• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.83 no.3
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• pp.175-184
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• 2020

Quantitative sputum cytometry facilitates in assessing the nature of bronchitis associated with exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This is not assessed in most clinical trials that evaluate the effectiveness of strategies to prevent or to treat exacerbations. While up to a quarter of exacerbations may be associated with raised eosinophil numbers, the vast majority of exacerbations are associated with neutrophilic bronchitis that may indicate airway infections. While eosinophilia may be a predictor of response to corticosteroids (oral and inhaled), the limited efficacy of anti-interleukin 5 therapies would suggest that eosinophils may not directly contribute to those exacerbations. However, they may contribute to airspace enlargement in patients with COPD through various mechanisms involving the interleukin 13 and matrix metalloprotease pathways. The absence of eosinophils may facilitate in limiting the unnecessary use of corticosteroids. The presence of neutrophiia could prompt an investigation for the specific pathogens in the airway. Additionally, sputum measurements may also provide insight into the mechanisms of susceptibility to airway infections. Iron within sputum macrophages, identified by hemosiderin staining (and by more direct quantification) may impair macrophage functions while the low levels of immunoglobulins in sputum may also contribute to airway infections. The assessment of sputum at the time of exacerbations thus would facilitate in customizing treatment and treat current exacerbations and reduce future risk of exacerbations.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.17-27
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• 2001

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of donning of a hard insole in patients with hallux valgus. Fourteen subjects were selected from patient with foot pain at Lee Chang-Heon Foot Clinic from August 4, 2000 to September 15, 2000. The hallux valgus angle and the first-second intermetatarsal angle were radiographically measured before and after donning the hard insole. Based on these two kinds of angles, a mild hallux valgus deformity group was characterized by the hallux valgus angle of less than 20 degrees, and a moderate hallux valgus deformity group was characterized by the hallux valgus angle of 20 to 40 degrees. After three weeks with the hard insole donned, the foot angles of the patients with hallux valgus were measured again. The data were analyzed by Wilcoxon signed ranks test, and the following results were obtained: 1) After the trial, both mild hallux valgus deformity group and moderate hallux valgus deformity group demonstrated that the hallux valgus angles were significantly decreased. 2) After the trial, mild hallux valgus deformity group demonstrated that the first-second intermetatarsal angle was significantly decreased. 3) After the trial, moderate hallux valgus deformity group demonstrated that the first-second intermetatarsal angle was not significantly decreased. The above findings revealed that according to donning hard insole, the hallux valgus angles of mild and moderate hallux valgus deformity groups and the first-second intermetatarsal angle of mild hallux valgus deformity group were significantly decreased. The results of this study have some limitation for generalization due to the limited number of subjects. Further studies are needed to evaluate the effect of hard insole on hallux valgus with more precise laboratory equipments and measurements in patients with hallux valgus.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.113-129
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• 1999

In this study, a total of 12 types of sequential model tests were conducted at the laboratory for small scale anchored walls. The sequential behavior for flexible wall embedded in sand was investigated by varying degrees of relative density of Joomoonjin sand and flexibility number of model wall. The model tests were carried out in a 1000mm width, 1500mm length, and 1000mm high steel box. Load cells, pressure cells, displacement transducer and dial gauges were used to measure the anchor forces, lateral wall deflections, lateral earth pressures and vertical displacements of ground surface, respectively. Limited model tests were performed to examine the parameters for soil-wall interaction model and the formulation of analytical method was revised in order to predict the behavior of anchored wall in sand. Based on the model tests and proposed analytical method, model simulations were performed and the predictions by the present approach were compared with measurements by the model tests and predictions by other commercial programs. It is shown that the prediction by the present approach simulates qualitatively well the general trend observed for model test.

• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers P
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• v.63 no.4
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• pp.351-355
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• 2014

Graphite electrodes are used for secondary batteries, fuel cells, and super capacitors. Research is underway to increased the reaction area of graphite electrodes used carbon nanotube (CNT) and porous carbon. CNT is limited to device utilization in order to used a metal catalyst by lack of surface area to improve. In contrast carbon nanowall (CNW) is chemically very stable. So this paper, microwave plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) system was used to grow carbon nanowall (CNW) on Si substrate with methane ($CH_4$) and hydrogen ($H_2$) gases. To find the growth properties of CNW according to the reaction gas ratio, we have changed the methane to hydrogen gas ratios (4:1, 2:1, 1:2, and 1:4). The vertical and surficial conditions of the grown CNW according to the gas ratios were characterized by a field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and Raman spectroscopy measurements showed structure variations.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.345-360
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• 2020

Modern swarm intelligence heuristic search methods are widely applied in the field of structural health monitoring due to their advantages of excellent global search capacity, loose requirement of initial guess and ease of computational implementation etc. To this end, a hybrid strategy is proposed based on butterfly optimization algorithm (BOA) and differential evolution (DE) with purpose of effective combination of their merits. In the proposed identification strategy, two improvements including mutation and crossover operations of DE, and dynamic adaptive operators are introduced into original BOA to reduce the risk to be trapped in local optimum and increase global search capability. The performance of the proposed algorithm, hybrid butterfly optimization and differential evolution algorithm (HBODEA) is evaluated by two numerical examples of a simply supported beam and a 37-bar truss structure, as well as an experimental test of 8-story shear-type steel frame structure in the laboratory. Compared with BOA and DE, the numerical and experimental results show that the proposed HBODEA is more robust to detect the reduction of stiffness with limited sensors and contaminated measurements. In addition, the effect of search space, two dynamic operators, population size on identification accuracy and efficiency of the proposed identification strategy are further investigated.

