We examine a single machine scheduling problem with step-improving jobs in which job processing times decrease step-wisely over time according to their starting times. The objective is to minimize total completion time which is defined as the sum of completion times of jobs. The total completion time is frequently considered as an objective because it is highly related to the total time spent by jobs in the system as well as work-in-progress. Many applications of this problem can be observed in the real world such as data gathering networks, system upgrades or technological shock, and production lines operated with part-time workers in each shift. Our goal is to develop a scheduling algorithm that can provide an optimal solution. For this, we present an efficient branch and bound algorithm with an assignment-based node design and tight lower bounds that can prune branch and bound nodes at early stages and accordingly reduce the computation time. In numerical experiments well designed to consider various scenarios, it is shown that the proposed algorithm outperforms the existing method and can solve practical problems within reasonable computation time.

Background: Landing from a step or stairs is a basic motor skill but high incidence of lateral ankle sprain has been reported during landing with inverted foot. Objects: This study aimed to investigate the effect of landing height and visual feedback on the kinematics of landing and supporting lower limbs before and after the touch down and the ground reaction force(GRF)s. Methods: Eighteen healthy females were voluntarily participated in landing from the lower (20 cm) and the higher (40 cm) steps with and without visual feedback. To minimize the time to plan the movement, the landing side was randomly announced as a starting signal. Effects of the step height, the visual feedback, or the interaction on the landing duration, the kinematic variables and the GRFs at each landing event point were analyzed. Results: With eyes blindfolded, the knee flexion and ankle dorsiflexion on landing side significantly decreased before and after the touch down. However, there was no significant effect of landing height on the anticipatory kinematics on the landing side. After the touch down, the landings from the higher step increased the knee flexion and ankle dorsiflexion on both landing and supporting sides. From the higher steps, the vertical GRF, anterior GRF, and lateral GRF increased. No interaction between step height and visual feedback was significant. Conclusion: Step height and visual feedback affected the landing limb kinematics independently. Visual feedback affected on the landing side while step height altered the supporting side prior to the touch down. After the touch down, the step height had greater influence on the lower limb kinematics and the GRFs than the visual feedback. Findings of this study can contribute to understanding of the injury mechanisms and preventing the lateral ankle sprain.

In this study, we utilized a multi-step stabilization method, incorporating dry-oxidation, to produce high-density polyethylene (HDPE)-based activated carbon fibers. This stabilization was achieved through electron-beam irradiation, sulfonation, and dry oxidation. The stabilized fibers were carbonized and activated at 900 ℃. The crystallite characteristics of the activated carbon fibers were observed using X-ray diffraction, and their surface morphologies were analyzed through scanning electron microscopy. The textural properties were analyzed using N2/ 77 K adsorption–desorption isothermal curves. And leveraging the microdomain model, we explored the influence of these stabilization methods on the HDPE-based activated carbon fibers texture properties. The results show that HDPE fibers treated with sulfonation only at 100 ℃ for 60 min were not sufficiently cross-linked and were completely decomposed during the carbonization stage. However, the sulfonated fibers treated with the new dry-oxidation process maintained their shapes and were successfully activated. The specific surface area of the resulting activated carbon fibers was as much as 2000 m2/ g.

