• Current Photovoltaic Research
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.95-100
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• 2022

Solar cell is a device that converts photon energy into electrical energy. Therefore, absorption of solar spectrum light is one of the most important characteristics to design the solar cell structures. Various methods have emerged to reduce optical losses, such as textured surfaces, back contact solar cells, anti-reflection layers. Here, the anti-reflection coating (ARC) layer is typically utilized whose refractive index value is between air (~1) and silicon (~4) such as SiN_x layer (~1.9). This research is to print a material called polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) to form a double anti-reflection layer. Light with wavelength in the range of 0.3 to 1.2 micrometers does not share a wavelength with solar cells. It is confirmed that the refractive index of PDMS (~1.4) is an ARC layer which decreases the reflectance of light absorption region on typical p-type solar cells with SiN_x layer surface. Optimized PDMS printing with analyzing optical property for cell structure can be the effective way against outer effects by encapsulation.

• Journal of Marine Bioscience and Biotechnology
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.133-142
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• 2022

The increased production and consumption of polyethylene terephthalate (PET)-based products over the past several decades has resulted in the discharge of countless tons of PET waste into the marine environment. PET microparticles resulting from the physical erosion of general PET wastes end up in the ocean and pose a threat to the marine biosphere and human health, necessitating the development of new technologies for recycling and upcycling. Notably, enzyme-mediated PET degradation is an appealing option due to its eco-friendly and energy-saving characteristics. PETase, a PET-hydrolyzing enzyme originating from Ideonella sakaiensis, is one of the most thoroughly researched biological catalysts. However, the industrial application of PETase-mediated PET recycling is limited due to the low stability and poor reusability of the enzyme. Here we developed the whole-cell catalyst (WCC) in which functional PETase is attached to the outer membrane of Escherichia coli. Immunoassays are used to identify the surface-expressed PETase, and we demonstrated that the WCC degraded PET microparticles most efficiently at 30℃ and pH 9 without agitation. Furthermore, the WCC increased the PET-degrading activity in a concentration-dependent manner, surpassing the limited activity of soluble PETase above 100 nM. Finally, we demonstrated that the WCC could be recycled up to three times.

• Journal of Korea Foundry Society
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.153-160
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• 2022

The effect of thickness on the microstructure and the mechanical properties of centrifugal cast 625 was investigated. Centrifugal cast 625 with various thickness of 10, 17 and 50mm showed partially columnar grained structure 8, 12.3 and 18.5mm respectively from the outer surface. Secondary dendrite arm spacing in the columnar grains slightly increased with increasing casting thickness. Tensile strength of the columnar region was similar regardless of casting thickness. Solidification behavior of the columnar grained region is similar to that of directional solidification, thus solidification rate in the centrifugal cast tube was extrapolated from the secondary dendrite arm spacing data of the directionally solidified material. The equiax grained region formed interior of the thick castings. The tensile strength of the equiaxed region showed the average value of the columnar region which is presumably originated from the grain structure rather than secondary dendrite arm spacing.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.83 no.4
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• pp.551-561
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• 2022

In this paper, the effect of fire conditions according to ISO 834 standard on the behavior of carbon fibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP) reinforced steel beams coated with gypsum-based mortar has been investigated numerically. To study the efficiency of these beams, 3D coupled temperature-displacement finite element analyzes have been conducted. Mechanical and thermal characteristics of three different parts of composite beams, i.e., steel, CFRP plate, and fireproof coating, were considered as a function of temperature. The interaction between steel and CFRP plate has been simulated employing the adhesion model. The effect of temperature, CFRP plate reinforcement, and the fireproof coating thickness on the deformation of the beams have been analyzed. The results showed that within the first 120 min of fire exposure, increasing the thickness of the fireproof coating from 1 mm to 10 mm reduced the maximum temperature of the outer surface of the steel beam from 380℃ to 270℃. This increase in the thickness of the fireproof layer decreased the rate of growth in the temperature of the steel beam by approximately 30%. Besides excellent thermal resistance and gypsum-based mortar, the studied fireproof coating method could provide better fire resistance for steel structures and thus can be applied to building materials.

• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.119-126
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• 2022

Here, we present the first morphological description of a larval Naso hexacanthus (5.2 mm in body length) from the East China Sea identified by cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) barcoding. The larva had a kite-shaped body with long serrated first spine of dorsal and anal fins. There were four melanophores on the base of the anal fin, dense melanophores on the caudal peduncle, and scattered melanophores on the surface of the brain. There was one small spine on the snout and behind each eye, with serrations on the head, top of the eye, inner- and outer-preopercle, and on the lower part and side of the opercle. The morphological characteristics of larval N. hexacanthus identified by COI barcoding will be useful for species identification of larval fish.

