• Proceedings of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea Conference
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• 1998.10a
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• pp.335-342
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• 1998

A soil-structure interaction (SSI) experiment is being conducted in a seismically active region in Hualien, Taiwan. To obtain earthquake data for quantifying SSI effects and providing a basis to benchmark analysis methods, a 1/4-th scale cylindrical concrete containment model similar in shape to that of a nuclear power plant containment was constructed in the field where both the containment model and its surrounding soil, surface and sub-surface, are extensively instrumented to record earthquake data. In between September 1993 and May 1996, fifteen earthquakes with Richter magnitudes ranging from 4.2 to 6.2 were recorded. The recorded data were analyzed to provide information on the response characteristics of the Hualien soil-structure system, the SSI effects and the ground motion characteristics. The ground response data were analyzed for their variations with depth, with distance from the model structure, and at the same depths along downhole arrays. Variations of soil stiffness and soil-structure system frequencies were also evaluated against maximum ground motion. In addition, the site soil properties were derived based on correlation analysis of the recorded data and then correlated with those from the geotechnical investigation data.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.470-481
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• 2016

Field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) have received much attention from the nuclear industry as an alternative platform to programmable logic controllers for digital instrumentation and control. The software aspect of FPGA development consists of several steps of synthesis and refinement, and also requires verification activities, such as simulations that are performed individually at each step. This study proposed an integrated software-testing framework for simulating all artifacts of the FPGA software development simultaneously and evaluating whether all artifacts work correctly using common oracle programs. This method also generates a massive number of meaningful simulation scenarios that reflect reactor shutdown logics. The experiment, which was performed on two FPGA software implementations, showed that it can dramatically save both time and costs.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.137-145
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• 2009

Purpose : To compare 12 and 32-element surface coil arrays for highly accelerated coronary magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) using parallel imaging. Materials and Methods : Steady state free precession coronary MRA was performed in 5 healthy volunteers at 1.5 T whole body MR scanner using both 12 and 32-element surface coil arrays. Left anterior descending and right coronary artery data sets were acquired for each volunteer. Data sets were sub-sampled for parallel imaging using reduction factors from 1 to 6. Mean geometry factor (g-factor), maximum g-factor, and artifact level were calculated for each of the two coil arrays. Results : Over all reduction factors, the mean and maximum g-factors and artifact level were significantly reduced using the 32-element array compared to the 12element array (P << 0.1). The mean g-factor was sensitive to the imaging orientations of coronary arteries while the maximum g-factor and artifact level were independent of orientation. Conclusion : The 32-element surface coil array significantly improves artifact and noise suppression for highly accelerated coronary MRA using parallel imaging. The increased acceleration factors made feasible with the 32-element array offer the potential to enhance spatial resolution or increase volumetric coverage for 3D coronary MRA.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.34 no.7
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• pp.2067-2072
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• 2013

Hydrogen ($H_2$) treatment using a two-step $TiO_2$ nanotube (TONT) film was performed under various annealing temperatures from $350^{\circ}C$ to $550^{\circ}C$ and significantly influenced the extent of hydrogen treatment in the film. Compared with pure TONT films, the hydrogen-treated TONT (H:TONT) film showed substantial improvement of material features from structural, optical and electronic aspects. In particular, the extent of enhancement was remarkable with increasing annealing temperature. Light absorption by the H:TONT film extended toward the visible region, which was attributable to the formation of sub-band-gap states between the conduction and valence bands, resulting from oxygen vacancies due to the $H_2$ treatment. This increased donor concentration about 1.5 times higher and improved electrical conductivity of the TONT films. Based on these analyses and results, photoelectrochemical (PEC) performance was evaluated and showed that the H:TONT film prepared at $550^{\circ}C$ exhibited optimal PEC performance. Approximately twice higher photocurrent density of 0.967 $mA/cm^2$ at 0.32 V vs. NHE was achieved for the H:TONT film ($550^{\circ}C$) versus 0.43 $mA/cm^2$ for the pure TONT film. Moreover, the solar-to-hydrogen efficiency (STH, ${\eta}$) of the H:TONT film was 0.95%, whereas a 0.52% STH efficiency was acquired for the TONT film. These results demonstrate that hydrogen treatment of TONT film is a simple and effective tool to enhance PEC performance with modifying the properties of the original material.

