• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.1-20
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• 2011

This study investigates the feasibility of detecting structural damage using the HHT method. A damage detection index, the ratio of bandwidth (RB) is proposed. This index is highly correlated or approximately equal to the change of equivalent damping ratio for an intact structure incurring damage from strong ground motions. Based on an analysis of shaking table test data from benchmark models subjected to adjusted Kobe and El Centro earthquakes, the damage detection index is evaluated using the Hilbert-Huang Transform (HHT) and the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) methods, respectively. Results indicate that, when the response of the structure is in the elastic region, the RB value only slightly changes in both the HHT and the FFT spectra. Additionally, RB values estimated from the HHT spectra vs. the PGA values change incrementally when the structure response is nonlinear i.e., member yielding occurs, but not in the RB curve from the FFT spectra. Moreover, the RB value of the top floor changes more than those from the other floors. Furthermore, structural damage is detected only when using the acceleration response data from the top floor. Therefore, the ratio of bandwidth RB estimated from the smoothed HHT spectra is an effective and sensitive damage index for detecting structural damage. Results of this study also demonstrate that the HHT is a powerful method in analyzing the nonlinear responses of steel structures to strong ground motions.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.307-312
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• 2011

It has been rereported that axons which display 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) immunoreactivity are abundant in the pancreas and the majority of serotonergic axons terminate within intrapancreatic ganglia, islet and acini. This histological result strongly suggests that intrapancreatic serotonergic nerves could affect to the pancreatic endocrine and exocrine secretion. Thus, this study was aimed to investigate whether intrapancreatic serotonergic nerves could affect pancreatic exocrine secretion and an action mechanism of the intrapancreatic serotonergic nerves. The rats were anesthetized with a single injection of urethane. The median line and the abdominal aorta was carefully dissected and cannulated with PE-50 tubing just above the celiac artery, and then tightly ligated just below the superior mesenteric artery. The pancreatic duct was also cannulated with Tygon microbore tubing. With the addition of serotonin, pancreatic volume flow and amylase output were significantly inhibited electrical field stimulation (EFS). On the other hand, pancreatic volume flow and amylase output were significantly elevated in EFS with the addition of spiperone. EFS application, however, pancreatic volume flow and amylase output had no significant change in cholecystokinin (CCK) alone when serotonin was applied under a 5.6 mM glucose background. Pancreatic volume flow and amylase output under 18 mM glucose background were significantly elevated in CCK plus serotonin than in CCK alone. These data suggest that intrapancreatic serotonergic nerves play an inhibitory role in pancreatic exocrine secretion and an important role in the insulin action or release.

• Nano
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• v.13 no.11
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• pp.1850130.1-1850130.12
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• 2018

A novel strontium titanate/binary metal sulfide ($SrTiO_3/SnCoS_4$) heterostructure was synthesized by a simple two-step hydrothermal method. The visible-light-driven photocatalytic performance of $SrTiO_3/SnCoS_4$ composites was evaluated in the degradation of methyl orange (MO) under visible light irradiation. The photocatalytic performance of $SrTiO_3/SnCoS_4-5%$ is much higher than that of pure $SrTiO_3$, $SnCoS_4$, $SrTiO_3/SnS_2$ and $SrTiO_3/CoS_2$. The $SrTiO_3/SnCoS_4$ composite material with 5 wt.% of $SnCoS_4$ showed the highest photocatalytic efficiency for MO degradation, and the degradation rate could reach 95% after 140 min irradiation time. The enhanced photocatalytic activity was ascribed to not only the improvement of visible light absorption efficiency, but also the construction of a heterostructure which make it possible to effectively separate photoexcited electrons and holes in the two-phase interface.

