• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.360-367
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• 2016

A windowless spallation target can provide a neutron source and maintain neutron chain reaction for a subcritical reactor, and is a key component of China's nuclear waste transmutation of coupling accelerator and subcritical reactor. The main issue of the windowless target design is to form a stable and controllable free surface that can ensure that energy spectrum distribution is acquired for the neutron physical design when the high energy proton beam beats the lead-bismuth eutectic in the spallation target area. In this study, morphology and flow characteristics of the free surface of the windowless target were analyzed through the volume of fluid model using computational fluid dynamics simulation, and the results show that the outlet cross section size of the target is the key to form a stable and controllable free surface, as well as the outlet with an arc transition. The optimization parameter of the target design, in which the radius of outlet cross section is $60{\pm}1mm$, is verified to form a stable and controllable free surface and to reduce the formation of air bubbles. This work can function as a reference for carrying out engineering design of windowless target and for verification experiments.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.115-122
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• 2020

A promising method for removal of Cs ions from water and their incorporation into stable crystal structure ready for safe and permanent disposal was described. Cs-exchanged X zeolite was hot-pressed at temperature ranging from 800 to 950 ℃ to fabricate dense pollucite ceramics. It was found that the application of external pressure reduced the pollucite formation temperature. The effect of sintering temperature on density, phase composition and mechanical properties was investigated. The highest density of 92.5 %TD and the highest compressive strength of 79 MPa were measured in pollucite hot-pressed at 950 ℃ for 3 h. Heterogeneity of samples obtained at 950 ℃ was determined using scanning electron microscopy. The pollucite hot-pressed at 950 ℃ had low linear thermal expansion coefficient of ~4.67 × 10^-6 K^-1 in the temperature range from 100 to 1000 ℃.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.30 no.5 s.248
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• pp.489-495
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• 2006

Proton exchange membrane (PEM) should be sufficiently hydrated with a careful consideration of heat and water management. Water management has been a critical operation issue for better understanding the operation and optimizing the performance of a PEM fuel cell. The flooding on cathode side resulting from excess water can limit the fuel cell performance. In this study, the visual cell was designed and fabricated fur the visualization of liquid water droplet dynamics related to cathode flooding in flow channels. The experiment was carried out to observe the formation, growth and removal of water droplets using CCD imaging system. Effects of operating conditions such as cell temperature, air flow rate and air relative humidity on cathode flooding characteristics were mainly investigated. Based on this study, we can get the basic insight into flooding phenomena and its two-phase flow nature. It is expected that data obtained can be effectively used fur the setup and validation of two-phase PEM fuel cell models considering cathode flooding.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2005.10a
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• pp.604-607
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• 2005

In the electro-discharge machining the machining performance is closely related to the characteristics of discharge which can be identified from electrical behavior in gap between workpiece and electrode. Therefore, the accurate prediction of electrical behavior in electro-discharge machining (EDM) is useful to process control and optimization. However, any simulation model fur prediction of electrical behavior in EDM process has never been reported until now. In this study, a simulation model is developed to analyze the electrical behavior of electro-discharge plasma which significantly influences electrical behavior in EDM process. For the purpose of this the fundamentals of electro-discharge mechanism such as inception, propagation, formation of plasma channel and termination are investigated to accurately predict the cycle of discharge plasma in EDM. As a result, a mathematical model of electro-discharge plasma is constructed with considering the fundamentals of electro-discharge plasma. Consequently, it is demonstrated that the developed model can predict the electrical behavior of plasma such as electron density in various conditions.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.42 no.8
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• pp.589-596
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• 2019

${\beta}Pix$ is a guanine nucleotide exchange factor for the Rho family small GTPases, Rac1 and Cdc42. It is known to regulate focal adhesion dynamics and cell migration. However, the in vivo role of ${\beta}Pix$ is currently not well understood. Here, we report the production and characterization of ${\beta}Pix$-KO mice. Loss of ${\beta}Pix$ results in embryonic lethality accompanied by abnormal developmental features, such as incomplete neural tube closure, impaired axial rotation, and failure of allantois-chorion fusion. We also generated ${\beta}Pix$-KO mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) to examine ${\beta}Pix$ function in mouse fibroblasts. ${\beta}Pix$-KO MEFs exhibit decreased Rac1 activity, and defects in cell spreading and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-induced ruffle formation and chemotaxis. The average size of focal adhesions is increased in ${\beta}Pix$-KO MEFs. Interestingly, ${\beta}Pix$-KO MEFs showed increased motility in random migration and rapid wound healing with elevated levels of MLC2 phosphorylation. Taken together, our data demonstrate that ${\beta}Pix$ plays essential roles in early embryonic development, cell spreading, and cell migration in fibroblasts.

