• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.75-80
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• 2024

This research investigates the influence of chair tilt functionality on biometric signals and user comfort, addressing the ergonomic challenges posed by modern sedentary lifestyles. Through an experimental study involving eight male participants, the impact of chair tilt on electromyography (EMG), heart rate, metabolic rate, pressure distribution, and distance between the lumbar spine and the lumbar support part of the chair was measured across different seating postures. The study utilized chairs with both synchronous and non-synchronous tilt mechanisms to explore how adjustments in chair design affect user comfort and physiological responses during prolonged sitting. Key findings suggest that chair tilt functionality can significantly reduce muscle activity and energy expenditure, enhancing user comfort and potentially mitigating health risks associated with prolonged sedentary behavior. Notably, the study revealed a preference among participants for chairs that aligned the rotational center of the tilt with the hip joint, highlighting the importance of this ergonomic feature in enhancing user comfort. Additionally, the research proposes a novel methodology for assessing seating comfort through the analysis of both biometric and physical signals, providing valuable insights for the development of ergonomic chair designs focused on user health and comfort.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.63-72
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• 2024

This study delves into the interaction dynamics between lateral notches and inclusions, providing valuable insights for more effective engineering of structural components. By employing the finite element method, the research analyzes how inclusions affect the dimensions and contours of the plastic zone under confined plasticity conditions. Several parameters were investigated, including loading influence, the distance between the inclusion and notch tip, inclusion stiffness, and the distribution of Von Mises stress, as well as normal stresses σxx and σyy, and Comparison between different stresses. Examining stress distributions under varying loading conditions reveals a significant intensification, particularly near the crack tip. Moreover, the presence of an inclusion near the notch base reduces both the size and shape of the plastic zone. The distribution of the stresses for different loads knows an increase in intensity, especially near the crack head, which is the most requested by the tensile forces on its upper part, which can cause either the crack's initiation or opening, inducing significant stresses.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.13-19
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• 2024

Radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation (RF-EMR) from various sources may impact health due to the generation of frequency bands. Broad pulses emitted within frequency bands can be absorbed by cells, influencing their function. Numerous laboratory studies have demonstrated that mobile phones-generally the most widely used devices-can have harmful effects on sex cells, such as sperm and oocytes, by producing RF-EMR. Moreover, some research has indicated that RF-EMR generated by mobile phones can influence sperm parameters, including motility, morphology, viability, and (most critically) DNA structure. Consequently, RF-EMR can disrupt both sperm function and fertilization. However, other studies have reported that exposure of spermatozoa to RF-EMR does not affect the functional parameters or genetic structure of sperm. These conflicting results likely stem from differences among studies in the duration and exposure distance, as well as the species of animal used. This report was undertaken to review the existing research discussing the effects of RF-EMR on the DNA integrity of mammalian spermatozoa.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.57-66
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• 2024

Coastline changes evolution of different intensities at all times under the influence of natural and anthropogenic effects. In this paper, we extracted the coastline of the Tumen River estuary from 1985 to 2020 using the digitizing method, verified the accuracy using the visual interpretation results, and analyzed the changes of the coastline of the Tumen River estuary through the area method and the baseline method. The results showed that the coastline showed an erosion trend during 35 years, with an average erosion rate of 0.05 m/year, an average erosion distance of 3.06 m, and an erosion area of 19.25 ha. Among the human activities that retarded the erosion of the coastline, these activities had a long-term impact on the natural morphology of the coastline.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.54-63
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• 2024

This work investigated the influence of concentration and applied potential on the characteristics of zinc powder (purity, apparent density, morphology, particle size distribution, and particle zeta potential) produced by the electrochemical process from waste brass. High-purity zinc powder is obtained using selective leaching of industrial brass waste in acidic, neutral, and alkaline solutions. The free immersion method with and without voltage using linear polarization technique is used. In the electrochemical process, hydrochloric acid HCl in three different concentrations (0.1, 0.2, and 0.3) M is used. The time and the distance between the electrodes are set to be 30 min and 3 cm, respectively. It has been found that the percentage purity is 98%, 96%, and 94% for the acidic, neutral, and alkaline solutions, respectively. In addition, the morphology of zinc powder analyzed by SEM was dendritic and mossy. It has been recorded that the purity of zinc increases with the increase of the concentration and applied potential. The highest value of purity for zinc powder was %98.58 in 1000 mV and 0.3M concentration for graphite cathode.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.11
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• pp.4266-4273
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• 2023

In a severe reactor accident, a crust will form on the surface of the molten material during the core melting process. The crust will have a contact melting with the internal components of the reactor. In this paper, the contact melting process of the molten material on the austenitic stainless steel plate bundles is studied. The contact melting model of parabolic molten material on the plate bundles is proposed, and the rule and main effect factors of the contact melting are analyzed. The results show that the melting velocity is proportional to the slope of the paraboloid, the heat flux and the distance between two plates D. The influence of melt gravity and the plate width on melting velocity is negligible. The thickness of the molten liquid film is proportional to the heat flux and plate width, and it is inversely proportional to the gravity. With the increase of D, the liquid film thickness decreases at first and then increases gradually. The liquid film thickness has a minimum against D. When the width of the plate is small, the width of the plate is the main factor affecting the thickness of the liquid film. The parameters are coupled with each other. In a severe reactor accident, the wider internal components of reactor, which can increase the thickness of the melting liquid film and reduce the net input heat flux from the molten material to the components, are the effective measures to delay the melting process.

