• Title/Summary/Keyword: Mode of production

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Estimating soils properties using NIRS to assess amendments in intensive horticultural production

  • Pena, Francisco;Gallardo, Natalia;Campillo, Carmen Del;Garrido, Ana;Cabanas, Victor Fernandez;Delgado, Antonio
    • Proceedings of the Korean Society of Near Infrared Spectroscopy Conference
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    • 2001.06a
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    • pp.1615-1615
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    • 2001
  • During the past ten years, Near Infrared Spectroscopy has been successfully applied to the analysis of a great variety of agriculture products. Previous works (Morra et al., 1991; Salgo et al., 1998) have shown the potential of this technology for soil analysis, estimating different parameters just with one single scan. The main advantages of NIR applications in soils are the speed of response, allowing the increase of the number of samples analysed to define a particular soil, and the instantaneous elaboration of recommendations for fertilization and soil amendment. Another advantage is to avoid the use of chemical reagents at all, being an environmentally safe technique. In this paper, we have studied a set of 129 soil samples selected from representative glasshouse soils from Southern Spain. The samples were dried, milled, and sieved to pass a 2 mm sieve and then analysed for organic carbon, total nitrogen, inorganic nitrogen (nitrate ammonium), hygroscopic humidity, pH and electrical conductivity in the 1:1 extract. NIR spectra of all samples were obtained in reflectance mode using a Foss NIR Systems 6500 spectrophotometer equipped with a spinning module. Calibration equations were developed for seven analytical parameters (ph, Total nitrogen, organic nitrogen, organic carbon, C/N ratio and Electric Conductivity). Preliminary results show good correlation coefficients and standard errors of cross validation in equations obtained for Organic Carbon, Organic Nitrogen, Total Nitrogen and C/N ratio. Calibrations for nitrates and nitrites, ammonia and electric conductivity were not acceptable. Calibration obtained for pH had an acceptable SECV, but the determination coefficient was found very poor probably due to the reduced range in reference values. Since the estimation of Organic Carbon and C/N ratio are acceptable NIIRS could be used as a fast method to assess the necessity of organic amendments in soils from Mediterranean regions where the low level of organic matter in soils constitutes an important agronomic problem. Furthermore, the possibility of a single and fast estimation of Total Nitrogen (tedious determination by modifications of the Kjeldahl procedure) could provide and interesting data to use in the estimation of nitrogen fertilizer rates by means of nitrogen balances.

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The Relationship between the Serum Cytokine and Clinical Improvement in Major Depressive Disorder (주요 우울증에서 혈중 Cytokine과 임상적 호전과의 관계)

  • Kim, Hyon Chul;Lee, Sang Kyu;Kim, Do Hoon;Son, Bong Ki
    • Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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    • v.10 no.1
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    • pp.70-79
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    • 2003
  • Object : Currently, the alteration of cytokine system has been known to play an important role in regard to depressive symptom. We focused on the relationship between immunological parameters and clinical improvement in major depressive disorder. Method : Data were collected on 26 patients with major depressive disorder using a 8-week prospective follow-up design. After 8-week treatment period with fluoxetine, patients were classified into a response group and a non-response group according to their psychopathological outcome as evaluated by Hamilton Depression Rating Scale. The differences of the immunological parameters between pre-treatment phase and post-treatment phase were compared among patients. The difference of those was also compared within each phase among them. The relationship between socio-demographic variables, depression, cytokine, mononuclear cells was examined by correlation analysis. Multiple regression analyses were performed to explore the predictors of clinical improvement of major depressive disorder. Result : Pre-treatment levels of IL-$1{\beta}$ in the response group were significantly higher than those in the non-response group. Pre-treatment levels of IL-$1{\beta}$ of all patients and in the response group were positively correlated with pre-treatment monocyte counts. Patients with subsequent remission showed significantly lower IL-6 values at baseline than those with non-response. Post-treatment values of IL-6 did not differ significantly among the patients. The correlation test showed more frequent relations among cytokines and mononuclear cells in the response group than in the non-responder group. Especially, serum level of IL-6 in pre-treatment phase was only significantly correlated with HAMD score after 8-week treatement phase, while other cytokines and mononuclear cells were not. Pretreatment level of IL-6 was of paramount importance in predicting clinical improvement of depressive symptom. Conclusion : The immune system of major depressive disorder patients might dichotomize the patients into subsequent responders and non-responders. Immune system might be of great influence on the clinical improvement of major depressive disorder. The mode of interaction between depression and cellular immune function and the mediators responsible for the cytokine production need to be studied further.

