• ALGAE
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.131-147
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• 2013

Major progress has been made in the past decade towards understanding of the biosynthesis of red carotenoid astaxanthin and its roles in stress response while exploiting microalgae-based astaxanthin as a potent antioxidant for human health and as a coloring agent for aquaculture applications. In this review, astaxanthin-producing green microalgae are briefly summarized with Haematococcus pluvialis and Chlorella zofingiensis recognized to be the most popular astaxanthin-producers. Two distinct pathways for astaxanthin synthesis along with associated cellular, physiological, and biochemical changes are elucidated using H. pluvialis and C. zofingiensis as the model systems. Interactions between astaxanthin biosynthesis and photosynthesis, fatty acid biosynthesis and enzymatic defense systems are described in the context of multiple lines of defense mechanisms working in concert against photooxidative stress. Major pros and cons of mass cultivation of H. pluvialis and C. zofingiensis in phototrophic, heterotrophic, and mixotrophic culture modes are analyzed. Recent progress in genetic engineering of plants and microalgae for astaxanthin production is presented. Future advancement in microalgal astaxanthin research will depend largely on genome sequencing of H. pluvialis and C. zofingiensis and genetic toolbox development. Continuous effort along the heterotrophic-phototrophic culture mode could lead to major expansion of the microalgal astaxanthin industry.

• Current Optics and Photonics
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.54-65
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• 2019

To develop a biomarker predicting tumor treatment efficacy is helpful to reduce time, medical expenditure, and efforts in oncology therapy. In clinics, microvessel density using immunohistochemistry has been proposed as an indicator that correlates with both tumor size and metastasis of cancer. In the preclinical study, we hypothesized that vascular morphometrics using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) could be potential indicators to estimate the treatment efficacy of breast cancer. To verify this hypothesis, a 13762-MAT-B-III rat breast tumor was grown in a dorsal skinfold window chamber which was applied to a nude mouse, and the change in vascular morphology was longitudinally monitored during tumor growth and metronomic cyclophosphamide treatment. Based on the daily OCTA maximum intensity projection map, multiple vessel parameters (vessel skeleton density, vessel diameter index, fractal dimension, and lacunarity) were compared with the tumor size in no tumor, treated tumor, and untreated tumor cases. Although each case has only one animal, we found that the vessel skeleton density (VSD), vessel diameter index and fractal dimension (FD) tended to be positively correlated with tumor size while lacunarity showed a partially negative correlation. Moreover, we observed that the changes in the VSD and FD are prior to the morphological change of the tumor. This feasibility study would be helpful in evaluating the tumor vascular response to treatment in preclinical settings.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.215-221
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• 2019

Inflammation is the crucial biological process of immune system which acts as body's defense and protective response against the injuries or infection. However, the systemic inflammation devotes the adverse effects such as multiple inflammation associated diseases. One of the best ways to treat this entity is by blocking the tumor necrosis factor alpha ($TNF-{\alpha}$) and TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) to avoid the proinflammation cytokines production. Thus, this study aims to evaluate the potency of Sambucus bioactive compounds as anti-inflammation through in silico approach. In order to assess that, molecular docking was performed to evaluate the interaction properties between the $TNF-{\alpha}$ or TRAIL with the ligands. The 2D structure of ligands were retrieved online via PubChem and the 3D protein modeling was done by using SWISS Model. The prediction results of the study showed that caffeic acid (-6.4 kcal/mol) and homovanillic acid (-6.6 kcal/mol) have the greatest binding affinity against the $TNF-{\alpha}$ and TRAIL respectively. This evidence suggests that caffeic acid and homovanillic acid may potent as anti-inflammatory agent against the inflammation associated diseases. Finally, this study needs further examination and evaluation to validate the potency of Sambucus bioactive compounds.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.617-630
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• 2019

