• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
• /
• v.31 no.6 s.119
• /
• pp.514-523
• /
• 2006

Production of green pepper has been increased due to customer's preference and a projected ten-year boom in the industry in Korea. This study was carried out to develop an automatic grading and sorting system for green pepper using machine vision. The system consisted of a feeding mechanism, segregation section, an image inspection chamber, image processing section, system control section, grading section, and discharging section. Green peppers were separated and transported using a bowl feeder with a vibrator and a belt conveyor, respectively. Images were taken using color CCD cameras and a color frame grabber. An on-line grading algorithm was developed using Visual C/C++. The green peppers could be graded into four classes by activating air nozzles located at the discharging section. Length and curvature of each green pepper were measured while removing a stem of it. The first derivative of thickness profile was used to remove a stem area of segmented image of the pepper. While pepper is moving at 0.45 m/s, the accuracy of grading sorting for large, medium and small pepper are 86.0%, 81.3% and 90.6% respectively. Sorting performance was 121 kg/hour, and about five times better than manual sorting. The developed system was also economically feasible to grade and sort green peppers showing the cost about 40% lower than that of manual operations.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
• /
• v.30 no.3
• /
• pp.98-105
• /
• 2009

Objective: Increased aortic and carotid arterial augmentation index (AI) is associated with the risk of cardiovascular disease. The most widely used approach for determining central arterial AI is by calculating the aortic pressure waveform from radial arterial waveforms using a transfer function. But how the change of waveform by applied pressure and the pattern of the change rely on subject's characteristics has not been recognized. In this study, we use a new method for measuring radial waveform and observe the change of waveform and the deviation of radial AI in the same position by applied pressure. Method: Forty-six non-patient volunteers (31 men and 15 women, age range 21-58 years) were enrolled for this study. Informed consent in a form approved by the institutional review board was obtained in all subjects. Blood pressure was measured on the left upper arm using an oscillometric method, radial pressure waves were recorded with the use of an improved automated tonometry device. DMP-3000(DAEYOMEDI Co., Ltd. Ansan, Korea) has robotics mechanism to scan and trace automatically. For each subject, we performed the procedure 5 times for each applied pressure level. We could thus obtain 5 different radial pulse waveforms for the same person's same position at different applied pressures. All these processes were repeated twice for test reproducibility. Result: Aortic AI, peripheral AI and radial AI were higher in women than in men (P<0.01), radial AI strongly correlated with aortic AI, and radial AI was consistently approximately 39% higher than aortic AI. Relationship between representative radial AI of DMP-3000 and peripheral AI of SphygmoCor had strongly correlation. And there were three patterns in change of pulse waveform. Conclusion: In this study, it is revealed the new device was sufficient to measure how radial AI and radial waveform from the same person at the same time change under applied pressure and it had inverse-proportion to applied pressure.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
• /
• v.26 no.4
• /
• pp.316-326
• /
• 2016

The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of cleavages on indirect tensile strength (ITS) of the granite. Brazilian disc tests and ring tests with three different hole sizes were performed. 2D DEM (Discrete Element Method) simulation was employed to further understand the failure process during the tests and the mechanism behind. Results show that ITS decreases across hardway, grain and rift cleavage. Measured average ITS from ring tests is about 2.5 ~ 6.4 times of those measured from Brazilian disc tests, and it decreases with increasing ratio of diameters of inner hole and specimen. Failure pattern in ring tests is influenced by both hole size and relative positions of cleavages parallel and perpendicular to the loading direction.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.17 no.1
• /
• pp.37-43
• /
• 2007

