With the growth of silicon-based semiconductor sensors in the global sensor market, advancements in body motion detection for wearable devices and sustainable health monitoring have accelerated. This has led to a significant attention on various sensors with excellent flexibility and stretchability, such as PDMS, in numerous applications. In this study to adjust the sensitivity of conventional conductive pressure sensors, a porous sponge structure was initially created using a sugar template method. The polymer was prepared with four different ratios (5:1, 10:1, 20:1, 30:1) to achieve varying flexibilities. To ensure conductivity, the sponge was coated using a dip-coating method with a 3wt% CNT solution. The conductive sponges with various ratios were tested for sensitivity, demonstrating characteristics suitable for a wide range of pressure sensing applications.

Due to the recent increase in domestic seismic activity and the proliferation of PC structure buildings, there is a pressing need for a fundamental study to develop and revise the design criteria for Half-PC slabs. In this study, we propose criteria for determining the rigid diaphragm based on the aspect ratio of Half-PC slabs and investigate the structural effects based on the presence of chord element installation. This study concluded that Half-PC slabs with an aspect ratio of 3.0 or lower can be designed as rigid diaphragms. When chord elements are installed, it is possible to design Half-PC slabs with an aspect ratio of 4.0 or lower as rigid diaphragms. In addition, the increase in the aspect ratio of the Half-PC slab leads to a decrease in the in-plane stiffness of the structure, confirming that the reduction effect of the maximum displacement in force direction (max ) due to the increase in wall stiffness is predominantly influenced by flexibility.

Steel plate shear walls (SPSWs) have been recognized as an effective seismic-force resisting systems due to their excellent strength and stiffness characteristics. The infill steel plate in a SPSW is constrained by a boundary frame consisting of vertical and horizontal structural members. The main purpose of this study was to investigate deformation modes and hysteretic characteristics of steel plate shear walls (SPSWs) to consider the effects of their aspect ratios and width-to-thicness ratios. The finite element model (FEM) was establish in order to simulate cyclic responses of SPSWs which have the two-side clamped boundary condition and made of conventional steel grade. The stress distribution obtained from the FEA results demonstrated that the principal stresses on steel plate with large thickness-to-width ratio were more uniformly distributed along its horizontal cross section due to the formation of multiple struts.

In the merger-driven galaxy evolution scenario, dust-obscured quasars are considered to be an intermediate population between merger-driven star-forming galaxies and unobscured quasars; however, this scenario is still controversial. To verify this, it is necessary to investigate whether dust-obscured quasars have higher Eddington ratio (λEdd) values than those of unobscured quasars, as expected in the merger-driven galaxy evolution scenario. In this study, we derive black hole (BH) masses of 10 dust-obscured quasars at z ∼ 2, during the peak period of star-formation and BH growth in the Universe, using a newly derived mid-infrared (MIR) continuum luminosity (LMIR)-based estimator that is highly resistant to dust extinction. Then, we compare the λEdd values of these dust-obscured quasars to those of unobscured type-1 quasars at similar redshifts. We find that the measured log (λEdd) values of the dust-obscured quasars, −0.06 ± 0.10, are significantly higher than those of the unobscured quasars, −0.86 ± 0.01. This result remains consistent across the redshift range from 1.5 to 2.5. Our results show that the dust-obscured quasars are at their maximal growth, consistent with the expectation from the merger-driven galaxy evolution scenario at the epoch quasar activities were most prominent in the cosmic history.

Metals are recognized as electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding materials owing to their high electrical conductivity. However, the need for light and flexible EMI shielding materials has emerged, owing to the heavyweight and inflexible nature of metals. Carbon nanotube (CNT)/polymer composites have been studied as promising flexible EMI shielding materials because of their lightweight nature due to the low density of CNTs and their high electrical conductivity. CNTs evenly dispersed in the polymer form an electrically conductive network, and the aspect ratio of the CNTs, which are one-dimensional nanofillers, is an important factor affecting electrical conductivity. In this study, we prepared three types of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) with different aspect ratios and fabricated polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)/MWNT composites. Subsequently, the electrical conductivities and electrical percolation thresholds of the three PDMS/MWNT composites with different MWNT aspect ratios were measured to analyze the behavior of electrically conducting network formation according to the aspect ratio. Furthermore, the total EMI shielding effectiveness of each composite was determined to evaluate the effect of the MWNT aspect ratio on the EMI shielding. Reflection and absorption of electromagnetic wave were measured for the PDMS/MWNT composite with the largest aspect ratio to analyze the EMI shielding mechanism of the composite. Additionally, the effects of the MWNT content on the conductivity and EMI shielding performance were examined. The results provide valuable guidance for designing polymer MWNT composites with good electrical conductivity and EMI shielding performance under different aspect ratios of MWNTs.