• Coupled systems mechanics
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• v.11 no.5
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• pp.439-458
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• 2022

Over-coating is one of the most popular engineering practices to strengthen Reinforced Concrete (RC) structures, due to the relative quickness and ease of construction. It consists of an external coat bonded to the outer surface of the structural RC element, either by the use of chemical adhesives, mechanical anchor bolts or simply mortar injection. In contrast to these constructive advantages, the numerical estimation of the bearing capacity of the strengthened reinforced concrete element is still complicated, not only for the complexity of modelling a flexible membrane or plate attached to a quasi-rigid solid, but also for the difficulties that raise of simulating any potential delamination between both materials. For these reasons, the standard engineering calculations used in the practice remain very approximated and clumsy. In this work, we propose the formulation of a new 2D solid-layer finite element capable to link a solid body with a flexible thin layer, as it were the "skin" of the body, allowing the potential delamination between both materials. In numerical terms, this "skin" element is intended to work as a transitional region between a solid body (modelled with a classical formulation of a standard quadrilateral four-nodes element) and a flexible coat layer (modelled with cubic beam element), dealing with the incompatibility of Degrees-Of-Freedom between them (two DOF for the solid and three DOF for the beam). The aim of the solid-layer element is to simplify the mesh construction of the strengthened RC element being aware of two aspects: a) to prevent the inappropriate use of very small solid elements to simulate the coat; b) to improve the numerical estimation of the real bearing capacity of the strengthened element when the coat is attached or detached from the solid body.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.237-246
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• 1997

Shucking(removing the meat from the shell) an oyster requires that the muscle attachments to the two shell valves and the hinge be severed. Described here is the computer vision software needed to locate the oyster hinge line so it can be automatically severed, one step in development of an automated oyster shucker. Oysters are first prepared by washing and trimming off a small shell piece on the oyster hinge end to provide access to the outer hinge surface. A computer vision system employing a color video comera then gabs an image of the hinge end of the oyster shell. This image is Processed by the computer using software. The software is a combination of commercially available and custom written routines that locate the oyster hinge. The software uses four feature variables, circularity, rectangularity, aspect-ration, and Euclidian distance, to distinguish the hinge object from other dark colored objects on the hinge end of the oyster. Several techniques, including shrink-expand, thresholding, and others, were used to secure an image that could be reliably and efficiently processed to locate the oyster hinge line.

• Composites Research
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.40-45
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• 2008

Rubber hose assembly for automotive hydraulic brake during operation is subject to combined stresses of cyclic pressure, cyclic bending and torsion as well as thermal load. The rubber hose is composed of ethylene-propylene diene monomer(EPDM) rubber layers reinforced by polyvinyl acetate(PVA) braided fabrics. A durability tester with loading rigs for inducing the above cyclic stresses was used to investigate failure mechanisms in the rubber hose assembly. Failure examination was performed at every 100 thousands cycles of bending and torsion. Hose samples were sectioned with a diamond-wheel cutter and then polished. The polished surface was observed by optical microscope and scanning electron microscope (SEM). Some interfacial delamination with a length of about 1mm along the interface between EPDM rubber and PVA fabrics was shown at the test cycles of 400,000. The delamination induced some cracking into the outer rubber skin layer to leading the final rupture of the hose.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.371-381
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• 2023

Evaluating the effectiveness of the radiation protection measures deployed at the Centralized Radioactive Waste Management Facility in Ghana is pivotal to guaranteeing the safety of personnel, public and the environment, thus the need for this study. Radiagem^TM 2000 was used in measuring the dose rate of the facility whilst the personal radiation exposure of the personnel from 2011 to 2022 was measured from the thermoluminescent dosimeter badges using Harshaw 6600 Plus Automated TLD Reader. The decay store containing scrap metals from dismantled disused sealed radioactive sources (DSRS), and low-level wastes measured the highest dose rate of 1.06 ± 0.92 µSv·h^-1. The range of the mean annual average personnel dose equivalent is 0.41-2.07 mSv. The annual effective doses are below the ICRP limit of 20 mSv. From the multivariate principal component analysis biplot, all the personal dose equivalent formed a cluster, and the cluster is mostly influenced by the radiological data from the outer wall surface of the facility where no DSRS are stored. The personal dose equivalents are not primarily due to the radiation exposures of staff during operations with DSRS at the facility but can be attributed to environmental radiation, thus the current radiation protection measures at the Facility can be deemed as effective.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.74.1-74.15
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• 2023

Background: Antibiotic beads are used to treat local bacterial infections by delivering high drug concentrations to infected tissue. Objectives: This study examined the elution characteristics of metronidazole from metronidazole-calcium sulfate (MCa) and metronidazole-calcium-potassium sulfate (MCaK) beads over 20 days and the antibacterial efficacy of the beads after storage. Methods: The MCa and MCaK beads were prepared by mixing 250 mg of metronidazole and 10 g of calcium sulfate hemihydrate with water and a 3% potassium sulfate solution, respectively. The beads were placed in phosphate-buffered saline for the elution study. The metronidazole eluents were determined using high-performance liquid chromatography. The microstructures were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the antimicrobial activity was evaluated by a microbioassay. Results: For the 20-day study, the total amount of metronidazole released was greater in the MCa beads than in the MCaK beads by 6.61 ± 0.48 mg (89.11% ± 3.04%) and 4.65 ± 0.36 mg (73.11% ± 4.38%), respectively. The amounts of eluted drugs from the MCa and MCaK beads were higher than the minimum inhibitory concentration at 0.5 ㎍/mL against anaerobic bacteria at both 20 days and 14 days. SEM showed that calcium crystals on the outer surface had dissolved after elution, and thinner calcium crystals were prominent in the MCaK beads. The MCa and MCaK beads exhibited antibacterial activity after setting, followed by storage at room temperature or 4℃ for 21 days. Conclusions: The MCa beads could release more drug than the MCaK beads, but all eluted metronidazole amounts were effective in controlling bacterial infections. Both metronidazole beads could be stored at ambient temperature or in a refrigerator.