• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.22 no.7
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• pp.362-367
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• 2012

Magnetite nanoparticles(NPs) have been the subject of much interest by researchers owing to their potential use as magnetic carriers in drug targeting and as a tumor treatment in cases of hyperthermia. However, magnetite nanoparticles with 10 nm in diameter easily aggregate and thus create large secondary particles. To disperse magnetite nanoparticles, this study proposes the infiltration of magnetite nanoparticles into hybrid silica aerogels. The feasible dispersion of magnetite is necessary to target tumor cells and to treat hyperthermia. Magnetite NPs have been synthesized by coprecipitation, hydrothermal and thermal decomposition methods. In particular, monodisperse magnetite NPs are known to be produced by the thermal decomposition of iron oleate. In this study, we thermally decomposed iron acetylacetonate in the presence of oleic acid, oleylamine and 1,2 hexadecanediol. We also attempted to disperse magnetite NPs within a mesoporous aerogels. Methyltriethoxysilicate(MTEOS)-based hybrid silica aerogels were synthesized by a supercritical drying method. To incorporate the magnetite nanoparticles into the hybrid aerogels, we devised two methods: adding the synthesized aerogel into a magnetite precursor solution followed by nucleation and crystal growth within the pores of the aerogels, and the infiltration of magnetite nanoparticles synthesized beforehand into aerogel matrices by immersing the aerogels in a magnetite nanoparticle colloid solution. An analysis using a vibrating sample magnetometer showed that approximately 20% of the magnetite nanoparticles were well dispersed in the aerogels. The composite samples showed that heating under an inductive magnetic field to a temperature of $45^{\circ}C$ is possible.

• Food Engineering Progress
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.305-310
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• 2011

Edible films were developed from defatted soybean meal (DSM), a byproduct from the soy product industry, investigating the effects of the concentrations of DSM and glycerol and the treatment of high pressure homogenization (HPH) on color, water vapor permeability, and tensile properties of the films. The physical properties of the developed films (DSM films) were compared to those of the films made of soy proteins isolated from the DSM. DSM films were obtained by drying film-forming solutions prepared with DSM powder, glycerol, and water and with and without HPH at 152 MPa. HPH resulted in the formation of continuous and uniform films. Water vapor permeability of the films increased with increase in the concentration of glycerol and decreased by high pressure homogenization. The increase in the glycerol concentration in the film-forming solution prepared without HPH decreased the tensile strength and elastic modulus of the films. However, this effect was not observed with the HPH-treated solution. DSM films possessed higher tensile strength and percentage elongation than the film of soy protein, implying the potential for the DSM film to be applied to food product as an edible film.

• Food Science and Industry
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• v.53 no.3
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• pp.284-294
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• 2020

High voltage pulsed electric field technology has been attracting attention in the the food industry as an eco-friendly nonthermal process technology using electrical energy. The lack of understanding of the equipment and the burden of equipment cost have not significantly increased the commercial application, but the potential as a technology to replace the heat process has been continuously increased. Sterilization of foods using the PEF process has been applied to liquid foods with low viscosity such as fruit and vegetable juices, but recently, high viscosity smoothies, high concentrate protein drink, mixed juice, and alcoholic beverages. Studies on sterilization of solid foods such as powders, raw meats are also being conducted. Also, the application of extraction and recovery of useful ingredients, activation of active compounds, pretreatment of drying, improvement of meat quality, changes of properties of starch has been studies.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.372-388
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• 2022

Insects have long been consumed by humans as a supplemental protein source, and interest in entomophagy has rapidly increased in recent years as a potential sustainable resource in the face of environmental challenges and global food shortages. However, food neophobia inhibits the widespread consumption of edible insects, despite their high nutritional and functional value. The own characteristics of edible insect protein such as foaming properties, emulsifying properties, gelling properties and essential amino acid ratio can be improved by drying, defatting, and extraction. Although nutritional value of some protein-enriched bread, pasta, and meat products, especially essential amino acid components was increased, replacement of conventional food with edible insects as a novel food source has been hindered owing to the poor cross-linking properties of edible insect protein. This deterioration in physicochemical properties may further limit the applicability of edible insects as food. Therefore, strategies must be developed to improve the quality of edible insect enriched food with physical, chemical, and biological methods. It was presented that an overview of the recent advancements in these approaches and highlight the challenges and prospects for this field. Applying these strategies to develop insect food in a more familiar form can help to make insect-enriched foods more appealing to consumers, facilitating their widespread consumption as a sustainable and nutritious protein source.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.66 no.4
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• pp.27-39
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• 2024

