• Journal of KSNVE
• /
• v.5 no.1
• /
• pp.95-106
• /
• 1995

Flow-induced vibration in heat exchanger (or fuel rod) in nuclar power plant can cause dynamic interactions between tubes and tube supports resulting in fretting-wear. To increase the reliability and design life of heat exchanger components, design criteria that establish acceptable limits of vibration and minimize fretting wear are necessary. The fretting-wear rate is dependent upon material combination, contact configuration, environmental conditions and tube-to tube support dynamic interaction. It is demostrated that the fretting -wear rate correlates well with tube-to-support contact force or work rate. The tube-to-support dynamic interaction, which consists of dynamic contact forces and tube motion, is used to relate single-span wear data to real heat exchanger configurations consisting of multi-span tube bundles. This paper describes the test facility to measure tube-to-support dynamic impact force and reports its dynamic characteristics through the four impact tests - a force transduces independent and external impact tests, central ring inside impact test and additional cylinder impact test. Through the tests the impact parameter change dependent upon the material difference of impacting ball is studied, and the impact parameters of Force Transducer Assembly components are measured. And also the dynamic behavior of Force Transducer Assembly is analyzed. The force measurement technique herein is shown to provide a reasonable measure of dynamic contact forces.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
• /
• v.29 no.4
• /
• pp.295-302
• /
• 2002

Uterine cells carry out proliferation and differentiation for preparation the embryonic implantation during pregnancy. Therefore regulation of the cell proliferation is an essential step for uterine preparation, but there is not much information about the proliferation related genes in pregnant uterus. To identify these implantation specific genes, a PCR-select cDNA subtraction method was employed and got a few genes. One of the identified genes is a novel gene encoding oral tumor suppressor doc-1. To detect the doc-1 expression on the pregnant uterus, dot blotting, RT-PCR, and in situ hybridization were employed. Dot blotting revealed that doc-1 mRNA expression increase after implantation. During normal pregnancy, doc-1 mRNA expression was detected as early as day 1 of pregnancy with RT-PCR. Its expression was increased about 15 times after embryonic implantation. doc-1 transcript was localized in luminal epithelial cells but it was very faint during preimplantation. After starting the implantation, it localized in the stromal cells; heightened expression of doc-1 correlates with intense stromal cell proliferation surrounding the implanting blastocyst on day 6 morning. However in the decidualized cells, the intensity of localized doc-1 mRNA was weak. From those results, it is revealed that doc-1 express at pregnant uterus of the mouse. In addition it is suggested that doc-1 is the gene regulating the proliferation of the luminal epithelial cells and stromal cells during early implantation and decidualization.

• ETRI Journal
• /
• v.38 no.6
• /
• pp.1114-1123
• /
• 2016

Multi-view video plus depth (MVD) has been widely used owing to its effectiveness in three-dimensional data representation. Using MVD, color videos with only a limited number of real viewpoints are compressed and transmitted along with captured or estimated depth videos. Because the synthesized views are generated from decoded real views, their original reference views do not exist at either the transmitter or receiver. Therefore, it is challenging to define an efficient metric to evaluate the quality of synthesized images. We propose a novel metric-the reduced-reference quality metric. First, the effects of depth distortion on the quality of synthesized images are analyzed. We then employ the high correlation between the local depth distortions and local color characteristics of the decoded depth and color images, respectively, to achieve an efficient depth quality metric for each real view. Finally, the objective quality metric of the synthesized views is obtained by combining all the depth quality metrics obtained from the decoded real views. The experimental results show that the proposed quality metric correlates very well with full reference image and video quality metrics.

