• Journal of Semiconductor Engineering
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.31-37
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• 2020

We present an approximate DRAM architecture for energy-efficient deep learning. Our key premise is that by bounding memory errors to non-critical information, we can significantly reduce DRAM refresh energy without compromising recognition accuracy of deep neural networks. To validate the key premise, we make extensive Monte-Carlo simulations for several well-known convolutional neural networks such as LeNet, ConvNet and AlexNet with the input of MINIST, CIFAR-10, and ImageNet, respectively. We assume that the highest-order 8-bits (in single precision) and 4-bits (in half precision) are protected from retention errors under the proposed architecture and then, randomly inject bit-errors to unprotected bits with various bit-error-rates. Here, recognition accuracies of the above convolutional neural networks are successfully maintained up to the 10^-5-order bit-error-rate. We simulate DRAM energy during inference of the above convolutional neural networks, where the proposed architecture shows the possibility of considerable energy saving up to 10 ~ 37.5% of total DRAM energy.

• KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
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• v.17 no.7
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• pp.1841-1857
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• 2023

CenterNet, a novel object detection algorithm without anchor based on key points, regards the object as a single center point for prediction and directly regresses the object's height and width. However, because the objects have different sizes, directly regressing their height and width will make the model difficult to converge and lose the intrinsic relationship between object's width and height, thereby reducing the stability of the model and the consistency of prediction accuracy. For this problem, we proposed an algorithm based on the regression of the diagonal half-length and the center angle, which significantly compresses the solution space of the regression components and enhances the intrinsic relationship between the decoded components. First, encode the object's width and height into the diagonal half-length and the center angle, where the center angle is the angle between the diagonal and the vertical centreline. Secondly, the predicted diagonal half-length and center angle are decoded into two length components. Finally, the position of the object bounding box can be accurately obtained by combining the corresponding center point coordinates. Experiments show that, when using CenterNet as the improved baseline and resnet50 as the Backbone, the improved model achieved 81.6% and 79.7% mAP on the VOC 2007 and 2012 test sets, respectively. When using Hourglass-104 as the Backbone, the improved model achieved 43.3% mAP on the COCO 2017 test sets. Compared with CenterNet, the improved model has a faster convergence rate and significantly improved the stability and prediction accuracy.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.57 no.12
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• pp.44.1-44.9
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• 2015

Background: Heat shock proteins play an important role in protection from stress stimuli and metabolic insults in almost all organisms. Methods: In this study, computational tools were used to deeply analyse the physicochemical characteristics and, using homology modelling, reliably predict the tertiary structure of the blunt snout bream (Ma-) Hsp70 and Hsc70 proteins. Derived three-dimensional models were then used to predict the function of the proteins. Results: Previously published predictions regarding the protein length, molecular weight, theoretical isoelectric point and total number of positive and negative residues were corroborated. Among the new findings are: the extinction coefficient (33725/33350 and 35090/34840 - Ma-Hsp70/ Ma-Hsc70, respectively), instability index (33.68/35.56 - both stable), aliphatic index (83.44/80.23 - both very stable), half-life estimates (both relatively stable), grand average of hydropathicity (-0.431/-0.473 - both hydrophilic) and amino acid composition (alanine-lysine-glycine/glycine-lysine-aspartic acid were the most abundant, no disulphide bonds, the N-terminal of both proteins was methionine). Homology modelling was performed by SWISS-MODEL program and the proposed model was evaluated as highly reliable based on PROCHECK's Ramachandran plot, ERRAT, PROVE, Verify 3D, ProQ and ProSA analyses. Conclusions: The research revealed a high structural similarity to Hsp70 and Hsc70 proteins from several taxonomically distant animal species, corroborating a remarkably high level of evolutionary conservation among the members of this protein family. Functional annotation based on structural similarity provides a reliable additional indirect evidence for a high level of functional conservation of these two genes/proteins in blunt snout bream, but it is not sensitive enough to functionally distinguish the two isoforms.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.32 no.12
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• pp.4265-4269
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• 2011