• The Journal of the Institute of Internet, Broadcasting and Communication
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.9-15
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• 2009

As disease and aging increased on the map of nuclear families, the interests in protecting individual privancy and u-Healthcare has increased as well. Until now, the health management of individual medical institutions have limited their researches on the future of offline diagnostics and treatment works, time and space only to medical services. However, in the future, healthcare through mobile medical devices to real-time online personality, mobility, and bulwark where patients can receive personal health statues anywhere seems inevitable. Therefore, in this paper, the PDA based on the each individual elderly and patients that updates their physical health statues through the signal meter management system can notify both the individual and the hospital when a medical emergency occurs. Additionally, it provides relevant information on the results of measurements monitoring system.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.73-82
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• 2008

In this paper, a new regularization method by parameter subset selection method is proposed based on the residual force vector for damage localization. Although subset selection using the fundamental modal characteristics as a residual function has been successful in detecting a single damage location, this method seems to have limited capabilities in the detection of multiple damage locations and typically requires cumbersome weighting values. The method is presented herein and considers cases in which damage detection must be achieved using incomplete measurements of the structural responses. Model expansion is incorporated to deal with this challenge. The unique advantage of employing the new regularization method is that it can reliably identify multiple damage locations. Through an illustrative example, the proposed damage detection method is demonstrated to be a reliable tool for identifying multiple damage locations for a planar truss structure.

• International Journal of Fluid Machinery and Systems
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.11-19
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• 2010

The performance of the crossover system of a centrifugal compressor stage consisting of static components of $180^{\circ}$ U-bend, return channel vanes and exit ducting with a $90^{\circ}$ bend is investigated. This study is confined to the assessment of performance of the crossover system by varying the shape of the return channel vanes. For this purpose two different types of Return Channel Vanes (RCV1 and RCV2) were experimentally investigated. The performance of the crossover system is discussed in terms of total pressure loss coefficient, static pressure recovery coefficient and vane surface pressure distribution. The experimentation was carried out on a test setup in which static swirl vanes were used to simulate the flow at the exit of an actual centrifugal compressor impeller with a design flow coefficient of 0.053. The swirl vanes are connected to a mechanism with which the flow angle at the inlet of U-bend could be altered. The measurements were taken at five different operating conditions varying from 70% to 120% of design flow rate. On an overall assessment RCV1 is found to give better performance in comparison to RCV2 for different U-bend inlet flow angles. The performance of RCV2 was verified using numerical studies with the help of a CFD Code. Three dimensional sector models were used for simulating the flow through the crossover system. The turbulence was predicted with standard k-$\varepsilon$, 2-equation model. The iso-Mach contour plots on different planes and development of secondary flows were visualized through this study.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Illuminating and Electrical Installation Engineers
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.18-25
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• 2006

Existing outdoor lighting evaluation methods for the city beautification at night, the measurements are limited by one point to analyze the photometric data. However, this methods could not represent the diversity of photometric result from the distance. This study aims to propose the new outdoor lighting evaluation method of structure surface luminance in accordance with the measuring distance. For the purpose, the field measurement and simulation of an illuminated structure were conducted by CS-100, Digital Photometry Instrument ProMetric 1400, and the Lightscape v 3.2 from the distance of 100[m], 300[m], 500[m]. The result shows that evaluation of the surface luminance by the distance should be measured from about 100[m] of an illuminated object for getting the familiar result from computer simulation.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2007.11a
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• pp.307-308
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• 2007

This work shows the experimental results obtained from ageing at a temperature of 100 C for 48, 70 and 312 h, although the application of AC electrical tension in samples and the measuring of current leakage are presented. The measurements in samples were carried out with samples prepared from the deformulated commercial materials and respectively reformulated into thin films. The obtained results showed the mechanisms of conduction of samples in low and high electric fields. It was also identified an electric tension transition showing that in low fields it prevails the Ohm's law conduction, and in high electric fields it prevails the conduction of space charge limited current (SCLC). These results can support the natural rubber formulation process having as their main objective the reducing of the mechanisms that occur under high conduction current in high electric fields, which leads the material to a dielectric breakdown. Raw Natural rubber in Brazil is extracted from rubber trees (Hevea brasiliensis) in farms in So Paulo State by using some new plantation technology in smaller spaces, with trees placed a few meters from each other. In the Amazon rain forest the rubber trees are found naturally and their spacing may be of hundreds of meters or even kilometers between them. It is necessary to research this raw material from different internationally standard clones to characterize dielectric and electric properties for industrial applications. Moreover, this natural material has a low commercial price when compared to the synthetic ones.