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Patulin is a mycotoxin produced by several species of Penicillium sp., Aspergillus sp., and Byssochlamys sp. on apples and pears. Most studies have been focused on Penicillium expansum , a common postharvest pathogen, but little is known about the characteristics of Penicillium paneum. In the present study, we evaluated the effects of temperature, pH, and relative humidity (RH) on the growth of P. paneum OM1, which was isolated from pears, and its patulin production. The fungal strain showed the highest growth rate at 25 °C and pH 4.5 on pear puree agar medium (PPAM) under 97 % RH, while it produced the highest amount of patulin at 20 °C and pH 4.5 on PPAM under 97 % RH. Moreover, RT-qPCR analysis of relative expression levels of 5 patulin biosynthetic genes (patA , patE , patK , patL, and patN) in P. paneum OM1 exhibited that the expression of the 4 patulin biosynthetic genes except patL was up-regulated in YES medium (patulin conducive), while it was not in PDB medium (patulin non-conducive). Our data demonstrated that the 3 major environmental parameters had significant impact on the growth of P. paneum OM1 and its patulin production. These results could be exploited to prevent patulin contamination by P. paneum OM1 during pear storage • The highest growth of P. paneum OM1 at 25 °C and pH 4.5 under 97 % relative humidity. • The highest patulin production by the fungus at 20 °C and pH 4.5 under 97 % relative humidity. • The expression of patA , patE , patK , and patN was up-regulated in YES medium. • The expression of patA , patE , patK , and patN was not up-regulated in PDB medium. • The expression of patL remained constantly in both YES and PDB media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A radar altimeter (RA) is useful to improve autonomous functions such as landing guidance or navigation control of an aircraft. To ensure more precise and safer flights by aircraft, an interferometric RA (IRA) capable of measuring the angle of a target is required. However, the phase-comparison monopulse (PCM) technique used in IRAs has a problem in that an angular ambiguity arises with respect to a target with multiple reflection points, such as terrain. In this paper, we propose an altimetry method for IRAs that reduces the angular ambiguity by evaluating the quality of the phase. The altimetry method as introduced here is sequentially described based on synthetic aperture radar, a delay/Doppler radar altimeter, and PCM techniques. Finally, a phase quality evaluation method is proposed for use in the azimuth estimation process. Aircraft captive flight test results are presented and analyzed, and the validity of the proposed method is examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose. Blunt small bowel injury is rare, and its timely diagnosis may be difficult. The effects of a delayed intervention on prognosis are unclear. We aimed to determine whether the time to surgical intervention affects outcomes in patients with blunt small bowel perforation. Methods. The study was performed between March 2010 and December 2018 in adults (age >18 years) who initially underwent computed tomography and small bowel surgery only and survived more than one day postoperatively. They were categorized into three groups based on injury-to-surgery time intervals: ≤8, 8–24, and >24 h; similarly, they were also categorized into two groups of ≤24 and >24 h. Results. Bowel resection, length of stay (LOS), intensive care unit (ICU) LOS, morbidity, and mortality were analyzed as outcomes in 52 patients. The number of patients in the three groups (≤8, 8–24, and >24 h) based on the time-to-surgery was 33, 13, and 6, respectively. On comparing the three groups, there were no significant differences in LOS (24 [18–35], 21 [10–40], and 28 [20–98] days, respectively; p = 0.321), ICU LOS (2 [1–12], 4 [2–26], and 11 [7–14] days; respectively, p = 0.153), mortality (3% (n = 1), 15% (n = 2), and 0%, respectively; p = 0.291), and morbidity (46% (n = 15), 39% (n = 5), and 50% (n = 3), respectively; p = 0.871). However, there was a significant difference between the groups in bowel resection (67% (n = 22), 31% (n = 4), and 83% (n = 5), respectively; p = 0.037). Additionally, there was no significant difference in outcomes between the two groups (≤24 and >24 h) with small bowel perforation. Conclusions. Delay in surgical intervention following blunt abdominal trauma may not affect the outcomes of patients with small bowel injuries, such as LOS, ICU LOS, morbidity, and mortality, except bowel resection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More recently, three dimensional printing (3D Printing), also known as an additive manufacturing (AM), has been highlighted since it shows a great promise to realize almost any three dimensional parts or structures with computer aided design (CAD). Several different processes are available for 