• Title/Summary/Keyword: Nuclear engineering

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Ethanol extract separated from Sargassum horneri (Turner) abate LPS-induced inflammation in RAW 264.7 macrophages

  • Sanjeewa, K.K. Asanka;Jayawardena, Thilina U.;Kim, Hyun-Soo;Kim, Seo-Young;Ahn, Ginnae;Kim, Hak-Ju;Fu, Xiaoting;Jee, Youngheun;Jeon, You-Jin
    • Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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    • v.22 no.2
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    • pp.6.1-6.10
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    • 2019
  • Background: This study is aimed at identifying the anti-inflammatory properties of 70% ethanol extract produced from an edible brown seaweed Sargassum horneri (SJB-SHE) with industrial-scale production by Seojin Biotech Co. Ltd. S. horneri is a rich source of nutrient and abundantly growing along the shores of Jeju, South Korea. Methods: Here, we investigated the effect of SJB-SHE on LPS-activated RAW 264.7 macrophages. The cytotoxicity and NO production of SJB-SHE were evaluated using MTT and Griess assays, respectively. Additionally, protein expression and gene expression levels were quantified using ELISA, Western blots, and RT-qPCR. Results: Our results indicated that pre-treatment of RAW 264.7 macrophages with SJB-SHE significantly inhibited LPS-induced NO and $PGE_2$ production. SJB-SHE downregulated the proteins and genes expression of LPS-induced iNOS and COX2. Additionally, SJB-SHE downregulated LPS-induced production of pro-inflammatory cytokines (tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$, interleukin (IL)-6, and IL-$1{\beta}$). Furthermore, SJB-SHE inhibited nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-${\kappa}B$) activation and translocation to the nucleus. SJB-SHE also suppressed the phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (ERK1/2 and JNK). Conclusions: Collectively, our results demonstrated that SJB-SHE has a potential anti-inflammatory property to use as a functional food ingredient in the future.

Determination of the optimal diabetes duration for bone regeneration experiments in an alloxan-induced diabetic rabbit calvarial defect model

  • Jeong, Sang-Hun;Jung, Bo Hyun;Yoo, Ki-Yeon;Um, Heung-Sik;Chang, Beom-Seok;Lee, Jae-Kwan;Choi, Won-Youl
    • Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
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    • v.48 no.6
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    • pp.383-394
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    • 2018
  • Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the optimal diabetes duration for bone regeneration experiments in an alloxan monohydrate (ALX)-induced diabetic rabbit calvarial defect model by evaluating the association between diabetes duration and bone healing capacity. Methods: Twenty-four New Zealand white rabbits were used. Twenty-two rabbits were injected with 100 mg/kg of ALX to induce experimental diabetes. These rabbits were divided into 4 groups, including a control group and groups with diabetes durations of 1 week (group 1), 2 weeks (group 2), and 4 weeks (group 3). Calvarial defects were created at 1, 2, and 4 weeks after ALX injection and in the control rabbits. Cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) scanning was performed on the day of surgery and at 2 and 4 weeks after surgery. The rabbits were sacrificed 4 weeks after surgery, followed by histological and immunofluorescence analysis. Results: The diabetic state of all diabetic rabbits was well-maintained throughout the experiment. Reconstructed 3-dimensional CBCT imaging showed more rapid and prominent bone regeneration in the control group than in the experimental groups. Histological staining showed notable bone regeneration in the control group, in contrast to scarce bone formation in the experimental groups. The appearance and immunoreactivity of receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappa B and osteoprotegerin did not show notable differences among the groups. Conclusion: ALX administration at 100 mg/kg successfully induced experimental diabetes in rabbits. The effect of diabetes on bone healing was evident when the interval between diabetes induction and the intervention was ${\geq}1$ week.

Impact of Disaster Awareness on Government Trust (재난에 대한 인식이 정부신뢰에 미치는 영향)

  • Lee, Youngjin
    • Journal of Korean Society of Disaster and Security
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    • v.13 no.4
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    • pp.47-63
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    • 2020
  • This study aimed to investigate the effects of social disaster risk perception levels of Koreans on government trust. To this end, differences in disaster risk perception levels based on social disaster types and the effects of social disaster risk perception levels on government trust were analyzed. In the preliminary survey, three types of social disasters with high risk levels (bird flu, fine dust, and nuclear power plants) were selected. The survey was conducted on 1,109 Korean men and women aged 20 years and older. First, the analysis results demonstrated that social disaster perception levels differed based on social disaster types. Second, the results showed that, in terms of social disasters, proactivity, personal knowledge, familiarity, severity, fear, and risk associated with chances of recovery did not affect government trust. Third, the perception of delayed social disaster risk had a positive effect on government trust. Fourth, scientific knowledge about social disasters, control capabilities, lethality, and risk perception at the onset time had a negative effect on government trust. In conclusion, the implications and limitations of this study were discussed.

