• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2007.05b
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• pp.2989-2994
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• 2007

Gas hydrates are ice-like crystalline compounds that form under low temperature and elevated pressure conditions. Although hydrate formation can pose serious flow-assurance problems in the gas pipelines or facilities, gas hydrates present a novel means for natural gas storage and transportation with potential applications in a wide variety of areas. An important property of hydrates that makes them attractive for use in gas storage and transportation is their very high gas-to-solid ratio. In addition to the high gas content, gas hydrates are remarkably stable. The main barrier to development of gas hydrate technology is the lack of an effective method to mass produce gas hydrate in solid form. The first objective of this study is investigating the characteristics of gas hydrate formation related to several factors such as pressure, temperature, water-to-storage volume ratio, concentration of SDS, heat transfer and whether stirred or not respectively. And the second objective is clarifying the relation between the formation efficiency and each factor in order to find the proper way or direction to improve the formation performance.

• The Transactions of the Korea Information Processing Society
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.1100-1105
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• 1997

The verial black stripe is one of the defects in a chrge-coupled device(CCD). Vertical black stripes are caused by some signal chrges which fail to transport form the vertical CCD region to the horizontal one. The defective transport of signal charges orignates in the potential barrier with the narrow width effects in the verti-cal-horizintal interface stuccture. The vertical black stripes show up when the charge transfer dfficiency is less than 99.2% under the low illumination condition. In this research, we designed and developed a new vertical-horizontal interface structre of a delta type, thus marking it possible to eliminate the vertical black stripes.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.447-464
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• 2015

Millions of scrap tires are discarded annually in Turkey. The bulk of which are currently landfilled or stockpiled. These tires consume valuable landfill space or if improperly disposed, create a fire hazard and provide a prolific breeding ground for rats and mosquitoes. Used tires pose both a serious public and environmental health problem which means that economically feasible alternatives for scrap tire disposal must be found. Some of the current uses of scrap tires are tire-derived fuel, creating barrier reefs and as an asphalt additive in the form of crumb rubber. However, there is a much need for the development of additional uses for scrap tires. One development the creation of shreds from scrap tires that are coarse grained, free draining and have a low compacted density thus offering significant advantages for use as lightweight subgrade fill and backfill material. This paper reports a comprehensive laboratory study that was performed to evaluate the use of a shredded tire-sand mixture as a backfill material in trench conditions. A steel frame test tank with glass walls was created to replicate a classical trench section in field conditions. The results of the test demonstrated that shredded tires mixed with sand have a definite potential to be effectively used as backfill material for buried pipe installations.

• BMB Reports
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• v.51 no.9
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• pp.456-461
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• 2018

Chemoresistance is a major barrier to successful cisplatin-based chemotherapy for epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC), and emerging evidences suggest that microRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in the resistance. In this study, it was indicated that miR-363 downregulation was significantly correlated with EOC carcinogenesis and cisplatin resistance. Moreover, miR-363 overexpression could resensitise cisplatin-resistant EOC cells to cisplatin treatment both in vitro and in vivo. In addition, data revealed that EMT inducer Snail was significantly upregulated in cisplatin-resistant EOC cell lines and EOC patients and was a functional target of miR-363 in EOC cells. Furthermore, snail overexpression could significantly attenuate miR-363-suppressed cisplatin resistance of EOC cells, suggesting that miR-363-regulated cisplatin resistance is mediated by snail-induced EMT in EOC cells. Taken together, findings suggest that miR-363 may be a biomarker for predicting responsiveness to cisplatin-based chemotherapy and a potential therapeutic target in EOC.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.15-21
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• 2010

Astrocytes are the most abundant cells in the central nervous system that play roles in maintaining the blood-brain-barrier and in neural injury, including cerebral malaria, a severe complication of Plasmodium falciparum infection. Prostaglandin (PG) $D_2$ is abundantly produced in the brain and regulates the sleep response. Moreover, $PGD_2$ is a potential factor derived from P. falciparum within erythrocytes. Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) is catalyzing enzyme in heme breakdown process to release iron, carbon monoxide, and biliverdin/bilirubin, and may influence iron supply to the P. falciparum parasites. Here, we showed that treatment of a human astrocyte cell line, CCF-STTG1, with $PGD_2$ significantly increased the expression levels of HO-1 mRNA by RT-PCR. Western blot analysis showed that $PGD_2$ treatment increased the level of HO-1 protein, in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Thus, $PGD_2$ may be involved in the pathogenesis of cerebral malaria by inducing HO-1 expression in malaria patients.

• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
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• 2011.07a
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• pp.1438-1439
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• 2011

In this paper, we studied effects on the efficiency, according to thickness of the electron injection layer(EIL) for improving efficiency of Organic Light Emitting Diodes(OLEDs). For the first time, after confirming the optimum thickness of the EIL material $Cs_2CO_3$, we designed OLED devices having a structure of ITO/TPD/$Alq_3/Cs_2CO_3$/Al. And we manufactured devices applying for the optimum thickness of the material in the simulation with thermal evaporating method. And we investigated how the EIL material $Cs_2CO_3$ effects on efficiency of OLEDs in the EIL. As the result, because the EIL material $Cs_2CO_3$ reduces energy potential barrier of the EIL, it facilitated the electron transfer. And, as blocking the hole transfer contributes to an increased recombination, we confirmed that the efficiency of OLEDs increased. And compared to the device without using the EIL material, the device using thickness 1.0 nm of $Cs_2CO_3$ in the EIL shows the excellent efficiency. Therefore, we confirmed that the luminance and the external quantum efficiency increase about 600% and 500% respectively.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2015

Deep geological disposal is the preferred storage method for high-level radioactive waste, because it ensures stable long-term storage with minimal potential for human disruption. Because of the risk of groundwater contamination, a buffer of steel and bentonite layers has been proposed to prevent the leaching of radionuclides into groundwater. Quartz is one of the most common minerals in earth's crust. To understand how deformation and dissolution phenomena affect waste disposal, here we study quartz samples at pressure, temperature, and pH conditions typical of deep geological disposal sites. We perform a dissolution experiment for single quartz crystals under different pressure and temperature conditions. Solution samples are collected and the dissolution rate is calculated by analyzing Si concentrations in a solution excited by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES). After completing the dissolution experiment, deformation of the quartz sample surfaces is investigated with a confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM). An empirical formula is introduced that describes the relationship between dissolution rate, pressure, and temperature. These results suggest that bentonite layers in engineering barrier systems may be vulnerable to thermal deformation, even when exposed to higher temperatures on relatively short timescales.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.269-284
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• 2017

A new technique is proposed to obtain more effective screening efficiency against the ground vibration using intermittent geofoam (IF) in-filled trench. The numerical analysis is performed by employing two-dimensional finite element method under dynamic condition. Vertically oscillated strip foundation is considered as the vibration source. In presence of the ground vibration, the vertical displacements at different locations (pick-up points) along the ground surface are captured to determine the amplitude reduction factor (ARF), which helps to assess the efficiency of the vibration screening technique. The efficiency of IF over continuous geofoam (CF) in-filled vibration barriers is assessed by varying the geofoam density, the location of trench and the frequency of excitation. The results from this study indicate that a significant reduction in ARF can be achieved by using intermittent geofoam as compared to continuous geofoam. Further, it is noticed that the efficiency of IF increases with an increase in the frequency of the vibrating source. These encouraging results put forward the potential of utilising intermittent geofoam as a vibration screening material.

• Proceedings of the Korean Radioactive Waste Society Conference
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• 2005.11a
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• pp.301-306
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• 2005

The possibility and limitation of one dimensional nano scale electron shielder is briefly discussed. A Nano scale electron shielder will reduce the weight and size of shielding materials. However, practical application still requires further research. In this work, we discuss general problems related to nano scale electron shielder, by taking an arbitrary one dimensional potential barrier as an example.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.7
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• pp.1059-1070
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• 2007

Prion diseases, often called transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), are infectious diseases that accompany neurological dysfunctions in many mammalian hosts. Prion diseases include Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in humans, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, "mad cow disease") in cattle, scrapie in sheep, and chronic wasting disease (CWD) in deer and elks. The cause of these fatal diseases is a proteinaceous pathogen termed prion that lacks functional nucleic acids. As demonstrated in the BSE outbreak and its transmission to humans, the onset of disease is not limited to a certain species but can be transmissible from one host species to another. Such a striking nature of prions has generated huge concerns in public health and attracted serious attention in the scientific communities. To date, the potential transmission of prions to humans via foodborne infection and iatrogenic routes has not been alleviated. Rather, the possible transmission of human to human or cervids to human aggravates the terrifying situation across the globe. In this review, basic features about prion diseases including clinical and pathological characteristics, etiology, and transmission of diseases are described. Based on recently accumulated evidences, the molecular and biochemical aspects of prions, with an emphasis on the molecular interactions involved in prion conversion that is critical during prion replication and pathogenesis, are also addressed.