• JSTS:Journal of Semiconductor Technology and Science
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.83-91
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• 2014

This paper presents a capacitive readout circuit for tri-axes microaccelerometer with sub-fF offset calibration capability. A charge sensitive amplifier (CSA) with correlated double sampling (CDS) and digital to equivalent capacitance converter (DECC) is proposed. The DECC is implemented using 10-bit DAC, charge transfer switches, and a charge-storing capacitor. The DECC circuit can realize the equivalent capacitance of sub-fF range with a smaller area and higher accuracy than previous offset cancelling circuit using series-connected capacitor arrays. The readout circuit and MEMS sensing element are integrated in a single package. The supply voltage and the current consumption of analog blocks are 3.3 V and $230{\mu}A$, respectively. The sensitivities of tri-axes are measured to be 3.87 mg/LSB, 3.87 mg/LSB and 3.90 mg/LSB, respectively. The offset calibration which is controlled by 10-bit DECC has a resolution of 12.4 LSB per step with high linearity. The noise levels of tri-axes are $349{\mu}g$/${\sqrt}$Hz, $341{\mu}g$/${\sqrt}$Hz and $411{\mu}g$/${\sqrt}$Hz, respectively.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.43-52
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• 2021

In this study, the optimal nitration process for selective lithium leaching from powder of a spent battery cell (LiNi_xCo_yMn_zO₂, LiCoO₂) was studied using Taguchi method. The nitration process is a method of selective lithium leaching that involves converting non-lithium nitric compounds into oxides via nitric acid leaching and roasting. The influence of pretreatment temperature, nitric acid concentration, amount of nitric acid, and roasting temperature were evaluated. The signal-to-noise ratio and analysis of variance of the results were determined using L₁₆(4⁴) orthogonal arrays. The findings indicated that the roasting temperature followed by the nitric acid concentration, pretreatment temperature, and amount of nitric acid used had the greatest impact on the lithium leaching ratio. Following detailed experiments, the optimal conditions were found to be 10 h of pretreatment at 700℃ with 2 ml/g of 10 M nitric acid leaching followed by 10 h of roasting at 275℃. Under these conditions, the overall recovery of lithium exceeded 80%. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis of the leaching residue in deionized water after roasting of lithium nitrate and other nitrate compounds was performed. This was done to determine the cause of rapid decrease in lithium leaching rate above a roasting temperature of 400℃. The results confirmed that lithium manganese oxide was formed from lithium nitrate and manganese nitrate at these temperatures, and that it did not leach in deionized water. XRD analysis was also used to confirm the recovery of pure LiNO₃ from the solution that was leached during the nitration process. This was carried out by evaporating and concentrating the leached solution through solid-liquid separation.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.33 no.10
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• pp.1544-1557
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• 2020

Objective: Genomic selection (GS) is becoming popular in animals' genetic development. We, therefore, investigated the single-step genomic best linear unbiased prediction (ssGBLUP) as tool for GS, and compared its efficacy with the traditional pedigree BLUP (pedBLUP) method. Methods: A total of 9,952 males born between 1997 and 2018 under Hanwoo proven-bull selection program was studied. We analyzed body weight at 12 months and carcass weight (kg), backfat thickness, eye muscle area, and marbling score traits. About 7,387 bulls were genotyped using Illumina 50K BeadChip Arrays. Multiple-trait animal model analyses were performed using BLUPF90 software programs. Breeding value accuracy was calculated using two methods: i) Pearson's correlation of genomic estimated breeding value (GEBV) with EBV of all animals (r_M1) and ii) correlation using inverse of coefficient matrix from the mixed-model equations (r_M2). Then, we compared these accuracies by overall population, info-type (PHEN, phenotyped-only; GEN, genotyped-only; and PH+GEN, phenotyped and genotyped), and bull-types (YBULL, young male calves; CBULL, young candidate bulls; and PBULL, proven bulls). Results: The r_M1 estimates in the study were between 0.90 and 0.96 among five traits. The r_M1 estimates varied slightly by population and info-type, but noticeably by bull-type for traits. Generally average r_M2 estimates were much smaller than r_M1 (pedBLUP, 0.40 to0.44; ssGBLUP, 0.41 to 0.45) at population level. However, r_M2 from both BLUP models varied noticeably across info-types and bull-types. The ssGBLUP estimates of r_M2 in PHEN, GEN, and PH+ GEN ranged between 0.51 and 0.63, 0.66 and 0.70, and 0.68 and 0.73, respectively. In YBULL, CBULL, and PBULL, the r_M2 estimates ranged between 0.54 and 0.57, 0.55 and 0.62, and 0.70 and 0.74, respectively. The pedBLUP based r_M2 estimates were also relatively lower than ssGBLUP estimates. At the population level, we found an increase in accuracy by 2.0% to 4.5% among traits. Traits in PHEN were least influenced by ssGBLUP (0% to 2.0%), whereas the highest positive changes were in GEN (8.1% to 10.7%). PH+GEN also showed 6.5% to 8.5% increase in accuracy by ssGBLUP. However, the highest improvements were found in bull-types (YBULL, 21% to 35.7%; CBULL, 3.3% to 9.3%; PBULL, 2.8% to 6.1%). Conclusion: A noticeable improvement by ssGBLUP was observed in this study. Findings of differential responses to ssGBLUP by various bulls could assist in better selection decision making as well. We, therefore, suggest that ssGBLUP could be used for GS in Hanwoo proven-bull evaluation program.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.33 no.9
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• pp.1378-1386
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• 2020

