• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.153-160
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• 2021

Nitrous oxide is a global warming substance and is known as the main cause of the destruction of the ozone layer because its global warming effect is 310 times stronger than carbon dioxide, and it takes 120 years to decompose. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the characteristics of NOx emission from N2O reduction by thermal decomposition of N2O. Bunsen premixed flames were adopted as a heat source to form a high-temperature flow field, and the experimental variables were nozzle exit velocity, co-axial velocity, and N2O dilution rate. NO production rates increased with increasing N2O dilution rates, regardless of nozzle exit velocities and co-axial flow rates. For N2O, large quantities were emitted from a stable premixed flame with suppressed combustion instability (Kelvin Helmholtz instability) because the thermal decomposition time is not sufficient with the relatively short residence time of N2O near the flame surface. Thus, to improve the reduction efficiency of N2O, it is considered effective to increase the residence time of N2O by selecting the nozzle exit velocities, where K-H instability is generated and formed a flow structure of toroidal vortex near the flame surface.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.143-149
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• 2021

In this study, (GaN)_1-x(ZnO)_x solid solution nanoparticles with a high zinc content are prepared by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis and subsequent nitridation. The structure and morphology of the samples are investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The characterization results show a phase transition from the Zn and Ga-based oxides (ZnO or ZnGa₂O₄) to a (GaN)_1-x(ZnO)_x solid solution under an NH3 atmosphere. The effect of the precursor solution concentration and nitridation temperature on the final products are systematically investigated to obtain (GaN)_1-x(ZnO)_x nanoparticles with a high Zn concentration. It is confirmed that the powder synthesized from the solution in which the ratio of Zn and Ga was set to 0.8:0.2, as the initial precursor composition was composed of about 0.8-mole fraction of Zn, similar to the initially set one, through nitriding treatment at 700℃. Besides, the synthesized nanoparticles exhibited the typical XRD pattern of (GaN)_1-x(ZnO)_x, and a strong absorption of visible light with a bandgap energy of approximately 2.78 eV, confirming their potential use as a hydrogen production photocatalyst.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.47 no.6
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• pp.540-547
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• 2021

Background: Indoor air pollutants are caused by a number of factors, such as coming in from the outside or being generated by internal activities. Typical indoor air pollutants include nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide from household items such as heating appliances and volatile organic compounds from building materials. In addition there is carbon dioxide from human breathing and bacteria from speaking, coughing, and sneezing. Objectives: According to recent research results, most indoor air pollution is known to be greatly affected by internal factors such as burning (biomass for cooking) and various pollutants. These pollutants can have a fatal effect on the human body due to a lack of ventilation facilities. Methods: We fabricated a polydopamine (PDA) layer with Ti substrates as a coating on supported glass fiber fabric to enhance its photo-activity. The PDA layer with TiO₂ was covalently attached to glass fiber fabric using the drop-casting method. The roughness and functional groups of the surface of the Ti substrate/PDA coated glass fiber fabric were verified through infrared imaging microscopy and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). The obtained hybrid Ti substrate/PDA coated glass fiber fabric was investigated for photocatalytic activity by the removal of ammonia and an epidermal Staphylococcus aureus reduction test with lamp (250 nm, 405 nm wavelength) at 24℃. Results: Antibacterial properties were found to reduce epidermal staphylococcus aureus in the Ti substrate/PDA coated glass fiber fabric under 405 nm after three hours. In addition, the Ti substrate/PDA coated glass fiber fabric of VOC reduction rate for ammonia was 50% under 405 nm after 30 min. Conclusions: An electron-hole pair due to photoexcitation is generated in the PDA layer and transferred to the conduction band of TiO₂. This generates a superoxide radical that degrades ammonia and removes epidermal Staphylococcus aureus.

