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Obesity-induced insulin resistance is the fundamental cause of metabolic syndrome. Accordingly, we evaluated the effect of mangiferin (MGF) on obesity and glucose metabolism focusing on inflammatory response and autophagy. First, an in silico study was conducted to analyze the mechanism of MGF in insulin resistance. Second, an in vivo experiment was conducted by administering MGF to C57BL/6 mice with high-fat-diet (HFD)-induced metabolic disorders. The in silico analysis revealed that MGF showed a high binding affinity with macrophage-related inflammatory cytokines and autophagy proteins. In the in vivo study, mice were divided into three groups: normal chow, HFD, and HFD + MGF 150 mg/kg. MGF administration to obese mice significantly improved the body weight, insulin-sensitive organs weights, glucose and lipid metabolism, fat accumulation in the liver, and adipocyte size compared to HFD alone. MGF significantly reduced the macrophages in adipose tissue and Kupffer cells, inhibited the gene expression ratio of tumor necrosis factor-α and F4/80 in adipose tissue, reduced the necrosis factor kappa B gene, and elevated autophagy-related gene 7 and fibroblast growth factor 21 gene expressions in the liver. Thus, MGF exerted a therapeutic effect on metabolic diseases by improving glucose and lipid metabolism through inhibition of the macrophage-mediated inflammatory responses and activation of autophagy.

This study investigates the effect of a change in the sliding speed on the wear behavior of mild steel and, in particular, the influence of the original speed on the wear behavior at subsequent speeds, in order to utilize it for the tribosystems design. The sliding wear tests were conducted by using a combination of changing conditions between two of three different sliding speeds in a pin-on-disc type wear testing machine: two sliding speeds with mild wear behavior and a sliding speed with severe wear behavior. It was obvious that the wear behavior after the speed change was highly dependent on the formation of oxides on the worn surface at each speed. When the speed changed between two speeds at which a mild wear behavior is exhibited, there was no significant difference in the sliding wear behavior before and after the speed change. When the speed changed from 0.3 and 3 m/s with a mild wear behavior to 1 m/s with a severe wear behavior, there was no significant increase in the wear rate. In contrast, the wear rate rapidly decreased at a subsequent speed change to 0.3 and 3 m/s. The time required until the steady-state wear condition was attained at the sliding speed of 0.3 m/s was significantly longer than that at 3 m/s.

Heterojunction-based organic light-emitting field-effect transistors (OLEFETs) with a top-contact, long-channel geometry were fabricated and comparatively characterized. The neutral cluster beam deposition (NCBD) method was used to successively deposit two layers of p-type pentacene and n-type tris(8-hydroxyquinoline)aluminum (Alq3). For doped OLEFETs, 4-(dicyanomethylene)-2-methyl-6-(p-dimethylaminostyryl)-4H-pyran (DCM) was used as a highly fluorescent dye dopant to enhance the light-emission efficiency and change the emission color. OLEFETs revealed fine device characteristics based on deposition of highly crystalline active layers. The combination of the highly fluorescent DCM doping and asymmetric electrode configuration (Au and Li:Al or LiF/Al) exhibited efficient energy transfer and enhanced electroluminescence (EL) emission. The operating light-emission mechanisms were discussed based on EL photos acquired using a charge-coupled device (CCD) camera.

The effective case depth for case-hardened rolling bearing has been discussed. For this purpose, roll- ing contact fatigue tests for ball bearings built with inner race of various hardness values were conducted until L10 calculating rating life using a bearing life test machine under radial loading. Then, the distribution of residual stress below the inner raceway, which depended on the hardness value, was measured by X-ray diffraction. As a result, the linear relationship was established between the hardness value of the inner race and the theoretical shear stress evaluated at the depth where the residual stress disappeared below the inner raceway. Based on the relationship, it could be found that the factor of safety in bearing manufacturer's rules for the effective case depth of case hardened rolling bearings was set higher. However, it could be also found that the hardness values at the depth where the maximum shearing stress acted below the raceway surface in a tapered roller bearing hardened by the carburizing process, were not sufficient for preventing plastic deformation under the basic dynamic load rating. Consequently, further efforts were still required to reduce or to disperse the contact load on the material design of a rolling bearing in order to prolong its life. Keywordscase hardening (표면경화 ), rolling bearing (구름베어링 ), effective case depth (유효경화깊이 ), hardness (경도), plastic deformation (소성변형)

