• Title/Summary/Keyword: Efficiency improvement

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Evaluation of the influence of a visual design of an examination guide on patient comprehension and testing accuracy (검사 안내문의 시각적 디자인화가 환자의 검사 이해도 및 정확성에 미치는 영향 평가)

  • Kang, Young-Eun;Jung, Woo-Young;Hong, Bo-Ruem
    • The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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    • v.23 no.1
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    • pp.29-34
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    • 2019
  • Purpose An examination guide is a useful medium to provide the patient with an overview, pre- and post-test preparation, and precautions of nuclear testing. The design and arrangement of existing written texts and announcements were evaluated to elucidate the comprehension of patients undergoing testing. Materials and Methods Informational material describing bone scanning and $^{201}thallium$ myocardium perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), as a secondary examination, which accounts for the largest portion of gamma imaging at Asan Hospital (Seoul, South Korea), was selected as an improvement target in consultation with a national innovation center. Existing informational material was dispensed to patients scheduled for bone scans from November 2016 to February 2017 and the revised material was issued from March 2017 to May 2017. A survey was conducted of 200 patients who underwent $^{201}thallium$ myocardium perfusion SPECT before and after the revisions (n = 100 each time period) to assess the patients' understanding of the informational material. Results When comparing the use of the conventional vs. revised material, the number of patients who received treatment before bone scanning had decreased from 130 to 60, while the number of those who required additional imaging decreased from 53 to 14. Prior to the revision, 43% of patients underwent testing before preparation and 18% underwent additional testing. The decreased need for additional image acquisition after revision of the informational material resulted in a decrease in acquisition time of about 2 min, from 16.5 to 14.2 min. In the case of $^{201}thallium$ myocardium perfusion SPECT, patient comprehension of all five items surveyed had increased, while the number of patients who had repeatedly asked about various facets of the procedure pre- and post-testing had decreased from 36% to 16% and 31% to 14%, respectively. Conclusion Lower patient comprehension is accompanied by a decrease in image quality due to non-compliance during pre-testing and may lead to repetitive questions from the patient, which may also negatively affect the fatigue and work efficiency of the examiner. Improved readability and visibility of informational material through visualization was correlated with greater patient comprehension as well as improved image quality and acquisition time.

Improvement of analytical method for pymetrozine in citrus fruits (감귤류 과일의 피메트로진 정량을 위한 분석법 개선)

  • Jeon, Jun-Ho;Chun, Su-Hyun;Kim, Min-Hyuk;Kim, Mi-Ok;Lee, Kwang-Won
    • Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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    • v.51 no.4
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    • pp.316-323
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    • 2019
  • It is difficult to analyze pymetrozine in citrus fruits using the hydromatrix method because of its low efficiency of purification and overlap of matrix and pymetrozine peaks. Liquid-liquid extraction can analyze pymetrozine in citrus fruits using dichloromethane. Since low pH interferes with the extraction of pymetrozine, the extracts of citrus fruits were maintained over pH 7.0 by adding borax buffer and 1 N NaOH in the improved method. According to the improved method, citrus fruits (such as lemon, lime, orange, tangerine, and grapefruit) were extracted and purified for HPLC-photo diode array analysis. The results of validation were as follows: $4.360{\mu}g/kg$ of limit of detection, $14.533{\mu}g/kg$ of limit of quantitation, and 0.007 mg/kg of method quantitative limit. Citrus fruits spiked with pymetrozine showed a recovery range from 71.8 to 83.7% and a coefficient of variation below 6%. Thus, the improved method can efficiently analyze pymetrozine in citrus fruits.

A Study on the Quality Improvement of Brain Perfusion SPECT Image (뇌혈류 단일광자방출단층촬영 영상 품질 향상에 대한 연구)

  • Kil, Sang-Hyeong;Lim, Yung-Hyun;Park, Gwang-Yeol;Cho, Seong-Mook
    • The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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    • v.23 no.2
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    • pp.13-19
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    • 2019
  • Purpose Tc-99m HMPAO is widely used radiopharmaceutical for brain perfusion SPECT. Tc-99m HMPAO is chemically unstable and is liable to show deterioration of labeling efficiency due to high incidence of secondary Tc-99m HMPAO complex, free pertechnetate and reduced-hydrolyzed Tc-99m. In this study, we investigated whether sialogogues administration could reduce the impurities of Tc-99m HMPAO. Materials and Methods In thirty subjects(20 male and 10 female, age range 19~89 years, mean age $60.7{\pm}14.5years$), brain perfusion SPECT were performed at basal and citric acid stimulation states consecutively after injection of 555 MBq of Tc-99m HMPAO. In the salivary glands, the uptake coefficient was calculated using Siemens processing program. Statistical comparison between before and after the citric acid stimulation performed paired t-test. P value less than 0.05 was regarded as statistically significant. Results Salivary glands uptake was $12900{\pm}3101$ counts in basal and $10677{\pm}2742$ counts in citric acid stimulation states. Unnecessary impurities in the body is much decreased after citric acid administration(t=10.78, P<0.05). The image quality was much improved after administration of citric acid and the regional cerebral perfusion was clearly from demarcated the background. Conclusion The impurity is distributed throughout the body particularly in the salivary glands and nasal mucosa when Tc-99m HMPAO brain perfusion SPECT is performed. If this impurities is not removed, the quality of the image may deteriorate, resulting in errors in visual evaluation. The use of sialogogues could be helpful for decreasing unnecessary impurities in the body.