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Diversification Strategy through Market Creation: The Case of CJ Group

  • Jeong, Jaeseok;Kim, Nam Jung;Lim, Hyunjoo;Kang, Hyoung Goo;Moon, Junghoon
    • Asia Marketing Journal
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    • v.15 no.4
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    • pp.1-32
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    • 2014
  • The purpose of this paper is to investigate upon a diversification strategy through market creation of CJ Group, which has contributed in positioning of the firm as one of the leading conglomerates in South Korea. With such objective, the background of CJ Group, followed by its business diversification strategies were explored, with reference to several case studies. The history of CJ Group began with establishment of CheilJedang Industrial Corporation in 1953, as the first domestic sugar producer and exporter of South Korea. The corporation gradually expanded its business ever since at both national and global level, to include the fields of food production, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and life chemicals. Later, CheilJedang (CJ) Group was established as an affiliate of CheilJedang Industrial Corporation. With such independence, extension of business has been witnessed across the industries of media, entertainment, finance, information technology and distribution. Thus, the current CJ Group pursues to define itself as a progressive global living culture company with four major business categories from food and food service, biotechnology, entertainment and media, and logistics. Despite its success in today's market, CJ Group underwent hardships in its business diversification in 1990s due to indiscreet management, along with the Asian financial crisis. Here, many firms overcame the financial difficulties by taking advantage of the exchange rate for overseas expansion. Though, CJ Group tried to differentiate itself by focusing on the domestic market by creating something out of nothing. Hence, CJ Group takes a unique position among many cases of business diversification and their categorization. In an effort to identify and classify the types of growth experienced by the top 30 companies in South Korea, the firms were categorized into four groups according to their diversification strategies adapted after the Asian financial crisis. Based on the mode and time of entry, corporations were identified either as the 'Explorer', 'Invader', 'Venture Capitalist', or 'Assimilator'. Here, the majority of the firms showed the qualities of Invader, entering mature markets through large-scaled mergers and acquisitions. However, CJ Group was the only firm that was categorized as an Explorer, for its focus on the newly emerging service sector in culture-contents industry. This diversification strategy through market creation is worth examining, due to its contribution in generating simultaneous growth between the market and the company itself. Diverse brands of CJ Group have been referred to as case studies in this regard, from 'Hatban', 'Cine de Chef', 'VIPS' to 'CJ GLS'. These four businesses, each to represent processed food, film, restaurant service, and logistics industries respectively, show CJ Group's effectiveness in creating a whole new category of goods and services that are innovative. In fact, such businesses not only contributed in advancement of consumers' wellbeing, but toward generating additional value and employment. It is true that the diversification strategy of CJ Group requires long-term capital investment with high risk, compared to the other strategies mentioned in the paper. However, this model does create high employment and additional values that are positive to both the society and the firm itself. Therefore, the paper comes to a conclusion that the diversification strategy through market creation conveys the most positive impact relative to the others.

