Estimation of Water Quality Index for Coastal Areas in Korea Using GOCI Satellite Data Based on Machine Learning Approaches

In Korea, most industrial parks and major cities are located in coastal areas, which results in serious environmental problems in both coastal land and ocean. In order to effectively manage such problems especially in coastal ocean, water quality should be monitored. As there are many factors that influence water quality, the Korean Government proposed an integrated Water Quality Index (WQI) based on in situ measurements of ocean parameters(bottom dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll-a concentration, secchi disk depth, dissolved inorganic nitrogen, and dissolved inorganic phosphorus) by ocean division identified based on their ecological characteristics. Field-measured WQI, however, does not provide spatial continuity over vast areas. Satellite remote sensing can be an alternative for identifying WQI for surface water. In this study, two schemes were examined to estimate coastal WQI around Korea peninsula using in situ measurements data and Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI) satellite imagery from 2011 to 2013 based on machine learning approaches. Scheme 1 calculates WQI using estimated water quality-related factors using GOCI reflectance data, and scheme 2 estimates WQI using GOCI band reflectance data and basic products(chlorophyll-a, suspended sediment, colored dissolved organic matter). Three machine learning approaches including Random Forest (RF), Support Vector Regression (SVR), and a modified regression tree(Cubist) were used. Results show that estimation of secchi disk depth produced the highest accuracy among the ocean parameters, and RF performed best regardless of water quality-related factors. However, the accuracy of WQI from scheme 1 was lower than that from scheme 2 due to the estimation errors inherent from water quality-related factors and the uncertainty of bottom dissolved oxygen. In overall, scheme 2 appears more appropriate for estimating WQI for surface water in coastal areas and chlorophyll-a concentration was identified the most contributing factor to the estimation of WQI.ope

Sargassum fulvellum

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation has been reported to induce cutaneous inflammation such as erythema and edema via induction of proinflammatory enzymes and mediators. Sargassum fulvellum is a brown alga of Sargassaceae family which has been demonstrated to exhibit antipyretic, analgesic, antiedema, antioxidant, antitumor, fibrinolytic, and hepatoprotective activities. The purpose of this study is to investigate anti-inflammatory effects of ethylacetate fraction of ethanol extract of Sargassum fulvellum (SFE-EtOAc) in HaCaT keratinocytes and BALB/c mice. In HaCaT cells, SFE-EtOAc effectively inhibited UVB-induced cytotoxicity (60 mJ/cm2) and the expression of proinflammatory proteins such as cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). Furthermore, SFE-EtOAc significantly reduced UVB-induced production of proinflammatory mediators including prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and nitric oxide (NO). In BALB/c mice, topical application of SFE-EtOAc prior to UVB irradiation (200 mJ/cm2) effectively suppressed the UVB-induced protein expression of COX-2, iNOS, and TNF-α and subsequently attenuated generation of PGE2 and NO as well. In another experiment, SFE-EtOAc pretreatment suppressed UVB-induced reactive oxygen species production and exhibited an antioxidant potential by upregulation of antioxidant enzymes such as catalase and Cu/Zn-superoxide dismutase in HaCaT cells. These results suggest that SFE-EtOAc could be an effective anti-inflammatory agent protecting against UVB irradiation-induced skin damages

Virtual Surface Characteristics of a Tactile Display Using Magneto-Rheological Fluids

Virtual surface characteristics of tactile displays are investigated to characterize the feeling of human touch for a haptic interface application. In order to represent the tactile feeling, a prototype tactile display incorporating Magneto-Rheological (MR) fluid has been developed. Tactile display devices simulate the finger’s skin to feel the sensations of contact such as compliance, friction, and topography of the surface. Thus, the tactile display can provide information on the surface of an organic tissue to the surgeon in virtual reality. In order to investigate the compliance feeling of a human finger’s touch, normal force responses of a tactile display under various magnetic fields have been assessed. Also, shearing friction force responses of the tactile display are investigated to simulate the action of finger dragging on the surface. Moreover, different matrix arrays of magnetic poles are applied to form the virtual surface topography. From the results, different tactile feelings are observed according to the applied magnetic field strength as well as the arrays of magnetic poles combinations. This research presents a smart tactile display technology for virtual surfaces

Low-frequency noise in junctionless multigate transistors

Low-frequency noise in n-type junctionless multigate transistors was investigated. It can be well understood with the carrier number fluctuations whereas the conduction is mainly limited by the bulk expecting Hooge mobility fluctuations. The trapping/release of charge carriers is related not only to the oxide-semiconductor interface but also to the depleted channel. The volume trap density is in the range of 6-30 x 10(16) cm(-3) eV(-1), which is similar to Si-SiO2 bulk transistors and remarkably lower than in high-k transistors. These results show that the noise in nanowire devices might be affected by additional trapping centers. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. (doi:10.1063/1.3569724

Intersite Coulomb Interactions in Charge Ordered Systems

Using {\it ab initio} approaches for extended Hubbard interactions coupled to phonons, we reveal that the intersite Coulomb interaction plays important roles in determining various distinctive phases of the paradigmatic charge ordered materials of Ba$_{1-x}$K$_x A$O$_3$ ($A=$ Bi and Sb). We demonstrated that all their salient doping dependent experiment features such as breathing instabilities, anomalous phonon dispersions, and transition between charge-density wave and superconducting states can be accounted very well if self-consistently obtained nearest neighbor Hubbard interaction are included, thus establishing a minimal criterion for reliable descriptions of spontaneous charge orders in solids.Comment: 4 pages, 2 additional pages for references and 4 pages supplementary materials, title and abstract are modifie