• Earthquakes and Structures
• /
• v.7 no.6
• /
• pp.895-908
• /
• 2014

The main objective of critical excitation methods is to reveal the worst possible response of structures. This goal is accomplished by considering the uncertainties of ground motion, which is subjected to the appropriate constraints, such as earthquake power and intensity limit. The concentration of this current study is on the theoretical optimization aspect, as is the case with the majority of conventional critical excitation methods. However, these previous studies on critical excitation lead to a discontinuous power spectral density (PSD). This paper introduces some critical excitations which contain proper continuity in frequency domain. The main idea for generating such continuous excitations stems from the combination of two continuous functions. On the other hand, in order to provide a non-stationary model, this paper attempts to present an appropriate envelope function, which unlike the previous envelope functions, can properly cover the natural earthquakes' accelerograms based on multi-peak conditions. Finally, the proposed method is developed into the multiple-degree-of-freedom (M.D.O.F) structures.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
• /
• v.26 no.4
• /
• pp.720-730
• /
• 2002

Automated design of large structures requires efficient and accurate optimization algorithms because of a large number of design variables and design constraints. The objective of this study is to examine the characteristics of the Kreisselmeier -Steinhauser envelope function and to investigate va tidily of accumulating constraint functions into a small number of constraint functions or even into a single constraint function. The commercial package DOT is adopted as a local optimizer. The optimum results using the envelope function are compared with those of the conventional method for a number of numerical examples and the differences between them are shown to be negligible.

• Journal of IKEEE
• /
• v.22 no.4
• /
• pp.1019-1024
• /
• 2018

In this paper, we suggest a combined cost function to find out the optimal operation of an envelope tracking system, and evaluated its performance with Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) waveform, with which envelope tracking coefficients for the peak drain efficiency and the bandwidth of power amplifiers are determined. Based on the classical envelope tracking theory, the operation of the supply modulator, which is a key part of the envelope tracking process, is modeled and analyzed mathematically. Then characteristics of the modulator by setting envelope shaping function as a cubic polynomial and sweeping the coefficients of this function was analyzed. By sweeping the coefficients, efficiency and bandwidth at each condition with 64-QAM signal was used to obtain optimal point of the supply modulator. Compared to the conventional shaping functions, the optimized function showed the bandwidth reduction by 12.7 percent point while the efficiency was maintained.

• Journal of Communications and Networks
• /
• v.13 no.5
• /
• pp.442-448
• /
• 2011

It's a challenging task to design a high performance modulation for satellite and space communications due to the limited power and bandwidth resource. Constant envelope modulation is an attractive scheme to be used in such cases for their needlessness of input power back-off about 2~3 dB for avoidance of nonlinear distortion induced by high power amplifier. The envelope of Feher quadrature phase shift keying (FQPSK) has a least fluctuation of 0.18 dB (quasi constant envelope) and can be further improved. This paper improves FQPSK by defining a set of new waveform functions, which changes FQPSK to be a strictly constant envelope modulation. The performance of the FQPSK adopting new waveform is justified by analysis and simulation. The study results show that the novel FQPSK is immune to the impact of HPA and outperforms conventional FQPSK on bit error rate (BER) performance. The BER performance of this novel modulation is better than that of FQPSK by more than 0.5 dB at least and 2 dB at most.

• Wind and Structures
• /
• v.16 no.1
• /
• pp.61-91
• /
• 2013

An analytical model of internal pressure response of a leaky and quasi-statically flexible building with a dominant opening is provided by including the effect of the envelope external pressure fluctuations on the roof, in addition to the fluctuating external pressure at the dominant opening. Wind tunnel experiments involving a flexible roof and different building porosities were carried out to validate the analytical predictions. While the effect of envelope flexibility is shown to lower the Helmholtz frequency of the building volume-opening combination, the lowering of the resonant peak in the internal and net roof pressure coefficient spectra is attributed to the increased damping in the system due to inherent background leakage and envelope flexibility. The extent of the damping effects of "skin" flexibility and background leakage in moderating the internal and net pressure response under high wind conditions is quantified using the linearized admittance functions developed. Analytical examples provided for different combinations of background leakage and envelope flexibility show that alleviation of internal and net pressure fluctuations due to these factors by as much as 40 and 15% respectively is possible compared to that for a nominally sealed rigid building of the same internal volume and opening size.

• Molecules and Cells
• /
• v.39 no.10
• /
• pp.722-727
• /
• 2016

Cardiomyopathy is a major cause of death worldwide. Based on pathohistological abnormalities and clinical manifestation, cardiomyopathies are categorized into several groups: hypertrophic, dilated, restricted, arrhythmogenic right ventricular, and unclassified. Dilated cardiomyopathy, which is characterized by dilation of the left ventricle and systolic dysfunction, is the most severe and prevalent form of cardiomyopathy and usually requires heart transplantation. Its etiology remains unclear. Recent genetic studies of single gene mutations have provided significant insights into the complex processes of cardiac dysfunction. To date, over 40 genes have been demonstrated to contribute to dilated cardiomyopathy. With advances in genetic screening techniques, novel genes associated with this disease are continuously being identified. The respective gene products can be classified into several functional groups such as sarcomere proteins, structural proteins, ion channels, and nuclear envelope proteins. Nuclear envelope proteins are emerging as potential molecular targets in dilated cardiomyopathy. Because they are not directly associated with contractile force generation and transmission, the molecular pathways through which these proteins cause cardiac muscle disorder remain unclear. However, nuclear envelope proteins are involved in many essential cellular processes. Therefore, integrating apparently distinct cellular processes is of great interest in elucidating the etiology of dilated cardiomyopathy. In this mini review, we summarize the genetic factors associated with dilated cardiomyopathy and discuss their cellular functions.

