• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.13
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• pp.5371-5376
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• 2015

Berberine (B1), isolated from stems of Coscinium fenestratum (Goetgh.) Colebr, was used as a principle structure to synthesize three phenolic derivatives: berberrubine (B2) with a single phenolic group, berberrubine chloride (B3) as a chloride counter ion derivative, and 2,3,9,10-tetra-hydroxyberberine chloride (B4) with four phenolic groups, to investigate their direct and indirect antioxidant activities. For DPPH assay, compounds B4, B3, and B2 showed good direct antioxidant activity ($IC_{50}$ values=$10.7{\pm}1.76$, $55.2{\pm}2.24$, and $87.4{\pm}6.65{\mu}M$, respectively) whereas the $IC_{50}$ value of berberine was higher than $500{\mu}M$. Moreover, compound B4 exhibited a better DPPH scavenging activity than BHT as a standard antioxidant ($IC_{50}=72.7{\pm}7.22{\mu}M$) due to the ortho position of hydroxyl groups and its capacity to undergo intramolecular hydrogen bonding. For cytotoxicity assay against human fibrosarcoma cells (HT1080) using MTT reagent, the sequence of $IC_{50}$ value at 7-day treatment stated that B1 < B4 < B2 ($0.44{\pm}0.03$, $2.88{\pm}0.23$, and $6.05{\pm}0.64{\mu}M$, respectively). Berberine derivatives, B2 and B4, showed approximately the same level of CAT expression and significant up-regulation of SOD expression in a dose-dependent manner compared to berberine treatment for 7-day exposure using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assays. Our findings show a better direct-antioxidant activity of the derivatives containing phenolic groups than berberine in a cell-free system. For cell-based system, berberine was able to exert better cytotoxic activity than its derivatives. Berberine derivatives containing a single and four phenolic groups showed improved up-regulation of SOD gene expression. Cytotoxic action might not be the main effect of berberine derivatives. Other pharmacological targets of these derivatives should be further investigated to confirm the medical benefit of phenolic groups introduced into the berberine molecule.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.33 no.10
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• pp.59-69
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• 2017

The tension load of the ground anchor inserted in the ground gradually changes over time. In this regard the change of the initial tension load is primarily decreased by the fixation condition of the fixing head and the mechanical characteristics of the tensile material. The subsequent additional tension load is a time-dependent loss mostly due to the fixing conditions of the bonded length and the surrounding ground properties of the field. In this paper, therefore, a measurement system using a relative displacement detector that can relatively easily measure the change of tension load is discussed. As a result of the review, it was confirmed that the results using the relative displacement detector are similar to those of the real scale model test, and it was also confirmed that similar results were obtained with the result of the pull-out test conducted on the ground anchors fixed to weathered rocks condition. In addition, a pull-out test was conducted on the test anchors whose initial tension load loss was relatively large and through this test pull-out behavior of the tension type ground anchors was verified.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.367-373
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• 2004

We have developed a rigorous heat treatment method to improve the biocompatibility of chitosan as a tissue-engineered scaffold. The chitosan scaffold was prepared by the controlled freezing and lyophilizing method using dilute acetic acid and then it was heat-treated at 110$^{\circ}C$ in vacuo for 1-3 days. To explore changes in the physicochemical properties of the heat-treated scaffold, we analyzed the degree of deacetylation by colloid titration with poly(vinyl potassium sulfate) and the structural changes were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, wide-angle X-ray diffractometry (WAXD), and lysozyme susceptibility. The degree of deacetylation of chitosan scaffolds decreased significantly from 85 to 30% as the heat treatment time increased. FT-IR spectroscopic and WAXD data indicated the formation of amide bonds between the amino groups of chitosan and acetic acids carbonyl group, and of interchain hydrogen bonding between the carbonyl groups in the C-6 residues of chitosan and the N-acetyl groups. Our rigorous heat treatment method causes the scaffold to become more susceptible to lysozyme treatment. We performed further examinations of the changes in the biocompatibility of the chitosan scaffold after rigorous heat treatment by measuring the initial cell binding capacity and cell growth rate. Human dermal fibroblasts (HDFs) adhere and spread more effectively to the heat-treated chitosan than to the untreated sample. When the cell growth of the HDFs on the film or the scaffold was analyzed by an MTT assay, we found that rigorous heat treatment stimulated cell growth by 1.5∼1.95-fold relative to that of the untreated chitosan. We conclude that the rigorous dry heat treatment process increases the biocompatibility of the chitosan scaffold by decreasing the degree of deacetylation and by increasing cell attachment and growth.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.710-717
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• 2002