• The korean journal of orthodontics
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.222-234
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• 2019

Objective: To investigate the three-dimensional lip vermilion changes after extraction and non-extraction orthodontic treatment in female adult patients and explore the correlation between lip vermilion changes and incisor changes. Methods: Forty-seven young female adult patients were enrolled in this study (skeletal Class III patients were excluded), including 34 lip-protruding patients treated by extraction of four first premolars (18 patients requiring mini-implants for maximum anchorage control and 16 patients without mini-implants) and 13 patients requiring non-extraction treatment. Nine angles, seven distances, and the surface area of the lip vermilion were measured by using pre- and post-treatment three-dimensional facial scans. Linear and angular measurements of incisors were performed on lateral cephalograms. Results: There were no significant changes in the vermilion measurements in the non-extraction group. The vermilion angle, vermilion height, central bow angle, height/width ratio, and vermilion surface area decreased significantly after the orthodontic treatment in the extraction groups, but the upper/lower vermilion proportion remained unchanged. Significant correlations were found between the changes in incisor position and those in vermilion angles, vermilion height, and surface area. Conclusions: Extraction of the four first premolars probably produced an aesthetic improvement in lip vermilion morphology. However, the upper/lower vermilion proportion remained unchanged. The variations in the vermilion were closely related to incisor changes, especially the upper incisor inclination changes.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.355-367
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• 2021

This paper investigates the mechanical response of simply supported one-way reinforced concrete slabs under fire through numerical analysis. The numerical model is constructed using the software ABAQUS, and verified by experimental results. Generally, mechanical response of the slab can be divided into four stages, accompanied with drastic stress redistribution. In the first stage, the bottom of the slab is under tension and the top is under compression. In the second stage, stress at bottom of the slab becomes compression due to thermal expansion, with the tension zone at the mid-span section moving up along the thickness of the slab. In the third stage, compression stress at bottom of the slab starts to decrease with the deflection of the slab increasing significantly. In the fourth stage, the bottom of the slab is under tension again, eventually leading to cracking of the slab. Parametric studies were further performed to investigate the effects of load ratio, thickness of protective layer, width-span ratio and slab thickness on the performance of the slab. Results show that increasing the thickness of the slab or reducing the load ratio can significantly postpone the time that deflection of the slab reaches span/20 under fire. It is also worth noting that slabs with the span ratio of 1:1 reached a deflection of span/20 22 min less than those of 1:3. The thickness of protective layer has little effect on performance of the slab until it reaches a deflection of span/20, but its effect becomes obvious in the late stages of fire.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.121-139
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• 2021

Ultra-high strength concrete (UHSC) encased steel columns are receiving growing interest in high-rise buildings owing to their economic and architectural advantages. However, UHSC encased steel columns are not covered by the modern fire safety design code. A total of 14 fire tests are conducted on UHSC (120 MPa) encased steel columns under constant axial loads and exposed to ISO-834 standard fire. The effect of load ratio, slenderness, stirrup spacing, cross-section size and concrete cover to core steel on the fire resistance and failure mode of the specimens are investigated. The applicability of the tabulated method in EC4 (EN 1994-1-2-2005) and regression formula in Chinese code (DBJ/T 15-81-2011) to fire resistance of UHSC encased steel columns are checked. Generally, the test results reveal that the vertical displacement-heating time curves can be divided into two phases, i.e. thermal expansion and shortening to failure. It is found that the fire resistance of column specimens increases with the increase of the cross-section size and concrete cover to core steel, but decreases with the increase of the load ratio and slenderness. The EC4 method overestimates the fire resistance up to 186% (220 min), while the Chinese code underestimates it down to 49%. The Chinese code has a better agreement than EC4 with the test results since the former considers the effect of the load ratio, slenderness, cross section size directly in its empirical formula. To estimate the fire resistance precisely can improve the economy of structural fire design of ultra-high strength concrete encased steel columns.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.25.1-25.11
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• 2022

