• Coupled systems mechanics
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.393-414
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• 2019

This paper presents seismic analysis of concrete gravity dams considering soil-structure-fluid interaction. Displacement based plane strain finite element formulation is considered for the dam and foundation domain whereas pressure based finite element formulation is considered for the reservoir domain. A direct coupling method has been adopted to obtain the interaction effects among the dam, foundation and reservoir domain to obtain the dynamic responses of the dam. An efficient absorbing boundary condition has been implemented at the truncation surfaces of the foundation and reservoir domains. A parametric study has been carried out considering each domain separately and collectively based on natural frequencies, crest displacement and stress at the neck level of the dam body. The combined frequency of the entire coupled system is very less than that of the each individual sub-system. The crest displacement and neck level stresses of the dam shows prominent enhancement when coupling effect is taken into consideration. These outcomes suggest that a complete coupled analysis is necessary to obtain the actual responses of the concrete gravity dam. The developed methodology can easily be implemented in finite element code for analyzing the coupled problem to obtain the desired responses of the individual subdomains.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.515-524
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• 2020

With the increasing demand for enzymes in industrial applications there is a growing need to easily produce industrially important microbial enzymes. This study was carried out to screen the indigenous refinery bacterial isolates for their production of two industrially important enzymes i.e. lipase and protease. A total of 15 bacterial strains were isolated using Soil Extract Agar media from the oil-contaminated environment and one was shown to produce high quality lipase and protease enzymes. The culture conditions (culture duration, temperature, source of nitrogen, carbon, and pH) were optimized to produce the optimum amount of both the lipase (37.6 ± 0.2 Uml-1) and the protease (41 ± 0.4 Uml-1) from this isolate. Productivity of both enzymes was shown to be maximized at pH 7.5 in a medium containing yeast extract and peptone as nitrogen sources and sucrose and galactose as carbon sources when incubated at 35 ± 1℃ for 48 h. Bacterial strain SAB06 was identified as Bacillus licheniformis (MT250345) based on biochemical, morphological, and molecular characteristics. Further studies are required to evaluate and optimize the purification and characterization of these enzymes before they can be recommended for industrial or environmental applications.

• Journal of Species Research
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.321-335
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• 2021

In 2020, a total of 12 bacterial strains were isolated from soil after a comprehensive investigation of indigenous prokaryotic species in Korea. It was determined that each strain belonged to independent and predefined bacterial species, with high 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity (>98.7%) and formation of a robust phylogenetic clade with the closest species. This study identified four families in the phylum Actinobacteria, two families in the phylum Proteobacteria, one family in the phylum Bacteroidetes one family in the phylum Firmicutes; and four species in the family Nocardiaceae, two species in the family Nocardioidaceae, one species in the family Cellulomonadaceae, one species in the family Hymenobacter, one species in the family Methylobacteriaceae, one species in the family Microbacteriaceae, one species in the family Bacillaceae and one species in the family Sphingomonadaceae. There is no official report of these 12 species in Korea, so they are described as unreported bacterial species in Korea in this study. Gram reaction, basic biochemical characteristics, colony, and cell morphology are included in the species description section.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.39 no.5
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• pp.417-429
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• 2023

Ralstonia solanacearum species complex (RSSC) is a soil borne plant pathogen causing bacterial wilt on various important crops, including Solanaceae plants. The bacterial pathogens within the RSSC produce exopolysaccharide (EPS), a highly complicated nitrogencontaining heteropolymeric polysaccharide, as a major virulence factor. However, the biosynthetic pathway of the EPS in the RSSC has not been fully characterized. To identify genes in EPS production beyond the EPS biosynthetic gene operon, we selected the EPS-defective mutants of R. pseudosolanacearum strain SL341 from Tn5-inserted mutant pool. Among several EPSdefective mutants, we identified a mutant, SL341P4, with a Tn5-insertion in a gene encoding a putative NDP-sugar epimerase, a putative membrane protein with sugar-modifying moiety, in a reverse orientation to EPS biosynthesis gene cluster. This protein showed similar to other NDP-sugar epimerases involved in EPS biosynthesis in many phytopathogens. Mutation of the NDP-sugar epimerase gene reduced EPS production and biofilm formation in R. pseudosolanacearum. Additionally, the SL341P4 mutant exhibited reduced disease severity and incidence of bacterial wilt in tomato plants compared to the wild-type SL341 without alteration of bacterial multiplication. These results indicate that the NDP-sugar epimerase gene is required for EPS production and bacterial virulence in R. pseudosolanacearum.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.5-11
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• 2008

This paper pertains to the incorporation of a genetic algorithm methodology for determining the critical slip surface and the corresponding factor of safety of soil slopes using inclined slice method. The analysis is formulated as a constrained optimization problem to solve the nonlinear equilibrium equations and finding the factor of safety and the critical slip surface. The sensitivity of GA optimization method is presented in terms of development of failure surface. Example problem is presented to demonstrate the efficiencies of the genetic algorithm approach. The results obtained by this method are compared with other traditional optimization technique.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.26 no.6C
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• pp.369-376
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• 2006

