• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.172-178
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• 2017

Ultrasound has been widely used for biological and medical applications including induction of cell death, but a precise mechanism of induced cell death by ultrasound is controversial. In this study, an irradiation system with 40 kHz ultrasound was developed for a suitable cell death test of a representative unicellular organism, yeast, and used to study the biological effect of ultrasound on inducing cell death. Potassium Iodide (KI) dosimetry was used to devise an optimal system that successfully delivers 40 kHz ultrasound and produces reactive oxygen species in a 1.5 ml Eppendorf tube. Cell death was observed in an ultrasound transmission time-dependent fashion in this system. Thermal effect during irradiation was not observable in ultrasound induced cell death. Co-treatment of 40 kHz ultrasound and hydrogen peroxide showed a synergistic effect in inducing cell death. This finding suggests that 40 kHz ultrasound is related to reactive oxygen species formation. However, NAC (N-acetyl-L-cysteine) oxygen scavenger slightly inhibited the cell death by 40 kHz ultrasound. It was also found that 40 kHz ultrasound induced cell death was slightly inhibited by inhibitors of necrosis or apoptosis (glycyrrhizin or zVAD-fmk). This study suggests that cell death induced by 40 kHz ultrasound may not be exclusively related to reactive oxygen species formation and thermal effects in irradiated yeast cells.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.31 no.6 s.119
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• pp.506-513
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• 2006

The effects of ultrasound stimuli on the germination and sprout growth of brown rice were investigated. Ultrasound was applied to brown rice at the frequencies of 28, 40, and 60 kHz before germination test and it was germinated in three methods (Type I, II and III). Type I was to soak brown rice into water for 60 hours. Type II was to expose brown rice to air for 48 hours after soaking them into water for 12 hours. Type III was a repetitive method of water-soaking and air exposure for 12 hours respectively. The most effective method for the germination was Type III without ultrasound. However, Type I was a best method after ultrasound treatment. As power of ultrasound increased, sprouts grew faster after brown rice were treated in 40%, 70%, and 100% power (0.137, 0.241, and 0.344 $W/cm^2$) at 40 kHz. The good treatments for fast sprout growth of brown rice at each frequency were the 28 kHz-10min group, the 40 kHz-5min group, and the 60 kHz-20min group of Type I. The best effective treatment was the 40 kHz-5min group at 0.344 $W/cm^2$ and at that condition the time required for sprout growth of 2.5 m was 51.9 hours. The ultrasound stimuli was very effective in the beginning of the rice germination, and the germination ratio was more than 95% in all ultrasound treatments.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.207-215
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• 2006

This study evaluated the effect of ultrasonic irradiation on reducing membrane fouling for the treatment of chemically treated leachate and biologically treated leachate. The experiments on improvement of membrane flux according to the membrane types(MF and UF) and membrane materials were performed with changing frequency(40 kHz and 120 kHz) and intensity(200 W and 400 W) of ultrasound in ultrasonic membrane separation apparatus which ultrasound can be periodically irradiated. Additionally, the effect of dual frequency ultrasound which 40 kHz md 120 kHz are irradiated simultaneously was evaluated. The improvement of membrane flux by periodical ultrasound irradiation was higher in microfiltration(MF) membrane than in ultrafiltration(UF) membrane. It was sustained more in the MF membrane of polyvinylidene fluoride(PVDF) than in that of polysulfon(PS). Ultrasonic improvement of membrane flux was different depending on the characteristics of target wastewater. It was sustainably maintained without reclogging using dual frequency ultrasound although the improvement of membrane flux was lower.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.467-475
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• 2019

A high-intensity ultrasound wave generates acoustic streaming and acoustic radiation forces when propagating through a medium. An acoustic radiation force generated in a three-dimensional space can produce a solid tactile sensation, delivering spatial information directly to the human skin. We placed 154 ultrasound transmit elements with a frequency of 40 kHz on a concave circular dish, and generated an acoustic radiation force at the focal point by transmitting the ultrasound wave. To feel the tactile sensation better, the transmit elements were excited by sine waves whose amplitude was modulated by a 60 Hz square wave. As an application of ultrasonic tactile sensing, a region where tactile sense is formed in the air is used as an indicator for the position of the hand. We confirmed the utility of ultrasonic tactile feedback by implementing a system that provides the number of fingers to a machine by receiving the shape of the hand at the focal point where the tactile sense is detected.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.893-906
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• 2011

