• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.130-141
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• 2021

By reviewing previous literature, we analyzed the food sources of 20 out of 29 endangered fish species from freshwater ecosystems in South Korea. A total of 19 studies reported that food sources of 20 endangered fish species included 20 phyla, 31 classes, 58 orders, 116 families, and 154 genera. Arthropod, insecta, diptera, and chironomidae were the most fed animal food sources according to different resolution of taxa index on phylum, class, order and family. Similarity, bacillariophyta, bacillariophyceae, naviculales, and cymbellaceae were the most fed abundant plant sources. A larger number of fish species were reliant on animal food sources than plant food sources. 18 of the endangered fish preyed on arthropods, whereas only 6 species consumed bacillariophyta. To characterize the feeding groups of the 20 fish species, a hierarchical clustering analysis and non-metric multidimensional scaling analysis were conducted. The fish species were divided into two groups: 1) insectivores and 2) planktivores. A network analysis, which associated the link between endangered fishes and food sources, also revealed the same two groups. The highest hub score of food sources was for macroinvertebrates, including diptera (0.47), ephemeroptera (0.42), and trichoptera (0.38), based on the network analysis. Niche breadth was used to calculate the diversity of the food sources. Phoxinus phoxinus (0.57) showed thehighest food source diversity among the fish species, whereas Iksookimia pacifica (0.01) showed the lowest. This study will be utilized for the conservation and restoration of the endangered fish species.

• Journal of IKEEE
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.388-398
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• 2021

This paper proposes a particle swarm optimization (PSO)-based peak shaving scheme using energy storage system (ESS) for electricity tariff reduction. The proposed scheme compares the actual load with the estimated load consumption, calculates the additional output power that the ESS needs to discharge additionally to reduce peak load, and adds the input. In addition, in order to compensate for the additional power, the process of allocating power to the determined point is performed, and an optimization that minimizes the average of the load expected at the active power allocations using PSO so that the allocated value does not affect the peak load. To investigated the performance of the proposed scheme, case study of small and large load prediction errors was conducted by reflecting actual load data and load prediction algorithm. As a result, when the proposed scheme is performed with the ESS charge and discharge control to reduce electricity tariff, even when the load prediction error is large, the peak load is successfully reduced, and the peak load reduction effect of 17.8% and electricity tariff reduction effect of 6.02% is shown.

• Environmental and Resource Economics Review
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.237-268
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• 2021

As variable renewable sources rapidly increase due to the Energy Transition plan, integration cost of renewable sources to the power system is rising sharply. The increase in variable renewable energy reduces the capacity factor of existing traditional power capacity, and this undermines the efficiency of the overall power supply, and demand resources are drawing attention as a solution. In this study, we analyzed how much electric vehicle demand resouces, which has great potential among other demand resources, can reduce power supply costs if it is used as a flexible resource for renewable generation. As a methodology, a stochastic form of power system optimization model that can effectively reflect the volatile characteristics of renewable generation is used to analyze the cost induced by renewable energy and the benefits offered by electric vehicle demand resources. The result shows that virtual power plant-based direct control method has higher benefits than the time-of-use tariff, and the higher the proportion of renewable energy is in the power system, the higher the benefits of electric vehicle demand resources are. The net benefit after considering commission fee for aggregators and battery wear-and-tear costs was estimated as 67% to 85% of monthly average fuel cost under virtual power plant with V2G capability, and this shows that a sufficient incentive for market participation can be offered when a rate system is applied in which these net benefits of demand resources are effectively distributed to consumers.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.59 no.4
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• pp.281-293
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• 2020

