• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.71-77
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• 2024

Hydrogen has emerged as an eco-friendly and sustainable alternative to fossil fuels. However, the utilization of hydrogen requires high-pressure compression, storage, and transportation, which poses challenges to the durability of compressor components, particularly the diaphragm. This study aims to improve the durability of 304 stainless steel diaphragms in hydrogen compressors by optimizing their surface roughness and corrosion resistance through wet etching. The specimens were prepared by immersing 304 stainless steel in a mixture of sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide, followed by etching in hydrochloric acid for various durations. The surface morphology, roughness, and wettability of the etched specimens were characterized using optical microscopy, surface profilometry, and water contact angle measurements. The friction and wear characteristics were evaluated using reciprocating sliding tests. The results showed that increasing the etching time led to the development of micro/nanostructures on the surface, thereby increasing surface roughness and hydrophilicity. The friction coefficient initially decreased with increasing surface roughness owing to the reduced contact area but increased during long-term wear owing to the destruction and delamination of surface protrusions. HCl-30M exhibited the lowest average friction coefficient and a balance between the surface roughness and oxide film formation, resulting in improved wear resistance. These findings highlight the importance of controlling the surface roughness and oxide film formation through etching optimization to obtain a uniform and wear-resistant surface for the enhanced durability of 304 stainless steel diaphragms in hydrogen compressors.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.86-93
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• 2012

We present a retrieval method to obtain dust backscatter coefficient from the mixed Asian dust and pollutant layer. In the present study, vertically resolved quartz (silicon dioxide, silica) concentration was calculated using Raman scattering signals from quartz at 546 nm. Dust concentration was obtained based on typical mass percentage of quartz in Asian dust. The highest value of dust concentration at 3.7 km in March 21, 2010 was 22.3 and 10.9 ${\mu}gm^{-3}$ according to the quartz percentage in Asian dust as 65 and 30% based on literature survey, respectively. OPAC (Optical Properties of Aerosol and Clouds) simulations were conducted to calculate dust backscatter coefficient. The retrieved dust concentration was used as an input parameter for the OPAC calculations. Utilization of quartz Raman channel in Lidar measurements is considered useful for distinguishing optical properties of dust and nondust aerosol in the mixing state of Asian dust.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.29 no.2 s.53
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• pp.311-329
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• 1996

This study was designed to compare the level of medical utilization between the urban and rural areas of Korea and to explain the differences between the two regions. Data from the National Health Interview Survey performed by the Korean Institute of Health & Social Affairs in 1992 were used for this study utilizing a sample size of 21,841 people. The level of medical utilization such as the number of physician visits and the number of hospital admissions was compared between the regions with ANOVA. Various determinants for medical use were also compared by univariate analysis. Statistical models which included enabling factors, predisposing factors, need factors and region were constructed for bivariate analysis in order to further elucidate the level of medical utilization. The results were as follows: 1. There was greater medical use, both in terms of physician visits and inpatient care in the rural areas in spite of insufficient health resources. The particular reasons for higher medical utilization in rural areas were attributed to a higher number of initial physician visits as well as a longer the length of stay per hospital admission. Therefore, indicators representing the degree of met need (utilization/need) showed no significant difference between rural and urban areas in spite of the fact that the medical need is larger in rural areas. 2. Use of public health facilities received a significant portion of physician visits in the rural area. The government's effort to enhance primary health care through health centers, health subcenters and the nurse practitioner's post in rural areas has contributed to the increase of access to medical care in the rural areas. 3. There were some differences in the socio-demographic characteristics between two regions ; There were more elderly people over the age of 65: unstable marital status, less education and lower incomes also characterized the rural areas. Therefore, among rural people, there were more predisposing factors for medical use. Additionaly, need factors such as poor self-reported health status and high morbidity level were also high in the rural area. 4. In contrast it was learned that, the supply of health resources was mostly concentrated in the urban areas except for public health facilities. Therefore, geographical access to medical care was lower in the rural area both in terms travel time and travel cost. 5. The coefficient of the region variable was insignificant in the regression model which controlled the supply factor only. However, utilization was significantly higher in urban areas if the model included predisposing factors and need factors in addition to the supply factor. The results were interpreted as rural people have greater medical needs.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.487-499
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• 2014

