Cognitive impairment is considered to be key research topics in the field of neurodegenerative diseases and in understanding of learning and memory. In the present study, we investigated neuroprotective effects of Schisandra chinensis (SC) and Ribes fasciculatum (RF) extracts in hydrogen peroxide-induced neuronal cell death in vitro and scopolamine-induced cognitive impairment in Sprague Dawley® (SD) rat in vivo. Apoptotic cell death in neuroblastic PC12 cell line was induced by hydrogen peroxide for 1 hour at 100 μM. However, mixture of SC and RF treatment prevented peroxide induced PC12 cell death with no neurotoxic effects. For in vivo experiment, the effect of SC and RF extracts on scopolamine-induced cognitive impairment in SD rat was evaluated by spontaneous alternation behavior in Y-Maze test. After 30 min scopolamine injection, the scopolamine-induced rats presented significantly decreased % spontaneous alteration and acetylcholine level, compared to non-induced group. However, treatment of SC+RF extracts rescued the reduced % spontaneous alteration with acetylcholine concentration from hippocampus in scopolamineinduced rats. These results suggested that mixture of SC and RF extract may be a potential natural therapeutic agent for the prevention of cognitive impairment.

Carbonaceous materials are considered as potential adsorbents for organic dyes due to their unique structures which provide high aspect ratios, hydrophobic property, large efficient surface area, and easy surface modification. In this work, graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) were prepared by atomic hydrogen-induced treatment of single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNTs), which inspire the idea of cutting and unzipping the SWCNTs carpets with the modified in molecules prevent because of the unfolding of the side-walls. The unfolded spaces and uniform vertical arrangement not only enhance the active surface area, but also promote the electrostatic and π–π interactions between dyes and GNRs. The improved adsorption capacity of GNRs beyond original SWCNTs can be determined by the adsorption kinetics and isotherm, which are evaluated through adsorption batch experiments of the typical cationic methylene blue (MB) and anionic orange II (OII) dye, respectively. It is shown that the adsorption kinetics follow a pseudo second-order model while the adsorption isotherm could be determined by Langmuir model. The results reveal that the maximum adsorption capacities of GNRs for MB and OII are 280 and 265 mg/g, respectively. The GNRs present the highly efficient, cost effective, and environmental friendly properties for the commercial applications of wastewater treatment.

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is originally an endogenous small molecule which is reduced into water in cells. In order to know the H2O2-induced oxidative stress in RAW 264.7 cells, first of all, the optimum concentration of exogenous H2O2 which show reactive cellular responses was determined as 40 μM by MTT assay, and followed by 40 μM H2O2 application in RAW 264.7 cells for 30 min, 1, or 2 hours. The expressional changes of essential proteins for cellular proliferation, epigenetic modification, inflammation, apoptosis, survival, and protection were assessed by immunoprecipitation high performance liquid chromatography (IP-HPLC) using 51 antisera. 40 μM H2O2 treatment down-regulated proliferation-related proteins, Ki-67, PCNA, CDK4, cyclin D2, cMyc, and PLK4, induced histone methylation/ deacetylation and DNA methylation by increasing levels of HDAC10 and DMAP1 and by decreasing levels of DNMT1 and KDM4D, activated inflammatory reaction by increasing levels of MCP-1, COX-2, CD68, LTA4H, CXCR4, and lysozyme, and dramatically up-regulated cellular apoptosis-, survival-, and protection-related proteins, AIF, PARP-1, caspase 9, c-caspase 9, pAKT1/2/3, SOD-1, HO-1, NF-kB, NRF2, and GSTO1 in RAW 264.7 cells. These observations suggest exogenous 40 μM H2O2-induced oxidative stresses which resulted global cellular responses including not only antioxidant, inflammation, and apoptosis but also proliferation and epigenetic modification. Particularly, 40 μM H2O2-induced apoptosis was mainly derived from PARP-1/AIF signaling leading parthanatos, and 40 μM H2O2-induced suppression of cMyc/MAX/MAD network was relevant to reduction of RAW 264.7 cell proliferation. Accordingly, H2O2 appears to affect RAW 264.7 macrophages in several ways eliciting not only oxidative stresses but also genome-wide DNA damage.

