• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.120-127
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• 2023

Background: In general, measurement qualities of cross-culturally adapted quality of life (QOL) measures are altered in many aspects, although versions of them are well-validated measures. The latent trait and measurement qualities of the QOL measures for cancer-related samples should be considered when developing cross-culturally adapted measures. Objects: To investigate the latent trait of the translated into Korean World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) administered to different cancer survivors who had palliative rehabilitation care service (PRCS). Methods: A cross-sectional study with 139 cancer survivors who had an experience of cancer survivorship with PRCS were conducted with a two-step analytic procedure including exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to confirm the latent trait and Rasch rating scale modeling to investigate the measurement qualities of the cross-culturally adapted WHOQOL-BREF measure. Results: While the original WHOQOL-BREF measure constitutes a 4-latent trait, the EFA reveals that 24 items constitute six substantial factors. The item loadings are predominantly spread over factors 1 through 4 in a mixed manner of the latent traits, while the loadings of 'physical health' and 'environmental health' latent traits show similarity to what the original measure intended to assess. The latent trait of the cross-culturally adapted WHOQOL-BREF measure administered to different cancer survivors is likely to reveal more dimensions than the original WHOQOL-BREF measure. Person reliability (i.e., analogous to Cronbach's alpha) and separation are measured with 0.92 and 3.48, respectively. All items except the one item (medical treatment item) fit the Rasch rating model. Conclusion: Findings suggest that the latent trait and the measurement qualities of the cross-culturally adapted WHOQOL-BREF measure should be taken into consideration when applying versions of it to various populations.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.86 no.4
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• pp.443-459
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• 2023

This study investigates the theoretical thermal buckling analyses of thick porous rectangular functionally graded (FG) plates with different geometrical boundary conditions resting on a Winkler-Pasternak elastic foundation using a new higher-order shear deformation theory (HSDT). This new theory has only four unknowns and involves indeterminate integral variables in which no shear correction factor is required. The variation of material properties across the plate's thickness is considered continuous and varied following a simple power law as a function of volume fractions of the constituents. The effect of porosity with two different types of distribution is also included. The current formulation considers the Von Karman nonlinearity, and the stability equations are developed using the virtual works principle. The thermal gradients are involved and assumed to change across the FG plate's thickness according to nonlinear, linear, and uniform distributions. The accuracy of the newly proposed theory has been validated by comparing the present results with the results obtained from the previously published theories. The effects of porosity, boundary conditions, foundation parameters, power index, plate aspect ratio, and side-to-thickness ratio on the critical buckling temperature are studied and discussed in detail.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.239-248
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• 2022

Risks in construction projects are increasing remarkably due to recent changes in the construction environment. Active risk management is required to recognize risks as opportunities. The purpose of this study is to propose a risk management model of the importance determination method through comparative analysis using Kano model, Timko CSC (Customer Satisfaction Coefficient), and ASC (Average Satisfaction Coefficient). Based on previous studies, the validity of risk management factor determination is reviewed through a questionnaire modified Kano model through interviews with working-level workers using the Delphi technique. Through this, a suitable risk management model is presented by selecting key risk management factors recognized by domestic construction project practitioners. As a result of the study, the Kano model developed to verify risk management of construction projects was evaluated to be effective in verifying the risk management of practitioners. It is expected that the Kano model presented in this study will be actively used to verify the importance of risk management for construction projects.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.30 no.1C
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• pp.27-35
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• 2010

Instrumented steel sheet piles being driven by vibratory pile driver were installed in granular soil deposit and behaviors of the sheet piles were investigated. One of the instrumented steel sheet pile was installed without clutch and the other was installed with clutch. Sheet pile with clutch means that of installed in connection with pre-installed sheet pile. Penetration rates of sheet piles measured from depth measuring drum has shown that interlock friction had great effect on penetration speed of sheet pile. Clutch friction shows irregular distribution along the depths of penetration and its magnitude was estimated as 19.1kN/m. According to the accelerations obtained from accelerometer, it was seen that steel sheet pile behaviored nearly as a rigid body. Efficiency factor of an isolated sheet pile was 0.42 and that of the connected sheet pile was 0.71. Shapes of dynamic load transfer curves obtained from analysis of measuring devices was similar to those suggested by Dierssen.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.29 no.1D
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• pp.11-16
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• 2009

The estimation of total travel time on highway link for a day or year is the most important process for the feasibility analysis of highway or railway. Most of current guidelines for feasibility studies have been based on the time-traffic volume relationship from the BPR, and the traffic volumes have been determined by the application of the design hour factor to the annual average daily traffic volume. Both of the BPR function and the application of the design hour volume may result in the over-estimation of travel time due to the fact that the traffic volume on the large portion of highway links in Korea are close to the capacities. This study proposed a new way which is based on the distribution of hourly volumes for a year. It could be closer to the real situation, and provide more reasonable estimation. This methodology was validated for the national highways, but may be applicable for any type of highway with the AADT.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.169-175
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• 2023

