• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.12 no.6
• /
• pp.657-668
• /
• 2001

Fiber reinforced cementitious composites are nowadays widely applied in civil engineering. The postcracking performance of this material depends on the interaction between a steel fiber, which is obliquely across a crack, and its surrounding matrix. While the partly debonded steel fiber is subjected to pulling out from the matrix and simultaneously subjected to transverse force, it may be modelled as a Bernoulli-Euler beam partly supported on an elastic foundation with non-linearly varying modulus. The fiber bridging the crack may be cut into two parts to simplify the problem (Leung and Li 1992). To obtain the transverse displacement at the cut end of the fiber (Fig. 1), it is convenient to directly solve the corresponding differential equation. At the first glance, it is a classical beam on foundation problem. However, the differential equation is not analytically solvable due to the non-linear distribution of the foundation stiffness. Moreover, since the second order deformation effect is included, the boundary conditions become complex and hence conventional numerical tools such as the spline or difference methods may not be sufficient. In this study, moment equilibrium is the basis for formulation of the fundamental differential equation for the beam (Timoshenko 1956). For the cantilever part of the beam, direct integration is performed. For the non-linearly supported part, a transformation is carried out to reduce the higher order differential equation into one order simultaneous equations. The Runge-Kutta technique is employed for the solution within the boundary domain. Finally, multi-dimensional optimization approaches are carefully tested and applied to find the boundary values that are of interest. The numerical solution procedure is demonstrated to be stable and convergent.

• Molecules and Cells
• /
• v.39 no.6
• /
• pp.447-459
• /
• 2016

Many studies have been conducted to understand plant stress responses to salinity because irrigation-dependent salt accumulation compromises crop productivity and also to understand the mechanism through which some plants thrive under saline conditions. As mechanistic understanding has increased during the last decades, discovery-oriented approaches have begun to identify genetic determinants of salt tolerance. In addition to osmolytes, osmoprotectants, radical detoxification, ion transport systems, and changes in hormone levels and hormone-guided communications, the Salt Overly Sensitive (SOS) pathway has emerged to be a major defense mechanism. However, the mechanism by which the components of the SOS pathway are integrated to ultimately orchestrate plant-wide tolerance to salinity stress remains unclear. A higher-level control mechanism has recently emerged as a result of recognizing the involvement of GIGANTEA (GI), a protein involved in maintaining the plant circadian clock and control switch in flowering. The loss of GI function confers high tolerance to salt stress via its interaction with the components of the SOS pathway. The mechanism underlying this observation indicates the association between GI and the SOS pathway and thus, given the key influence of the circadian clock and the pathway on photoperiodic flowering, the association between GI and SOS can regulate growth and stress tolerance. In this review, we will analyze the components of the SOS pathways, with emphasis on the integration of components recognized as hallmarks of a halophytic lifestyle.

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
• /
• v.12 no.3
• /
• pp.81-90
• /
• 2008

Objectives : The pathophysiology of ICH is not fully understood, therefore, the fundamental therapeutic strategies for ICH also not well inspected either. The genetic profile for the effect of Carthami Flos extract on cerebral hemorrhage in rat brain tissue was measured using microarray technique. Genes displaying expressional change on brain damage were selected and the functional analysis on these genes was conducted. Methods : Rats were placed in a stereotaxic frame after intraperitoneal injection of chloralhydrate, and ICH was induced by injection of collagenase type IV and Carthami Flos extract was administered orally. The molecular profile of cerebral hemorrhage in rat brain tissue was measured using microarray technique to identify up- or down- regulated genes in brain tissue. Results : Upon treatment with Carthami Flos extract on the rat having brain damage, many genes show expressional change. The pattern of gene expressional change can be classified into 8 classes in which two types of classes were composed of recovered genes from up or down-regulation by brain damage, respectively. Conclusions : Further analysis using protein interaction database identified some key molecules that can be used for elucidation of therapeutical mechanism of Carthami Flos extract in future.

