• Membrane Journal
• /
• v.33 no.6
• /
• pp.427-438
• /
• 2023

In this study, in order to improve the performance of the reverse osmosis membrane with high water flux and high salt rejection, a study was conducted on the evaluation of characteristics according to the curing temperature and time during various additives and interfacial polymerization. The morphology of the membrane with no additives and the membrane with additives both showed a "rigid-and-valley" structure, confirming that the polyamide layer was successfully polymerized on the surface of the porous support layer. In addition, the additive of 2-Ethyl-1,3-hexanediol (EHD) had improved hydrophilicity and water flux, which was confirmed by measuring the contact angle. Finally, a highly permeable TFC membrane with NaCl and MgSO₄ salt rejection of 97.78% and 98.7% and a high water flux of 3.31 L/(m²⋅h⋅bar) was prepared.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
• /
• v.36 no.6
• /
• pp.638-646
• /
• 2023

Recently, active research has been conducted to enhance the power characteristics and thermal stability of lithium-ion batteries (LiBs) by modifying separators using a ceramic coating method. However, since the thermal properties and surface features of the separator vary depending on the characteristics of the ceramic powders applied to the separator, it is crucial to manufacture ceramic powders optimized for the separator's performance. In this study, we evaluated the characteristics of three types of α-alumina (A-1, A-2, and A-3) produced with varying dispersant contents and milling times, in addition to commercial α-alumina (AES-11). Subsequently, the optimized powders (A-3) were coated onto the separator using an aqueous binder for comparison with the characteristics of an AES-11 coated separator and an uncoated PE separator. The A-3 coated separator improved electrolyte wettability with a low contact angle (44.69°) and increased puncture strength (538 gf). Furthermore, it exhibited excellent thermal stability, with a shrinkage value of 5.64% when exposed to 140℃ for 1 hour, compared to the AES11 coated separator (6.09%) and the bare PE separator (69.64%).

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
• /
• v.28 no.6
• /
• pp.480-494
• /
• 2023

Objectives: This study sought to assess the effectiveness of community-based nutrition counseling on improving nutritional status, managing complex chronic diseases, and enhancing the quality of life for elderly individuals with chronic conditions, particularly in older adults with high levels of food insecurity and multiple chronic illnesses. Methods: Thirty elderly subjects with diabetes and hypertension who were registered at local Senior Welfare Center received individualized nutrition counseling, based on their Nutrition Quotient for the Elderly (NQ-E) index. Over a 16-week period, they received tailored counseling and underwent various health and nutritional assessments. The final analysis included 28 participants after two dropped out. Data analysis was conducted using the SPSS v28.0. Results: The subjects were over 70, with multiple chronic diseases including diabetes and hypertension and predominantly female. After 16 weeks, significant improvements were observed in the subjects' grip strength, and HbA1c levels, as well as in their NQ-E scores, indicating improved dietary balance and diversity. There were no significant improvements in the 'Moderation' subdomain of the NQ-E index, suggesting that this aspect requires further attention in nutritional counseling. The subjects' nutritional risk scores (NSI) were also significantly decreased, indicating less nutritional risk. Lastly, as measured by the SF-36K, the subjects' quality of life showed significant improvement in several domains including physical role performance and social function. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that tailored nutrition counseling, based on the NQ-E index, can improve elderly health, manage chronic diseases, and enhance quality of life. This approach potentially broadens the scope of community nutritionists' roles within an aging society. However, additional research is necessary to evaluate these interventions' long-term effects and sustainability.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
• /
• v.61 no.4
• /
• pp.576-583
• /
• 2023

This study aimed to investigate the impact of enhancing the electrode conductivity and mitigating the production of hydrogen peroxide - a by-product arising from lactate oxidation - on the performance of lactate electrodes. The electrical conductivity of the electrode was improved by modifying the surface of carbon paper with single-walled carbon nanotubes. Catalase was introduced to effectively eliminate the hydrogen peroxide produced during the lactate oxidation reaction. The carbon paper electrode, with simultaneous immobilization of both lactate oxidase and catalase, yielded a current 1.7 times greater than the electrode where only lactate oxidase was immobilized. The electrode in which lactate oxidase and catalase were co-immobilized on the surface of carbon paper modified with single-walled carbon nanotubes, produced a current of 171 µA, which was more than twice as much current as the carbon paper with only lactate oxidase immobilized. The optimized electrode showed a linear response up to lactate concentration of 20 mM, confirming that it can be used as a sensor electrode.