Low-voltage organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) and complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) inverters based on pentacene and N,N′-ditridecylperylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxylic diimide (PTCDI-C13) were fabricated on HfTiOx gate dielectrics. Both pristine dielectrics and substrates passivated with self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of n-dodecylphosphonic acid (PA-C12) were employed. The high capacitance and low leakage current of the HfTiOx-based dielectrics enabled the devices to operate at |V| < 3 V. Passivation with PA-C12 was highly effective in improving the device characteristics. In particular, an electron mobility of 0.72 cm2 V−1 s−1 was measured for the device fabricated with the passivated HfTiOx dielectric, which represents the best performance reported to date for perylene-based OFETs prepared with thin, high-k gate dielectrics. The CMOS inverters exhibited fast switching and high gain characteristics, which were attributed to good coupling between the optimized p- and n-type OFETs.

In this study, we measured lung function and lung diffusing capacity of Jeju women divers who were gathering activities in the sea waters of the low temperature. The results Compared with ordinary women of the same age group were as follows: First, FVC and FVC% of Jeju women divers were significantly higher than the general population. Second, had no significant difference the difference between the general population and Jeju women divers. Third, in both groups was in the normal level, especially Jeju women divers groups showed significantly higher FEF results than normal women. Fourth, DLCO is no significant difference between the Jeju divers and the general female group. Despite the advanced age of Jeju women divers These results indicated that adaptation and development of state institutions while performing long-term lung apnea immersion activities. Despite the advanced age of Jeju women divers These results indicated that adaptation and development of state institutions while performing long-term lung apnea immersion activities.

In this study, we tried to analyze arterial stiffness of Jeju female divers who diver into cold water without the assistance of oxygen. For this purpose we measured pulse wave velocity and ankle-brachial index of Jeju female divers and same aged females who didn't have any cardiovascular risk for comparing the vascular stiffness. The results were the following : First, the light-femoral pulse wave velocity of Jeju female divers was significantly lower than normal women of the same ages. Second, Jeju female divers's ABI showed higher tendency than normal same aged women. These result showed that Jeju female divers' body had been completed for adaptation to low temperature and high pressure water environment through a long-term immersion activities in old age, as well as due to higher physical activity levels of Jeju female divers peripheral vascular resistance was not reduced. Key Words : Jeju female divers, Pulse wave velocity, Arterial stiffness, Peripheral vessel resistance, Convergence

The aim of this study was to determine the appropriate driving strain history of a dynamic cell culture device for inducing accelerated cell differentiation. Silicone rubber film is an electroactive polymer and was used as a flexible cell stimulator to transfer mechanical strains to developing cells. Mechano-regulation theory with a deviatoric strain was used to estimate tissue differentiation under strain conditions during iterative calculations by means of finite element analysis. Various driving strain histories comprising 4%, 5%, and 6% strains were introduced to determine the correlation between the strain history and the development of cell phenotypes. The simulation results revealed that driving strain conditions mainly comprising low levels of strain (4%) provided appropriate conditions for differentiating mesenchymal cells into osteoblasts.

Nickel aluminide coatings have been deposited onto an aluminum substrate using a reaction synthesis process at a reaction temperature of 928 K. In this research, the microstructural changes of the intermetallic coating layer were investigated according to the reaction time in a hot press. Afterward, sliding wear behaviors of the coating layer were evaluated in comparison with those of the coating layer deposited onto ferrous material at a similar conditions. As a result, the reaction synthesis of nickel aluminide coatings onto an aluminum substrate occurred slowly and incompletely through a diffusion reaction. A coating with a high hardness was formed on the aluminum substrate after a reaction time in excess of 30 minutes. Additionally, the wear properties of the coating were comparable with those of the coating on ferrous materials. Furthermore, a NiAl3 layer was formed at the interface between the coating layer and the aluminum substrate, thereby potentially contributing to the enhancement of the adhesion quality.

The fabrication of flexible electrodes coated on the surface of a dielectric elastomer film, which is a type of electroactive polymer (EAP), was carried out. Controlled amounts of Xylitol powder were added (10, 30, 50 and 70 wt%) to the commercial conductive polymer (PEDOT:PSS) to enhance resilience of the electrode. To check resilience of the fabricated composite electrodes, tensile tests were carried out using silicone films coated with the polymer electrodes. From the test results, it was found that 70 wt% Xylitol containing conductive polymer had excellent elongation and high failure strains. Furthermore, surface of the silicone film was uniformly polished with various abrading papers to enhance the wettability of the conductive polymers on the surface of the silicone film. It was found that the silicone film polished with #120 abrading paper had the best wettability and guaranteed excellent bonding behavior.