• Animal cells and systems
• /
• v.7 no.2
• /
• pp.169-171
• /
• 2003

Sodium, potassium, calcium, zinc and magnesium levels in the serum of 31 patients diagnosed as acute myocardial infarction were analyzed on admission (within 24 Hours) and after 48 hours. The results were compared with those of 26 age matched controls. No significant difference was observed in the mean sodium, potassium, calcium and zinc levels between the cases and controls. Compared to the controls, however, the variation in the level of magnesium is highly significant at the time of admission as well as after 48 hours. When the risk factors like diabetes mellitus, hypertension, smoking and alcohol were considered, it is found that there is no significant difference between the risk groups as well as between the patients. The alteration in magnesium level in acute myocardial infarction is independent of these risk factors. Within the first 24 hours, the significant decrease in serum magnesium (35-51％ fall when compared with the control group), correlates with its entry into the cell following ischemia. From this hypomagnesemic state, it rises to 9-22 times after 48 hours. This hyper-magnesemia after 45 hours is probably due to the shift of magnesuim from the intracellular fluid compartment to the extracellular fluid compartment that follows cellular recovery. Therefore, including magnesium in the immediate management of acute myocardial infarction will be beneficial in the early recovery.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
• /
• v.49 no.1
• /
• pp.1-13
• /
• 2016

This review deals with one of the surface modification techniques, chemical conversion coating and particularly cerium-based conversion coatings (CeCC) as a promising substitute for chromium and phosphate conversion coating on magnesium and its alloys. The CeCCs are commonly considered environmentally friendly. The effects of surface preparation, coating thickness, bath composition, and e-paint on the corrosion behavior of CeCCs have been studied on the AZ31 magnesium alloy. This review also correlates the coating microstructural, morphological, and chemical characteristics with the processing parameters and corrosion protection. Results showed that the as-deposited coating system consists of a three layer structure (1) a nanocrystalline MgO transition layer in contact with the Mg substrate, (2) a nanocrystalline CeCC layer, and (3) an outer amorphous CeCC layer. The nanocrystalline CeCC layer thickness is a function of immersion time and cerium salt used. The overall corrosion protection was crucially dependent on the presence of coating defects. The corrosion resistance of AZ31 magnesium alloy was better for thinner CeCCs, which can be explained by the presence of fewer and smaller cracks. On the other hand, maximum corrosion protection was achieved when AZ31 magnesium samples with thin CeCCs are e-painted. The e-paint layer further restricts and hinders the movement of chloride and other aggressive ions present in the environment from reaching the magnesium surface.

• BLOOD RESEARCH
• /
• v.53 no.4
• /
• pp.294-298
• /
• 2018

Background Production of immunosuppressive enzymes such as indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) is one of the strategies employed by hematologic malignancies, including acute myeloid leukemia (AML), to circumvent immune surveillance. Moreover, IDO has the ability to convert $CD4^+CD25^-$ conventional T cells into regulatory T cells (Tregs). In this study, we evaluated the expression of IDO in cytogenetically normal acute myeloid leukemia (CN-AML) patients and its correlation with the Treg marker, FOXP3, as well as clinical and laboratory parameters. Methods Thirty-seven newly diagnosed CN-AML patients were enrolled in our study along with 22 healthy individuals. The expression of the IDO and FOXP3 genes was analyzed by SYBR Green real-time PCR. Results Both IDO and FOXP3 were highly upregulated in CN-AML patients compared to control groups (P=0.004 and P=0.031, respectively). A positive correlation was observed between IDO and FOXP3 expression among AML patients (r=0.512, P=0.001). Expression of IDO and FOXP3 showed no significant correlation with laboratory parameters such as white blood cell and platelet counts, hemoglobin levels, bone marrow blast percentage, gender, and FLT3 mutation status (P>0.05). Conclusion Higher IDO expression in CN-AML patients may be associated with an increased Treg phenotype which may promote disease progression and lead to poor prognosis of CN-AML patients.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
• /
• v.8 no.8
• /
• pp.181-189
• /
• 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the tourism industry due to the resulting travel restrictions as well as a slump in demand among travelers. The tourism industry has been massively affected by the spread of coronavirus, as many countries have introduced travel restrictions in an attempt to contain its spread. In Vietnam, the government has largely been credited for the country's success in keeping COVID-19 transmission rates under control. Early awareness of the pandemic, appropriate, drastic, and people-centric measures, as well as public support, are the main factors behind the success of Vietnam. In that context, it is observed that people's travel demand has bounced back and this research will examine factors driving the public's travel intention in the post-crisis (pandemic) period. The survey was conducted on the Internet using questionnaires designed in the Google platform. Data was collected from April 16 to May 31, 2020, from 154 Vietnamese participants. Research findings demonstrate 4 direct and indirect determinants of travel intention. The strongest effects come from perceived behavioral control which is influenced by subjective well-being. Perceived risk negatively correlates with Self-efficacy and subjective well-being. Conducted in the context of post-COVID-19, the research implies that once the pandemic has been controlled, perceived risks, although still exist, insignificantly influence the public's travel intention.

