• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.190-201
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• 2015

This paper uses the switching function approach to present a simple state model of the Vienna-type rectifier. The approach introduces the relationship between the DC-link neutral point voltage and the AC side phase currents. A novel direct power control (DPC) strategy, which is based on the sliding mode control (SMC) for Vienna I rectifiers, is developed using the proposed power model in the stationary ${\alpha}-{\beta}$ reference frames. The SMC-based DPC methodology directly regulates instantaneous active and reactive powers without transforming to a synchronous rotating coordinate reference frame or a tracking phase angle of grid voltage. Moreover, the required rectifier control voltages are directly calculated by utilizing the non-linear SMC scheme. Theoretically, active and reactive power flows are controlled without ripple or cross coupling. Furthermore, the fixed-switching frequency is obtained by employing the simplified space vector modulation (SVM). SVM solves the complicated designing problem of the AC harmonic filter. The simplified SVM is based on the simplification of the space vector diagram of a three-level converter into that of a two-level converter. The dwelling time calculation and switching sequence selection are easily implemented like those in the conventional two-level rectifier. Replacing the current control loops with power control loops simplifies the system design and enhances the transient performance. The simulation models in MATLAB/Simulink and the digital signal processor-controlled 1.5 kW Vienna-type rectifier are used to verify the fast responses and robustness of the proposed control scheme.

• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Power Electronics
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.283-292
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• 2011

This paper proposed a new multi-level inverter topology based on a H-bridge with two switches and two diodes connected to the DC-link. The output voltage of the proposed topology is quite closer to a sinusoidal waveform compared with a typical single phase inverter. The proposed multi-level inverter is applicable to a power conditioning system for renewable energy sources, and it can be also used as a building block of a cascaded multi-level inverter for a high voltage application. In case of conventional H-bridge type or NPC type multi-level inverter, 8 controllable switches are used to obtain a 5 level output voltage, but the proposed multi-level inverter requires only 6 controllable switches. Thus the circuit configuration is quite simple, reliable and cost-effective implementation is possible. The efficiency can be improved owing to the reduction of the switching loss. A new PWM method based on POD modulation is suggested which requires only one carrier signal. The switching sequence to make the capacitor voltage balanced is also considered. The feasibility is studied through simulation and experiment.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.325-332
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• 2017

3-Bromo-4,5-dihydroxybenzaldehyde (BDB) is a natural bromophenol compound that is most commonly isolated from red algae. The present study was designed to investigate the anti-inflammatory properties of BDB on atopic dermatitis (AD) in mice induced by 2,4-dinitrochlorobenzene (DNCB) and on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated murine macrophages. BDB treatment (100 mg/kg) resulted in suppression of the development of AD symptoms compared with the control treatment (induction-only), as demonstrated by reduced immunoglobulin E levels in serum, smaller lymph nodes with reduced thickness and length, a decrease in ear edema, and reduced levels of inflammatory cell infiltration in the ears. In RAW 264.7 murine macrophages, BDB (12.5, 25, 50, and $100{\mu}M$) suppressed the production of interleukin-6, a proinflammatory cytokine, in a dose-dependent manner. BDB also had an inhibitory effect on the phosphorylation of nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-${\kappa}B$) and signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (STAT1; Tyr 701), two major signaling molecules involved in cellular inflammation. Taken together, the results show that BDB treatment alleviates inflammatory responses in an atopic dermatitis mouse model and RAW 264.7 macrophages. These results suggest that BDB may be a useful therapeutic strategy for treating conditions involving allergic inflammation such as atopic dermatitis.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.343-350
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• 2017

