• Kidney Research and Clinical Practice
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• 제37권4호
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• pp.338-346
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• 2018

Background: The most common cause of acute kidney injury (AKI) in pregnancy is preeclampsia. Serum cystatin C (CysC) is a potential biomarker of early kidney damage as its levels are not disturbed by volume status changes in pregnancy, and serum CysC levels could serve as a replacement for conventionally used creatinine. In this study, we investigated the serum levels of CysC in severe preeclampsia cases and the associations between CysC levels and poor obstetric outcomes. Methods: Our cohort included severe preeclampsia patients with a normal serum creatinine level. Creatinine was measured to calculate estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) based on the Cockcroft and Gault, Modification of Diet in Renal Disease Study (MDRD), and Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI) equations, while CysC was measured to calculated eGFR based on a CysC-based equation. We then evaluated the correlations between serum CysC level, eGFR, and obstetric outcomes. Results: Twenty-six patients were evaluated of which 38.5% delivered preterm and 30.8% had low-birth weight babies. Unlike creatinine-based eGFR and CysC-based eGFR, serum CysC demonstrate significant negative correlation with gestational age. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis indicated that serum CysC is a potential biomarker of preterm delivery with a cut-off serum level of 1.48 mg/L with 80% sensitivity and 75% specificity. Conclusion: GFR estimation using CysC is likely to be inaccurate in pregnancy. However, we found a significant correlation between preterm delivery and serum CysC level. Our results suggest that serum CysC level has the potential to predict preterm delivery in severe preeclampsia patients.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제69권6호
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• pp.627-635
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• 2019

In order to study the axial compression performance of sand-lightweight concrete-filled steel tube (SLCFST) stub columns, three circular SLCFST (C-SLCFST) stub column specimens and three SLCFST square (S-SLCFST) stub column specimens were fabricated and static monotonic axial compression performance testing was carried out, using the volume ratio between river sand and ceramic sand in sand-lightweight concrete (SLC) as a varying parameter. The stress process and failure mode of the specimens were observed, stress-strain curves were obtained and analysed for the specimens, and the ultimate bearing capacity of SLCFST stub column specimens was calculated based on unified strength theory, limit equilibrium theory and superposition theory. The results show that the outer steel tubes of SLCFST stub columns buckled outward, core SLC was crushed, and the damage to the upper parts of the S-SLCFST stub columns was more serious than for C-SLCFST stub columns. Three stages can be identified in the stress-strain curves of SLCFST stub columns: an elastic stage, an elastic-plastic stage and a plastic stage. It is suggested that AIJ-1997, CECS 159:2004 or AIJ-1997, based on superposition theory, can be used to design the ultimate bearing capacity under axial compression for C-SLCFST and S-SLCFST stub columns; for varying replacement ratios of natural river sand, the calculated stress-strain curves for SLCFST stub columns under axial compression show good fitting to the test measure curves.

• 한국표면공학회지
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• 제51권6호
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• pp.393-399
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• 2018

Formation behavior of aluminum anodic oxide (AAO) films on Al6061 alloy was studied in view of thickness, morphology and defects in the anodic films in 20 vol.% sulfuric acid solution at a constant current density of $40mA/cm^2$, using voltage-time curve, observation of anodized specimen colors and surface and cross-sectional morphologies of anodic films with anodization time. With increasing anodizing time, voltage for film formation increased exponentially after about 12 min and its increasing rate decreased after 25 min, followed by a rapid decrease of the voltage after about 28 min. Surface color of anodized specimen became darker with increasing anodizing time up to about 20 min, while it appeared to be brighter with increasing anodizing time after 20 min. The darkened and brightened surfaces with anodizing time are attributed to an increase in thickness of porous anodic oxide film and a chemical damage of the films due to heat generated by increased resistance of the film, respectively. Cross-sectional observation of AAO films revealed the formation of defects of crack shape at the metal/oxide interface after 15 min which prevents the growth of AAO films. Width and length of the crack-like defect increased with anodizing time up to 25 min of anodizing, and finally the outer part of AAO films was partly dissolved or detached after 30 min of anodizing, resulting in non-uniform surface structures of the AAO films.