A method based on ethyl acetate extraction and gas chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry was developed for determining tetraconazole residues in fruits and vegetables. A 10 g homogenized sample was mixed with 10 mL ethyl acetate, shaken vigorously for 3 min, stored at $-20^{\circ}C$ for 15 min, and then vortexed vigorously for 1 min; 1 g NaCl and 4 g anhydrous $MgSO_4$ were added. The clean-up was carried out by applying dispersive solid-phase with 150 mg $MgSO_4$and 50 mg primary secondary amine. Three precursor product ion transitions for tetraconazole were measured and evaluated to provide the maximum degree of confidence. Average recoveries in fruits and vegetables at three levels (0.005, 0.05 and 0.5 mg/kg) ranged from 85.53% to 110.66% with relative standard deviations ($RSD_r$) from 1.3% to 17.5%. The LODs ranged from 0.002 to 0.004 ${\mu}g$/kg, and LOQs ranged from 0.006 to 0.012 ${\mu}g$/kg. This method was also applied to determine tetraconazole residue in cucumber dissipation experiment under field conditions. The half-lives of tetraconazole in cucumber were in the range of 2.1-3.1 days.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.4.1-4.13
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• 2021

Background: Microsporum canis is a zoonotic disease that can cause dermatophytosis in animals and humans. Objectives: In clinical practice, ketoconazole (KTZ) and other imidazole drugs are commonly used to treat M. canis infection, but its molecular mechanism is not completely understood. The antifungal mechanism of KTZ needs to be studied in detail. Methods: In this study, one strain of fungi was isolated from a canine suffering with clinical dermatosis and confirmed as M. canis by morphological observation and sequencing analysis. The clinically isolated M. canis was treated with KTZ and transcriptome sequencing was performed to identify differentially expressed genes in M. canis exposed to KTZ compared with those unexposed thereto. Results: At half-inhibitory concentration (½MIC), compared with the control group, 453 genes were significantly up-regulated and 326 genes were significantly down-regulated (p < 0.05). Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction analysis verified the transcriptome results of RNA sequencing. Gene ontology enrichment analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analysis revealed that the 3 pathways of RNA polymerase, steroid biosynthesis, and ribosome biogenesis in eukaryotes are closely related to the antifungal mechanism of KTZ. Conclusions: The results indicated that KTZ may change cell membrane permeability, destroy the cell wall, and inhibit mitosis and transcriptional regulation through CYP51, SQL, ERG6, ATM, ABCB1, SC, KER33, RPA1, and RNP genes in the 3 pathways. This study provides a new theoretical basis for the effective control of M. canis infection and the effect of KTZ on fungi.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.38 no.5
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• pp.563-582
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• 2021

The present study experimentally and analytically investigated the push-out behaviour of H-shaped steel section embedded in ultrahigh-performance fibre-reinforced concrete (UHPFRC). The effect of significant parameters such as the concrete types, fibre content, embedded steel length, transverse reinforcement ratio and concrete cover on the bond stress, development of bond stress along the embedded length and failure mechanism has been reported. The test results show that the bond slip behaviour of steel-UHPFRC is different from the bond slip behaviour of steel-normal concrete and steel-high strength concrete. The bond-slip curves of steel-normal concrete and steel-high strength concrete exhibit brittle behaviour, and the bond strength decreases rapidly after reaching the peak load, with a residual bond strength of approximately one-half of the peak bond strength. The bond-slip curves of steel-UHPFRC show an obvious ductility, which exhibits a unique displacement pseudoplastic effect. The residual bond strength can still reach from 80% to 90% of the peak bond strength. Compared to steel-normal concrete, the transverse confinement of stirrups has a limited effect on the bond strength in the steel-UHPFRC substrate, but a higher stirrup ratio can improve cracking resistance. The experimental campaign quantifies the local bond stress development and finds that the strain distribution in steel follows an exponential rule along the steel embedded length. Based on the theory of mean bond and local bond stress, the present study proposes empirical approaches to predict the ultimate and residual bond resistance with satisfactory precision. The research findings serve to explain the interface bond mechanism between UHPFRC and steel, which is significant for the design of steel-UHPFRC composite structures and verify the feasibility of eliminating longitudinal rebars and stirrups by using UHPFRC in composite columns.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.147-159
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• 2024

