• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.185-190
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• 2010

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is one of the most prevalent pathogens in hospitals. To investigate cross contamination by this bacterium in both dental and medical settings, the pathogens that cause acute pyogenic infection and one of the major microbes responsible for nosocomial infection were isolated from health care providers, nurses and patients. We used VITEK II to measure drug sensitivity, and we further performed biochemical testing, coagulase serotype testing and pulse-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) for isolated MRSA colonies. The isolation rate of Staphylococcus aureus from nasal swabs was 75.0% from dental health care providers and 18.8% from the medical health care providers. A total of 10 MRSA strains were isolated from 40 health care providers and 2 patients and the prevalent coagulase serotype from patients and health care providers was VII. The antimicrobial drug resistance and partial PFGE types of the isolated MRSA strains showed a similar pattern. These results suggest that MRSA may be one of the principal causes of nosocomial infection in dental and medical hospitals.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.351-370
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• 2009

This paper presents a computational study for the structural response of blast loaded metallic sandwich panels, with the emphasis placed on their failure behaviours. The fully-clamped panels are square, and the honeycomb core and skins are made of the same aluminium alloy. A material model considering strain and strain rate hardening effects is used and the blast load is idealised as either a uniform or localised pressure over a short duration. The deformation/failure procedure and modes of the sandwich panels are identified and analysed. In the uniform loading condition, the effect of core density and face-sheets thicknesses is analysed. Likewise, the influence of pulse shape on the failure modes is investigated by deriving a pressure-impulse (P-I) diagram. For localised loading, a comparative study is carried out to assess the blast resistant behaviours of three types of structures: sandwich panel with honeycomb core, two face-sheets with air core and monolithic plate, in terms of their permanent deflections and damage degrees. The finding of this research provides a valuable insight into the engineering design of sandwich constructions against air blast loads.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.89-101
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• 2017

The focus of this paper is the study on the seismic performance of RC buildings with two different connections at the base level under near-fault earthquakes. It is well-known that the impulsive nature of the near-fault ground motions causes severe damages to framed buildings especially at base connections. In the scope of this study, two types of 3-dimensional RC Moment Frames with Fixed Support (MFFS) and Hinged Support (MFHS) containing 5 and 10 stories are assessed under an ensemble of 11 strong ground motions by implementing nonlinear response history analysis. The most vulnerable locations of MFFS, are the connections of corner columns to foundation especially under strong earthquakes. On the other hand, using beams at the base level as well as hinged base connections in MFHS buildings, prevents damages of corner columns and achieves more ductile behavior. Results denote that the MFHS including Base Level Beams (BLB) significantly shows better behavior compared with MFFS, particularly under pulse-type records. Additionally, the first story beams and also interior components undergo more actions. Role of the BLBs are similar to fuses decreasing the flexural moments of the corner columns. The BLBs can be constructed as replaceable members which provide the reparability of structures.

• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
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• v.6 no.5
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• pp.677-683
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• 2011

The present paper describes the setup of standard partial discharge calibrator for measuring partial discharge and estimating uncertainties. The standard PD calibrator was designed and set up, consisting of a digital pulse generator, capacitor modules, and a digital oscilloscope controlled by software developed in the laboratory. Using this software, averages of charges and rising times and their standard deviations in the measured pulses can also be calculated. The standard PD calibrator generates five types of pulses: single, double, random, oscillating, and long-rising. The coefficient sensitivities to estimate the uncertainties of pulses were extracted in the model circuit of the standard PD calibrator. The uncertainties of charges and rising times in pulses of the standard PD calibrator were estimated with single pulses. These values were 0.3%-1.4% in charges and 1.9%-7.0% in rising time; however, these values are lower than the limit values in IEC 60270.

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.221-224
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• 2017

This paper dealt with the extraction of series arc signals based on wavelet transform in order to improve the accuracy of arc detection in indoor wiring systems. Three types of arc sources including a cord-cord, a terminal-cord, and an outlet-plug were fabricated to simulate typical arc defects. An arc generator fabricated according to UL 1699 was used to generate arcs. The optimal mother wavelet was selected as bior1.5 by calculating the correlation coefficients between the detected single current pulse and the wavelet. The detected arc current signals were then decomposed into eight levels using the discrete wavelet transform that implements the multi-resolution analysis method. By analyzing the decomposed components, the detail components D6, D7, and D8 were associated with arc signals, which were used for signal reconstruction. From the result, it was verified that the proposed method can be used for the extraction of the series arc signal from the AC mains, which is expected to be applied to further analysis of arc signals in indoor wiring systems.