We demonstrate a continuous-wave 460-nm com- pact visible laser module having a footprint of 75 mm × 25 mm × 25 mm. This blue light source is achieved through single-pass second harmonic generation with a distributed Bragg reflec- tor tapered diode laser as a single-frequency pump source at ∼920 nm in a periodically poled MgO-doped lithium niobate crystal with a planar waveguide. The compact blue laser module reached an optical output power of 286 mW with the highest optical conversion efficiency of 11.6% at room temperature. The power stability of the blue light from the laser module is measured at an output power of 268 mW with a variation of ±3.5% during a period of 1 h.

This article presents an ultrabroadband balun with 1:4 impedance transformation ratio using transmission-line transformers. The proposed ultrabroadband balun consists of one 1:1 transmission-line transformer as a balun and two 1:4 transmission-line transformers for impedance transformation. Each transmission-line transformer is based on a coaxial line, which is wound around a ferrite core to extend the bandwidth to the lower frequency region. Experimentally optimized offset transmission lines are used to compensate for the phase imbalance characteristics at the high frequency band. The implemented ultrabroadband balun operates from 300 kHz to 400 MHz with a return loss of below 12 dB and an insertion loss of less than 1 dB. The magnitude and phase imbalance for the balanced signal output are both less than 0.5 dB and 2.0°, respectively. An outstanding relative bandwidth (the ratio of the highest frequency to the lowest frequency in the operational band) of 1330 was achieved. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 56:1974–1978, 2014

In this paper, a high gain waveguide array antenna combining horn antenna on slot radiator was designed. And the fabricated antenna showed enough gain, improved efficiency and broadband characteristics for receiving satellite signals, compare to conventional microstrip antenna which has dielectric loss and radiation loss on transmission line. For easy fabrication, the waveguide structure was composed by 3-stages of radiator, signal coupler and transmission line. By experiment, the array waveguide antenna of 4 by 16 showed 28.3[dBi] gain and 2:1 of VSWR. And by combining horn antenna structure, the gain was increased 1[dB]. The received signal from Koreasat 6 by measurement showed 16[dBc] of C/N on BS(Broadcasting Satellite)-band and 14[dBc] of C/N on CS(Communication Satellite)-band. Key Words : Array antenna, Waveguide, Satellite, Horn, LNB특성 규격주파수대역 10.7[GHz] ∼ 12.75[GHz]편파 수평편파(H)이득 peak gain 28 [dBi]VSWR 2 : 1 이하*Dept. of Broadcasting, Sound & Visual, Daelim University College, KoreaE-mail : hylee@daelim.ac.krReceived : April 19, 2013; Accepted : January 27, 2014

Electroactive polymers are smart materials that respond to electrical stimulation by changing their shape and size. The objective of this study is to investigate the applicability of the poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) (P(VDF-TrFE)) copolymer in sensors or actuators in an in vivo environment. The basic mechanical properties of P(VDF-TrFE) thin films were estimated by carrying out tensile and creep tests using specimens submerged in water at 30°C for a few weeks. Furthermore, X-ray diffraction analysis was employed to observe the micro-structural changes in the P(VDF-TrFE) films due to water absorption wherein water intercalated in the interstitial sites between the chains of the P(VDF-TrFE) films. Consequently, the mechanical properties of the P(VDF-TrFE) films were enhanced due to water absorption. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 54:2654–2659, 2014. © 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers

The effects of contact pressure on the sliding wear behavior of mild steel in a pin-on-disc type apparatus were investigated. Sliding wear tests were conducted with various combinations of the load and apparent area of contact. The wear behavior of mild steel as a function of sliding speed was independent of contact pressure. However, the wear rate at different sliding speeds was influenced by the load regardless of the apparent area of contact. This was attributed to the fact that there may be no difference in the real area of contact for any combination of the load and apparent area of contact.

