• Title/Summary/Keyword: Environmental issue

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Developing A Revitalization Planning and Design Guideline for Enhancing Land Use Performance of a Shrinking City

  • Yang, Shu;Kim, Jun-Hyun;Sohn, Wonmin;Kotval-K, Zeenat
    • Journal of People, Plants, and Environment
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    • v.23 no.4
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    • pp.387-398
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    • 2020
  • Background and objective: Land vacancy is a persistent issue in most urban areas in the United States, yet few case studies have examined how vacant lots are used and the functions they serve in local communities. The purposes of this study were to provide a new revitalization planning and design proposal for the Durant-Tuuri-Mott (DTM) target area in the shrinking city of Flint, MI, USA, and to assess the final planning and design guideline through an analysis of vacant land redevelopment alternatives. Methods: For developing a revitalization planning and design guideline, this study developed several design modules with three main design themes. Then, landscape performance of the final design proposals was analyzed by three development scenarios, based on implementation level: 100%, 75%, and 50%. These development scenarios were based on the local context and different implementation budgets needed to adopt the proposed design modules. To generate a comprehensive development plan by optimizing design module allocation in the study area, this research employed a system-oriented approach, analyzing the existing cultural, natural, and built environments. A community participant process was adopted to collect stakeholders' opinions on future development. Results: By utilizing landscape performance metrics to quantify the environmental, social, and economic benefits, this study developed optimized development scenarios and a master plan for the reuse and redevelopment of existing vacant lots across DTM neighborhoods and analyzed the benefits of each. Conclusion: This research offers a flexible design method for balancing objectives in vacant land redevelopment that can be applied in other shrinking cities.

Factors of Successful Development of Smart Cities

  • Iryna, Kalenyuk;Iryna, Uninets;Yevhen, Panchenko;Nataliia, Datsenko;Maxym, Bohun
    • International Journal of Computer Science & Network Security
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    • v.22 no.7
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    • pp.21-28
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    • 2022
  • The increase in the number of large cities and the size of their population sharpens attention to the new role of cities as entities to ensure a high-quality, safe and modern life of citizens, which has become significantly more active in recent years. The rapid spread of smart cities in the modern world has actualized the issue of analyzing their success and assessing the role of various factors in this. Every success of a smart city is always the result of a unique combination of the most modern technologies, environmental and social initiatives, skillful and consistent management, as well as available human potential. The purpose of the article is to analyze the success factors of smart cities based on the generalization of the results of the most famous ratings. In order to identify the impact of various factors, primarily intellectual, on the success and leadership positions of smart cities, the following ratings were consistently analyzed: Smart City Index (SCI), City in Motion Index (CIMI), Global Power City Index (GPCI), Global Cities Index (GCI), Global Cities Outlook (GCO). They have a different list of indicators and main pillars (dimensions), but all ratings take into account aspects such as: governance, ICT, mobility, functionality, human capital, etc. The highest correlation coefficient, that is, the strongest linear relationship of the CIMI index was found with such factors as: Human capital, Economy, Governance and Technologies. Summarizing the results of the TOP 20 smart cities according to different ratings allowed us to confirm that the list of leaders is very similar in all ratings. Among those cities that are in the TOP-20 in all five indexes are: London, Sydney and Singapore. There are four indices: New York, Paris, Tokyo, Copenhagen, Berlin, Amsterdam, Melbourne. Achieving leadership positions in smart city rankings is always the result of a combination and synergy of certain factors, and first of all, it is the quality of human capital. The intensity and success of the use of information and communication technologies in locality management processes, city planning and improvement of the city's living conditions depend on it.

Case Study of Radiation Protection and Radiation Exposure (방사능 노출과 방사선 보호 사례 연구)

  • Young Sil Min
    • Advanced Industrial SCIence
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    • v.2 no.3
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    • pp.1-7
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    • 2023
  • Recently, it is increasing that a issue of concern about radiation exposure. It affects soil, water, air, crops, etc., and in the long term, environmental pollution and food pollution occur, and it is considered to cause social problems and economic damage. Radiation exposure causes diseases and health problems, but as a method for diagnosing diseases, nuclear medicine tests such as X-ray imaging, CT, and PET-CT are conducted, and radiation isotopes are exposed for the purpose of cancer treatment. A Hungarian case study on radiation in water, particularly drinking water, following the release of radioactive waste from Fukushima, and an examination of the Larsemann Hills area in Antarctica, found that it was within the prescribed radioactivity limits of drinking water recommended by the World Health Organization. We looked at radioprotective agents, focusing on DNA damage, cell and organ damage, and cancer, and also investigated various literatures on ACE inhibitors, antioxidants, and natural substances among restoration materials. Although exposed to radiation in everyday life, the reason why it can be safe is probably because there is a radiation protection material and a recovery material for radiation exposure, so we are trying to find possible materials.