3D printing, which includes fused deposition modeling, selective laser sintering, stereolithography, photopolymerization, and etc. In particular, considerable attention is paid to the 3D printing technique with photopolymerization due to their high resolutions. Unfortunately, the 3D printed products with photopolymerization however possess poor mechanical properties. Understanding of this should be necessary for the advantages of the 3D printing to be fully realized. Here, this study experimentally investigates the mechanical properties of the 3D printed photopolymer through thermomechanical analysis and tensile testing. In this study, it is found that the printed specimens are not fully cured after the 3D printing with photopolymerization. DiBenedetto equation is employed to better understand the relationship between the curing status and tensile properties. In addition to the poor mechanical properties, anisotropic and size dependent tensile properties of the 3D printed photopolymers are also observed. Electron beam treatment is used to ensure the cure of the 3D printed photopolymer and the corresponding tensile properties are characterized and investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Amatoxins are ribosomally encoded and posttranslationally modified peptides that account for the majority of fatal mushroom poisonings of humans. A representative amatoxin is the bicyclic octapeptide α-amanitin, formed via head-to-tail macrocyclization, which is ribosomally biosynthesized as a 35-amino acid propeptide in Amanita bisporigera and in the distantly related mushroom Galerina marginata . Although members of the prolyl oligopeptidase (POP) family of serine proteases have been proposed to play a role in α-amanitin posttranslational processing, the exact mechanistic details are not known. Here, we show that a specific POP (GmPOPB) is required for toxin maturation in G. marginata . Recombinant GmPOPB catalyzed two nonprocessive reactions: hydrolysis at an internal Pro to release the C-terminal 25-mer from the 35-mer propeptide and transpeptidation at the second Pro to produce the cyclic octamer. On the other hand, we show that GmPOPA, the putative housekeeping POP of G. marginata , behaves like a conventional POP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Aflatoxin biosynthesis in Aspergillus parasiticus requires at least 17 enzyme activities (from acetate). Although the activities of most aflatoxin biosynthetic enzymes have been established, the mechanisms that govern transport and sub-cellular localization of these enzymes are not clear. We developed plasmid constructs that express Nor-1 fused to a green fluorescent protein reporter (EGFP) to monitor transport and localization of this early pathway enzyme in real time in Aspergillus parasiticus. Plasmids expressing EGFP fused to Nor-1 were introduced into A. parasiticus B62 (carries non-functional Nor-1). Transformants were screened for increased aflatoxin accumulation (restored Nor-1 activity) on coconut agar medium and for EGFP expression using fluorescence microscopy. Increased aflatoxin accumulation was confirmed by TLC and ELISA. Nor-1 fused to EGFP at either the N- or C- terminus functionally complemented non-functional Nor-1 in B62 and increased aflatoxin synthesis to wild-type (N-terminus) or lower levels (C-terminus). We detected full-length Nor-1 fusion proteins in transformants with increased aflatoxin accumulation (Western blot) and determined that the expression plasmid integrated at the nor-1 locus in these cells (Southern blot). Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) demonstrated that Nor-1 fusion proteins localized in the cytoplasm and vacuoles of fungal hyphae grown on aflatoxin-inducing solid media for 48h; control EGFP (no Nor-1) did not localize to vacuoles until 72h. The highest rate of aflatoxin synthesis coincided with the highest rate of transport of Nor-1 fusion proteins to the vacuole strongly suggesting that Nor-1 is synthesized in the cytoplasm and transported to the vacuole to carry out an early step in aflatoxin synthesis. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Aflatoxin, a mycotoxin synthesized by Aspergillus spp., is among the most potent naturally occurring carcinogens known. Little is known about the subcellular organization of aflatoxin synthesis. Previously, we used transmission electron microscopy and immunogold labeling to demonstrate that the late aflatoxin enzyme OmtA localizes primarily to vacuoles in fungal cells on the substrate surface of colonies. In the present work, we monitored subcellular localization of Ver-1 in real time in living cells. Aspergilius parasiticus strain CS10-N2 was transformed with plasmid constructs that express enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) fused to Ver-1. Analysis of transformants demonstrated that EGFP fused to Ver-1 at either the N or C terminus functionally complemented