• Journal of KIISE:Computer Systems and Theory
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.157-165
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• 2006

The change of external/internal factors of the cell rquires specific biological functions to maintain life. Such functions encourage particular genes to jnteract/regulate each other in multiple ways. Accordingly, we applied a linear decomposition model IFSA, which derives hidden variables, called the 'expression mode' that corresponds to the functions. To interpret gene interaction/regulation, we used a cross-correlation method given an expression mode. Linear decomposition models such as principal component analysis (PCA) and independent component analysis (ICA) were shown to be useful in analyzing high dimensional DNA microarray data, compared to clustering methods. These methods assume that gene expression is controlled by a linear combination of uncorrelated/indepdendent latent variables. However these methods have some difficulty in grouping similar patterns which are slightly time-delayed or asymmetric since only exactly matched Patterns are considered. In order to overcome this, we employ the (IFSA) method of [1] to locate phase- and shut-invariant features. Membership scoring functions play an important role to classify genes since linear decomposition models basically aim at data reduction not but at grouping data. We address a new function essential to the IFSA method. In this paper we stress that IFSA is useful in grouping functionally-related genes in the presence of time-shift and expression phase variance. Ultimately, we propose a new approach to investigate the multiple interaction information of genes.

• Journal of Digital Contents Society
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.575-581
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• 2015

This paper presents the development of certain highly efficient and accurate method for computing tangent curves for three-dimensional vector fields. Unlike conventional methods, such as Runge-Kutta method, for computing tangent curves which produce only approximations, the method developed herein produces exact values on the tangent curves based upon piecewise linear variation over a tetrahedral domain in 3D. This new method assumes that the vector field is piecewise linearly defined over a tetrahedron in 3D domain. It is also required to decompose the hexahedral cell into five or six tetrahedral cells for three-dimensional vector fields. The critical points can be easily found by solving a simple linear system for each tetrahedron. This method is to find exit points by producing a sequence of points on the curve with the computation of each subsequent point based on the previous. Because points on the tangent curves are calculated by the explicit solution for each tetrahedron, this new method provides correct topology in visualizing 3D vector fields.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.198-203
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• 2005

Melt extrusion foaming process for the preparation of poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) scaffolds was carried out and the effects of foaming conditions on the pore structure of PLLA scaffolds and their mechanical properties were investigated. The porosity and mechanical properties of fabricated scaffolds were compared with the scaffolds obtained from the salt leaching method as well. It was found that the optimum pore structure was achieved when the PLLA melt was kept in extruder for the maximum decomposition time of blowing agent. In order to maintain the proper scaffolds structure, the blowing agent content should be less than $10\;wt\%$. It can be concluded that melt extrusion foaming process allows for the production of scaffold having higher mechanical properties with reasonable pore size and open cell structure for hard tissue regeneration even though it has less porosity than scaffolds made by salt leaching process.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.10 no.5
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• pp.365-371
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• 2001

The optimum dosage of quicklime in producing organic fertilizer using livestock wastes vith a greater than 80% water content was analysed. After one day had elapsed to allow for the organic fentilizer to dry, the quicklime dosage and the composition of the organic fertilizer were analysed. Any from done to the organic fertilizer was also assessed. The amount of the quicklime required to stabilize livestock wastes was determined by water content of livestock wastes. For J farm(slurry style) of which livestock wastes have 94.6% of water concentration, less than 3% of total amount of livestock wastes, for H farm (scraper style) of which livestock wastes have 85% of water concentration, less then 4% of total livestock wastes and Y farm(traditional style) of which livestock wastes have 80% of water concentration, less then 5% of total livestock wastes. Generally, in order to pack the organic fertilizer, water containing quicklime0stabilized livestock wastes should be less than 35%. It takes 9 days to keep this water content for the wastes from H and Y farms(less than 85% in water content), and 12 days for the wastes from J (94.6% in water content). According to the classification standard for compost constitution by Higgins, the crude fertilizers from all 3 farms had high grade $K_2O$ and CaO, the middle grade T-N and middle or low grade $P_2O_5$. Stabilization by quicklime is known to inhibit bacterial decomposition of organic matter and the activity of pathogenic organisms. In this study, more then 99.99% of coliform group, fecal group and viable cell count were reduced. Our results indicate that livestock wastes of greater 80% water content could be used to produce organic fertilizer without the addition of a material for moisture control.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.21 no.3 s.75
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• pp.53-58
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• 2006

