechol to hydroquinone in product ratio was close to 2:1 in accordance with a free radical reaction scheme involving Fe 2+ /Fe 3+ redox pair and the larger amount of Fe species always achieved the given phenol conversion at a shorter reaction time. As the calcination temperature increases from 400 to 800 8C increasing amount of Fe species came out from the MCM-41 framework. Both tetrahedral Fe and extra-framework Fe species were found catalytically active, but high dispersion of Fe species achieved in Fe-MCM-41 was an advantage. # 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A study on changes on the distribution of vascular hydrophytes and the growth pattern of Schenoplectus triqueter (Scirpus triqueter) was undertaken at the Nakdong River estuary from 2002 to 2004. The change was due to physical alteration of the estuary for the past 25 years. These plant species are the major food sources for winter waterfowl. A total of 32 species of vascular hydrophytes from 17 families were found in the West Nakdong River (freshwater), the main channel of Nakdong River (freshwater) and the Nakdong River Estuary (brackish water). After the construction of the barrage on the estuary in 1987, the number of hydrophytes has remarkably increased to 17 species (5 species in 1985) in the main channel of the River. In particular, a community of Eurale ferox was found at the backwater wetland of the Daejeo side of the main channel. The introduced species of Eichhornia crassipes and Pistia stratiotes that were epidemic in 2001 at West Nakdong River was not found any more. The other species such as Nymphoides indica, Myriophyllum spicatum, Ruppia spp. were rediscovered. The large area (about 1,300ha) of Zostera spp. was the main sources of food for swans, but disappeared because of direct and indirect impacts of reclamation in the River estuary. Currently, there remains a small patch of Zostera spp. and about 250ha of S. triqueter. Schenoplectus triqueter grew mostly between April-September and tuber formed, between September-October. The growth of S. triqueter up to in length was observed in 5 sites out of the 7 sites in brackish area. Tubers of S. triqueter were eaten by waterfowls such as swans as winter food. In five sites, tubers took of total biomass in October. Tubers were found in deep layers; (9%), (28%), (55%), below 40cm . The distribution of vascular hydrophytes has remarkably changed in the Nakdong River Estuary due to the reclamation of the area. In order to determine the extent of changes of the distribution of these plants and the carrying capacity of the area for waterfowl, an intensive research is urgently needed.

A senior male faculty member in a political science department discovers that his wife has cancer. She will need to undergo a combination of chemotherapy and radiation treatments over the next six months, treatments that will require her traveling to, and remaining overnight at, a hospital that is a 3-hour drive from the campus. Their only child lives over a thousand miles away.

Annexin A2 (ANXA2) is a Ca(2+)-binding protein that is up-regulated in virally transformed cell lines and in human tumors. Here, we show that ANXA2 binds directly to both ribonucleotide homopolymers and human c-myc RNA. ANXA2 was shown to bind specifically to poly(G) with high affinity (K(d) = 60 nM) and not to poly(A), poly(C), or poly(U). The binding of ANXA2 to poly(G) required Ca(2+) (A(50%) = 10 microM). The presence of RNA in the immunoprecipitates of ANXA2 isolated from HeLa cells established that ANXA2 formed a ribonucleoprotein complex in vivo. Sucrose gradient analysis showed that ANXA2 associates with ribonucleoprotein complexes and not with polyribosomes. Reverse transcriptase-PCR identified c-myc mRNA as a component of the ribonucleoprotein complex formed by ANXA2 in vivo, and binding studies confirmed a direct interaction between ANXA2 and c-myc mRNA. Transfection of LNCaP cells with the ANXA2 gene resulted in the up-regulation of c-Myc protein. These findings identify ANXA2 as a Ca(2+)-dependent RNA-binding protein that interacts with the mRNA of the nuclear oncogene, c-myc.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to examine the associations between depression, anxiety, hostility and fighting spirit among patients with stomach, colorectal or breast cancer. Materials and Methods: 223 patients, diagnosed as with stomach, colorectal or breast cancer, undergoing chemotherapy or follow up care, were the subjects of the study. The study design was cross-sectional at the time of the survey. The degrees of depression, anxiety and hostility of the patients were assessed by the SCL-90-R scores, and the fighting spirit was measured by the Mental Adjustment to Cancer (MAC) scale score. Results: The scores of anxiety and hostility of the patients at younger age were higher than those at older age (p＜0.01). The patients with metastasis were more depressed than those without it (p＜0.01). There was a negative association between depression and fighting spirit (p＜0.001). Conclusion: The study showed the more depressed cancer patients had lower fighting spirit score, which was known to be one of the most active psychosocial contributorsin adjusting to cancer and survival.

We studied the role of lipid rafts and actin cytoskeleton in CD99-mediated signaling to elucidate the mechanism of protein transport upon CD99 engagement. CD99 engagement in Jurkat cells elicited the exocytic transport of GM1 as well as several surface molecules closely related with CD99 functions. In addition, CD99 molecules were rapidly incorporated into lipid rafts and appeared to rearrange the actin cytoskeleton upon CD99 stimulation. Association of CD99 with actin cytoskeleton was inhibited by methyl-β-cyclodextrin, while CD99-mediated GM1 clustering was inhibited by cytochalasin D. Therefore, we suggest that CD99 may play a role in the vesicular transport of transmembrane proteins and lipid rafts from the intracellular location to the cell surface, possibly by effecting actin cytoskeleton reorganization.

