• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.259-264
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• 2008

Objective : Total laminectomy (TL) is an effective surgical technique for the treatment of cervical ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) along multiple levels. However, kyphosis and probable neurological deterioration have been frequently reported after laminectomy. We analyzed the changes in the cervical curvature after TL and subsequent changes in neurological status. Methods : We retrospectively reviewed the records of 14 patients who underwent TL for the treatment of cervical OPLL between Jan. 1998 and Dec. 2003. TL was selected according to the previously determined criteria. The curvature of the cervical spine was visualized on a lateral cervical spine X-ray and measured using Ishihara's Curvature Index (CI) before the operation and at the last follow-up examination. Perioperative neurological status was estimated using the modified Japanese Orthopedic Association score and the Improvement Rate (IR) at the same time as the images were evaluated. Results : The mean age of the patients was 57 years, the male/female ratio was 10:4, and the mean follow-up period was 41 months. The mean number of OPLL was 4.9, and the mean number of operated levels was also 4.9. The CI decreased after TL (p=0002), which was indicative of a kyphotic change. However, this kyphotic change showed no correlation with the length of the follow-up period, number of operated levels and preoperative CI. Neurological examination at the last follow-up showed an improved neurological status in all patients (p=0.001). There was no neurological deterioration in any case during the follow-up period. Moreover, there was no correlation between IR and the degree of kyphotic change. Postoperative complications, such as C5 radiculopathy and epidural bleeding, resolved spontaneously without neurological sequelae. Conclusion : Kyphotic change was observed in all but one patient who underwent TL for the treatment of cervical OPLL. However, we did not find any contributing factors to kyphosis or evidence of postoperative neurological deterioration.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.574-584
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• 2003

The most common deterioration cause of concrete structures in urban environment is carbonation. Recently, the $CO_2$ concentration and temperature at atmosphere is sharply increased with time due to global warming phenomena. In this study, the climate scenario IS92a, which was suggested by the IPCC, is used to consider temperature and atmospheric $CO_2$ concentration change in the model of service life prediction. The modified mathematical solution, which was based on the Fick's 1st law of diffusion, was used to reflect concrete materials properties such as the degree of hydration of concrete with elapsed time, and important parameters, which associated with deterioration rate. The techniques of service life prediction are developed introducing the method of reliability and stochastic concept to consider microclimatic condition in Seoul, South Korea. From the result of service life prediction, concrete containing high W/C ratio is shown fast carbonation rate due to $CO_2$ concentration increase. It is concluded that the deterioration of concrete structures due to carbonation is insignificant problem on the conditions that below W/C 55%, well curing concrete.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.123-130
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• 2006

The duties of the restorative materials are to bear up against stress and to protect reinforcement corrosion. So the restorative materials are estimated by various kinds of strength, permeability and etc, But, in case of existing performance evaluation of restorative materials, because various deterioration factors are separately acted, the system of performance evaluation is different from that of combined deterioration of real structure and it is difficult to evaluate the exact performance of restorative materials. In this study, to evaluate Performance of restorative materials, we compare their korea standard properties in terms of compressive and bending strength and permeability of water and air with real durability for carbonation, salt damage and actual reinforcement corrosion like ratio of corrosion area. weight reduction and corrosion velocity of steel bar under environment of combined deterioration. The results showed that strength and permeability of restorative materials are similar but their resistance to carbonation, salt damage and actual reinforcement corrosion are very different.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.581-598
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• 2020

This paper aims to investigate the seismic behavior and influence parameters of the large-scaled thin-walled reinforced concrete (RC) tubular columns in air-cooled supporting structures of thermal power plants (TPPs). Cyclic loading tests and finite element analysis were performed on 1/8-scaled specimens considering the influence of wall diameter ratio, axial compression ratio, longitudinal reinforcement ratio, stirrup reinforcement ratio and adding steel diagonal braces (SDBs). The research results showed that the cracks mainly occurred on the lower half part of RC tubular columns during the cyclic loading test; the specimen with the minimum wall diameter ratio presented the earlier cracking and had the most cracks; the failure mode of RC tubular columns was large bias compression failure; increasing the axial compression ratio could increase the lateral bearing capacity and energy dissipation capacity, but also weaken the ductility and aggravate the lateral stiffness deterioration; increasing the longitudinal reinforcement ratio could efficiently enhance the seismic behavior; increasing the stirrup reinforcement ratio was favorable to the ductility; RC tubular columns with SDBs had a much higher bearing capacity and lateral stiffness than those without SDBs, and with the decrease of the angle between columns and SDBs, both bearing capacity and lateral stiffness increased significantly.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.84 no.2
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• pp.125-133
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• 2021

