Showing papers by "Chonbuk National University published in 2016"

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (3rd edition)

Abstract: In 2008 we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, research on this topic has continued to accelerate, and many new scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Accordingly, it is important to update these guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Various reviews have described the range of assays that have been used for this purpose. Nevertheless, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to measure autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. For example, a key point that needs to be emphasized is that there is a difference between measurements that monitor the numbers or volume of autophagic elements (e.g., autophagosomes or autolysosomes) at any stage of the autophagic process versus those that measure flux through the autophagy pathway (i.e., the complete process including the amount and rate of cargo sequestered and degraded). In particular, a block in macroautophagy that results in autophagosome accumulation must be differentiated from stimuli that increase autophagic activity, defined as increased autophagy induction coupled with increased delivery to, and degradation within, lysosomes (in most higher eukaryotes and some protists such as Dictyostelium) or the vacuole (in plants and fungi). In other words, it is especially important that investigators new to the field understand that the appearance of more autophagosomes does not necessarily equate with more autophagy. In fact, in many cases, autophagosomes accumulate because of a block in trafficking to lysosomes without a concomitant change in autophagosome biogenesis, whereas an increase in autolysosomes may reflect a reduction in degradative activity. It is worth emphasizing here that lysosomal digestion is a stage of autophagy and evaluating its competence is a crucial part of the evaluation of autophagic flux, or complete autophagy. Here, we present a set of guidelines for the selection and interpretation of methods for use by investigators who aim to examine macroautophagy and related processes, as well as for reviewers who need to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of papers that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a formulaic set of rules, because the appropriate assays depend in part on the question being asked and the system being used. In addition, we emphasize that no individual assay is guaranteed to be the most appropriate one in every situation, and we strongly recommend the use of multiple assays to monitor autophagy. Along these lines, because of the potential for pleiotropic effects due to blocking autophagy through genetic manipulation, it is imperative to target by gene knockout or RNA interference more than one autophagy-related protein. In addition, some individual Atg proteins, or groups of proteins, are involved in other cellular pathways implying that not all Atg proteins can be used as a specific marker for an autophagic process. In these guidelines, we consider these various methods of assessing autophagy and what information can, or cannot, be obtained from them. Finally, by discussing the merits and limits of particular assays, we hope to encourage technical innovation in the field.

Event generator tunes obtained from underlying event and multiparton scattering measurements

Abstract: New sets of parameters ("tunes") for the underlying-event (UE) modeling of the PYTHIA8, PYTHIA6 and HERWIG++ Monte Carlo event generators are constructed using different parton distribution functions. Combined fits to CMS UE data at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV and to UE data from the CDF experiment at lower sqrt(s), are used to study the UE models and constrain their parameters, providing thereby improved predictions for proton-proton collisions at 13 TeV. In addition, it is investigated whether the values of the parameters obtained from fits to UE observables are consistent with the values determined from fitting observables sensitive to double-parton scattering processes. Finally, comparisons of the UE tunes to "minimum bias" (MB) events, multijet, and Drell-Yan (q q-bar to Z / gamma* to lepton-antilepton + jets) observables at 7 and 8 TeV are presented, as well as predictions of MB and UE observables at 13 TeV.

Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress and Associated ROS

Abstract: The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is a fascinating network of tubules through which secretory and transmembrane proteins enter unfolded and exit as either folded or misfolded proteins, after which they are directed either toward other organelles or to degradation, respectively. The ER redox environment dictates the fate of entering proteins, and the level of redox signaling mediators modulates the level of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Accumulating evidence suggests the interrelation of ER stress and ROS with redox signaling mediators such as protein disulfide isomerase (PDI)-endoplasmic reticulum oxidoreductin (ERO)-1, glutathione (GSH)/glutathione disuphide (GSSG), NADPH oxidase 4 (Nox4), NADPH-P450 reductase (NPR), and calcium. Here, we reviewed persistent ER stress and protein misfolding-initiated ROS cascades and their significant roles in the pathogenesis of multiple human disorders, including neurodegenerative diseases, diabetes mellitus, atherosclerosis, inflammation, ischemia, and kidney and liver diseases.