Molecularly imprinted polymers were prepared in particle forms by crosslinking methacrylic acid (MAA)) using all trans-retinoic acid as a template. The HPLC column packed with the prepared molecular imprinted polymers showed high capability in separation of retinoid derivatives. The column capacity factor and selectivity increased with increasing MAA to template ratio when the incorporated template amount was fixed, as it statistically generated more binding sites between host molecules and template. Molecularly imprinted polymer particles prepared via an emulsion polymerization method were round-shaped and their sizes were more uniformly distributed, but their separation capability was inferior to those obtained by solution polymerization method. It was presumably because the loss of interaction strength between MAA and the template due to hydrogen bonding either between MAA and water or between template and water during the synthesis of molecularly imprinted polymers.

• International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.327-341
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• 2017

Openings in slabs are usually required for many different applications such as aeriation ducts and air conditioning. Opening in concrete slabs due to cutouts significantly decrease the member stiffness. There are different techniques to strengthen slabs with opening cutouts. This study presents experimental and numerical investigations on the use of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers (CFRP) as strengthening material to strengthen and restore the load carrying capacity of R.C. slabs after having cutout in the hogging moment region. The experimental program consisted of testing five (oneway spanning R.C. flat slabs) with overhang. All slabs were prismatic, rectangular in cross-section and nominally 2000 mm long, 1000 mm width, and 100 mm thickness with a clear span (distance between supports) of 1200 mm and the overhang length is 700 mm. All slabs were loaded up to 30 kN (45% of ultimate load for reference slab, before yielding of the longitudinal reinforcement), then the load was kept constant during cutting concrete and steel bars (producing cut out). After that operation, slabs were loaded till failure. An analytical study using finite element analysis (FEA) is performed using the commercial software ANSYS. The FEA has been validated and calibrated using the experimental results. The FE model was found to be in a good agreement with the experimental results. The investigated key parameters were slab aspect ratio for the opening ratios of [1:1, 2:1], CFRP layers and the laminates widths, positions for cutouts and the CFRP configurations around cutouts.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 2008.04a
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• pp.177-180
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• 2008

SHCC shows the high energy tolerance capacity due to the interfacial bonding of the fibers to the cement matrix. For effective material design and application of SHCC, it is needed to investigate the damage process and micro-fracture mechanism of cement matrix reinforced with different types of fibers. The objective of this paper is to investigate the direct tensile response of cement composites reinforced with single and hybrid fibers using acoustic emission(AE) technique. In this study, the correlations between AE signal and result of the direct tensile response of SHCC. For these purposes, three kinds of fibers were used: PET1.5%, PET1.0+PE0.5%, PET1.0%+PVA0.5%. The result of the direct tensile response of SHCC, for the same volume fraction of fibers, ultimate strength of PET-PE specimen was 2.7 times higher than specimens with PET fibers. And from AE signal value, AE event numbers and cumulative energy were different according to kind of fiber because of the different material properties of reinforced fiber.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.200-208
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• 1993

As a separation membrane for water-ethanol mixtures, alginic acid has been used which is hydrophilic polysaccharide and has excellent bonding capacity with divalent metal ions. Pervaporation characteristics of the alginic acid membrane were examined. The membrane was crosslinked with metal ions for the improvement of mechanical strength and chemical affinity. And its pervaporation characteristics were investigated. The first group(I A) metal complexed membrane cannot be used because of their brittleness and excessive swelling in low concentrations of ethanol solution. But the permeation characteristics of other metal complexed membrane were more improved than that of the alginic acid membrane because of their contraction of the membrane and hydrophilic property of metal ion.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.70 no.1
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• pp.13-31
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• 2019

