• Coupled systems mechanics
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• 제12권5호
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• pp.429-444
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• 2023

The comprehension and structural modeling of masonry constructions is fundamental to safeguard the integrity of built cultural assets and intervene through adequate actions, especially in earthquake-prone regions. Despite the availability of several modeling strategies and modern computing power, modeling masonry remains a great challenge because of still demanding computational efforts, constraints in performing destructive or semi-destructive in-situ tests, and material uncertainties. This paper investigates the shear behavior of masonry walls by applying a plane-stress FE continuum model with the Modified Masonry-like Material (MMLM). Epistemic uncertainty affecting input parameters of the MMLM is considered in a probabilistic framework. After appointing a suitable probability density function to input quantities according to prior engineering knowledge, uncertainties are propagated to outputs relying on gPCE-based surrogate models to considerably speed up the forward problem-solving. The sensitivity of the response to input parameters is evaluated through the computation of Sobol' indices pointing out the parameters more worthy to be further investigated, when dealing with the seismic assessment of masonry buildings. Finally, masonry mechanical properties are calibrated in a probabilistic setting with the Bayesian approach to the inverse problem based on the available measurements obtained from the experimental load-displacement curves provided by shear compression in-situ tests.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• 제47권5호
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• pp.615-621
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• 2023

Korean Red Ginseng (KRG) plays a key role in heme oxygenase (HO)-1 induction under physical and moderate oxidative stress conditions. The transient and mild induction of HO-1 is beneficial for cell protection, mitochondrial function, regeneration, and intercellular communication. However, chronic HO-1 overexpression is detrimental in severely injured regions. Thus, in a chronic pathological state, diminishing HO-1-mediated ferroptosis is beneficial for a therapeutic approach. The molecular mechanisms by which KRG protects various cell types in the central nervous system have not yet been established, especially in terms of HO-1-mediated mitochondrial functions. Therefore, in this review, we discuss the multiple roles of KRG in the regulation of astrocytic HO-1 under pathophysiological conditions. More specifically, we discuss the role of the KRG-mediated astrocytic HO-1 pathway in regulating mitochondrial functions in acute and chronic neurodegenerative diseases as well as physiological conditions.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제90권5호
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• pp.435-446
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• 2024

The use of cold-formed steel members is increasing day by day, especially in regions where earthquake effects are intensively experienced. Among cold-formed steel members (CFS), "channel" members are used more than other crosssectional members, especially in buildings or industrial structures. In recent years, several studies have been carried out on the axial load and flexural performance of these members under monotonic loading. In this study, CFS beam-column members were cyclically and monotonically loaded under combined axial load and biaxial bending moments, and their buckling behavior, load bearing capacity, stiffness, ductility, and energy absorption capacity were determined. For this purpose, monotonic and cyclic loading experiments were carried out on 30 CFS channel members at 15 different eccentricities. Then, material properties were determined by axial monotonic tensile and very low cycle fatigue tests for use in numerical studies. From the experimental results, the buckling modes, bearing capacities, ductility, stiffness, and energy absorption capacities of the members were obtained. The characteristics of the members were compared according to the stress state of the lips. According to the data obtained from the displacement transducer placed on the lips and on the back of the web, information about the buckling mode and curvature of the members was obtained. Finally, monotonic, and cyclic loading results were compared to determine the differences in the buckling behavior of the members.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• 제51권4호
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• pp.417-440
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• 2024

Artificial neural networks (ANN) have been the focus of several studies when it comes to evaluating the pile's bearing capacity. Nonetheless, the principal drawbacks of employing this method are the sluggish rate of convergence and the constraints of ANN in locating global minima. The current work aimed to build four ANN-based prediction models enhanced with methods from the black hole algorithm (BHA), league championship algorithm (LCA), shuffled complex evolution (SCE), and symbiotic organisms search (SOS) to estimate the carrying capacity of piles in cold climates. To provide the crucial dataset required to build the model, fifty-eight concrete pile experiments were conducted. The pile geometrical properties, internal friction angle 𝛗 shaft, internal friction angle 𝛗 tip, pile length, pile area, and vertical effective stress were established as the network inputs, and the BHA, LCA, SCE, and SOS-based ANN models were set up to provide the pile bearing capacity as the output. Following a sensitivity analysis to determine the optimal BHA, LCA, SCE, and SOS parameters and a train and test procedure to determine the optimal network architecture or the number of hidden nodes, the best prediction approach was selected. The outcomes show a good agreement between the measured bearing capabilities and the pile bearing capacities forecasted by SCE-MLP. The testing dataset's respective mean square error and coefficient of determination, which are 0.91846 and 391.1539, indicate that using the SCE-MLP approach as a practical, efficient, and highly reliable technique to forecast the pile's bearing capacity is advantageous.