Improvement of an Analytical Method for Fluoroimide Residue in Agricultural Products Using LC-MS/MS (LC-MS/MS를 이용한 농산물 중 Fluoroimide의 잔류농약 분석법 개선)

  • Kim, Nam Young;Park, Eun-Ji;Shim, Jae-Han;Lee, Jung Mi;Jung, Yong Hyun;Oh, Jae-Ho
    • Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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    • v.36 no.3
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    • pp.220-227
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    • 2021
  • Fluoroimide is a fungicide and is also used as a pesticide for persimmons and potatoes. The established fluoroimide pesticide analysis method takes a long time to perform and uses benzene, a carcinogen. In addition, a lower limit of quantification is required due to enforcement of the Positive List System. Therefore, this study aimed to improve the analysis method for residual fluoroimide to resolve the problems associated with the current method. The analytical method was improved with reference to the increased stability of fluoroimide under acidic conditions. Fluoroimide was extracted under acidic conditions by hydrogen chloride (4 N) and acetic acid. MgSO4 and NaCl were used with acetonitrile. C18 (octadecylsilane) 500 mg and graphitized carbon black 40 mg were used in the purification process. The experiment was conducted with agricultural products (hulled rice, potato, soybean, mandarin, green pepper), and liquid chromatograph-tandem mass spectrometry was used for the instrumental analysis. Recovery of fluoroimide was 85.7-106.9% with relative standard deviations (RSDs) of less than 15.6%. This study reports an improved method for the analysis of fluoroimide that might contribute to safety by substituting the use of benzene, a harmful solvent. Furthermore, the use of QuEChERS increased the efficiency of the improved method. Finally, this research confirmed the precise limit of quantification and these results could be used to improve the analysis of other residual pesticides in agricultural products.

Activation of Sports Talent Cultivation for Elderly Sports Promotion (노인체육진흥을 위한 체육인재양성 활성화 방안)

  • Cho, Kyoung-Hwan
    • Journal of Korea Entertainment Industry Association
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    • v.15 no.4
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    • pp.167-186
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    • 2021
  • The purpose of this study was to present a new direction for sports talent cultivation, determine the sports talent cultivation status in various types of sports and relevant areas, and present specific plans for activating practical sports talent cultivation in the elderly population in an effort to cope with the rapid changes of times. For this purpose, literature review was performed to analyze the elderly sports and sports talent cultivation status, analyze the problems with elderly sports and sports talent cultivation and development tasks, and present the following comprehensive plan for cultivating elderly sports talent cultivation in pursuit of elderly sports promotion: First, it is necessary to become more competitive in education by developing various programs for convergent and combined elderly sports talent cultivation as well as by changing into a convergent and combined way of thinking in the organizational culture environment of sports. Second, it is necessary to build more career education infrastructures for elderly sports talent cultivation in the elderly sports and relevant departments. Career education may become an issue in every area, which means building comprehensive DBs for undergraduates and graduates. Third, it is necessary to give greater support to research and development in the entire area of elderly sports. This means implementing relevant projects efficiently through governance with the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism in charge of elderly sports policies, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and professionals in the private sectors. Fourth, it is necessary to make comprehensive, systematic, and mid- and long-term strategies for cultivating sports talent at the governmental level. This means sports talent cultivation and search, career and employment, reeducation (competence reinforcement training), and job and employment stability in the areas of education, health, and welfare as well as sports. Fifth, it is necessary to operate a tentatively-called elderly health agency under the influence of the Office of the Prime Minister. This requires expansion and qualitative improvement of education on the basis of greater efficiency in preventing any overlapped task from wasting the budget through inter-department cooperation and positive partnership.