• Journal of Practical Agriculture & Fisheries Research
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.49-57
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• 2021

As the world marks the adoption of the landmark Paris Agreement on climate change, a promising movement for carbon neutrality is taking shape. This agreement would be needed to build a truly global coalition for carbon neutrality by 2050. Greenhouse gas(GHGs) emissions from agriculture come from livestock such as cows, agricultural soils and rice production has been reported by 10% in 2019. Rice cultivation would be reduced a GHGs and thus this research has conducted to minimize the emission of greenhouse gas with the mulching methodology using a biodegradable film in dry hill seeded rice and to conserve the environment through a cultural and ecological weed control instead of chemicals. We have developed the 5^th mulching dry hill seeder with the biodegradable film to determine the possibility of stable rice cultivation. There were so many difficulties and constraints in the field operations such as film mulching, hill seeding and effective weed control. The mulching dry hill seeder was so good performance in the 5^th trial but the biodegradable film tested was so faster in terms of biodegradation before the heading stage of the rice plant and thus there was not highly effective weed control which is ongoing research with a good performance since 2020.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.211-217
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• 2022

Sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) is a disinfectant widely used in hospitals and food industries because of its antimicrobial activity against not only bacteria but also fungi and virus. The antibacterial activity of NaClO lies in the maintenance of a stable hypochlorous acid (HClO) concentration, which is regulated by pH of the solution. HClO can easily penetrate bacterial cell membrane due to its chemical neutrality and the antibacterial activity of NaClO is thought to depend on the concentration of HClO in solution rather than hypochlorite ions (ClO^-). In this study, we investigated the antibacterial activity of NaClO according to pH adjustment by means of time kill test and assays of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) concentration changes before and after NaClO treatment. We also investigated that the degree of cell wall destruction through field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) exposed to 5 ppm NaClO at pH 5 exhibited 99.9% mortality. ROS production at pH 5 was 48% higher than that produced at pH 7. In addition, the ATP concentration in E. coli and S. aureus exposed to pH 5 decreased by 94% and 91%, respectively. As a result of FE-SEM, it was confirmed that the cell wall was destroyed in the bacteria by exposing to pH 5 NaClO. Taken together, our results indicate that the antibacterial activity of 5 ppm NaClO can be improved simply by adjusting the pH.

• Journal of Appropriate Technology
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.196-205
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• 2021

As industrial safety increases, various industrial accident prevention technologies using smart factory technology are being studied. However, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which account for the majority of industrial accidents, are having difficulties in preventing industrial accidents by applying these smart factory technologies due to practical problems. In this study, customized monitoring and warning systems for each type of industrial accident were developed and applied to the actual field. Through this, we demonstrated industrial accident prevention technology through appropriate smart factory technology used by SMEs. A customized monitoring system using vision, current, temperature, and gas sensors was established for the four major disaster types: worker body access, short circuit and overcurrent, fire and burns due to high temperature, and emission of hazardous gas. In addition, a notification method suitable for each work environment was applied so that the monitored risk factors could be recognized quickly, and real-time data transmission and display enabled workers and managers to understand the disaster risk effectively. Through the application and demonstration of these appropriate smart factory technologies, the spread of these industrial safety technologies is to be discussed.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.195-201
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• 2022

The main objective of this work is to prepare Rehmannia glutinosa extract (RE) incorporated functional chitosan (CH) based biomaterials and evaluate their physical properties, RE release properties, inhibitory effect of melanogenesis, and antioxidant and elastase inhibitory activities. RE incorporated CH based biomaterials were synthesized by a casting method and UV curing process. The surface and cross sections of prepared biomaterials were characterized by a field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM). The physical properties such as tensile strength and elongation at break were also investigated. To apply the transdermal drug delivery system, RE release properties were examined with pH 4.5, 5.5, and 6.5 buffer solutions and artificial skin test at 36.5 ℃. Results indicated that RE release of RE incorporated biomaterials with/without the addition of plasticizers [glycerol (GL) and citric acid (CA)] at pH 6.5 was about 1.10 times higher than that of at pH 4.5. In addition, results of the artificial skin test verified that RE was released constantly for 6 h. To verify the applicability of the prepared biomaterials, tyrosinase, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), and elastase assays were investigated. Results indicated that RE incorporated biomaterials added CA exhibited tyrosinase activation, DPPH radical scavenging activity rate, and elastase activation of 45.12, 89.40, and 59.94%, respectively.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.11-16
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• 2023

