• Biomaterials and Biomechanics in Bioengineering
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.127-141
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• 2015

Silver-based systems activated by low intensity direct current continue to be investigated as an alternative antimicrobial for infection prophylaxis and treatment. However there has been limited research on the quantitative characterization of the antimicrobial efficacy of such systems. The objective of this study was to develop a semi-mechanistic pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) model providing the quantitative relationship between the critical system parameters and the degree of antimicrobial efficacy. First, time-kill curves were experimentally established for a strain of Staphylococcus aureus in a nutrientrich fluid environment over 48 hours. Based on these curves, a modified PK/PD model was developed with two components: a growing silver-susceptible bacterial population and a depreciating bactericidal process. The test of goodness-of-fit showed that the model was robust and had good predictability ($R^2>0.7$). The model demonstrated that the current intensity was positively correlated to the initial killing rate and the bactericidal fatigue rate of the system while the anode surface area was negatively correlated to the fatigue rate. The model also allowed the determination of the effective range of these two parameters within which the system has significant antimicrobial efficacy. In conclusion, the modified PK/PD model successfully described bacterial growth and killing kinetics when the bacteria were exposed to the electrically activated silver-titanium implant system. This modeling approach as well as the model itself can also potentially contribute to the development of optimal design strategies for other similar antimicrobial systems.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.103-110
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• 2021

A shake table test is conducted for the three-story reinforced concrete building structure using 0.28 g, 0.5 g, 0.75 g, and 1.0 g of seismic input motions based on the Gyeongju earthquake. Computational efforts are made in parallel to explore the mechanical details in the structure. For engineering practice, the elastic modulus of concrete and rebar in the dynamic analysis is reduced to 38% and 50%, respectively, to calibrate the structure's natural frequencies. The engineering approach to the reduced modulus of elasticity is believed to be due to the inability to specify the flexibility of the actual boundary conditions. This aspect may lead to disadvantages of nonlinear dynamic analysis that can distort local stress and strain relationships. The initial elastic modulus can be applied directly without the so-called engineering adjustment with infinite element models with spring and spring-dashpot boundary conditions. This has the advantage of imposing the system flexibility of the structure on the sub-boundary conditions of springs and damping devices to control its sensitivity in a serial arrangement. This can reflect the flexibility of realistic boundary conditions and the effects of system damping (such as the gap between a concrete footing and shake table, loosening of steel anchors, etc.) in scalar quantities. However, these spring and dashpot coefficients can only be coordinated based on experimental results, making it challenging to select the coefficients in-prior to perform an experimental test.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.81 no.3
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• pp.349-365
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• 2022

Steel fibre-reinforced concrete (SFRC) is an emerging class of composite for construction. However, a reliable method to assess the flexural behaviour of SFRC structural member is in lack. An analytical technique is proposed for determining the moment-curvature response of concrete beams reinforced with steel fibres and longitudinal bars (R/SFRC members). The behaviour of the tensile zone of such members is highly complex due to the interaction between the residual (tension softening) stresses of SFRC and the tension stiffening stresses. The current study suggests a transparent and mechanically sound method to combine these two stress concepts. Tension stiffening is modelled by the reinforcement-related approach assuming that the corresponding stresses act in the area of tensile reinforcement. The effect is quantified based on the analogy between the R/SFRC member and the equivalent RC member having identical geometry and materials except fibres. It is assumed that the resultant tension stiffening force for the R/SFRC member can be calculated as for the equivalent RC member providing that the reinforcement strain in the cracked section of these members is the same. The resultant tension stiffening force can be defined from the moment-curvature relation of the equivalent RC member using an inverse technique. The residual stress is calculated using an existing model that eliminates the need for dedicated mechanical testing. The proposed analytical technique was validated against test data of R/SFRC beams and slabs.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.84 no.4
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• pp.437-452
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• 2022

