• Asian Spine Journal
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.1060-1068
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• 2018

Study Design: Retrospective study. Purpose: Lumbar intervertebral disc degeneration is an important cause of low back pain. Overview of Literature: Spinal fusion is often reported to have a good course for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). However, many studies have reported that adjacent segment degeneration is accelerated after lumbar spinal fusion. Radiography is a simple method used to evaluate the orientation of the vertebral column. magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the method most often used to specifically evaluate intervertebral disc degeneration. The Pfirrmann classification is a well-known method used to evaluate degenerative lumbar disease. After spinal fusion, an increase in stress, excess mobility, increased intra-disc pressure, and posterior displacement of the axis of motion have been observed in the adjacent segments. Methods: we retrospectively secured and analyzed the data of 15 patients (four boys and 11 girls) with AIS who underwent a spinal fusion surgery. We studied the full-length view of the spine (anterior-posterior and lateral) from the X-ray and MRI obtained from all patients before surgery. Postoperatively, another full-length spine X-ray and lumbosacral MRI were obtained from all participants. Then, pelvic tilt, sacral slope, curve correction, and fused and free segments before and after surgery were calculated based on X-ray studies. MRI images were used to estimate the degree to which intervertebral discs were degenerated using Pfirrmann grading system. Pfirrmann grade before and after surgery were compared with Wilcoxon signed rank test. While analyzing the contribution of potential risk factors for the post-spinal fusion Pfirrmann grade of disc degeneration, we used generalized linear models with robust standard error estimates to account for intraclass correlation that may have been present between discs of the same patient. Results: The mean age of the participant was 14 years, and the mean curvature before and after surgery were 67.8 and 23.8, respectively (p<0.05). During the median follow-up of 5 years, the mean degree of the disc degeneration significantly increased in all patients after surgery (p<0.05) with a Pfirrmann grade of 1 and 2.8 in the L2-L3 before and after surgery, respectively. The corresponding figures at L3-L4, L4-L5, and L5-S1 levels were 1.28 and 2.43, 1.07 and 2.35, and 1 and 2.33, respectively. The lower was the number of free discs below the fusion level, the higher was the Pfirrmann grade of degeneration (p<0.001). Conversely, the higher was the number of the discs fused together, the higher was the Pfirrmann grade. Conclusions: we observed that the disc degeneration aggravated after spinal fusion for scoliosis. While the degree of degeneration as measured by Pfirrmann grade was directly correlated by the number of fused segments, it was negatively correlated with the number of discs that remained free below the lowermost level of the fusion.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.34 no.12
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• pp.93-103
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• 2018

Behaviors of splices between bolts and welding spliced PHC piles using the tensile strength test were analyzed. The bolts spliced PHC piles, which were tightened over $200N{\cdot}m$ tightening torque, showed straight V shaped line at splices at the lowest 20 N load. Both sides of PHC piles stayed straight, so the full section of bolts spliced piles did not show the unifying behavior, which was the most important performance requirement as pile. Other bolts spliced PHC piles, tightened with $20N{\cdot}m$ loosening torque, also showed the same straight V shaped line at splices for each step of loading. The full section of bolts spliced piles did not return to the initial position after each step of unloading and did not show the elastic material behavior. The splices quality of bolts spliced piles is much lower than that of welding spliced piles with respect to displacement of splices during each step of loadings, residual displacements during each step of unloadings, and failure loads. Results showed that bolts spliced PHC piles, tightened with both over $200N{\cdot}m$ and as low as $20N{\cdot}m$ torque, fell short of performance requirements of spliced PHC pile.

• Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.33.1-33.12
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• 2019