A Study on Water-Proof Characteristics of a Stainless Steel Mesh by Electrochemical Etching Process (전기화학 에칭 공정을 이용한 스테인리스 스틸 메쉬의 방수 특성 연구)

  • Lee, Chan;Kim, Ji Min;Kim, Hyungmo
    • Tribology and Lubricants
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    • v.37 no.5
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    • pp.189-194
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    • 2021
  • A straightforward, yet effective surface modification method of stainless steel mesh and its interesting anti-wetting characteristics are reported in this study. The stainless steel mesh is electrochemically etched, and the specimen has both micro and nano-scale structures on its surface. This process transforms the two types of mesh specimens known as the regular and dense specimens into hydrophobic specimens without applying any hydrophobic chemical coating process. The fundamental wettability of the modified mesh is analyzed through a dedicatedly designed experiment to investigate the waterproof characteristics, for instance, the penetration threshold. The waterproof characteristics are evaluated in a manner that the modified mesh resists as high as approximately 2.7 times the pressure compared with the bare mesh, i.e., the non-modified mesh. The results show that the penetration threshold depends primarily on the advancing contact angles, and the penetration stop behaviors are affected by the contact angle hysteresis on the surfaces. The findings further confirm that the inexpensive waterproof meshes created using the proposed straightforward electrochemical etching process are effective and can be adapted along with appropriate designs for various practical applications, such as underwater devices, passive valves, and transducers. In general, , additional chemical coatings are applied using hydrophobic materials on the surfaces for the applications that require water-repelling capabilities. Although these chemical coatings can often cause aging, the process proposed in this study is not only cost-effective, but also durable implying that it does not lose its waterproof properties over time.

The Development of Electromagnetic pulse Protection Capability in the Main System of a Tank Battalion (전차대대 주요체계의 EMP 방호능력 발전방안에 관한 연구)

  • Choi, Hokab;Han, Jaeduk;Son, Sangwoo;Kim, Sungkon
    • KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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    • v.40 no.6
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    • pp.623-631
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    • 2020
  • An electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack on a nuclear weapon or the airlift of an electronic bomb affects weapons systems, information devices, wired and wireless communication equipment, and power supply equipment. It can lead to confusion on the battlefield. The current standards for EMP protection when applied to the military are centered on fixed and mobile facilities and equipment. It is, however, important to study EMP protection for a single tactical unit centered on the weapon system. In this study, EMP protection standards were established for command and control, maneuvering and firepower systems vulnerable to EMPs, focusing on battle tanks with mobility, firepower, and shock force. Also, specific development plans for EMP protection capabilities are proposed, including the shielding and blocking of EMPs. Through the study, the Korean government intends to ensure a unit's command and control under an EMP attack as well as preserve the viability of a unit's personnel and guarantee the conditions for the execution of a mission.

In Vitro Experiment to Evaluate 137Cs Dissolution in the Digestion Process of Mushrooms

  • Nishiono, Kanoko;Yamanishi, Hirokuni
    • Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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    • v.45 no.4
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    • pp.154-162
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    • 2020
  • Background: Several studies have reported that wild mushrooms contain high amounts of radioactive cesium (137Cs). After the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident, a significantly high concentration of 137Cs has been detected in wild mushrooms, and their consumption may be the cause of the chronic internal exposure of local consumers to radioactivity. Therefore, an accurate evaluation of the internal radioactivity resulting from mushroom ingestion is needed. Materials and Methods: The 137Cs elution rate through the cooking and digestion stages was evaluated using in vitro experiments. The edible mushroom Pleurotus djamor was taken as a sample for the experiments. The mushrooms were cultivated onto solid media containing 137Cs. We evaluated the internal dose based on the actual conditions using the elution rate data. For various cooking methods, the results were compared with those of other wild edible mushrooms. Results and Discussion: From the elution experiment through cooking, we proved that 25%-55% of the 137Cs in the mushrooms was released during soaking, boiling, or frying. The results of a simulated digestion experiment after cooking revealed that almost all the 137Cs in the ingested mushrooms eluted in the digestive juice, regardless of the cooking method. The committed effective dose was reduced by 20%-75% when considering the dissolution through the cooking process. Conclusion: We found that cooking lowers 137Cs concentration in mushrooms, therefore reducing the amount of radioactivity intake. Besides, since there were differences between mushroom types, we demonstrated that the internal exposure dose should be evaluated in detail considering the release of 137Cs during the cooking stages.