For the first time, the higher-order shear and normal deformable plate theory (HOSNDPT) is used for the vibration and flutter analyses of the multilayer functionally graded graphene platelets reinforced composite (FG-GPLRC) plates under supersonic airflow. For modeling the supersonic airflow, the linear piston theory is adopted. In HOSNDPT, Legendre polynomials are used to approximate the components of the displacement field in the thickness direction. So, all stress and strain components are encountered. Either uniform or three kinds of non-uniform distribution of graphene platelets (GPLs) into polymer matrix are considered. The Young modulus of the FG-GPLRC plate is estimated by the modified Halpin-Tsai model, while the Poisson ratio and mass density are determined by the rule of mixtures. The Hamilton's principle is used to obtain the governing equations of motion and the associated boundary conditions of the plate. For solving the plate's equations of motion, the Galerkin approach is applied. A comparison for the natural frequencies obtained based on the present investigation and those of three-dimensional elasticity theory shows a very good agreement. The flutter boundaries for FG-GPLRC plates based on HOSNDPT are described and the effects of GPL distribution patterns, the geometrical parameters and the weight fraction of GPLs on the flutter frequencies and flutter aerodynamic pressure of the plate are studied in detail. The obtained results show that by increasing 0.5% of GPLs into polymer matrix, the flutter aerodynamic pressure increases approximately 117%, 145%, 166% and 196% for FG-O, FG-A, UD and FG-X distribution patterns, respectively.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.289-302
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• 2023

Insulating glass units (IGUs) have been widely used in buildings in recent years due to their superior thermal insulation performance. However, because of the panel reciprocating motion and fatigue deterioration of sealants under long-term wind loads, many IGUs have the problem of early failure of watertight properties in real usage. This study aimed to propose a statistical method for wind-induced deflection of IGU panels during the whole life service period, for further precise analysis of the accumulated fatigue damage at the sealed part of the edge bond. By the estimation of the wind occurrence regularity based on wind pressure return period, the events of each wind speed interval during the whole life were obtained for the IGUs at 50m height in Beijing, which are in good agreement with the measured data. Also, the wind-induced deflection analysis method of IGUs based on the formula of airspace coefficient was proposed and verified as an improvement of the original stiffness distribution method with the average relative error compared to the test being about 3% or less. Combining the two methods above, the deformation of the outer and inner panes under wind loads during 30 years was precisely calculated, and the deflection and stress state at selected locations were obtained finally. The results show that the compression displacement at the secondary sealant under the maximum wind pressure is close to 0.3mm (strain 2.5%), and the IGUs are in tens of thousands of times the low amplitude tensile-compression cycle and several times to dozens of times the relatively high amplitude tensile-compression cycle environment. The approach proposed in this paper provides a basis for subsequent studies on the durability of IGUs and the wind-resistant behaviors of curtain wall structures.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.39-50
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• 2024

The projected growth of global meat production over the next decade is attributed to rising income levels and population expansion. One potentially more pragmatic approach to mitigating the adverse externalities associated with meat production involves implementing alterations to the production process, such as transitioning to cultured meat, hybrid cultured meat, and meat alternatives. Cultured meat (CM) is derived from animal stem cells and undergoes a growth and division process that closely resembles the natural in vivo cellular development. CM is emerging as a widely embraced substitute for traditional protein sources, with the potential to alleviate the future strain on animalderived meat production. To date, the primary emphasis of cultured meat research and production has predominantly been around the ecological advantages and ethical considerations pertaining to animal welfare. However, there exists substantial study potential in exploring consumer preferences with respect to the texture, color, cuts, and sustainable methodologies associated with cultured meat. The potential augmentation of cultured meat's acceptance could be facilitated through the advancement of a wider range of cuts to mimic real muscle fibers. This review examines the prospective commercial trends of hybrid cultured meat. Subsequently, the present state of research pertaining to the advancement of scaffolding, coloration, and muscle fiber development in hybrid cultured meat, encompassing plant-based alternatives designed to emulate authentic meat, has been deliberated. However, this discussion highlights the obstacles that have arisen in current procedures and proposes future research directions for the development of sustainable cultured meat and meat alternatives, such as plant-based meat production.

