• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information and Communication Engineering
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• v.23 no.8
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• pp.996-1003
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• 2019

The undergrounding of diverse ground facilities has led to a decrease in issues, such as foul smell of water supply systems and wastewater, a fall of telephone poles, electromagnetic waves and breaking of wires caused by a railway work. On the other hand, there are new issues, including a fall accident, explosion affected by flammable gas, a choking accident by harmful gas and a lack of oxygen concentration, a fire coming from high-tension wire heating and flooding in the manhole. Besides, these issues damage the civil society and are an anxiety to public safety. Therefore, this paper is focused on a smart manhole device for stable communication environments inside and outside the manhole and wireless communication with various devices for managing facilities in the manhole, and aims to make a contribution to public safety by suggesting a direction of future underground facility management.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.51 no.5
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• pp.1417-1427
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• 2019

In this study, we evaluated the performance of a commercial pixelated cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) detector for spectroscopy and identified its feasibility as a Compton camera for radiation monitoring in a nuclear power plant. The detection system consisted of a $20mm{\times}20mm{\times}5mm$ CZT crystal with $8{\times}8$ pixelated anodes and a common cathode, in addition to an application specific integrated circuit. The performance of the various radioisotopes $^{57}Co$, $^{133}Ba$, $^{22}Na$, and $^{137}Cs$ was evaluated. In general, the amplitude of the induced signal in a CZT crystal depends on the interaction position and material non-uniformity. To minimize this dependency, a drift time correction was applied. The depth of each interaction was calculated by the drift time and the positional dependency of the signal amplitude was corrected based on the depth information. After the correction, the Compton regions of each spectrum were reduced, and energy resolutions of 122 keV, 356 keV, 511 keV, and 662 keV peaks were improved from 13.59%, 9.56%, 6.08%, and 5%-4.61%, 2.94%, 2.08%, and 2.2%, respectively. For the Compton imaging, simulations and experiments using one $^{137}Cs$ source with various angular positions and two $^{137}Cs$ sources were performed. Individual and multiple sources of $^{133}Ba$, $^{22}Na$, and $^{137}Cs$ were also measured. The images were successfully reconstructed by weighted list-mode maximum likelihood expectation maximization method. The angular resolutions and intrinsic efficiency of the $^{137}Cs$ experiments were approximately $7^{\circ}-9^{\circ}$ and $5{\times}10^{-4}-7{\times}10^{-4}$, respectively. The distortions of the source distribution were proportional to the offset angle.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.29 no.7
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• pp.1096-1103
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• 2019

UCB-1 is the commercial rootstock of pistachio. Reproduction of this rootstock by tissue culture is limited by low levels of proliferation rate. Therefore, any compound that improves the proliferation rate and the quality of the shoots can be used in the process of commercial reproduction of this rootstock. Use of plant growth-promoting bacteria is one of the best ideas. Given the beneficial effects of nanoparticles in enhancement of the growth in plant tissue cultures, the aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of nanoencapsulation of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (using silica nanoparticles and carbon nanotubes) and their metabolites in improving UCB1 pistachio micropropagation. The experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design with three replications. Before planting, treatments on the DKW medium were added. The results showed that the use of Pseudomonas fluorescens VUPF5 and Bacillus subtilis VRU1 nanocapsules significantly enhanced the root length and proliferation. The nanoformulation of the VUPF5 metabolite led to the highest root length (6.26 cm) and the largest shoot (3.34 cm). Inoculation of explants with the formulation of the metabolites (both bacterial strains) significantly elevated the average shoot length and the fresh weight of plant compared to the control. The explants were dried completely using both bacterial strains directly and with capsule coating after the three days.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.74-78
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• 2019

