• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• 제46권1호
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• pp.1-15
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• 2008

Introduction of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) into some cells or organisms results in degradation of its homologous mRNA, a process called RNA interference (RNAi). The dsRNAs are processed into short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) that subsequently bind to the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC), causing degradation of target mRNAs. Because of this sequence-specific ability to silence target genes, RNAi has been extensively used to study gene functions and has the potential to control disease pathogens or vectors. With this promise of RNAi to control pathogens and vectors, this paper reviews the current status of RNAi in protozoans, animal parasitic helminths and disease-transmitting vectors, such as insects. Many pathogens and vectors cause severe parasitic diseases in tropical regions and it is difficult to control once the host has been invaded. Intracellularly, RNAi can be highly effective in impeding parasitic development and proliferation within the host. To fully realize its potential as a means to control tropical diseases, appropriate delivery methods for RNAi should be developed, and possible off-target effects should be minimized for specific gene suppression. RNAi can also be utilized to reduce vector competence to interfere with disease transmission, as genes critical for pathogenesis of tropical diseases are knockdowned via RNAi.

• 전기학회논문지
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• 제61권2호
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• pp.284-290
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• 2012

This paper addresses a new passive target tracking problem using the range differences measured by cooperative UAVs. In order to solve the range difference based passive target tracking problem within the framework of linear robust state estimation, the uncertain linear measurement model which contains the stochastic parameter uncertainty is derived by using the noisy range difference measurements. To cope with the performance degradation due to the stochastic parameter uncertainty, the recently developed non-conservative robust Kalman filtering technique [1] is applied. For the cruciform formation flying UAVs, the relationship between the target tracking performance and the measurement errors is quantitatively analyzed. The proposed filter has practical advantages over the classical nonlinear filters because, for its recursive linear structure, it can provide satisfactory convergence properties and is suitable for real-time multiple UAVs applications. Through the simulations, the usefulness of the proposed method is demonstrated.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• 제28권4호
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• pp.299-304
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• 2011

As more satellites are designed to downlink their observed image data through the X-band frequency band, it is inevitable that the occupied bandwidth of a target satellite will overlap with that of other X-band downlink satellites. For sun-synchronized low earth orbit satellites, in particular, it can be expected that two or more satellites be placed within the looking angle of a ground station antenna at the same time. Due to the overlapping in the frequency band, signals transmitted from the adjacent satellites act as interferers, leading to degraded link performance between target satellite and ground station. In this paper, link analysis was initiated by modeling the radiation pattern of ground station antenna through a validated Jet Propulsion Laboratory peak envelope model. From the relative antenna gain depending on the offset angle from center axis of maximum antenna directivity, the ratio of received interference signal level to the target signal level was calculated. As a result, it was found that the degradation increased when the offset angle was within the first point of radiation pattern. For a 7.3 m antenna, serious link degradation began at an offset angle of 0.4 degrees. From this analysis, the link performance of the coming satellite passes can be recognized, which is helpful to establish an operating procedure that will prevent the ground station from receiving corrupted image data in the event of a degraded link.

• 품질경영학회지
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• 제45권4호
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• pp.969-980
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• 2017

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to estimate the lifetime, and verify the target lifetime at steady state temperature, of communication cable jackets used in nuclear power plants. Method: This study was completed according to test and analysis methods required by international standards. After measuring the residual elongation(%) of specimens at specific points in time with the accelerated degradation test, average failure time of each temperature was computed. Thus, the activation energy could be derived by applying the temperature-Arrhenius law to estimate cable jacket lifetime at steady state temperature. Results: The cable jacket lifetime was estimated as 363.8 years assuming a normal nuclear power plant operating temperature of $90^{\circ}C$. Conclusion: To ascertain stable operating conditions for a nuclear power plant, accelerated degradation tests were performed according to the Arrhenius law for components of the nuclear power plants. The lifetime was estimated from the degradation data collected during the accelerated degradation test.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• 제18권1호
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• pp.21-28
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• 2013

