• Agribusiness and Information Management
• /
• v.11 no.1
• /
• pp.27-39
• /
• 2019

Agricultural risks are exacerbated by a variety of factors ranging from climatevariability and change, frequent natural disasters, uncertainties in yields and prices, weakrural infrastructure, imperfect markets and lack of financial services including limited spanand design of risk mitigation instruments such as credit and insurance. Indian agriculture has little more than half (53%) of its area still rainfed and this makes it highly sensitive to vagaries of climate causing unstable output. Besides adverse climatic factors, there are man-made disasters such as fire, sale of spurious seeds, adulteration of pesticides and fertilizers etc., and all these severely affect farmers through loss in production and farm income, and are beyond the control of farmers. Hence, crop insurance' is considered to be the promising tool to insulate the farmers from risks faced by them and to sustain them in the agri-business. This paper critically evaluates the performance of recent crop insurance scheme viz., Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bhima Yojana (PMFBY) and its comparative performance with earlier agricultural insurance schemes implemented in the country. It is heartening that, the comparative performance of PMFBY with earlier schemes revealed that, the Government has definitely taken a leap forward in covering more number of farmers and bringing more area under crop insurance with the execution of this new scheme and on this front, it deserves the appreciation in fulfilling the objective for bringing more number of farmers under insurance cover. The use of mobile based technology, reduced number of Crop Cutting Experiments (CCEs) and smart CCEs, digitization of land record and linking them to farmers' account for faster assessment/settlement of claims are some of the steps that contributed for effective implementation of this new crop insurance scheme. However, inadequate claim payments, errors in loss/yield assessment, delayed claim payment, no direct linkage between insurance companies and farmers are the major shortcomings of this scheme. This calls for revamping the crop insurance program in India from time to time in tune with the dynamic changes in climatic factors on one hand and to provide a safety-net for farmers to mitigate losses arising from climatic shocks on the other. The future research avenues include: insuring the revenue of the farmer (Price × Yield) as in USA and more and more tenant farmers should be brought under insurance by doling out discounts for group coverage of farmers like in Philippines where 20 per cent discount in premium is given for a group of 5-10 farmers, 30 per cent for a group of 10-20 and 40 per cent for a group of >20 farmers.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
• /
• v.16 no.5
• /
• pp.129-136
• /
• 2012

Temperature of fresh concrete can be effectively used to predict the strength of concrete being cured and make an informed decision for stripping the molds. A hygrothermograph and thermo-couple sensors that require an extensive wiring have been applied to measure a temperature of concrete at the early stage of the curing process on site. However, these methods have limits to provide the temperature data in real time due to harsh working environment including frequent cutting of wires. Therefore, this study is aiming at developing a device based on wireless sensor network to measure the temperature of concrete being cured in formwork. The result showed that the wireless sensor with probe type thermistor which is developed had the same temperature data compared to the existed wire type thermistor, and we confirmed the temperature history of concrete in real time for 28 days throughout the gateway by wireless network that collects the temperature data measured from specimens in laboratory. Also, the network device for transmission can be easily separated from the probe sensor part and reused consistently. If the wireless sensor network device developed uses in the field, the temperature management of concrete will be systematically conducted from at the early stage of the curing, and especially be effective for cold weather concrete construction. In addition, it will contribute to the establishment of advanced quality control system for concrete and productivity of supervisors on site will be increased in the future.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Surface Engineering Conference
• /
• 2018.06a
• /
• pp.62-62
• /
• 2018

