• Agribusiness and Information Management
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.5-15
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• 2019

The world of smart agribusiness is still far from being fully and effectively applied by the Italian entrepreneurial fabric. In part, this is due to the fact that its potential and important connections with the technological world of reference are not fully known. The imperative is therefore: to learn how to manage all the processes that characterize the agricultural chain in a synergistic way, from production to the sale of the product to the final consumer. It is therefore essential to know every minimum aspect of the supply chain considering the current strengths on which to leverage but especially the weaknesses on which to intervene thanks to the use of technology available on the market. Today, the supply chain is still considered as a set of phases, one consecutive to the other, as if they were detached from each other. However, in order to operate efficiently, each step should be interconnected: from the farmer's decision to produce an agricultural good to the choice of production factors, from the implementation of harvesting and post-harvest operations to processing, from the selection of goods suitable for sale to the logic of distribution on the target territory. This work investigates the potential strategy using digital technologies in order to make dynamic the agribusiness supply chain, especially because in Italy the agri-food is one of the most important economic sectors but it is far from the most innovative trends available on the market.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Costume
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• v.58 no.9
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• pp.166-175
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• 2008

For the structural firefighting protective clothing, it can show a synergy effect when it satisfies smart fabric to block off a harmful environmental element and ergonomics design that apply range of motion of human body and appropriate size system. There are various standards about the structural firefighting protective clothing, but it's difficult to find a rule about movement suitability because the performance of the material holds a lot of the rules. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to propose a scheme to evaluate the current structural firefighting protective clothing and to improve movement suitability by research on the actual condition. For this, the survey about wearer acceptability scale on design and size and about improvement requirements was executed gathering firefighters' opinion. Questionnaire was composed with 23 items about satisfaction on current structural firefighting protective clothing, body suitability, movement suitability, improvement requirement and subjective information. As a results, Korean firefighters demand ergonomics design of structural firefighting protective clothing which to minimize restriction of body movement and to maximize body suitability.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.275-287
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• 2011

The behaviors of saturated soils such as compressibility and permeability are distinguished by preconsolidation stress. Preconsolidation stress becomes an important design parameter in geotechnical structures. The goal of this study is to introduce a new method for the evaluation of preconsolidation stress based on the shear wave velocity at small strain, using Busan, Incheon, and Gwangyang clays in Korea. Standard consolidation tests are conducted by using an oedometer cell equipped with bender elements. The preconsolidation stresses estimated by shear wave velocity are compared with those evaluated by the Casagrande, constrained modulus, work, and logarithmic methods. The preconsolidation stresses estimated by the shear wave velocity produce very similar values to those evaluated by the Onitsuka method (one of the logarithmic methods), which yields an almost real preconsolidation stress. This study shows that the shear wave velocity method provides a reliable method for evaluating preconsolidation stress and can be used as a complementary method.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.592-604
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• 2019

This study examines the stealth function of sputtered fabric with an infrared thermal imaging camera in terms of the thermal and infrared (IR) transmittance characteristics. Various base fabrics were selected, infrared imaging was performed, and infrared transmittance was measured. By infrared camera experiment it was found that the sample was concealed because it had a similar color to the surroundings when the aluminum layer was directed toward the outside. In addition, a comparison of the infrared thermographic image of the untreated sample and the sputtered sample in the laboratory showed that the difference in ${\Delta}E$ value ranged from 31 to 90.4 and demonstrated effective concealment. However, concealment was not observed in the case of the 3-layer (Nylon-Al-Nylon) model when a sputtered aluminum layer existed between two nylon layers. The direction of the sputtering layer did not affect the infrared transmittance in the infrared transmittance experiment. Therefore, it seems better to interpret the concealing effect in the infrared thermographic images by using thermal transfer theory rather than infrared transmittance theory. We believe that the results of this study will be applicable to developing high performance smart clothing and military uniforms.