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Effects of Dietary Lysine Levels on Apparent Nutrient Digestibility and Serum Amino Acid Absorption Mode in Growing Pigs

  • Zeng, P.L.;Yan, H.C.;Wang, X.Q.;Zhang, C.M.;Zhu, C.;Shu, G.;Jiang, Q.Y.
    • Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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    • v.26 no.7
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    • pp.1003-1011
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    • 2013
  • Two experiments were conducted to determine the effects of different dietary lysine levels on the apparent nutrient digestibility, the serum amino acid (AA) concentration, and the biochemical parameters of the precaval and portal vein blood in growing pigs. In Experiment 1, 15 noncannulated pigs received diets with different lysine densities (0.65%, 0.95%, and 1.25% lysine) for 13 d. A total collection digestion test was performed, and blood samples were collected from the precaval vein at the end of the experiment. In Experiment 2, four cannulated pigs were fed the same diets of Experiment 1. The experiment used a self-control experimental design and was divided into three periods. On d 5 of each period, at 0.5 h before feeding and hourly up to 8 h after feeding, single blood samples were collected from catheters placed in the portal vein. In Experiment 1, some serum AAs (including lysine), serum urinary nitrogen (SUN), and total protein (TP) concentrations were significantly affected by the dietary lysine levels (p<0.05). Moreover, the 0.65% lysine treatment showed a significant lower apparent digestibility of gross energy, dry matter, crude protein, and phosphorus than the other treatments (p<0.05). In Experiment 2, serum lysine, histidine, phenylalanine, threonine, valine, isoleucine (p = 0.0588), triglyceride, and SUN (p = 0.0572) concentrations were significantly affected by the dietary lysine levels (p<0.05). Additionally, almost all of the determined serum AA and total AA concentrations reached their lowest values at 0.5 h before feeding and their highest values at 2 h after feeding (p<0.05). These findings indicate that the greatest absorption of AA occurred at 2 h after feeding and that the dynamic profile of serum AA is affected by the dietary lysine levels. Moreover, when the dietary lysine content was 0.95%, the growing pigs achieved a better nutrient digestibility and serum metabolites levels.

DETERMINATION OF MOISTURE AND NITROGEN ON UNDRIED FORAGES BY NEAR INFRARED REFLECTANCE SPECTROSCOPY(NIRS)

  • Cozzolino, D.;Labandera, M.;Inia La Estanzuela
    • Proceedings of the Korean Society of Near Infrared Spectroscopy Conference
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    • 2001.06a
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    • pp.1620-1620
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    • 2001
  • Forages, both grazed and conserved, provide the basis of ruminant production systems throughout the world. More than 90 per cent of the feed energy consumed by herbivorous animals world - wide were provided by forages. With such world - wide dependence on forages, the economic and nutritional necessity of been able to characterize them in a meaningful way is vital. The characterization of forages for productive animals is becoming important for several reasons. Relative to conventional laboratory procedures, Near Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy (NIRS) offers advantages of simplicity, speed, reduced chemical waste, and more cost-effective prediction of product functionality. NIR spectroscopy represents a radical departure from conventional analytical methods, in that entire sample of forage is characterized in terms of its absorption properties in the near infrared region, rather than separate subsamples being treated with various chemicals to isolate specific components. This forces the analyst to abandon his/her traditional narrow focus on the sample (one analyte at a time) and to take a broader view of the relationship between components within the sample and between the sample and the population from which it comes. forage is usually analysed by NIRS in dry and ground presentation. Initial success of NIRS analysis of coarse forages suggest a need to better understand the potential for analysis of minimally processed samples. Preparation costs and possible compositional alterations could be reduced by samples presented to the instrument in undried and unground conditions. NIRS has gained widespread acceptance for the analysis of forage quality constituents on dry material, however little attention has been given to the use of NIRS for chemical determinations on undried and unground forages. Relatively few works reported the use of NIRS to determine quality parameters on undried materials, most of them on both grass and corn silage. Only two works have been found on the determination of quality parameters on fresh forages. The objectives of this paper were (1) to evaluate the use of NIRS for determination of nitrogen and moisture on undried and unground forage samples and (2) to explore two mathematical treatments and two NIR regions to predict chemical parameters on fresh forage. Four hundred forage samples (n: 400) were analysed in a NIRS 6500 instrument (NIR Systems, PA, USA) in reflectance mode. Two mathematical treatments were applied: 1,4,4,1 and 2,5,5,2. Predictive equations were developed using modified partial least squares (MPLS) with internal cross - validation. Coefficient of determination in calibration (${R^2}_{CAL}$) and standard error in cross-validation (SECV) for moisture were 0.92 (12.4) and 0.92 (12.4) for 1,4,4,1 and 2,5,5,2 respectively, on g $kg^{-1}$ dry weight. For crude protein NIRS calibration statistics yield a (${R^2}_{CAL}$) and (SECV) of 0.85 (19.8) and 0.85 (19.6) for 1,4,4,1 and 2,5,5,2 respectively, on a dry weight. It was concluded that NIRS is a suitable method to predict moisture and nitrogen on fresh forage without samples preparation.

