• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.23-27
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• 2023

Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄) has been used as effective photocatalyst for degradation of antibiotics under visible light irradiation. However, the fast recombination of hole-electron pair may limit their photocatalytic efficiency. In our study, Ag was grafted on g-C₃N₄/g-C₃N₄ isotype heterojunction by a microwave-assisted decomposition method. The structure and physical properties of heterojunction photocatalyst were characterized through X-ray diffraction, UV-DRS, FT-IR, and Photoluminescence analyses. Ag decorated g-C₃N₄/g-C₃N₄ isotype heterojunction exhibited excellent photocatalytic activity for degradation of sulfamethoxazole under irradiation under visible light irradiation within 210 min, which is higher than g-C₃N₄/g-C₃N₄ isotype heterojunction and bulk g-C₃N₄. The addition of Ag may broaden the visible light absorption and restrict the recombination of hole-electron pair because of the surface plasmons resonance, resulting in the improving the photocatalytic activity.

• KIPS Transactions on Software and Data Engineering
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.77-82
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• 2023

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs established the FarmMap, an digital map of agricultural land. In this study, using deep learning, we suggest the application of farm map reading to farmland such as paddy fields, fields, ginseng, fruit trees, facilities, and uncultivated land. The farm map is used as spatial information for planting status and drone operation by digitizing agricultural land in the real world using aerial and satellite images. A reading manual has been prepared and updated every year by demarcating the boundaries of agricultural land and reading the attributes. Human reading of agricultural land differs depending on reading ability and experience, and reading errors are difficult to verify in reality because of budget limitations. The farmmap has location information and class information of the corresponding object in the image of 5 types of farmland properties, so the suitable AI technique was tested with ResNet50, an instance segmentation model. The results of attribute reading of agricultural land using deep learning and attribute reading by humans were compared. If technology is developed by focusing on attribute reading that shows different results in the future, it is expected that it will play a big role in reducing attribute errors and improving the accuracy of digital map of agricultural land.

• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.233-247
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• 2023

Recently, research on detecting objects in hidden spaces beyond the direct line-of-sight of observers has received attention. Most studies use optical equipment that utilizes the directional of light, but sound that has both diffraction and directional is also suitable for non-line-of-sight(NLOS) research. In this paper, we propose a novel method of detecting objects in non-line-of-sight (NLOS) areas using acoustic signals in the audible frequency range. We developed a deep learning model that extracts information from the NLOS area by inputting only acoustic signals and predicts the properties and location of hidden objects. Additionally, for the training and evaluation of the deep learning model, we collected data by varying the signal transmission and reception location for a total of 11 objects. We show that the deep learning model demonstrates outstanding performance in detecting objects in the NLOS area using acoustic signals. We observed that the performance decreases as the distance between the signal collection location and the reflecting wall, and the performance improves through the combination of signals collected from multiple locations. Finally, we propose the optimal conditions for detecting objects in the NLOS area using acoustic signals.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.27-37
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• 2023

Objectives: Moroccan Arbutus unedo is an essential medicinal plant; however, little is known about the biological properties of its leaves mentioned in Moroccan traditional medicine. Methods: Various standard experiments were performed to evaluate the phytochemical, antidiabetic, antioxidant, antibacterial, and acute and sub-chronic toxicity characteristics of A. unedo leaves. Results: Phytochemical screening led to the identification of several phytochemical classes, including tannins, flavonoids, terpenoids, and anthraquinones, with high concentrations of polyphenols (31.83 ± 0.29 mg GAEs/g extract) and flavonoids (16.66 ± 1.47 mg REs/g extract). Further, the mineral analysis revealed high levels of calcium and potassium. A. unedo extract demonstrated significant antioxidant and anti-diabetic activities by inhibiting α-amylase (1.350 ± 0.32 g/mL) and α-glucosidase (0.099 ± 1.21 g/mL) compared to the reference drug Acarbose. Also, the methanolic extract of the plant exhibited significantly higher antibacterial activity than the aqueous extract. Precisely, three of the four examined bacterial strains exhibited substantial susceptibility to the methanolic extract . Minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC)/minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values indicated that A. unedo harbor abundant bactericidal compounds. For toxicological studies, mice were administered with A. unedo aqueous extract at single doses of 2,000 and 5,000 mg/kg. They did not exhibit significant abnormal behavior, toxic symptoms, or death during the 14-day acute toxicity test and the 90-day sub-chronic toxicity test periods. The general behavior, body weight, and hematological and biochemical status of the rats were assessed, revealing no toxicological symptoms or clinically significant changes in biological markers observed in the mice models, except hypoglycemia, after 90 days of daily dose administration. Conclusion: The study highlighted several biological advantages of A. unedo leaves without toxic effects in short-term application. Our findings suggest that conducting more comprehensive and extensive in vivo investigations is of utmost importance to identify molecules that can be formulated into pharmaceuticals in the future.

