• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.51-69
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• 2016

Monitoring the performance and estimating the remaining useful life of aging civil infrastructure in the United States has been identified as a major objective in the civil engineering community. Structural health monitoring has emerged as a central tool to fulfill this objective. This paper presents a review of the major structural monitoring programs that have been recently implemented in the United States, focusing on the integrity and performance assessment of large-scale structural systems. Applications where response data from a monitoring program have been used to detect and correct structural deficiencies are highlighted. These applications include (but are not limited to): i) Post-earthquake damage assessment of buildings and bridges; ii) Monitoring of cables vibration in cable-stayed bridges; iii) Evaluation of the effectiveness of technologies for retrofit and seismic protection, such as base isolation systems; and iv) Structural damage assessment of bridges after impact loads resulting from ship collisions. These and many other applications show that a structural health monitoring program is a powerful tool for structural damage and condition assessment, that can be used as part of a comprehensive decision-making process about possible actions that can be undertaken in a large-scale civil infrastructure system after potentially damaging events.

• KIEAE Journal
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.41-50
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• 2006

A greater number of persons with disabilities including an increasing number of aging population has brought concerns on diversity and equality in use of products and environments. Universal design concepts have been introduced rapidly and widely in the built environments in Korea. The purpose of this study was to analyze a model house built in 2006, in the U.S. as a universal design home, systematically examine the universal design model house features, and explore possibility of application of the universal design features in the U.S. into a Korean setting. For this study, site analysis and contents analysis methods were used. Although housing norm, behavioral patterns and environmental contexts would be different, majority of universal design features appeared in the model house were expected to apply. Overall universal design features in the model house sought for attractive, comfort, convenient and safe environment with a little cost. Universal design features in the model house appeared in unobtrusive ways. Universal design considerations on floor materials in living room and bath and furniture arrangement need to modify or replace according to Korean lifestyle.

• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.26-33
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• 2008

In order to fully understand the chemical properties of Asian dust particles, especially their transformation and aging processes, it is desirable to investigate the nature of original sands collected at local source areas in China. This study presents the detailed properties of sands collected at four different desert regions (Yinchuan, Wuwei, Dulan, and Yanchi) in China. Most of sands have irregular shape with yellowish coloration, whereas some of them show peculiar colors. The relative size distribution of sands collected at Yinchuan, Wuwei, and Dulan deserts exhibits monomodal with the maximum level between 200 and $300{\mu}$, whereas that of Yanchi desert is formed between 100 and $200{\mu}$. The mass concentration ratio of each element to that of Si (Z/Si) determined by PIXE analysis has a tendency towards higher Z/Si ratios for soil derived elements. It was possible to visually reconstruct the elemental maps on the surface of individual sands by XRF microprobe technique. In addition, the multielemental mass concentration could be quantitatively calculated for numerous spots of desert sands.

• Korean Institute of Interior Design Journal
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.13-20
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• 2016

Recently, the concern of aging society is 'Healthy life' for the elderly and pre-elderly. Especially, realizing the 'Healthy life', it is very important for the elderly to establish living environment for holding and maintaining mental depression. Mental depression is related to dysfunction of sensory organ included physical functions. Therefore, the dysfunction of elderly's sensory organ is required to the guideline of environmental planning. In this study, among five senses, I focused visual sense due to the large proportion of environmental perception. The purpose of this study is to analyze the degree of geriatric depression and preference of simulated images applying preferable color for the elderly. This study conducted literature review and questionnaire survey. Firstly, the previous studies related with the melancholy, sense of isolation, self-regard for the elderly analyzed. Secondly, the questionnaire tool measuring the degree of geriatric depression developed. Thirdly, the tool investigating the preference for the simulated images applied main, sub, and accent colors produced. Applied preferable colors were used from the results previous study. Lastly, based on the result, the basic data of color planning were suggested. It was judged that this study is an useful as the basic guideline of color planning for the elderly's residential spaces and the potential value of considering geriatric depression and the color planning in terms of the elderly's visual sense.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.475-482
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• 2021

Prodigiosins, which are natural tripyrrole red pigments and synthetic derivatives, reportedly have multiple biological effects mainly on various types of cancer cells. However, the effects of bacterial prodigiosin on non-cancerous HaCaT human skin keratinocytes have not been reported. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the functional activities of prodigiosin derived from cultures of the bacterium Hahella chejuensis in HaCaT cells. Cell viability, the cell proliferation rate, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in vitro were assayed following treatment of HaCaT cells with prodigiosin. Prodigiosin did not cause cytotoxicity and notably increased proliferation of HaCaT cells. Furthermore, prodigiosin reduced ultraviolet (UV) irradiation-induced ROS production and the inflammatory response in HaCaT cells. More importantly, prodigiosin reduced matrix metalloproteinase-9 expression and increased collagen synthesis in UV-irradiated HaCaT cells, demonstrating that it elicits anti-aging effects. In conclusion, our results reveal that H. chejuensis-derived prodigiosin is a potential natural product to develop functional cosmetic ingredients.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.127-139
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• 2019

