• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.19 no.8
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• pp.951-960
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• 2010

Sediment works as a resource for electric cells. This paper was designed in order to verify how sediment cells work with anodic material such as metal and carbon fiber. As known quite well, sediment under sea, rivers or streams provides a furbished environment for generating electrons via some electron transfer mechanism within specific microbial population or corrosive oxidation on the metal surfaces in the presence of oxygen or water molecules. We experimented with one type of sediment cell using different anodic material so as to attain prolonged, maximum electric power. Iron, Zinc, aluminum, copper, zinc/copper, and graphite felt were tested for anodes. Also, combined type of anodes-metal embedded in the graphite fiber matrix-was experimented for better performances. The results show that the combined type of anodes exhibited sustainable electricity production for ca. 600 h with max. $0.57\;W/m^2$ Al/Graphite. Meanwhile, graphite-only electrodes produced max. $0.11\;W/m^2$ along with quite stationary electric output, and for a zinc electrode, in which the electricity generated was not stable with time, therefore resulting in relatively sharp drop in that after 100 h or so, the maximum power density was $0.64\;W/m^2$. It was observed that the corrosive reaction rates in the metal electrodes might be varied, so that strength and stability in the electric performances(voltage and current density) could be affected by them. In addition to that, COD(chemical oxygen demand) of the sediment of the cell system was reduced by 17.5~36.7% in 600 h, which implied that the organic matter in the sediment would be partially converted into non-COD substances, that is, would suggest a way for decontamination of the aged, anaerobic sediment as well. The pH reduction for all electrodes could be a sign of organic acid production due to complicated chemical changes in the sediment.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.87-97
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• 2021

This study was conducted to prepare an incentive system (proposal) for the activation of waste-to-energy. Weights for each type of energy use were prepared by conducting prior research and economic analysis. In addition, the waste-to-energy incentive (proposal) was calculated in consideration of energy efficiency for each type of energy use. As a result of economic analysis of 11 biogasification facilities, the B/C value was found to be very diverse, ranging from 0.16 to 1.69. In terms of benefits, imports of waste treatment import fees were very high at 68.4 to 99.3% of the total, and four facilities with a surplus (+) or higher in the management balance. In order to convert energy consumption into units of sales volume, 0.58 Nm³/KW for power generation, 0.17 Nm³/kg for steam, and 1.00 Nm³/Nm³ for external supply were calculated using the 'scale factor'. The 'weight factor' was calculated as 0.249 for power generation, 0.656 for steam, and 0.806 for external supply, respectively, by use type.

• Journal of Dental Rehabilitation and Applied Science
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2013

This study examined the effects of the occlusal stability and a partial coverage mouthguard on physical fitness and motor capacity to determine the importance of the occlusal stability as a possible action mechanism of mouthguards on physical performance. Twenty physical education students were included for measurements of their handgrip strength, back strength, whole body reaction time, flexibility, sidestep test, stork stand test and jumping test according to the following 5 different occlusal conditions: mouth closed position without a mouthguard, with a full coverage mouthguard, with a right partial coverage mouthguard, with a left partial coverage mouthguard and with anterior partial mouthguard. The results revealed no significant difference in any of the measured physical factors between the occlusal conditions with and without a full-coverage mouthguard. On the other hand, a significant difference was observed in whole body reaction between the occlusal conditions with and without the partial coverage mouthguards. Therefore, isokinetic muscle tests on both knee joints and the Wingate anaerobic power test should be performed under the following five occlusal conditions: with or without full-coverage maxillary custom-made mouthguard, with a unilateral right or left partial-coverage maxillary mouthguard and with an anterior partial-coverage maxillary mouthguard. These results suggest that the partial coverage mouthguard had a short-term beneficial effect on agility rather than full coverage mouthguard.

• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.72-78
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• 2013

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the phototoxic effects of blue light exposure on periodontal pathogens in both planktonic and biofilm cultures. Methods: Strains of Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, Fusobacterium nucleatum, and Porphyromonas gingivalis, in planktonic or biofilm states, were exposed to visible light at wavelengths of 400.520 nm. A quartz-tungsten-halogen lamp at a power density of $500mW/cm^2$ was used for the light source. Each sample was exposed to 15, 30, 60, 90, or 120 seconds of each bacterial strain in the planktonic or biofilm state. Confocal scanning laser microscopy (CSLM) was used to observe the distribution of live/dead bacterial cells in biofilms. After light exposure, the bacterial killing rates were calculated from colony forming unit (CFU) counts. Results: CLSM images that were obtained from biofilms showed a mixture of dead and live bacterial cells extending to a depth of $30-45{\mu}m$. Obvious differences in the live-to-dead bacterial cell ratio were found in P. gingivalis biofilm according to light exposure time. In the planktonic state, almost all bacteria were killed with 60 seconds of light exposure to F. nucleatum (99.1%) and with 15 seconds to P. gingivalis (100%). In the biofilm state, however, only the CFU of P. gingivalis demonstrated a decreasing tendency with increasing light exposure time, and there was a lower efficacy of phototoxicity to P. gingivalis as biofilm than in the planktonic state. Conclusions: Blue light exposure using a dental halogen curing unit is effective in reducing periodontal pathogens in the planktonic state. It is recommended that an adjunctive exogenous photosensitizer be used and that pathogens be exposed to visible light for clinical antimicrobial periodontal therapy.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.367-376
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• 2011

Huge amount of $CH_4$ mixtures has been emitted from landfills and organic wastes via anaerobic digestion. The recovery of high purity $CH_4$ from these gases has two merits: reduction of green house gases and production of renewable fuels. Membrane technology based on polymeric materials can be used in this application. In this study, asymmetric gas separation hollow fiber membranes were fabricated to develop the membrane-based bio-gas purification process. Polyethersulfone (PES) was chosen as a polymer materials because of high $CO_2$ permeability of 3.4 barrer and $CO_2/CH_4$ selectivity of 50[1]. Acetone was used as a non-solvent additive because of its unique swelling power for PES and highly volatile character. The prepared PES hollow fiber showed excellent separation properties: 36 GPU of $CO_2$ permeance and 46 of $CO_2/CH_4$ selectivity at optimized preparation conditions: 9wt% acetone content, 10cm air-gap and 4wt% PDMS coating processes. With the PES hollow fiber membranes developed, mixed $CO_2/CH_4$ test was done by changing various operating conditions such as pressures and feed compositions to meet the highest recovery of CH4 with 95% purity. High $CH_4$ recovery of 58 wt% was observed at 10 atm feed pressure for the 50 vol% of $CO_2$ in $CO_2/CH_4$ mixture.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.60-68
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• 2015

The study of waste activated sludge (WAS) solubilization has been increased for sludge volume reduction and enhancing the efficiency of anaerobic digestion. Microwave (MW)-assisted solubilization is an effective method for the solubilization of WAS because this method can lead to thermal, nonthermal effect and ionic conduction by dielectric heating. In this study, the solubilization of WAS by MW heating and conductive heating (CH) was compared and to enhance the MW-assisted solubilization of WAS at low MW output power, chemical agents were applied such as $H_2SO_4$ as the strong acid and $CaCl_2$, NaCl as the ionic materials. Compared to the COD solubilization of WAS by CH, that by MW heating was approximately 1.4, 6.2 times higher at $50^{\circ}C$, $100^{\circ}C$, respectively and the highest COD solubilization of WAS was 10.0% in this study of low MW output power condition. At the same MW output power and reaction time in chemically agents assisted experiments, the COD solubilization of WAS were increased up to 18.1% and 12.7% with the addition of $H_2SO_4$ and NaCl, however, that with the addition of $CaCl_2$ was 10.7%. This result might be due to the fact that the precipitation reaction occurred by calcium ion ($Ca^{2+}$) and phosphate ion (${PO_4}^{3-}$) produced in WAS after MW-assisted solubilization. In this study, $H_2SO_4$ turned out to be the optimal agent for the enhancement of MW efficiency, the addition of 0.2 M $H_2SO_4$ was the most effective condition for MW-assisted WAS solubilization.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.65-78
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• 2018

