• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.90 no.1
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• pp.1-18
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• 2024

The present study conducts a thorough analysis of thermal vibrations in functionally graded porous nanocomposite beams within a thermal setting. Investigating the temperature-dependent material properties of these beams, which continuously vary across their thickness in accordance with a power-law function, a finite element approach is developed. This approach utilizes a nonlocal strain gradient theory and accounts for a linear temperature rise. The analysis employs four different patterns of porosity distribution to characterize the functionally graded porous materials. A novel two-variable shear deformation beam nonlocal strain gradient theory, based on trigonometric functions, is introduced to examine the combined effects of nonlocal stress and strain gradient on these beams. The derived governing equations are solved through a 3-nodes beam element. A comprehensive parametric study delves into the influence of structural parameters, such as thicknessratio, beam length, nonlocal scale parameter, and strain gradient parameter. Furthermore, the study explores the impact of thermal effects, porosity distribution forms, and material distribution profiles on the free vibration of temperature-dependent FG nanobeams. The results reveal the substantial influence of these effects on the vibration behavior of functionally graded nanobeams under thermal conditions. This research presents a finite element approach to examine the thermo-mechanical behavior of nonlocal temperature-dependent FG nanobeams, filling the gap where analytical results are unavailable.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.50 no.6
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• pp.609-625
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• 2024

This paper presents an in-depth analysis of the nonlinear vibration of microbeams, with a particular emphasis on their application in sports monitoring systems. The research utilizes classical beam theory, modified couple stress theory, and von-Kármán nonlinear parameters to explore the behavior of microbeams. These microbeams are characterized by a non-uniform geometry, with materials that continuously change along the beam radius and a thickness that varies along the beam length. The main contribution lies in its exploration of the stability of smart sensors in sports structures, particularly those with non-uniform geometries. The research findings indicate that these non-uniform microbeams, when used in smart systems made of functionally graded temperature-dependent materials, can operate effectively in thermal environments. The smart system developed in this study demonstrates significant potential for use in sports applications, particularly in monitoring and gathering information. The insights gained from this research contribute to the understanding of the performance and optimization of microbeams in sports applications, particularly in the context of non-uniform geometries. This research, therefore, provides a foundation for the development of advanced, reliable, and efficient monitoring systems in sports applications.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.66 no.2
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• pp.412-424
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• 2024

Lairage, a part of the animal welfare practices, has been known to mitigate pre-slaughter stress in animals. However, research investigating the relationship between lairage and pork meat quality remains scarce. In this study, we conducted a comparative analysis of the physicochemical quality and storage stability of pork from pigs subjected to immediate slaughter (CON) and those provided with a 24 h lairage before slaughter (LRG) over a 7-day storage period. The loins from 20 castrated pigs in each group, respectively, were collected at 1, 3, 5, and 7 days and used for analysis of meat quality and storage stability, including pH, meat color, moisture, water holding capacity, drip loss, cooking loss, shear force, fatty acid composition, lipid oxidation, antioxidant activity, and electrical resistance. Overall, there were no significant differences in physicochemical meat quality parameters between CON and LRG groups. Similarly, no differences were observed in the storage stability of pork including 2-thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity and electrical resistance. However, the proportion of unsaturated fatty acids was significantly higher in LRG compared to CON. In conclusion, 24 h lairage for castrated pigs had limited impact on meat quality and storage stability but led to an increase in the unsaturated fatty acid proportion.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.417-440
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• 2024

Artificial neural networks (ANN) have been the focus of several studies when it comes to evaluating the pile's bearing capacity. Nonetheless, the principal drawbacks of employing this method are the sluggish rate of convergence and the constraints of ANN in locating global minima. The current work aimed to build four ANN-based prediction models enhanced with methods from the black hole algorithm (BHA), league championship algorithm (LCA), shuffled complex evolution (SCE), and symbiotic organisms search (SOS) to estimate the carrying capacity of piles in cold climates. To provide the crucial dataset required to build the model, fifty-eight concrete pile experiments were conducted. The pile geometrical properties, internal friction angle 𝛗 shaft, internal friction angle 𝛗 tip, pile length, pile area, and vertical effective stress were established as the network inputs, and the BHA, LCA, SCE, and SOS-based ANN models were set up to provide the pile bearing capacity as the output. Following a sensitivity analysis to determine the optimal BHA, LCA, SCE, and SOS parameters and a train and test procedure to determine the optimal network architecture or the number of hidden nodes, the best prediction approach was selected. The outcomes show a good agreement between the measured bearing capabilities and the pile bearing capacities forecasted by SCE-MLP. The testing dataset's respective mean square error and coefficient of determination, which are 0.91846 and 391.1539, indicate that using the SCE-MLP approach as a practical, efficient, and highly reliable technique to forecast the pile's bearing capacity is advantageous.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.233-240
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• 2013

