• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.321-332
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• 2017

The reverse fault is a dangerous geological hazard faced by buried steel pipelines. Permanent ground deformation along the fault trace will induce large compressive strain leading to buckling failure of the pipe. A hybrid pipe-shell element based numerical model programed by INP code supported by ABAQUS solver was proposed in this study to explore the strain performance of buried X80 steel pipeline under reverse fault displacement. Accuracy of the numerical model was validated by previous full scale experimental results. Based on this model, parametric analysis was conducted to study the effects of four main kinds of parameters, e.g., pipe parameters, fault parameters, load parameter and soil property parameters, on the strain demand. Based on 2340 peak strain results of various combinations of design parameters, a semi-empirical model for strain demand prediction of X80 pipeline at reverse fault crossings was proposed. In general, reverse faults encountered by pipelines are involved in 3D oblique reverse faults, which can be considered as a combination of reverse fault and strike-slip fault. So a compressive strain demand estimation procedure for X80 pipeline crossing oblique-reverse faults was proposed by combining the presented semi-empirical model and the previous one for compression strike-slip fault (Liu 2016). Accuracy and efficiency of this proposed method was validated by fifteen design cases faced by the Second West to East Gas pipeline. The proposed method can be directly applied to the strain based design of X80 steel pipeline crossing oblique-reverse faults, with much higher efficiency than common numerical models.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.438-445
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• 2009

We investigated global gene expression from both mouse liver and mouse hepatic cell lines treated with acetaminophen (APAP) in order to compare in vivo and in vitro profiles and to assess the feasibility of the two systems. During our analyses of gene expression profiles, we picked up several down-regulated genes, such as the cytochrome P450 family 51 (Cyp51), sulfotransferase family cytosolic 1C member 2 (Sult1c2), 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-Coenzyme A synthase 1 (Hmgcs1), and several genes that were up-regulated by APAP, such as growth arrest and DNA-damage-inducible 45 alpha (Gadd45a), transformation related protein 53 inducible nuclear protein 1 (Trp53inp1) and zinc finger protein 688 (Zfp688). For validation of gene function, synthesized short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) for these genes were transfected in a mouse hepatic cell line, BNL CL.2, for investigation of cell viability and mRNA expression level. We found that siRNA transfection of these genes induced down-regulation of respective mRNA expression and decreased cell viability. siRNA transfection for Cyp51 and others induced morphological alterations, such as membrane thickening and nuclear condensation. Taken together, siRNA transfection of these six genes decreased cell viability and induced alteration in cellular morphology, along with effective inhibition of respective mRNA, suggesting that these genes could be associated with APAP-induced toxicity. Furthermore, these genes may be used in the investigation of hepatotoxicity, for better understanding of its mechanism.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.712-717
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• 2010

Cytochrome P450 enzymes (P450s) are involved in the synthesis of a wide variety of valuable products and in the degradation of numerous toxic compounds. The P450 BM3 (CYP102A1) from Bacillus megaterium was the first P450 discovered to be fused to its redox partner, a mammalian-like diflavin reductase. Here, we report the development of a whole-cell biocatalyst using ice-nucleation protein (Inp) from Pseudomonas syringae to display a hemeand diflavin-containing oxidoreductase, P450 BM3 (a single, 119-kDa polypeptide with domains of both an oxygenase and a reductase) on the surface of Escherichia coli. The surface localization and functionality of the fusion protein containing P450 BM3 were verified by flow cytometry and measurement of enzymatic activities. The results of this study comprise the first report of microbial cell-surface display of a heme- and diflavin-containing enzyme. This system should allow us to select and develop oxidoreductases containing heme and/or flavins into practically useful whole-cell biocatalysts for extensive biotechnological applications, including selective synthesis of new chemicals and pharmaceuticals, bioconversion, bioremediation, live vaccine development, and biochip development.

