• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2017.06a
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• pp.20-20
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• 2017

Plant genomes include heterochromatic loci that consist of repetitive sequences and transposable elements. LTR retrotransposon is the major class of transposons in advanced plants in terms of proportion in plant genome. The elements contribute not only to genome size but also to genome stability and gene expression. A number of cases have been reported transposon insertions near genic regions affect crop traits such as fruit pigments, stress tolerance, and yields. Functional LTR retrotransposons produce extrachromosomal DNA from genomic RNA by reverse transcription that takes place within virus-like-particles (VLPs). DECREASED DNA METHYLATION 1 (DDM1) plays important roles in maintaining DNA methylation of heterochromatin affecting all sequence contexts, CG, CHG, and CHH. Previous studies showed that ddm1 mutant exhibits massive transcription of retrotransposons in Arabidopsis, but only few of them were able to create new insertions into the genome. RNA-dependent RNA POLYMERASE 6 (RDR6) is known to function in restricting accumulation of transposon RNA by processing the transcripts into 21-22 nt epigenetically activated small interfering RNA (easiRNA). We purified VLPs and sequence cDNA to identify functional LTR retrotransposons in Arabidopsis ddm1 and ddm1rdr6 plants. Over 20 LTR copia and gypsy families were detected in ddm1 and ddm1rdr6 sequencing libraries and most of them were not reported for mobility. In ddm1rdr6, short fragments of ATHILA gypsy elements were detected. It suggests easiRNAs might regulate reverse transcription steps. The highest enriched element among transposon loci was previously characterized EVADE element. It has been reported that active EVADE element is more efficiently silenced through female germline than male germline. By genetic analyses, we found ddm1 and rdr6 mutation affect maternal silencing of active EVADE elements. DDM1-GFP protein accumulated in megaspore mother cell but was not found in mature egg cell. The fusion protein was also found in early embryo and maternal DDM1-GFP allele was more dominantly expressed in the embryo. We observed localization of DDM1-GFP in Arabidopsis and DDM1-YFP in maize and found the proteins accumulated in dividing zone of root tips. Currently we are looking at cell cycle dependency of DDM1 expression using maize system. Among 10 AGO proteins in Arabidopsis, AGO9 is specifically expressed in egg cell and shoot meristematic cells. In addition, mutation of AGO9 and RDR6 caused failure in maternal silencing, implying 21-22 nt easiRNA pathway is important for retrotransposon silencing in female gametophyte or/and early embryo. On the other hand, canonical 24 nt sRNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM) pathways did not contribute to maternal silencing as confirmed by this study. Heat-activated LTR retrotransposon, ONSEN, was not silenced by DDM1 but the silencing mechanisms require RdDM pathways in somatic cells. We will propose distinct mechanisms of LTR retrotransposons in germline and somatic stages.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2017.06a
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• pp.97-97
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• 2017

Plant genomes include heterochromatic loci that consist of repetitive sequences and transposable elements. LTR retrotransposon is the major class of transposons in advanced plants in terms of proportion in plant genome. The elements contribute not only to genome size but also to genome stability and gene expression. A number of cases have been reported transposon insertions near genic regions affect crop traits such as fruit pigments, stress tolerance, and yields. Functional LTR retrotransposons produce extrachromosomal DNA from genomic RNA by reverse transcription that takes place within virus-like-particles (VLPs). DECREASED DNA METHYLATION 1 (DDM1) plays important roles in maintaining DNA methylation of heterochromatin affecting all sequence contexts, CG, CHG, and CHH. Previous studies showed that ddm1 mutant exhibits massive transcription of retrotransposons in Arabidopsis, but only few of them were able to create new insertions into the genome. RNA-dependent RNA POLYMERASE 6 (RDR6) is known to function in restricting accumulation of transposon RNA by processing the transcripts into 21-22 nt epigenetically activated small interfering RNA (easiRNA). We purified VLPs and sequence cDNA to identify functional LTR retrotransposons in Arabidopsis ddm1 and ddm1rdr6 plants. Over 20 LTR copia and gypsy families were detected in ddm1 and ddm1rdr6 sequencing libraries and most of them were not reported for mobility. In ddm1rdr6, short fragments of ATHILA gypsy elements were detected. It suggests easiRNAs might regulate reverse transcription steps. The highest enriched element among transposon loci was previously characterized EVADE element. It has been reported that active EVADE element is more efficiently silenced through female germline than male germline. By genetic analyses, we found ddm1 and rdr6 mutation affect maternal silencing of active EVADE elements. DDM1-GFP protein accumulated in megaspore mother cell but was not found in mature egg cell. The fusion protein was also found in early embryo and maternal DDM1-GFP allele was more dominantly expressed in the embryo. We observed localization of DDM1-GFP in Arabidopsis and DDM1-YFP in maize and found the proteins accumulated in dividing zone of root tips. Currently we are looking at cell cycle dependency of DDM1 expression using maize system. Among 10 AGO proteins in Arabidopsis, AGO9 is specifically expressed in egg cell and shoot meristematic cells. In addition, mutation of AGO9 and RDR6 caused failure in maternal silencing, implying 21-22 nt easiRNA pathway is important for retrotransposon silencing in female gametophyte or/and early embryo. On the other hand, canonical 24 nt sRNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM) pathways did not contribute to maternal silencing as confirmed by this study. Heat-activated LTR retrotransposon, ONSEN, was not silenced by DDM1 but the silencing mechanisms require RdDM pathways in somatic cells. We will propose distinct mechanisms of LTR retrotransposons in germline and somatic stages.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.20 no.7
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• pp.197-206
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• 2004

