• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.145-151
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• 2006

We investigated the effects of Ginsenoside $R_e$ on human sperm motility in fertile and asthenozoospermic infertile individuals in vitro and the mechanism by which the Ginsenosides play their roles. The semen samples were obtained from 10 fertile volunteers and 10 asthenozoospermic infertile patients. Spermatozoa were separated by Percoll and incubated with 0, 1, 10 or $100\;{\mu}M$ of Ginsenoside $R_e$. Total sperm motility and progressive motility were measured by computer-aided sperm analyzer (CASA). Nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activity was determined by the $^{3}H$-arginine to $^{3}H$-citrulline conversion assay, and the NOS protein was examined by the Western blot analysis. The production of sperm nitric oxide (NO) was detected using the Griess reaction. The results showed that Ginsenoside $R_e$ significantly enhanced both fertile and infertile sperm motility, NOS activity and NO production in a concentration-dependent manner. Sodium nitroprusside (SNP, 100 nM), a NO donor, mimicked the effects of Ginsenoside $R_e$. And pretreatment with a NOS inhibitor $N^{w}$-Nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME, $100\;{\mu}M$) or a NO scavenger N-Acetyl-L-cysteine (LNAC, 1 mM) completely blocked the effects of Ginsenoside $R_e$. Data suggested that Ginsenoside $R_e$ is beneficial to sperm motility, and that induction of NOS to increase NO production may be involved in this benefit.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.455-464
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• 2004

Total hip arthroplasty(THA) considerably depends on high-experienced doctors because of high difficulty of the operation. Selection of acetabular cup's and femoral implant's position is closely related with success or failure of THA. Nevertheless the selection has usually depended on doctor's eye measurement, which makes the position accuracy of artificial joint lower after THA, often resulting in revision of THA. The present study determined a method to select accurately the position of acetabular cup and femoral implant through surgical simulation with 3D characteristic geometrical information of patient's pelvis and femur. We examined the change of femoral anteversion angle and neck-shaft angle accompanied by the change of acetabular cup's position and the insertion position of femoral implant. As result of analyzing geometrical information through different surgical simulations, we found that it was possible to select the accurate position of acetabular cup and femoral implant. It is expected to help doctors get experienced in THA operation through repetitive surgical simulations using the method suggested in the study.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.1999-2004
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• 2011

This research aims to develop polymer composites which can be used for PEMFC bipolar plate by injection molding process. Considering the moldability and stiffness, we used LCP(Liquid crystal polymer) as base resin. In order to improve electrical conductivity and mechanical properties, we chose carbon black, and both synthetic graphite and expanded graphite. The composites with different recipe are prepared for injection molding of PEMFC bipolar plate and CAE(Computer Aided Engineering) analysis was performed to predict melt flow and fiber orientation We did successfully fabricate the ASTM specimens by injection molding, and measure the electrical conductivity of the samples by using four point probe device. We measured mechanical properties such as flexural strength, flexural modulus and Izod impact strength. Conclusively, the electrical conductivity increased with increasing additive concentration, but both flexural strength and Izod impact strength decreased due to the brittle nature of carbon-based additives.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.77-83
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• 2016

Recently, interests for maintenance of transmission tower are increasing to extend life of structures and reduce maintenance cost. However, existing classical diagnosis method of corrosion deteriorated degree on the transmission tower steel members, visual inspection, has a problem that error often due to difference of inspector's individual knowledge and experience. In order to solve the problem, this study carried out to develop the corrosion deterioration inspection tool for transmission tower steel members. This tool is composed of camera equipment and computer-aided diagnosis system. We standardized the photographing method by camera equipment to obtain suitable pictures for image processing. Diagnosis system was designed to evaluate automatically degree of corrosion deterioration for member of transmission tower on the basis of the RGB color image processing techniques. It is anticipated that developed the corrosion deterioration inspection tool will be very helpful in decision of optimal maintenance time for transmission tower corrosion.

• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
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• v.50 no.6
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• pp.392-405
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• 2020

Purpose: Titanium implants are widely used in the treatment of dentition defects; however, due to problems such as osseointegration failure, peri-implant bone resorption, and periimplant inflammation, their application is subject to certain restrictions. The surface modification of titanium implants can improve the implant success rate and meet the needs of clinical applications. The goal of this study was to evaluate the effect of the use of porous titanium with a chitosan/hydroxyapatite coating on osseointegration. Methods: Titanium implants with a dense core and a porous outer structure were prepared using a computer-aided design model and selective laser sintering technology, with a fabricated chitosan/hydroxyapatite composite coating on their surfaces. In vivo and in vitro experiments were used to assess osteogenesis. Results: The quasi-elastic gradient and compressive strength of porous titanium implants were observed to decrease as the porosity increased. The in vitro experiments demonstrated that, the porous titanium implants had no biological toxicity; additionally, the porous structure was shown to be superior to dense titanium with regard to facilitating the adhesion and proliferation of osteoblast-like MC3T3-E1 cells. The in vivo experimental results also showed that the porous structure was beneficial, as bone tissue could grow into the pores, thereby exhibiting good osseointegration. Conclusions: Porous titanium with a chitosan/hydroxyapatite coating promoted MC3T3-E1 cell proliferation and differentiation, and also improved osseointegration in vitro. This study has meaningful implications for research into ways of improving the surface structures of implants and promoting implant osseointegration.

