• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.350-357
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• 2017

Purpose: In-situ monitoring of water quality is fundamental to most environmental applications. The high cost and long delays of conventional laboratory methods used to determine water quality, including on-site sampling and chemical analysis, have limited their use in efficiently managing water sources while preventing environmental pollution. The objective of this study was to develop an on-site water monitoring system consisting mainly of an Arduino board and a sensor array of multiple ion selective electrodes (ISEs) to measure the concentration of $NO_3$ ions. Methods: The developed system includes a combination of three ISEs, double-junction reference electrode, solution container, sampling system consisting of three pumps and solenoid valves, signal processing circuit, and an Arduino board for data acquisition and system control. Prior to each sample measurement, a two-point normalization method was applied for a sensitivity adjustment followed by an offset adjustment to minimize the potential drift that could occur during continuous measurement and standardize the response of multiple electrodes. To investigate its utility in on-site nitrate monitoring, the prototype was tested in a facility where drinking water was collected from a water supply source. Results: Differences in the electric potentials of the $NO_3$ ISEs between 10 and $100mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$ $NO_3$ concentration levels were nearly constant with negative sensitivities of 58 to 62 mV during the period of sample measurement, which is representative of a stable electrode response. The $NO_3$ concentrations determined by the ISEs were almost comparable to those obtained with standard instruments within 15% relative errors. Conclusions: The use of the developed on-site nitrate monitoring system based on automatic sampling and two-point normalization was feasible for detecting abrupt changes in nitrate concentration at various water supply sites, showing a maximum difference of $4.2mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$ from an actual concentration of $14mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.108-115
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• 2016

Purpose: Radio frequency (RF) heating is a promising thawing method, but it frequently causes undesirable problems such as non-uniform heating. This can occur because of the food shape, component distribution, and initial temperature differences between food parts. In this study, RF heating was applied to the thawing of cylindrically shaped pork sirloin by changing the shape of electrodes and the surrounding temperature. Methods: Curved electrodes were utilized to increase the thawing uniformity of cylindrically shaped frozen meat. Pork sirloin in the shape of a half-circle column was frozen in a deep freezer at $-70^{\circ}C$ and then thawed by RF heating with flat and curved electrodes. In order to prevent fast defrosting of the food surface by heat transfer from air to the food, the temperature of the thawing chamber was varied by -5, -10, and $-20^{\circ}C$. The temperature values of the frozen pork sirloin during RF thawing were measured using fiber-optic thermo sensors. Results: After multiple applications of curved electrodes resembling the food shape, and a cooled chamber at $-20^{\circ}C$ the half-cylindrically shaped meat was thawed without surface burning, and the temperature values of each point were similarly increased. However, with the parallel electrode, the frozen meat was partially burned by RF heating and the temperature values of center were overheated. The uniform heating rate and heat transfer prevention from air to the food were crucial factors for RF thawing. In this study, these crucial factors were accomplished by using a curved electrode and lowering the chamber temperature. Conclusions: The curved shape of the electrode and the equipotential surface calculated from the modeling of the parallel capacitor showed the effect of uniform heating of cylindrically shaped frozen food. Moreover, the low chamber temperature was effective on the prevention of the surface burning during RF thawing.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.13 no.11
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• pp.5403-5408
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• 2012

In this paper, we introduce the multiple frequency bio-electrical impedance analysis method for body composition analysis. And then we implement the multiple frequency bio-electrical impedance analysis system. Overall system consists of: multiple frequency alternating current signal generator contained alternating current signal, phase signal detector, voltage signal detector, micro controller, in-out device(key-pad LCD), conductivity electrodes, system power. We explain the architecture of the system and required theory to implement the system. In order to investigate the clinical significance of the body composition data, compare to the data measured by the expert body composition analyzer which provide high reproduction and precision. Finally, experimental results which are the correlation between the measured data show the very high reproduction performance of the body composition analysis in the proposed system.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.73-81
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• 2008

The purpose of this study is to observe the brain activity patterns during visual oddball tasks with two difficulty levels by the analysis of high-density event-related potential (ERP). Along with conventional statistical analysis of averaged ERP waveforms, we applied independent component analysis (ICA) for the individual, single-trial analysis and verified its effectiveness. We could identify multiple ERP components such as early visual components (P1, N1), and two components which seem to be important task-related components and showed difficulty-dependent variability (P2, P300). The P2 was found around central region at $180{\sim}220ms$, and the P300 was found globally at $300{\sim}500ms$ poststimulus. As the task became difficult, the P2 amplitude increased, and the P300 amplitude decreased. After single-trial ERPs were decomposed into multiple independent components (ICs), several ICs resulting from P2 and P300 sources were identified. These ICs were projected onto scalp electrodes and the projected ICs were statistically compared according to two task difficulties. For most subjects, the results obtained from single-trial/individual analysis using ICA gave the tendencies of amplitude change that are similar to the averaged ERP analysis for most subjects. The temporal pattern and number of ICs corresponding to ${\mu}$ rhythm was not dependent on the task difficulty. It seems that the motor response was not affected by the task difficulty.

