• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.27
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• pp.12.1-12.8
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• 2012

Objectives: The aim of this study was to identify the health and environmental risk factors of air contaminants that influence environmental and respiratory diseases in Gyeongju, Pohang and Ulsan in South Korea, with a focus on volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Methods: Samples were collected by instantaneous negative pressure by opening the injection valve in the canister at a fixed height of 1 to 1.5 m. The sample that was condensed in $-150^{\circ}C$ was heated to $180^{\circ}C$ in sample pre-concentration trap using a 6-port switching valve and it was injected to a gas chromatography column. The injection quantity of samples was precisely controlled using an electronic flow controller equipped in the gas chromatography-mass spectrometer. Results: The quantity of the VOC emissions in the industrial area was 1.5 to 2 times higher than that in the non-industrial area. With regards to the aromatic hydrocarbons, toluene was detected at the highest level of 22.01 ppb in Ulsan, and chloroform was the halogenated hydrocarbons with the highest level of 10.19 ppb in Pohang. The emission of toluene was shown to be very important, as it accounted for more than 30% of the total aromatic hydrocarbon concentration. Conclusions: It was considered that benzene in terms of the cancer-causing grade standard, toluene in terms of the emission quantity, and chloroform and styrene in terms of their grades and emission quantities should be selected for priority measurement substances.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.455-468
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• 2015

A microgrid (MG) with integrated renewable energy resources can benefit both utility companies and customers. As a result, they are attracting a great deal of attention. The control of a MG is very important for the stable operation of a MG. The droop-control method is popular since it avoids circulating currents among the converters without using any critical communication between them. Traditional droop control methods have the drawback of an inherent trade-off between power sharing and voltage and frequency regulation. An adaptive droop control method is proposed, which can operate in both the island mode and the grid-connected mode. It can also ensure smooth switching between these two modes. Furthermore, the voltage and frequency of a MG can be restored by using the proposed droop controller. Meanwhile, the active power can be dispatched appropriately in both operating modes based on the capacity or running cost of the Distributed Generators (DGs). The global information (such as the average voltage and output active power of the MG and so on) required by the proposed droop control method to restore the voltage and frequency deviations can be acquired distributedly based on the Multi Agent System (MAS). Simulation studies in PSCAD demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control method.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.555-566
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• 2015

A TRIAC dimming LED driver that can control the brightness of LED arrays for a wide range of source voltage variations is proposed in this paper. Unlike conventional PWM LED drivers, the proposed LED driver adopts a TRIAC switch, which inherently guarantees zero current switching and has been proven to be quite reliable over its long lifetime. Unlike previous TRIAC type LED drivers, the proposed LED driver is composed of an LC input filter and a variable switched capacitance, which is modulated by the TRIAC turn-on timing. Thus, the LED power regulation and dimming control, which are done by a volume resistor in the same way as the conventional TRIAC dimmers, can be simultaneously performed by the TRIAC control circuit. Because the proposed LED driver has high efficiency and a long lifetime with a high power factor (PF) and low total harmonic distortion (THD) characteristics, it is quite adequate for industrial lighting applications such as streets, factories, parking garages, and emergency stairs. A simple step-down capacitive power supply circuit composed of passive components only is also proposed, which is quite useful for providing DC power from an AC source without a bulky and heavy transformer. A prototype 60 W LED driver was implemented by the proposed design procedure and verified by simulation and experimental results, where the efficiency, PF, and THD are 92%, 0.94, and 6.3%, respectively. The LED power variation is well mitigated to below ${\pm}2%$ for 190 V < $V_s$ < 250 V by using the proposed simple control circuit.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.39 no.7
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• pp.550-556
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• 2016

During meiosis, exchange of DNA segments occurs between paired homologous chromosomes in order to produce recombinant chromosomes, helping to increase genetic diversity within a species. This genetic exchange process is tightly controlled by the eukaryotic RecA homologs Rad51 and Dmc1, which are involved in strand exchange of meiotic recombination, with Rad51 participating specifically in mitotic recombination. Meiotic recombination requires an interaction between homologous chromosomes to repair programmed double-strand breaks (DSBs). In this study, we investigated the budding yeast meiosis-specific proteins Hop2 and Sae3, which function in the Dmc1-dependent pathway. This pathway mediates the homology searching and strand invasion processes. Mek1 kinase participates in switching meiotic recombination from sister bias to homolog bias after DSB formation. In the absence of Hop2 and Sae3, DSBs were produced normally, but showed defects in the DSB-to-single-end invasion transition mediated by Dmc1 and auxiliary factors, and mutant strains failed to complete proper chromosome segregation. However, in the absence of Mek1 kinase activity, Rad51-dependent recombination progressed via sister bias in the $hop2{\Delta}$ or $sae3{\Delta}$ mutants, even in the presence of Dmc1. Thus, Hop2 and Sae3 actively modulate Dmc1-dependent recombination, effectively progressing homolog bias, a process requiring Mek1 kinase activation.