In this study, we investigated the microstructure and piezoelectric properties of 0.96(K0.456Na0.536)Nb0.95Sb0.05-0.04 Bi0.5(Na0.82K0.18)0.5ZrO3 (KNNS-BNKZ) ceramics based on one-step and two-step sintering processes. One-step sintering led to significant abnormal grain (AG) growth at temperatures above 1,085 °C. With increasing sintering temperature, piezoelectric and dielectric properties were enhanced, resulting in a high d33 = 506 pC/N for one-step specimen sintered at 1,100 °C (one-step 1,100 °C specimen). However, for one-step 1,115 °C specimen, a slight decrease in d33 was observed, emphasizing the importance of a high tetragonal (T) phase fraction for superior piezoelectric properties. Achieving a relative density above 84 % for samples sintered by the one-step sintering process was challenging. Conversely, two-step sintering significantly improved the relative density of KNNS-BNKZ ceramics up to 96 %, attributed to the control of AG nucleation in the first step and grain growth rate control in the second step. The quantity of AG nucleation was affected by the duration of the first step, determining the final microstructure. Despite having a lower T phase fraction than that of the one-step 1,100 °C specimen, the two-step specimen exhibited higher piezoelectric coefficients (d33 = 574 pC/N and kp = 0.5) than those of the one-step 1,100 °C specimen due to its higher relative density. Performance evaluation of magnetoelectric composite devices composed of one-step and twostep specimens showed that despite having a higher g33, the magnetoelectric composite with the one-step 1,100 °C specimen exhibited the lowest magnetoelectric voltage coefficient, due to its lowest kp. This study highlights the essential role of phase fraction and relative density in enhancing the performance of piezoelectric materials and devices, showcasing the effectiveness of the two-step sintering process for controlling the microstructure of ceramic materials containing volatile elements.

Background: Recently, the single-step genomic best linear unbiased prediction (ssGBLUP) method, which incorporates not only genomic information but also phenotypic information of pedigree, is under study. In this study, we performed a ssGBLUP analysis on a commercial Hanwoo population using phenotypic, genotypic, and pedigree data. Methods: The test population comprised Hanwoo 1,740 heads raised in four regions of Korea, while the reference population used Hanwoo 18,499 heads raised across the country and two-generation pedigree data. Analysis was performed using genotype data generated by the Hanwoo 50 K SNP beadchip. Results: The mean Genome estimated breeding values (GEBVs) estimated using the ssGBLUP methods for carcass weight (CWT), eye muscle area (EMA), back fat thickness (BFT), and marbling score (MS) were 7.348, 1.515, -0.355, and 0.040, respectively, while the accuracy of each trait was 0.749, 0.733, 0.769, and 0.768, respectively. When the correlation analysis between the GEBVs as a result of this study and the actual slaughter performance was confirmed, CWT, EMA, BFT, and MS were reported to be 0.519, 0.435, 0.444, and 0.543, respectively. Conclusions: Our results suggest that the ssGBLUP method enables a more accurate evaluation because it conducts a genetic evaluation of an individual using not only genotype information but also phenotypic information of the pedigree. Individual evaluation using the ssGBLUP method is considered effective for enhancing the genetic ability of farms and enabling accurate and rapid improvements. It is considered that if more pedigree information of reference population is collected for analysis, genetic ability can be evaluated more accurately.

연근해에서의 선박 전복사고는 소형 어선에서 많이 발생한다. 소형 어선의 전복사고를 예방하기 위해서는 초기설계 단계에서 부터 복원성을 평가하는 것이 매우 중요하다. 하지만 초기설계 단계에서 확보할 수 있는 정보는 제한적이어서 신뢰성 있는 복원성을 평 가하는 데 어려움이 있다. 이에 본 연구에서는 초기설계 단계에서 추정할 수 있는 KM, KG, 트림을 활용하여 소형 어선의 횡메타센터(GM) 를 추정하고, 표준어선형의 안전성 평가 기준에서 제시된 최소횡메타센터(GMmin)와의 차이를 비교하여 복원성을 평가하는 방안을 제안 하였다. 한국해양안전교통공단에서 제공하는 복원성 평가프로그램인 K-SHIP을 사용한 Hydrostatics 특성 계산에서 요구되는 트림을 도출하 기 위해 상용 CFD 프로그램인 STAR-CCM+를 이용하여 어선 선형에 따른 초기 상태 트림을 추정하였으며, K-SHIP을 사용하여 어선 선형 에 대한 Hydrostatics 특성을 계산하여 GM을 추정하였다. 그리고 GM과 GMmin의 비교를 통해 만재출항상태의 복원성을 비교하였다. 실적 선을 기준선으로 선정하여 본 연구에서 제안한 복원성 평가 방안을 적용해 복원성을 평가하고 그 타당성을 검증하였다. 결과적으로 4.99 톤 어선의 대표적인 선형과 이를 활용해 도출한 모듈 선형 9개의 복원성을 평가하였고, 이중 상대적으로 복원성이 우수한 선형을 선정하 였다.

