• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.739-756
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• 2016

The shear strength reduction finite element method (SSRFEM) is a powerful tool for slope stability analysis. The factor of safety (FOS) of the slope can be easily calculated only through reducing effective cohesion (c′) and tangent of effective friction angle ($tan{\varphi}^{\prime}$) in equal proportion. However, this method may not be applicable to soil slope under wetting-drying cycles (WDCs), because the influence of WDCs on c′ and $tan{\varphi}^{\prime}$ may be different. To research the method of estimating FOS of soil slopes under WDCs, this paper presents an experimental study firstly to investigate the effects of WDCs on the parameters of shear strength and stiffness. Twelve silty clay samples were subjected to different number of WDCs and then tested with triaxial test equipment. The test results show that WDCs have a degradation effect on shear strength (${\sigma}_1-{\sigma}_3)_f$, secant modulus of elasticity ($E_s$) and c′ while little influence on ${\varphi}^{\prime}$. Hence, conventional SSRFEM which reduces c′ and $tan{\varphi}^{\prime}$ in equal proportion cannot be adopted to compute the FOS of slope under conditions of WDCs. The SSRFEM should be modified. In detail, c′ is merely reduced among shear strength parameters, and elasticity modulus is reduced correspondingly. Besides, a new approach based on sudden substantial changes in the displacement of marked nodes is proposed to identify the slope failure in SSRFEM. Finally, the modified SSRFEM is applied to compute the FOS of a slope example.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.56 no.4
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• pp.234-242
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• 2021

The demand for truck bus radial (TBR) tires with enhanced fuel efficiency and wear resistance have grown in recent years. In addition, as the issue of particulate matter and air pollution increases, efforts are being made to reduce the generation of particulate matter. In this study, the properties of epoxidized natural rubber (ENR) containing a silica-friendly functional group were evaluated by considering it as a base rubber and varying the silica ratio in this binary filler system. The results showed that the wear resistance of the NR/BR blend compound decreased as the silica ratio increased. In contrast, the ENR/BR blend compound exhibited an increase in wear resistance as the silica ratio was increased. In particular, the ENR-50/BR blend compound showed the best wear resistance due to the presence of several epoxide groups. Furthermore, we observed that for tan 𝛿 at 60℃, higher epoxide content resulted in the higher T_g of the rubber, indicating a higher tan 𝛿 at 60℃. On the other hand, it was confirmed that increasing the silica ratio decreased the value of tan 𝛿 at 60℃ in all compounds. In addition, we measured the amount of wear particulate matters generated from the compound wear. These measurements confirmed that in the binary filler system, regardless of the filler type, the quantity of the generated wear particulate matters as the filler-rubber interaction increased. In conclusion, the silica filled ENR/BR blend compound exhibited the lowest generation of wear particulate matters.

• International Neurourology Journal
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.275-286
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• 2018

Purpose: OnabotulinumtoxinA (BoNT-A) is a promising therapy for treating neurogenic detrusor overactivity (NDO) in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to carry out an in-depth review and to make an objective estimation of the efficacy and safety of BoNT-A on NDO after SCI. Methods: The PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane databases were searched for all relevant articles published from 2001 to 2016 that referred to NDO, SCI, and BoNT-A or botulinum toxin A. All data were recorded in an Excel spreadsheet by 2 individual reviewers. Review Manager version 5.3 was used to carry out the meta-analysis. Results: This analysis included 17 studies involving 1,455 patients. Compared with placebo and baseline, BoNT-A was effective in increasing maximum cystometric capacity, volume at first involuntary detrusor contraction, cystometric bladder capacity (all P<0.00001), compliance (P=0.001), and the number of patients with complete dryness (P=0.0003), and decreasing detrusor pressure, the number of patients with no involuntary detrusor contractions, the maximum flow rate, the incidence of detrusor overactivity (all P<0.00001), and the number of urinary incontinence episodes (P=0.001). There were no statistically significant differences between doses of 200 U and 300 U or between injections into the detrusor and submucosa. There were no life-threatening adverse events. Conclusions: BoNT-A is effective and safe in treating NDO after SCI. There were no statistically significant differences between doses of 200 U and 300 U or between injecting into the detrusor and submucosa. However, more high-quality randomized controlled trials are still needed.

• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.65-75
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• 2022

Mirror carp, Cyprinus carpio nudus (weight 26.2±3.1 g, length 11.8±0.5 cm) were exposed to waterborne total ammonia nitrogen (TAN) at 0, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64 and 128 mg TAN/L. The lethal concentration 50 (LC₅₀) of mirror carp, C. carpio nudus exposed to waterborne ammonia was 60.38 mg TAN/L. The red blood cell (RBC) count was significantly reduced by ammonia exposure, whereas there was no significant changes in the hemoglobin concentration and hematocrit value. In the plasma components, glucose, total protein, aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were significantly increased by ammonia exposure. The results of this study suggest that the ammonia exposure to C. carpio nudus affects the survival rates, hematological parameters and plasma components as toxicity.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.141-148
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• 2022

In this study, the inhibition of ammonia on anaerobic digestion of butyric acid was evaluated and the potential alleviating effects of such ammonia inhibition by the addition of magnetite particles were investigated. Independent anaerobic batch tests fed with butyric acid as a sole organic source were conducted in twenty 60-mL glass bottles with 10 different treatment conditions, comprising ammonia: 0.5, 2.0, 4.0, 6.0, and 7.0 g total ammonia nitrogen (TAN)/L and magnetite particles: 0 mM and 20 mM. The increase in ammonia concentration did not cause significant inhibition on methane yield; however, a significant inhibition on lag time and specific methane production rate was observed. The IC₅₀ in the control treatments (without magnetite addition) was estimated as 6.2654 g TAN/L. A similar inhibition trend was observed in magnetite-added treatments; however, the inhibition effect by ammonia was significantly alleviated in lag time and specific methane production rate when compared to those in the control treatments. The lag time was shortened by 1.6-46.3%, specific methane production rate was improved by 6.0-69.0%. In the magnetite-added treatments, IC₅₀ was estimated as 8.5361 g TAN/L. This study successfully demonstrated the potential of magnetite particles as an enhancer in anaerobic digestion of butyric acid under conditions of ammonia stress.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.35 no.10
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• pp.1556-1565
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• 2022

Objective: Tan lambs (n = 36, 3 mo old, 19.1±0.53 kg) were used to assess effects of dietary guanidinoacetic acid (GAA) and rumen-protected methionine (RPM) on growth performance, carcass traits, meat quality, and serum parameters. Methods: Lambs were randomly assigned to three treatment groups, with 6 pens per group and 2 lambs per pen. Dietary treatments were: basal diet alone (I); basal diet supplemented with 0.08% GAA+0.06% RPM (II); and basal diet supplemented with 0.08% GAA+0.08% RPM (III). Diets were provided three times a day for 90 d. Intake per pen was recorded daily and individual lamb body weight (BW) was measured monthly. Carcass traits were measured after slaughter and meat quality at the end of the experiment, blood samples were taken on a subgroup of lambs for analysis of indicators mostly related to protein metabolism. Results: Final BW and average daily gain for the first and second month, and for the entire experiment were greater in Treatment II compared to Treatment I (p<0.05), whereas feed to gain ratio was lower (p<0.05). Treatment II had the optimal dressing percentage and net meat weight proportion, as well as crude protein and intramuscular fat concentrations in muscles. Treatment II improved meat quality, as indicated by the greater water holding capacity, pH after 45 min and 48 h, and lower shear force and cooking loss. Dietary supplementation of GAA and RPM also increased the meat color a^* and b^* values at 24 h. Finally, Treatment II increased total protein, and serum concentrations of albumin and creatinine, but decreased serum urea nitrogen concentrations, indicating improved protein efficiency. Conclusion: In this study, 0.08% GAA+0.06% RPM supplementation improved growth performance and meat quality of Tan lambs.

• Korean Circulation Journal
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.69-91
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• 2023

Cardio-oncology is an emerging multi-disciplinary field, which aims to reduce morbidity and mortality of cancer patients by preventing and managing cancer treatment-related cardiovascular toxicities. With the exponential growth in cancer and cardiovascular diseases in Asia, there is an emerging need for cardio-oncology awareness among physicians and country-specific cardio-oncology initiatives. In this state-of-the-art review, we sought to describe the burden of cancer and cardiovascular disease in Asia, a region with rich cultural and socio-economic diversity. From describing the uniqueness and challenges (such as socio-economic disparity, ethnical and racial diversity, and limited training opportunities) in establishing cardio-oncology in Asia, and outlining ways to overcome any barriers, this article aims to help advance the field of cardio-oncology in Asia.