• Hanyang Medical Reviews
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.10-16
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• 2013

Follicular helper T cells (Tfh) play a significant role in providing T cell help to B cells during the germinal center reaction, where somatic hypermutation, affinity maturation, isotype class switching, and the differentiation of memory B cells and long-lived plasma cells occur. Antigen-specific T cells with IL-6 and IL-21 upregulate CXCR5, which is required for the migration of T cells into B cell follicles, where these T cells mature into Tfh. The surface markers including PD-1, ICOS, and CD40L play a significant role in providing T cell help to B cells. The upregulation of transcription factor Bcl-6 induces the expression of CXCR5, which is an important factor for Tfh differentiation, by inhibiting the expression of other lineage-specific transcription factors such as T-bet, GATA3, and RORγt. Surprisingly, recent evidence suggests that CD4 T cells already committed to Th1, Th2, and Th17 cells obtain flexibility in their differentiation programs by downregulating T-bet, GATA3, and RORγt, upregulating Bcl-6 and thus convert into Tfh. Limiting the numbers of Tfh within germinal centers is important in the regulation of the autoantibody production that is central to autoimmune diseases. Recently, it was revealed that the germinal center reaction and the size of the Tfh population are also regulated by thymus-derived follicular regulatory T cells (Tfr) expressing CXCR5 and Foxp3. Dysregulation of Tfh appears to be a pathogenic cause of autoimmune disease suggesting that tight regulation of Tfh and germinal center reaction by Tfr is essential for maintaining immune tolerance. Therefore, the balance between Tfh and Tfr appears to be a critical peripheral tolerance mechanism that can inhibit autoimmune disorders.

• Progress in Superconductivity
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2002

Transferring single flux quanta across a Josephson junction at an exactly determined rate has made highly precise voltage measurements possible. Making use of self-shunted Nb-based SINIS junctions, programmable fast-switching DC voltage standards with output voltages of up to 10 V were produced. This development is now extended from fundamental DC measurements to the precise determination of AC voltages with arbitrary waveforms. Integrated RSFQ circuits will help to replace expensive semiconductor devices for frequency control and signal coding. Easy-to-handle AC and inexpensive quantum voltmeters of fundamental accuracy would be of interest to industry. In analogy to the development in the flux regime, metallic nanocircuits comprising small-area tunnel junctions and providing the coherent transport of single electrons might play an important role in quantum current metrology. By precise counting of single charges these circuits allow prototypes of quantum standards for electric current and capacitance to be realised. Replacing single electron devices by single Cooper pair circuits, the charge transfer rates and thus the quantum currents could be significantly increased. Recently, the principles of the gate-controlled transfer of individual Cooper pairs in superconducting A1 devices in different electromagnetic environments were demonstrated. The characteristics of these quantum coherent circuits can be improved by replacing the small aluminum tunnel Junctions by niobium junctions. Due to the higher value of the superconducting energy gap ($\Delta_{Nb}$ ＝ $7\Delta_{Al}$), the characteristic energy and the frequency scales for Nb devices are substantially extended as compared to A1 devices. Although the fabrication of small Nb junctions presents a real challenge, the Nb-based metrological devices will be faster and more accurate in operation. Moreover, the Nb-based Cooper pair electrometer could be coupled to an Nb single Cooper pair qubit which can be beneficial for both, the stability of the qubit and its readout with a large signal-to-noise ratio..

• The Korean Journal of Rheology
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.82-90
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• 1999

Electrorheological(ER) fluid is a material that shows the dramatic change of rheological properties under an electric field and responds reversibly in a few milliseconds. ER fluid's response to an electric field along with its fast switching capability allows ER devices to be precisely controlled. The real application with ER fluid, however, has many limitations to be overcome; temperature fluctuation, moisture, dust, aggregation, precipitation, and low yield stress, for example. The magnitude and the characteristics of yield stress of ER fluid plays an important role in practical applications. In this research, a dynamic simulation on the squeezing flow of the ER fluid was carried out. Numerical simulation on isolated chains was performed to find out the effect of hydrodynamic and electrostatic force depending on the chain location, the squeezing rate, and the chain structure. Suspension model that is composed of a large number of particles was also investigated. The increase of normal stresses as well as the existence of a yield stress at an earlier stage could be observed, and the effective control of the normal stresses could be achieved at an optimal condition of the hydrodynamic force and the electrostatic force.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.351-363
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• 2009