Nanoscale cation motion in TaO x , HfO x and TiO x memristive systems

Abstract: A detailed understanding of the resistive switching mechanisms that operate in redox-based resistive random-access memories (ReRAM) is key to controlling these memristive devices and formulating appropriate design rules. Based on distinct fundamental switching mechanisms, two types of ReRAM have emerged: electrochemical metallization memories, in which the mobile species is thought to be metal cations, and valence change memories, in which the mobile species is thought to be oxygen anions (or positively charged oxygen vacancies). Here we show, using scanning tunnelling microscopy and supported by potentiodynamic current-voltage measurements, that in three typical valence change memory materials (TaO(x), HfO(x) and TiO(x)) the host metal cations are mobile in films of 2 nm thickness. The cations can form metallic filaments and participate in the resistive switching process, illustrating that there is a bridge between the electrochemical metallization mechanism and the valence change mechanism. Reset/Set operations are, we suggest, driven by oxidation (passivation) and reduction reactions. For the Ta/Ta2O5 system, a rutile-type TaO2 film is believed to mediate switching, and we show that devices can be switched from a valence change mode to an electrochemical metallization mode by introducing an intermediate layer of amorphous carbon.

Decreased Morbidity of Laparoscopic Distal Gastrectomy Compared With Open Distal Gastrectomy for Stage I Gastric Cancer: Short-term Outcomes From a Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial (KLASS-01).

Abstract: Objective:To determine the safety of laparoscopy-assisted distal gastrectomy (LADG) compared with open distal gastrectomy (ODG) in patients with clinical stage I gastric cancer in Korea.Background:There is still a lack of large-scale, multicenter randomized trials regarding the safety of LADG.Method

Functional Properties of Microorganisms in Fermented Foods.

Abstract: Fermented foods have unique functional properties imparting some health benefits to consumers due to presence of functional microorganisms, which possess probiotics properties, antimicrobial, antioxidant, peptide production, etc. Health benefits of some global fermented foods are synthesis of nutrients, prevention of cardiovascular disease, prevention of cancer, gastrointestinal disorders, allergic reactions, diabetes, among others. The present paper is aimed to review the information on some functional properties of the microorganisms associated with fermented foods and beverages, and their health-promoting benefits to consumers.

Perovskite Solar Cells: Influence of Hole Transporting Materials on Power Conversion Efficiency.

Abstract: The recent advances in perovskite solar cells (PSCs) created a tsunami effect in the photovoltaic community. PSCs are newfangled high-performance photovoltaic devices with low cost that are solution processable for large-scale energy production. The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of such devices experienced an unprecedented increase from 3.8% to a certified value exceeding 20%, demonstrating exceptional properties of perovskites as solar cell materials. A key advancement in perovskite solar cells, compared with dye-sensitized solar cells, occurred with the replacement of liquid electrolytes with solid-state hole-transporting materials (HTMs) such as 2,2,7,7-tetrakis-(N,N-di-4-methoxyphenylamino)-9,9-spirobifluorene (Spiro-OMeTAD), which contributed to enhanced PCE values and improved the cell stability. Following improvements in the perovskite crystallinity to produce a smooth, uniform morphology, the selective and efficient extraction of positive and negative charges in the device dictated the PCE of PSCs. In this Review, we focus mainly on the HTMs responsible for hole transport and extraction in PSCs, which is one of the essential components for efficient devices. Here, we describe the current state-of-the-art in molecular engineering of hole-transporting materials that are used in PSCs and highlight the requisites for market-viability of this technology. Finally, we include an outlook on molecular engineering of new functional HTMs for high efficiency PSCs.

Physical Layer Security in Heterogeneous Cellular Networks

Abstract: The heterogeneous cellular network (HCN) is a promising approach to the deployment of 5G cellular networks. This paper comprehensively studies physical layer security in a multitier HCN where base stations (BSs), authorized users, and eavesdroppers are all randomly located. We first propose an access threshold-based secrecy mobile association policy that associates each user with the BS providing the maximum truncated average received signal power beyond a threshold. Under the proposed policy, we investigate the connection probability and secrecy probability of a randomly located user and provide tractable expressions for the two metrics. Asymptotic analysis reveals that setting a larger access threshold increases the connection probability while decreases the secrecy probability. We further evaluate the network-wide secrecy throughput and the minimum secrecy throughput per user with both connection and secrecy probability constraints. We show that introducing a properly chosen access threshold significantly enhances the secrecy throughput performance of a HCN.