In preclinical positron emisson tomography(PET), spatial resolution degradation occurs outside the field of view(FOV). To solve this problem, a depth of interaction(DOI) detector was developed that measures the position where gamma rays and the scintillator interact. There are a method in which a scintillation pixel array is composed of multiple layers, a method in which photosensors are arranged at both ends of a single layer, a method in which a scintillation pixel array is constituted in several layers and a photosensor is arranged in each layer. In this study, a new type of DOI detector was designed by analyzing the characteristics of the previously developed detectors. In the two-layer detector, different sizes of scintillation pixels were used for each layer, and the array size was configured differently. When configured in this form, the positions of the scintillation pixels for each layer are arranged to be shifted from each other, so that they are imaged at different positions in a flood image. DETECT2000 simulation was performed to confirm the possibility of measuring the depth of interaction of the designed detector. A flood image was reconstructed from a light signal acquired by a gamma-ray event generated at the center of each scintillation pixel. As a result, it was confirmed that all scintillation pixels for each layer were separated from the reconstructed flood image and imaged to measure the interaction depth. When this detector is applied to preclinical PET, it is considered that excellent images can be obtained by improving spatial resolution.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.32 no.11
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• pp.481-488
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• 2022

The Cu₂ZnSn(S_xSe_1-x)₄ (CZTSSe) absorbers are promising thin film solar cells (TFSCs) materials, to replace existing Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ (CIGS) and CdTe photovoltaic technology. However, the best reported efficiency for a CZTSSe device, of 13.6 %, is still too low for commercial use. Recently, partially replacing the Zn²⁺ element with a Cd²⁺element has attracting attention as one of the promising strategies for improving the photovoltaic characteristics of the CZTSSe TFSCs. Cd²⁺ elements are known to improve the grain size of the CZTSSe absorber thin films and improve optoelectronic properties by suppressing potential defects, causing short-circuit current (J_sc) loss. In this study, the structural, compositional, and morphological characteristics of CZTSSe and CZCTSSe thin films were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence spectrometer (XRF), and Field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), respectively. The FE-SEM images revealed that the grain size improved with increasing Cd²⁺ alloying in the CZTSSe thin films. Moreover, there was a slight decrease in small grain distribution as well as voids near the CZTSSe/Mo interface after Cd²⁺ alloying. The solar cells prepared using the most promising CZTSSe absorber thin films with Cd²⁺ alloying (8 min. 30 sec.) exhibited a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 9.33 %, J_sc of 34.0 mA/cm², and fill factor (FF) of 62.7 %, respectively.

• The Journal of Advanced Prosthodontics
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.12-21
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• 2022

PURPOSE. The purpose of this study was to investigate changes in retention and wear pattern of Locator^® and ADD-TOC attachments on a digital milled bar by performing chewing simulation and repeated insertion/removal of prostheses in fully edentulous models. MATERIALS AND METHODS. Locator (Locator^®; Zest Anchors Inc., Escondido, CA, USA) was selected as the control group and ADD-TOC (ADD-TOC; PNUAdd Co., Ltd., Busan, Republic of Korea) as the experimental group. A CAD-CAM milled bar was mounted on a master model and 3 threaded holes for connecting a bar attachment was formed using a tap. Locator and ADD-TOC attachments were then attached to the milled bar. Simulated mastication and repeated insertion/removal were performed over 400,000 cyclic loadings and 1,080 insertions/removals, respectively. Wear patterns on deformed attachment were investigated by field emission scanning electron microscopy. RESULTS. For the ADD-TOC attachments, chewing simulation and repeated insertion/removal resulted in a mean initial retentive force of 24.43 ± 4.89 N, which were significantly lower than that of the Locator attachment, 34.33 ± 8.25 N (P < .05). Amounts of retention loss relative to baseline for the Locator and ADD-TOC attachments were 21.74 ± 7.07 and 8.98 ± 5.76 N (P < .05). CONCLUSION. CAD-CAM milled bar with the ADD-TOC attachment had a lower initial retentive force than the Locator attachment. However, the ADD-TOC attachment might be suitable for long-term use as it showed less deformation and had a higher retentive force after simulated mastication and insertion/removal repetitions.