Two orthogonal joint sets develop well only in sandstone beds in the sandstone-mudstone sequences of Gumi and Dasa outcrops within Cretaceous Gyeongsang Basin. And various joint data are similar in the beds of the same thickness in both outcrops, meaning that the joint sets were homogeneously produced by extensional deformation in the same regional stress field. Most of joints in the sandstone beds are orthogonal to, and confined by bed boundaries, which are believed to be formed by hydrofracturing during consolidation after burial. Two orthogonal joint sets are considered to be almost coeval on the basis of mutual abutting relationship which makes up fracture grid-lock and a product of rapid switching of ${\sigma}_2$ and ${\sigma}_3$ axes with constant ${\sigma}_1$ direction oriented to vertical. The joint sets in the sandstone beds show planar surfaces, parallel orientations and regular spacing, with joint spacing linearly proportional to bed thickness. The spacing distributions of the joints seem to correspond to log-normal to almost normal distribution in most of the beds. But multilayer joints do not display regular spacing and dominant size. Either joint set in this study is characterized by a high level of joint density and a saturated spacing distribution as indicated by the mode/mean ratio values and the Cv(coefficient of variance) values. Joint aperture tends to increase with the vertical length of the joints controlled by bed thickness.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Toxicology Conference
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• 2006.11a
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• pp.65-74
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• 2006

Modem drug discovery requires rapid pharmacokinetic evaluation of chemically diverse compounds for early candidate selection. This demands the development of analytical methods that offer high-throughput of samples. Naturally, liquid chromatography / tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) is choice of the analytical method because of its superior sensitivity and selectivity. As a result of the short analysis time(typically 3-5min) by LC-MS/MS, sample preparation has become the rate- determining step in the whole analytical cycle. Consequently tremendous efforts are being made to speed up and automate this step. In a typical automated 96-well SPE(solid-phase extraction) procedure, plasma samples are transferred to the 96-well SPE plate, internal standard and aqueous buffer solutions are added and then vacuum is applied using the robotic liquid handling system. It takes only 20-90 min to process 96 samples by automated SPE and the analyst is physically occupied for only approximately 10 min. Recently, the ultra-high flow rate liquid chromatography (turbulent-flow chromatography)has sparked a huge interest for rapid and direct quantitation of drugs in plasma. There is no sample preparation except for sample aliquotting, internal standard addition and centrifugation. This type of analysis is achieved by using a small diameter column with a large particle size(30-5O ${\mu}$m) and a high flow rate, typically between 3-5 ml/min. Silica-based monolithic HPLC columns contain a novel chromatographic support in which the traditional particulate packing has been replaced with a single, continuous network (monolith) of pcrous silica. The main advantage of such a network is decreased backpressure due to macropores (2 ${\mu}$m) throughout the network. This allows high flow rates, and hence fast analyses that are unattainable with traditional particulate columns. The reduction of particle diameter in HPLC results in increased column efficiency. use of small particles (<2 urn), however, requires p.essu.es beyond the traditional 6,000 psi of conventional pumping devices. Instrumental development in recent years has resulted in pumping devices capable of handling the requirements of columns packed with small particles. The staggered parallel HPLC system consists of four fully independent binary HPLC pumps, a modified auto sampler, and a series of switching and selector valves all controlled by a single computer program. The system improves sample throughput without sacrificing chromatographic separation or data quality. Sample throughput can be increased nearly four-fold without requiring significant changes in current analytical procedures. The process of Bioanalytical Method Validation is required by the FDA to assess and verify the performance of a chronlatographic method prior to its application in sample analysis. The validation should address the selectivity, linearity, accuracy, precision and stability of the method. This presentation will provide all overview of the work required to accomplish a full validation and show how a chromatographic method is suitable for toxirokinetic sample analysis. A liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method developed to quantitate drug levels in dog plasma will be used as an example of tile process.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Railway
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.617-628
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• 2016

This paper proposes the structure of a smart transformer to improve the performance of the 60Hz main power transformer for rolling stock. The proposed smart transformer is a kind of solid state transformer that consists of semiconductor switching devices and high frequency transformers. This smart transformer would have smaller size than the conventional 60Hz main transformer for rolling stock, making it possible to operate AC electrified track efficiently by power factor control. The proposed structure employs a cascade H-Bridge converter to interface with the high voltage AC single phase grid as the rectifier part. Each H-Bridge converter in the rectifier part is connected by a Dual-Active-Bridge (DAB) converter to generate an isolated low voltage DC output source of the system. Because the AC voltage in the train system is a kind of medium voltage, the number of the modules would be several tens. To control the entire smart transformer, the inner DC voltage of the modules, the AC input current, and the output DC voltage must be controlled instantaneously. In this paper, a control algorithm to operate the proposed structure is suggested and confirmed through computer simulation.