Joint Optimization of Cloud and Edge Processing for Fog Radio Access Networks

Abstract: This paper studies the joint design of cloud and edge processing for the downlink of a fog radio access network (F-RAN). In an F-RAN, as in cloud-RAN (C-RAN), a baseband processing unit (BBU) can perform joint baseband processing on behalf of the remote radio heads (RRHs) that are connected to the BBU by means of the fronthaul links. In addition to the minimal functionalities of conventional RRHs in C-RAN, the RRHs in an F-RAN may be equipped with local caches, in which frequently requested contents can be stored, as well as with baseband processing capabilities. They are hence referred to as enhanced RRH (eRRH). This paper focuses on the design of the delivery phase for an arbitrary pre-fetching strategy used to populate the caches of the eRRHs. Two fronthauling modes are considered, namely, a hard-transfer mode , whereby non-cached files are communicated over the fronthaul links to a subset of eRRHs, and a soft-transfer mode , whereby the fronthaul links are used to convey quantized baseband signals as in a C-RAN. Unlike the hard-transfer mode in which baseband processing is traditionally carried out only at the eRRHs, the soft-transfer mode enables both centralized precoding at the BBU and local precoding at the eRRHs based on the cached contents, by means of a novel superposition coding approach. To attain the advantages of both approaches, a hybrid design of soft- and hard-transfer modes is also proposed. The problem of maximizing the delivery rate is tackled under fronthaul capacity and per-eRRH power constraints. Numerical results are provided to compare the performance of hard- and soft-transfer fronthauling modes, as well as of the hybrid scheme, for different baseline pre-fetching strategies.

Joint Optimization of Cloud and Edge Processing for Fog Radio Access Networks

Abstract: This work studies the joint design of cloud and edge processing for the downlink of a fog radio access network (F-RAN). In an F-RAN, as in cloud-RAN (C-RAN), a baseband processing unit (BBU) can perform joint baseband processing on behalf of the remote radio heads (RRHs) that are connected to the BBU by means of the fronthaul links. In addition to the minimal functionalities of conventional RRHs in C-RAN, the RRHs in an F-RAN may be equipped with local caches, in which frequently requested contents can be stored, as well as with baseband processing capabilities. They are hence referred to as enhanced RRH (eRRH). This work focuses on the design of the delivery phase for an arbitrary pre-fetching strategy used to populate the caches of the eRRHs. Two fronthauling modes are considered, namely a hard-transfer mode, whereby non-cached files are communicated over the fronthaul links to a subset of eRRHs, and a soft-transfer mode, whereby the fronthaul links are used to convey quantized baseband signals as in a C-RAN. Unlike the hard-transfer mode in which baseband processing is traditionally carried out only at the eRRHs, the soft-transfer mode enables both centralized precoding at the BBU and local precoding at the eRRHs based on the cached contents, by means of a novel superposition coding approach. To attain the advantages of both approaches, a hybrid design of soft- and hard-transfer modes is also proposed. The problem of maximizing the delivery rate is tackled under fronthaul capacity and per-eRRH power constraints. Numerical results are provided to compare the performance of hard- and soft-transfer fronthauling modes, as well as of the hybrid scheme, for different baseline pre-fetching strategies.

Wafer-Scale, Homogeneous MoS2 Layers on Plastic Substrates for Flexible Visible-Light Photodetectors.

Abstract: An appropriate solution is suggested for synthesizing wafer-scale, continuous, and stoichiometric MoS2 layers with spatial homogeneity at the low temperature of 450 °C. It is also demonstrated that the MoS2 -based visible-light photodetector arrays are both fabricated on 4 inch SiO2 /Si wafer and polyimide films, revealing 100% active devices with a narrow photocurrent distribution and excellent mechanical durability.

Releasable Kinetic Energy-Based Inertial Control of a DFIG Wind Power Plant

Abstract: Wind turbine generators (WTGs) in a wind power plant (WPP) contain different levels of releasable kinetic energy (KE) because of the wake effects. This paper proposes a releasable KE-based inertial control scheme for a doubly fed induction generator (DFIG) WPP that differentiates the contributions of the WTGs depending on their stored KE. The proposed KE-based gain scheme aims to make use of the releasable KE in a WPP to raise the frequency nadir. To achieve this, two additional loops for the inertial control are implemented in each DFIG controller: the rate of change of frequency and droop loops. The proposed scheme adjusts the two loop gains in a DFIG controller depending on its rotor speed so that a DFIG operating at a higher rotor speed releases more KE. The performance of the proposed scheme was investigated under various wind conditions. The results clearly indicate that the proposed scheme successfully improves the frequency nadir more than the conventional same gain scheme by releasing more KE stored in a WPP, and it helps all WTGs to ensure stable operation during inertial control by avoiding the rotor speed reaching the minimum speed limit.

Novel Receiver Design for the Cooperative Relaying System With Non-Orthogonal Multiple Access

Abstract: In this letter, a novel detection scheme for the cooperative relaying system using non-orthogonal multiple access (CRS-NOMA) is proposed. For CRS-NOMA, the source simultaneously transmits two symbols by employing the superposition code, and the relay decodes and forwards the symbol with lower allocated power by employing the successive interference cancellation (SIC). In the proposed scheme, the destination jointly decodes two symbols from both the directed signal and the forwarded signal by employing the maximum-ratio combination and another SIC. The ergodic sum rate and the outage performance of the system are investigated. A suboptimal allocation strategy is also designed. Both analysis and simulations reveal the advantages of the proposed scheme.

