• Journal of Construction Engineering and Project Management
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.30-39
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• 2016

This research presents the development of a self-governing mobile robot navigation system for indoor construction applications. This self-governing robot navigation system integrated robot control units, various positioning techniques including a dead-reckoning system, a UWB platform and motion sensors, with a BIM path planner solution. Various algorithms and error correction methods have been tested for all the employed sensors and other components to improve the positioning and navigation capability of the system. The research demonstrated that the path planner utilizing a BIM model as a navigation site map could effectively extract an efficient path for the robot, and could be executed in a real-time application for construction environments. Several navigation strategies with a mobile robot were tested with various combinations of localization sensors including wheel encoders, sonar/infrared/thermal proximity sensors, motion sensors, a digital compass, and UWB. The system successfully demonstrated the ability to plan an efficient path for robot's movement and properly navigate through the planned path to reach the specified destination in a complex indoor construction site. The findings can be adopted to several potential construction or manufacturing applications such as robotic material delivery, inspection, and onsite security.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.53 no.3
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• pp.159-162
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• 2013

Galectin-3 is a ${\beta}$-galactoside-binding lectin that plays a role in neuroinflammation through cell migration, proliferation, and apoptosis. In the present study, regulation of galectin-3 was examined in the brain of mice infected with the Daniel strain of Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV) at days 7 and 81 post-infection by immunohistochemistry. Immunohistochemistry revealed that galectin-3 was mainly localized in ionized calcium-binding adapter 1-positive macrophages/activated microglia, but not in Iba-1-positive ramified microglia. Galectin-3 was also weakly detected in some astrocytes in the same encephalitic lesions, but not in neurons and oligodendrocytes. Collectively, the present findings suggest that galectin-3, mainly produced by activated microglia/macrophages, may be involved in the pathogenesis of virus induced acute inflammation in the early stage as well as the chronic demyelinating lesions in Daniel strain of TMEV induced demyelination model.

• Journal of Korean Society of Industrial and Systems Engineering
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.96-104
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• 2017

A one-shot system (device) refers to a system that is stored for a long period of time and is then disposed of after a single mission because it is accompanied by a chemical reaction or physical destruction when it operates, such as shells, munitions in a defense weapon system and automobile airbags. Because these systems are primarily related with safety and life, it is required to maintain a high level of storage reliability. Storage reliability is the probability that the system will operate at a particular point in time after storage. Since the stored one-shot system can be confirmed only through inspection, periodic inspection and maintenance should be performed to maintain a high level of storage reliability. Since the one-shot system is characterized by a large loss in the event of a failure, it is necessary to determine an appropriate inspection period to maintain the storage reliability above the reliability goal. In this study, we propose an optimal inspection policy that minimizes the total cost while exceeding the reliability goal that the storage reliability is set in advance for the one-shot system in which periodic inspections are performed. We assume that the failure time is the Weibull distribution. And the cost model is presented considering the existing storage reliability model by Martinez and Kim et al. The cost components to be included in the cost model are the cost of inspection $c_1$, the cost of loss per unit time between failure and detection $c_2$, the cost of minimum repair of the detected breakdown of units $c_3$, and the overhaul cost $c_4$ of $R_s{\leq}R_g$. And in this paper, we will determine the optimal inspection policy to find the inspection period and number of tests that minimize the expected cost per unit time from the finite lifetime to the overhaul. Compare them through numerical examples.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.98-107
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• 2023

Objective: Current quail production is configured as an economic activity in scale. Advancements in quail nutrition have been limited to areas such as breeding and, automation of facilities and ambience. The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance responses, liver and oviduct morphometry, and liver histology of Japanese laying quails subjected to different levels of nitrogen-corrected apparent metabolizable energy (MEn). Methods: A completely random design was used that consisted of nine levels of MEn, six replicates, and five hens per cage with a total of 270 quails. The experimental period lasted for 10 weeks. The variables of performance were subjected to analysis of variance and then regression analysis using the broken-line model. The morphometric and histological variables were subjected to multivariate exploratory techniques. Results: The MEn levels influenced the responses to zootechnical performance. The broken-line model estimated the maximum responses for feed intake, egg production, egg weight, and egg mass as 3,040, 2,820, 1,802, and 2,960 kcal of MEn per kg of diet, respectively. Multivariate analysis revealed that the occurrence of hepatic steatosis and increased levels of Kupffer cells were not related to MEn levels. Conclusion: The level of 2,960 kcal/kg of MEn meets performance variable requirements without compromising hepatic physiology.