Objectives: To evaluate the influence of the restorative technique on the mechanical response of endodontically-treated upper premolars with mesio-occluso-distal (MOD) cavity. Materials and Methods: Forty-eight premolars received MOD preparation (4 groups, n = 12) with different restorative techniques: glass ionomer cement + composite resin (the GIC group), a metallic post + composite resin (the MP group), a fiberglass post + composite resin (the FGP group), or no endodontic treatment + restoration with composite resin (the CR group). Cusp strain and load-bearing capacity were evaluated. One-way analysis of variance and the Tukey test were used with ${\alpha}=5%$. Finite element analysis (FEA) was used to calculate displacement and tensile stress for the teeth and restorations. Results: MP showed the highest cusp (p = 0.027) deflection ($24.28{\pm}5.09{\mu}m/{\mu}m$), followed by FGP ($20.61{\pm}5.05{\mu}m/{\mu}m$), CR ($17.62{\pm}7.00{\mu}m/{\mu}m$), and GIC ($17.62{\pm}7.00{\mu}m/{\mu}m$). For load-bearing, CR ($38.89{\pm}3.24N$) showed the highest, followed by GIC ($37.51{\pm}6.69N$), FGP ($29.80{\pm}10.03N$), and MP ($18.41{\pm}4.15N$) (p = 0.001) value. FEA showed similar behavior in the restorations in all groups, while MP showed the highest stress concentration in the tooth and post. Conclusions: There is no mechanical advantage in using intraradicular posts for endodontically-treated premolars requiring MOD restoration. Filling the pulp chamber with GIC and restoring the tooth with only CR showed the most promising results for cusp deflection, failure load, and stress distribution.

• The Journal of the Institute of Internet, Broadcasting and Communication
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.101-107
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• 2020

Road surface measurement is an essential process for quantifying the degree and displacement of roughness in road surface management. For safer road surface management and quick maintenance, it is important to accurately measure the road surface while mounted on a vehicle. In this paper, we propose a sophisticated road surface measurement system that can be measured on a moving vehicle. The proposed road surface measurement system supports more accurate measurement of the road surface by using a high-performance line laser sensor. It is also possible to measure the transverse and longitudinal profile by matching the position information acquired from the RTK, and the velocity adaptive update algorithm allows a manager to monitor in a real-time manner. In order to evaluate the proposed system, the Gocator laser sensor, MRP module, and NVIDIA Xavier processor were mounted on a test mobile and tested on the road surface. Our evaluation results demonstrate that our system measures accurate profile base on the MSE. Our proposed system can be used not only for evaluating the condition of roads but also for evaluating the impact of adjacent excavation.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.17-26
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• 2020

This study examined the structural effectiveness of the unbonded technique originally developed for seismic strengthening of unreinforced masonry walls on the basis of the prestressed steel bars and glass fiber (GF) grids. The masonry walls were strengthened by using individual steel bars or GF grids and their combination. Test results showed that the proposed technique was favorable in enhancing the strength, stiffness, and ductility of the masonry walls. When compared with the lateral load capacity, stiffness at the ascending branch of the lateral load-displacement curve, and energy dissipation capacity of the unstrengthened control wall, the increasing ratios were 110%, 120%, and 360%, respectively, for the walls strengthened with the individual GF grids, 140%, 130%, and 510%, respectively, for the walls strengthened with the individual steel bars, and 160%, 130%, and 840%, respectively, for the walls strengthened with the combination of steel bars and GF grids. The measured lateral load capacities of masonry walls strengthened with the developed technique were in relatively good agreement with the predictions by the equations proposed by Yang et al. Overall, the developed technique is quite promising in enhancing the seismic performance of unreinforced masonry walls.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.400-414
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• 2021

Under high-level radioactive waste repository conditions, bentonite as an engineered barrier material undergoes thermal, hydrological, mechanical, and chemical processes. We report the applications of X-ray Computed Tomography (CT) imaging technique on the characterization and analysis of bentonite over the past decade to provide a reference of the utilization of this technique and the recent research trends. This overview of the X-ray CT technique applications includes the characterization of the bentonite either in pellets or powder form. X-ray imaging has provided a means to extract grain information at the microscale and identify crack networks responsible for the pellets' heterogeneity. Regarding samples of pellets-powder mixtures under hydration, X-ray CT allowed the identification and monitoring of heterogeneous zones throughout the test. Some results showed how zones with pellets only swell faster compared to others composed of pellets and powder. Moreover, the behavior of fissures between grains and bentonite matrix was observed to change under drying and hydrating conditions, tending to close during the former and open during the latter. The development of specializing software has allowed obtaining strain fields from a sequence of images. In more recent works, X-ray CT technique has served to estimate the dry density, water content, and particle displacement at different testing times. Also, when temperature was added to the hydration process of a sample, CT technology offered a way to observe localized and global density changes over time.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.438-443
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• 2022

