• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.151-158
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• 2008

To evaluate aortic wall stiffness without influence of different background blood pressure, a new technique was developed and verified. At eight swine descending aortae, volume-pressure measurement was performed using custom-made system. Based on averaged pressure-volume curve, aortic distensibility index was formulated to evaluate aortic wall stiffness regardless of variable blood pressure and aortic size. The variability of aortic distensibility index by pressure change was compared with other parameters for wall stiffness evaluation. Subsequently, the aortic distensibility index was calculated at 100 contrast-enhanced EBCT data sets of normal volunteers in regular health screening program. The measured aortic distensibility index was compared with age, coronary calcium score, and aortic calcium score. Between 50 and 360 mmHg of blood pressure, the coefficient of variance of aortic distensibility index was 22.00% as comparing with 88.99% of classical compliance. Based on age, aortic distensibility index showed correlation coefficient of 0.55, whereas classical compliance showed 0.26. The correlation coefficient with modified aortic calcification was 0.43. Linear regression study revealed statistical significance of correlation coefficients. The aortic distensibility index, the method to evaluate aortic wall stiffness free from variable blood pressure and aortic size, was developed and verified with significant practical feasibility.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.315-341
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• 2007

A sudden change of stiffness in a structure, associated with the events such as weld fracture and brace breakage, will cause a discontinuity in acceleration response time histories recorded in the vicinity of damage location at damage time instant. A new damage index is proposed and implemented in this paper to detect the damage time instant, location, and severity of a structure due to a sudden change of structural stiffness. The proposed damage index is suitable for online structural health monitoring applications. It can also be used in conjunction with the empirical mode decomposition (EMD) for damage detection without using the intermittency check. Numerical simulation using a five-story shear building under different types of excitation is executed to assess the effectiveness and reliability of the proposed damage index and damage detection approach for the building at different damage levels. The sensitivity of the damage index to the intensity and frequency range of measurement noise is also examined. The results from this study demonstrate that the damage index and damage detection approach proposed can accurately identify the damage time instant and location in the building due to a sudden loss of stiffness if measurement noise is below a certain level. The relation between the damage severity and the proposed damage index is linear. The wavelet-transform (WT) and the EMD with intermittency check are also applied to the same building for the comparison of detection efficiency between the proposed approach, the WT and the EMD.

• Journal of Korea Technical Association of The Pulp and Paper Industry
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.17-23
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• 2004

The effects of refining consistency and plate gap on the specific energy consumption and physical properties of liner were investigated. Higher refining consistency and narrower plate gap brought about the reduction of specific energy consumption to decrease the freeness. Refining consistency and plate gap did not affect the bulk, Taber stiffness and compression index. The reduction of freeness and/or the increase of specific energy consumption caused the decrease of bulk and Taber stiffness, but increased the compression index. The effect of grammage on bulk was not observed, but Taber stiffness and compression index were increased with grammage. The bulk was decreased with the reduction of freeness rapidly at the above 400 mL CSF, and then levelled off. It is expected that the reduction of energy consumption could be obtained from the application of higher refining consistency and narrower plate gap during refining.

• Korean Journal of Exercise Nutrition
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.39-44
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• 2019

[Purpose] Weight loss can reduce obesity-induced arterial stiffening that is attributed to decreased inflammation. Angiopoietin-like protein 2 (ANGPTL2) is a pro-inflammatory adipokine that is upregulated in obesity and is important in the progression of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of dietary modification on circulating ANGPTL2 levels and arterial stiffness in overweight and obese men. [Methods] Twenty-two overweight and obese men (with mean age of 56 ± 2 years and body mass index of 28.6 ± 2.6 kg/m²) completed a 12-week dietary modification program. We measured the arterial compliance and β-stiffness index (as the indices of arterial stiffness) and serum ANGPTL2 levels before and after the program. [Results] After the 12-week dietary modification, body mass and daily energy intake were significantly reduced. Arterial compliance was significantly increased and β-stiffness index was significantly decreased after the 12-week dietary modification program. Serum ANGPTL2 levels were significantly decreased. Also, the changes in arterial compliance were negatively correlated with the changes in serum ANGPTL2 levels, whereas the changes in β-stiffness index were positively correlated with the changes in serum ANGPTL2 levels. [Conclusion] These results suggest that the decrease in circulating ANGPTL2 levels can be attributed to the dietary modification-induced reduction of arterial stiffness in overweight and obese men.

• Journal of the Architectural Institute of Korea Structure & Construction
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.3-10
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• 2018

Damage location and extent of structure could be detected by the inverse analysis on dynamic response properties such as frequencies and mode shapes. In practice the measured difference of natural frequencies represent the stiffness change reliably, however the measured mode shape is insensitive for stiffness change, but provides spatial information of damage. The damage detection index on shear building structures is formulated in this study. The damage detection index could be estimated from mode shape and srory stiffness of undamaged structure and frequency difference between undamaged and damaged structure. For the verification of the observed damage detection method, the numerical analysis of Matlab and MIDAS and shacking table test were performed. In results, the damage index of damaged story was estimated so higher than undamaged stories that indicates the damaged story apparently.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.251-260
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• 2009

