• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.213-220
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• 2020

Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the potential adverse effect of spontaneously decreasing serum estradiol (SE) levels on in vitro fertilization (IVF) outcomes. Methods: This retrospective single-subject study analyzed IVF cycles conducted at a hospital IVF unit between 2010 and 2017. Overall, 2,417 cycles were analyzed. Only cycles with spontaneously decreasing SE before human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) triggering were included. Each patient served as her own control, and subsequent cycles were analyzed for recurrent SE decreases. The main outcome was the number of oocytes retrieved. Results: Cycle characteristics were similar between the study (SE decrease) and control groups, with the exception of the median SE on the day of hCG triggering (899.7 pg/mL; interquartile range [IQR], 193-2,116 pg/mL vs. 1,566.8 pg/mL; IQR, 249-2,970 pg/mL; p< 0.001). The study group, relative to the control group, had significantly fewer total oocytes (5 [IQR, 2-9] vs. 7 [IQR, 3-11]; p= 0.002) and significantly fewer metaphase II (MII) oocytes (3 [IQR, 1-6] vs. 4 [IQR, 2-8]; p= 0.001) retrieved. The study group had fewer cleavage-stage embryos than the control cycles (3 [IQR, 1-6] vs. 4 [IQR, 2-7]; p= 0.012). Compared to cycles with a ≤ 20% SE decrease, cycles with a > 20% decrease had significantly fewer total and MII oocytes retrieved. SE decrease recurred in 12% of patients. Conclusion: A spontaneous decrease in SE levels adversely affected IVF outcomes, with a linear correlation between the percentage decrease and the number of oocytes retrieved. SE decrease can repeat in later cycles.

• Transactions of Materials Processing
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• v.14 no.1 s.73
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• pp.71-77
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• 2005

Thermal stability and dry sliding wear behavior of ultra-fine grained 6061 Al alloy fabricated by an accumulative roll-bonding (ARB) process have been investigated. After 4 ARB cycles, an ultra-fine grained microstructure of the 6061 Al alloy composed of grains with average size of 500nm, and separated mostly by high-angle boundaries was obtained. Though hardness and tensile strength of the ARB processed Al alloy increased with ARB cycles up to 4 cycles, the processed alloy exhibited decreased ductility and little strain hardening. Thermal stability of the ARB-processed microstructure was studied by annealing of the severely deformed alloy at $423K{\sim}573K$. The refined microstructure of the alloy remained stable up to 473K, and the peak aging treatment of the alloy at 450K for 8 hrs increased the thermal stability of the alloy. Sliding-wear rates of the alloy increased with the number of ARB cycles in spite of the increased hardness with the cycles. Wear mechanisms of the ultra-fine grained alloy were investigated by examining worn surfaces, wear debris, and cross-sections by a scanning electron microscopy (SEM).

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.46 no.6
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• pp.363-369
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• 2008

Effects of top coat morphology and thickness on thermal fatigue behavior of thermal barrier coatings (TBC) were investigated in this study. Thermal fatigue tests were conducted on three coating specimens with different top coat morphology and thickness, and then the test data were compared via microstructures, cycles to failure, and fracture surfaces. In the air plasma spray specimens (APS1, APS2), top coat were 200 and $300{\mu}m$ respectively. The thickness of top coat was about $700{\mu}m$ in the perpendicular cracked specimen (PCS). Under thermal fatigue condition at $1,100^{\circ}C$, the cycles to top coat failure of APS1, APS2, and PCS were 350, 560 and 480 cycles, respectively. The cracks were initiated at the interface of top coat and thermally grown oxide (TGO) and propagated into TGO or top coat as the number of thermal fatigue cycles increased. For the PCS specimen, additive cracks were initiated and propagated at the starting points of perpendicular cracks in the top coat. Also, the thickness of TGO and the decrease of aluminium concentration in bond coat do not affect the cycles to failure.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.49 no.11
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• pp.893-899
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• 2011

Fabrication of a complex aluminum alloy by the ARB process using dissimilar aluminum alloys has been carried out. Two-layer stack ARB was performed for up to six cycles at ambient temperature without a lubricant according to the conventional procedure. Dissimilar aluminum sheets of AA1050 and AA5052 with thickness of 1 mm were degreased and wire-brushed for the ARB process. The sheets were then stacked together and rolled to 50% reduction such that the thickness became 1 mm again. The sheet was then cut into two pieces of identical length and the same procedure was repeated for up to six cycles. A sound complex aluminum alloy sheet was successfully fabricated by the ARB process. The tensile strength increased as the number of ARB cycles was increased, reaching 298 MPa after 5 cycles, which is about 2.2 times that of the initial material. The average grain size was $24{\mu}m$ after 1 cycle, and became $1.8{\mu}m$ after 6 cycles.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.144-156
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• 1996

The deformation behaviors under uniaxial compressive cyclic loading were investigated for fresh rocks and freeze-thaw cycled samples. The Pocheon granite which is one of the most popular building stone in Korea was selected for tests. 0.5 Hz and 50% of dynamic strength were used as test conditions for frequency and fatigue span, respectively. For freezethaw procedure, sample were frozen for 3 hours under the temperature of -2$0^{\circ}C$ and then followed 3 hours thawing under the temperature of +2$0^{\circ}C$. Twenty seven samples were used as untreated and seventy three for freeze-thaw samples. No failure occurred up to 15000 cycles at the stress level of 60% of dynamic strength, indicating that the lowest strees level for fatigue failure may be around 60% of dynamic strength. Permanent strain and damping capacity curves show that there were three stages when rock behaves like under creep. Young's moduli were increased and Possion's ratios were decreased with the increase of the number of cycles. Possion's ratios varied more rapidly than Young's moduli did with the increase of the number of cycles. This may represent that most microcracks developed by fatigue stress are parallel to the axis of loading. The deformation behavior of freeze-thaw cycled samples were almost the same as that of untreated samples. However, the result of freeze-thaw cycled samples showed lower regression constant, indicating that the physical durability of rock is much lowered because of cyclic temperature variation.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.160-166
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• 2019

