• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.23-28
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• 2024

Cesium is a potential toxic contaminant due to its high solubility, which allows it to easily penetrate the human body and potentially induce cancer or DNA mutations. In this study, oxygen functional groups were introduced on activated carbons (ACs) by ozone treatment to enhance the cesium adsorption capacity. As the ozone treatment time increased, the oxygen content on the ACs surface increased. Subsequently, the electrostatic interaction between ACs and cesium enhanced, resulting in higher cesium ion adsorption efficiency across all samples. In particular, the sample treated with ozone for 7 minutes at an internal ozone concentration of 50000 ppm had roughly 12% greater oxygen functional group content and the highest cesium removal effectiveness (97.6%). Meanwhile, samples treated for 5 minutes showed a 0.3% cesium removal rate difference compared to those treated for 7 minutes, which was caused by the surface chemical similarity of the two samples due to the reactive characteristics of ozone gas. However, the cesium adsorption performance of ozonated activated carbon seems to be mainly influenced by the amount of oxygen functional groups introduced to the surface, although the specific surface area and pore structure of the activated carbon are also important.

• Journal of Korean Society of Disaster and Security
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.75-84
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• 2023

Many developing countries face challenges in estimating long-term discharge due to the lack of hydrological data for water supply planning, making it difficult to establish a rational water supply plan for decision-making on water distribution. The study area, the Bandung region in Indonesia, is experiencing rapid urbanization and population concentration, leading to a severe shortage of freshwater. The absence of water reservoir prediction methods has resulted in a water supply rate of approximately 20%. In this study, we aimed to propose an approach for predicting water reservoirs in developing countries by analyzing water safety and potential water supply using the MODSIM (Modified SIMYLD) network model. To assess the suitability of the MODSIM model, we applied the unit hydrograph method to calculate long-term discharge based on 19 years of discharge data (2002-2020) from the Pataruman observation station. The analysis confirmed alignment with the existing monthly optimal operation curve. The analysis of power plant capacity revealed a difference of approximately 0.30% to 0.50%, and the water intake safety at the Pataruman point showed 1.64% for Q95% flow and 0.47% for Q355 flow higher. Operational efficiency, compared to the existing reservoir optimal operation curve, was measured at around 1%, confirming the potential of using the MODSIM network model for water supply evaluation and the need for water supply facilities.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.505-516
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• 2022

Objective: To evaluate whether artificial intelligence (AI) for detecting breast cancer on mammography can improve the performance and time efficiency of radiologists reading mammograms. Materials and Methods: A commercial deep learning-based software for mammography was validated using external data collected from 200 patients, 100 each with and without breast cancer (40 with benign lesions and 60 without lesions) from one hospital. Ten readers, including five breast specialist radiologists (BSRs) and five general radiologists (GRs), assessed all mammography images using a seven-point scale to rate the likelihood of malignancy in two sessions, with and without the aid of the AI-based software, and the reading time was automatically recorded using a web-based reporting system. Two reading sessions were conducted with a two-month washout period in between. Differences in the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC), sensitivity, specificity, and reading time between reading with and without AI were analyzed, accounting for data clustering by readers when indicated. Results: The AUROC of the AI alone, BSR (average across five readers), and GR (average across five readers) groups was 0.915 (95% confidence interval, 0.876-0.954), 0.813 (0.756-0.870), and 0.684 (0.616-0.752), respectively. With AI assistance, the AUROC significantly increased to 0.884 (0.840-0.928) and 0.833 (0.779-0.887) in the BSR and GR groups, respectively (p = 0.007 and p < 0.001, respectively). Sensitivity was improved by AI assistance in both groups (74.6% vs. 88.6% in BSR, p < 0.001; 52.1% vs. 79.4% in GR, p < 0.001), but the specificity did not differ significantly (66.6% vs. 66.4% in BSR, p = 0.238; 70.8% vs. 70.0% in GR, p = 0.689). The average reading time pooled across readers was significantly decreased by AI assistance for BSRs (82.73 vs. 73.04 seconds, p < 0.001) but increased in GRs (35.44 vs. 42.52 seconds, p < 0.001). Conclusion: AI-based software improved the performance of radiologists regardless of their experience and affected the reading time.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.21-29
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• 2024

Globally, the demand for electric vehicles (EVs) is surging due to carbon-neutral strategies aimed at decarbonization. Consequently, the demand for lithium-ion batteries, which are essential components of EVs, is also rising, leading to an increase in the generation of spent batteries. This has prompted research into the recycling of spent batteries to recover valuable metals. In this study, we aimed to selectively leach and recover lithium from the cathode material of spent LFP batteries. To enhance the reaction surface area and reactivity, the binder in the cathode material powder was removed, and the material was subjected to heat treatment in both atmospheric and nitrogen environments across various temperature ranges. This was followed by a mechanochemical process for aqueous leaching. Initially, after heat treatment, the powder was converted into a soluble lithium compound using sodium persulfate (Na₂S₂O₈) in a mechanochemical reaction. Subsequently, aqueous leaching was performed using distilled water. This study confirmed the changes in the characteristics of the cathode material powder due to heat treatment. The final heat treatment in a nitrogen atmosphere resulted in a lithium leaching efficiency of approximately 100% across all temperature ranges.