The heat transfer characteristics of double-pipe spiral heat exchanger were investigated by various curvature sizes, experimentally. The three different sizes of heat exchanger were made and tested with water as a working fluid to analyze the heat transfer characteristics. The heat transfer rates, overall heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop were analyzed with various heat exchanger sizes (i.e., curvature ratios). As result, the heat transfer rate increased with increasing the size of the heat exchanger as the flow rate increased due to increasing the area size of heat transfer. However, the overall heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop increased with decreasing the heat exchanger size (i.e., increased curvature ratio) due to the enhanced centrifugal force and inertia.

Carbon is not only an essential element for life but also a key player in climate change. The radiocarbon (14C) analysis using accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) is a powerful tool not only to understand the carbon cycle but also to track pollutants derived from fossil carbon, which have a distinct radiocarbon isotope ratio (Δ14C). Many studies have reported Δ14C of carbon compounds in streams, rivers, rain, snow, throughfall, fine particulate matter (PM2.5), and wastewater treatment plant effluents in South Korea, which are reviewed in this manuscript. In summary, (1) stream and river carbon in South Korea are largely derived from the chemical weathering of soils and rocks, and organic compounds in plants and soils, strongly influenced by precipitation, wastewater treatment effluents, agricultural land use, soil water, and groundwater. (2) Unprecedentedly high Δ14C of precipitation during winter has been reported, which can directly and indirectly influence stream and river carbon. Although we cannot exclude the possibility of local contamination sources of high Δ14C, the results suggest that stream dissolved organic carbon could be older than previously thought, warranting future studies. (3) The 14C analysis has also been applied to quantify the sources of forest throughfall and PM2.5, providing new insights. The 14C data on a variety of ecosystems will be valuable not only to track the pollutants derived from fossil carbon but also to improve our understanding of climate change and provide solutions.

Understanding the dispersion of xenon isotopes following a nuclear test is critical for global security and falls within the remit of both the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) and the International Noble Gas Experiment (INGE). This paper aims to show if it is possible to discriminate the source of xenon releases based on the atmospheric dispersion of xenon isotopes using HYSPLIT. Using ORIGEN and SERPENT simulations, four released scenarios are defined with four different fractionation times (i.e., 1 hour, 1 day, 10 days, and 30 days) after a 1kt TNT equivalent 235U explosion event. These time-delayed release scenarios were selected to certify the possibility of mis-determining xenon release source. We use the Lagrangian dispersion model for atmospheric dispersion to predict the concentration distribution of xenon isotopes under each scenario. The model allows us to better understand how these isotopes would distribute over time and space, offering valuable data for real-world detection efforts. To our knowledge, there have been no researches on the analysis of xenon isotopic ratios considering atmospheric dispersion. In this work, we focused on the atmospheric dispersion using HYSPLIT to characterize the xenon isotopic ratios from nuclear tests. In addition, we compared the xenon isotopic ratios obtained from the atmospheric dispersion with those from ORIGEN calculations, which would be helpful to discriminate the source of the xenon releases.

지난 2022년 제주도 애월읍 일대에서 콩 해충으로 알려진 콩은무늬밤나방(Ctenoplusia agnata) 성충이 검거세 미밤나방(Agrotis ipsilon)의 성페로몬 트랩에 대량으로 포획되었다. 검거세미밤나방 트랩은 목적 해충에 대한 포획 효율을 조사하기 위해 세 구성 성분, (Z)-7-dodecenyl acetate, (Z)-9-tetradecenyl acetate를 3:1 비율로 고정하고 (Z)-11-hexadecenyl acetate를 0, 1, 6, 10, 15로 각각 비율을 달리한 미끼를 사용하였다. 각 조성별 콩은무늬밤나방 성충 포획수를 비교한 결과, (Z)-11-hexadecenyl acetate가 첨가되지 않은 트랩에서 주당 평균 약 17.96마리로, 가장 많은 수의 개체가 포획된 것으로 확인되었다. 반면, (Z)-11-hexadecenyl acetate가 가장 많이 함유된 트랩에서 주당 평균 약 2.5마리로 가장 적은 개체가 포획된 것으로 파악되었다. 이에 (Z)-11-hexadecenyl acetate의 비율이 증가할 수록, 포획되는 콩은무늬밤나방의 개체 수가 감소되는 것을 확인할 수 있었다. 검거세미밤나방 미끼의 주성분인 Z)-7-dodecenyl acetate는 기존의 콩은무늬밤나방 유인 성분 중 하나이기도 하여 해당 성분의 구성비가 유인에 영향을 미쳤다는 것을 예측할 수 있다. 추후에 해당 트랩들과 시판 중인 콩은무늬밤나방 성페로몬 트랩을 설치하 여 포획 양상을 비교할 필요성이 요구된다.

