• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.203-209
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• 2006

The aim of this study is to investigate the feasibility of ex vivo MR diffusion tensor imaging technique in order to observe the diffusion-contrast characteristics of human gastric tissues. On normal and pathologic gastric tissues, which have been fixed in a polycarbonate plastic tube filled with 10% formalin solution, laboratory made 3D diffusion tensor Turbo FLASH pulse sequence was used to obtain high resolution MR images with voxel size of $0.5{\times}0.5{\times}0.5mm^3\;using\;64{\times}32{\times}32mm^3$ field of view in conjunction with an acquisition matrix of $128{\times}64{\times}64$. Diffusion weighted- gradient pulses were employed with b values of 0 and $600s/mm^2$ in 6 orientations. The sequence was implemented on a clinical 3.0-T MRI scanner(Siemens, Erlangen, Germany) with a home-made quadrature-typed birdcage Tx/Rx rf coil for small specimen. Diffusion tensor values in each pixel were calculated using linear algebra and singular value decomposition(SVD) algorithm. Apparent diffusion coefficient(ADC) and fractional anisotropy(FA) map were also obtained from diffusion tensor data to compare pixel intensities between normal and abnormal gastric tissues. The processing software was developed by authors using Visual C++(Microsoft, WA, U.S.A.) and mathematical/statistical library of GNUwin32(Free Software Foundation). This study shows that 3D diffusion tensor Turbo FLASH sequence is useful to resolve fine micro-structures of gastric tissue and both ADC and FA values in normal gastric tissue are higher than those in abnormal tissue. Authors expect that this study also represents another possibility of gastric carcinoma detection by visualizing diffusion characteristics of proton spins in the gastric tissues.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.731-736
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• 2021

Oil fences effectively prevent the spread of oil spilled in the sea, thereby reducing the damage to the marine environment. However, the fence is damaged by oil and structures at the accident site and is discarded. When incinerated disposal method for discarded fences, fine dust, and harmful materials are generated. Moreover, as a part of the damaged fence is dumped into the sea, it may cause secondary environmental pollution, such as microplastics. Therefore, in this study, durability was measured using the most common solid foam type oil fences. As a result, the reduction rate of after five days of contact was 13 % in seawater and 3 % in oil, affected by temperature changes. Thus, the durability of the fence should be improved because it is exposed to seawater and oil and affected by wind, light, and waves depending on the weather conditions. Therefore, we suggest a method to improve the oil fence inspection to strengthen the durability of the fence's fabric part.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.320-330
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• 2022

The Hangang river estuary, which is a natural estuary without structures such as estuary barrage, is an ecological pathway connecting the sea and rivers. Accordingly, Hangang river estuary has various species, and there is very valuable. Sediment classification in Hangang river estuary is three-dimensionally and diversely is distributed. Sediment classification in Hangang river estuary is also sensitively changed according to various factors such as climate change and river development. It is typically cause to landform and to develop a compound cross section. In Janghang wetland, the plant success is remarkable according to the morphological change at river bed. The purpose of this study is to identify the mechanism of wetland formation based on the observation on-site. As a result of the observation, Janghang wetland where was artificially created, has been grown according to the river bed change based on the flow rate and the plant success. The viscous surface layer material(fine grains of wash rod properties), which is not the main material(sand) of the river bed, but sub-materials of river bed, jas been settled on the pioneer plants(bolboschoenus planiculmis, etc.). It is an important role in the growth of a compound cross section and a wetland. After the wetland developed to the compound cross section, it is observed that the pioneer plants are transferred to other plant species.

• Particle and aerosol research
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.125-132
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• 2021

