• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.169-174
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• 2010

A micro gas sensor for formaldehyde (HCHO) gas was fabricated by using MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical System) technology and the sol-gel process. The sensing materials of the $SnO_2$-ZnO system were synthesized by the sol-gel method. The crystal structure and thermal analysis of the $SnO_{2}$-ZnO were characterized by XRD and DSC-TGA. The fabricated gas sensors were tested at various gas concentrations (0.5~5.0 ppm) and different operation temperatures ($350{\sim}550^{\circ}C$). The $SnO_2$-10 mol%ZnO sensor showed the highest sensitivity ($R_s=0.24$) for 1.0 ppm-formaldehyde at $500^{\circ}C$ and response time (90% saturation time) was within 20 seconds.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.402-407
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• 2017

Characteristics of various material surface plasmon resonance (SPR) chips were investigated in angular interrogation mode and intensity interrogation mode. Among five metals, silver (Ag), gold (Au), copper (Cu), chromium (Cr) and titanium (Ti), three metals, Ag, Au and Cu were paid attention to since their characteristics can be easily analyzed in angular interrogation mode by investigating the change of their reflectance curves according to refractive index change from 1.331 to 1.335. Most of SPR chips with various configurations showed the similar property in angular interrogation mode. The application of the SPR chip made of Ag, Au and Cu or their combinations depends on their reflectance properties. In intensity interrogation mode, the operation range may be limited since the variation of the intensity was not linearly related to refractive index change ranging from 1.331 to 1.335. However, the SPR chip containing high ratio of Ag may be applicable to high sensitive detection due to their sharp reflectance curves in intensity interrogation mode.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.159-164
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• 2011

Microbial whole-cell biosensors can be excellent analytical tools for monitoring environmental pollutants. They are constructed by fusing reporter genes (e.g., lux, gfp or lacZ) to inducible regulatory genes which are responsive to the relevant pollutants, such as aromatic hydrocarbons and heavy metals. A large spectrum of microbial biosensors has been developed using recombinant DNA technology and applied in fields as diverse as environmental monitoring, medicine, food processing, agriculture, and defense. Furthermore, their sensitivity and target range could be improved by modification of regulatory genes. Recently, microbial biosensor cells have been immobilized on chips, optic fibers, and other platforms of high-throughput cell arrays. This paper reviews recent advances and future trends of genetically modified microbial biosensors used for monitoring of specific environmental pollutants.

• Particle and aerosol research
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.53-59
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• 2014

Palladium (Pd) nanoparticles attached graphene (GR) composite was synthesized for an enhanced glucose biosensor. Aerosol spray pyrolysis (ASP) was employed to synthesize the GR-Pd composite using a colloidal mixture of graphene oxide (GO) and palladium chloride ($PdCl_2$) precursor. The effects of the weight ratio of the Pd/GR on the particle properties including the morphology and crystal structure were investigated. The morphology of GR-Pd composites was generally the shape of a crumpled paper ball, and the average composite size was about $1{\mu}m$. Pd nanoparticles less than 20 nm in diameter were deposited on GR sheets and the Pd nanoparticles showed clear crystallinity. The characteristic of the glucose biosensor fabricated with the as-prepared GR-Pd composite was tested through cyclic voltammetry measurements. The biosensor exhibited a high current flow as well as clear redox peaks, which resulted in a superior ability of the catalyst in terms of an electrochemical reaction. The highest sensitivity obtained from the amperometric response of the glucose biosensor was $14.4{\mu}A/mM{\cdot}cm^2$.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.22 no.2 s.57
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• pp.171-175
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• 2007

