• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.72 no.1
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• pp.37-43
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• 2012

Background: A lung bulla may rarely shrink as a result of an inflammation within the bulla or a closing of a bronchus involved in the inflammation process, which is termed 'autobullectomy'. The purpose of this study was to describe clinical features of patients with regressions of bullae during follow-up. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the cases and individuals who showed unequivocal evidence of interval regressions in a pre-existing bulla. A total of 477 cases with a bulla >5 cm in diameter were screened manually. Thirty cases with bullae that showed regression during follow-up were selected. Results: Regressions of large bullae occurred in 30 of 477 cases (6.3%). The median age of those patients was 61 (range, 53~66) years and 87% of those patients were men. The main cause of a bulla was emphysema (80%). Among 30 cases, 16 cases had pneumonia in the lung parenchyma of the peribullous area. Another 7 cases had a regressed bulla accompanied by an air-fluid level within the bulla. The remaining 7 cases showed a spontaneous regression of the bulla without such events. Complete regression of a bulla occurred in 25 cases. A follow-up chest-X ray showed that in all cases except one, the bulla remained in a collapsed state after 24 months. Forced expiratory volume in one second ($FEV_1$) improved in 3 cases and the other 2 cases had increased forced vital capacity (FVC). In addition, total lung capacity (TLC) and residual volume (RV) decreased in another 2 cases. Conclusion: Regression of a lung bulla occurred not only after pneumonia or the presence of air-fluid level within the bulla, but also without such episodes. The clinical course of regression of a lung bulla varied. After regression of a bulla, lung function could be improved in some cases.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.761-778
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• 2015

The objective of this paper is to report the result of an experimental program conducted on the strengthening of nonductile RC frames by using external mesh reinforcement and plaster application. The main objective was to test an alternative strengthening technique for reinforced concrete buildings, which could be applied with minimum disturbance to the occupants. Generic specimen is two floors and one bay RC frame in 1/2 scales. The basic aim of tested strengthening techniques is to upgrade strength, ductility and stiffness of the member and/or the structural system. Six specimens, two of which were reference specimens and the remaining four of which had deficient steel detailing and poor concrete quality were strengthened and tested in an experimental program under cyclic loading. The parameters of the experimental study are mesh reinforcement ratio and plaster thickness of the infilled wall. The effects of the mesh reinforced plaster application for strengthening on behavior, strength, stiffness, failure mode and ductility of the specimens were investigated. Premature and unexpected failure mode has been observed at first and second specimens failed due to inadequate plaster thickness. Also third strengthened specimen failed due to inadequate lap splice of the external mesh reinforcement. The last modified specimen behaved satisfactorily with higher ultimate load carrying capacity. Externally reinforced infill wall composites improve seismic behavior by increasing lateral strength, lateral stiffness, and energy dissipation capacity of reinforced concrete buildings, and limit both structural and nonstructural damages caused by earthquakes.

• Journal of Convergence for Information Technology
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• v.11 no.11
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• pp.44-50
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• 2021

Recently, enterprise storage systems that require large-capacity storage devices to accommodate big data have used large-capacity flash memory-based storage devices with high density compared to cost and size. This paper proposes a high-efficiency life prediction method with slope descent to maximize the life of flash memory media that directly affects the reliability and usability of large enterprise storage devices. To this end, this paper proposes the structure of a matrix for storing metadata for learning the frequency of defects and proposes a cost model using metadata. It also proposes a life expectancy prediction policy in exceptional situations when defects outside the learned range occur. Lastly, it was verified through simulation that a method proposed by this paper can maximize its life compared to a life prediction method based on the fixed number of times and the life prediction method based on the remaining ratio of spare blocks, which has been used to predict the life of flash memory.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.44 no.8
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• pp.591-601
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• 2021