In this study, the lateral loading test was performed to analyze structural performance of multi-span plastic greenhouse through full-scale experiment and numerical analysis. In order to analyze the lateral stiffness and stress, we installed 9 displacement sensors and 19 strain gauge sensors on the specimen, respectively, and load of l mm per minute was applied until the specimen failure. In the comparison between the full-scale experiment and the structural analysis results of a multi-span greenhouse with venlo-type roof according to bracing installation, there was a large difference in the lateral stiffness of the structure. By installing a brace system, the lateral stiffness measured near the side elevation of the specimen increased by up 44%. As the bracing joint used in the field did not secure sufficient rigidity, the external force could not be transmitted to the entire structure properly. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a bracing construction method and design standards in order for a greenhouse to which bracing applied to have sufficient performance.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Building Construction
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.11-21
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• 2022

Currently, in the domestic construction industry, the free web method has been emerging as a potential solution to the shortage of skilled workers due to the prolonged COVID-19 crisis, as it helps in securing economic feasibility through shortening the construction period and reducing labor costs. To consider one part of the construction method, in this study, the bending behavior according to the load was evaluated for the SY slope-type beam formwork, which was manufactured at a factory, assembled with rebar, brought into the site, and then poured into the site. For the SY Beam standard cross-sectional shape, a cross-sectional dimensional width of 400mm and depth 600mm determined through structural modeling using the MIDAS GEN program were applied. A total of 6 specimens were made with a member length of 5,000mm, 5 specimens and one RC specimen in the comparison group were manufactured in real-size format using the thickness of the steel plate(0.8, 1.0, 1.2mm) as a variable, and bending experiments were performed. In the bending test, the steel plate deck showed high initial stiffness and maximum strength as it yielded, which showed that it sufficiently contributed to the flexural strength. It is judged that additional analysis and experimental studies for 1.05, 1.1, and 1.15mm are needed to derive the appropriate steel plate thickness and the method for calculating the tensile force contribution of the steel plate to secure the manufacturing, construction and economic feasibility of SY Beam in the future.

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.94-102
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• 2022

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of acute transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on the isokinetic muscular endurance of the lower extremity for young adults. Method: Thirteen young adults performed isokinetic fatigue tasks for two experimental conditions including real tDCS and sham stimulation protocols. Before and after the task, the tensiomyography was used for evaluating muscle contraction characteristics of vastus medialis and semitendinosus. Paired t-test was performed to compare the fatigue index, changes in maximum radial displacement (∆Dm), delay time (∆Tc), and velocity of contraction (∆Vc) between tDCS conditions. Results: We found no significant differences in the fatigue index between real and sham conditions. In addition, the analyses identified no significant different values of ∆Dm, ∆Tc, and ∆Vc in the vastus medialis and semitendinosus between real and sham conditions. Conclusion: These findings suggest that the tDCS protocols may have no acute effect on lower limb muscle endurance for young adults. Future studies should consider the long-term effects of repetitive tDCS sessions, various stimulation positions, exercise tasks, and participant characteristics to more clearly understand the effect of tDCS on muscle endurance of lower extremities.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.167-174
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• 2022

The objective of this study is to evaluate the dynamic properties of DUS (damping-up system) composed of the materials with excellent damping capacity, and to compare with those of the conventional hangar bolt. The main parameters are the type and hardness (𝜂_H), of rubber and the prestress force (value converted from the compression strain (𝜂_R) in the stress-strain relationship of rubber). The dynamic properties were examined from the natural frequency (𝜔_n), maximum response acceleration (A_m), amplification coefficient (𝛼_p), maximum relative displacement (𝚫_m), and damping ratio (𝜉_D). The test results showed that the A_m, 𝛼_p, and 𝚫_m values of DUS were 46.3%, 46.6% and 62.9% lower, respectively, and the 𝜉_D value was 3.89 times higher, when compared to those of the conventional hangar bolt. In particular, the 𝛼_p value was 1.3 for DUS, and 2.45 for the conventional hanger bolt, which were similar to those of rigid and flexible components specified in KDS 41 17 00, respectively. Consequently, in the optimal details of DUS, the 𝜂_H values of 50 and 45 were required for the NR (natural rubber) and EPDM (ethylene propylene diene monomer), and the 𝜂_R value of 5% was also recommended.