The ground anchor support system may not be occasionally used because of space limitations in urban excavation sites nearby the existing structures. In this case, soil nailing system with relatively short length of nails could be efficiently adopted as an alternative method. The general soil nailing support system, however, may result in excessive deformations particularly in an excavation zone of the existing weak subsoils. Pretensioning the soil nails then could play important roles to reduce deformations mainly in the upper part of the nailed-soil excavation system as well as to improve local stability. In this study, a newly modified soil nailing technology named as the PSN (Pretension Soil Nailing), is developed to reduce both facing displacements and ground surface settlements in top-down excavation process as well as to increase the global stability. Up to now, the analytical procedure and design technique are proposed to evaluate maximum pretension force and stability of the PSN system. Also, proposed are techniques to determine the required thickness of a shotcrete facing and to estimate probability of a failure against the punching shear, Based on the proposed procedure and technique, effects of the radius of a influence circle and dilatancy angle on the thickness of a shotcrete facing, bonded length and safety factors are analyzed. In addition, effects of the reduction of deformations expected by pretension of the soil nails are examined in detail throughout an illustrative example and the $FLAC^{2D}$ program analysis. And a numerical approach is proposed PSN system using the shear strength reduction technique with the $FLAC^{2D}$ program.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.40 no.11
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• pp.979-986
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• 2016

The tripod shafts of constant-velocity joint are used in both the trains KTX and KTX-sanchon. It is an important component that connects the motor reduction unit and the axle reduction unit in a power bogie. The tripod shaft not only transmits drive and brake torque in the rotational direction, but also slides in the axial direction. If the drive system is loaded with an excessive torque, the fuse part of the shaft will be fractured firstly to protect the other important components. In this study, a rig was developed for conducting torsion tests on the tripod shaft, which is a type of mechanical fuse. The tripod shafts were subjected to torsional fracture test and torsional fatigue test on the rig. The weak zone of the tripod shaft was identified, and its fatigue life was predicted using finite element analysis (FEA). After analyzing the FEA results, design solutions were proposed to improve the strength and fatigue life of the tripod shaft. Furthermore, the deterioration trend and time for failure of the tripod shaft were verified using the hysteresis loops which had been changed with the advancement of the torsional fatigue test.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.50-61
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• 2000

The ground around the portal of a tunnel is the most typical part showing the 3-dimensional mechanical behavior in the tunnel. The portal slope is constructed at the weathered soft rock-mass, and remains as a potential sliding mass. The slope failure around the tunnel portal may happen drastically and induce the great disaster; hence, for the permanent stability several special techniques are required. To solve this problem, the ground around the tunnel portal may be excavated in the arch shape to develop the arching effect in horizontal direction. With the arch-type portal slope, one can reduce considerably the excavation mass and the damage of environments. This approach has not been attempted yet due to the lack of understanding and the well-defined analyzing method, so the retaining wall type portal is more universal. The 3-dimensional finite element analyses were carried out to prove that the arch type is more advantageous in safety and cost than the right angle type. The influence of the tunnel construction sequence and the strength of the rock-mass on the slope stability was investigated by focusing on the maximum shear strain in the slope, and the yield zone at the tunnel face.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.47-60
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• 2010