Cilia are highly specialized organelles that extend from the cell membrane and function as cellular signaling hubs. Thus, cilia formation and the trafficking of signaling molecules into cilia are essential cellular processes. TULP3 and Tubby (TUB) are members of the tubby-like protein (TULP) family that regulate the ciliary trafficking of G-protein coupled receptors, but the functions of the remaining TULPs (i.e., TULP1 and TULP2) remain unclear. Herein, we explore whether these four structurally similar TULPs share a molecular function in ciliary protein trafficking. We found that TULP3 and TUB, but not TULP1 or TULP2, can rescue the defective cilia formation observed in TULP3-knockout (KO) hTERT RPE-1 cells. TULP3 and TUB also fully rescue the defective ciliary localization of ARL13B, INPP5E, and GPR161 in TULP3 KO RPE-1 cells, while TULP1 and TULP2 only mediate partial rescues. Furthermore, loss of TULP3 results in abnormal IFT140 localization, which can be fully rescued by TUB and partially rescued by TULP1 and TULP2. TUB's capacity for binding IFT-A is essential for its role in cilia formation and ciliary protein trafficking in RPE-1 cells, whereas its capacity for PIP₂ binding is required for proper cilia length and IFT140 localization. Finally, chimeric TULP1 containing the IFT-A binding domain of TULP3 fully rescues ciliary protein trafficking, but not cilia formation. Together, these two TULP domains play distinct roles in ciliary protein trafficking but are insufficient for cilia formation in RPE-1 cells. In addition, TULP1 and TULP2 play other unknown molecular roles that should be addressed in the future.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.20 no.7
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• pp.353-362
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• 2019

Thermodynamic analysis of cascade refrigeration systems has attracted considerable research attention. On the other hand, a system evaluation based on thermodynamic analyses of the individual parts, including the evaporator, condenser, intercooler, expansion valve, etc., has received less attention. In this study, performance analysis was conducted on a cascade refrigeration system, which has an individual cooling and refrigeration evaporator, and equips the intercooler and air-cooled condenser in a series in a lower cycle. The thermo-fluid design was then performed on the major components of the system - upper condenser, lower condenser, cooling evaporator, refrigeration evaporator, intercooler, compressor, electronic expansion valve - of 15 kW refrigeration, and 8 kW cooling capacity using R-410A. A series of simulations were conducted on the designed system. The change in outdoor temperature from 26 C to 38 C resulted in the cooling capacity of the lower evaporator remaining approximately the same, whereas it decreased by 9% at the upper evaporator and by 63% at the intercooler. The COP decreased with increasing outdoor temperature. In addition, the COP of the cycle with the intercooler operation was higher that of the cycle without the intercooler operation. Furthermore, the increase in the upper condenser size by two fold increased the upper evaporator by 4%. On the other hand, the lower evaporator capacity remained the same. The COP of the upper cycle increased with increasing upper condenser size, whereas that of the lower cycle remained almost the same. When the size of the lower condenser was increased 2.8 fold, the intercooler capacity increased by 8%, whereas those of upper and the lower evaporator remained approximately the same. Furthermore, the COP of the lower cycle increased with an increase in the lower condenser. On the other hand, the change of the upper condenser was minimal.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.110 no.4
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• pp.554-568
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• 2021

Forests are the largest carbon (C) sinks in terrestrial ecosystems. Recently, as enhancing forest C sequestration capacity has been proposed as a basic direction of the Republic of Korea's "2050 Carbon Neutral Strategy," accurate estimation of forest C sequestration has been emphasized. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change guidelines, sequestration quantity is calculated from changes in C stocks in forest C pools, such as biomass, deadwood, litter and soil layer, and harvested wood products. However, in Korea, only the overstory biomass increase is now considered the amount of sequestration quantity, so there can be a significant difference from the actual forest C sequestration. In this study, we quantified forest C exchange through C flux measurement using an eddy covariance system and an automated soil chamber system in a 57-year-old Korean pine plantation located in Mt. Taehwa, Gwangju-si, Gyeonggi-do. Then, the net amount of C sequestration was compared with the amount of the overstory biomass increase. We estimated the annual C stock change in the remaining C pools by comparing the net sequestration amount from the C flux measurement with the overstory biomass increase and C stock change in the litter layer. Therefore, the net C sequestration of the Korean pine plantation estimated from the flux measurement was 5.96 MgC ha^-1, which was about 2.2 times greater than 2.77 MgC ha^-1 of the overstory biomass increase. The annual C stock increase in the litter layer was estimated to be 0.75 MgC ha^-1, resulting in a total annual C stock increase of 2.45 MgC ha^-1 in the remaining C pools. Our results indicate that the domestic forest is a larger C sink than the current methods, implying that more accurate calculations of the C sequestration capacity are necessary to quantify C stock changes in C pools along with the C flux measurement.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.341-351
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• 2020

