• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.265-275
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• 2019

This study aimed to develop a compact partial nitritation step by forming granules with high Ammonia-Oxidizing Bacteria (AOB) fraction using the Air-lift Granulation Reactor (AGR) and to evaluate the feasibility of treating reject water with high ammonium content by combination with the Anammox process. The partial nitritation using AGR was achieved at high nitrogen loading rate ($2.25{\pm}0.05kg\;N\;m-3\;d^{-1}$). The important factors for successful partial nitritation at high nitrogen loading rate were relatively high pH (7.5~8), resulting in high free ammonia concentration ($1{\sim}10mg\;FA\;L^{-1}$) and highly enriched AOB granules accounting for 25% of the total bacteria population in the reactor. After the establishment of stable partial nitritation, an effluent $NO_2{^-}-N/NH_4{^+}-N$ ratio of $1.2{\pm}0.05$ was achieved, which was then fed into the Anammox reactor. A high nitrogen removal rate of $2.0k\; N\;m^{-3}\;d^{-1}$ was successfully achieved in the Anammox reactor. By controlling the nitrogen loading rate at the partial nitritation using AGR, the influent concentration ratio ($NO_2{^-}-N/NH_4{^+}-N=1.2{\pm}0.05$) required for the Anammox was controlled, thereby minimizing the inhibition effect of residual nitrite.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.155-163
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• 2019

The roles of polypropylene (PP) beads and pH on membrane fouling and treatment efficiency were investigated in a hybrid advanced water treatment process of tubular carbon fiber membranes (ultrafiltration (UF) or microfiltration (MF)) and PP beads. The synthetic feed including humic acid and kaolin flowed inside the membrane, and the permeated contacted the PP beads fluidized in the space between the membrane and the module with UV irradiation and periodic water back-flushing. In the hybrid process of UF ($0.05{\mu}m$) and PP beads, final resistance of membrane fouling ($R_f$) after 180 min increased as PP beads increased. The turbidity treatment efficiency was the maximum at 30 g/L; however, that of dissolved organic matters (DOM) showed the highest at PP beads 50 g/L. The $R_f$ strengthened as pH of feed increased. It means that the membrane fouling could be inhibited at low alkali condition. The treatment efficiency of turbidity was almost constant independent of pH; however, that of DOM showed the maximum at pH 5. For MF ($0.1{\mu}m$), the final $R_f$ was the minimum at PP beads 40 g/L. The treatment efficiencies of turbidity and DOM were the maximum at PP beads 10 g/L.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.7-14
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• 2019

PURPOSE: This study examined the effects of observing a self-video or a video of another person performing balance and gait training, followed by actual performance of the observed movements on the balance and walking ability of chronic stroke patients. METHODS: Thirty patients, who had experienced a stroke and were admitted to S rehabilitation hospital for treatment, were selected randomly and divided into three groups with 10 patients each: self-action observation (SAO) group, other-action observation (OAO) group, and treadmill walking training (TWT) group. The training program was conducted five times per week for four weeks. The GAITRite system, 10 m walking test, and timed up and go test were performed to measure the subjects' gait and balance ability. RESULTS: The velocity, cadence, double support, and stride length were increased significantly in the SAO and OAO groups (p<.05) but the T group showed no significant changes; no significant difference was observed among the groups (p >.05). The 10MWT decreased significantly in the OAO group (p<.05), but there were no significant changes in the SAO and T groups, and no significant difference was observed among the groups (p>.05). The TUG decreased significantly in the SAO and OAO groups (p<.05), but there were no significant changes in the T group, and no significant difference was observed among the groups (p>.05). CONCLUSION: The self or other action observation training helps improve the balance and gait ability.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.313-320
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• 2019

