• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.23-30
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• 2007

We observed the NaCl concentration of solutions using a near-field microwave microprobe(NFMM). Instead of the usual technique, we take advantage of the noncontact evaluation capabilities of a NFMM. A NFMM with a high Q dielectric resonator allows observation of small variations of the permittivity due to changes in the NaCl concentration. The changes of NaCl concentration due to a change of permittivity of the NaCl solution were investigated by measuring the microwave reflection coefficient $S_{11}$ of the resonator. The NaCl sensor consisted of a dielectric resonator coupled to a probe tip at an operating frequency of about f=4 GHz. The change of the NaCl concentration is directly related to the change of the reflection coefficient due to a near field electromagnetic interaction between the probe tip and the NaCl solution. In order to determine the probe selectivity, we measured a mixture solution of NaCl and glucose.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.189-195
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• 1997

The structural basis of Iysine specificity of Achromobacter protease I (API) was investigated by means of site-directed mutagenesis. The precursor protein in which Glu190, one of the two candidates for determining Iysine specificity, was substituted by glutamine, aspartic acid or leucine was processed autocatalytically to attaln full pretense activity with lysine specificity. The substitution of the other candidate, Asp225, for asparagine or leucine produced no mature active forms of pro-API. The precursor protein of the mutant D225E slowly matured autocatalytically. The lysylendopeptidase activity of the mature D225E was 0.25% of that of native API, and this reduced activity is mainly due to a decrease in the affinity of the enzyme for lysine. These results suggest that Asp225 plays a critical rol in restricted substrate specificity as a lysylendopeptidase. However, D225E exhibited no measurable activity for synthetic ornithine substrate. Since the hydroxyl group of Ser194 in this mutant retained essentially the same reactivity to DFP or PMSF as that in native API, it can be noted that a methylene unit longer side chain of residue 225 is not compensated by a methylene unit shorter side chain at subsite P1 in the bound substrate.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Surface Engineering Conference
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• 2018.06a
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• pp.116-116
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• 2018

