• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.25 no.9
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• pp.45-55
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• 2009

The quality of railroad trackbed fills has been controlled by field measurements of density and bearing resistance of plate-load tests. The control measures are compatible with the design procedures whose design parameter is $k_{30}$ for both ordinary-speed railways and high-speed railways. However, one of fatal flaws of the design procedures is that there are no simple laboratory measurement procedures for the design parameters ($k_{30}$ or, $E_{v2}$ and $E_{v2}/E_{v1}$) in design stage. To overcome the defect, the compressional wave velocity was adopted as a control measure, in parallel with the advent of the new design procedure, and its measurement technique was proposed in the preliminary investigation. The key concept of the quality control procedure is that the target value for field compaction control is the compressional wave velocity determined at optimum moisture content using modified compaction test, and direct-arrival method is used for the field measurements during construction, which is simple and reliable enough for practice engineers to access. This direct-arrival method is well-suited for such a shallow and homogeneous fill lift in terms of applicability and cost effectiveness. The sensitivity of direct-arrival test results according to the compaction quality was demonstrated at a test site, and it was concluded that compressional wave velocity can be effectively used as quality control measure. The experimental background far the companion study (Park et al., 2009) was established through field and laboratory measurements of the compressional wave velocity.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.15-26
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• 2006

Although numerous investigations have been performed over the years to predict the behavior and bearing capacity of piles, the mechanisms are not yet entirely understood. The prediction of bearing capacity is a difficult task, because large numbers of factors affect the capacity and also have complex relationship one another. Therefore, it is extremely difficult to search the essential factors among many factors, which are related with ground condition, pile type, driving condition and others, and then appropriately consider complicated relationship among the searched factors. The present paper describes the application of Artificial Neural Network (ANN) in predicting the capacity including its components at the tip and along the shaft from dynamic load test of the driven piles. Firstly, the effect of each factor on the value of bearing capacity is investigated on the basis of sensitivity analysis using ANN modeling. Secondly, the authors use the design methodology composed of ANN and genetic algorithm (GA) to find optimal neural network model to predict the bearing capacity. The authors allow this methodology to find the appropriate combination of input parameters, the number of hidden units and the transfer structure among the input, the hidden and the out layers. The results of this study indicate that the neural network model serves as a reliable and simple predictive tool for the bearing capacity of driven piles.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.15-22
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• 2022

Procalcitonin (PCT) can provide an experimental rationale and a diagnostic lead to distinguish between bacterial and viral infections. This study sought to investigate the clinical characteristics and prognosis of patients with high PCT levels, to improve clinical diagnosis, and to determine whether PCT levels were associated with the subsequent development of sepsis in the general population. This was a retrospective observational study conducted on outpatients (N=127) over a year. The general data and laboratory parameters studied were PCT, C-reactive protein (CRP), and complete blood count (CBC). The positive rates of CRP and white blood cells (WBCs) in the elevated PCT group were higher than those of the normal group (P<0.05); the specificity and sensitivity of the PCT levels were obviously higher than those of the CRP and WBC levels at diagnosis (P<0.05). The mean PCT levels in the low group were significantly higher than those in the high or moderate group (P<0.001). There was a significant positive correlation with CRP, total WBCs, and neutrophils (P<.001). The main finding of this study was the significant association between an elevated PCT level and CRP and WBC levels, signifying a high diagnostic value. This has important implications for the diagnosis of bacterial infections and therapeutic implications for the use of antibiotic treatment in specific patients.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.29 no.6D
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• pp.719-726
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• 2009

In this study, a series of push-off tests for lean concrete, aggregate, asphalt subbases mainly used in Korea were performed to investigate the friction characteristics between the slab and subbase layers. Use of separation membrane and wet condition of subbase were other parameters in the tests. Horizontal displacements of the slabs and friction coefficients were measured at 1st loading, stable condition (2nd and 3rd loadings), and wet condition (4th loading) by applying 40mm/hour horizontal loadings. Larger maximum friction coefficients were measured in order of the lean concrete, asphalt, aggregate, and subbases using the separation membrane at 1st loading, and in order of the asphalt, aggregate, lean concrete, and subbases using the separation membrane at stable and wet conditions. The friction coefficients of the aggregate and asphalt subbases which did not used the separation membrane decreased by the wet condition while the subbases using the separation membrane were not affected. Additional push-off tests for effects of slab thickness and temperature sensitivity of asphalt will be performed. And, effects of the friction characteristics between the slab and subbase layers on behavior and performance of concrete pavements will be investigated by structural analyses using the test results.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.28 no.6B
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• pp.643-651
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• 2008

