• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.33 no.spc3
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• pp.385-395
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• 2011

Time-series sediment traps were deployed at 1,000 m water depth of the northwestern subtropical Pacific from July 2009 to June 2010, with the aim of understanding temporal and spatial variations of sinking-particle fluxes. The opening and closing of the traps was synchronized at 18-day periods for 20 events. Total mass fluxes showed distinct seasonal variations with high values for the summer-fall seasons and relatively low values for winter-spring. This seasonal variation at two stations was characterized by a distinct difference in $CaCO_3$ fluxes between the two seasons. The enhanced $CaCO_3$ flux in the summer - fall seasons might be attributed to an increased planktonic foraminiferal flux. Total mass flux at FM10 station was nearly 50% higher than that at FM1 station. The difference in $CaCO_3$ fluxes between two stations contributed nearly 70% of the difference of total mass fluxes. The $CaCO_3$ flux was a major component controlling temporal and spatial variation of sinking - particle fluxes in the western subtropical Pacific Ocean.

• Journal of Broadcast Engineering
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.807-810
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• 2009

This paper deals with a real-time image based relighting system for tangible video teleconference. The proposed image based relighting system renders the extracted human object using the virtual environmental images. The proposed system can homogenize virtually the lighting environments of remote users on the video teleconference, or render the humans like they are in the virtual places. To realize the video teleconference, the paper obtains the 3D object models of users in real-time using the controlled lighting system. In this paper, we use single color camera and synchronized two directional flash lights. Proposed system generates pure shading images using on and off flash images subtraction. One pure shading reflectance map generates a directional normal map from multiplication of each reflectance map and basic normal vector map. Each directional basic normal map is generated by inner vector calculation of incident light vector and camera viewing vector. And the basic normal vector means a basis component of real surface normal vector. The proposed system enables the users to immerse video teleconference just as they are in the virtual environments.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.29 no.5 s.236
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• pp.643-652
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• 2005

Saturated nucleate pool boiling experiments for binary mixtures, which are consisted of refrigerant R11 and R113, were performed with constant wall temperature condition. Results for binary mixtures were also compared with pure fluids. A microscale heater array and Wheatstone bridge circuits were used to maintain the constant temperature of the heating surface and to obtain heat flow rate measurements with high temporal and spatial resolutions. Bubble growth images were captured using a high speed CCD camera synchronized with the heat flow rate measurements. The departure time for binary mixtures was longer than that for pure fluids, and binary mixtures had a higher onset of nucleate boiling (ONB) temperature than pure fluids. In the asymptotic growth region, the bubble growth rate was proportional to a value between $t^{\frac{1}{6}}$ and $t^{\frac{1}{4}}$. The bubble growth behavior was analyzed to permit comparisons with binary mixtures and pure fluids at the same scale using dimensionless parameters. There was no discernable difference in the bubble growth behavior between binary mixtures and pure fluids for a given ONB temperature. And the departure radius and time were well predicted within a ${\pm}30{\%}$ error. The minimum heat transfer coefficient of binary mixtures occurred near the maximum ${\mid}y-x{\mid}$ value, and the average required heat flux during bubble growth did not depend on the mass fraction of R11 as more volatile component in binary mixtures. Finally, the results showed that for binary mixtures, a higher ONB temperature had the greatest effect on reducing the heat transfer coefficient.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea SC
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.38-46
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• 2012

Atrial fibrillation is needed to be detected at paroxysmal stage and to be treated. But, paroxysmal atrial fibrillation ECG is hardly obtained with 12-lead electrocardiographs but Holter systems. Presently, the averaged beat subtraction(ABS) method is solely used to estimate atrial fibrillatory waves even with somewhat large residual error. As an alternative, in this study, we suggested an ESAF(event-synchronous adaptive filter) based algorithm, in which the AF ECG was treated as a primary input and event-synchronous impulse train(ESIT) as a reference. And, ESIT was generated so to be synchronized with the ventricular activity by detecting QRS complex. We tested proposed algorithm with simulated AF ECGs and real AF ECGs. As results, even with low computational cost, this ESAF based algorithm showed better performance than the ABS method and comparable performance to algorithm based on PCA(principal component analysis) or SVD(singular value decomposition). We also proposed an expanded version of ESAF for some AF ECGs with multi-morphologic ventricular activities and this also showed reasonable performance. Ultimately, with Holter systems including our proposed algorithm, atrial activity signal can be precisely estimated in real-time so that it will be possible to calculate atrial fibrillatory rate and to evaluate the effect of anti-arrhythmic drugs.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.187-194
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• 2011

Atherosclerosis and post-angiography restenosis are associated with intimal thickening and concomitant vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) proliferation. Obovatol, a major biphenolic component isolated from the Magnolia obovata leaf, is known to have anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor activities. The goal of the present study was to enhance the inhibitory effects of obovatol to improve its potential as a preventive or therapeutic agent in atherosclerosis and restenosis. Platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-BB-induced proliferation of rat aortic smooth muscle cells (RASMCs) was examined in the presence or absence of a newly synthesized obovatol derivative, OD78. The observed anti-proliferative effect of OD78 was further investigated by cell counting and [$^3H$]-thymidine incorporation assays. Treatment with 1-4 ${\mu}M$ OD78 dose-dependently inhibited the proliferation and DNA synthesis of 25 ng/ml PDGF-BB-stimulated RASMCs. Accordingly, OD78 blocked PDGF-BB-induced progression from the $G_0/G_1$ to S phase of the cell cycle in synchronized cells. OD78 decreased the expression levels of CDK4, cyclin E, and cyclin D1 proteins, as well as the phosphorylation of retinoblastoma protein and proliferating cell nuclear antigen; however, it did not change the CDK2 expression level. In addition, OD78 inhibited downregulation of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor (CKI) $p27^{kip1}$. However, OD78 did not affect the CKI $p21^{cip1}$ or phosphorylation of early PDGF signaling pathway. These results suggest that OD78 may inhibit PDGF-BB-induced RASMC proliferation by perturbing cell cycle progression, potentially through $p27^{kip1}$ pathway activation. Consequently, OD78 may be developed as a potential anti-proliferative agent for the treatment of atherosclerosis and angioplasty restenosis.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.29 no.10
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• pp.1120-1125
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• 2019

The short-lived nematode Caenorhabditis elegans has been used as a model organism for many studies, including lifespan extension. To screen common seaweeds for natural anti-aging agents, the lifespan of C. elegans (N2 wild-type strain) was measured by its hatch rate, growth rate, survival rate, chemotaxis, brood size, and egg-laying time after exposure to nematode growth medium (NGM) containing seaweed extracts. Approximately 30 animals synchronized at the first larval stage were incubated until they reached their adult stages before laying their eggs and were transferred to fresh NGM every 3 days. We also identified the major active compound from the seaweed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and tested its optimal dose for longevity. Of 13 common seaweed species, an ethanol extract of the brown seaweed Hizikia fusiformis showed the greatest effect on hatching, growth, and survival rates. The lifespan of C. elegans was significantly expanded 1.54-fold and 1.23-fold in the presence of the ethanol extract (0.05 mg/ml) and the main active component, fucosterol (0.05 mg/ml), respectively. Exposure to the ethanol extract also increased chemotaxis 1.13-fold, decreased brood size 0.74-fold, and shortened egg-laying time 0.96-fold. These results suggest that the aquaculturable H. fusiformis may be a promising source of a diet supplement to support health care.