• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.289-296
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• 2016

This study presents the kinematics of an intrinsic continuum robot actuated by pneumatic artificial muscles. The single section of a developed continuum robot consisted of three muscles in parallel. The contraction of each muscle according to applied air pressure produced spatial motions of a distal plate with respect to a base plate. Based on the bending behaviors of artificial muscles, the orientation and position of the end-effector of a continuum robot were formulated using a transformation matrix. The orientation and position was also determined for a single section of the distal plate. A Jacobian matrix relating the contraction rate or the pressure rate of the muscles to the velocity vector of the end-effector was calculated considering the assembled position of actuators between neighboring sections of the robot. Experimental results showed that the motions of the intrinsic continuum robot were accurately estimated by the proposed kinematics.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.173-184
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• 2018

In human walking, muscle co-contraction which produces simultaneous activities of multiple muscles is important in motor control mechanism of the central nervous system. This study aims to understand positive and negative covariation mechanism of inter-muscle activities during walking. In this study, we measured electromyography (EMG) in leg muscles. To identify motor modules, we recored EMG from 4 leg muscles bilaterally (the tibialis anterior, medial gastrocnemius, rectus femoris and medial hamstring muscles) and performed non-negative matrix factorization (NMF) and principa component analysis (PCA). Then, we computed covariation values from various combinations between muscles or motor modules and used two-way repeated measures analysis of variance to identify significantly different covariation patterns between muscle combinations. As the results, we found significant differences between covariation values of muscle combinations (p < 0.05). muscle groups within the same motor modules produced the positive covariations. However, there were strong negative covariation between motor modules. There was negative covariation in all muscle combination. Stable inter-module negative covariation suggests that motor modules may be the control unit in the complex motor coordination.

• Fibers and Polymers
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.31-38
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• 2004

In the present paper, a variety of fiber reinforcements, for instance, stabilized OXI-PAN fibers, quasi-carbon fibers, commercial carbon fibers, and their woven fabric forms, have been utilized to fabricate pseudo-unidirectional (pseudo-UD) and 2-directional (2D) phenolic matrix composites using a compression molding method. Prior to fabricating quasi-carbon fiber/phenolic (QC/P) composites, stabilized OXI-PAN fibers and fabrics were heat-treated under low temperature carbonization processes to prepare quasi-carbon fibers and fabrics. The thermal conductivity and thermal expansion/contraction behavior of QC/P composites have been investigated and compared with those of carbon fiber/phenolic (C/P) and stabilized fiber/phenolic composites. Also, the chemical compositions of the fibers used have been characterized. The results suggest that use of proper quasi-carbonization process may control effectively not only the chemical compositions of resulting quasi-carbon fibers but also the thermal conductivity and thermal expansion behavior of quasi-carbon fibers/phenolic composites in the intermediate range between stabilized PAN fiber- and carbon fiber-reinforced phenolic composites.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.71 no.3
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• pp.172-179
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• 2011

Background: Statins can regulate the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and inhibit MMP production or activation in a variety of types of cells. This study evaluated whether statins would inhibit MMP release from human lung fibroblasts, which play a major role in remodeling processes. Methods: This study, using an in-vitro model (three-dimensional collagen gel contraction system), evaluated the effect of cytokines (tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$, TNF-a and interleukin-$1{\beta}$, IL-1b) on the MMP release and MMP activation from human lung fibroblasts. Collagen degradation induced by cytokines and neutrophil elastase (NE) was evaluated by quantifying hydroxyproline. Results: In three-dimensional collagen gel cultures (3D cultures) where cytokines (TNF-a and IL-1b) can induce the production of MMPs by fibroblasts, it was found that simvastatin inhibited MMP release. In 3D cultures, cytokines together with NE induced collagen degradation and can lead to activation of the MMP, which was inhibited by simvastatin. Conclusion: Simvastatin may play a role in regulating human lung fibroblast functions in repair and remodeling processes by inhibiting MMP release and the conversion from the latent to the active form of MMP.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.47 no.6
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• pp.567-573
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• 2020

Background Polyurethane implants have been used on and off in breast reconstruction since 1991 while prepectoral breast reconstruction has gained popularity in recent times. In this study, we present our outcomes from the use of acellular dermal matrix (ADM) complete wrap with polyurethane implants in prepectoral breast reconstruction. Methods This is a retrospective review of prospectively maintained database from 41 patients receiving complete ADM wrap with prepectoral polyurethane implants over a 3-year period. Selection criteria were adapted from a previous study (4135 Trust Clinical Audit Database) evaluating prepectoral reconstruction with Braxon matrices. Patient demographics, operative data, surgical complications, and outcomes were collected and analyzed. Results A total of 52 implant reconstructions were performed in 41 patients with a mean follow-up of 14.3 months (range, 6-36 months). The overall reported complication rates including early (less than 6 weeks) and late complications. Early complications included two patients (4.9%) with wound dehiscence. One of which had an implant loss that was salvageable. Another patient (2%) developed red-breast syndrome and two women (4.9%) developed with seroma treated conservatively. Late complications included one patient (2%) with grade II capsular contraction, 12 patients with grade I-II rippling and two patients (4.9%) with grade III rippling. Conclusions We present our experience of prepectoral polyurethane implant using complete ADM wrap. This is one of the few papers to report on the outcome of the prepectoral use of polyurethane in immediate implant-based breast reconstruction. Our early observational series show satisfactory outcome and long-term results are warranted by a large multicenter study.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.99-108
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• 1996