Objectives : To investigate reliability and validity of Korean translation of Western Ontario and McMaster Universities(WOMAC) osteoarthritis index. Methods : The reliablity, construct validity of the Korean WOMAC Index in the patient of knee osteoarthritis was investigated. Test-retest reliability was quantified with pearson's correlation coefficient and intraclass correlation coefficient. Internal consistency was quantified with Cronbach's ${\alpha}$. and construct validity with pearson's correlation coefficient by correlating of the Visual Analog Scale(VAS). Results : Test-retest reliability of Korean WOMAC Index for pain was 0.76 to 0.95, stiffness was 0.89 to 0.94, and physical function was 0.71 to 0.95. Intraclass correlation coefficient for pain was 0.76 to 0.94, stiffness was 0.54 to 0.89, and physical function was 0.70 to 0.95. Internal consistency were 0.94 and 0.94 for the first and second time, respectively. Construct validity for pain was 0.79, for stiffness was 0.66, and physical function was 0.67. Conclusions : The Korean translation of Western Ontario and McMaster Universities(WOMAC) osteoarthritis index is reliable, valid assessment tool in knee osteoarthritis.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.81-96
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• 2024

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate arterial stiffness index, physical activity, and food and nutrient intake in middle-aged adults over 40 years when the incidence of cardiovascular disease begins to increase. Methods: This study included 106 subjects (48 males and 58 females) aged between 40 and 64 years. The arterial stiffness index (brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity [baPWV], and ankle-brachial index [ABI]) were measured using a blood pressure pulse wave testing device. Physical activity was assessed using the Korean version of the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire, and food and nutrient intake was calculated using the Food Frequency Questionnaire. Results: The mean age of the subjects was 54.4 years. Although the ABI of the subjects was within the normal range, they were divided into tertiles to compare physical activity and food and nutrient intake. In males, the time spent on moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) was significantly higher in T3 (600.6 min/week) than in T1 (304.4 min/week). In females, the time spent in sedentary behavior was significantly lower in T3 (294.5 min/week) than in T1 (472.1 min/week). In addition, the frequency of fish consumption was significantly higher in T3 (1.27 frequency/day) than in T1 (0.64 frequency/day) in females. Polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) and ω-3 fatty acid intake, adjusted for energy intake, were significantly positively correlated with ABI (r = 0.200 and r = 0.218, respectively). Conclusions: High MVPA (in males), low sedentary behavior (in females), and PUFA and ω-3 fatty acid intake through fish consumption may be associated with low peripheral artery stiffness. Therefore, arteriosclerosis can be prevented through physical activity and proper dietary therapy.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.28-34
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• 2015

Pulse wave velocity (PWV) is used to non-invasively estimate the severity of arteriosclerosis by measuring arterial stiffness. Increased arterial stiffness measured by PWV stands for progressive arteriosclerosis and is caused by atherosclerotic risk factors. This study is focused on how brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) is related to the leading risk factors for arteriosclerosis or atherosclerosis. Subjects were 114, 69 males and 45 females who are in 60's and had baPWV test for acute stroke. The results are as follows: the group with increased arterial stiffness showed significant increase in HbA1c, total cholesterol, BSBP (brachial artery systolic blood pressure), BDBP (brachial artery diastolic blood pressure), CSBP (central artery systolic blood pressure), CDBP (central artery diastolic blood pressure), augmentation index (AIx) and diabetes mellitus. Correlation analysis between baPWV and atherosclerotic risk factor showed significant relationship in age, HbA1c, LDL cholesterol, BSBP, BDBP, CSBP, CDBP and augmentation index. baPWV was independently related to age and BSBP in multiple linear regression analysis. The group with increased arterial stiffness was independently related to BDBP in multiple logistic regression analysis. This study might be meaningful in evaluating the relationship between arterial stiffness and atherosclerotic risk factor in a new way, and be helped to make various studies for cardiovascular disease.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.15-26
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• 2004

Based on an estimating method for post-cyclic strength and stiffness with cyclic triaxial tests proposed by one of the authors, cyclic Direct Simple Shear (DSS) tests were carried out to confirm whether the method can be adapted to DSS test on fine-grained soils: silty clay, plastic silt, and non-plastic silt. Results from cyclic and post-cyclic DSS tests were interpreted by a modified method as adopted for cyclic and post-cyclic triaxial tests. In particular, influence of plasticity index for fine-grained soils and initial static shear stress (ISSS) was emphasised. Findings obtained from the present study are: (i) liquefaction strength ratio of fine-grained soils decreases with decreasing plasticity index and increasing ISSS; (ii) plasticity index and ISSS did not markedly influence relation between equivalent cyclic stiffness and shear strain relations; (iii) the higher the plasticity index of fine-grained soils is, the less the strength ratio decreases with increment of a normalcies excess pore water pressure (NEPWP); (iv) stiffness ratio of plastic silt has large activity decrease rapidly with increasing excess pore water pressure; and (v) post-cyclic strength and stiffness results from DSS tests agree well with those predicted by the method modified from a procedure used for triaxial test results.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.37-44
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• 2018

Ballasted track has been widely used due to its flexibility. However, the plastic deformation of ballasted track causes the evolution of track geometrical errors, and hence it requires continuous maintenance; increase in number of trains, weight, and speed expedites maintenance frequency and cost as well. Ballast stiffness is well-known as an indicator of design and maintenance. In this regard, this paper aims to suggest the method to measure ballast track stiffness using light-weight deflectometer (LWD) and thus verify its applicability as a maintenance measure. Preliminary field tests determined simple field testing protocol to measure track stiffness. The apparent ballast stiffness by LWD shows good corelation with TQI (Track Quality Index) and maintenance length. That is, as average of apparent stiffness increase, TQI and tamping length decrease exponentially. Therefore, apparent stiffness can be used as an index for ballast condition assessment.