• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.360-368
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• 2013

Objectives: Phthalates are used in a large variety of products including as coatings of pharmaceutical tablets, film formers, stabilizers, dispersants, emulsifying agents, and suspending agents. They have been the subject of great public concern in recent years. The extensive uses of this material have attracted attention and issues regarding its safety have been raised. Methods: In this study, three types of phthalate skin permeation were studied using matrixes such as ointments, creams and lotions in vitro. The absorption of phthalate diesters [Dimethyl phthalate (DMP), Di-n-propyl phthalate (DPP) and Di-n-pentyl phthalate (DNPP)] using film former has been measured in vitro through rat skin. Epidermal membranes were set up in Franz diffusion cells and their permeability to PBS measured in order to establish the integrity of the skin before the phthalates were applied to the epidermal surface. Results: Absorption rates for each phthalate ester were determined and permeability assessment made to quantify any irreversible alterations in barrier function due to contact with the esters. Types of phthalate in vitro experimental results quickly appeared in the following order DMP > DPP ${\geq}$ DNPP. Conclusions: In the experimental results, lotion> cream> ointment, and the permeation rate of lotion with a great amount of moisture was the fastest. Skin permeation rate is generally influenced by the chemical characteristics of a given chemical, such as molecular weight and lipophilicity. As the esters became more lipophilic and less hydrophilic, the rate of absorption decreased.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.1509-1521
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• 2013

Social demand for the stability of structures lead to the development of the technology to accomplish it. The non-destructive seismic technique, which is able to assess structural integrity of infrastructures, belongs to this category. Seismic technique is focused on the measurement of seismic velocity propagating through the material, and has to utilize sensors coupled to material surface, which does not allow the testing to be performed on the fly. In this paper, a general vocal microphone, which works as a non-contact sensor, was adopted to facilitate seismic testing with mobility and efficiency improved. The target of using microphones was oriented toward quality assessment of compacted subgrade, stiffness evaluation and health monitoring of concrete structures. Experimental parametric study and field applications were performed to investigate reliability and efficiency of microphones. Finally, the optimal test configuration of microphones was suggested for resonance tests and surface-wave tests.

• Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.634-648
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• 2005

Performed here is a comparative assessment study for the probabilistic fracture mechanics approach of the pressurized thermal shock of the reactor pressure vessel. A round robin consisting of one prerequisite deterministic study and five cases for probabilistic approaches is proposed, and all organizations interested are invited. The problems are solved by the participants and their results are compared to issue some recommendation of best practices and to assure an understanding of the key parameters in this type of approach, like transient description and frequency, material properties, defect type and distribution, fracture mechanics methodology etc., which will be useful in the justification through a probabilistic approach for the case of a plant over-passing the screening criteria. Six participants from 3 organizations responded to the problem and their results are compiled and analyzed in this study.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.149-156
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• 2017

Nuclear fuel requires high reliability and safety and therefore contains debris filtering devices to prevent failure-inducing debris from entering it. The debris filtering performance of nuclear fuel is one of the most important factors for fuel integrity. Therefore, the performance must be evaluated and the measurement must be reasonable. In this study, a calculation method of the comprehensive filtering efficiency using the weighted mean was proposed to establish a standard filtering efficiency index. To confirm the suitability of the proposed method, representative debris specimens were selected and the filtering efficiency with the weighted mean was compared with the efficiency of the arithmetic mean. The weighting factor of the weighted mean was introduced to produce a fair evaluation. In addition, the analysis of the debris filtering mechanism was performed according to the size of debris specimens, and the main dimensions of the filtering feature for commercial nuclear fuel.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.358-366
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• 2015

In this study, a nondestructive test (NDT) is performed to inspect the optimal design of a ground tracked combat vehicle for self-propelled artillery, tank, and armored vehicles. The minimum qualification required for personnel performing the NDT of a ground tracked combat vehicle was initially established in US military standards, and then applied to the Korean defense specifications to develop a ground tracked combat vehicle. However, the qualification standards of an NDT inspector have been integrated into NAS410 through the military and commercial specifications unification project that were applied in the existing aerospace/defense industry public standard. The design method for this study was verified by applying the optimal design to the liquid penetrant testing Al forging used in self-propelled artillery. This confirmed the reliability and soundness of the product.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.441-454
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• 2020

