• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.24 no.7
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• pp.647-659
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• 2023

Objective: The study was conducted to investigate the effect of correct occlusion of the left atrial appendage (LAA) on intracardiac blood flow and thrombus formation in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) using four-dimensional (4D) flow magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and three-dimensional (3D)-printed phantoms. Materials and Methods: Three life-sized 3D-printed left atrium (LA) phantoms, including a pre-occlusion (i.e., before the occlusion procedure) model and correctly and incorrectly occluded post-procedural models, were constructed based on cardiac computed tomography images from an 86-year-old male with long-standing persistent AF. A custom-made closed-loop flow circuit was set up, and pulsatile simulated pulmonary venous flow was delivered by a pump. 4D flow MRI was performed using a 3T scanner, and the images were analyzed using MATLAB-based software (R2020b; Mathworks). Flow metrics associated with blood stasis and thrombogenicity, such as the volume of stasis defined by the velocity threshold ($\left|\vec{V}\right|$ < 3 cm/s), surface-and-time-averaged wall shear stress (WSS), and endothelial cell activation potential (ECAP), were analyzed and compared among the three LA phantom models. Results: Different spatial distributions, orientations, and magnitudes of LA flow were directly visualized within the three LA phantoms using 4D flow MRI. The time-averaged volume and its ratio to the corresponding entire volume of LA flow stasis were consistently reduced in the correctly occluded model (70.82 mL and 39.0%, respectively), followed by the incorrectly occluded (73.17 mL and 39.0%, respectively) and pre-occlusion (79.11 mL and 39.7%, respectively) models. The surfaceand-time-averaged WSS and ECAP were also lowest in the correctly occluded model (0.048 Pa and 4.004 Pa^-1, respectively), followed by the incorrectly occluded (0.059 Pa and 4.792 Pa^-1, respectively) and pre-occlusion (0.072 Pa and 5.861 Pa^-1, respectively) models. Conclusion: These findings suggest that a correctly occluded LAA leads to the greatest reduction in LA flow stasis and thrombogenicity, presenting a tentative procedural goal to maximize clinical benefits in patients with AF.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.83-89
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• 2015

In this paper, we propose a fabrication technique for enhanced electrical properties of piezoelectric thick films with excellent patterning property using sol-infiltration and a direct-patterning process. To achieve the needs of high-density and direct-patterning at a low sintering temperature (< $850^{\circ}C$), a photosensitive lead zirconate titanate (PZT) solution was infiltrated into a screen-printed thick film. The direct-patterned PZT films were clearly formed on a locally screen-printed thick film, using a photomask and UV light. Because UV light is scattered in the screen-printed thick film of a porous powder-based structure, there are needs to optimize the photosensitive PZT sol infiltration process for obtaining the enhanced properties of PZT thick film. By optimizing the concentration of the photosensitive PZT sol, UV irradiation time, and solvent developing time, the hybrid films prepared with 0.35 M of PZT sol, 4 min of UV irradiation and 15 sec solvent developing time, showed a very dense with a large grain size at a low sintering temperature of $800^{\circ}C$. It also illustrated enhanced electrical properties (remnant polarization, $P_r$, and coercive field, $E_c$). The $P_r$ value was over four times higher than those of the screen-printed films. These films integrated on silicon wafer substrate could give a potential of applications in micro-sensors and -actuators.

• Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.228-236
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• 2022

Riverbank revetments are installed to increase the stability, while preventing scouring, and utilize the rivers; their construction is prioritized to secure dimensional safety that can withstand flooding. Existing revetment technologies employ use of rocks, gabions, and concrete. However, stone and gabions are easily erosion and destroyed by extensive flooding. Though the materials used in concrete technology possess strength and stability, the strong base adversely affects the aquatic ecosystem as components leach and remain in water for a long time. This serves as an environmental and ecological issue as vegetation does not grow on the concrete surface. This study introduces multi-layer porous riverbank revetment technology using biopolymer materials extracted from castor oil. Results obtained from this study suggest that this technology provides greater dimensional stability as compared to existing technologies. Moreover. it does not release toxic substances into the rivers. Multiple experiments conducted to review the application of this technology to diverse river environments confirm that stability is achieved at a flow velocity of 8.0 m/s and maximum tractive force of 67.25 kg_f/m² (659.05 N/m²).