• International conference on construction engineering and project management
• /
• 2013.01a
• /
• pp.553-557
• /
• 2013

Roof and exterior wall are designed and constructed in a manner that prevents the accumulation of water within the wall and roof assembly in the formal building. However, in a freeform building there is no clear distinction between exterior wall and roof. In other words, the exterior walls and roof systems of the freeform building are integrated as a surface, unlike the formal building envelope. Therefore, freeform architecture needs a systemized envelope design method to perform functions of exterior wall and roof. However, in many cases, construction methods for roof and exterior wall are applied to freeform buildings without necessary alterations, which lead to incomplete design, leakage, cracks and other problems. Freeform architecture is thus designed and constructed differently from formal buildings. In order to more easily and inexpensively actualize freeform architecture, Building Information Modeling (hereinafter referred to as BIM) has recently been applied in the construction industry. The studies and case analysis are not sufficient to identify the implications and contributions of freeform buildings in future similar projects. Therefore, this research will study design and construction methods for freeform surfaces. This study attempts to analyze the pros and cons of each method for the concrete surface frame, and then presents the panel options for envelope system of the freeform architecture.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
• /
• v.37 no.1
• /
• pp.134-138
• /
• 2017

Salmonella enterica infects a broad range of host animals, and zoonostic infection threatens both public health and the livestock and meat processing industries. Many antimicrobials have been developed to target Salmonella envelope that performs essential bacterial functions; however, there are very few analytical methods that can be used to validate the efficacy of these antimicrobials. In this study, to develop a potential biosensor for Salmonella envelope stress, we examined the transcription of the S. enterica serovar typhimurium spy gene, the ortholog of which in Escherichia coli encodes Spy (${\underline{s}}pheroplast$ ${\underline{p}}rotein$ ${\underline{y}}$). Spy is a chaperone protein expressed and localized in the periplasm of E. coli during spheroplast formation, or by exposure to protein denaturing conditions. spy expression in S. typhimurium was examined by constructing a spy-gfp transcriptional fusion. S. typhimurium spy transcription was strongly induced during spheroplast formation, and also when exposed to membrane-disrupting agents, including ethanol and the antimicrobial peptide polymyxin B. Moreover, spy induction required the activity of regulator proteins BaeR and CpxR, which are part of the major envelope stress response systems BaeS/BaeR and CpxA/CpxR, respectively. Results suggest that monitoring spy transcription may be useful to determine whether a molecule particularly cause envelope stress in Salmonella.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
• /
• v.26 no.5
• /
• pp.191-202
• /
• 2022

Markov envelope as a theoretical solution of the parabolic wave equation with Markov approximation for the von Kármán type random medium is studied and approximated with the convolution of two probability density functions (pdf) of normal and gamma distributions considering the previous studies on the applications of Radiative Transfer Theory (RTT) and the analysis results of earthquake records. Through the approximation with gamma pdf, the constant shape parameter of 2 was determined regardless of the source distance r_o. This finding means that the scattering process has the property of an inhomogeneous single-scattering Poisson process, unlike the previous studies, which resulted in a homogeneous multiple-scattering Poisson process. Approximated Markov envelope can be treated as the normalized mean square (MS) envelope for ground acceleration because of the flat source Fourier spectrum. Based on such characteristics, the path duration is estimated from the approximated MS envelope and compared to the empirical formula derived by Boore and Thompson. The results clearly show that the path duration increases proportionately to r_o^1/2-r_o², and the peak value of the RMS envelope is attenuated by exp (-0.0033r_o), excluding the geometrical attenuation. The attenuation slope for r_o≤100 km is quite similar to that of effective attenuation for shallow crustal earthquakes, and it may be difficult to distinguish the contribution of intrinsic attenuation from effective attenuation. Slowly varying dispersive delay, also called the medium effect, represented by regular pdf, governs the path duration for the source distance shorter than 100 km. Moreover, the diffraction term, also called the distance effect because of scattering, fully controls the path duration beyond the source distance of 300 km and has a steep gradient compared to the medium effect. Source distance 100-300 km is a transition range of the path duration governing effect from random medium to distance. This means that the scattering may not be the prime cause of peak attenuation and envelope broadening for the source distance of less than 200 km. Furthermore, it is also shown that normal distribution is appropriate for the probability distribution of phase difference, as asserted in the previous studies.

• Korean Journal of Plant Tissue Culture
• /
• v.27 no.5
• /
• pp.407-409
• /
• 2000

Outer envelope membrane proteins of chloroplasts encoded by the nuclear genome are transported without the N-terminal transit peptide. Here, we investigated the targeting mechanism of AtOEP7, an Arabidopsis homolog of small outer envelope membrane proteins in vivo. AtOEP7 was expressed transiently in protoplasts or stably in transgenic plants as fusion proteins with GFP. In both cases AtOEP7:GFP was targeted to the outer envelope membrane when assayed under a fluorescent microscope or by Western blot analysis. Except the transmembrane domain, deletions of the N- or C-terminal regions of AtOEP7 did not affect targeting although a region closed to the C-terminal side of the transmembrane domain affected the targeting efficiency. Targeting experiments with various hybrid transmembrane mutants revealed that the amino acid sequence of the transmembrane domain determines the targeting specificity The targeting mechanism was further studied using a fusion protein, AtOEP7：NLS：GFP, that had a nuclear localization signal. AtOEP7：NLS：GFP was efficiently targeted to the chloroplast envelope despite the presence of the nuclear localization signal. Taken together, these results suggest that the transmembrane domain of AtOEP7 functions as the sole determinant of targeting specificity and that AtOEP7 may be associated with a cytosolic component during translocation to the chloroplast envelope membrane.