본 연구에서는 국내외 저탄소 녹색성장을 위한 대안으로서 수소에너지와 그 이용 기술에 대한 관심이 높아지는 추세에 발맞춰 무탄소 연료인 수소를 LNG 의 주성분인 메탄, 메탄-프로판, 메탄-프로판-에탄 동축류 확산화염 내에 첨가하여 화염형상 및 연소생성물에 미치는 영향을 확인하였다. 상온상압 조건의 확산화염에 수소를 단계적으로 첨가하여 실제 생성되는 연소생성물의 변화 추이를 가스 분석기를 이용하여 실험적으로 관찰하였고 확산화염의 형상은 디지털카메라를 이용하여 단계적으로 관찰 하였다. 실험결과에서 확산화염에 수소를 첨가함에 따라 질소산화물의 생성량이 선형에 가깝게 증가하는 경향을 보였다. 이것은 수소의 상대적으로 높은 단열화염온도와 빠른 연소속도가 Thermal NOx의 생성을 촉진했기 때문이다. 반면 이산화탄소의 생성량은 감소하는 경향이 나타났는데 수소를 첨가함에 따라 메탄, 메탄-프로판, 메탄-에탄-프로판의 혼합 확산화염에 포함되어있는 전체 탄소비율이 줄어들어 이산화탄소의 생성량이 감소한 것이다. 이는 선박에서 LNG-수소의 혼합 연료사용으로 인해 온실가스인 이산화탄소를 저감할 수 있는 하나의 방안으로 고려될 수 있다는 것을 의미한다.

The hydrogen reduction behavior of the CuO-Co3O4 powder mixture for the synthesis of the homogeneous Cu-15at%Co composite powder has been investigated. The composite powder is prepared by ball milling the oxide powders, followed by a hydrogen reduction process. The reduction behavior of the ball-milled powder mixture is analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and temperature-programmed reduction at different heating rates in an Ar-10%H2 atmosphere. The scanning electron microscopy and XRD results reveal that the hydrogen-reduced powder mixture is composed of fine agglomerates of nanosized Cu and Co particles. The hydrogen reduction kinetics is studied by determining the degree of peak shift as a function of the heating rate. The activation energies for the reduction of the oxide powders estimated from the slopes of the Kissinger plots are 58.1 kJ/mol and 65.8 kJ/mol, depending on the reduction reaction: CuO to Cu and Co3O4 to Co, respectively. The measured temperature and activation energy for the reduction of Co3O4 are explained on the basis of the effect of pre-reduced Cu particles.

Highly active, stable and low-cost noble metal-free electrocatalysts are essential for production of hydrogen. However, preparation of such catalysts is still highly challenging so far. In this work, the Mo2C– carbon nanomaterials have been prepared by controlled thermal technique. By controlling concentration of the reactants in the experimental condition, the Mo2C– carbon nanomaterials have been fabricated, which leads to decreases in contact resistance b/w Mo2C– carbon nanomaterials and graphitic carbon atoms. As a result, the Mo2C– carbon nanomaterial electrode shows remarkable activity for hydrogen evolution reactions with a small onset overpotential of 95 mV, a Tafel slope of 62 mV dec−1, an high exchange current density of 0.32 mA cm−2, good stability during long-term 1000 cycles and exhibits long-term durability for several days. This study opens a new method for the preparation of highly active non-noble electrode for production of hydrogen from water splitting.

A triple-layered PMMA/Ni64Zr36/PDMS hydrogen gas sensor using hydrogen permeable alloy and flexible polymer layers is fabricated through spin coating and DC-magnetron sputtering. PDMS(polydimethylsiloxane) is used as a flexible substrate and PMMA(polymethylmethacrylate) thin film is deposited onto the Ni64Zr36 alloy layer to give a high hydrogenselectivity to the sensor. The measured hydrogen sensing ability and response time of the fabricated sensor at high hydrogen concentration of 99.9 % show a 20 % change in electrical resistance, which is superior to conventional Pd-based hydrogen sensors, which are difficult to use in high hydrogen concentration environments. At a hydrogen concentration of 5 %, the resistance of electricity is about 1.4 %, which is an electrical resistance similar to that of the Pd77Ag23 sensor. Despite using low cost Ni64Zr36 alloy as the main sensing element, performance similar to that of existing Pd sensors is obtained in a highly concentrated hydrogen atmosphere. By improving the sensitivity of the hydrogen detection through optimization including of the thickness of each layer and the composition of Ni-Zr alloy thin film, the proposed Ni-Zr-based hydrogen sensor can replace Pd-based hydrogen sensors.

The gas adsorption isotherm requires accurate measurement for the analysis of porous materials and is used as an index of surface area, pore distribution, and adsorption amount of gas. Basically, adsorption isotherms of porous materials are measured conventionally at 77K and 87K using liquid nitrogen and liquid argon. The cold volume calibration in this conventional method is done simply by splitting a sample cell into two zones (cold and warm volumes) by controlling the level sensor in a Dewar filled with liquid nitrogen or argon. As a result, BET measurement for textural properties is mainly limited to liquefied gases (i.e. N2 or Ar) at atmospheric pressure. In order to independently investigate other gases (e.g. hydrogen isotopes) at cryogenic temperature, a novel temperature control system in the sample cell is required, and consequently cold volume calibration at various temperatures becomes more important. In this study, a cryocooler system is installed in a commercially available BET device to control the sample cell temperature, and the automated cold volume calibration method of temperature variation is introduced. This developed calibration method presents a reliable and reproducible method of cryogenic measurement for hydrogen isotope separation in porous materials, and also provides large flexibility for evaluating various other gases at various temperature.