Estimation of stature is a basic and important forensic procedure in identifying decomposed or skeletonized bodies. Due to advances in radiologic equipment, forensic science frequently uses computed tomography (CT) and software to apply these findings to investigations. Technical developments have increased the accuracy of the measurement of various bones. However, there are still some inaccuracies, such as defining correct landmarks in three-dimensional (3D) images. Femur length is frequently used for calculation of stature, but because it is a 3D structure, the digital image may not always correlate with the femur length measured with an osteometric board. However, more studies are now showing that the maximum femur length calculated in 3D imagery is comparable to the maximum femur length calculated using an osteometric board. This study used digitalized data of the femur obtained from the CT image through the specialized software. The digitalized femur images were put on the virtual osteometric board, which helped us to understand the anatomic characteristics of the femur and to confirm that the maximum femur lengths calculated in 3D images are similar to the results obtained using an osteometric board. These data were used to obtain a stature estimation formula for the Korean population.

In this paper, we fabricate multi-channel receiver for radar system. This receiver at X-band can be received 8 signal of an identical characteristic, dynamic range has more than 80[dB]. To process direct received signals, this system has the built-in two digital de-modulators which offer the minimum loss on the receiving signal path and has high stability by adding Built-In Test. The gain, noise figure, difference of amplitude and phase on the signal path is respectively [dB], 19[dB], [dB], and below.

In order to investigate the possibility of Ni-Al based intermetallics coating onto aluminum substrate, the coating process for induction heating has been evaluated by microscopically analyzing the intermetallic layers coated at temperatures lower than the melting temperature of aluminum. The coating layers were divided into two parts with different microstructure along the depth. Hard layer was found at lower parts of the coatings near the interface with aluminum substrate. This layer was formed by the diffusion of aluminum atoms from the substrate into the coating layer across the interface during the induction heating. Meanwhile, at the upper parts of the coating near the surface, a large amount of un-reacted Ni was still remained and surrounded by several Ni-Al based intermetallic compounds, such as , NiAl and formed by the lattice diffusion.

Ni-Al based intermetallic compounds of self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) by the heat of molten aluminum and been coated on the aluminum casting alloy. The effects of the pouring temperature in casting and the thickness of casting substrate on SHS of the coating layer have been investigated. The experimental result showed that the reaction of the coating layer was activated with increasing the pouring temperature in casting and the thickness of casting substrate. However, the aluminum substrate was re-melted by the heat of formation for intermetallic compounds. Then, it was considered that some mechanical or thermal treatments for elemental powder mixtures were required to control the heat of formation for intermetallic compounds in advance.

High sensitivity IR image sensors require materials characteristics with temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) and IR range absorption. In this study, the metal-dielectric thermo sensitive films (MDTF) based on (SiO ) -(Ti) composition were deposited on substrates of germanium and glass by thermal evaporator. The SiO : Ti mixture was made from the ratio of 9 : 1, 8 : 2, 7 : 3, 6 : 4, respectively. (SiO ) -(Ti) mixture powder was loaded on tungsten boat in evaporator and was 15.5 cm from the substrate. Resistance of (SiO ) -(Ti) in the range of 273~333 K were measured as a function of temperature. Temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) was calculated by the resistance variation. Under the various mixture ratios condition, it is possible to obtain SiO -Ti layers with resistance from units kilo-ohm to hundreds kilo-ohm. Finally, our results showed that Temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) of these films varies from �1.4 to �2.6 %K.

The possibility of Cu-Al-Ni intermetallic coating on the mild steel through the combustion synthesis has been investigated. In particular, the effect of the ball milling energy on the microstructure of the coating layer was examined to obtain the best coating condition. Experimental results show that Cu-Al-Ni powder compact was explosively synthesized and successfully coated with the steel matrix. It was revealed that the formation of intermetallic decreased with increase in the ball milling energy. This result supports that the high energy ball milling would be effective for obtaining the most suitable microstructure for Cu-Al-Ni coating layer. However, the excessive ball milling energy seems to decrease the bonding strength between the coating layer and the matrix.