Objective: Myofascial release (MFR) is used to restore tissue extensibility of the fascia tissue and is considered to be useful in a number of clinical settings, such as low back pain (LBP). Dynamic myofascial release (DMFR) is the manual therapy, which combined the conventional MFR with the joint mobilization. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of the DMFR on trunk mobility, and furthermore, whether the increase of trunk mobility can carry over the improvement of dynamic standing balance in persons with chronic nonspecific LBP. Design: Randomized controlled trial. Methods: Thirty persons with chronic non-specific LBP participated in the study and were randomly assigned to the DMFR group (n=15) or the control group (n=15). DMFR was performed for two sessions (15 minutes/session) per week for four weeks for the treatment group. Both the DMFR and control groups were allowed to perform low-intensity physical activities during the treatment period. The Modified-modified $Sch{\ddot{o}}ber$ test (MMST) for trunk mobility and the Functional Reach Test (FRT) for dynamic standing balance were measured before and after the treatment period in both the DMFR group and the control group. Results: The MMST value of DMFR group increased significantly in all trunk range of motion (flexion, extension, lateral flexion, and rotation) after treatment, compared with the control group (p<0.05). Additionally, the FRT value of the DMFR group improved significantly after treatment, compared with the control group (p<0.05). Conclusions: We suggest that DMFR have a positive effect on trunk mobility and standing balance in persons with chronic LBP.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.32-37
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• 2019

In this study, we designed a blending algorithm for rate adaptive pacing for cardiac pacemaker. Generally, rate adaptive pacing (RAP) is applied to patients whose heart rate does not rise during exercise for chronotropic incompetence (CI) patient. It is very important to develop an algorithm for RAP that can be properly applied to CI patients. In order to design an RAP algorithm we used dual sensors. Firstly, we designed a bio-signal measurement system based on the dual sensors, which are accelerometer and respiratory system. Secondly, we conducted treadmill test for the simulation experiment while using 3-lead ECG as reference. Finally, we designed a blending algorithm based on activation state of the dual sensors. The proposed blending algorithm was subdivided into three sections based on the accelerometer signal, which are rapidly increased section (W1), hardly changed section (W2), and decreased section (W3). Each weight is set aside for each section. To evaluate this algorithm, ten healthy adult males were participated. The correlation and Root Mean Square Error between the proposed algorithm and the reference were compared, and shown to be r=0.88 and 2.82 bpm, respectively. These results show that the proposed blending algorithm of dual sensors enables proper tracking of the heart rate during exercise. Also, it shows the possibility that the proposed blending algorithm can be applied to improve quality of life of the chronotropic incompetence patient.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information and Communication Engineering
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.63-69
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• 2019

The relative position of the orbital eye can be a criterion for evaluating several pathological conditions. It is especially useful to diagnose orbital fractures, thyroid eye disease, orbital tumors and to evaluate the outcome of medication and surgical treatment. Hertel and Naugle are representative measurement tools used to measure eyeball protrusion values, and have different measurement results, such as fixed orbits, every time they are inspected, even if the same inspector repeatedly measures them. Even with the same calibrator, it is inevitable that different manufacturers will change the design of the stationary part of the orbit, causing the surveyor to make a measurement error. In this paper, we designed and fabricated a protrusion measuring device using a white light interferometer and measured the protrusion of the human eye and found that the precision and repeatability were significantly higher than the manual measurement method.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.139-150
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• 2019

