• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제53권4호
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• pp.1119-1126
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• 2021

Spacer grid with mixing vane had been widely used in nuclear reactor core. One of the main feather of spacer grid with mixing vane was that strong swirl flow was formed after the spacer grid. The swirl flow not only changed the bubble generation in the near wall field, but also affected the bubble behaviors in the center region of the subchannel. The interaction between bubble and the swirl flow was one of the basic phenomena for the two phase flow modeling in fuel assembly. To obatin better understanding on the bubble behaviors in swirl flow, full three dimension numerical simulations were conducted in the present paper. The swirl flow was assumed in the cylindral calculation domain. The bubble interface was captured by Volume Of Fluid (VOF) method. The properties of saturated water and steam at different pressure were applied in the simulation. The bubble trajectory, motion, shape and force were obtained based on the bubble parameters captured by VOF. The simulation cases in the present study included single bubble with different size, at different angular velocity conditions and at different pressure conditions. The results indicated that bubble migrated to the center in swirl flow with spiral motion type. The lateral migration was mainly related to shear stress magnitude and bubble size. The bubble moved toward the center with high velocity when the swirl magnitude was high. The largest bubble had the highest lateral migration velocity in the present study range. The effect of pressure was small when bubble size was the same. The prelimenery simulation result would be beneficial for better understanding complex two phase flow phenomena in fuel assembly with spacer grid.

• 한국수학교육학회지시리즈A:수학교육
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• 제60권2호
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• pp.133-157
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• 2021

본 연구에서는 학생들의 생활과 밀접한 공간을 기반으로 한 비구조화된 문제를 개발하고 수업에 적용하였다. 이 과정에서 6학년 학생들의 공간 추론 능력으로는 외적 추론에 비해 내적 추론에서 어려움을 표했으며, 공간 추론이 수와 연산, 측정 등의 영역과 연계되어 활용될 때 그 수준이 더 높게 나타났다. 문제 해결 능력에서는 반성 요소가 미흡하게 나타났으며 초등 현장에서 온라인 환경에서의 협력과 수학적 모델링 학습이 적용 가능하다는 결과를 얻었다. 이를 통해 수학 교육 현장에 공간 학습과 실생활 문제 해결에 관한 의미 있는 시사점을 도출할 것으로 기대된다.

• 한국방사선학회논문지
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• 제15권3호
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• pp.345-353
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• 2021

디지털 래디오그라피 이미징 시스템으로 환자의 병변 진단에 있어 도움을 줄 수도 있으나 인체에 입사되는 엑스선이 물질과의 상호작용으로 인해 산란선이 발생되면 엑스선 영상의 신호 및 노이즈 특성에 영향을 미치게 된다. 인체를 폴리메틸메타아크릴레이트(polymethyl methacrylate, PMMA)로 간주하고 PMMA에서 발생되는 산란선이 엑스선 영상에 미치는 특성을 관찰하기 위해 공간 영역에서 신호 및 노이즈 분석뿐만 아니라 공간주파수 영역에서 노이즈-파워 스펙트럼(noise-power spectrum, NPS) 그리고 제로주파수에서 양자검출효율(detective quantum efficiency, DQE)을 계산하였다. PMMA 두께 증가에 따라 신호는 감소, 노이즈는 증가하였으며 전반적인 공간주파수에서 노이즈-파워 스펙트럼의 저하가 확인되었다. 이러한 특성을 바탕으로 제로주파수 성능 또한 저하되는 결과를 보였다. 간접변환방식 검출기의 산란선에 의한 제로주파수 성능을 보다 정량적으로 분석하기 위해 몬테칼로 시뮬레이션과의 비교분석이 이루어져야 할 것이다.

• BMB Reports
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• 제55권4호
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• pp.192-197
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• 2022

Cell signals for growth factors depend on the mechanical properties of the extracellular matrix (ECM) surrounding the cells. Microtubule acetylation is involved in the transforming growth factor (TGF)-β-induced myofibroblast differentiation in the soft ECM. However, the mechanism of activation of α-tubulin acetyltransferase 1 (α-TAT1), a major α-tubulin acetyltransferase, in the soft ECM is not well defined. Here, we found that casein kinase 2 (CK2) is required for the TGF-β-induced activation of α-TAT1 that promotes microtubule acetylation in the soft matrix. Genetic mutation and pharmacological inhibition of CK2 catalytic activity specifically reduced microtubule acetylation in the cells cultured on a soft matrix rather than those cultured on a stiff matrix. Immunoprecipitation analysis showed that CK2α, a catalytic subunit of CK2, directly bound to the C-terminal domain of α-TAT1, and this interaction was more prominent in the cells cultured on the soft matrix. Moreover, the substitution of alanine with serine, the 236th amino acid located at the C-terminus, which contains the CK2-binding site of α-TAT1, significantly abrogated the TGF-β-induced microtubule acetylation in the soft matrix, indicating that the successful binding of CK2 and the C-terminus of α-TAT1 led to the phosphorylation of serine at the 236th position of amino acids in α-TAT1 and regulation of its catalytic activity. Taken together, our findings provide novel insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying the TGF-β-induced activation of α-TAT1 in a soft matrix.

