Tick salivary secretion during blood-feeding is crucial for successful tick feeding. Control of salivary secretion involves dopamine, which is the most potent inducer of tick salivation. Dopamine activates salivation by orchestrating two different physiological responses through two distinct dopamine receptors. In addition, the study demonstrated that two different types of cells in the salivary gland acini are responsible for each of the diverging physiological pathways: epithelial cells for inward fluid transport and myoepithelial cells for expelling fluid out through the acinar ducts. We were further interested in the downstream physiology of the dopamine receptors. A candidate gene (Na/K-ATPase), which is highly expressed in the salivary glands, was investigated. Immunoreactivity revealed that Na/K-ATPase is expressed in epithelial cells of acini. Ouabain, a Na/K-ATPase blocker, significantly suppressed both dopamine induced inward fluid transport and dopamine induced salivation in a dose-dependent manner. We measured the salivary contents to determine Na, K, and Cl ion, and protein concentrations. Treatment of ouabain at the low dose produced hyperosmolar saliva, but with same amount of protein as the control saliva. The results suggest that ouabain-sensitive Na/K-ATPase is the main downstream pathway for dopamine response in the epithelial cells of salivary gland for water transport, but not for protein secretion.

The ubiquitous Na, K-ATPase is a membrane-bound ion pump located in the plasma membrane in all animal cells and plays an essential role in a variety of cellular functions. Studies in several organisms have shown that this protein regulates different aspects of embryonic development and is responsible for the pathogenesis of several human diseases. Na, K-ATPase is an important factor for retinal development, and combinations of the isoforms of each of its subunits are expressed in different cell types and determine its functional properties. In this study, we performed RT-PCR assay to determine temporal expression and in situ hybridization to determine spatial expression of Na, K-ATPase β2 isoform (atp1b2) in Xenopus laevis. Focusing on retinal expression to distinguish the specific expression domain, we used retinal marker genes sox4, sox11, vsx1, and pax6. Xenopus atp1b2 was expressed from late gastrulation to the tadpole stage. Using whole mount in situ hybridization, we showed that Xenopus atp1b2 was expressed broadly in the eye, the whole surface ectoderm, and gills. In situ hybridization on sections revealed detailed and specific expression in the outer nuclear layer of the retina, which consists of two major classes of photoreceptors, rods and cones, surface ectoderm, pharyngeal epithelium, and gills. These findings indicate that atp1b2 may play an important role for the development of Xenopus retina.

To realize high-performance thin film solar cells, we prepared CIGS by the co-evaporation technique on both sodalime and Corning glass substrates. The structural and efficient properties were investigated by varying the thickness of the Mo:Na layer, where the total thickness of the back contact was fixed at 1μm. As a result, when the Mo:Na thickness was 300 nm on soda-lime glass, the measured Na content was 0.28 %, the surface morphology was a plate-like compact structure, and the crystallinity by XRD showed a strong peak of (112) preferential orientation together with relatively intense (220) and (204) peaks as the secondary phases influenced crystal formation. In addition, the substrates on soda-lime glass effected the lowest surface roughness of 2.76 nm and the highest carrier density and short circuit current. Through the optimization of the Mo:Na layer, a solar conversion efficiency of 11.34% was achieved. When using the Corning glass, a rather low conversion efficiency of 9.59% was obtained. To determine the effects of the concentration of sodium and in order to develop a highefficiency solar cells, a very small amount of sodium was added to the soda lime glass substrate.

The aim of this study is to investigate the sorption/ion exchange of radioactive nuclides such as Cs+ and Sr2+ by synthetic Na-micas. In order to prepare Na-micas, two natural micas (phlogopite and biotite) were used as precursor materials. XRD, SEM, and EDS analyses were used to examine material characterization of synthetic Na-micas. Analyses of materials revealed that Na-micas were successfully obtained from natrual micas by K removal treatment. On the other hand, single solute (Cs or Sr) and bi-solute (Cs/Sr) sorption experiments were carried out to determine sorption capacity of Na-micas for Cs and Sr under different pH and ionic strength conditions. Uptake of Cs and Sr by micas in bi-solute system was lower than in single-solute system. Additionally, Langmuir and Langmuir competitive models were applied to describe sorption isotherm of Na-micas. bi-solute system was well described by Langmuir competitive models. For the results obtained in this study, Na-micas could be promising sorbents to treat multi-radioactive species from water and groundwater.

