• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.19 no.11
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• pp.1475-1481
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• 2009

Anthrax is a zoonotic disease caused by Bacillus anthracis, and well recognized as a potential agent for bioterrorism. B. anthracis can be identified by detecting the virulence factors genes located on two plasmids, pXO1 and pXO2. The aim of the present study was to determine the presence of virulence genes in 27 isolates of B. anthracis isolated from clinical and environmental samples. For this purpose, multiplex PCR and DNA probes were designed to detect protective antigen (pag), edema factor (cya), lethal factor (lef), and capsule (cap) genes. Our results indicated that all the isolates contained all the above virulence genes, suggesting that the isolates were virulent. To the best our knowledge, this is the first study about the determination of virulence marker genes in clinical and environmental isolates of B. anthracis using multiplex PCR and DNA probes in India. We suggest that the above methods can be useful in specific identification of virulent B. anthracis in clinical and environmental samples.

• Proceedings of the KSR Conference
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• 2002.10b
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• pp.1080-1085
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• 2002

A dynamic characteristics of existing steel plate girder railway bridges without ballast were investigated from the finite element analysis. Span lengths, types of vehicle and running speeds are selected as parameters for analyses. For more exact analysis, it was adopted that 3-dimensional bridge models and wheel loads were produced by averaging field measured wheel loads of running vehicles at various speeds. Dynamic vertical deflections, dynamic amplification factors and vertical accelerations of bridges having 9m, 12m and 18m span length were investigated and compared with the limit values specified in Korean railway bridge specification.

• Advances in pediatric surgery
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.75-82
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• 2008

Neuroblastoma arises from the primitive neural crest cells, and is a common malignancy in childhood. The clinical features are characterized by biological heterogeneity. Neuronal degeneration and differentiation occur in some patients. However treatment in the high risk group accounting for approximately half, has not been satisfactory despite a multimodal approach. Therefore, effective treatment is determined by the risk group of prognostic factors, such as age at diagnosis, stage of disease, pathological finding and N-myc amplification. Neuroblastoma can be diagnosed prenatally, which suggests its origin during the normal embryogenesis. Recent knowledge of molecular biology, such as Trk genes, and the concept of cancer stem cells have given us some improved understanding on this disease. Currently, targeted therapies based on the molecular biology of neuroblastoma are under investigation and increasing survival rate and decreasing late complications could be appreciated.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.707-725
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• 2004

An optimal design method with nonlinear elastic analysis is presented. The proposed nonlinear elastic method overcomes the drawback of the conventional LRFD method that accounts for nonlinear effect by using the moment amplification factors of $B_1$ and $B_2$. The genetic algorithm used is a procedure based on Darwinian notions of survival of the fittest, where selection, crossover, and mutation operators are employed to look for high performance ones among sections in the database. They are satisfied with the constraint functions and give the lightest weight to the structure. The objective function taken is the total weight of the steel structure and the constraint functions are strength, serviceability, and ductility requirement. Case studies of a planar portal frame, a space two-story frame, and a three-dimensional steel arch bridge are presented.

• Journal of Korean Society of Coastal and Ocean Engineers
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.72-80
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• 1996

Two analytical solutions for oscillations in a rectangular harbour are presented. In this paper, the correct solution is obtained by use of matched asymptotic expansion method, which was first derived by Mei(1989). The other solution derived from eigenfunction expansion method is also presented, in which more accurate numerical integration is employed. In order to check the solutions, amplification factors inside the harbor are calculated and plotted by both analytical methods and numerical boundary integral equation method.

• Proceedings of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea Conference
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• 2006.03a
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• pp.503-510
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• 2006

Seismic control performance of MR dampers, which have severe nonlinearity, differs with respect to the dynamic characteristics of an earthquake such as magnitude, frequency and duration. In this study, the effects of excitation characteristics on the equivalent linear system of a building structure with an MR damper are investigated through numerical analysis for artificial ground motions generated from different response spectrums. The equivalent damping ratio of the structure with an MR damper is calculated using Newmark and Hall's equations for ground motion amplification factors. It is found that the equivalent damping ratio of the structure with the MR damper is dependent on the ratio of the maximum friction force of the MR damper over excitation magnitude. Frequency contents of the earthquake ground motion affects the equivalent damping ratio of long-period structures considerably. Also, additional damping effect caused by interaction between the viscousity and friction of the MR damper is observed.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.239-260
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• 2021