Analysis of Service Factors on the Management Performance of Korea Railroad Corporation - Based on the railroad statistical yearbook data - (한국철도공사 경영성과에 미치는 서비스 요인분석 -철도통계연보 데이터를 대상으로-)

  • Koo, Kyoung-Mo;Seo, Jeong-Tek;Kang, Nak-Jung
    • Journal of Korea Port Economic Association
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    • v.37 no.4
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    • pp.127-144
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    • 2021
  • The purpose of this study is to derive service factors based on the "Rail Statistical Yearbook" data of railroad service providers from 1990 to 2019, and to analyze the effect of the service factors on the operating profit ratio(OPR), a representative management performance variable of railroad transport service providers. In particular, it has academic significance in terms of empirical research to evaluate whether the management innovation of the KoRail has changed in line with the purpose of establishing the corporation by dividing the research period into the first period (1990-2003) and the latter (2004-2019). The contents of this study investigated previous studies on the quality of railway passenger transportation service and analyzed the contents of government presentation data related to the management performance evaluation of the KoRail. As an empirical analysis model, a research model was constructed using OPR as a dependent variable and service factor variables of infrastructure, economy, safety, connectivity, and business diversity as explanatory variables based on the operation and management activity information during the analysis period 30 years. On the results of research analysis, OPR is that the infrastructure factor is improved by structural reform or efficiency improvement. And economic factors are the fact that operating profit ratio improves by reducing costs. The safety factor did not reveal the significant explanatory power of the regression coefficient, but the sign of influence was the same as the prediction. Connectivity factor reveals a influence on differences between first period and latter, but OPR impact direction is changed from negative in before to positive in late. This is an evironment in which connectivity is actually realized in later period. On diversity factor, there is no effect of investment share in subsidiaries and government subsidies on OPR.

Development of Cropping System Involving a Two-Year Rotation of Three Upland Crops using Paddy Soil in the Middle Plain Area (중부지역 평야지 논 이용 밭작물 2년 3모작 작부모형 개발)

  • Kang-Bo Shim;Hyun-Min Cho;Myeon-Na Shin;Areum Han;Mi-Jin Chae;Jeong-Ju Kim;Seuk-Ki Lee;Weon-Tai Jeon
    • KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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    • v.67 no.4
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    • pp.199-210
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    • 2022
  • This study aimed to develop a cropping system to use limited crop-land with optimum efficiency, while considering management from farmers. To establish the cropping system involving a two-year rotation of three crops, three types of cropping system were evaluated in Suwon (Seogcheon series) and Anseong (Geumcheon series) in the middle plain area using six crops from 2018 to 2019: maize-perilla-onion, potato-sesame-garlic, and maize-sesame-onion. The crop productivity and income of the cropping systems involving food-, oilseed-, and horticultural crops were analyzed, and the optimal cropping system was reviewed. The total yield of each crop was as follows: maize 1,281 kg, potato 4,837 kg, perilla 125 kg, sesame 120 kg, onion 6,503 kg, and garlic 1,027 kg per 10a. However, in terms of gross profit, the potato was more than 3.8 times more profitable than corn, sesame was 1.8 times more profitable than perilla, and garlic was more than 2.8 times more profitable than onions. As a result, in terms of net income, the potato-sesame-garlic cropping system produced the highest income per unit area. Sesame seedlings were planted after the potato harvest, thereby solving the problem of competition between the first and last crops. Overall, this study confirmed that the potato-sesame-garlic cropping system, a two-year rotation of three crops, contributed to the improvement of upland crop productivity and farmers' income and was an overall effective cropping system.

Review of Domestic Research Trends on Layered Double Hydroxide (LDH) Materials: Based on Research Articles in Korean Citation Index (KCI) (이중층수산화물(layered double hydroxide, LDH) 소재의 국내 연구동향 리뷰: 한국학술지인용색인(KCI)에 발표된 논문을 대상으로)

  • Seon Yong Lee;YoungJae Kim;Young Jae Lee
    • Economic and Environmental Geology
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    • v.56 no.1
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    • pp.23-53
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    • 2023
  • In this review paper, previous studies on layered double hydroxides (LDHs) published in the Korean Citation Index (KCI) were examined to investigate a research trend for LDHs in Korea. Since the first publication in 2002, 160 papers on LDHs have been published until January 2023. Among the 31 academic fields, top 5 fields appeared in the order of chemical engineering, chemistry, materials engineering, environmental engineering, and physics. The chemical engineering shows the highest record of published paper (71 papers) while around 10 papers have been published in the other four fields. All papers were reclassified into 15 research fields based on the industrial and academic purposes of using LDHs. The top 5 in these fields are in order of environmental purification materials, polymer catalyst materials, battery materials, pharmaceutical/medicinal materials, and basic physicochemical properties. These findings suggest that researches on the applications of LDH materials in the academic fields of chemical engineering and chemistry for the improvement of their functions such as environmental purification materials, polymer catalysts, and batteries have been being most actively conducted. The application of LDHs for cosmetic and agricultural purposes and for developing environmental sensors is still at the beginning of research. Considering a market-potential and high-efficiency-eco-friendly trend, however, it will deserve our attention as emerging application fields in the future. All reclassified papers were summarized in our tables and a supplementary file, including information on applied materials, key results, characteristics and synthesis methods of LDHs used. We expect that our findings of overall trends in LDH research in Korea can help design future researches with LDHs and suggest policies for resources and energies as well as environments efficiently.

