• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.679-693
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• 2020

This paper investigates the seismic response of buildings equipped with Self-Centering Energy Dissipating (SCED) braces. Two-dimensional models of 3, 6, 12 and 16-story SCED buildings considering both material and geometric nonlinearities are investigated by carrying out pushover and nonlinear time-history analyses. The response indicators of the buildings are studied for weight-scaled ground motions to represent the Design Basis Earthquake (DBE) level and the Maximum Considered Earthquake (MCE) event. The fragility curves of the buildings for two Immediate Occupancy (IO) and Life Safety (LS) performance levels are developed using Incremental Dynamic Analysis (IDA). Results of the nonlinear response history analyses indicate that the maximum inter-story drift occurs at the taller buildings. The mean peak inter-story drift is less than 2% in both hazard levels. High floor acceleration peaks are observed in all the SCED frames regardless of the building height. The overall ductility and ductility demand increase when the number of stories reduces. The results also showed the residual displacement is negligible for all of case study buildings. The 3 and 6-story buildings exhibit desirable performance in IO and LS performance levels according to fragility curves results, while 12 and 16-story frames show poor performance especially in IO level. The results indicated the SCED braces performance is generally better in lower-rise buildings.

• Archives of Obesity and Metabolism
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.26-32
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• 2022

Dietary therapy is one of the most important treatments for obesity. In general, it is difficult to maintain the recommended diet for weight control for a long time; therefore, it is difficult to achieve weight loss or maintain weight. Intermittent fasting has recently become one of the most popular diets for weight loss. Intermittent fasting is a strategy of repeating intermittent energy restriction and eating, unlike conventional diets of continuous calorie restriction. Studies on intermittent fasting have shown positive results not only in terms of weight loss but also improvement in metabolic indicators, such as glucose control and reduction of blood pressure. Therefore, it is important to maintain a long-term dietary strategy to prevent weight loss in obese individuals. The effect on weight loss was similar to that of an existing continuous energy-restricted diet. However, long term studies and safety data are still lacking, and large-scale studies with various populations are needed. If more evidence is secured for various individuals, it can be expected that intermittent fasting, including time-restricted eating, will be applied clinically in the future.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.655-671
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• 2022

There are differences of spectral characteristics between different types of meat cut, which means the model established using only one type of meat cut for meat quality prediction is not suitable for other meat cut types. A novel portable visible and near-infrared (Vis/NIR) optical system was used to simultaneously predict multiple quality indicators for different commercial meat cut types (silverside, back strap, oyster, fillet, thick flank, and tenderloin) from Small-tailed Han sheep. The correlation coefficients of the calibration set (R_c) and prediction set (R_p) of the optimal prediction models were 0.82 and 0.81 for pH, 0.88 and 0.84 for L^*, 0.83 and 0.78 for a^*, 0.83 and 0.82 for b^*, 0.94 and 0.86 for cooking loss, 0.90 and 0.88 for shear force, 0.84 and 0.83 for protein, 0.93 and 0.83 for fat, 0.92 and 0.87 for moisture contents, respectively. This study demonstrates that Vis/NIR spectroscopy is a promising tool to achieve the predictions of multiple quality parameters for different commercial meat cut types.

• International Journal of Computer Science & Network Security
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.201-212
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• 2022

Prior to the emergence of Covid-19, Saudi Arabia (SA) had never faced the challenge of dealing with a global pandemic. Significantly, the current crisis has impacted all industries and sectors in the country, including the healthcare system, and has led to an emphasis on human life being more precious and valuable than economic profit. This study focuses on the impact of Covid-19 on the health of nurses, including their quality of life, during 2020. Understanding the position of the nursing profession during the pandemic, including the most effective methods of preventing work-related stress is important. Information was acquired through an online survey method (i.e. self-completion), known as the Expanded Nursing Stress Scale (ENSS), which was distributed to nurses in all regions of SA. It was found that the main aspects impacting nurses' work-related stress include gender, employment type, training, and dealing with infected patients. In addition, they highlight that such stress plays a substantial role in patient safety and nurses' satisfaction at work, as well as the future survival of organizations. The emergence of Covid-19 as a novel infectious disease has increased nurses' uncertainty and work-related stress. The results of this research will provide insights into the views of both nurses and their managers, in order to identify the main indicators of stress.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.57-70
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• 2022

The spiral case concrete (SCC) used in the underground powerhouse of large hydropower stations is complex, difficult to pour, and has high requirements for temperature control and crack prevention. In this study, based on the closed-loop control theory of "multi-source sensing, real analysis, and intelligent control", a new intelligent cooling control system (ICCS) suitable for the SCC is developed and is further applied to the Wudongde large-scale underground powerhouse. By employing the site monitoring data, numerical simulation, and field investigation, the temperature control quality of the SCC is evaluated. The results show that the target temperature control curve can be accurately tracked, and the temperature control indicators such as the maximum temperature can meet the design requirements by adopting the ICCS. Moreover, the numerical results and site investigation indicate that a safety factor of the spiral case structure was sure, and no cracking was found in the concrete blocks, by which the effectiveness of the system for improving the quality of temperature control of the SCC is verified. Finally, an intelligent cooling control procedure suitable for the SCC is proposed, which can provide a reference for improving the design and construction level for similar projects.