• Proceedings of the KSEEG Conference
• /
• 2003.04a
• /
• pp.7-14
• /
• 2003

The precious-meta] mineralization of epithermal type in the Korean Peninsula, which is spread over a broader range of ca. 110 to 60 Ma with a major population between 90 and 70 Ma, mainly occurred along the NE-trending major strike-slip fault systems (i.e., the Gongju and Gwangju ones) that commonly include volcano-tectonic depressions and calderas. The occurrence of epithermal mineralization during Late Cretaceous clearly indicates that the geologic setting of the Korean Peninsula changed to the favorable depth of ore formation with very shallow-crustal environments (〈1.0 kb) accompanied with gold-silver (-base-meta]) mineralization. Epithermal gold-silver deposits in Korea are primarily distinguished as sediment-dominant and volcanic-dominant basins by using criteria of varying alteration, ore and gangue mineralogy deposited by the interaction of different ore-forming fluids with host rocks and meteoric waters. These differences between the central and southern portions are causally linked to the tectonic evolution of the Peninsula during the Cretaceous time. In the Early Cretaceous, the sinistral strike-slip movements due to the oblique subduction of the Izanagi Plate resulted in the Gongju and Gwangju fault systems in the central portion of the Korean Peninsula, which was accompanied with a number of sediment-dominant basins formed along these faults. During the Late Cretaceous, the mode of convergence of the Izanagi Plate changed to northwesteward so that orthogonal convergence occurred with a calc-alkaline volcanism. As results, volcanic-dominant basins were developed in the southern portion of the Peninsula, accompanied with volcano-tectonic depressions and caldera-related fractures. The magmatism and related fractures during Late Cretaceous may play an important role in the formation of geothermal systems. Thus, such fault zones may be favorable environments for veining emplacement that is closely related to the precious-metal mineralization of epithermal type in the Korean Peninsula.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.25 no.8
• /
• pp.1349-1360
• /
• 2015

The rhizospheric zone abutting plant roots usually clutches a wealth of microbes. In the recent past, enormous genetic resources have been excavated with potential applications in host plant interaction and ancillary aspects. Two Pseudomonas strains were isolated and identified through 16S rRNA and rpoD sequence analyses as P. fluorescens QAU67 and P. putida QAU90. Initial biochemical characterization and their root-colonizing traits indicated their potential role in plant growth promotion. Such aerobic systems, involved in gluconic acid production and phosphate solubilization, essentially require the pyrroloquinoline quinine (PQQ)-dependent glucose dehydrogenase (GDH) in the genome. The PCR screening and amplification of GDH and PQQ and subsequent induction of mutagenesis characterized their possible role as antioxidants as well as in growth promotion, as probed in vitro in lettuce and in vivo in rice, bean, and tomato plants. The results showed significant differences (p ≤ 0.05) in parameters of plant height, fresh weight, and dry weight, etc., deciphering a clear and in fact complementary role of GDH and PQQ in plant growth promotion. Our study not only provides direct evidence of the in vivo role of GDH and PQQ in host plants but also reveals their functional inadequacy in the event of mutation at either of these loci.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
• /
• v.57 no.8
• /
• pp.27.1-27.6
• /
• 2015

This study was designed to investigate the effects of ${\alpha}$-tocopherol and granulosa cells monolayer on nuclear maturation and cleavage rates of ovine cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs). The COCs (n = 2814) were matured in maturation medium supplemented with various concentration of ${\alpha}$-tocopherol (0, 5, 10, $15{\mu}g/ml$), oocytes were incubated at $39^{\circ}C$ with 5 % $CO_2$ for 24 h in three culture systems: (a) maturation medium (MM; n = 884), (b) co-cultured with granulosa cells (CG; n = 982) and (c) co-cultured with granulosa cells and cells were further cultured in MM for 12 h (CG + 12hMM; n = 948). Our results showed that ${\alpha}$-tocopherol had no effect on GVBD and MII as compared to control group, but when ${\alpha}$-tocopherol added to maturation medium the rate of cleavage decreased. This indicates interaction of above mentioned factors in any of the treatments showed no significant differences on the rate of maturation and cleavage stages (MII, GVBD and cleavage) (p > 0.05). The oocytes co-cultured with granulosa cells for 24 h had beneficial effects on cleavage rate. The maximum MII and cleavage rates were achieved when oocytes had extra 12 h culture in the maturation medium without granulosa cells. Results also showed our modified co-culture system (CG + 12hMM), improved rates of MII and the cleavage in comparison with other studied maturation systems.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Intelligent Systems
• /
• v.22 no.6
• /
• pp.786-792
• /
• 2012

