This study proposed the new method of discerning the assembled parts and presuming the position of central point in a Cowl Cross Bar (CCB) using a Charge-Couple Device (CCD) camera attached to a robot in the auto assembly line. Three control points of an ellipse were decided by three reference points, which were equally distanced. The radii of these reference points were determined by the size of the object, and the repeated presumption secured the precise determination. The comparison of the central point of ellipse presumed by Randomized Hough Transform (RHT) with the part information stored in a database was used for determining the faulty part in an assembly. The method proposed in this study was applied for the real-time inspection of elliptical parts, such as bolt, nut hole and so on, connected to a CCB using a CCD camera. The findings of this study showed that the precise decision on whether the parts are inferior or not can be made irrespective of the lighting condition of industrial site and the noises of the surface of the part. In addition, the defect decision on the individual elliptic parts assembled in a CCB showed more than 98% accuracy within a 500-millisecond period at most.

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Thermoset applications that require high mechanical and chemical stability during service life, such as windmill blades and airplanes, do not allow for biodegradability that degrades naturally over time. In this study, we developed an eco-friendly epoxy resin that maintains high chemical and mechanical stability in normal times but can be chemically decomposed under certain conditions when we want. The new bio-based EP was prepared from vanillin and raspberry ketone via an L-proline-catalyzed aldol condensation reaction. The bio-based EP exhibited excellent tensile strength (58 MPa), flexural strength (183 MPa). In addition, CFRP prepared by using synthesized EP exhibited excellent tensile strength (957 MPa), Young’s modulus (77 GPa), and interlaminar shear strength (49 MPa). Very interestingly, the synthesized EP and CFRP applicants were very rapidly degraded only under specific conditions. Therefore, this study is expected to give a great insight into solving the problems of eco-friendliness and recycling of thermoset resin applications.

Background/Aims: Among irritants causing gastric ulcer, Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) might be pivotal, after which eradication became essential way in either inhibiting ulcerogenesis or preventing ulcer recurrence. Since threonine is essential in either mucus synthesis or cytoprotection, we hypothesized that the dietary threonine from Corynebacterium glutamicum (C. glutamicum) can mitigate the cytotoxicity of H. pylori infection. Materials and Methods: RGM-1 cells were challenged with 100 multiplicity of infection H. pylori for 6 hours, during which threonine alone or combination with Corynebacterium sp. was administered and compared for anti-Helicobacter, anti-inflammation, anti-oxidative, and cytoprotective actions. Results: Threonine alone or combination of threonine and C. glutamicum yielded significant bacteriostatic outcomes. The increased expressions of interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-8, Cox-2, and iNOS mRNA after H. pylori infection were significantly decreased with either threonine alone or the combination of threonine and C. glutamicum. The elevated expressions of NF-kB, HIF-1a, and c-jun after H. pylori infection were all significantly decreased with the combination of threonine and broth from C. glutamicum (P<0.05), leading to significant decreases in 2',7'-dichlorofluorescein-diacetate (P<0.01). Tracing further host antioxidative response, the attenuated expression of heme oxygenase-1, Nrf2, and dehydrogenase quinone-1 after H. pylori infection was significantly preserved with combination of threonine and C. glutamicum. H. pylori infection led to significant increases in apoptosis accompanied with Bcl-2 decreases and Bax increases, while the combination of threonine and C. glutamicum significantly attenuated apoptosis, in which attenuated EGF, TGF-β, and VEGF were significantly regulated, while β-catenin did not change. Conclusions: Threonine synthesized from C. glutamicum significantly alleviated the cytotoxicity of H. pylori in gastric epithelial cells.