In this study, the applicability of visible light-emitting-diodes (LEDs) to the photocatalytic degradation of indoor-level trichloroethylene (TCE) and perchloroethylene (PCE) over N-doped $TiO_2$ (N-$TiO_2$) was examined under a range of operational conditions. The N-$TiO_2$ photocatalyst was calcined at $650^{\circ}C$ (labeled N-650) showed the lowest degradation efficiencies for TCE and PCE, while the N-$TiO_2$ photocatalysts calcined at $350^{\circ}C$, $450^{\circ}C$, and $550^{\circ}C$ (labeled as N-350, N-450, and N-550, respectively) exhibited similar or slightly different degradation efficiencies to those of TCE and PCE. These results were supported by the X-ray diffraction patterns of N-350, N-450, N-550, and N-650. The respective average degradation efficiencies for TCE and PCE were 96% and 77% for the 8-W lamp/N-$TiO_2$ system, 32% and 20% for the violet LED/N-$TiO_2$ system, and ~0% and 4% for the blue LED/N-$TiO_2$ system. However, the normalized photocatalytic degradation efficiencies for TCE and PCE for the violet LED-irradiated N-$TiO_2$ system were higher than those from the 8-W fluorescent daylight lamp-irradiated N-$TiO_2$ system. Although the difference was not substantial, the degradation efficiencies exhibited a decreasing trend with increasing input concentrations. The degradation efficiencies for TCE and PCE decreased with increasing air flow rates. In general, the degradation efficiencies for both target compounds decreased as relative humidity increased. Consequently, it was indicated that violet LEDs can be utilized as energy-efficient light sources for the photocatalytic degradation of TCE and PCE, if operational conditions of N-$TiO_2$ photocatalytic system are optimized.

• 대한산업공학회지
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• 제29권4호
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• pp.312-320
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• 2003

Recently there is a growing interest in mobile cellular network providing multimedia service. However, the link bandwidth of mobile cellular network is not sufficient enough to provide satisfactory services to users. To overcome this problem, an adaptive framework has been proposed. In this study, we propose a new method of estimating DPR(Degradation Period Ratio) in an adaptive multimedia network where the bandwidth of ongoing call can be dynamically adjusted during its lifetime. DPR is a QoS(Quality of Service) parameter which represents the ratio of allocated bandwidth below a pre-defined target to the whole service time of a call. We improve estimation method of DPR using DTMC(Discrete Time Markov Chain) model by calculate mean degradation period, degradation probability more precisely than in existing studies. Under Threshold CAC(Call Admission Control) algorithm, we present analytically how to guarantee QoS to users and illustrate the method by numerical examples. The proposed method is expected to be used as one of CAC schemes in guaranteeing predefined QoS level of DPR.

• KSBB Journal
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• 제13권5호
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• pp.561-568
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• 1998

Two cometabolic trichloroethylene (TC) degraders, Pseudomonas putida F1 and Burkholderia (Pseudomonas) cepacia G4, were found to catabolize phenol, benzene, toluene, and ethylbenzene as carbon and energy sources. Resting cells of P. putida F1 and B. cepacia G4 grown in the presence of toluene and phenol, respectively, were able to degrade not only benzene, toluene and ethylenzene but also TCE and p-xylene. However, these two strains grown in the absence of toluene or phenol did not degrade TCE and p-xylene. Therefore, it was tentatively concluded that cometabolic degradation of TC and p-xylene was mediated by toluene dioxygenase (P. putida F1) or toluene-2-monooxygenase (B. cepacia G4). Maximal degradation rates of BTEX and TCE by toluene- and phenol-induced resting cells of P. putida F1 and B. cepacia G4 were appeared to be 4-530 nmol/(min$.$mg cell protein) when a single compound was solely served as a target substrate. In case of double substrates, the benzene degradation rate by P. putida F1 in the presence of toluene was decreased up to one seventh of that for the single substrate. TCE degradation rate was also linearly decreased as toluene concentration increased. On the other hand, toluene degradation rate was enhanced by benzene and TCE. For B. cepacia G4, degradation rates of TCE and toluene increased 4 times in the presence of 50 ${\mu}$M phenol. From these results, it was concluded that a degradation rate of a compound in the presence of another cosubstrate(s) could not be predicted by simply generalizing antagonistic or synergistic interactions between substrates.

