• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.449-455
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• 2022

The rapid rise in the application of novel treatment techniques, such as intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), motivated us to survey the status of Korea's radiation safety management and the shielding designs of facilities employing medical linear accelerators (LINACs). To this end, a questionnaire was used to collect information on LINAC facilities and treatments, workload, shielding design, shielding management, and path of obtaining shielding information. Out of 100 domestic institutions, 52 responded to the survey. Approximately 70% of the institutions utilized IMRT for more than 60% of their cases, and an IMRT factor of 5 was adopted by 75% of these institutions. Over 80% of the institutions accounted for the applied time-averaged dose rate per week and instantaneous dose equivalent rates in their shielding designs. Approximately 45% of the institutions obtained important shielding information via a radiation shielding design company and the NCRP-151 report. Overall, most facilities were shown to follow the standards recommended by the relevant international agencies. However, the requirement to establish standardized shielding design information and clarify ambiguous paths for information acquisition was also highlighted. Therefore, the study's results can be used as a foundation for establishing a safety control system and for creating adequate shielding designs.

• Journal of English Language & Literature
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• v.64 no.2
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• pp.187-201
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• 2018

Horatio Alger's Ragged Dick (1868) betrays the economic and social system of nineteenth-century America through a self-reformative bootblack's quest for respectability. Being considered a space of constant danger, nineteenth-century New York City serves as a game board, and both visitors and residents of the city are supposed to avoid dangers while moving across its space. Dick Hunter, the juvenile protagonist of the novel, illustrates a street-child who starts his game of life from the backline of the game board. Continuing his quest for respectability, not only must he abandon the bad habits that he acquired as a street-child, but he also must avoid thieves and swindlers just like a tourist or like a player of nineteenth-century American board games. As Dick's social rise goes parallel with his movement in the city space, his entrance to a bank brings him the access to other respectable places, and a series of entrance turns him into a legitimate subject in the official system of the American society. While he continues his game of life successfully with the help of gentlemen patrons, in reality it is almost impossible for a disadvantaged player to escape the backline of the society. Thus, Dick's success story presents Alger's fantasy about the ideal economic system in which materials and persons are endlessly circulated.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.45 no.5
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• pp.277-282
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• 2012

Field epidemiology involves the implementation of quick and targeted public health interventions with the aid of epidemiological methods. In this article, we share our practical experiences in outbreak management and in safeguarding the population against novel diseases. Given that cities represent the financial nexuses of the global economy, global health security necessitates the safeguard of cities against epidemic diseases. Singapore's public health landscape has undergone a systemic and irreversible shift with global connectivity, rapid urbanization, ecological change, increased affluence, as well as shifting demographic patterns over the past two decades. Concomitantly, the threat of epidemics, ranging from severe acute respiratory syndrome and influenza A (H1N1) to the resurgence of vector-borne diseases as well as the rise of modern lifestyle-related outbreaks, have worsened difficulties in safeguarding public health amidst much elusiveness and unpredictability. One critical factor that has helped the country overcome these innate and man-made public health vulnerabilities is the development of a resilient field epidemiology service, which includes our enhancement of surveillance and response capacities for outbreak management, and investment in public health leadership. We offer herein the Singapore story as a case study in meeting the challenges of disease control in our modern built environment.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2022

Total joint arthroplasty is a successful joint replacement treatment that improves joint function and overall quality of life and provides pain relief. However, the prevalence of periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) has become prevalent with the rise in the incidence of arthroplasty surgery. PJI occurs rarely following arthroplasty however presents with serious complications, including high morbidity. The identification of causative microorganisms is essential for the treatment of PJI. Managing PJI requires complex treatment strategies, including long-term antibacterial treatment, and significant medical costs can be incurred. The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Surgical Care Improvement Project guidelines recommend that prophylactic antibiotics such as first-generation cephalosporins be infused completely 1 hour before surgical incision. However, these preventative antibiotics are very limited, therefore risk factors must be identified to diagnosis and treat patients effectively. Moreover, determining antimicrobial susceptibility during artificial joint surgery and choosing the most appropriate treatment strategy following an accurate diagnosis of microbial infections are essential. In the present review, we describe the management, including the etiology, diagnosis, and classification of PJI, and approaches to its diagnosis using the available novel molecular diagnostic methods.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.587-595
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• 2019

Deformation measurement of large scale structures, such as the ground beds of high-rise buildings, tunnels, bridge, and railways, are important for insuring service quality and safety. The pose-relay videometrics method and displacement-relay videometrics method have already presented to measure the pose of non-intervisible objects and vertical subsidence of unstable areas, respectively. Both methods combine the cameras and cooperative markers to form the camera series networks. Based on these two networks, we propose two novel videometrics methods with closed-loop camera series network for deformation measurement of large scale structures. The closed-loop camera series network offers "closed-loop constraints" for the camera series network: the deformation of the reference points observed by different measurement stations is identical. The closed-loop constraints improve the measurement accuracy using camera series network. Furthermore, multiple closed-loops and the flexible combination of camera series network are introduced to facilitate more complex deformation measurement tasks. Simulated results show that the closed-loop constraints can enhance the measurement accuracy of camera series network effectively.