• International Journal of Computer Science & Network Security
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.23-28
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• 2024

The multi-tenancy and high scalability of the cloud have inspired businesses and organizations across various sectors to adopt and deploy cloud computing. Cloud computing provides cost-effective, reliable, and convenient access to pooled resources, including storage, servers, and networking. Cloud service models, SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS, enable organizations, developers, and end users to access resources, develop and deploy applications, and provide access to pooled computing infrastructure. Despite the benefits, cloud service models are vulnerable to multiple security and privacy attacks and threats. The SaaS layer is on top of the PaaS, and the IaaS is the bottom layer of the model. The software is hosted by a platform offered as a service through an infrastructure provided by a cloud computing provider. The Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) delivers cloud-based apps through a web browser. The stateless nature of HTTP facilitates session hijacking and related attacks. The Open Web Applications Security Project identifies web apps' most critical security risks as SQL injections, cross-site scripting, sensitive data leakage, lack of functional access control, and broken authentication. The systematic literature review reveals that data security, application-level security, and authentication are the primary security threats in the SaaS model. The recommended solutions to enhance security in SaaS include Elliptic-curve cryptography and Identity-based encryption. Integration and security challenges in PaaS and IaaS can be effectively addressed using well-defined APIs, implementing Service Level Agreements (SLAs), and standard syntax for cloud provisioning.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.35.1-35.16
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• 2021

Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses (GWI) encompasses a broad range of unexplained symptomology specific to Veterans of the Persian Gulf War. Gastrointestinal (GI) distress is prominent in veterans with GWI and often presents as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Neurotoxins, including organophosphorus pesticides and sarin gas, are believed to have contributed to the development of GWI, at least in a subset of Veterans. However, the effects of such agents have not been extensively studied for their potential impact to GI disorders and immunological stability. Here we utilized an established murine model of GWI to investigate deleterious effects of diisopropyl fluorophosphate (DFP) exposure on the mucosal epithelium in vivo and in vitro. In vivo, acute DFP exposure negatively impacts the mucosal epithelium by reducing tight junction proteins and antimicrobial peptides as well as altering intestinal microbiome composition. Furthermore, DFP treatment reduced the expression of IL-17 in the colonic epithelium. Conversely, both IL-17 and IL-17C treatment could combat the negative effects of DFP and other cholinesterase inhibitors in murine intestinal organoid cells. Our findings demonstrate that acute exposure to DFP can result in rapid deterioration of mechanisms protecting the GI tract from disease. These results are relevant to suspected GWI exposures and could help explain the propensity for GI disorders in GWI Veterans.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.1069-1089
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• 2015

This paper presents average numerical results of 2128 nonlinear dynamic finite element (FE) analyses of lightweight acceleration-sensitive non-structural components (NSCs) attached to the floors of one-bay three-storey reinforced concrete (RC) primary structures (P-structures) with different eccentricity ratios. The investigated parameters include the NSC to P-structure vibration period ratio, peak ground acceleration, P-structure eccentricity ratio, and NSC damping ratio. Appropriate constitutive relationships were used to model the behaviour of the RC P-structures. The NSCs were modelled as vertical cantilevers fixed at their bases with masses on the free ends and varying lengths so as to match the vibration periods of the P-structures. Full dynamic interaction was considered between the NSCs and P-structures. A set of seven natural bi-directional ground motions were used to evaluate the seismic response of the NSCs. The numerical results show that the acceleration response of the NSCs depends on the investigated parameters. The accelerations of the NSCs attached to the flexible sides of the P-structures increased with the increase in peak ground acceleration and P-structure eccentricity ratio but decreased with the increase in NSC damping ratio. Comparison between the FE results and Eurocode 8 (EC8) predictions suggests that, under tuned conditions, EC8 provisions underestimate the seismic response of the NSCs mounted on the flexible sides of the plan-irregular RC P-structures.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.24 no.11
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• pp.1495-1502
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• 2014