• BMB Reports
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• 제47권6호
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• pp.324-329
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• 2014

Regulators of G-protein signaling (RGS) proteins regulate certain G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR)-mediated signaling pathways. The GABAB receptor ($GABA_BR$) is a GPCR that plays a role in the stress response. Previous studies indicate that acute immobilization stress (AIS) decreases RGS4 in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and hypothalamus (HY) and suggest the possibility of a signal complex composed of RGS4 and $GABA_BR$. Therefore, in the present study, we tested whether RGS4 associates with $GABA_BR$ in these brain regions. We found the co-localization of RGS4 and $GABA_BR$ subtypes in the PFC and HY using double immunohistochemistry and confirmed a direct association between $GABA_{B2}R$ and RGS4 proteins using co-immunoprecipitation. Furthermore, we found that AIS decreased the amount of RGS4 bound to $GABA_{B2}R$ and the number of double-positive cells. These results indicate that $GABA_BR$ forms a signal complex with RGS4 and suggests that RGS4 is a regulator of $GABA_BR$.

• 대한의용생체공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 대한의용생체공학회 1997년도 춘계학술대회
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• pp.374-378
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• 1997

Operative procedures such as core drilling with and without fibular bone grafting have been recognized as the treatment methods for osteonecrosis of femoral head(ONFH) by delaying or preventing the collapse of the femoral head. In addition, core drilling with cementation using polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) has been proposed recently as another surgical method. However, no definite treatment modality has been found yet while operative procedures remain controversial to many clinicians In this study, a finite element method(FEM) was employed to analyze and compare various surgical procedures of ONFH to provide a biomechanical insight. This study was based upon biomechanical findings which suggest stress concentration within the femoral head may facilitate the progression of the necrosis and eventual collapse. For this purpose, five anatomically relevant hip models were constructed in three dimensions : they were (1) intact(Type I), (2) necrotic(Type II), (3) core drilled only(Type III), (4) core drilled with fibular bone graft(Type IV), and (5) core drilled with cementation(Type V). Physiologically relevant loading were simulated. Resulting stresses were calculated. Our results showed that the volumetric percentage subjected to high stress in the necrotic cancellous region was greatest in the core drilled only model(Type III), followed by the necrotic(Type II), the bone graft (Type IV), and the cemented(Type V) models. Von Mises stresses at the tip of the graft(Type IV) was found to be twice more than those of cemented core(Type V) indicating the likelihood of the implant failure. In addition, stresses within the cemented core(Type V) were more evenly distributed and relatively lower than within the fibular bone graft(Type IV). In conclusion, our biomechanical analyses have demonstrated that the bone graft method(Type IV) and the cementation method(Type V) are both superior to the core decompression method(Type III) by reducing the high stress regions within the necrotic cancellous bone. Also it was found that the core region filled with PMMA(Type V) provides far smoother transfer of physiological load without causing the concentration of malignant stresses which may lead to the failure than with the fibular bone graft(Type IV). Therefore, considering the above results along with the degree of difficulties and risk of infection involved with preparation of the fibular bone graft, the cementation method appears to be a promising surgical treatment for the early stage of osteonecrosis of the femoral head.

• 콘크리트학회논문집
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• 제21권6호
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• pp.753-761
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• 2009

이 논문은 철근콘크리트 휨부재의 인장겹침이음 영역에서의 정착저항능력에 대한 콘크리트 강도와 피복두께의 영향을 알아보기 위하여 총 24개의 beam-end 실험체의 실험 결과를 정리 분석한 것이다. 콘크리트 강도가 증가할수록 부착응력이 커지고 전달길이가 줄어든다는 부착특성과 얇은 피복에서 쉽게 발생하는 쪼갬균열 및 취성적인 균열 진전과 같은 균열거동을 근거로 하여 현행 설계기준의 등분포부착응력 가정에 의한 정착길이 규정을 고강도 콘크리트에도 그대로 적용할 수 있는지 조사하였다. 그 결과 콘크리트 강도에 따른 정착저항능력은 피복두께의 영향을 크게 받고 있으며, 고강도 콘크리트에서는 현행 설계기준 규정보다 짧은 겹침이음길이를 갖더라도 충분한 안전율을 확보하는 것으로 나타났다. 이러한 실험 결과로부터 고강도 콘크리트의 정착길이는 제곱근 압축강도의 반비례가 아닌 압축강도에 직접적으로 반비례함을 확인하였으며, 현 설계기준에서 보통강도 콘크리트에 적용하는 동일 매입길이에 대한 등 분포부착응력 가정이 아닌 새로운 정착길이 계산식을 제안하였다.