부식은 재료와 사용 환경과의 상호작용에 의한 결과로서 일반적으로 두께의 감소와 균열의 발생 및 파손 등의 문제로 나타난다. 특히 사용환경 중에서 해수 분위기는 금속의 부식에 가장 유리한 조건이다. 따라서 해양환경 중 항만이나 조선 및 해양 산업 등에 많이 이용되는 강 구조물은 이에 대응하기 위하여 도장방식이나 음극방식을 사용하고 있다. 여기서 음극방식은 피방식체를 일정전위로 음극 분극하는 원리로써 외부전원을 인가하거나 비전위의 금속을 전기적으로 연결하여 방식하는 방법이다[1]. 한편, 해수 중에서 이와 같은 원리로 음극방식 할 경우에는 피방식체인 강재표면에 부분적으로 칼슘 또는 마그네슘 화합물 등의 생성물이 부착하는 현상을 볼 수 있게 된다. 이와 같이 수산화마그네슘($Mg(OH)_2$)및 탄산칼슘($CaCO_3$)을 주성분으로 하여 석출되는 석회질 피막(calcareous deposits)은 피방식체에 유입되는 음극방식 전류밀도를 감소시켜 주거나 물리적 장벽의 역할을 함으로써 외부의 산소와 물 등 부식환경으로부터 소지금속을 보호한다[2]. 그러나 석회질 피막은 소지금속과의 결합력, 막의 균일한 분포, 내식성 및 제작시간의 단축 등 해결해야 할 과제가 있다. 또한 여러 가지 환경 조건 등의 영향을 받아 그 피막의 형성 정도도 가늠하기 어렵기 때문에 음극방식 설계 시 그 정도에 따른 영향을 고려-반영하기가 곤란하다. 따라서 본 연구에서는 석출속도, 밀착성 및 내식특성을 향상시키기 위해 전착프로세스를 통해 해수 중 기체를 용해시켜 석회질 피막을 제작하고 막의 결정구조 제어 및 특성을 분석-평가하였다. 본 연구에 사용된 강 기판(Steel Substrate)은 일반구조용강(KS D 3503, SS400)을 사용하였으며, 외부전원은 정류기(Rectifier, xantrex, XDL 35-5T)를 사용하여 3 및 $5A/m^2$의 조건으로 인가하였다. 양극의 경우에는 해수에 녹아있는 이온 이외에 다른 성분들이 환원되는 것을 방지하기 위해 불용성 양극인 탄소봉(Carbon Rod)을 사용하였다. 이때 석출속도, 밀착성 및 내식특성 향상을 위해 해수에 주입한 기체의 양은 0.5 NL/min였으며, 기판 근처에 고정하여 음극 부근에서의 반응을 유도하였다. 각 조건별로 제작된 막의 표면 모폴로지, 조성원소 및 결정구조 분석을 실시하였으며, 석회질 피막의 밀착성과 내식특성을 평가하기 위해 규격에 따른 테이핑 테스트(Taping Test, ISO 2409)와 3 % NaCl 용액에서 전기화학적 양극 분극 시험을 진행하여 제작된 막의 내구성과 내식성을 분석-평가하였다. 시간에 따른 전착막의 외관관찰 결과 전류밀도의 증가와 함께 상대적으로 많은 피막이 형성되었고, 용해시킨 기체에 의해 더 치밀하고 두터운 피막이 형성됨을 확인할 수 있었다. 성분 및 결정구조 분석 결과 $Mg(OH)_2$ 성분의 Brucite 및 $CaCO_3$ 성분의 Calcite 및 Aragonite 구조를 확인하였으며, 용해시킨 기체의 영향으로 $CaCO_3$ 성분의 Aragonite 구조가 상대적으로 많이 검출되었다. 밀착성 및 내식성 평가를 실시한 결과 해수 중 용해시킨 기체에 의해 제작한 시편의 경우 견고하고 화학적 친화력이 높은 Aragonite 결정이 표면을 치밀하게 덮어 전해질로부터 산소와 물의 침입을 차단하는 역할을 하여 기체를 용해시키지 않은 3 및 $5A/m^2$ 보다 비교적 우수한 밀착성 및 내식 특성을 보이는 것으로 사료된다.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.234-241
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• 2016

The approach presented in this article refers to the bioanalytical method validation for the detection and quantitative determination of arsenic species including arsenite (As(III)), arsenate (As(V)), dimethylarsinic acid (DMA) and monomethylarsonic acid (MMA) in dog plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (HPLC-ICP/MS). The arsenic species were separated using an agilent As speciation column by a mobile phase of 2 mM sodium phosphate monobasic, 0.2 mM ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid disodium salt dehydrate, 10 mM sodium acetate, 3 mM sodium nitrate and 1 % ethyl alcohol at pH 11 (adjusted with 1M NaOH). The method validation experiment was obtained selectivity, linearity, accuracy, precision, matrix effect, recovery, system suitability, dilution integrity and various stabilities. All calibration curves showed good linearity (R²>0.999) within test ranges. The lower limit of quantitation (LLOQ) was 5 ng/mL for As(III), As(V) and DMA, and 20 ng/mL for MMA. The system suitability and dilution values were within 6.5 % and 7.7 %. Subsequently, the developed and validated HPLC-ICP/MS method was also successfully applied to determine the arsenic speciation in dog plasma samples, and the recoveries for the spiked samples were in the range of 91.5–102.2 %. Therefore, this method could be applied to the evaluation of arsenic exposure, health effect assessment and other bio-monitoring studies in biological samples.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.133-140
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• 2003