• 한국자기공명학회논문지
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• 제22권4호
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• pp.149-157
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• 2018

Diabetes is known to be one of common causes for several types of peripheral nerve damage. Diabetic neuropathy (DN) is a significant complication lowering the quality of life that can be frequently found in diabetes patients. In this study, the metabolomic characteristic of DN and Diabetes was investigated with NMR spectroscopy. The sera samples were collected from DN patients, Diabetes patients, and healthy volunteers. Based on the pair-wise comparison, three metabolites were found to be noticeable: glucose, obviously, was upregulated both in DN patients (DNP) and Diabetes. Citrate is also increased in both diseases. However, the dietary nutrient and biosynthesized metabolite from glucose, ascorbate, was elevated only in DNP, compared to healthy control. The multivariate model of OPLS-DA clearly showed the group separation between healthy control-DNP and healthy control-Diabetes. The most significant metabolites that contributed the group separation included glucose, citrate, ascorbate, and lactate. Lactate did not show the statistical significance of change in t-test while it tends to down-regulated both in DNP and Diabetes. We also conducted the ROC curve analysis to make a multivariate model for discrimination of healthy control and diseases with the identified three metabolites. As a result, the discrimination model between healthy control and DNP (or Diabetes) was successful while the model between DNP and Diabetes was not satisfactory for discrimination. In addition, multiple combinations of lactate and citrate in the OPLS-DA model of healthy control and diabetes group (DNP + Diabetes patients) gave good ROC value of 0.952, which imply these two metabolites could be used for diagnosis of Diabetes without glucose information.

• 대한조선학회논문집
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• 제56권1호
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• pp.82-93
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• 2019

In this paper, the ductile fracture criteria for a marine structural steel (EH36) are presented and validated. The theoretical background of the recently developed Hosford-Coulomb (HC) fracture strain model and the DSSE fracture strain model which was developed to apply to the shell elements is described. In order to accurately estimate the flow stress in the large strain range up to the fracture, the material constants for the combined Swift-Voce constitutive equation were derived by the numerical analyses of the smooth and notched specimens made from the EH36 steel. As a result of applying the Swift-Voce flow stress to the other notched specimen model, a very accurate load - displacement curve could be derived. The material constants of the HC fracture strain and DSSE fracture strain models were independently calibrated based on the numerical analyses for the smooth and notch specimen tests. The user subroutine (VUMAT of Abaqus) was developed to verify the accuracy of the combined HC-DSSE fracture strain model. An asymmetric notch specimen was used as verification model. It was confirmed that the fracture of the asymmetric specimen can be accurately predicted when a very small solid elements are used together with the HC fracture strain model. On the other hand, the combined HC-DSSE fracture strain model can predict accurately the fracture of shell element model while the shell element size effect becomes less sensitive.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• 제22권4호
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• pp.350-357
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• 2019

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate a possible association between the anti-tissue transglutaminase antibody (anti-tTG) titer and stage of duodenal mucosal damage and assess a possible cut-off value of anti-tTG at which celiac disease (CD) may be diagnosed in children in conjunction with clinical judgment. Methods: This observational study was conducted at a gastroenterology clinic in a tertiary hospital from April 2012 to May 2013. Seventy children between 6-months and 18-years-old with suspected CD underwent celiac serology and duodenal biopsy. Statistical analyses were done using SPSS 16. Diagnostic test values were determined for comparing the anti-tTG titer with duodenal biopsy. An analysis of variance and Tukey-Kramer tests were performed for comparing the means between groups. A receiver operating characteristics curve was plotted to determine various cut-off values of anti-tTG. Results: The mean antibody titer increased with severity of Marsh staging (p<0.001). An immunoglobulin (Ig) A-tTG value at 115 AU/mL had 76% sensitivity and 100% specificity with a 100% positive predictive value (PPV) and 17% negative predictive value (NPV) for diagnosis of CD (p<0.001, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.75-1). Conclusion: There is an association between the anti-tTG titer and stage of duodenal mucosal injury in children with CD. An anti-tTG value of 115 AU/mL (6.4 times the upper normal limit) had 76% sensitivity, 100% specificity, with a 100% PPV, and 17% NPV for diagnosing CD (95% CI, 0.75-1). This cut-off may be used in combination with clinical judgment to diagnose CD.

• 한국기계가공학회지
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• 제18권2호
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• pp.65-72
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• 2019

In long freight trains, there is a brake time delay in neighboring freight cars, which causes damage and fractures in the couplers, especially at their knuckle. A problem in the couplers of the cars can cause derailment and damages of human life and property. In this study, maximum forces on the couplers are studied when a long freight car brakes with the brake delay time and coupler gap. We make a dynamic model of 50 freight cars and couplers, applying contact between the couplers and a characteristic curve to express the force and displacement of the buffers using SIMPACK, which is a multi-body dynamics program. We use EN 14531-2, which is a standard of freight car brakes, to verify the dynamic model. Then, we compare the analyzed impact force with the coupler knuckle standard after applying the two carriages of a locomotive in the model based on the dispersed double head control system. The result shows that all coupler gap conditions satisfy the infinite lifetime of the material when the brake delay time is 0.1 second.

