• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.49 no.8
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• pp.1589-1599
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• 2017

Field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) are getting more attention in safety-related and safety-critical application development of nuclear power plant instrumentation and control systems. The high logic density and advancements in architectural features make static random access memory (SRAM)-based FPGAs suitable for complex design implementations. Devices deployed in the nuclear environment face radiation particle strike that causes transient and permanent failures. The major reasons for failures are total ionization dose effects, displacement damage dose effects, and single event effects. Different from the case of space applications, soft errors are the major concern in terrestrial applications. In this article, a review of radiation effects on FPGAs is presented, especially soft errors in SRAM-based FPGAs. Single event upset (SEU) shows a high probability of error in the dependable application development in FPGAs. This survey covers the main sources of radiation and its effects on FPGAs, with emphasis on SEUs as well as on the measurement of radiation upset sensitivity and irradiation experimental results at various facilities. This article also presents a comparison between the major SEU mitigation techniques in the configuration memory and user logics of SRAM-based FPGAs.

• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
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• v.9 no.6
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• pp.2065-2069
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• 2014

The DAC-7512E is a 12-bit digital to analog converter that is low power and a single package with internal buffers. The DAC-7512E takes up minimal PCB area for applications of space power electronics design. The spacecraft mass is a crucial point considering spacecraft launch into space. Therefore, we have performed a TID test for the DAC-7512E 12-bit serial input digital to analog converter to reduce the spacecraft mass by using a low-level Gamma-ray irradiator with $Co^{60}$ gamma-ray sources. The irradiation with $Co^{60}$ gamma-rays was carried out at doses from 0 krad to 100 krad to check the error status of the device in terms of current, voltage and bit error status during conversion. The DAC-7512E 12-bit serial digital to analog converter should work properly from 0 krad to 30 krad without any error.

• Advances in materials Research
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.205-221
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• 2016

In this article, the buckling responses of functionally graded curved (spherical, cylindrical, hyperbolic and elliptical) shell panels under elevated temperature load are investigated numerically using finite element steps. The effective material properties of the functionally graded shell panel are evaluated using Voigt's micromechanical model through the power-law distribution with and without temperature dependent properties. The mathematical model is developed using the higher-order shear deformation theory in conjunction with Green-Lagrange type nonlinear strain to consider large geometrical distortion under thermal load. The efficacy of the proposed model has been checked and the effects of various geometrical and material parameters on the buckling load are analysed in details.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.183-197
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• 2023

For long-span bridges with a structural health monitoring (SHM) system, environmental temperature-driven responses are proved to be a main component in measurements. However, anomalous structural behavior may be hidden incomplicated recorded data. In order to receive reliable assessment of structural performance, it is important to study therelationship between temperature and monitoring data. This paper presents an application of the cointegration based methodology to detect anomalies that may be masked by temperature effects and then forecast the temperature-induced deflection (TID) of long-span suspension bridges. Firstly, temperature effects on girder deflection are analyzed with fieldmeasured data of a suspension bridge. Subsequently, the cointegration testing procedure is conducted. A threshold-based anomaly detection framework that eliminates the influence of environmental temperature is also proposed. The cointegrated residual series is extracted as the index to monitor anomaly events in bridges. Then, wavelet separation method is used to obtain TIDs from recorded data. Combining cointegration theory with autoregressive moving average (ARMA) model, TIDs for longspan bridges are modeled and forecasted. Finally, in-situ measurements of Xihoumen Bridge are adopted as an example to demonstrate the effectiveness of the cointegration based approach. In conclusion, the proposed method is practical for actual structures which ensures the efficient management and maintenance based on monitoring data.

• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.1619-1626
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• 2017

Electronic components that are used in high-level radiation environment require a semiconductor device having a radiation-hardened characteristic. In this paper, we proposed a radiation-hardened I-gate n-MOSFET (n-type Metal Oxide Semiconductors Field Effect Transistors) using a layout modification technique only. The proposed I-gate n-MOSFET structure is modified as an I-shaped gate poly in order to mitigate a radiation-induced leakage current in the standard n-MOSFET structure. For verification of its radiation-hardened characteristic, the M&S (Modeling and Simulation) of the 3D (3-Dimension) structure is performed by TCAD (Technology Computer Aided Design) tool. In addition, we carried out an evaluation test using a $Co^{60}$ gamma-ray source of 10kGy(Si)/h. As a result, we have confirmed the radiation-hardened level up to a total ionizing dose of 20kGy(Si).

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.5
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• pp.1483-1490
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• 2021

Many studies are undertaken into nuclear power plants (NPPs) in preparation for accidents exceeding design standards. In this paper, we analyze the applicability of various wireless communication technologies as accident countermeasures in different NPP environments. In particular, a commercial wireless communication module (WCM) is investigated by measuring leakage current and packet error rate (PER), which vary depending on the intensity of incident radiation on the module, by testing at a Co-60 gamma-ray irradiation facility. The experimental results show that the WCMs continued to operate after total doses of 940 and 1097 Gy, with PERs of 3.6% and 0.8%, when exposed to irradiation dose rates of 185 and 486 Gy/h, respectively. In short, the lower irradiation dose rate decreased the performance of WCMs more than the higher dose rate. In experiments comparing the two communication protocols of request/response and one-way, the WCMs survived up to 997 and 1177 Gy, with PERs of 2% and 0%, respectively. Since the request/response protocol uses both the transmitter and the receiver, while the one-way protocol uses only the transmitter, then the electronic system on the side of the receiver is more vulnerable to radiation effects. From our experiments, the tested module is expected to be used for design-based accidents (DBAs) of "Category A" type, and has confirmed the possibility of using wireless communication systems in NPPs.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.36-44
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• 2016

