• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.78-85
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• 2014

BACKGROUND: Recent studies using various industrial wastes for heavy metal stabilization in soil were conducted in order to find out new alternative amendments. The acid mine drainage sludge(AMDS) contains lots of metal oxides(hydroxides) that may be useful for heavy metal stabilization not only waste water treatment but also soil remediation. The aim of this study was to investigate the applicability of acid mine drainage sludge for heavy metals stabilization in soils METHODS AND RESULTS: Alkali soil contaminated with heavy metals was collected from the agricultural soils affected by the abandoned mine sites nearby. Three different amounts(1%, 3%, 5%) of AMDS were applied into control soil and contaminated soil. For determining the changes in the extractable heavy metals, $CaCl_2$ and Mehlich-3 were applied as chemical assessments for metal stabilization. For biological assessments, lettuce(Lactuca sativa L.) and chinese cabbage(Brassica rapa var. glabra) were cultivated and accumulation of heavy metals on each plant were determined. It was revealed that AMDS reduced heavy metal mobility and bioavailability in soil, which resulted in the decreases in the accumulation of As, Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn in each plant. CONCLUSION: Though the high level of heavy metal concentrations in AMDS, any considerable increase in the heavy metal availability was not observed with control and contaminated soil. In conclusion, these results indicated that AMDS could be applied to heavy metal contaminated soil as an alternative amendments for reducing heavy metal mobility and bioavailability.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.51-60
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• 2018

Objectives: Currently, there is only limited knowledge regarding the hazard of low-level exposure to CMR materials in workplaces. To overcome this limitation, a reference concentration for workers($RfC_w$) from among the risk assessment tools proposed by the US EPA is widely used to set a provisional workplace exposure level(PWEL) for CMR materials for which there are no established Korea Occupational Exposure Limits(KOELs) or subjective chemicals for work environment measurements as regulated by Korea Ministry of Employment and Labor(KMOEL). A simple European calculator of derived no effect level(SECO-DNEL) as proposed by REACH can also be used in place of $RfC_w$ to set the PWEL for chemicals. This study was performed to test the acceptability of using SECO-DNEL as an alternative to $RfC_w$ when setting a PWEL for low-level exposures. Methods: The $RfC_w$ and DNEL for the five CMR materials of dinitrogen oxide, catechol, 2-phenoxy ethanol, carbitol, and carbon black were calculated using the dose-response assessments of the US EPA for $RfC_w$ and REACH guidance for SECO-DNEL, respectively. They were compared using paired t-tests to determine the statistical differences between them. Results: For the five chemicals, the $RfC_w$ were 2.53 ppm, 0.10 ppm, 1.73 ppm, 1.66 ppm, and $0.05mg/m^3$, respectively, while the SECO-DNEL were 2.01 ppm, 0.11 ppm, 1.83 ppm, 1.77 ppm, $0.14mg/m^3$, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference between $RfC_w$ and SECO-DNEL. Conclusions: This study suggests that the SECO-DNEL could be applied in place of $RfC_w$ to set a PWEL for low-level exposure to chemicals, especially CMR materials. To further ensure the reliability of SECO-DNEL as an alternative tool, more chemicals should be applied for calculation and comparison with $RfC_w$.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.19-25
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• 2018

PURPOSE: Most gait assessment tools are expensive and require controlled laboratory environments. Tri-axial accelerometers have been used in gait analysis as an alternative to laboratory assessments. Many smartphones have added an accelerometer, making it possible to assess spatio-temporal gait parameters. This study was conducted to confirm the reliability and validity of a smartphone-based accelerometer at quantifying spatio-temporal gait parameters of stroke patients when attached to the body. METHODS: We measured gait parameters using a smartphone accelerometer and gait parameters through the GAITRite analysis system and the reliability and validity of the smartphone-based accelerometer for quantifying spatio-temporal gait parameters for stroke patients were then evaluated. Thirty stroke patients were asked to walk at self-selected comfortable speeds over a 10 m walkway, during which time gait velocity, cadence and step length were computed from smartphone-based accelerometers and validated with a GAITRite analysis system. RESULTS: Smartphone data was found to have excellent reliability ($ICC2,1{\geq}.98$) for measuring the tested parameters, with a high correlation being observed between smartphone-based gait parameters and GAITRite analysis system-based gait parameters (r = .99, .97, .41 for gait velocity, cadence, step length, respectively). CONCLUSION: The results suggest that specific opportunities exist for smartphone-based gait assessment as an alternative to conventional gait assessment. Moreover, smartphone-based gait assessment can provide objective information about changes in the spatio-temporal gait parameters of stroke subjects.

• Journal of Korean Society for Geospatial Information Science
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• v.7 no.2 s.14
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• pp.23-34
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• 1999

The most widely used measure for indicating the accuracy of DEM is RMSE(nut Mean Square Error), which is used by many national mapping agencies such as the USGS and the Ordnance Survey. Its prevalent use can be followed by the relative ease of calculation and understanding the concepts. However, there are many problems with the measure and the way from which it is often derived. First of all, the index does not involve my description of the mean donation between the two measures of elevation,. This means that it cannot interpret the distributions or patterns of errors involved in DEMs. The distribution of errors in DEMs will show some forms of spatial patterning. In order to explore the real quality of DEMs as a useful database, alternative approaches are needed. In this paper, we examined so called ESDA(Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis) approaches, which were attributed by both aspatial and spatial exploration methods. Our experimental research shows that even simple ESDA methods reveal new aspects of errors, especially spikes, striation, and terracing effect in DEMs, which my be ignored by RMSE measure.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.609-624
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• 2022