• Journal of Korean Biological Nursing Science
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.5-17
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• 2004

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to determine effects of aromatherapy on the activity and balance of autonomic nervous system and on physical resistance to stress. Methods: This research is a primitive experimental design which attempts to analyze aromatherapy EKG monitoring on real-time basis. Lavender & Chamomile, each 30 drops, were blended with 100ml Sweet Almond oil. Subjects was laid relaxed, and had insides of his wrists and ankles attached with electrodes for EKG. Right after applied with essential oil onto his philtrum and parotid, started on EKG monitoring. Results: The activities of parasympathetic and sympathetic nerve were changed as time elapsed, with significant differences(p=.000). In multiple comparison, the value was significantly different(p<.05).The balance of autonomic nerve was changed, becoming close to the normal level in accord with applicable international standards(1.5)(p=.011). In multiple comparison, the value showed a significant difference(p<.05). Physical resistance to stress increased with the passage of time, but not statistically significant. Conclusions: This suggests that aromatherapy can be used as a nursing intervention which aims at alleviating symptoms related to the imbalance of autonomic nerve system such as headache, hot flashes, irregular heartbeat, nervousness, depression and anxiety.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Emotion and Sensibility Conference
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• 2002.05a
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• pp.44-50
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• 2002

The fast Fourier transform (FFT) is a good method to estimate spectral density, but the frequency resolution is limited to the sampling window, and thus the precise characteristics of the spectral density for short signals are not clear. To solve the limitation, a multiple band-pass filter was introduced to estimate the precise time course of the spectral density for flash visual evoked potentials (VEPs). Signals were recorded during -200 and 600 ms using balanced noncephalic electrodes, and sampled at 1 K Hz in 12 bits. With 1 Hz and 10 ms resolutions, spectral density was estimated between 10 and 100 Hz. Background powers at the alpha-and beta-bands were high over the posterior scalp, and powers around 200ms were evoked at the same bands over the same region, corresponding to P110 and N165 of VEPs. normalized's spectral density showed evoked powers around 200 ms and suppressed powers following the evoked powers over the posterior scalp. The evoked powers above the 20Hz band were not statistically significant. However, the gamma band was significantly evoked intra-individually; details in the gamma bands were varied among the subjects. Details of spectral density were complicated even for a simple task such as watching flashes; both synchronization and desynchronization occurred with different distributions and different time courses.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.120-124
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• 2022

With advancements in underwater stealth technology for naval vessels, new sensor configurations for detecting targets have been attracting increased attention. Latest underwater mines adopt multiple sensor configurations that include electric field sensors to detect targets and to help acquire accurate ignition time. An underwater electric field sensor consists of a pair of electrodes, signal processing unit, and preamplifier. For detecting underwater electric fields, the preamplifier requires low-noise amplification at ultra-low frequency bands. In this paper, the specific requirements for low-noise preamplifiers are discussed along with the experimental results of various setups of matched transistors and chopper stabilized operational amplifiers. The results showed that noise characteristics at ultra-low frequency bands were affected significantly by the voltage noise density of the chopper amplifier and the number of matched transistors used for differential amplification. The fabricated preamplifier was operated within normal design parameters, which was verified by testing its gain, phase, and linearity.

• Journal of Power System Engineering
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.65-71
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• 2009

To address the need for new intelligent sensing, this paper introduces nano sensors made of carbon nanotube (CNT) composites and presents their preliminary experiments. Having smart material properties such as piezoresistivity, chemical and bio selectivity, the nano composite can be used as smart electrodes of the nano sensors. The nano composite sensor can detect structural deterioration, chemical contamination and bio signal by means of its impedance measurement (resistance and capacitance). For a structural application, the change of impedance shows specific patterns depending on the structural deterioration and this characteristic is available for an in-situ multi-functional sensor, which can simultaneously detect multi symptoms of the structure. This study is anticipated to develop a new nano sensor detecting multiple symptoms in structural, chemical and bio applications with simple electric circuits.

• Carbon letters
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.113-116
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• 2014

Due to their morphology, electrochemical stability, and function as a conducting carbon matrix, graphene nanosheets (GNS) have been studied for their potential roles in improving the performance of sulfur cathodes. In this study, a GNS/sulfur (GNS/S) composite was prepared using the infiltration method with organic solvent. The structure, morphology and crystallinity of the composites were examined using scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction. The electrochemical properties were also characterized using cyclic voltammetry (CV). The CV data revealed that the GNS/S composites exhibited enhanced specific-current density and ~10% higher capacity, in comparison with the S-containing, activated-carbon samples. The composite electrode also showed better cycling performance for multiple charge/discharge cycles. The improvement in the capacity and cycling stability of the GNS/S composite electrode is probably related to the fact that the graphene in the composite improves conductivity and that the graphene is well dispersed in the composites.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering Conference
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• 2006.05a
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• pp.1387-1390
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• 2006

Several actuation mechanism for carton nanotubes has teen reported recently, including actuation by double-layer charge injection and ac voltages applyied to multiple electrodes. Carbon nanotube actuator based on double layer charge injection work well in electrolyte at low voltage. AC dielectrophoresis based on four electrode geometry demonstrated carton nanotubes in solution phase can be oriently manipulated by dielectrophoresis. From this point of view, and in regard to their performance, bucky paper actuator may alternate natural muscle. also, applied AC signal with appropriate magnitude and frequency together with four electrode arrangement has potential to realize nanotube electrokinetics.