• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.53-60
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• 2024

Prestressed concrete (PSC) bridges are vulnerable to corrosion and fracture of tendons, and in particular, structures using the internal post-tensioned with grouted system have difficulties in maintenance due to limitations of inspection. In this study, the actual behavior of PSC I girder bridge was analyzed according to tendon damage. The target PSC I girder bridge, an decommissioned highway bridge of upper and lower bridges, had the service period of 33 years and 20 years, respectively. Deflection and concrete strain were measured according to the location of damaged tendon and loading method. Regardless of the age of the bridge, its structural performance decreased when the damaged tendon was closer to the center of the girder. The change in behavior increased as the truck load approached to the girder where the tendon cut. If the load was applied to the adjacent girder where the tendon was cut, the structural performance was likely to be maintained due to the influence of the entire structural system. The change in deflection was difficult to observe visually, while the concrete strain exceeded the cracking strain. Therefore, it is recommended that future monitoring and inspection of PSC I girder bridges should focus on concrete strain or cracking.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.94-101
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• 2024

Purpose: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has posed a significant burden to infant and toddler's care globally, while the disease severity is generally mild in this age group. In this study, we aimed to assess epidemiological and clinical aspects of COVID-19 in infants and toddlers in Seoul, South Korea. Methods: We used Seoul Metropolitan Government's epidemiological investigation database to describe the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of COVID-19 in infants and toddlers, between March 2020 to December 2021. Results: A total of 5,025 infants and toddlers aged <5 years was diagnosed between the observed period. 2,720 (54.1%) had symptoms, and fever was the most common symptom in 1,941 (74.1%). Of the diagnosed cases, 96.4% did not have underlying diseases. In a district level, extended opening of childcare facility was associated with increased risk of COVID-19 in infants and toddlers. Conclusions: An efficient monitoring system, resembling routine clinical care, is crucial, considering the low rates of severe progression and fatality among infants and toddlers. Moreover, a well-grounded intervention based on scientific evidence, rather than unconditional closures, is necessary to establish a suitable childcare policy that ensures safety from infectious diseases while not overlooking the developmental aspects of social skills.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.366-375
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• 2021

Objective: To evaluate the radiological tumor response patterns and compare the response assessments based on immune-based therapeutics Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (iRECIST) and RECIST 1.1 in metastatic clear-cell renal cell carcinoma (mccRCC) patients treated with programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) inhibitors. Materials and Methods: All mccRCC patients treated with PD-1 inhibitors at Henan Cancer Hospital, China, between January 2018 and April 2019, were retrospectively studied. A total of 30 mccRCC patients (20 males and 10 females; mean age, 55.6 years; age range, 37-79 years) were analyzed. The target lesions were quantified on consecutive CT scans during therapy using iRECIST and RECIST 1.1. The tumor growth rate was calculated before and after therapy initiation. The response patterns were analyzed, and the differences in tumor response assessments of the two criteria were compared. The intra- and inter-observer variabilities of iRECIST and RECIST 1.1 were also analyzed. Results: The objective response rate throughout therapy was 50% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 32.1-67.9) based on iRECIST and 30% (95% CI: 13.6-46.4) based on RECIST 1.1. The time-to-progression (TTP) based on iRECIST was longer than that based on RECIST 1.1 (median TTP: not reached vs. 170 days, p = 0.04). iRECIST and RECIST 1.1 were discordant in 8 cases, which were evaluated as immune-unconfirmed PD based on iRECIST and PD based on RECIST 1.1. Six patients (20%, 6/30) had pseudoprogression based on iRECIST, of which four demonstrated early pseudoprogression and two had delayed pseudoprogression. Significant differences in the tumor response assessments based on the two criteria were observed (p < 0.001). No patients demonstrated hyperprogression during the study period. Conclusion: Our study confirmed that the iRECIST criteria are more capable of capturing immune-related atypical responses during immunotherapy, whereas conventional RECIST 1.1 may underestimate the benefit of PD-1 inhibitors. Pseudoprogression is not rare in mccRCC patients during PD-1 inhibitor therapy, and it may last for more than the recommended maximum of 8 weeks, indicating a limitation of the current strategy for immune response monitoring.

• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.285-293
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• 2023

This study conducted to investigate the temporal and spatial variations in the fish community structure in the Seomjin River estuary (ES1~ES3) and Gwangyang Bay (ES4~ES8). Surveys were conducted at eight points between May and September from 2020 to 2021. A total of 5,111 fish were collected, representing 42 families, 68 genera, and 78 species. The dominant species collected during the survey period were Pennahia argentata, with 2,370 individuals and a relative abundance of 46.4%. Also, as a subdominant species, Nuchequula nuchalis, 1643 individuals were caught, accounting for 32.1% relative abundance. According to Bray-Curtis similarities, observations were divided into three groups based on the fish community composition, and they were further categorized into brackish water areas, coastal areas, inner areas, and outer areas. Group 1 mainly consisted of fish inhabiting freshwater and brackish water areas, while group 3 exclusively contained fish living in marine waters. ANOSIM (Analysis of Similarity) analysis revealed a significant difference (ANOSIM R=0.783, p=0.001) between Group 2 and Group 3, and the species contributing to these clusters were P. argentata and Muraenesox cinereus. The study demonstrated spatial changes in the fish community structure from the Seomjin River estuary to the outer coast. The findings highlight the importance of long-term monitoring of major species that exhibit spatial variations, serving as essential foundational data for the conservation and management of economically significant fish species.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.82-91
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• 2006

We investigated the possibility of using effluents from a municipal sewage treatment plant (STP) as tracers a tracer for hydrologic studies of rivers. The possibility was checked in a 12-km long reach downstream of Jeonju Municipal Sewage Treatment Plant (JSTP). Time-series monitoring of the water chemistry reveals that chemical compositions of the effluent from the JSTP are fluctuating within a relatively wide range during the sampling period. In addition, the signals from the plant were observed at the downstream stations consecutively with increasing time lags, especially in concentrations of the conservative chemical parameters (concentrations f3r chloride and sulfate, total concentration of major cations, and electric conductivity). Based on this observation, we could estimate the stream flow (Q), velocity (v), and dispersion coefficient (D). A 1-D nonreactive solute-transport model with automated optimization schemes was used for this study. The values of Q, v, and D estimated from this study varied from 6.4 to $9.0m^3/sec$ (at the downstream end of the reach), from 0.06 to 0.10 m/sec, and from 0.7 to $6.4m^2/sec$, respectively. The results show that the effluent from a large-scaled municipal STP frequently provides good, multiple natural tracers far hydrologic studies.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.32-40
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• 2024

The purpose of this study is to collect basic information about Narrow-mouthed Toad (Kaloula borealis) by analyzing the morphological characteristics of Narrow-mouthed Toad (Kaloula borealis) caught in pitfall traps. The study site is in Godeok-dong, Gangdong-gu, Seoul, and a total of 1,063 individuals were captured using pitfall traps for a total of four years from July 2016 to November 2020. Narrow-mouthed Toad (Kaloula borealis) were classified into adult and immature individuals based on length (SVL), and differences in sex ratio and shape were confirmed for adults. As a result, all adult males had a pair of white bands observed in the abdomen, and females had eggs identified in the abdomen. Through previous studies, a pair of white bands on the abdomen were determined to be male gonads, and were also confirmed in some immature individuals. The sex of the Narrow-mouthed Toad (Kaloula borealis) could be distinguished by the presence or absence of a pair of white bands located on the abdomen, and it is believed that this can be used as a sex classification method that can be confirmed in the field. During the study period, the adult sex ratio was confirmed to be 697 male (65.57%) and 366 female (34.43%), with more males. It is expected that this method of sex ratio and male/female sex ratio will be used not only for species restoration and monitoring of migration and alternative habitats due to development, but also as basic data for various ecological studies.