Tenebrio molitor larvae, as known as edible insects, has advantages of being rich in protein, and has been recognized as a suitable alternate protein source for broiler and pig feed. Moreover, given their ability to biodegrade polystyrene, a major pollutant, Tenebrio molitor larvae has been proposed as an innovative solution to environmental problems. In the present study, we investigated the toxicity of Tenebrio molitor larvae powder (TMlp) ingested with expanded-polystyrene (W/ eps) through in vitro and in vivo experiments. The objective of this study was to determine whether TMlp W/ eps can be applied as livestock alternative protein source. For in vitro experiments, cytotoxicity test was performed to investigate the effects of TMlp-extract on the viability of estrogen-dependent MCF-7 cells. The possibility of estrogen response was investigated in two groups: Expanded-polystyrene-fed (W/ eps) TMlp group and without expanded-polystyrene-fed (W/o eps) TMlp group. For in vivo experiments, The male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided based on the dosage of TMlp administered and oral administration was performed to every day for 5 weeks. A toxicological assessments were performed, which included clinical signs, food consumption, body and organ weights, hematology, serum chemistry, and hematoxylin and eosin staining of liver and kidney. There were no specific adverse effect of TMlp W/ eps-related findings under the experimental conditions of this study, but further studies on both sexes and animal species differences should be investigated. In conclusion, TMlp W/ eps was considered non-toxic and observed to be applicable as an alternative protein source for livestock feed.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.59 no.2
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• pp.51-63
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• 2024

Polypropylene (PP) is a commodity plastic that is widely used owing to its cost-effectiveness, lightweight nature, easy processability, and outstanding chemical and thermomechanical characteristics. However, the imperative to address energy and environmental crises has spurred global initiatives toward a circular economy, necessitating sustainable alternatives to traditional fossil-fuel-derived plastics. In this study, we conducted a series of comparative investigations of bio-based polypropylene (bio-PP) blends with current PP of the same and different grades. An extrusion-based processing methodology was employed for the bio-PP composites. Talc was used as an active filler for the preparation of the composites. A comparative analysis with the current petroleum-based PP indicated that the thermal properties and tensile characteristics of the bio-PP blends and composites remained largely unaltered, signifying the feasibility of bio-PP as a potential substitute for the current PP. To achieve a higher Young's modulus, elongation at break (EAB), and melt flow index (MFI), we prepared different composites of PP of different grades and bio-PP with varying talc contents. Interestingly, at higher biomass contents, the composites exhibited higher MFI and EAB values with comparable Young's moduli. Notably, the impact strengths of the composites with various biomass and talc contents remained unaltered. In-depth investigations through surface analysis confirmed the uniform dispersion of talc within the composite matrix. Furthermore, the moldability of the bio-PP composites was substantiated by comprehensive rheological property assessments encompassing shear rate and shear viscosity. Thus, from these outcomes, the fabricated bio-PP-based composites could be an alternative to petroleum-based PP composites for sustainable automobile applications.

• Journal of the Korean Data and Information Science Society
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.21-32
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• 2010

Graphical regression is a paradigm for obtaining regression information using plots without model assumptions. The general goal of this approach is to find lowdimensional sufficient summary plots without loss of important information. Model assessments using residual plots are less likely to be successful in models that are not linear. As an alternative approach, marginal model plots provide a general graphical method for assessing the model. We apply the methods of graphical regression and model assessment using marginal model plots to the logistic regression model.

• Journal of Korea Multimedia Society
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.542-549
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• 2004

As a promising alternative for the traditional educational system, the cyber education is in the spotlight of both educators and computer scientists. There are many advantages of online education to the students and to the institution such as easy and random accessibility, low cost, saving spaces in the institutions, and so on. or a successful online education, some important factors would be considered in constructing cyber lectures. The purposes of this paper are to investigate students'viewpoints, called factors, of the cyber class and analyze these factors to be an effective cyber class. Once factors are identified, we trace the change of the student assessments on the identified factors during the class. Using these factors, we also examine if there are any differences on the assessment of the cyber class according to student background, such as gender. major, and class.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2018

Microalgae is considered as one of environmentally sustainable and potential feedstocks to produce biodiesels. However, recent studies on life cycle assessments (LCA) of microalgal buidiesels have shown that energy requirement is not small to produce biodiesel from microalgae, especially during cultivation stage. The costs for carbon sources, nutrients like nitrogen or phosphorous, and water for cultivation can contribute up to 80% of the total medium costs. In the present article, recent trends on the utilization of several promising nutrient sources such as municipal wastewaters, organic fertilizers, combustion exhaust emissions and organic solid wastes were reviewed, and the potential strategies to be used as substitutes of artificial culture media, especially for the biodiesel production, were discussed.

• Journal of the Korean Solar Energy Society
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.123-128
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• 2012

Computer simulation of buildings and solar energy systems is being used increasingly in energy assessments and design. The purpose of our work is to predict the surface temperature on inclined surfaces based on ISO-TRY typical weather data. To reach this goal, three studies were performed. They consisted of quantifying the accuracy of various well-known three models. The first type of models calculated diffuse horizontal irradiations from global ones and the second type models computed global irradiations on inclined planes from diffuse and global components on a horizontal surface. The third type of model calculated long-wave radiation and surface temperature from ISO-TRY typical weather data. The proposed model can provide an alternative to building designers in estimating the surface temperature and solar irradiation on inclined surfaces where only the typical meteorological data are available.