Fresh PM_2.5 smokes emitted from combustion of four biomass materials (pellet, palm fruit fiber (PFF), PKS, and sawdust) in a laboratory-controlled environment were characterized using an attenuated total reflectance-fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) technique. In smoke samples emitted from combustion of pellets, PFF and PKS, which is being used as boiler fuels for greenhouses in rural areas, the organic carbon/elemental carbon (OC/EC) ratios in PM_2.5 were very high (14.0-35.5), whereas in sawdust smoke samples they were significantly low (<4.0) due to the combustion method close to flaming combustion. ATR-FTIR analysis showed that OH(3400-3250 cm^-1), CH₃(2958-2840 cm^-1), CH₂(2910 cm^-1 and 2850 cm^-1), ketone(1726-1697 cm^-1), C=C(1607-1606 cm^-1 and 1515-1514 cm^-1), lignin (1463-1462 cm^-1 and 1430-1428 cm^-1) and -NO₂(1360-1370 cm^-1) peaks were identified in all biomass burning (BB) smoke samples. However, additional peaks appeared depending on the type of biomass. Among the four types of biomass materials, an additional peak of the methylene group CH₃(2872-2870 cm^-1) appeared only in PFF and PKS smoke samples, and a peak of C=O(1685 cm^-1) was also confirmed. And in the case of PKS smoke samples, a peak of aromatic C=C(1593 cm^-1 and 1476 cm^-1) that did not appear in other BB samples was also observed. This indicates that the molecular structure of organic compounds emitted during BB differs depending on the type of biomass materials. The results of this study are expected to provide valuable information to more specifically reveal the effect of BB on PM_2.5 collected in the atmospheric environment.

• Journal of the Korean Recycled Construction Resources Institute
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.111-116
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• 2022

Recently, building structures tend to be super high-rise and large-scale with the development of concrete technology. When high-rise building is constructed of reinforced concrete structure, it has a disadvantage that its own weight increases. Light weight aggregate(LWA) was developed to compensate for these shortcomings. Manufacturing concrete using these light weight aggregates has the advantage of reducing the self weight of the reinforced concrete structure, but has a disadvantage in that the strength of the concrete is reduced. In this study, an experimental study was conducted to investigate the strength characteristics of hardened cement according to the presence or absence of surface coating of lightweight aggregates. As a result, in terms of compressive strength, the surface-coated lightweight aggregate exhibited higher strength than the uncoated lightweight aggregate. Also, it was considered that this is because the interfacial voids of the surface coated lightweight aggregate mixed cement hardened body were filled with blast furnace slag fine powder particles.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.91-100
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• 2007

In most design codes, soils are classified as either sand or clay, and appropriate design equations are used to represent their behavior. For example, the behavior of sandy soils is expressed in terms of the relative density, whereas consistency limits are often used for clays. However, sand-clay mixtures, which are typically referred to as intermediate soils, cannot be easily categorized as either sand or clay and therefore a unified interpretation of how the soil will behave at the transition point, i.e., from sandy behavior when fines are low to clay behavior for high fines content, is necessary. In this study, active natural clays are mixed with sand, and the fines content varied in order to produce different structures, ranging from one state where only sand particles form the soil structure to another where the matrix of fines make-up the structure. While paying attention to the granular void ratio in order to clarify the shear properties of sand-clay mixtures with increasing fines content monotonic, shear tests were performed on isotropically, and anisotropically consolidated specimens. From the test results, it was observed that the monotonic shear strength of sand-clay mixtures is dependent on the granular void ratio.

• The Korean Journal of Zoology
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.111-131
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• 1972

Fine structures of retina of an ommatidium in dragonfly, having eyes of closed rhabdom type, were studied under light and electron microscopes. The ommatidia consisted of eight retinular cells distributed in a circular pattern and the retinular layer in turn can be divided into three sublayers according to the number of cells in the retina. Each retinular cell has different starting points in the retina and the length of retinular cells is varied greatly; the length of one distal retinular cell shows one half of that of others. In the middle layer, three proximal retinular cells interconnect the adjacent two rhabdoms which are triangular in the appearence of the cross section which in turn consisted of tubular, parallel and lamellated microvilli. The rhabdom is formed by three rhabdomeres, each of which is separated by $120^{\circ}$ between them, but they can be distinguished into two parts according to electron density. Around the outer part of microvilli composing rhabdom, electron density was much less than the inner part of the structure. The microvilli of the inner part appear to be connected to the cytoplasm of retinular cells. Rough endoplsmic reticulum with enlarged cisternae runs through the vacuoles in the outer part of distal retinular cells. Abundant mitochondria concentrated in the vicinity of rhabdom are found at the central part of the retinular cells, while in the area of immediate vicinity of the rhabdom, prominent vacuoles are observed. Above the rhabdom of an ommtidium stands a crystalline cone which is consisted of four cone cells arranged radially along the axis. The crystalline cone is surrounded by cells containing pigment granules. The outermost photoreceptor element of an ommatidium is corneal lens.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.163-177
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• 2023