• 한국작물학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국작물학회 2017년도 9th Asian Crop Science Association conference
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• pp.308-308
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• 2017

The low and unstable yield of soybean has been a major problem in Japan. Excess soil moisture conditions are one of the major factors to restrict soybean productivity. More than 80 % of soybean crops are cultivated in converted paddy fields which often have poor drainage. In central and eastern regions of Japan, the early vegetative growth of soybean tends to be restricted by the flooding damage because the early growth period is overlapped with the rainy season. Field observation shows that induced excess water stress in early vegetative stage reduces dry matter production by decreasing intercepted radiation by leaf and radiation use efficiency (RUE) (Bajgain et al., 2015). Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the responses of soybean growth for excess water conditions to assess these effects on soybean productions. In this study, we aim to modify the soybean crop model (Sinclair et al., 2003) by adding the components of the restriction of leaf area development and RUE for adaptable to excess water conditions. This model was consist of five components, phenological model, leaf area development model, dry matter production model, plant nitrogen model and soil water balance model. The model structures and parameters were estimated from the data obtained from the field experiment in Tsukuba. The excess water effects on the leaf area development were modeled with consideration of decrease of blanch emergence and individual leaf expansion as a function of temperature and ground water level from pot experiments. The nitrogen fixation and nitrogen absorption from soil were assumed to be inhibited by excess water stress and the RUE was assumed to be decreasing according to the decline of leaf nitrogen concentration. The results of the modified model were better agreement with the field observations of the induced excess water stress in paddy field. By coupling the crop model and the ground water level model, it may be possible to assess the impact of excess water conditions for soybean production quantitatively.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• 제11권6호
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• pp.461-469
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• 2017

BACKGROUND/OBSECTIVE: Airway inflammation by eosinophils, neutrophils and alveolar macrophages is a characteristic feature of asthma that leads to pathological subepithelial thickening and remodeling. Our previous study showed that oxidative stress in airways resulted in eosinophilia and epithelial apoptosis. The current study investigated whether glutathione-containing dry yeast extract (dry-YE) ameliorated eosinophilia, goblet cell hyperplasia and mucus overproduction. MATERIALS/METHOD: This study employed $2{\mu}g$/mL lipopolysaccharide (LPS)- or 20 ng/mL eotaxin-1-exposed human bronchial epithelial cells and ovalbumin (OVA)-challenged mice. Dry-YE employed in this study contained a significant amount of glutathione (140 mg in 100 g dry yeast). RESULTS: Human bronchial epithelial cell eotaxin-1 and mucin 5AC (MUC5AC) were markedly induced by the endotoxin LPS, which was dose-dependently attenuated by nontoxic dry-YE at 10-50 ${\mu}g$/mL. Moreover, dry-YE inhibited the MUC5AC induction enhanced by eotaxin-1, indicating that eotaxin-1-mediated eosinophilia may prompt the MUC5AC induction. Oral supplementation with 10-100 mg/kg dry-YE inhibited inflammatory cell accumulation in airway subepithelial regions with a reduction of lung tissue level of intracellular adhesion molecule-1. In addition, ${\geq}50$ mg/kg dry-YE diminished the lung tissue levels of eotaxin-1, eosinophil major basic protein and MUC5AC in OVA-exposed mice. Alcian blue/periodic acid schiff staining revealed that the dry-YE supplementation inhibited goblet cell hyperplasia and mucus overproduction in the trachea and bronchiolar airways of OVA-challenged mice. CONCLUSIONS: Oxidative stress may be involved in the induction of eotaxin-1 and MUC5AC by endotoxin episode and OVA challenge. Dry-YE effectively ameliorated oxidative stress-responsive epithelial eosinophilia and mucus-secreting goblet cell hyperplasia in cellular and murine models of asthma.

• 대한핵의학회지
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• 제28권2호
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• pp.172-176
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• 1994

심근 SPECT에 의한 심근질환의 심도 및 허혈부위를 평가하는 방법으로 정상인의 극성지도와의 비교에 의한 결손지도 평가방법이 상용화되었으나 본 연구에서는 결손부위의 범위만을 산출할 수 있었던 종래의 방법을 개선할 수 있는 관류회복정도 및 심도성적 산출 방법을 시도하여 보았다. 허혈 및 심도성적의 산출에서 부하 및 휴식기 극성지도의 차이를 3등급으로 분할하여 각 등급에 해당되는 화소의 수를 가중하므로서 관류결손부위의 면적이 반영된 허혈 및 심도성적 산출방법을 제안하고자 하였으며, 등급 및 가중치의 할당은 정상인의 잔상동맥영역별 관류분포를 반영하여 고른 등급 할당방법보다 상관도가 개선된 결과를 얻을 수 있었다.