Effects of heavy metal lead on differential cell counts in occupationally-exposed subjects from Saudi Arabia

  • Abjal P. Shaik;Abbas H. Alsaeed;Asma S. Shaik;Abdullah A. Alyousef;Vamsee K. Bammidi;Kiranmaye Sampathirao
    • Advances in environmental research
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    • v.11 no.1
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    • pp.31-38
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    • 2022
  • The current observational epidemiological study analyzed blood lead levels (BLLs) in occupationally exposed workers from Riyadh region, Saudi Arabia and correlated them with the alterations in the differential cell populations of the WBC panel (lymphocytes [Lym %], mixed [Mid %] cells, and neutrophils [Neu %]). In addition, we examined the effect of confounding factors and their relation to BLLs. BLLs were estimated using the LeadCare II analyzer and hematological parameters using the ADVIA 120 analyser. An inferential analysis was conducted to detect association between the observations and the subjects' clinical characateristics. A total of 132 male subjects were included in the final analyses. Based on CDC guidelines, the subjects were categorized as Group I (BLL <10 ㎍/dL; n=118) or Group II (BLL >10 ㎍/dL; n=14) with average BLLs of 4.4 ㎍/dL and 18.1 ㎍/dL, respectively (p <0.0001). The percentages of Mid cells (p <0.0001) and neutrophils (p=0.048), were significantly altered in subjects with High BLL. A regression analysis indicated that subjects > 50 years of age had significantly higher BLLs (53.2 ㎍/dL) than younger age sub-groups (p <0.0001). Age, education, and profession were significant predictors for lead toxicity. Pb exposure is a major public health issue in Saudi Arabia and calls for further investigations on the cellular and molecular effects on hematological system.

Structural system identification by measurement error-minimization observability method using multiple static loading cases

  • Lei, Jun;Lozano-Galant, Jose Antonio;Xu, Dong;Zhang, Feng-Liang;Turmo, Jose
    • Smart Structures and Systems
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    • v.30 no.4
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    • pp.339-351
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    • 2022
  • Evaluating the current condition of existing structures is of primary importance for economic and safety reasons. This can be addressed by Structural System Identification (SSI). A reliable static SSI depends on well-designed sensor configuration and loading cases, as well as efficient parameter estimation algorithms. Static SSI by the Measurement Error-Minimizing Observability Method (MEMOM) is a model-based deterministic static SSI method that could estimate structural parameters from static responses. In the current state of the art, this method is only applicable when structures are subjected to one loading case. This might lead to lack of information in some local regions of the structure (such as the null curvatures zones). To address this issue, the SSI by MEMOM using multiple loading cases is proposed in this work. Observability equations obtained from different loading cases are concatenated simultaneously and an optimization procedure is introduced to obtain the estimations by minimizing the discrepancy between the predicted response and the measured one. In addition, a Genetic-Algorithm (GA)-based Optimal Sensor Placement (OSP) method is proposed to tackle the OSP problem under multiple static loading cases for the very first time. In this approach, the Fisher Information Matrix (FIM)'s determinant is used as the metric of the goodness of sensor configurations. The numerical examples of a 3-span continuous bridge and a 13-story frame, are analyzed to validate the applicability of the extended SSI by MEMOM and the GA-based OSP method.

Quality Improvement through Monitoring of Imported Medicinal Herbs (수입한약재 품목 분석을 통한 품질 제고)

  • Choi, Go-Ya;Ko, Byoung-Seob;Jang, Seol;Chae, Sung-Uk;Lee, Hye-Won;Lee, Mi-Young
    • The Korea Journal of Herbology
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    • v.24 no.4
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    • pp.63-67
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    • 2009
  • Objectives : Quality control for imported medicinal herbs is duty for regulation, however to the best of our knowledge there has been no report regarding quality control of imported ones. Therefore, this study investigated the data of imported ones for monitoring quality issue. Methods : These data are categorized according to item, the amount of import, country, inspection item, suitability, and incongruity reason based on the 248 results performed by KIOM. Results : China is the number one country for import with the value of 73%. Inspected medicinal herbs were 139 species, among them Poria is ranked as top for requested number and the amount of import. The amount of import is similar between high ranking 20 species and low ranking 119 ones, showing high ranking ones are major. The incongruity ratio was 7.7% from the total number of inspected items, the reason for incongruity was excess of tolerable amount of Cd residue. Conclusions : From the data, it is effective way to focus on high ranking herbs for evaluating imported herbs for quality control. The study of mechanism on Cd accumulation and its decrease is essential for environmental matter. And identification and storage for mixed used and easily decomposable herbs are remained for further study. Our study might be small step for showing guideline for proper quality control.

