• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.684-692
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• 2016

Acute respiratory virus infectious diseases are a growing health problem, particularly among children and the elderly. Much effort has been made to develop probiotics that prevent influenza virus infections by enhancing innate immunity in the respiratory tract until vaccines are available. Lactobacillus plantarum GB-LP2, isolated from a traditional Korean fermented vegetable, has exhibited preventive effects on influenza virus infection in mice. To identify the molecular basis of this strain, we conducted a whole-genome assembly study. The single circular DNA chromosome of 3,284,304 bp was completely assembled and 3,250 protein-encoding genes were predicted. Evolutionarily accelerated genes related to the phenotypic trait of anti-infective activities for influenza virus were identified. These genes encode three integral membrane proteins, a teichoic acid export ATP-binding protein and a glucosamine - fructose-6-phosphate aminotransferase involved in host innate immunity, the nonspecific DNA-binding protein Dps, which protects bacteria from oxidative damage, and the response regulator of the three-component quorum-sensing regulatory system, which is related to the capacity of adhesion to the surface of the respiratory tract and competition with pathogens. This is the first study to identify the genetic backgrounds of the antiviral activity in L. plantarum strains. These findings provide insight into the anti-infective activities of L. plantarum and the development of preventive probiotics.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.21 no.10
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• pp.1001-1011
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• 2011

To explore bacterial diversity for elucidating genetic variability in acylhomoserine lactone (AHL) lactonase structure, we screened 800 bacterial strains. It revealed the presence of a quorum quenching (QQ) AHL-lactonase gene (aiiA) in 42 strains. These 42 strains were identified using rrs (16S rDNA) sequencing as Bacillus strains, predominantly B. cereus. An in silico restriction endonuclease (RE) digestion of 22 AHL lactonase gene (aiiA) sequences (from NCBI database) belonging to 9 different genera, along with 42 aiiA gene sequences from different Bacillus spp. (isolated here) with 14 type II REs, revealed distinct patterns of fragments (nucleotide length and order) with four REs; AluI, DpnII, RsaI, and Tru9I. Our study reflects on the biodiversity of aiiA among Bacillus species. Bacillus sp. strain MBG11 with polymorphism (115Alanine > Valine) may confer increased stability to AHL lactonase, and can be a potential candidate for heterologous expression and mass production. Microbes with ability to produce AHL-lactonases degrade quorum sensing signals such as AHL by opening of the lactone ring. The naturally occurring diversity of QQ molecules provides opportunities to use them for preventing bacterial infections, spoilage of food, and bioremediation.

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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• 2011.05a
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• pp.241.1-241.1
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• 2011

Numerous possible applications for $ZrO_2$ nanotubes exist such as for catalyst support structures, for sensing or for applications as a solid state electrolyte. Especially, because of a large specific surface area, high efficiency for solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) application at low temperature can be expected for nanotublar structures in even small size. A zirconium precursor, Tetrakis (ethylmethylamino) zirconium, TEMAZr and $H_2O$ oxidant were used to deposit$ZrO_2$ thin films on an anodized aluminum oxide (AAO) templates having sub-100nm cylindrical pores by atomic layer deposition (ALD) in the temperature range of 150~250$^{\circ}C$. The crystalline structures of as-prepared and post-annealed $ZrO_2$ nanotubes were characterized by x-ray diffraction and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The as-prepared samples at $150^{\circ}C$ and $200^{\circ}C$ were showed amorphous, whereas a mixed phase of tetragonal, monoclinic and amorphous polymorph was observed at $250^{\circ}C$. In the bulk, zirconia remains monoclinic phase up to $1,175^{\circ}C$, however, $ZrO_2$ nanotubes were showed tetragonal phase upon post thermal treatments merely at $400^{\circ}C$. This trend may be indicative of high-curvature surfaces of nanotubes and thereby the presence of intrinsic compressive strain. The amount of amorphous structures in the mixed phase as well as as-grown $ZrO_2$ nanotubes were also gradually decreased by subsequent heat treatment.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.383-399
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• 2015