Soil texture is determined by the proportions of sand, silt, and clay within the soil, which influence characteristics such as porosity, water retention capacity, electrical conductivity (EC), and pH. Traditional classification of soil texture requires significant sample preparation including oven drying to remove organic matter and moisture, a process that is both time-consuming and costly. This study aims to explore an alternative method by developing an AI model capable of predicting soil texture from images of pre-sorted soil samples using computer vision and deep learning technologies. Soil samples collected from agricultural fields were pre-processed using sieve analysis and the images of each sample were acquired in a controlled studio environment using a smartphone camera. Color distribution ratios based on RGB values of the images were analyzed using the OpenCV library in Python. A convolutional neural network (CNN) model, built on PyTorch, was enhanced using Digital Image Processing (DIP) techniques and then trained across nine distinct conditions to evaluate its robustness and accuracy. The model has achieved an accuracy of over 80% in classifying the images of pre-sorted soil samples, as validated by the components of the confusion matrix and measurements of the F1 score, demonstrating its potential to replace traditional experimental methods for soil texture classification. By utilizing an easily accessible tool, significant time and cost savings can be expected compared to traditional methods.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.28-34
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• 2017

This study was carried out to investigate growth characteristics of woody plants that are widely used indoors in accordance with irrigation frequency and to find the optimum irrigation conditions for plants that help to improve the indoor environment. Four woody plants used in this study included Ardisia pusilla, Clusia rosea, Fatsia japonica, and Ficus elastica. They were planted in pots with a diameter of 10cm and cultivated in three different irrigation frequencies: two times per week, one time per week, and one time per two weeks. After 120 days, they were measured by plant height, fresh weight, dry weight, SPAD value, leaf color, leaf water potential, chlorophyll fluorescence (Fv/Fm), and photosynthetic rate. The average soil moisture content was $48.8{\pm}2.1%$ in two times per week, $25.2{\pm}4.4%$ in one time per week, and $10.3{\pm}2.4%$ in one time per two weeks. For A. pusilla, leaf water potential was higher, and Fv/Fm value was 0.731 in two times per week irrigation, showing more wetness. For A. pusilla, F. japonica and F. elastica photosynthetic rate was significantly lower in one time per two weeks irrigation, appearing to be more sensitive to drying than C. rosea. When irrigated one time per week, with the soil's volume average moisture content of 25%, all four woody plants used in this experiment proved to grow smooth. Thus, it was determined to be good for use in indoor landscaping.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Near Infrared Spectroscopy Conference
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• 2001.06a
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• pp.1610-1610
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• 2001

Microbiological examination of silage is of little value in gauging the outcome of silage, and so chemical analysis is more reliable and meaningful indicator of quality. On the other hand chemical assessments of the principal fermentation products provide an unequivocal basis on which to judge quality. Livestock require energy, protein, minerals and vitamins from their food. While fresh forages provide these essential items, conserved forages on the other hand may be deficient in one or more of them. The aim of the conservation process is to preserve as many of the original nutrients as possible, particularly energy and protein components (Woolford, 1984). Silage fermentation is important to preservation of forage with respect of feeding value and animal performance. Chemical and bacteriological changes in the silo during the fermentation process can affect adversely nutrient yield and quality (Moe and Carr, 1984). Many of the important chemical components of silage must be assayed in fresh or by extraction of the fresh material, since drying either by heat or lyophilisation, volatilises components such as acids or nitrogenous components, or effects conversion to other compounds (Abrams et al., 1987). Maize silage dorms the basis of winter rations for the vast majority of dairy and beef cattle production in Uruguay. Since nutrient intake, particularly energy, from forages is influenced by both voluntary dry matter intake and digestibility; there is a need for a rapid technique for predicting these parameters in farm advisory systems. Near Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy (NIRS) is increasingly used as a rapid, accurate method of evaluating chemical constituents in cereals and dried forages. For many years NIRS was applied to assess chemical composition in dry materials (Norris et al., 1976, Flinn et al., 1992; Murray, 1993, De Boever et al., 1996, De la Roza et al., 1998). The objectives of this study were (1) to determine the potential of NIRS to assess the chemical composition of dried maize samples and (2) to attempt calibrations on undried samples either for farm advisory systems or for animal nutrition research purposes in Uruguay. NIRS were used to assess the chemical composition of whole - plant maize silage samples (Zea mays, L). A representative population of samples (n = 350) covering a wide distribution in chemical characteristics were used. Samples were scanned at 2 nm intervals over the wavelength range 400-2500 nm in a NIRS 6500 (NIRSystems, Silver Spring, MD, USA) in reflectance mode. Cross validation was used to avoid overfitting of the equations. The optimum calibrations were selected on the basis of minimizing the standard error of cross validation (SECV). The calibration statistics were R$^2$ 0. 86 (SECV: 11.4), 0.90 (SECV: 5.7), 0.90 (SECV: 16.9) for dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), acid detergent fiber (ADF) in g kg$\^$-1/ on dry matter, respectively for maize silage samples. This work demonstrates the potential of NIRS to analyse whole - maize silage in a wide range of chemical characteristics for both advisory farm and nutritive evaluation.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.193-218
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• 1974