• Journal of Adhesion and Interface
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.122-129
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• 2022

In this study, the hydrophilicity of the metal fiber is improved by introducing an oxygen-containing functional group to the fiber surface after treatment of the metal fiber using the oxygen plasma treatment time as an experimental variable. For the surface modification of metal fibers, changes in surface properties before and after plasma treatment were observed using SEM and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). In order to observe the effect of the plasma treatment time on the surface of the metal fiber, the change in contact angle of the metal fiber with respect to a polar solvent and a non-polar solvent was measured. After calculating the change in surface free energy using the measured contact angle, the contact angle and the surface free energy for metal fibers before and after oxygen plasma treatment were compared, and the correlation with the adhesion work was also considered. The microdroplet specimens were prepared to investigate the effect of surface changes of these metal fibers on the improvement of shear strength at the interface when combined with other materials and the interfacial shear strength was measured, and the correlation with the adhesion work was also identified. Therefore, the oxygen plasma treatment of the metal fiber results in an increase in the physical surface area on the fiber surface and a change in contact angle and surface energy according to the introduction of the oxygen-containing functional group on the surface. This surface hydrophilization resulted in improving the interfacial shear strength with the polymer resin.

• Journal of Industrial Convergence
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• v.20 no.12
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• pp.79-85
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• 2022

Recently, a smartphone manufactured on a flexible substrate has been released as an electronic device, and research on a stretchable electronic device is in progress. In this paper, a silicon-based stretchable material is made and used as a substrate to implement and evaluate an optical sensor device using oxide semiconductor. To this end, a substrate that stretches well at room temperature was made using a silicone-based solution rubber, and the elongation of 350% of the material was confirmed, and optical properties such as reflectivity, transmittance, and absorbance were measured. Next, since the surface of these materials is hydrophobic, oxygen-based plasma surface treatment was performed to clean the surface and change the surface to hydrophilicity. After depositing an AZO-based oxide film with vacuum equipment, an Ag electrode was formed using a cotton swab or a metal mast to complete the photosensor. The optoelectronic device analyzed the change in current according to the voltage when light was irradiated and when it was not, and the photocurrent caused by light was observed. In addition, the effect of the optical sensor according to the folding was additionally tested using a bending machine. In the future, we plan to intensively study folding (bending) and stretching optical devices by forming stretchable semiconductor materials and electrodes on stretchable substrates.

• Journal of the Korean Recycled Construction Resources Institute
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.55-61
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• 2023

This study aims to develop CLSM fill material for emergency restoration using landfill coal ash. As a result of examining physical properties such as particle size distribution and fines content of landfill coal ash, bottom ash, fly ash, and general soil were mixed, and SP was found to have a density of 2.03 and a residual particle pass rate of 7.8 %. CLSM materials that secure fluidity in unit quantities without using chemical admixtures such as glidants and water reducing agents have a high risk of material separation due to bleeding. As a result of this experiment, it was found that the bleeding ratio did not satisfy the standard in the case of the specimen with a large amount of fly ash and a lot of addition of mixing water. As a result of the compressive strength test, the strength development of 0.5 MPa or more for 4 hours was found to be satisfactory for the specimens using hemihydrate gypsum with a unit binder amount of 200 or more, and the remaining gypsum showed poor strength development. Although it is judged that landfill coal ash can be used as a CLSM material, it is necessary to identify and apply the physical and chemical characteristics of coal ash buried in the ash treatment plant of each power generation company.