Increasing the concentration of nitrate ions in the soil solution and then leaching it to underground aquifers increases the concentration of nitrate in the water, and can cause many health and ecological problems. This study was conducted to evaluate the vulnerability of Meymeh aquifer to nitrate pollution. In this research, sampling of 10 wells was performed according to standard sampling principles and analyzed in the laboratory by spectrophotometric method, then; the nitrate concentration zonation map was drawn by using intermediate models. In the drastic model, the effective parameters for assessing the vulnerability of groundwater aquifers, including the depth of ground water, pure feeding, aquifer environment, soil type, topography slope, non-saturated area and hydraulic conductivity. Which were prepared in the form of seven layers in the ARC GIS software, and by weighting and ranking and integrating these seven layers, the final map of groundwater vulnerability to contamination was prepared. Drastic index estimated for the region between 75-128. For verification of the model, nitrate concentration data in groundwater of the region were used, which showed a relative correlation between the concentration of nitrate and the prepared version of the model. A combination of two vulnerability map and nitrate concentration zonation was provided a qualitative aquifer classification map. According to this map, most of the study areas are within safe and low risk, and only a small portion of the Meymeh Aquifer, which has a nitrate concentration of more than 50 mg / L in groundwater, is classified in a hazardous area.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.10 no.5
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• pp.361-372
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• 2019

Effect of different alkane based solvents on the stability of emulsion liquid membrane was investigated using normal alkanes (n-hexane, n-heptane, n-octane and n-decane) under various operating parameters of surfactant concentration, emulsification time, internal phase concentration, volume ratio of internal phase to organic phase, volume ratio of emulsion phase to external phase and stirring speed. Results of stability revealed that emulsion liquid membrane containing n-octane as solvent and span-80 (5 % (w/w)) as emulsifying agent presented the highest amount of emulsion stability (the lowest breakage) compared with other solvents; however, operating parameters (surfactant concentration (5% (w/w)), emulsification time (6 min), internal phase concentration (0.05 M), volume ratio of internal phase to organic phase (1/1), volume ratio of emulsion phase to external phase (1/5) and stirring speed (300 rpm)) were also influential on improving the stability (about 0.2% breakage) and on achieving the most stable emulsion. The membrane with the highest stability was employed to extract acridine orange with various concentrations (10, 20 and 40 ppm) from water. The emulsion liquid membrane prepared with n-octane as the best solvent almost removed 99.5% of acridine orange from water. Also, the prepared liquid membrane eliminated completely (100%) other cationic dyes (methylene blue, methyl violet and crystal violet) from water demonstrating the efficacy of prepared emulsion liquid membrane in treatment of dye polluted waters.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.201-206
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• 2019

In this study, we performed an electrowinning process for effective removal of metals (Cu and Ni) in solution and their recovery as solid forms. A complete removal of Cu and Ni (1,000 mg/L) was observed during four times recycling test, indicating that our electrowinning system can ensure the efficient metal removal with high stability and durability. In addition, we investigated effect of operation parameters (i.e., concentration of boric acid only for Ni, variation of pH, concentration of electrolyte ($H_2SO_4$), and cell voltage) on the efficiency of metal removal (Cu and Ni) during the electrowinning. The addition of boric acid significantly enhanced removal efficiency of Ni as the concentration of boric acid increased up to 10 g/L. Compared to negligible pH effect (pH 1, 2, and 4) on the Cu removal, we observed the increase in removal efficiency of Ni as the pH increased from 1 to 4. The electrolyte concentration did not significantly influence the removal of Cu and Ni in this study. We also obtained great removal rates of Cu and Ni at 2.5 V and 4.0 V, which were much faster than those at lower voltages. Finally, almost 99% of each Cu and Ni (1,000 mg/L) was selectively removed from the mixture of metals by adjusting pH and addition of boric acid after the completion of Cu removal. The findings in this study can provide a fundamental knowledge about effect of important parameters on the efficiency of metal recovery during the electrowinning.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.213-221
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• 2019

Anaerobic digestion (AD) has been widely used to valorize food waste (FW) because of its ability to convert organic carbon into $CH_4$ and $CO_2$. Korean FW has a high content of fruits and vegetables, and efficient hydrolysis of less biodegradable fibers is critical for its complete stabilization by AD. This study examined the digestates from different anaerobic digesters, namely Rs, Rr, and Rm, as the inocula for the AD of vegetable waste (VW) and cellulose (CL): Rs inoculated with anaerobic sludge from an AD plant, Rr inoculated with rumen fluid, and Rm inoculated with anaerobic sludge and augmented with rumen fluid. A total of six conditions ($3\;inocula{\times}2\;substrates$) were tested in serial subcultures. Biogas yield was higher in the runs inoculated with Rm than in the other runs for both VW (up to 1.10 L/g VS added) and CL (up to 1.05 L/g VS added), and so was biogas production rate. The inocula had different microbial community structures, and both substrate type and inoculum source had a significant effect on the formation and development of microbial community structures in the subcultures. The overall results suggest that the bioaugmentation with rumen microbial consortium has good potential to enhance the anaerobic biodegradability of VW, and thereby can help more efficiently digest high fiber-content Korean FW.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.223-229
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• 2019