These studies were carried out for the elucidation of liming effect on the growth of rice seedlings and the chemical characteristics of an acid sulphate paddy that shows not only extremely high acidity of soil but also poor growth of rice plants, consequently low yield. Thus the liming effect on the changes of acidity, oxidation-reduction potential, and the contents of iron, aluminium, sulphate, and phosphorus fractions in the soil was investigated under the waterlogging and drying condition. The reclaimable or inhibitory effect of phosphorus, iron and aluminium on the growth of rice seedlings was also investigated under liming. The results are summarized as follows: 1. After liming, the pH of the acid sulphate subsoil decreased again on drying. 2. The oxidation-reduction potential reached a minimum after 5 days of flooding and greatly decreased on liming but increased after drying. 3. The contents of ferrous iron soluble in water-and Morgan's solution reached a maximum after 15 days of flooding and only the content of water soluble ferrous iron was greatly decreased. 4. The content of aluminium soluble in water-and Morgan's solution decreased by flooding and liming, and showed a tendency to increase on drying. 5. In the limed acid sulphate soil, the content of water soluble calcium showed a highly significant negative correlation with the content of sulphate and liming decreased sulphate content in the soil. 6. The contents of total phosphorus was 496.3 ppm in the acid sulphate topsoil and 387.5 ppm in the subsoil. The content of each phosphorus fraction was in the order of Fe-P>Occ. Fe-P>Ca-P>Occ. Al-P>Al-P and Fe-P content in the soil was the highest fraction among them. 7. Lime application increased greatly Ca-P and Al-P, and Occ. Fe-P and Occ. Al-P only slightly, but decreased Fe-P differently in each soil. 8. Effect of phosphorus on the dry matter yield of rice seedlings was great. The optimum amount of phosphorus to produce maximum dry matter yield of rice seedlings appeared to be 6.8% of maximum absorption (absorption coefficient) without liming and 10.0% with liming. 9. In rice seedlings liming increased the content and uptake of calcium and silica but decreased those of iron and aluminium. Phosphorus application increased the content and uptake of phosphorus and decreased iron while the application of iron and aluminium increased their contents and uptake but decreased those of phosphorus. 10. Liming greatly alleviated such toxicity of iron and aluminium. 11. When phosphorus was applied, the dry matter yield of rice seedlings showed highly significant positive correlations with uptake of phosphorus, calcium and silica each. When iron and aluminium were applied, dry matter yields indicated significant positive correlations with the contents or uptake of calcium and silica each, but significant negative correlations with the content or uptake of iron and aluminium. 12. Under the application of phosphorus and lime, dry matter yields showed significant positive correlations with pH and Morgan's extractable calcium each of the soil samples after harvest. Under the application of lime, iron and aluminium, dry matter yields showed significant positive correlations with pH, calcium and silica each, but negative correlations with iron and aluminium contents each of the soil samples after harvest.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.91-99
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• 1995