nonfunctional Ver-1 in recipient cells. Western blot analysis detected predominantly full-length Ver-1 fusion proteins in transformants. Confocal laser scanning microscopy demonstrated that Ver-1 fusion proteins localized in the cytoplasm and in the lumen of up to 80% of the vacuoles in hyphae grown for 48 h on solid media. Control EGFP (no Ver-1) expressed in transformants was observed in only 13% of the vacuoles at this time. These data support a model in which middle and late aflatoxin enzymes are synthesized in the cytoplasm and transported to vacuoles, where they participate in aflatoxin synthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, two-dimensional (2D) MXenes have emerged as filler materials for electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding polymer composites due to their extraordinary electrical conductivity, high surface area, hydrophilic nature, and flexibility. Three-dimensional (3D) Printing with MXenes appears to be a new paradigm for manufacturing EMI shielding structures, where complex and specific 3D architecture is often required. In this study, composite inks incorporating 2D Ti 3 C 2 T x MXenes with highly thixotropic properties were developed for the liquid deposition modeling (LDM) 3D Printing method. The use of these inks enabled the fabrication of semi-transparent EMI shielding 3D architectures. The 3D-Printed EMI shields exhibited excellent EMI shielding effectiveness (EMI SE), particularly in the X-band (∼231 dB/mm) and semi-transparency (54.61%) in the visible light range. Moreover, excellent thermal management capability with highly anisotropic thermal conductivity (anisotropic index: 3.6) was achieved through 3D Printing. It is anticipated that the approach developed in this study has potential for the fabrication of advanced EMI shielding architecture with good thermal management capability for various applications, for example, precision wireless communication devices using variable frequencies with multiple channels, autonomous driving vehicles, and the Internet of Things (IoT). [Display omitted] • Highly thixotropic 3D printable MXene composite inks was developed. • Thixotropy of the inks were implemented by numerous hydrogen bonding. • Free standing MXene composite architectures for EMI shielding were 3D printed. • Highly anisotropic thermal conductivity were achieved by 3D printing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patulin (PAT) is a toxic secondary metabolite produced by certain species of Penicillium sp. and Aspergillus sp. on apples and pears. In this study, we investigated the effects of ascorbic acid and the combination of ascorbic acid and ferrous iron on degradation of PAT in 100% pure pear juice and apple juice using high-performance liquid chromatography UV detector (HPLC-UVD). The addition of 2 different levels of ascorbic acid (143 or 286 μg/mL) into pear juice or apple juice containing 0.08 or 0.4 μg/mL of PAT showed 87.7–100% and 67.3–68.7% of PAT degradation rates, respectively, after 24 h incubation at 25 °C. Moreover, the addition of both ascorbic acid (143 or 286 μg/mL) and ferrous iron (0.033 or 0.11 μmol/mL) into pear juice or apple juice containing the same level of PAT exhibited higher PAT degradation rates (100 and 75–94%, respectively) than the addition of only ascorbic acid after 24 h incubation at 25 °C. Our data demonstrated that ascorbic acid plus ferrous iron as well as ascorbic acid were highly effective on degradation of PAT in pear juice and apple juice and that addition of both ascorbic acid and ferrous iron produced higher PAT degradation rates than addition of only ascorbic acid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aflatoxins (AFs) are biologically active toxic metabolites, which are produced by certain toxigenic Aspergillus sp. on agricultural crops. In this study, five edible mushroom-forming fungi were analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography fluorescence detector (HPLC-FLD) for their ability to remove aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), one of the most potent naturally occurring carcinogens known. Bjerkandera adusta and Auricularia auricular-judae showed the most significant AFB1 removal activities (96.3% and 100%, respectively) among five strains after 14-day incubation. The cell lysate from B. adusta exhibited higher AFB1 removal activity (35%) than the cell-free supernatant (13%) after 1-day incubation and the highest removal activity (80%) after 5-day incubation at 40 °C. In addition, AFB1 analyses using whole cells, cell lysates, and cell debris from B. adusta showed that cell debris had the highest AFB1 removal activity at 5th day (95%). Moreover, exopolysaccharides from B. adusta showed an increasing trend (24–48%) similar to whole cells and cell lysates after 5- day incubation. Our results strongly suggest that AFB1 removal activity by whole cells was mainly due to AFB1 binding onto cell debris during early incubation and partly due to binding onto cell lysates along with exopolysaccharides after saturation of AFB1 binding process onto cell wall components. