Background: Studies using Smovey and Vibration foam rollers are mostly conducted with normal adults, breast cancer patients, and athletes. However, there are not many studies applied to stroke patients to date. Objectives: The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of vibration exercise on the range of motion of the shoulder and knee joints in stroke patients. Design: A randomized controlled trial. Methods: A total of 36 stroke patients, with 12 in the Smovey and Vibration foam roller group (SVG), 12 in the Smovey and Non-Vibration foam roller group (SNVG), and 12 in the control group (CG) were randomly assigned to exercise three times a week for 6 weeks. The range of motion of the shoulder and knee joints was measured for each group before and after 6 weeks of exercise. For joint range of motion, shoulder flexion and extension and knee flexion and extension were measured using BPMpro. Results: In terms of the difference in time, the flexion and extension of the shoulder and the flexion and extension of the knee on the paretic side were significant in the SVG and SNVG. The CG was not significant. Shoulder flexion and extension and knee flexion and extension on the unaffected side were all insignificant. The differences between each group were significant between the SVG and the CG and the SNVG and the CG. SVG and SNVG were not significant. Conclusion: It was found that vibration exercise had a positive effect on the range of motion of the shoulder and knee joints. Therefore, it is thought that vibration exercise can be provided as a clinical intervention method for shoulder and knee range of motion.

To investigate the effect of the catalyst and metal–support interaction on the methane decomposition behavior and physical properties of the produced carbon, catalytic decomposition of methane (CDM) was studied using Ni/SiO2 catalysts with different metal–support interactions (synthesized based on the presence or absence of urea). During catalyst synthesis, the addition of urea led to uniform and stable precipitation of the Ni metal precursor on the SiO2 support to produce Ni-phyllosilicates that enhanced the metal–support interaction. The resulting catalyst upon reduction showed the formation of uniform Ni0 particles (< 10 nm) that were smaller than those of a catalyst prepared using a conventional impregnation method (~ 80 nm). The growth mechanisms of methane-decomposition-derived carbon nanotubes was base growth or tip growth according to the metal–support interaction of the catalysts synthesized with and without urea, respectively. As a result, the catalyst with Ni-phyllosilicates resulting from the addition of urea induced highly dispersed and strongly interacting Ni0 active sites and produced carbon nanotubes with a small and uniform diameter via the base-growth mechanism. Considering the results, such a Ni-phyllosilicate-based catalyst are expected to be suitable for industrial base grown carbon nanotube production and application since as-synthesized carbon nanotubes can be easily harvested and the catalyst can be regenerated without being consumed during carbon nanotube extraction process.

Livestock production costs are heavily influenced by the cost of feed, The use of domestically grown forages is more desirable for livestock feed production. As part of this study, triticale, which is an extremely palatable and easily cultivable crop in Korea, was used to produce low moisture silage bales with lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and then stored for different periods. We examined the nutrient content of silage, such as crude protein (CP), acid detergent fiber (ADF) and neutral detergent fiber (NDF), as well as their organic acids, including lactic acid, acetic acid, butyric acid, at different storage periods. The nutrient content of silages, such as crude protein, ADF, and NDF, did not change significantly throughout storage periods. Organic acid data indicated that lactic acid concentrations increased with increasing moisture contents and storage periods up to nine months. However, further extending storage to 12 months resulted in a reduction in the lactic acid content of all silages as well as an increase in their pH. Based on the present results, it suggested that the production of low moisture silage with the LAB may be able to preserve and maintain its quality without altering its nutritional composition. Also, the lactate content of the silage remained significant for at least nine months.

Domestic ports are becoming increasingly complex due to the introduction of various marine 4th industry new technologies and the increase in marine logistics. Accordingly, the number of lightings behind the port is also increasing significantly, and there is a great demand for improving the visibility of the AtoN used as a means of transmitting information to vessel operators. This paper describes the development of the performance inspection system that can verify the synchronization and sequential flashing of maritime lanterns that is being introduced to enhance the visibility of AtoN.

Thermal management is significant to maintain the reliability and durability of electronic devices. Heat can be dissipated using thermal interface materials (TIMs) comprised of thermally conductive polymers and fillers. Furthermore, it is important to enhance the thermal conductivity of TIMs through the formation of a heat transfer pathway. This paper reports a polymer composite containing vertically aligned electrochemically exfoliated graphite (EEG). We modify the EEG via edge selective oxidation to decorate the surface with iron oxides and enhance the dispersibility of EEG in polymer resin. During the heat treatment and curing process, a magnetic field is applied to the polymer composites to align the iron oxide decorated EEG. The resulting polymer composite containing 25 wt% of filler has a remarkable thermal conductivity of 1.10 W m− 1 K− 1 after magnetic orientation. These results demonstrate that TIM can be designed with a small amount of filler by magnetic alignment to form an efficient heat transfer pathway.