Indigenous species means a species that is likely, due to historical presence, to occur at a specified site for some portion of its life span. Therefore, indigenous species can be useful as an indicator to assess environmental risk caused by hazardous chemicals in a specific site. So far a few toxicity studies using freshwater species which are indigenous to Korea have been carried out. In this study, a freshwater shrimp (Neocardina denticulata) indigenous to Korea was used for acute toxicity test of heavy metals. Neocardina denticulata were exposed to cadmium chloride $(CdCl_2)$, copper chloride $(CuCl_2)$ and zinc chloride $(ZnCl_2)$ using automatic flow-through system for 96 hours. The 96h LC50s were calculated as 0.043 $(0.042{\sim}0.045)mg\;CdCl_2/L,\;0.104(0.098{\sim}0.113)mg\; CuCl_2/L\;and\;2.021\;(1.633{\sim}2.594)mg\;ZnCl_2/L$. When compaired with some international standard species such as medaka(Oryzias latipes), Neocardina denticulata had high sensitivity. Therefore, this study suggested that Neocardina denticulata have possibilities for a sensitive test species to test heavy metal toxicity in aqua-system.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.135-145
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• 1992

This study was carried out to find out some characteristic responses of biological samples under the exposure of trace metals with the considering of Sex, age, residence period and smoking. Blood, Urine and Hair were collected from 116 dwellers in the vicinity of a smelting factory. Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn concentrations were determined by flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry and the following results were found important. 1) The concentrations of trace metals in the blood were 0.010+ 0.003 $\mu$g/ml in Cd, 0.82+ 0.11 $\mu$g/ml in Cu, 0.23_+ 0.13 $\mu$g/ml in Pb and 5.78_+ 1.43 $\mu$g/ml in Zn, those in the urine were 1.7_+ 1.7 $\mu$g/l in Cd, 16.5_+ 16.0 $\mu$g/l in Cu, 24.6_+ 23.0 $\mu$g/l in Pb and 367.7_+ 283.4 $\mu$g/l in Zn, and those in the hair were 0.52_+ 0.56 $\mu$g/g in Cd, 11.00_+4.01 $\mu$g/g in Cu, 8.53_+ 7.05 $\mu$g/g in Pb and 383.23_+ 110.56 $\mu$g/g in Zn. 2) In sex, the concentrations of Zn in the blood and urine of male were higher than those of female, however, the concentrations of Cd and Zn in the hair of female were higher than those of male. 3) The concentrations of Cd, Pb and Zn in the urine showed an increasing trend by age. 4) While the concentration of Cd in the urine increased, the concentration of Pb in the hair decreased by residential period in all the samples. 5) The concentrations of Cd and Zn in the blood and that of Zn in the urine of smoking group were higher than those of non-smoking group. The concentration of Pb in the blood of smoking group and those of Cd, Pb and Zn in the urine of non-smoking group showed increasing the trend by age. The concentrations of Cd and Zn in the urine of non-smoking group, the concentration of Zn in the hair of smoking group showed increasing trend by residential period, however, the concentrations of Pb in the blood and hair and that of Zn in the hair showed decreasing trend by residential period. 6) When the correlations of the concentrations between Zn (main smelting metal) and other metals were analyzed, Zn in the blood was significantly correlated with Cu, Pb and Zn in the urine (positively) and Zn in the urine was significantly correlated with Zn in the blood, Cd, Cu and Pb in the urine, and Pb in the hair (positively). Zn in the hair was significantly correlated with Cd in the urine and Cu in the hair (positively). 7) Consequently, it was useful to note that samples of urine showed higher sensitivity under the metal exposure than those of blood and hair in individual sampling. In addition, as trace metals showed higher accumulation in the hair of the groups, sampling of hair was more highly recommended than those of urine and blood in group sampling.