Mo-based thin films are frequently used as back electrode materials because of their low resistivity and high crystallinity in CIGS chalcopyrite solar cells. Mo:Na/Mo bilayer thin films with 1μm thickness were deposited on soda lime glass by varying the thickness of each layer using dc-magnetron sputtering. The effects of the Mo:Na layer on morphology and electrical property in terms of resistivity were systematically investigated. The resistivity increased from 159μΩcm to 944μΩcm; this seemed to be caused by increased surface defects and low crystallinity as the thickness of Mo:Na layer increased from 100 nm to 500 nm. The surface morphologies of the Mo thin films changed from a somewhat coarse fibrous structures to irregular and fine celled structures with increased surface cracks along the cell boundaries as the thickness of Mo:Na layer increased. Na contents varied drastically from 0.03 % to 0.52 % according to the variation of Mo:Na layer thickness. The change in Na content may be ascribed to changes in surface morphology and crystallinity of the thin films.

이 논문의 목적은 한국 근대 여성 문학사에서 ‘여성 작가 1세대,’ ‘여류 문인 1기’로 불리는 나혜석의 문학을 기독교와의 연관 아래 다시 읽고, 그 관련 양상을 구체적으로 살피는 데 있다. 여성의 자아와 타인에 대한 인식과 태도, 나아가 인생과 세계에 대한 가치관 형성에 기독교 신앙심과 기독교 정신(윤리)이 구체적으로 어떤 영향을 미쳤으며, 그 의미는 무엇인가를 규명하고자 하였다.나혜석의 대표적 자전적 작품인 「경희」에서 여주인공 경희는 ‘하느님의 딸’로 자신을 새롭게 인식하고 인간으로서 자기 자신을 정립한다. 또한 「회생한 손녀에게」에서 할머니는 하느님의 복음을 몸소 구현하는 신앙적 인물이다. 이때 무엇보다 눈에 띄는 것은 이들 여성 주인공에게서 공통적으로 나타나는 고양된 ‘종교적 정신성’에 있다. 기독교적 신앙심에서 발원된 자기에 대한 긍정적, 주체적 인식과 그에 상응하는 고양된 정신 상태는 자신뿐만 아니라 타인, 더 나아가 삶과 미래에 대한 무한한 신념과 열정을 생성하였다. 여성 주인공들의 이러한 태도와 심리는 기독교 신앙심과 연동되어 나타난다. 경희는 “자기 자신을 조선 사회의 한 여자보다 먼저 우주 전 인류의 여성”으로 자각하면서 “전 인류에 대한 깊은 사랑과 애착심”을 표출하였다. 이러한 신념과 열정은 그의 문학과 삶에 드러나는 “개척자로서의 여성 정체성”과 맞물려 있다. 나혜석 문학에서 기독교는 전통적 가부장적 구조와 유교적 이념 속에서 종속적이며, 수동적인, 억압적인 삶을 살았던 당시 조선 여성들이 독립적이며 주체적인 인간으로 거듭나 새로운 삶을 추동하도록 하는 내적인 힘이었다.나혜석의 초기 문학에서 기독교는 단순히 개인의 영적 구원을 위한 신앙으로 제한되지 않는다. 그녀는 조선 여성의 삶과 현실의 문제에 기독교를 부단히 연계하면서, 그 정신과 윤리를 적극적으로 활용하고 실천했다.

