• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.359-367
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• 2016

Background: As new legislation has come into force implementing radiation safety management for the use of naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM), it is necessary to establish a rapid and accurate measurement technique. Measurement of $^{238}U$ and $^{232}Th$ using conventional methods encounter the most significant difficulties for pretreatment (e.g., purification, speciation, and dilution/enrichment) or require time-consuming processes. Therefore, in this study, the applicability of ED-XRF as a non-destructive and rapid screening method was validated for raw materials and by-product samples. Materials and Methods: A series of experiments was conducted to test the applicability for rapid screening of XRF measurement to determine activity of $^{238}U$ and $^{232}Th$ based on certified reference materials (e.g., soil, rock, phosphorus rock, bauxite, zircon, and coal ash) and NORM samples commercially used in Korea. Statistical methods were used to compare the analytical results of ED-XRF to those of certified values of certified reference materials (CRM) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Results and Discussion: Results of the XRF measurement for $^{238}U$ and $^{232}Th$ showed under 20% relative error and standard deviation. The results of the U-test were statistically significant except for the case of U in coal fly ash samples. In addition, analytical results of $^{238}U$ and $^{232}Th$ in the raw material and by-product samples using XRF and the analytical results of those using ICP-MS ($R^2{\geq}0.95$) were consistent with each other. Thus, the analytical results rapidly derived using ED-XRF were fairly reliable. Conclusion: Based on the validation results, it can be concluded that the ED-XRF analysis may be applied to rapid screening of radioactivities ($^{238}U$ and $^{232}Th$) in NORM samples.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.173-181
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• 1997

To estimate the leaf area index(LAI) of rice plant by non-destructive method, spectral reflectance from rice plant canopy was measured by using the spectroradiometer (LI-1800, LICOR Inc.) with one week interval during the rice growing season at Suwon paddy field in 1993. LAI of two medium late maturing varieties, Daechungbyeo and Ilpumbyeo, and one early maturing variety, Jinbubyeo, were observed and compared with those estimated by vegetation index. The reflectance(R) of visible wavelength remained less than 0.1 over entire growing season, but that of near infrared wavelength remained from 0.1 to 0.5 with the significant positive correlation with LAI. Vegetation index determined by the reflectance of visible against near infrared wavelength showed high correlation with LAI of rice canopy. Vegetation index derived from wide band ratio, NIR(720~1, 100nm) /Blue(400~500nm), showed the highest correlation coefficient with LAI. Vegetation index derived from narrow band(10nm interval) ratio, R910/R460, from transplanting to heading stage corresponded well to measured values (Y=0.16799X-0.79776 ; $R^2$=0.94). But another vegetation index, NIR(720~1, 100nm) /Red (600~700nm), showed higher correlation with LAI than NIR /Blue did from heading stage to maturity.

• Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.98-107
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• 2011

Caries remains prevalent throughout modern society and is the main disease in the field of dentistry. Although studies of this disease have used diverse methodology, recently, X-ray microtomography has gained popularity as a non-destructive, 3-dimensional (3D) analytical technique, and has several advantages over the conventional methods. According to X-ray source, it is classified as monochromatic or polychromatic with the latter being more widely used due to the high cost of the monochromatic source despite some advantages. The determination of mineral density profiles based on changes in X-ray attenuation is the principle of this method and calibration and image processing procedures are needed for the better image and reproducible measurements. Using this tool, 3D reconstruction is also possible and it enables to visualize the internal structures of dental caries. With the advances in the computer technology, more diverse applications are being studied, such automated caries assessment algorithms.

• Weed & Turfgrass Science
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• v.1 no.4
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• pp.1-5
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• 2012

A simple monitoring method was designed to evaluate seed bank in a upper soil (0 to 30 cm depth), which was observed for the pattern of vertical distribution of weed in the soil under tillage or no-tillage condition. The field experiment was established at an organic corn field located in Hwacheon in Kangwon-do from 2010 to 2011. Undistributed linear soil samples were taken using non-destructive soil sampler from 0 to 30 cm depth at the tillage or no-tillage soils. Weed seed distribution in the linear soil samples was estimated by counting the number of weed germinated according to the soil depth. Under tillage condition, the weed seeds were more evenly distributed from 0 to 30 cm depth, with being 75% of weed seeds located in 0 to 15 cm depth compared to the no-tillage condition. Soil samples taken by no-tillage condition had 85% of weed seeds within 15 cm of soil depth, with being 93% of weed seeds from 0 to 20 cm depth. The number of weeds or the number of weed species were three times higher for tillage soil compared to no-tillage soil, and the major dominant weed species were observed for annual plants, such as Echinochloa crus-gall, Mollugo pentaphylla, and Digitaria ciliaris.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.135-140
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• 2008