While the vertical open type of heat exchanger is more effective in areas of abundant groundwater, and is becoming more widely used, the heat exchanger most commonly used in geothermal heating and cooling systems in Korea is the vertical closed loop type. In this study, we performed numerical simulations of the optimal utilization of geothermal energy based on the hydrogeological and thermal properties to evaluate the efficiency of the vertical open type in areas of abundant groundwater supply. The first simulation indicated that the vertical open type using groundwater directly is more efficient than the vertical closed loop type in areas of abundant groundwater. Furthermore, a doublet system with separated injection and extraction wells was more efficient because the temperature difference (${\Delta}$) between the injection and extraction water generated by heat exchange with the ground is large. In the second simulation, we performed additional numerical simulations of the optimal utilization of geothermal energy that incorporated heat transfer, distance, flow rate, and groundwater hydraulic gradient targeting a single well, SCW (standing column well), and doublet. We present a flow diagram that can be used to select the optimal type of heat exchanger based on these simulation results. The results of this study indicate that it is necessary to examine the adequacy of the geothermal energy utilization system based on the hydrogeological and thermal properties of the area concerned, and also on a review of the COP (coefficient of performance) of the geothermal heating and cooling system.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.32 no.10
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• pp.1501-1510
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• 2019

Objective: An experiment was conducted to evaluate genetic diversity of 26 Chinese indigenous goats by 30 microsatellite markers, and then to define conservation priorities to set up the protection programs according to the weight given to within- and between-breed genetic diversity. Methods: Twenty-six representative populations of Chinese indigenous goats, 1,351 total, were sampled from different geographic regions of China. Within-breed genetic diversity and marker polymorphism were estimated calculating the mean number of alleles, observed heterozygosities, expected heterozygosities, fixation index, effective number of alleles and allelic richness. Conservation priorities were analyzed by statistical methods. Results: A relatively high level of genetic diversity was found in twenty-four population; the exceptions were in the Daiyun and Fuqing goat populations. Within-breed kinship coefficient matrices identified seven highly inbred breeds which should be of concern. Of these, six breeds receive a negative contribution to heterozygosity when the method was based on proportional contribution to heterozygosity. Based on Weitzman or Piyasatian and Kinghorn methods, the breeds distant from others i.e. Inner Mongolia Cashmere goat, Chengdu Brown goat and Leizhou goat obtain a high ranking. Evidence from Caballero and Toro and Fabuel et al method prioritized Jining Gray goat, Liaoning Cashmere goat, and Inner Mongolia Cashmere goat, which agree with results from Kinship-based methods. Conclusion: Conservation priorities were determined according to multiple methods. Our results suggest Inner Mongolia Cashmere goat (most methods), Jining Gray goat and Liaoning Cashmere goat (high contribution to heterozygosity and total diversity) should be prioritized based on most methods. Furthermore, Daiyun goat and Shannan White goat also should be prioritized based on consideration of effective population size. However, if one breed can continually survive under changing conditions, the straightforward approach would be to increase its utilization and attraction for production via mining breed germplasm characteristics.

• Journal of Korean Society of Transportation
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.39-49
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• 2010

Although many studies have been carried out on the pattern of behavior of drivers which result from the provision of traffic information, there have been few detailed studies on the composition of message, method for message expression, timing of provision, point of provision, media for provision, changes by traffic condition, etc. This study was intended to provide an insight into the changes in the characteristics related to the provision of information by analyzing how the patterns of information utilization change depending on the traffic condition and reclassifying such patterns according to the characteristics of media. Unlike the existing studies, this study adopted the traffic condition, using rate of information media, and the correlation coefficient label as the basis for information media classification, and categorized them into passive utilization media, active utilization media, and past experience in order to ensure the statistical reasonability. The categorized using rate of information media and traffic condition was found to have a positive(+) correlation with the travel speed in the case of passive utilization media during both consecutive holidays(Korea's traditional Thanksgiving day) and weekends, but had a negative(-) correlation with the positive utilization media and past experience. The rate of decision to take a detour based on the past experience was high at the condition of congestion or slow during both consecutive holidays and weekends, but the rate of decision to take a detour through passive utilization media was high in a smooth traffic. In other words, if the traffic condition worsens, using rate of passive utilization media would be low while the diversion rate would be high which uses the active utilization media and past experience. Therefore, it should be established to suit the traffic condition and media characteristics for strategies of traffic distribution through drivers' diversion behavior on weekends and consecutive holidays.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.164-172
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• 2013

