• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.74-81
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• 2011

The fluorene-degrading strain Sphingobacterium sp. KM-02 was isolated from PAHs-contaminated soil near a mineimpacted area by selective enrichment techniques. Fluorene added to the Sphingobacterium sp. KM-02 culture as sole carbon source was 78.4% removed within 120 h. A fluorene degradation pathway is tentatively proposed based on identification of the metabolic intermediates 9-fluorenone, 4-hydroxy-9-fluorenone, and 8-hydroxy-3,4-benzocoumarin. Further the ability of Sphingobacterium sp. KM-02 to bioremediate 100 mg/kg fluorene in soil matrix was examined by composting under laboratory conditions. Treatment of microcosm soil with the strain KM-02 for 20 days resulted in a 65.6% reduction in total amounts. These results demonstrate that Sphingobacterium sp. KM-02 could potentially be used in the bioremediation of fluorene from contaminated soil.

• Proceedings of the Korea Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry Conference
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• 2007.11a
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• pp.93-102
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• 2007

Biocomposite was organized with biodegradable polymer and natural fiber that has potential to be used as replacement for glass fiber reinforced polymer composite with the benefits of low cost, low density, acceptable specific strength, biodegradability, etc. Until now, non-wood fibers have been used as reinforcements of biocomposite which are all plant-based fibers. The present study focused on investigating the fabrication and characterization of biocomposite reinforced with red algae fiber. The bleached red algae fiber(BRAF) showed very similar crystallinity to the cellulose. It has high stability against thermal degradation (maximum thermal decomposition temperature of 359.3$^{\circ}C$) and thermal expansion. Biocomposites reinforced with BRAF have been fabricated by a compression molding method and their mechanical and thermal properties have been studied. The storage modulus and the thermomechanical stability of PBS matrix are markedly improved with reinforcing the BRAF. These results support that the red algae fiber can be used as an excellent reinforcement of biocomposites as "green-composite" or "eco-composite".

• BMB Reports
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.102-107
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• 2008

Extracellular proteases play an important role in a wide range of host physiological events, such as food digestion, extracellular matrix degradation, coagulation and immunity. Among the large extracellular protease family, serine proteases that contain a "paper clip"-like domain and are therefore referred to as CLIP-domain serine protease (clip-SP), have been found to be involved in unique biological processes, such as immunity and development. Despite the increasing amount of biochemical information available regarding the structure and function of clip-SPs, their in vivo physiological significance is not well known due to a lack of genetic studies. Recently, Drosophila has been shown to be a powerful genetic model system for the dissection of biological functions of the clip-SPs at the organism level. Here, the current knowledge regarding Drosophila clip-SPs has been summarized and future research directions to evaluate the role that clip-SPs play in Drosophila immunity are discussed.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2008.11a
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• pp.222-227
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• 2008

This study is focused on an integrated numerical modeling enabling one to investigate the dynamic behavior and failure of 2-D textile composite and 3-D orthogonal woven composite structures weakened by micro-cracks and subjected to an impact load. The integrated numerical modeling is based on: I) determination of governing equations via a three-level hierarchy: micro-mechanical unit cell analysis, layer-wise analysis accounting for transverse strains and stresses, and structural analysis based on anisotropic plate layers, II) development of an efficient computational approach enabling one to perform transient response analyses of 2-D plain woven and 3-D orthogonal woven composite structures featuring the matrix cracking and exposed to time-dependent loads, III) determination of the structural characteristics of the textile-layered composites and their degraded features under various geometrical yarn shapes, and finally, IV) assessment of the implications of stiffness degradation on dynamic response to impact loads.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.443-454
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• 2013

Tenderness is the most important meat quality trait, which is determined by intracellular environment and extracellular matrix. Particularly, specific protein degradation and protein modification can disrupt the architecture and integrity of muscle cells so that improves the meat tenderness. Endogenous proteolytic systems are responsible for modifying proteinases as well as the meat tenderization. Abundant evidence has testified that calpains (CAPNs) including calpain I (CAPN1) and calpastatin (CAST) have the closest relationship with tenderness in livestock. They are involved in a wide range of physiological processes including muscle growth and differentiation, pathological conditions and post-mortem meat aging. Whereas, Calpain3 (CAPN3) has been established as an important activating enzyme specifically expressed in livestock's skeletal muscle, but its role in domestic animals meat tenderization remains controversial. In this review, we summarize the role of CAPN1, calpain II (CAPN2) and CAST in post-mortem meat tenderization, and analyse the relationship between CAPN3 and tenderness in domestic animals. Besides, the possible mechanism affecting post-mortem meat aging and improving meat tenderization, and current possible causes responsible for divergence (whether CAPN3 contributes to animal meat tenderization or not) are inferred. Only the possible mechanism of CAPN3 in meat tenderization has been confirmed, while its exact role still needs to be studied further.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.223-228
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• 2005

