• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.4
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• pp.1221-1229
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• 2022

In this work, the guided wave de-bonding area-detecting technique was studied for application to containment liner plates in nuclear power plant areas. To apply this technique, an appropriate Lamb wave mode, symmetric and longitudinal dominance, was verified by the frequency shifting technique. The S0 2.7 MHz mm Lamb wave mode was chosen to realize quantitative experimental results and their visualization. Results of the bulk wave, longitudinal wave mode, and comparison experiments indicate that the wave mode was able to distinguish between the de-bonded and bonded areas. Similar to the bulk wave cases, the bonded region could be distinguished from the de-bonded region using the Lamb wave approach. The Lamb wave technique results showed significant correlation to the de-bonding area. As the de-bonding area increased, the Lamb wave energy attenuation effect decreased, which was a prominent factor in the realization of quantitative tomographic visualization. The feasibility of tomographic visualization was studied via the application of Lamb waves. The reconstruction algorithm for the probabilistic inspection of damage (RAPID) technique was applied to the containment liner plate to verify and visualize the de-bonding condition. The results obtained using the tomography image indicated that the Lamb wave-based RAPID algorithm was capable of delineating debonding areas.

• Korean Journal of Audiology
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.49-54
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• 2021

Type II mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS II) commonly known as Hunter syndrome, is a rare X-linked lysosomal storage disorder caused by iduronate-2-sulfatase deficiency, which in turn causes otorhinolaryngological manifestations, including sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL). Previously, the median survival age of patients with MPS was approximately 13.4 years. However, in the era of enzyme replacement therapy and other multidisciplinary care modalities, the life expectancy has increased. Herein, we report a rare case of an adolescent with MPS II who underwent SNHL treatment with cochlear implantation (CI). Based on unexpected findings of mastoid emissary veins and overgrowth of the vessels around the temporal bone, CI was performed using the transmeatal approach instead of the conventional transmastoid method, to avoid damage to the vessels. The average hearing threshold after CI was 35 dB and no surgical complications were encountered. Adolescent MPS II may present vessel abnormalities, which can reduce the success rate of surgery. In patients with MPS II with SNHL, CI should be performed under careful monitoring of vessel overgrowth. Moreover, with regard to feasibility of CI in adolescent patients with MPS II with SNHL, surgical techniques such as the transmeatal approach should be selected based on adequate assessment of the case.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.475-484
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• 2022

The loss of cable tension for civil infrastructure reduces structural bearing capacity and causes harmful deformation of structures. Currently, most of the structural health monitoring (SHM) approaches for cables rely on contact transducers. This paper proposes a cable tension identification technology using percussion sound, which provides a fast determination of steel cable tension without physical contact between cables and sensors. Notably, inspired by the concept of tensioning strings for piano tuning, this proposed technology predicts cable tension value by deep learning assisted classification of "percussion" sound from tapping a steel cable. To simulate the non-linear mapping of human ears to sound and to better quantify the minor changes in the high-frequency bands of the sound spectrum generated by percussions, Mel-frequency cepstral coefficients (MFCCs) were extracted as acoustic features to train the deep learning network. A convolutional neural network (CNN) with four convolutional layers and two global pooling layers was employed to identify the cable tension in a certain designed range. Moreover, theoretical and finite element methods (FEM) were conducted to prove the feasibility of the proposed technology. Finally, the identification performance of the proposed technology was experimentally investigated. Overall, results show that the proposed percussion-based technology has great potentials for estimating cable tension for in-situ structural safety assessment.

• Journal of Audiology & Otology
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.49-54
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• 2021

Type II mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS II) commonly known as Hunter syndrome, is a rare X-linked lysosomal storage disorder caused by iduronate-2-sulfatase deficiency, which in turn causes otorhinolaryngological manifestations, including sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL). Previously, the median survival age of patients with MPS was approximately 13.4 years. However, in the era of enzyme replacement therapy and other multidisciplinary care modalities, the life expectancy has increased. Herein, we report a rare case of an adolescent with MPS II who underwent SNHL treatment with cochlear implantation (CI). Based on unexpected findings of mastoid emissary veins and overgrowth of the vessels around the temporal bone, CI was performed using the transmeatal approach instead of the conventional transmastoid method, to avoid damage to the vessels. The average hearing threshold after CI was 35 dB and no surgical complications were encountered. Adolescent MPS II may present vessel abnormalities, which can reduce the success rate of surgery. In patients with MPS II with SNHL, CI should be performed under careful monitoring of vessel overgrowth. Moreover, with regard to feasibility of CI in adolescent patients with MPS II with SNHL, surgical techniques such as the transmeatal approach should be selected based on adequate assessment of the case.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.84 no.5
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• pp.675-684
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• 2022

The conventional single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) system is appropriate for dynamic response analysis of paneltype structures without an opening. However, the typical building structures usually have four-sided fixed walls having an opening. Therefore, it may induce a considerable error when dynamic responses are estimated based on the conventional SDOF system, since the SDOF system cannot consider the effect of an opening during the SDOF analysis. For this reason, this study proposes a new SDOF system to consider the effect of an opening by adjusting its load-mass factor. The load-mass factor can be modified based on the assumption that the behaviors of the four-sided fixed wall with an opening is very similar to the behaviors of the same size wall without an opening, when the uniformly distributed blast loaded area is identical. In order to confirm a feasibility of the proposed SDOF system, a series of numerical simulations were carried out for the four-sided fixed reinforced concrete (RC) wall under a blast load. The dynamic responses estimated from the proposed SDOF system and the conventional SDOF system were compared with the dynamic responses evaluated from the finite element (FE) analysis. Especially, for the maximum dynamic responses except for 50% opening case, the proposed SDOF system had about 1.1% to 25.7% normalized errors while the conventional SDOF system had about 4.1% to 49.1% normalized errors.

