• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제51권6호
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• pp.1638-1649
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• 2019

Top soil samples across the state of Kuwait numering ninety were collected and analysed using gamma-ray spectrometry, to evaluate the elemental concentration of $^{238}U$, $^{232}Th$ and $^{40}K$ and their depletion/enrichment. Results of elemental concentration ranges from 0.48 to 2.61 mg/kg, 0.87-5.23 mg/kg, and 0.24-2.23%, with a mean values of 1.39 mg/kg, 3.47 mg/kg, and 1.18%, for the $^{238}U$, $^{232}Th$ and $^{40}K$, respectively. Further analysis was conducted amongst the five identified soil types, i.e. Aquisalids (S1), Calcigypsids (S2), Petrocalcids (S3), Petrogypsids (S4), and torripsamment (S5). The highest radioactivity concentrations from both uranium and thorium were recorded in the S2 (Calcigypsids) soil, with a value of 1.71 (mg/kg) and 4.45 (mg/kg), respectively. Minimum and maximum values of $^{40}K$ are 1.1(%) and 1.27(%) and is prevalent in Aquisalids (S1) and Petrocalcids (S3) soil types, respectively. Ratios of elemental concentration for $^{232}Th/^{238}U$, $^{40}K/^{238}U$, $^{40}K/^{232}Th$ across the soil types are 2.53, 0.09 and 0.03, with a correlation coefficient of 0.92, 0.34, and 0.38, respectively. A progressively higher $^{232}Th/^{238}U$ ratio is observed moving south-wards, indicating lower $^{238}U$ content in soils from the south relative to the northern part. Overall results indicate Kuwait to be relatively an area with low level of natural radioactivity.

• 한국환경보건학회지
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• 제49권5호
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• pp.251-261
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• 2023

Background: This paper deals with the study of natural radioactivity in rocks from Ogun State in Southwestern Nigeria. The aim is to determine radiation emissions from rocks in order to estimate radiation hazard indices. Objectives: The following objectives were targeted: 1. To determine radiation emissions from each type of rocks; 2. To estimate radiation hazard indices based on the rocks; 3. To correlate the activity concentrations of radionuclides with major oxides. Methods: The samples were analyzed using a NaI (Tl) gamma ray spectrometric detector and PerkinElmer AAnalyst 400 AAS spectrometer. Results: The activity of ⁴⁰K, ²²⁶Ra, and ²³²Th were found in order of decreasing magnitude from pegmatite>granite>migmatite. In contrast, lower concentrations were found in shale, phosphate, clay stone, sandstone and limestone. The mean absorbed doses were 125±23 nGyh^-1 (migmatite), 74±13 nGy/h (granite), 72±13 nGyh^-1 (pegmatite), 64±09 nGyh^-1 (quartzite), 45±16 nGyh^-1 (shale), 41±09 nGyh^-1 (limestone), 41±11 nGyh^-1 (clay stone), 24±03 nGyh^-1 (phosphate), and 21±10 nGyh^-1 (sandstone). The outdoor effective dose rates in all rock samples were slightly higher than the world average dose value of 0.34 mSvy^-1. The percentage composition of SiO₂ in the rock samples was above 50 wt% except for in the limestone, shale and phosphate. Al₂O₃ ranged from 4.10~21.24 wt%, Fe₂O₃ from 0.39~7.5 wt%, and CaO from 0.09-46.6 wt%. In addition, Na₂O and K₂O were present in at least 5 wt%. Other major oxides, including TiO₂, P₂O₅, K₂O, MnO, MgO and Na₂O were depleted. Conclusions: The findings suggest that Ogun State may be described as a region with elevated background radiation. It is recommended that houses should be constructed with good cross ventilation and residences should use home radiation monitoring instruments to monitor radon emanating from walls.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• 제25권5호
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• pp.687-693
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• 2004

Composite membranes with a titania layer were prepared by soaking-rolling method with the titania sol of nanoparticles formed in the sol-gel process and investigated regarding the vapor permeation of various organic mixtures. The support modification was conducted by pressing $SiO_2$ xerogel of 500 nm in particle size under 10 MPa on the surface of a porous stainless steel (SUS) substrate and designed the multi-layered structure by coating the intermediate layer of ${\gamma}-Al_2O_3$. Microstructure of titania membrane was affected by heat-treatment and synthesis conditions of precursor sol, and titania formed at calcination temperature of 300$^{\circ}C$ with sol of [$H^+$]/[TIP]=0.3 possessed surface area of 210 $m^2$/g, average pore size of 1.25 nm. The titania composite membrane showed high $H_2/N_2$ selectivity and water/ethanol selectivity as 25-30 and 50-100, respectively. As a result of vapor permeation for water-alcohol and alcohol-alcohol mixture, titania composite membrane showed water-permselective and molecular-sieve permeation behavior. However, water/methanol selectivity of the membrane was very low because of chemical affinity of permeants for the membrane by similar physicochemical properties of water and methanol.