Milling facilities, which belong to the front end of the nuclear fuel cycle, are essential steps for utilizing uranium in nuclear power generation. These milling facilities currently provide the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) with the location and annual production capacity of the facility through the Additional Protocol (AP, INFCIRC/540) and grant IAEA inspectors on-site sampling authority to apply safeguards to the facility. However, since milling facilities process a large amount of nuclear material and the product uranium ore concentrate (UOC) is bulk material, the absence of accounting for the facility could pose a potential risk of nuclear proliferation. Therefore, this study proposes technical approach that can be utilized for safeguards in milling facilities. Since the half-life of uranium isotopes is much longer than that of its daughter, they reach the secular equilibrium condition. However, after milling process, the fresh tailing showed the break of that secular equilibrium. As time goes on, they newly reach another secular equilibrium condition. Based on this observation, this study discussed the feasibility of the ratio method in safeguards purpose. The scenario applied in this study was 1% of uranium mill tailing. It was observed that the U-238/Th-234 and U- 238/Pa-234m ratios in fresh milling tails varied as a function of time after discharging, particularly during the first one year. This change can be worked as a significant signature in terms of safeguards. In conclusion, the ratio method in mill tails could be applicable for safeguards of nuclear milling facility.

Uranium isotopes (238U, 235U, and 234U) found in natural environments and their activity ratios (235U/238U and 234U/238U) have been used as an important tool in investigating various geological processes, especially in natural analogue studies. Occurrence and fractionation of uranium isotopes in nature between 238U, 235U, and 234U were investigated. Various measurement methods have been used for the determination of isotopic ratios and geochronology. Thus, we reviewed and summarized the measurement methods such as alpha spectrometry, gamma spectrometry, thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS), secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) with sensitive high resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP), and multiple-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MCICPMS). Research status of natural analogue studies carried out using uranium isotopes and their isotopic ratios were also reviewed and summarized in terms of long-term behaviors of radionuclides in various foreign uranium deposits as analogues of high-level radioactive waste repositories. Research results for mineralogical, geochemical, and biogeochemical behaviors of uranium in various natural analogue sites were collected and analyzed to investigate the migration and retardation processes of uranium through geological media. These long-term behaviors of uranium and uranium isotopes include dissolution/precipitation of uranium minerals, interactions of uranium with various fracture minerals including sorption and incorporation, redox reactions by minerals and microbes, and hydrological groundwater flow thorough rock fracture systems including identification of flow paths and groundwater circulation. The results of this study will contribute to performing future natural analogue studies in domestic uranium deposits and provide basic information and knowledge for understanding long-term geochemical and geochronological behaviors of radionuclides in a high-level radioactive repository.

We present a method to determine nitrogen abundance ratios with respect to iron ([N/Fe]) from molecular CN-band features observed in low-resolution (R ∼ 2000) stellar spectra obtained by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and the Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST). Various tests are carried out to check the systematic and random errors of our technique, and the impact of signal-to-noise (S/N) ratios of stellar spectra on the determined [N/Fe]. We find that the uncertainty of our derived [N/Fe] is less than 0.3 dex for S/N ratios larger than 10 in the ranges Teff = [4000, 6000] K, log g = [0.0, 3.5], [Fe/H] = [−3.0, 0.0], [C/Fe] = [−1.0, +4.5], and [N/Fe] = [−1.0, +4.5], the parameter space that we are interested in to identify N-enhanced stars in the Galactic halo. A star-by-star comparison with a sample of stars with [N/Fe] estimates available from the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) also suggests a similar level of uncertainty in our measured [N/Fe], after removing its systematic error. Based on these results, we conclude that our method is able to reproduce [N/Fe] from low-resolution spectroscopic data, with an uncertainty sufficiently small to discover N-rich stars that presumably originated from disrupted Galactic globular clusters.

연층을 가지는 건축물들의 피해사례가 관측됨에 따라 기존 건축물 내진성능평가시 수직비정형의 고려가 중요해졌다. 하지만 기존 방법은 수직비정형을 충분히 반영하기 어렵기 때문에 수직비정형을 가지는 건축물에 대해 내진성능을 과소 혹은 과대평가할 여지가 있다. 본 연구는 강성기반 연층비(Soft Story Ratio, SSR)를 이용해 수직비정형 건축물의 내진성능평가 기법을 개발하는데 목적이 있다. SSR은 변위에 대한 요구량과 능력의 비율을 나타내고, 강성차이에 의한 수직비정형을 고려하여 건축물의 변위집중 비율을 의미하는 파라미터다. 1층 기둥을 변수로 하는 필로티 건축물 네 개를 대상으로 개발한 내진성능평가 기법을 기존의 내진성능평가 기법과 비교하였다. 기존 기법은 수직비정형이 극대화되는 모델에 대해 내진성능을 과대평가하는 경우가 발생하였다. 반면 제안된 기법은 모든 모델에 대해서 상세평가의 결과와 동일했다. 따라서 제안하는 내진성능평가 기법은 수직비정형이 극대화되는 필로티 건축물에서 기존의 방법보다 정밀하게 내진성능평가 결과를 제공할 수 있다고 사료된다.