This study is focused on the analysis of tunnel behavior to estimate the stability on tunnel design. An estimation method was proposed as a hybrid consideration, which contains the displacement analysis by 3D numerical simulation, the maximum displacement obtained after field measurement, and an assessment of tunnel stability using a deformation analysis proposed by Sakurai(1988, 1997). The points of case study by Sakurai(1988, 1997) were replotted considering his analysis. From the new analysis of the tunnel case study, the trend line for analyzed points is analogized, which curve is divided into stable, unstable and failure zone. To evaluate the estimation method, a special shape of railway tunnel was selected, which are the Inchon international airport rail way connected to subway line 9 in Gimpo, Korea. The point s of upper and below track on the Inchon international airport rail way were satisfied to the stability of tunnel after reinforcing. Also the points shows the higher apparent Young's modulus, which resulted from improvement on shear strength by the micro silica grouting and the supporting of umbrella method. Therefore, if new analysis used, proper tunnel reinforcing method could be selected according to tunnel strain and geological property.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.48 no.12
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• pp.1077-1087
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• 2015

The levee protect lifes, houses, and properties by blocking overflow of river. The revetment is forced to be covered on the slope of levee in order to prevent erosion. The stability of revetment is very important enough to directly connected to the stability of levee. In this study, the weak points of revetment on meandering channel were found by movable revetment experiment and the velocity and the water surface elevation (WSE) were measured at main points. The 3-D numerical simulations were performed under same conditions with experiment. And unclear flow characteristics by the limit of measuring instruments were analyzed through numerical simulation. Consequently, the section of large wall shear stress and the failure section are almost the same. Despite of small wall shear stress, the revetments located at right bank were carried away because of circulation zone due to secondary flow by meandering. With existing riprap design formula, the sizes of riprap determined using maximum local velocity were 1.5~4.7 times greater than them using mean velocity. As a result of this study, it is necessary to calculate the size of riprap in other ways for meandering and straight channel. At a later study, if the weighted value considered the radius of curvature and shape of hydraulic structure is applied to riprap design formula, it is expected that the size of revetment was evaluated rationally and accurately.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.22-32
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• 2014

Durability is one of the most important and attractive subjects in concrete research field because not only durability of concrete is reduced by various degradation factors but also its reduction adversely influences the structural performance and service life of concrete structure. For this reason, a considerable amount of papers associated with concrete durability have been published and those researches were mainly focused on the changes of intrinsic properties of concrete due to chemicophysical degradations. However, the relationship between durability of concrete and structural behavior of concrete member has not been well established yet. In this study, calcium leaching degradation, a cause of concrete strength reduction, was dealt with. The experiments of compressive and flexural behavior of degraded concrete member were performed to evaluate the characteristics of structural behavior according to degradation level. Finally, the results from the experiments were compared with those obtained from nonlinear FEM analysis. The results from this study clearly showed that leaching degradation leads to decrease in compressive strength and compressive behavior evolves from brittle to ductile failure pattern during the degradation process. Load capacity and flexible rigidity of the degraded RC member decreased when the degradation level increased, in compressive zone. Additionally, it was found that the values from nonlinear FEM analysis, CDP model in ABAQUS, coincided well with the experimental results.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.87-96
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• 2004

Application of the soil nailing method is continuously extending in maintaining stable excavations and slopes. However, ground anchor support system occasionally may not be used because of space limitations in urban excavation sites nearby the existing structures. In this case, soil nailing system with relatively short length of nails could be efficiently adopted as an alternative method. The general soil nailing support system, however, may result in excessive deformations particularly in an excavation zone of the existing weak subsoils. Pretensioning the soil nails then could play important roles to reduce deformations mainly in an upper part of the nailed-soil excavation system as well as to improve local stability. In this study, a newly modified soil nailing technology named as the PSN (Pretension Soil Nailing) is developed to reduce both facing displacements and ground surface settlements in top-down excavation process as well as to increase the global stability. Up to now, the PSN system has been investigated mainly focusing on an establishment of the design procedure. In the present study, laboratory model tests are carried out to investigate the failure mechanism and behavior characteristics of the PSN system. Various results of model tests are also analyzed to provide a fundamental basis for the efficient design.

• Land and Housing Review
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.61-68
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• 2011

In order to clarify the structural performances of Welded Deformed Steel Bar Mats (WDSBM), the research stated includes the tests for standard hook of top bars of slab in concrete slab-wall joints, the tests for embedment length of top bar of slab, and the development strength tests for standard hook. The test results are as follows; (1) For slab-wall joints using WDSBM as reinforcement in slab, if the top bars of WDSBM are spliced by ordinary bars with sufficient development length and size, it is enough for the strength and crack control. (2) When WDSBM of slab is spliced in joint, the strength is increased with the embedment of bars of this WDSBM into wall. Beyond peak strength, however, ductility is diminished to that as no splice due to pull-out failure. (3) For slab-wall system, ultimate strain of concrete for flexural compression zone in lower surface of slab seems much greater than that of normal concrete beam. The reason is that normal concrete beam has the joint with $180^{\circ}$, however slab-wall joint has the $90^{\circ}$ of which concrete can be confined.