• International Journal of Internet, Broadcasting and Communication
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.145-155
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• 2021

With the recent rapid improvement in the standards of life and westernization of dietary lifestyles, the consumption of high-calorie diets such as high-fat and high-protein red meat and instant foods has increased, while less vegetables containing dietary fiber are consumed. In addition to that, stress, erroneous dietary behaviors, and contaminated environments are linked to the risk of developing ulcerative colitis, which is on the rise. Another cause of ulcerative colitis is that involve laxative abuse, including repeated, frequent use of laxatives, and include such conditions as deteriorated bowel function, irritable bowel syndrome, diarrhea, intestinal inflammation, etc. The present study aimed to investigate the comparative evaluation of pharmacological efficacy between sulfasalazine alone and combination with herbal medicine on dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced UC in mice. Balb/c mice received 5% DSS in drinking water for 7 days to induce colitis. Animals were divided into five groups (n = 9): group I-normal group, group II-DSS control group, group III-DSS + sulfasalazine (30 mg/kg), group IV-DSS + sulfasalazine (60 mg/kg), group V-DSS + sulfasalazine (30 mg/kg) + Radish Extract mixture (30 mg /kg) (SRE). DSS-treated mice developed symptoms similar to those of human UC, such as severe bloody diarrhea and weight loss. SRE supplementation, as well as sulfasalazine, suppressed colonic length and mucosal inflammatory infiltration. In addition, SRE treatment significantly reduced the expression of pro-inflammatory signaling molecules through suppression both mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) signaling pathways, and prevented the apoptosis of colon. Moreover, SRE administration significantly led to the up-regulation of antioxidant enzyme including SOD and Catalase. This is the first report that Radish extract mixture combined with sulfasalazine protects against experimental UC via the inhibition of both inflammation and apoptosis, very similar to the standard-of-care sulfasalazine.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.24.1-24.11
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• 2020

The pandemic of avian influenza viruses (AIVs) in Asia has caused enormous economic loss in poultry industry and human health threat, especially clade 2.3.4.4 H5 and H7 subtypes in recent years. The endemic chicken H6 virus in Taiwan has also brought about human and dog infections. Since wild waterfowls is the major AIV reservoir, it is important to monitor the diversified subtypes in wildfowl flocks in early stage to prevent viral reassortment and transmission. To develop a more efficient and sensitive approach is a key issue in epidemic control. In this study, we integrate multiplex reverse transcription recombinase polymerase amplification (RT-RPA) and capillary electrophoresis (CE) for high-throughput detection and differentiation of AIVs in wild waterfowls in Taiwan. Four viral genes were detected simultaneously, including nucleoprotein (NP) gene of all AIVs, hemagglutinin (HA) gene of clade 2.3.4.4 H5, H6 and H7 subtypes. The detection limit of the developed detection system could achieve as low as one copy number for each of the four viral gene targets. Sixty wild waterfowl field samples were tested and all of the four gene signals were unambiguously identified within 6 h, including the initial sample processing and the final CE data analysis. The results indicated that multiplex RT-RPA combined with CE was an excellent alternative for instant simultaneous AIV detection and subtype differentiation. The high efficiency and sensitivity of the proposed method could greatly assist in wild bird monitoring and epidemic control of poultry.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.421-432
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• 2022

Recently, the interminable ozone depletion and the global warming concerns has led to construction industries to seek for construction materials which are eco-friendly. Regarding this, Geopolymer Concrete (GPC) is getting great interest from researchers and scientists, since it can operate by-product waste to replace cement which can lead to the reduction of greenhouse gas emission through its production. Also, compared to ordinary concrete, geopolymer concrete belongs improved mechanical and durability properties. In spite of its positive properties, the practical use of geopolymer concrete is currently limited. This is primarily owing to the scarce structural, design and application knowledge. This study investigates the Mechanical and Durability of Geopolymer Concrete Containing Fibers and Recycled Aggregate. Mixtures of elastoplastic fiber reinforced geopolymer concrete with partial replacement of recycled coarse aggregate in different proportions of 10, 20, 30, and 40% with natural aggregate were fabricated. On the other hand, geopolymer concrete of 100% natural aggregate was prepared as a control specimen. To consider both strength and durability properties and to evaluate the combined effect of recycled coarse aggregate and elastoplastic fiber, an elastoplastic fiber with the ratio of 0.4% and 0.8% were incorporated. The highest compressive strength achieved was 35 MPa when the incorporation of recycled aggregates was 10% with the inclusion of 0.4% elastoplastic fiber. From the result, it was noticed that incorporation of 10% recycled aggregate with 0.8% of the elastoplastic fiber is the perfect combination that can give a GPC having enhanced tensile strength. When specimens exposed to freezing-thawing condition, the physical appearance, compressive strength, weight loss, and ultrasonic pulse velocity of the samples was investigated. In general, all specimens tested performed resistance to freezing thawing. the obtained results indicated that combination of recycled aggregate and elastoplastic fiber up to some extent could be achieved a geopolymer concrete that can replace conventional concrete.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.251-266
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• 2022

Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) of critical infrastructure comprises a major pillar of maintenance management, shielding public safety and economic sustainability. Although SHM is usually associated with data-driven metrics and thresholds, expert judgement is essential, especially in cases where erroneous predictions can bear casualties or substantial economic loss. Considering that visual inspections are time consuming and potentially subjective, artificial-intelligence tools may be leveraged in order to minimize the inspection effort and provide objective outcomes. In this context, timely detection of sensor malfunctioning is crucial in preventing inaccurate assessment and false alarms. The present work introduces a sensor-fault detection and interpretation framework, based on the well-established support-vector machine scheme for anomaly detection, combined with a coalitional game-theory approach. The proposed framework is implemented in two datasets, provided along the 1st International Project Competition for Structural Health Monitoring (IPC-SHM 2020), comprising acceleration and cable-load measurements from two real cable-stayed bridges. The results demonstrate good predictive performance and highlight the potential for seamless adaption of the algorithm to intrinsically different data domains. For the first time, the term "decision trajectories", originating from the field of cognitive sciences, is introduced and applied in the context of SHM. This provides an intuitive and comprehensive illustration of the impact of individual features, along with an elaboration on feature dependencies that drive individual model predictions. Overall, the proposed framework provides an easy-to-train, application-agnostic and interpretable anomaly detector, which can be integrated into the preprocessing part of various SHM and condition-monitoring applications, offering a first screening of the sensor health prior to further analysis.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.318-323
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• 2022

Barium titanate (BaTiO₃) is considered to be a beneficial ceramic material for multilayer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) applications because of its high dielectric constant and low dielectric loss. Numerous attempts have been made to improve the physical properties of BaTiO₃ in response to recent market trends by employing multicomponent alloying strategies. However, owing to its significant number of atomic combinations and unpredictable physical properties, finding a traditional experimental approach to develop multicomponent systems is difficult; the development of such systems is also time-consuming. In this study, 168 new structures were fabricated using special quasi-random structures (SQSs) of Ba_1-xCa_xTi_1-yZryO₃, and 1680 physical properties were extracted from first-principles calculations. In addition, we built an integrated database to manage the computational results, and will provide big data solutions by performing data analysis combined with AI modeling. We believe that our research will enable the global materials market to realize digital transformation through datalization and intelligence of the material development process.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.185-195
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• 2023

Antalya is located south part of minor Asia, one of the biggest cities in Türkiye. As a result of population growth and vast migration to Antalya, many parts of the city that were not suitable for construction due to its geological conditions have become urban areas, and most of these urban areas are full of poorly engineered buildings. Poor engineering has been combined with unplanned urbanization, that causes utter vulnerability to disasters in Antalya. When an earthquake-prone city, Antalya faces with an earthquake risk, fear arises in society. To overcome this problem, it has become necessary to investigate the building stock, expressed in hundreds of thousands, in a fast and reliable way and then perform an urban transformation to create the perception of structural safety. However, the excessive building stock, labor, and economic problems made the implementation stage challenging and revealed the necessity of finding alternative solutions in the field. The present study presents a novel approach for assessment and model based on a rapid visual inspection method to transform areas under earthquake risk in Türkiye. The approach aimed to rank the interventions for decision-making mechanisms by making comparisons in the scale hierarchy. In the present study, to investigate the proposed approach, over 26,000 buildings were examined in Antalya, which is the fifth largest city in Türkiye that has a population of over 2.5 Million. In the results of the study, the risk classification was defined in the framework of building, block, street, neighborhood, and district scales.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.133-144
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• 2023

