• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
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• v.53 no.6
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• pp.417-428
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• 2023

Purpose: To investigate the effect of xenogeneic collagen matrix (XCM) with polydeoxyribonucleotide (PDRN) for gingival phenotype modification compared to autogenous connective tissue graft. Methods: Five mongrel dogs were used in this study. Box-type gingival defects were surgically created bilaterally on the maxillary canines 8 weeks before gingival augmentation. A coronally positioned flap was performed with either a subepithelial connective tissue graft (SCTG) or XCM with PDRN (2.0 mg/mL). The animals were sacrificed after 12 weeks. Intraoral scanning was performed for soft tissue analysis, and histologic and histomorphometric analyses were performed. Results: One animal exhibited wound dehiscence, leaving 4 for analysis. Superimposition of STL files revealed no significant difference in the amount of gingival thickness increase (ranging from 0.69±0.25 mm to 0.80±0.31 mm in group SCTG and from 0.48±0.25 mm to 0.85±0.44 mm in group PDRN; P>0.05). Histomorphometric analysis showed no significant differences between the groups in supracrestal gingival tissue height, keratinized tissue height, tissue thickness, and rete peg density (P>0.05). Conclusions: XCM soaked with PDRN yielded comparable gingival augmentation to SCTG.

• Journal of Drive and Control
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.23-29
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• 2024

Potatoes are one of the world's four major crops, and domestic consumption is currently increasing in Korea. However, the mechanization rate of potatoes is very low, and especially, harvesting is the most labor-intensive task in potato production. In Korea, potato-collecting work depends on manpower, so it is necessary to develop a gathering-type harvester that can be used for processes from digging to harvesting. Therefore, in this study, a self-propelled-type potato harvester was developed, and its performance was analyzed to mechanize harvesting. The potato harvester was developed to have a crawler-type driving part with a 60 hp diesel engine and consisted of a digging part that digs potatoes from the ground, a vertical transporting part that transfers the dug potatoes to the height of the collection bag, a separating part that separates debris, such as stones and soil, and a collecting part that loads the collection box. A field test of the potato harvester was conducted, and performance was evaluated by the damage, loss, and debris mixing proportions, which were 2.5%, 2.8%, and 2.6%, respectively. The working capacity was 1.2 h/10 a. The economic analysis results showed that the cost of harvesting work could be reduced by 12.7% compared to manual harvesting.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.431-441
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• 2024

A newly developed line-style sand pluviator has been calibrated to prepare repeatable sand specimens of specific statuses of compactness and homogeneity for laboratory tests. Sand is falling via a bottom slot of a fixed hopper, and by moving the sample container under the slot, the container is evenly filled with sand. The pluviator is designed with high flexibility: The falling height of sand, the hopper's opening width and the relative moving speed between the hopper and the sample box can be easily adjusted. By changing these control factors, sand specimens of a wide range of densities can be prepared. A series of specimen preparation was performed using the coarse Merwede River sand. Performance of the pluviator was systematically evaluated by exploring the alteration of achievable density, as well as checking the homogeneity and fabric of the prepared samples by CT scanning. It was found that the density of prepared coarse sand samples has monotonic correlations with none of the three control factors. Furthermore, CT scanning results suggested that the prepared samples exhibited excellent homogeneity in the horizontal direction but periodical alteration of density in the vertical direction. Based on these calibration test results, a preliminary hypothesis is proposed to describe the general working principles of this type of pluviators a priori, illustrating the mechanisms dominating the non-monotonic correlations between control factors and the relative density as well as the vertically prevalent heterogeneity of specimens. Accordingly, practical recommendations are made in a unified framework in order to lessen the load of similar calibration work.

• Journal of Korean Physical Therapy Science
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.30-40
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• 2024

Background: The purpose of this study is to identify the difference in muscle activity and muscle contraction onset time according to a LLD and object weight When subjects performed a lifting task. Design: Repeated measure design Methods: 15 male adults participated in this study. When subjects performed a lifting task, we measured a difference of muscle activity and muscle contraction onset time in the rectus abdominis(RA), the erector spinae(ES), and the rectus femoris(RF) between both legs using the surface electromyogram (Telemyo DTS, Noraxon Inc., USA). When subjects performed a lifting task, the weight of the object was set to 0% kg, 10% kg, and 20% kg of the subject's body weight, excluding the weight of the box. Results: The difference in muscle activity in the RA, the ES, and the RF between both legs when lifting an object was larger in LLD condition than in non-LLD condition(p<0.05). In all of muscles, the difference of contraction onset time was generally increased as the object's weight increased. Specially, the difference in muscle contraction onset time in the RA, the ES between both legs was larger in the LLD condition than in the non-LLD condition(p<0.05). Conclusion: This study suggests that LLD affects the muscle activity and muscle contraction onset time during lifting objects. It can be used as data to prevent joint damage and muscle due to the LLD during work and movements of daily living.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.451-463
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• 2024