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new method to design in-orbit synthetic aperture radar operational parameters has been implemented for the Korean Multi-purpose Satellite 6 mission. The implemented method optimizes the pulse repetition frequency when a satellite altitude changes from its nominal one, so it has the advantage that the synthetic aperture radar performances can satisfy the requirements for the in-orbit operation. Other commanding parameters have been designed to conduct trade-off between those parameters. This paper presents the new optimization method to maintain the synthetic aperture radar performances even in the case of an altitude variation. Design methodologies to determine operational parameters, respectively, at nominal altitude and in orbit are presented. In addition, numerical simulation is presented to validate the proposed optimization and the design methodologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The magnetically-responsive Fe 3 O 4 @RGO was synthesized for EMI shielding materials. • The orientations of Fe 3 O 4 @RGO in TPU were controlled by applying magnetic field. • Thereby, the highly anisotropic EMI shielding composites were demonstrated. • The 250% improvement in EMI SE were achieved by controlling orientation of filler. Recently, polymer-based composites for electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding materials have received considerable attention since the autonomous vehicle market is increasingly growing. However, the strategies for enhancing EMI shielding effectiveness (EMI SE) are limited to the increase of filler loading. Only few studies have been conducted on controlling fillers owing to the technical challenges. In this study, anisotropic EMI shielding properties of polymer-based composites were demonstrated and investigated. In order to control the orientation of reduced graphene oxide (RGO) in thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), magnetic responsive RGO (Fe 3 O 4 @RGO) was synthesized for filler material. The orientation of Fe 3 O 4 @RGO was controlled in in-plane and out-of-plane direction by applying the magnetic field. For comparison with the aligned Fe 3 O 4 @RGO/TPU composites, random Fe 3 O 4 @RGO/TPU and random RGO/TPU composites were synthesized and characterized. The random Fe 3 O 4 @RGO/TPU composites showed 224% increased EMI SE over random RGO/TPU composites. The highest EMI SE, 250% improvement over random RGO/TPU composite, was observed in in-plane aligned Fe 3 O 4 @RGO composite among the four different composites. This could be attributed to improved electromagnetic wave (EM) loss by introducing magnetic nanoparticles, as well as enlarged effective reflection area of the aligned Fe 3 O 4 @RGO. Our results confirm that the orientation of fillers can play a key role in determining EMI SE in the composites. It can indicate that, if optimized, magnetically-responsive aligned polymer composites could significantly improve EMI SE of the composites by controlling the orientation of fillers, and also be a new solution to create anisotropic composites toward desirable properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This research proposes a transmitting coil structure for wireless charging which has the constant efficiency regardless of the position of the receiving coil. The proposed transmitting coil is designed to operate at 140 kHz, and to improve the uniformity of the magnetic field intensity using a stepped helical coil and ferrite core. The measured results of the charging system with proposed transmitting coil show that it has low difference in rectifying voltage and efficiency within the charging area. Therefore, it has advantages in terms of wide charging area without the charging shadow area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, an efficient high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-electrospray ionization (ESI)-ion trap-tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) was developed for the identification of the biosynthetic congeners involved in the aminocyclitol aminoglycosidic fortimicin pathway from Micromonospora olivasterospora fermentation. The usage of both acid extraction (pH ∼2.5) followed by an cationic-exchanging SPE cleanup and pentafluoropropionic acid mediated ion-pairing chromatography with ESI-ion trap-MS/MS detection was determined to be sufficiently practical to profile the fortimicin (FOR) congeners produced in a culture broth. The limit of the quantification for the fortimicin A (FOR-A) standard spiked in the culture broth was ∼1.6 ng mL. The average recovery rate was 93.6 %, and the intra- and inter-day precisions were <5 % with accuracy in the range from 87.1 to 94.2 %. Moreover, the epimeric mixtures including FOR-KH, FOR-KR, and FOR-B were separately resolved through a macrocyclic glycopeptide (teicoplanin)-bonded chiral column. As a result, ten natural FOR pseudodisaccharide analogs were identified and semi-quantified in descending order as follows: FOR-A, FOR-B, DCM, FOR-KH plus FOR-KR, FOR-KK, FOR-AP, FOR-KL, FOR-AO, and FOR-FU-10. This is the first report on both the simultaneous characterization of diverse structurally closely related FORs derived from bacterial fermentation using HPLC-ESI-ion trap-MS/MS analysis and the chromatographic separation of the three FOR epimers. [Figure not available: see fulltext.] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• MXene-xanthan films with nacre-inspired microstructures and ultrathin thickness. • High electrical conductivity with significantly enhanced mechanical properties. • Exceptionally high absolute shielding effectiveness for EMI shielding. • Uniform temperature distribution and high thermal stability for Joule heating. Nowadays, MXenes have attracted significant attention owing to their extraordinary chemical and physical properties. However, it remains challenge to keep their outstanding properties in polymeric composites. Herein, by mimicking nacre with their unique layered brick-and-mortar microstructures, MXene-based nanocomposite films are developed with biocompatible polymer, xanthan. The free-standing nanocomposite films exhibit high electrical conductivity with high tensile strength (11,530 ± 176 S m−1 and 116.48 ± 6.43 MPa for the film with 67 wt% of MXene). Equally importantly, failure strain and toughness of the film with 50 wt% of MXene are dramatically increased to 6.4 and 12.7 times greater than those of neat MXene film. The substantially improved mechanical properties and high electrical conductivity of the nanocomposite films arise from the synergistic by marrying bioinspired layered brick-and-mortar structures with extraordinary material properties of MXene and the best feature of xanthan. The highly electrically conductive and mechanically robust MXene-xanthan composite films were further investigated for electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding and Joule heating capabilities. It was demonstrated that the nanocomposite films can exhibit the exceptionally high absolute shielding effectiveness (SSE/t = 24,464.8 and 14,490.1 dB cm2 g−1 respectively for the films with 80 wt% and 67 wt% of MXene) and also uniform temperature distribution with high energy transduction efficiency and high thermal stability for Joule heating performance. Therefore, the nacre-inspired MXene-xanthan nanocomposite films can show the great promise for the use in a wide range of engineering applications such as electronics or biomedical devices. This is particularly true when it requires multiple functions including EMI shielding, thermal management, and mechanical robustness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Based on experimental results, the phase noise of offset phase locked loop (PLL) is analyzed theoretically and experimented. Analyses are developed both to calculate the in-band phase noise of a given synthesizer architecture and to predict the impact from the the phase noise of offset local oscillator (LO). This article verifies that the phase noise of offset LO give a direct impact on the in-band phase noise of frequency synthesizer. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 55:2699-2701, 2013 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inspired by desert resurrection plant, Rose of Jericho, this study developed a new porous material with programmable multiple-stimuli responsive features. The first one is reversible shape-memory transformation of experiencing extremely large deformations upon dehydration and rehydration; superior to the plant, the aerogels display controllable responsiveness based on moisture amount with fast actuation. The second one is switchable flexibility depending on the polarity of exposed fluids; these aerogels are reversibly compressible with outstanding flexibility in polar solvents but sustain incompressibility with high stiffness in nonpolar solvents. The third one is programmable shape morphing capability driven by imbibition of liquid droplet; mimicking the movement of the plant but in different mechanisms, the aerogels can evolve into programmed V-shape or U-shape by simply controlling the liquid imbibition location. These multiple-stimuli responsive features arise from the unique ensemble of the porous morphology, and the interactions between solvent molecules and the chemical structures of the porous material engineered by two-step crosslinking mechanism. It can be foreseen that the synergistic effect of the intriguing features could allow for the applications of the aerogels as smart sensors/actuators, soft robotics, and biomedical devices, all of which typically require smart adaptability to external stimuli