Background: Although microbial infection is direct cause of periodontal disease, various environmental factors influence the disease severity. Aging is considered a risk factor for oral diseases, with the prevalence of periodontal diseases increasing with age. Moreover, senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) expressed in age-related diseases is a key marker of chronic inflammation and aging phenotypes. Therefore, this study aimed to understand the relevance of senescent cells to periodontal health and disease, investigate the possibility of regulating the expression of aging- and osteolysis-related factors in gingival fibroblasts, and investigate the effect of senescence induction in gingival fibroblasts on osteoclast differentiation in mouse bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMMs). Methods: After stimulation with 400 nM hydrogen peroxidase, human gingival fibroblasts (HGFs) were examined for senescence-associated β-galactosidase. Western blot and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays were performed to assess the expression of SASP. Osteoclast formation was assessed in BMMs using a conditioned medium (CM) from hydrogen peroxide-stimulated HGFs. Osteoclastic differentiation was investigated using tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) staining and activity. Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 25.0. Results: The expression of senescence-related molecules, including p53, p16, and p21, and the expression of osteolytic factors, including IL-6, IL-8, and IL-17, were found to be significantly higher in the hydrogen peroxide-stimulated HGF than in the control group. Regarding the indirect effects of senescent gingival cells, the number of osteoclasts and TRAP activity increased according to the differentiation of BMM cultured in CM. Conclusion: Our results on the of between osteolytic factors and cellular senescence in gingival fibroblast cells helped to reveal evidence of pathological aging mechanisms. Furthermore, our results suggest that the development of novel therapies that target specific SASP factors could be an effective treatment strategy for periodontal disease.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.26 no.2D
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• pp.341-347
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• 2006

Geographically Imha basin is adjacent to Andong basin, but the occurrence of turbid water in each reservoir by storm events shows big differences. Hence, it is very important to identify the reason for these large differences. This study compared and analyzed soil erosion using the semi-empirical soil erosion model, RUSLE for both Imha and Andong basin, especially with emphasis on high-density turbid water. The agricultural district, which is the most vulnerable to soil erosion, was intensively analyzed based on land cover map produced by Ministry of Environment. As a result, the portion of the agricultural area is 11.88% for Andong basin, while it is 14.95% for Imha basin. Also all RUSLE factors excepts practice factor turned out to be higher for Imha basin. This means that the basin characteristics such as soil texture, terrain, and land cover for Imha basin is more vulnerable to soil erosion. Estimation of soil erosion by RUSLE for Andong and Imha basin is 1,275,806 ton and 1,501,608 ton, respectively, showing higher soil erosion by 225,802 ton for Imha basin.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.29 no.5D
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• pp.627-634
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• 2009

The BTL (Build-Transfer-Lease) contract of construction project serves as a part for early establishment of industrial foundation for social overhead capital. However, project cost of BTL contract is focused on initial construction cost. Accordingly, operation cost is lowly evaluated because there is no standard criterion for estimating maintenance cost for the facility. The low operation cost can be a factor that reduces service quality of facility operation. This study suggests a resonable method for estimating cost and manpower in the operation phase by using the existing practical data for wastewater treatment plant by BTL contract. The results of the study can be used for evaluating rough operation cost and manpower of similar plant project by facility size.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.28 no.4A
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• pp.517-528
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• 2008

This paper presents a hysteretic damage model for reinforced concrete (RC) joints that explicitly accounts for the bond-slip between the reinforcing bars and the surrounding concrete. A frame element whose displacement fields for the concrete and the reinforcing bars are different to permit slip is developed. From the fiber section concept, compatibility equations for concrete, rebar, and bond are defined. Modification of the hysteretic stress-strain curve of steel is conducted for partial unloading and reloading conditions. Local bond stress-slip relations for monotonic loads are updated at each slip reversal according to the damage factor. The numerical applications of the reinforcing bar embedded in the confined concrete block, the RC column anchored in the foundation, and the RC beam-column subassemblage validate the model accuracy and show how including the effects of bond-slip leads to a good assessment of the amount of energy dissipation during loading histories.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.28 no.5D
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• pp.627-638
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• 2008

At present, there is a no rational MOE for evaluating hazard level at curve sections. Therefore, this study focus on developing the MOE and algorithm for hazard level at curve sections. The scopes of this study limited to rural two-way roads. Actual data used is accident, geometric features, safety facilities of the selected sites at curve sections. In order to develop MOE for hazard level at curve sections, accident contributing factors were classified by road geometry, visual guidance facility, speed and driver factor. A relationship between the four factors mentioned and accidents was conducted. And, the MOE for hazard level at curve sections was derived from the previous relationship analysis, and the algorithm for hazard level was developed. Finally, worksheets were suggested based on the MOE and algorithm for road designers. These developed MOE and algorithm can be used to reduce serious accident contributing factors when designing roads and also, these will be used to determine an order of priority when reconstructing roads.