The rational evaluation of carbon-based conductive ink performance is critical to both industrial production and applications. Herein, a model to evaluate writing performance of conductive ink by line resistance was proposed by investigating possible relations among different parameters and establishing relevant model to estimate ink writing performance. Bulk conductive inks were prepared and characterized to provide samples for model. To improve the precision of model, the impact of external factors including writing speed and angle was studied. Nonlinear regression and back propagation artificial neural network were employed to estimate line resistance, and cross check validation was conducted to prove robustness and precision of model. Most importantly, the investigation will open up a new path for the exploration of other carbon-based handwritten electronic devices.

Medical cyclotrons have been used for dedicated medical of commercial applications such as positron emission tomography (PET) for the past tens of years. These cyclotron facilities have produced positron-emitting radionuclides (i.e. 11C, 13N, 15O, 18F, etc.). Among them, 18F, produced by 18O(p,n)18F reaction is the most widely used which has longer half-life (around 110 m) and lower energy of emitted positrons (around 0.63 MeV). Secondary neutrons produced during 18O(p,n)18F reaction could cause neutron activation of structures, systems, and components of cyclotron facilities. Therefore, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had addressed that during the operation of cyclotrons, concrete walls become radioactive over time and this radioactivity needs to be characterized for planning of the facility decommissioning. Moreover, several prior studies had estimated the neutron activation and levels of radioactivity of concrete wall of cyclotron facilities. Although those studies assessed the neutron activation of actual cyclotron facilities, however, the purpose of assessment was only for decommissioning each individual facility. Also, the assumptions, conditions or insights of conclusion may be limited to each individual case. For these reasons, this study focused on analysis of effects of major factors (e.g. concrete type, impurity contents of structural materials, etc.) about neutron activation of cyclotron facilities. In this study, the well-known methodology of neutron activation estimation was established and neutron activation products of concrete wall of cyclotron vault was calculated. Also, sensitivity analyses were conducted to figure out the effects of major factors of neutron activation and production of radioactive wastes during decommissioning of the facility. The methodology and results were validated by two steps: comparing with prior studies and comparing with another computer code. Concrete type did not affect that the decision of level of radioactivity waste criteria. Because of relatively longer half-lives, impurity contents of structural materials especially Co and Eu were turned out one of the most important factors for planning the facility decommissioning. It is hard to simply figure out the radioactivity levels of cyclotron facilities, however, rough predictions of minimum period for decay-in-storage as radioactive waste management can be possible with using information of thermal neutron spectra and major impurity nuclides (e.g. 59Co, 151Eu and 153Eu) for minimization of radioactive waste production and relief of charge of radioactive waste management.

Important medical radionuclides for Positron Emission Tomography (PET) are producing using cyclotrons. There are about 1,200 PET cyclotrons operated in 95 countries based upon IAEA database (2020). Besides, including PET cyclotrons, demands for particle accelerators are continuously increasing. In Korea, about 40 PET cyclotrons are in operating phases (2020). Considering design lifetime (about 30-40 years) and actual operating duration (about 20-30 years) of cyclotrons, there will be demands for decommissioning cyclotron facilities in the near future. PET cyclotron produces radionuclides by irradiating accelerated charged particles to the targets. During this phase, nuclear reactions (18O(p,n)18F etc.) produce secondary neutrons which induce neutron activation of accelerator itself as well as surrounding infrastructures (the ancillary subsystems, peripheral equipment, concrete walls etc.). Generally, experienced cyclotron personnel prefer an unshielded cyclotron because of the repair and maintenance time. In unshielded cyclotron, water cooling systems, air compressor, and other equipment and structures could be existed for operating purposes. Almost all the equipment and structures are consisted of steel, and these affect neutron distribution in vault especially thermal neutron on the concrete wall. In addition, most of them can be classified as very low level radioactive wastes by Nuclear Safety and Security notice (NSSC Notice No. 2020-6). However, few studies were estimating radioactivity concentrations (Bq/g) of surrounding structures using mathematical calculation/simulation codes, and they were not evaluating the effect of surrounding structures on neutron distribution. In this study, by using computational neutron transport code (MCNP 6.2), and source term calculation code (FISPACT- II), we evaluated effect of the interaction between surrounding structures (including surrounding equipment) and secondary neutrons. Discrepancies of activation distribution on/in concrete wall will be occur depending on thickness of structure, distance between structures and walls, and consideration of interaction between structures and neutrons. Throughout this study, we could find that the influence of those structures can affect neutron distribution in concrete walls even if, thickness of the structure was small. For estimating activation distribution in unshielded cyclotron vault more precisely, not only considering cyclotron components and geometry of target, but also, considering surrounding structures will be much more helpful.