Various disposal methods for spent nuclear fuels (SNFs) are being researched, and one of these methods involves separating high heat-generating nuclear isotopes such as Strontium-90 (90Sr) and Cesium-137 (137Cs) for deep disposal. These isotopes has relatively short half-lives and substantial decay energies. Especially, 90Sr undergoes decay through Yttrium-90 to Zirconium-90, emitting intense heat with beta radiation. Therefore, the removal of these high heat-generating isotopes will significantly contribute to reducing disposal site area. To remove 90Sr from SNFs, molten salt was utilized in KAERI. During this process, it was discovered that 90Sr dissolves in the molten salt in the form of SrCl2 and/or Sr4OCl6. Afterwards, it is crucial to recover 90Sr in the form of oxide from the salt to create immobilized forms for disposal. This can be achieved by reactive distillation with K2CO3. However, the amount of 90Sr within the SNFs is only 0.121wt%, and even if all the 90Sr in the SNFs were to leach into the molten salt, the quantity of 90Sr in the molten slat would still be very small. Therefore, adding K2CO3 to the molten salt for reactive distillation could result in significant possibilities of side reactions occurring. In this study, a two-step process was employed to mitigate the side reactions: the 1st step involves evaporating the all molten salts and the 2nd step includes adding K2CO3 to make oxides through solid-solid reaction. Eutectic LiCl-KCl, which is the most commonly used salt, was employed. The eutectic LiCl-KCl with SrCl2 was heated at 850°C for 2 h to evaporate the salts under a vacuum (> 0.02 torr). However, after examining the distillation product before the solid-solid reaction, it was observed that SrCl2 reacted with KCl in the salt, resulting in the formation of KSr2Cl5. It means that salts containing KCl are not suitable candidates for reactive distillation aimed at producing immobilized forms. As an alternative, MgCl2 could be a highly promising candidate because it is inert to SrCl2 and according to a recent study in KAERI, MgCl2 exhibited the most efficient separation of Sr among various salts. Therefore, we plan to proceed with the two-step reactive distillation using MgCl2 for the future work.

Nowadays, variable materials have been investigated to find alternative lightweight conductors instead of copper because copper has a relatively high density. Carbon nanotube (CNT) is one of the most suitable materials as an alternative conductor to Cu, thanks to its high conductivity. In addition, CNT has many other great properties, such as low density, high strength, and high ampacity. However, individual CNT loses some of its performance after the assembly process. Therefore, CNT materials have been electroplated with copper to achieve lighter conductors. In this study, CNT buckypaper (CNTBP) is fabricated using a multi-walled carbon nanotube and copper electroplated using optimizing electrolyte with the help of additive chemicals such as accelerator and suppressor. Furthermore, the effect of hydrochloric acid in the electrolyte on the electroplating of CNTBP is observed. The results show that HCl in electrolyte enhances the effectiveness of additive chemicals and provide a well-plated CNTBP@Cu composite. The composite in this study is expected to be used in various areas.

It has been investigated on the management of the nuclides in KAERI. Strontium-90 is a high heatgenerating nuclide in spent nuclear fuel. It is needed to separate the salt from the salt solution for the recovery of strontium after the chlorination of the strontium oxide in molten salt. A vacuum distillation technology was used for the separation of strontium from the molten salt. It was investigated on operating conditions of reactive distillation process for the recovery of the strontium from the salt solution. At a reduced pressure, considerable amount of the carbonation agents such as K2CO3 and Li2CO3 were reduced during heating in the distiller due to the thermal decomposition. Therefore, the two step process was proposed, which is composed of a reaction step at an atmospheric pressure and a salt distillation step at a reduced pressure. In the reaction step, the condition of low temperature and high pressure is suitable to suppress the decomposition of the carbonation agent. In the salt distillation step, reduced pressure is preferable at a suitable temperature depending on the evaporation rate of the salt.

