• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.53-61
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• 2016

Toxoplasma gondii is an intracellular Apicomplexan parasite and a causative agent of toxoplasmosis in human. It causes encephalitis, uveitis, chorioretinitis, and congenital infection. T. gondii invades the host cell by forming a moving junction (MJ) complex. This complex formation is initiated by intermolecular interactions between the two secretory parasitic proteins-namely, apical membrane antigen 1 (AMA1) and rhoptry neck protein 2 (RON2) and is critically essential for the host invasion process. By this study, we propose two potential leads, NSC95522 and NSC179676 that can efficiently target the AMA1 hydrophobic cleft, which is a hotspot for targeting MJ complex formation. The proposed leads are the result of an exhaustive conformational search-based virtual screen with multilevel precision scoring of the docking affinities. These two compounds surpassed all the precision levels of docking and also the stringent post docking and cumulative molecular dynamics evaluations. Moreover, the backbone flexibility of hotspot residues in the hydrophobic cleft, which has been previously reported to be essential for accommodative binding of RON2 to AMA1, was also highly perturbed by these compounds. Furthermore, binding free energy calculations of these two compounds also revealed a significant affinity to AMA1. Machine learning approaches also predicted these two compounds to possess more relevant activities. Hence, these two leads, NSC95522 and NSC179676, may prove to be potential inhibitors targeting AMA1-RON2 complex formation towards combating toxoplasmosis.

• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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• v.10 no.12
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• pp.1164-1171
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• 2004

A new multi-scale simulation model is proposed to analyze heart mechanics. Electrophysiology of a cardiac cell is numerically approximated using the previous model of human ventricular myocyte. The ion transports across cell membrane initiated by action potential induce an excitation-contraction mechanism in the cell via cross bridge dynamics. Negroni and Lascano model (NL model) is employed to calculate the tension of cross bridge which is closely related to the ion dynamics in cytoplasm. To convert the tension on cell level into contraction force of cardiac muscle, we introduce a simple geometric model of ventricle with a thin-walled hemispheric shape. It is assumed that cardiac tissue is composed of a set of cardiac myocytes and its orientation on the hemispheric surface of ventricle remains constant everywhere in the domain. Application of Laplace law to the ventricle model enables us to determine the ventricular pressure that induces blood circulation in a body. A lumped parameter model with 7 compartments is utilized to describe the systemic circulation interacting with the cardiac cell mechanism via NL model and Laplace law. Numerical simulation shows that the ion transports in cell level eventually generate blood hemodynamics on system level via cross bridge dynamics and Laplace law. Computational results using the present multi-scale model are well compared with the existing ones. Especially it is shown that the typical characteristics of heart mechanics, such as pressure volume relation, stroke volume and ejection fraction, can be generated by the present multi-scale cardiovascular model, covering from cardiac cells to circulation system.

• Plant Disease and Agriculture
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.27-33
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• 1999

Frost injury of crops is closely related to the epiphytic population dynamics of ice nucleation-active (INA) bacteria, and the injury can be reduced by decreasing the INA bacterial population. In order to predict the epiphytic population of INA bacteria on crops, a rapid and accurate detection method has to be developed. In the previous report, we produced some antibodies against INA proteins purified from the outer membrane of INA bacteria. However it was difficult to produce the antibodies because the purification procedures of the INA proteins were complicated, and the final yield was too low. We designed a specific peptide from the N-terminal region of INA protein by computer analysis and synthesized the peptide in vitro in this experiment. The peptide sequence was Asp-Ser-Por-Leu-Ser-Leu-His-Ala-Asp, that is corresponding to the highly conserved region in several INA proteins, with predicted beta turn, coiling, and hydrophilic region. A polyclonal anti-INA peptide antiserum produced specifically recognized INA bacteria as few as 10 colony-forming units (CFU) in the ELISA reactions and did not respond to other non-INA bacteria. Serological specificity of the anti-INA peptide antiserum will facilitate the forecasting of the INA bacterial population dynamics on crops.

• Journal of Advanced Marine Engineering and Technology
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.19-27
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• 2015

As the recent regulation of Internaional Maritime Organization (IMO) is enforced, the advanced technology of Ballast water treatment system (BWTS) is needed to meet its requirements. Until now, there are two kinds of the BWTS technologies such as physical methods (Membrane and UV) and chemical methods (Chlorin and Ozone). However, these conventional methods have some limitations of auxiliary power, low productivity, residual treatment and etc. In order to overcome these problems, this paper introduces the new kind of BWTS based on mechanical principle and investigates the effect of rotating disc shapes on flow characteristics between rotating and stationary discs by computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Planar and Step types can make the local cavitation generated along radius, and Circular type can increase the intensity of shear stress.

• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.125-129
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• 2008

Inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate ($IP_3$) plays an important role in the release of $Ca^{2+}$ from intracellular stores into the cytoplasm in a variety of cell types. $IP_3$ translocation dynamics have been studied in response to many types of cell signals. However, the dynamics of cytosolic $IP_3$ in salivary acinar cells are unclear. A green fluorescent protein (GFP)-tagged pleckstrin homology domain (PHD) was constructed and introduced into a phospholipase C ${\delta}1$ (PLC ${\delta}1$) transgenic mouse, and then the salivary acinar cells were isolated. GFP-PHD was heterogeneously localized at the plasma membrane and intracellular organelles in submandibular gland and parotid gland cells. Application of trypsin, a G protein-coupled receptor activator, to the two types of cells caused an increase in GFP fluorescence in the cell cytoplasm. The observed time course of trypsin-evoked $IP_3$ movement in acinar cells was independent of cell polarity, and the fluorescent label showed an immediate increase throughout the cells. These results suggest that GFP-PHD in many tissues of transgenic mice, including non-cultured primary cells, can be used as a model for examination of $IP_3$ intracellular dynamics.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.473-481
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• 2021

Background: Mitochondrial dysfunction is one of the significant reasons for Alzheimer's disease (AD). Ginsenosides, natural molecules extracted from Panax ginseng, have been demonstrated to exert essential neuroprotective functions, which can ascribe to its anti-oxidative effect, enhancing central metabolism and improving mitochondrial function. However, a comprehensive analysis of cellular mitochondrial bioenergetics after ginsenoside treatment under Aβ-oxidative stress is missing. Methods: The antioxidant activities of ginsenoside Rb₁, Rd, Re, Rg₁ were compared by measuring the cell survival and reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation. Next, the protective effects of ginsenosides of mitochondrial bioenergetics were examined by measuring oxygen consumption rate (OCR) in PC12 cells under Aβ-oxidative stress with an extracellular flux analyzer. Meanwhile, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and mitochondrial dynamics were evaluated by confocal laser scanning microscopy. Results: Ginsenoside Rg₁ possessed the strongest anti-oxidative property, and which therefore provided the best protective function to PC12 cells under the Aβ oxidative stress by increasing ATP production to 3 folds, spare capacity to 2 folds, maximal respiration to 2 folds and non-mitochondrial respiration to 1.5 folds, as compared to Aβ cell model. Furthermore, ginsenoside Rg1 enhanced MMP and mitochondrial interconnectivity, and simultaneously reduced mitochondrial circularity. Conclusion: In the present study, these results demonstrated that ginsenoside Rg₁ could be the best natural compound, as compared with other ginsenosides, by modulating the OCR of cultured PC12 cells during oxidative phosphorylation, in regulating MMP and in improving mitochondria dynamics under Aβ-induced oxidative stress.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2006.11a
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• pp.93-96
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• 2006

PEMFC(proton exchange membrane fuel cell) is most applicable to automobile in various types of fuel cell. However, to improve system dynamics and logn term Performance fuel cell is supported by auxiliary power unit forming hybrid system. The operating strategy of hybrid system influences on efficiency and stability. In this paper the proper strategies are compared each other considering power distribution and stable system operation. The chosen strategy is simulated by MATLAB simulink to forecast realization of fuel cell hybrid vehicle

• 한국연소학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2012.11a
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• pp.147-148
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• 2012

The syngas produced from coal gasification is cooled down for gas cleaning by a syngas cooler that produces steam. Due to the presence of fly slag in the syngas, erosion, slagging and corrosion especially in the upper part of the syngas cooler may cause major operational problems. This study investigates the flow, heat transfer and particle behaviors in the syngas cooler of a 300MWe IGCC plant by using computational fluid dynamics. For various operational loads and geometry, the gas and particle flows directly impinged on the wall opposite to the syngas inlet, which may lead to erosion of the membrane wall. In the evaporate channels inside the syngas cololr, the particle flows were concentrated more on the outer channel where slagging becomes more serious. The heat transfer to the wall was mainly by convection which was larger on the side wall below the inlet level.

• 제어로봇시스템학회:학술대회논문집
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• 1991.10a
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• pp.76-80
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• 1991

This paper presents a merit of feedforward Dyamic Matrix Control(DMC) for electrolyzer process. The electrolyzer consists of anode part and cathode part that are separated by ion membrane. As the electolyzer process consumes a large amount of electricity, electric power change is inevitable in order to take advantage of the cheaper electricity during night. But the electric power change makes the electrolyzer control difficult because the electric power change affect the dynamics of the process. Feedforward DMC treats the electric power change as a load disturbance and gives the weighting value to the disturbance prediction part in the DMC algorithm. Feedforward DC shows better regulation performance than PID control and feedforward-feedback control for electrolyzer process.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.423-435
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• 2017

Settling Basins are one of the most important and popular methods for removal of suspended sediments irrigation and drainage networks or power canals taking off from an alluvial river and wastewater treatment plant. Improving the performance and so increasing sediment removal efficiency of settling basins by an alternative method is necessary. In the present work, the effect of baffle and its angle of attack with the flow (${\theta}$) on the sediment removal efficiency is investigated by conducting a series of experiments on a straight canal with 8 m length, 0.3 m width and 0.5 m height and 3 m length of basin equipped with an adjustable glass baffle. A numerical analysis has been carried out using ANSYS Fluent 3D software (a general purpose computational fluid dynamics simulation tool) for three Froude numbers from the experiments. The numerical and experimental results were found to match reasonably well.