• Clinical Endoscopy
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• v.55 no.4
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• pp.540-548
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• 2022

Background/Aims: Colorectal polyps are removed to prevent progression to colorectal cancer. Polyp size is an important factor for risk stratification of malignant transformation. Endoscopic size estimation correlates poorly with pathological reports and several factors have been suggested to influence size estimation. We aimed to gain insight into the factors influencing endoscopic polyp size estimation. Methods: Images of polyps in an artificial model were obtained at 1, 3, and 5 cm from the colonoscope's tip. Participants were asked to estimate the diameter and volume of each polyp. Results: Fifteen endoscopists from three large-volume centers participated in this study. With an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.66 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.62-0.71) for diameter and 0.56 (95% CI, 0.50-0.62) for volume. Polyp size estimated at 3 cm from the colonoscope's tip yielded the best results. A lower distance between the tip and the polyp was associated with a larger estimated polyp size. Conclusions: Correct endoscopic estimation of polyp size remains challenging. This finding can affect size estimation skills and future training programs for endoscopists.

• Journal of the Korean Geophysical Society
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.269-280
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• 2000

Rail vibration in city zone is becoming a serious environmental problem. In order to make a reduction plan for rail vibration, the research was conducted in which many experiments to measure actual rail vibration along the railroad through the central Deajeon area. A digital vibration level meter was used to measure rail vibration. Vibration levels of Z-axis were measured at every second for the duration of the train passing. The measuring station was placed at every 5m for the distance of 55m. A total of 353 different sets of vibration level were obtained. The signals were processed to get $L_{10}$ value and analyzed in terms of distance, train velocity, and number of trains. As a result, it has been found that rail vibration exceed the allowable vibraton limit of 60 dB, at the point of 25 m far from the railroad center, which is regulated by the las of vibration and noise. Train velocity was found to affect a little for vibration level within the zone. It was also found that a trench installed along a railroad could reduce vibration level up to approximately 10 percent. A model test was conducted to investigate the influence of the location and size of trench, on the transfer of vibration. A heavy steel ball was used to generate vibrations. On the basis obtained from this study, it could be concluded that the application of distance-attenuation and the installment of a trench along railroad could be applied as a reduction plan for rail vibration. Because limitions might exist to depend on the effect of distance attenuation, trenchs excavated along a railroad might be suggested as the most efficient solution to reduce railroad vibration.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea TC
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• v.44 no.11
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• pp.42-47
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• 2007

In this paper, influence of lossy ground and gap variation between lossy ground and UWB antenna on impulse propagation in time domain for impulse ground penetrating radar (GPR) is numerically and experimentally investigated. For this study, a novel planar UWB fat dipole antenna is developed. First, influence of lossy ground and gap variation between lossy ground and UWB antenna is simulated. For verification, a test field of sand and wet clay soil is built and using the developed dipole antenna, transmission behavior is investigated at the test field. With an aid of IDFT (inverse discrete Fourier transform), time domain impulse response for transmission coefficient measured and simulated in frequency domain is obtained. Measurement and simulation show that the frequency of maximum transmission coefficient and transmission coefficient are increased with higher dielectric constant and larger gap distance. In time domain, it is shown that for higher dielectric constant, the amplitude of the received signal in time domain is higher and reflected signals are seriously modified. Also, it is found that variation of gap between antenna and ground surface makes timing of peak value changed.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.76 no.5
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• pp.226-232
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• 2014

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized by airflow limitation and results from environmental factors and genetic factors. Although cigarette smoking is a major risk factor, other environmental exposures can influence COPD. The purpose of this study is to investigate the clinical characteristics of COPD according to the history of environmental exposure. Methods: The study population comprised of 347 subjects with COPD who were recruited from the pulmonary clinics of 14 hospitals within the Korean Obstructive Lung Disease Study Group. We classified environmental exposures according to history of living near factory, and direct exposure history to firewood or briquette. According to living environmental exposures, we compared the frequency of respiratory symptoms, pulmonary function, quality of life, exercise capacity, and computed tomography phenotypes. Results: Thirty-one subjects (8.9%) had history of living near factory, 271 (78.3%) had exposure history to briquette, and 184 (53.3%) had exposure history to firewood. Patients with history of living near a factory had a significantly longer duration of sputum, while patients with exposure to firewood tended to have lower forced expiratory volume in one second, and patients with exposure to briquette tended to have lower six minute walk distance. Conclusion: COPD subjects with the history of living near factory had more frequent respiratory symptoms such as sputum. Our data suggest that environmental exposure may influence clinical phenotype of COPD.