• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.76 no.1
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• pp.141-151
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• 2020

This manuscript tends to investigate influences of nanoscale and surface energy on a static bending and free vibration of piezoelectric perforated nanobeam structural element, for the first time. Nonlocal differential elasticity theory of Eringen is manipulated to depict the long-range atoms interactions, by imposing length scale parameter. Surface energy dominated in nanoscale structure, is included in the proposed model by using Gurtin-Murdoch model. The coupling effect between nonlocal elasticity and surface energy is included in the proposed model. Constitutive and governing equations of nonlocal-surface perforated Euler-Bernoulli nanobeam are derived by Hamilton's principle. The distribution of electric potential for the piezoelectric nanobeam model is assumed to vary as a combination of a cosine and linear variation, which satisfies the Maxwell's equation. The proposed model is solved numerically by using the finite-element method (FEM). The present model is validated by comparing the obtained results with previously published works. The detailed parametric study is presented to examine effects of the number of holes, perforation size, nonlocal parameter, surface energy, boundary conditions, and external electric voltage on the electro-mechanical behaviors of piezoelectric perforated nanobeams. It is found that the effect of surface stresses becomes more significant as the thickness decreases in the range of nanometers. The effect of number of holes becomes significant in the region 0.2 ≤ α ≤ 0.8. The current model can be used in design of perforated nano-electro-mechanical systems (PNEMS).

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.8
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• pp.3413-3418
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• 2015

Background: Liver fluke infection caused by the parasite Opisthorchis viverrini (O. viverrini), a human carcinogen, is endemic in north-eastern Thailand and remains a major health problem. Objectives: The objectives of the study were to (1) resurvey the prevalence of O. viverrini infection in a field site from the Khon Kaen Cohort Study (in newly recruited subjects as well as previous cohort subjects surveyed in 1992); (2) investigate how subjects' lifestyle habits and their exposure to health promotion initiatives influence changes in prevalence of O. viverrini infection. Materials and Methods: The prevalence of O. viverrini infection in the cohort subjects (as well as new subjects) was investigated using faecal egg counts. Information on demographic factors, lifestyle and awareness of health promotion initiatives were obtained through questionnaires. Results: O. viverrini infection rates in the same individuals of the cohort were lower in 2006 than in 1992. Also, by studying the period effect, the current 35-44 year olds had a 12.4% (95% CI 3.9% to 20.9%) lower prevalence of O. viverrini infection than the 35-44 year olds in 1992 (24.2% versus 11.8%). Lifestyle choices showed that smoking and alcohol consumption were associated with an increased chance of acquiring O. viverrini infection with adjusted odds ratios of 10.1 (95%CI 2.4-41.6) and 5.3 (95%CI 1.2-23.0), respectively. Conclusions: Our study has demonstrated that although the prevalence of O. viverrini infection over a 14-year period has decreased, unhealthy lifestyle was common with smoking and alcohol consumption being associated with increased chances of infection, emphasising the double burden of disease which developing countries are facing.

• The Journal of Korean Institute of Communications and Information Sciences
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• v.19 no.8
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• pp.1595-1611
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• 1994

In this paper, the numerical wave propagation properties of the finite difference-time domain(FD-TD) method is investigated as a discrete model describing electromagnetic(EM) wave propagation phenomena. The leap-frog approximation of Maxwell's curl equations in time-space simulates EM wave propagation in terms of the numerical characteristic and the domain of dependence. A geometrical interpretation of the FD-TD numerical procedure is presented. The numerical dispersion error due to the leap-frog approximation and its dependence on the stability factor are illustrated. The FD-TD method using the leap-frog approximation is inherently a descriptive model. Thus, not only any physical picture about EM wave propagation phenomena can be drawn through this model, but also physical or engineering parameters in the frequency domain can be extracted from descriptive results. E-plane filter characteristics in the WR-28 rectangular waveguide and reflection property of an inductive iris in the WR-90 rectangluar waveguide extracted from simulation of the FD-TD model is included.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.23-32
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• 2011