Complex and intricate preparation techniques, the imperative for utmost precision and sensitivity in instrumentation, premature sample failure, and fragile specimens collectively contribute to the arduous task of measuring the fracture toughness of concrete in the laboratory. The objective of this research is to introduce and refine an equation based on the gene expression programming (GEP) method to calculate the fracture toughness of reinforced concrete, thereby minimizing the need for costly and time-consuming laboratory experiments. To accomplish this, various types of reinforced concrete, each incorporating distinct ratios of fibers and additives, were subjected to diverse loading angles relative to the initial crack (α) in order to ascertain the effective fracture toughness (Keff) of 660 samples utilizing the central straight notched Brazilian disc (CSNBD) test. Within the datasets, six pivotal input factors influencing the Keff of concrete, namely sample type (ST), diameter (D), thickness (t), length (L), force (F), and α, were taken into account. The ST and α parameters represent crucial inputs in the model presented in this study, marking the first instance that their influence has been examined via the CSNBD test. Of the 660 datasets, 460 were utilized for training purposes, while 100 each were allotted for testing and validation of the model. The GEP model was fine-tuned based on the training datasets, and its efficacy was evaluated using the separate test and validation datasets. In subsequent stages, the GEP model was optimized, yielding the most robust models. Ultimately, an equation was derived by averaging the most exemplary models, providing a means to predict the Keff parameter. This averaged equation exhibited exceptional proficiency in predicting the Keff of concrete. The significance of this work lies in the possibility of obtaining the Keff parameter without investing copious amounts of time and resources into the CSNBD test, simply by inputting the relevant parameters into the equation derived for diverse samples of reinforced concrete subject to varied loading angles.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.33-40
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• 2024

The volume of shells, a prominent form of marine waste, is steadily increasing each year. However, a significant portion of these shells is either discarded or left near coastlines, posing environmental and social concerns. Utilizing shells as a substitute for traditional aggregates presents a potential solution, especially considering the diminishing availability of natural aggregates. This approach could effectively reduce transportation logistics costs, thereby promoting resource recycling. In this study, we explore the feasibility of employing wasted shell aggregates in 3D concrete printing technology for marine structures. Despite the advantages, it is observed that 3D printing concrete with wasted shells as aggregates results in lower strength compared to ordinary concrete, attributed to pores at the interface of shells and cement paste. Microstructure characterization becomes essential for evaluating mechanical properties. We conduct an analysis of the mechanical properties and microstructure of 3D printing concrete specimens incorporating wasted shells. Additionally, a mix design is proposed, taking into account flowability, extrudability, and buildability. To assess mechanical properties, compression and bonding strength specimens are fabricated using a 3D printer, and subsequent strength tests are conducted. Microstructure characteristics are analyzed through scanning electron microscope tests, providing high-resolution images. A histogram-based segmentation method is applied to segment pores, and porosity is compared based on the type of wasted shell. Pore characteristics are quantified using a probability function, establishing a correlation between the mechanical properties and microstructure characteristics of the specimens according to the type of wasted shell.

• Smart Media Journal
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.32-43
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• 2024

Game agents which are behavioral agent for game playing are a crucial component of game satisfaction. However it takes a lot of time and effort to create game agents for various game levels, environments, and players. In addition, when the game environment changes such as adding contents or updating characters, new game agents need to be developed and the development difficulty gradually increases. And it is important to have a game agent that can be customized for different levels of players. This is because a game agent that can play games of various levels is more useful and can increase the satisfaction of more players than a high-level game agent. In this paper, we propose a method for learning and controlling the level of play of game agents that can be rapidly developed and fine-tuned for various game environments and changes. At this time, reinforcement learning applies a policy-based distributed reinforcement learning method IMPALA for flexible processing and fast learning of various behavioral structures. Once reinforcement learning is complete, we choose actions by sampling based on Softmax-Temperature method. From this result, we show that the game agent's play level decreases as the Temperature value increases. This shows that it is possible to easily control the play level.