Method of Reducing Separation Membrane Fouling Using Microbubbles (마이크로버블을 이용한 분리막 파울링 저감방법)

  • Kyung-Hwan Ku;Younghee Kim
    • Clean Technology
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    • v.29 no.1
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    • pp.31-38
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    • 2023
  • Due to water shortages caused by water pollution and climate change, total organic carbon (TOC) standards have been implemented for wastewater discharged from public sewage treatment facilities. Furthermore, there is a growing interest and body of research pertaining to the reuse of sewage treatment water as a secure alternative water resource. The membrane bio-reactor (MBR) method is commonly used for advanced wastewater treatment because it can remove organic and inorganic ions and it does not require or emit any chemicals. However, the MBR process uses a separation membrane (MF), which requires frequent film cleaning due to fouling caused by a high concentration of mixed liquor suspended solid (MLSS). In this study, process improvement and microbubble cleaning efficiency were evaluated to improve the differential pressure, water flow, and MF fouling, which are the biggest disadvantages of operating the MF. The existing MBR method was improved by installing a precipitation tank between the air tank and the MBR tank in which raw water was introduced. Microbubbles were injected into a separation membrane tank into which the supernatant water from the precipitation tank was introduced. The microbubble generator was operated with a 15 day on, 15 day off cycle for 5 months to collect discharged water samples (4L) and measure TOC. As the supernatant water from the precipitation tank flowed into the separation membrane tank, about 95% of the supernatant water MLSS was removed so the MF fouling from biological contamination was prevented. Due to the application of microbubbles to supernatant water from the precipitation tank, the differential pressure of the separation membrane tank decreased by 1.6 to 2.3 times and the water flow increased by 1.4 times. Applying microbubbles increased the TOC removal rate by more than 58%. This study showed that separately operating the air tank and the separation membrane tank can reduce fouling, and suggested that applying additional microbubbles could improve the differential pressure, water flow, and fouling to provide a more efficient advanced treatment method.

Taste Compounds and Antioxidant Properties in Extracts of Angelica keiskei and Oenanthe javanica Juice By-Products According to Extraction Methods (추출 방법에 따른 명일엽과 돌미나리 착즙박의 정미성분 및 항산화 특성)

  • Hyun Jung Lee;Ha Na Ryoo;Hyeon Gyu Lee
    • Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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    • v.38 no.6
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    • pp.517-527
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    • 2023
  • This study aimed to examine the possibility of upcycling extracts of Angelica keiskei and Oenanthe javanica juice by-products through comparing enzyme extraction (EE) and complex extraction (CE) methods to increase the extraction yield and flavor of materials. A higher extraction yield was obtained for free amino acid content with EE and CE for A. keiskei and O. javanica juice by-products, respectively, and a higher extraction efficiency was achieved with juice by-products than with extracts prepared from raw materials before juice production. The content of major amino acids varied depending on the extraction method used. When used according to the characteristics of the extract, their use as a functional material was confirmed along with improvement in the flavor of the food. Consistently high extraction yields for organic acid and sugar levels were obtained with CE in A. keiskei and O. javanica juice by-products. The DPPH radical scavenging ability and TPC were consistently high with CE in A. keiskei and O. javanica juice by-products; the increase in extracted content was likely because of the reaction between the ethanol used for CE and the phenolic compounds. However, because the antioxidant capacity of the juice by-product extracts was somewhat lower than that of the extracts from raw materials before juice production, the amount used should be reviewed. The TFC was found to be higher in extracts obtained with EE than with CE for A. keiskei juice by-products; however, no significant difference was observed between EE and CE in the O. javanica juice by-products. Through this study, the taste compounds and antioxidant properties of extracts obtained from juice by-products produced after the production of A. keiskei and O. javanica green juice were analyzed, and the availability of high value-added materials was confirmed. Based on these research results, expanding specific R&D for practical use should be explored.