• Journal of Information Technology Services
• /
• v.18 no.3
• /
• pp.53-74
• /
• 2019

In this paper, a theoretical measurement model for comparing cultural power of nations as a form of national power is built and applied to the G20 nations. The measurement model is drawn from the literature of the state theories regarding culture, theories of epistemology, and debates about the sources of national power. Taking the multiple indicator approach, indicators reflecting diverse aspects of cultural power are developed are developed. Examined with empirical data, this model is proved as appropriate as a tool for measuring and comparing the cultural power of nations. Diverse aspects of the cultural power of the G20 nations are ranked and interesting points regarding the state and potential of Korean culture and her cultural governance in these respects are elaborated. The overall ranking of the cultural power of Korea is found as the $11^{th}$ while the U.S., U.K. and France respectively as the $1^{st}$, the $2^{nd}$, and the $3^{rd}$. The U.S. is ranked as the 1st in all three aspects of the cultural power of nation: cultural attractiveness, efforts to enhance the national cultural power, and cultural base of a nation. Korea is ranked as $14^{th}$, $11^{th}$, and $6^{th}$ respectively in these three respects of the national cultural power. Based upon typological analysis of the cultural power of Korea, it is found that Korea belongs to Type III. Trying to move eventually toward Type I state via Type II is suggested as a strategy movement for future cultural governance by Korean government and people to enhance her national cultural power.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• v.18 no.5
• /
• pp.535-543
• /
• 2019

Building on/with expansive soils with no treatment brings complications. Compacted expansive soils specifically fall short in satisfying the minimum requirements for transport embankment infrastructures, requiring the adoption of hauled virgin mineral aggregates or a sustainable alternative. Use of hauled aggregates comes at a high carbon and economical cost. On average, every 9m high embankment built with quarried/hauled soils cost $12600MJ.m^{-2}$ Embodied Energy (EE). A prospect of using mixed cutting-arising expansive soils with industrial/domestic wastes can reduce the carbon cost and ease the pressure on landfills. The widespread use of recycled materials has been extensively limited due to concerns over their long-term performance, generally low shear strength and stiffness. In this contribution, hydromechanical properties of a waste tyre sand-sized rubber (a mixture of polybutadiene, polyisoprene, elastomers, and styrene-butadiene) and expansive silt is studied, allowing the short- and long-term behaviour of optimum compacted composites to be better established. The inclusion of tyre shred substantially decreased the swelling potential/pressure and modestly lowered the compression index. Silt-Tyre powder replacement lowered the bulk density, allowing construction of lighter reinforced earth structures. The shear strength and stiffness decreased on addition of tyre powder, yet the contribution of matric suction to the shear strength remained constant for tyre shred contents up to 20%. Reinforced soils adopted a ductile post-peak plastic behaviour with enhanced failure strain, offering the opportunity to build more flexible subgrades as recommended for expansive soils. Residual water content and tyre shred content are directly correlated; tyre-reinforced silt showed a greater capacity of water storage (than natural silts) and hence a sustainable solution to waterlogging and surficial flooding particularly in urban settings. Crushed fine tyre shred mixed with expansive silts/sands at 15 to 20 wt% appear to offer the maximum reduction in swelling-shrinking properties at minimum cracking, strength loss and enhanced compressibility expenses.

• Advances in concrete construction
• /
• v.11 no.5
• /
• pp.429-445
• /
• 2021

With regard to economic efficiency, composite fix beams are widely used to pass longitudinal shear forces across the interface. The current knowledge of the composite beam load-slip activity and shear capability are restricted to data from measurements of push-off. Modelling and analysis of the composite beams based on Euro-code 4 regarding to shear, bending, and deflection under differing loads were carried out using Finite Element through an efficient computer simulation and the final loading and sections capacity based on the failure modes was analysed. In bending, the section potential was increased by an improvement of the strength in both steel and concrete, but the flexural and compressive resistance growth is very weak (3.2% 3.1% and 3.0%), while the strength of the concrete has increased respectively from 25 N/mm² to 30, 35, and 40 N/mm² compared to the increment of steel strength by 27% and 21% when it was raised from 275 to 355 and 460 N/mm², respectively. It was found that the final flexural load capacity of fix beams was declined with increase in the fix beam span for both three steel strength. The shear capacity of sections was remained unchanged at constant steel strength and different length, but raised with final yield strength increment of steel sections by 29%, and 67% when it was raised from 275 N/mm² to 355 N/mm² and 460 N/mm², respectively.