• The Journal of Korea Institute of Information, Electronics, and Communication Technology
• /
• v.16 no.5
• /
• pp.239-246
• /
• 2023

In this paper, we propose an open-loop algorithm to classify speech and music signals using the spectral flux parameters and Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficients(MFCC) parameters for the audio coder. To increase responsiveness, the MFCC was used as a short-term feature parameter and spectral fluxes were used as a long-term feature parameters to improve accuracy. The overall voice/music signal classification decision is made by combining the short-term classification method and the long-term classification method. The Gaussian Mixed Model (GMM) was used for pattern recognition and the optimal GMM parameters were extracted using the Expectation Maximization (EM) algorithm. The proposed long-term and short-term combined speech/music signal classification method showed an average classification error rate of 1.5% on various audio sound sources, and improved the classification error rate by 0.9% compared to the short-term single classification method and 0.6% compared to the long-term single classification method. The proposed speech/music signal classification method was able to improve the classification error rate performance by 9.1% in percussion music signals with attacks and 5.8% in voice signals compared to the Unified Speech Audio Coding (USAC) audio classification method.

• Journal of the Korean Crystal Growth and Crystal Technology
• /
• v.33 no.5
• /
• pp.167-173
• /
• 2023

Li₃V₂(PO₄)₃ and Li₃V₂(PO₄)₃/C composite with single phase monoclinic structure for the cathode materials are successfully synthesized by direct co-precipitation method using N₂H₄·H₂O as the reducing agent and alginic acid as the carbon source, and their electrochemical properties were compared. The particles with approximately 1~2 ㎛ size and the uniform spherical-like morphology of the narrow particle size distribution were obtained. In addition, the residual carbon can also improve the electrical conductivity. The Li₃V₂(PO₄)₃/C composite has improved initial specific discharge capacity and excellent cycle characteristics to maintain capacity stably than Li₃V₂(PO₄)₃. The results indicate that the reducing agent and carbon composite can affect the good crystallinity and electrochemical performance of the cathode materials.

• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
• /
• v.28 no.11
• /
• pp.29-42
• /
• 2023

In this paper, we propose a method to enhance the prediction accuracy of solar irradiance for three major South Korean cities: Seoul, Busan, and Incheon. Our method entails the development of five generative models-vanilla GAN, CTGAN, Copula GAN, WGANGP, and TVAE-to generate independent variables that mimic the patterns of existing training data. To mitigate the bias in model training, we derive values for the dependent variables using random forests and deep neural networks, enriching the training datasets. These datasets are integrated with existing data to form comprehensive solar irradiance prediction models. The experimentation revealed that the augmented datasets led to significantly improved model performance compared to those trained solely on the original data. Specifically, CTGAN showed outstanding results due to its sophisticated mechanism for handling the intricacies of multivariate data relationships, ensuring that the generated data are diverse and closely aligned with the real-world variability of solar irradiance. The proposed method is expected to address the issue of data scarcity by augmenting the training data with high-quality synthetic data, thereby contributing to the operation of solar power systems for sustainable development.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
• /
• v.65 no.6
• /
• pp.1290-1307
• /
• 2023

This study investigated the effect of processed forms (defatted or hydrolyzed) of black soldier fly larvae (Hermetia illucens L., BSFL) as a protein substitute on broilers. Experiment 1 was a feeding experiment, and Experiment 2 was a metabolism experiment. In Experiment 1, a total of 120 day-old Arbor Acres broilers (initial body weight 39.52 ± 0.24 g) were used for 28 days. There were 8 replicate pens, and 5 broilers were assigned to each pen. In Experiment 2, a total of 36 day-old broilers (initial body weight 39.49 ± 0.21 g) were used for the metabolism trial. There were 2 broilers in a metabolism cage and six replicate cages per treatment. The dietary treatments were as follows: a basal diet (CON), a basal diet without fishmeal and substitute with defatted BSFL (T1), a basal diet without fishmeal and a substitute with hydrolyzed BSFL (T2). In Experiment 1, during the entire experimental period, the T2 group significantly increased (p < 0.05) body weight gain and feed intake compared to the CON and T1 groups. The feed conversion ratio showed a lower tendency (p = 0.057) in the T2 group than in the CON and T1 groups. At 2 weeks, the CON and T2 groups were significantly higher (p < 0.05) crude protein (CP) digestibility than the T1 group. At 4 weeks, the total protein level significantly increased (p < 0.05) in the CON and T2 groups compared to the T1 group. In Experiment 2, the CP digestibility significantly increased (p < 0.05) in the T2 group compared to the CON and T1 group at weeks 2 and 4. At week 4 amino acid digestibility, the T2 group significantly increased (p < 0.05) lysine, methionine, tryptophan, and glycine digestibility compared to the T1 group. There was no difference in fecal microbiota among the treatment groups. In conclusion, feeding hydrolyzed BSFL as a fishmeal substitute in broiler diets improved growth performance, CP digestibility, and specific amino acid digestibility. Therefore, it is considered that hydrolyzed BSFL in broiler diets can be sufficiently used as a new protein source.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• v.35 no.2
• /
• pp.195-208
• /
• 2023