Auranofin is a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved anti-arthritis medication that functions as a thioredoxin reductase inhibitor. Spermidine, a polyamine present in marine algae, can exert various physiological functions. Herein, we examined the synergistic anticancer activity of auranofin and spermidine in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Combined treatment with auranofin and spermidine suppressed cell viability more efficiently than either treatment alone in HCC Hep3B cells. The isobologram plotted by calculating the half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) values of each drug indicated that the two drugs exhibited a synergistic effect. Based on the analysis of annexin V and cell cycle distribution, auranofin and spermidine markedly induced apoptosis in Hep3B cells. Moreover, auranofin and spermidine increased mitochondria-mediated apoptosis by promoting mitochondrial membrane potential (Δψm) loss. Auranofin and spermidine significantly increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in Hep3B cells, and the blocking ROS suppressed apoptosis induced by spermidine and auranofin. In addition, auranofin and spermidine reduced the expression of phosphorylated phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase (PI3K) and protein kinase B (Akt), and PI3K inhibitor accelerated auranofin- and spermidine-induced apoptosis. Using ROS scavenger and PI3K inhibitor, we revealed that ROS acts upstream of auranofin- and spermidine-induced apoptosis. Collectively, our study suggests that combination treatment with auranofin and spermidine could afford synergistic anticancer activity via ROS overproduction and reduced PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.181-194
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• 2022

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of music therapy combined with hand manipulation on depression and cognition in elderly women with mild depression. Methods: In order to investigate the effects of a music therapy program through hand, 20 elderly women with a GDS-K score of 14-18 were selected among women aged 65 to 84 living in Busan. The 10 subjects in the experimental group were given the music therapy program 3 times a week for 4 weeks, 12 sessions, and the 10 subjects in the control group were not given it. GDS-K and K-MoCA were performed before and after the experiment, and data analysis was performed through Wilcoxon's test using the SPSS 24.0 statistical package program. Results: The music therapy program through hand manipulation is effective in reducing depression in elderly women with mild depression, and there was a significant decrease. The sub-domains of depression, such as tension and depressive emotions, life dissatisfaction, lethargy, cognitive difficulties, low energy, and loss of motivation, were significantly reduced. In addition, it has an effect on cognition, and it significantly increased in attention, delayed recall ability, which are sub-domains of cognition. There is a significant difference in depression between the experimental group and the control group, and there is a significant difference in cognition between the two groups. Conclusions: The music therapy program with hand manipulation has a positive effect on depression and cognition in elderly women with mild depression.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.223-237
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• 2010

The initial heating rate is well known as one of the most influencing factors on the occurrence of spalling and the loss of strength in concrete after fire initiation. In this study, a series of fire tests were carried out at different initial heating rates to find out its effects on the deterioration of tunnel structural members. Heat transfer analyses combined with an element elimination model were also carried out to verify its applicability in the same conditions as the fire tests. Moreover, the convection heat transfer coefficients compatible with fire test results were derived from parametric studies. In this course, their time-dependent variations were also analyzed at different initial heating rates. Finally, a numerical formula to estimate the heat transfer coefficients at the various initial heating rates was proposed by the interpolation of the results of numerical analyses.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Information and Commucation Sciences Conference
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• 2022.10a
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• pp.139-141
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• 2022

As interest in digital video media and intelligent systems increases rapidly, technologies using video information are being combined and used in various fields such as security and artificial intelligence. Impulse noise generated during digital image processing degrades the image quality of the image and reduces the reliability of information, so it is necessary to remove it through a filter. There are SMF, AWMF, and MDBUTMF as well-known antecedent methods, but they all have limitations in achieving seamless filtering in environments with large loss of information on valid pixels due to problems with the algorithm itself. Therefore, this paper designs a median filter algorithm that applies weights reflecting the reliability of the information by searching for the nearest effective pixels present within the mask. For performance evaluation, this algorithm and the preceding algorithm were compared and analyzed using PSNR and enlarged images.