• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.12 no.3_4
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• pp.363-379
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• 2013

Dynamic displacement of structures is an important index for in-service structural condition and behavior assessment, but accurate measurement of structural displacement for large-scale civil structures such as long-span bridges still remains as a challenging task. In this paper, a vision-based dynamic displacement measurement system with the use of digital image processing technology is developed, which is featured by its distinctive characteristics in non-contact, long-distance, and high-precision structural displacement measurement. The hardware of this system is mainly composed of a high-resolution industrial CCD (charge-coupled-device) digital camera and an extended-range zoom lens. Through continuously tracing and identifying a target on the structure, the structural displacement is derived through cross-correlation analysis between the predefined pattern and the captured digital images with the aid of a pattern matching algorithm. To validate the developed system, MTS tests of sinusoidal motions under different vibration frequencies and amplitudes and shaking table tests with different excitations (the El-Centro earthquake wave and a sinusoidal motion) are carried out. Additionally, in-situ verification experiments are performed to measure the mid-span vertical displacement of the suspension Tsing Ma Bridge in the operational condition and the cable-stayed Stonecutters Bridge during loading tests. The obtained results show that the developed system exhibits an excellent capability in real-time measurement of structural displacement and can serve as a good complement to the traditional sensors.

• Journal of Engineering Education Research
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.56-65
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• 2018

With rapid advance of technologies including information and communication technologies, jobs are evolving faster than ever. Architectural engineering is no exception in this regard, and the green architectural engineering is emerging fast as a promising new field. In this study, a Delphi study of expert architectural engineers are conducted to find out (1) near future prospects of the field, (2) near future emerging jobs, (3) competencies needed for these jobs, and (4) educational content necessary to build these competencies with regards to the green architectural engineering. Initial Delphi survey consisting of open-ended questions in the above four areas were conducted and came out with 65 items after duplicate removal and semantic refinements. Further refinements via second and third wave of Delphi results into 40 items that the 13 architectural engineering experts may largely agree upon as future prospects with regards to the green architectural engineering. Findings indicate that it is expected that the demand for green architectural engineering and needs for automatic energy control system increase. Also, collaborations with other fields is becoming more and more important in green architectural engineering. The professional work management skills such as knowledge convergence, problem solving, collaboration skills, and creativity linking components from various related areas seem to also be on the increasing need. Near future ready critical skills are found to be the building environment control techniques (thermal, light, sound, and air), the data processing techniques like data mining, energy monitoring, and the control and utilization of environmental analysis software. Experts also agree on new curriculum for green building architecture to be developed with more of converging subjects across disciplines for future ready professional skills and experiences. Major topics to be covered in the near future includes building environment studies, building energy management, energy reduction systems, indoor air quality, global environment and natural phenomena, and machinery and electrical facility. Architectural engineering community should be concerned with building up the competencies identified in this Delphi preparing for fast advancing future.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.1091-1095
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• 2009

The aim of this study investigated the fluctuations of 3 characters from 3 ecotypes [early ripening (ER), middle ripening (MR), and late ripening (LR)] of 20 Korean brown rice cultivars in different storage systems [time: 12 and 24 weeks, temperature: low ($10^{\circ}C$) and room ($25^{\circ}C$)]. With increase of storage time and temperature, lipoxygenase activity, and fat acidity increased, whereas germination rate was reduced. ER cultivars exhibited the highest lipoxygenase activity of $35.49{\pm}2.46$ unit/mg protein during 24 weeks storage at $25^{\circ}C$, followed by LR ($32.73{\pm}1.33$) and MR ($32.66{\pm}1.62$) cultivars. The amounts of fat acidity also were observed by the same order (ER: $20.40{\pm}2.12$>LR: $19.68{\pm}1.86$>MR: $19.64{\pm}1.35$ mg KOH/100 g). Germination rate slightly decreased with increase of time and temperature (MR>LR>ER), but MR and LR cultivars showed the most significant changes (ER: $60.90{\pm}23.47%$, MR: $32.66{\pm}13.95%$, and LR: $32.53{\pm}5.87%$). On the basis of above results, MR cultivars were evaluated the highest quality, because high lipoxygenase activity, high fat acidity, and low germination rate have deteriorated in quality and generated off-odor. Thus, MR cultivars might be very important sources in food processing and stored dietary supplement aspects.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.110-119
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• 2024

