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Extensive evaluation and classification of low‐cost dust sensors in laboratory using a newly developed test method
No full textAn extensive evaluation of low-cost dust sensors was performed using an exponentially decaying particle concentration. A total of 264 sensors including 27 sensors with light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and 237 sensors with laser lighting sources were tested. Those tested sensors were classified into 4 groups based on the deviation from the reference data obtained by a reference instrument. The response linearities of all the tested samples for PM1, PM2.5, and PM10 were in excellent agreement with the reference instrument, except a few samples. For the measurements of PM1 and PM2.5, the lighting source, that is, LED or laser, did not show any significant difference in overall sensor performance. However, LED-based sensors did not perform well for PM10 measurements. The 32, 24, and 16% of all the tested sensors for PM1, PM2.5, and PM10 measurement, respectively, are in the category of Class 1 (reference instrument reading +/- 20%) requirement. The performance of the low-cost dust sensors for PM10 measurement was relatively less satisfactory.The Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy (MOTIE, Korea)
What kind of power is the EU? The EU’s policies toward North Korea’s WMD programs and the debate about the EU’s role in the security arena
No full textThe main purpose of this article is to critically examine the EU’s policies toward North Korea’sweapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs. By analyzing the EU’s approach to North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, this article contributes to the debate about what kind of an actor the EU really is—i.e., whether it is a military power, a civilian power, or a normative power—in the security arena of world politics. As an autocratic regime with fundamental problems in relation to the proliferation of WMD and human rights, North Korea presents a good test case for considering the contested concept of EU’s international identity. The central thesis explored in the present article is that the EU is, strictly speaking, neither a military, nor a civilian, nor a normative power. That said, the EU’s international identity is closest to the concept of a global civilian power.This work was supported by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea and the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF-2016S1A3A2923970)
Single and persistent elevation of C-reactive protein levels and the risk of atrial fibrillation in a general population: The Ansan-Ansung Cohort of the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study
No full textBackground: Inflammation has been reported to cause atrial fibrillation (AF). However, it remains unclear whether C-reactive protein (CRP) levels predict AF. We investigated whether there was an association between serum CRP levels and the development of AF.
Methods: A total of 10,030 subjects aged between 40 and 69 years were enrolled and followed biennially over a 12-year period in the Ansan-Ansung cohort study. Serum CRP levels were measured at baseline and high sensitivity CRP (hsCRP) levels were measured at every revisit. AF was identified using 12-lead standard electrocardiography. Inverse probability of treatment weighting was applied to balance the confounders of AF development between groups.
Results: Serum CRP levels were higher in subjects with AF at baseline and those with new-onset AF than in those without AF. Cox-regression analysis showed that high CRP levels (��3 mg/L) and intermediate CRP levels (1-3 mg/L) at baseline were not associated with a higher risk of new-onset AF compared with low CRP levels (��1 mg/L) after adjustments for covariates. The weighted incidences of AF also did not differ according to the CRP levels. In contrast, persistent elevation of CRP or hsCRP levels (��= 1 mgiL at all visits) was associated with a higher risk of AF compared with nonpersistent elevation of CRP or hsCRP levels after adjustment for covariates in both unweighted and weighted cohorts.
Conclusion: A high CRP level at a single measurement was not associated with the risk of AF, whereas persistently elevated CRP levels independently predicted the development of AF. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.This work was supported by grants from the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) and funded by the Korean government (MSIP; Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning) (No. NRF-2017R1C1B5017115, NRF-2018R1C1B5047123). The authors thank all the participants and research staff of the Institute of Human Genomic Study at Ansan Hospital of Korea University
Clinical features of pingueculitis revealed by anterior segment optical coherence tomography findings
No full textPurpose: To investigate clinical features and treatment outcomes of pingueculitis with morphological assessments using anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT).
Methods: In this retrospective observational study, we examined 22 eyes of 22 patients with pingueculitis. All patients were treated with the same 2-week course of prednisolone acetate 1% drops four times per day. The clinical parameters evaluated were surface dimensions determined by slitlamp biomicroscopy, cross-sectional dimensions determined by AS-OCT, and symptom scores determined by patient surveys. Pretreatment and 1-month posttreatment values were compared with Wilcoxon signed-rank tests. Patients were followed up to 1 year after treatment.