Torsional response of buildings is attributed to poor structural configurations in plan, which arises due to two factors - torsional eccentricity and torsional flexibility. Usually, building codes address effects due to the former. This study examines both of these effects. Buildings with torsional eccentricity (e.g., those with large eccentricity) and with torsional flexibility (those with torsional mode as a fundamental mode) demand large deformations of vertical elements resisting lateral loads, especially those along the building perimeter in plan. Lateral-torsional responses are studied of unsymmetrical buildings through elastic and inelastic analyses using idealised single-storey building models (with two degrees of freedom). Displacement demands on vertical elements distributed in plan are non-uniform and sensitive to characteristics of both structure and earthquake ground motion. Limits are proposed to mitigate lateral-torsional effects, which guides in proportioning vertical elements and restricts amplification of lateral displacement in them and to avoid torsional mode as the first mode. Nonlinear static and dynamic analyses of multi-storey buildings are used to validate the limits proposed.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.1-15
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• 2010

In this study, the reduction factor of the code-defined site coefficient due to the embedment of a foundation was estimated for the seismic analysis of a building built on a soft soil site. This was done by utilizing the in-house finite element software P3DASS, which has the capability of pseudo 3D seismic analysis with nonlinear soil layers. A 30m thick soft soil site laid on the rock was assumed to be homogeneous, elastic, viscous and isotropic, and equivalent circular rigid foundations with radii of 10-70m were considered to be embedded at 0, 10, 20 and 30m in the soil layer. Seismic analyses were performed with 7 bedrock earthquake records deconvoluted from the outcrop records of which the effective ground acceleration was scaled to 0.1g. The study results showed that the site coefficients are gradually reduced except in the case of a small foundation embedded deeply in the weak soil layer, and it was estimated that the deviation of the site coefficients due to the foundation size was not significant. The standard reduction factor due to the foundation embedment were calculated adding the standard deviation to the average of 5 reduction factors calculated for 5 different foundation radii. Standard reduction factors for the site amplification factor were proposed for the practical amplification and the codes of KBC, etc., in accordance with the average shear wave velocity of the site, and the site class.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.203-218
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• 2010

The site categorization and corresponding site amplification factors in the current Korean seismic design guideline are based on provisions for the western United States (US), although the site effects resulting in the amplification of earthquake ground motions are directly dependent on the regional and local site characteristic conditions. In these seismic codes, two amplification factors called site coefficients, $F_a$ and $F_v$, for the short-period band and midperiod band, respectively, are listed according to a criterion, mean shear wave velocity ($V_S$) to a depth of 30 m, into five classes composed of A to E. To suggest a site classification system reflecting Korean site conditions, in this study, systematic site characterization was carried out at four regional areas, Gyeongju, Hongsung, Haemi and Sacheon, to obtain the $V_S$ profiles from surface to bedrock in field and the non-linear soil properties in laboratory. The soil deposits in Korea, which were shallower and stiffer than those in the western US, were examined, and thus the site period in Korea was distributed in the low and narrow band comparing with those in western US. Based on the geotechnical characteristic properties obtained in the field and laboratory, various site-specific seismic response analyses were conducted for total 75 sites by adopting both equivalent-linear and non-linear methods. The analysis results showed that the site coefficients specified in the current Korean provision underestimate the ground motion in the short-period range and overestimate in the mid-period range. These differences can be explained by the differences in the local site characteristics including the depth to bedrock between Korea and western US. Based on the analysis results in this study and the prior research results for the Korean peninsula, new site classification system was developed by introducing the site period as representative criterion and the mean $V_S$ to a depth of shallower than 30 m as additional criterion, to reliably determine the ground motions and the corresponding design spectra taking into account the regional site characteristics in Korea.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.3847-3850
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• 2013

The three homologous members of the p160 SRC family (SRC-1, SRC-2 and SRC-3) mediate the transcriptional functions of nuclear receptors and other transcription factors, and are the most studied of all the transcriptional co-activators. Recent work has indicated that the SRC-3 gene is subject to amplification and overexpression in various human cancers. Some of the molecular mechanisms responsible for SRC overexpression, along with the mechanisms by which SRC-3 promotes breast and prostate cancer cell proliferation and survival, have been identified. However, the function of SRC-3 in bladder cancer remains poorly understood. In the present study, our results indicate that overexpression of SRC-3 promotes bladder cancer cell proliferation whereas knockdown of SRC-3 results in inhibition. At the molecular level, we further established that CXCR4 is a transcriptional target of SRC-3. Therefore, our study first identified that SRC-3 plays a critical role in the bladder cancer, which may be a target beneficial for its prevention and treatment.