Objectives: Granulocyte-colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) mobilized bone marrow (BM)-derived hematopoietic stem cells could contribute to improvement of liver function. In addition, liver fibrosis can reportedly be prevented by the Rg 1 component of red ginseng. This study investigated the combined effect of G-CSF and red ginseng on decompensated liver cirrhosis. Methods: Four patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis were injected with G-CSF to proliferate BM stem cells for 4 days ($5{\mu}g/kg$ bid subcutaneously) and followed-up for 3 months. The patients also received red ginseng for 4 days (2 tablets tid per os). We analyzed Child-Pugh scores, Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) scores and cirrhotic complications. Results: All patients showed marked increases in White blood cell (WBC) and CD34+ cells in the peripheral blood, with a peak time of 4 days after G-CSF injection. Spleen size also increased after G-CSF injection, but not severely. At end of the study, 2 patients showed improvement in Child-Pugh scores, hepatic encephalopathy, and refractory ascites. During the clinical trial period, none of the 4 patients showed any other adverse events or deterioration of liver function. Conclusions: We conclude that G-CSF/red ginseng combination therapy is relatively effective in improving liver function and major complications of decompensated liver cirrhosis without adverse effects. Further clinical trials are warranted to assess the clinical effects of G-CSF for decompensated liver cirrhosis.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.51 no.5
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• pp.1428-1435
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• 2019

The total ionizing dose (TID) and non ionizing energy loss (NIEL) effects of 100 MeV phosphorous ($P^{7+}$) and 80 MeV nitrogen ($N^{6+}$) ions on 200 GHz silicon-germanium heterojunction bipolar transistors (SiGe HBTs) were examined in the total dose range from 1 to 100 Mrad(Si). The in-situ I-V characteristics like Gummel characteristics, excess base current (${\Delta}I_B$), net oxide trapped charge ($N_{OX}$), current gain ($h_{FE}$), avalanche multiplication (M-1), neutral base recombination (NBR) and output characteristics ($I_C-V_{CE}$) were analysed before and after irradiation. The significant degradation in device parameters was observed after $100MeV\;P^{7+}$ and $80MeV\;N^{6+}$ ion irradiation. The $100MeV\;P^{7+}$ ions create more damage in the SiGe HBT structure and in turn degrade the electrical characteristics of SiGe HBTs more when compared to $80MeV\;N^{6+}$. The SiGe HBTs irradiated up to 100 Mrad of total dose were annealed from $50^{\circ}C$ to $400^{\circ}C$ in different steps for 30 min duration in order to study the recovery of electrical characteristics. The recovery factors (RFs) are employed to analyse the contribution of room temperature and isochronal annealing in total recovery.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.34 no.11
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• pp.76-83
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• 2006

Space radiation environment for COMS is simulated by NASA AP8/AE8, JPL91 and NRL CREME models, respectively for trapped particle, solar proton and cosmic-ray. The radiation effects on electronic devices in communication payload are also estimated by using simulation results. Dose-depth curve and LET spectrum are calculated for estimating total ionizing dose(TID) effect and single event effect(SEE) respectively. Spherical sector method is applied to dose estimation at each position in the units of communication payload to consider shielding effect of platform and housing. Total ionizing dose at each position varies by 8 times through shielding effect under the same external space radiation environment.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.12
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• pp.4885-4890
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• 2015

Background: Helicobacter pylori plays an important role in gastric cancer and typical eradication regimens are no longer effective in many countries, including Thailand. The aim of our study was to compare the effect of Lactobacillus delbrueckii and Streptococcus thermophillus on tailored triple therapy for Helicobacter pylori eradication. Materials and Methods: This prospective single-center study was conducted in Thailand. Helicobacter pylori associated gastritis patients were randomized to 2 groups: group 1 (n=100) was tailored triple therapy with placebo (esomeprazole 20 mg bid, clarithromycin 500 mg bid or metronidazole 400 mg tid if clarithromycin resistance and amoxicillin 1000 mg bid), and group 2 was tailored triple therapy plus pretreatment with probiotic containing yogurt. Successful eradication was defined as both negative histology and negative rapid urease test at four weeks after treatment. Results: A total of 200 infected patients were enrolled. PP analysis involved 194 patients: 96 in the tailored triple therapy with placebo group (group 1) and 98 the in tailored triple therapy plus pretreatment with probiotic containing yogurt group (group 2). Successful eradication was observed in 170 (87.6%) patients; by PP analysis, the eradication rate was significantly higher in group 2 (P = 0.04, 95%CI; 0.02-0.13) than in group 1. ITT analysis also showed that the value was significantly higher in the tailored triple threapy plus pretreatment with probiotic containing yogurt group (group 2) (89/100; 89%) than in the tailored triple therapy with placebo group (group 1) (P= 0.01, 95%CI; 0.04-0.15). In terms of adverse events, there was no significant difference between the two groups. Conclusions: Pretreatment with probiotic containing yogurt can improve Helicobacter pylori eradication rates with tailored triple therapy. Adding probiotics does not reduce adverse effects of the medication.