• Journal of Navigation and Port Research
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.274-283
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• 2024

Climate change is currently one of the most pressing environmental issues, primarily caused by carbon emissions from fossil fuel usage. As a result, alternative fuels that effectively reduce carbon emissions are garnering more attention. Among these alternatives, hydrogen has numerous advantages, such as its ability for large-scale storage and transport. However, it is crucial to prioritize safety measures, particularly in facilities that handle hydrogen, due to its highly flammable and fast-spreading nature. This study aims to compare and analyze the placement of supply and exhaust vents to efficiently release hydrogen in the event of a leak in an enclosed space. The experiments involved six different scenarios, each with various combinations of supply and exhaust vents. To ensure the experimental process's safety, helium, which shares similar physical properties with hydrogen, was used to analyze the internal oxygen concentration during ventilation system operations. The results revealed that among the six scenarios, Case 2, which employed a lower side supply vent and an upper side exhaust vent, exhibited the shortest ventilation time of 4 minutes and 30 seconds. Additionally, the decrease rate in oxygen concentration was examined in the upper, middle, and lower areas. Ventilation utilizing an upper surface supply vent and two exhaust vents on the upper surface and upper side (Case 6), showed lower oxygen concentration values in the upper area, while Case 2 yielded lower values in the middle and lower areas. Therefore, it is crucial to select an appropriate supply and exhaust vent configuration considering the space's characteristics and usage environment.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.66 no.5
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• pp.51-65
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• 2024

With the advancement of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) technology, aerial spraying has been rapidly increasing in the agricultural field. Drones offer many advantages compared to traditional applicators, but they pose challenges such as spray drift risk and spray uniformity. To address these issues, it is essential to understand the characteristics of complex airflow generated by drones and its consequences for the spray performance. This study aims to identify the air velocity distribution of drone downwash and the resulting spray deposition distribution on the ground, ultimately proposing optimized spraying widths and criteria. Experiments were conducted using two agricultural drones with different propeller arrangements under various flight and measurement conditions. The results showed that during hovering, the downward airflow affected the area within a distance of the radius of the blade (R) from the center of the drone. When the drone was flying, the downward airflow was effective up to a distance of 2R. Droplet deposition was concentrated at the center of the drone during hovering. However, during flying, the droplet deposition was more evenly distributed up to the distance of R. The drone downwash and droplet deposition were significantly different during flying compared to the hovering state. At an effective spray width of 3R, the coefficient of variation (CV) was generally less than 16%, indicating a significant improvement in spray uniformity. These findings help optimize effective spraying techniques in drone-based applications.

• Journal of the Korean Regional Science Association
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.95-108
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• 2024

This study analyzes the location determinants of newly established and relocated manufacturing firms in South Korea using the National Business Survey data from 2016 to 2019. Both new establishments and relocations are concentrated in the Seoul metropolitan area, Chungcheong, Yeongnam, and Daegyeong regions, with relocated firms showing a higher degree of spatial concentration. Employing a negative binomial regression model, we find that manufacturing concentration, population density, industrial diversity, and lower wage levels positively influence both new establishments and relocations. The proportion of highly educated workers, accessibility to producer services, and average land prices only positively affect the frequency of new establishments, suggesting that firms in the early stages of their life cycle, which are more dependent on human capital and producer services, demonstrate a higher willingness to pay for land use. Conversely, increased travel time to Seoul and improved transportation accessibility enhance the probability of attracting relocated firms. This implies that cost reduction incentives associated with distance from Seoul may outweigh the benefits of proximity to the capital in relocation decisions. Our findings suggest that strengthening agglomeration economies and improving transportation infrastructure efficiency could increase the likelihood of attracting relocated manufacturing firms to non-capital regions.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.95-103
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• 2012