(Na, K) NbO3 thick film was successfully achieved using a sol-gel coating process with the addition of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) to a metal alkoxide solution. The transparent coating solution, mixed with Nb:PVP = 1:1 in a molar ration, was synthesized by evaporating the solvent to over 62.5 wt%. Additive PVP increased the viscosity of the solution so that the coating thickness could be enhanced. The thickness of the (Na, K) NbO3 film assisted by PVP was ca. 320 nm at the time of deposition; this value is four times thicker than that of the sample fabricated without PVP. Also, due to PVP binding with the OH groups of the metal alkoxide, the condensation reaction in the film was suppressed. The crystalline size of the (Na, K) NbO3 films assisted by PVP was ca. 15 nm smaller than that of the film fabricated without PVP. After the sintering process at 700˚C, the (Na, K) NbO3 films were mainly composed of randomly oriented (Na, K) NbO3 phase of perovskite crystal structure, including a somewhat secondary phase of K2Nb4O11. However, by adding PVP, the content of the secondary phase became quite smaller than that of the sample without PVP. It was thought that the addition of PVP might have the effect of restraining the loss of potassium and that PVP could hold metalloxane by strong hydrogen bonding before complete decomposition. Therefore, the film thickness of the (Na, K) NbO3 films could be considerably advanced and made more crack-free by the addition of PVP.

Na+/K+-ATPase, an energy-transducing ion pump, is responsible for maintenance of relatively high concentrations of potassium ions but low concentrations of sodium ions in the cell by transport of these ions across the plasma membrane and participates in transport of various nutrients including glucose, amino acids. and ions. Na+/K+-ATPase consists of α, β, and FXYD subunits, but only α and β subunits are needed for basic functions. FXYD subunit is an auxiliary protein for αβ complex of Na+/K+-ATPase. Our recent study has shown that α (ATP1A1-4) and β (ATP1B1-3) subunits of Na+/K+-ATPase are expressed in the uterine endometrium during the estrous cycle and pregnancy in pigs. In this study, we further determined expression of FXYD (FXYD1-7) subunits of Na+/K+-ATPase in the uterine endometrium during the estrous cycle and pregnancy in pigs. Real-time RT-PCR analysis showed that mRNAs for all subtypes of FXYD subunit were expressed in the uterine endometrium during the estrous cycle and pregnancy in a pregnancy status- and stage-specific fashion. In situ hybridization analysis exhibited that transcripts of all subtypes of FXYD subunit were primarily localized to luminal (LE) and glandular epithelia (GE) during the estrous cycle and early pregnancy and to chorionic membrane (CM) during mid to term pregnancy. RT-PCR analysis showed that FXYD subunits were expressed in conceptuses on D12 and D15 of pregnancy. These results indicate that all subtypes of FXYD subunit are expressed in the uterine endometrium and conceptuses during the estrous cycle and pregnancy in a pregnancy status- and stagespecific manner. These suggest that FXYD may be involved in the establishment and maintenance of pregnancy by regulating the activity of Na+/K+-ATPase in nutrient transport at the maternal-fetal interface in pigs. * This work was supported by the Next Generation BioGreen 21 program (#PJ007997), RDA and the National Research Foundation (NRF #2010-0012304) funded by the Korean Government, Republic of Korea.

A recent study has reported that pluripotent stem cells can be categorized according to their pluripotent state. The first is a “naïve” state, which is characterized by small, round or dome-shaped colony morphologies, LIF and BMP4 signaling pathways and two active X chromosomes in female; mouse ES cells (mESCs) represent this type. A second “primed” state has also been described and is possible in mouse epiblast stem cells (mEpiSCs) or human ES cells (hESCs). These primed state pluripotent stem cells display flattened monolayer colony morphologies, FGF and Nodal/Activin signaling pathways and X chromosome inactivation in female. It has been suggested that, as a non-permissive species, the porcine species undergoes reprogramming into a primed state during the establishment of pluripotent stem cell lines. Meanwhile, a few studies have reported that primed pluripotent stem cell lines could be reverted to a naïve pluripotent state using various exogenous factors including GSK3β and MEK inhibitors, LIF, hypoxic conditions and up-regulation of Oct3 or klf4. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate whether a LIF-dependent naïve pluripotent stem cell line could be derived from porcine embryonic fibroblasts(PEFs) via doxycycline (dox)-inducible reprogramming factors and LIF. In this study, we have been able to successfully induce PEFs into a LIF-dependent naïve pluripotent-like cell line showing a mESC-like morphology and the expression of pluripotent markers. Our results suggest the possibility of reprogramming to naive pluripotent- like stem cells from PEFs in porcine species. * This work was supported by the BioGreen 21 Program (PJ0081382011), Rural Development Administration, Republic of Korea.