• Industry Promotion Research
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.39-45
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• 2024

Dangerous tasks that occur every day at industrial site manufacturing plants, which have recently been making rapid changes, were classified by type, and the effect of mobile circuit television (CCTV) on safety accidents among daily safety management methods was analyzed. The subject of the study is about 3,000 workers who manage the infrastructure facility sector to supply utilities such as gas, water, and electricity to the display manufacturing process located in Asan City, and the study was conducted based on the daily dangerous work from 2019 to 2022, and during this study period, many construction works such as new investment and expansion of construction and manufacturing processes were occurring at the site. As a result, the rate of safety accidents and exposure to risks are expanding, and most of the safety accidents occurred because the sectors that did not follow the basics and the safety measures on the site were not implemented. In this paper, it was confirmed that there is an accident reduction effect according to the relationship between the dangerous work classified according to the work importance and the mobile CCTV shooting rate. Considering the characteristics of the manufacturing plant site, it can be used to play the role of basic data for preventing safety accidents based on the expansion of the introduction of a new safety management culture in the future.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.91-111
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• 2024

Most of utility cable tunnels are constructed utilizing shield TBM as part of the underground transmission line project. The TBM chamber is the only space inside the tunnel that encounters rock and soil, and is the place with the highest frequency of accident exposure, such as collapse and collision accidents. Since there is currently no way to measure the disc cutter wear from outside the chamber, frequent inspection by workers is essential. Accordingly, in this study, in order to prevent safety accidents inside the TBM chamber and expect the effect of shortening the construction period by reducing the number of chamber openings, the concept of disk cutter wear measurement technology was established and a prototype was produced. By considering prior technology and determining that magnetic sensors are most suitable for the excavation environment, wear measurement sensor package were developed integrating magnetic sensors, wireless communication modules, power supply, external casing, and monitoring systems. To verify the performance of the prototype in an actual excavation environment, a full-scale tunnelling test was performed using a 3.6 m EPB shield TBM. Based on the full-scale tests, five prototypes were operated normally among eight prototypes. It was analyzed that sensor measurement, wireless communication, and durability performance were secured within a maximum thrust of 3,000 kN and a rotation speed of 1.5 RPM.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.93-101
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• 2024

Background: As pollutants caused by non-point sources flow into rivers, river water quality monitoring for fecal pollution is becoming increasingly important. Objectives: This study was conducted to investigate the distribution of microbial communities in the Yeongsangang River water system and sewage treatment plants in Gwangju and to evaluate their antibiotic resistance. Methods: In the experiment, samples were distributed to five selective media at each point and then cultured for 18 to 24 hours. When bacteria were observed, they were sub-cultured by size and shape and identified using MALDI-TOF MS equipment. When identification was completed, 17 types of antibiotic susceptibility tests were performed using VITEK II equipment, focusing on gram-negative dominant species among the identified strains. Results: During the study period, a total of 266 strains were isolated from 39 samples. Gram-positive bacteria were 37 strains in four genera, or 13.9% of the total, and Gram-negative bacteria were 229 strains in 23 genera, or 86.1% of the total. Antibiotic susceptibility testing of 23 strains, the major dominant species, showed that one strain (4.3%) was resistant to only one antibiotic, and two strains (8.7%) were 100% susceptible to the 17 antibiotics tested. The other 20 strains (87.0%) were multidrug resistant bacteria resistant to two or more antibiotics. There were various types of multidrug resistance. Among them, penicillin and cephalosporin series showed the highest resistance. Conclusions: Based on the results of this study, it was found that the bacterial community structure changed according to regional and environmental factors, and it was judged that continuous research such as genetic analysis of antibiotic-resistant bacteria present in natural rivers is necessary.

• Particle and aerosol research
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.111-128
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• 2023

Chungcheongnam-do has various emission sources, including large-scale facilities such as power plants, steel and petrochemical industry complexes, which can lead to the severe PM pollution. Here, we measured concentrations of PM₁₀, PM_2.5, and its metallic elements at a suburban site in Taean, Chungcheongnam-do from September 2017 to June 2022. During the measurement period, the average concentrations of PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 were 58.6 ㎍/m³ (9.6~379.0 ㎍/m³) and 35.0 ㎍/m³ (6.1~132.2 ㎍/m³), respectively. The concentration of PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 showed typical seasonal variation, with higher concentration in winter and lower concentration in summer. When high concentrations of PM_2.5 occurred, particulary in winter, the fraction of Zn and Pb components considerably increased, indicating a significant contribution of Zn and Pb to high-PM_2.5 concentration. In addition, Zn and Pb exhibited the highest correlation coefficient among all other metallic elements of PM_2.5. A backward trajectory cluster analysis and CPF model were performed to examine the origin of PM_2.5. The high concentration of PM_2.5 was primarily influenced by emissions from industrial complexes located in the northeast and northwest areas.