• Journal of the Korean Vacuum Society
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.206-212
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• 1996

$In_{1-x}Ga_xAs$ epitaxial layers were grown at 76 Torr by low pressure metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (LP-MOCVD). Growth rate did not change much with growth temperature. Surface morphology of $In_{1-x}Ga_xAs$ epitaxial layer was affected by lattice mismatch, growth temperature and $AsH_3/(TMIn+TMGa)$ ratio. A high quality epilayer showed a full width at half maximum of 2.8 meV by photoluminescence measurement at 5K. The composition of the $In_{1-x}Ga_xAs$ was determined by the relative gas phase diffusion of TMIn and TMGa. Lattice mismatch and growth temperature were the most important variables that determine the electrical properties of $In_{1-x}Ga_xAs$ epitaxial layers. At optimized growth condition, it was possible to obtain a high quality $In_{1-x}Ga_xAs$ epilayers with a electron concentration as low as $8{\times}10^{14}/cm^3$ and an electron mobility as high as 11,000$\textrm{cm}^2$/Vsec at room temperature.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.275-281
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• 2014

Autophagy is a series of catabolic process mediating the bulk degradation of intracellular proteins and organelles through formation of a double-membrane vesicle, known as an autophagosome, and fusing with lysosome. Autophagy plays an important role of death-survival decisions in neuronal cells, which may influence to several neurodegenerative disorders including Parkinson's disease. Chebulagic acid, the major constituent of Terminalia chebula and Phyllanthus emblica, is a benzopyran tannin compound with various kinds of beneficial effects. This study was performed to investigate the autophagy enhancing effect of chebulagic acid on human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cell lines. We determined the effect of chebulagic acid on expression levels of autophagosome marker proteins such as, DOR/TP53INP2, Golgi-associated ATPase Enhancer of 16 kDa (GATE 16) and Light chain 3 II (LC3 II), as well as those of its upstream pathway proteins, AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) and Beclin-1. All of those proteins were modulated by chebulagic acid treatment in a way of enhancing the autophagy. Additionally in our study, chebulagic acid also showed a protective effect against 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium ($MPP^+$) - induced cytotoxicity which mimics the pathological symptom of Parkinson's disease. This effect seems partially mediated by enhanced autophagy which increased the degradation of aggregated or misfolded proteins from cells. This study suggests that chebulagic acid is an attractive candidate as an autophagy-enhancing agent and therefore, it may provide a promising strategy to prevent or cure the diseases caused by accumulation of abnormal proteins including Parkinson's disease.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.36-44
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• 1994

A fiber-optic temperature sensor utilizing InP as a sensing medium was implemented and tested to determine the dependance of the optical characteristics of InP on physical parameters for the use as design parameters in this type of sensors. The optical absorption coefficient of InP has been determined through the experimental measurement of the fundamental optical absorption characteristics at various temperature points. The transmission characteristics of light source at three temperature points($249^{\circ}K$, $298^{\circ}K$, $369^{\circ}K$) are computed from the optical absorption coefficient for a fixed length of InP. A series of measurement concluded that optical absorption edge moves to longer wavelength region at a speed of 0.42 nm / $^{\circ}K$ as the specimen gets hotter, and that increasing the thickness of the InP sensing layer shifts power density curve to lower temperature region.

• International Journal of Computer Science & Network Security
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.153-163
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• 2023

This study is situated in the context of intelligent transport systems, where in-vehicle devices assist drivers to avoid accidents and therefore improve road safety. The vehicles present in a given area form an ad' hoc network of vehicles called vehicular ad' hoc network. In this type of network, the nodes are mobile vehicles and the messages exchanged are messages to warn about obstacles that may hinder the correct driving. Node mobilities make it impossible for inter-node communication to be end-to-end. Recognizing this characteristic has led to delay-tolerant vehicular networks. Embedded devices have small buffers (memory) to hold messages that a node needs to transmit when no other node is within its visibility range for transmission. The performance of a vehicular delay-tolerant network is closely tied to the successful management of the nodes' transit buffer. In this paper, we propose a message transit buffer management model for nodes in vehicular delay tolerant networks. This model consists in setting up, on the one hand, a policy of dropping messages from the buffer when the buffer is full and must receive a new message. This drop policy is based on the concept of intermediate node to destination, queues and priority class of service. It is also based on the properties of the message (size, weight, number of hops, number of replications, remaining time-to-live, etc.). On the other hand, the model defines the policy for selecting the message to be transmitted. The proposed model was evaluated with the ONE opportunistic network simulator based on a 4000m x 4000m area of downtown Bouaké in Côte d'Ivoire. The map data were imported using the Open Street Map tool. The results obtained show that our model improves the delivery ratio of security alert messages, reduces their delivery delay and network overload compared to the existing model. This improvement in communication within a network of vehicles can contribute to the improvement of road safety.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.44-51
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• 2018