Background: The Mae Kha Canal is one of Chiang Mai's most important waterways. It supports local agriculture, irrigation, and transportation as well as provides stormwater drainage to prevent floods. Due to the unregulated rapid urbanization of the city and lack of efficient waste and wastewater management systems over the past few decades, the canal has become heavily polluted. This study aimed to evaluate the water quality of Mae Kha canal through assessment of the physico-chemical water quality and coliform bacteria. Moreover, benthic macroinvertebrates were samples and assessed using the Biological Monitoring Working Party (BMWP^Thai) and Average Score Per Taxon (ASPT^Thai) as biological indices. Results: The physico-chemical showed low dissolved oxygen levels, high levels of ammonia and phosphates, and elevated levels of biochemical oxygen demand, indicating that the water quality had significantly deteriorated. The canal was found to be heavily polluted, with most sites falling into the polluted to very heavily polluted. Coliform bacteria analysis revealed alarmingly high levels of total coliform bacteria and fecal coliform bacteria in the canal. The BMWP^Thai and ASPT^Thai scores indicated poor to very poor water quality. Conclusions: The physico-chemical and coliform bacteria indicated that the water quality of the Mae Kha canal had significantly deteriorated. The biological indices also indicated the poor to very poor water quality. This study underscores the urgent need for comprehensive remediation efforts, emphasizing strategic planning, investment, and community engagement to revive the canal's ecological health and water quality.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.277-290
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• 2020

Disasters, including earthquakes and landslides, have enormous economic and social losses besides their impact on environmental disruption. Iran, and particularly its Western part, is known as an earthquake susceptible area due to numerous strong ground motions. Studying ecological changes due to climate change can improve the public and expert sector's awareness and response to future disastrous events. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data and Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) technologies are appropriate tools for modeling and surface deformation modeling. This paper proposes an efficient approach to detect ground deformation changes using Sentinel-1A. The focal point of this research is to map the ground surface deformation modeling is presented using InSAR technology over Sarpol-e Zahab on 25^th November 2018 as a study case. For surface deformation modeling and detection of the ground movement due to earthquake SARPROZ in MATLAB programming language is used and discussed. Results show that there is a general ground movement due to the Sarpol-e Zahab earthquake between -7 millimeter to +18 millimeter in the study area. This research verified previous researches on the advanced image analysis techniques employed for mapping ground movement, where InSAR provides a reliable tool for assisting engineers and the decision-maker in choosing proper policies in a time of disasters. Based on the result, 574 out of 682 damaged buildings and infrastructures due to the 2017 Sarpol-e Zahab earthquake have moved from -2 to +17 mm due to the 2018 earthquake with a magnitude of 6.3 Richter. Results show that mountainous areas have suffered land subsidence, where urban areas had land uplift.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.535-545
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• 2020

This study aims to conserve and monitor energy use in public sewage treatment plants by utilizing data from the SCADA system and by controlling the aeration rate required for maintaining effluent water quality. Power consumption in the sewage treatment process was predicted using the equipment's uptime, efficiency, and inherent power consumption. The predicted energy consumption was calibrated by measured data. Additionally, energy efficiency indicators were proposed based on statistical data for energy use, capacity, and effluent quality. In one case study, a sewage treatment plant operated via the SBR process used ~30% of energy consumed in maintaining the bioreactors and treated water tanks (included decanting pump and cleaning systems). Energy consumption analysis with the K-ECO Tool-kit was conducted for unit processing. The results showed that about 58.7% of total energy consumed was used in the preliminary and biological treatment rotating equipment such as the blower and pump. In addition, the energy consumption rate was higher to the order of 19.2% in the phosphorus removal process, 16.0% during sludge treatment, and 6.1% during disinfection and discharge. In terms of equipment energy usage, feeding and decanting pumps accounted for 40% of total energy consumed following 27% for blowers. By controlling the aeration rate based on the proposed feedback control system, the DO concentration was reduced by 56% compared pre-controls and the aeration amount decreased by 28%. The overall power consumption of the plant was reduced by 6% via aeration control.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Military Science and Technology
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.119-128
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• 2017