The purpose of this research was development of quantitative ultrasonic test methodology for detecting internal defects in members of ancient wooden building. Connection part between wooden members and/or contacted or hidden part by wall of ceiling or other construction materials make it hard to apply direct way of ultrasonic test. So indirect way of ultrasonic test needed to be applied. Test methodology with newly developed prototype of ultrasonic system was proposed. Homogeneous material with polypropylene was also tested for establishing the criterion. Results showed that TOF(time of flight)-energy and pulse length were found out to be proper ultrasonic parameters for predicting depth of defect in wood different from polypropylene. It was not possible to directly apply prediction equation derived from polypropylene. Newly established prediction equation shows coefficient of determination of 0.73 for wood. Finally, defect of replaced rafter members was predicted with the coefficient of determination of 0.32. Various aspects of ultrasound propagation in wood including anisotropy need to be carefully considered to raise up the prediction accuracy.

• Clean Technology
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.353-362
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• 2011

In our nature, the utilization of rainwater is essential for healthy water recirculation. This is one of the solutions of the increment of impermeability surface according to the development of new cities; this study of the improvement of rainwater quality has been carried on through the improvement of collecting and restoring system of rainwater. The southwestern region of Daejeon City, the rainwater coefficient of run off was 0.40 and this number had computed to 0.59 after the development. After filtration of rainwater, the heavy metal (Cu, As, Cr, Fe, Mn) contents level were lower than underground water. Moreover, collected rainwater showed better quality than underground water in following criteria; hardness, permanganate consumption quality, chloride, evaporation residue, sulfates and nitrate nitrogen. This water quality met the gray water quality standards. The rainwater quality was still suitable to use as bathroom flushing and gardening after 100 days of storage. This study proved that modification (installation of cover with gutter to existing rainwater collection system, proper filtering, and installation of underground storage tank) of collection system could improve quality of water and maintain this approximately 100 days.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.33 no.10
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• pp.1390-1401
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• 2023

In this study, a 12-week feeding experiment was conducted to characterize the effects of exogenous α-amylase on the growth, feed utilization, digestibility, plasma α-amylase activity, feed degradation rate, and fecal particle size of olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus). Diet was supplemented with 0 (AA₀; control), 100 (AA₁₀₀), 200 (AA₂₀₀), or 400 (AA₄₀₀) mg/kg of α-amylase, respectively. Fish (273.1 ± 2.3 g) were stocked into 12 tanks (25 fish/1,000-L tank) and 3 tanks were randomly selected for each diet group. As a result, α-amylase was found to have no significant effects (p ≥ 0.05) on the growth, feed utilization parameters, and whole-body proximate compositions. α-Amylase-treated fish exhibited only a significant increase in the apparent digestibility coefficient of carbohydrates compared to the controls. In addition, in vitro analyses revealed that α-amylase dose-dependently increased (p < 0.05) the feed degradation rate, while photographs of the intestinal content after 2, 4, and 8 h of feeding demonstrated an improved degradation rate in the α-amylase-treated groups. Plasma α-amylase content was higher in the AA₂₀₀ and AA₄₀₀ groups, whereas the control group produced significantly larger-sized fecal particles (90% size class) than these two groups. In the intestine, no changes were observed in the expression levels of the immune-related TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-2, immunoglobulin-M, HSP-70, lysozyme, and amylase alpha-2A. However, growth-related genes IGF-1, IGF-2, TGF-β3, and growth hormone genes were upregulated in muscle tissues. Collectively, exogenous α-amylase has positive roles in the modulation of the digestibility coefficient, blood α-amylase concentration, growth-related gene expression, and diet degradation for improved digestion in olive flounder.

• International Journal of Highway Engineering
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.91-97
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• 2010

This study started from the problem recognition of climbing lane installed in Korea roads. Because design standards of climbing lane installed don't match traffic pattern of korean drivers, coefficient of utilization of climbing lane is low and merging section between climbing lane and main lane has traffic accident possibilities. For this, brand-new design standards developed from the present lane design criterion, taper lenghs, and traffic signs, then field adoption test was carried out to prove the effectiveness. As a result, coefficient of utilization of climbing lane and average traffic velocity in climbing section are improved and the economic analysis also shows that brand-new standards has high feasibility for low cost. In case of broad application to not only expressway but national and local road based on the study, it could be a significant contribution to traffic flow improvement.