In this study, the macromineral content ratios of four herbal medicine samples(Saposhnikoviae Radix, Bupleuri Radix, Cnidii Rhizoma, and Astragali Radix) were analyzed to discriminate their geographical origins using an energydispersive x-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) technique. EDXRF is a rapid, non-destructive, and multi-elemental analysis technique. Initially, samples of both domestic and imported herbal medicines were pulverized, and then their macromineral contents, including P, S, K, and Ca, were analyzed using EDXRF. For the discrimination of their geographical origins, canonical discriminant analysis was carried out based on the estimated macromineral relative content ratios of the samples. According to the results, the discrimination accuracies were as follows: 93.3% for Saposhnikoviae Radix, 95.7% for Bupleuri Radix, 98.8% for Cnidii Rhizoma, and 87.5% for Astragali Radix. Overall, the results imply that this technique could be used as a standard method, to discriminate their geographical origins between domestic and imported herbal medicines.

• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.590-605
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• 2021

The history of printing technology in Korea is studied by investigating existing ancient documents and records and comparing accumulated data and knowledge. Cultural property research requires non-destructive testing and observation with the naked eye or aided by a microscope. Researchers' experience and knowledge are required even though they cannot guarantee the outcome. For ancient documents and records that are presumed to consist of woodblock printing, wood type printing, metal type printing, or their combinations, each researcher draws various opinions and conclusions. This often causes confusion and divides the opinions of ordinary citizens and field specialists. Among them, the criteria for judging ancient documents or books printed using woodblock and metal movable material are ambiguous. Academic research on the development history of printing technology in ancient Korea has been stagnant, and conflicts among researchers have also erupted. Involvement of national investigative agencies not specialized in cultural properties has exacerbated the situation. In this study, we investigated printing characteristics that are likely to serve as more objective judgment criteria by quantitatively analyzing the experiments of retrieving several sheets of Korean paper (Hanji) using a replicated Hunminjeongeum (訓民正音) woodblock and quantitatively analyzing the images of the printed papers. In addition, the validity and questions for the typical phenomena presented as a method for distinguishing between woodblock and metal print are reviewed. We investigated the possibility of developing new objective judgement criteria through quantitative analysis using image analysis and investigating the printing characteristics of Korean paper through a reproduction experiment of woodblock printing.

• Journal of the Korean Recycled Construction Resources Institute
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.498-505
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• 2020

Aggregate occupies about 70-85% of the concrete volume and is an important factor in reducing the drying shrinkage of concrete. However, when constructing high-rise buildings, it acts as a problem due to the high load of natural aggregates. If the load becomes large during the construction of a high-rise building, creep may occur and the ground may be eroded. Material costs increase and there are financial problems. In order to reduce the load on concrete, we are working to reduce the weight of aggregates. However, artificial lightweight aggregates affect the interface between the aggregate and the paste due to its higher absorption rate and lower adhesion strength than natural aggregates, affecting the overall strength of concrete. Therefore, in this study, in order to grasp the interface between natural aggregate and lightweight aggregate by type, we adopted a method of measuring electrical resistance using an EIS measuring device, which is a non-destructive test, and lightweight bone. The change in the state of the interface was tested on the outside of the material through a blast furnace slag coating. As a result of the experiment, it was confirmed that the electric resistance was about 90% lower than that in the air-dried state through the electrolyte immersion, and the electric resistance differs depending on the type of aggregate and the presence or absence of coating. As a result of the experiment, the difference in compressive strength depending on the type of aggregate and the presence or absence of coating was shown, and the difference in impedance value and phase angle for each type of lightweight aggregate was shown.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.184-194
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• 2022