Intraperitoneal chemotherapy confers limited clinical benefit as a result of the dose-limiting toxicity of anticancer drugs. We aimed to develop optimized liposomes for mitoxantrone (MTO) administration that provide high encapsulation efficiency and increase the therapeutic index. Cationic MTO was loaded onto anionic liposomes by electrostatic surface complexation. The anticancer activity was evaluated in a peritoneal carcinomatosis model. The retention of MTO at the tumor site was monitored by molecular imaging. MTO loading efficiencies by electrostatic complexation were >95% for all anionic liposomes but

For delivery of siRNA, chitosan (CS) was derivatized with poly-l-arginine (PLR) and polyethylene glycol (PEG). The formation of polyplexes with siRNA was confirmed by gel retardation. The PLR-grafted CS formed nanosized particles with siRNA. PLR-grafted CS showed higher cellular delivery efficiency of siRNA than did CS, pegylated CS, PLR, or pegylated PLR. The extent of reduction in the expression of fluorescent proteins was highest following treatment of the cells using PLR derivatives of CS in complexes with specific siRNAs. Cell viability was greater in populations treated with pegylated CS-PLR than in those treated with PLR. Hemolysis of erythrocytes was reduced upon conjugation of PLR with CS. The delivery of siRNAs via pegylated CS-PLR revealed little dependence on serum. Molecular imaging techniques revealed that the intratumoral administration of red fluorescent protein-specific siRNA in complexes with pegylated CS-PLR significantly silenced the expression of red fluorescent proteins in tumor tissues in vivo. These results indicate that pegylated CS-PLR might be useful for in vivo delivery of therapeutic siRNAs.

Reconfigurable radio technology is needed to reconstruct frequency and modem functionality, which can be different in various regions. In addition, it makes a single mobile handset capable of supporting various standards of wireless communication and thus plays a key role in mobile convergence. An MMIC VCO (voltage controlled oscillator) has been developed for high power and wide bandwidth where Clapp-Gouriet type oscillators are adapted for series feedback, and was fabricated based on 0.15um pHEMT of TRW. The MMIC VCO was connected to an aluminar substrate on the carrier for testing. This MMIC VCO module showed good performance in comparison to existing works. Furthermore, it can be potentially extended to reconfigure an MMIC VCO for wireless systems such as military applications and satellite communications.

There is a controversy on the causal relationship of sexual intercourse as a cause of sudden death. Since sildenafil (Viagra™) has been introduced in 1998, there are more concerns on the safety issue of sildenafil and sexual activity as a forensic determination of the cause of death in those cases. We have collected 68 cases of sudden death occurred within 24 hours after sexual intercourse among 13,824 cases for five years from 2001 at the head office of the National Institute of Scientific Investigation in Seoul, Korea. There were 59 men and 9 women (M:F = 6.6:1). The most common cause of death was ischemic heart disease (20 in 68, 29.4%) in both men and women. Sildenafil (Viagra™) was detected in blood in 8 men and only in gastric content in 2 men (10/59, 17.0%). The level in the 8 men was in range of 0.04 to 0.48 with average 0.15 μg/ml. We could not conclude at this study on whether sexual activities and/or sildenafil are considered to have significant contribution to their death, but we would like to warn patients with cardiovascular diseases for the possible risk for sudden unexpected death particularly when their environments are in an unusual situation.

A 30 GHz bandpass modulator was fabricated on a domain reversed LiNbO3 substrate. The circuit effect on current waveforms during wafer-scale poling was analyzed, and the domain wall movement was precisely controlled in the poling process. A complementary polarization reversal technique enabled the device with a single electrode structure to perform balanced modulation. A 60 GHz optical carrier was generated by double sideband modulation with the suppressed carrier. The fabricated device showed that carrier suppression was better than 45 dB and that the power ratio of a 60 GHz spaced two-tone lightwave signal to the suppressed carrier was 35 dB.

Applying brittle intermetallic compound coating on metals can enlarge the range of their use. In this instance, the properties of the coating layer are influenced by the constituent phases of intermetallic compound coating layer. In this study, the mixtures of Ni and Al powder have been reacted at different heating rates in an induction furnace in order to obtain the intermetallic compound coating layer with a single phase structure on a ductile cast iron. The microstructures and mechanical properties of the coating layer are investigated and the effects of heating rate in the induction furnace on the properties of intermetallic compound coating layers are evaluated. It was found that the ignition temperature and the maximum temperature increase significantly with increasing heating rate. It was also found that the coating layer is composed of single phase NiAl corresponding to the initial composition of mixed powder and adhesion qualities with substrate are improved with increasing heating rate.

In this paper, a 3-D EM simulation methodology for on-chip spiral inductor analysis has provided and it is shown that the methodology can be adapted to the highly predictable design for CMOS VCO. LC-resonator type VCO have fabricated by using standard 0.25 um CMOS process. And the LC VCO layout case which has pattern ground shielded inductors and the other layout case which has no pattern grounded inductors were fabricated for the verification of their effects on the VCO`s phase noise by reducing the Q-factor of inductors. Fabricated VCO has 3.094 GHz, -12.15 dBm output at the tuning voltage of 2.5 V, and from the simulation, Q-factor of the pattern grounded inductor has increased 8% at 3 GHz, and from the measurement results, the phase noise has reduced by 9 dB at the 3 MHz off-set frequency for the pattern grounded inductor layout case.