and/or extreme environments. Image 1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon nanotube (CNT) composites have mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties superior to those of conventional polymer resin materials. In particular, multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) composites have higher mechanical strength than single-walled carbon nanotube composites. This work investigates the methods for analytically evaluating and predicting the mechanical properties of MWCNT-reinforced nanocomposites to enable their effective mechanical design. First, the correlation between the thickness of the interphase region (between the carbon nanotubes and the polymer matrix) and the mechanical properties of the MWCNT-reinforced composite was studied. Next, the effect of the relative distribution of carbon nanotubes in the matrix on the mechanical properties of nanocomposites fabricated by injection molding was evaluated. Finally, the effect of agglomerate size on the mechanical properties of nanocomposites was investigated, and a critical size for carbon nanotube agglomerates was analytically proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, samples of Korean Doenjang , a dietary soybean fermented food, were prepared using three fungal strains ( Aspergillus oryzae J (A), Mucor racemosus 15 (M15), and Mucor racemosus 42 (M42) and bacterial strain Bacillus subtilis TKSP 24 (B) as starter cultures. The resulting Doenjang samples were evaluated for their total phenolic contents, antioxidant activities based on DPPH and nitrite radical scavenging and reducing power abilities, as well as α–glucosidase and tyrosinase inhibitory activities in vitro . The starter culture Doenjang samples showed significant antioxidant activities with DPPH and nitric oxide radical inhibitory rates of 59.92 and 92.83%, respectively. The starter culture Doenjang samples yielded phenolic contents in the range of 25.06–29.49 mg/g gallic acid equivalents (GAE). The starter culture Doenjang samples also strongly inhibited tyrosinase and α-glucosidase enzymatic activities by 58.93–62.25% and 58.23 ± 1.28–67.14 ± 1.14% with IC 50 values of 14.14–25.93 and 27.40–40.98 mg/ml, respectively. Moreover, starter culture Doenjang samples showed potent antioxidant efficacy in terms of reducing power ability. These findings confirm the therapeutic potential of starter culture Doenjang samples as a potential source of natural antioxidants for use in food and medicine industries along with their possible applications for treatment of skin depigmentation and diabetes mellitus type-2 related disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To select appropriate microorganisms as starter cultures for the reliable and reproducible fermentation of soybean fermented products of Korean Doenjang, various ratios of fungi ( Aspergillus oryzae J, Mucor racemosus 15, M. racemosus 42) combined with Bacillus subtilis TKSP 24 were selected as either single, double, or multiple Meju strains for commercial mass production of Doenjang, followed by analysis of sensory characteristics. In the sensory evaluation, Doenjang BAM15-1 and BAM42-1, which were fermented with multiple strains (1:1:1), showed the highest sensory scores as compared to control. Based on sensory characteristics, 6 Doenjang samples were subjected to quantitative determination of amino acids, free sugars, and organic acids (volatile and nonvolatile) contents, followed by determination of biogenic amines. Total sweet taste amino acid contents were highest in BAM15-1 and BAM42-1 samples (333.7 and 295.8 mg/100 g, respectively) and similar that of control (391.1 mg/100 g). Samples BAM15-1 and BAM42-1 showed the relatively high volatile and nonvolatile organic acid contents (154.24, 192.26, and 71.31, 82.42 mg/100 g, respectively). In addition, BAM15-1 and BAM42-1 showed negligible biogenic amine formation, ranging from 0.00 to 1.02 and 0.00 to 3.92 mg/100 g, respectively. These findings indicate that determination of food components along with sensory and quality attributes using multiple microbial Meju strains as a starter culture may provide substantial results on improved quality fermented Doenjang products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An adaptive impedance tuning circuit (AITC) is used to compensate for the impedance between the arbitrary load impedance and the characteristic impedance of interest. An AITC is required for correct and accurate load impedance measurements. A new type of mismatch measurement circuit that measures the arbitrary load impedance more accurately is proposed and its performance against existing methods is compared. The proposed circuit exhibits a significant performance improvement compared with the conventional method, and it could be applied to different communication systems that have a variety of input signal strengths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]