Results: Twenty-two eyes from 22 patients (4 men and 18 women) with an average age of 37.7±8.8 (range, 27–57) years and an average duration of symptoms of 22 (range, 5–60) days were included. The average follow-up period was 14.7±0.8 (range, 12–22) months. Mean pretreatment horizontal length, vertical length, conjunctival thickness, and cross-sectional area were 2.4±0.69 mm, 2.0±0.6 mm, 1.82±0.60 μm, and 5.14±2.05 mm2, respectively. Mean posttreatment horizontal length, vertical length, conjunctival thickness, and area were 1.93±0.5 mm, 1.52±0.6 mm, 1.03±0.46 μm, and 2.33±0.83 mm2, respectively. Mean pretreatment and posttreatment dry eye symptom scores were 3.27±0.77 and 1.13±0.38, respectively. The median pretreatment and posttreatment changes were statistically significant by Wilcoxon signed-rank tests for horizontal length (P<0.001), vertical length (P<0.001), conjunctival thickness (P=0.003), cross-sectional area (P=0.003), and dry eye symptom scores (P<0.001).
Conclusion: Anterior segment optical coherence tomography allows the quantification of differences in the pingueculitis measurements before and after treatment. In this retrospective study, a short course of topical steroids effectively treated the inflammation in a sustained manner. Anterior segment optical coherence tomography demonstrated significant reduction in the thickness and cross-sectional area of the pinguecula and a conversion back to a homogeneous conjunctival stroma
Korean Law School and Civil Procedure in 2019
No full textIn 2009 Korean New Law School System was adopted with a deep anxiety because most universities did not prepare for new educational system until then. Especially, we could not have time enough to make new lecture materials and to decide how to teach students. Many people argues that teachers in law school should change their lecture method and curriculum so as to educate prospective global standard lawyers efficiently. They also insist that professors of law school should teach practice fields such as the Korean Judicial Research and Training Institute(KJRTI) established by the Korean Government. However, law school is not a training institute but just educational graduate school of law. Furthermore, we teach graduate students who have studied diverse majors in undergraduate colleges unlike KJRTI, and then they should be educated in law from the beginning level. Therefore, we have to emphasize theory education rather than practice in civil procedure subject and other subjects although we should teach theory and practice coincidently in law school.
The author thinks that we should educate law school students so as to think like a lawyer. Then what is the “hink like a lawyer”? There are five elements to thinking like a lawyer: judgment capacity, legal reasoning capacity, communication capacity, comprehension of professional norms and responsibilities and leadership. Each of these components has both knowledge and skills aspects. Now the purpose of law school can be more clearly stated: to teach prospective lawyers the knowledge and skills necessary to exercise sound judgment, develop sound legal reasoning capacity, communicate effectively, cooperate with colleagues and function at all times in accordance with professional norms and responsibilities.
Now we stand here in the beginning of 2019. Ten years have passed since the new law school system begun. What was changed since then? And what happened in civil procedure subject and field? The author thinks that not changed furthermore even worse especially in civil procedure field. The lecture style had not changed and bar exam style got worse. In order to achieve our original goal in law school, a civil procedure subject should have a important role in law school because it has acted as a mediator between the legal theory and practice. First of all, we have to change curriculum so as to teach civil procedure-related subjects such as Civil Enforcement, Bankruptcy law, Arbitration and International litigation as well as civil procedure. And also we have to change teaching method so as to make a interactive classroom environment that thinking like a lawyer demands. The problem method based on the Socratic method could be the best teaching method to coincide with the purpose of law school
High capacity monoclinic Nb2O5 and semiconducting NbO2 composite as high-power anode material for Li-Ion batteries
No full textNiobium pentoxide, Nb2O5, is an intercalation-type material with a high theoretical capacity of similar to 404 mAh g(-1) for Li-ion batteries. However, electrochemical properties of Nb2O5 largely depend on its various polymorphs with different crystal structures, and their low electrical conductivity acts as the main obstacle. Here, we report high-temperature calcined monoclinic Nb2O5 and semiconducting NbO2 composite as a high-power anode material. Monoclinic Nb2O5 itself as a main active material shows a high capacity of similar to 280 mAh g(-1), and NbO2 with a small band gap of similar to 0.5 eV not only improves electrical conductivity but also gives a capacity of similar to 110 mAh g(-1). To have a synergic effect of these two materials, the Nb2O5/NbO2 composite is prepared via simple post-calcination of as-prepared Nb2O5 under a reduction atmosphere. It shows a discharge capacity of similar to 214 mAh g(-1) at 0.05 C, a high initial Coulombic efficiency of 94.7%, a superior rate capability of similar to 40 mAh g(-1) at 100 C, and a robust cycle performance of 81% retention over 900 cycles.This work was supported by the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (KETEP) and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy of the Republic of Korea through the research on Li-ion batteries (No. 20168510050080), Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT (2016R1C1B2007299) and the research fund of Hanyang University (HY-2017)