In this study, muscle activity was measured using surface EMG (sEMG) during a voluntary maneuver (ankle dorsiflexion) in the supine position was compared pre and post gait training. Nine patients with incomplete spinal cord injury participated in a supported treadmill ambulation training (STAT), twenty minutes a day, five days a week for three months. Two tests, a gait speed test and a voluntary maneuver test, were made the same day, or at least the same week, pre and post gait training. Ten healthy subjects' data recorded using the same voluntary maneuvers were used for the reference. sEMG measured from ten lower limb muscles was used to observe the two features of amplitude and motor control distribution pattern, named response vector. The result showed that the average gait speed of patients increased significantly (p〈0.1) from 0.47$\pm$0.35 m/s to 0.68$\pm$0.52 m/s. In sEMG analysis, six out of nine patients showed a tendency to increase the right tibialis anterior activity during right ankle dorsiflexion from 109.7$\pm$148.5 $mutextrm{V}$ to 145.9$\pm$180.7 $mutextrm{V}$ but it was not significant (p〈0.055). In addition, only two patients showed increase of correlation coefficient and total muscle activity in the left fide during left dorsiflexion. Patients' muscle activity changes after gait training varied individually and generally depended on their muscle control abilities of the pre-STAT status. Response vector being introduced for quantitative analysis showed good Possibility to anticipate. evaluate, and/or guide patients with SCI, before and after gait training.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.43-51
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• 2005

This study was carried out to investigate the style of livestock house, concentration of malodorous substances of livestock feces and livestock houses in Daejeon area. Among the livestock houses investigated, as most of cow pens(94.5%) have sawdust or chaff on the bottom, there was no leakage of feces out of pen. Most pig pens adopted slury style, but some of them currently use buffering material on the bottom. It is thought that there will be no possible contamination leakage. When it comes to hen house, all the broiler house use litters on the bottom and all the layer house use scrapper. It is also thought that there will be no possible contamination leakage. 3 out of 12 deer pens used buffering material on the bottom, 10 places were maintained in a traditional method, and 7 places left possibility of contamination leakage considering whether the roof was installed or not. The contents of ammonia, amine and volatile fatty acid in fresh feces were lower compared to rotten feces, but the concentration of sulfur-containing matter - hydrogen sulfide, methylmercapthan and ethylmercapthan were higher compared to rotten feces. In the case of malodorous ingredient in livestock houses, only small amount of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide were detected in pig pen and hen house, and other ingredients were not detectable. And those who are engaged in animal husbandry reacted negatively to the use of feed additives for decreasing malodor. In conclusion, it is not worrisome that contamination can be leaked out of animal raising facilities. But if we take into consideration that the point of investigation time is wintry season, there should be more considerate attitude. And feed additives for decreasing malodor need establishing criteria in the manufacturing process.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.15-33
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• 2021

In this study, the possibility of discriminating Fire blight (FB) infection tested using the hyperspectral imagery. The reflectance of healthy and infected leaves and branches was acquired with 5 nm of full width at high maximum (FWHM) and then it was standardized to 10 nm, 25 nm, 50 nm, and 80 nm of FWHM. The standardized samples were divided into training and test sets at ratios of 7:3, 5:5 and 3:7 to find the optimal bands of FWHM by the decision tree analysis. Classification accuracy was evaluated using overall accuracy (OA) and kappa coefficient (KC). The hyperspectral reflectance of infected leaves and branches was significantly lower than those of healthy green, red-edge (RE) and near infrared (NIR) regions. The bands selected for the first node were generally 750 and 800 nm; these were used to identify the infection of leaves and branches, respectively. The accuracy of the classifier was higher in the 7:3 ratio. Four bands with 50 nm of FWHM (450, 650, 750, and 950 nm) might be reasonable because the difference in the recalculated accuracy between 8 bands with 10 nm of FWHM (440, 580, 640, 660, 680, 710, 730, and 740 nm) and 4 bands was only 1.8% for OA and 4.1% for KC, respectively. Finally, adding two bands (550 nm and 800 nm with 25 nm of FWHM) in four bands with 50 nm of FWHM have been proposed to improve the usability of multispectral image sensors with performing various roles in agriculture as well as detecting FB with other combinations of spectral bands.

• Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.172-180
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• 2007

Among the nuclear medicine imaging methods available today, $H_2^{15}O-PET$ is most widely used by cognitive neuroscientists to examine regional brain function via the measurement of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF). The short half-life of the radioactively labeled probe, $^{15}O$, often allows repeated measures from the same subjects in many different task conditions. $H_2^{15}O-$ PET, however, has technical limitations relative to other methods of functional neuroimaging, e.g., fMRI, including relatively poor time and spatial resolutions, and, frequently, insufficient statistical power for analysis of individual subjects. However, recent technical developments, such as the 3-D acquisition method provide relatively good image quality with a smaller radioactive dosage, which in turn results in more PET scans from each individual, thus providing sufficient statistical power for the analysis of individual subject's data. Furthermore, the noise free scanner environment $H_2^{15}O$ PET, along with discrete acquisition of data for each task condition, are important advantages of PET over other functional imaging methods regarding studying state-dependent changes in brain activity. This review presents both the limitations and advantages of $^{15}O-PET$, and outlines the design of efficient PET protocols, using examples of recent PET studies both in the normal healthy population, and in the clinical population.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.19-29
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• 1994

A large volume of paper mill sludge(PMS) is produced every day from paper industries after treatments of waste water and it costs too much to dispose of the sludge. Since PMS consists mostly of biodegradable organic matter, cellulose, it is desirable to recycle it by proper treatments such as composting. In this study, experiments were conducted using a small scale reactor(12l) to establish optimum conditions for efficient composting of PMS of which initial pH, C/N ratio, and moisture content were 7.1, 28~30, and 60~65%, respectively. No heavy metals such as mercury, cadmimum, and lead were not detected in the PMS. Various levels of forced aeration, 1 minute aeration per every 30, 60, 120, 240, and 480 minutes were applied and 1 minute aeration per 60 and 120 minutes found to be proper for composting of 8l PMS in this system. Relationship between $CO_2$ production and temperatures was positively correlated with r> 0.82 suggesting that the normal decomposition of PMS by microorganisms occurred. However, under the condition of aeration interval over than 240 minutes, a negative relationship between two parameters was found indicating the occurrence of abnormal(maybe anaerobic) degradation. The amount of added nitrogen also affected composting of PMS resulting in the increase of $CO_2$ production and temperature. Semi-field tests using 100kg PMS in a static pile sysem showed that PMS could be composted efficiently under optimal environmental conditions. The parameters determining efficiency of composting such as C/N ratio, aeration, moisture content, and pH need to be monitored.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.31 no.11
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• pp.1028-1036
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• 2021

Firefly luciferase (FLuc) can function as an efficient marker in the gene and viral therapies. Nonetheless, its clinical translation has been unaccomplished with the concerns on its exogenous nature and the similarity with human fatty acyl-CoA synthetase. In this study, we aimed to show safety of FLuc by conducting a set of preclinical experiments and a human use. Initially, FLuc permeability across the plasma membrane was investigated by delivering the FLuc-carrying viral vector, OTS-412, or the FLuc recombinant protein. After in vitro infection of OTS-412 into different cancer cell lines, FLuc activity was detected only in the cell lysates, but not in culture media. In addition, recombinant FLuc protein further showed the impermeability against the plasma membrane. Similar result was also observed in the in vivo experiment. After being injected into the VX2 tumor-bearing rabbit, the FLuc exclusively resided within the tumor tissue without being detected in the blood plasma or other organs. Human cancer cell lines originated from various organs were lysed and treated to the FLuc, and none of the human substrates was reactive against the FLuc. As a final step, FLuc recombinant protein was intravenously injected into a human. The luciferase was degraded with the half-life of 20 to 30 minutes in blood, and was untraceable from 1.5 hr after the injection. In addition, the blood plasma was nonresponsive against the fatty acids. Hematological analysis was also comparable between the pre- and post-injection. Altogether, our study collectively demonstrates the safety of the firefly luciferase.