• Advanced Composite Materials
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• 제17권3호
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• pp.259-275
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• 2008

This study aims to optimize the mechanical and electrical properties of electrically conductive polymer composites (CPCs) for use as a material of bipolar plates for PEM fuel cells. The thin CPCs consisting of conductive fillers and polymer resin were fabricated by a preform molding technique. Expanded graphite (EG), flake-type graphite (FG) and carbon fiber (CF) were used as conductive fillers. This study tested two types of CPCs, EG/FG filled CPCs and EG/CF filled CPCs, to optimize the material properties. First, the characteristics of EG/FG filled CPCs were investigated according to the FG ratio for 7 and $100{\mu}m$ sized FG. CPCs using $100{\mu}m$ FG showed optimal material properties at 60 wt% FG ratio, which were an electrical conductivity of 390 S/cm and flexural strength of 51 MPa. The particle size was an important parameter to change the mechanical and electrical behaviors. The flexural strength was sensitive to the particle size due to the different levels of densification. The electrical conductivity also showed size-dependent behavior because of the different contributions to the conductive network. Meanwhile, the material properties of EG/CF filled CPCs was also optimized according to the CF ratio, and the optimized electrical conductivity and flexural strength were 290 S/cm and 58 MPa, respectively. The electrical conductivity of this case decreased similarly to the EG/FG filled case. On the other hand, the behavior of the flexural strength was more complicated than the EG/FG filled case, and the reason was attributed to the interaction between the strengthening effect of CF and the deterioration of voids.

• 시스템엔지니어링학술지
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• 제17권2호
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• pp.49-60
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• 2021

The Core Protection Calculator System (CPCS) is vital for plant safety as it ensures the required Specified Acceptance Fuel Design Limit (SAFDL) are not exceeded. The CPCS generates trip signals when Departure from Nucleate Boiling Ratio (DNBR) and Local Power Density (LPD) exceeds their predetermined setpoints. These setpoints are established based on the operating margin from the analysis that produces the SAFDL values. The goal of this research is to create a simplified CPCS that optimizes operating margin for I-SMRs. Because the I-SMR is compact in design, instrumentation placement is a challenge, as it is with Ex-core detectors and RCP instrumentation. The proposed CPCS addresses the issue of power flux measurement with In-Core Instrumentation (ICI), while flow measurement is handled with differential pressure transmitters between Steam Generators (SG). Simplification of CPCS is based on a Look-Up-Table (LUT) for determining the CEA groups' position. However, simplification brings approximations that result in a loss of operational margin, which necessitates compensation. Appropriate compensation is performed based on the result of analysis. FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Arrays) are presented as a way to compensate for the inadequacies of current systems by providing faster execution speeds and a lower Common Cause Failure rate (CCF).

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• 제5권5호
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• pp.389-395
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• 2011

In the present study, a suitable drying method was developed for citrus press cakes (CPCs), which are produced as a by-product in citrus juice plants, and the protective effect of methanol extract of CPCs prepared by far-infrared radiation (FIR) drying against $H_2O_2$-induced DNA damage was evaluated versus that of freeze-dried CPCs. Methanol extract of FIR-dried CPCs exhibited comparatively good ROS scavenging activity versus the freeze-dried CPCs at the concentration of 100 ${\mu}g$/mL. The extract strongly enhanced the cell viability against $H_2O_2$-induced oxidative damage in Vero cells. Lipid peroxidation inhibitory activity of the extract from FIR-dried CPCs was comparable to that of the extract from freeze-dried CPCs. This sample also exhibited good protective effects against $H_2O_2$-mediated cell apoptosis as demonstrated by decreased apoptotic body formation in the nuclear staining with Hoechst 33342. In the comet assay, the CPC extracts exhibited strong inhibitory effects against $H_2O_2$-mediated DNA damage in a dose-dependent manner. Thus, this study demonstrated that FIR drying effectively preserves CPC as a functionally important natural antioxidant source and the FIR drying can be adapted for drying CPCs and is more economical for massive production than freeze drying.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• 제21권3호
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• pp.196-203
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• 2013