• Proceedings of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute Conference
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• 2004.04a
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• pp.373-380
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• 2004

This paper presents the feasibility of an impedance-based damage detection technique using piezoelectric (PZT) transducers for civil infrastructures such as steel bridges. The impedance-based damage detection method is based on monitoring the changes in the electrical impedance. Those changes in the electrical impedance are due to the electro-mechanical coupling property of the piezoelectric material and structure. An effective integrated structural health monitoring system must include a statistical process of damage detection that is automated and real time assessment of damage in the structure. Once measured, damage sensitive features from this impedance change can be statistically quantified for various damage cases. The results of the experimental study on three kinds of structural members show that cracks or loosened bolts/nuts near the PZT sensors may be effectively detected by monitoring the shifts of the resonant frequencies. The root mean square (RMS) deviations of impedance functions between before and after damages were also considered as a damage indicator. The subsequent statistical methods using the impedance signature of the PZT sensors were investigated.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.855-863
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• 2021

The purpose of this study is to suggest an improvement plan for the National Technical Qualification Practical Evaluation focusing on National Competency Standards. First, in order to strengthen practical techniques such as field abilities and expertise, practical evaluation methods were applied to the National Competency Standards, referring to a learning module focused on field performance. Second, an expert advisory committee in the field of organic agriculture was utilized to compare, analyze, and match the competency unit and competency unit elements of the National Competency Standards with the national technical qualification examination standards in field of organic agriculture. In addition, in order to identify work in progress in the industrial field, share professional practice skills, and analyze facilities and equipment, we visited an organic agriculture industry site. Through this, a practical evaluation exam was developed. Subsequently, in order to confirm the adequacy of the developed exam, the pilot test assessment was conducted for those majoring in organic agriculture. Finally, as a feasibility study, a survey was conducted. Based on the results, greater technical job competency in the field of organic agriculture will contribute to strengthening knowledge in this field by suggesting an improvement plan for the national technical qualifications practical evaluation method in the field of organic agriculture.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.729-738
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• 2021

The purpose of this study was to suggest an improvement plan ultimately to develop practical evaluation methods for national technical qualifications in the field of seeds and horticulture based on the National Competency Standards. Through this, national technical qualifications can be strengthened in terms of professionalism in the seeds and horticulture field. In order to conduct this study, the national technical qualification currently in use was matched to certain competency units and competency unit elements of National Competency Standards. We then visited an industrial site to understand the practical factors related to the technical, facility and equipment aspects of the seeds and horticulture industrial field, after which a practical evaluation exam was developed. Also, for a feasibility study, a pilot test assessment was conducted for students majoring in seeds and horticulture, with a survey also conducted with field experts and an advisory committee consisting of experts in seeds and horticulture. Based on the results, by suggesting an improvement plan for a practical evaluation method leading to better national technical qualifications in the field of seeds and horticulture, it was shown to be possible to improve knowledge, technical, and literacy aspects. This can lead to the training of outstanding technical professionals. Ultimately, the results here are expected to contribute to the improvement of the seeds and horticulture industry.

• Educational Technology International
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.1-25
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• 2017

Educational applications of big data analysis have been of interest in order to improve learning effectiveness and efficiency. As a basic challenge for educational applications, the purpose of this study is to develop a comprehensive data set scheme for learning analytics in the context of digital textbook usage within the K-12 school environments of Korea. On the basis of the literature review, the Start-up Mega Planning model of needs assessment methodology was used as this study sought to come up with negotiated solutions for different stakeholders for a national level of learning metrics framework. The Ministry of Education (MOE), Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education (SMOE), and Korean Education and Research Information Service (KERIS) were involved in the discussion of the learning metrics framework scope. Finally, we suggest a proposal for the national learning metrics framework to reflect such considerations as dynamic education context and feasibility of the metrics into the K-12 Korean schools. The possibilities and limitations of the suggested framework for learning metrics are discussed and future areas of study are suggested.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.347-357
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• 2023

United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (U.S. NRC) specifies regulations on obtaining licenses and describes the technical position on the average waste concentration, also known as Concentration Averaging and Encapsulation Branch Technical Position (CA BTP); CA BTP helps classify blendable waste and discrete items and address concentration averaging. The technical position details are reviewed and compared in a real environment in Korea. A few cases of concentration averaging based on the application of CA BTP to domestic radioactive waste are presented, and the feasibility of the application is assessed. The radioactive waste considered herein does not satisfy the Disposal Concentration Limit (DCL) of the second-phase disposal facility while applying the preliminary classification. However, if CA BTP is applied when the radioactive waste is mixed with other radioactive waste items in a large and heavy container, it can be disposed of at the second-phase disposal facility in Gyeongju Repository. To apply the CA BTP of the U.S. NRC, it is necessary to investigate the safety assessment conditions of the US and Korea.