Today, as railways increase their capacity and speeds, it is more important than ever to be completely aware of the state of vehicles fleet's condition to ensure the highest quality and safety standards, as well as being able to maintain the costs as low as possible. Operation of a modern, dynamic and efficient railway demands a real time, accurate and reliable evaluation of the infrastructure assets, including signal networks and diagnostic systems able to acquire functional parameters. In the conventional system, measurement data are reliably collected using coaxial wires for communication between sensors and the repository. As sensors grow in size, the cost of the monitoring system can grow. Recently, auto-powered wireless sensor has been considered as an alternative tool for economical and accurate realization of structural health monitoring system, being provided by the following essential features: on-board micro-processor, sensing capability, wireless communication, auto-powered battery, and low cost. In this work, an original harvester device is designed to supply wireless sensor system battery using train bogie energy. Piezoelectric materials have in here considered due to their established ability to directly convert applied strain energy into usable electric energy and their relatively simple modelling into an integrated system. The mechanical and electrical properties of the system are studied according to the project specifications. The numerical formulation is implemented with in-house code using commercial software tool and then experimentally validated through a proof of concept setup using an excitation signal by a real application scenario.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.313-319
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• 2017

Fiber optics sensors that have been mainly applied to aerospace areas are now finding applicability in other areas, such as transportation, including railways. Among the sensors, the fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors have led to a steep increase due to their properties of absolute measurement and multiplexing capability. Generally, the FBG sensors adhere to structures and sensing modules using adhesives such as an epoxy. However, the measurement errors that occurred when the FBG sensors were used in a long-term application, where they were exposed to environmental thermal load, required calibration. For this reason, the thermal curing of adhesives needs to be investigated to enhance the reliability of the FBG sensor system. This can be done at room temperature through cyclic thermal load tests using four types of specimens. From the test results, it is confirmed that residual compressive strain occurs to the FBG sensors due to an initial cyclic thermal load. In conclusion, signals of the FBG sensors need to be stabilized for applying them to a long-term SHM.

• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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• 2003.11a
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• pp.955-958
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• 2003

Nepal is a country of mountains The higher order geodetic points were mostly established on the top of mountains and these points were used for the geodetic network extension. Lower order geodetic control networks were established at different times and used for the surveying and mapping activities of the country.. It has been found that the rate of convergence between north and south borders of Nepal to be 21${\pm}$2 mm each year and the rate translation of Kathmandu to 55${\pm}$3 mm/year to the plates. The most intense deformation in Nepal occurs along the belt of high mountains along its northern border res ulting in a strain contraction rate normal to the Himalayan Arc. This belt is approximately 40 km wide and extends into southern Tibet.( 13). Recently Survey Department of Nepal has lunched a program of strengthening the existing geodetic network of Nepal and re-observed the position of higher order geodetic points by using geodetic GPS receivers to evaluate their position and thus to define the precision of the control points once again. This paper describes the observation procedure and the adjustment results of the existing higher order control network of Nepal established in different time using different types of equipment and techniques; and highlights the observation procedure and the result obtained after the post processing of the GPS observation results. Attempt has been made to give the procedure and identify the methodology for the re observation of existing higher order geodetic points by using GPS receiver and post processing the observed data so that the existing higher order geodetic points are within the given accuracy standard.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.35-45
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• 2023

