• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.147-153
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• 2011

Bacillus species have been involved in metal association as biosorbents, but there is not a clear understanding of this chelating property. In order to evaluate this metal chelating capacity, cultures and spores from Grampositive bacteria of species either able or unable to produce surface layer proteins (S-layers) were analyzed for their capacity of copper biosorption. Only those endowed of S-layers, like Bacillus sphaericus and B. thuringiensis, showed a significant biosorption capacity. This capacity (nearly 50%) was retained after heating of cultures, thus supporting that structural elements of the envelopes are responsible for such activity. Purified S-layers from two Bacillus sphaericus strains had the ability to biosorb copper. Copper biosorption parameters were determined for strain B. sphaericus 2362, and after analyses by means of the Langmuir model, the affinity and capacity were shown to be comparable to other bacterial biosorbents. A competitive effect of $Ca^{2+}$ and $Zn^{2+}$, but not of $Cd^{2+}$, was also observed, thus indicating that other cations may be biosorbed by this protein. Spores that have been shown to be proficient for copper biosorption were further analyzed for the presence of S-layer content. The retention of S-layers by these spores was clearly observed, and after extensive treatment to eliminate the S-layers, the biosorption capacity of these spores was significantly reduced. For the first time, a direct correlation between S-layer protein content and metal biosorption capacity is shown. This capacity is linked to the retention of S-layer proteins attached to Bacillus spores and cells.

• Design & Manufacturing
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.1-6
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• 2020

Recently, research and commercialization related to the field of cell-based therapeutic drug development has been actively conducted. In order to maintain cell viability and prevent contamination, refrigeration preservation devices, such as CRF (controlled rate freezer) or vapor type LN2 tanks have been developed. On the other hand, the storage container for liquid nitrogen tanks currently on sale minimizes the flow structure to prevent structural defects when stored in a liquid nitrogen tank having a high thermal conductivity than vapor nitrogen. If the cell-based treatment drug is stored in the gaseous LN2 tank as it is, the cell survival after thawing is greatly reduced. It was estimated that the existing storage container structure was a factor that prevented the rapid entry and circulation of gaseous nitrogen into the container. Therefore, this study intends to propose a new supercellular storage container model that can maintain the mechanical strength while maximizing the fluid flow structure. To this end, we estimated that the structural change of the storage container effects on the equivalent stress formed around the through-holes of them when exposed to a cryogenic environment using thermal-structural coupled field analysis. As a result of storage experiments in the gas phase tank of the cell-based therapeutic agent using the developed storage container, it was confirmed that the cell growth rate was improved from 66% to 77%, which satisfied the transportation standards of the FDA(Food and Drug Administration) cell-based therapeutic agent.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.1369-1389
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• 2015

In order to investigate the behaviour of lying multi-stud connectors in cable-pylon anchorage zone, twenty-four push-out tests are carried out with different stud numbers and diameters. The effect of concrete block width and tensile force on shear strength is investigated using the developed and verified finite element model. The results show that the shear strength of the lying multi-stud connectors is reduced in comparison with the lying single-stud connector. The reduction increases with the increasing of the number of studs in the vertical direction. The influence of the stud number on the strength reduction of the lying multi-stud connectors is decreased under combined shear and tension loads compared with under pure shear. Yet, due to multi-stud effect, they still can't be ignored. The concrete block width has a non-negligible effect on the shear strength of the lying multi-stud connectors and therefore should be chosen properly when designing push-out specimens. No obvious difference is observed between the strength reductions of the studs with 22 mm and 25 mm diameters. The shear strengths obtained from the tests are compared with those predicted by AASHTO LRFD and Eurocode 4. Eurocode 4 generally gives conservative predictions of the shear strength, while AASHTO LRFD overestimates the shear strength. In addition, the lying multi-stud connectors with the diameters of 22 m and 25 mm both exhibit adequate ductility according to Eurocode 4. An expression of load-slip curve is proposed for the lying multi-stud connectors and shows good agreement with the test results.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.245-268
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• 2018