To address whether mitochondrial biogenesis is essential for skeletal myogenesis, C2C12 myogenesis was investigated after knockdown of NADH dehydrogenase (ubiquintone) flavoprotein 1 (NDUFV1), which is an oxidative phosphorylation complex I subunit that is the first subunit to accept electrons from NADH. The NDUFVI knockdown enhanced C2C12 myogenesis by decreasing the NAD(+)/NADH ratio and subsequently inactivating SIRT1 and SIRT1 activators (pyruvate, SRT1720, and resveratrol) abolished the NDUFV1 knockdown-induced myogenesis enhancement. However, the insulin-elicited activation of insulin receptor β (IRβ) and insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1) was reduced with elevated levels of protein-tyrosine phosphatase 1B after NDUFV1 knockdown in C2C12 myotubes. The NDUFV1 knockdown-induced blockage of insulin signaling was released by protein-tyrosine phosphatase 1B knockdown in C2C12 myotubes, and we found that NDUFV1 or SIRT1 knockdown did not affect mitochondria biogenesis during C2C12 myogenesis. Based on these data, we can conclude that complex I dysfunction-induced SIRT1 inactivation leads to myogenesis enhancement but blocks insulin signaling without affecting mitochondria biogenesis.

Tumor or tumor-associated cells cleave circulating plasminogen into three or four kringle-containing antiangiogenic fragments, collectively referred to as angiostatin. Angiostatin blocks tumor growth and metastasis by preventing the growth of endothelial cells that are critical for tumor vascularization. Here, we show that cancer and normal cells convert plasminogen into a novel 22 kDa fragment (p22). Production of this plasminogen fragment in a cell-free system has allowed characterization of the structure and activity of the protein. p22 consists of amino acid residues 78-180 of plasminogen and therefore embodies the first plasminogen kringle (residues 84-162) as well as additional N- and C-terminal residues. Circular dichroism and intrinsic fluorescence spectrum analysis have defined structural differences between p22 and recombinant plasminogen kringle 1 (rK1), therefore suggesting a unique conformation for kringle 1 within p22. Proliferation of capillary endothelial cells but not cells of other lineages was selectively inhibited by p22 in vitro. In addition, p22 prevented vascular growth of chick chorioallantoic membranes (CAMs) in vivo. Furthermore, administration of p22 at low dose suppressed the growth of murine Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) metastatic foci in vivo. This is the first identification of a single kringle-containing antiangiogenic plasminogen fragment produced under physiological conditions.

Plasmin, a broad spectrum proteinase, is inactivated by an autoproteolytic reaction that results in the destruction of the heavy and light chains of the protein. Recently we demonstrated that a 61-kDa plasmin fragment was one of the major products of this autoproteolytic reaction (Fitzpatrick, S. L., Kassam, G., Choi, K. S., Kang, H. M., Fogg, D. K., and Waisman, D. M. (2000)Biochemistry 39, 1021–1028). In the present communication we have identified the 61-kDa plasmin fragment as a novel four kringle-containing protein consisting of the amino acid sequence Lys78–Lys468. To avoid confusion with the plasmin(ogen) fragment, angiostatin® (Lys78-Ala440), we have named this protein A61. Unlike angiostatin, A61 was producedin vitro from plasmin autodigestion in the absence of sulfhydryl donors. A61 bound to lysine-Sepharose and also underwent a large increase in fluorescence yield upon binding of the lysine analogue, trans-4-aminomethylcyclohexanecarboxylic acid. Circular dichroism suggested that A61 was composed of 21% β-strand, 14% β-turn, 18% 31-helix and 8% 310-helix. A61 was an anti-angiogenic protein as indicated by the inhibition of bovine capillary endothelial cell proliferation. Plasminogen was converted to A61 by HT1080 cells and bovine capillary endothelial cells. Furthermore, a plasminogen fragment similar to A61 was present in the serum of humans as well as normal and tumor-bearing mice. These results establish that plasmin turnover can generate anti-angiogenic plasmin fragments in a nonpathological setting.

Glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) is a pancreatic β cell autoantigen in humans and nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice. β Cell–specific suppression of GAD expression in two lines of antisense GAD transgenic NOD mice prevented autoimmune diabetes, whereas persistent GAD expression in the β cells in the other four lines of antisense GAD transgenic NOD mice resulted in diabetes, similar to that seen in transgene-negative NOD mice. Complete suppression of β cell GAD expression blocked the generation of diabetogenic T cells and protected islet grafts from autoimmune injury. Thus, β cell–specific GAD expression is required for the development of autoimmune diabetes in NOD mice, and modulation of GAD might, therefore, have therapeutic value in type 1 diabetes.

We have shown previously that the inactivation of macrophages in nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice results in the prevention of diabetes; however, the mechanisms involved remain unknown. In this study, we found that T cells in a macrophage-depleted environment lost their ability to differentiate into β cell–cytotoxic T cells, resulting in the prevention of autoimmune diabetes, but these T cells regained their β cell–cytotoxic potential when returned to a macrophage-containing environment. To learn why T cells in a macrophage-depleted environment lose their ability to kill β cells, we examined the islet antigen–specific immune response and T cell activation in macrophage-depleted NOD mice. There was a shift in the immune balance, a decrease in the T helper cell type 1 (Th1) immune response, and an increase in the Th2 immune response, due to the reduced expression of the macrophage-derived cytokine IL-12. As well, there was a deficit in T cell activation, evidenced by significant decreases in the expression of Fas ligand and perforin. The administration of IL-12 substantially reversed the prevention of diabetes in NOD mice conferred by macrophage depletion. We conclude that macrophages play an essential role in the development and activation of β cell–cytotoxic T cells that cause β cell destruction, resulting in autoimmune diabetes in NOD mice.