• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.51 no.12
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• pp.1229-1235
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• 2018

We have examined dynamic relationships among water-efficiency, economic growth, electricity generation, and $CO_2$ emissions in Korea using various time-series analysis methods for 1990-2014. While previous studies have been limited to economic growth, $CO_2$ emissions, and electricity generation, this study contributed to explain the relationship between existing variables and water-efficiency. We find that the four variables reach a balanced state in the long run through short-term adjustment, $CO_2$ emissions and economic growth are responsible for water efficiency, and that $CO_2$ emissions, economic growth and water efficiency are the causes of electricity generation. The long-term impact coefficient estimates on water-efficiency show that the increase in electricity generation and the decrease in $CO_2$ emissions increase water-efficiency. Although economic growth has increased water-efficiency, moreover, we have identified an inverted U-shaped relationship between economic growth and water-efficiency, which suggests that economic growth above a certain level reduces the rate of increase in water-efficiency.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.57 no.4
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• pp.539-546
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• 2019

Global warming has mentioned as one of the international problems and these researches have conducted. Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) technology has improved due to increasing importance of reducing emission of carbon dioxide. Among of various CCUS technologies, mineral carbonation can converted $CO_2$ into high-cost materials with low energy. Existing researches has been used ions extracted solid wastes for mineral carbonation but the procedure is complicated. However, the procedure using seawater is simple because it contained high concentration of metal cation. This research is a basic study using seawater-based wastewater for mineral carbonation. 3 M Monoethanolamine (MEA) was used as $CO_2$ absorbent. Making various concentrations of seawater solution, simulated seawater powder was used. Precipitated metal carbonate salts were produced by mixing seawater solutions and $rich-CO_2$ absorbent solution. They were analyzed by X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), and Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) and studied characteristic of producing precipitated metal carbonate and possibility of reusing absorbent.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.57 no.1
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• pp.111-117
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• 2019

This study proposed the fabrication and deposition of high purity crystalline $core-TiO_2/shell-Al_2O_3$ nanoparticles. Morphological properties of $core-TiO_2$ and coated $shell-Al_2O_3$ were confirmed by transmission electron microscope (TEM) and transmission electron microscope - energy dispersive spectroscopy (TEM-EDS). The electrical properties of the prepared $core-TiO_2/shell-Al_2O_3$ nanoparticles were evaluated by applying them to a working electrode of a Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell (DSSC). The particle size, growth rate and the main crystal structure of $core-TiO_2$ were analyzed through dynamic light scattering system (DLS), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The $core-TiO_2$, which has a particle size of 17.1 nm, a thin film thickness of $20.1{\mu}m$ and a main crystal structure of anatase, shows higher electrical efficiency than the conventional paste-based dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC). In addition, the energy conversion efficiency (6.28%) of the dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) using the $core-TiO_2/shell-Al_2O_3$ nanoparticles selectively controlled to the working electrode is 26.1% higher than the energy conversion efficiency (4.99%) of the dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) using the conventional paste method.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.57 no.2
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• pp.274-282
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• 2019

In recent years, big data analysis has been expanded to include automatic control through reinforcement learning as well as prediction through modeling. Research on the utilization of image data is actively carried out in various industrial fields such as chemical, manufacturing, agriculture, and bio-industry. In this paper, we applied NASNet, which is an AutoML reinforced learning algorithm, to DeepU-Net neural network that modified U-Net to improve image semantic segmentation performance. We used BRATS2015 MRI data for performance verification. Simulation results show that DeepU-Net has more performance than the U-Net neural network. In order to improve the image segmentation performance, remove dropouts that are typically applied to neural networks, when the number of kernels and filters obtained through reinforcement learning in DeepU-Net was selected as a hyperparameter of neural network. The results show that the training accuracy is 0.5% and the verification accuracy is 0.3% better than DeepU-Net. The results of this study can be applied to various fields such as MRI brain imaging diagnosis, thermal imaging camera abnormality diagnosis, Nondestructive inspection diagnosis, chemical leakage monitoring, and monitoring forest fire through CCTV.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.206-212
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• 2019

Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes) lives in the hair follicles and pores, and it uses cell debris, sebum and metabolic byproducts of surrounding skin tissues as energy and nutrients. Increased production of sebum due to sebaceous hyperplasia or blockage of the follicle can cause growth and proliferation of P. acnes. The rapid growth of P. acnes in follicles produces cell damage, metabolic byproducts and bacterial chips, which can cause inflammation. In this study, we examined the possibility of Senecio iscoensis Hieron. (S. iscoensis) extract to regulate P. acnes-induced inflammatory signaling pathways. We observed that S. iscoensis extract effectively inhibited P. acnes-induced pro-inflammatory cytokine expressions such as IL-$1{\beta}$, TNF-${\alpha}$, and iNOS in mouse macrophage cell line Raw 264.7. The inhibitory effect of S. iscoensis in pro-inflammatory cytokine levels was accompanied by the inhibition of the transcription factors NF-${\kappa}B$ and NF-AT. However, S. iscoensis did not alter the P. acnes-induced MAPK signaling pathways. This study first suggests the potential of using S. iscoensis extract as an alternative agent for the treatment of acne.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.45-52
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• 2019