Carbon nanotube fiber is a promising material in electrical and electronic applications, such as, wires, cables, batteries, and supercapacitors. But the problem of joining carbon nanotube fiber is a main obstacle for its practical development. Since the traditional joining methods are unsuitable because of low efficiency or damage to the fiber structure, new methods are urgently required. In this study, the joining between carbon nanotube fiber was realized by deposited nickel–copper doublelayer metal via a meniscus-confined localized electrochemical deposition process. The microstructures of the double-layer metal joints under different deposition voltages were observed and studied. It turned out that a complete and defect-free joint could be fabricated under a suitable voltage of 5.25 V. The images of the joint cross section and interface between deposited metal and fiber indicated that the fiber structure remained unaffected by the deposited metal, and the introduction of nickel improved interface bonding of double-layer metal joint with fiber than copper joint. The electrical and mechanical properties of the joined fibers under different deposition voltages were studied. The results show that the introduction of nickel significantly improved the electrical and mechanical properties of the joined fiber. Under a suitable deposition voltage, the resistance of the joined fiber was 37.7% of the original fiber, and the bearing capacity of the joined fiber was no less than the original fiber. Under optimized condition, the fracture mode of the joined fibers was plastic fiber fracture.

Background: The lateral step down (LSD) is a form of stair negotiation used by the elderly because it requires less movement of the lower extremity. Although it is necessary to study the amount of pelvic drop and the strength of a hip abductor during LSD for intervention, limited studies have investigated the relationship between the amount of pelvic drop and strength of a hip abductor during LSD in elderly people. Objects: This study aimed to determine the relationship between the amount of pelvic drop on an unsupported leg and the strength of the hip abductor during LSD in the elderly. Methods: Thirty elderly people (male: 17, female: 13) were recruited. Subjects performed the LSD task, and the evaluator measured and the amount of pelvic drop on an unsupported side. Also, the isometric strength of the hip abductor was measured in a supine position. Results: We found significant relationships between the strength of the hip abductor and the amount of pelvic drop (r = –0.386). The average hip abductor strength normalized by body weight was 1.06 N/kg (max: 1.99, min: 0.52) and the average contralateral pelvic drop (CPD) angle was 4.16° (max: 15.3, min: 0). Conclusion: Our results indicated that the strength of the hip abductor had a moderate correlation with the CPD during a LSD in the elderly. Hip abductor weakness could translate into altered movement of the pelvis.

Potato is an important cash crop of Pakistan and widely cultivated in plains and mountains of Punjab. Khyber Pakhtun Khawa Gilgit Baltistan, on an area of 0.313 million hectares in summer, autumn and spring with an annual production of 07.9 million tons. In Pakistan potato yield is 25.2 tons per hectare, which is although above the world average but comparatively low as compare to the potential and other advance potato growing countries because of several reasons. Availability of healthy seeds and advance production technology are the major constraints to achieve the higher potato production goals. It is very alarming that in spite of good position in potato growing countries, we are unable to produce good quality seed. In Pakistan >01% quality seed is available against the seed demand around 0.5-0.7 million tons per annum and mostly depend upon the imported seed 15000-20000 tons per annum. Tissue culture industry has been a proven global technology in potato seed production, so it is dire need of the growing population and climatic change to adopt these modern technologies of potato production for sustainable and higher production and income to contribute potato growing farmers of Pakistan. It is possible with the commercial use of tissue culture and allied techniques as aeroponic potato seed production along with good management and plant protection measures to provide indigenous high vigor and high yield potential potato seed. Pakistan Agricultural Research Council has established Aeroponic Potato Seed Production facility at National Agricultural Research Center with the collaboration of Korean Govt RDA-KOPIA Pakistan. The Aeroponics is a modern technology for growing plants by providing a nutrient solution in the air without soil. Plants grow rapidly in the growth chamber under the aseptic environment, balanced nutrition and sufficient oxygen availability that improves potatoes production in the aeroponic system. This can produce 10 times more yield than conventional production systems. Aeroponics techniques are credited for making potato yield more efficient, and can reduce the number of steps in the potato seed multiplication. Through tissue culture and aeroponics facilities development in Pakistan, first ever more than 200,000 nucleus mini harvested at NARC from the autumn 2021 and spring 2022 planation at KOPIA screen houses. Further seed multiplication from the harvest is under progress at up hills and more than 500,000 tubers (G1) are expected to be harvested during October-November 2022. It is very encouraging, impressive and successful venture of KOPIA at Pakistan for the potato seed production and self-sufficiency to insure food security in the country.

