• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.337-343
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• 2021

Background: Chromogranin A (CgA) levels have been reported to predict mortality in patients with heart failure. However, information on the prognostic value and clinical availability of CgA is limited. We compared the prognostic value of CgA to that of previously proven natriuretic peptide biomarkers in patients with acute heart failure. Methods: We retrospectively evaluated 272 patients (mean age, 68.5±15.6 years; 62.9% male) who underwent CgA test in the acute stage of heart failure hospitalization between June 2017 and June 2018. The median follow-up period was 348 days. Prognosis was assessed using the composite events of 1-year death and heart failure hospitalization. Results: In-hospital mortality rate during index admission was 7.0% (n=19). During the 1-year follow-up, a composite event rate was observed in 12.1% (n=33) of the patients. The areas under the receiver-operating characteristic curves for predicting 1-year adverse events were 0.737 and 0.697 for N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and CgA, respectively. During follow-up, patients with high CgA levels (>158 pmol/L) had worse outcomes than those with low CgA levels (≤158 pmol/L) (85.2% vs. 58.6%, p<0.001). When stratifying the patients into four subgroups based on CgA and NT-proBNP levels, patients with high NT-proBNP and high CgA had the worst outcome. CgA had an incremental prognostic value when added to the combination of NT-proBNP and clinically relevant risk factors. Conclusion: The prognostic power of CgA was comparable to that of NT-proBNP in patients with acute heart failure. The combination of CgA and NT-proBNP can improve prognosis prediction in these patients.

• Korean Circulation Journal
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• v.53 no.7
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• pp.425-451
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• 2023

Most patients with heart failure (HF) have multiple comorbidities, which impact their quality of life, aggravate HF, and increase mortality. Cardiovascular comorbidities include systemic and pulmonary hypertension, ischemic and valvular heart diseases, and atrial fibrillation. Non-cardiovascular comorbidities include diabetes mellitus (DM), chronic kidney and pulmonary diseases, iron deficiency and anemia, and sleep apnea. In patients with HF with hypertension and left ventricular hypertrophy, renin-angiotensin system inhibitors combined with calcium channel blockers and/or diuretics is an effective treatment regimen. Measurement of pulmonary vascular resistance via right heart catheterization is recommended for patients with HF considered suitable for implantation of mechanical circulatory support devices or as heart transplantation candidates. Coronary angiography remains the gold standard for the diagnosis and reperfusion in patients with HF and angina pectoris refractory to antianginal medications. In patients with HF and atrial fibrillation, longterm anticoagulants are recommended according to the CHA₂DS₂-VASc scores. Valvular heart diseases should be treated medically and/or surgically. In patients with HF and DM, metformin is relatively safer; thiazolidinediones cause fluid retention and should be avoided in patients with HF and dyspnea. In renal insufficiency, both volume status and cardiac performance are important for therapy guidance. In patients with HF and pulmonary disease, beta-blockers are underused, which may be related to increased mortality. In patients with HF and anemia, iron supplementation can help improve symptoms. In obstructive sleep apnea, continuous positive airway pressure therapy helps avoid severe nocturnal hypoxia. Appropriate management of comorbidities is important for improving clinical outcomes in patients with HF.

• Journal of Advanced Navigation Technology
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.295-303
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• 2008

Malfunction of satellite launch vehicles with high speed and long range can be a major concern for operations. Flight safety system that monitor the trajectory and identify any failure of the launch vehicles. Tracking filters for the flight safety systems are different from common tracking filters since filter reliability is more emphasized than accuracy. Reliable estimation of instantaneous impact points requires reliable velocity estimates as well as reliable position estimates. A fusion filter for a flight safety system was developed with the tracking sensor models for the Korea Satellite Launch Vehicle I. The fusion filter performances were evaluated by analyzing the trajectory and instantaneous impact point estimates.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.55-71
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• 2013

Structural health monitoring (SHM) is vital for detecting the onset of damage and for preventing catastrophic failure of civil infrastructure systems. In particular, piezoelectric transducers have the ability to excite and actively interrogate structures (e.g., using surface waves) while measuring their response for sensing and damage detection. In fact, piezoelectric transducers such as lead zirconate titanate (PZT) and poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) have been used for various laboratory/field tests and possess significant advantages as compared to visual inspection and vibration-based methods, to name a few. However, PZTs are inherently brittle, and PVDF films do not possess high piezoelectricity, thereby limiting each of these devices to certain specific applications. The objective of this study is to design, characterize, and validate piezoelectric nanocomposites consisting of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles assembled in a PVDF copolymer matrix for sensing and SHM applications. These films provide greater mechanical flexibility as compared to PZTs, yet possess enhanced piezoelectricity as compared to pristine PVDF copolymers. This study started with spin coating dispersed ZnO- and PVDF-TrFE-based solutions to fabricate the piezoelectric nanocomposites. The concentration of ZnO nanoparticles was varied from 0 to 20 wt.% (in 5 % increments) to determine their influence on bulk film piezoelectricity. Second, their electric polarization responses were obtained for quantifying thin film remnant polarization, which is directly correlated to piezoelectricity. Based on these results, the films were poled (at 50 $MV-m^{-1}$) to permanently align their electrical domains and to enhance their bulk film piezoelectricity. Then, a series of hammer impact tests were conducted, and the voltage generated by poled ZnO-based thin films was compared to commercially poled PVDF copolymer thin films. The hammer impact tests showed comparable results between the prototype and commercial samples, and increasing ZnO content provided enhanced piezoelectric performance. Lastly, the films were further validated for sensing using different energy levels of hammer impact, different distances between the impact locations and the film electrodes, and cantilever free vibration testing for dynamic strain sensing.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.44-49
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• 2015