This study investigates the effect of thermo-mechanical treatment on the damping capacity of the Fe-20Mn-12Cr-3Ni-3Si alloy with deformation induced martensite transformation. Dislocation, ${\alpha}^{\prime}$ and ${\varepsilon}-martensite$ are formed, and the grain size is refined by deformation and thermo-mechanical treatment. With an increasing number cycles in the thermo-mechanical treatment, the volume fraction of ${\varepsilon}-martensite$ increases and then decreases, whereas dislocation and ${\alpha}^{\prime}-martensite$ increases, and the grain size is refined. In thermo-mechanical treated specimens with five cycles, more than 10 % of the volume fraction of ${\varepsilon}-martensite$ and less than 3 % of the volume fraction of ${\alpha}^{\prime}-martensite$ are attained. Damping capacity decreases by thermo-mechanical treatment and with an increasing number of cycles of thermo-mechanical treatment, and this result shows an opposite tendency for general metal with deformation induced martensite transformation. The damping capacity of the thermo-mechanical treated damping alloy with deformation induced martensite transformation greatly affect the formation of dislocation, grain refining and ${\alpha}^{\prime}-martensite$ and then ${\varepsilon}-martensite$ formation by thermo-mechanical treatment.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.77 no.4
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• pp.559-569
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• 2021

This study was conducted to investigate the residual bearing capacity of steel-concrete composite beams under high-cycle fatigue loading through experiments and theoretical analysis. Six test beams with stud connectors were designed and fabricated for static, complete fatigue, and partial fatigue tests. The failure modes and the degradation of several mechanical performance indicators of the composite beams under high-cycle fatigue loading were analyzed. A calculation method for the residual bearing capacity of the composite beams after certain quantities of cyclic loading cycles was established by introducing nonlinear fatigue damage models for concrete, steel beam, and shear connectors beginning with the material residual strength attenuation process. The results show that the failure mode of the composite beams under the given fatigue load appears to be primarily affected by the number of cycles. As the number of fatigue loadings increases, the failure mode transforms from mid-span concrete crushing to stud cutting. The bearing capacity of a 3.0-m span composite beam after two million fatigue cycles is degraded by 30.7% due to premature failure of the stud. The calculated values of the residual bearing capacity method of the composite beam established in this paper agree well with the test values, which indicates that the model is feasibly applicable.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.31 no.2 s.161
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• pp.197-205
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• 2007

We investigated the effects of washing on the mechanical properties and hand values of spandex/cotton and cotton single jersey fabrics. These knitted fabrics were subjected to 30 laundering cycles with a drum-type washer and were followed by drying at $65^{\circ}C$ with a tumble dryer. The mechanical properties of the cotton knitted fabrics changed greatly during the first washing and then suffered no further change in their properties as the number of washing cycle increased. However, the properties of the spandex/cotton knitted fabrics changed continuously throughout all the washing cycles. The cotton/spandex knitted fabrics showed higher values in tensile and bending properties than did the cotton knitted fabrics, though both kinds of fabrics showed less difference in shearing, surface and compression properties. The spandex/cotton knitted fabrics which had proper density had a higher THV for winter underwear after 30 repeated washings than did the cotton knitted fabrics, and the THVs of both fabrics decreased with the increase in the number of washing cycles.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.62-69
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• 2014

Jungkwa is a traditional Korean dessert preserved in honey or sucrose. This study was carried out to investigate the antioxidant activities and quality characteristics of Rehmannia glutinosa Jungkwa (RJ). RJ was prepared after six repeated cycles of boiling-cooling. After blanching fresh Rehmannia glutinosa (600 g) for 5 min at $100^{\circ}C$, Rehmannia glutinosa was boiled in sucrose syrup (sucrose 720 g in water 600 g) for 60 min and then cooled for 24 hr. Moisture, pH and color values of lightness, redness and yellowness in the Hunter color system of Jungkwa decreased as the number of boiling-cooling cycles increased, whereas acidity, $^{\circ}Brix$ and reducing sugar contents of syrup increased. Total phenol content increased in by the 6th boiling-cooling cycle. Antioxidant activities, including DPPH and hydroxyl radical scavenging activities, increased in RJ by the 6th boiling-cooling cycle. Based on these results, the antioxidant activities of Rehmannia radix Jungkwa was improved according to an increasing number of boiling-cooling cycles due to increased total phenol contents.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2008.10a
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• pp.1212-1217
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• 2008

In this study, in order to clarify the effect of the direction of cyclic shear on the post-earthquake settlement the multi-directional shear tests were carried out for Toyoura Japan standard sand, Genkai natural sand and the Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GBFS). In a series of tests, number of strain cycles was changed as n=5-200 and the shear strain amplitude varied from 0.1% to 1.0%. The relative density was also changed as Dr=50, 60 and 70%. From the test results for Toyoura sand and GBFS, it is clarified that the post cyclic settlement is relatively large at the small relative density and becomes large with the shear strain amplitude. When the influence of the direction of cyclic shear is decreases, the post cyclic settlement strain for Toyoura sand is converged to a constant value, but the GBFS is increased with the number of strain cycles.