Pt is still considered as one of the most active electrocatalysts for ORR in alkaline fuel cells. However, the high cost and scarcity of Pt hamper the widespread commercialization of fuel cells. As a strong candidate for the replacement of Pt catalyst, silver (Ag) has been extensively studied due to its high activity, abundance, and low cost. Ag is more stable than Pt in the pH range of 8~14 as the equilibrium potential of Ag/Ag+ being ${\approx}200mV$ higher than that of Pt/PtO. However, Ag is the overall catalytic activity of Ag for oxygen reduction reaction(ORR) is still not comparable to Pt catalyst since the surface Ag atoms are approximately 10 times less active than Pt atoms. Therefore, further enhancement in the ORR activity of Ag catalysts is necessary to be competitive with current cutting-edge Pt-based catalysts. We demonstrate the architectural design of Ag catalysts, synthesized using plasma discharge in liquid phase, for enhanced ORR kinetics in alkaline media. An attractive feature of this work is that the plasma status controlled via electric-field could form the Ag nanowires or dendrites without any chemical agents. The plasma reactor was made of a Teflon vessel with an inner diameter of 80 mm and a height of 80 mm, where a pair of tungsten(W) electrodes with a diameter of 2 mm was placed horizontally. The stock solutions were made by dissolving the 5-mM AgNO3 in DI water. For the synthesis of Agnanowires, the electricfield of 3.6kVcm-1 in a 200-ml AgNO3 aqueous solution was applied across the electrodes using a bipolar pulsed power supply(Kurita, Seisakusyo Co. Ltd). The repetition rate and pulse width were fixed at 30kHz and 2.0 us, respectively. The plasma discharge was carried out for a fixed reaction time of 60 min. In case of Ag nanodendrites, the electric field of 32kVcm-1 in a 200-ml AgNO3 aqueous solution was applied and other conditions were identical to the plasma discharge in water in terms of electrode configuration, repetition rate and discharge time. Using SEM and STEM, morphology of Ag nanowires and dendrites were investigated. With 3.6 kV/cm, Ag nanowire was obtained, while Ag dendrite was constructed with 32 kV/cm. The average diameter and legth of Ag nanowireses were 50 nm and 3.5 um, and thoes values of Ag dendrites were 40 nm and 3.0 um. As a results of XPS analysis, the surface defects in the Ag nanowires facilitated O2 incorporation into the surface region via the interaction between the oxygen and the electron cloud of the adjacent Ag atoms. The catalytic activity of Ag for oxygen reduction reaction(ORR) showed that the catalytic ORR activity of Ag nanowires are much better than Ag nanodendrites, and electron transfer number of Ag nanowires is similar to that of Pt (${\approx}4$).

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
• /
• v.22 no.3
• /
• pp.272-277
• /
• 1990

Some additives were applied to improve Yukwa(Popped rice snack) quality and process modifications were tested for cutting down soaking time and application of rice flour. Addition of soaked soybean (3%, w/w) to dough showed higher expansion rate and better physical properties with more acceptable quality by sensory evaluation of Yukwa. Baking powder, modified starch and alcoholic liquor, Mackeali(rice wine, turbid). Soju(distilled liquor) and Yakju(rice wine, clear), were no positive effect on quality of Yukwa but alcoholic liquor gave more fine texture than others. High temprature soaking $(60^{\circ}C)$ of rice for 3 hours which is near gelatinization temperature of rice starch. gave same quality of Yukwa comparing with long time soaking (12 hours) at room temperature. Extention of high temperature soaking (12 hours) did not improve the quality of Yukwa. The 100 mesh of rice flour by dry milling method was better in expansion rate and hardness than 40 and 80mesh but it was worse than ordinary wet milling. It was notified that milling method and milling mechines for Yukwa preparation should be studied in more detail.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
• /
• v.42 no.3
• /
• pp.218-225
• /
• 2015

This study used sodium fluorescein to improve imaging diagnostic ability by increasing the fluorescence difference between sound enamel and caries lesions. It also made it easier to discriminate between stain and caries lesions using quantitative light-induced fluorescence (QLF). Half of the specimen surface was covered with nail varnish as a control. Specimens were divided randomly in six decalcification groups and decalcified for different lengths of time. Then, ${\Delta}F$ was measured using QLF-D. After applying 0.075% sodium fluorescein, we measured ${\Delta}F$ again and compared it with the initial value. After cutting the central portion of the specimen, we measured the lesion depth using scanning electron microscopy. The lesion surfaces observed with QLF were darker than normal enamel, whereas they were lighter than normal enamel after applying fluorescein. Longer decalcification time was associated with greater fluorescent dye penetration. The ${\Delta}F$ measured after applying fluorescein was higher than the initial value (p < 0.05). Due to QLF measurement using fluorescein being more sensitive for diagnosing early decalcification, this approach will enable early diagnosis of dental caries before the cavity formation stage, allowing the treatment of early caries lesions. With QLF and sodium fluorescein, we can easily discriminate between stain and caries lesions.