• International Journal of Heart Failure
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.76-81
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• 2024

Background and Objectives: Real-world clinical data, outside of clinical trials and expert centers, on adverse events related to the use of SyncCardia total artificial heart (TAH) remain limited. We aim to analyze adverse events related to the use of SynCardia TAH reported to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)'s Manufacturers and User Defined Experience (MAUDE) database. Methods: We reviewed the FDA's MAUDE database for any adverse events involving the use of SynCardia TAH from 1/01/2012 to 9/30/2020. All the events were independently reviewed by three physicians. Results: A total of 1,512 adverse events were identified in 453 "injury and death" reports in the MAUDE database. The most common adverse events reported were infection (20.2%) and device malfunction (20.1%). These were followed by bleeding events (16.5%), respiratory failure (10.1%), cerebrovascular accident (CVA)/other neurological dysfunction (8.7%), renal dysfunction (7.5%), hepatic dysfunction (2.2%), thromboembolic events (1.8%), pericardial effusion (1.8%), and hemolysis (1%). Death was reported in 49.4% of all the reported cases (n=224/453). The most common cause of death was multiorgan failure (n=73, 32.6%), followed by CVA/other non-specific neurological dysfunction (n=44, 19.7%), sepsis (n=24, 10.7%), withdrawal of support (n=20, 8.9%), device malfunction (n=11, 4.9%), bleeding (n=7, 3.1%), respiratory failure (n=7, 3.1%), gastrointestinal disorder (n=6, 2.7%), and cardiomyopathy (n=3, 1.3%). Conclusions: Infection was the most common adverse event following the implantation of TAH. Most of the deaths reported were due to multiorgan failure. Early recognition and management of any possible adverse events after the TAH implantation are essential to improve the procedural outcome and patient survival.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.25 no.7
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• pp.603-612
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• 2024

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly gaining recognition in the radiology domain as a greater number of radiologists are becoming AI-literate. However, the adoption and implementation of AI solutions in clinical settings have been slow, with points of contention. A group of AI users comprising mainly clinical radiologists across various Asian countries, including India, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Uzbekistan, formed the working group. This study aimed to draft position statements regarding the application and clinical deployment of AI in radiology. The primary aim is to raise awareness among the general public, promote professional interest and discussion, clarify ethical considerations when implementing AI technology, and engage the radiology profession in the ever-changing clinical practice. These position statements highlight pertinent issues that need to be addressed between care providers and care recipients. More importantly, this will help legalize the use of non-human instruments in clinical deployment without compromising ethical considerations, decision-making precision, and clinical professional standards. We base our study on four main principles of medical care-respect for patient autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.36 no.5_1
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• pp.847-860
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• 2020

The 2-pass DInSAR (Differential Interferometric SAR) processing steps for DEM generation consist of the co-registration of SAR image pair, interferogram generation, phase unwrapping, calculation of DEM errors, and geocoding, etc. It requires complicated steps, and the accuracy of data processing at each step affects the performance of the finally generated DEM. In this study, we developed an improved method for enhancing the performance of the DEM generation method based on the 2-pass DInSAR technique of TanDEM-X bistatic SAR images was developed. The developed DEM generation method is a method that can significantly reduce both the DEM error in the unwrapped phase image and that may occur during geocoding step. The performance analysis of the developed algorithm was performed by comparing the vertical accuracy (Root Mean Square Error, RMSE) between the existing method and the newly proposed method using the ground control point (GCP) generated from GPS survey. The vertical accuracy of the DInSAR-based DEM generated without correction for the unwrapped phase error and geocoding error is 39.617 m. However, the vertical accuracy of the DEM generated through the proposed method is 2.346 m. It was confirmed that the DEM accuracy was improved through the proposed correction method. Through the proposed 2-pass DInSAR-based DEM generation method, the SRTM DEM error observed by DInSAR was compensated for the SRTM 30 m DEM (vertical accuracy 5.567 m) used as a reference. Through this, it was possible to finally create a DEM with improved spatial resolution of about 5 times and vertical accuracy of about 2.4 times. In addition, the spatial resolution of the DEM generated through the proposed method was matched with the SRTM 30 m DEM and the TanDEM-X 90m DEM, and the vertical accuracy was compared. As a result, it was confirmed that the vertical accuracy was improved by about 1.7 and 1.6 times, respectively, and more accurate DEM generation was possible with the proposed method. If the method derived in this study is used to continuously update the DEM for regions with frequent morphological changes, it will be possible to update the DEM effectively in a short time at low cost.