• 공업화학
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• 제29권1호
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• pp.103-111
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• 2018

본 연구에서는 온도가 큰 폭으로 변화하는 배기가스에 대응하기 위하여 플라즈마 촉매 공정을 이용하여 넓은 온도범위($150{\sim}500^{\circ}C$)에서 질소산화물($NO_x$)의 전환효율을 향상시키고자 하였다. 촉매 자체의 활성이 높은 고온에서는 $NO_x$저감이 효과적으로 일어나므로 고온 영역에서는 플라즈마 발생을 중지한 채 운전하고, 저온영역에서는 촉매상에 플라즈마를 발생시켜 $NO_x$ 전환효율을 증가시켰다. 촉매의 종류, 반응온도, 환원제(n-헵테인)의 농도 및 에너지 밀도의 변화가 $NO_x$ 전환효율에 미치는 영향을 조사하였다. 다양한 촉매를 비교분석한 결과, 고온에서 촉매에 의한 $NO_x$ 전환효율은 $Ag-Zn/{\gamma}-Al_2O_3$ 촉매의 경우가 90% 이상으로 가장 우수하였다. 저온 영역에서는 탄화수소 선택적 환원 공정에 의해 $NO_x$가 거의 제거되지 않았으나, 플라즈마를 촉매상에서 발생시킬 경우 약 90%의 높은 $NO_x$ 전환효율을 나타내었다. 배기가스의 온도변화에 대응하여 플라즈마를 촉매상에 생성시켜 운전할 경우 $150{\sim}500^{\circ}C$에서 $NO_x$ 전환효율을 높게 유지할 수 있다.

• Plant Biotechnology Reports
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• 제5권3호
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• pp.225-234
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• 2011

Arabidopsis mutants with T-DNA insertion in seven calmodulin genes (CAM) were used to determine the specific role of CAM in the tolerance of plants to oxidative stress induced by paraquat and hydrogen peroxide ($H_2O_2$) treatments. Arabidopsis calmodulin mutants (cam) were screened for seedling growth, seed germination, induced oxidative damage, and levels of ${\gamma}$-aminobutyric acid (GABA) shunt metabolites. Only the cam5-4 and cam6-1 mutants exhibited an increased sensitivity to paraquat and $H_2O_2$ during seed germination and seedling growth. In response to treatments with $3{\mu}M$ paraquat and 1 mM $H_2O_2$, only the cam5-4, cam6-1 mutants showed significant changes in malonaldehyde (MDA) levels in root and shoot tissues, with highly increased levels of MDA. In terms of the GABA shunt metabolites, GABA was significantly elevated in root and shoot tissues in response to the paraquat treatments in comparison to alanine and glutamate, while the levels of all shunt metabolites increased in root tissue but not in the shoot tissue following the $H_2O_2$ treatments. GABA, alanine and glutamate levels were significantly increased in root and shoot of the cam1, cam4, cam5-4, and cam6-1 mutants in response to paraquat (0.5, 1 and $3{\mu}M$), while they were increased only in the root tissue of the cam1, cam4, cam5-4, and cam6-1 mutants in response to $H_2O_2$ (200 and $500{\mu}M$, 1 mM). These data show that the cam5-4 and cam6-1 mutants were sensitive to the induced oxidative stress treatments in terms of seed germination, seedling growth, and oxidative damage. The accumulation of GABA shunt metabolites as a consequence of the induced oxidative stress treatments (paraquat and $H_2O_2$ treatments) suggests that the GABA shunt pathway and the accumulation of GABA metabolites may contribute in antioxidant machinery associated with reactive oxygen species and in the acquisition of tolerance in response to induced oxidative stress in Arabidopsis seedlings.

• 한국작물학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국작물학회 2017년도 9th Asian Crop Science Association conference
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• pp.235-235
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• 2017

Chromium (Cr) toxicity is hazardous to the seed germination, growth, and development of plants. ${\gamma}$-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) is a non-protein amino acid and is involved in stress tolerance in plants. To investigate the effects of GABA in alleviating Cr toxicity, we treated eight-d-old mustard (Brassica juncea L.) seedlings with Cr (0.15 mM and 0.3 mM $K_2CrO_4$, 5 days) alone and in combination with GABA ($125{\mu}M$) in a semi-hydroponic medium. The roots and shoots of the seedlings accumulated Cr in a dose-dependent manner, which led to an increase in oxidative damage [lipid peroxidation; hydrogen peroxide ($H_2O_2$) content; superoxide ($O{_2}^{{\cdot}-}$) generation; lipoxygenase (LOX) activity], MG content, and disrupted antioxidant defense and glyoxalase systems. Chromium stress also reduced growth, leaf relative water content (RWC), and chlorophyll (chl) content but increased phytochelatin (PC) and proline (Pro) content. Furthermore, supplementing the Cr-treated seedlings with GABA reduced Cr uptake and upregulated the non-enzymatic antioxidants (ascorbate, AsA; glutathione, GSH) and the activities of the enzymatic antioxidants including ascorbate peroxidase (APX), monodehydroascorbate reductase (MDHAR), dehydroascorbate reductase (DHAR), glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione peroxidase (GPX), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glyoxalase I (Gly I), and glyoxalase II (Gly II), and finally reduced oxidative damage. Adding GABA also increased leaf RWC and chl content, decreased Pro and PC content, and restored plant growth. These findings shed light on the effect of GABA in improving the physiological mechanisms of mustard seedlings in response to Cr stress.