In this work, the finite element method was used to investigate the shifts of resonance frequencies and quality factor of whispering-gallery-mode (WGM) for an opto-fluidic ring resonator (OFRR) biosensor. To describe the near-field radiation transfer, the time-domain Maxwell's equations were employed and solved by using the in-plane TE wave application mode of the COMSOL Multiphysics with RF module. The OFRR biosensor model under current study includes a glass capillary with a diameter of 100 mm and wall thickness of 3.0 mm. The resonance energy spectrum curves in the wavelength range from 1545 nm to 1560 nm were examined under different biosensing conditions. We mainly studied the sensitivity of resonance shifts affected by changes in the effective thickness of the sensor resonator ring with a 3.0 mm thick wall, as well as changes in the refractive index (RI) of the medium inside ring resonators with both 2.5 mm and 3.0 mm thick walls. In the bulk RI detection, a sensitivity of 23.1 nm/refractive index units (RIU) is achieved for a 2.5 mm thick ring. In small molecule detection, a sensitivity of 26.4 pm/nm is achieved with a maximum Q-factor of $6.3{\times}10^3$. These results compare favorably with those obtained by other researchers.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.487-497
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• 2020

During the last few decades, fluid viscous dampers have been significantly improved in terms of performance and reliability. Viscous dampers dissipate the input energy into heat and the increased temperature may damage internal seals of the damper. As a result, thermal compensation is crucial for almost all fluid viscous dampers. In this study, while referring to the main working principles of the recently developed bypass viscous damper in Iran, a comprehensive case study is conducted on a RC building having diagonal braces equipped with such viscous dampers. Experimental results of a small-scale bypass viscous damper is presented and it is shown that the currently available simplified Maxwell models can simulate behavior of the bypass viscous damper with good accuracy. Using a case study, contribution of bypass viscous dampers to seismic behavior of structural and non-structural elements are investigated. A designed procedure is adopted to increase damping ratio of the building from 3% to 15%. In this way, reductions of 25% and 13% in the required concrete and steel rebar materials have been achieved. From nonlinear time history analyses, it is observed that bypass viscous dampers can greatly improve seismic behavior of structural elements and non-structural elements.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.91-98
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• 2010

The effective thermal conductivity of porous materials is usually determined by porosity, water content, and the conductivity of the matrix. In addition, it is also affected by the internal structure of the materials such as the size, arrangement, and connectivity of the matrix-forming grains. Based on the structural models for multi-phase materials, thermal conductivities of soils and sands measured with varying the water content were analyzed. Thermal conductivities of dry samples were likely to fall in the region between the Maxwell-Eucken model with air as the continuous phase and the matrix as the dispersed phase ($ME_{air}$) and the co-continuous (CC) model. However, water-saturated samples moved down to the region between the $ME_{wat}$ model and the series model. The predictive inconsistency of the structural models for dry and water-saturated samples may be caused by the increase of porosity for water-saturated samples, which leads to decrease of connectivity among the grains of matrix. In cases of variably saturated samples with a uniform grain size, the thermal conductivity showed progressive changes of the structural models from the $ME_{air}$ model to the $ME_{wat}$ model depending on the water content. Especially, an abrupt increase found in 0-20% of the water content, showing transition from the $ME_{air}$ model to the CC model, can be attributed to change of water from the dispersed to continuous phase. On the contrary, the undisturbed soil samples with various sizes of grains showed a gradual increase of conductivity during the transition from the $ME_{air}$ model to the CC model.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.37-48
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• 1991