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of L-carnitine on growth performance, organ weight, biochemical parameters of blood, heart and liver, and ascites susceptibility of broilers at different ages reared under a low-temperature environment. A total of 420 1-d-old male Ross 308 broilers were randomly assigned to two dietary treatments with fifteen replicates of fourteen broilers each. Treatment diets consisted of L-carnitine supplementation at levels of 0 and 100 mg/kg. At 11-d of age, low temperature stress was used to increase ascites susceptibility. Blood, heart and liver samples were collected at different ages for analysis of boichemical parameters. The results showed that, there was no significant difference in growth performance with L-carnitine supplementation, but the mortality due to ascites was significantly decreased. Dietary L-carnitine supplementation significantly reduced heart index (HI) and ascites heart index (AHI) on d 21, lung index (LUI) on d 35 and liver index (LI) on d 42. The broilers fed diets containing L-carnitine had significantly lower red blood cell counts (RBC), hemoglobin (HGB) concentration and hematocrit (HCT) on d 42. Dietary L-carnitine supplementation significantly reduced malondialdehyde (MDA) content of heart tissue on d 21 and 35, and significantly increased total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD) and Glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity of the heart on d 21 and 42. L-carnitine supplementation significantly reduced serum triglyceride (TG) content on d 28 and 35 and serum glucose (GLU) on d 35 and 42, and significantly increased serum total protein (TP) and globulin (GLO) content on d 42. L-carnitine supplementation significantly enhanced liver succinodehydrogenase (SDH), malic dehydrogenase (MDH) and $Na^+$-$K^+$-ATPase activity on d 28, and tended to reduce the lactic acid (LD) level of liver on d 35 (p = 0.06). L-carnitine supplementation significantly reduced serum uric acid (UA) content on d 28, 35 and 42. Based on the current results, it can be concluded that dietary L-carnitine supplementation reduced organ index, red blood cell counts and hematocrit, enhanced antioxidative capacity of the heart, enhanced liver enzymes activity involved in tricarboxylic acid cycle, and reduced serum glucose and triglyceride. Therefore, it is suggested that L-carnitine can potentially reduce susceptibility and mortality due to ascites.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.9
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• pp.4353-4356
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• 2012

Background: Tobacco consumption is one of the leading causes of oral submucous fibrosis, oral cancer and even premature death. The present study was designed to compare the biochemical parameters and non-enzymatic antioxidant status and the lipid peroxidation products in pan masala tobacco users as compared with age-matched non-user controls. Methods: Pan masala and tobacco users of age $33.2{\pm}9.94$ years and age-matched controls ($31.2{\pm}4.73$ years) were enrolled for the study. Plasma levels of vitamin E, vitamin C, albumin, bilirubin, uric acid, glucose, urea, creatinine, aspartate amino transferase (AST), alanine amino transferase (ALT) were measured by standard methods. Serum malondialdehyde (MDA) levels were estimated as a measure of lipid peroxidation. Results: In the pan masala tobacco users, as compared to the controls, the level of vitamin C ($68.5{\pm}5.9$ vs $97.9{\pm}9.03{\mu}mol/L$, $p{\leq}0.05$) vitamin E ($18.4{\pm}5.3$ vs $97.9{\pm}9.03{\mu}mol/L$, $p{\leq}0.001$), albumin ($37.5{\pm}7.01$ vs $44.3{\pm}9.99g/L$, $p{\leq}0.001$), and malondialdehyde ($10.8{\pm}1.29$ vs $1.72{\pm}1.15nmol/ml$, $p{\leq}0.001$) were found to be significantly altered. Malondialdehyde was significantly correlated with vitamin E (r=1.00, p<0.001) and vitamin C (r=1.00, p<0.001) in pan masala tobacco users. Serum levels of AST ($31.0{\pm}16.77$ IU) and ALT ($36.7{\pm}31.3$ IU) in the pan masala tobacco users were significantly raised as compared to the controls (AST, $25.2{\pm}9.51$ IU, p=0.038; ALT, $26.2{\pm}17.9$ IU, p=0.038). Conclusion: These findings suggest that pan masala tobacco users are in a state of oxidative stress promoting cellular damage. Non-enzymatic antioxidants are depleted in pan masala tobacco users with subsequent alteration in the biochemical parameters. Supplementation of antioxidants may prevent oxidative damage in pan masala tobacco users.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.3-12
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• 2009

Ozone tolerance of tree species was determined by standard index of physiological damages and biochemical defense responses under short-term ozone exposure. At the end of 150ppb $O_3$ fumigation, photosynthetic characteristics and antioxidative enzyme activities were analyzed in the leaves of five species(Koelreuteria paniculata, Firmiana simplex, Styrax japonica, Fraxinus rhynchophylla, Viburnum sargentii). Injury index was determined by the effect of ozone on photosynthetic parameters and malondialdehyde(MDA) content, and tolerance index was calculated using the rate of increase in superoxide dismutase(SOD), ascorbate-peroxidase(APX), glutathione reductase(GR) and catalase(CAT) activities. Apparent quantum yield(AQY), carboxylation efficiency(Ce) and photo-respiration rate(PR) decreased in the leaves of five species with increasing ozone exposure time. These parameters were considered as an appropriate indicator for stress evaluation. Antioxidative enzyme activities showed various results depending on the tree species, exposure time, and enzyme types. SOD activity of K. paniculata increased with ozone exposure time, and that of F. rhynchophylla increased only after 6 hours of ozone exposure. CAT activity of $O_3$-exposed F. simplex was lower than the control. Based on standard index, ozone tolerance ability of five species was determined as two tolerant species(F. rhynchophylla > K. paniculata) and three sensitive species(S. japonica > F. simplex > V. sargentii).