This study aimed to determine the suitable point of sale and consumption of different quality grade (QG) Hanwoo short loin during aging period, based on physicochemical, sensory, and microbiological quality. Short loins obtained from the carcasses of 13 Hanwoo steers and 2 bulls with 5 different QGs (1++, 1+, 1, 2, and 3) were analyzed over 28 d. QG and aging time had significant effect on water holding capacity, color, shear force, total volatile basic nitrogen (TVBN) content, and sensory traits. Higher QG groups generally exhibited a lower shear force, nucleotide content, and water holding capacity, and higher $L^*$, $a^*$, and $b^*$ values. Acceptable tenderness (shear force <5.4 kg) in QG 1++, 1+, 1, and 2 was achieved on days 7, 14, 16, and 18, respectively, and QG 3 showed a shear force of 6.8 kg, even after 28 d. Regardless of QG, TVBN content below threshold levels (20-30 mg%) was observed throughout the 28 d aging period, while total plate counts above 7 Log CFU/g were seen at 21 d. In conclusion, it is recommended that Hanwoo beef with QG 1++, 1+, and intermediate QG (1 and 2) should be sold or consumed between 7 and 21, 14 and 21, 16 and 21 d, respectively. Beef with QG 3 should be sold or consumed within 21 d, based on microbial growth, even though it has not achieved desirable tenderness. For this reason, an additional tenderizing process is recommended before this beef is ready for consumption.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.62-66
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• 2019

Purpose: This study examined the most efficient exercise position to activate the gluteus medius (GM) and tensor fascia latae (TFL) in hip abduction in side-lying (HA-SL), clam in side-lying (CL-SL), and sling bridging in side-lying (SB-SL), which are the most representative GM exercises. Methods: Twenty-four healthy male adults aged from 20 to 40 years, whose body mass index was under 25, participated in this experiment. While all participants conducted three different positions with a counterbalanced manner, such as in AB, CL, and BR, activation of the GM and TFL was measured using 8-channel wireless EMG. Exercise was performed for 10 seconds three times in total with a five minute-break session. Results: Significant differences in GM and TFL activation were observed among the three positions (p<0.05). The highest activation of 60.69 was observed in BR followed in order by 46.03 and 12.92 in HA-SL and CL, respectively. TFL activation in HA-SL was 42.01, followed in order by 35.98 and 14.01 in BR and CL, respectively. On the other hand, there was no significant difference in TFL muscle activation between BR and HA-SL. Conclusion: These findings suggest that both BR and HA-SL in GM can be done selectively. CL has remarkably low muscle activation in GM and TFL, which makes it less valuable in GM and TFL exercise. In conclusion, selective BR and HA-SL exercise should be applied to maximally and effectively activate the GM.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.107-116
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• 2019

The global obesity epidemic and associated metabolic diseases require alternative biological targets for new therapeutic strategies. In this study, we show that a phytochemical sulfuretin suppressed adipocyte differentiation of preadipocytes and administration of sulfuretin to high fat diet-fed obese mice prevented obesity and increased insulin sensitivity. These effects were associated with a suppressed expression of inflammatory markers, induced expression of adiponectin, and increased levels of phosphorylated ERK and AKT. To elucidate the molecular mechanism of sulfuretin in adipocytes, we performed microarray analysis and identified activating transcription factor 3 (Atf3) as a sulfuretin-responsive gene. Sulfuretin elevated Atf3 mRNA and protein levels in white adipose tissue and adipocytes. Consistently, deficiency of Atf3 promoted lipid accumulation and the expression of adipocyte markers. Sulfuretin's but not resveratrol's anti-adipogenic effects were diminished in Atf3 deficient cells, indicating that Atf3 is an essential factor in the effects of sulfuretin. These results highlight the usefulness of sulfuretin as a new anti-obesity intervention for the prevention of obesity and its associated metabolic diseases.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information and Communication Engineering
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• v.23 no.9
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• pp.1131-1138
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• 2019

The importance of coatings has been increasing for different purposes such as prevention of static electricity of auto parts or products, improvement of abrasion and corrosion resistance, and enhancement of esthetics. As a method for measuring the thickness of a coating film, a contact method with probe is commonly used. However, it is problematic that accuracy of the sensor is degraded due to sensor output distortion or load phenomenon, which is caused by a change in magnetic permeability of the core. In this study, we propose a method to reduce the measurement error of the coating film by applying the optimized circuit design and the thickness measurement algorithm to the problems caused by the nonlinear characteristics. The tests result which have been taken with different thickness coating samples show that the measurement accuracy is within ${\pm}2%$.