Rice plants are subjected to various forces such as natural force of wind and mechanical force of cultivating machines. Rheological behavior of the rice stem can be expressed in terms of three variables : stress, relaxation and time. The objectives of this study are to examine stress relaxation, creep and recovery characteristics on the rice stem in case of axial and radial loading. Stress relaxation with time was studied on three levels of loading rate and on four levels of applied stress. The results were summarized as follows : 1. The hysterisis losses of the rice stem distinctly observed at the radial compression in comparison with axial compression. The hysterisis loss implied that the stem to absorbed energy without being deformed beyond the yield point. 2. Ageneralized Maxwell model consisting of three elements gave a good description of the relaxation behavior of the rice stem. Rate of loading was more significant on the observed relaxation behavior within the short relaxation time, but there were little influences of rate of loading on the relaxation time. 3. The stress relaxation intensity and the residual stress increased in magnitude as the applied stress increased, but the relaxation time was little affected by the applied stress. 4. The coefficients of the stress relaxation model showed much differences in the radial compression and the axial compression, especially the higher relaxation stress of the third element was observed in the radial compression. 5. The behaviors of rice stem in creep and recovery test also might be represented by a four element Burger's model. But the coefficients of the creep model were different from those of the recovery model. 6. The steady-state phenomena of creep appeared at the stress larger than 20 MPa in Samkang and 1.8 MPa in Whajin. 7. The elastic modulus of the stem showed the range from 40 to 60 MPa. It could be considered, as a result, the rice stems had viscoelastic properties.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.39-51
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• 2012

The time-dependent characteristics of mudstone in this study were analyzed by performing creep tests for the mudstone in Pohang. The creep tests were conducted on various boundary conditions to observe the time-dependent behavior of mudstone and the results were compared with values predicted by established visco-elastic model and empirical equations. As a result of analysis for empirical equations proposed by Griggs(1936), Cottrell(1952) and Singh(1975), the creep constants generally tend to increase as increasing the stress level and water content. Moreover, the values predicted by Singh's equation were well fitted for the test results. Therefore, it is expected to be reasonable that creep behavior of mudstone is analyzed using Singh's equation. As a result of analysis for a Burger's model, the predicted values were well fitted for the test results. Therefore, it is expected be reasonable that the creep behavior of mudstone by a rheological model is analyzed using Burger's model.

• Imaging Science in Dentistry
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.245-253
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• 2020

Purpose: This study investigated the prevalence of temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis (TMJ-OA) using the Research Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders image analysis criteria, assessed the severity of incidental osteoarthritic changes affecting the TMJ, and evaluated the correlations of sex and age with the prevalence and severity of TMJ-OA. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study assessed 145 randomly selected cone-beam computed tomography scans (261 TMJs) from the authors' institutional maxillofacial radiology archive following the application of inclusion and exclusion criteria. The criteria described by Ahmad et al. were used to determine whether each TMJ was affected by OA, and the severity of the osteoarthritic changes was scored for each joint based on the method described by Alexiou et al. The chi-square, McNemar, Bhapkar chi-square, and Stuart-Maxwell chi-square tests were applied to evaluate the significance of the relationships between variables(age and sex). Results: Sixteen TMJs (6.1%) had no OA, 74 (28.6%) were indeterminate for OA, and 171 (65.5%) had OA. Flattening and sclerosis were observed in 86.6% and 12.3% of cases, respectively, while resorption was observed in 7.3% of the joints. Only 21 (8.1%) of the examined TMJs had subchondral cysts. Erosion of the articular eminence was observed in 58 (22.1%) cases, while sclerosis and resorption were found in 68 (25.9%) and 16 (6.1%) TMJs, respectively. Conclusion: Female patients had a higher prevalence and severity of TMJ-OA than male patients. The prevalence and severity of TMJ-OA increased with age, with peaks in the fifth and seventh decades of life.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.113-120
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• 2002

Electrostriction is the phenomenon that a material is strained due to Maxwell stress developed by the applied voltage. In many electrostrictive materials, especially polymeric elastomers can produce large deformation and force due to their low elastic modulus. In this study, polyurethanes and acrylic rubber with compliant electrodes were used as electrostrictive polymer(EP) actuator. Actuation characteristics of the EP actuators with different physical properties of dynamic modulus and dynamic dielectiric constant were analyzed under AC field. The classical laminate theory was also used to simulate the actuation process in relation to the geometry and the physical properties of the actuators.