Calculation of the NMR Cheimical Shift for a 4d$^1$ System in a Strong Crystal Field Environment of Trigonal Symmetry with a Threefold Axis of Quantization

  • Ahn, Sang-Woon;Oh, Se-Woung;Ro, Seung-Woo
    • Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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    • v.7 no.3
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    • pp.170-178
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    • 1986
  • The NMR chemical shift arising from 4d electron angular momentum and 4d electron angular momentum and 4d electron spin dipolar-nuclear spin angular momentum interactions for a $4d^1$ system in a strong crystal field environment of trigonal symmetry, when the threefold axis is chosen to be the axis of quantization axis, has been examined. A general expression using the nonmultipole expansion method (exact method) is derived for the NMR chemical shift. From this expression all the multipolar terms are determined. We observe that along the (100), (010), (110), and (111) axes the NMR chemical shifts are positive while along the (001) axis, it is negative. We observe that the dipolar term (1/R3) is the dominant contribution to the NMR chemical shift except for along the (111) axis. A comparison of the multipolar terms with the exact values shows also that the multipolar results are exactly in agreement with the exact values around $R{\geqslant}0.2$ nm. The temperature dependence analysis on the NMR chemical shifts may imply that along the (111) axis the contribution to the NMR chemical shift is dominantly pseudo contact interaction. Separation of the contributions of the Fermi and the pseudo contact interactions would correctly imply that the dipolar interaction is the dominant contribution to the NMR chemical shifts along the (100), (010), (001), and (110) axes, but along the (111) axis the Fermi contact interaction is incorrectly the dominant contribution to the NMR chemical shift.

High-Performance Compton SPECT Using Both Photoelectric and Compton Scattering Events

  • Lee, Taewoong;Kim, Younghak;Lee, Wonho
    • Journal of the Korean Physical Society
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    • v.73 no.9
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    • pp.1393-1398
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    • 2018
  • In conventional single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), only the photoelectric events in the detectors are used for image reconstruction. However, if the $^{131}I$ isotope, which emits high-energy radiations (364, 637, and 723 keV), is used in nuclear medicine, both photoelectric and Compton scattering events can be used for image reconstruction. The purpose of our work is to perform simulations for Compton SPECT by using the Geant4 application for tomographic emission (GATE). The performance of Compton SPECT is evaluated and compared with that of conventional SPECT. The Compton SPECT unit has an area of $12cm{\times}12cm$ with four gantry heads. Each head is composed of a 2-cm tungsten collimator and a $40{\times}40$ array of CdZnTe (CZT) crystals with a $3{\times}3mm^2$ area and a 6-mm thickness. Compton SPECT can use not only the photoelectric effect but also the Compton scattering effect for image reconstruction. The correct sequential order of the interactions used for image reconstruction is determined using the angular resolution measurement (ARM) method and the energies deposited in each detector. In all the results of simulations using spherical volume sources of various diameters, the reconstructed images of Compton SPECT show higher signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) without degradation of the image resolution when compared to those of conventional SPECT because the effective count for image reconstruction is higher. For a Derenzo-like phantom, the reconstructed images for different modalities are compared by visual inspection and by using their projected histograms in the X-direction of the reconstructed images.

Sparse and low-rank feature selection for multi-label learning

  • Lim, Hyunki
    • Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
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    • v.26 no.7
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    • pp.1-7
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    • 2021
  • In this paper, we propose a feature selection technique for multi-label classification. Many existing feature selection techniques have selected features by calculating the relation between features and labels such as a mutual information scale. However, since the mutual information measure requires a joint probability, it is difficult to calculate the joint probability from an actual premise feature set. Therefore, it has the disadvantage that only a few features can be calculated and only local optimization is possible. Away from this regional optimization problem, we propose a feature selection technique that constructs a low-rank space in the entire given feature space and selects features with sparsity. To this end, we designed a regression-based objective function using Nuclear norm, and proposed an algorithm of gradient descent method to solve the optimization problem of this objective function. Based on the results of multi-label classification experiments on four data and three multi-label classification performance, the proposed methodology showed better performance than the existing feature selection technique. In addition, it was showed by experimental results that the performance change is insensitive even to the parameter value change of the proposed objective function.

Directions for the Development of Digital Twins Applying the Grounded Theory Methods (근거이론을 활용한 디지털 트윈 발전 방향성 제시)

  • Kang, Minshik
    • Journal of Industrial Convergence
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    • v.19 no.1
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    • pp.65-70
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    • 2021
  • This study aims to propose specific directions for developing digital twin contents. This aim is achieved by thorough literature review and applying the grounded theory. Based on customers' need analysis, this study suggests the priorities of contents development of digital twins. As a result, complex workflows and dangerous training contents are adequate to be developed. Moreover, large-scale projects such as nuclear powerplants that are hard to build the mock-ups were considered to be effective. This study provides significant information for not only software developers but also clients who desire to reduce training fees and improve the complex workflows. Since these client companies operate based upon multiple complex workflows, this study encourages stakeholders to make effective decisions. This research needs further analysis of current digital twin technology- possibilities and limitations.