• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
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• v.5 no.6
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• pp.431-435
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• 2000

The goal of this research is to compare the metal binding characteristics of an anoxic selector activated sludge system and a conventional activated sludge system. Metal biosorption by biomass harvested from experimental systems was determined by a series of batch experiments. Heavy metals studied in this research were zinc, cadmium, and nickel. The sorption isotherm showed that the selector sludge had significantly higher sorption capacity than did the control sludge. Metal biosorption behavior closely followed a Freundlich isotherm model for equilibrium concentrations. ECP contents of biomass estimated by alkali extraction technique showed that ECP levels in the selector sludge significantly higher than that in the sludge harvested from the conventional system, indicating that the higher metal sorption capacity of selector sludge may be due to the selection of the ECP-producing bacteria (i.e., Zoogloea sp.) by the selector system.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2005.07a
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• pp.125-126
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• 2005

Recently semiconductor devices are required more smaller scale and more powerful performance. For smaller scale of device, multilayer structure is proposed. And, for the higher performance, interconnection material is change to copper, because copper has high EM(Electro-migration)and low resistivity. Then copper CMP process is a great role in a multilayer formation of semiconductor. Copper process is different from aluminum process. ECP process is one of the copper processes. In this paper, we focused on the defects tendency by copper thickness which filled using ECP process. we observed hump high and dishing. Conclusively, hump hight reduced at copper thickness increased Also dishing reduced.

• Educational Technology International
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.1-39
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• 2022

We study emotion regulation in a distant CABLe (Collaborative Argumentation Based-Learning) setting at university. We analyze how students achieve the group task of synthesizing the literature on a topic through scientific argumentation on the institutional Moodle's forum. Distinguishing anticipatory from reactive emotional regulation shows how essential it is to establish and maintain a constructive working climate in order to make the best out of disagreement both on social and cognitive planes. We operationalize the analysis of anticipatory emotional regulation through an analytical grid applied to the data of two groups of students facing similar disagreement. Thanks to sharp anticipatory regulation, group 1 solved the conflict both on the social and the cognitive plane, while group 2 had to call out for external regulation by the teacher, stuck in a cyclically resurfacing dispute. While the institutional digital environment did afford anticipatory emotional regulation, reactive emotional regulation rather occurred through complementary informal and synchronous communication tools. Based on these qualitative case studies, we draw recommendations for fostering distant CABLe at university.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.48 no.10
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• pp.1126-1131
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• 2005

Purpose : Bronchial hyperresponsiveness(BHR) is considered a hallmark of asthma. Increased levels of eosinophil cationic protein(ECP) have been identified in serum of asthma patients. Several studies have examined the relationship between serum ECP and bronchial responsiveness, expressed as methacholine $PC_{20}$ in asthmatic patients, with conflicting results. The aims of this study were to examine the relationship between serum ECP and ${\Delta}FVC$, another index of bronchial responsiveness, which reflects increased maximal airway response. Methods : Six to 8-year-old children with asthma(n=109) underwent methacholine bronchoprovocation testing. The $PC_{20}$ dose of methacholine and ${\Delta}FVC$ were calculated for each individual from the methacholine dose response curves. Serum ECP levels and blood total eosinophil counts were also measured. Results : Serum ECP correlated with ${\Delta}FVC$(r=0.217, P=0.023), as well as $PC_{20}$(r=-0.208, P=0.030). However, blood eosinophil counts failed to show any correlations with ${\Delta}FVC$(r=0.085, P=0.378) or $PC_{20}$(r=-0.148, P=0.125). ${\Delta}FVC$ did not correlate with $PC_{20}$(r=-0.079, P=0.417). Conclusion : Blood eosinophil activation is associated with both components of BHR including increased sensitivity and increased maximal response in 6-8 year old children with asthma.

• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.135-148
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• 1995

To elucidate the distributional pattern of macrophages within lymphomyeloid tissues according to the disease process, tilapias, teleostean fish, were intraperitoneally injected with live Edwardsiellatarda and its extracellular product(ECP) respectively. And then histopathological examination for the spleen and gead kidney were carried out for the individuals which had not any clinical signs. In the group injected with live E. tarda, macrophages were densely organized into MMC-like structures with showing some degree of recovery in histological arrangement. At the 2nd week, overall structures of the lymphomyeloid tissues became normal, accompanying the disappearance of most of macrophage groups. Also in case of ECP injection, quite similar findings were observed. Moreover, macrophage collections and hypertrophied ellipsoids were recognized at 1hour after the injection of ECP in head kidney and spleen, respectively. These results suggested that characteristic behaviors of macrophages in lymphomyeloid tissues would be used as important morphological criteria for early diagnosis of edwarsiellosis or possibly of other infectious diseases.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.53 no.8
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• pp.795-800
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• 2010