The particle size of MgO was examined as a function of the Na content in Mg(OH)2 powders and the calcination temperature. Mg(OH)2 suspension was obtained by dropwise precipitation of Mg(NO3)2·6H2O and NaOH solutions. The suspension was diluted by varying the dilution volume ratio of distilled water to Mg(OH)2 suspension to change the Na salt concentration in the suspension. Mg(OH)2 slurry was filtered and dried at 60˚C under vacuum, and then its Mg(OH)2 powder was calcined to produce MgO with different amount of Na content at 500~900˚C under air. Investigation of the physical and chemical properties of the various MgO powders with dilution ratio and calcination temperature variation was done by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, BET specific surface area and thermal gravimetric analysis. It was observed that MgO particle size could depend on the condition of calcination temperature and dilution ratio of the Mg(OH)2 suspension. The particle size of the MgO depends on the Na content remaining in the Mg(OH)2 powder, which powder was prepared by changing the dilution ratio of the Mg(OH)2 suspension. This change increased as the calcination temperature increased and decreased as the dilution ratio increased. The growth of MgO particle size according to the increase of temperature was more effective when there was a relatively high content of Na. The increase of Na content lowered the temperature at which decomposition of Mg(OH)2 to MgO took place, thereby promoting the crystal growth of MgO.

Studies on lead-free piezoelectrics have been attractive as means of meeting environmental requirements. We synthesized lead-free piezoelectric (Bi1/2Na1/2)TiO3-Ba(Cu1/3Nb2/3)O3 (BNT-BCN) ceramics, and their dielectric, piezoelectric, and strain behavior were characterized. As BCN with a tetragonal phase was incorporated into the rhombohedral BNT lattice, the lattice constant increased. A small amount of BCN increased the density and dielectric constant forming the complete solid solution with BNT. However, BCN above 10 mol% was precipitated into a separate phase, and which was detected with XRD. In addition, EDX measurement revealed that Cu in BCN was not distributed homogeneously but was accumulated in a certain area. A lower density with a large amount of BCN was attributed to the nonsinterable property of BCN with large tetragonaliy. The dielectric constant vs the temperature change and the strain vs the electric field indicated that the ferroelectric property of BNT was diminished and paraelectric behavior was enhanced with the BCN addition. BNT-7.5BCN showed a 0.11% unimorph strain with a 9.0 kV/mm electric field with little hysteresis.

Na+/K+-ATPase, an energy-transducing ion pump, is responsible for maintenance of relatively high concentrations of potassium ions but low concentrations of sodium ions in the cell by transport of these ions across the plasma membrane. Na+/K+-ATPase consists of α, β, and γ subunits, but only α and β subunits are needed for basic functions. Na+/K+-ATPase is also involved in regulation of intracellular calcium ion concentration by coupling with Na+/Ca2+ exchanger involved in intracellular calcium extrusion. Our previous study showed that calcium regulatory molecules including Na+/Ca2+ exchanger are expressed in the uterine endometrium during the estrous cycle and pregnancy in pigs, however, expression of Na+/K+-ATPase in the uterine endometrium has not been determined. Thus, we examined expression of α1 (ATP1A1) and β1 (ATP1- B1) subunits of Na+/K+-ATPase in the uterine endometrium during the estrous cycle and pregnancy in pigs. Real-time RT-PCR analysis showed that levels of ATP1A1 m- RNA in the uterine endometrium during the estrous cycle and early pregnancy were higher than those during mid and term pregnancy, and that levels of ATP1B1 mRNA were highest on day (D) 12 of the estrous cycle. In situ hybridization analysis revealed that ATP1A1 and ATP1B1 mRNAs were localized to luminal (LE) and glandular epithelia (GE) in the endometrium. During mid to term pregnancy, localization of ATP1A1 mRNA was confined to LE, GE, and chorionic membrane (CM) of areolae and ATP1- B1 mRNA was localized to LE, GE and CM with the strongest intensity in LE of areolae. Signal intensity of ATP1B1 mRNA in LE was slightly stronger than that in GE. RT-PCR analysis showed that ATP1A1 and ATP1B1 mRNAs were expressed in conceptuses on D12 and D15 of pregnancy. These results showed that ATP1A1 and ATP1B1 were expressed in the uterine endometrium and conceptuses during the estrous cycle and pregnancy in a pregnancy status- and stage-specific manner. These suggest that Na+/K+-ATPase may play a key role in the establishment and maintenance of pregnancy by regulating intracellular concentrations of various ions including calcium at the maternal-fetal interface in pigs.