The structural epoxy adhesive used in car body assembly needs the highest level of joint mechanical strength under lap shear, T-peel and impact peel conditions. In this study, the effect of nano functionalized block copolymer addition on the impact peel strength of epoxy adhesive was investigated. DSC analysis showed that the addition of nano functionalized block copolymer did not affect the curing reaction of epoxy adhesive. From single lap shear test, it was found out that the addition of nano functionalized block copolymer slightly decreased the cohesive strength of cured adhesive layer. The addition of nano functionalized block copolymer showed beneficial effect on T-peel strength by changing the adhesive failure mode to the mixed mode. However, the addition of nano functionalized block copolymer just decreased the room temperature impact peel strength. It was considered that the addition of nano functionalized block copolymer could have effect on disturbing the crack propagation only for the case of slow strain rate.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.65-72
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• 2017

The goal of this paper is to investigate the effects of out-of-plane deposition angle on product characteristics of a UV photo-curing process. Specimens are manufactured from a commercialized UV photo-curing machine, the NOBEL V1.0. The influence of the out-of-plane deposition angle of the specimen on surface characteristics, including morphology of the sloped surface, pick-to-pick distance of convex region, and roughness of the sloped surface, is examined via the observation of the sloped surface. In addition, the influence of the radius of curvature of the specimen on the surface roughness of the sloped surface is evaluated. The effects of the out-of-plane deposition angle on impact strength of specimens are investigated via Izod impact experiments. Finally, we discuss the influence of the out-of-plane deposition angle on failure characteristics of specimens for impact loads.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.65-69
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• 2010

In this study, we investigated the effects of UBM(Under Bump Metallization) and solder composition on the drop impact reliability of wafer level packaging. Fan-in type WLP chips were prepared with different solder ball composition (Sn3.0Ag0.5Cu, and Sn1.0Ag0.5Cu) and UBM (Cu 10 ${\mu}m$, Cu 5 ${\mu}m$\Ni 3 ${\mu}m$). Drop test was performed up to 200 cycles with 1500G acceleration according to JESD22-B111. Cu\Ni UBM showed better drop performance than Cu UBM, which could be attributed to suppression of IMC formation by Ni diffusion barrier. SAC105 was slightly better than SAC305 in terms of MTTF. Drop failure occurred at board side for Cu UBM and chip side for Cu\Ni UBM, independent of solder composition. Corner and center chip position on the board were found to have the shortest drop lifetime due to stress waves generated from impact.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.42-49
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• 1998

A study on the improvement of the impact energy in 93W heavy alloy with a Ni/Fe ratio of 9/1 has been carried out as a function of heat treatment temperature. The obtained results were compared to that of the traditional alloy system in which the Ni/Fe ratio is 7/3 or 8/2. With increasing heat treatment temperature from 1150 to 125$0^{\circ}C$, the impact energy of the alloy with the Ni/Fe ratio of 9/1 is remarkably increased from 42 to 72 J, which is higher than that of traditional alloy, up to 118$0^{\circ}C$ and then saturated. Fracture mode was also changed from brittle W/W boundary failure to W cleavage. The temperature showing the dramatic shrinkage by dilatometric anaysis of the heavy alloy with Ni/Fe ratio of 9/1 was found to be 1483 $^{\circ}C$, which is higher than that (146$0^{\circ}C$) of the heavy alloy with Ni/Fe ratio of 7/3. Auger Electron Spectroscopy showed that the segregation of impurities, such as S, P, and C in W/W grain boundary was considerably decreased with increasing heat treatment temperature from 1150 to l18$0^{\circ}C$. From the above results, it was found that the impurity segregation in W/W grain boundary played an important role on the decrease of impact properties, and the heat treatment temperature should be appropriately chosen, as considering the Ni/Fe ratio of the alloy, in order to get good impact properties.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.417-426
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• 2018

This paper presents the seismic behaviors and restoring force model of ring beam joints of steel tube-reinforced concrete column structure under cyclic loading. First, the main failure mode, ultimate bearing capacity, stiffness degradation and energy dissipation capacity are studied. Then, the effects of concrete grade, steel grade, reinforcement ratio and radius-to-width ratios are discussed. Finally, the restoring force model is proposed. Results show that the ring beam joints of steel tube-reinforced concrete column structure performs good seismic performances. With concrete grade increasing, the ultimate bearing capacity and energy dissipation capacity increase, while the stiffness degradation rates increases slightly. When the radius-width ratio is 2, with reinforcement ratio increasing, the ultimate bearing capacity decreases. However, when the radius-to-width ratios are 3, with reinforcement ratio increasing, the ultimate bearing capacity increases. With radius-to-width ratios increasing, the ultimate bearing capacity decreases slightly and the stiffness degradation rate increases, but the energy dissipation capacity increases slightly.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.541-548
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• 2009

In this study, Charpy impact test and numerical studies were performed to examine the effects of failure behavior and energy absorption on the notch position. For this purpose, carbon steel plate(SA-516 Gr. 70) with thickness of 25mm usually used for pressure vessel was welded by SMAW(Shielded Metal-Arc Welding)method and specimens were fabricated from the welded plate. The Charpy impact tests were then performed with specimens having different notch positions varying within HAZ. A series of three-dimensional FE analysis which simulates the Charpy test and crack propagation are carried out as well. We divided HAZ into two, three and four regions to apply mechanical properties of HAZ to FE-analys. Results reveal that the absorbed energies during impact test depend significantly on the notch position. To obtain the results of reliability, HAZ should be divided into at least three regions.