• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.541-546
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• 2007

Red algae are distributed globally, and the group contains several commercially important species. Griffithsia okiensis is one of the most extensively studied red algal species. In this study, we conducted expressed sequence tag (ESTs) analysis and synonymous codon usage analysis using cultured G. okiensis samples. A total of 1,104 cDNA clones were sequenced using a cDNA library made from samples collected from Dolsan Island, on the southern coast of Korea. The clustering analysis of these sequences allowed for the identification of 1,048 unigene clusters consisting of 36 consensus and 1,012 singleton sequences. BLASTX searches generated 532 significant hits (E-value <$10^{-4}$) and via further Gene Ontology analysis, we constructed a functional classification of 434 unigenes. Our codon usage analysis showed that unigene clusters with more than three ESTs had higher GC contents (76.5%) at the third position of the codons than the singletons. Also, the majority of the optimal codons of G. okiensis and Chondrus crispus belonging to Bangiophycidae were G-ending, whereas those of Porphyra yezoensis belonging to Florideophycidae were G-ending. An orthologous gene search for the P. yezoensis EST database resulted in the identification of 39 unigenes commonly expressed in two rhodophytes, which have putative functions for structural proteins, protein degradation, signal transduction, stress response, and physiological processes. Although experiments have been conducted on a limited scale, this study provides a material basis for the development of microarrays useful for gene expression studies, as well as useful information for the comparative genomic analysis of red algae.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.485-491
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• 2007

The effects of biological pretreatment on the Japanese red pine Pinus densiflora, was evaluated after exposure to three white rot fungi Ceriporia lacerata, Stereum hirsutum, and Polyporus brumalis. Change in chemical composition, structural modification, and their susceptibility to enzymatic saccharification in the degraded wood were analyzed. Of the three white rot fungi tested, S. hirsutum selectively degraded the lignin of this sortwood rather than the holocellulose component. After eight weeks of pretreatment with S. hirsutum, total weight loss was 10.7%, while lignin loss was the highest at 14.52% among the tested samples. However, holocellulose loss was lower at 7.81 % compared to those of C. lacerata and P. brumalis. Extracelluar enzymes from S. hirsutum showed higher activity of ligninase and lower activity of cellulase than those from other white rot fungi. Thus, total weight loss and changes in chemical composition of the Japanese red pine was well correlated with the enzyme activities related with lignin- and cellulose degradation in these fungi. Based on the data obtained from analysis of physical characterization of degraded wood by X-ray Diffractometry (XRD) and pore size distribution, S. hirsutum was considered as an effective potential fungus for biological pretreatment. In particular, the increase of available pore size of over 120 nm in pretreated wood powder with S. hirsutum made enzymes accessible for further enzymatic saccharification. When Japanese red pine chips treated with S. hirsutum were enzymatically saccharified using commercial enzymes (Cellulclast 1.5 L and Novozyme 188), sugar yield was greatly increased (21.01 %) compared to non-pre treated control samples, indicating that white rot fungus S. hirsutum provides an effective process in increasing sugar yield from woody biomass.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.616-623
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• 2008

In spite of an increasing interest in fucoidans as biologically active compounds, no convenient commercial sources with fucoidanase activity are yet available. A marine bacterial strain that showed confluent growth on a minimal medium containing fucoidan, prepared from Korean Undaria pinnatifida sporophylls, as the sole carbon source was isolated and identified based on a 16S rDNA sequence analysis as a strain of Sphingomonas paucimobilis, and named Sphingomonas paucimobilis PF-1. The strain depolymerized fucoidan into more than 7 distinct low-molecular-mass fucose-containing oligosaccharides, ranging from 305 to 3,749 Da. The enzyme activity was shown to be associated with the whole cell, suggesting the possibility of a surface display of the enzyme. However, a whole-cell enzyme preparation neither released the monomer L-fucose from the fucoidan nor hydrolyzed the chromogenic substrate p-nitrophenyl-${\alpha}$-L-fucoside, indicating that the enzyme may be an endo-acting fucoidanase rather than an ${\alpha}$-L-fucosidase. Therefore, this would appear to be the first report on fucoidanolytic activity by a Sphingomonas species and also the first report on the enzymatic degradation of the Korean Undaria pinnatifida sporophyll fucoidan. Moreover, this enzyme activity may be very useful for structural analyses of fucose-containing polysaccharides and the production of bioactive fucooligosaccharides.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.713-732
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• 2008