The influences of Na and K content on the crystal phase, the microstructure and the electrical property of BaTiO3-based thermistors was found to show typical PTC effects. The crystal phase of powder calcined at 1000˚C for 4hrs showed a single phase with BaTiO3, and the crystal structure was transformed from tetragonal to cubic phase according to added amounts of Na and K. In XRD results at 43˚~47˚, the (Ba0.858Na0.071K0.071)(Ti0.9985Nb0.0015)O3-δ showed (002) and (200) peaks but the (Ba0.762Na0.119K0.119)(Ti0.9975Nb0.0025)O3-δ showed (002), (020) and (200) peaks. In sintered bodies, those calcined at 600˚C rather than at 1000˚C were dense, and for certain amounts of Na and K showed rapid decreases in grain size. In relative permittivity, the curie temperature due to the transformation of ferroelectric phase rose with added Na and K but decreased in terms of relative permittivity. In the result of the R-T curve, the sintered bodies have curie temperatures of about 140˚C and the resistivity of sintered bodies have scores of Ω·cm; the jump order of sintered bodies was shown to be more than 104 in powder calcined at 1000˚C.

The microstructure and positive temperature coefficient of resistivity (PTCR) characteristics of 0.1mol%Na2Ti6O13doped 0.94BaTiO3-0.06(Bi0.5Na0.5)TiO3 (BBNT-NT001) ceramics sintered at various temperatures from 1200oC to 1350oC wereinvestigated in order to develop eco-friendly PTCR thermistors with a high Curie temperature (TC). Resulting thermistors showeda perovskite structure with a tetragonal symmetry. When sintered at 1200oC, the specimen had a uniform microstructure withsmall grains. However, abnormally grown grains started to appear at 1250oC and a homogeneous microstructure with large grainswas exhibited when the sintering temperature reached 1325oC. When the temperature exceeded 1325oC, the grain growth wasinhibited due to the numerous nucleation sites generated at the extremely high temperature. It is considered that Na2Ti6O13 isresponsible for the grain growth of the 0.94BaTiO3-0.06(Bi0.5Na0.5)TiO3 ceramics by forming a liquid phase during the sinteringat around 1300oC. The grain growth of the BBNT-NT001 ceramics was significantly correlated with a decrease of resistivity.All the specimens were observed to have PTCR characteristics except for the sample sintered at 1200oC. The BBNT-NT001ceramics had significantly decreased ñrt and increased resistivity jump with increasing sintering temperature at from 1200oC to1325oC. Especially, the BBNT-NT001 ceramics sintered at 1325oC exhibited superior PTCR characteristics of low resistivityat room temperature (122Ω·cm), high resistivity jump (1.28×104), high resistivity temperature factor (20.4%/oC), and a highTc of 157.9oC.

The effects of doping on the crystal structure, ferroelectric, and piezoelectric properties of (K,Na) (KNN) ceramics have been investigated. was found to be effective in enhancing the densification and grain growth during sintering. X-ray diffraction analysis indicated that Mn ions substituted B-site Nb ions up to 2 mol%, however, further doping induced unwanted secondary phases. In comparison with undoped KNN ceramics, the well developed microstructure and the substitution to B-sites in 2 mol% Mn-doped KNN ceramics resulted in significant improvements in both piezoelectric coupling coefficient and electromechanical quality factor.