The effect of ultrasound pretreatment on sludge degragability was investigated at different condotions: ultrasonic frequency(28, 40, 50kHz), intensity(10, 25, 50W), sonication time(10, 20, 30, 60min). Total suspended solid(TSS) and soluble chemical oxygen demand(SCOD) concentration were measured for the evaluation of pretreatment efficiency. The pretreated sludge was used as the feedstock for anaerobic digestion process. Biogas production and volatile suspended solid(VSS) removal were determined for evaluating the process performance. 1. TSS concentration of the sludge decreased at a constant rate as sonication operation was applied. The degradation rate of TSS increased when ultrasound frequency was decreased from 50kHz to 28kHz and intensity was increased from 10W to 50W. Efficiency of TSS degradation per input energy increased as ultrasonic frequency and intensity were decreased. At the frequency of 28 and 40kHz, SCOD concentration rapidly increased during the initial 30min of sonication time, and then it gradually increased. At 50kHz, SCOD concentration constantly increased for 60min of the sonication time. The SCOD production rate increased with increasing intensity under all ultrasound frequencies. 2. The optimum condition of ultrasound treatment was 28kHz, 50W and 60min for maximizing the biogas production, methane fraction, VSS removal. The highest values in biogas production, methane fraction in biogas, VSS removal were 370ml, 70%, 2.45g, respectively. Methane production rate per input energy increased at ultrasonic frequency and intensity decreased. 3. When raw sludge was pretreated at the condition of ultrasonic frequency of 28 and 40kHz in series, sequential-frequency sonication, intensity of 50W and 60min, biogas production, methane fraction, VSS removal were about the same that of 28kHz single-frequency sonication. When sequential-frequency sonication of 28 and 50kHz was applied in series, biogas production, methane fraction, VSS removal were 356 ~ 423ml, 69 ~ 71%, 2.41 ~ 2.78g, respectively. The pretreatment efficiency of 28-50kHz sequential-frequency sonication which sonication time of 28kHz and 50kHz was 40min and 20min was higher than that of 28kHz single-frequency sonication.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Clinical Electrophysiology
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.63-83
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• 2006

This study conducted the following experiment to examine anesthetic effects of 500 kHz ultrasound with lidocaine. Clinical experiment was conducted to compare local anesthetic effects by ultrasound frequencies and drugs with 40 normal adults and it divided subjects into experimental group (I) applying only ultrasound, ointment group (II) applying only lidocaine, phonophoresis group of 1 MHz (III), phonophoresis group of 500 kHz lidocaine (IV) for pain threshold and nerve conduct experiments. Mechanical threshold was measured with von Frey monofilament, thermal pain threshold with halogen lamp and digital thermometer, action potential in median nerve with diagnostic electromyography before and after treatment, and at 30 min., 60 min., 90 min., and 120 min. after treatment. Results of this study can be summarized as follows. Topical anesthesia experiment showed that pain threshold of phonophoresis groups was significantly increased, but there were little differences in ultrasound frequency and drugs among phonophoresis groups. Conduction anesthesia experiment showed that phonophoresis group of 500 kHz using lidocaine had significant difference in pain threshold and sensory nerve conduction compared to ointment group and ultrasound group, but there was no great difference from other phonophresis groups and light nerve block effect was found. It was considered that application of 500 kHz ultrasound using lidocaine will be more effective in deep anesthesia or nerve block than 1 MHz ultrasound. However, researches considering various frequencies, intensities and application hours in low frequency areas including kHz ultrasound are needed to increase deep permeation of drugs.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.34 no.10
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• pp.3039-3045
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• 2013

Dual-frequency ultrasound assisted photocatalysis (DUAP) method was proposed to degrade a stable organic model effluent, cresol red (CR), using the prepared $Fe^{3+}$-doped $TiO_2$ with active carbon fiber loading ($Fe^{3+}-TiO_2/ACF$) as photocatalyst. The influence of key factors, including Fe doping amount and power density of dual-frequency ultrasounds (20/40 kHz), on the degradation efficiency was investigated. The degradation efficiency rises to 98.7% in 60 min accompanied by the color removal of CR liquid samples from yellow to colorless transparent at optimal conditions. A synergy index of 1.40 was yielded by comparison with single ultrasound assisted photocatalysis (SUAP) and the photocatalysis without ultrasound assisted (UV/$TiO_2$), indicating that a clear synergistic effect exists for the DUAP process. Obvious enhancement of degradation efficiency for the DUAP process should be attributed to production of large amount of free radicals by strong cavitational effects of dual ultrasounds.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.79-89
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• 2009