Steel plate shear wall with self-centering energy dissipation braces (SPSW-SCEDB) is a lateral force-resisting system that exhibits flag-shaped hysteretic responses, which consists of two pre-pressed spring self-centering energy dissipation (PS-SCED) braces and a wall plate connected to horizontal boundary elements only. The present study conducted a series of cyclic tests to study the hysteretic performances of braces in SPSW-SCEDB and the effects of braces on the overall hysteretic characteristics of this system. The SPSW-SCEDB with PS-SCED braces only exhibits excellent self-centering capability and the energy loss caused by the large inclination angle of PS-SCED braces can be compensated by appropriately increasing the friction force. Under the combined effect of the two components, the SPSW-SCEDB exhibits a flag-shaped hysteretic response with large lateral resistance, good energy dissipation and self-centering capabilities. In addition, the wall plate is the primary energy dissipation component and the PS-SCED braces provide supplementary energy dissipation for system. The PS-SCED braces can provide up to 90% self-centering capability for the SPSW-SCEDB system. The compressive bearing capacity of the wall plate should be smaller than the horizontal remaining restoring force of the braces to achieve better self-centering effect of the system.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of IIIuminating and Electrical Installation Engineers Conference
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• 2009.10a
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• pp.423-427
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• 2009

In the circumstances which a highly reliable operation in electric power facilities of extra high voltage and large capacity is needed, the importance of a preventive diagnostic technology is growing large day and day. The settlement of a preventive diagnostic technology for optimization and efficient management on the electric power facilities like GIS enable the reduce of repair fee, the improvement of safety and the systematic management of electric power facilities. The remaining life prediction of facilities will play a decisive role as a core technology of a preventive diagnostics in the future. And so it is necessary a continuous research and concern for the development of a preventive diagnostic technology hereafter.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Combustion
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2003

The behavior and characteristics of heavy metals at different streams in a MSWI(Municipal Solid Waste Incinerator) with a capacity of 100tonnes/day were investigated by measuring the concentration of heavy metals and gases and analyzing their leaching data from ashes. Metal components of Cr, Cu, Cd and Pb were in higher concentrations in the fly ashes collected after the water spray tower than in the bottom ashes. It was due to condensation by a lower temperature with water spray cooling. Metal contents in the bottom ash became higher for finer particles as expected. The mass balance of heavy metals in different stream was estimated from the analyzed data in bottom ash and collected dusts at different locations. For the lower volatility of metals such as Pb, Cu, Cr, 88-97% of them remained in the bottom ash, while Cd and Hg escaped from the combustor with remaining in bottom ash of 18.4 and 0.8%, respectively. In most cases the leaching rate of fly ash showed higher values than that of bottom ash, with the their average acidities of 9.8 and 11.9 respectively.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.23-37
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• 2018

In this paper, seismic provisions related to built-up special concentrically braced frames (BSCBFs) are investigated under cyclic loading using non-linear finite element analysis of a single-bay single-story frame. These braces, which contain double angle and double channel brace sections, are considered in two types of single diagonal and X-braced frames. The results of this study show that current seismic provisions such as observing the 0.4 ratio for slenderness ratio of individual elements between stitch connectors are conservative in BSCBFs, and can be increased according to the type of braces. Furthermore, such increments will lead to decreasing or remaining the current middle protected zone requirements of each BSCBFs. Failure results of BSCBFs, which are related to the plastic equivalent strain growth of members and ductility capacity of the models, show that the behaviors of double channel back-to-back diagonal braces are more desirable than those of similar face-to-face ones. Also, for double angle diagonal braces, results show that the failure of back-to-back BSCBFs occurs faster in comparison with face-to-face similar braces. In X-braced frames, cyclic and failure behaviors of built-up face-to-face models are more desirable than similar back-to-back braces in general.