A microarray is a collection of thousands of DNAs or RNAs arranged on a substrate, and it enables one to navigate large amounts of gene expression. However, a researcher uses his designed experimental methods to focus on particular phenotypes from the available mass of data. In this paper, we used MicroRNAs(miRNAs) and Protein-Protein Interation(PPI) databases to enhance and expand meanings in microarray data. Further, the expanded data are linked with the Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man(OMIM), and International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, $10^{th}$ Revision(ICD-10), in order to extract common genetic relationships between diseases. This approach, we expect, should provide new biological views.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
• /
• v.48 no.5
• /
• pp.464-468
• /
• 2015

Our government has performed to support the nation-wide application of customized fertilizer based on soil-testing results and crop nutrient balance in order to promote the environment-friendly agriculture and to respond the global environment guide-line since 2010. This study was performed at the selected local paddy fields (Hwaseong-si, Uiseong-gun and Miryang-si) with different soil chemical properties in 2012. The contents of amino acids measured showed an increasing trend with fertilization, and glutamic acid was the most abundant amino acid followed by aspartic acid, leucine and alanine. However, valine, isoleusine, tyrosine and lysine were not significantly affected by fertilization. The significant differences in grain N, expressed as a crude protein, and amino acids dose was observed between experimental sites (p<0.001), treatments (p<0.01 to 0.001) and interaction of both factors (p<0.01 to 0.001). In our experiment the following order of carbon skeleton backbones to produce amino acids was observed irrespective of experiment sites and fertilization: ${\alpha}$-ketoglutarate > oxalate > pyruvate > 3-phosphoglycerate > phosphoenolpyruvate. In conclusion, customized fertilizer had no difference in amino acids compared to the conventional-NPK practice which was higher than in no fertilization, and also the normal paddy represented slightly higher amino acids compared to the reclaimed. Further study based on the present results is required to investigate what is main factor to amino acids between genetic and environmental factors.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
• /
• v.48 no.2
• /
• pp.51-58
• /
• 2021

Fatty acid composition is an important economic trait that affects meat flavor. Several genes that influence fatty acid composition in meat have been investigated. In a previous study, we identified 51 significant SNP × SNP interactions (P≤0.05) between nine SNPs of six candidate genes (DEGS1, ELOVL6, FABP3, FABP4, FASN, and SCD) on meat fatty acid composition in Korean native chicken. This study further investigated the patterns of the SNP × SNP interactions to understand how they affect the fatty acid content in thigh and breast meat of Korean native chicken. The significant epistatic effects of SNP combinations showed various patterns for each fatty acid trait. The results of this study suggest that the respective additive effects of each SNP on polygenic traits, such as fatty acid composition, should be considered in combination with the epistatic effect of SNP combinations in animal breeding programs. The findings of this study have provided new genetic information for improving meat quality, especially the fatty acid composition, of Korean native chicken.

• Korean Journal of Breeding Science
• /
• v.43 no.5
• /
• pp.375-382
• /
• 2011

A chemical, MNU-induced hulless barley mutant line designated as 'Mutant 98 (M98)' was developed from a Korean hulless waxy barley cultivar, 'Chalssalbori'. The objective of the study was to determine the genetic basis of 'M98' and the possibility of using 'M98' as breeding parent to improve lysine level. Compared to 'Chalssalbori', 'M98' had large embryo and higher lysine content in both the embryo and endosperm. Significantly different lysine content in 'M98' and the other high-lysine barley mutant stocks was observed for two years. However, the genotype by year interaction was not significant. 'M98' was higher than the other high-lysine barley mutant stocks in the percentage of lysine of total amino acid composition (0.75%). The trait of shrunken endosperm of 'M98', which was typical in the high-lysine mutants, was inherited by a single recessive gene. Based on seed morphology and lysine content of $F_1$ seeds, 'M98' had a genetically different gene from the other high-lysine mutants for shrunken endosperm. Segregation of $F_2$ for plump/shrunken endosperm did not fit the expected ratio of Mendelian inheritance except for only one cross combination (GSHO1784 (lys1)/M98). The amino acid analysis of $F_5$ and $F_6$ progenies from the cross between 'M98' and 'Chalssalbori' revealed that the attempt to increase the range of lysine content of plump lines did not go beyond the limit of the average high-lysine barley germplasm.