• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.131-136
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• 2001

Object : The clinical uses of screws are increasing with broader applications in spinal disorders. When screws are inserted repeatedly to achieve optimal position, tips of screw pitch may become damaged during insertion even though there are significant differences in the moduli of elasticity between bone and titanium. The effect of repeated screw insertion on pullout resistance was investigated. Methods : Three different titanium screws(cortical lateral mass screw, cancellous lateral mass screw and cervical vertebral body screw) were inserted into the synthetic cancellous material and then extracted axially at a rate of 2.4mm/min using Instron(Model TT-D, Canton, MA). Each set of screws was inserted and pulled out three times. There were six screws in each group. The insertional torque was measured with a torque wrench during insertion. Pullout strength was recorded with a digital oscilloscope. Results : The mean pullout force measurements for the cortical lateral mass screws($185.66N{\pm}42.60$, $167.10N{\pm}27.01$ and $162.52 N{\pm}23.83$ for first, second and third pullout respectively : p=0.03) and the cervical vertebral body screws($386.0N{\pm}24.1$, $360.2N{\pm}17.5$ and $330.9N{\pm}16.7$ : p=0.0024) showed consecutive decrease in pullout resistance after each pullout, whereas the cancellous lateral mass screws did not($194.00N{\pm}36.47$, $219.24N{\pm}26.58$ and 199.49N(36.63 : p=0.24). The SEM after insertion and pullout three times showed a blunting in the tip of the screw pitch and a smearing of the screw surface. Conclusions : Repetitive screw insertion and pullout resulted in the decrease of pullout resistance in certain screws possibly caused by blunting the screw tip. This means screw tips suffer deformations during either repeated insertion or pullout. Thus, the screws that have been inserted should not be used for the final construct.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.23 no.9
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• pp.5-16
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• 2007

The simple linear elastic-perfectly plastic model with soil parameters $s_u,\;E_u$ and n of undrained condition is usually applied to predict the displacement of a constructed diaphragm wall(DW) on soft soils during excavation. However, the application of this soil model for finite element analysis could not interpret the continued increment of the lateral displacement of the DW for the large and deep excavation area both during the elapsed time without activity of excavation and after finishing excavation. To study the characteristic behaviors of soil behind the DW during the periods without excavation, a series of tests on soft Bangkok clay samples are simulated in the same manner as stress condition of soil elements happening behind diaphragm wall by triaxial tests. Three kinds of triaxial tests are carried out in this research: $K_0$ consolidated undrained compression($CK_0U_C$) and $K_0$ consolidated drained/undrained unloading compression with periodic decrement of horizontal pressure($CK_0DUC$ and $CK_0UUC$). The study shows that the shear strength of series $CK_0DUC$ tests is equal to the residual strength of $CK_0UC$ tests. The Young's modulus determined at each decrement step of the horizontal pressure of soil specimen on $CK_0DUC$ tests decreases with increase in the deviator stress. In addition, the slope of Critical State Line of both $CK_0UC$ and $CK_0DUC$ tests is equal. Moreover, the axial and radial strain rates of each decrement of horizontal pressure step of $CK_0DUC$ tests are established with the function of time, a slope of critical state line and a ratio of deviator and mean effective stress. This study shows that the results of the unloading compression triaxial tests can be used to predict the diaphragm wall deflection during excavation.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.130-142
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• 2007

This study was to examine impacts of turbid water on fish community in the downstream of Yongdam Dam during the period from June to October 2006. For the research, we selected six sampling sites in the field: two sites were controls with no influences of turbid water from the dam and other remaining four sites were the stations for an assessment of potential turbid effects. We evaluated integrative health conditions throughout applications of various models such as necropsy-based fish health assessment model (FHA), Index of Biological Integrity (IBI) using fish assemblages, and Qualitative Habitat Evaluation Index (QHEI). Laboratory tests on fish exposure under 400 NTU were performed to find out impact of turbid water using scanning electron microscope (SEM). Results showed that fine solid particles were clogging in the gill in the treatments, while particles were not found in the control. This results indicate that when inorganic turbidity increases abruptedly, fish may have a mechanical abrasion or respiratory blocking. The stream health condition, based on the IBI values, ranged between 38 and 48 (average: 42), indicating a "excellent" or "good" condition after the criteria of US EPA (1993). In the mean time, physical habitat condition, based on the QHEI, ranged 97 to 187 (average 154), indicating a "suboptimal condition". These biological outcomes were compared with chemical dataset: IBI values were more correlated (r=0.526, p<0.05, n=18) with QHEI rather than chemical water quality, based on turbidity (r=0.260, p>0.05, n=18). Analysis of the FHA showed that the individual health indicated "excellent condition", while QHEI showed no habitat disturbances (especially bottom substrate and embeddeness), food-web, and spawning place. Consequently, we concluded that the ecological health in downstream of Yongdam Dam was not impacted by the turbid water.