The numerical investigations have been carried out on deep beam with opening subjected to static monotonic loading to demonstrate the accuracy and effectiveness of the finite element based numerical models. The simulations were carried out through finite element program ABAQUS/CAE and the results thus obtained were validated with the experiments available in literature. Six simply supported beams were modelled with two square openings of 200 and 250 mm sides considered as opening at centre, top and bottom of the beam. In order to define the material behaviour of concrete and reinforcing steel bar the Concrete Damaged Plasticity model and Johnson-Cook material parameters available in literature were employed. The numerical results were compared with the experiments in terms of ultimate failure load, displacement and von-Mises stresses. In addition to that, seventeen beams were simulated under static loading for studying the effect of opening location, size and shape of the opening and depth, span and shear span to depth ratio of the deep beam. In general, the numerical results accurately predicted the pattern of deformation and displacement and found in good agreement with the experiments. It was concluded that the structural response of deep beam was primarily dependent on the degree of interruption of the natural load path. An increase in opening size from 200 to 250 mm size resulted in an average shear strength reduction of 35%. The deep beams having circular openings undergo lesser deflection and thus they are preferable than square openings. An increase in depth from 500 mm to 550 mm resulted in 78% reduced deflection.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.279-289
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• 2018

Shear walls are one of the important structural elements for bearing loads imposed on buildings due to winds and earthquakes. Composite shear walls with high lateral resistance, and high energy dissipation capacity are considered as a lateral load system in such buildings. In this paper, a composite shear wall consisting of steel faceplates, infill concrete and tie bars which tied steel faceplates together, and concrete filled steel tubular (CFST) as boundary columns, was modeled numerically. Test results were compared with the existing experimental results in order to validate the proposed numerical model. Then, the effects of some parameters on the behavior of the composite shear wall were studied; so, the diameter and spacing of tie bars, thickness and compressive strength of infill concrete, thickness of steel faceplates, and the effect of strengthening the bottom region of the wall were considered. The seismic behavior of the modeled composite shear wall was evaluated in terms of stiffness, ductility, lateral strength, and energy dissipation capacity. The results of the study showed that the diameter of tie bars had a trivial effect on the performance of the composite shear wall, but increasing the tie bars spacing decreased ductility. Studying the effect of infill concrete thickness, concrete compressive strength, and thickness of steel faceplates also showed that the main role of infill concrete was to prevent buckling of steel faceplates. Also, by strengthening the bottom region of the wall, as long as the strengthened part did not provide a support performance for the upper part, the behavior of the composite shear wall was improved; otherwise, ductility of the wall could be reduced severely.

• Journal of Korean Physical Therapy Science
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.99-109
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• 2002

We designed the experiments to elucidate the anti-inflammatory effect of low power laser stimulation on acupoint or non-acupoint using arthrogenic solution induced poly arthritis animal model. In order to achieve the experimental purpose, change in body weight paw edema, pathological changes in inflammed pint and the serum interlukin-6 level were measured after arthritis induction in acupoint later stimulated group, non acupoint laser stimulated group and non treated control animal. The results were summerized as follows: 1. The consistent increase in body weight was observed in the normal animal during whole experimental period, while the induction of arthritis significantly suppressed increase in body weight from the 15 day after arthritis induction. Especially, non treated animal group showed more suppressive effect on increase in body weight as compared to that of low power laser stimulated groups (P<0.05). 2. Low power laser stimulation on acupoint (Zusanli) significantly inhibited edema in the left side paw from the 12th day after arthritis induction as compared to that of non treated animals. This suppressive effect on paw edema was maintained until the end of experiment. 3. Laser treatment on acupoint dramatically suppressed the radiological change (i.e. new bone proliferation and soft tissue swelling) caused by arthritis as compared to that of non treated group animals. 4. Low power laser treatment reduced the increase in serum interlukin-6 caused by arthritis induction to levels observed in the normal animals. In conclusion, the results of the present study demonstrated that low power laser stimulation on acupoint has potent anti-inflammatory effect on arthritis. Thus it is recommended that low power laser be used for long term treatment of arthritis induced inflammation. However, further study is necessary to clarify the possible side effect of laser treatment depending upon intensity and duration of stimulation.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.57 no.5
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• pp.335-341
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• 2015

