• Advances in nano research
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.667-678
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• 2021

Multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were first oxidized (O-CNTs) to introduce carboxylic group and then further functionalized (F-CNTs) with m-phenylenediamine, which was confirmed by FTIR and SEM. It was used as an effective adsorbent for the adsorptive removal of diclofenac drug from water. Under optimum conditions of pH 6, stirring speed 600 rpm, the maximum adsorption capacity obtained was 532 mg g^-1 which is superior to the values reported in literature. The adsorption was quite rapid as 25 mg L^-1 drug solution was adsorbed in only 3 minutes of contact time with 10 mg of adsorbent dose. The adsorption kinetics and isotherms were studied using various models to evaluate the adsorption process. The results showed that the data best fit in kinetics pseudo-second order and Langmuir isotherm model. Furthermore, the oxidized and functionalized MWCNTs were applied on gram-negative Escherichia coli and gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus using agar disc diffusion assay to validate their anti-microbial activity. Results were unique as both oxidized and functionalized MWCNTs were equally active against both E. coli and S. aureus. The newly synthesized F-CNTs have great potential in water treatment, with their dual action of removing drug and pathogens from water, makes it potential applicant to save environment.

• Journal of Information Processing Systems
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.575-586
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• 2022

Uneven light in real-world causes visual degradation for underexposed regions. For these regions, insufficient consideration during enhancement procedure will result in over-/under-exposure, loss of details and color distortion. Confronting such challenges, an unsupervised low-light image enhancement network is proposed in this paper based on the guidance of the unpaired low-/normal-light images. The key components in our network include super-resolution module (SRM), a GAN-based low-light image enhancement network (LLIEN), and denoising-scaling module (DSM). The SRM improves the resolution of the low-light input images before illumination enhancement. Such design philosophy improves the effectiveness of texture details preservation by operating in high-resolution space. Subsequently, local lightness attention module in LLIEN effectively distinguishes unevenly illuminated areas and puts emphasis on low-light areas, ensuring the spatial consistency of illumination for locally underexposed images. Then, multiple discriminators, i.e., global discriminator, local region discriminator, and color discriminator performs assessment from different perspectives to avoid over-/under-exposure and color distortion, which guides the network to generate images that in line with human aesthetic perception. Finally, the DSM performs noise removal and obtains high-quality enhanced images. Both qualitative and quantitative experiments demonstrate that our approach achieves favorable results, which indicates its superior capacity on illumination and texture details restoration.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.8
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• pp.2835-2843
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• 2023

After an emergency shutdown of a lead-bismuth fast reactor, thermal stratification occurs in the upper Plenum, which negatively impacts the integrity of the reactor structure and the residual heat removal capacity of natural circulation flow. The research on thermal stratification of reactors has mainly been conducted using an experimental method, a system program, and computational fluid dynamics (CFD). However, the equipment required for the experimental method is expensive, accuracy of the system program is unpredictable, and resources and time required for the CFD approach are extensive. To overcome the defects of thermal stratification analysis, a high-precision full-order thermal stratification model based on CFD technology is prepared in this study. Furthermore, a reduced-order model has been developed by combining proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) with Galerkin projection. A comparative analysis of thermal stratification with the proposed full-order model reveals that the reduced-order thermal stratification model can well simulate the temperature distribution in the upper plenum and rapidly elucidate the thermal stratification interface characteristics during the lead-bismuth fast reactor accident. Overall, this study provides an analytical tool for determining the thermal stratification mechanism and reducing thermal stratification.

• The Magazine of the Society of Air-Conditioning and Refrigerating Engineers of Korea
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.19-33
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• 1982

Briquette ashes, one of important solid wastes in Korea, have relatively high compression strength in spite of their low density, and provide sufficient surface area and some adsorption capacity. Results of this research show that a fixed-film biological process using briquette ashes as media can accomplish BOD removal efficiencies in treating organic wastewaters such as alcoholic waste, diluted nightsoil and sewage , and formula can be derived to determine the effluent BOD concentrations by superficial or volumetric organic loadings. Settling tanks may be required because effluent SS concentration is deteriorated due to the SS in influent or due to the slough-off of slime layer on the media when briquette ashes are utilized for a long period.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Building Construction Conference
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• 2020.06a
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• pp.40-41
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• 2020

As the capacity of the 3d scanner developed, the reverse engineering using the 3d scanner is emphasized in the construction industry to obtain the 3d geometric representation of buildings. However, big size of the indoor point cloud data acquired by the 3d scanner restricts the efficient process in the reverse engineering. In order to solve this inefficiency, several pre-processing methods simplifying and denoising the raw point cloud data by the rough standard are developed, but these non-standard methods can cause the inaccurate recognition and removal the key-points. This paper analyzes the correlation between the accuracy of wall recognition and the density of the data, thus proposes the proper method for the raw point cloud data. The result of this study could improve the efficiency of the data processing phase in the reverse engineering for indoor point cloud data.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.461-471
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• 2023

