• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.265-280
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• 2004

In view of the mounting cost of rehabilitating deteriorating infrastructure, further compounded by intensified environmental concerns, it is now obvious that the evolvement and application of advanced composite structural materials to complement conventional construction materials is a necessity for sustainable construction. This study seeks alternative fill materials (polymer-based) to the much-limited cement concrete used in concrete-filled steel tubular structures. Polymers have been successfully used in other industries and are known to be much lighter, possess high tensile strength, durable and resistant to aggressive environments. Findings of this study relating to elasto-plastic characteristics of polymer concrete filled steel composite beams subjected to uniform bending highlight the enormous increase in stiffness, strength and ductility of the composite beams, over the empty steel tube. Moreover, polymer based materials were noted to present a wide array of properties that could be tailored to meet specific design requirements e.g., ductility based design or strength based design. Analytical formulations for design are also considered.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.44-52
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• 2023

Objective: The DNA integrity of spermatozoa that attach to fallopian tube (FT) cells is higher than spermatozoa that do not attach. FT epithelial cells can distinguish normal and abnormal sperm chromatin. This study investigated the effects of sperm with a high-DNA fragmentation index (DFI) from men with unexplained repeated implantation failure (RIF) on the Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling pathway in human FT cells in vitro. Methods: Ten men with a RIF history and high-DFI and 10 healthy donors with low-DFI comprised the high-DFI (>30%) and control (<30%) groups, respectively. After fresh semen preparation, sperm were co-cultured with a human FT epithelial cell line (OE-E6/E7) for 24 hours. RNA was extracted from the cell line and the human innate and adaptive immune responses were tested using an RT2 profiler polymerase chain reaction (PCR) array. Results: The PCR array data showed significantly higher TLR-1, TLR-2, TLR-3, TLR-6, interleukin 1α (IL-1α), IL-1β, IL-6, IL-12, interferon α (IFN-α), IFN-β, tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), CXCL8, GM-CSF, G-CSF, CD14, ELK1, IRAK1, IRAK2, IRAK4, IRF1, IRF3, LY96, MAP2K3, MAP2K4, MAP3K7, MAP4K4, MAPK8, MAPK8IP3, MYD88, NFKB1, NFKB2, REL, TIRAP, and TRAF6 expression in the high-DFI group than in the control group. These factors are all involved in the TLR-MyD88 signaling pathway. Conclusion: The MyD88-dependent pathway through TLR-1, TLR-2, and TLR-6 activation may be one of the main inflammatory pathways activated by high-DFI sperm from men with RIF. Following activation of this pathway, epithelial cells produce inflammatory cytokines, resulting in neutrophil infiltration, activation, phagocytosis, neutrophil extracellular trap formation, and apoptosis.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.32-39
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• 1999

In this paper, the characteristics of the ray tracing method (RTM) based on the cylindrical wave are discussed for the high frequency vibration analysis of two-dimensional structures. A ray tube describing the emanating cylindrical wave is used to derive the governing equation for incident reflected, and transmitted ray tubes which satisfies the condition at the coupled boundary. The suggested ray model is applied to panel array structures, and the predicted results for 2-panel, 3-panel, and 4-panel array structures are compared to those by Statistical energy analysis (SEA) and Wave intensity analysis(WIA). More enhanced prediction was obtained compared to the SEA, and similar prediction performance was observed to the WIA. Additionally, the RTM has a novel feature that it can estimate the spatially smoothed distribution of vibration energy and vibration intensity. It is expected that the present RTM can be used as one of the useful tools for the high frequency vibration analysis of two-dimensional coupled structures.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.183-190
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• 2013

Recently, the photoacoustic imaging system has been widely and intensively developed, and has been shown the possibility of diagnosis for early stage cancer. In this study, we developed a photoacoustic tomography imaging system with a commercial ultra sound device and a linear array probe. A tube phantom and a chicken breast phantom was made for the possibility of a system as a breast cancer detection. A moving average filter and a band pass filter with 3~6 MHz bandwidth were developed for background noise elimination before delay-and-sum beamforming algorithm was used for image reconstruction. As a result, we showed that some signal processing procedure before beamforming was effective for the photoacoustic image reconstruction.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.257-261
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• 2004

A coded-aperture gamma camera was developed to increase the sensitivity of a pin hole camera made with a pixellated CsI(Tl) scintillator and a position-sensitive photomultiplier tube. The modified round-hole uniformly redundant array of pixel size $13{\times}11$ was chosen as a coded mask considering the detector spatial resolution. The performance of the coded-aperture camera was compared with the pin hole camera using various forms of Tc-99m source to see the improvement of signal-to-noise ratio or the improvement of the sensitivity. The image quality is much improved despite of a slight degradation of the spatial resolution. Though the camera and the test were made for low energy case, but the concept of the coded-aperture gamma camera could be effectively used for the radioactive environmental monitoring and other applications.

• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.155-161
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• 2016

Dental pulp is a highly vascularized tissue with high regenerative potential. Revascularization of severed vasculature in the tooth is required for pulp healing during avulsed tooth treatment. In this study, the relative expression of angiogenesis-related proteins was determined in human dental pulp cells using a human angiogenesis proteome profiler array. The proteome profiler array detected differentially expressed angiogenesis-related factors under conditions of hypoxia, which enhances the angiogenic potential of dental pulp cells. We confirmed that hypoxia regulates the mRNA expression of angiogenesis-related factors, including CXCL16 in dental pulp cells. Furthermore, conditioned media of hypoxic pulp cells induced tube-like structures of vascular endothelial cells, which were reduced by the neutralization of CXCL16 function. In conclusion, our data show that angiogenesis-related factors are differentially expressed by hypoxia in dental pulp cells and suggest that CXCL16 may involve in the revascularization of hypoxic dental pulp.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.1091-1097
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• 2019

After the Fukushima accident in 2011, there has been increased public concern about radioactive contamination of water resources through fallout in neighboring countries. However, there is still no available initial response system that can promptly detect radionuclides. The purpose of this research is to develop the most efficient gamma spectrometer to monitor radionuclides in an aquatic environment. We chose a thallium-doped sodium iodide (NaI(Tl)) scintillator readout with a silicon photo multiplier (SiPM) due to its compactness and low operating voltage. Three types of a scintillation detector were tested. One was composed of a scintillator and a photomultiplier tube (PMT) as a reference; another system consisted of a scintillator and an array of SiPMs with a light guide; and the other was a scintillator directly coupled with an array of SiPMs. Among the SiPM-based detectors, the direct coupling system showed the best energy resolution at all energy peaks. It achieved 9.76% energy resolution for a 662 keV gamma ray. Through additional experiments and a simulation, we proved that the light guide degraded energy resolution with increasing statistical uncertainty. The results indicated that the SiPM-based scintillation detector with no light guide is the most efficient design for monitoring radionuclides in an aquatic environment.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.149-158
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• 2011

Metal waste generated from the pyroprocessing of 10 MtU of spent fuel was classified by comparing the specific activity of a relevant radionuclide with the limit value of the specific activity specified in the Korean acceptance criteria for a lowand intermediate-level waste repository. A Korean Optimized Fuel Assembly design with a 17${\times}$17 array, an initial enrichment of 4.5 weight-percent, discharge burn-up of 55 GWD/MtU, and a 10-year cooling time was considered. Initially, the mass and volume of each structural component of the assembly were calculated in detail, and a source term analysis was subsequently performed using ORIGEN-S for these components. An activation cross-section library generated by the KENO-VI/ORIGEN-S module was utilized for top-end and bottom-end pieces. As a result, an Inconel grid plate, a SUS plenum spring, a SUS guide tube subpart, SUS top-end and bottom-end pieces, and an Inconel top-end leaf spring were determined to be unacceptable for the Gyeongju low- and intermediate-level waste repository, as these waste products exceeded the acceptance criteria. In contrast, a Zircaloy grid plate and guide tube can be placed in the Gyeongju repository. Non-contaminated Zircaloy cladding occupying 76% of the metal waste was found to have a lower level of specific activity than the limit value. However, Zircaloy cladding contaminated by fission products and actinides during the decladding process of pyroprocessing was revealed to have 52 and 2 times higher specific activity levels than the limit values for alpha and $^{90}Sr$, respectively. Finally, it was found that 88.7% of the metal waste from the 17${\times}$17 Korean Optimized Fuel Assembly design should be disposed of in a deep geological repository. Therefore, it can be summarized that separation technology with a higher decontamination factor for transuranics and strontium should be developed for the efficient management of metal waste resulting from pyroprocessing.

• Imaging Science in Dentistry
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.205-209
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• 2007

Purpose: To determine the physical properties of a newly developed cone beam computed tomography (CBCT). Materials and Methods: We measured and compared the imaging properties for the indirect-type flat panel detector (FPD) of a new CBCT and the single detector array (SDA) of conventional helical CT (CHCT). Results: First, the modulation transfer function (MTF) of the CBCT were superior to those of the CHCT. Second, the noise power spectrum (NPS) of the CBCT were worse than those of the CHCT. Third, detective quantum efficiency (DQE) of the indirect-type CBCT were worse than those of the CHCT at lower spatial frequencies, but were better at higher spatial frequencies. Although the comparison of contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) was estimated in the limited range of tube current, CNR of CBCT were worse than those of CHCT. Conclusion: This study shows that the indirect-type FPD system may be useful as a CBCT detector because of high resolution.

• Proceedings of the Korea Committee for Ocean Resources and Engineering Conference
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• 2001.10a
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• pp.190-195
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• 2001

Flow patterns are very complex and interactive between cylinders. The patterns are turbulent and non-linear caused by various factors. In this paper, flow patterns and pressure gradient around vertical cylinders were investigated by experiment. Changing gaps between cylinders the flow patterns are measured at a fixed coming velocity. Flow patterns showed very complex and closely related to the coming velocity and cylinder space. The pressure gradient around the flow field is observed by twelve hole pitot tubes and manometer. The experiment has been conducted in circulating water channel with PIV system. That can visualize flow patterns. The laser beam was used to reflect the image from particles and recorded by CCD camera. The cylinders were spaced from ID to 5D with 0.5m/sec of incoming flow velocity. The experimental results using pitot tube showed in good agreement with results of precious by others study. The results can be applied in the understanding and design of multiple pile array structures.