• Journal of Korean Society of Industrial and Systems Engineering
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2019

In the modern industrial period, the introduction of mass production was most important progress in civilization. Die-casting process is one of main methods for mass production in the modern industry. The aluminum die-casting in the mold filling process is very complicated where flow momentum is the high velocity of the liquid metal. Actually, it is almost impossible in complex parts exactly to figure the mold filling performance out with the experimental knowledge. The aluminum die-castings are important processes in the automotive industry to produce the lightweight automobile bodies. Due to this condition, the simulation is going to be more critical role in the design procedure. Simulation can give the best solution of a casting system and also enhance the casting quality. The cost and time savings of the casting layout design are the most advantage of Computer Aided Engineering (CAE). Generally, the relations of casting conditions such as injection system, gate system, and cooling system should be considered when designing the casting layout. Due to the various relative matters of the above conditions, product defects such as defect extent and location are significantly difference. In this research by using the simulation software (AnyCasting), CAE simulation was conducted with three layout designs to find out the best alternative for the casting layout design of an automotive Oil Pan_BJ3E. In order to apply the simulation results into the production die-casting mold, they were analyzed and compared carefully. Internal porosities which are caused by air entrapments during the filling process were predicted and also the results of three models were compared with the modifications of the gate system and overflows. Internal porosities which are occurred during the solidification process are predicted with the solidification analysis. And also the results of the modified gate system are compared.

• Biomedical Engineering Letters
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.337-344
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• 2018

Additive manufacturing (AM) is an alternative metal fabrication technology. The outstanding advantage of AM (3D-printing, direct manufacturing), is the ability to form shapes that cannot be formed with any other traditional technology. 3D-printing began as a new method of prototyping in plastics. Nowadays, AM in metals allows to realize not only net-shape geometry, but also high fatigue strength and corrosion resistant parts. This success of AM in metals enables new applications of the technology in important fields, such as production of medical implants. The 3D-printing of medical implants is an extremely rapidly developing application. The success of this development lies in the fact that patient-specific implants can promote patient recovery, as often it is the only alternative to amputation. The production of AM implants provides a relatively fast and effective solution for complex surgical cases. However, there are still numerous challenging open issues in medical 3D-printing. The goal of the current research review is to explain the whole technological and design chain of bio-medical bone implant production from the computed tomography that is performed by the surgeon, to conversion to a computer aided drawing file, to production of implants, including the necessary post-processing procedures and certification. The current work presents examples that were produced by joint work of Polygon Medical Engineering, Russia and by TechMed, the AM Center of Israel Institute of Metals. Polygon provided 3D-planning and 3D-modelling specifically for the implants production. TechMed were in charge of the optimization of models and they manufactured the implants by Electron-Beam Melting ($EBM^{(R)}$), using an Arcam $EBM^{(R)}$ A2X machine.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.80-85
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• 2021

We developed a model to classify the absence of cervical cancer using deep learning from the cervical image to which the histogram equalization algorithm was applied, and to compare the performance of each model. A total of 4259 images were used for this study, of which 1852 images were normal and 2407 were abnormal. And this paper applied Image Sharpening(IS), Histogram Equalization(HE), and Contrast Limited Adaptive Histogram Equalization(CLAHE) to the original image. Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio(PSNR) and Structural Similarity index for Measuring image quality(SSIM) were used to assess the quality of images objectively. As a result of assessment, IS showed 81.75dB of PSNR and 0.96 of SSIM, showing the best image quality. CLAHE and HE showed the PSNR of 62.67dB and 62.60dB respectively, while SSIM of CLAHE was shown as 0.86, which is closer to 1 than HE of 0.75. Using ResNet-50 model with transfer learning, digital image-processed images are classified into normal and abnormal each. In conclusion, the classification accuracy of each model is as follows. 90.77% for IS, which shows the highest, 90.26% for CLAHE and 87.60% for HE. As this study shows, applying proper digital image processing which is for cervical images to Computer Aided Diagnosis(CAD) can help both screening and diagnosing.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.199-204
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• 2021

In this study, an isogoemetric analysis (IGA) method that uses NURBS (Non-Uniform Rational B-Spline) basis functions in computer-aided design (CAD) systems is employed to account for the geometric exactness of curved electrodes constituting an electro-adhesive pad in electrostatic problems. The IGA is advantageous for obtaining precise normal vectors when computing the electro-adhesive forces on curved surfaces. By performing parametric studies using numerical examples, we demonstrate the superior performance of the curved electrodes, which is attributed to the increase in the normal component of the electro-adhesive forces. In addition, concave curved electrodes exhibit better performance than their convex counterparts.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information and Communication Engineering
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.682-687
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• 2022

In this paper, the research results on monolithic three-dimensional integrated-circuit (M3DICs) stacked with tunneling field effect transistors (TFETs) are introduced. Unlike metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs), TFETs are designed differently from the layout of symmetrical MOSFETs because the source and drain of TFET are asymmetrical. Various monolithic 3D inverter (M3D-INV) structures and layouts are possible due to the asymmetric structure, and among them, a simple inverter structure with the minimum metal layer is proposed. Using the proposed M3D-INV, this M3D logic gates such as NAND and NOR gates by sequentially stacking TFETs are proposed, respectively. The simulation results of voltage transfer characteristics of the proposed M3D logic gates are investigated using mixed-mode simulator of technology computer aided design (TCAD), and the operation of each logic circuit is verified. The cell area for each M3D logic gate is reduced by about 50% compared to one for the two-dimensional planar logic gates.