Currently most of the vision-based structural identification research focus either on structural input (vehicle location) estimation or on structural output (structural displacement and strain responses) estimation. The structural condition assessment at global level just with the vision-based structural output cannot give a normalized response irrespective of the type and/or load configurations of the vehicles. Combining the vision-based structural input and the structural output from non-contact sensors overcomes the disadvantage given above, while reducing cost, time, labor force including cable wiring work. In conventional traffic monitoring, sometimes traffic closure is essential for bridge structures, which may cause other severe problems such as traffic jams and accidents. In this study, a completely non-contact structural identification system is proposed, and the system mainly targets the identification of bridge unit influence line (UIL) under operational traffic. Both the structural input (vehicle location information) and output (displacement responses) are obtained by only using cameras and computer vision techniques. Multiple cameras are synchronized by audio signal pattern recognition. The proposed system is verified with a laboratory experiment on a scaled bridge model under a small moving truck load and a field application on a footbridge on campus under a moving golf cart load. The UILs are successfully identified in both bridge cases. The pedestrian loads are also estimated with the extracted UIL and the predicted weights of pedestrians are observed to be in acceptable ranges.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.32 no.12
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• pp.1573-1582
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• 2022

In this study, we investigated the optimal conditions for 3D structure printing of alternative fats that have the textural properties of lard using beeswax (BW)-based oleogel by a statistical analysis. Products printed with over 15% BW oleogel at 50% and 75% infill level (IL) showed high printing accuracy with the lowest dimensional printing deviation for the designed model. The hardness, cohesion, and adhesion of printed samples were influenced by BW concentration and infill level. For multi-response optimization, fixed target values (hardness, adhesiveness, and cohesiveness) were applied with lard printed at 75% IL. The preparation parameters obtained as a result of multiple reaction prediction were 58.9% IL and 16.0% BW, and printing with this oleogel achieved fixed target values similar to those of lard. In conclusion, our study shows that 3D printing based on the BW oleogel system produces complex internal structures that allow adjustment of the textural properties of the printed samples, and BW oleogels could potentially serve as an excellent replacement for fat.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.475-483
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• 2023

In this paper, a new energy-efficient semi-active hybrid bulk damper is developed that is cost-effective for use in structural applications. In this work, the possibility of active and semi-active component configurations combined with suitable control algorithms, especially vibration control methods, is explored. The equations of motion for a container bridge equipped with an MDOF Mass Tuned Damper (M-TMD) system are established, and the combination of excitation, adhesion, and control effects are performed by a proprietary package and commercial custom submodel software. Systematic methods for the synthesis of structural components and active systems have been used in many applications because of the main interest in designing efficient devices and high-performance structural systems. A rational strategy can be established by properly controlling the master injection frequency parameter. Simulation results show that the multiscale model approach is achieved and meets accuracy with high computational efficiency. The M-TMD system can significantly improve the overall response of constrained structures by modestly reducing the critical stress amplitude of the frame. This design can be believed to build affordable, safe, environmentally friendly, resilient, sustainable infrastructure and transportation.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.341-380
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• 2023

This study evaluates the seismic fragilities in fill slopes in South Korea through parametric finite element analyses that have been barely investigated thus far. We consider three slope geometries for a slope of height 10 m and three slope angles, and two soil types, namely frictional and frictionless, associated with two soil states, loose and dense for frictional soils and soft and stiff for frictionless soils. The input ground motions accounting for four site conditions in South Korea are obtained from one-dimensional site response analyses. By comparing the numerical modeling of slopes using PLAXIS^2D against the previous studies, we compiled suites of the maximum permanent slope displacement (D_max) against two ground motion parameters, namely, peak ground acceleration (PGA) and Arias Intensity (I_A). A probabilistic seismic demand model is adopted to compute the probabilities of exceeding three limit states (minor, moderate, and extensive). We propose multiple seismic fragility curves as functions of a single ground motion parameter and numerous seismic fragility surfaces as functions of two ground motion parameters. The results show that soil type, slope angle, and input ground motion influence these probabilities, and are expected to help regional authorities and engineers assess the seismic fragility of fill slopes in the road systems in South Korea.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.56 no.4
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• pp.568-576
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• 2018

