• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.179-187
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• 2006

Objectives: The risk of aneuploidies of embryos increases in advanced maternal age or parental karyotype abnormality and it results in poor reproductive outcomes such as recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA) or repeated implantation failure (RIF). Preimplantation genetic diagnosis for aneuploidy screening (PGD-AS) can be applied for better ART outcome by selecting chromosomally normal embryos. The aim of this study is to evaluate the clinical outcome of PGD-AS and which group can get much benefit from PGD-AS among the patients expected to have poor reproductive outcome. Methods: In 42 patients, 77 PGD cycles were performed for aneuploidy screening. Patients were allocated to 3 groups according to the indication of PGD-AS: group I-patients with old age (${\geq}37$) and RIF more than 3 times (n=11, mean age=42.2 yrs.), group II-patients with RSA (${\geq}3$ times) associated with aneuploid pregnancy (n=19, mean age=38.9 yrs.), group III-parental sex chromosome abnormality or mosaicism (n=18, mean age=29.6 yrs.) including Turner syndrome, Klinefelter syndrome and 47, XYY. PGD was performed by using FISH for chromosome 13, 16, 18, 21, X and Y in group I and II, and chromosome X, Y and 18 (or 17) in group III. Results: Blastomere biopsy was successful in 530 embryos and FISH efficiency was 92.3%. The proportions of transferable embryos in each group were $32.5{\pm}17.5%$, $23.0{\pm}21.7%$ and $52.6{\pm}29.2%$ (mean ${\pm}$ SD), respectively, showing higher normal rate in group III (group II vs. III, p<0.05). The numbers of transferred embryos in each group were $3.9{\pm}1.5$, $1.9{\pm}1.1$ and $3.1{\pm}1.4$ (mean ${\pm}$ SD), respectively. The clinical pregnancy rates per transfer was 0%, 30.0% and 20.0%, and it was significantly higher in group II (group I vs. group II, p<0.05). The overall pregnancy rate per transfer was 19.6% (10/51) and the spontaneous abortion rate was 20% (2/10) of which karyotypes were euploid. Nine healthy babies (one twin pregnancy) were born with normal karyotype confirmed on amniocentesis. Conclusion: Our data suggests that PGD-AS provides advantages in patients with RSA associated with aneuploidy or sex chromosome abnormality, decreasing abortion rate and increasing ongoing pregnancy rate. It is not likely to be beneficial in RIF group due to other detrimental factors involved in implantation.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.25-33
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• 2012

In electric power transmission tower structures on offshore, implementation of life management using the event data of regular safety inspections for structural and material damages is strongly recommended. In this study, six tower structures in Sihwa Lake around Yeoungheung island were target bodies for the safety inspections. safety inspections for deterioration about each of six towers were performed about three items for steel member, five items for concrete foundation, and four items for steel-pipe pile in seawater and seawater itself. Safety inspections for steel members included the visual observations of surface appearances, the measurements of member thicknesses, and the checks of painting states. Also safety inspections for concrete foundations comprised the estimation of crack features, the evaluation of non-destructive compression strengths, and the measurements of neutralization depths and chlorides contents. For steel-pipe piles in seawater the inspections comprised the surveys of corrosion states in accordance with potential levels tests and anode tests, the analyses of photos taken on surfaces of the piles as well as the evaluation of seawater quality. A set of deterioration inspections was performed at the same positions around october of each year for three consecutive years. As a result in this study, Newly developed deterioration indexes have been applied profitably to maintain structural safety for electric power transmission towers by utilizing these event data systematically.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.297-309
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• 2020

Coronaviruses were originally discovered as enzootic infections that limited to their natural animal hosts, but some strains have since crossed the animal-human species barrier and progressed to establish zoonotic diseases. Accordingly, cross-species barrier jumps resulted in the appearance of SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, and SARS-CoV-2 that manifest as virulent human viruses. Coronaviruses contain four main structural proteins: spike, membrane, envelope, and nucleocapsid protein. The replication cycle is as follows: cell entry, genome translation, replication, assembly, and release. They were not considered highly pathogenic to humans until the outbreaks of SARS-CoV in 2002 in Guangdong province, China. The consequent outbreak of SARS in 2002 led to an epidemic with 8,422 cases, and a reported worldwide mortality rate of 11%. MERS-CoVs is highly related to camel CoVs. In 2019, a cluster of patients infected with 2019-nCoV was identified in an outbreak in Wuhan, China, and soon spread worldwide. 2019-nCoV is transmitted through the respiratory tract and then induced pneumonia. Molecular diagnosis based on upper respiratory region swabs is used for confirmation of this virus. This review examines the structure and genomic makeup of the viruses as well as the life cycle, diagnosis, and potential therapy.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.103-110
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• 2020