Triplochiton scleroxylon K. Schum is the plant species most affected by logging activities in the East Region of Cameroon due to its market value. This logging has impacted the ecological niche of the fern plant for which limited research has been done. The aim of this study is to contribute towards improving knowledge of fern richness and biomass on T. scleroxylon within the Central African sub-region. Fern data collection was done on 20 felled/harvested T. scleroxylon where, in addition to fern inventory, fern biomass was collected by the destructive method. The diameter and height of T. scleroxylon measured were used as explanatory variables in allometric equations for fern biomass estimation. Fern inventory was characterized using diversity index. Eight fern species were recorded on T. scleroxylon (≈5 species/T. scleroxylon). The minimum diameter where fern could be found is 59.4 cm. The average fern biomass found was 23.62 kg/T. scleroxylon. Pearson correlation coefficient showed a positive correlation (r>0.55) between fern biomass and T. scleroxylon diameter. For allometric equation, the logarithmic model improved better the adjustment than the non-logarithmic model. However, the quality of the adjustment is improved more when only the diameter is considered as an explanatory variable. Fern biomass is estimated to 90.08 kg/ha^-1 with 76.02 kg/ha^-1 being lost due to T. scleroxylon exploitation in the study area. This study is a contribution towards increasing knowledge of fern diversity specific to T. scleroxylon, and also fern biomass contribution to climate change mitigation and the potential carbon loss due to T. scleroxylon exploitation.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.111 no.4
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• pp.502-510
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• 2022

In the national greenhouse gas inventory, a settlements category has never been included owing to the lack of activity data. Therefore, this study was conducted to obtain basic data for estimating biomass carbon storage in settlements. Nondestructive stem analysis with a laser dendrometer was performed on four major street tree species (Metasequoia glyptostroboides, Prunus armeniaca, Ginkgo biloba, and Acer buergerianum) in Wonju city, South Korea. Allometric equations of the aboveground volume were developed using five models, and allometric equations of crown area were developed with diameter at breast height (DBH) as an independent variable. The best performing allometric equations were aD²+bD+c for M.glyptostroboides and G. biloba, aD+bD² for P. armeniaca, and a+bD² for A. buergerianum. Regarding the allometric equations of crown area with DBH as an independent variable, G. biloba and A. buergerianum exhibited low coefficients of determination (R²), i.e., < 0.364, whereas M. glyptostroboides and P. armeniaca exhibited satisfactory R² values, i.e., > 0.767, probably due to different street tree management practices. The allometricequations in this study will support the carbon inventory of settlements and urban tree monitoring in management practices.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.17-24
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• 2023

A post-processing technique for the measurement signal of a solenoid-type sensor is introduced. The solenoid-type sensor nondestructively evaluates an external tendon of prestressed concrete using the total flux leakage (TFL) method. The TFL solenoid sensor consists of primary and secondary coils. AC electricity, with the shape of a sinusoidal function, is input in the primary coil. The signal proportional to the differential of the input is induced in the secondary coil. Because the amplitude of the induced signal is proportional to the cross-sectional area of the tendon, sectional loss of the tendon caused by ruptures or corrosion can be identified by the induced signal. Therefore, it is important to extract amplitude information from the measurement signal of the TFL sensor. Previously, the amplitude was extracted using local maxima, which is the simplest way to obtain amplitude information. However, because the sampling rate is dramatically decreased by amplitude extraction using the local maxima, the previous method places many restrictions on the direction of TFL sensor development, such as applying additional signal processing and/or artificial intelligence. Meanwhile, the proposed method uses amplitude demodulation to obtain the signal amplitude from the TFL sensor, and the sampling rate of the amplitude information is same to the raw TFL sensor data. The proposed method using amplitude demodulation provides ample freedom for development by eliminating restrictions on the first coil input frequency of the TFL sensor and the speed of applying the sensor to external tension. It also maintains a high measurement sampling rate, providing advantages for utilizing additional signal processing or artificial intelligence. The proposed method was validated through experiments, and the advantages were verified through comparison with the previous method. For example, in this study the amplitudes extracted by amplitude demodulation provided a sampling rate 100 times greater than those of the previous method. There may be differences depending on the given situation and specific equipment settings; however, in most cases, extracting amplitude information using amplitude demodulation yields more satisfactory results than previous methods.