Graphene oxide/PEDOT:PSS composite hole transport layer for efficient and stable planar heterojunction perovskite solar cells

Abstract: We investigated a graphene oxide (GO)/poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) composite as a promising candidate for the practical application of a 2-D carbonaceous hole transport layer (HTL) to planar heterojunction perovskite solar cells (PeSCs) consisting of a transparent electrode/HTL/perovskite/fullerene/metal electrode. Both the insulating properties of GO and the non-uniform coating of the transparent electrode with GO cause the poor morphology of perovskite induced low power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 6.4%. On the other hand, PeSCs with a GO/PEDOT:PSS composite HTL, exhibited a higher PCE of 9.7% than that of a device fabricated with conventional PEDOT:PSS showing a PCE of 8.2%. The higher performance is attributed to the decreased series resistance (RS) and increased shunt resistance (RSh). The well-matched work-function between GO (4.9 eV) and PEDOT:PSS (5.1 eV) probably results in more efficient charge transport and an overall decrease in RS. The existence of GO with a large bandgap of ∼3.6 eV might induce the effective blocking of electrons, leading to an increase of RSh. Moreover, improvement in the long-term stability under atmospheric conditions was observed.

ER Stress-Mediated Signaling: Action Potential and Ca(2+) as Key Players

Abstract: The proper functioning of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is crucial for multiple cellular activities and survival. Disturbances in the normal ER functions lead to the accumulation and aggregation of unfolded proteins, which initiates an adaptive response, the unfolded protein response (UPR), in order to regain normal ER functions. Failure to activate the adaptive response initiates the process of programmed cell death or apoptosis. Apoptosis plays an important role in cell elimination, which is essential for embryogenesis, development, and tissue homeostasis. Impaired apoptosis can lead to the development of various pathological conditions, such as neurodegenerative and autoimmune diseases, cancer, or acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Calcium (Ca2+) is one of the key regulators of cell survival and it can induce ER stress-mediated apoptosis in response to various conditions. Ca2+ regulates cell death both at the early and late stages of apoptosis. Severe Ca2+ dysregulation can promote cell death through apoptosis. Action potential, an electrical signal transmitted along the neurons and muscle fibers, is important for conveying information to, from, and within the brain. Upon the initiation of the action potential, increased levels of cytosolic Ca2+ (depolarization) lead to the activation of the ER stress response involved in the initiation of apoptosis. In this review, we discuss the involvement of Ca2+ and action potential in ER stress-mediated apoptosis.

A Controlled Design of Aligned and Random Nanofibers for 3D Bi-functionalized Nerve Conduits Fabricated via a Novel Electrospinning Set-up.

Abstract: Scaffolds made of aligned nanofibers are favorable for nerve regeneration due to their superior nerve cell attachment and proliferation. However, it is challenging not only to produce a neat mat or a conduit form with aligned nanofibers but also to use these for surgical applications as a nerve guide conduit due to their insufficient mechanical strength. Furthermore, no studies have been reported on the fabrication of aligned nanofibers and randomly-oriented nanofibers on the same mat. In this study, we have successfully produced a mat with both aligned and randomly-oriented nanofibers by using a novel electrospinning set up. A new conduit with a highly-aligned electrospun mat is produced with this modified electrospinning method, and this proposed conduit with favorable features, such as selective permeability, hydrophilicity and nerve growth directional steering, were fabricated as nerve guide conduits (NGCs). The inner surface of the nerve conduit is covered with highly aligned electrospun nanofibers and is able to enhance the proliferation of neural cells. The central part of the tube is double-coated with randomly-oriented nanofibers over the aligned nanofibers, strengthening the weak mechanical strength of the aligned nanofibers.

A Study on the Effect of Financial Inclusion on the Relationship Between Income Inequality and Economic Growth

Abstract: In this article, we attempt to estimate whether financial inclusion, expressed as financial accessibility, has a positive effect on reducing income inequality. Furthermore, we estimate the effect of such financial inclusion on economic growth by reducing income inequality. From the results of our empirical analysis, we can draw the following three conclusions. First, income inequality has a very negative effect on GDP growth. The negative relationship between income inequality and GDP growth is strong in low-income countries. In addition, income inequality has a stronger effect on reducing economic growth in high-fragility countries. Second, progressivity is not a major factor in reducing income inequality in low-income countries or in high-fragility countries. Finally, financial inclusion improves the relationship between income inequality and economic growth. The reduction in income inequality through financial inclusion changes the negative relationship between income inequality and economic gr...