The tunnel collapse, large deformation of surrounding rock, water and mud inrush are the major geological disasters in soft rock tunnel construction. Among them, tunnel collapse has the most serious impact on tunnel construction. Current research backed theories have certain limitations in identifying the collapse risk of soft rock tunnels. Examining the Zhengwan high-speed railway tunnel, eight soft rock tunnel collapse influencing factors were selected, and the combination of indicator weights based on the analytic hierarchy process and entropy weighting methods was obtained. The results show that the groundwater condition and the integrity of the rock mass are the main influencing factors leading to a soft rock tunnel collapse. A comprehensive fuzzy evaluation model for the collapse risk of soft rock tunnels is being proposed, and the real-time collapse risk assessment of the Zhengwan tunnel is being carried out. The results obtained via the fuzzy evaluation model agree well with the actual situation. A tunnel section evaluated to have an extremely high collapse risk and experienced a local collapse during excavation, verifying the feasibility of the collapse risk evaluation model. The collapse risk evaluation model proposed in this paper has been demonstrated to be a promising and innovative method for the evaluation of the collapse risk of soft rock tunnels, leading to safer construction.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.225-230
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• 1999

This study was carried out to investigate the radiation dose-response of micronucleus frequencies in Tradescantia pollen mother cells. The number of micronuclei increased in the tetrads as a result of chromosome deletion after irradiation. The maximal frequency of micronuclei showed a good dose-response relationship in the range of dose $0{\sim}50$ cGy. On the basis of the relationship, a dose of 1 cGy results maximally in two additional micronuclei in 100 tetrads. The radiation dose-response relationship of micronucleus occurrence is prerequisite to biological monitoring of radiations. The micronucleus assay can be applied to biological risk assessment of environmental toxicants, and to integrity test of water or soils of interest.

• Ocean Systems Engineering
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.243-266
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• 2020

In-place analysis for offshore platforms is required to make proper design for new structures and true assessment for existing structures. In addition, ensure the structural integrity of platforms components under the maximum and minimum operating loads and environmental conditions. In-place analysis was carried out to verify the robustness and capability of structural members with all appurtenances to support the applied loads in either operating condition or storm conditions. A nonlinear finite element analysis is adopted for the platform structure above the seabed and the pile-soil interaction to estimate the in-place behavior of a typical fixed offshore platform. The SACS software is utilized to calculate the natural frequencies of the model and to obtain the response of platform joints according to in-place analysis then the stresses at selected members, as well as their nodal displacements. The directions of environmental loads and water depth variations have an important effect on the results of the in-place analysis behavior. The influence of the soil-structure interaction on the response of the jacket foundation predicts is necessary to estimate the loads of the offshore platform well and real simulation of offshore foundation for the in-place analysis. The result of the study shows that the in-place response investigation is quite crucial for safe design and operation of offshore platform against the variation of environmental loads.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.407-421
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• 2020

In-place analysis for offshore platforms is essentially required to make proper design for new structures and true assessment for existing structures, in addition to the structural integrity of platforms components under the maximum and minimum operating loads when subjected to the environmental conditions. In-place analysis have been executed to check that the structural member with all appurtenance's robustness have the capability to support the applied loads in either storm or operating conditions. A nonlinear finite element analysis is adopted for the platform structure above the seabed and pile-soil interaction to estimate the in-place behavior of a typical fixed offshore platform. The SACS software is utilized to calculate the dynamic characteristics of the platform model and the response of platform joints then the stresses at selected members, as well as their nodal displacements. The directions of environmental loads and water depth variations have significant effects in the results of the in-place analysis behavior. The most of bending moment responses of the piles are in the first fourth of pile penetration depth from pile head level. The axial deformations of piles in all load combinations cases of all piles are inversely proportional with penetration depth. The largest values of axial soil reaction are shown at the pile tips levels (the maximum penetration level). The most of lateral soil reactions resultant are in the first third of pile penetration depth from pile head level and approximately vanished after that penetration. The influence of the soil-structure interaction on the response of the jacket foundation predicts that the flexible foundation model is necessary to estimate the force responses demands of the offshore platform with a piled jacket-support structure well.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.79-84
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• 2004

Zinc intake and status of South Koreans from rural, urban and metropolitan areas were investigated. The dietary habits of 760 healthy male and female adult subjects with a mean age of 54 were assessed using a food frequency questionnaire and were verified using 24 h dietary recall. Daily Zn intakes for men and women were 7.4$\pm$5.4 mg and 7.0$\pm$5.4 mg, respectively, which were 62% and 70% of the Korean RDA. The phytate : zinc and phytate ${\times}$ calcium : zinc molar ratios were 38 and 398, respectively. Both the low intake of zinc and the high extremely phytate and phytate ${\times}$ calcium ratios with Zinc suggest that South Koreans may be at risk of zinc deficiency. Plasma zinc (86$\pm$61 $\mu\textrm{g}$/dL), urinary zinc (33$\pm$27 $\mu\textrm{g}$/dL) and plasma alkaline phosphatase (102$\pm$52 mU/mL) levels within the normal range did not however suggest marked Zinc deficiency in these subjects. However, conventional zinc biomarkers aye known to be unreliable for assessment of marginal zinc deficiency. Based on zinc intake alone, it is likely that at least a proportion of these subjects were marginally zinc deficient and the wider consumption of zinc rich, phytate deficient foods, particularly in rural areas, would be beneficial.