• 한국신뢰성학회지:신뢰성응용연구
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• 제1권1호
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• pp.35-46
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• 2001

Replacement policy of a degradation system is investigated by incorporating the loss function. Loss function is defined by the deviation of the value of quality characteristic from its target value, which determines the loss cost. Cost function is comprised of the inspection cost, replacement cost and loss cost. Two cost minimization problems are formulated : 1)determination of an optimal inspection period given the state for the replacement and 2)determination of an optimal state for replacement under fixed inspection period. Simulation analysis is performed to observe the variation of total cost with respect to the variation of the parameters of loss function and inspection cost, respectively As a result, parameters of loss function are seen to be the most sensitive to the total cost. On the contrary, inspection cost is observed to be insensitive. This study can be applied to the replacement policy of a degradation system which has to produce the quality critical product.

• 한국균학회소식:학술대회논문집
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• 한국균학회 2014년도 춘계학술대회 및 임시총회
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• pp.43-43
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• 2014

White rot fungi have been useful source of enzymes for the degradation of environmental pollutants including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and synthetic dyes. PAHs are widespread organic compounds present in fossil fuels and are routinely generated by incomplete fuel combustion. PAHs are some of the major toxic pollutants of water and soil environments. Synthetic dyes are major water-pollutants, which are toxic to organisms in water environments and interfere photosynthesis of water plants. Removal of PAHs and synthetic dyes has been of interests in the environmental science especially in the environmental microbiology. Mushrooms are fungal groups that function as primary degraders of wood polyphenolic lignin. The ligninolytic enzymes produced by mushroom, including manganese peroxidase, lignin peroxidase, and laccase, mediate the oxidative degradation of lignin. The catalytic power of these enzymes in the degradation of aromatic ring compounds has been sought for the degradation of various organic compounds. In this project, we have screened 60 wild mushroom strains for their degradation activity against two representative PAHs, naphthalene and anthracene, and five aromatic dyes, including alizarin red S, crystal violet, malachite green, methylene blue, rose bengal. The degradation of PAHs was measured by GC while the decolorization of dyes was measured by both UV spectrophotometer and HPLC. As results, 9 wild mushroom strains showed high activity in degradation of PAHs and textile dyes. We also describe the secretive enzyme activities, the transcription levels, and cloning of target genes. In conjunction with this, activities of degradative enzymes, including laccase, lignin peroxidase, and Mn peroxidase, were measured in the liquid medium in the presence of PAHs and dyes. Our results showed that the laccase activity was directed correlated with the degradation, indicating that the main enzyme acts on PAHs and dyes is the laccase. The laccase activity was further simulated by the addition of $Cu^{2+}$ ion. Detailed studies of the enzyme system should be sought for future applications.

• 전기학회논문지
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• 제67권2호
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• pp.314-324
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• 2018

This paper proposes a linear distributed target tracking filter for multiple unmanned aerial vehicles(UAVs) sharing their passive sensor measurements through communication channels. Different from the conventional nonlinear filtering schemes, the distributed passive target tracking problem is newly formulated within the framework of a linear robust state estimation theory incorporated with a linear uncertain measurement equation including the coordinate transform uncertainty. To effectively cope with the performance degradation due to the coordinate transform uncertainty, a linear consistent robust Kalman filter(CRKF) theory is devised and applied for designing a distributed passive target tracking filter. Through the simulations for typical UAV surveillance mission, the superior performance of the proposed method over the existing schemes of distributed passive target tracking are demonstrated.