• Food Science and Preservation
• /
• v.11 no.4
• /
• pp.508-515
• /
• 2004

In this study, salting conditions and dehydration methods were investigated. Salting time, concentration and temperature could be considered to variables in salting conditions. The diffused salt amounts to beef jerky depending on time are sharply increased in two hours. This result is caused by the difference decrease of concentration gradient between bulk solution and beef jerky. The increase of salting concentration and temperature resulted also in the increase of a diffused salt. The deeper bulk concentration made diffusion to beef easily with the bigger driving force and the movement of molecules is more active according to temperature increase. Dehydration is conducted with various methods such as natural drying, cold air drying and hot air drying. Comparing with color and texture among the drying methods, cold air drying showed superior quality in color and texture. Beef jerky by cold air drying colored more reddish than other drying methods and good cutting shear stress and tensile strength. In case of hardness and chewiness, hot air drying method showed the highest value, which means the worst texture.

• Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics
• /
• v.12 no.1
• /
• pp.119-129
• /
• 1986

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the marginal leakage of glass ionomer cement with different cavosurface margins. 192 class V cavities were prepared on freshly extracted non-carious teeth and glass ionomer cement were inserted according to the manufacturer's instructions. Cavity preparations for this investigation were performed in four groups. The experimental specimens were made by packing the glass ionomer cement (Fuji Ionomer Type II G-C Co. Japan) into the prepared 192 cavities of four groups with different modes: Group I. - The 48 cavities with $90^{\circ}$ butt-joint cavosurface preparation and restored with glass ionomer cement. Group II. - The 48 cavities with butt-joint preparation modified by $135^{\circ}$ beveling the cavosurface in the dentin and restored with glass ionomer cement. Group III. - The 48 cavities with butt-joint preparation modified by cutting a chamfer in the dentin and restored with glass ionomer cement. Group IV. - The same 48 cavities as group I, and overfilled with glass ionomer cement beyond the cavosurface angle. And four groups above described divided into three subgroups by means of conditioning the cavity walls: Control group. - Glass ionomer cement filled in the prepared 64 cavities after being cleaned with a stream of tap water. Phosphoric acid treatment group. - Glass ionomer cement filled in the prepared 64 cavities after being conditioned with a 50% phosphoric acid. Citric acid treatment group. - Glass ionomer cement filled in the prepared 64 cavities after being conditioned with a 50% citric acid. All 192 specimens were immersed in the 2.0% basic fuchsin solution and subjected to thermal stress at one-minute intervals ($4{\pm}2^{\circ}C$ to $60{\pm}2^{\circ}C$) for 70 minutes before exposure to the dye. The specimens were sectioned ecclesiologically through the center of the restorations for different periods of immersion time, 24 hours, 7 days, 14 days 30 days. The sections were examined under a stereoscopic microscope. The results were as follows: 1. The degree of marginal leakage in group II and III was greater than that in group I and IV. 2. The degree of marginal leakage in phosphoric acid treatment group was similar with that in control group. 3. The degree of marginal leakage in citric acid treatment group was less than that in control group. 4. In all groups, the degree of marginal leakage in phosphoric acid treatment group was greater than that in citric acid treatment group. 5. There is no statistical difference of the degree of marginal leakage according to the immersion time in the dye solution.

