• KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
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• 제13권4호
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• pp.1941-1960
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• 2019

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), acting as mobile base stations (BSs), can be deployed in the typical fifth-generation mobile communications (5G) scenarios for the purpose of substantially enhancing the radio coverage. Meanwhile, UAV aided underlay device-to-device (D2D) communication mode can be activated for further improving the capacity of the 5G networks. However, this UAV aided D2D communication system is more vulnerable to eavesdropping attacks, resulting in security risks. In this paper, the D2D receivers work in full-duplex (FD) mode, which improves the security of the network by enabling these legitimate users to receive their useful information and transmit jamming signal to the eavesdropper simultaneously (with the same frequency band). The security communication under the UAV coverage is evaluated, showing that the system's (security) capacity can be substantially improved by taking advantage of the flexible radio coverage of UAVs. Furthermore, the closed-form expressions for the coverage probabilities are derived, showing that the cellular users (CUs)' secure coverage probability in downlink transmission is mainly impacted by the following three factors: its communication area, the relative position with UAV, and its eavesdroppers. In addition, it is observed that the D2D users or DUs' secure coverage probability is relevant to state of the UAV. The system's secure capacity can be substantially improved by adaptively changing the UAV's position as well as coverage.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제53권4호
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• pp.1224-1235
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• 2021

An integrated waste management approach for irradiated graphite was developed during the European Commission project 'Treatment and Disposal of Irradiated Graphite and other Carbonaceous Waste'. This included the identification of potential options for the management of irradiated graphite, taking account of storage, retrieval, treatment and disposal methods. This paper describes how these options can be assessed using multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) for a case study relating to a generic power reactor. Criteria have been defined to account for safety, environmental, economic and socio-political factors, including radiological impact, resource usage, economic costs and risks. The impact of each option against each criterion has been assessed using data from the project and the wider literature. A linear additive approach has been used to convert the calculated impacts to scores. To account for the relative importance of the criteria, example weightings were allocated. This application has shown that MCDA approaches can be used to support complex decisions regarding irradiated graphite management, accounting for a wide range of criteria. Use of this approach by individual countries or organisations will need to account for the specific options, scores, weightings and constraints that apply, based on their national strategies, regulatory requirements and public acceptability.

• Computers and Concrete
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• 제27권5호
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• pp.437-445
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• 2021

Retrofitting of structures has gained importance over the recent years. Particularly, Reinforced Cement Concrete (RCC) column strengthening has become a challenge to the structural engineers, owing to the risks and complexities involved in it. There are several methods of RCC column strengthening viz. RCC jacketing, steel jacketing and Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) wrapping etc., FRP wrapping is the most promising alternative when compared to the others. The large research database shows FRP wrapping, through lateral confinement, improves the axial load carrying capacity of the columns under concentric loading. However, its confining efficiency reduces under eccentric loading. Hence a relative newer technique called Near Surface Mounting (NSM), in which Carbon FRP (CFRP) strips are epoxy grouted to the precut grooves in the cover concrete of the columns, has been thrust domain of research. NSM technique strengthens the column nominally under concentric load case while significantly under eccentric case. A novel configuration of NSM in which the vertical NSM (VNSM) strips are being connected by horizontal NSM (HNSM) strips was numerically investigated under both concentric and eccentric loading. It was found that the configuration with 6 HNSM strips performed better under eccentric loading than under concentric loading, while the configuration with 3 HNSM strips performed better under concentric loading than under eccentric loading. Hence an optimum of 4 HNSM strips is recommended as strengthening measure for the given column specifications. It was also found that Aluminum alloy cannot be used instead of CFRP in NSM applications owing to its lower mechanical properties.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• 제23권3호
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• pp.428-450
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• 2023

This meta-analysis examined the surgical management of older patients (>80 years) with gastric cancer, who were often excluded from randomized controlled trials. We analyzed 23 retrospective cohort studies involving 18,372 patients and found that older patients had a higher in-hospital mortality rate (relative risk [RR], 3.23; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.46-7.17; P<0.01) and more post-operative complications (RR, 1.36; 95% CI, 1.19-1.56; P<0.01) than did younger patients. However, the surgical complications were similar between the two groups. Older patients were more likely to undergo less extensive lymph node dissection and longer hospital stays. Although older patients had statistically significant post-operative medical complications, they were not deprived of surgery for gastric cancer. The comorbidities and potential risks of post-operative complications should be carefully evaluated in older patients, highlighting the importance of careful patient selection. Overall, this meta-analysis provides recommendations for the surgical management of older patients with gastric cancer. Careful patient selection and evaluation of comorbidities should be performed to minimize the risk of post-operative complications in older patients, while recognizing that they should not be deprived of surgery for gastric cancer.

• 국제학술발표논문집
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• The 6th International Conference on Construction Engineering and Project Management
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• pp.477-480
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• 2015

Construction projects are high-risk activities. When undertaking such projects in an international setting, it can be complicated by foreign exchange (FOREX) fluctuation risk. This affects the construction business performance in various ways, namely its progress due to delays, which in turn create further problems, specifically cost overruns as a result of price increase in raw materials, disputes, arbitration, litigation and even, total abandonment. Thus, the effective management of FOREX fluctuations is crucial. Previous studies have focused on the need for contract safeguards, adequate insurance, careful planning and management, as well as foreign exchange futures hedging to address some of the risks triggered by FOREX fluctuations. An analysis of FOREX fluctuations in the international construction industry revealed that more often it was focused on project-specific issues. Currently, there is a relative lack of awareness on Organizational Capabilities (OC), the abilities that owned by the organization, which is essential in managing the impact of FOREX fluctuations. Where research has focused on OC, these are viewed in isolation. Therefore, this study attempts to close the gap by proposing a framework on managing the impact of FOREX fluctuations in the international construction industry, employing the OC perspective.

• KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
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• 제17권10호
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• pp.2682-2700
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• 2023

To cope with the risks of climate change and promote the realization of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, this paper first comprehensively considers the policy background, technical trends and carbon reduction paths of energy conservation and emission reduction in data center server industry. Second, we propose a computing power carbon efficiency of data center server, and constructs the carbon emission per performance of server (CEPS) model. According to the model, this paper selects the mainstream data center servers for testing. The result shows that with the improvement of server performance, the total carbon emissions are rising. However, the speed of performance improvement is faster than that of carbon emission, hence the relative carbon emission per unit computing power shows a continuous decreasing trend. Moreover, there are some differences between different products, and it is calculated that the carbon emission per unit performance is 20-60KG when the service life of the server is five years.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제34권4호
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• pp.828-837
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• 2024

Vancomycin (VAN) and metronidazole (MTR) remain the current drugs of choice for the treatment of non-severe Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI); however, while their co-administration has appeared in clinical treatment, the efficacy varies greatly and the mechanism is unknown. In this study, a CDI mouse model was constructed to evaluate the therapeutic effects of VAN and MTR alone or in combination. For a perspective on the intestinal ecology, 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing and non-targeted metabolomics techniques were used to investigate changes in the fecal microbiota and metabolome of mice under the co-administration treatment. As a result, the survival rate of mice under co-administration was not dramatically different compared to that of single antibiotics, and the former caused intestinal tissue hyperplasia and edema. Co-administration also significantly enhanced the activity of amino acid metabolic pathways represented by phenylalanine, arginine, proline, and histidine, decreased the level of deoxycholic acid (DCA), and downregulated the abundance of beneficial microbes, such as Bifidobacterium and Akkermansia. VAN plays a dominant role in microbiota regulation in co-administration. In addition, co-administration reduced or increased the relative abundance of antibiotic-sensitive bacteria, including beneficial and harmful microbes, without a difference. Taken together, there are some risks associated with the co-administration of VAN and MTR, and this combination mode should be used with caution in CDI treatment.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제91권5호
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• pp.517-526
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• 2024

Due to the asymmetric cross-section of unequal-angle steel, the application of loads can induce axial rotation, leading to a series of buckling failure behaviors. Special attention must be paid during the design process. The present study aims to analyze the structural behavior of asymmetric steel angle members under various eccentric loading conditions, considering the complex biaxial bending interaction that arises when the angle steel is connected to the panel. Several key factors are investigated in this paper, including the effects of uniaxial and biaxial eccentricity on the structural behavior and the eccentric axial compression strength of long and short legs at different load application points. Potential risks associated with the specified load points, based on the AISC specifications, are also discussed. The study observed that the strength values of the members exhibited significant changes when the eccentric load deviates from the specified point. The relative position of the eccentric load point and the slenderness ratio of the member are critical influencing factors. Overall, this research intends to enhance the accuracy and reliability of strength analysis methods for asymmetric single angle steel members, providing valuable insights and guidance for a safer and more efficient design.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제56권9호
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• pp.3925-3932
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• 2024

During outages at nuclear power plants, much more care for radiation workers against internal exposure should be ensured given that more hot particles exist relative to the amount during normal operation. If fuel-type hot particles (FTHP) are inhaled, they can cause more severe health risks compared to activation-type hot particles (ATHP), which contain ⁶⁰Co, due to the alpha-emitting nuclides within FTHPs. The activities of difficult-to-measure nuclides within FTHPs inhaled by workers are inferred by the age-dating technique using a¹⁴¹Ce/¹⁴⁴Ce ratio as measured by whole-body counters. However, this method may be limited to outages that last for only a few months due to the short half-life (32.5 days) of ¹⁴¹Ce. We studied the feasibility of utilizing ²⁴¹Am, a nuclide with a long half-life of 432.6 years, as an alternative to ¹⁴¹Ce. Additionally, we improved the performance of a stand-type whole-body counter for low-energy gamma spectroscopy to meet the criterion (RMSE ≤0.25) specified in ANSI/HPS N13.30-2011 by employing an artificial neural network (ANN). This study can contribute to more rapid and accurate internal dose assessments for workers who have inhaled FTHPs during long-term outages at nuclear power plants.

• 지질공학
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• 제28권3호
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• pp.379-395
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• 2018

탐방로의 전체적인 환경은 크게 탐방로 상부, 탐방로 자체, 탐방로 하부로 나누어진다. 본 연구에서는 현장조사를 기반으로 하여 3가지의 탐방로 환경과 인문/사회 요인을 결합하여 탐방로 위험지수를 개발하였다. 탐방로 현장조사를 위해 체크리스트를 개발하였으며, 체크리스트 항목들은 상대적인 중요도 분석과정을 거쳐 점수화 되었다. 항목들의 상대비중 분석은 AHP 기법을 활용하였다. AHP 분석 결과, 탐방로 상부 환경이 나머지 환경들에 비해 2배 중요한 것으로 나타났으며, 각 환경들에 속한 항목들의 중요도 및 배점이 정해졌다. 위험지수는 항목들의 총합으로 계산되었으며, 기조사 자료를 이용한 가중치가 더해졌다. 위험지수는 총점 200점으로 설정하였으며, 최대 159점, 최소 64.2점으로 산출되었다. 현장 상황과 위험지수의 비교 분석 결과, 위험성이 낮은 구간은 대부분 100점 이하의 값을 보였으며, 위험성이 매우 높거나 사고이력을 가지는 구간은 140점을 초과하는 것으로 나타났다.