Recent accumulating studies have reported that hypoxic preconditioning during ex vivo expansion enhanced the self-renewal or differentiation of various stem cells and provide an important strategy for the adequate modulation of oxygen in culture conditions, which might increase the functional bioactivity of these cells for cardiac regeneration. In this study, we proposed a novel priming protocol to increase the functional bioactivity of cardiac progenitor cells (CPCs) for the treatment of cardiac regeneration. Firstly, patient-derived c-$kit^+$ CPCs isolated from the atrium of human hearts by enzymatic digestion and secondly, pivotal target molecules identified their differentiation into specific cell lineages. We observed that hCPCs, in response to hypoxia, strongly activated ERK phosphorylation in ex vivo culture conditioning. Interestingly, pre-treatment with an ERK inhibitor, U0126, significantly enhanced cellular proliferation and tubular formation capacities of CPCs. Furthermore, we observed that hCPCs efficiently maintained the expression of the c-kit, a typical stem cell marker of CPCs, under both hypoxic conditioning and ERK inhibition. We also show that hCPCs, after preconditioning of both hypoxic and ERK inhibition, are capable of differentiating into smooth muscle cells (SMCs) and cardiomyocytes (CMs), but not endothelial cells (ECs), as demonstrated by the strong expression of ${\alpha}$-SMA, Nkx2.5, and cTnT, respectively. From our results, we conclude that the functional bioactivity of patient-derived hCPCs and their ability to differentiate into SMCs and CMs can be efficiently increased under specifically defined culture conditions such as short-term hypoxic preconditioning and ERK inhibition.

• 대한기계학회:학술대회논문집
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• 대한기계학회 2000년도 춘계학술대회논문집B
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• pp.234-239
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• 2000

The capillary pumped cooling system (CPCS) is a cooling system which controls temperature of the small electronic devices, such as IC device systems, notebook computers, etc. An important feature of CPCS is that a working fluid circulates in a system by capillary force in tubes instead of mechanical input power. The cooling effect of CPCS is investigated with respect to heat flux, condensation temperature under different working fluids (water, ethanol, methanol). Capillary pumped flows are visualized under various conditions and mass flow rate and temperature are experimentally measured. It is shown that the increasing tendency of mass flux for each working fluid is observed as the temperature of evaporator increases, and that the cooling possibility of CPCS depends on the performance of evaparator and condenser which sustains the steady state temperature continuously.

• 대한설비공학회지:설비저널
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• 제20권4호
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• pp.291-297
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• 1991

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제15권21호
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• pp.9335-9339
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• 2014

Background: To determine the frequency of primary circulating prostate cells (CPC) detection according to age and serum PSA levels in a cohort of men undergoing screening for prostate cancer and to determine the diagnostic yield in those men complying with the criteria for prostate biopsy. Materials and Methods: A prospective study was carried out to analyze all men evaluated in a hospital prostate cancer screening program. Primary CPCs were obtained by differential gel centrifugation and detected using standard immunocytochemistry using anti-PSA, positive samples undergoing a second process with anti-P504S. A malignant primary CPC was defined as PSA+ P504S+, and a test positive if 1 cell/4ml was detected. The frequency of primary CPC detection was compared with age and serum PSA levels. Men with a PSA >4.0ng/ml and/or abnormal rectal examination underwent 12 core prostate biopsy, and the results were registered as cancer/no-cancer and compared with the presence/absence of primary CPCs to calculate the diagnostic yield. Results: A total of 1,117 men participated; there was an association of primary CPC detection with increasing age and increasing serum PSA. Some 559 men underwent initial prostate biopsy of whom 207/559 (37.0%) were positive for primary CPCs and 183/559 (32.0%) had prostate cancer detected. The diagnostic yield of primary CPCs had a sensitivity of 88.5%, a specificity of 88.0%, and positive and negative predictive values of 78.3% and 94.9%, respectively. Conclusions: The use of primary CPCs for testing is recommended, since its high negative predictive value could be used to avoid prostate biopsy in men with an elevated PSA and/or abnormal DRE. Men positive for primary CPCs should undergo prostate biopsy. It is a test that could be implemented in the routine immunocytochemical laboratory.