One of alternative conventional technologies used for treatment of livestock wastes is composting process, and recently some mechanical composting processes are being practiced. It is, however, recognized the composting process also has its own limitations such as longer time requirement, and difficulties to estimate the degree of decomposition, etc. The incomplete compost contains potentially harmful materials to crops and public health due to instabilized organic contents and pathogenic organisms. The purpose of this investigation is to develop an innovative system whereby anxious livestock wastes are thoroughly stabilized and disinfected. Thus the overall management scheme should meet the following requirements. 1. A system should be in a cost-effective and environmentally sound manner. 2. Sludges must be chemically stabilized and bacteriologically safe. 3. Odor-free by product should be applied to crop land. 4. Sludges are sources of fertilizer nutrients and/or soil amendments to enhance crop production. 5. And they can be used as potential pH adjusting agent of the acidified soils. Overall effectiveness of the developed system is experimentally tested to satisfy the preset criteria and requirements. Major experiments are divided into four categories: they are 1. chemical stability test, 2. optimal condition test of stabilization process, 3. bacteriological examination and disinfection tests, and 4. deodorization tests The stabilization process is consisted of the stabilizing reaction process and the drying process. Stabilized wastes is dried by both sun dryer and rotary dryer. It is shown that an additive dosage of about g/kg solid in wastes with a minimum of 5-minutes reaction would be necessary for effective stabilization reaction. The stabilization process is consisted of the stabilizing reaction process and drying process. Stabilized wastes are dried by both sun dryer and rotary dryer. It is shown that an additive dosage of about 300g/kg solid in wastes with a minimum of 5-minutes reaction would be necessary for effective stabilization reaction. In the stabilization reaction process, the pH of wastes is lowered from initial values of 12.3 to 8.6. High pH prevents odor production and kills pathogenic organisms. Organic matter contents in the stabilized wastes are about 50% and the sum of contents of fertilizer elements such as total nitrogen, $P_2O_5$ and $K_2O$ are about 5.3%. The livestock wastes that are stabilized chemically and hygienically can be used as a good soil conditioner and/or organic fertilizer.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.104-112
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• 2012

BACKGROUND: Agricultural inputs (fertilizer and organic inputs) and water conditions can influence $CH_4$ and $CO_2$ emission from agricultural soils. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of agricultural inputs (fertilizer and organic inputs) under changing water regime on $CH_4$ and $CO_2$ emission from a soil in a laboratory incubation experiment. METHODS AND RESULTS: Four treatments were laid out: control without input and three type of agricultural inputs ($(NH_4)_2SO_4$, AS; pig manure compost, PMC; hairy vetch, HV). Fertilizer and organic inputs were mixed with 25 g of soil at 2.75 mg N/25 g soil (equivalent to 110 kg N/ha) in a bottle with septum, and incubated for 60 days. During the first 30-days incubation, the soil was waterlogged (1 cm of water depth) by adding distilled water weekly, and on 30 days of incubation, excess water was discarded then incubated up to 60 days without addition of water. Based on the redox potential, water regime could be classified into wetting (1 to 30 days), transition (31 to 40 days), and drying periods (41 to 60 days). Across the entire period, $CH_4$ and $CO_2$ flux ranged from 0 to 13.8 mg $CH_4$/m/day and from 0.4~1.9 g $CO_2$/m/day, and both were relatively higher in the early wetting period and the boundary between transition and drying periods. During the entire period, % loss of C relative to the initial was highest in HV (16.4%) followed by AS (8.1%), PMC (7.5%), and control (5.4%), indicating readily decomposability of HV. Accordingly, both $CH_4$ and $CO_2$ fluxes were greatest in HV treatment. Meanwhile, the lower $CH_4$ flux in AS and PMC treatments than the control was ascribed to reduction in $CH_4$ generation due to the presence of oxidized compounds such as ${SO_4}^{2-}$, $Fe^{3+}$, $Mn^{4+}$, and ${NO_3}^-$ that compete with precursors of $CH_4$ for electrons. CONCLUSION: Green manure such as HV can replace synthetic fertilizer in terms of N input, however, it may increase $CH_4$ emission from soils. Therefore, co-application of green manure and livestock manure compost needs to be considered in order to achieve satisfactory N supply and to mitigate $CH_4$ and $CO_2$ emission.