• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.211-217
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• 2004

The sol to gel transition of aqueous solution of block copolymers consisting of methoxy poly (ethylene glycol) (MPEG) and biodegradable polyesters such as $\varepsilon$-caprolactone and L-lactide was investigated as a function of temperature. MPEG-PCL was prepared by ring opening polymerization of $\varepsilon$-caprolactone in the presence of HClㆍEt$_2$O as monomer activator at room temperature. Also, MPEG-PLLA was prepared by ring opening polymerization of L-lactide in the presence of stannous octoate at 115$^{\circ}C$. The properties of block copolymers were investigated by $^1$H-NMR, IR, and GPC as well as the observation of thermo sensitive phase transition in aqueous solution. As the hydrophobic block length increased, the sol to gel transition temperature increased and curve of that steepen to lower concentration. To confirm the gel formation at body temperature, we observed the formation of gel in the mice body after injection of 20 wt% aqueous solution of each block copolymer. After surging, we investigated the gelation in mice. The results obtained in this study confirmed the feasibility as biomaterials of injectable implantation for controlled release of drug and protein delivery.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.32-39
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• 2000

To investigate the adsorption-desorption reaction of Cd by sewage sludge, the adsorption of Cd from $Cd(NO_3)_2$ solutions of concentrations ranging from 5 to $50{\mu}g\;Cd\;mL^{-1}$ by sewage sludge was examined for reaction periods up to 48 hours. The amount of Cd adsorbed as a function of time was measured. The adsorption between Cd in solution and the solid phase could be described by two stages. The initial adsorption of Cd was very rapid, that is, approximately 95% of the added Cd was removed from solution within the first 30 minutes. Further, the greater the concentration of Cd added, the greater was the amount of Cd adsorbed. After the rapid initial decrease of Cd, a slower decline in the Cd concentration resulted which followed first order reversible kinetics. The equilibrium concentrations for the reactions, as well as the time period for the equilibrium reactions were dependent on the initial Cd concentrations. If equilibrium is reached, the amount of Cd remaining in solution is greater when the amount adsorbed is higher, although the percentage of Cd in solution is constant relative to the initial concentration of Cd. Some of the adsorbed Cd was released back to solution since the concentration of Cd after 48 hours was higher than the equilibrium concentration of Cd. However, despite the increased amount of Cd measured, the overall net reaction was a significant adsorption of Cd from solution by sewage sludge.

• Journal of Korean Society of Transportation
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.179-187
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• 2009

This study develops a real-time signal control algorithm based on sectional travel times and includes a field test and evaluation. The objective function of the signal control algorithm is the equalization of delay of traffic movements, and the main process is calculating dissolved time of the queue and delay using the sectional travel time and detection time of individual vehicles. Then this algorithm calculates the delay variation and a targeted red time and calculates the length of the cycle and phase. A progression factor from the US HCM was applied as a method to consider the effect of coordinating the delay calculation, and this algorithm uses the average delay and detection time of probe vehicles, which were collected during the accumulated cycle for a stabile signal control. As a result of the field test and evaluation through the application of the traffic signal control algorithm on four consecutive intersections at 400m intervals, reduction of delay and an equalization effect of delay against TOD control were confirmed using the standard deviation of delay by traffic movements. This study was conducted to develop a real-time traffic signal control algorithm based on sectional travel time, using general-purpose traffic information detectors. With the current practice of disseminating ubiquitous technology, the aim of this study was a fundamental change of the traffic signal control method.

• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.86-91
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• 2013

Purpose: The aim of this study was to verify renal inflammation following Kawasaki disease (KD) using single photon emission computed tomography along with Technetium-99m dimercaptosuccinic acid scintigraphy (DMSA renal SPECT). Methods: From March 2011 to October 2011, 15 patients diagnosed with KD at the National Health Insurance System Ilsan Hospital were enrolled in the study. All patients underwent DMSA renal SPECT to evaluate renal involvement during the acute phase of KD. Urine ${\beta}2$-microglobulin (${\beta}2$-MG), a marker of renal proximal tubular dysfunction, was also measured to assess renal damage. Results: All 15 patients had normal renal function test results. However, microscopic hematuria and pyuria were observed in 13% and 33% of the patients, respectively. Moreover, urine ${\beta}2$-MG was elevated in 46% of the patients. In addition, patients were divided into two groups based on ${\beta}2$-MG level: those with an increased ${\beta}2$-MG level, and those with a normal ${\beta}2$-MG level. No significant differences were found between these two groups in clinical characteristics, laboratory, sonography, and echocardiography findings. All patients' DMSA renal SPECT scans were normal. Conclusion: Our study showed that mild abnormalities in the urinalysis and elevated urine ${\beta}2$-MG were the only findings of renal involvement in KD. However, no aggressive renal manifestations were detected on DMSA renal SPECT.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.537-541
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• 2008

White adipose tissue is now recognized as an important endocrine organ which secretes various signal factors and proteins termed 'adipokine'. Haptoglobin (Hp), which has been known as an acute phase protein, belongs to the adipokine. However, the function of Hp in adipose tissue remains unclear. To verify the role of Hp in preadipocytes, in this study, 3T3-L1 preadipocyte cells were stably transfected with human Hp gene and Hp-overexpressing cells were made. The Hp had no effect on cell growth of preadipocytes. By RT-PCR and Western blot analysis, the Hp inhibited gene expression of IL-6 and COX-2 and enhanced HO-1 synthesis in preadipocytes. Moreover, invasion assay showed the Hp suppressed migration of monocytes to preadipocytes. These findings suggest that the Hp may inhibit an inflammatory reaction in adipose tissue by regulating the expressions of pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory mediators, and by repressing monocytes/macrophages infiltration.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.521-528
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• 2012

In this study, we analyzed the physical properties of an ethylene oxide adducted amphoteric surfactant such as critical micelle concentration, surface tension, interfacial tension, contact angle, viscosity and phase behavior. The dual function characteristics of an amphoteric surfactant were investigated by determining an isoelectric point, which were attained using zeta potential measurements and quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) experiments. The isoelectric points of DE3-OSA82-AO, DE5-OSA82-AO and DE9-OSA82-AO surfactant systems determined by zeta potential measurements were 6.97, 6.93 and 7.10 respectively and they are in good agreement with the isoelectric point values measured by QCM experiments. The frictional property measured using an automated mildness tester showed that the DE-OSA82-AO surfactant could provide a good softening effect at neutral condition.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.201-208
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• 2017

Recently, the installation of photovoltaic(PV) systems has been increasing due to the worldwide interest in eco-friendly and abundant solar energy. On the other hand, a PV system has approximately 25% power loss while the energy generated from solar cells is transformed to the power coupling point through a power conversion system (DC/AC). If the output voltage of a string in the PV system is lower than the operating range of the inverter when a part of module in the string has a shadow due to weather conditions, the string is not synchronized and the whole efficiency of output power in a PV system may be reduced significantly. Therefore, to overcome this problem, this paper proposes a novel control method to compensate for the lower voltage by introducing a DC/DC voltage regulator for each string in a PV system, which adopts a concept for MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking) control function using the P&O algorithm and adopts constant voltage control method used in an existing inverter. This paper also implements a 2kW DC/DC voltage regulator based on the proposed algorithm and performs a variety of scenario-based experiments. From the simulation result, it was confirmed that the operation efficiency in the proposed method is improved compared to the existing method.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.121-133
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• 2005