• The Journal of Korea Robotics Society
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.58-64
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• 2024

The ability of the robot gripper to handle a wide range of objects significantly impacts its operational effectiveness. Among the robot grippers commonly used, the economically feasible choice is the relatively simple structure of a parallel gripper. To perform more densely packed tasks with a parallel gripper, it should be capable of handling small objects. Therefore, this study designs a parallel gripper mechanism equipped with assisting grippers to ensure smooth grasping of small objects. The parallel gripper is designed using a rack and pinion gear system, with two additional grippers on both side, and these assisting grippers are designed to be detachable. The two assisting grippers have different type of tip to grasp thin fabric shapes and thin stick shapes. The gripper prototype is used to verify the grasping capabilities for shapes achievable with a conventional parallel gripper and those intended for grasping with the assisting grippers through grasping experiments. Consequently, by equipping a conventional parallel gripper with assisting grippers as in this study, it becomes capable of handling a broader range of objects, in addition to its existing functionality.

• Composites Research
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.155-161
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• 2015

A composite structure was fabricated with embedded impact detection capabilities for applications in Structural Health Monitoring (SHM). By embedding sensor functionality in the composite, the structure can successfully perform impact localization in real time. Smart resin, composed of $Pb(Ni_{1/3}Nb_{2/3})O_3-Pb(Zr,\;Ti)O_2$ (PNN-PZT) powder and epoxy resin with 1:30 wt%, was used instead of conventional epoxy resin in order to activate the sensor function in the composite structure. The embedded impact sensor in the composite was fabricated using Hand Lay-up and Vacuum Assisted Resin Transfer Molding(VARTM) methods to inject the smart resin into the glass-fiber fabric. The electrodes were fabricated using silver paste on both the upper and bottom sides of the specimen, then poling treatment was conducted to activate the sensor function using a high voltage amplifier at 4 kV/mm for 30 min at room temperature. The composite's piezoelectric sensitivity was measured to be 35.13 mV/N by comparing the impact force signals from an impact hammer with the corresponding output voltage from the sensor. Because impact sensor functionality was successfully embedded in the composite structure, various applications of this technique in the SHM industry are anticipated. In particular, impact localization on large-scale composite structures with complex geometries is feasible using this composite embedded impact sensor.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.167-175
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• 2021

Far-infrared rays (FIR) are known to have various effects on atoms and molecular structures within cells owing to their radiation and vibration frequencies. The present study examined the effects of FIR on gene expression related to glucose transport through microarray analysis in rat skeletal muscle cells, as well as on mitochondrial biogenesis, at high and low glucose conditions. FIR were emitted from a bio-active material coated fabric (BMCF). L6 cells were treated with 30% BMCF for 24 h in medium containing 25 or 5.5 mM glucose, and changes in the expression of glucose transporter genes were determined. The expression of GLUT3 (Slc2a3) increased 2.0-fold (p < 0.05) under 5.5 mM glucose and 30% BMCF. In addition, mitochondrial oxygen consumption and membrane potential (ΔΨm) increased 1.5- and 3.4-fold (p < 0.05 and p < 0.001), respectively, but no significant change in expression of Pgc-1a, a regulator of mitochondrial biogenesis, was observed in 24 h. To analyze the relationship between GLUT3 expression and mitochondrial biogenesis under FIR, GLUT3 was down-modulated by siRNA for 72 h. As a result, the ΔΨm of the GLUT3 siRNA-treated cells increased 3.0-fold (p < 0.001), whereas that of the control group increased 4.6-fold (p < 0.001). Moreover, Pgc-1a expression increased upon 30% BMCF treatment for 72 h; an effect that was more pronounced in the presence of GLUT3. These results suggest that FIR may hold therapeutic potential for improving glucose metabolism and mitochondrial function in metabolic diseases associated with insufficient glucose supply, such as type 2 diabetes.