Background: The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) can manifest in a range of symptoms, including both asymptomatic systems which appear nearly non-existent to the patient, all the way to the development of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Specifically, COVID-19-associated pneumonia develops into ARDS due to the rapid progression of hypoxia, and although arterial blood gas analysis can assist in halting this deterioration, the current environment provided by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has led to an overall lack of medical resources or equipment, has made it difficult to administer such tests in a widespread manner. As a result, this study was conducted in order to determine whether the levels of oxygen saturation (SpO₂) and the fraction of inhaled oxygen (FiO₂) (SF ratio) can also serve as predictors of ARDS and the patient's risk of mortality. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study conducted from February 2020 to Mary 2020, with the study's subjects consisting of COVID-19 pneumonia patients who had reached a state of deterioration that required the use of oxygen therapy. Of the 100 COVID-19 pneumonia cases, we compared 59 pneumonia patients who required oxygen therapy, divided into ARDS and non-ARDS pneumonia patients who required oxygen, and then investigated the different factors which affected their mortality. Results: At the time of admission, the ratios of SpO₂, FiO₂, and SF for the ARDS group differed significantly from those of the non-ARDS pneumonia support group who required oxygen (p<0.001). With respect to the predicting of the occurrence of ARDS, the SF ratio on admission and the SF ratio at exacerbation had an area under the curve which measured to be around 85.7% and 88.8% (p<0.001). Multivariate Cox regression analysis identified that the SF ratio at exacerbation (hazard ratio [HR], 0.916; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.846-0.991; p=0.029) and National Early Warning Score (NEWS) (HR, 1.277; 95% CI, 1.010-1.615; p=0.041) were significant predictors of mortality. Conclusion: The SF ratio on admission and the SF ratio at exacerbation were strong predictors of the occurrence of ARDS, and the SF ratio at exacerbation and NEWS held a significant effect on mortality.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.269-275
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• 2008

Although MR imaging is generally applicable to depict knee joint deterioration it, is sometimes occurred to mis-read and mis-diagnose the common knee joint diseases. In this study, we employed magnetization transfer ratio (MTR) method to improve the diagnosis of the various knee joint diseases. Spin-echo (SE) T2-weighted images (TR/TE 3,400-3,500/90-100 ms) were obtained in seven cases of knee joint deterioration, FSE T2-weighted images (TR/TE 4,500-5,000/100-108 ms) were obtained in seven cases of knee joint deterioration, gradient-echo (GRE) T2-weighted images (TR/TE 9/4.56/$50^{\circ}$ flip angle, NEX 1) were obtained in 3 cases of knee joint deterioration, In six cases of knee joint deterioration, fat suppression was performed using a T2-weighted short T1/tau inverse recovery (STIR) sequence (TR/TE =2,894-3,215 ms/70 ms, NEX 3, ETL 9). Calculation of MTR for individual pixels was performed on registration of unsaturated and saturated images. After processing to make MTR images, the images were displayed in gray color. For improving diagnosis, three-dimensional isotropic volume images, the MR tristimulus color mapping and the MTR map was employed. MTR images showed diagnostic images quality to assess the patients' pathologies. The intensity difference between MTR images and conventional MRI was seen on the color bar. The profile graph on MTR imaging effect showed a quantitative measure of the relative decrease in signal intensity due to the MT pulse. To diagnose the pathologies of the knee joint, the profile graph data was shown on the image as a small cross. The present study indicated that MTR images in the knee joint were feasible. Investigation of physical change on MTR imaging enables to provide us more insight in the physical and technical basis of MTR imaging. MTR images could be useful for rapid assessment of diseases that we examine unambiguous contrast in MT images of knee disorder patients.

• 한국전산유체공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2009.04a
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• pp.269-276
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• 2009

The local preconditioning method has both robust convergence and accurate solutions by using local flow properties for parameters in the preconditioning matrix. Preconditioning methods have been very effective to low speed inviscid flows. In the viscous and turbulent flows, deterioration of convergence should be overcame on the high aspect ratio grids to get better convergence and accuracy. In the present study, the local time stepping and min-CFL/max-VNN definitions are applied to compare the results and we propose the method that switches between two methods. The min-CFL definition is applied for inviscid flow problems and the min-CFL/max-VNN definition is implemented to viscous and turbulent flow problems.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Building Construction Conference
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• 2012.11a
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• pp.43-44
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• 2012

Deterioration factors such as CO₂ and chloride ions cause steel corrosion in RC structures. The diffusion of these factors depends on the water content in concrete. To examine the moisture condition of concrete, this research considers the availability of the steel effect ratio, which is calculated by Resistivity Estimation Model (REM). It is concluded that the steel effect ratio is expected to be available as a quantitative evaluation method in the assessment of concrete layer resistivity.

• International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.391-401
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• 2017

In this study, the effects of water-to-binder (W/B) ratio and replacement ratio of blast furnace slag (BFS) on the compressive strength of concrete were first investigated to determine an optimized mixture. Then, using the optimized high-strength concrete (HSC) mixture, hooked steel fibers with various aspect ratios and volume fractions were used as additives and the resulting mechanical properties under compression and flexure were evaluated. Test results indicated that replacement ratios of BFS from 50 to 60% were optimal in maximizing the compressive strength of steam-cured HSCs with various W/B ratios. The use of hooked steel fibers with the aspect ratio of 80 led to better mechanical performance under both compression and flexure than those with the aspect ratio of 65. By increasing the fiber aspect ratio from 65 to 80, the hooked steel fiber volume content could be reduced by 0.25% without any significant deterioration of energy absorption capacity. Lastly, complete material models of steel-fiber-reinforced HSCs were proposed for structural design from Lee's model and the RILEM TC 162-TDF recommendations.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 1993.10a
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• pp.85-90
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• 1993

This study was performed for the purpose of obtaining the fundamental data to establish the criterion of concrete deterioration and presuming steel corrosion of concrete structures under the environment of seawater. It was exposed in seawater for 1 year that steel was embedded in the concrete specimen. The diffusion coefficients of concrete, corrosion potential and steel corrosion were considered. The results show that corrosion potential is reduced according to steel corrosion and corrosion area ratio is correlative with diffusion coefficients of concrete.