Tartary buckwheat has established itself as a functional food source because of its basic nutrition and phenolic compound contents, such as dietary fiber (DF) and rutin (RU). However, little information has been obtained concerning the comparative effects of DF and RU on the in vitro and in vivo glucose responses of tartary buckwheat flour. Moreover, the relationship between the flour’s in vitro starch digestibility and its components’ blood glucose response is not well-known. This study found that DF and RU reduced rapidly digestible starch (RDS) by 37.32→33.88% and 41.71→30.28%, whereas they increased resistant starch (RS) by 30.47→31.46% and 28.41→36.78%, respectively. Furthermore, RU had a lower glycemic index (GI) compared to DF. The regression equation for the in vitro and in vivo data from RU exhibited positive correlation (R 2 = 0.99); however, DF did not display positive correlation, which indicates that the in vitro and in vivo GI mechanisms by DF and RU are different.

국가 신재생에너지개발 장려정책으로 농업용저수지 내 수상태양광 발전시설 설치가 확대되고 있음에도 불구하고, 수상태양광 발전시설 설치가 수생태계에 미치는 영향을 판 단할 수 있는 장기적인 조사나 과학적 연구가 부족한 실정 이다(노 등, 2015). 일반적으로 수상 태양광 발전시설 설치 지역은 수온, 증발량 등의 물리적 환경변화가 국지적으로 발생하기 때문에(노 등, 2014; Melvin, 2015; Sahu, 2016), 미소생태계(microecosystem)가 형성되어 수생생물의 분포 및 군집특성의 변화로 이어진다. 따라서 수상태양광 설치지 역과 설치가 되지 않은 지역 간 어류군집 특성을 비교함으 로서 수상태양광 설치가 수생태계에 미치고 있는 영향을 간접적으로 유추할 수 있다. 특히, 수생태계의 영양단계 (trophic level)에서 상위단계에 해당하는 어류의 군집 특성 및 분포는 미소생태계의 형성유무와 형성된 미소생태계의 영양구조를 설명할 수 있는 근거가 된다. 수상태양광이 설치되어 있는 2개의 저수지는 실험군으로 하였고, 기후, 수상태양광 규모(전력생산량), 저수지 규모, 유역특성이 비슷한 인근의 저수지 1개소는 대조군으로 선 정하였다. 조사지점은 수상태양광 설치지역으로부터 일정 거리별(200~250m)로 6지점(수상태양광 발전시설 설치지 점을 기점으로 1~6번으로 지점번호 부여)을 선정하였으며, 지점별로 12절 자망(50m)을 설치한 후 24시간이 경과된 시점에서 어류를 채집하여 동정하였다. 장마기간 전·후로 총 2회의 어류조사를 실시하였으며, 현장조사 결과를 토대 로 종다양도를 산출하고 지점 간 유사도를 살펴보기 위해서 군집분석을 실시하였다. 현장 조사결과, 실험군인 A저수지는 총 8종 129개체가 채집되었으며, 블루길이 전체 개체수의 78.3%로 우점하였 다. 상대적으로 수변지역과 가까운 2번과 6번 지점이 각 5종, 7종으로 종수가 많았으며, 수상태양광 발전시설이 설 치된 지역과 가장 인접한 1번 지점에서는 타 조사지점에서 도 공통적으로 관찰되는 2종(백조어, 블루길)이 유사한 개 체수로 관찰되었다. 군집의 유사도 역시 1, 3번 지점과 4, 5번 지점, 그리고 2번, 6번 지점으로 그룹화되어, 수상태양 광 발전시설 설치지역으로부터 이격거리별로 종다양도 변 화는 없는 것으로 나타났다. 실험군인 B저수지는 총 3종만 이 관찰되어 어류 군집특성을 파악하기에 어려움이 있었다. 대조군인 C저수지는 총 11종 950개체가 채집되었으며, 치 리와 모래무지가 전체 종조성의 83.2%를 차지하였다. 출현 종수가 6~7종으로 조사지점별로 종조성이 유사하였으며, 군집분석 결과 역시 1, 3, 4번 지점과 2, 6번, 5번 지점으로 그룹화되어 특별한 경향성을 보이지 않았다. 본 연구결과로부터 수상태양광 발전시설 설치로 인한 물 리적 환경변화는 어류 군집특성의 변화를 유도할 만큼 크지 않다는 것을 알 수 있다. 실제 실험군에 설치된 수상태양광 발전시설은 수면과 접촉되지 않고 일정한 높이로 이격되어 있고, 태양광 패널을 지지하는 부력체 역시 수평적인 물순 환을 저해하지 않아 인근 수체와 연속적인 생태계로 볼 수 있다. 다만 본 연구의 조사방법이 수상태양광 발전시설 설 치지역과 그렇지 않은 지역의 어류군집 특성을 구분할 만큼 정밀도가 높지 않았다는 연구의 한계가 있을 수 있다. 따라 서 태양광 발전설비에 의한 수생태계 영향 규명을 위해서는 저수지 전체를 대상으로 수상태양광 발전시설 설치로 인한 에너지유입량, 1차 생산량 변화, 수생태계 영양구조 및 먹이 그물 변화 등에 대한 시스템적 연구가 함께 이루어져야 할 것으로 판단된다.