In order to investigate the adsorption characteristics of the antibiotics trimethoprim (TMP) by activated carbon (WCAC) prepared from waste citrus peel, the effects of operating parameters on the TMP adsorption were investigated by using a response surface methodology (RSM). Batch experiments were carried out according to a four-factor Box-Behnken experimental design with four input parameters : concentration ($X_1$: 50-150 mg/L), pH ($X_2$: 4-10), temperature ($X_3$: 293-323 K), adsorbent dose ($X_4$: 0.05-0.15 g). The experimental data were fitted to a second-order polynomial equation by the multiple regression analysis and examined using statistical methods. The significance of the independent variables and their interactions was assessed by ANOVA and t-test statistical techniques. Statistical results showed that concentration of TMP was the most effective parameter in comparison with others. The adsorption process can be well described by the pseudo-second order kinetic model. The experimental data of isotherm followed the Langmuir isotherm model. The maximum adsorption amount of TMP by WCAC calculated from the Langmuir isotherm model was 144.9 mg/g at 293 K.

• The Transactions of the Korea Information Processing Society
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• v.5 no.10
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• pp.2627-2640
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• 1998

In this paper, we analyze the performance of the virtual cell system[1] for the transmission of IP datagrams in mobile computer communications. A virtual cell consistsof a group of physical cells shose base stationsl are implemented b recote bridges and interconnected via high speed datagram packet switched networks. Host mobility is supported at the data link layer using the distributed hierachical location information of mobile hosts. Given mobility and communication ptems among physical cells, the problem of deploying virtual cells is equivalent to the optimization cost for the entire system where interclster communication is more expesive than intracluster communication[2]. Once an iptimal partitionof disjoint clusters is obtained, we deploy the virtual cell system according to the topology of the optimal partition such that each virtual cell correspods to a cluser. To analyze the performance of the virtual cell system, we adopt a BCMP open multipel class queueing network model. In addition to mobility and communication patterns, among physical cells, the topology of the virtual cell system is used to determine service transition probabilities of the queueing network model. With various system parameters, we conduct interesting sensitivity analyses to determine network design tradeoffs. The first application of the proposed model is to determine an adequate network bandwidth for base station networking such that the networks would not become an bottleneck. We also evaluate the network vlilization and system response time due to various types of messages. For instance, when the mobile hosts begin moving fast, the migration rate will be increased. This results of the performance analysis provide a good evidence in demonsratc the sysem effciency under different assumptions of mobility and communication patterns.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.29 no.8
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• pp.37-51
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• 2013

An energy pile encases heat exchange pipes to exchange thermal energy with the surrounding ground formation by circulating working fluid through the pipes. An energy pile has many advantages in terms of economic feasibility and constructability over conventional Ground Heat Exchangers (GHEXs). In this paper, a coil-type PHC energy pile was constructed in a test bed and its thermal performance was experimentally and numerically evaluated to make a preliminary design. An in-situ thermal response test (TRT) was performed on the coil-type PHC energy pile and its results were compared with the solid cylinder source model presented by Man et al. (2010). In addition, a CFD numerical analysis using FLUNET was carried out to back-analyze the thermal conductivity of the ground formation from the Ttype PHC energy RT result. To study effects of a coil pitch of the coil-type heat exchange pipe, a thermal interference between the heat exchange pipes in PHC energy piles was parametrically studied by performing the CFD numerical analysis, then the effect of the coil pitch on thermal performance and efficiency of heat exchange were evaluated. Finally, an equivalent heat exchange efficiency factor for the coil-type PHC energy pile in comparison with a common multiple U-type PHC energy pile was obtained to facilitate a preliminary design method for the coil-type PHC energy pile by adopting the PILESIM2 program.