Purpose: B cell-activating factor (BAFF) is a tumor-necrosis factor (TNF) superfamily member best known for its role in the survival and maturation of B cells. BAFF activity is observed in naive cells as well as in effector/memory T cells. We aimed to explore whether BAFF in sputum is expressed at elevated levels in asthmatic airways and associated with eosinophilic inflammation, pulmonary function, and bronchial hyperresponsiveness in children. Methods: One hundred and fifty-four asthmatic children and 98 healthy children were enrolled in the study. Sputum supernatants were collected and sputum BAFF and eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) levels were measured. We performed pulmonary function tests and methacholine challenge tests, while measuring total eosinophil count, total serum IgE, and serum ECP in all subjects. Results: Asthmatic children had significantly higher levels of BAFF in induced sputum [26.50 (10.50-100.27) pg/mL] compared to healthy children [18.32 (7.68-44.63) pg/mL; $P$=0.011]. Sputum BAFF positively correlated with sputum eosinophils (${\gamma}$=0.406, $P$<0.001) and sputum ECP (${\gamma}$=0.789, $P$<0.001). Significant negative correlations were found between sputum BAFF and FEV1 (${\gamma}$=-0.291, $P$<0.001) or post-bronchodilator FEV1 (${\gamma}$=-0.334, $P$<0.001), whereas nonsignificant correlations were found between sputum BAFF and bronchial hyperresponsiveness, serum eosinophil count, and serum ECP. Conclusion: These findings suggest that BAFF may play a role in childhood asthma, and BAFF levels in sputum could be a supportive marker that represents airway inflammation, especially eosinophilic inflammation.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.259-265
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• 2009

This paper studies the Element Connectivity Parameterization Method(ECP method) for topology optimization considering dynamic compliance. The previous element density based topology optimization method interpolates Young's modulus with respect to design variables defined in each element for topology optimization. Despite its various applications, these element density based methods suffer from numerical instabilities for nonlinear structure and multiphysics systems. To resolve these instabilities, recently a new numerical method called the Element Connectivity Parameterization(ECP) Method was proposed. Unlike the existing design methods, the ECP method optimizes the connectivities among plane or solid elements and it shows some advantages in topology optimization for both nonlinear structure and multiphysics systems. In this study, the method was expanded for topology optimization for the dynamic compliance by developing a way to model the mass matrix in the framework of the ECP method.

• JSTS:Journal of Semiconductor Technology and Science
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.800-807
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• 2016

We propose a fast algorithm using Extreme Contour Point (ECP) to detect the angle of rotated images, is implemented by rotation feature of one covered frame image that can be applied to correct the rotated images like in image processing for real time applications, while CORDIC is inefficient to calculate various points like high definition image since it is only possible to detect rotated angle between one point and the other point. The two advantages of this algorithm, namely compatibility to images in preprocessing by using Sobel edge process for pattern recognition. While the other one is its simplicity for rotated angle detection with cyclic shift of two $1{\times}n$ matrix set without complexity in calculation compared with CORDIC algorithm. In ECP, the edge features of the sample image of gray scale were determined using the Sobel Edge Process. Then, it was subjected to binary code conversion of 0 or 1 with circular boundary to constitute the rotation in invariant conditions. The results were extracted to extreme points of the binary image. Its components expressed not just only the features of angle ${\theta}$ but also the square of radius $r^2$ from the origin of the image. The detected angle of this algorithm is limited only to an angle below 10 degrees but it is appropriate for real time application because it can process a 200 degree with an assumption 20 frames per second. ECP algorithm has an O ($n^2$) in Big O notation that improves the execution time about 7 times the performance if CORDIC algorithm is used.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.49 no.11
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• pp.1216-1222
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• 2006

