• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.421-430
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• 2004

Clinically, it is almost impossible for a physician to distinguish subtle changes of frequency spectrum by using a stethoscope alone especially in the early stage of thrombus formation. Considering that reliability of mechanical valve is paramount because the failure might end up with patient death, early detection of valve thrombus using noninvasive technique is important. Thus the study was designed to provide a tool for early noninvasive detection of valve thrombus by observing shift of frequency spectrum of acoustic signals with computer aid diagnosis system. A thrombus model was constructed on commercialized mechanical valves using polyurethane or silicon. Polyurethane coating was made on the valve surface, and silicon coating on the sewing ring of the valve. To simulate pannus formation, which is fibrous tissue overgrowth obstructing the valve orifice, the degree of silicone coating on the sewing ring varied from 20％, 40％, 60％ of orifice obstruction. In experiment system, acoustic signals from the valve were measured using microphone and amplifier. The microphone was attached to a coupler to remove environmental noise. Acoustic signals were sampled by an AID converter, frequency spectrum was obtained by the algorithm of spectral analysis. To quantitatively distinguish the frequency peak of the normal valve from that of the thrombosed valves, analysis using a neural network was employed. A return map was applied to evaluate continuous monitoring of valve motion cycle. The in-vivo data also obtained from animals with mechanical valves in circulatory devices as well as patients with mechanical valve replacement for 1 year or longer before. Each spectrum wave showed a primary and secondary peak. The secondary peak showed changes according to the thrombus model. In the mock as well as the animal study, both spectral analysis and 3-layer neural network could differentiate the normal valves from thrombosed valves. In the human study, one of 10 patients showed shift of frequency spectrum, however the presence of valve thrombus was yet to be determined. Conclusively, acoustic signal measurement can be of suggestive as a noninvasive diagnostic tool in early detection of mechanical valve thrombosis.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.693-699
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• 2016

In this study, the replacement effects of cementitious materials (fly ash, blast furnace slag, and blended mixtures) were assessed for normal strength concrete with very low shrinkage properties under $350{\mu}{\varepsilon}$ strain using a powder type shrinkage reducing agent. In addition, through mock-up tests of actual size walls restrained with four sides, the shrinkage characteristics using the power type shrinkage reducing agent were measured and the crack reducing ability was assessed. The slump and air contents were measured as the properties of fresh concrete, and the length changes of the prismatic specimens, $100{\times}100{\times}400mm$ in size, were measured for the shrinkage characteristics. To reduce the shrinkage of concrete, the maximum replacing ratio of the fly ash is effective to 20 percent; however, the use of blast furnace slag and ternary mixtures did not reduce the shrinkage.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.697-704
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• 2008

This paper presents an analytical prediction of Nonlinear characteristics of prestressed concrete bridges by strengthened of externally tendon considering construction sequence, using unbonded tendon element and beam-column element based on flexibility method. Unbonded tendon model can represent unbounded tendon behavior in concrete of PSC structures and it can deal with the prestressing transfer of posttensioned structures and calculate prestressed concrete structures more efficiently. This tendon model made up the several nodes and segment, therefore a real tendon of same geometry in the prestressed concrete structure can be simulated the one element. The beam-column element was developed with reinforced concrete material nonlinearities which are based on the smeared crack concept. The fiber hysteresis rule of beam-column element is derived from the uniaxial constitutive relations of concrete and reinforcing steel fibers. The formulation of beam-column element is based on flexibility. Beam-column element and unbonded tendon element were be involved in A computer program, named RCAHEST (Reinforced Concrete Analysis in Higher Evaluation System Technology), that were used the analysis of RC and PSC structures. The proposed numerical method for prestressed concrete structures by strengthened of externally tendon is verified by comparison with reliable experimental results.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.69-79
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• 2017

The purpose of this study is to reconsider the rating method for the floor impact sound insulation performance in current criterion. Although there are some arguments about proper standard heavy impact source with reproducibility of actual impact source in residence building, bang machine is adopted as the only standard heavy impact source in domestic criterion. To inspect the rating methods of evaluation criteria, this study conducted vibration test for both of standard heavy impact sources and actual impact sources. Using the test results, the floor impact sound insulation performance levels were assessed by each of several criteria. In addition, low frequency noise beyond current criteria was evaluated. Consequently, the floor impact sound levels have different performance levels according to adopted criteria, and measured floor impact sounds are bound to annoy the neighbors in the low frequency range. Current criteria does not consider the spectrum characteristics of floor impact sound according to impact sources and low frequency noise. This may cause the difference between the floor impact sound insulation performance level and human perception. Thus current criterion needs to be complemented to reflect the spectrum characteristics of floor impact sound levels according to impact sources and sound pressure levels in low frequency range.

• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.28-33
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• 2018

To measure the full scale fire test and heat release rate of bed mattresses according to the building compartment space, a fire test was performed using the Standard test method to determine the heat release rate of mattresses and mattress sets (KS F ISO 12949: 2011). Both test locations showed similar fire growth until approximately 3 minutes after burner ignition. After 3 minutes, the heat release rate in the test room was higher than the open calorimeter. For bed mattresses (SS), the maximum heat release rate in the open calorimeter was 735 kW and the maximum heat release rate in the test room was 992 kW. For bed mattresses (Q), the heat release rate in the test room increased more rapidly than the open calorimeter. The maximum heat release rate in the open calorimeter was 1,087 kW (346 s) and the maximum heat release rate in the test room was 2,127 kW (287 s). The difference between the maximum heat release rate and the measurement time according to the test location was confirmed.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.51 no.5
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• pp.433-444
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• 2018

Purpose: This study examined the status and needs of school-based nutritional education programs for reducing sugars intake in elementary schools. Methods: A total of 230 elementary nutrition teachers participated in this study through an online survey in July 2017. Results: Approximately one-third of the schools conducted nutrition education on reducing sugars intake as a main topic. The most frequent educated grade and education period were $4^{th}$ and $3^{rd}$ grade, and once a year. Most of the nutrition teachers answered that nutrition education related to reducing sugars intake for children was necessary. The nutrition teachers answered that first graders were the recipients in most need of nutrition education for reducing sugars but, realistically, third graders were the most suitable for nutrition education. The appropriate education topics were limited to the lower grades, such as sugars consumption related health problems, foods containing high sugars, and behaviors to reduce sugars intake; however, a wider variety of topics were selected for the upper grades. The experiment was considered to be an effective educational method for both the lower and upper grades. The most appropriate nutrition education media appeared to be a mock-up in the lower grades, and an experiment kit in the upper grades. Games and videos were highly considered to be effective media to educate students in reducing sugars consumption by voluntary participation in free time in the classroom in both the lower and upper grades. Conclusion: Nutrition education programs focusing on sugars intake reduction were conducted in some elementary schools, but the training time was short and the types of activities were limited. The perception and demand for nutrition education was very high. Therefore, the development and dissemination of elementary school-based nutritional education programs for sugars intake reduction is urgently needed. Moreover, to develop an effective nutrition education program, the education environment and demand in the field should be fully considered.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.58-67
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• 2014

The outdoor mass cultivation is not possible for microalgae in Korea all year round, due to cold winter season. It is not easy to maintain proper level of productivity of microalgae even in winter. To prevent a drastic decrease of temperature in a greenhouse, two layers were covered additionally, inside the original plastic layer of the greenhouse. The middle layer was made up of plastic and the inner layer, of non-woven fabric. Acrylic transparent bioreactors were constructed to get more sunlight, not only from the upper side but also from the lateral and bottom directions. In winter at freezing temperatures, six different culture conditions were compared in the triply covered, insulated greenhouse. Wastewater after anaerobic digestion was used for the cultivation of microalgae to minimize the production cost. Water temperature in the bioreactors remained above $10^{\circ}C$ on average, even without any external heating system, proving that the triple-layered greenhouse is effective in keeping heat. Algal biomass reached to 0.37g $L^{-1}$ with the highest temperature, in the experimental group of light-reflection board at the bottom, with nitrogen and phosphorus removal rate of 92% and 99%, respectively. When fatty acid composition was analyzed using gas-chromatography, linoleate (C18 : 3n3) occupied the highest proportion up to 61%, in the all experiment groups. Chemical oxygen demand (COD), however, did not decrease during the cultivation, but rather increased. Although the algal biomass productivity was not comparable to warm seasons, it was possible to maintain water temperature for algae cultivation even in the coldest season, at the minimum cost.