Serviceability and durability of the concrete members can be seriously affected by the corrosion of steel rebar. Carbonation front and or chloride ingress can destroy the passive film on rebar and may set the corrosion (oxidation process). Depending on the level of oxidation (expansive corrosion products/rust) damage to the cover concrete takes place in the form of expansion, cracking and spalling or delamination. This makes the concrete unable to develop forces through bond and also become unprotected against further degradation from corrosion; and thus marks the end of service life for corrosion-affected structures. This paper presents an analytical model that predicts the weight loss of steel rebar and the corresponding time from onset of corrosion for the known corrosion rate and thus can be used for the determination of time to cover cracking in corrosion affected RC member. This model uses fully the thick-walled cylinder approach. The gradual crack propagation in radial directions (from inside) is considered when the circumferential tensile stresses at the inner surface of intact concrete have reached the tensile strength of concrete. The analysis is done separately with and without considering the stiffness of reinforcing steel and rust combine along with the assumption of zero residual strength of cracked concrete. The model accounts for the time required for corrosion products to fill a porous zone before they start inducing expansive pressure on the concrete surrounding the steel rebar. The capability of the model to produce the experimental trends is demonstrated by comparing the model's predictions with the results of experimental data published in the literature. The effect of considering the corroded reinforcing steel bar stiffness is demonstrated. A sensitivity analysis has also been carried out to show the influence of the various parameters. It has been found that material properties and their inter-relations significantly influence weight loss of rebar. Time to cover cracking from onset of corrosion for the same weight loss is influenced by corrosion rate and state of oxidation of corrosion product formed. Time to cover cracking from onset of corrosion is useful in making certain decisions pertaining to inspection, repair, rehabilitation, replacement and demolition of RC member/structure in corrosive environment.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.343-356
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• 2016

As the common cast-in-place construction works fails to meet the enormous construction demand under rapid economic growth, the development of prefabricated structure instead becomes increasingly promising in China. For the prefabricated structure, its load carrying connection joint play a key role in maintaining the structural integrity. Therefore, a novel end plate bolt connecting joint between fully prefabricated pre-stressed concrete beam and high-strength reinforcement-confined concrete column was proposed. Under action of low cycle repeated horizontal loadings, comparative tests are conducted on 6 prefabricated pre-stressed intermediate joint specimens and 1 cast-in-place joint specimen to obtain the specimen failure modes, hysteresis curves, skeleton curves, ductility factor, stiffness degradation and energy dissipation capacity and other seismic indicators, and the seismic characteristics of the new-type prefabricated beam-column connecting joint are determined. The test results show that all the specimens for end plate bolt connecting joint between fully prefabricated pre-stressed concrete beam and high-strength reinforcement-confined concrete column have realized the design objectives of strong column weak beam. The hysteretic curves for specimens are good, indicating desirable ductility and energy dissipation capacity and seismic performances, and the research results provide theoretical basis and technical support for the promotion and application of prefabricated assembly frames in the earthquake zone.

• Journal of Korea Technical Association of The Pulp and Paper Industry
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.59-68
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• 2013

The cotton contains various impurities such as protein, wax, pectins, coloring matter, even though cotton has been a major source of pure cellulose. The purification processes have been commonly applied to obtain the pure cellulose. However the excessive purification treatments could lead to the damage in the cellulose structure which could result in the degradation of cellulose and the limited application of cotton cellulose. In this study, the changes in cellulose structural properties such as crystallinity and DP(degree of polymerization) by the various conditions of the purification processes were investigated. The less toxic agents such as hydrogen peroxide and sodium silicate were applied for the purification treatment in this study. The increase in the process times, the temperature and the applied amount of chemical agents resulted in the more purified cellulose. The DP of cotton cellulose was increased at the first weak conditions by the reduction of small molecules such as pectin, wax, and so on. Especially the 2 % addition amount of $H_2O_2$ with $Na_2SiO_3$ resulted in the higher value in the DP and the brightness compared to the 1.5 % addition amount of $H_2O_2$. However, the 4 % addition amount of $H_2O_2$ with $Na_2SiO_3$ showed the decreased value because of excessive treatment. In case of the changes in the crystallinity (Gjk), the highest value of the crystallinity was obtained by the 2% addition amount of $H_2O_2$ on the cotton cellulose, which showed similar with the change in the DP.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.73 no.6
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• pp.613-620
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• 2020