Bridges, offshore oil platforms and other infrastructures usually require at some point in their service life rehabilitation for reasons such as aging and corrosion. This study explores the application of adhesively bonded CFRP patches in repair of corroded circular hollow sectional (CHS) steel beams. An experimental program involving three-point bending tests was conducted on intact, corroded, and repaired CHS beams. Meso-scale finite element (FE) models of the tested beams were developed and validated by the experimental results. A parametric study using the validated FE models was performed to examine the effects of different CFRP patch parameters, including patch dimensions, number of plies and stacking sequence, on efficiency of the repair system. Results indicates that the corrosion reduced elastic stiffness and flexural strength of the undamaged beam by 8.9 and 15.1%, respectively, and composite repair recovered 10.7 and 18.9% of those, respectively, compared to undamaged beam. These findings demonstrated the ability of CFRP patch repair to restore full bending capacity of the corroded CHS steel beam. The parametric study revealed that strength and stiffness of the repaired CHS beam can be enhanced by changing the fiber orientations of wet composite patch without increasing the quantity of repair materials.

• Journal of the Architectural Institute of Korea Structure & Construction
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.59-67
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• 2018

G-SEED's evaluation of existing buildings is an important point because the energy consumption and CO2 emissions of existing buildings are continuously increasing due to the aging of buildings over time. However, as G-SEED certification is concentrated on new buildings and the standards are not yet available, we will make improvements to evaluate the existing buildings of G-SEED. In order to improve G-SEED for EB, two research procedures were carried out. First, LEED EBOM and LEED for NC compare and analyze evaluation items and methods, and LEED EBOM focuses on evaluation of existing buildings. Second, we analyzed the certification evaluation contents of eight domestic LEED EBOM accredited buildings and obtained items that can be applied or need to be applied when revising G-SEED for EB. LEED EBOM is focused on improving the performance and utilization of data that track and manage the energy and environmental effects of building operations. As a result of the case analysis, the evaluation of G-SEED for EB requires quantitative evaluation items such as environmental management of buildings, energy performance status of building, improvement plan and improvement of performance according to tracking value. Although G-SEED for EB is not structured yet and there are few cases of certification, it is expected that quantitative evaluation of existing buildings will be made through continuous research.

• International conference on construction engineering and project management
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• 2011.02a
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• pp.526-533
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• 2011

Contracting is said to be a high-risk business, and a common cause of business failure is related to cash management. A contractor's financial viability depends heavily on how actual payments from an owner deviate from those defined in the contract. The paper presents a method for contractors to evaluate the punctuality and fullness of owner payments based on historical behaviour. It does this by classifying owners according to their late and incomplete payment practices. A payment profile of an owner, in the form of aging claims submitted by the contractor, is used as a basis for the method's development. Regression trees are constructed based on three predictor variables, namely, the average time to payment following a claim, the total amount ending up being paid within a certain period and the level of variability in claim response times. The Tree package in the publicly available R program is used for building the trees. The analysis is particularly useful for contractors at the pre-tendering stage, when contractors predict the likely payment scenario in an upcoming project. Based on the method, the contractor can decide whether to tender or not tender, or adjust its financial preparations accordingly. The paper is a contribution in risk management applied to claim and dispute resolution practice. It is argued that by contractors having a better understanding of owner payment behaviour, fewer disputes and contractor business failures will occur.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.157-164
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• 2006

This paper presents the durability characteristics of commercially available CFRP rebars under various environmental conditions. Two types of GFRP rebars were tested by using an accelerated aging method. A total of 264 rebar specimens were conditioned up to 132 days in the moisture, chloride. alkaline, and freeze-thaw environmental conditions. The durability characteristics of conditioned rebars were obtained by comparing the tensile strength, horizontal shear strength, and elastic modulus between the unconditioned and conditioned GFRP rebars. The test results indicated that the mechanical properties of GFRP were significantly reduced after conditioning. Long-term degradation of GFRP rebars was also estimated using the results of a short-term durability test.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.30
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• pp.2.1-2.9
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• 2015

Objectives This study aimed to evaluate the association between presence of depression symptoms and the exposure level to insecticides among aged population in rural area, determined via measured levels of urinary 3-phenoxybenzoic acid (3-PBA), after controlling for socioeconomic confounding factors. Methods Using a cross-sectional study design, we randomly recruited participants for our study (161 male and 239 female) from rural areas of Asan, Chungnam, Korea. Environmental risk factor exposure was assessed using a questionnaire, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was used to analyze urinary 3-PBA levels. We used a logistic regression analysis to assess the association of urinary 3-PBA levels with the presence of self-reported depression symptoms. Results After controlling for creatinine levels, the median (interquartile range) concentration of 3-PBA was approximately 1.5 times (p<0.05) higher among female (1.54 [0.90 to 2.35]) ${\mu}g/g$) than among male (1.06 [0.64 to 1.81] ${\mu}g/g$). Our study found that among female participants, the unit increase in 3-PBA levels exhibited a likely positive association (odds ratio, 1.12; 95% confidence interval, 1.00 to 1.25) with an increased risk of presence of self-reported depression symptoms, after adjusting for socioeconomic insurance type, daily physical condition, marital status, smoking status, and age. Conclusions Given our finding of a potential association between the presence of self-reported depression symptoms and 3-PBA levels, precautions should be considered to minimize exposure to insecticides and thus protect the health of aged residents in rural areas.