$TiO_2$ as a raw material for producing titanium can be produced by carbon reduction of natural ilmenite ores over 1823 K and acid leaching of the obtained titanium-rich slag. However, the conventional process can cause very high energy consumption and a large amount of leaching residues. In the present study, we proposed the sulfurization of $FeTiO_3$ with $Na_2SO_4$ at temperatures below 1573 K, which can separate Fe in $FeTiO_3$ as the FeS based sulfide phase and Ti as the $TiO_2-Na_2O$ based oxide phase. This study is a fundamental study for sulfurization of $FeTiO_3$ to investigate the influence of reducing atmosphere, reaction temperature and the sulfur/Fe ratio on the separability and distribution behaviors of of Fe, Ti, and Na between the oxide phase and the sulfurized phase. At 1573 K and carbon saturation condition, the Fe can be separated from $FeTiO_3$ as Fe-C-S metal and a part of FeS, and the concentration of Fe in oxide decreased to 4 mass% after sulfurization.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.31-42
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• 2019

About 3% of Casein is included in milk and it accounts for 80% of milk's protein. It has an adhesive property when mixed with calcium hydroxide and sodium hydroxide solutions. It has been usually used to bond woods under dry condition but becomes weak when exposed to moisture. Such weakness is very critical when casein is applied for soil cementation under groundwater condition. Therefore, this study was aimed to protect such weakness by changing or adding certain ingredients of casein adhesive. Two types of cemented specimens were prepared with Nakdong river sand and tested for unconfined compressive strength and durability. Each specimen was mixed with casein or cement. Ingredients of casein binder suggested by the University of Wisconsin, which is called a standard casein recipe, was also prepared. This study tried 6 different types of casein binder recipe. Among them, one with 30% hydroxide calcium increase and 50% hydroxide sodium decrease compared with the standard casein was most effective. Based on the most effective casein recipe, cemented sand with 1-4% of casein ratio was prepared and tested. The unconfined compressive strength and durability index were 6,253kPa and 92% for the specimen with 4% of casein ratio and 1,500kPa and 62% for the one with 8% of cement ratio. Therefore, casein cemented sand showed better performance. In addition, over 3% of casein cemented sand had over 80% durability index.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.54 no.3
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• pp.247-256
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• 2021

Understanding the selective feeding behavior of zooplankton on phytoplankton is essential for evaluating the nutrient cycle and energy flow in the food web. Although many studies have been conducted regarding the feeding behaviors of zooplankton through gut content analyses, there are limitations in the visual identification of digested contents using a microscope. DNA techniques have been applied to overcome these limitations since they can detect and amplify small amounts of prey DNA remaining in the gut contents. We designed a method to extract prey DNA from the gut contents of the whole body of the copepod specimen and tested the resolution of DNA identification for the prey phytoplankton. The common brackish species, Sinocalanus tenellus, were collected from Saemangeum Reservoir in different sites and seasons, and gut content DNA was extracted using 2.5% bleach treatment for 2 min for removal of potential contamination sources existing in preserved specimens without dissolution of the body. The sequences of the extracted gut contents were confirmed using BLASTn suite based on the NCBI database. The phytoplankton species detected in the gut showed temporal and spatial differences. Although DNA analysis of small copepod gut contents has been suggested as an effective method to examine the dynamics of primary prey sources at the genus or species level, uncertainties such as misidentification and limitations in the detailed information of the composition still exist.

• Journal of Korean Society of Coastal and Ocean Engineers
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.122-130
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• 2021

A wind-speed estimation at the arbitrary elevations is key component for the design of the offshore wind energy structures and the computation of the wind-wave generation. However, the wind-speed estimation of the target elevation has been carried out by using the typical functions and their typical parameters, e.g., power and logarithmic functions because the available wind speed data is limited to the specific elevation, such as 2~3m, 10 m, and so on. In this study, the parameters of the vertical profile functions are estimated with optimal and analyzed the parameter ranges using the HeMOSU-1 platform wind data monitored at the eight different locations. The results show that the mean value of the exponent of the power function is 0.1, which is significantly lower than the typically recommended value, 0.14. The values of the exponent, the friction velocity, and the roughness parameters are in the ranges 0.0~0.3, 0~10 (m/s), and 0.0~1.0 (m), respectively. The parameter ranges differ from the typical ranges because the atmospheric stability condition is assumed as the neutral condition. To improve the estimation accuracy, the atmospheric condition should be considered, and a more general (non-linear) vertical profile functions should be introduced to fit the diverse profile patterns and parameters.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.64 no.6
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• pp.371-378
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• 2020

The purpose of this study is to analyze the relationship between the eight topics in TIMSS 2019 8th grade chemistry domains and the Korea 2009 Revised Science Curriculum and the 2015 Revised Science Curriculum. For this purpose, four elementary and four secondary teachers participated in physics, chemistry, biology and earth science majors, and two science education experts participated in analyzing in which grades the content elements of the TIMSS 2019 science framework are covered in the Korean science curriculum. The study also analyzed whether the content of the Korean science curriculum matches the 246 items of 8th grade in the TIMSS 2019 assessment and reflects in which grades the eight topics are covered. The results of this study are as follows. First, among the TIMSS 2019 evaluation topics, topics not covered at all in the Korean middle school curriculum were periodic table, matter and energy in chemical reactions, the role of electrons in chemical bonds. Second, the topic of "the periodic table as an organizing principle for the known elements" needs to be introduced in the Korean middle school curriculum, and topics such as "familiar exothermic and endothermic reactions" and "factors affecting the reaction rates" need to be discussed in consideration of the flow of international curricula. Third, the next science curriculum should be structured so that the sequence of chemistry contents and scope, especially core concepts to be included in the elementary, secondary, and higher education curriculum is linked to continuity.