• Composites Research
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.20-27
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• 2006

Self-sensing and interfacial evaluation of Ni nanowire/polymer composites were investigated using electro-macromechanical technique, which can be used fur a feasible sensing measurement on tensile and compressive loading/consequent unloading, temperature, and humidity. Mechanical properties of Ni nanowire with different aspect ratio and adding contents in either epoxy or silicone composites were measured indirectly using electro-pullout test under uniform and non-uniform cyclic loadings. Comparing apparent modulus with the conventional mechanical tensile modulus of Ni nanowire/epoxy composites, the trends were consistent with each other. Ni nanowire/epoxy composites showed the sensing response on humidity and temperature. Self-sensing on applied tensile and compressive loading/unloading was also responded for Ni nanowire/silicone composites via electrical contact resistivity showing the opposite trend between tension and compression. It can be due to the different electrically-interconnecting mechanisms of dispersed Ni nanowires embedded in silicone matrix.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.149-160
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• 2022

In this study, the physical quality and microbial changes of ginseng sprout according to the pretreatment process and packaging container were evaluated to improve the storage properties of ginseng sprout produced in smart farm. Quality change during storage (10 days) according to pretreatment method (ascorbic acid, citric acid, peroxyacetic acid) and packaging container (expanded polystyrene (EP), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), polypropylene + polyethylene + cast polypropylene (PP+PE+CPP)) was evaluated in terms of texture, viable cell count, water content, and color. As a result of comparison according to the type of pretreatment, the citric acid treatment group showed the lowest texture change and the effect on inhibition of bacterial growth. On the other hand, citric acid, which was most effective among pretreatments, was treated in all samples and then stored in 4 types of containers. Specially, the ginseng sprout in PP packaging container was not observed significant softening or color changes after 10 days storage, and the lowest changes in viable cell number. Therefore, this study was shown that citric acid treatment and use of PP packaging container are effective in increasing the shelf life of ginseng sprout.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.1061-1070
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• 2023

Over the last few years, lead-free inorganic metal perovskites have gained impressive ground in empowering satellites in space exploration owing to their material stability and performance evolution under extreme space environments. The present work has examined the versatility of eight such perovskites as space radiation shielding materials by computing their photon, charged particles and neutron interaction parameters. Photon interaction parameters were calculated for a wide energy range using PAGEX software. The ranges of heavy charged particles (H, He, C, N, O, Ne, Mg, Si and Fe ions) in these perovskites were estimated using SRIM software in the energy range 1 keV-10 GeV, and that of electrons was computed using ESTAR NIST software in the energy range 0.01 MeV-1 GeV. Further, the macroscopic fast neutron removal cross-sections were also calculated to estimate the neutron shielding efficiencies. The examined shielding parameters of the perovskites varied depending on the radiation type and energy. Among the selected perovskites, Cs₂TiI₆ and Ba₂AgIO₆ displayed superior photon attenuation properties. A 3.5 cm thick Ba₂AgIO₆-based shield could reduce the incident radiation intensity to half its initial value, a thickness even lesser than that of Pb-glass. Besides, CsSnBr₃ and La_0.8Ca_0.2Ni_0.5Ti_0.5O₃ displayed the highest and lowest range values, respectively, for all heavy charged particles. Ba₂AgIO₆ showed electron stopping power (on par with Kovar) better than that of other examined materials. Interestingly, La_0.8Ca_0.2Ni_0.5Ti_0.5O₃ demonstrated neutron removal cross-section values greater than that of standard neutron shielding materials - aluminium and polyethylene. On the whole, the present study not only demonstrates the employment prospects of eco-friendly perovskites for shielding space radiations but also suggests future prospects for research in this direction.