• International Journal of Computer Science & Network Security
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.226-234
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• 2024

The frequent handover problem and playing ping-pong effects in 5G (5th Generation) ultra-dense networking cannot be effectively resolved by the conventional handover decision methods, which rely on the handover thresholds and measurement reports. For instance, millimetre-wave LANs, broadband remote association techniques, and 5G/6G organizations are instances of group of people yet to come frameworks that request greater security, lower idleness, and dependable principles and correspondence limit. One of the critical parts of 5G and 6G innovation is believed to be successful blockage the board. With further developed help quality, it empowers administrator to run many systems administration recreations on a solitary association. To guarantee load adjusting, forestall network cut disappointment, and give substitute cuts in case of blockage or cut frustration, a modern pursuing choices framework to deal with showing up network information is require. Our goal is to balance the strain on BSs while optimizing the value of the information that is transferred from satellites to BSs. Nevertheless, due to their irregular flight characteristic, some satellites frequently cannot establish a connection with Base Stations (BSs), which further complicates the joint satellite-BS connection and channel allocation. SF redistribution techniques based on Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) have been devised, taking into account the randomness of the data received by the terminal. In order to predict the best capacity improvements in the wireless instruments of 5G and 6G IoT networks, a hybrid algorithm for deep learning is being used in this study. To control the level of congestion within a 5G/6G network, the suggested approach is put into effect to a training set. With 0.933 accuracy and 0.067 miss rate, the suggested method produced encouraging results.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.999-1012
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• 2017

Theoretical, empirical and numerical methods are used to evaluate the rock load due to tunnelling. Theoretical and empirical methods do not consider ground conditions, tunnel shape, and construction conditions. However, through numerical analysis, it is possible to analyze the displacement and stresses around tunnel due to its excavation, and evaluate the rock load considering ground and construction conditions. The stress transfer ratio(e) which is defined as a ratio of the difference between the major and minor principal stresses to major principal stress is used in order to understand the stress transfer effect around the tunnel excavation using numerical analysis results. The loosend area around tunnel periphery was found based on this approach. The difference of rock load from stress transfer effect was found according to the ground grade. From comparison, rock load obtained from stress transfer effect (e = 10%) were somewhat larger than the results obtained from the critical strain method, but smaller than those obtained from theoretical and empirical methods. The stress transfer effect approach considers the ground condition, tunnel shape; therefore, it can be applied to evaluate the rock load in concrete lining design.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.119-128
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• 2016

In a performance-based design, the structural safety is estimated from pre-defined damage states and corresponding damage indices. Both damage states and damage indices are well defined for above-ground structures, but very limited studies have been performed on underground structures. In this study, we define the damage states and damage indices of a cut-and-cover box tunnel which is one of typical structures used in metro systems, under a seismic excitation from a series of inelastic frame analyses. Three damage states are defined in terms of the number of plastic hinges that develop within the structure. The damage index is defined as the ratio of the elastic moment to the yield moment. Through use of the proposed index, the inelastic behavior and failure mechanism of box tunnels can be simulated and predicted through elastic analysis. In addition, the damage indices are linked to free-field shear strains. Because the free-field shear strain can be easily calculated from a 1D site response analysis, the proposed method can be readily used in practice. Further studies are needed to determine the range of shear strains and associated uncertainties for various types of tunnels and site profiles. However, the inter-linked platform of damage state - damage index - shear wave velocity - shear strain provides a novel approach for estimating the inelastic response of tunnels, and can be widely used in practice for seismic designs.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.567-576
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• 2017

In a performance-based design, the structural safety is estimated from pre- defined damage states and corresponding damage indices. Both damage states and damage indices are well defined for above-ground structures, but very limited studies have been performed on underground structures. In this study, we define the damage states and damage indices of a cut-and-cover box tunnel which is one of typical structures used in metro systems, under a seismic excitation from a series of inelastic frame analyses. Three damage states are defined in terms of the number of plastic hinges that develop within the structure. The damage index is defined as the ratio of the elastic moment to the yield moment. Through use of the proposed index, the inelastic behavior and failure mechanism of box tunnels can be simulated and predicted through elastic analysis. In addition, the damage indices are linked to free-field shear strains. Because the free-field shear strain can be easily calculated from a 1D site response analysis, the proposed method can be readily used in practice. Further studies are needed to determine the range of shear strains and associated uncertainties for various types of tunnels and site profiles. However, the inter-linked platform of damage state - damage index - shear wave velocity - shear strain provides a novel approach for estimating the inelastic response of tunnels, and can be widely used in practice for seismic designs.