Plutonium-238 has always been considered as the one of the promising radioisotopes for space nuclear power supply, which has long half-life, low radiation protection level, high power density, and stable fuel form at high temperatures. The industrial-scale production of ²³⁸Pu mainly depends on irradiating solid ²³⁷NpO₂ target in high flux reactors, however the production process faces problems such as large fission loss and high requirements for product quality control. In this paper, a conceptual design study of producing ²³⁸Pu in a multi-purpose high flux reactor was evaluated and analyzed, which includes a sensitivity analysis on ²³⁸Pu production and a further study on the irradiation scheme. It demonstrated that the target structure and its location in the reactor, as well as the operation scheme has an impact on ²³⁸Pu amount and product quality. Furthermore, the production efficiency could be improved by optimizing target material concentration, target locations in the core and reflector. This work provides technical support for irradiation production of ²³⁸Pu in high flux reactors.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.812-824
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• 2020

Objective: The aim of this work was to assess the effect of fermented blueberry (FB; 2%, 4%, and 6%) on the oxidative stability and volatile molecule profiles of emulsion-type sausage stored at 4℃ for 28 days. Methods: The antioxidant activity of FB was determined through radical-scavenging activity against 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and hydroxyl radicals. Four formulations of sausage treatments with different FB levels (0%, 2%, 4%, 6%) were prepared, then peroxide value (POVs), thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) values, protein carbonyls and thiol groups were measured. The aroma profiles of sausages for each treatment was also determined. Results: The half maximal inhibitory concentration indicated that FB had greater scavenging ability than ascorbic acid against DPPH and hydroxyl radicals. Sausages with FB significantly retarded increases in POVs and TBARS, as well as in the content of protein carbonyls during all storage days (p<0.05). Particularly, 4% and 6% FB-treated sausages had better oxidation inhibition effects. However, FB accelerated the reduction in thiol groups (p<0.05). Additionally, FB inhibits the excessive formation of aldehyde compounds; for example, hexanal, which may cause rancid flavors, decreased from 58.25% to 19.41%. FB also created 6 alcohols (i.e., 2-methyl-1-propanol, 3-methyl-1-butanol, and phenylethyl alcohol), 5 ester compounds (i.e., ethyl acetate, ethyl lactate, and ethyl hexanoate) and 3-hydroxy-2-butanone in the sausages that contribute to sausage flavors. The principal component analysis showed that the aroma profiles of sausages with and without FB are easily identified. Conclusion: The addition of FB could significantly reduce the lipid and protein oxidation and improve oxidative stability for storage. Also, adding FB could inhibit rancid flavors and contribute to sausage flavors.

• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.1156-1165
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• 2017

A high performance interleaved bridgeless boost power factor correction (PFC) rectifier operating under the critical current conduction mode (CrM) is proposed in this paper to improve the efficiency and system performance of various applications, such as nano-grid systems. By combining the interleaved technique with the bridgeless topology, the circuit contains two independent branches without rectifier diodes. The branches operate in interleaved mode for each respective half-line period. Moreover, when operating in CrM, all the power switches take on soft-switching, thereby reducing switching losses and raising system efficiency. In addition, the input current flows through a minimum amount of power devices. By employing a commercial PFC controller, an effective control scheme is used for the proposed circuit. The operating principle of the proposed circuit is presented, and the design considerations are also demonstrated. Simulations and experiments have been carried out to evaluate theoretical analysis and feasibility of the proposed circuit.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.25 no.8
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• pp.1361-1370
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• 2015

A blue laccase was purified from a white rot fungus of Trametes trogii, which was a monomeric protein of 64 kDa as determined by SDS-PAGE. The enzyme acted optimally at a pH of 2.2 to 4.5 and a temperature of 70℃ and showed high thermal stability, with a half-life of 1.6 h at 60℃. A broad range of substrates, including the non-phenolic azo dye methyl red, was oxidized by the laccase, and the laccase exhibited high affinity towards ABTS and syringaldazine. Moreover, the laccase was fairly metal-tolerant. A high-molecular-weight kraft lignin was effectively polymerized by the laccase, with a maximum of 6.4-fold increase in weight-average molecular weight, as demonstrated by gel permeation chromatography. Notable structural changes in the polymerized lignin were detected by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and ¹H NMR spectroscopy. This revealed an increase in condensed structures as well as carbonyl and aliphatic hydroxyl groups. Simultaneously, phenolic hydroxyl and methoxy groups decreased. These results suggested the potential use of the laccase in lignin modification.