Titania modified by 2-ethylimidazole (2-EI) (denoted as $2-EI-TiO_2$) demonstrated visible light photocatalytic activity for the degradation of organic compounds. $2-EI-TiO_2$ was a bright brown powder that exhibited similar crystallinity and morphology with the control $TiO_2$. A diffuse reflectance spectrum indicated that $2-EI-TiO_2$ absorbs visible light of all wavelengths. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) confirmed the cationic state of nitrogen species (e.g. Ti-O-N) on the surface of $2-EI-TiO_2$. Visible light-illuminated $2-EI-TiO_2$ degraded $10{\mu}M$ 4-chlorophenol (4-CP) by approximately 85% in 4 h. The photochemical activity of $2-EI-TiO_2$ was selective in targeting the organic compound. The repeated use of $2-EI-TiO_2$ decreased the photocatalytic activity for the 4-CP degradation. Experiments using radical scavengers and oxidant probes revealed that the oxidation by photogenerated holes is responsible for the degradation of organic compounds by illuminated $2-EI-TiO_2$ and the role of $^{\bullet}OH$ is negligible.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2024

Biological nutrient removal is gaining increasing attention in wastewater treatment plants; however, it is adversely affected by low temperatures. This study examined temperature effects on nutrient removal and morphological stability of the granular and denitrifying phosphorus accumulating organisms (PAO and DPAO, respectively) using sequencing batch reactors (SBRs) at 5, 10, and 20 ℃. Lab-scale SBRs were continuously operated using anaerobic-anoxic and anaerobic-oxic cycles to develop the PAO and DPAO granules for 230 d. Sludge granulation in the two SBRs was observed after approximately 200 d. The average removal efficiency of soluble chemical oxygen demand (SCOD) and PO₄^3--P remained >90% throughout, even when the temperature dropped to 5 ℃. The average removal efficiency of NO₃^--N remained >80% consistently in DPAO SBR. However, nitrification drastically decreased at 10 ℃. Hence, the removal efficiency of NH₄⁺-N was decreased from 99.1% to 54.5% in PAO SBR. Owing to the increased oxygen penetration depth at low temperatures, the influence on nitrification rates was limited. The granule in DPAO and PAO SBR was observed to be unstable and disintegrated at 10 ℃. In conclusion, morphological characteristics showed that changed conversion rates at low temperatures in aerobic granular sludge altered both nutrient removal efficiencies and granule formation.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.84 no.2
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• pp.148-158
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• 2021

Background: Radiotherapy is a common treatment option for lung or esophageal cancer, particularly when surgery is not feasible for patients with poor lung function. However, radiotherapy can affect pulmonary function and thereby induce pneumonitis or pneumonia, which can be fatal in patients with respiratory impairment. The purpose of this study is to evaluate if reductions in pulmonary function after radiotherapy can be minimized through simultaneous pulmonary rehabilitation (PR). Methods: In this matched case control study, we retrospectively analyzed patients who had undergone radiotherapy for thoracic malignant disease between January 2018 and June 2019. We analyzed results from pulmonary function tests and 6-minute walking tests (6MWT) conducted within the six months before and after radiotherapy treatment. Results: In total, results from 144 patients were analyzed, with 11 of the patients receiving PR and radiotherapy simultaneously. Of the 133 patients in the control group, 33 were matched with 11 patients in the PR group. Changes in forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV₁) and FEV₁/forced vital capacity were significantly different between the PR group and the matched control group (240 mL vs. -10 mL, p=0.017 and 5.5% vs. 1.0%, p=0.038, respectively). The median distance of 6MWT in the PR group also increased significantly, from 407.5 m to 493.0 m after radiotherapy (p=0.017). Conclusion: Simultaneous PR improved pulmonary function, particularly in measures of FEV₁, and exercise capacity for patients with lung or esophageal cancer even after radiotherapy treatment. These findings may provide an important base of knowledge for further large population studies with long-term follow-up analysis in the identification of the PR's effects during thoracic radiotherapy.