Oral squamous cel1 carcinoma(OSCC) is the most common malignancy of head neck region. Typically OSCC cells s how persist ent invasion that frequently leads to local recurrence and distant lymphatic metastasls However, molecular mechanisms of invasion of OSCC remain poorly understood. Her e we identifi ed periostin, interferon induced transmembrane protein l (IF1TM1) and wingless-type MMTV integration site family, member 5B(WNT5B) , as invasion promoting molecules in OSCC by comparing gene expression profiles between a parent OSCC cell line(MSCC-l) and its highly invasive clone(MSCC-1nvl). Overexpression of periostin, IFITMl and WNT5B mRNAs were confirmed in MSCC-1nvl by RT-PCR. Transfection of these molecules promoted invasion of OSCC cells Moreover , siRNA t r eatment of these molecules suppressed invasion of cancer cells in vitro I nter estingly, Periostin, 1F1TMl and WNT5B were highly expressed in OSCCs in comparison with nonnal tissues. 1n an orthotopic mouse model of OSCC, periostin-overexpressing cells metas tasized spontaneously to cervical lymph nodes and t o t he lung through their aggressive invasiveness. These findings suggest that peri ostin, IFITMl and WNT5B play important roles for invasion and of OSCC and can be prognostic markers and therapeutic t argets of OSCC.

We reported a P/M soft magnetic material with core loss value of , which is lower than that of 0.35mm-thick laminated material, by using high purity gas-atomized iron powder. Lack of mechanical strength and high cost of powder production are significant issues for industrial use. In order to achieve both low core loss and high strength by using inexpencive powder, the improvement of powder shape and surface morphology and binder strength was conducted. As the result, the material based on water-atomized powder with 80 MPa of TRS and 108 W/kg of core loss (W10/1k) was achieved.

We made a high-speed motor and a DC brush-less motor for factory automation (FA) to investigate applicability of powder magnetic core to motor application, and compared those performances with the similar motors having conventional electro magnetic steel core. Permeability and saturated magnetization of powder magnetic core are less than those of elect romagnetic steel core, however output performances of each core motor are almost the same. The FA motor with powder magnetic core using three-dimensional magnetic circuit showed higher torque than the same volume motor with electromag netic steel core.

For pure Molybdenum carburized in mixed gases of argon and carbon monoxide, microstructural observations were carried out. X-ray diffraction analysis for carburized specimens revealed that brittle - layer hardly formed in the case of low carbon monoxide concentration. Fracture strength of the specimen carburized at 1673 K for 16 h is about 550 MPa higher than that of the un-carburized specimen. SEM observation revealed that with increasing carburizing temperature, the region demonstrating a transgranular fracture mode progressed towards the center of specimen. This result means that the grain boundaries were strengthened by the grain boundary diffusion of carbon and the strength of grain boundaries exceeded that of grain itself.

The coating of conductive polypyrrole (Ppy) on nonconductive ceramic substrates was performed by polymerization of pyrrole (Py) in an aqueous solution. The Ppy film was characterized by scanning electron microscopy and conductivity measurements. Electrophoretic deposition of bimodal alumina suspension prepared with a phosphate ester was performed using Ppy film as a cathode. Fabrication of alumina ceramics with irregular shapes or complicated patterns were also attempted by sintering the deposits together with the Ppy coated substrates in air.

The mechanical properties of ceramics materials can be tailored by designing their microstructures. We have reported that development of texture can be controlled by slip casting in a strong magnetic field followed by heating even for diamagnetic ceramics such as alumina. A strong magnetic field of 12T was applied to the suspension indcuding alumina powder to rotate each particle during slip casting. The sintering was conducted at the desired temperature in air without a magnetic field. C-axis of alumina was parallel to the magnetic field. Bending strength of textured alumina depended on the direction of oriented microstructure.

Sr2Ta2O7, a layered perovskite compound, has been reported to possess most excellent photocatalytic properties among the layered perovskite materials. Recently, we have demonstrated that Ba5Ta4O15 that was prepared under a mol ratio of Ba: Ta=1:1 has high photocatalytic performance as well as Sr2Ta2O7. In this study, the photocatalyst samples with a mol ratio of Sr: Ba: Ta = (1-x): x: 1 were prepared. The maximum photocatalytic performance was obtained for x= 0.2, which is three times as high as that of undoped Sr2Ta2O7.

The 21st Century Frontier Program, which is one of the R&D programs funded by Korean government, was launched in 1999 to elevate the status of Korean science and engineering capabilities to the advanced nation in the strategic fields. Currently, 23 different fields of science and engineering programs are carried out by researchers in institutes, universities and industries. Center for Advanced Materials Processing (CAMP) was formulated in 2001 to develop the advanced materials as well as to improve the parts manufacturing process. The main role of CAMP is proposing and forecasting the long term vision in Materials Processing Technology and also supporting the project teams for their best performance in R&D. The CAMP program consists of 5 research areas such as, Multi-layer Ceramic Electronic Parts, Powder Formed Precision Parts, 3 Dimensional Polymer Based Composites, Functional Metal Sheets, Parts Integration Technology. An introduction of R & D activities at CAMP, specially focusing on powder metallurgy, wil be presented.

This work will report a highly textured β-Si3N4 ceramic by aqueous slip casting in a magnetic field and subsequent pressureless sintering, Effects of the sintering aids, polymer dispersant, pH and stirring time on the stability of the Si3N4 slurries were studied. The textured β-Si3N4 with 97 % relative density could be obtained by slip casting in a magnetic field of 12 T and subsequent sintering at 1800 oC for 1 h. The textured microstructure is featured by the alignment of c-axis of β-Si3N4 crystals perpendicular to the magnetic field, and the Lotgering orientation factor, f, is determined to be 0.8.

Solid-state processing via the bulk mechanical alloying enables us to directly fabricate Mg2X semi-conductive material performs. Precise control of chemical composition leads to investigation on the dilution and enrichment of X in Mg2X. Two types of solid-state reactivity are introduced: e.g. synthesis of Mg2Si from elemental mixture Mg – Si is nucleation-controlled process while synthesis of Mg2Sn from Mg – Sn, diffusion-controlled process. Thermoelectricity of these Mg2X is evaluated for discussion on the validity and effectiveness of this new PM route as a reliable tool for fabrication of thermoelectric compounds.

P/M enables the economical production of components for many kinds of gears. Functionally, the sub gear requires high tooth accuracy and bending fatigue strength. The whole tooth profile was sized after sintering to satisfy the gear tooth accuracy specification. The part was redesigned to reduce machining requirements. The required bending fatigue strength was achieved through appropriate material choice and induction of compressive residual stress by shotpeening after carburizing. The P/M sub gear replaced a forged steel gear, satisfied performance requirements, expanded the use of P/M applications and provided over 30% cost reduction.