Chung-Ang University

About: Chung-Ang University is a education organization based out in Seoul, South Korea. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Thin film. The organization has 13381 authors who have published 26978 publications receiving 416735 citations. The organization is also known as: CAU & Chung.

Zein/cellulose acetate hybrid nanofibers: Electrospinning and characterization

Abstract: Protein based scaffolds are preferred for tissue engineering and other biomedical applications owing to their unique properties. Zein, a hydrophobic protein, is a promising natural biodegradable polymer. However, electrospun structures prepared from Zein have poor mechanical and wetting properties. Cellulose acetate (CA) is an economical, biodegradable polymer having good mechanical and water retention properties. The aim of present study was to fabricate a novel material by electrospinning Zein/CA blends. A series of Zein/CA hybrid nanofibers were electrospun and characterized. The attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATRFTIR) spectrum showed the characteristic peaks of both Zein and CA, and was composition dependent. The X-ray photoelectron spectrometry (XPS) curves of Zein/CA blends demonstrated a similar profile to that of pristine Zein nanofibers. Thermogravimetric analyser (TGA) studies confirmed that the Zein/CA hybrid nanofibers have a higher degradation temperature and better thermal stability than pristine Zein nanofibers. The glass transition temperature (T g ) of Zein/CA hybrid nanofibers was also increased in comparison to pure Zein nanofibers as revealed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Zein/CA hybrid nanofibers have hydrophilic surface character as revealed by water contact angle (WCA) analysis. SEM imaging showed bead free morphology of the electrospun nanofibers. The average nanofiber diameter decreased for Zein/CA blends with increasing CA composition. The electrospun Zein/CA hybrid nanofibers may be used for tissue engineering scaffolds and for other biomedical materials.

Characterization of the Fungal Microbiota (Mycobiome) in Healthy and Dandruff-Afflicted Human Scalps

Abstract: The human scalp harbors a vast community of microbial mutualists, the composition of which is difficult to elucidate as many of the microorganisms are not culturable using current culture techniques. Dandruff, a common scalp disorder, is known as a causative factor of a mild seborrheic dermatitis as well as pityriasis versicolor, seborrheic dermatitis, and atopic dermatitis. Lipophilic yeast Malassezia is widely accepted to play a role in dandruff, but relatively few comprehensive studies have been reported. In order to investigate fungal biota and genetic resources of dandruff, we amplified the 26S rRNA gene from samples of healthy scalps and dandruff-afflicted scalps. The sequences were analyzed by a high throughput method using a GS-FLX 454 pyrosequencer. Of the 74,811 total sequence reads, Basidiomycota (Filobasidium spp.) was the most common phylum associated with dandruff. In contrast, Ascomycota (Acremonium spp.) was common in the healthy scalps. Our results elucidate the distribution of fungal communities associated with dandruff and provide new avenues for the potential prevention and treatment of dandruff.

Short-term forecasting of Japanese tourist inflow to South Korea using Google trends data

Abstract: We utilize the Internet search data from Google Trends to provide short-term forecasts for the inflow of Japanese tourists to South Korea. We construct the Google variable in a systematic way by combining keywords to minimize mean squared or mean absolute forecasting errors. We augment the Google variable to the standard time-series forecasting models and compare their forecasting accuracies. We find that Google-augmented models perform much better than the standard time-series models in terms of short-term forecasting accuracy. In particular, Google models show better out-of-sample forecasting performance than in-sample forecasting.

Iron acquisition in fungal pathogens of humans

Abstract: The devastating infections that fungal pathogens cause in humans are underappreciated relative to viral, bacterial and parasitic diseases. In recent years, the contributions to virulence of reductive iron uptake, siderophore-mediated uptake and heme acquisition have been identified in the best studied and most life-threatening fungal pathogens: Candida albicans, Cryptococcus neoformans and Aspergillus fumigatus. In particular, exciting new work illustrates the importance of iron acquisition from heme and hemoglobin in the virulence of pathogenic yeasts. However, the challenge of establishing how these fungi gain access to hemoglobin in blood and to other sources of heme remains to be fully addressed. Recent studies are also expanding our knowledge of iron uptake in less-well studied fungal pathogens, including dimorphic fungi where new information reveals an integration of iron acquisition with morphogenesis and cell-surface properties for adhesion to host cells. Overall, the accumulating information provides opportunities to exploit iron acquisition for antifungal therapy, and new work highlights the development of specific inhibitors of siderophore biosynthesis and metal chelators for therapeutic use alone or in conjunction with existing antifungal drugs. It is clear that iron-related therapies will need to be customized for specific diseases because the emerging view is that fungal pathogens use different combinations of strategies for iron acquisition in the varied niches of vertebrate hosts.