Similarity rule in order to predict the field settlement and consolidation time from oedometer test is not clear because of the thickness, loading time, rate of loading increase, dependence on strain inherent of clay. To investigate the one-dimensional consolidation tests with permeability tests varied loading period and specimen thickness were carried out the application of similarity rule. Main conclusions are 1) f(=1+e)-logk line is a unique property of the soil, 2) $c_{\nu}$, k need no correction, 3)similarity rule is depends on the positions of f-logp line and primary consolidation line.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.409-422
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• 2022

The use of calcium sulfoaluminate (CSA) cement as a rapid-hardening cement admixture or eco-friendly alternate for ordinary Portland cement (OPC) has been attempted over the years, but the cost of CSA cement and availability of suitable aluminium resource prevent its wide practical application. To propose an effective ground improvement design in sandy soil, this study aims at blending a certain percentage of CSA with OPC to find an optimum blend that would have fast-setting behavior with a lower carbon footprint than OPC without compromising the mechanical properties of the cemented sand. Compared to the 100% CSA case, initial speed of strength development of blended cement is relatively low as it is mixed with OPC. It is found that 80% OPC and 20% CSA blend has low initial strength but eventually produces equivalent ultimate strength (28 days curing) to that of CSA treated sand. The specific OPC-CSA blend (80:20) exhibits significantly higher strength gain than using pure OPC, thus allowing effective geotechnical designs for sustainable and controlled ground improvement. Further parametric studies were conducted for the blended cement under various curing conditions, cement contents, and curing times. Wet-cured cement treated sand had 33% lower strength than that of dry-cured samples, while the stiffness of wet-cured samples was 25% lower than that of dry-cured samples.

• Mycobiology
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.239-245
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• 2023

Xylanase has been applied in various sectors, such as biomass conversion, paper, pulp, textiles, and pharmaceutical industries. This study aimed to isolate and screen potential xylanase-producing fungi from the soil of Suphan Buri Province, Thailand. Fifteen fungi were isolated, and their xylanase activities were tested by the qualitative method. The result showed that isolate SP3, SP10 and SP15 gave high xylanase activity with potency index (PI) of 2.32, 2.01 and 1.82, respectively. These fungi were selected for the xylanase quantitative test, isolate SP10 performed the highest xylanase activity with 0.535 U/mL. Through molecular methods using the 𝛽-tubulin gene, isolate SP10 was identified as Penicillium menonorum. The xylanase characteristics from P. menonorum SP10 were determined, including the xylanase isoforms and the optimum pH and temperature. The xylanase isoforms on SDS-PAGE indicated that P. menonorum SP10 produced two xylanases (45 and 54 kDa). Moreover, its xylanase worked optimally at pH 6 and 55 ℃ while reaching 61% activity at 65 ℃. These results proposed P. menonorum SP10 as a good candidate for industrial uses, especially in poultry feed and pulp industries, to improve yield and economic efficiency under slightly acidic and high-temperature conditions.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.115-123
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• 2024

Stress is an invisible physical quantity, necessitating the use of earth pressure cells for its measurement within theground. Traditional strain-gauge type earth pressure cells, due to their rigidity, can distribute stress within the ground and subsequently affect the accuracy of earth pressure measurements. In contrast, force sensing resistors are thin and flexible, enabling the minimization of stress disturbance when measuring stress within the ground. This study developed a system that utilizes force sensing resistors to measure ground stress. It involved constructing a soil chamber for calibrating the force sensing resistors, assessing the variability of measurements from resistors embedded in sand ground, and verifying the attachment of pucks to the sensing area of the resistors.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.247-258
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• 2024

Tailings are waste materials of mining operations, consisting of a mixture of clay, silt, sand with a high content of unrecoverable metals, process water, and chemical reagents. They are usually discharged as slurry into the storage area retained by dams or earth embankments. Poor knowledge of the hydro-mechanical behaviour of tailings has often resulted in a high rate of failures in which static liquefaction has been widely recognized as one of the major causes of dam collapse. Many studies have dealt with the static liquefaction of coarse soils in saturated conditions. This research provides an extension to the case of silty tailings in unsaturated conditions. The static liquefaction resistance was evaluated in terms of stress-strain behavior by means of monotonic triaxial tests. Its dependency on the preparation method, the volumetric water content, the void ratio, and the degree of saturation was studied and compared with literature data. The static liquefaction response was proved to be dependent mainly on the preparation technique and degree of saturation that, in turn, controls the excess of pore pressure whose leading role is investigated by means of the relationship between the -B Skempton parameter and the degree of saturation. A preliminary interpretation of the static liquefaction response of Stava tailings is also provided within the Critical State framework.