In the recent seismic design code KDS 41 17 00, selection and modification procedures of ground motions which are used for nonlinear dynamic analyses were adopted. However, its practical applications are still limited due to the lack of literatures. This paper introduces case studies which used site-response analyses to select and modify ground motions for nonlinear dynamic analyses. Based on the case studies, design criterion for site-response analyses were reviewed thoroughly in the viewpoint of practical applications. It was found that design requirements related with bedrock motions are too conservative that ground motions are selected and modified in the excessive manner. It is especially true for low-rise building structures with period ranges including acceleration-sensitive regions. Even though surface motions have shown appropriate responses, such building structures have to re-select and re-modify ground motions based on pre-analysis procedures rather than post-ones according to the current seismic design code. Also, it was observed that building structures with soft soils under strong ground motions need more comprehensive investigations on soil properties and efficient analysis methods in order to perform site-response analyses. This is due to the fact that lack of reliabilities on soil properties and analysis methods could result in unstable site-responses.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.1-10
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• 2023

In the seismic design of structures, seismic forces are calculated based on structural models and analysis. In order to accurately address the dynamic characteristics of the actual structure in the structural model, calibration based on actual measurements is required. In this study, a 4-story frame test specimen was manufactured to simulate frame building, accelerometers were attached at each floor, and 1-axis shaking table test was performed. The natural period of the specimen was similar to that of the actual 4 story frame building, and the columns were designed to behave with double-curvature having the infinite stiffness of the horizontal members. To investigate the effects seismic waves characteristics, historical and artificial excitations with various frequencies and acceleration magnitudes were applied. The natural frequencies, damping ratios, and mode shapes were obtained using frequency response functions obtained from dynamic response signals, and the mode vector deviations according to the input seismic waves were verified using the Mode assurance criterion (MAC). In addition, the damping ratios obtained from the vibration tests were applied to the structural model, and the method with refined dynamic characteristics was validated by comparing the analysis results with the experimental data.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.182-192
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• 2023

In this study, the efficacy of Engineered Cementitious Composite(ECC) jacket for masonry fences subjected to lateral dynamic load was experimentally verified through a shaking table test, comparing it with the performance of an unreinforced masonry(URM) fence. Firstly, dominant frequencies, modal damping ratios and deformed shapes were identified through an impact hammer test. URM and ECC-strengthened fences with heights of 940mm and 970mm had natural frequencies of 6.4 and 35.3Hz, and first modal damping ratios of 7.0 and 5.3%, respectively. Secondly, a shaking table test was conducted in the out-of-plane direction, applying a historical earthquake, El Centro(1940) scaled from 25 to 300%. For the URM fence, flexural cracking occurred at the interface of brick and mortar joint(i.e., bed joint) at the ground motion scaled to 50%, and out-of-plane overturning failure followed during the subsequent test conducted at the ground motion scaled to 30%. On the other hand, the ECC-jacketed fence showed a robust performance without any crack or damage until the ground motion scaled to 300%. Finally, the base shear forces exerted upon the URM and ECC-jacketed fences by the ground motions scaled to 25~300% were evaluated and compared with the ones calculated according to the design code. In contrast to the collapse risk of the URM fence at the ground motion of 1,000-year return period, the ECC-jacketed fence was estimated to remain safe up to the 4,800-year return period ground motion.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.143-153
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• 2008