Objective: Chinese indigenous sheep breeds can be classified into the following three categories by their tail morphology: fat-tailed, fat-rumped and thin-tailed sheep. The typical sheep breeds corresponding to fat-tailed, fat-rumped, and thin-tailed sheep are large-tailed Han, Altay, and Tibetan sheep, respectively. Detection of copy number variation (CNV) and selection signatures provides information on the genetic mechanisms underlying the phenotypic differences of the different sheep types. Methods: In this study, PennCNV software and F-statistics (F_ST) were implemented to detect CNV and selection signatures, respectively, on the X chromosome in three Chinese indigenous sheep breeds using ovine high-density 600K single nucleotide polymorphism arrays. Results: In large-tailed Han, Altay, and Tibetan sheep, respectively, a total of six, four and 22 CNV regions (CNVRs) with lengths of 1.23, 0.93, and 7.02 Mb were identified on the X chromosome. In addition, 49, 34, and 55 candidate selection regions with respective lengths of 27.49, 16.47, and 25.42 Mb were identified in large-tailed Han, Altay, and Tibetan sheep, respectively. The bioinformatics analysis results indicated several genes in these regions were associated with fat, including dehydrogenase/reductase X-linked, calcium voltage-gated channel subunit alpha1 F, and patatin like phospholipase domain containing 4. In addition, three other genes were identified from this analysis: the family with sequence similarity 58 member A gene was associated with energy metabolism, the serine/arginine-rich protein specific kinase 3 gene was associated with skeletal muscle development, and the interleukin 2 receptor subunit gamma gene was associated with the immune system. Conclusion: The results of this study indicated CNVRs and selection regions on the X chromosome of Chinese indigenous sheep contained several genes associated with various heritable traits.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.33-38
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• 2015

In this study, flat-type photocatalytic reaction system is applied to reduce toxic hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) to trivalent chromium (Cr(III)) in aqueous solution under UV irradiation. To overcome the limitation of conventional photocatalysis, a novel approach toward photocatalytic system for reduction of hexavalent chromium including nanotubular $TiO_2$ (NTT) on two kinds of titanium substrates (foil and mesh) were established. In addition, modified Ti substrates were prepared by bending treatment to increase reaction efficiency of Cr(VI) in the flat-type photocatalytic reactor. For the fabrication of NTT on Ti substrates, Ti foil and mesh was anodized with mixed electrolytes ($NH_4F-H_2O-C_2H_6O_2$) and then annealed in ambient oxygen. The prepared NTT arrays were uniformly grown on two Ti substrates and surface property measurements were performed through SEM and XRD. Hydraulic retention time(HRT) and substrate type were significantly affected the Cr(VI) reduction. Hence, the photocatalytic Cr(VI) reduction was observed to be highest up to 95% at bended(modified) Ti mesh and lowest HRT. Especially, Ti mesh was more effective as NTT substrate in this research.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.23 no.12
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• pp.667-671
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• 2013

We present an easy method of preparing two-dimensional (2D) periodic hollow tin oxide ($SnO_2$) hemisphere array gas sensors using polystyrene (PS) spheres as a template. The structures were fabricated by the sputter deposition of thin tin (Sn) metal over an array of PS spheres on a planar substrate followed by calcination at an elevated temperature to oxidize Sn to $SnO_2$ while removing the PS template cores. The $SnO_2$ hemisphere array structures were examined by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The structures were calcined at various temperatures and their sensing properties were examined with varying operation temperatures and concentrations of nitric oxide (NO) gas. Their gas-sensing properties were investigated by measuring the electrical resistances in air and the target gases. The measurements were conducted at different NO concentrations and substrate temperatures. A minimum detection limit of 30 ppb, showing a sensitivity of S = 1.6, was observed for NO gas at an operation temperature of $150^{\circ}C$ for a sample having an Sn metal layer thickness corresponding to 30 sec sputtering time and calcined at $600^{\circ}C$ for 2 hr in air. We proved that high porosity in a hollow $SnO_2$ hemisphere structure allows easy diffusion of the target gas molecules. The results confirm that a 2D hollow $SnO_2$ hemisphere array structure of micronmeter sizes can be a good structural morphology for high sensitivity gas sensors.