Lamivudine belongs to the set of antiviral agents effective against hepatitis B virus infection. Given case reports on liver injuries after certain antiviral agent treatments, this study examined the effects of lamivudine on alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and total bilirubin (TB) using a medical system database. A total of 1,321 patients taking lamivudine alone or with others were evaluated using laboratory hits in an electronic medical system at Seoul National University Hospital from 2005 through 2011. The patients were grouped according to prior ALT results: G#1, ALT < 40 IU/L; G#2, 40 IU/L ${\leq}$ ALT < 120 IU/L; G#3, 120 IU/L ${\leq}$ ALT < 240 IU/L; and G#4, ALT ${\geq}$ 240 IU/L. In G#1 and G#2 patients, lamivudine or adefovir treatment decreased ALT and TB compared to prior values. In G#3 and G#4 patients with three times the upper limit of normal (ULN) ${\leq}$ ALT < 15 times the ULN, both ALT and TB were decreased after treatment with lamivudine alone, or adefovir following lamivudine therapy, indicating that lamivudine therapy ameliorated liver functions. However, in G#4 patients who experienced severely advanced hepatitis (ALT ${\geq}$ 15 times the ULN, or ${\geq}$ 600 IU/L), lamivudine augmented TBmax ($6.3{\rightarrow}13.3mg/dL$) despite a slight improvement in ALT ($839{\rightarrow}783IU/L$), indicative of exacerbation of bilirubinemia. Patients who used adefovir after lamivudine also showed a high incidence of hyperbilirubinemia when they experienced severely advanced hepatitis. Treatment with adefovir alone did not show the effect. In conclusion, lamivudine may increase the risk of hyperbilirubinemia in patients with severely advanced hepatitis, implying that caution should be exercised when using lamivudine therapy in certain patient populations.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.307-318
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• 2019

The frequently excessive vibrations presented in civil structures during seismic events or service conditions may result in users' discomfort, or worst, in structures failure, producing economic and even human casualties. This work contributes in proposing the synthesis of a nonlinear optimal control strategy for semiactive structural control, with the main characteristic that the synthesis considers both the structure model and the semiactive actuator nonlinear dynamics, which produces a nonlinear system that requires a nonlinear controller design. The aim is to reduce the unwanted vibrations in the response of civil structures, by means of intelligent fluid semiactive actuator such as the Magnetorheological Damper (MRD), which is a device with a low level of power consumption. The civil structures for which the proposed control methodology can be applied are those admitting a state-dependent coefficient factorized representation model, such as buildings, bridges, among others. A scaled model of a three storey building is analyzed as a case study, whose dynamical response involves displacement, velocity and acceleration of each one of the storeys, subjected to the North-South component of the September 19th., 2017, Puebla-Morelos (7.1M), Mexico earthquake. The investigation rests on comparing the structural response over time for two different conditions: with no control device installed and with one MRD installed between the first floor and the ground, where a nonlinear optimal signal for the MRD input voltage is determined. Simulation results are presented to show the effectiveness of the proposed controller for reducing the building's dynamical response.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.208-218
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• 2019

Here, we reported a novel secreted protein elicitor PeBL2 from Brevibacillus laterosporus A60, which can induce hypersensitive response in tobacco (Nicotiana benthamiana). The ion-exchange chromatography, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and mass spectrometry were performed for identification of protein elicitor. The 471 bp PeBL2 gene produces a 17.22 kDa protein with 156 amino acids containing an 84-residue signal peptide. Consistent with endogenous protein, the recombinant protein expressed in Escherichia coli induced the typical hypersensitive response (HR) and necrosis in tobacco leaves. Additionally, PeBL2 also triggered early defensive response of generation of reactive oxygen species ($H_2O_2$ and $O_2{^-}$) and systemic resistance against of B. cinerea. Our findings shed new light on a novel strategy for biocontrol using B. laterosporus A60.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.7
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• pp.2444-2452
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• 2022

The field-programmable gate array (FPGA) is gaining popularity in industrial automation such as nuclear power plant instrumentation and control (I&C) systems due to the benefits of having non-existence of operating system, minimum software errors, and minimum common reason failures. Separate functions can be processed individually and in parallel on the same integrated circuit using FPGAs in comparison to the conventional microprocessor-based systems used in any plant operations. The use of FPGAs offers the potential to minimize complexity and the accompanying difficulty of securing regulatory approval, as well as provide superior protection against obsolescence. Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are a new technology for acquiring and processing plant data wirelessly in which sensor nodes are configured for real-time signal processing, data acquisition, and monitoring. ZigBee (IEEE 802.15.4) is an open worldwide standard for minimum power, low-cost machine-to-machine (M2M), and internet of things (IoT) enabled wireless network communication. It is always a challenge to follow the specific topology when different Zigbee nodes are placed in a large network such as a plant. The research article focuses on the hardware chip design of different topological structures supported by ZigBee that can be used for monitoring and controlling the different operations of the plant and evaluates the performance in Vitex-5 FPGA hardware. The research work presents a strategy for configuring FPGA with ZigBee sensor nodes when communicating in a large area such as an industrial plant for real-time monitoring.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.367-375
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• 2022