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Coat colour phenotype of Qingyu pig is associated with polymorphisms of melanocortin receptor 1 gene

  • Wu, Xiaoqian;Tan, Zhendong;Shen, Linyuan;Yang, Qiong;Cheng, Xiao;Liao, Kun;Bai, Lin;Shuai, Surong;Li, Mingzhou;Li, Xuewei;Zhang, Shunhua;Zhu, Li
    • Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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    • v.30 no.7
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    • pp.938-943
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    • 2017
  • Objective: Qingyu pig, a Chinese indigenous pig breed, exhibits two types of coat colour phenotypes, including pure black and white with black spotting respectively. Melanocortin receptor 1 (MC1R) and agouti signaling protein (ASIP) are two widely reported pivotal genes that significantly affect the regulation of coat colour. The objectives of this study were to investigate whether the polymorphisms of these two genes are associated with coat colour and analyze the molecular mechanism of the coat colour separation in Qingyu pig. Methods: We studied the phenotype segregation and used polymerase chain reaction amplification and Sanger sequencing to investigate the polymorphism of MC1R and ASIP in 121 Qingyu pigs, consisting of 115 black and 6 white with black spotted pigs. Results: Coat colour of Qingyu pig is associated with the polymorphisms of MC1R but not ASIP. We only found 2 haplotypes, $E^{QY}$ and $E^{qy}$, based on the 13 observed mutations from MC1R gene. Among which, $E^{qy}$ presented a recessive inheritance mode in black spotted Qingyu pigs. Further analysis revealed a g.462-463CC insertion that caused a frameshift mutation and a premature stop codon, thus changed the first transmembrane domain completely and lost the remaining six transmembrane domains. Altogether, our results strongly support that the variety of Qingyu pig's coat colour is related to MC1R. Conclusion: Our findings indicated that black coat colour in Qingyu pig was dominant to white with black spotted phenotype and MC1R gene polymorphism was associated with coat colour separation in Qingyu pig.

Studies on the EPA(eicosapentaenioc acid) production by marine bacteria (해양세균(海洋細菌)을 이용(利用)한 EPA(eicosapentaenoic acid) 생성(生成)에 관한 연구(硏究))