According to the in social aspects such as population growth, urbanization and industrialization, development of livestock industry by meat consumption, amount of organic wastes (containing sewage sludge and food waste, animal manure, etc) has been increased annually in South Korea. Precise monitoring of 11 organic wastes biogas facilities were conducted. The organic decomposition rate of organic wastewater was 68.2 % for food wastes, 66.8 % for animal manure and 46.2 % for sewage sludge and 58.8 % for total organic wastes. As a result of analyzing the biogas characteristics before and after the pretreatment, the total average of the whole facility was measured to be 560 ppm using iron salts and desulfurization, and decreased to 40 ppm when the reduction efficiency was above 90 %. Particularly, when iron salt is injected into the digester, the treatment efficiency is about 93 %, and the average is reduced to 150 ppm. In the case of dehumidification, the absolute humidity and the relative humidity were analyzed. The dew point temperature of the facility where the dehumidification facility was well maintained as $14^{\circ}C$, the absolute humidity was $12.6g/m^3$, and the relative humidity was 35 %. Therefore, it is necessary to compensate for the disadvantages of biogasification facilities of organic waste resources and optimize utilization of biogas and improve operation of facilities. This study was conducted to optimize biogas utilization of type of organic waste(containing sewage sludge and food waste, animal manure) through precision monitoring.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.415-425
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• 2001

Background : The correlation between the high resolution computed tomography(HRCT) emphysema score and the physiologic parameters including resting and exercise pulmonary function test was investigated in 14 patients($60.6{\pm}10.3$ years) with pulmonary emphysema. Methods : The patients underwent a HRCT, a resting pulmonary function test, and incremental exercise testing(cycle ergometer, 10 W/min). Computed tomography scans were obtained on a GE highlight at 10 mm intervals using 10 mm collimation, from the apex to the base after a full inspiration. The emphysema scores were determined by a CT program 'Density mask' outlining the areas with attenuation values less than -900 HU, indicating the emphysema areas, and providing an overall percentage of lung involvement by emphysema. Results : Among the resting PFT parameters, only the diffusing capacity(r=-0.75) and $PaO_2$ (r=-0.66) correlated with the emphysema score(p<0.05). Among the exercise test parameters, the emphysema score correlated significantly with the maximum power(r=-0.74), maximum oxygen consumption(r=-0.68), anaerobic threshold(V-slope method: r=-0.69), maximal $O_2$-pulse(r=-0.73), and the physiologic dead space ratio at the maximum workload(r=-0.80)(p<0.01). Conclusion: We could find that exercise testing parameters showed a much better correlation with the HRCT emphysema score, which is known to have a good correlation with the pathologic severity than the resting PIT parameters. Therefore it is suggested that exercise testing is superior to resting PIT for estimating in the estimation of the physiologic disturbance in emphysema patients.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.56 no.4
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• pp.421-433
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• 2023

The final disposal of spent nuclear fuel(SNF) from nuclear power plants takes place in a deep geological repository. The metal canister encasing the SNF is made of cast iron and copper, and is engineered to effectively isolate radioactive isotopes for a long period of time. The SNF is further shielded by a multi-barrier disposal system comprising both engineering and natural barriers. The deep disposal environment gradually changes to an anaerobic reducing environment. In this environment, sulfide is one of the most probable substances to induce corrosion of copper canister. Stress-corrosion cracking(SCC) triggered by sulfide can carry substantial implications for the integrity of the copper canister, potentially posing a significant threat to the long-term safety of the deep disposal repository. Sulfate can exist in various forms within the deep disposal environment or be introduced from the geosphere. Sulfate has the potential to be transformed into sulfide by sulfate-reducing bacteria(SRB), and this converted sulfide can contribute to the corrosion of the copper canister. Bentonite, which is considered as a potential material for buffering and backfilling, contains oxidized sulfate minerals such as gypsum(CaSO4). If there is sufficient space for microorganisms to thrive in the deep disposal environment and if electron donors such as organic carbon are adequately supplied, sulfate can be converted to sulfide through microbial activity. However, the majority of the sulfides generated in the deep disposal system or introduced from the geosphere will be intercepted by the buffer, with only a small amount reaching the metal canister. Pyrite, one of the potential sulfide minerals present in the deep disposal environment, can generate sulfates during the dissolution process, thereby contributing to the corrosion of the copper canister. However, the quantity of oxidation byproducts from pyrite is anticipated to be minimal due to its extremely low solubility. Moreover, the migration of these oxidized byproducts to the metal canister will be restricted by the low hydraulic conductivity of saturated bentonite. We have comprehensively analyzed and summarized key research cases related to the presence of sulfates, reduction processes, and the formation and behavior characteristics of sulfides and pyrite in the deep disposal environment. Our objective was to gain an understanding of the impact of sulfates and sulfides on the long-term safety of high-level radioactive waste disposal repository.