Gastric cancer stem cells (GCSCs) are a major cause of radioresistance and chemoresistance in gastric cancer (GC). Therefore, targeting GCSCs is regarded as a powerful strategy for the effective treatment of GC. Atorvastatin is a widely prescribed cholesterol-lowering drug that inhibits 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase, a rate-limiting enzyme in the mevalonate pathway. The anticancer activity of atorvastatin, a repurposed drug, is being investigated; however, its therapeutic effect and molecular mechanism of action against GCSCs remain unknown. In this study, we evaluated the anticancer effects of atorvastatin on MKN45-derived GCSCs. Atorvastatin significantly inhibited the proliferative and tumorsphere-forming abilities of MKN45 GCSCs in a mevalonate pathway-independent manner. Atorvastatin induced cell cycle arrest at the G0/G1 phase and promoted apoptosis by activating the caspase cascade. Furthermore, atorvastatin exerted an antiproliferative effect against MKN45 GCSCs by inhibiting the expression of cancer stemness markers, such as CD133, CD44, integrin α6, aldehyde dehydrogenase 1A1, Oct4, Sox2, and Nanog, through the downregulation of β-catenin, signal transducer and activator of transcription 3, and protein kinase B activities. Additionally, the combined treatment of atorvastatin and sorafenib, a multi-kinase targeted anticancer drug, synergistically suppressed not only the proliferation and tumorsphere formation of MKN45 GCSCs but also the in vivo tumor growth in a chick chorioallantoic membrane model implanted with MKN45 GCSCs. These findings suggest that atorvastatin can therapeutically eliminate GCSCs.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.200-209
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• 2023

Patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) amplification or sensitive mutations initially respond to the tyrosine kinase inhibitor gefitinib, however, the treatment becomes less effective over time by resistance mechanism including mesenchymal-epithelial transition (MET) overexpression. A therapeutic strategy targeting MET and EGFR may be a means to overcoming resistance to gefitinib. In the present study, we found that picropodophyllotoxin (PPT), derived from the roots of Podophyllum hexandrum, inhibited both EGFR and MET in NSCLC cells. The antitumor efficacy of PPT in gefitinib-resistant NSCLC cells (HCC827GR), was confirmed by suppression of cell proliferation and anchorage-independent colony growth. In the targeting of EGFR and MET, PPT bound with EGFR and MET, ex vivo, and blocked both kinases activity. The binding sites between PPT and EGFR or MET in the computational docking model were predicted at Gly772/Met769 and Arg1086/Tyr1230 of each ATP-binding pocket, respectively. PPT treatment of HCC827GR cells increased the number of annexin V-positive and subG1 cells. PPT also caused G2/M cell-cycle arrest together with related protein regulation. The inhibition of EGFR and MET by PPT treatment led to decreases in the phosphorylation of the downstream-proteins, AKT and ERK. In addition, PPT induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and GRP78, CHOP, DR5, and DR4 expression, mitochondrial dysfunction, and regulated involving signal-proteins. Taken together, PPT alleviated gefitinib-resistant NSCLC cell growth and induced apoptosis by reducing EGFR and MET activity. Therefore, our results suggest that PPT can be a promising therapeutic agent for gefitinib-resistant NSCLC.

• Korean Journal of Culture and Social Issue
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.381-393
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• 2011

Eco driving is a strategy to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicle. However, it has not received much attention until recently. Psychological studies on this issue have been limited and the majority of existing studies have primarily been based on engineering and educational approaches. This study examined the effects of a self-management technique on two driving behaviors: speeding and putting the gears in neutral while waiting at the signal. The self-management technique consisted of three behavior interventions: goal-setting, self-monitoring, and reward. Three drivers participated in this study. An AB multiple baseline design across participants was adopted. Results showed that the self-management technique was effective in increasing both driving behaviors. Implications of the present findings and suggestions for future research were discussed.