Naphthalene is a volatile, hydrophobic, and possibly carcinogenic compound that is known to have a severe detrimental effect to aquatic ecosystem. Our research examined the effects of various operating conditions (temperature, pH, initial concentration, and frequency and type of ultrasound) on the sonochemical degradation of naphthalene and OH radical production. The MDL (Method detection limit) determined by LC/FLD (1200 series, Agilient) using C-18 reversed column is measured up to 0.01 ppm. Naphthalene vapor produced from ultrasound irradiation was detected under 0.05 ppm. Comparison of naphthalene sonodegradion efficiency tested under open and closed reactor cover fell within less than 1% of difference. Increasing the reaction temperature from $15^{\circ}C$ to $40^{\circ}C$ resulted in reduction of naphthalene degradation efficiency ($15^{\circ}C$: 95% ${\rightarrow}$ $40^{\circ}C$: 85%), and altering pH from 12 to 3 increased the effect (pH 12: 84% ${\rightarrow}$pH 3: 95.6%). Pseudo first-order constants ($k_1$) of sonodegradation of naphthalene decreased as initial concentration of naphthalene increased (2.5 ppm: $27.3{\times}10^{-3}\;min^{-3}\;{\rightarrow}$ 10 ppm : $19.3{\times}10^{-3}\;min^{-3}$). Degradation efficiency of 2.5 ppm of naphthalene subjected to 28 kHz of ultrasonic irradiation was found to be 1.46 times as much as when exposed under 132 kHz (132 kHz: 56%, 28 kHz: 82.7%). Additionally, its $k_1$ constant was increased by 2.3 times (132 kHz: $2.4{\times}10^{-3}\;min^{-1}$, 28 kHz: $5.0{\times}10^{-3}\;min^{-1}$). $H_2O_2$ concentration measured 10 minutes after the exposure to 132 kHz of ultrasound, when compared with the measurement under frequency of 28 kHz, was 7.2 times as much. The concentration measured after 90 minutes, however, showed the difference of only 10%. (concentration of $H_2O_2$ under 28 kHz being 1.1 times greater than that under 132 kHz.) The $H_2O_2$ concentration resulting from 2.5 ppm naphthalene after 90 minutes of sonication at 24 kHz and 132 kHz were lower by 0.05 and 0.1 ppm, respectively, than the concentration measured from the irradiated M.Q. water (no naphthalene added.) Degradation efficiency of horn type (24 kHz) and bath type (28 kHz) ultrasound was found to be 87% and 82.7%, respectively, and $k_1$ was calculated into $22.8{\times}10^{-3}\;min^{-1}$ and $18.7{\times}10^{-3}\;min^{-1}$ respectively. Using the multi- frequency and mixed type of ultrasound system (28 kHz bath type + 24 kHz horn type) simultaneously resulted in combined efficiency of 88.1%, while $H_2O_2$ concentration increased 3.5 times (28 kHz + 24 kHz: 2.37 ppm, 24 kHz: 0.7 ppm.) Therefore, the multi-frequency and mixed type of ultrasound system procedure might be most effectively used for removing the substances that are easily oxidized by the OH radical.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.129-134
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• 2008

Ultrasonic cavitational energy distributions were measured in a large-scale sonoreator. In application of 110 and 170 kHz of ultrasound, the cavitational energy was just detected near the transducer module. However 35 and 72 kHz ultrasound made good distributions from the module to the end of the sonoreactor, Especially, 72 kHz ultrasound application showed most stable and highest cavitational energy value through the whole length. In the comparison between input power and cavitational energy, linear relationships were obtained in 35 and 72 kHz and it was anticipated that these results would be used for the optimization of input power for the design of sonoreactors. And three dimensional energy distribution was depicted through the mapping of cavitaional energy. Average energy in the large-scale sonoreactor was estimated as 62.8 W, which was about 40 % of input power.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.115-121
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• 2014

This study explored the effects of water or brine (2% NaCl, w/v) immersion thawing combined with ultrasound treatment (40 kHz, 150 W) on the quality characteristics of pork. Ultrasound treatment of pork was conducted in two cold media (at $4^{\circ}C$), water and 2% (w/v) brine, respectively. Because the ultrasound treatment caused temperature increase in the media from $4^{\circ}C$ to $16^{\circ}C$, the qualities of pork thawed by ultrasound were compared with those thawed by immersion either in water or brine where the temperature was being maintained at either $4^{\circ}C$ (low temperature control) or $17^{\circ}C$ (high temperature control). The ultrasound treatment resulted in rapid thawing of pork where the thawing rate was similar to those thawed in the $17^{\circ}C$ media. For quality characteristics, ultrasound-treated pork in brine had an advantage of less cooking losses when comparing to the control. In particular, ultrasound treatment in brine exhibited the lowest shear force (or highest tenderness) among the freezing/thawing treatments. Although the ultrasound processing in brine caused discoloration of the pork, this thawing technique had potential to be applied as a commercial thawing technology for frozen foods.