The purpose of this study is to present the results as basic data for establishing proper storage conditions and distribution conditions of actual farms at point of increasing concern about hygiene and palatabiltiy of consumers to food. In this study, three farmhouses of dried persimmons prepared using different storage conditions were selected in Sangju (Korea). The dried persimmons were stored for 90 days. Changes in temperature and humidity were measured with a temperature and humidity recorder under each storage condition, and physicochemical analysis and sensory evaluation were performed. The average temperatures of farmhouse A, B and C were approximately $-22--23^{\circ}C$, $-19--18^{\circ}C$ and $-25^{\circ}C$ respectively. The humidities of A, B and C were 62-63%, 59-60%, and 66-67%, respectively, and the moisture contents of all farmhouses increased during the storage period, with farmhouse B showing the most rapid increase. Free sugars increased, except for those from farmhouse C. Persimmons from farmhouse B showed the greatest changes in chewiness and hardness. The values of $a^*$ and $b^*$ were significantly decreased in persimmons from farmhouse B, and the color difference value of farmhouse B was dramatically increased. Sensory evaluation showed that the color preference tended to decrease compared with the initial value. Only farmhouse B showed decreased overall acceptability. Moreover, farmhouse B had the highest storage temperature and lowest humidity. Therefore, our results showed that storage at a low temperature and high humidity was important for manufacturing high-quality dried persimmons.

• Plant Biotechnology Reports
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.135-146
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• 2011

The objective of the present research was to map QTLs associated with agronomic traits such as days from sowing to flowering, plant height, yield and leaf-related traits in a population of recombinant inbred lines (RILs) of sunflower (Helianthus annuus). Two field experiments were conducted with well-irrigated and partially irrigated conditions in randomized complete block design with three replications. A map with 304 AFLP and 191 SSR markers with a mean density of 1 marker per 3.7 cM was used to identify QTLs related to the studied traits. The difference among RILs was significant for all studied traits in both conditions. Three to seven QTLs were found for each studied trait in both conditions. The percentage of phenotypic variance ($R^2$) explained by QTLs ranged from 4 to 49%. Three to six QTLs were found for each yield-related trait in both conditions. The most important QTL for grain yield per plant on linkage group 13 (GYP-P-13-1) under partial-irrigated condition controls 49% of phenotypic variance ($R^2$). The most important QTL for 1,000-grain weight (TGW-P-11-1) was identified on linkage group 11. Favorable alleles for this QTL come from RHA266. The major QTL for days from sowing to flowering (DSF-P-14-1) were observed on linkage group 14 and explained 38% of the phenotypic variance. The positive alleles for this QTL come from RHA266. The major QTL for HD (HD-P-13-1) was also identified on linkage group 13 and explained 37% of the phenotypic variance. Both parents (PAC2 and RHA266) contributed to QTLs controlling leaf-related traits in both conditions. Common QTL for leaf area at flowering (LAF-P-12-1, LAF-W-12-1) was detected in linkage group 12. The results emphasise the importance of the role of linkage groups 2, 10 and 13 for studied traits. Genomic regions on the linkage groups 9 and 12 are specific for QTLs of leaf-related traits in sunflower.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.76-82
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• 2003

To prepare evolved PHB depolymerase with increased activity for PHB or P(3HB-co-3HV) compared to the activity of the original PHB depolymerase from Alcaligenes faecalis T1, random mutation of the cloned PHB depolymerase gene was performed by using a DNA shuffling method. A library of mutated PHB depolymerase genes from A. faecalis T1 was fused to the ice nucleation protein (INP) gene from Pseudomonas syringae in pJHCl 1 and approximately 7,000 transformants were isolated. Using M9 minimal medium containing PHB or P(3HB-co-3HV) as the carbon source, mutants showing alteration in PHB depolymerase activity were selected from the transformants. The PHB depolymease activity of the transformants was confirmed by the formation of halo around colony and the turbidity decrease tests using culture supermatants. The catalytic activity of PHB depolymerase of the best mutant II-4 for PHB or P(3HB-co-13 mol% 3HV) was approximately 1.8-fold and 3.2-fold, respectively, higher than that of the original PHB depolymerase. DNA sequence analysis revealed that three amino acid residues (Ala209Val, Leu258Phe, and Asp263Thr) were substituted in II-4. From the mutational analysis, it was presumed that the substitution of amino acids near catalytic triad to more hydrophobic amino acids enhance the catalytic activity of PHB depolymerase from A. faecalis T1.