When decommissioning a nuclear power plant, the structure must be made to a disposable size. In general, the cutting process is essential when dismantling a nuclear power plant. Mainly, thermal cutting method is used to cutting metal structures. The aerosols generated during thermal cutting have a size distribution of less than 1 μm. The contaminated structures are able to generate radioactive aerosols in the decommissioning. Radioactive aerosols of 1 μm or less are deposited in the respiratory tract by workers’ breathing, causing the possibility of internal exposure. Therefore, workers must be protected from the risk of exposure to radioactive aerosols. Prior knowledge of aerosols generated during metal cutting is important to ensure worker safety. In this study, the physical and chemical properties of the aerosol were evaluated by measuring the number and mass concentrations of aerosols generated when cutting SUS304 and SA508 using the laser cutting method. High-resolution aerosol measuring equipment (HR-ELPI+, DEKATI) was used to measure the concentration of aerosols. The HR-ELPI+ is an impactor-type aerosol measuring equipment that measures the aerosol number concentration distribution in the aerodynamic diameter range of 6 nm to 10 um in real-time. And analyze the mass concentration of the aerosol according to the diameter range through the impactor. ICP-MS was used for elemental mass concentration analysis in the aerosol. Analytical elements were Fe, Cr, Ni and Mn. For the evaluation of physical and chemical properties, the MMAD of each element and CMAD were calculated in the aerosol distribution. Under the same cutting conditions, it was confirmed that the number concentration of aerosols generated from both materials had a uni-modal distribution with a peak around 0.1 um. CMAD was calculated to be 0.072 um for both SUS304 and SA508. The trend of the CMAD calculation results is the same even when the cutting conditions are changed. In the case of MMAD, it was confirmed that SUS304 had an MMAD of around 0.1 μm in size for only Fe, Cr and Mn. And SA508, Fe, Cr, Ni and Mn were all confirmed to have MMAD around 0.1 μm in size. The results of this study show that a lot of aerosols in the range of less than 1 μm, especially around 0.1 μm in size, are generated when metal is cut using laser cutting. Therefore, in order to protect the internal exposure of workers to laser metal cutting when decommissioning NPPs, it is necessary to protect from nano-sized aerosols beyond micron size.

The fuel fabrication facility has been built and is being operated by KAERI since licensing research reactor fuel fabrication in 2004. After almost 20 years of operation, outdated equipment for fabrication or inspection has been replaced by automated, digitalized ones to assure a higher quality of nuclear fuels. However, the generation of a large amount of radioactive waste is another concern for the replacement in terms of its volume and various types of it that should be categorized before disposal. The regulatory body, NSSC (Nuclear Safety and Security Commission) released a notice related to the classification of radioactive wastes, and most accessory equipment can be classified into the clearance levels, called self-disposal waste. In this study, the practice of self-disposal of metal radioactive waste is carried out to reduce its volume and downgrade its radioactivity. For metal radioactive waste, which is expected to occupy the most amount, analysis status and legal limitations were performed as follows: First, the disposal plan was established after an investigation of the use history for equipment. Second, those were classified by types of materials, and their surface radio-contamination was measured for checking self-disposable or not. After collecting data, the plan for the self-disposal was written and submitted to the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS) for approval.

In order to dispose of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) in deep geological repository, source term evaluation considering its specification, enrichment, burnup, cooling time should be performed. In this study, the measured values of Takahama-3 pressurized water reactor SNF (WH 17×17) samples were analyzed with SCALE 6.1/ORIGEN-S and TRITON code calculation results for validation. Unlike the ORIGENS code, TRITON code calculations differed from two-dimensional neutron flux distribution by using the multi-group cross-section library. Both calculation results from ORIGEN-S and TRITON code showed higher errors in 234U, 239Pu, and 241Pu compared to other actinide nuclides. In the case of axial locations of fuel rods in fuel assembly, fuel rods located at the edge of the fuel assembly presented increased errors due to nuclear reaction cross-section. Overall, the ORIGEN-S predictions informed more accurate agreement with the measured results compared with TRITON results. Especially to 235U, 239Pu, and 240Pu radionuclides, ORIGEN-S errors were denoted more than twice as low as the TRITON results. Comparing the calculation results with experimental results implied that the ORIGENS code was more accurate code than the TRITON code for source term evaluation.