The nodular diaphragm wall (NDW) is a novel type of foundation with favorable engineering characteristics, which has already been utilized in high-rise buildings and high-speed railways. Compared to traditional diaphragm walls, the NDW offers significantly improved vertical bearing capacity due to the presence of nodular parts while reducing construction time and excavation work. Despite its potential, research on the vertical bearing characteristics of NDW requires further study, and the investigation and visualization of its displacement pattern and failure mode are scant. Meanwhile, the measurement of the force component acting on the nodular parts remains challenging. In this paper, the vertical bearing characteristics of NDW are studied in detail through the indoor model test, and the displacement and failure mode of the foundation is analyzed using particle image velocimetry (PIV) technology. The principles and methods for monitoring the force acting on the nodular parts are described in detail. The research results show that the nodular part plays an essential role in the bearing capacity of the NDW, and its maximum load-bearing ratio can reach 30.92%. The existence of the bottom nodular part contributes more to the bearing capacity of the foundation compared to the middle nodular part, and the use of both middle and bottom nodular parts increases the bearing capacity of the foundation by about 9~12% compared to a single nodular part of the NDW. The increase in the number of nodular parts cannot produce a simple superposition effect on the resistance born by the nodular parts since the nodular parts have an insignificant influence on the exertion and distribution of the skin friction of NDW. The existence of the nodular part changes the displacement field of the soil around NDW and increases the displacement influence range of the foundation to a certain extent. For NDWs with three different nodal arrangements, the failure modes of the foundations appear to be local shear failures. Overall, this study provides valuable insights into the performance and behavior of NDWs, which will aid in their effective utilization and further research in the field.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
• /
• v.65 no.4
• /
• pp.818-837
• /
• 2023

Understanding adipocyte development in fetus during bovine pregnancy is important for strengthening fattening technology. Additionally, nutritional level of dams during pregnancy has the potential to improve offspring growth and fat development. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the intramuscular adipocyte development and expression level of related genes in bovine fetus, and the effect of increased crude protein (CP) intake during pregnancy on the growth performance and carcass characteristics of male offspring. Eighty six pregnant Hanwoo cows (average body weight, 551.5 ± 51.3 kg, age 5.29 ± 0.61 y) were used. Fetuses were collected at 90, 180 and 270 d of gestation from 18 pregnant Hanwoo cows. The remaining 68 pregnant cows were randomly assigned to 2 feeding groups. The control (CON) group was provided the standard protein diet (n = 34), and treatment (TRT) group was provided a diet with a 5% increase in CP intake (n = 34). Male offspring were divided into two groups according to protein treatment of the pregnant cows: CON male offspring (CON-O) and TRT male offspring (TRT-O). Intramuscular adipocytes were found in the fetal skeletal muscle after 180 days of gestation. Male calf's birth weight increased in the TRT group compared to that in the CON group (p < 0.002). The final body weight (p < 0.003) and average daily gain (p < 0.019) of male offspring were significantly higher in TRT-O than in CON-O. The feed conversion ratio was also improved by 10.5% in TRT-O compared to that in CON-O (p < 0.026). Carcass weight was significantly higher in the TRT-O group than that in the CON-O group (p < 0.003), and back fat was thicker in the TRT-O group (p = 0.07). The gross receipts and net income were higher in TRT-O than in CON-O (p < 0.04). Thus, fetal intramuscular fat can be formed from the mid-gestation period, and increased CP intake during pregnancy can increase net income by improving the growth and carcass weight of male offspring rather than intramuscular fat.