• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.62 no.3
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• pp.265-273
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• 2019

This study aimed to evaluate the anti-atherosclerotic and anti-hypertensive effects of six different plant extracts using a N(G)-nitro-L-arginine-methyl ester (L-NAME)-induced rat model of hypertension. All extracts were administered orally for six weeks. At the end of the study period blood pressure, blood flow, aortic histopathology, and hepatic endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) expression were measured. Subsequently, we also measured the levels of intracellular reactive oxygen species, nitric oxide (NO), and anti-inflammatory cytokines in vitro. Based on these screening results, we selected extracts of Cinnamomum cassia (C. cassia) and Salvia miltiorrhiza (S. miltiorrhiza) for further evaluation. C. cassia and S. miltiorrhiza extracts ameliorated hypertension and atherosclerosis in L-NAME-treated rats in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, a mixture of C. cassia and S. miltiorrhiza had an additive effect to reduce blood pressure, increase blood flow, and normalize aortic tissue. This mixture demonstrated anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory activities in vitro. In conclusion, although further analysis of the therapeutic mechanism is required, the anti-hypertensive and anti-atherosclerotic effects of this mixture are likely mediated by increased eNOS expression, and its anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory activities.

• 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.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.141-147
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• 2019

This research focuses on developing the Smart material with Grease adopted as a base oil to overcome a particle deposition caused by the MR fluid consisting of a silicon, which maximizing the characteristics and advantage of the MR fluid. By adopting the SMG fluid to a shear damper, this paper aimed to evaluate the control performance of it according to the variation of intensity of electric current(0 A, 0.5 A, 1.0 A, 1.5 A, 2.0 A, 2.5 A) and frequency(0.5 Hz, 1 Hz, 2 Hz). Subsequently, the usability of the SMG damper was analyzed by comparing the dynamic model of it to that of the other types of dampers(Power(Involution) Model, Bingham Model). As a result, DR, the performance indicator of semi-active damper, shows approximately 5 in a condition of 2 Hz. Also while confirming the excellent performance like the Power and the Bingham model, it raises the possibility to exploit it as the semi-active damper.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.90-101
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• 2019

Biodiversity refers to the total number and variation among species of flora and fauna of an area. Due to tremendous biotic especially anthropogenic pressure these natural resources are being vanishing. In present study genetic diversity among accessions of Thamnocalamus spathiflorus was evaluated. A total of 51 vegetative characters and 42 primers (10-mer) were screened. Out of 42 screened primers, 28 polymorphic primers were selected for further analysis. A total of 263 bands were recorded as polymorphic whereas 48 bands were monomorphic. The resolving power (Rp) of 28 Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) primers ranged from 4.6 (OPE08) to 17.6 (OPA11). The polymorphic information content (PIC) value ranged from 0.21 (OPAH09) to 0.44 (OPG02). The result revealed high degree of genetic relatedness (56 to 80%). Cluster analysis revealed two major clusters both for morphology as well as RAPD. Unlike morphological characterization, the accession (D5) from Bahli, Rampur, Shimla (H.P.) was clustered separately from the others in RAPD cluster analysis. Accessions with closed locality grouped together through RAPD marker system however analogy was recorded for morphological traits. The study conducted reflects the utility of RAPD technique for species identification and phylogenetic studies in bamboo for conducting bamboo breeding program.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.50 no.8
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• pp.1306-1313
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• 2018

The randomness and incipient nature of certain faults in reactor systems warrant a robust and dynamic detection mechanism. Existing models and methods for fault diagnosis using different mathematical/statistical inferences lack incipient and novel faults detection capability. To this end, we propose a fault diagnosis method that utilizes the flexibility of data-driven Support Vector Machine (SVM) for component-level fault diagnosis. The technique integrates separately-built, separately-trained, specialized SVM modules capable of component-level fault diagnosis into a coherent intelligent system, with each SVM module monitoring sub-units of the reactor coolant system. To evaluate the model, marginal faults selected from the failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA) are simulated in the steam generator and pressure boundary of the Chinese CNP300 PWR (Qinshan I NPP) reactor coolant system, using a best-estimate thermal-hydraulic code, RELAP5/SCDAP Mod4.0. Multiclass SVM model is trained with component level parameters that represent the steady state and selected faults in the components. For optimization purposes, we considered and compared the performances of different multiclass models in MATLAB, using different coding matrices, as well as different kernel functions on the representative data derived from the simulation of Qinshan I NPP. An optimum predictive model - the Error Correcting Output Code (ECOC) with TenaryComplete coding matrix - was obtained from experiments, and utilized to diagnose the incipient faults. Some of the important diagnostic results and heuristic model evaluation methods are presented in this paper.