Objective : The main causes of spinal cord ischemia are a variety of vascular pathologies causing acute arterial occlusions. We investigated neuro-protective effects of kefir on spinal cord ischemia injury in rats. Methods : Rats were divided into three groups : 1) sham operated control rats; 2) spinal cord ischemia group fed on a standard diet without kefir pretreatment; and 3) spinal cord ischemia group fed on a standard diet plus kefir. Spinal cord ischemia was performed by the infrarenal aorta cross-clamping model. The spinal cord was removed after the procedure. The biochemical and histopathological changes were observed within the samples. Functional assessment was performed for neurological deficit scores. Results : The kefir group was compared with the ischemia group, a significant decrease in malondialdehyde levels was observed (p<0.05). Catalase and superoxide dismutase levels of the kefir group were significantly higher than ischemia group (p<0.05). In histopathological samples, the kefir group is compared with ischemia group, there was a significant decrease in numbers of dead and degenerated neurons (p<0.05). In immunohistochemical staining, hipoxia-inducible factor-$1{\alpha}$ and caspase 3 immunopositive neurons were significantly decreased in kefir group compared with ischemia group (p<0.05). The neurological deficit scores of kefir group were significantly higher than ischemia group at 24 h (p<0.05). Conclusion : Our study revealed that kefir pretreatment in spinal cord ischemia/reperfusion reduced oxidative stress and neuronal degeneration as a neuroprotective agent. Ultrastructural studies are required in order for kefir to be developed as a promising therapeutic agent to be utilized for human spinal cord ischemia in the future.

• Journal of Navigation and Port Research
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.527-534
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• 2012

In order to achieve sustainable growth and gain competitive advantages business performance should be monitored regularly by a company. In the port industry container terminal operators are facing growing competition. A large scale of new container terminals are constructed and the number of new container terminal operators are increasing. Container shipping lines are gaining bargaining power against terminal operators in terms of negotiating terminal usage. The competitive environments result in reduced cargo handling charges and poor financial performance of container terminal operators. It becomes very important to examine how efficiently container terminal operators are operating their terminals and how to improve their performance. This paper investigates the measurement efficiency for container terminal operators in Korea using Data envelopment analysis(DEA) of DEA-CCR and DEA-BCC Model. This paper finds out which container terminal operators are inefficient and how to improve their management efficiency.

• The KIPS Transactions:PartA
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• v.16A no.6
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• pp.473-480
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• 2009

This paper is to enhance a color image running in the PXA255 ARM processor based on embedded linux environments. Retinex is one of the representative algorithm for image enhancement in the previous research. However, retinex is not suitable the run on the embedded system because of its long processing time. So, we proposed the image enhancement algorithm for embedded system, with less quantity of operation and the effect equivalent to retinex. To achieve this goal, we propose and implement the image enhancement algorithm, which utilizes the image formation model and gamma correction to be effective in a back-light and dark image. The proposed algorithm converts the color space from RGB to HSV, and then V and S channels are processed. In order to optimize the proposed method in the PXA255 ARM processor, quantity of calculation is reduced. The performance of the proposed algorithm was evaluated through qualitative method and quantitative method. The results show that brightness and contrast are improved with less quantity of operation.

• International Journal of Highway Engineering
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.105-115
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• 2015

PURPOSES : This study aimed to evaluate the appropriateness of safety with the standard for threshold zone luminance as specified in the Recommendation for Lighting of Traffic Tunnel, which has been widely adopted worldwide. METHODS : A driving test of the subject in a full-scale road tunnel was conducted. The adaptation luminance and threshold zone luminance, which should be known for the driver to perceive an object within stopping sight distance, were obtained. These values were compared with the adaptation luminance and threshold zone luminance obtained by the existing reduced model test and tunnel lighting standard that has served as a guideline for the current threshold zone luminance standard. RESULTS : According to this study, threshold zone luminance should be increased to at least 1.8 times the value proposed in the existing studies and to twice the domestic tunnel lighting standard (KS C 3703: 2014). CONCLUSIONS : The threshold zone luminance proposed in this study differs largely from that obtained from indoor tests and from the current tunnel lighting standard used worldwide; this difference may be attributed to the fact that the indoor tests did not incorporate driving workload, non-uniformity of luminance distribution in terms of sight, and factors that reduce the visibility of the driver, such as the light reflected into the driver's eyes. Hence, it is necessary to further review the factors that reduce the visibility of drivers approaching tunnels in order to determine the rational tunnel threshold zone luminance.