• 한국수자원학회논문집
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• 제53권12호
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• pp.1173-1181
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• 2020

최근 단기간의 국지성호우가 빈번하게 발생하면서 단순 1차적 피해를 넘어 경제적, 사회적 영향이 커지고 있다. 기상선진국에서는 단순 기상예보로서의 정보전달이 아닌 사회 경제적 영향을 분석하여 현실적이고 신뢰할 수 있는 영향예보를 실시하고 있다. 본 논문에서는 사람의 보행에 영향을 미칠 수 있는 영향한계강우량을 산정하기 위해서 Spatial Runoff Assessment Tool (S-RAT), FLO-2D 모델을 사용하여 침수정도를 도출하였고 Grid to Grid (G2G)개념의 한계강우량을 산정하였다. 또한, 과거 의학 분야에서 많이 사용하였지만 현재는 가뭄이나 홍수 등의 자연현상 및 머신러닝에 많이 사용하는 ROC 분석 기법을 통해 정량적인 정확도분석을 실시하였다. 분석 결과 실제 침수와 모의 침수가 비슷한 시간대의 결과가 나왔으며 ROC 곡선의 결과 0.7이상으로 Fair 단계의 적정성을 확보하였다.

• Animal Bioscience
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• 제36권7호
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• pp.1120-1129
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• 2023

Objective: This study aimed to determine the protective efficacy of Buddha's Temple (BT) extract against tert-butyl hydroperoxide (t-BHP)-induced oxidative stress in Gallus gallus chicken embryo fibroblast cell line (DF-1) and its effects on the cell lipid metabolism. Methods: In this experimental study, Gallus gallus DF-1 fibroblast cells were pretreated with BT 10^-7 for 24 hours, followed by their six-hour exposure to t-BHP (100 μM). Water-soluble tetrazolium salt-8 (WST-8) assays were performed, and the growth curve was computed. The intracellular gene expression changes caused by BT extract were confirmed through quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Flow cytometry, oil red O staining experiment, and thin-layer chromatography were performed for the detection of intracellular metabolic mechanism changes. Results: The WST-8 assay results showed that the BT pretreatment of Gallus gallus DF-1 fibroblast cell increased their cell survival rate by 1.08%±0.04%, decreased the reactive oxygen species (ROS) level by 0.93%±0.12% even after exposure to oxidants, and stabilized mitochondrial activity by 1.37%±0.36%. In addition, qPCR results confirmed that the gene expression levels of tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα), TIR domain-containing adapter inducing IFN-beta (TICAM1), and glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78) were regulated, which contributed to cell stabilization. Thin-layer chromatography and oil red O analyses showed a clear decrease in the contents of lipid metabolites such as triacylglycerol and free fatty acids. Conclusion: In this study, we confirmed that the examined BT extract exerted selective protective effects on Gallus gallus DF-1 fibroblast cells against cell damage caused by t-BHP, which is a strong oxidative inducer. Furthermore, we established that this extract significantly reduced the intracellular ROS accumulation due to oxidative stress, which contributes to an increase in poultry production and higher incomes.

• Computers and Concrete
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• 제31권4호
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• pp.349-358
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• 2023

This paper describes an in-depth analysis on flexural strength of a girder-deck system experiencing a strand debonding damage with various strengthening systems, based on finite element software ABAQUS. A detailed finite element analysis (FEA) model was developed and verified against the relevant experimental data performed by other researchers. The proposed analytical model showed a good agreement with experimental data. Based on the verified FE model, over a hundred girder-deck systems were investigated with the consideration of following variables: 1) debonding level, 2) span-to-depth ratio (L/d), 3) strengthening type, 4) strengthening material thickness. Based on the data above, a new detailed analytical model was developed and proposed for estimating residual flexural strength of the strand-debonding damaged girder-deck system with strengthening systems. It was demonstrated that both finite element model and analysis model could be used to predict flexural behaviors for debonding damaged prestressed girder-deck systems. Since the strands are debonding from surrounding concrete over a certain zone over the length of the beam, the increase of strain in strands can be linked with a ratio ψ, which is L_p/c. The analytical model was proposed and developed regarding the ratio ψ. By conducting procedure of calculating ψ, the ψ value varies from 9.3 to 70.1. Multiple nonlinear regression analysis was performed in Software IBM SPSS Statistics 27.0.1 to derive equation of ψ. ψ equation was curved to be an exponential function, and the independent variable (X) is a linear function in terms of three variables of debonding level (λ), span length (L), and amount of strengthening material (A_s). The coefficient of determinate (R²) for curve fitting in nonlinear regression analysis is 0.8768. The developed analytical model was compared to the ultimate capacities computed by FEA model.