• Journal of the Architectural Institute of Korea Structure & Construction
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• v.35 no.8
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• pp.177-184
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• 2019

Recently, electric power usages and peak loads from buildings are increasing due to higher outdoor air temperatures and/or abnormal climate during the summer period. As one of the eco-friendly measures, a renewable energy system has been received much attention. Particularly, interest on a photovoltaic (PV) system using solar energy has been rapidly increasing in a building sector due to its broad applicability. In using the PV system, one of important factors is the PV efficiency. The normal PV efficiency is determined based on the STC(Standard Test Condition) and the NOCT(Nominal Operating Cell Temperature) performance test. However, the actual PV efficiency is affected by the temperature change at the module surface. Especially, higher module temperatures generally reduce the PV efficiency, and it leads to less power generation from the PV system. Therefore, the analysis of the relation between the module temperature and PV efficiency is required to evaluate the PV performance during the summer period. This study investigates existing algorithms for calculating module surface temperatures and analyzes resultant errors with the algorithms by comparing the measured module temperatures.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Process Engineers
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• v.20 no.7
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• pp.89-96
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• 2021

In this study, a mini hydro cyclone was designed and manufactured to achieve an inlet flow rate of 2 L/min in the experiment, which was conducted using alumina powder with a specific gravity of 3.97. This hydro cyclone was studied for using in steam and water analysis system (SWAS) of thermal power plant and was manufactured by 3D printing. Numerical analysis was performed with Solidworks Flow Simulation, utilizing the reynolds stress method (RSM) of fluid multiphase flow analysis models. Experimental and numerical analysis were performed under the three conditions of inlet velocity 2.0, 4.0, and 6.0 m/s. The separation efficiency was over 80% at all inlet velocity conditions. At the inlet velocity 4m/s, the separation efficiency was the best, and it was confirmed that the efficiency was more than 90%.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.7
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• pp.2475-2490
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• 2022

The Accident Tolerant Fuel (ATF) is a new concept of fuel, which can not only withstand the consequences of the accident for a longer time, but also maintain or improve the performance under operating conditions. ISAA is a self-developed severe accident analysis code, which uses modular structures to simulate the development processes of severe accidents in nuclear plants. The basic version of ISAA is developed based on UO₂-Zr fuel. To study the potential safety gain of ATF cladding, an improved version of ISAA, referred to as ISAA-ATF, is introduced to analyze the station blackout accident of PWR using ATF cladding. The results show that ATF cladding enable the core to maintain a longer time compared to zirconium alloy cladding, thereby enhancing the accident mitigation capability. Meanwhile, the generation of hydrogen is significantly reduced and delayed, which proves that ATF can improve the safety characteristics of the nuclear reactor.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.49-55
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• 2022

This study is to develop a mobile type environmental radiation measurement system for emergency response or environmental radiation monitoring of local governments near nuclear facilities. A mobile radiation measurement system can monitor radiation by field beyond the spatial constraints of a fixed environmental radiation monitor. If installed in local government infrastructure such as public transportation, environmental radiation can be monitored without additional manpower and measurement work. In addition, it is designed to enable monitoring and measurement of radiation from low to high doses as well as the environment in preparation for radioactive disasters such as nuclear power plant accidents. It is expected that this system will be utilized not only in normal times but also in the event of a radiation accident to improve the disaster prevention capabilities of local governments.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.7
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• pp.2736-2747
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• 2022

The operations in the design lifecycle of a nuclear power plant targeted to be decommissioned lead to neutron activation. Operations in the decommissioning process include cutting, decontamination, disposal, and processing. Among these, cutting is done close to the target material, and thus workers are exposed to radiation. As there are only a few studies on pressurizers, there arises the need for further research to assess the radiation exposure dose. This study obtained the specifications of the AP1000 pressurizer of Westinghouse and the distribution of radionuclide inventory of a pressurizer in a pressurised water reactor for evaluation based on literature studies. A cutting scenario was created to develop an optimal method so that the cut pieces fill a radioactive solid waste drum with dimensions 0.571 m × 0.834 m. The estimated exposure dose, estimated using the tool VISIPLAN SW, in terms of the decontamination factor (DF) ranged from DF-0 to DF-100, indicating that DF-90 and DF-100 meet the ICRP recommendation on exposure dose 0.0057 mSv/h. At the end of the study, although flame cutting was considered the most efficient method in terms of cutting speed, laser cutting was the most reasonable one in terms of the financial aspects and secondary waste.