Kangwon National University

About: Kangwon National University is a education organization based out in Chuncheon, South Korea. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Catalysis. The organization has 9836 authors who have published 20002 publications receiving 393562 citations. The organization is also known as: KNU.

A comparison of the knowledge-based innovation systems in the economies of South Korea and the Netherlands using Triple Helix indicators

Abstract: This paper elaborates on the Triple Helix model for measuring the emergence of a knowledge base of socio-economic systems. The ‘knowledge infrastructure’ is measured using multiple indicators: webometric, scientometric, and technometric. The paper employs this triangulation strategy to examine the current state of the innovation systems of South Korea and the Netherlands. These indicators are thereafter used for the evaluation of the systemness in configurations of university-industry-government relations. South Korea is becoming somewhat stronger than the Netherlands in terms of scientific and technological outputs and in terms of the knowledge-based dynamics; South Korea’s portfolio is more traditional than that of the Netherlands. For example, research and patenting in the biomedical sector is underdeveloped. In terms of the Internet-economy, the Netherlands seem oriented towards global trends more than South Korea; this may be due to the high component of services in the Dutch economy.

Kinetic study on phosphate removal from aqueous solution by biochar derived from peanut shell as renewable adsorptive media

Abstract: As an alternative strategy for phosphate removal, biochar (black carbon) has characteristics superior to those of widely used adsorptive media, from both economic and environmental points of view. In this study, various types of biochar derived from oak wood, bamboo wood, maize residue, soybean stover, and peanut shell were tested for evaluation of phosphate removal. After 24 h of reaction time, the phosphate removal was limited (2.0–9.4 %) in case of general adsorptive media. However, interestingly, among various biochars, peanut shell-derived biochar (PSB) exhibited the best performance, showing the highest phosphate removal rate, 61.3 % (3.8 mg PO4−P g PSB−1). We attribute this high value to the proper structural properties of PSB, such as BET-specific surface area of 348.96 m2 g−1 and mineral/phosphorus ratio (Mg/P = 3.46 and Ca/P = 47.6). Adsorption equilibrium and kinetics of phosphate at different temperature (10, 20, and 30 °C) were well explained in the whole experimental region by Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-second-order kinetic models, respectively. The maximum adsorption capacity of PSB was 6.79 mg g−1 for phosphate at 30 °C. These findings suggest that PSB has great potential as an alternative and renewable adsorptive media for phosphate removal.

Longitudinal monitoring of EGFR mutations in plasma predicts outcomes of NSCLC patients treated with EGFR TKIs: Korean Lung Cancer Consortium (KLCC-12-02)

Abstract: We hypothesized that plasma-based EGFR mutation analysis for NSCLC may be feasible for monitoring treatment response to EGFR TKIs and also predict drug resistance.Clinically relevant mutations including exon 19 deletion (ex19del), L858R and T790M were analyzed using droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) in longitudinally collected plasma samples (n = 367) from 81 NSCLC patients treated with EGFR TKI. Of a total 58 baseline cell-free DNA (cfDNA) samples available for ddPCR analysis, 43 (74.1%) had the same mutation in the matched tumors (clinical sensitivity: 70.8% [17/24] for L858R and 76.5% [26/34] for ex19del). The concordance rates of plasma with tissue-based results of EGFR mutations were 87.9% for L858R and 86.2% for ex19del. All 40 patients who were detected EGFR mutations at baseline showed a dramatic decrease of mutant copies (>50%) in plasma during the first two months after treatment. Median progression-free survival (PFS) was 10.1 months for patients with undetectable EGFR v 6.3 months for detectable EGFR mutations in blood after two-month treatment (HR 3.88, 95% CI 1.48-10.19, P = 0.006). We observed emerging resistance with early detection of T790M as a secondary mutation in 14 (28.6%) of 49 patients. Plasma-based EGFR mutation analysis using ddPCR can monitor treatment response to EGFR TKIs and can lead to early detection of EGFR TKIs resistance. Further studies confirming clinical implications of EGFR mutation in plasma are warranted to guide optimal therapeutic strategies upon knowledge of treatment response and resistance.

Chromium(VI) sorption efficiency of acid-activated banana peel over organo-montmorillonite in aqueous solutions

Abstract: In the present study, we examined sorption of chromate (Cr(VI)) to acid-activated banana peel (AABP) and organo-montmorillonite (O-mont) as a function of pH, initial Cr(VI) concentration at a sorbent dose of 4 g L−1 and at 20 ± 1°C in aqueous solutions. In sorption edge experiments, maximum Cr(VI) removal was obtained at pH 3 after 2 hours by AABP and O-mont (88% and 69%). Sorption isotherm data showed that the sorption capacity of AABP was higher than O-mont (15.1 vs. 6.67 mg g−1, respectively, at pH 4). Freundlich and Langmuir models provided the best fits to describe Cr(VI) sorption onto AABP (R2 = 0.97) and O-mont (R2 = 0.96). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy elucidated that for AABP mainly the –OH, –COOH, –NH2, and for O-mont intercalated amines and –OH surface functional groups were involved in Cr(VI) sorption. The scanning electron microscopy combined with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX) analyses, although partly, indicate that the (wt. %) proportion of cations (e.g., ...

The Prevalence of Dementia in Older People in an Urban Population of Korea: The Seoul Study

Abstract: OBJECTIVES: To estimate prevalence of dementia and its subtypes in older people in Seoul, a metropolitan area of Korea, and compare these findings with estimates reported for other populations. DESIGN: The study employed a two-stage design for case identification. Initially, the Mini-Mental State Examination in the Korean version (MMSE-KC) of the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzeheimer's Disease (CERAD) assessment packet was administered to all participants. Two hundred seventeen persons sampled from three levels of performance on MMSE-KC underwent the second-stage clinical evaluation based on the Korean Version of the CERAD assessment packet. SETTING: The study was conducted in an urban community setting. PARTICIPANTS: Six hundred forty-three persons aged 65 and over participated in the study. MEASUREMENTS: Dementia was defined using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition diagnostic features of dementia. RESULTS: Dementia prevalence ranged from 2.6% in persons aged 65 to 69 to 32.6% in persons aged 85 and older. Age-standardized prevalence was 8.2% for dementia, 5.4% for Alzheimer's disease, and 2.0% for vascular dementia. The prevalence estimates, which excluded very mild cases (clinical dementia rating index 0.5), were approximately 5.3% for dementia and 4.3% for Alzheimer's disease. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of dementia in older people in Seoul appears to be somewhat lower than in rural areas of Korea. Considering the difficulties involved in establishing a diagnostic threshold for dementia, actual differences in dementia prevalence between Asian populations are probably minimal.