• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.49-54
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• 2014

Objective: This study aimed to identify how various applications of weight bearing on the affected side of hemiplegia patients affect the ability of balance keeping of the affected leg and the gait parameters. Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: Eighteen patients with hemiplegia participated in this study. There were twelve males and six females. This study investigated the effects of the single-leg stance exercise on dynamic balance, weight bearing, and gait ability compared with four conditions. Dynamic balance and weight bearing were measured using the step test (ST) of the affected side in stroke patients. In addition, gait parameters were measured using the optogait system for analysis of the spatial and temporal parameters of walking in stroke patients. Results: This study investigated the effect of the single leg stance exercise on the paralysis side. The ST showed significant findings for all conditions (p<0.05). Therefore, knee extension and flexion exercise on the affected side single-leg stance (condition 4) significantly improved dynamic balance and weight bearing on the affected side (p<0.05). In the condition of moving the knee joint in a single-leg stance was discovered that the stance phase time significantly increased more than in the condition of supporting the maximal voluntary weight on the affected side (p<0.05). Conclusions: Single-leg stance on the paralysis side with knee flexion and extension increased symmetry in weight bearing during stance phase time. This study suggests that single-leg stance exercises augments improved gait function through sufficient weight bearing in the stance phase of the affected side.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.17 no.11
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• pp.850-855
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• 2009

Keratin is an important protein used in wound healing and tissue recovery. In this study, keratin was modified chemically with iodoacetic acid (IAA) to enhance its solubility in organic solvent. Poly(hydroxybutylate-co-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) and modified keratin were dissolved in hexafluoroisopropanol (HFIP) and electrospun to produce nanofibrous mats. The resulting mats were surface-characterized by ATR-FTIR, field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA). The pure m-keratin mat was cross-linked with glutaraldehyde vapor to make it insoluble in water. The biodegradation test in vitro showed that the mats could be biodegraded by PHB depolymerase and trypsin aqueous solution. The results of the cell adhesion experiment showed that the NIH 3T3 cells adhered more to the PHBV/m-keratin nanofibrous mats than the PHBV film. The BrdU assay showed that the keratin and PHBV/m-keratin nanofibrous mats could accelerate the proliferation of fibroblast cells compared to the PHBV nanofibrous mats.

• Current Optics and Photonics
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.286-292
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• 2020

Imaging through multicore fiber (MCF) is of great significance in the biomedical domain. Although several techniques have been developed to image an object from a signal passing through MCF, these methods are strongly dependent on the surroundings, such as vibration and the temperature fluctuation of the fiber's environment. In this paper, we apply a new, strong technique called deep learning to reconstruct the phase image through a MCF in which each core is multimode. To evaluate the network, we employ the binary cross-entropy as the loss function of a convolutional neural network (CNN) with improved U-net structure. The high-quality reconstruction of input objects upon spatial light modulation (SLM) can be realized from the speckle patterns of intensity that contain the information about the objects. Moreover, we study the effect of MCF length on image recovery. It is shown that the shorter the fiber, the better the imaging quality. Based on our findings, MCF may have applications in fields such as endoscopic imaging and optical communication.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.45.1-45.13
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• 2021

Background: Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) is an infectious disease caused by the peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV) that mainly produces respiratory symptoms in affected animals, resulting in great losses in the world's agriculture industry every year. Single-domain variable heavy chain (VHH) antibody fragments, also referred to as nanobodies, have high expression yields and other advantages including ease of purification and high solubility. Objectives: The purpose of this study is to obtain a single-domain antibody with good reactivity and high specificity against PPRV. Methods: A VHH cDNA library was established by immunizing camels with PPRV vaccine, and the capacity and diversity of the library were examined. Four PPRV VHHs were selected, and the biological activity and antigen-binding capacity of the four VHHs were identified by western blot, indirect immunofluorescence, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) analyses. ELISA was used to identify whether the four VHHs were specific for PPRV, and VHH neutralization tests were carried out. ELISA and western blot analyses were used to identify which PPRV protein was targeted by VHH2. Results: The PPRV cDNA library was constructed successfully. The library capacity was greater than 2.0 × 10⁶ cfu/mL, and the inserted fragment size was approximately 400 bp to 2000 bp. The average length of the cDNA library fragment was about 1000 bp, and the recombination rate was approximately 100%. Four single-domain antibody sequences were selected, and proteins expressed in the supernatant were obtained. The four VHHs were shown to have biological activity, close affinity to PPRV, and no cross-reaction with common sheep diseases. All four VHHs had neutralization activity, and VHH2 was specific to the PPRV M protein. Conclusions: The results of this preliminary research of PPRV VHHs showed that four screened VHH antibodies could be useful in future applications. This study provided new materials for inclusion in PPRV research.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.51 no.6
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• pp.1487-1503
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• 2019