G-induced Loss of Consciousness(G-LOC) can be predicted by measuring Electromyogram(EMG) signals. Existing studies have mainly focused on specific body parts and lacked of consideration with quantitative EMG indices. The purpose of this study is to analyze the indices of EMG signals by human body parts for monitoring G-LOC condition. The data of seven EMG features such as Root Mean Square(RMS), Integrated Absolute Value(IAV), and Mean Absolute Value(MAV) for reflecting muscle contraction and Slope Sign Changes(SSC), Waveform Length (WL), Zero Crossing(ZC), and Median Frequency(MF) for representing muscle contraction and fatigue was retrieved from high G-training on a human centrifuge simulator. A total of 19 trainees out of 47 trainees of the Korean Air Force fell into G-LOC condition during the training in attaching EMG sensor to three body parts(neck, abdomen, calf). IAV, MAV, WL, and ZC under condition after G-LOC were decreased by 17 %, 17 %, 18 %, and 4 % comparing to those under condition before G-LOC respectively. Also, RMS, IAV, MAV, and WL in neck part under condition after G-LOC were higher than those under condition before G-LOC; while, those in abdomen and calf part lower. This study suggest that measurement of IAV and WL by attaching EMG sensor to calf part may be optimal for predicting G-LOC.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.271-277
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• 2006

In this study, we investigated the applicable plan of GIS on the environmental impact assessment of 60 Hz Powerline. So we assessed distance data based on calculations by use of 2D and 3D Geographical information systems(GIS) and distance data based on measurements on 1: 5000 maps accord with on site distance measurements to use input data for calculating magnetic field. One hundred eight of the on site measured addresses were selected from residences. The data were achieved by measuring the distance between residence and power line on maps with scales of 1: 5000. The digital map was obtained from National Geographic Information Institute with scales of 1: 5000, and we made 2D and 3D map. Correlation analyses were performed for statistical analyses. For the 3D GIS versus on site comparison of different exposure categories, 70 of 108 measurements were assigned to the correct category. Similarly for 2D GIS versus on site comparison, 71 of 108 were correctly categorized. When comparing map measurement with on site measurement, 62 of 108 were correctly categorized. When the correlation analysis was performed, best correlation was found between 3D GIS and on site measurements with r = 0.84947 (p<0.0001). The correlation between map and on site measurement yielded an r of 0.76517 (p<0.0001). Since the GIS measurements and map measurement were made from the center point in the building and the on site measurements had to be made from the closest wall on the building, this might introduce and additional error in urban areas. The difference between 2D and 3D calculations were resulted from the height of buildings.

• Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.71-95
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• 1995

Bacteria have been regarded as a one of major etiologic factors in root canal infections. In endodontic treatment the effective removal of pathogenic microorganisms in the root canal is the key to successful outcome. Bacterial cell wall components may play an important role in the development of pulpal and periapical disease. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of sonic extracts of Streptococcus spp. on cultured L929 cells and to characterize cell wall protein profiles of Streptococcus spp. Streptococcus spp. were isolated from infected root canals and identified with Vitek Systems(Biomeriux, USA). Five streptococci, namely S. sanguis, S. mitis, S uberis, S. mutans (ATCC 10449) and S. faecalis (ATCC 19433) weere enriched in brain heart infusion broth. Cell pellets were sonicated and cell wall extracts were dialyzed and membrane filtered. Prepared cell wall proteins were applied to cultured L929 cell. The cell reaction were evaluated by monitoring DNA synthesis, cell numbers and the change of cell morphology. The total cell wall protein profiles of microorganisms were characterized by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide-gel eledruphoresis(SDS-PAGE). DNA synthesis of L929 cells were reduced by the increasing concentration of sonic extracts. DNA synthesis was significantly suppressed in more than $50{\mu}g$/ml of sonic extract conentration in five streptococci. S. nutans (ATCC 10449) showed stronger suppression on DNA synthesis than remaining four streptococci, which had the similar effect on DNA synthesis. Analysis of DNA synthesis measured by [$^3H$]-thymidine uptake was more sensitvie method than cell counting. Sonic extracts affected the microscopic findings of L929 cells. The protein profiles indicated that all five strains shared two major proteins with molecular masses of 70.8 and 57.5 kD respectively. S. uberis and S. mutans shared common minor proteins of which molecular weights were 147.9 and 112.2 kD respectively. However some minor proteins were unique for S. mitis, S. uberis and S. faecalis.

• Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.11-19
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• 2018

Although many researches related to monitoring and automatic measuring devices for early warning system during slope failure have been carried out in Korea and aboard, most of the researches have installed measuring devices on the slope surface, and there are only few researches about warning systems that can detect and warn before slope failure and disaster occurs. In this study, slope failure simulation experiment was performed by attaching sensors to rock bolts, and initial slope behavior characteristics during slope failure were analyzed. Also, the experiment results were compared and reviewed with varied slope conditions, i.e. shotcrete slope and natural slope, and varied material conditions, i.e. GFRP and steel rock bolt. This study can be used as a basic data in development of warning and alarm system for early evacuation through early detection and warning before slope failure occurs in steep slopes and slope failure vulnerable areas.