Texture imaging, which means texture image creation by co-occurrence relation, has been known as one of the useful image analysis methodologies. For this purpose, most commercial remote sensing software provides texture analysis function named GLCM (Grey Level Co-occurrence Matrix). In this study, texture-imaging program based on GLCM algorithm is newly implemented. As well, texture imaging modules for GLDV (Grey Level Difference Vector) are contained in this program. As for GLCM/GLDV Texture imaging parameters, it composed of six types of second order texture functions such as Homogeneity, Dissimilarity, Energy, Entropy, Angular Second Moment, and Contrast. As for co-occurrence directionality in GLCM/GLDV, two direction modes such as Omni-mode and Circular mode newly implemented in this program are provided with basic eight-direction mode. Omni-mode is to compute all direction to avoid directionality complexity in the practical level, and circular direction is to compute texture parameters by circular direction surrounding a target pixel in a kernel. At the second phase of this study, some case studies with artificial image and actual satellite imagery are carried out to analyze texture images in different parameters and modes by correlation matrix analysis. It is concluded that selection of texture parameters and modes is the critical issues in an application based on texture image fusion.

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.241-248
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• 2021

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the difference in muscle strength, kinematics, and kinetics between injured and non-injured sides of the leg after Achilles Tendon Rupture surgery during walking and running. Method: The subjects (n=11; age = 30.63 ± 5.69 yrs; height = 172.00 ± 4.47 cm; mass = 77.00 ± 11.34 kg; time lapse from surgery = 29.81 ± 10.27 months) who experienced Achilles Tendon Rupture (ATR) surgery participated in this study. The walking and running trials were collected using infrared cameras (Oqus 300, Qualisys, Sweden, 100 Hz) on instrumented treadmill (Bertec, U.S.A., 1,000 Hz) and analyzed by using QTM (Qualisys Track Manager Ver. 2.15; Qualisys, U.S.A). The measured data were processed using Visual 3D (C-motion Inc., U.S.A.). The cutoff frequencies were set as 6 Hz and 12 Hz for walking and running kinematics respectively, while 100 Hz was used for force plate data. Results: In ATR group, muscle strength there were no difference between affected and unaffected sides (p> .05). In kinematic analysis, subjects showed greater ROM of knee joint flexion-extension in affected side compared to that of unaffected side during walking while smaller ROM of ankle dorsi-plantar and peak knee flexion were observed during running (p< .05). In kinetic analysis, subjects showed lower knee extension moment (running at 2.2 m/s) and positive ankle plantar-flexion power (running at 2.2 m/s, 3.3 m/s) in affected side compared to that of unaffected side (p< .05). This lower positive ankle joint power during a propulsive phase of running is related to slower ankle joint velocity in affected side of the subjects (p< .05). Conclusion: This study aimed to investigate the functional evaluation of the individuals after Achilles tendon rupture surgery through biomechanical analysis during walking and running trials. Based on the findings, greater reduction in dynamic joint function (i.e. lower positive ankle joint power) was found in the affected side of the leg compared to the unaffected side during running while there were no meaningful differences in ankle muscle strength and walking biomechanics. Therefore, before returning to daily life and sports activities, biomechanical analysis using more dynamic movements such as running and jumping trials followed by current clinical evaluations would be helpful in preventing Achilles tendon re-rupture or secondary injury.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.293-300
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• 2021

In this study, the microstructure and thermal conductivity correlation was investigated for concrete materials used in concrete thermal energy storage (CTES) among real-time energy storage devices. Graphite was used as admixture to increase the thermal conductivity performance of the CTES. Concrete specimens of 10% and 15% substitution of cement by mass with graphite, as well as ordinary portland cement (OPC) specimens were prepared, and the microstructural changes and effects on thermal conductivity were analyzed. Porosities of OPC and concrete with graphite were compared using micro-CT, and the microstructural characteristics were quantified using probability functions. Three-dimensional virtual specimens were constructed for thermal analysis, to confirm the effect of microstructural characteristics on thermal conductivity, and the results were compared with the measured conductivity obtained using the hot-disc method. To identify thermal conductivity of graphite for thermal analysis, solid phase conductivity was inversely determined based on simulation and experimental results, and the effect of graphite on thermal conductivity was analyzed.