Search for Narrow Resonances Decaying to Dijets in Proton-Proton Collisions at √[s]=13 TeV.

Abstract: A search for narrow resonances in proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 13 TeV is presented. The invariant mass distribution of the two leading jets is measured with the CMS detector using a data set corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 2.4 inverse femtobarns. The highest observed dijet mass is 6.1 TeV. The distribution is smooth and no evidence for resonant particles is observed. Upper limits at 95% confidence level are set on the production cross section for narrow resonances with masses above 1.5 TeV. When interpreted in the context of specific models, the limits exclude string resonances with masses below 7.0 TeV, scalar diquarks below 6.0 TeV, axigluons and colorons below 5.1 TeV, excited quarks below 5.0 TeV, color-octet scalars below 3.1 TeV, and W' bosons below 2.6 TeV. These results significantly extend previously published limits.

Measurement of Long-Range Near-Side Two-Particle Angular Correlations in pp Collisions at √s = 13 TeV

Abstract: Results on two-particle angular correlations for charged particles produced in pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV are presented. The data were taken with the CMS detector at the LHC and correspond to an integrated luminosity of about 270 nb^(−1). The correlations are studied over a broad range of pseudorapidity (|η| 2.0), near-side (Δϕ≈0) structure emerges in the two-particle Δη–Δϕ correlation functions. The magnitude of the correlation exhibits a pronounced maximum in the range 1.0

Ni&Mn nanoparticles-decorated carbon nanofibers as effective electrocatalyst for urea oxidation

Abstract: Compared to alcohols, urea is considered an interesting hydrogen and electrical energy source as it is available in industrial and municipal wastes. Ni&Mn nanoparticles-decorated carbon nanofibers are introduced as effective and stable electrocatalysts for urea oxidation. The introduced decorated carbon nanofibers were synthesized by calcination of electrospun mats composed of nickel acetate, manganese acetate and poly(vinyl alcohol) in argon atmosphere at 850 °C. The utilized characterization techniques, XRD, TEM, FE SEM and TEM-EDX analyses, confirmed formation of carbon nanofibers decorated by discrete Ni, Mn and NiMn nanoparticles and absence of any oxides. The electrochemical measurements indicated that the introduced nanofibers have good electrocatalytic activity toward urea oxidation as the observed current density was 300 mAcm −2 g −1 with an onset potential of 290 mV (vs. Ag/AgCl). Moreover, the results proved that incorporation of manganese and the nanofibrous morphology distinctly enhance the electrocatalytic activity of nickel toward urea oxidation.

Amorphous SiO2 NP-Incorporated Poly(vinylidene fluoride) Electrospun Nanofiber Membrane for High Flux Forward Osmosis Desalination.

Abstract: Novel amorphous silica nanoparticle-incorporated poly(vinylidine fluoride) electrospun nanofiber mats are introduced as effective membranes for forward osmosis desalination technology. The influence of the inorganic nanoparticle content on water flux and salt rejection was investigated by preparing electrospun membranes with 0, 0.5, 1, 2, and 5 wt % SiO2 nanoparticles. A laboratory-scale forward osmosis cell was utilized to validate the performance of the introduced membranes using fresh water as a feed and different brines as draw solution (0.5, 1, 1.5, and 2 M NaCl). The results indicated that the membrane embedding 0.5 wt % displays constant salt rejection of 99.7% and water flux of 83 L m–2 h–1 with 2 M NaCl draw solution. Moreover, this formulation displayed the lowest structural parameter (S = 29.7 μm), which represents approximately 69% reduction compared to the pristine membrane. Moreover, this study emphasizes the capability of the electrospinning process in synthesizing effective membranes as th...

Search for s channel single top quark production in pp collisions at √s = 7 and 8 TeV

Abstract: A search is presented for single top quark production in the s channel in proton-proton collisions with the CMS detector at the CERN LHC in decay modes of the top quark containing a muon or an electron in the final state. The signal is extracted through a maximum-likelihood fit to the distribution of a multivariate discriminant defined using boosted decision trees to separate the expected signal contribution from background processes. Data collected at centre-of-mass energies of 7 and 8 TeV yield cross sections of 7.1 +/- 8.1 pb and 13.4 +/- 7.3 pb, respectively, and a best fit value of 2.0 +/- 0.9 for the combined ratio of the measured and expected values. The signal significance is 2.5 standard deviations, and the upper limit on the rate relative to the standard model expectation is 4.7 at 95% confidence level.