In the present paper, turbulent open-channel flows over longitudinal bedforms are numerically simulated. The Reynolds- averaged Navier-Stokes equations in curvilinear coordinates are solved with the non-linear $k-{\varepsilon}$ model by Speziale( 1987). First, the developed model is applied to rectangular open channel flows for purposes of model validation and parameter sensitivity studies. It is found that the parameters $C_D$ and $C_E$ are important to the intensity of secondary currents and the level of turbulent anisotropy, respectively. It is found that the non-linear $k-{\varepsilon}$ model can hardly reproduce the turbulence anisotropy near the free surface. However, the overall pattern of the secondary currents by the present model is seen to coincide with measured data. Then, numerical simulations of turbulent flows over longitudinal bedforms are performed, and the simulated results are compared with the experimental data in the literature. The simulated secondary currents clearly show upflows and downflows over the ridges and troughs, respectively. The numerical results of secondary currents, streamwise mean velocity, and turbulence structures compare favorably with the measured data. However, it is observed that the secondary currents towards the troughs were significantly weak compared with the measured data.

• Journal of the Society of Naval Architects of Korea
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• v.60 no.5
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• pp.375-387
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• 2023

The subsea power cables are increasingly important for harvesting renewable energies as we develop offshore wind farms located at a long distance from shore. Particularly, the continuous flexural motion of inter-array dynamic power cable of floating offshore wind turbine causes tremendous fatigue damages on the cable. As the subsea power cable consists of the helical structures with various components unlike a mooring line and a steel pipe riser, the fatigue analysis of the cables should be performed using special procedures that consider stick/slip phenomenon. This phenomenon occurs between inner helically wound components when they are tensioned or compressed by environmental loads and the floater motions. In particular, Vortex-induced vibration (VIV) can be generated by currents and have significant impacts on the fatigue life of the cable. In this study, the procedure for VIV fatigue analysis of the dynamic power cable has been established. Additionally, the respective roles of programs employed and required inputs and outputs are explained in detail. Demonstrations of case studies are provided under severely sheared currents to investigate the influences on amplitude variations of dynamic power cables caused by the excitation of high mode numbers. Finally, sensitivity studies have been performed to compare dynamic cable design parameters, specifically, structural damping ratio, higher order harmonics, and lift coefficients tables. In the future, one of the fundamental assumptions to assess the VIV response will be examined in detail, namely a narrow-banded Gaussian process derived from the VIV amplitudes. Although this approach is consistent with current industry standards, the level of consistency and the potential errors between the Gaussian process and the fatigue damage generated from deterministic time-domain results are to be confirmed to verify VIV fatigue analysis procedure for slender marine structures.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.83 no.3
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• pp.620-631
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• 2022

Purpose This study aimed to investigate the diagnostic performance of features suggestive of nodal metastasis on preoperative MRI in patients with invasive breast cancer. Materials and Methods We retrospectively reviewed the preoperative breast MRI of 192 consecutive patients with surgically proven invasive breast cancer. We analyzed MRI findings of axillary lymph nodes with regard to the size, long/short ratio, cortical thickness, shape and margin of the cortex, loss of hilum, asymmetry, signal intensity (SI) on T2-weighted images (T2WI), degree of enhancement in the early phase, and enhancement kinetics. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, chi-square test, t test, and McNemar's test were used for statistical analysis. Results Increased shorter diameter, uneven cortical shape, increased cortical thickness, loss of hilum, asymmetry, irregular cortical margin, and low SI on T2WI were significantly suggestive of metastasis. ROC analysis revealed the cutoff value for the shorter diameter and cortical thickness as 8.05 mm and 2.75 mm, respectively. Increased cortical thickness (> 2.75 mm) and uneven cortical shape showed significantly higher sensitivity than other findings in McNemar's test. Irregular cortical margins showed the highest specificity (100%). Conclusion Cortical thickness > 2.75 mm and uneven cortical shape are more sensitive parameters than other findings, and an irregular cortical margin is the most specific parameter for predicting axillary metastasis in patients with invasive breast cancer.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.751-758
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• 2021

