• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.83-92
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• 2010

To improve the antifouling characteristics of polypropylene hollow fiber microporous membranes in a submerged membrane-bioreactor for wastewater treatment, the surface-modification was conducted by Ar plasma treatment. Surface hydrophilicity was assessed by water contact angle measurements. The advancing and receding water contact angles reduced after the surface modification, and hysteresis between the advancing and receding water contact angles was enlarged after Ar plasma treatment due to the increased surface roughness after surface plasma treatment. After continuous operation in a submerged membrane-bioreactor for about 55 h, the flux recovery after water cleaning and the flux ratio after fouling were improved by 20.0 and 143.0%, while the reduction of flux was reduced by 28.6% for the surface modified membrane after 1 min Ar plasma treatment, compared to those of the unmodified membrane. Morphological observations showed that the mean membrane pore size after Ar plasma treatment reduced as a result of the deposition of the etched species; after it was used in the submerged membrane-bioreactor, the further decline of the mean membrane pore size was caused by the deposition of foulants. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and infrared spectroscopy confirmed that proteins and polysaccharide-like substances were the main foulants in the precipitate.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.146-153
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• 2007

A mathematical competition model between normal flora and an invading pathogen was devised to allow analysis of bacterial infections in a host. The normal flora includes the various microorganisms that live on or within the host and act as a primary human immune system. Despite the important role of the normal flora, no mathematical study has been undertaken on models of the interaction between it and invading pathogens against a background of antibiotic treatment. To quantify key elements of bacterial behavior in a host, pairs of nonlinear differential equations were used to describe three categories of human health conditions, namely, healthy, latent infection, and active infection. In addition, a cutoff value was proposed to represent the minimum population level required for survival. The recovery of normal flora after antibiotic treatment was also included in the simulation because of its relation to human health recovery. The significance of each simulation parameter for the bacterial growth model was investigated. The devised simulation showed that bacterial proliferation rate, carrying capacity, initial population levels, and competition intensity have a significant effect on bacterial behavior. Consequently, a model was established to describe competition between normal flora and an infiltrating pathogen. Unlike other population models, the recovery process described by the devised model can describe the human health recovery mechanism.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.40 no.6
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• pp.1340-1349
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• 2023

Despite its profound impact on athletic performance, the significance of heart rate recovery (HRR) has been insufficiently addressed in the filed of sports science, particularly in the context of weightlifting characterized by brief and intense exertions involving heavy weights. Serving as a valuable indicator of autonomic nervous system and cardiovascular function, HRR assumes a pivotal role in weightlifting. This comprehensive review aims to delineate the specific demands for HRR in weightlifting, shedding light on the often overlooked cardiovascular considerations within training regimes focused on strength and power. The investigation scrutinizes the repercussions of HRR on weightlifting performance, seeking to elucidate how inadequate recovery intervals may result in physiological and psychological consequences. These consequences encompass a distorted perception of effort, disruption of coordination, compromised posture due to irregular breathing, and an overall decline in lifting capacity. The review systematically presents compelling evidence pertaining to heart rate response and recovery patterns during weightlifting, underscoring the critical importance of well-structured rest periods. Furthermore, the review delves into a comprehensive discussion of factors influencing HRR in weightlifting, encompassing variables such as sex, age, cardiovascular function, hydration, nutrition, and psychological aspects. Finally, a key emphasis is placed on the integration of effective HRR techniques into the training regimens of weightlifters, thereby ensuring sustained and optimized performance outcomes.

• Annals of Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic Surgery
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.251-256
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• 2022

Backgrounds/Aims: Postoperative pain management is a key to enhanced recovery after surgery. The aim of this study was to evaluate clinical effect of preoperative intravenous (IV) non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) on relief of postoperative pain in patients after laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Methods: This single center, retrospective study was conducted between September 2019 and May 2020. A total of 163 patients were divided into two groups: Ibuprofen group (preoperative IV ibuprofen, n = 77) and Ketorolac group (preoperative IV ketorolac, n = 86). The primary outcome was postoperative pain score measured immediately in the recovery room. Results: There was no difference in demographic characteristics between the two groups of patients. Postoperative pain score measured immediately in the recovery room was significantly higher in the Ibuprofen group than in the Ketorolac group (mean value: 5.09 vs. 4.61; p = 0.027). The number of patients who needed analgesics immediately in the recovery room was also higher in the Ibuprofen group than in the Ketorolac group (28 [36.4%] vs. 18 [20.9%]; p = 0.036). Conclusions: In this study, preoperative IV injection with ketorolac reduced postoperative pain and analgesic requirement in the recovery room more effectively than that with ibuprofen. However, both showed similar effects on peak pain and pain at discharge. Numbers of patients requiring additional analgesics were also similar between the two groups.

• KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.382-403
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• 2020

Steganography is the art of concealing the existence of a secret data in a non-secret digital carrier called cover media. While the image of steganography methods is extensively researched, studies on other cover files remain limited. Videos are promising research items for steganography primitives. This study presents an improved approach to video steganography. The improvement is achieved by allowing senders and receivers exchanging secret data without embedding the hidden data in the cover file as in traditional steganography methods. The method is based mainly on searching for exact matches between the secret text and the video frames RGB channel pixel values. Accordingly, a random key-dependent data is generated, and Elliptic Curve Public Key Cryptography is used. The proposed method has an unlimited embedding capacity. The results show that the improved method is secure against traditional steganography attacks since the cover file has no embedded data. Compared to other existing Steganography video systems, the proposed system shows that the method proposed is unlimited in its embedding capacity, system invisibility, and robustness. The system achieves high precision for data recovery in the receiver. The performance of the proposed method is found to be acceptable across different sizes of video files.