• Computers and Concrete
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• 제30권4호
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• pp.277-287
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• 2022

Due to the scarcity of extortionate experimental data, fatigue failure of the reinforced concrete (RC) element might be achieved economically adopting nonlinear finite element (FE) analysis as an alternative approach. However, conventional implicit dynamic analysis is expensive, quasi-static method overlooks interaction effects and inertia, direct cyclic analysis computes stabilized responses. Apart from this, explicit dynamic analysis may provide a numerical operating system for factual long-term responses. The study explores the fatigue behavior based on a simplified explicit dynamic solution employing nonlinear time domain analysis. Among fourteen RC beams, one beam is selected to validate under static loading, one under fatigue with the experimental study and other twelve to check the detail fatigue behavior. The SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunities, Threats) analysis has been carried out to pinpoint the detail scenario in the adoption of numerical approach as an alternative to the experimental study. Excellent agreement of FE and experimental results is seen. The 3D nonlinear RC beam model at service fatigue limits is truthful to be used as an expedient contrivance to envisage the precise fatigue behavior. The simplified analysis approach for RC beam under fatigue offers savings in computation to predict responses providing acceptable accuracy rather than the complicated laboratory investigation. At higher frequency, the flexural failure occurs a bit earlier gradually compared to the repeated loading case of lower frequency. The deflection increases by 6%-10% at the end of first cycle for beams with increasing frequency of cyclic loading. However, at the end of fatigue loading, greater deflection occur earlier for higher load range because of more rapid stiffness degradation. For higher frequency, a slight boost in concrete compressive strains at an initial stage of loading has been seen indicating somewhat stepper increment. Stiffness degradation in larger loading cycle at same duration escalates the upsurge of the rate of strain in case of higher frequency.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• 제30권5호
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• pp.427-434
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• 2022

The drug repurposing strategy has been applied to the development of emergency COVID-19 therapeutic medicines. Current drug repurposing approaches have been directed against RNA polymerases and viral proteases. Recently, we found that the inhibition of the interaction between the SARS-CoV-2 structural nucleocapsid (N) and spike (S) proteins decreased viral replication. In this study, drug repurposing candidates were screened by in silico molecular docking simulation with the SARS-CoV-2 structural N protein. In the ChEMBL database, 1994 FDA-approved drugs were selected for the in silico virtual screening against the N terminal domain (NTD) of the SARS-CoV-2 N protein. The tyrosine 109 residue in the NTD of the N protein was used as the center of the ligand binding grid for the docking simulation. In plaque forming assays performed with SARS-CoV-2 infected Vero E6 cells, atovaquone, abiraterone acetate, and digoxin exhibited a tendency to reduce the size of the viral plagues without affecting the plaque numbers. Abiraterone acetate significantly decreased the accumulation of viral particles in the cell culture supernatants in a concentration-dependent manner. In addition, abiraterone acetate significantly decreased the production of N protein and S protein in the SARS-CoV-2-infected Vero E6 cells. In conclusion, abiraterone acetate has therapeutic potential to inhibit the viral replication of SARS-CoV-2.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• 제31권3호
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• pp.285-297
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• 2023

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease with progressive memory loss and the cognitive decline. AD is mainly caused by abnormal accumulation of misfolded amyloid β (Aβ), which leads to neurodegeneration via a number of possible mechanisms such as down-regulation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor-tropomyosin-related kinase B (BDNF-TRKB) signaling pathway. 7,8-Dihydroxyflavone (7,8-DHF), a TRKB agonist, has demonstrated potential to enhance BDNF-TRKB pathway in various neurodegenerative diseases. To expand the capacity of flavones as TRKB agonists, two natural flavones quercetin and apigenin, were evaluated. With tryptophan fluorescence quenching assay, we illustrated the direct interaction between quercetin/apigenin and TRKB extracellular domain. Employing Aβ folding reporter SH-SY5Y cells, we showed that quercetin and apigenin reduced Aβ-aggregation, oxidative stress, caspase-1 and acetylcholinesterase activities, as well as improved the neurite outgrowth. Treatments with quercetin and apigenin increased TRKB Tyr516 and Tyr817 and downstream cAMP-response-element binding protein (CREB) Ser133 to activate transcription of BDNF and BCL2 apoptosis regulator (BCL2), as well as reduced the expression of pro-apoptotic BCL2 associated X protein (BAX). Knockdown of TRKB counteracted the improvement of neurite outgrowth by quercetin and apigenin. Our results demonstrate that quercetin and apigenin are to work likely as a direct agonist on TRKB for their neuroprotective action, strengthening the therapeutic potential of quercetin and apigenin in treating AD.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• 제24권4호
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• pp.289-301
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• 2023