Objective: Preoperative differentiation between inverted papilloma (IP) and its malignant transformation to squamous cell carcinoma (IP-SCC) is critical for patient management. We aimed to determine the diagnostic accuracy of conventional imaging features and histogram parameters obtained from whole tumor apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values to predict IP-SCC in patients with IP, using decision tree analysis. Materials and Methods: In this retrospective study, we analyzed data generated from the records of 180 consecutive patients with histopathologically diagnosed IP or IP-SCC who underwent head and neck magnetic resonance imaging, including diffusion-weighted imaging and 62 patients were included in the study. To obtain whole tumor ADC values, the region of interest was placed to cover the entire volume of the tumor. Classification and regression tree analyses were performed to determine the most significant predictors of IP-SCC among multiple covariates. The final tree was selected by cross-validation pruning based on minimal error. Results: Of 62 patients with IP, 21 (34%) had IP-SCC. The decision tree analysis revealed that the loss of convoluted cerebriform pattern and the 20th percentile cutoff of ADC were the most significant predictors of IP-SCC. With these decision trees, the sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and C-statistics were 86% (18 out of 21; 95% confidence interval [CI], 65-95%), 100% (41 out of 41; 95% CI, 91-100%), 95% (59 out of 61; 95% CI, 87-98%), and 0.966 (95% CI, 0.912-1.000), respectively. Conclusion: Decision tree analysis using conventional imaging features and histogram analysis of whole volume ADC could predict IP-SCC in patients with IP with high diagnostic accuracy.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.959-969
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• 2021

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the role of preoperative two-dimensional (2D) shear wave elastography (SWE) in assessing the stages of liver fibrosis in patients with suspected biliary atresia (BA) and compared its diagnostic performance with those of serum fibrosis biomarkers. Materials and Methods: This study was approved by the ethical committee, and written informed parental consent was obtained. Two hundred and sixteen patients were prospectively enrolled between January 2012 and October 2018. The 2D SWE measurements of 69 patients have been previously reported. 2D SWE measurements, serum fibrosis biomarkers, including fibrotic markers and biochemical test results, and liver histology parameters were obtained. 2D SWE values, serum biomarkers including, aspartate aminotransferase to platelet ratio index (APRi), and other serum fibrotic markers were correlated with the stages of liver fibrosis by METAVIR. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and area under the ROC (AUROC) curve analyses were used. Results: The correlation coefficient of 2D SWE value in correlation with the stages of liver fibrosis was 0.789 (p < 0.001). The cut-off values of 2D SWE were calculated as 9.1 kPa for F1, 11.6 kPa for F2, 13.0 kPa for F3, and 15.7 kPa for F4. The AUROCs of 2D SWE in the determination of the stages of liver fibrosis ranged from 0.869 to 0.941. The sensitivity and negative predictive value of 2D SWE in the diagnosis of ≥ F3 was 93.4% and 96.0%, respectively. The diagnostic performance of 2D SWE was superior to that of APRi and other serum fibrotic markers in predicting severe fibrosis and cirrhosis (all p < 0.005) and other serum biomarkers. Multivariate analysis showed that the 2D SWE value was the only statistically significant parameter for predicting liver fibrosis. Conclusion: 2D SWE is a more effective non-invasive tool for predicting the stage of liver fibrosis in patients with suspected BA, compared with serum fibrosis biomarkers.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.49 no.6
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• pp.459-467
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• 2016

Due to the limited areal space for installation, borehole heat exchangers (BHEs) at depths deeper than 300 m are considered for geothermal heating and cooling in the urban area. The deep vertical closed-loop BHEs are unconventional due to the depth and the range of the typical installation depth is between 100 and 200 m in Korea. The BHE in the study consists of 50A (outer diameter 50 mm, SDR 11) PE U-tube pipe in a 150 mm diameter borehole with the depth of 300 m. In order to compensate the buoyancy caused by the low density of PE pipe ($0.94{\sim}0.96g/cm^3$) in the borehole filled with ground water, 10 weight band sets (4.6 kg/set) were attached to the bottom of U-tube. A thermal response test (TRT) and fundamental basic surveys on the thermophysical characteristics of the ground were conducted. Ground temperature measures around $15^{\circ}C$ from the surface to 100 m, and the geothermal gradient represents $1.9^{\circ}C/100m$ below 100 m. The TRT was conducted for 48 hours with 17.5 kW heat injection, 28.65 l/min at a circulation fluid flow rate indicates an average temperature difference $8.9^{\circ}C$ between inlet and outlet circulation fluid. The estimated thermophysical parameters are 3.0 W/mk of ground thermal conductivity and 0.104 mk/W of borehole thermal resistance. In the stepwise evaluation of TRT, the ground thermal conductivity was calculated at the standard deviation of 0.16 after the initial 13 hours. The sensitivity analysis on the borehole thermal resistance was also conducted with respect to the PE pipe diameter and the thermal conductivity of backfill material. The borehole thermal resistivity slightly decreased with the increase of the two parameters.