To treat nitrate and non-biodegradable organics effectively in sewage, industrial wastewater and livestock wastewater, the activated sludge process integrated by a membrane separation and a porous electrode- electrolysis was proposed and its efficiency was investigated. The proposed system was consisted of 3 processes; activated sludge, membrane filtration and electrolysis. In the study, the membrane filtration played a role in reducing the load of the electrolysis to operate the proposed process stably. The electrolysis consisted of a porous electrode to increase the efficiency due to the extension of the specific surface area. Additionally, redox reaction in the electrolysis was induced by decomposing influent water as current was applied. As a result, hydrogen free radicals and oxygen radicals as intermediates were produced and they acted as oxidants to play a role in decomposing non-degradable organics. It was environmentally-friendly process because intermediates produced by porous electrode were used to treat waste matters without supplying external reagent. Experimental data showed that the proposed process was more excellent than activated sludge process. SS removal efficiencies of the proposed process, membrane filtration and activated sludge process were about 100%, about 100% and about 90%, respectively. COD removal efficiencies of the proposed system, membrane filtration and activated sludge process were about 92%, about 84% and about 78%, respectively. T-N removal efficiencies of the proposed system, membrane filtration and activated sludge process were about 88%, about 67%, and about 58%, respectively. The SS data showed that SS was efficiently removed in the single of the membrane filtration. The COD/T-N data showed that COD/T-N of membrane hybrid process was treated by removing a little soluble organics and SS, and that COD/T-N of electrolysis hybrid process was treated by oxidize organics with high removal rate.

• Journal of Animal Environmental Science
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.93-100
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• 2004

An experiment was conducted to establish comparison of ventilation efficiency in an enclosed and conventional growing-finishing pig house. The experimental pigs were in winter and summer. The main results of the experiment are as follows : Then the air from planar slot inlet the pig house flow out through the sidewall outlet operated by exhaust fan(Gl). The second structure has an air input through the circular duct inlet are plated side the juncture of the entering wall and the air into the pig house flow out through the chimney and pit outlet are operated by exhaust fan(G2). Through the air into relay fan the pig house flow out through the curtains in sidewall(G3). Similarly, air comes in through the circular duct inlet are placed the air into the pig house flow out through the curtains in sidewall (G4). Air flow rate on the floor level which is the low part of pen and the living area of pigs in the G2 and G4 system during winter was measured at 0.2 to 0.3 m/s at the 0.5 to 0.6 m/s at the maximum ventilation efficiency. As for the results of detrimental gas(ammonia) concentration ratio analysis, while G2 and G4 system sustained of summer 13.3 $\~$ 16.6 ppm, winter 14.0 $\~$ 14.6 ppm level, Gl and G3 system sustained of summer 14.6 $\~$ 20.3 ppm, winter 20.3 $\~$ 25.0 ppm, and the latter one is lower than that of the G1 and G3 system.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.414-419
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• 2005

This study was performed to compare the treatment efficiencies of two media, newly developed Bio-rock and conventional gravel, in soil clothing contact oxidation process. The composition of synthetic wastewater were $COD_{Cr}$ $150{\sim}370\;mg/L$, $BOD_5$ $150{\sim}270\;mg/L$, T-N $20{\sim}60\;mg/L$, T-P $5{\sim}25\;mg/L$, pH 7 and 2 mL/L of trace element solution. The experiment using two reactors was comparatively conducted for the flow rate of 40 L/d for 13 months, respectively. Initially Bio-rock reactor was increased to pH 12 due to $Ca(OH)_2$ with hydration of cement, but gravel reactor was dropped to pH 4 due to the degradation of organic material and nitrification. This significant pH variation deteriorated the growth and activity of microorganism. But the high pH of Bio-rock seems favorite to ammonia stripping and precipitation of phosphate. Such pH variation of Bio-rock and gravel reactors were finally stabilized to pH 8 and pH 6, respectively. The removal efficiencies of organic compounds from Bio-rock reactor were 96% of $COD_{Cr}$, 98% of $BOD_5$, 80% of T-N and 85% of T-P which stably coping against variation of influent concentration. But those of gravel reactor were 96% of $COD_{Cr}$, 96% of $BOD_5$, 42% of T-N and 40% of T-P, respectively. The Bio-rock was 2 times higher than T-N and T-P in treatment efficiency. And electron-microscopic examination showed that Bio-rock was more favorable to microbial adherence than gravel. The microbial populations were $5.2{\times}10^6\;CFU/mL$ of Bio-rock reactor compared to $2.6{\times}10^6\;CFU/mL$ in gravel reactor. In result Bio-rock was favor to microbial adherence and high treatment efficiency in spite of variation of influent concentration which had the advantages in saving running time and reducing site requirement.