• Clinics in Shoulder and Elbow
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.8-13
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• 1999

The results of the operative treatment of the Grade III acromioclavicular joint injury is defined by the durability of the reduced joint and free of exertional pain. Several surgical techniques have been applied to reduce and stabilize the joints effectively. Resection of clavicular lateral end and subacromial decompression also could be applied to prevent post-operative arthritic change. Biomechanical studies reveals the role of clavicular elevation and rotation to achieve more than 90 degrees of elevation. It also serves as a attachment site of deltoid and trapezius muscle. The stability and mobility of the both acromioclavicular and coracoclavicular joint are important to get full functional recovery. We modified the methods of coracoacromial ligament transfer described by Weaver-Dunn and by Shoji et a!. to pre­vent pullout of the transferred ligament and to get more improved functional results. Main technical point was harvesting full thickness bone block and fix it through the key-hole to reduce pull out angle.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.644-648
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• 2001

The biological control potential of entomopathogenic nematodes (EPN) can be enhanced by improved culture efficiency. Optimization of the media is a key factor for improving in vitro mass production of entomopathogenic nematodes. This study reports the effect of medium concentration. The medium is a combination of carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, sats, and growth factors, on the growth of Heterorhabditis bacteriophora and its symbiotic bacterium Photorhabdus liminescens. The overall optimal medium concentration for nematode recovery, hermaphrodite size, bacterial mass, infective juveniles (IJs) yield, and doubling time was 84 g/l. At this concentration rate, the doubling time of IJs production and the biomass of symbiotic bacteria was 1.6 days and 12.8 g/l, respectively. The maximum yield of $2.4{\times}{10^5}IJs/ml$ was attained within a one-generation cycle (eight days). The yield coefficient was $2.8{\times}{10^6}$ IJs/g medium, and the maximum productivity was $3.1{\times}{10^7}$ IJs per day. Medium concentration affected two independent factors, recovery and hermaphrodite size, which in turn influenced the final yield.

• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers P
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• v.61 no.3
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• pp.116-121
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• 2012

Recently, in the field of renewable energy such as solar cells including the semiconductor and display industries, thin film deposition process is being diversified. Furthermore, to deal with trend of making high-quality and fast, the high-capacity and output plasma power supply which can control high density plasma is required. The biggest problem is arc discharge caused by using high voltage power supply. Thus, the key function of plasma power supply is to prevent arc discharge and there is a need to maintain the possible minimum arc energy. In DC sputtering power supply, on a periodic basis (-)voltage powering up is able to significantly reduce arcing, as well as arc discharge prevention, and maintaining uniform charge density. This conventional method for powering up (-)voltage requires heavy mutual inductance of the transformer to avoid distortion problem of the output voltage. This study is about energy recovery circuit for arc discharge prevention in sputtering plasma power supply. By using energy recovery circuit, it is possible to reduce the mutual inductance and size of the transformer dramatically, prevent distortion of the output voltage and has a stable output waveform. This work was proved through simulation and experimental study.

• Journal of Communications and Networks
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.699-712
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• 2016

Recently, greedy algorithm has received much attention as a cost-effective means to reconstruct the sparse signals from compressed measurements. Much of previous work has focused on the investigation of a single candidate to identify the support (index set of nonzero elements) of the sparse signals. Well-known drawback of the greedy approach is that the chosen candidate is often not the optimal solution due to the myopic decision in each iteration. In this paper, we propose a tree search based sparse signal recovery algorithm referred to as the tree search matching pursuit (TSMP). Two key ingredients of the proposed TSMP algorithm to control the computational complexity are the pre-selection to put a restriction on columns of the sensing matrix to be investigated and the tree pruning to eliminate unpromising paths from the search tree. In numerical simulations of Internet of Things (IoT) environments, it is shown that TSMP outperforms conventional schemes by a large margin.

• Proceedings of the IEEK Conference
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• 2001.10a
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• pp.3-8
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• 2001

The mineral industry of the United States is going through a challenging time. The US as an industrial nation faces with increasing demand in raw materials to fuel various industrial sectors but, at the same time, meeting environmental constraints associated with excavating and extracting these raw materials. In addition, gradual depletion of material resources. and the necessity of handling more complex forms of resources of primary origin have led to a decline in her resource productivity, once a strategic advantage of the U.S. As a result. the United States currently relies heavily upon foreign importation of various materials such as precious and strategic metals. However, since the US is the major consumer of most of these materials, the recovery of these values from scrap would help renew her position as a resource-producing nation, and ultimately help spur its domestic economy. Furthermore. recycling would also help maintain a clean environment and reduce energy consumption. In this paper. the author attempts to discuss opportunities and challenges lied ahead of the US mineral in relation to recovering their much-needed resources from secondary sources. The need and demand in various metals in the US will be reviewed and discussed. The implication of resource recovery from secondary sources will also be discussed. Extraction methods treating secondary sources are inherently different from those for primary sources. There is a need for new technologies which are metallurgically efficient and environmentally benign in treating secondary sources. Ways to meet such a need will be examined and key factors to be considered in approaching these challenges will be discussed.