• 한국가스학회지
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• 제19권5호
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• pp.20-28
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• 2015

탄화수소 선택적 촉매환원공정에서 ${\gamma}$-알루미나에 지지된 금속 산화물 촉매의 크기 및 형태에 따른 질소산화물 ($NO_x$) 저감 특성에 대해 조사하였다. 환원촉매로는 Ag, Cu 및 Ru를 사용하였으며, n-heptane을 환원제로 사용하였다. Ag/${\gamma}$-$Al_2O_3$ 촉매의 경우 온도범위 $250{\sim}400^{\circ}C$에서 20 nm>50 nm>80 nm 순으로 Ag의 크기가 작을수록 $NO_x$ 전환효율이 높게 나타났다. 금속 산화물 촉매의 형태에 따른 영향은 구형과 선형에 대해 살펴보았다. Ag와 Cu는 동일한 조건에서 선형이 구형보다 $NO_x$ 전환효율이 높은 것으로 나타났으나, Ru의 경우에는 형태에 따른 영향이 거의 관찰되지 않았다. 사용된 금속산화물 촉매 중에서 Ag를 사용했을 때 $NO_x$ 저감효율이 가장 높았으며, 선형의 Ag를 사용했을 때 $300^{\circ}C$의 반응온도에서 대부분의 $NO_x$를 제거할 수 있었다. Cu와 Ru 촉매상에서는 NO가 환원되기보다는 $NO_2$로의 산화반응이 우세하여 전체적으로 $NO_x$ 저감효율이 낮게 나타났다.

• International Journal of Automotive Technology
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• 제6권6호
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• pp.591-598
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• 2005

A three-way catalyst system of a natural gas vehicle (NGV) has characteristics of higher fuel consumption and higher thermal load than a lean-bum catalyst system. To meet stringent emission standards in the future, NGV with the lean-bum engine may need a catalyst system to reduce the amounts of HC, CO and NOx emission, although natural gas system has low emission characteristics. We conducted experiments to evaluate the conversion efficiency of the NOx reduction catalyst for the lean-burn natural gas engine. The NOx reduction catalysts were prepared with the ${\gamma}-Al_{2}O_3$ washcoat including Ba based on Pt, Pd and Rh precious metal. In the experiments, effective parameters were space velocity, spike duration of the rich condition, and the temperature of flowing model gas. From the results of the experiments, we found that the temperature for maximum NOx reduction was around $450^{\circ}C$, and the space velocity for optimum NOx reduction was around $30,000\;h^{-1}$ And we developed an evaluation model of the NOx reduction catalyst to evaluate the conversion performance of each other catalysts.

• 한국대기환경학회지
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• 제15권5호
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• pp.667-676
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• 1999

The roles of ceria on three-way catalyst is to improve the noble metal dispersion and thermal stability of support ${\gamma}$-$Al_2O_3$. And, ceria has a oxygen storage capacity(OSC) under fuel rich/lean conditions to improve the operating windows of NOx, THC and CO conversion. However, ceria has weak thermal stability under high temperature due to the crystallite growth. So that, the OSC of ceria is decreased, and then the conversions of NOx, THC and CO is decreased. One way of enhancing the thermal stability and NOx, THC and CO conversion Pd-only catalyst is to improve as well as its thermal stability and oxygen storage capacity of the ceria. Especially, the appropriate mixing ratios of bulk and stabilized ceria are very important for designing principles of Pd-only three-way catalysts. In this paper, we discussed the thermal properties of stabilizedand unstabilized (bulk) ceria, and the oxygen storage capacity (OSC) of catalysts, and found the correlation between activity and the OSC of Pd-only catalysts with various different mixing ratios of bulk and stabilized ceria. Finally, we propose the design principles to improve the thermal stability of washcoated Pd-only catalysts.

• 공업화학
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• 제9권7호
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• pp.1047-1052
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• 1998

본 연구에서는 시판용 99.8% 금속알루미늄을 정전류 방식을 이용하여 황산, 수산, 인산 및 크롬산 전해조에서 양극산화를 행하여 다공성 알루미나 막을 제조하였다. 양극산화시 전해액의 종류에 따른 반응온도, 전해액의 농도 및 전류밀도에 따라 형성되는 다공성 알루미나 막의 세공직경과 분포, 막의 두께 및 형태와 결정구조를 조사함으로서 각 전해질 용액하에서의 최적 반응조건을 결정하고 우수한 다공성 알루미나 막을 제조하고자 하였다. 황산, 수산전해질하에서는 한외여과(Ultrafiltration)막이, 인산, 크롬산전해질하에서는 정밀여과(Microfiltration)막의 얻어짐을 알수 있었다. 황산, 수산 및 인산 전해조에서 제조된 막의 결정구조는 무정형임을 알 수 있으며, 크롬산 전해조에서 제조된 막은 ${\gamma}-Al_2O_3$의 결정구조를 보이고 있다.