Following a Mediterranean fruit fly outbreak in South Australia, a bait spray program involving the pesticides like malathion(MAL) was carried out. During the application, dermal exposure was considered for the pest controllers wearing PVC gloves. However there is a lack of information about PVC glove performance like break through times and permeation rates with MAL, therefore, a new analytical method for HPLC-UV was developed. A standard permeation test cell was used in this study. From the results of this study, more than 96% solubility of MAL was provided at 30% isopropyl alcohol in distilled water as a collecting media. However, there was significant decomposition of MAL when the solutions were kept at over $50^{\circ}C$ for 2-3 hours. As a mobile phase, 50% acetonitrile water solution (pH 6.0) gave the greater sensitivity compared with other compositions of acetonitrile solution. The arm section of the gloves had shorter breakthrough times and higher permeation rates compared with the palm. There was no malathion solution breakthrough up to 24 hours using the 1% MAL working strength solution. When the temperature was changed from $22{\pm}1^{\circ}C\;to\;37{\pm}1^{\circ}C$, the breakthrough times were decreased by 14.5% on palm and 37.5% on arm, and permeation rates were increased significantly. The findings of this study indicate that further investigations on used gloves, periods of use and varying working conditions like tasks and seasons should be carried out to assess potential worst case scenarios.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.135-140
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• 2005

Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) membranes crosslinked with poly(acrylic acid-co-maleic acid) (PAM) were prepared to investigate the effect of aging on their morphology by swelling them for up to 7 days. PAM was used both as a crosslinking agent and as a donor of the hydrophilic-COOH group. A $30 wt\%$ weight loss of the dry membrane was observed in the swelling test after 6 days. The surface of the membrane was dramatically changed after the swelling test. The surface roughness of the PVA/PAM membrane was increased, as determined by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The swelling loosened the polymer structure, due to the release of the unreacted polymer and the decomposition of the ester bond, thereby resulting in an increase in the free volume capable of containing water molecules. The water molecules present in the form of free water were determined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The fraction of free water increased with increasing swelling time. The swelling of the membrane may provide space for the transport of protons and increase the mobility of the protonic charge carriers. The proton conductivity of the membranes measured at T= 30 and $50^{\circ}C$ was in the range of $10^{-3} to 10^{-2} S/cm$, and slightly increased with increasing swelling time and temperature.

• Composites Research
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.247-253
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• 2017

In this study, the mechanical behavior and interface properties of boron nitride nanotube-poly(methyl methacrylate) nanocomposites are predicted using the molecular dynamics simulations and the double inclusion model. After modeling nanocomposite unit cell embedding single-walled nanotube and polymer, the stiffness matrix is determined from uniaxial tension and shear tests. Through the orientation average of the transversely isotropic stiffness matrix, the effective isotropic elastic constants of randomly dispersed microstructure of nanocomposites. Compared with the double inclusion model solution with a perfect interfacial condition, it is found that the interface between boron nitride nanotube and polymer matrix is weak in nature. To characterize the interphase surrounding the nanotube, the two step domain decomposition method incorporating a linear spring model at the interface is adopted. As a result, various combinations of the interfacial compliance and the interphase elastic constants are successfully determined from an inverse analysis.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.67-79
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• 2016