The research study is focuses on a form of all-bolted joint with the external ring stiffening plate in the prefabricated steel structure. The components are bolted at site after being fabricated in the factory. Six specimens were tested under cyclic loading, and the effects of column axial compression ratio, concrete-filled column, beam flange sub plate, beam web angle cleats, and spliced column on the failure mode, hysteretic behavior and ductility of the joints were analyzed. The results shown that the proposed all-bolted joint with external ring stiffening plate performed high bearing capability, stable inflexibility degradation, high ductility and plump hysteretic curve. The primary failure modes were bucking at beam end, cracking at the variable section of the external ring stiffening plate, and finally welds fracturing between external ring stiffening plate and column wall. The bearing capability of the joints reduced with the axial compression ratio increased. The use of concrete-filled steel tube column can increase the bearing capability of joints. The existence of the beam flange sub plate, and beam web angle cleat improves the energy dissipation, ductility, bearing capacity and original rigidity of the joint, but also increase the stress concentration at the variable section of the external reinforcing ring plate. The proposed joints with spliced column also performed desirable integrity, large bearing capacity, initial stiffness and energy dissipation capacity for engineering application by reasonable design.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.63 no.6
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• pp.725-734
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• 2017

This paper investigated the effects of rebar corrosion on bond performance between rebar and two different concrete mixes (compressive strengths of 20.7 MPa and 44.4 MPa). The specimen was designed as a rebar centrally embedded in a 200 mm concrete cube, with two stirrups around the rebar to supply confinement. An electrochemical accelerated corrosion technique was applied to corrode the rebar. 120 specimens of two different concrete mixes with various reinforcing steel corrosion levels were manufactured. The corrosion crack opening width and length were recorded in detail during and after the corrosion process. Three different loading schemes: monotonic pull-out load, 10 cycles of constant slip loading followed by pull-out and varied slip loading followed by pull-out, were carried out on the specimens. The effects of rebar corrosion with two different concrete mixes on corrosion crack opening, bond strength and corresponding slip value, initial slope of bond-slip curve, residual bond stress, mechanical interaction stress, and energy dissipation, were discussed in detail. The mean value and coefficient of variation of these parameters were also derived. It was found that the coefficient of variation of the parameters of the corroded specimens was larger than those with intact rebar. There is also obvious difference in the two different concrete mixes for the effects of rebar corrosion on bond-slip parameters.

• Journal of Aerospace System Engineering
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.9-17
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• 2018

For Earth observation, a small satellite camera has relatively weak structural stability compared to medium-sized satellite, resulting in misalignment of optical components due to severe launching and space environments. These alignment errors can deteriorate the optical performance of satellite cameras. In this study, we proposed a 3-axis focus mechanism to compensate misalignment in a small satellite camera. This mechanism consists of three piezo-electric actuators to perform x-axis and y-axis tilt with de-space compensation. Design requirements for the focus mechanism were derived from the design of the Schmidt-Cassegrain target optical system. To compensate the misalignment of the secondary mirror (M2), the focus mechanism was installed just behind the M2 to control the 3-axis movement of M2. In this case, flexure design with Box-Behnken test plan was used to minimize optical degradation due to wave front error. The wave front error was analyzed using ANSYS. The fabricated focus mechanism demonstrated excellent servo performance in experiments with PID servo control.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2016.02a
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• pp.153-153
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• 2016

Polyoxymethylene copolymer (POM-C) is an attractive and widely used engineering thermoplastic across many industrial sectors owing to outstanding physical, mechanical, self-lubricating and chemical properties. In this research work, the POM-C blocks were irradiated with 1 MeV electron beam energy in five doses (100, 200, 300, 500 and 700 KGy) in vacuum condition at room temperature. The tribological and physico-chemical properties of electron beam irradiated POM-C blocks have been analyzed using Pin on disk tribometer, Raman spectroscopy, SEM-EDS, Optical microscopy, 3D Nano surface profiler system and Contact angle analyzer. Electron beam irradiation at a dose of 100 kGy resulted in a decrease of the friction coefficient and wear loss of POM-C block due to well suited cross-linking, carbonization, free radicals formation and energetic electrons-atoms collisions (physical interaction). It also shows lowest surface roughness and highest water contact angle among all unirradiated and irradiated POM-C blocks. The irradiation doses at 200, 300, 500 and 700 kGy resulted in increase of the friction coefficient as compared to unirradiated POM-C block due to severe chain scission, chemical and physical structural degradation. The electron beam irradiation transferred the wear of unirradiated POM-C block from the abrasive wear, adhesive wear and scraping to mild scraping for the 1 MeV, 100 kGy irradiated POM-C block which is concluded from SEM-EDS and Optical microscopic observations. The degree of improvement for tribological attribute relies on the electron beam irradiation condition (energy and dose rate).