A gene encoding inulin fructotransferase (di-D-fructofuranose 1,2': 2,3' dianhydride [DFA III]-producing IFTase, EC 4.2.2.18) from Bacillus sp. snu-7 was cloned. This gene was composed of a single, 1,353-bp open reading frame encoding a protein composed of a 40-amino acid signal peptide and a 410-amino acid mature protein. The deduced amino acid sequence was 98% identical to Arthrobacter globiformis C11-1 IFTase (DFA III-producing). The enzyme was successfully expressed in E. coli as a functionally active, His-tagged protein, and it was purified in a single step using immobilized metal affinity chromatography. The purified enzyme showed much higher specific activity (1,276 units/mg protein) than other DFA III-producing IFTases. The recombinant and native enzymes were optimally active in very similar pH and temperature conditions. With a 103-min half-life at $60^{\circ}C$, the recombinant enzyme was as stable as the native enzyme. Acidic residues and cysteines potentially involved in the catalytic mechanism are proposed based on an alignment with other IFTases and a DFA IIIase.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
• /
• v.1 no.1
• /
• pp.35-43
• /
• 1997

Cis-dichlorodiammine platin${\mu}M$II (Cisplatin), an effective chemotherapeutic agent, induces acute renal failure by unknown mechanisms. To investigate direct toxic effects of cisplatin on the renal proximal tubular transport system, LLC-$PK_1$ cell line was selected as a cell model and the sugar transport activity was evaluated during a course of cisplatin treatment. Cells grown to confluence were treated with cisplatin for 60 min, washed, and then incubated for up to 5 days. At appropriate intervals, cells were tested for sugar transport activity using ${\alpha}-methyl-D-[^{14}C]glucopyranoside$ (AMG) as a model substrate. In cells treated with 100 ${\mu}M$ cisplatin, the AMG uptake was progressively impaired after 3 days. The viability of cells was not substantially changed with cisplatin of less than 100 ${\mu}M$, but it decreased markedly with 150 and 200 ${\mu}M$. In cisplatin-treated cells, the $Na^+$ -dependent AMG uptake was drastically inhibited with no change in the $Na^+$ -independent uptake. Kinetic analysis indicated that Vmax was suppressed, but Km was not altered. The $Na^+$ -dependent phlorizin binding was also decreased in cisplatin-treated cells. However, the AMG efflux from preloaded cells was not apparently retarded by cisplatin treatment. These data indicate that the cisplatin treatment impairs $Na^+$ -hexose cotransporters in LLC-$PK_1$ cells and suggest strongly that defects in transporter function at the luminal plasma membrane of the proximal tubular cells constitute an important pathogenic mechanism of cisplatin nephrotoxicity.

• Wind and Structures
• /
• v.30 no.6
• /
• pp.663-678
• /
• 2020

Robust semi-active vibration control of wind turbines using tuned mass dampers (TMDs) is a promising technique. This study investigates a 1.5 megawatt wind turbine controlled by eight different types of tuned mass damper systems of equal mass: a passive TMD, a semi-active varying-spring TMD, a semi-active varying-damper TMD, a semi-active varying-damper-and-spring TMD, as well as these four damper systems paired with an additional smaller passive TMD near the mid-point of the tower. The mechanism and controllers for each of these TMD systems are explained, such as employing magnetorheological dampers for the varying-damper TMD cases. The turbine is modelled as a lumped-mass 3D finite element model. The uncontrolled and controlled turbines are subjected to loading and operational cases including service wind loads on operational turbines, seismic loading with service wind on operational turbines, and high-intensity storm wind loads on parked turbines. The displacement and acceleration responses of the tower at the first and second mode shape maxima were used as the performance indicators. Ultimately, it was found that while all the semi-active TMD systems outperformed the passive systems, it was the semi-active varying-damper-and-spring system that was found to be the most effective overall - capable of controlling vibrations about as effectively with only half the mass as a passive TMD. It was also shown that by reducing the mass of the TMD and adding a second smaller TMD below, the vibrations near the mid-point could be greatly reduced at the cost of slightly increased vibrations at the tower top.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.19 no.12
• /
• pp.1557-1564
• /
• 2009