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.236-247
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• 2009

Overpopulation has significantly increased the use of underground spaces in urban areas, and led to the developments of shallow-depth underground space. Due to unexpected rock fall, however, it is very necessary to understand and categorize the rock mass behaviors prior to the tunnel excavation, by which unnecessary casualties and economic loss could be prevented. In case of cave-in, special attention should be drawn since it occurs faster and greater in magnitude compared to rock fall and plastic deformation. Types of cave-in behavior are explained and categorized using seven parameters - Uniaxial Compressive Strength (UCS), Rock Quality Designation (RQD), joint surface condition, in-situ stress condition, ground water condition, earthquake & ground vibration, tunnel span. This study eventually introduces a new index called Cave-in Behavior Index (CBI) which explains the behavior of cave-in under given in-situ conditions expressed by the seven parameters. In order to assess the mutual interactions of the seven parameters and to evaluate the weighting factors for all the interactions, survey data of the experts' opinions and Rock Engineering Systems (RES) were used due to lack of field observations. CBI was applied to the tunnel site of Seoul Metro Line No. 9. UDEC analyses on 288 cases were done and occurrences of cave-in in every simulation were examined. Analyses on the results of 288 cases of simulations revealed that the average CBI for the cases when cave-in for different patterns of tunnel support was estimated by a logistic regression analysis.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.18 no.9
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• pp.1310-1319
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• 2005

This experiment was conducted to determine the effects of cage density (CD) and humate supplementation (HS) on laying performance, metabolic profile, and egg quality during the peak production period in hens. Lohman layers (n = 180, 46 wks of age) were blocked according to the location of cages and then allocated randomly to two levels of CD (4 or 6 hens per cage or 540 vs. 360 $cm^2$/hen) and three levels of HS (0, 0.15, and 0.30%). Egg production (EP) and feed consumption (FC) were measured daily; egg weight was measured bi-weekly; and BW was measured before and after the experiment. Blood and additional egg samples were obtained at the end of the experiment for determination of metabolic profile and egg quality. The data were analyzed using two-way ANOVA as repeated measures. Except for FC, CD did not affect laying performance parameters. Hens placed in high-density cages had lower FC than hens placed in normal-density cages. Increasing HS level linearly increased FC, EP, and feed conversion ratio (FCR). There was a CD by HS interaction effect on FC and EP. Hens placed in high-density cages had greater serum glucose, total protein, albumin, globulin, Ca, and P concentrations and tended to have greater serum corticosterone concentration than hens placed in normaldensity cages. Increasing HS level linearly increased serum glucose, total protein, albumin, globulin, creatine, and Ca concentrations and linearly decreased serum triglyceride and very low-density lipoprotein concentrations. There was a CD by HS interaction effect on serum glucose and albumin concentrations. There were no alterations in egg quality parameters in response to increasing CD. Albumen index and Haugh unit decreased linearly and other egg quality parameters did not change as HS level increased. In conclusion, increased caging density adversely affected metabolic profile, despite insignificantly deteriorating laying performance. Moreover, benefits from humate supplementation seem to be more noteworthy for hens housed in stressing conditions than for hens housed in standard conditions.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.437-450
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• 2014

In this study, we developed a methodology to determine the reference parameter for an aircraft impact induced risk assessment of nuclear power plant (NPP) using finite element impact analysis of containment building. The target structure used to develop the method of reference parameter selection is one of the typical Korean PWR type containment buildings. We composed a three-dimensional finite element model of the containment building. The concrete damaged plasticity model was used for the concrete material model. The steels in the tendon, rebar, and liner were modeled using the piecewise-linear stress-strain curves. To evaluate the correlations between structural response and each candidate parameter, we developed Riera's aircraft impact force-time history function with respect to the variation of the loading parameters, i.e., impact velocity and mass of the remaining fuel. For each force-time history, the type of aircraft is assumed to be a Boeing 767 model. The variation ranges of the impact velocity and remaining fuel percentage are 50 to 200m/s, and 30 to 90%, respectively. Four parameters, i.e., kinetic energy, total impulse, maximum impulse, and maximum force are proposed for candidates of the reference parameter. The wellness of the correlation between the reference parameter and structural responses was formulated using the coefficient of determination ($R^2$). From the results, we found that the maximum force showed the highest $R^2$ value in most responses in the materials. The simplicity and intuitiveness of the maximum force parameter are also remarkable compared to the other candidate parameters. Therefore, it can be concluded that the maximum force is the most proper candidate for the reference parameter to assess the aircraft impact induced risk of NPPs.