• International Journal of Computer Science & Network Security
• /
• v.22 no.3
• /
• pp.37-44
• /
• 2022

Plug-in Hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) show great potential to reduce gas emission, improve fuel efficiency and offer more driving range flexibility. Moreover, PHEV help to preserve the eco-system, climate changes and reduce the high demand for fossil fuels. To address this; some basic components and energy resources have been used, such as batteries and proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells (FCs). However, the FC remains unsatisfactory in terms of power density and response. In light of the above, an electric storage system (ESS) seems to be a promising solution to resolve this issue, especially when it comes to the transient phase. In addition to the FC, a storage system made-up of an ultra-battery UB is proposed within this paper. The association of the FC and the UB lead to the so-called Fuel Cell Battery Electric Vehicle (FCBEV). The energy consumption model of a FCBEV has been built considering the power losses of the fuel cell, electric motor, the state of charge (SOC) of the battery, and brakes. To do so, the implementing a reinforcement-learning energy management strategy (EMS) has been carried out and the fuel cell efficiency has been optimized while minimizing the hydrogen fuel consummation per 100km. Within this paper the adopted approach over numerous driving cycles of the FCBEV has shown promising results.

• Current Photovoltaic Research
• /
• v.11 no.1
• /
• pp.8-12
• /
• 2023

In this work, we investigated the thickness of Ag precursor layer to improve the performance of flexible CIGSe solar cells grown on stainless steel (STS) substrates through three-stage co-evaporation with Ga grading followed by alkali treatments. The small amount of incorporated Ag in CIGSe films showed enhancement in the grain size and device efficiency. With an optimal 6 nm-thick Ag layer, the best cell on the STS substrate yielded more than 16%, which is comparable to the soda-lime glass (SLG) substrate. Thus, the addition of controlled Ag combined with alkali post-deposition treatment (PDT) led to increased open-circuit voltage (VOC), accompanied by the increased built-in potential as confirmed by capacitance-voltage (C-V) measurements. It is related to a reduction of charge recombination at the depletion region. The results suggest that Ag alloying and alkali PDT are essential for producing highly efficient flexible CIGSe solar cells.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.89 no.2
• /
• pp.181-197
• /
• 2024

A numerical method is presented in this paper, for buckling analysis of thin arbitrary stiffened composite cylindrical shells under axial compression. The stiffeners can be placed inside and outside of the shell. The shell and stiffeners are operated as discrete elements, and their interactions are taking place through the compatibility conditions along their intersecting lines. The governing equations of motion are obtained based on Koiter's theory and solved by utilizing the principle of the minimum potential energy. Then, the buckling load coefficient and the critical buckling load are computed by solving characteristic equations. In this formulation, the elastic and geometric stiffness matrices of a single curved strip of the shell and stiffeners can be located anywhere within the shell element and in any direction are provided. Moreover, five stiffened composite shell specimens are made and tested under axial compression loading. The reliability of the presented method is validated by comparing its numerical results with those of commercial software, experiments, and other published numerical results. In addition, by using the ANSYS code, a 3-D finite element model that takes the exact geometric arrangement and the properties of the stiffeners and the shell into consideration is built. Finally, the effects of Poisson's ratio, shell length-to-radius ratio, shell thickness, cross-sectional area, angle, eccentricity, torsional stiffness, numbers and geometric configuration of stiffeners on the buckling of stiffened composite shells with various end conditions are computed. The results gained can be used as a meaningful benchmark for researchers to validate their analytical and numerical methods.

• Annals of Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic Surgery
• /
• v.27 no.2
• /
• pp.195-200
• /
• 2023

Backgrounds/Aims: We aimed to build a machine learning tool to help predict low-grade intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs) in order to avoid unnecessary surgical resection. IPMNs are precursors to pancreatic cancer. Surgical resection remains the only recognized treatment for IPMNs yet carries some risks of morbidity and potential mortality. Existing clinical guidelines are imperfect in distinguishing low-risk cysts from high-risk cysts that warrant resection. Methods: We built a linear support vector machine (SVM) learning model using a prospectively maintained surgical database of patients with resected IPMNs. Input variables included 18 demographic, clinical, and imaging characteristics. The outcome variable was the presence of low-grade or high-grade IPMN based on post-operative pathology results. Data were divided into a training/validation set and a testing set at a ratio of 4:1. Receiver operating characteristics analysis was used to assess classification performance. Results: A total of 575 patients with resected IPMNs were identified. Of them, 53.4% had low-grade disease on final pathology. After classifier training and testing, a linear SVM-based model (IPMN-LEARN) was applied on the validation set. It achieved an accuracy of 77.4%, with a positive predictive value of 83%, a specificity of 72%, and a sensitivity of 83% in predicting low-grade disease in patients with IPMN. The model predicted low-grade lesions with an area under the curve of 0.82. Conclusions: A linear SVM learning model can identify low-grade IPMNs with good sensitivity and specificity. It may be used as a complement to existing guidelines to identify patients who could avoid unnecessary surgical resection.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.52 no.2
• /
• pp.199-215
• /
• 2024