Metarhizium anisopliae is a widely studied model to understand the virulence factors that participate in pathogenicity. Proteases such as subtilisin-like enzymes (Pr1) and trypsin-like enzymes (Pr2) are considered important factors for insect cuticle degradation. In four M. anisopliae strains (798, 6342, 6345, and 6347), the presence of pr1 and pr2 genes, as well as the enzymatic activity of these genes, was correlated with their virulence against two different insect pests. The 11 pr1 genes (A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, and K) and pr2 gene were found in all strains. The activity of individual Pr1 and Pr2 proteases exhibited variation in time (24, 48, 72, and 96 h) and in the presence or absence of chitin as the inductor. The highest Pr1 enzymatic activity was shown by strain 798 at 48 h with chitin. The highest Pr2 enzymatic activity was exhibited by the 6342 and 6347 strains, both grown with chitin at 24 and 48 h, respectively. Highest mortality on S. exigua was caused by strain 6342 at 48 h, and strains 6342, 6345, and 6347 caused the highest mortality 7 days later. Mortality on Prosapia reached 30% without variation. The presence of subtilisin and trypsin genes and the activity of these proteases in M. anisopliae strains cannot be associated with the virulence against the two insect pests. Probably, subtilisin and trypsin enzyme production is not a vital factor for pathogenicity, but its contribution is important to the pathogenicity process.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.19-28
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• 2023

Objective: The objective of this study was to perform genome (genome wide association studies [GWAS]) and chromosome (CWAS) wide association analyses to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with growth traits in registered Simmental and Simbrah cattle. Methods: The phenotypes were deregressed BLUP EBVs for birth weight, weaning weight direct, weaning weight maternal, and yearling weight. The genotyping was performed with the GGP Bovine 150k chip. After the quality control analysis, 105,129 autosomal SNP from 967 animals (473 Simmental and 494 Simbrah) were used to carry out genotype association tests. The two association analyses were performed per breed and using combined information of the two breeds. The SNP associated with growth traits were mapped to their corresponding genes at 100 kb on either side. Results: A difference in magnitude of posterior probabilities was found across breeds between genome and chromosome wide association analyses. A total of 110, 143, and 302 SNP were associated with GWAS and CWAS for growth traits in the Simmental-, Simbrah- and joint -data analyses, respectively. It stands out from the enrichment analysis of the pathways for RNA polymerase (POLR2G, POLR3E) and GABAergic synapse (GABRR1, GABRR3) for Simmental cattle and p53 signaling pathway (BID, SERPINB5) for Simbrah cattle. Conclusion: Only 6,265% of the markers associated with growth traits were found using CWAS and GWAS. The associated markers using the CWAS analysis, which were not associated using the GWAS, represents information that due to the model and priors was not associated with the traits.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.15-42
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• 2024

A flexible-base coupled-two-beam (CTB) discrete model with equivalent tuned mass dampers is used to assess the effect of soil-structure interaction (SSI) and different types of lateral resisting systems on the design of passive dynamic absorbers (PDAs) under the action of along-wind and across-wind loads due to vortex shedding. A total of five different PDAs are considered in this study: (1) tuned mass damper (TMD), (2) circular tuned sloshing damper (C-TSD), (3) rectangular tuned sloshing damper (R-TSD), (4) two-way liquid damper (TWLD) and (5) pendulum tuned mass damper (PTMD). By modifying the non-dimensional lateral stiffness ratio, the CTB model can consider lateral deformations varying from those of a flexural cantilever beam to those of a shear cantilever beam. The Monte Carlo simulation method was used to generate along-wind and across-wind loads correlated along the height of a real shear wall-frame building, which has similar fundamental periods of vibration and different modes of lateral deformation in the xz and yz planes, respectively. Ambient vibration tests were conducted on the building to identify its real lateral behavior and thus choose the most suitable parameters for the CTB model. Both alongwind and across-wind responses of the 144-meter-tall building were computed considering four soil types (hard rock, dense soil, stiff soil and soft soil) and a single PDA on its top, that is, 96 time-history analyses were carried out to assess the effect of SSI and lateral resisting system on the PDAs design. Based on the parametric analyses, the response significantly increases as the soil flexibility increases for both type of lateral wind loads, particularly for flexural-type deformations. The results show a great effectiveness of PDAs in controlling across-wind peak displacements and both along-wind and across-wind RMS accelerations, on the contrary, PDAs were ineffective in controlling along-wind peak displacements on all soil types and different kind of lateral deformation. Generally speaking, the maximum possible value of the PDA mass efficiency index increases as the soil flexibility increases, on the contrary, it decreases as the non-dimensional lateral stiffness ratio of the building increases; therefore, there is a significant increase of the vibration control effectiveness of PDAs for lateral flexural-type deformations on soft soils.