Water pollution is one of the serious global issues caused by expanding urbanization and industrialization. Over the last few decades, various adsorbents have been developed to improve water quality and address future challenges of water pollution. Among them, the development of hydrogel-based adsorbents has received significant attention due to their hydrophilic nature, 3D formation, high porosity, non-toxic properties, reusability, and multifunctionality. Therefore, this review provides various types and characterizations of hydrogel and summarizes recent progress in the use of hydrogel adsorbents for the removal of water contaminants. Further, we introduced the preparation of hydrogel-based adsorbents, their adsorption capacity, and the development of multifunctional adsorbents for discussing the future direction of advanced adsorbents.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.95-107
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• 2024

This study proposes the use of a cobalt-based Prussian blue analogue (Co-PBA; potassium cobalt hexacyanoferrate), as an adsorbent for the cost-effective recovery of aqueous ammonium ions. The characterization of Co-PBA involved various techniques, including Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, nitrogen adsorption-desorption analysis, and zeta potential. The prepared Co-PBA reached an adsorption equilibrium for ammonium ions within approximately 480 min, which involved both surface adsorption and subsequent diffusion into the interior. The isotherm experiment revealed a maximum adsorption capacity of 37.29 mg/g, with the Langmuir model indicating a predominance of chemical monolayer adsorption. Furthermore, the material consistently demonstrated adsorption efficiency across a range of pH conditions. Notably, adsorption was observed even when competing cations were present. Co-PBA emerges as a readily synthesized adsorbent, underscoring its efficacy in ammonium removal and selectivity toward ammonium.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.50 no.5
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• pp.583-594
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• 2024

In this paper, a Guided Simulated Annealing (GSA) algorithm is presented to optimize 2D and 3D steel frames against Progressive Collapse. Considering the nature of structural optimization problems, a number of restrictions and improvements have been applied to the decision mechanisms of the algorithm without harming the randomness. With these improvements, the algorithm aims to focus relatively on the flawed variables of the analyzed frame. Besides that, it is intended to be more rational by instituting structural constraints on the sections to be selected as variables. In addition to the LRFD restrictions, the alternate path method with nonlinear dynamic procedure is used to assess the risk of progressive collapse, as specified in the US Department of Defense United Facilities Criteria (UFC) Design of Buildings to Resist Progressive Collapse. The entire optimization procedure was carried out on a C# software that supports parallel processing developed by the authors, and the frames were analyzed in SAP2000 using OAPI. Time history analyses of the removal scenarios are distributed to the processor cores in order to reduce computational time. The GSA produced 3% lighter structure weights than the SA (Simulated Annealing) and 4% lighter structure weights than the GA (Genetic Algorithm) for the 2D steel frame. For the 3D model, the GSA obtained 3% lighter results than the SA. Furthermore, it is clear that the UFC and LRFD requirements differ when the acceptance criteria are examined. It has been observed that the moment capacity of the entire frame is critical when designing according to UFC.

• Clinical Endoscopy
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• v.55 no.4
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• pp.489-495
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• 2022

An appropriate post-polypectomy surveillance program requires the effectiveness of reducing colorectal cancer and safety. In addition, the post-polypectomy surveillance program should consider the burden of limited medical resource capacity, cost-effectiveness, and patient adherence. In this sense, a risk-stratified surveillance program based on baseline colonoscopy results is ideal. Major international guidelines for post-polypectomy surveillance, such as those from the European Union and the United States, have recommended risk-stratified surveillance programs. Both guidelines have recently been updated to better differentiate between high- and low-risk individuals. In both updated guidelines, more individuals have been downgraded to lower-risk groups that require less frequent or no surveillance. Furthermore, increased attention has been paid to the surveillance of patients who undergo serrated polyp removal. Previous guidelines in Japan did not clearly outline the risk stratification in post-polypectomy surveillance. However, the new colonoscopy screening and surveillance guidelines presented by the Japan Gastroenterological Endoscopy Society include a risk-stratified post-polectomy surveillance program. Further discussion and analysis of unresolved issues in this field, such as the optimal follow-up after the first surveillance, the upper age limit for surveillance, and the ideal method for improving adherence to surveillance guidelines, are warranted.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.378-385
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• 2016

This study aims to suggest the framework of functional assessment on lotic area based on HGM(Hydrogeomorphic) approach targeting Wetland Protected Areas which are in the type of river channel, and to set up the fundamental data as a reference wetland. A total of 10 factors in terms of hydrology, biogeochemistry, plant habitat and animal habitat was analyzed based on the original approach of HGM and each Functional Capacity Index(FCI) of those factors was calculated. As the result of the modified FCI analysis, Damyang riverine wetland which is with artificial river bank had high values in the variables of area ratio of actual vegetation in the foreland, the number of plant per area and the area ratio of Salix spp., and those values were highly reflected on the factors of Nutrient Cycling(947,668.00), Species Richness and Maintain Characteristic Plant Communites(6.39) and Maintain Spatial Structure of Habitat(11.00). The Hanbando wetland which is keeping the natural bank had higher values in the variables of structural scale and species diversity, and the those values were highly reflected on the factors of Energy Dissipation(17,805.16), Subsurface Storage of Water(0.54), Removal of Imported Elements and Compounds(103,052.73), Maintain Characteristic Detrital Biomass(2.31), Maintenance of Interspersion and Connectivity (6.50), Species Diversity of Benthic macro-invertebrates(1.60) and Species Diversity of Vertebrate & Species Number of Other Animals(2.52/ 151.50), compared to the Damyang Riverine Wetland.