  • Joh, Yong-Goe;Kim, Seong-Jin;Kim, Ji-Soo;Lee, Min-Kyeng
    • Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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    • v.12 no.2
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    • pp.121-130
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    • 1995
  • This project has been worked out for isolation of EPA-producing bacteria from marine source of sea water, sea sediment and intestinal contents eviscerated from some red-muscle fish such as mackerel, horse-mackerel and spike fish. The samples were precultured on the media of PPES-II glucose broth and then pure-cultured on Nutrient agar and P-Y-M glucose. Lipids extracted from those bacterial mass collected by centrifugation were analysed in terms of lipid class and fatty acid composition. The results are resumed as follows : 1. 112 strains from sea water and 76 strains from sea sediment were tested for their EPA producing capability, but both strains of (SA-67 and SA-91) from the former and four strains(SS-35, 37, 51 and 71) from the latter have been proved to produce EPA above the level of 2% of total fatty acids. The strains such as GS-11, 29, 31, HM-9, 29, B-18, 33, 107, YL-129, 156, 203, 77, 104 and 256 which were isolated from fish intestinal contents, have also produced EPA at higher level than 2% of total fatty acids. 2. Contents of total lipids extracted from the cultures of these strains grown at $25^{\circ}C$, range from 2.8% to 6.9% (on dry weight %), and they are mainly composed of polar lipids($40.9{\sim}52.9%$) such as phosphatidyl glycerol($^{+}cardiolipin$)(?) and phosphatidyl ethanolamine ($33.8{\sim}40.0%$), with smaller amount of free fatty acid ($11.2{\sim}20.2%$). 3. EPA was isolated from a mixture of fatty acid methyl esters obtained from the lipid of each strain by HPLC in silver-ion mode and was identified by GC-Mass spectrometry. 4. The strains of SW-91, GS-11, GS-29, HM-9, B-18 and YL-203 grown at $25^{\circ}C$ have a level of 5% EPA in their total fatty acids, and the GS-11 and HM-9 strains show a tendency of increase in the EPA level with an increase of growth temperature.

Composition of Federal R&D Spending, and Regional Economy : The Case of the U.S.A

  • Lee, Si-Kyoung
    • Journal of the Korean Regional Science Association
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    • v.9 no.1
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    • pp.65-78
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    • 1993
  • In this study, the significant and enduring concentration of federal R&D spending in metro-scale clusters across the nation is treated as evidence of the operation of a distinct industrial infrastructure defined by the ability of R&D performers to attract external funding and pursue the sophisticated project work demanded. It follows, then, that the agglomerative potential of these R&D concentrations -- performers and their support infrastructures -- requires a search for economic impacts guided by a different stimulative effects attributable to federal R&D spending may be that substantial subnational economic impacts are routinely obscured and diluted by research designs that seek to discover impacts either at the level of nation-scale economic aggregates or on firms or specific industries organized spatially. Therefore, this study proceeds by seeking to link the locational clustering of federal contract R&D spending to more localized economic impacts. It tests a series of models(X-IV) designed to trace federal contract R&D spending flows to economic impacts registered at the level of metro-regional economies. By shifting the focus from funding sources to recipient types and then to sector-specific impacts, the patterns of consistent results become increasingly compelling. In general, these results indicated that federal R&D spending does indeed nurture the development of an important nation-spanning advanced industrial production and R&D infrastructure anchored primarily by two dozed or so metro-regions. However, dominated as it is by a strong defense-industrial orientation, federal contract R&D spending would appear to constitute a relatively inefficient national economic development policy, at least as registered on conventional indicators. Federal contract R&D destined for the support of nondefense/civilian(Model I), nonprofit(Model II), and educational/research(Mode III) R&D agendas is associated with substantially greater regional employment and income impacts than is R&D funding disbursed by the Department of Defense. While federal R&D support from DOD(Model I) and for-profit(Model II) and industrial performer(Model III) contract R&D agendas are associated with positive regional economic impacts, they are substantially smaller than those associated with performers operating outside the defense industrial base. Moreover, evidence that the large-business sector mediates a small business sector(Model VI) justifies closer scrutiny of the relative contribution to economic growth and development made by these two sectors, as well as of the primacy typically accorded employment change as a conventional economic performance indicator. Ultimately, those regions receiving federal R&D spending have experienced measurable employment and income gains as a result. However, whether or not those gains could be improved by changing the composition -- and therefore the primary missions -- of federal R&D spending cannot be decided by merely citing evidence of its economic impacts of the kind reported here. Rather, that decision turns on a prior public choice relating to the trade-offs deemed acceptable between conventional employment and income gains, the strength of a nation's industrial base not reflected in such indicators, and the reigning conception of what constitutes national security -- military might or a competitive civilian economy.

