• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.93-100
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• 2005

Comparative thickening and dewatering characteristics of municipal wastewater sludge were investigated in terms of separated and combined treatment of primary and secondary BNR sludge. Also, various conditioning methods such as cation polymer addition, steam and ultrasonication treatment were examined to improve dewaterability of sludge. The dewaterability was measured by using specific resistant test, wedge zone simulator and centrifuge. The result of the sludge thickening test revealed that separated thickening was better in terms of solids recovery and supernatant quality. Particularly, the thickening of primary sludge with high solids (about 3.5% TS) showed very poor solid separation. The addition of cation polymer showed better conditioning characteristic for dewatering and the optimal polymer dosage was 0.26% for primary sludge, 0.43% for secondary sludge and 0.38% for combined sludge. Contrary to the result of the thickening, the dewatering test revealed that dewatering of the combined sludge is better than that of separated sludge, representing better solids separation and filtrate quality. The polymer addition was essential to improve dewaterability in filter (belt) press type dewatering but it was inefficient for the dewatering of secondary sludge only. The centrifuge type dewatering showed better performance and the dewaterability was slightly improved when the polymer was added. Based on the results of this research a sustainable sludge treatment process, particularly in terms of the recycle water quality and solids recovery, was proposed.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.157-164
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• 2009

The metals such as Al, Ag, Au, Cu, Cd, Co, Fe, Ni, Pb, Zn, etc are present at very low concentration in seawater and are classified as so-called trace metals. Whiles some of them are used in metabolism of living organism as a micronutrient, they may show toxic effects on organisms in case of a limited threshold concentration of them Plenty of studies on trace metals have been performed bemuse trace metals have a persistent influence and an adverse effect on marine environment and ecosystem. For long years, when the concentration of trace metals in natural waters such as seawater and fresh water are measured with high precision and accuracy, some systematic errors have been recognized to be present in measurements. Since 1975 in US and European countries, the measured concentration of trace metals in seawater have been found to be lower by factors of 10-1,000 than the previous data of trace metals measurements and the vertical profiles of the measurements have been shown to reflect well-known biological, physical and geochemical processes. These results are attributed to great advances in analytical instrumentation and methodology for trace metals measurements. Precautions against the contamination of samples are required to be taken in the process of sampling, storage, and analysis of samples. However, in Korea, erroneous data of trace metals with regard to ocean and marine environment related survey and investigations are reported The lock of exact understanding and information regarding precautions in sampling, storage and analysis of samples lead to the deterioration of data quality, especially in the analysis of trace metals. The major procedures to obtain the accurate data of trace metals in natural waters are introduced for applying to the study and assessment of marine environments.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.53-66
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• 1997

Insulin resistance is a prominent feature of diabetic state and has heterogeneous nature. However, the pathogenetic sequence of events leading to the emergence of the defect in insulin action remains controversial. It is well-known that prolonged hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia are one of the causes of development of insulin resistance, but both hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia stimulate glucose uptake in peripheral tissue. Therefore, it is hypothesized that insulin resistance may be generated by a kind of protective mechanism preventing cellular hypertrophy. In this study, to evaluate whether the acutely increased glucose uptake inhibits further glucose transport stimulated by insulin, insulin sensitivity was measured after preloaded glucose infusion for 2 hours at various conditions in rats. And also, to evaluate the mechanism of decreased insulin sensitivity, insulin receptor binding affinity and glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) protein of plasma membrane of gastrocnemius muscle were assayed after hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp studies. Experimental animals were divided into five groups according to conditions of preloaded glucose infusion: group I, basal insulin ($14{\pm}1.9{\mu}U/ml$) and basal glucose ($75{\pm}0.7mg/dl$), by normal saline infusion; group II, normal insulin ($33{\pm}3.8{\mu}U/ml$) and hyperglycemia ($207{\pm}6.3mg/dl$), by somatostatin and glucose infusion; group III, hyperinsulinemia ($134{\pm}34.8{\mu}U/ml$) and hyperglycemia ($204{\pm}4.6mg/dl$), by glucose infusion; group IV, supramaximal insulin ($5006{\pm}396.1{\mu}U/ml$) and euglycemia ($l00{\pm}2.2mg/dl$), by insulin and glucose infusion; group V, supramaximal insulin ($4813{\pm}687.9{\mu}U/ml$) and hyperglycemia ($233{\pm}3.1mg/dl$), by insulin and glucose infusion. Insulin sensitivity was assessed with hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp technique. The amounts of preloaded glucose infusion(gm/kg) were $1.88{\pm}0.151$ in group II, $2.69{\pm}0.239$ in group III, $3.54{\pm}0.198$ in group IV, and $4.32{\pm}0.621$ in group V. Disappearance rates of glucose (Rd, mg/kg/min) at steady state of hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp studies were $16.9{\pm}3.88$ in group I, $13.5{\pm}1.05$ in group II, $11.2{\pm}1.17$ in group III, $13.2{\pm}2.05$ in group IV, and $10.4{\pm}1.01$ in group V. A negative correlation was observed between amount of preloaded glucose and Rd (r=-0.701, p<0.001) when all studies were combined. Insulin receptor binding affinity and content of GLUT4 were not significantly different in all experimental groups. These results suggest that increased glucose uptake may inhibit further glucose transport and lead to decreased insulin sensitivity.