• BMB Reports
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• v.55 no.2
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• pp.104-109
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• 2022

Skeletal myogenesis is essential to keep muscle mass and integrity, and impaired myogenesis is closely related to the etiology of muscle wasting. Recently, miR-141-3p has been shown to be induced under various conditions associated with muscle wasting, such as aging, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial dysfunction. However, the functional significance and mechanism of miR-141-3p in myogenic differentiation have not been explored to date. In this study, we investigated the roles of miR-141-3p on CFL2 expression, proliferation, and myogenic differentiation in C2C12 myoblasts. MiR-141-3p appeared to target the 3'UTR of CFL2 directly and suppressed the expression of CFL2, an essential factor for actin filament (F-actin) dynamics. Transfection of miR-141-3p mimic in myoblasts increased F-actin formation and augmented nuclear Yes-associated protein (YAP), a key component of mechanotransduction. Furthermore, miR-141-3p mimic increased myoblast proliferation and promoted cell cycle progression throughout the S and G2/M phases. Consequently, miR-141-3p mimic led to significant suppressions of myogenic factors expression, such as MyoD, MyoG, and MyHC, and hindered the myogenic differentiation of myoblasts. Thus, this study reveals the crucial role of miR-141-3p in myogenic differentiation via CFL2-YAP-mediated mechanotransduction and provides implications of miRNA-mediated myogenic regulation in skeletal muscle homeostasis.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Industry Convergence
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.483-497
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• 2023

This study aims to provide strategic recommendations for promoting the development of the global satellite data services industry by analyzing the startup landscape. Based on the analysis of startup data, such as number of startups, market segment, and funding amount, we examined the paradigm shift in the global satellite data services market, particularly its convergence with other market segments. To this end, we derived the cumulative funding-convergence dynamics matrix, which classifies the converging areas into four quadrants by considering the growth rate of converging segments and the cumulative funding amount. In this way, we can specify converging areas in the satellite data services market that bear potential importance for the creation of new markets. The findings of this study are expected to contribute to the advancement of the satellite data services industry and facilitate the exploration of new market opportunities. Furthermore, they can serve as a valuable reference for policy makers, industry stakeholders, government officials, and researchers involved in the satellite data services industry in capitalizing on the emerging space economy.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.35.2-35.2
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• 2021

Blue straggler stars (BSs) are "rejuvenated" main sequence stars first recognized by Allan Sandage from his observation of the prominent northern globular cluster M3 in the year of 1953. BSs are now known to be present in diverse stellar environments including open clusters, globular clusters, dwarf galaxies, and even the field populations of the Milky Way. This makes them a very useful tool in a wide range of astrophysical applications: Particularly BSs are considered to have a crucial role in the evolution of stellar clusters because they affect on the dynamics, the binary population, and the history of the stellar evolution of the cluster they belong to. Here we report a part of the preliminary results from our ongoing research on the BSs in the two metal-poor globular clusters (GCs) in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), Hodge 11 and NGC1466. Using the high precision multi-band images obtained with the Advanced Camera for Survey (ACS) onboard the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), we extract time-series photometry to search for the signal of periodic variations in the luminosity of the BSs. Our preliminary results confirm that several BSs are intrinsic "short period (0.05 < P < 0.25 days)" variable stars with either pulsating or eclipsing types. We will discuss our investigation on the properties of those variable BS candidates in the context of the formation channels of these exotic main sequence stars, and their roles in the dynamical evolution of the host star clusters.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.6
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• pp.2298-2304
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• 2023

Titanium alloys are expected to become one of the candidate materials for nuclear-powered spacecraft due to their excellent overall performance. Nevertheless, atomistic mechanisms of the defect accumulation and evolution of the materials due to long-term exposure to irradiation remain scarcely understood by far. Here we investigate the heavy irradiation damage in a-titanium with a dose as high as 4.0 canonical displacements per atom (cDPA) using atomistic simulations of Frenkel pair accumulation. Results show that the content of surviving defects increases sharply before 0.04 cDPA and then decreases slowly to stabilize, exhibiting a strong correlation with the system energy. Under the current simulation conditions, the defect clustering fraction may be not directly dependent on the irradiation dose. Compared to vacancies, interstitials are more likely to form clusters, which may further cause the formation of 1/3<1210> interstitial-type dislocation loops extended along the (1010) plane. This study provides an important insight into the understanding of the irradiation damage behaviors for titanium.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.234-243
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• 2002

A general scheme of a rubber structure is proposed. Using the thermomechanical method(TMA), some changes in the molecular and topological structures for uncured and cured, and unfilled and filled rubbers during processing are shown. In our investigations as region it is understood a complex structure, which is expressed at the thermomechanical curve(TMC) as a zone differed from others in thermal expansion properties. This zone is between the noticed temperatures of relaxation transitions, usually on the level like those determined by DMTA at 1Hz. These regions, which shares, are not stable, and differ in molecular-weight distribution(MWD) of chain fragments between the junctions. Differences in dynamics of the formation of the molecular and topological structures of a vulcanizate are dependent on the rubber formulation, mixing technology and curing time. Some of characteristics of these regions correlate with mechanical properties of vulcanizates what is shown for NR rubbers containing ENR or CPE as a polymeric additive. It is well known that the state of order influences diffusivity of low-molecular substances into the polymer matrix. Because of this, the two topological amorphous regions should influence the distribution of the ingredients and resulting in rubber compounds' heterogeneity, and related properties of cured rubber. Investigation of this problem is expected to be, in the future, one of the essential factors in determining further improvement of polymeric materials properties by compounding with additives and in reprocessing of rubber scrap.