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.9 no.6
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• pp.993-1000
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• 2023

Recently, enviromentally friendly natural substances derived from plants have been attracting attention as cosmetic materials, and research on various physiological activities of natural substances is being actively conducted. This study investigated the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, moisturizing, and antibacterial effects of three types of extracts of mixtures containing different mixing ratios, Polygala tenuifolia, Angelica dahurica, and Elsholtzia splendens, known to have various physiological activities. The mixing ratio is 7 conditions (M1, 1:1:1; M2, 0.5:1.5:1; M3, 1.5:0.5:1; M4, 0.1:0.95:0.95; M5, 0.5:0.5:2; M6, 0.95 :1.95:0.1; M7, 1.45:0.1:1.45), and the optimal mixing ratio was confirmed for use as a cosmetic material. DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activities showed scavenging abilities of 75.37% and 99.19%, respectively, at 1,000 ㎍/mL of M6. At a concentration of 200 ㎍/mL of M6, it showed 50% of nitric oxide production inhibition compared to the lipopolysaccharide-treated that induced an inflammatory response. It was confirmed that M3 and M6 produced hyaluronic acid 1.47 and 1.49 times higher than the control at a concentration of 50 ㎍/mL, respectively. Through the disc diffiusion test, the clear zone was 9.75 mm at 8 ㎍/mL of M6, confirming the inhibition of growth of staplylococcus aureus strain. Based on the above results, it is believed that the mixed extract of Polygala tenuifolia, Angelica dahurica, and Elsholtzia splendens can be used as a functional natural material for cosmetics.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.284-290
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• 2013

This study analyzed the geometric, compressive, cutting and friction properties of oriental melons in order to design a gripper capable of soft handling and a cutter for cutting oriental melon vine among the end effector of oriental melon as a preliminary step for developing the end effector of the robot capable of harvesting oriental melons in protected cultivation. As a result, the average length, diameter at the midpoint, weight, volume and roundness of the oriental melons were 108 mm, 70 mm, 188 g, 333 mL and 3.8 mm. Nonlinear regression analysis was performed on the equation $W=L^a{\times}D_2^b$ with variation of the length (L) and diameter (D2) of the weight (W) of the oriental melons. As a result, it was shown that there was a correlation between a of 2.0279 and b of -0.9998 as a constant value. The average diameter of the oriental melon vine was 3.8 mm, and most vines were distributed within a radius of 5 mm from the center. The average yield value, compressive strength and hardness of the oriental melons were $36.5N/cm^2$, $185.7N/cm^2$ and $636.7N/cm^2$, respectively. The average cutting force and shear strength of the oriental melon vines were $2.87{\times}10^{-2}\;N$ and $5.60N/cm^2$, respectively. The maximum friction coefficient of the oriental melons was rubber of 0.609, followed by aluminium of 0.393, stainless steel of 0.177 and teflon of 0.079. It was considered possible to apply it to the size of the gripper and cutter, turning radius, dynamics of drive motor and selection of materials and their quality in light of the position error and safety factor according to the movement when designing end effector based on the analyzed data.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.352-357
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• 2005

The optimization of extraction conditions of phytoestrogen from pomegranate by hot water was conducted by analyzing the extraction characteristics. The purpose of this study was effective utilization of bioactive components of pomegranate, and the analyzing was performed with response surface methodology (RSM). This study established 10 sections based on the central composite design with the independent variables of extraction temperature (60, 70, 80, 90, $100^{\circ}C$) and extraction time (1, 2, 3, 4, 5 hr) to predict the optimal conditions for extraction of the effective components. The dependent variables were measured for extracted materials, those were, the major components such as chlorogenic acid, kaempferol, $17-{\alpha}-estradiol\;and\;17-{\beta}-estradiol$ content, and regression analysis was performed by SAS program, and optimal conditions for each characteristics were predicted, and the characteristics of extraction were analyzed by response surface methodology. It was found that chlorogenic acid, kaempferol, and $17-{\alpha}-estradiol$ content were greatly affected by extraction temperature. However, $17-{\beta}-estradiol$ content was affected significantly by extraction time. Regression formulas for each variable were elicited from this study, and the chlorogenic acid, kaempferol, $17-{\alpha}-estradiol\;and\;17-{\beta}-estradiol$ content depending on response surface methodology factor were superimposed. It was shown that optimal temperature and extraction time were $98{\sim}100^{\circ}C\;and\;3{\sim}5$ hrs, respectively.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.87-94
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• 2012

To compare monthly variations of phytoplankton biomass and community composition between in seawater and sediment of the Gomso Bay (tidal flat: approximately 75%), the photosynthetic pigments were analyzed by HPLC every month in 1999 and every two months in 2000. Ambient physical and chemical parameters (temperature, salinity, nutrients, dissolved oxygen, and chemical oxygen demand) were also examined to find the environmental factors controlling structure of phytoplankton community. The temporal and spatial variations of chlorophyll a concentration in seawater were correlated well with the magnitude of freshwater discharge from land. The biomass of microphytobenthos at the surface sediments was lower than that in other regions of the world and 2-3 times lower than phytoplankton biomass integrated in the seawater column. Based on the results of HPLC pigment analysis, fucoxanthin, a marker pigment of diatoms, was the most prominent pigment and highly correlated with chlorophyll a in seawater and sediment of the Gomso Bay. These results suggest that diatoms are the predominant phytoplankton in seawater and sediment of the Gomso Bay. However, the monthly variation of chlorophyll a concentration in seawater at the subtidal zone was not a good correlation with that in sediment of the Gomso Bay. Although pelagic plankton was identified in seawater by microscopic examination, benthic algal species were not found in the seawater. These results suggest that contribution from the suspended microphytobenthos in the tidal flat to the subtidal zone of the Gomso Bay may be low as a food source to the primary consumer in the upper water column of the subtidal zone. Further study needs to elucidate the vertical and horizontal transport magnitude of the suspended microphytobenthos in the tidal flat to the subtidal zone.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.105-113
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• 2006