• Transactions of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering
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• v.12 no.7
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• pp.510-519
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• 2002

The present study addresses a computational work of the weak shock wave propagating inside an automobile exhaust muffler. Several different types of the silencer systems are employed to investigate the magnitude of the shock wave during propagating through them. The Initial shock wave Mach number $M_s$ is varied between 1.01 and 1.30, and a normal shock wave is given at the inlet of the silencer systems. The second order total variation diminishing scheme Is employed to solve the two dimensional, compressible, unsteady Euler equations. The present computational results are compared with the previous experimental ones available. The present computations predict the experimental results with a quite good accuracy. Of the four silencer systems applied. the most desirable silencer system to reduce the peak pressure at the exalt of the exhaust pipe is discussed from the Point of view of the engineering design of the silencer systems.

• Transactions of The Korea Fluid Power Systems Society
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.21-28
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• 2006

The proportional control solenoid valves as well as the PWM solenoid valves operated by electric signal play an important role in the hydraulic system for automatic transmissions to improve the shift quality. However it is not generally available for the performance data because most of the automotive parts manufacturer don't release the specific test results, especially dynamic performance that is essential to design a shift control algorithm. In this research, a performance test equipment that can be applied to various types of pressure control solenoid valve was developed. It was implemented by 8-bit micro-controller with many useful functions such as adjustable PWM carrier frequency, embedded function generator, current controller, data monitoring and acquisitions, etc. for the test of dynamic performance of solenoid valve as well as the steady-state pressure characteristics. The performance test results for the direct type proportional control solenoid valve show not only the validity of overall functions but also its usefulness as a hydraulic valve tester.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.21-29
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• 1993

For the study of relaxation processes in complex spin system, a general master equation, which can be used to simulate a vast range of pulse experiments, has been formulated using the Liouville representation of quantum mechanics. The state of a nonequilibrium spin system in magnetic field is described by a density vector in Liouville space and the time evolution of the system is followed by the application of a linear master operator to the density vector in this Liouville space. In this master equation the nuclear spin relaxation due to intramolecular dipolar interaction or randomly fluctuating field interaction is explicitly implemented as a relaxation supermatrix for a strong coupled two-spin (1/2) system. The whole dynamic information inherent in the spin system is thus contained in the density vector and the master operator. The radiofrequency pulses are applied in the same space by corresponding unitary rotational supertransformations of the density vector. If the resulting FID is analytically Fourier transformed, it is possible to represent the final nonstationary spectrum using a frequency dependent spectral vector and intensity determining shape vector. The overall algorithm including relaxation interactions is then translated into an ANSIFORTRAN computer program, which can simulate a variety of two dimensional spectra. Furthermore a new strategy is tested by simulation of multiple quantum signals to differentiate the two relaxation interaction types.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.112-119
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• 2021

Background: This work aims to develop a new imaging system based on a pulse shape discrimination-capable Cs₂LiYCl₆:Ce (CLYC) scintillation detector combined with the rotational modulation collimator (RMC) technique for dual-particle imaging. Materials and Methods: In this study, a CLYC-based RMC system was designed based on Monte Carlo simulations, and a prototype was fabricated. Therein, a rotation control system was developed to rotate the RMC unit precisely, and a graphical user interface-based software was also developed to operate the data acquisition with RMC rotation. The RMC system was developed to allow combining various types of collimator masks and detectors interchangeably, making the imaging system more versatile for various applications and conditions. Results and Discussion: Operational performance of the fabricated system was studied by checking the accuracy and precision of the collimator rotation and obtaining modulation patterns from a gamma-ray source repeatedly. Conclusion: The prototype RMC system showed reliability in its mechanical properties and reproducibility in the acquisition of modulation patterns, and it will be further investigated for its dual-particle imaging capability with various complex radioactive source conditions.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.618-625
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• 2021

In this paper, the single-photon avalanche diodes (SPADs) featuring three different p-well implantation doses (∅_p-well) of 5.0 × 10¹², 4.0 × 10¹², and 3.0 × 10¹² atoms/cm² under the identical device layouts were fabricated and characterized to evaluate the effects of field enhanced mechanisms on primary dark pulses due to the maximum electric field. From the I-V curves, the breakdown voltages were found as 23.2 V, 40.5 V, and 63.1 V with decreasing ∅_p-well, respectively. By measuring DCRs as a function of temperature, we found a reduction of approximately 8% in the maximum electric field lead to a nearly 72% decrease in the DCR at V_ex = 5 V and T = 25 ℃. Also, the activation energy increased from 0.43 eV to 0.50 eV, as decreasing the maximum electric field. Finally, we discuss the importance of electric field engineering in reducing the field-enhanced mechanisms contributing to the DCR in SPADs and the benefits on the SPADs related to different types of radiation detection applications.