• Journal of Internet Computing and Services
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.97-106
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• 2023

Citizens' demand for public CCTVs continues to rise, along with an increase in variouscrimes and social problems in cities. In line with the needs of citizens, the Seoul Metropolitan Government began installing CCTV cameras in 2010, and the number of new installations has increased by over 10% each year. As the large surveillance system represents a substantial budget item for the city, decision-making on location selection should be guided by reasonable standards. The purpose of this study is to improve the existing related models(such as public CCTV priority location analysis manuals) to establish the methodology foranalyzing priority regions ofSeoul-type public CCTVs and propose new mid- to long-term installation goals. Additionally, using the improved methodology, we determine the CCTV priority status of 25 autonomous districts across Seoul and calculate the goals. Through its results, this study suggests improvements to existing models by addressing their limitations, such as the sustainability of input data, the conversion of existing general-purpose models to urban models, and the expansion of basic local government-level models to metropolitan government levels. The results can also be applied to other metropolitan areas and are used by the Seoul Metropolitan Government in its CCTV operation policy

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.90 no.1
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• pp.1-18
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• 2024

The present study conducts a thorough analysis of thermal vibrations in functionally graded porous nanocomposite beams within a thermal setting. Investigating the temperature-dependent material properties of these beams, which continuously vary across their thickness in accordance with a power-law function, a finite element approach is developed. This approach utilizes a nonlocal strain gradient theory and accounts for a linear temperature rise. The analysis employs four different patterns of porosity distribution to characterize the functionally graded porous materials. A novel two-variable shear deformation beam nonlocal strain gradient theory, based on trigonometric functions, is introduced to examine the combined effects of nonlocal stress and strain gradient on these beams. The derived governing equations are solved through a 3-nodes beam element. A comprehensive parametric study delves into the influence of structural parameters, such as thicknessratio, beam length, nonlocal scale parameter, and strain gradient parameter. Furthermore, the study explores the impact of thermal effects, porosity distribution forms, and material distribution profiles on the free vibration of temperature-dependent FG nanobeams. The results reveal the substantial influence of these effects on the vibration behavior of functionally graded nanobeams under thermal conditions. This research presents a finite element approach to examine the thermo-mechanical behavior of nonlocal temperature-dependent FG nanobeams, filling the gap where analytical results are unavailable.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.191-207
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• 2015

Proper placement of sensors plays a key role in construction and implementation of an effective structural health monitoring (SHM) system. This paper proposes a novel methodology called the distributed monkey algorithm (DMA) for the optimum design of SHM system sensor arrays. Different from the existing algorithms, the dual-structure coding method is adopted for the representation of design variables and the single large population is partitioned into subsets and each subpopulation searches the space in different directions separately, leading to quicker convergence and higher searching capability. After the personal areas of all subpopulations have been finished, the initial optimal solutions in every subpopulation are extracted and reordered into a new subpopulation, and the harmony search algorithm (HSA) is incorporated to find the final optimal solution. A computational case of a high-rise building has been implemented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. Investigations have clearly suggested that the proposed DMA is simple in concept, few in parameters, easy in implementation, and could generate sensor configurations superior to other conventional algorithms both in terms of generating optimal solutions as well as faster convergence.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.255-268
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• 2024

Probiotic products have long been recognized for their health benefits. Additionally, milk has held a longstanding reputation as a dairy product that offers high-quality proteins and essential micronutrients. As awareness of the impact of food on health grows, interest in functional products such as probiotic dairy products is on the rise. Fermentation, a time-honored technique used to enhance nutritional value and food preservation, has been used for centuries to increase nutritional value and is one of the oldest food processing methods. Historically, fermented dairy products have been used as convenient vehicle for the consumption of probiotics. However, addressing the potential drawbacks of fermentation has recently led to increase in research on probiotic dairy drinks prepared without fermentation. These non-fermented dairy drinks have the advantage of maintaining the original flavors of milk drinks, containing potential health functional probiotics, and being an alternative dairy product that is helpful for probiotics intake. Currently, research on plant-based dairy products is rapidly increasing in the market. These developments might suggest the potential for novel forms of non-fermented dairy beverages with substantial prospects in the food market. This review aims to provide an overview of milk-based dairy beverages, both fermented and non-fermented, and discuss the potential of non-fermented dairy products. This exploration paves the way for innovative approaches to deliver probiotics and nutrition to consumers.

• Proceedings of the KIPE Conference
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• 2008.06a
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• pp.265-267
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• 2008

As generally recognized, the driving performance of a SRM at higher speed will be degraded due to the effects of back electromagnetic force (EMF). This phenomenon can be improved via voltage boosting. So in this paper an improved converter of enhancing the performance for four-phase switched reluctance motor (SRM) is proposed. By using one additional capacitor and switches, an extra controllable boosted voltage can be produced during the rise and fall periods of a motor phase current. Then this active boosted voltage can reduce the effect of EMF on the current, particularly at high speeds. The attractive features of the proposed converter are as follows: obtaining boosted voltage to improve performance of SRM with same numbers of switch and diode as asymmetric converter, having higher control flexibility and capability of boosting voltage compared with passive boosting converters, possessing lower cost and simple control in comparison with existing active boosting converters. The performances of the proposed circuit are verified by the simulation and experiment results.