Synthesis of conducting polymer-intercalated vanadate nanofiber composites using a sonochemical method for high performance pseudocapacitor applications
No full textThe low electrical conductivity and slow rate capability of vanadium oxide limit its utilization in high rate energy storage applications. Many studies are trying to overcome these drawbacks, but it remains a challenge. In this study, we propose a simple strategy to produce conducting polymer-intercalated ammonium vanadate nanofiber composites exhibiting high capacitance and high rate capability. The poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene)-intercalated ammonium vanadate nanofiber composites are produced in a very short time (�� 4 hrs) using a sonochemical method. The composite exhibits a high surface area of 85.5 m2 g-1 and excellent electrical conductivity of 4.1×10-2 S cm-1. In addition, the lattice distance of the vanadate nanofiber is expanded by insertion of the conducting polymer, which can facilitate transportation of K+ ions into the vanadate nanofibers. These are great benefits for enhancing the specific capacitance and rate capability of the energy storage devices. Therefore, the proposed simple approach can provide a new research direction in the field of high rate energy storage devices.This research was supported by grants from the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education (2012R1A6A1029029 and 2018R1A2B6009208), Republic of Korea
Search for long-lived particles decaying into displaced jets in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV
No full textA search for long-lived particles decaying into jets is presented. Data were collected with the CMS detector at the LHC from proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV in 2016, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb(-1). The search examines the distinctive topology of displaced tracks and secondary vertices. The selected events are found to be consistent with standard model predictions. For a simplified model in which long-lived neutral particles are pair produced and decay to two jets, pair production cross sections larger than 0.2 fb are excluded at 95% confidence level for a long-lived particle mass larger than 1000 GeV and proper decay lengths between 3 and 130 mm. Several supersymmetry models with gauge-mediated supersymmetry breaking or R-parity violation, where pair-produced long-lived gluinos or top squarks decay to several final-state topologies containing displaced jets, are also tested. For these models, in the mass ranges above 200 GeV, gluino masses up to 2300-2400 GeV and top squark masses up to 1350-1600 GeV are excluded for proper decay lengths approximately between 10 and 100 mm. These are the most restrictive limits to date on these models.We congratulate our colleagues in the CERN accelerator departments for the excellent performance of the LHC and thank the technical and administrative staffs at CERN and at other CMS institutes for their contributions to the success of the CMS effort. In addition, we gratefully acknowledge the computing centers and personnel of the Worldwide LHC Computing Grid for delivering so effectively the computing infrastructure essential to our analyses. Finally, we acknowledge the enduring support for the construction and operation of the LHC and the CMS detector provided by the following funding agencies: BMBWF and FWF (Austria); FNRS and FWO (Belgium); CNPq, CAPES, FAPERJ, FAPERGS, and FAPESP (Brazil); MES (Bulgaria); CERN; CAS, MoST, and NSFC (China); COLCIENCIAS (Colombia); MSES and Croatian Science Foundation (Croatia); RPF (Cyprus); SENESCYT (Ecuador); MoER, ERC IUT, and ERDF (Estonia); Academy of Finland, MEC, and Helsinki Institute of Physics (Finland); CEA and CNRS/IN2P3 (France); BMBF, DFG, and HGF (Germany); GSRT (Greece); NKFIA (Hungary); DAE and DST (India); IPM (Iran); SFI (Ireland); INFN(Italy); MS and NRF (Republic of Korea); MES (Latvia); Lithuanian Academy of Sciences (Lithuania); MOE and UM (Malaysia); BUAP, CINVESTAV, CONACYT, LNS, SEP, and UASLP-FAI (Mexico); MOS (Montenegro); MBIE (New Zealand); PAEC (Pakistan); MSHE and NSC (Poland); FCT (Portugal); JINR (Dubna); MON, RosAtom, RAS, RFBR, and National Research Center "Kurchatov Institute" (Russia); MESTD (Serbia); Secretaria de Estado de Investigacion, Desarrollo e Innovacion (SEIDI), CPAN, PCTI, and FEDER (Spain); MOSTR (Sri Lanka); Swiss Funding Agencies (Switzerland); MST (Taipei); ThEPCenter, Institute for the Promotion of Teaching Science and Technology of Thailand (IPST), Special Task Force for Activating Research (STAR), and NSTDA (Thailand); TUBITAK and TAEK (Turkey); NASU and SFFR (Ukraine); STFC (United Kingdom); Department of Energy andNational Science Foundation (USA). Individuals have received support from the Marie-Curie program and the European Research Council and Horizon 2020 Grant, Contract No. 675440 (European Union); the Leventis Foundation; the A. P. Sloan Foundation; the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation; the Belgian Federal Science Policy Office; the Fonds pour la Formation a la Recherche dans l'Industrie et dans l'Agriculture (FRIA-Belgium); the Agentschap voor Innovatie door Wetenschap en Technologie (IWT-Belgium); the F. R. S.-FNRS and FWO (Belgium) under the "Excellence of Science-EOS"-be.h project No. 30820817; the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (MEYS) of the Czech Republic; the Lendulet ("Momentum") Programme and the Janos Bolyai Research Scholarship of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, the New National Excellence Program UNKP, the NKFIA Research Grants No. 123842, No. 123959, No. 124845, No. 124850 and No. 125105 (Hungary); the Council of Science and Industrial Research, India; the HOMING PLUS program of the Foundation for Polish Science, cofinanced from European Union, Regional Development Fund, the Mobility Plus program of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, the National Science Center (Poland), Contracts Harmonia No. 2014/14/M/ST2/00428, Opus No. 2014/13/B/ST2/02543, No. 2014/15/B/ST2/03998, and No. 2015/19/B/ST2/02861, Sonata-bis No. 2012/07/E/ST2/01406; the National Priorities Research Program by Qatar National Research Fund; the Programa Estatal de Fomento de la Investigacion Cientifica y Tecnica de Excelencia Maria de Maeztu, Grant No.
MDM-2015-0509 and the Programa Severo Ochoa del Principado de Asturias; the Thalis and Aristeia programs cofinanced by EU-ESF and the GreekNSRF; the Rachadapisek Sompot Fund for Postdoctoral Fellowship, Chulalongkorn University and the Chulalongkorn Academic into Its 2nd Century Project Advancement Project (Thailand); the Welch Foundation, Contract No. C-1845; and the Weston Havens Foundation (USA)
Nonlinear Backstepping Control Design for Coupled Nonlinear Systems under External Disturbances
No full textA nonlinear backstepping control is proposed for the coupled normal form of nonlinear systems. The proposed method is designed by combining the sliding-mode control and backstepping control with a disturbance observer (DOB). The key idea behind the proposed method is that the linear terms of state variables of the second subsystem are lumped into the virtual input in the first subsystem. A DOB is developed to estimate the external disturbances. Auxiliary state variables are used to avoid amplification of the measurement noise in the DOB. For output tracking and unmatched disturbance cancellation in the first subsystem, the desired virtual input is derived via the backstepping procedure. The actual input in the second subsystem is developed to guarantee the convergence of the virtual input to the desired virtual input by using a sliding-mode control. The stability of the closed-loop is verified by using the input-to-state stable (ISS) property. The performance of the proposed method is validated via numerical simulations and an application to a vehicle system based on CarSim platform.This research was supported by the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea funded by the Ministry of Education under Grant NRF-2016R1C1B1014831 and the Research Program, Development of High Voltage Brake System for Response to Safety Regulations of Micro eMobility (20003066), funded by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE, Korea)
Highly flexible triboelectric nanogenerators fabricated utilizing active layers with a ZnO nanostructure on polyethylene naphthalate substrates
No full textAtomic force microscopy images showed that layers with a ZnO nanostructure were regularly formed on polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) substrates coated with indium tin oxide. The output voltage of triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) containing layers with the ZnO nanostructure and operating in the vertical contact-separation mode was approximately 20 V, which indicated that the power was enhanced by a factor of 2 compared to that of the TENG without such layers. Bending endurance tests on the TENGs demonstrated high stability under the stress caused by bending at an angle of 90 degrees. The average open-circuit voltage of the TENGs operating in the ambient atmosphere was reduced by only 22% after 2000 bendings. This endurance of the TENGs under bending in air could be attributed to the presence of the layers with the ZnO nanostructure.This research was supported by the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of South Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education (2016R1A6A1A03013422). This work was supported by the NRF funded by the Korea government (MSIT) (2018R1A5A7025522)