• BMB Reports
• /
• v.56 no.2
• /
• pp.126-131
• /
• 2023

The abnormal accumulation and aggregation of the misfolded α-synuclein protein is the neuropathological hallmark of all α-synucleinopathies, including Parkinson's disease. The secreted proteins known as netrins (netrin-1, netrin-3, and netrin-4) are related to laminin and have a role in the molecular pathway for axon guidance and cell survival. Interestingly, only netrin-1 is significantly expressed in the substantia nigra (SN) of healthy adult brains and its expression inversely correlates with that of α-synuclein, which prompted us to look into the role of α-synuclein and netrin-1 molecular interaction in the future of dopaminergic neurons. Here, we showed that netrin-1 and α-synuclein directly interacted in pre-formed fibrils (PFFs) generation test, real time binding assay, and co-immunoprecipitation with neurotoxin treated cell lysates. Netrin-1 deficiency appeared to activate the dopaminergic neuronal cell death signal pathway via α-synuclein aggregation and hyperphosphorylation of α-synuclein S129. Taken together, netrin-1 can be a promising therapeutic molecule in Parkinson's disease.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
• /
• v.24 no.12
• /
• pp.1260-1283
• /
• 2023

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been extensively applied in the study of multiple sclerosis (MS), substantially contributing to diagnosis, differential diagnosis, and disease monitoring. MRI studies have significantly contributed to the understanding of MS through the characterization of typical radiological features and their clinical or prognostic implications using conventional MRI pulse sequences and further with the application of advanced imaging techniques sensitive to microstructural damage. Interpretation of results has often been validated by MRI-pathology studies. However, the application of MRI techniques in the study of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD) remains an emerging field, and MRI studies have focused on radiological correlates of NMOSD and its pathophysiology to aid in diagnosis, improve monitoring, and identify relevant prognostic factors. In this review, we discuss the main contributions of MRI to the understanding of MS and NMOSD, focusing on the most novel discoveries to clarify differences in the pathophysiology of focal inflammation initiation and perpetuation, involvement of normal-appearing tissue, potential entry routes of pathogenic elements into the CNS, and existence of primary or secondary mechanisms of neurodegeneration.

• Journal of the Korean Society of School Health
• /
• v.26 no.3
• /
• pp.158-168
• /
• 2013

Purpose: Elementary schools are regarded as the best community setting for implementing obesity prevention programs and health teachers (HTs) are the main health professionals who can provide obesity prevention services. However, there is insufficient information on the actual conditions of school-based obesity prevention/ management programs in Korean elementary schools. The purpose of the study was to investigate the actual conditions of school-based obesity prevention/management programs, perceived and experienced by elementary school HTs, which may provide basic data for developing effective and sustainable programs for early childhood. We investigated (1) HTs' ratings on the program's importance, the confidence in the program's implementation, and the factors associated with the program's success (2), the correlates of the importance and confidence levels (3), the program's effectiveness and the factors associated with its sustainability, which were evaluated by HTs, and (4) the correlates of the effectiveness levels. Methods: The participants, 147 HTs working for elementary schools in Seoul were asked to fill out self-administrated questionnaires through mail. Results: The participants' rate on the program's importance was 7.1 on average (0~10 scale) and that on the confidence in the program's implementation was 6.2 (0~10 scale). Moreover, > 25% of the participants reported student and parent participation as a factor associated with the program's success. Of the total participants, 45.6% reported they had actually experienced the program, giving 4.8 points (0~10 scale), on average, in the evaluation of the program's effectiveness and > 22.0% of the participants regarded student and parent participation as a factor associated with the program's sustainability. The HTs' confidence in the program's implementation was a strong correlate of the effectiveness evaluated by HTs. Conclusion: School-based obesity prevention/management programs tend to be highly prioritized by HTs in elementary schools. To implement an effective obesity program in elementary schools, educational support for HTs is needed in order to enhance their confidence levels on the program's implementation.