Purpose : Though atopic and nonatopic asthma have different clinical manifestations, bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR) and airway inflammations are common characteristics of them. We investigated BHR to both methacholine and adenosine 5'-monophosphate (AMP), and their relationships with blood eosinophil markers in nonatopic asthma as well as atopic asthma. Methods : We studied 116 children (82 atopics; 34 nonatopics) with mild to moderate asthma. Methacholine and AMP challenge tests were performed and bronchial responsiveness was expressed as $PC_{20}$ (provocative concentration causing a 20 percent fall in $FEV_1$); blood eosinopil counts (ETCs) and serum eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) levels were gauged. Results : In atopics, 95.1 percent and 90.2 percent showed hyperreactivity to methacholine ($PC_{20}$<16 mg/mL) and AMP ($PC_{20}$<200 mg/mL), respectively. Meanwhile, in nonatopics, 94.1 percent and 52.9 percent displayed hyperreactivity to methacholine and AMP, respectively. The geometric mean of AMP $PC_{20}$ was lower in atopics (31.6 mg/mL) than in nonatopics (125.9 mg/mL); that of methacholine $PC_{20}$ was similar in the two groups. AMP $PC_{20}$ correlated with blood ETCs in both atopics(r=-0.30, P<0.01) and nonatopics (r=-0.57, P<0.01), and correlated with serum ECP levels (r=-0.23, P<0.01) in atopics, but not in nonatopics. Apart from AMP, methacholine $PC_{20}$ was not associated with blood eosinophil markers in either group. Conclusion : Atopics more frequently displayed BHR to AMP than nonatopics. Furthermore, BHR to AMP was associated with not only blood ETCs, but serum ECP levels in atopics but was correlated with only blood ETCs in nonatopics. Those results suggest that BHR to AMP reflects airway inflammation in asthma and is more related to atopy.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.48 no.6
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• pp.922-931
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• 2000

Background : It has been well known that bronchia1 asthma is a chronic airway inflammatory disorder. Recently, sputum induced with hypertonic saline was introduced as a simple and useful nonivasive medium to investigate airway inflammation and symptom severity in patients with asthma. We examined the eosinophil, eosinophil cationic protein (ECP), interleukin(IL)-3, IL-5, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating facta (GM-CSF), and nitric oxide (NO) derivatives in induced sputum from patients with bronchia1 asthma in order to determine the role of NO and various inflammatory cytokines as a useful markers of airway inflammation or changes in pulmonary function tests and symptoms. Methods : A total 30 patients with bronchia1 asthma received oral prednisolone 30 mg daily for 2 weeks. Forced expiratory volume in one second ($FEV_1$), total blood eosinophil count and induced sputum eosinophil count, ECP, IL-3, IL-5, GM-CSF, and NO derivatives were determined before and after the administration of prednisolone. Results : Of the 30 patients, 13 (43.3%) were male and 17 (56.7%) were female. The mean age of patients was 41.8 years (range 19-64 years). Two patients could not produce sputum at the second study and 3 could not be followed up after their first visit. Two weeks after the prednisolone administration, there was a significant increase in $FEV_1$ (% of predicted value) from 78.1$\pm$20.6 % to 90.3$\pm$ 18.3 % (P<0.001). The eosinophil percentages in induced sputum were significantly decreased after treatment with prednisolone, with values of 56.1$\pm$27.2 % versus 29.6$\pm$21.3 % (P<0.001), and ECP were $134.5\pm68.1\;{\mu}g/L$ versus $41.5\pm42.4\;{\mu}g/L$ (P<0.001) respectively. After the prednisolone treatments, the eotaxin concentration also showed a decreasing tendency from 26.7$\pm$12.8 pg/ml to 21.7$\pm$8.7 pg/ml. There was a decreasing tendency but no significant differences in total blood eosinophil count (425.7$\pm$265.9 vs 287.7$\pm$294.7) and in the concentration of NO derivatives ($70.4\pm44.6{\mu}mol/L$ vs $91.5\pm48.3\;{\mu}mol/L$) after the prednisolone treatments. IL-3, IL-5, GM-CSF were undetectable in the sputum of most subjects either before the prednisolone treatments or after the treatments. Before the prednisolone treatments, a significant inverse correlation was observed between FEV1 and sputum ECP (r=-D.364, P<0.05) and there was a significant correlation between sputum eosinophils and eotaxin (r=0.369, P<0.05) Conclusion : The eotaxin and ECP concentration in induced sputum may be used as markers of airway inflammation after treatments in bronchia1 asthma. In addition, the measurement of sputum eosinophil percent ages is believed to be a simple method displaying the degree of airway inflammation and airway obstruction before and after the prednisolone treatment in bronchia1 asthma. However, unlike exhaled NO, the examination of NO derivatives with Griess reaction in induced sputum is considered an ineffective marker of changing airway inflammation and obstructing symptoms.