• 한국대기환경학회지
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• 제30권6호
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• pp.619-630
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• 2014

Two butanol-based Condensation Particle Counters (CPC 3022, CPC 3025), three water-based CPCs (CPC3781, CPC3785${\times}$2), a Gardner Counter, a Fast Mobility Particle Sizer (FMPS), and an Aerosol Electrometer (AE) were deployed to measure the number concentrations from atomized aerosol under six different conditions. Comparisons of particle number concentrations measured by the CPCs, FMPS, and AE were conducted to evaluate the performance of the each CPCs using laboratory generated artificial particles such as NaCl, succinic acid ($C_4H_6O_4$), and particles generated by propane torch & heat gun in the chamber. Good correlation between the CPC3025 and FMPS was observed for the total particle number concentrations in the size range 15 nm to 90 nm. In addition, this paper suggests that photometric mode in water-based CPC3785 could not be used as quantitative of number concentrations for CPC3785.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제16권15호
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• pp.6615-6619
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• 2015

Background: The expression of HER-2 in prostate cancer has been linked to disease progression. We analysed the presence of HER-2 expression in primary tumors in men undergoing radical prostatectomy, its association with clinical and pathological findings, and its expression in secondary circulating prostate cells (CPCs) during follow up, as well as links with biochemical failure and the effects of androgen blockade. Materials and Methods: Consecutive men undergoing radical prostatectomy for histologically confirmed prostate cancer were analyzed. HER-2 expression in the primary tumor was assessed using the HercepTest(R), CPCs were identified from blood samples using standard immunocytochemistry with anti-PSA and positive samples with the HercepTest(R) to determine HER-2 expression. The influence of HER-2 expression on the frequency of biochemical failure and effects of androgen blockade was determined. Results: 144 men with a mean age of $64.8{\pm}10.3$ years participated, with a median follow up of 8.2 years. HER-2 was expressed in 20.8% of primary tumors; it was associated with vascular infiltration and older age, but not with other clinical pathological findings. Some 40.3% of men had secondary CPCs detected, of which 38% expressed HER-2. Men CPC (+) had a higher frequency of biochemical failure, but there was no difference in HER-2 expression of CPCs with the frequency of biochemical failure. After androgen blockade, men with HER-2 (+) positive secondary CPCs had a higher frequency of disease progression to castrate resistant disease. Conclusions: HER-2 plays a dual role in the progression of prostate cancer; firstly it may increase the potential of tumor cells to disseminate from the primary tumor via the blood by increasing vascular infiltration. In the presence of androgens, there is no survival advantage of expressing HER-2, but once biochemical failure has occurred and androgen blockade started, HER-2 positive cells are resistant to treatment, survive and grow leading to castration resistant disease.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• 제6권3호
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• pp.187-194
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• 2012

In this study, the antibacterial effect was evaluated to determine the benefits of high speed drying (HSD) and far-infrared radiation drying (FIR) compared to the freeze drying (FD) method. Citrus press-cakes (CPCs) are released as a by-product in the citrus processing industry. Previous studies have shown that the HSD and FIR drying methods are much more economical for drying time and mass drying than those of FD, even though FD is the most qualified drying method. The disk diffusion assay was conducted, and the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) were determined with methanol extracts of the dried CPCs against 11 fish and five food-related pathogenic bacteria. The disk diffusion results indicated that the CPCs dried by HSD, FIR, and FD prevented growth of all tested bacteria almost identically. The MIC and MBC results showed a range from 0.5-8.0 mg/mL and 1.0-16.0 mg/mL respectively. Scanning electron microscopy indicated that the extracts changed the morphology of the bacteria cell wall, leading to destruction. These results suggest that CPCs dried by HSD and FIR showed strong antibacterial activity against pathogenic bacteria and are more useful drying methods than that of the classic FD method in CPCs utilization.