Cyanotoxins in aquatic ecosystems have been investigated by many researchers worldwide. Cyanotoxins can be classified according to toxicity as neurotoxins (anatoxin-a, anatoxin-a(s), saxitoxins) or hepatotoxins (microcystins, nodularin, cylindrospermopsin). Microcystins are generally present within cyanobacterial cells and are released by damage to the cell membrane. Cyanotoxins have been reported to cause adverse effects and to accumulate in aquatic organisms in lakes, rivers and oceans. Possible pathways of microcystins in Lake Suwa, Japan, have been investigated from five perspectives: production, adsorption, physiochemical decomposition, bioaccumulation and biodegradation. In this study, temporal variability in microcystins in Lake Suwa were investigated over 25 years (1991~2015). In nature, microcystins are removed by biodegradation of microorganisms and/or feeding of predators. However, during water treatment, the use of copper sulfate to remove algal cells causes extraction of a mess of microcystins. Cyanotoxins are removed by physical, chemical and biological methods, and the reduction of nutrients inflow is a basic method to prevent cyanobacterial bloom formation. However, this method is not effective for eutrophic lakes because nutrients are already present. The presence of a cyanotoxins can be a potential threat and therefore must be considered during water treatment. A complete understanding of the mechanism of cyanotoxins degradation in the ecosystem requires more intensive study, including a quantitative enumeration of cyanotoxin degrading microbes. This should be done in conjunction with an investigation of the microbial ecological mechanism of cyanobacteria degradation.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.685-690
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• 2017

Ammonia is a useful substance which is widely used in various industries. It is generally released by the decomposition of agricultural wastes and known to have toxic effects on human beings. Due to the common usage, it is possible to cause water pollution through either direct or indirect leakage. Such cases, it is preferable to use the adsorption capacity of zeolite to rapidly remove ammonium ions, but it is not sufficiently removed by the adsorption only. In this paper, the removal efficiency of ammonium ion through both the adsorption capacities of commercial synthetic zeolites and the biological mechanism of microorganisms were compared. In addition, microorganisms were immobilized on the zeolite in order to enhance the removal efficiency by applying a chemo-biological process. As a result, the standard commercial zeolite showed 67~81% of the removal efficiency in 2~4 hours at a 100 ppm concentration of ammonium, whereas the selected microorganism Klebsiella pneumoniae subsp. Pneumoniae showed up to 97% within 8 hours. When the microorganism was immobilized on the zeolite, the highest removal efficiency of approximately 98.5% were observed within 8 hours.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.599-608
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• 2017

Tanshinone IIA (Tan IIA) is a pharmacologically active substance extracted from the rhizome of Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge (also known as the Chinese herb Danshen), and is widely used to treat atherosclerosis. The pregnane X receptor (PXR) is a nuclear receptor that is a key regulator of xenobiotic and endobiotic detoxification. Tan IIA is an efficacious PXR agonist that has a potential protective effect on endothelial injuries induced by xenobiotics and endobiotics via PXR activation. Previously numerous studies have demonstrated the possible effects of Tan IIA on human umbilical vein endothelial cells, but the further mechanism for its exerts the protective effect is not well established. To study the protective effects of Tan IIA against hydrogen peroxide ($H_2O_2$) in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), we pretreated cells with or without different concentrations of Tan IIA for 24 h, then exposed the cells to $400{\mu}M$ $H_2O_2$ for another 3 h. Therefore, our data strongly suggests that Tan IIA may lead to increased regeneration of glutathione (GSH) from the glutathione disulfide (GSSG) produced during the GSH peroxidase-catalyzed decomposition of $H_2O_2$ in HUVECs, and the PXR plays a significant role in this process. Tan IIA may also exert protective effects against $H_2O_2$-induced apoptosis through the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway associated with the participation of PXR. Tan IIA protected HUVECs from inflammatory mediators triggered by $H_2O_2$ via PXR activation. In conclusion, Tan IIA protected HUVECs against $H_2O_2$-induced cell injury through PXR-dependent mechanisms.