The methods and performance of a pin-level nuclear reactor core thermal-hydraulics (T/H) code ESCOT employing the drift-flux model are presented. This code aims at providing an accurate yet fast core thermal-hydraulics solution capability to high-fidelity multiphysics core analysis systems targeting massively parallel computing platforms. The four equation drift-flux model is adopted for two-phase calculations, and numerical solutions are obtained by applying the Finite Volume Method (FVM) and the Semi-Implicit Method for Pressure-Linked Equation (SIMPLE)-like algorithm in a staggered grid system. Constitutive models involving turbulent mixing, pressure drop, and vapor generation are employed to simulate key phenomena in subchannel-scale analyses. ESCOT is parallelized by a domain decomposition scheme that involves both radial and axial decomposition to enable highly parallelized execution. The ESCOT solutions are validated through the applications to various experiments which include CNEN $4{\times}4$, Weiss et al. two assemblies, PNNL $2{\times}6$, RPI $2{\times}2$ air-water, and PSBT covering single/two-phase and unheated/heated conditions. The parameters of interest for validation include various flow characteristics such as turbulent mixing, spacer grid pressure drop, cross-flow, reverse flow, buoyancy effect, void drift, and bubble generation. For all the validation tests, ESCOT shows good agreements with measured data in the extent comparable to those of other subchannel-scale codes: COBRA-TF, MATRA and/or CUPID. The execution performance is examined with a mini-sized whole core consisting of 89 fuel assemblies and for an OPR1000 core. It turns out that it is about 1.5 times faster than a subchannel code based on the two-fluid three field model and the axial domain decomposition scheme works as well as the radial one yielding a steady-state solution for the OPR1000 core within 30 s with 104 processors.

• Advances in nano research
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.39-49
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• 2019

This paper focuses on two main objectives. The first one is to exploit an energy equivalent model and finite element method to evaluate the equivalent Young's modulus of single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) at any orientation angle by using tensile test. The calculated Young's modulus is validated with published experimental results. The second target is to exploit the finite element simulation to investigate mechanical buckling and natural frequencies of SWCNTs. Energy equivalent model is presented to describe the atomic bonding interactions and their chemical energy with mechanical structural energies. A Program of Nanotube modeler is used to generate a geometry of SWCNTs structure by defining its chirality angle, overall length of nanotube and bond length between two adjacent nodes. SWCNTs are simulated as a frame like structure; the bonds between each two neighboring atoms are treated as isotropic beam members with a uniform circular cross section. Carbon bonds is simulated as a beam and the atoms as nodes. A finite element model using 3D beam elements is built under the environment of ANSYS MAPDL environment to simulate a tensile test and characterize equivalent Young's modulus of whole CNT structure. Numerical results are presented to show critical buckling loads, axial and transverse natural frequencies of SWCNTs with different orientation angles and lengths. The understanding of mechanical behaviors of CNTs are essential in developing such structures due to their great potential in wide range of engineering applications.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.88-96
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• 2008

Thermal evaporated 10 nm-$Ni_{50}Co_{50}$/(70 nm-poly)Si films were deposited to examine the energy saving properties of silicides formed by rapid thermal annealing at temperature ranging from 500 to $1,100^{\circ}C$ for 40 seconds. Thermal evaporated 10 nm-Ni/(70 nm-poly)Si films were also deposited as a reference using the same method for depositing the 10 nm-$Ni_{50}Co_{50}$/(70 nm-poly)Si films. A four-point probe was used to examine the sheet resistance. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction XRD were used to determine cross sectional microstructure and phase changes, respectively. UV-VIS-NIR and FT-IR (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy) were used to examine the near-infrared (NIR) and middle-infrared (MIR) absorbance. TEM analysis confirmed that the uniform nickel-cobalt composite silicide layers approximately 21 to 55 nm in thickness had formed on the single and polycrystalline silicon substrates as well as on the 25 to 100 nm thick nickel silicide layers. In particular, nickel-cobalt composite silicides showed a low sheet resistance, even after rapid annealing at $1,100^{\circ}C$. Nickel-cobalt composite silicide and nickel silicide films on the single silicon substrates showed similar absorbance in the near-IR region, while those on the polycrystalline silicon substrates showed excellent absorbance until the 1,750 nm region. Silicides on polycrystalline substrates showed high absorbance in the middle IR region. Nickel-cobalt composite silicides on the poly-Si substrates annealed at $1,000^{\circ}C$ superior IR absorption on both NIR and MIR region. These results suggest that the newly proposed $Ni_{50}Co_{50}$ composite silicides may be suitable for applications of IR absorption coatings.

• KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.90-113
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• 2021

Electronic Records Management System (ERMS) is a computer program or set of applications that is utilized for keeping up to date records along with their storage. ERMS has been extensively utilized for enhancing the performance of academic institutions. The system assists in the planning and decision-making processes, which in turn enhances the competencies. However, although ERMS is significant in supporting the process of decision-making, the majority of organizations have failed to take an initiative to implement it, taking into account that are some implementing it without an appropriate framework, and thus resulted in the practice which does not meet the accepted standard. Therefore, this study identifies the factors influencing the adoption of ERMS among employees of HLI in Yemen and the role of such adoption in the decision-making process, using the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) along with Technology, Organization and Environment (TOE) as the underpinning theories. The study conducts a cross-sectional survey with a questionnaire as the technique for data collection, distributed to 364 participants in various Yemeni public Higher Learning Institutions (HLI). Using AMOS as a statistical method, the findings revealed there are significant and positive relationships between technology factors (effort expectancy, performance expectancy, IT infrastructure and security), organizational factors (top management support, financial support, training, and policy),environmental factors (competitiveness pressure, facilitating conditions and trust) and behavioral intention to adopt ERMS, which in return has a significant relationship with the process of decision-making in HLI. The study also presents a variety of theoretical and empirical contributions that enrich the body of knowledge in the field of technology adoption and the electronic record's domain.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.65-77
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• 2022

Purpose: This study aims to identify factors affecting the adoption of e-commerce by household businesses in Vietnam's food and beverage industry. Research design, data and methodology: The integrated TAM and TOE frameworks and ten hypotheses were developed to test the relationship between relevant factors. A cross-sectional survey was conducted to collect valid data from 992 respondents who run F&B household businesses in Vietnam. Results: The empirical research results confirm all proposed hypotheses that e-commerce adoption is affected by the perceived usefulness, the perceived ease of use, vendor support partners, social expectancy, competitive pressure, subjective norm, and household resources. Meanwhile, technical readiness, environment readiness, and organization readiness are intermediate variables that influence the implementation of e-commerce in food and beverage distribution. Conclusions: The findings suggest effective orientations to foster the food and beverage e-trading practice for household businesses in developing countries. Accordingly, to encourage private household businesses to adopt e-commerce, it is necessary to focus on improving business resources, technology readiness, environment readiness, and organization readiness through raising awareness of usefulness, benefits, perceived ease of use, and increased support of vendor partners. Future research can focus on improving the efficiency of e-commerce applications in F&B distribution for both household businesses and larger-scale enterprises.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.522-530
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• 2022

In this study we aimed to develop novel ZnO-NP/chitosan/β-glycerophosphate (ZnO-NP/CS/β-GP) antibacterial hydrogels for biomedical applications. According to the mass fraction ratio of ZnO-NPs to chitosan, mixtures of 1, 3, and 5% ZnO-NPs/CS/β-GP were prepared. Using the test-tube inversion method, scanning electron microscopy and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, the influence of ZnO-NPs on gelation time, chemical composition, and cross-sectional microstructures were evaluated. Adding ZnO-NPs significantly improved the hydrogel's antibacterial activity as determined by bacteriostatic zone and colony counting. The hydrogel's bacteriostatic mechanism was investigated using live/dead fluorescent staining and scanning electron microscopy. In addition, crystal violet staining and MTT assay demonstrated that ZnO-NPs/CS/β-GP exhibited good antibacterial activity in inhibiting the formation of biofilms and eradicating existing biofilms. CCK-8 and live/dead cell staining methods revealed that the cell viability of gingival fibroblasts (L929) cocultured with hydrogel in each group was above 90% after 24, 48, and 72 h. These results suggest that ZnO-NPs improve the temperature sensitivity and bacteriostatic performance of chitosan/β-glycerophosphate (CS/β-GP), which could be injected into the periodontal pocket in solution form and quickly transformed into hydrogel adhesion on the gingiva, allowing for a straightforward and convenient procedure. In conclusion, ZnO-NP/CS/β-GP thermosensitive hydrogels could be expected to be utilized as adjuvant drugs for clinical prevention and treatment of peri-implant inflammation.