• Korean Journal of Optics and Photonics
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.73-86
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• 1990

The technique of Spectroscopic Ellipsometry (SE) has been examined with emphasis on its inherent sensitivity to the existence of thin films or surface equivalents. A brief review of related theories like the Fresnel reflection coefficients, the effect of a multilayer upon reflectivities, together with the validity of the effective medium theory and the modelling procedure, is followed by a short description of the experimental setup of a rotating polarizer type SE as well as the necessful expressions which lead to tan and cos. Out of its numerous, successful applications, a few are exampled to convince a reader that SE can be applied to a variety of research fields related to surface, interface and thin films. Specifically, those are adsorption and/or desorption on metals or semiconductors, oxidation process, formation of passivation layers on an electrode, thickness determination, interface between semiconductor and its oxide, semiconductor heterojunctions, surface microroughness, void distribution of dielectric, optical thin films, depth profile of multilayered samples, in-situ or in-vitro characterization of a solid surface immersed in electrolyte during electrochemical, chemical, or biological treatments, and so on. It is expected that the potential capability of SE will be widely utilized in a very near future, taking advantage of its sensitivity to thin films or surface equivalents, and its nondestructive, nonperturbing characteristics.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.1081-1090
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• 2024

The liquid Lead-bismuth eutectic is used as the coolant for Gen-IV reactor concepts. However, due to its strong corrosive and high operating temperature, it is difficult to accurately measure the flow rate in long-term operating conditions. Venturi flowmeter is a simple structured flowmeter, which plays a very important role in the flow measurement of high-temperature liquid metals, especially since the existing flowmeters are difficult to be competent. It has the advantages of easy maintenance and stable operation. Therefore, it is necessary to study the operating conditions of the venturi flowmeter under high-temperature conditions. This work performs a series of simulations of the fluid-solid interaction between the flow liquid metal and venturi flowmeter with COMSOL software, including the dimensional sensitivity analysis of the venturi flowmeter to explore the most suitable structure and parameters for liquid heavy metal, the sensitivity analysis of the geometric parameters of the venturi tube on the varying conditions. It shows that when the contraction angle of the venturi flowmeter is 33°, the diffusion angle is 13°, the diameter of the throat is 8 mm, and the temperature of the lead-bismuth eutectic is 733.15 K, it is most suitable for the measurement in the lead-bismuth circuit.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Urban Environment
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.429-437
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• 2018

In this study, the mixed toxicity of heavy metals (Cu, Pb, Hg) and surfactants (SLS, ALS) was evaluated by using Vibrio fischeri and Daphnia magna. The sensitivity of ecotoxicity to heavy metals was sensitive to daphnia but the case of surfactants were more sensitive to Vibrio fischeri. Experimental results of Vibrio fischeri show that the toxicity value P(O) was lower than the predicted value P(E), and the antagonistic effect was observed when the heavy metal and the surfactant were mixed. It seems that SLS and ALS, which are anionic surfactants, have anionic form on the hydrophilic head, so that they have an antagonistic effect that they are bonded with heavy metal ion which is a cation type and the actual toxicity is lowered. In Daphnia magna, the results showed that antagonistic, additive and synergistic effects were in order as concentrations increased. As the concentration increases, Daphnia magna, which is highly sensitive to heavy metals, seems to have a synergistic effect with a rapid increase in mortality.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.187-197
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• 2004

The purpose of this paper is to investigate economic feasibility of manganese nodules in Korea area (Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone). We assumed that the production scale of manganese nodules were 3.0MT or 1.5MT and analyzed that the capital cost and operating cost were estimated in the four sectors, exploration, mining, transportation and metallurgical process. The capital cost and operating cost evaluation reflects the latest technical practices. First, for analyzing economic feasibility, the scenario suggests that the production of 4 metals can be made for 25 years. Assuming the discount rate at 8.0%, equity capital at 50% and tax at 27%. When manganese nodule were mininged 3.0 MT, economic feasibility analyses showed that IRR was 12.8 and pay-back period was 9.2 years, and when manganese nodules were mininged 1.5 MT, economic feasibility analyses showed that IRR was 4.0 and pay-back period was 11.8 years. This study indicated there is economic validity of at the product of manganese nodules 3.0 MT. In addition, we carried out a sensitivity analysis at the change of cobalt price on mining 1.5 MT. The result of sensitivity analysis clearly showed that economic validity is high at increasing of cobalt price 50% up.