Biofilms significantly affect the performance of wastewater treatment processes in which biodegradability of numerous microorganisms are actively involved, and various technologies have been applied to secure microbial biofilms. Understanding changes in biofilm characteristics by regulating expression of signaling molecules is important to control and regulate biofilms in membrane bioreactor, i.e., biofouling. This study investigated effects of addition of acyl-homoserine lactones (AHL) as a controllable factor for the microbial signaling system on biofilm formation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 and multiple strains in membrane bioreactor. The addition of three AHL, i.e., C4-, C6-, and C8-HSL, at a concentration of 200 ㎍/L, enhanced the formation of the PAO1 biofilm and the degree of increases in the biofilm formation of PAO1 were 70.2%, 76.6%, and 72.9%, respectively. The improvement of biofilm formation of individual strains by C4-HSL was an average of 68%, and the microbial consortia increased by approximately 52.1% in the presence of 200 ㎍/L C4-HSL. CLSM images showed that more bacterial cells were present on the membrane surface after the AHL application. In the COMSTAT results, biomass and thickness were increased up to 2.2 times (PAO1) and 1.6 times (multi-strains) by C4-HSL. This study clearly showed that biofilm formation was increased by the application of AHL to individual strain groups, including PAO1 and microbial consortia, and significant increases were observed when 50 or 100 ㎍/L AHL was administered. This suggests that AHL application can improve the biofilm formation of microorganisms, which could yield an enhancement in efficiency of biofilm control, such as in various biofilm reactors including membrane bioreactor and bioflocculent systems in water/wastewater treatment processes.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 2024

Spiders detect even tiny vibrations through their vibrational sensory organs. Leveraging their exceptional vibration sensing abilities, they can detect vibrations caused by prey or predators to plan attacks or perceive threats, utilizing them for survival. This paper introduces a nanoscale crack-based sensor mimicking the spider's sensory organ. Inspired by the slit sensory organ used by spiders to detect vibrations, the sensor with the cracks detects vibrations and pressure with high sensitivity. By controlling the depth of these cracks, they developed a sensor capable of detecting external mechanical signals with remarkable sensitivity. This sensor achieves a gauge factor of 16,000 at 2% strain with an applied tensile stress of 10 N. With high signal-to-noise ratio, it accurately recognizes desired vibrations, as confirmed through various evaluations of external force and biological signals (speech pattern, heart rate, etc.). This underscores the potential of utilizing biomimetic technology for the development of new sensors and their application across diverse industrial fields.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.184-189
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• 2018

Recently, research on lightweight automobiles is increasing continuously to respond to the high safety standards and environmental regulations. The application of high strength steel is one of the effective methods for developing lightweight car bodies. A TWB (Tailor Welded Blank) is major method that allows partial high strength with light weighting using a multi-thickness and multi-material welded blank. On the other hand, additional welding process is required to prepare the blank and quality control for the welding process also required. To secure this point, the TRB (Tailor Rolled Blank) method was suggested. In the TRB method, the thickness of sheet is controlled by the rolling presses and the production efficiency is much higher than welding in TWB methods. In this study, the formability of high strength TRB steel plate was analyzed to examine the rolling effect of the blank. The formability of the specimen was tested using 0.8 and 1 mm thick steel sheets for the TRB plate. The strain was analyzed by the digital image sensing of grid markings on the specimen and the forming limit diagram was calculated. An Erichsen test for the 0.8 and 1 mm thick TRB specimens was carried out and the formability was investigated by comparing with FE analysis.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Intelligent Systems
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• v.14 no.7
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• pp.914-919
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• 2004

When the motor is rotating, the torque and rpm are varying as the loads or the driving status connecting through reduction units are changing. On the contrary, one can monitor the changes of the loads or the driving status in the manner of measuring motor torque and rpm. There is a torque measuring method using the strain gauge and bridge circuit. But, because this is the contact method, it has the life time which is dependent on rotating velocity and used time. So this system demands on replacement of some Parts or whole system itself for maintenance. And this system is also relatively big and expensive, requiring preceding annoying process. In this paper, we are going to suppose non-contact method to measure torque and rpm using the Hall effects sensor For this we have made the planetary geared reduction motor with Hall sensors and with the monitoring system. The monitoring system displays the sensing data(torque, rpm) and calculated data( power) and also has the network capability with Bluetooth protocol. Our solution is much more inexpensive ;md simple method to measure torque and rpm than before.