Photo-Transistors Based on Bulk-Heterojunction Organic Semiconductors for Underwater Visible-Light Communications (가시광 수중 무선통신을 위한 이종접합 유기물 반도체 기반 고감도 포토트랜지스터 연구)

  • Jeong-Min Lee;Sung Yong Seo;Young Soo Lim;Kang-Jun Baeg
    • Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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    • v.36 no.2
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    • pp.143-150
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    • 2023
  • Underwater wireless communication is a challenging issue for realizing the smart aqua-farm and various marine activities for exploring the ocean and environmental monitoring. In comparison to acoustic and radio frequency technologies, the visible light communication is the most promising method to transmit data with a higher speed in complex underwater environments. To send data at a speedier rate, high-performance photodetectors are essentially required to receive blue and/or cyan-blue light that are transmitted from the light sources in a light-fidelity (Li-Fi) system. Here, we fabricated high-performance organic phototransistors (OPTs) based on P-type donor polymer (PTO2) and N-type acceptor small molecule (IT-4F) blend semiconductors. Bulk-heterojunction (BHJ) PTO2:IT-4F photo-active layer has a broad absorption spectrum in the range of 450~550 nm wavelength. Solution-processed OPTs showed a high photo-responsivity >1,000 mA/W, a large photo-sensitivity >103, a fast response time, and reproducible light-On/Off switching characteristics even under a weak incident light. BHJ organic semiconductors absorbed photons and generated excitons, and efficiently dissociated to electron and hole carriers at the donor-acceptor interface. Printed and flexible OPTs can be widely used as Li-Fi receivers and image sensors for underwater communication and underwater internet of things (UIoTs).

Effect of University Closure on the Prices of Nearby Apartments -In the Case of Dong-Pusan College- (대학의 폐교지정이 주변 지역 공동주택 가격에 미치는 영향 -동부산대학교를 중심으로-)

  • Kim, Min Kyu;Kim, Hyunsoo;Choi, Yeol
    • KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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    • v.42 no.2
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    • pp.273-279
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    • 2022
  • In a recent decade, university closures have been a critical regional issue as a total of 17 universities have been closed while many more are facing closure in Korea. The local impact of university closures in the regions with declining populations has been far more detrimental and considered as one of the significant factors of the declining local economy, especially in the neighboring residential sectors. This study has taken an empirical approach to investigate the local impact of university closure on the housing market through a case of Dong-Pusan College in Busan, Korea. The study utilized Difference-in-Difference (DiD) to analyze the housing prices in proximity to the university and identified several factors associated with the local decline in the housing market in relation to university closure.

Hot Spot Stress of Concrete-filled Circular Hollow Section N-joints Subjected to Axial Loads (축하중을 받는 콘크리트 충전 원형 강관 N형 이음부의 핫스폿 응력 특성)

  • Kim, In-Gyu;Chung, Chul-Hun;Kim, Young-Jin
    • KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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    • v.30 no.2A
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    • pp.113-120
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    • 2010
  • The use of Concrete filled circular hollow steel section (CFCHS) members in bridge design is a relatively new concept. The most important part of the design and durability of such structures is the design and the construction of the joints. In the design of recently constructed steel-concrete composite bridges using CFCHS truss girders for the main load carrying structure, the fatigue verification of the tubular spatial truss joints was a main issue. Welded CFCHS joints are very sensitive to fatigue because the geometric discontinuities of the welds lead to a high stress concentration. New research done on the fatigue behaviour of such joints has focused on CFCHS N-joints, directly welded, with finite element analysis method. A commercial software, ABAQUS, is adopted to perform the finite element analysis on the N-joints. This paper is main focused on these topics, including hot spot stress.

A quantitative analysis of greenhouse gases emissions from catching swimming crab and snow crab through cross-analysis of multiple fisheries (다수 업종의 교차분석을 통한 꽃게 및 대게 어획 시 온실가스 배출량의 정량적 분석)

  • Gunho LEE;Jihoon LEE;Sua PARK;Minseo PARK
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Fisheries and Ocean Technology
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    • v.59 no.1
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    • pp.19-27
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    • 2023
  • The interest in greenhouse gases (GHG) emitted from all industries is emerging as a very important issue worldwide. This is affecting not only the global warming, but also the environmentally friendly competitiveness of the industry. The fisheries sector is increasingly interested in greenhouse gas emissions also due to the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015. Korean industry and government are also making a number of effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions so far, but the effort to reduce GHG in the fishery sector is insufficient compared to other fields. Especially, the investigation on the GHG emissions from Korean fisheries did not carry out extensively. The studies on GHG emissions from Korean fishery are most likely dealt with the GHG emissions by fishery classification so far. However, the forthcoming research related to GHG emissions from fisheries is needed to evaluate the GHG emission level by species to prepare the adoption of Environmental labels and declarations (ISO 14020). The purpose of this research is to investigate which degree of GHG emitted to produce the species (swimming crab and snow crab) from various fisheries. Here, we calculated the GHG emission to produce the species from the fisheries using the life cycle assessment (LCA) method. The system boundary and input parameters for each process level are defined for LCA analysis. The fuel use coefficients of the fisheries for the species are also calculated according to the fuel type. The GHG emissions from sea activities by the fisheries will be dealt with. Furthermore, the GHG emissions for producing the unit weight species and annual production are calculated by fishery classification. The results will be helpful to establish the carbon footprint of seafood in Korea.