IL-34 can promote osteoclast differentiation and activation, which may contribute to steroid-induced osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH). Animal model was constructed in both BALB/c and IL-34 deficient mice to detect the relative expression of inflammation cytokines. Micro-CT was utilized to reveal the internal structure. In vitro differentiated osteoclast was induced by culturing bone marrow-derived macrophages with IL-34 conditioned medium or M-CSF. The relative expression of pro-inflammation cytokines, osteoclast marker genes, and relevant pathways molecules was detected with quantitative real-time RT-PCR, ELISA, and Western blot. Up-regulated IL-34 expression could be detected in the serum of ONFH patients and femoral heads of ONFH mice. IL-34 deficient mice showed the resistance to ONFH induction with the up-regulated trabecular number, trabecular thickness, bone value fraction, and down-regulated trabecular separation. On the other hand, inflammatory cytokines, such as TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-6, IL-12, IL-2, and IL-17A, showed diminished expression in IL-34 deficient ONFH induced mice. IL-34 alone or works in coordination with M-CSF to promote osteoclastogenesis and activate ERK, STAT3, and non-canonical NF-κB pathways. These data demonstrate that IL-34 can promote the differentiation of osteoclast through ERK, STAT3, and non-canonical NF-κB pathways to aggravate steroid-induced ONFH, and IL-34 can be considered as a treatment target.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.3729-3734
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• 2013

The aim of this study was to evaluate expression of COX-1 in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and its prognostic value. mRNA of COX-1 was detected in 42 paired RCC and adjacent normal tissues with quantitative realtime polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Expression of COX-1 was also evaluated in 196 RCC sections and 91 adjacent normal tissues with immunohistochemistry. Statistical analysis was performed to assess COX-1 expression in RCC and its prognostic significance. The results of qRT-PCR showed mRNA levels of COX-1 in RCC tissues to be significantly higher than that in adjacent normal tissues (p < 0.001). Immunohistochemical assays also revealed COX-1 to be overexpressed in RCC tissues (p < 0.001). Statistical analysis demonstrated high expression of COX-1 was correlated with tumour size (p = 0.002), pathological stage (p = 0.003), TNM stage (p = 0.003, 0.007, 0.027, respectively), and tumour recurrence (p < 0.001). Survival analysis indicated patients with high expression of COX-1 had shorter survival time (p < 0.001), and COX-1 was an independent predictor. This is the first study to reveal overexpression of COX-1 in RRC and point to use as a prognostic marker in affected patients.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.536-549
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• 2013

This study investigates the damages of and analyzes the social and economic impacts of volcanic ash eruptions in the world in order to estimate the potential volcanic ash impacts in South Korea when Mt. Baekdusan volcano erupts in the future. First, we build a comparison chart called "the impact of volcanic ash" on each economic and social sector by using major volcanic eruptions and we compare the damage with respect to volcanic ash thickness/weights. Secondly, we analyze the social and economic impact from volcanic ash. The economic damage is not likely to occur in South Korea, unless Mt. Baekdusan erupts in winter. However, the potential damage should not be overlooked because the volcanic ash may have a global impact around the world. If Mt. Baekdusan volcano erupts when the wind blows from north or northeast, the volcanic ash may then significantly affect South Korea of which economy is highly dependent on exports. Particularly when the volcanic ash moves to the densely populated metropolitan areas or agricultural areas, the damage can be significant. In preparation for the potential volcanic disasters, the volcanic ash forecast table suitable for South Korea should be prepared. In addition, building a Korean volcanic ash hazard map in advance will have a strategic significance.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.524-535
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• 2013

Catastrophe risk models require the damage functions of each vulnerable item in inventory to estimate volcanic ash losses. The damage functions are used to represent the relation between damage factors and damage and also widely used in engineering and natural hazard studies to calculate the vulnerability. In most cases, damage functions are constructed as fragility or vulnerability curves, and researchers are confused by the similarities between them particularly when they perform interdisciplinary research. Thus, we aim to explain the similarities and differences between fragility and vulnerability curves and their relationship by providing case studies to construct them. In addition, we suggest a simple method to construct the damage functions between damage ratio and volcanic ash thickness using limited damage data. This study comes from the fact that damage functions are generally constructed using damage data. However, there is no available volcanic ash damage data in Korea, and not even enough volcanic disaster data to construct damage functions in the world, compared to other hazards. Using the method suggested in the study and the limited damage data from Japan and New Zealand, we construct Weibull-type functions or linear functions dependent of available data to calculate volcanic ash loss estimation, which we think need to be corrected to make it more suitable for inventory characteristics and environmental conditions in Korea.