In the present work, a low-density polyethylene (LDPE) composite, filled with Zn-ion coated structural silica encapsulated with the diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-A (DGEBA), was synthesized using the conventional melt-blending technique in a sigma internal mixer. The catalytic activity of the Zn-ions (originating from the structural silica) towards the oxirane group (diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-A (DGEBA): encapsulating agent) was assessed by infrared spectroscopy. Two composites, each with a filler content of $2.5 wt\%$ were developed. The first one was obtained by melt blending the Zn-ion coated structural silica with LDPE in a co-rotating sigma internal mixer. The second one was obtained by melt blending the same LDPE, but with DGEBA encapsulated Zn-ion coated structural silica. Epoxy resin encapsulation of the Zn-ion coated structural silica resulted in its having good interfacial adhesion and a homogeneous dispersion in the polymer matrix. Furthermore, the encapsulation of epoxy resin over the Zn-ion coated structural silica showed improvements in both the mechanical and thermal properties, viz. a $33\%$ increase in the elastic modulus and a rise in the onset degradation temperature from 355 to $371^{\circ}C$, in comparison to the Zn-ion coated structural silica.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.11 no.10
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• pp.833-840
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• 2001

Effects of thermal exposure and rejuvenation treatment on the microstructural evolution and the stress-rupture properties of IN738LC have been investigated. The role of precipitates on the stress- rupture properties has been analyzed through microstructural observations. Thermal exposure at $982^{\circ}C$ for 1000 hours gave rise to precipitation of $\sigma$ phase and coarsening of ${\gamma}$'. The microstructural degradation with thermal exposure at $982^{\circ}C$ deteriorated stress rupture properties of the alloy. All the existing phases except MC carbides have completely dissolved into the matrix with homogenization treatment at $1200^{\circ}C$ for 2 hours. Microstructure and stress-rupture properties of the thermal exposed specimens have been successfully rejuvenated by the proposed treatment.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.36 no.4 s.143
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• pp.338-343
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• 2005

Inflammatory mediators such as interleukin-1 (IL-1), tumor necrosis $factor-{\alpha}\;(TNF-{\alpha}),\;interferon-{\gamma}\;(IFN-{\gamma})$ and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) are thought to play major roles in joint diseases such as a rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and there is considerable evidence playing a role for these cytokines in osteoarthritis (OA). Therefore, we have studied the effects on anti-inflammation and analgesic by ethyl acetate fraction from 70% ethanol extract of Artemisia capillaries (EAC). As a positive control, apigenin, which is known as an anti-inflammatory agent as an iNOS inhibitor, was used and showed the dose-dependent inhibitory effect. EAC showed strong inhibitory efficacy against cytokine-induced proteoglycan degradation, $PGE_2$ production, nitric oxide (NO) production, and matrix-matalloproteinases (MMPs) expression in rabbit articular chondrocyte. In the writhing test induced by acetic acid, EAC $(200{\sim}400\;mg/kg)$ exhibited a dose-dependent inhibition of writhing. The results indicate that EAC have anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities, and could be a good herbal medicine candidate for curing of RA and/or OA.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Heat Treatment
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.70-75
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• 2002

The depletion of solid solution elements from matrix and the change of carbides during artificial aging of 2.25CrMo steel at $630^{\circ}C$ were investigated. The Mo and Cr elements were found to be depleted drastically in the early stage of aging. The change of carbides was confirmed by analyzing the XRD patterns of electrolytically extracted carbides. Four type of carbides, $M_{23}C_6$, $M_3C$, $M_2C$ and $M_6C$, were found to exist in the specimen before aging. The amount of $M_6C$ carbides increased with aging time, while that of $M_3C$ carbides diminished after short aging time.

• KIEAE Journal
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.97-103
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• 2014

This study aimed at developing integrated logic for controlling heating device and openings of the double skin facade buildings. Two major logics were developed-rule-based control logic and artificial neural network based control logic. The rule based logic represented the widely applied conventional method while the artificial neural network based logic meant the optimal method. Applying the optimal method, the predictive and adaptive controls were feasible for supplying the advanced thermal indoor environment. Comparative performance tests were conducted using the numerical computer simulation tools such as MATLAB (Matrix Laboratory) and TRNSYS (Transient Systems Simulation). Analysis on the test results in the test module revealed that the artificial neural network-based control logics provided more comfortable and stable temperature conditions based on the optimal control of the heating device and opening conditions of the double skin facades. However, the amount of heat supply to the indoor space by the optimal method was increased for the better thermal conditioning. The number of on/off moments of the heating device, on the other hand, was significantly reduced. Therefore, the optimal logic is expected to beneficial to create more comfortable thermal environment and to potentially prevent system degradation.