A nonlinear finite element model (FEM) using ATENA-3D software to simulate the axially compressive behavior of circular steel tube confined concrete (CSTCC) columns infilled with ultra high performance concrete (UHPC) was presented in this paper. Some modifications to the material type "CC3DNonlinCementitious2User" of UHPC without and with the incorporation of steel fibers (UHPFRC) in compression and tension were adopted in FEM. The predictions of utimate strength and axial load versus axial strain curves obtained from FEM were in a good agreement with the test results of eighteen tested columns. Based on the results of FEM, the load distribution on the steel tube and the concrete core was derived for each modeled column. Furthermore, the effect of bonding between the steel tube and the concrete core was clarified by the change of friction coefficient in the material type "CC3DInterface" in FEM. The numerical results revealed that the increase in the friction coefficient leads to a greater contribution from the steel tube, a decrease in the ultimate load and an increase in the magnitude of the loss of load capacity. By comparing the results of FEM with experimental results, the appropriate friction coefficient between the steel tube and the concrete core was defined as 0.3 to 0.6. In addition to the numerical evaluation, eighteen analytical models for confined concrete in the literature were used to predict the peak confined strength to assess their suitability. To cope with CSTCC stub and intermediate columns, the equations for estimating the lateral confining stress and the equations for considering the slenderness in the selected models were proposed. It was found that all selected models except for EC2 (2004) gave a very good prediction. Among them, the model of Bing et al. (2001) was the best predictor.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.453-464
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• 2019

Soft marine soil has high fine-grained soil content and in-situ water content. Thus, it has low shear strength and bearing capacity and is susceptible to a large settlement, which leads to difficulties with coastal infrastructure construction. Therefore, strength improvement and settlement control are essential considerations for construction on soft marine soil deposits. Biopolymers show their potential for improving soil stability, which can reduce the environmental drawbacks of conventional soil treatment. This study used two biopolymers, an anionic xanthan gum biopolymer and a cationic ${\varepsilon}-polylysine$ biopolymer, as representatives to enhance the geotechnical engineering properties of soft marine soil. Effects of the biopolymers on marine soil were analyzed through a series of experiments considering the Atterberg limits, shear strength at a constant water content, compressive strength in a dry condition, laboratory consolidation, and sedimentation. Xanthan gum treatment affects the Atterberg limits, shear strength, and compressive strength by interparticle bonding and the formation of a viscous hydrogel. However, xanthan gum delays the consolidation procedure and increases the compressibility of soils. While ${\varepsilon}-polylysine$ treatment does not affect compressive strength, it shows potential for coagulating soil particles in a suspension state. ${\varepsilon}-Polylysine$ forms bridges between soil particles, showing an increase in settling velocity and final sediment density. The results of this study show various potential applications of biopolymers. Xanthan gum biopolymer was identified as a soil strengthening material, while ${\varepsilon}-polylysine$ biopolymer can be applied as a soil-coagulating material.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.70 no.6
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• pp.703-710
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• 2019

While fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) materials have been largely used in the retrofitting of concrete buildings, its application has been limited because of some problems such as de-bonding of FRP layers from the concrete surface. This paper is the part of a wide experimental and analytical investigation about flexural retrofitting of reinforced concrete (RC) columns using FRP and mechanical fasteners (MF). A new generation of MF is proposed, which is applicable for retrofitting of RC columns. Furthermore, generally, to evaluate a retrofitted structure the nonlinear static and dynamic analyses are the most accurate methods to estimate the performance of a structure. In the nonlinear analysis of a structure, accurate modeling of structural elements is necessary for estimation the reasonable results. So for nonlinear analysis of a structure, modeling parameters for beams, columns, and beam-column joints are essential. According to the concentrated hinge method, which is one of the most popular nonlinear modeling methods, structural members shall be modeled using concentrated or distributed plastic hinge models using modeling parameters. The nonlinear models of members should be capable of representing the inelastic response of the component. On the other hand, in performance based design to make a decision about a structure or design a new one, numerical acceptance should be determined. Modeling parameters and numerical acceptance criteria are different for buildings of different types and for different performance levels. In this paper, a new method was proposed for FRP retrofitted columns to avoid FRP debonding. For this purpose, mechanical fasteners were used to achieve the composite behavior of FRP and concrete columns. The experimental results showed that the use of the new method proposed in this paper increased the flexural strength and lateral load capacity of the columns significantly, and a good composition of FRP and RC column was achieved. Moreover, the modeling parameters and acceptance criteria were presented, which were derived from the experimental study in order to use in nonlinear analysis and performance-based design approach.