• The Journal of The Korea Institute of Intelligent Transport Systems
• /
• v.1 no.1
• /
• pp.22-32
• /
• 2002

This paper describes about non-burial AVI (Automatic Vehicle Identification) system using general vehicle as probe car for obtaining more accurate traffic information while conserving road pavement surface. Existing spot traffic detectors have their own limits of not obtaining right information owing to its mathematical method. Burial AVI systems have some defects, causing traffic jam, needing much maintenance cost because of frequent cutting of loop and piezo-electric sensors. Especially, they have hard time to make right detection, when it comes to jamming time. Therefore, in this paper, we propose non-burial AVI system with laser trigger unit. Proposed non-burial AVI system is developed to obtain regional traffic information from normal Passing vehicle by automatic license number recognition technology. We have adapted it to national highway section between Suwon city and Pyong$\~$Taek city(9.5km) and get affirmative results. Vehicle detection rate of laser trigger unit is more than 95$\%$, vehicle recognition rate is 87.8$\%$ and vehicle matching rate is about 14.3$\%$. So we regard these as satisfying results to use the system for traffic information service. We evaluate proposed AVI system by regulation of some institutions which are using similar AVI system and the proposed system satisfies all conditions. For future study, we have plan of detailed research about proper lane number from all of the target lanes, optimal section length, information service period, and data fusion method for existing spot detector.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
• /
• v.31 no.2
• /
• pp.174-187
• /
• 2017

For the purpose of evaluating the restoration effect of vegetation, in this study, the areas where vegetation was restored had been monitored for 6 years, from 2008 to 2013. The areas were restored through some techniques by utilizing forest resources and nearby forest resources: biotope restoration method, forest topsoil paving method and small diameter trees planting method. Biotope restoration method is indicated the most similar properties to the existing natural forest just after they were restored because the forest likely to be deteriorated was transplanted. Forest topsoil paving method is expected that long-time will be taken for plants to grow to form the tree layer. However, the method is expected to acquire high restore the places of empty lands such as cutting areas. Community planting method is coverage can be increased for short time, relying on the sizes of planted trees, and the tree layer can be formed. Consequently, this method is expected to create high effect if the sizes of trees are considered after the right judgement of candidate site for restoration. This study is meaningful in that each type of restoration is monitored to observe the change of triggered by the succession process to forest. The study results can play as the reference data which can be utilized and applied to the area requiring vegetation restoration or to the area facing the damage of forest resources.

• Magazine of the Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
• /
• v.21 no.2
• /
• pp.28-36
• /
• 1979

One of most important problems in the Monsoon Asia today is the production of rice paddy to meet the needs of the ever increasing population. Diversemeans are being employed to meet this demand, both by increasing productivity of existing farm land and by bringing further areas into cultivation. The primary step in either field is to ensure that there is sufficient moisture in the soil to suit the paddy, and at the same this means that excess moisture has to be drained off the land, while in others irrigat ion has to be employed to bring sufficient water to an area. In view of the fact that the project comprises a huge amount of earthwork, it can be carried out by extensive use of construction machinery in order to shorten the period. As farm ditch has a comparatively small section with shallow cutting depth, inaddition, there is lack of access road in the field, the excavation equipment with bulldozer or tracter-shovel (backhoe) type are not applicable because there are mostly adapted for the excavation of deep and wide section. Mini-backhoe with its bucket width not larger than 0. 3m, and width of blade not larger than 1. 00m seems to be more adaptable. About 80% of excavation of ditch section will be done by the machinery while the other 20% of excavation together with the finishing of the section are supposed to be done by man-power. The embankment of ditch section can be compacted by the crawler of backhoe when it is moving along the ditch for excavation. However, Lowland paddy field in the Monsoon Asia are made particulary in rain season, therefore, heavy machinery is not easy excavation for ditch. It is very important to know exact ground support power of the working site and select machines with corresponding ground pressure. Ground support power is variable subject to quality and water content of soil and therefore selection of machines should be made duly considering ground condition of the site at the time of construction works. Farm ditches dug and compacted by mannual labar are of poor quality and subject to destruction after one or two years of operation. On the other hand, excavation and compaction by bulldozer is not practical for ditches. Backboe is suitable for slope land, but this is required cycle time of bucket excavation and dumped out. If a small-scale farm ditch trencher adaptable to lowland paddy field is invented, such a machine could greatly accelerate the massive construction work envisaged in many countries and thus significantly speed up the most difficult part of irrigation development and management in Monsoon Asia.