Objective: To investigate the effects of aromatase inhibitor on reproductive hormone profiles and evaluate it's ovulation inducing capability in anovulatory infertile women. Methods: We quantified the blood levels of reproductive hormones from 30 healthy normal cycling women in natural cycle (control) and letrozole medicated cycle (study). LH, FSH, estradiol, testosterone, DHEA-S were quantified on third, 11th, 21th day in both cycles, and on 21th day, progesterone was added. Sixth anovulatory infertile women received either letrozole or clomiphene citrate for ovulation induction (n=30 in each groups). We compared the clinical parameters such as ovulation rate, pregnancy rate, the day of LH surge, number of follicles and endometrial thickness, cervical mucus amount, spinnbarkeit, mean diameter of follicles on the day of LH surge. Results: Letrozole had no effect on the LH, FSH, estradiol, DHEA-S secretion but there were significant increase in testosterone level on day 11 and progesterone level on day 21 in letrozole medicated cycle compared than control cycle ($0.40{\pm}0.16$ vs $0.28{\pm}0.11\;ng/ml$, p=0.002, $18.18{\pm}13.07$ vs $8.38{\pm}7.64\;ng/ml$, p=0.001, respectively). In comparison between letrozole and clomiphene groups, there were no significant difference in ovulation rate, pregnancy rate, number of mature follicle, mean diameter of follicles, but showed earlier LH surge, thicker endometrium, more cervical mucus, and higher spinnbarkeit in letrozole group ($12.12{\pm}2.46$ vs $14.52{\pm}3.18$ days, p=0.006, $10.48{\pm}1.23$ vs $8.52{\pm}0.93\;mm$, p=0.000, $2.04{\pm}0.61$ vs $1.57{\pm}0.59$, p=0.012, $6.00{\pm}1.12$ vs $4.95{\pm}1.61\;cm$, p=0.003, respectively). Conclusion: Letrozole may augment folliculogenesis and improve the endometrial condition for implantation in normal cycling women. Ovulation efficacy of letrozole in anovulatory women was comparable to clomiphene citrate and letrozole may be more physiological in ovulation induction.

• 한국가시화정보학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2005.12a
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• pp.93-98
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• 2005

The mean and RMS velocity field of the respiratory gas flow in tile human airway was studied experimentally by particle image velocimetry(PIV). Some researchers investigated the airflow for the mouth breathing case both experimentally and numerically. But it is very rare to investigate the airflow of nose breathing in a whole airway due to its geometric complexity. We established the procedure to create a transparent rectangular box containing a model of the human airway for PIV measurement by combination of the RP and the curing of clear silicone. We extend this to make a whole airway including nasal cavities, larynx, trachea, and 2 generations of bronchi. The CBC algorithm with window offset (64*64 to 32*32) is used for vector searching in PIV analysis. The phase averaged mean and RMS velocity distributions in Sagittal and coronal planes are obtained for 7 phases in a respiratory period. Some physiologic conjectures are obtained. The main stream went through the backside of larynx and trachea in inspiration and the frontal side in expiration. There exist vortical motions in inspiration, but no prominent one in expiration.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.167-172
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• 2011

To monitor the reproductive patterns of endangered common chimpanzee including annual reproductive cycle, amenorrhea, breeding season, and pregnancy diagnosis, Time-Resolved Fluorescence Immuno Assay (TR-FIA) was used to trace MRH (estradiol, progesterone, testosterone) and human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG). In result of this research, age was not the important factor in determining the reproduction capability in common chimpanzee; it was rather greatly influenced by the combination of various factors such as individual's fertilizing ability, presence of obstetrical diseases, the pattern of mating behavior, and the mental communication under the introduction of a mating partner. This research will play an important role in operating conservation project for common chimpanzees and can be extended also for shedding new light on understanding human menopause and obstetrical diseases.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.1665-1671
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• 2012

The purpose of this study was to look into changes in voice using acoustic analysis during the process of neuromuscular electrical stimulation targeting dysphagia treatment. Fifteen man with dysphagia caused by stroke was treated neuromuscular electrical stimulation for two months and intensity of voice, $F_0$, Jitter, Shimmer, NNE were measured. The results of this study that improvement in functions of dysphagia and Jitter, Shimmer were stabilized. But there was not significantly changes of $F_0$. NNE was improved after the intervention, but still showed abnormal levels. This result suggests a possibility of effects that Neuromuscular electrical stimulation has on stabilization of Jitter, Shimmer and intensity of voice.