This study peformed to confirm the corrected dose In different electron density materials using the superposition/FFT convolution method in radiotherapy Planning system. The experiments of the $K_2HPO_4$ diluted solution for bone substitute, Cork for lung and n-Glucose for soft tissue are very close to effective atomic number of tissue materials. The image data acquisited from the 110 KVp and 130 KVp CT scanner (Siemes, Singo emotions). The electron density was derived from the CT number (H) and adapted to planning system (Xio, CMS) for heterogeneity correction. The heterogeneity tissue phantom used for measurement dose comparison to that of delivered computer planning system. In the results, this investigations showed the CT number is highly affected in photoelectric effect in high Z materials. The electron density in a given energy spectrum showed the relation of first order as a function of H in soft tissue and bone materials, respectively. In our experiments, the ratio of electron density as a function of H was obtained the 0.001026H+1.00 in soft tissue and 0.000304H+1.07 for bone at 130 KVp spectrum and showed 0.000274H+1.10 for bone tissue in low 110 KVp. This experiments of electron density calibrations from CT number used to decide depth and length of photon transportation. The Computed superposition and FFT convolution dose showed very close to measurements within 1.0% discrepancy in homogeneous phantom for 6 and 15 MV X rays, but it showed -5.0% large discrepancy in FFT convolution for bone tissue correction of 6 MV X rays. In this experiments, the evaluated doses showed acceptable discrepancy within -1.2% of average for lung and -2.9% for bone equivalent materials with superposition method in 6 MV X rays. However the FFT convolution method showed more a large discrepancy than superposition in the low electron density medium in 6 and 15 MV X rays. As the CT number depends on energy spectrum of X rays, it should be confirm gradient of function of CT number-electron density regularly.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.32 no.4B
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• pp.253-259
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• 2012

Wastewater-adapted microalgae such as Chlorella vulgaris AG10032, Ankistrodesmus gracilis SAG278-2 and Scenedesmus quadricauda AG10308 are useful biological resources for recovering biofuel and other bio-based materials from wastewater because of their efficient removals of nitrogen and phosphorus from wastewater and their high fatty acid contents in biomass. Although the concentrations of phosphorus typically vary in wastewater environment, very little is known about the effect of phosphorus concentration, especially phosphorus starvation, on microalgal fatty acid synthesis. This is partially due to the lack of methodological establishment for algal fatty acid analysis. In this study, we compared the analysis performances of microalgal fatty acids by two different methods; one is a non-polar GC (gas chromatography) column based method, which is generally used for microbial fatty acids, and the other is a polar WAX-type GC column method, which is typically used for plant fatty acids. And then, we explored the effect of phosphorus concentration levels on fatty acid production in microalgae cultivated from wastewater. As results, the polar WAX-type column method has better ability to separate poly unsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) including $C_{18:3}$ (linolenic acid), and was found to be more applicable in analyzing fatty acids from wastewater-cultivated microalgae than the non-polar column method. The fatty acid characterization by the WAX-type column method revealed little effect of phosphorus starvation on the quantity and composition of fatty acids from wastewater-cultivated microalgae.

• Journal of Advanced Marine Engineering and Technology
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• v.39 no.6
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• pp.620-625
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• 2015

In an effort to reduce the onset of global warming, the International Maritime Organization Marine Environment Protection Committee (IMO MEPC) proposed the reduction in ship speeds as a way of lowering the proportion of carbon dioxide ($CO_2$) in the Green House Gas emissions from ships. To minimize fuel costs, shipping companies have already been performing slow steaming for their own fleets. Specifically, the slow steaming approach has been adopted for most ocean-going container lines. In addition, because of the increased marine fuel cost that is required to enable increased capacity, there is an urgent need for more advanced fuel-saving technologies. Therefore, in this present study, we propose a fuel-cost reduction method that can improve the performance of diesel engines. We introduce a predetermined amount (0.025% of the amount of fuel used) of fuel additive (oil-soluble calcium-based organometallic compound). For improved experimental accuracy, as the test subjects, we utilize a large two-stroke diesel engine installed in land plants. The loads of the test engine were classified as low, medium, and high (50, 75, and 100%, respectively). We compare the engine performance parameters (power output, fuel consumption rate, p-max, and exhaust temperature) before and after the addition of fuel additives. Our experimental results, confirmed that we can realize fuel-cost savings of at least 2% by adding the fuel additive in low load conditions (50%). Likewise, the maximum combustion pressure was found to have increased. On the other hand, we observed that there was a reduction in the exhaust temperature.