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The umami taste receptor (TAS1R1/TAS1R3) is endogenously expressed in skeletal muscle and is involved in myogenesis; however, there is a lack of evidence about whether the expression of the umami taste receptor is involved in muscular diseases. This study aimed to elucidate the effects of the umami taste receptor and its mechanism on muscle wasting in cancer cachexia using in vivo and in vitro models. MATERIALS/METHODS: The Lewis lung carcinoma-induced cancer cachexia model was used in vivo and in vitro, and the expressions of umami taste receptor and muscle atrophy-related markers, muscle atrophy F-box protein, and muscle RING-finger protein-1 were analyzed. RESULTS: Results showed that TAS1R1 was significantly downregulated in vivo and in vitro under the muscle wasting condition. Moreover, overexpression of TAS1R1 in vitro in the human primary cell model protected the cells from muscle atrophy, and knockdown of TAS1R1 using siRNA exacerbated muscle atrophy. CONCLUSION: Taken together, the umami taste receptor exerts protective effects on muscle-wasting conditions by restoring dysregulated muscle atrophy in cancer cachexia. In conclusion, this result provided evidence that the umami taste receptor exerts a therapeutic anti-cancer cachexia effect by restoring muscle atrophy.

• Hip & pelvis
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.236-244
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• 2022

Purpose: The most recent diagnostic criteria for periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) include the use of the alpha-defensin (AD) lateral-flow (LF) test, but hip and knee arthroplasties were usually combined in previous studies. This prospective study was designed to examine the accuracy of the AD-LF test for diagnosis of PJI in chronic painful total hip arthroplasties (THA). Materials and Methods: Patients with chronic painful hip arthroplasties were prospectively enrolled between March 2018 and May 2020. Exclusion criteria included acute PJI or an insufficient amount of synovial fluid. The modified Musculoskeletal Infection Society (MSIS) criteria were primarily used for PJI diagnosis. Fifty-seven patients were included in the analysis group. Revision surgery was not performed in 38 patients, for different reasons (clinical group); these patients remain "Schrödinger's hips": in such cases PJI cannot be excluded nor confirmed until you "open the box". Results: The result of the AD-LF test was positive in nine patients and negative in 48 patients. Six patients were diagnosed with PJI. AD-LF sensitivity (MSIS criteria) was 83% (95% confidence interval [CI] 36-100%) and specificity was 92% (95% CI 81-98%). The positive and negative predictive value were 56% and 98%, respectively. Conclusion: The AD test is useful in addition to the existing arsenal of diagnostic tools, and can be helpful in the decision-making process. Not all patients with chronical painful THA will undergo revision surgery. Consequently, in order to determine the reliable diagnostic accuracy of this test, future PJI diagnostic studies should include a second arm of "Schrödinger's hips".

• Korean Circulation Journal
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• v.54 no.4
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• pp.172-186
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• 2024

Background and Objectives: Long-term pathological myocardial hypertrophy (MH) seriously affects the normal function of the heart. Dronedarone was reported to attenuate left ventricular hypertrophy of mice. However, the molecular regulatory mechanism of dronedarone in MH is unclear. Methods: Angiotensin II (Ang II) was used to induce cell hypertrophy of H9C2 cells. Transverse aortic constriction (TAC) surgery was performed to establish a rat model of MH. Cell size was evaluated using crystal violet staining and rhodamine phalloidin staining. Reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blot were performed to detect the mRNA and protein expressions of genes. JASPAR and luciferase activity were conducted to predict and validate interaction between forkhead box O3 (FOXO3) and protein kinase inhibitor alpha (PKIA) promoter. Results: Ang II treatment induced cell hypertrophy and inhibited sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) expression, which were reversed by dronedarone. SIRT1 overexpression or PKIA overexpression enhanced dronedarone-mediated suppression of cell hypertrophy in Ang II-induced H9C2 cells. Mechanistically, SIRT1 elevated FOXO3 expression through SIRT1- mediated deacetylation of FOXO3 and FOXO3 upregulated PKIA expression through interacting with PKIA promoter. Moreover, SIRT1 silencing compromised dronedarone-mediated suppression of cell hypertrophy, while PKIA upregulation abolished the influences of SIRT1 silencing. More importantly, dronedarone improved TAC surgery-induced MH and impairment of cardiac function of rats via affecting SIRT1/FOXO3/PKIA axis. Conclusions: Dronedarone alleviated MH through mediating SIRT1/FOXO3/PKIA axis, which provide more evidences for dronedarone against MH.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.52 no.2
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• pp.237-248
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• 2024