The study aims to analyse data security in the financial and banking sector of China. The data laws provide a ‘consent-oriented’ approach where consent, along with a limited list of exceptions, is the legal basis for the processing of personal information. The personal data protection mechanism comprised the Data Security Law, the Cybersecurity Law, and the Personal Information Protection Law. Taken together, they cover all areas of information security and establish a severe data protection regime: they determine the scope of regulation, objects and subjects, responsibility, and institutional control mechanisms. For an accurate assessment, it is necessary to wait for the adoption of by-laws that specify the provisions of these laws. The financial and banking sector already has several by-laws in place that set stringent standards for the security of personal information. The leading role in this mechanism is taken by the financial regulator - the People’s Bank of China.

Silver/graphene core/shell nanocomposites were synthesized through a one-step electric explosion of wire method using only silver wires and ethanol. The morphology of the graphene shell structures can be easily formed by alternating the solvent from deionized water to ethanol. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that the size of the prepared silver/graphene core/ shell nanocomposites was in the 10–110 nm range. The Raman spectra showed the formation of graphene shells on silver. A possible formation mechanism of the silver/graphene core/shell nanocomposites is proposed in this study. The crystallinity of the nanoparticles was investigated via X-ray diffraction. The graphene on the surfaces of the nanocomposites containing functional groups was analyzed through Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses. Zeta potential and dynamic light scattering analyses were performed to determine the dispersion characteristics of the nanocomposites when redispersed in other solvents.

High-performance carbon materials were prepared via a one-step molten salt carbonization of tobacco waste used as electrode materials for supercapacitors. Carbon material prepared by carbonization for 3 h in molten CaCl2 at 850 °C exhibits hierarchically porous structure and ideal capacitive behavior. In a three-electrode configuration with 1 mol L− 1 H2SO4 aqueous solution, it delivers specific capacitance of 196.5 F g− 1 at 0.2 A g− 1, energy density of 27.2 Wh kg− 1 at 0.2 A g− 1, power density of 983.5 W kg− 1 at 2 A g− 1, and excellent cyclic stability with 94% capacitance retention after 5000 charge–discharge cycles at 1 A g− 1. Moreover, in a symmetrical two-electrode configuration with 6 mol L− 1 KOH aqueous solution, it delivers specific capacitance of 111.1 F g− 1 at 0.2 A g− 1, energy density of 3.8 Wh kg− 1 at 0.2 A g− 1, and power density of 482.0 W kg− 1 at 2 A g− 1. The relationship between hierarchically porous structure and capacitive performance is also discussed.

Activated carbon (AC) injection has been regarded as one of the most effective control technologies for Hg0 removal in flue gas. It is worthwhile to explore new and simple preparation methods for AC with low cost and high Hg removal capacity. In this study, a biomass based AC was successfully prepared from levant cotton exocarp using ZnCl2 activation. The mercury adsorption efficiency and mechanism were studied via the fixed bed experiments. Activator, reaction temperature and components of simulated coal-fired flue gas were investigated. Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry (SEM–EDX) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were applied for morphology characterization of the prepared AC and discussion of the possible adsorption mechanism. The adsorbed mercury species and the physiochemical properties of prepared AC were discussed. The results showed that (1) Hg0 removal efficiency could reach up to 90% at 150 ℃ under simulated flue gas (SFG); (2) Hg0 adsorption was controlled by the combination of physical and chemical mechanisms.