Plate-on-disc type sliding friction and wear test was conducted to investigate the friction and wear properties of mullite reinforced composite (M composite), and compared with glass fiber reinforced composite (GF composite). The friction and wear test revealed that M composite has good wear resistance under mild sliding conditions, but the wear rate gradually increases under severe sliding conditions. M composite exhibited higher friction coefficient than GF composite at room temperature and maintained the friction coefficient stably at higher temperatures. The composite film formed on counter material against M composite showed influences on the friction and wear properties under severe sliding conditions.

Mullite reinforced composites were produced by the injection molding technique to develop environmentally friendly friction materials for automotive applications. In order to examine the effect of mullite content on the friction and wear properties, two different specimens containing 10wt% and 30wt% of mullite were respectively fabricated and wear-tested by using the plate-on-disc type sliding friction and wear test machine. The sliding friction and wear test demonstrated that both specimens show similar tendencies at different sliding speeds under a low load of 2.9N. In comparison with common glass fiber reinforced composites, both of the mullite reinforced composites exhibited a lower wear rate at room temperature.

Intermetallic compound materials have great potentials as new functional material. Despite their great potentials, these materials are rarely applied in the industrial field. One of the main reasons may be because of the brittleness of the material. Indeed, it is recently known that the intermetallic compounds can be coated on the metal surface by combustion synthesis. In this study, Ni–Al based intermetallic compounds are coated on a ductile cast iron by the combustion synthesis at several reaction temperatures. Sliding wear tests are conducted to verify the sliding wear properties and investigate the effects of the reaction temperature. As a result, it is found that microstructure of the coating layer varies significantly with the reaction temperature. However, their wear properties are influenced just in the range of low sliding speed by the reaction temperature. It is clear that the wear resistance of Ni–Al based intermetallic compound coating layers are effective in the range of high sliding speed, regardless of the reaction temperature. Pitting damages are observed from the worn surfaces of coating layer.

When an electric field higher than a characteristic coercive field is applied to a ferroelectric such as LiNbO₃, the orientation of the spontaneous polarization is reversed, which causes the reversal of the sign of odd-rank tensor properties such as electro-optic and nonlinear optic coefficients. A fabrication process of insulator and periodic external field assisted poling of a z-cut LiNbO₃ have been optimized for a periodic 180° phase inversion along z-axis. The poling jig and the poling control system, fully controlled by a computer, for high quality and reproducible PPLN fabrication have been devised. Periodically polarization reversed PPLN was adjusted based on the fabricated thickness of insulator. The poling structure of PPLN was observed under a microscope after etching PPLN samples by an etching solution (HF:HNO₃=1 : 2) for about 15 min.

Tomato wilt, caused by the soilborne fungus Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici, is effectively controlled by a foliar spray of validamycin A (VMA) or validoxylamine A (VAA) (≥10 μg/ml); however, neither VMA nor VAA is antifungal in vitro. In pot tests, the effect of a foliar application of VMA or VAA at 100 μg/ml lasted for 64 days. Plants sprayed with VMA or VAA accumulated salicylic acid and had elevated expression of the systemic acquired resistance (SAR) marker genes P4 (PR-1), Tag (PR-2), and NP24 (PR-5). Foliar spray of VMA also controlled late blight and powdery mildew of tomato. The disease control by VMA and VAA lasted up to 64 days after treatment, was broad spectrum, and induced the expression of PR genes, all essential indicators of SAR, suggesting that VMA and VAA are plant activators. The foliar application of plant activators is a novel control method for soilborne diseases and may provide an economically feasible alternative to soil fumigants such as methyl bromide.

A fabrication process of periodic electric field assisted poling of Ti-diffused channel waveguides in LiNbO3 (Ti:PPLN) has been developed and improved using a periodic 180o phase inversion along the z-axis. The zig for poling inversion and the Labview program of charge control have been devised. Pulse high voltage and duty cycle were adjusted based on the estimated charge required for poling inversion. Monitoring the change of leakage current under applied voltage less than the coercive voltage also minimized a breakdown.