• Mycobiology
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• v.50 no.5
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• pp.345-356
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• 2022

The fungal distribution, diversity, and load were analyzed in the geographically segregated island groundwater systems in Korea. A total of 79 fungal isolates were secured from seven islands and identified based on the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences. They belonged to three phyla (Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, and Chlorophyta), five classes, sixteen orders, twenty-two families, and thirty-one genera. The dominant phylum was Ascomycota (91.1%), with most fungi belonging to the Cladosporium (21.5%), Aspergillus (15.2%), and Stachybotrys (8.9%) genera. Cladosporium showed higher dominance and diversity, being widely distributed throughout the geographically segregated groundwater systems. Based on the diversity indices, the genera richness (4.821) and diversity (2.550) were the highest in the groundwater system of the largest scale. As turbidity (0.064-0.462) increased, the overall fungal count increased and the residual chlorine (0.089-0.308) had low relevance compared with the total count and fungal diversity. Cladosporium showed normal mycelial growth in de-chlorinated sterilized samples. Overall, if turbidity increases under higher fungal diversity, bio-deterioration in groundwater-supplying facilities and public health problems could be intensified, regardless of chlorine treatment. In addition to fungal indicators and analyzing methods, physical hydrostatic treatment is necessary for monitoring and controlling fungal contamination.

• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
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• 2020.06a
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• pp.167-167
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• 2020

Annual sediment deposition in reservoirs behind weirs poses flood risk, while its accurate prediction remains a challenge. Sediment management by hydraulic flushing is an effective method to maintain reservoir storage. In this study, an integrated approach to predict sediment inflow and sediment flushing simulation in reservoirs is presented. The annual sediment inflow prediction was carried out with Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) modelling. RESCON model was applied for quantification of sediment flushing feasibility criteria. The integrated approach was applied on Sangju Weir and also on estuary of Nakdong River (NREB). The mean annual sediment inflow predicted at Sangju Weir and NREB was 400,000 ㎥ and 170,000 ㎥, respectively. The sediment characteristics gathered were used to setup RESCON model and sediment balance ratio (SBR) and long term capacity ratio (LTCR) were used as flushing efficiency indicators. For Sangju Weir, the flushing discharge, Q_f = 140 ㎥/s with a drawdown of 5 m, and flushing duration, T_f = 10 days was necessary for efficient flushing. At NREB site, the parameters for efficient flushing were Q_f = 80 ㎥/s, T_f = 5 days, N = 1, El_f = 2.24 m. The hydraulic flushing was concluded feasible for sediment management at both Sangju Weir and NREB.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.869-881
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• 2023

A genetic improvement program in Korea was implemented to improve the performance of Hanwoo cattle by generating livestock with genetically desirable economic characteristics. In particular, in response to external changes, such as the expansion of Free Trade Agreement (FTA), the livestock genetic improvement program has increased farm income by improving the productivity and quality of Hanwoo cattle. Using production cost data from Statistics Korea, the total input and output indices of Hanwoo feeding cattle from 2008 - 2021 were estimated and the growth and productivity changes were analyzed. The productivity change measures results were used to estimate the cumulative effects of the Hanwoo genetic improvement program on quality improvement, another purpose of the program, using a finite distributed lag model. The average annual increase in output (market weight) of Hanwoo was 0.9%. However, total input increased by 1.6%, resulting in a 0.6% decline in total factor productivity. In contrast, the Hanwoo genetic improvement program contributed significantly to the production of high quality beef, rather than contributing to improved productivity of the cattle. Hanwoo carcass weight, which is used as a performance indicator for the livestock genetic improvement program, has significantly improved and is projected to increase at a slower rate. The collective findings indicate the need for new performance indicators that can comprehensively indicate the performance of the genetic improvement of Hanwoo.

• Atmosphere
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.107-121
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• 2024

In this study, we empirically analyzed the impact of physical risks due to climate change on the soundness and operational performance of the financial industry by combining economics and climatology. Particularly, unlike previous studies, we employed the Seasonal-Trend decomposition using LOESS (STL) method to extract trends of climate-related risk variables and economic-financial variables, conducting a two-stage empirical analysis. In the first stage estimation, we found that the delinquency rate and the Bank for International Settlement (BIS) ratio of commercial banks have significant negative effects on the damage caused by natural disasters, frequency of heavy rainfall, average temperature, and number of typhoons. On the other hand, for insurance companies, the damage from natural disasters, frequency of heavy rainfall, frequency of heavy snowfall, and annual average temperature have significant negative effects on return on assets (ROA) and the risk-based capital ratio (RBC). In the second stage estimation, based on the first stage results, we predicted the soundness and operational performance indicators of commercial banks and insurance companies until 2035. According to the forecast results, the delinquency rate of commercial banks is expected to increase steadily until 2035 under assumption that recent years' trend continues until 2035. It indicates that banks' managerial risk can be seriously worsened from climate change. Also the BIS ratio is expected to decrease which also indicates weakening safety buffer against climate risks over time. Additionally, the ROA of insurance companies is expected to decrease, followed by an increase in the RBC, and then a subsequent decrease.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.66
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• pp.436-446
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• 2023

Since Stewartia koreana leaves are registered with the Food and Drug Administration as edible herbal materials, they are used in the development of functional foods, cosmetics, and medicines. In this study, we established an analysis method that can simultaneously analyze two indicators, hyperoside (quercetin 3-O-galactoside) and isoquercitrin (quercetin 3-O-glucoside) contained in the leaves of S. koreana using HPLC-DAD. In accordance with the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety's health functional food guidelines, the analysis method was verified for specificity, accuracy, precision, limit of quantification, and linearity. The analysis method established in this study showed more than 0.9989 of the correlation coefficient values (r²) for the calibration. The total recovery rates of isoquercitrin and hyperoside were 100.55 and 98.87% with 0.14-0.78 and 0.47-0.67% of the relative standard deviation, respectively. Therefore, it was suggested that the new analytical method would be applied to standardize raw materials and high value-added products originated from the leaves of the S. koreana in the future.