본 연구는 전국 37개 생활권의 미래 총부양비를 전망하는 데에 목적이 있다. 총부양비가 100을 초과하면 부양자보다 피부양자가 많아지는 것을 의미한다. 전국 평균은 2020년 48.6명에서 2050년 141.2명으로 증가하며, 같은 해 경북(동) 권역의 총부양비가 177.7명으로 가장 높고 세종권은 81.6명으로 가장 낮은 전망치를 보인다. 2040년에는 37개 생활권 중 26개 권역에서, 2050년에는 세종특별자치시를 제외한 모든 권역에서 총부양비가 100을 초과하는 것으로 전망되었다. 30년(2020~2050년)에 걸쳐 인천권 총부 양비 증가속도가 259.3%로 가장 빠를 것으로 나타났고, 전남(남) 권역은 73.4%로 가장 느릴 것으로 전망되었다. 본 연구에서 도출한 총부양비를 통계청에서 전망한 총부양비와 직접 비교하는 데 있어서는 제약이 있으나, 통계청 중위 시나리오에 비해 총부양 비가 전국적으로 더 급격하게 증가하는 것으로 나타나며, 이는 한국 사회가 전례 없이 높은 총부양비에 따른 사회경제적 어려움에 더욱 일찍 직면하게 될 것임을 의미한다.

본 연구는 산채을 활용한 어린잎 혼합 포장 상품의 개발하기 위해 기존 어린잎채소에 많이 사용되고 있는 어린잎 적로메인 상추(Lactuca sativa ‘Red romaine’)에 어린잎 산채로 갯기름 나물(Peucedanum japoincum Thunberg)과 곤달비(Ligularia stenocephala)을 혼합하여 적합한 비율을 알아보고자 수행하 였다. 적로메인과 산채의 혼합비율은 적로메인0 : 갯기름5 : 곤 달비5(R0:P5:L5), 적로메인3.3 : 갯기름3.3 : 곤달비3.3(R3.3: P3.3:L3.3), 적로메인5 : 갯기름2.5 : 곤달비2.5(R5:P2.5:L2.5), 적로메인8 : 갯기름1 : 곤달비1(R8:P1:L1), 적로메인10 : 갯기름0 : 곤달비0(R10:P0:L0)으로 처리하였다. 모든 처리구는 OTR(Oxygen transmission rate) 10,000cc·m -2 ·day -1 ·atm -1 필름으로 포장하여 2°C/85%RH 저온고에서 27일간 저장하며 생체중 감소율, 포장내 이산화탄소/산소/에틸렌 농도, 외관, 엽록소 함량, 색도를 조사하였다. 생체중은 R8:P1:L1 처리구가 0.4% 미만의 가장 낮은 감소율을 보였고, 이를 제외한 나머지 처리구들은 0.5% 내외의 수치를 나타내었으나 통계적 유의성은 없었다. 포장내 산소와 이산화탄소 농도는 작물의 호흡률에 영향을 받았는데, 호흡률이 낮았던 상추의 혼합 비율이 높아질수록 포장내 산소농도가 높았고, 이산화탄소 농도는 낮았다. 산소농도는 15일이후 크게 감소하였으나, 16%이상은 유지되었고, 이와 반대로 이산화탄소 농도의 경우 15일까지 1-4%로 유지되다가 서서히 증가하여 27일차에 는 2-5%로 증가하였다. 에틸렌 농도는 저장 종료일까지 3-6μL·L -1 내외의 농도를 유지하였다. 저장 종료일의 외관상 품질은 모든 처리구가 상품성 한계점인 3점에 다소 못 미치는 정도를 보였다. 엽록소 함량(SPAD)은 처리구간 통계적 유의성은 없었으나, 적로메인과 곤달비의 경우 R8:P1:L1 처리구에서, 갯기름나물은 R5:P2.5:L2.5과 R8:P1:L1처리구에서 가장 적게 감소하였다. Heat map으로 비교한 3가지 작물의 엽색(L * , a * , b * , chroma)은 R5:P2.5:L2.5와 R8:P1:L1 처리구에서 저장 후 가장 변화가 적었다. 이중 R8:P1:L1 처리구는 엽록 소 함량도 가장 높게 유지되었으며 포장내 에틸렌 농도도 2번째로 낮았고 이산화탄소 농도는 2-3% 수준을 유지하였다. 따라서 적로메인 8, 곤달비 1, 갯기름 1(R8:P1:L1)의 혼합한 비율이 이 3가지 작물의 어린잎 혼합 포장에 가장 적합한 것으로 판단된다.