The Caynarachi Bridge is a 130 m long posttensioned steel-concrete composite bridge built in Peru. The structural performance of this bridge under construction loads is reviewed in this paper using numerical simulation. Hence, a numerical model using shell finite elements to trace its deformational behavior at service conditions is proposed. The geometry and boundary conditions of the superstructure are updated according to the construction schedule. Firstly, the adequacy of the proposed model is validated with the field measurements obtained from the static truck load test. Secondly, the study of other scenarios less explored in research are performed to investigate the effect of some variables on bridge performance such as time effects, sequence of execution of concrete slabs and type of supports conditions at the abutments. The obtained results show that the original sequence of execution of the superstructure better behaves mechanically in relation to the other studied scenarios, yielding smaller stresses at critical cross sections with staging. It is also demonstrated that an improper slab staging may lead to more critical stresses at the studied cross sections and that casting the concrete slab at the negative moment regions first can lead to an optimal design. Also, the long-term displacements can be accurately predicted using an equivalent composite resistance cross section defined by a steel to concrete modulus ratio equal to three. This article gives some insights into the potential shortcomings or advantages of the original design through high-fidelity finite element simulations and reinforces the understating of posttensioned composite bridges with staging.

• International Journal of Stem Cells
• /
• v.15 no.4
• /
• pp.347-358
• /
• 2022

Background and Objectives: The search for a suitable alternative for urethral defect is a challenge in the field of urethral tissue engineering. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) possess multipotential for differentiation. The in vitro derivation of urothelial cells from mouse-iPSCs (miPSCs) has thus far not been reported. The purpose of this study was to establish an efficient and robust differentiation protocol for the differentiation of miPSCs into urothelial cells. Methods and Results: Our protocol made the visualization of differentiation processes of a 2-step approach possible. We firstly induced miPSCs into posterior definitive endoderm (DE) with glycogen synthase kinase-3𝛽 (GSK3𝛽) inhibitor and Activin A. We investigated the optimal conditions for DE differentiation with GSK3𝛽 inhibitor treatment by varying the treatment time and concentration. Differentiation into urothelial cells, was directed with all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) and recombinant mouse fibroblast growth factor-10 (FGF-10). Specific markers expressed at each stage of differentiation were validated by flow cytometry, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) assay, immunofluorescence staining, and western blotting Assay. The miPSC-derived urothelial cells were successfully in expressed urothelial cell marker genes, proteins, and normal microscopic architecture. Conclusions: We built a model of directed differentiation of miPSCs into urothelial cells, which may provide the evidence for a regenerative potential of miPSCs in preclinical animal studies.

• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
• /
• 2015.05a
• /
• pp.217-217
• /
• 2015

The objective of this study was mainly to evaluate the water resources potential of Lake Tana Basin (LTB) by using Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). From SWAT simulation of LTB, about 5236 km2 area of LTB is gauged watershed and the remaining 9878 km2 area is ungauged watershed. For calibration of model parameters, four gauged stations were considered namely: Gilgel Abay, Gummera, Rib, and Megech. The SWAT-CUP built-in techniques, particle swarm optimization (PSO) and generalized likelihood uncertainty estimation (GLUE) method was used for calibration of model parameters and PSO method were selected for the study based on its performance results in four gauging stations. However the level of sensitivity of flow parameters differ from catchment to catchment, the curve number (CN2) has been found the most sensitive parameters in all gauged catchments. To facilitate the transfer of data from gauged catchments to ungauged catchments, clustering of hydrologic response units (HRUs) were done based on physical similarity measured between gauged and ungauged catchment attributes. From SWAT land use/ soil use/slope reclassification of LTB, a total of 142 HRUs were identified and these HRUs are clustered in to 39 similar hydrologic groups. In order to transfer the optimized model parameters from gauged to ungauged catchments based on these clustered hydrologic groups, this study evaluates three parameter transfer schemes: parameters transfer based on homogeneous regions (PT-I), parameter transfer based on global averaging (PT-II), and parameter transfer by considering Gilgel Abay catchment as a representative catchment (PT-III) since its model performance values are better than the other three gauged catchments. The performance of these parameter transfer approach was evaluated based on values of Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) and coefficient of determination (R2). The computed NSE values was found to be 0.71, 0.58, and 0.31 for PT-I, PT-II and PT-III respectively and the computed R2 values was found to be 0.93, 0.82, and 0.95 for PT-I, PT-II, and PT-III respectively. Based on the performance evaluation criteria, PT-I were selected for modelling ungauged catchments by transferring optimized model parameters from gauged catchment. From the model result, yearly average stream flow for all homogeneous regions was found 29.54 m3/s, 112.92 m3/s, and 130.10 m3/s for time period (1989 - 2005) for region-I, region-II, and region-III respectively.