The microstructure and bond strength are examined on the SiC/SiC and SiC/mild steel joints brazed by the Ag-Ti based alloys with different Ti contents. In the SiC/SiC brazed joints, the thickness of the reaction layers at the bond interface and the Ti particles in the brazing alloy matrices increase with Ti contents. When Ti is added up to 9 at% in the brazing alloy. $Ti_3SiC_2$ phase in addition to TiC and $Ti_5Si_3$ phase is newly created at the bond interface and TiAg phase is produced from peritectic reaction in the brazing alloy matrix. In the SiC/mild steel joints brazed with different Ti contents, the microstructure at the bond interface and in the brazing alloy matrix near SiC varies similarly to the case of SiC/SiC brazed joints. But, in the brazing alloy matrix near the mild steel, Fe-Ti intermetallic compounds are produced and increased with Ti contents. The bond strengths of the SiC/SiC and SiC/mild steel brazed joints are independent on Ti contents in the brazing alloy. There are no large differences of the bond strength between SiC/SiC and SiC/mild steel brazed joints. In the SiC/mild steel brazed joints, Fe dissolved from the mild steel does not affect on the bond strength of the joints. Thermal contraction of the mild steel has nearly no effects on the bond strength due to the wide brazing gap of specimens used in the four-point bend test. The brazed joints has the average bond strength of about 200 MPa independently on Ti contents, Fe dissolution and joint type. Fracture in four-point bend test initiates at the interface between SiC and TiC reaction layer and propagates through SiC bulk. The adhesive strength between SiC and TiC reaction layer seems to mainly control the bond strength of the brazed joints.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.519-524
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• 2009

Purpose: This study was conducted to establish the most effective method of cell therapy by comparing and analyzing the level of wound healing after various cell delivery methods. Methods: Human mesenchymal stem cells were administered using 5 different methods on full thickness skin defects which were deliberately created on the back of 4 - week old mice using a 8 mm punch. Different modes of administration, cell suspension, local injection, collagen GAG matrix seeding, fibrin, and hydrogel mix methods were used. In each experiment group, $4{\times}105$ mesenchymal stem cells were administered according to 5 deferent methods, and were not for the corresponding control group. Results: The wound healing rate was fastest in the local injection group. The wound healing rate was relatively slow in the collagen matrix group, however, the number of blood vessels or VEGF increased most in this group. Conclusion: For rapid wound healing through wound contraction, it is advantageous to administer MSC by the local injection method. For the healing process of a wide area, such as a burn, the seeding of cells to collagen matrix is thought to be effective.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Automotive Engineers
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.177-182
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• 2007

In this paper, automotive hydraulic pipeline systems are modeled in which a straight blocked pipe, two pipes with sudden expansion or contraction are connected in series and terminated with a chamber. The frequency response characteristics of these composite pipeline systems are investigated experimentally. The theoretical analysis for various pipe configurations is base on transfer matrix method with frequency dependent viscous friction distributed parameter pipeline model. The gain and phase of transfer functions are included for comparison with experimental results. There is close agreement between the results of experimental and theoretical determination of pressure response in automotive hydraulic pipeline systems.

• Journal of the Korean Mathematical Society
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• v.52 no.5
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• pp.1003-1021
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• 2015

A matrix completion problem has been exploited amply because of its abundant applications and the analysis of contractions enables us to have insight into structure and space of operators. In this article, we focus on a specific completion problem related to Hankel partial contractions. We provide concrete necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of completion of Hankel partial contractions for both extremal and non-extremal types with lower dimensional matrices. Moreover, we give a negative answer for the conjecture presented in [8]. For our results, we use several tools such as the Nested Determinants Test (or Choleski's Algorithm), the Moore-Penrose inverse, the Schur product techniques, and a congruence of two positive semi-definite matrices; all these suggest an algorithmic approach to solve the contractive completion problem for general Hankel matrices of size $n{\times}n$ in both types.

• The Korean Journal of Ceramics
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.390-394
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• 1999

Al2O3 particles were dispersed into carbon fiber reinforced epoxy composites to fabricate hybrid epoxy based composites. Interface behavior and mechanical properties of these hybrid composites were studied at room and liquid nitrogen temperature and liquid nitrogen temperature and the results were compared with the those of carbon fiber reinforced composites to investigate their applicability at room and cryogenic temperature. Young's modulus in-perpendicular to fiber direction and interlaminar shear strength at room temperature and the thermal contraction down to cryhogenic temperature were improved significantly by the addition of AL2O3 filler into the epoxy matrix. The effect of Al2O3 particle addition on mechanical properties were discussed.