In order to make the dynamic analysis and design of improved composite beam with corrugated steel web (CBGSCC) bridge more efficient and economical, the parametric self-cyclic analysis model (SCAM) was written in Python on Anaconda platform. The SCAM can call ABAQUS finite element software to realize automatic modeling and dynamic analysis. For the CBGSCC bridge, parameters were set according to the general value range of CBGSCC bridge parameters in actual engineering, the SCAM was used to calculate the large sample model generated by parameter coupling, the optimal value range of each parameter was determined, and the sensitivity of the parameters was analyzed. The number of diaphragms effects weakly on the dynamic characteristics. The deck thickness has the greatest influence on frequency, which decreases as the deck thickness increases, and the deck thickness should be 20-25 cm. The vibration frequency increases with the increase of the bottom plate thickness, the web thickness, and the web height, the bottom plate thickness should be 17-23mm, the web thickness should be 13-17 mm, and the web height should be 1.65-1.7 5 m. Web inclination and Skew Angle should not exceed 30°, and the number of diaphragms should be 3-5 pieces. This method can be used as a new method for structural dynamic analysis, and the importance degree and optimal value range of each parameter of CBGSCC bridge can be used as a reference in the design process.

• The Journal of Bigdata
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.197-208
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• 2024

Today, faculty performance evaluations conducted in universities to comprehensively assess faculty members have yielded outcomes that deviate from the original intent of the system due to its quantitative assessment-centric approach. The field of theater arts, in particular, faces challenges in fairly and objectively measuring research and creative achievements through traditional quantitative evaluation methods, owing to the highly subjective nature of its outputs compared to other academic disciplines. This study proposes a method to improve the evaluation of research and creative achievements in the field of theater arts through the utilization of big data. First, we investigated the current evaluation criteria and methods used in research and creative achievement assessments in theater arts departments at major domestic universities. Next, we analyzed the key issues related to the existing evaluation system for research and creative achievements in the field of theater arts. Finally, we presented an improvement plan for the evaluation system using the big data available from the Korea Performing Arts Box Office Information System (KOPIS). This study aims to support the research and creative activities of theater arts faculty more effectively and to enhance the competitive edge of universities.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.388-404
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• 2024

In the present work, the operating parameters were optimized using Box Behnken Design (BBD) in response surface methodology (RSM) to maximize the hydrogen production rate (R₁) and hydrogen production rate per unit watt consumed (R₂) of a proton exchange membrane electrolysis cell (PEMEC), a third response (R₃) which was the sum of the scaled values of R₁ and R₂ were selected to be maximized so that both hydrogen production rate and hydrogen production rate per unit watt consumed could be maximized. The major parameters which were influencing the experiment for enhancing the output responses were oxygen electrode/anode electrocatalyst loading (A), current supplied (B) and water inlet temperature (C). The commercial proton exchange membrane Nafion^® was used as the electrolyte. The acetylene black carbon (C_AB) supported IrO₂ was used as the electrocatalyst for preparing oxygen electrode/anode whereas commercial Pt (40 wt%)/C_HSA was used as the H₂ electrode/cathode electrocatalyst. The quadratic model was developed to predict the output/ responses and their proximity to the experimental output values. The developed model was found to be significant as the P values for both the responses were < 0.0001 and F values were greater than 1. The optimum condition for both the responses were O₂ electrode/anode electrocatalyst loading of 1.78 mg/cm², supplied current of 0.33 A and water inlet temperature of 54℃. The predicted values for hydrogen production rate (R₁) and hydrogen production rate per unit watt consumed (R₂) were 2.921 mL/min and 2.562 mL/(min·W), respectively obtained from the quadratic model. The error % between the predicted response values and experimental values were 1.47% and 3.08% for R₁ and R₂, respectively. This model predicted the optimum conditions reasonably in good agreement with the experimental conditions for the enhancement of the output responses of the developed PEM based electrolyser.