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Genetic Parameter Estimation in Seedstock Swine Population for Growth Performances

  • Choi, Jae Gwan;Cho, Chung Il;Choi, Im Soo;Lee, Seung Soo;Choi, Tae Jeong;Cho, Kwang Hyun;Park, Byoung Ho;Choy, Yun Ho
    • Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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    • v.26 no.4
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    • pp.470-475
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    • 2013
  • The objective of this study was to estimate genetic parameters that are to be used for across-herd genetic evaluations of seed stock pigs at GGP level. Performance data with pedigree information collected from swine breeder farms in Korea were provided by Korea Animal Improvement Association (AIAK). Performance data were composed of final body weights at test days and ultrasound measures of back fat thickness (BF), rib eye area (EMA) and retail cut percentage (RCP). Breeds of swine tested were Landrace, Yorkshire and Duroc. Days to 90 kg body weight (DAYS90) were estimated with linear function of age and ADG calculated from body weights at test days. Ultrasound measures were taken with A-mode ultrasound scanners by trained technicians. Number of performance records after censoring outliers and keeping records pigs only born from year 2000 were of 78,068 Duroc pigs, 101,821 Landrace pigs and 281,421 Yorkshire pigs. Models included contemporary groups defined by the same herd and the same seasons of births of the same year, which was regarded as fixed along with the effect of sex for all traits and body weight at test day as a linear covariate for ultrasound measures. REML estimation was processed with REMLF90 program. Heritability estimates were 0.40, 0.32, 0.21 0.39 for DAYS90, ADG, BF, EMA, RCP, respectively for Duroc population. Respective heritability estimates for Landrace population were 0.43, 0.41, 0.22, and 0.43 and for Yorkshire population were 0.36, 0.38, 0.22, and 0.42. Genetic correlation coefficients of DAYS90 with BF, EMA, or RCP were estimated to be 0.00 to 0.09, -0.15 to -0.25, 0.22 to 0.28, respectively for three breeds populations. Genetic correlation coefficients estimated between BF and EMA was -0.33 to -0.39. Genetic correlation coefficient estimated between BF and RCP was high and negative (-0.78 to -0.85) but the environmental correlation coefficients between these two traits was medium and negative (near -0.35), which describes a highly correlated genetic response to selection on one or the other of these traits. Genetic Trends of all three breeds tend to be towards bigger EMA or greater RCP and shorter DAYS90 especially from generations born after year 2000.

A Study on Matching Method of Hull Blocks Based on Point Clouds for Error Prediction (선박 블록 정합을 위한 포인트 클라우드 기반의 오차예측 방법에 대한 연구)

  • Li, Runqi;Lee, Kyung-Ho;Lee, Jung-Min;Nam, Byeong-Wook;Kim, Dae-Seok
    • Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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    • v.29 no.2
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    • pp.123-130
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    • 2016
  • With the development of fast construction mode in shipbuilding market, the demand on accuracy management of hull is becoming higher and higher in shipbuilding industry. In order to enhance production efficiency and reduce manufacturing cycle time in shipbuilding industry, it is important for shipyards to have the accuracy of ship components evaluated efficiently during the whole manufacturing cycle time. In accurate shipbuilding process, block accuracy is the key part, which has significant meaning in shortening the period of shipbuilding process, decreasing cost and improving the quality of ship. The key of block accuracy control is to create a integrate block accuracy controlling system, which makes great sense in implementing comprehensive accuracy controlling, increasing block accuracy, standardization of proceeding of accuracy controlling, realizing "zero-defect transferring" and advancing non-allowance shipbuilding. Generally, managers of accuracy control measure the vital points at section surface of block by using the heavy total station, which is inconvenient and time-consuming for measurement of vital points. In this paper, a new measurement method based on point clouds technique has been proposed. This method is to measure the 3D coordinates values of vital points at section surface of block by using 3D scanner, and then compare the measured point with design point based on ICP algorithm which has an allowable error check process that makes sure that whether or not the error between design point and measured point is within the margin of error.