• Science of Emotion and Sensibility
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.51-60
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• 2020

This study aimed to develop a modular smart clothing system for heart rate monitoring that reduces the inconvenience caused by battery charging and the large size of measurement devices. The heart rate monitoring system was modularized into a temporary device and a continuous device to enable heart rate monitoring depending on the requirement. The temporary device with near-field communication (NFC) and heart rate sensors was developed as a clothing attachment type that enables heart rate monitoring via smart phone tagging when required. The continuous device is based on Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) communication and batteries and was developed to enable continuous heart rate measurement via a direct connection to the temporary device. Furthermore, the temporary device was configured to connect with a textile electrode made of a silver-based knitted fabric designed to be located below the pectoralis major muscle for heart rate measurement. Considering the user-experience factors, key functions, and the ease of use, we developed an application to automatically log through smart phone tagging to improve usability. To evaluate the accuracy of the heart rate measurement, we recorded the heart rate of 10 healthy male subjects with a modular smart clothing system and compared the results with the heart rate values measured by the Polar RS800. Consequently, the average heart rate value measured by the temporary system was 85.37, while that measured by the reference device was 87.03, corresponding to an accuracy of 96.73%. No significant difference was found in comparison with the reference device (T value = -1.892, p = .091). Similarly, the average heart rate measured by the continuous system was 86.00, while that measured by the reference device was 86.97, corresponding to an accuracy of 97.16%. No significant difference was found in terms of the heart rate value between the two signals (T value = 1.089, p = .304). The significance of this study is to develop and validate a modular clothing system that can measure heart rates according to the purpose of the user. The developed modular smart clothing system for heart rate monitoring enables dual product planning by reducing the price increase due to unnecessary functions.

• International journal of advanced smart convergence
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.137-144
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• 2015

Development of the yarn sorting equipment (khonhook) by slide way due to the principle of engineering that cause of workers on the long of motion time. The data was collected from the weaving group Ban Nongkok village, Nakornratchasima Province, THAILAND. According to the study, the step of yarn sorting (konhook) was one of the steps that affect long of motion time. The problem was the inadequate capacity equipment. The objective of research was to study and develop the yarn sorting equipment (konhook). The fabric used in the study was 64 meters in length and 1 meter in width. Researchers studied the processes the yarn sorting (konhook) which it consists of seven sub steps, 1) the thread tube setting, 2) yarn bunching, 3) tying a knot at the end of yarn, 4) looping the yarn into a pillar, 5) sorting the yarn (konhook), 6) crossing pillars and 7) taking out the yarn. Researchers focused on studying yarn sorting process (konhook) by designing and creating a device for yarn sorting (konhook) for reducing yarn sorting (konhook) time by the original method performance indicators. The results found that the developed yarn sorting equipment (konhook) ) by slide way could reduce working time from 7.24 minutes to 6.08 minutes of the original equipment yarn sorting (konhook). This means it could make the process 16.02 % faster. This also helps reducing the distance of workers' movement from 2,234 meters to 8 meters. This is 99.64 % shorter.

• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.317-328
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• 2017

This paper presents design and specific absorption rate analysis of a 2.4 GHz wearable patch antenna on a conventional and electromagnetic bandgap (EBG) ground planes, under normal and bent conditions. Wearable materials are used in the design of the antenna and EBG surfaces. A woven fabric (Zelt) is used as a conductive material and a 3 mm thicker Wash Cotton is used as a substrate. The dielectric constant and tangent loss of the substrate are 1.51 and 0.02 respectively. The volume of the proposed antenna is $113{\times}96.4{\times}3mm^3$. The metamaterial surface is used as a high impedance surface which shields the body from the hazards of electromagnetic radiations to reduce the Specific Absorption Rate (SAR). For on-body analysis a three layer model (containing skin, fats and muscles) of human arm is used. Antenna employing the EBG ground plane gives safe value of SAR (i.e. 1.77W/kg<2W/kg), when worn on human arm. This value is obtained using the safe limit of 2 W/kg, averaged over 10g of tissue, specified by the International Commission of Non Ionization Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). The SAR is reduced by 83.82 % as compare to the conventional antenna (8.16 W/kg>2W/kg). The efficiency of the EBG based antenna is improved from 52 to 74 %, relative to the conventional counterpart. The proposed antenna can be used in wearable electronics and smart clothing.