아스팔트 혼합물의 균열 저항성은 일반적으로 인장 강도, 스티프니스와 같은 단일 물성치를 측정함으로써 평가된다. 그러나, 아스팔트 혼합물의 균열 성능을 평가함에 있어서 단일 물성치의 이용은 의문시되어 왔다. 따라서 본 연구에서는 아스팔트 혼합물의 균열 저항성과 관련이 있는 주요 특성치를 좀 더 심도 있게 규명하고자 하였다. 이를 위해 다양한 하중 조건 하에서 파괴 시험 크리프 시험, 강도 시험이 일반 아스팔트 혼합물과 개질 아스팔트 혼합물에 대해서 수행되었다. 시험 결과, 혼합물의 균열 저항성은 주로 미세 손상 축적 속도에 영향을 받음을 알 수 있었으며, 이 값은 파괴 에너지 한계에 영향을 주지 않으면서 m값에 반영됨을 알 수 있었다. 또한, 짧은 하중 재하 시간 (탄성거동) 동안 얻어지는 스티프니스는 혼합물의 균열 저항성의 차이를 규명하는데 한계가 있음을 알 수 있었다. 따라서 아스팔트 혼합물의 균열 저항성을 보다 명확히 평가하기 위해서는 혼합물의 크리프 거동과 파괴 한계점을 동시에 고려하는 것이 필수적임을 알 수 있었다. 또한 수퍼페이브 간접 인장 강도 시험으로부터 구한 잔여 소멸 에너지는 비교적 손쉬운 실험을 통해 아스팔트 혼합물의 균열 저항성의 상대적인 차이를 보여줄 수 있는 유용한 물성치임을 알 수 있었으며, 장기 크리프 시험에서 얻어지는 파괴 변형률은 아스팔트 혼합물의 크리프 거동과 파괴 한계점을 동시에 고려함으로써 균열 저항성을 평가할 수 있는 유용한 물성치 임을 알 수 있었다.

Research on salinity stress has strongly increased over the last decade, as salinity stress is a main key factor limiting the global crop production in many regions of the world. In recent years, it is possible to obtain a large amount of genotypic data in a short time due to a reduction in genotyping costs. This wave of genomic information has effected the development of new strategies for the integration of molecular information in breeding programs. However, phenotyping is still a manual activity, and different from each species, environment, and trait. It often generates high labor costs, and can be sensitive to environmental changes, and sometimes includes the individual biased assessments from different people. There is a strong demand for phenotypic data of high quality. The current objective of phenomics is phenotyping a large number of individuals for many traits in a nondestructive manner and with good accuracy. Here we described the image-based technology as applied to alleviate the bottleneck for the development of high-throughput phenotyping platforms. Several trials to measure stress responses of rice plantlets based on image data under the salinity condition are underway to develop automation for the next-level of phenotyping.

Seafarers are one of the main engines driving economic growth in the maritime sector. The International Maritime (IMO) Organization estimated that there were approximately 1.5 million seafarers around the world engaged in international trade in 2012. Data have shown that human casualties in maritime accidents around Japan have shown an increasing trend over the last ten years. One cause is human error, which is inseparable from the human element that influences mariner's decisions and actions. The Personal Identification (PIN) Safe method is one way to systematically identify substandard and unsafe actions by considering the error taxonomies associated with various scenarios for a maritime system. The results are based on analysis of the role of the human element in commonly reported unsafe actions when interacting with equipment and other systems. Furthermore, patterns of influencing shaping factors were observed on the basis of data processing; the aim of this study was to promote safety culture and provide an opportunity to improve safety at sea.