Human CDX2 is known as a caudal-related homeodomain transcription factor that is expressed in the intestinal epithelium and is important in differentiation and maintenance of the intestinal epithelial cells. The caudal-related homeobox proteins bind DNA according to a helix-turn-helix structure, thereby increasing the structural stability of DNA. A cancer-tumor suppressor role for Cdx2 has been shown by a decrease in the level of the expression of Cdx2 in colorectal cancer, but the mechanism of transcriptional regulation has not been examined at the molecular level. We developed a large-scale system for expression of the recombinant, novel CDX2, in Escherichia coli. A highly purified and soluble CDX2 protein was obtained in E. coli strain BL21(DE3)RIL and a hexahistidine fusion system using Ni-NTA affinity column, anion exchange, and gel filtration chromatographies. The identity and secondary structure of the purified CDX2 protein were confirmed by MALDI-TOF MS, Western blot, and a circular dichroism analyses. In addition, we studied the DNA-binding activity of recombinant CDX2 by ELISA experiment and isolated human CDX2-binding proteins derived from rat cells by an immobilized GST-fusion method. Three CDX2-binding proteins were found in the gastric tissue, and those proteins were identified to the homeobox protein Hox-D8, LIM homeobox protein 6, and SMC1L1 protein.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
• /
• v.23 no.2
• /
• pp.99-108
• /
• 2010

Chronic pain is a multifactorial condition with both physical and psychological symptoms, and it affects around 20% of the population in the developed world. In spite of outstanding advances in pain management over the past decades, chronic pain remains a significant problem. This article provides a mechanism- and evidence-based approach to improve the outcome for pharmacologic management of chronic pain. The usual approach to treat mild to moderate pain is to start with a nonopioid analgesic. If this is inadequate, and if there is an element of sleep deprivation, then it is reasonable to add an antidepressant with analgesic qualities. If there is a component of neuropathic pain or fibromyalgia, then a trial with one of the gabapentinoids is appropriate. If these steps are inadequate, then an opioid analgesic may be added. For moderate to severe pain, one would initiate an earlier trial of a long term opioid. Skeletal muscle relaxants and topicals may also be appropriate as single agents or in combination. Meanwhile, the steps of pharmacologic treatments for neuropathic pain include (1) certain antidepressants (tricyclic antidepressants, serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors), calcium channel ${\alpha}2-{\delta}$ ligands (gabapentin and pregabalin) and topical lidocaine, (2) opioid analgesics and tramadol (for first-line use in selected clinical circumstances) and (3) certain other antidepressant and antiepileptic medications (topical capsaicin, mexiletine, and N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor antagonists). It is essential to have a thorough understanding about the different pain mechanisms of chronic pain and evidence-based multi-mechanistic treatment. It is also essential to increase the individualization of treatment.

• Magazine of the Korea Concrete Institute
• /
• v.8 no.4
• /
• pp.201-211
• /
• 1996

It is expected that recent development of the mechanical model will replace previous empirical methods of detailing. In this study, a mechanical model is proposed to analyze the behavior of the anchorage zone of prestressed concrete members. Main characteristics of the proposed model lies on its rational consideration of material properties, and concrete strength in biaxial stress state and that of local zone reinforced by spirals. Shear friction strength of concrete surrounding spirals are also considered. The results of' the proposed method as well as the known Strut-and-Tie method and nonlinear finite element analysis are compared with some typical experimental results. We get good agreement to the failure mode as well as the failure load from test results. And it can be shown that three dimentional failure mechanism, which cannot be expected by the method based on 2D analysis, can be explained by proposed model.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
• /
• v.27 no.9
• /
• pp.77-86
• /
• 2011

The stress condition mainly dominates the thermal conductivity of soils whereas governing factors such as unit weight and porosity suggested by empirical correlations are still valid. The 3D thermal network model enables evaluation of the stress-dependent thermal conductivity of particulate materials generated by discrete element method (DEM). The relationship among dominant factors is analyzed based on the coordination number and porosity determined by stress condition and thermal conductivity of pore fluid. Results show that the variation of thermal conductivity is strongly attributed to the enlargement of inter-particle contact area by loading history and pore fluid conductivity. This study highlights that the anisotropic evolution of thermal conductivity depends on the directional load and that the particle-scale mechanism mainly dictates the heat transfer in soils.