Developing a competent soil-bridge interaction model for the seismic analysis of piled foundation bridges is of utmost importance for investigating the seismic response and assessing fragility of these lifeline structures. To this end, ground motion histories are deemed necessary at various depths along the piles supporting the bridge. This may be effectively accomplished through time history analysis of a free-field standalone soil column extending from bedrock level to ground surface subjected to an input bedrock motion at its base. A one-dimensional site/ground response analysis (vide one-directional shear wave propagation through the soil column) is hence conducted in the present research accounting for the nonlinear hysteretic behavior of the soil stratum encompassing the bridge piled foundation. Two homogeneous soil profiles atop of bedrock have been considered for comparison purposes, namely, loose and dense sand. Analysis of the standalone soil column has been performed under a set of ten selected actual bedrock ground motions adopting a nonlinear time domain approach in an incremental dynamic analysis framework. Amplified retrieved PGA and maximum soil shear strains have been generally observed at various depths of the soil column when moving away from bedrock towards ground surface especially at large hazards associated with high (input) PGA values assigned at bedrock. This has been accompanied, however, by some attenuation of the amplified PGA values at shallower depths and at ground surface especially for the loose sand soil and particularly for cases with higher seismic hazards associated with large scaling factors of bedrock records.

• 디자인융복합연구
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• 제16권5호
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• pp.177-190
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• 2017

본 연구는 비접촉식 제스처 기반 조형 태스크의 직관성 향상을 위한 다중 모달리티 인터페이스 디자인 GSS를 제안하였다. 디자인 조형 과정 및 조형 형태에 대한 사용자 경험을 조사한 후, 기술 발전에 따른 세대별 조형 시스템을 분석하였다. 또, 비접촉 3D 조형 시스템상에서의 조형 제작 프로세스, 조형 제작 환경, 제스처와 조형 태스크 간의 관계성, 자연스러운 손 조합 패턴과 사용자 손동작 요소들을 정의하였다. 이후, 기존 비접촉 3D 조형 시스템상에서 비접촉식 제스처 인터랙션을 관찰하고 자연스러운 조형 제작을 위해 조형 작성자의 행동체계가 반영된 인터페이스의 시각적 메타포와 자연스러운 제스처 인터랙션을 유도할 수 있는 행동적 메타포를 도출하였다. 프로토타입을 개발한 후, 제안된 주요 조형 태스크별 제스처 세트의 직관성을 알아보기 위해 기존 조형 시스템들과 비교하여 사용성 평가를 진행하였다. 제안된 GSS 시스템의 제스처는 이해도, 기억성, 오류율에서 우수성을 보였다. 제스처 인터페이스는 사용자의 경험에 기반한 시각적/행동적 메타포를 바탕으로 시각적 모달리티가 함께 사용된 제스처 인터페이스를 사용자들에게 제공되어야 한다는 것을 확인하였다.

• KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
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• 제17권10호
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• pp.2768-2787
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• 2023

As an important research direction of the application of computer science in the medical field, the automatic generation technology of radiology report has attracted wide attention in the academic community. Because the proportion of normal regions in radiology images is much larger than that of abnormal regions, words describing diseases are often masked by other words, resulting in significant feature loss during the calculation process, which affects the quality of generated reports. In addition, the huge difference between visual features and semantic features causes traditional multi-modal fusion method to fail to generate long narrative structures consisting of multiple sentences, which are required for medical reports. To address these challenges, we propose a multi-feature optimization Transformer (MFOT) for generating radiology reports. In detail, a multi-dimensional mapping attention (MDMA) module is designed to encode the visual grid features from different dimensions to reduce the loss of primary features in the encoding process; a feature pre-fusion (FP) module is constructed to enhance the interaction ability between multi-modal features, so as to generate a reasonably structured radiology report; a detail enhanced attention (DEA) module is proposed to enhance the extraction and utilization of key features and reduce the loss of key features. In conclusion, we evaluate the performance of our proposed model against prevailing mainstream models by utilizing widely-recognized radiology report datasets, namely IU X-Ray and MIMIC-CXR. The experimental outcomes demonstrate that our model achieves SOTA performance on both datasets, compared with the base model, the average improvement of six key indicators is 19.9% and 18.0% respectively. These findings substantiate the efficacy of our model in the domain of automated radiology report generation.