The Korean thistle (Cirsium setidens) is grown in Gangwon province as a food ingredient called gondre. Based on regular monitoring of Korean thistle cultivation, we detected local outbreaks of a stick insect causing severe damage. Here we report the identification of the stick insect and its ecological characteristics. The survey involved 3 farms located in Jeongeon-gun, Gangwon province and lasted from May 28 to October 1 in 2019. According to morphological and DNA analyses the stick insect was identified as Ramulus koreanus Kwon Ha and Lee. a member of the family Phasmatidae. Its outbreak in the Korean thistle farms was observed from June 11 to August 22 with peak density on July 23. Spatial distribution analyses, using Taylors power law and Greens index showed that R. koreanus was uniformally distributed. Food consumption rate of Korean thistle leaves was estimated as 60.98±4.35 ㎠/day/adult. The main food plants were identified as Juglans mandshurica and Aronia melanocarpa. Further study needs to pursue the mechanism of the outbreak and its possible impact on agricultural and forest ecosystems. Additionally, means to relieve crop damage need to be identified.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.903-913
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• 2021

Three-type PVC membranes denoted by AEM-1, AEM-2, and AEM-3 with a cross-linked anion-exchange group were prepared by substitution reaction of PVC with triethyldiamine (TEDA), 1,4-dimethylpiperazine (DMP), and 1,4-bis(imidazol-1-ylmethyl)benzene (BIB) in cyclohexanone, respectively. We confirmed the successful preparation of the AEM-1, AEM-2, and AEM-3 via ionic conductivity (S/cm), water uptake (%), contact angle, ion-exchange capacity (m_eq/g), thermal properties, SEM and XPS analysis, respectively. The electrochemical capacitor experiments using PVC membrane with cross-linked anion-exchange group in organic electrolytes were performed. The prepared AEM-1, AEM-2 AEM-3 have a good stability by charge and discharge performance in organic electrolyte. As a result, the AEM-2 and AEM-3 membrane based on PVC prepared by the solvent casting method after substituent reaction is suitable for the use as a separator in organic electrochemical capacitor (supercapacitor).

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.59 no.1
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• pp.83-88
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• 2021

Life cycle stages, including daughter sporocysts, cercariae, and metacercariae, of Parvatrema duboisi (Dollfus, 1923) Bartoli, 1974 (Digenea: Gymnophallidae) have been found in the Manila clam Ruditapes philippinarum from Aphae-do (Island), Shinan-gun, Jeollanam-do, Korea. The daughter sporocysts were elongated sac-like and 307-570 (av. 395) ㎛ long and 101-213 (av. 157) ㎛ wide. Most of the daughter sporocysts contained 15-20 furcocercous cercariae each. The cercariae measured 112-146 (av. 134) ㎛ in total length and 35-46 (av. 40) ㎛ in width, with 69-92 (av. 85) ㎛ long body and 39-54 (av. 49) ㎛ long tail. The metacercariae were 210-250 (av. 231) ㎛ in length and 170-195 (av. 185) ㎛ in width, and characterized by having a large oral sucker, genital pore some distance anterior to the ventral sucker, no ventral pit, and 1 compact or slightly lobed vitellarium, strongly suggesting P. duboisi. The metacercariae were experimentally infected to ICR mice, and adults were recovered at day 7 post-infection. The adult flukes were morphologically similar to the metacercariae except in the presence of up to 20 eggs in the uterus. The daughter sporocysts and metacercariae were molecularly (ITS1-5.8S rDNA-ITS2) analyzed to confirm the species, and the results showed 99.8-99.9% identity with P. duboisi reported from Kyushu, Japan and Gochang, Korea. These results confirmed the presence of various life cycle stages of P. duboisi in the Manila clam, R. philippinarum, playing the role of the first as well as the second intermediate host, on Aphae-do (Island), Shinan-gun, Korea.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.59 no.1
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• pp.35-45
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• 2021

Adult echinostomes having 37 collar spines collected from the intestine of Pitalah ducks in Aceh Province, Indonesia in 2018 were morphologically and molecularly determined to be Echinostoma miyagawai Ishii, 1932 (Digenea: Echinostomatidae). Among 20 ducks examined, 7 (35.0%) were found to be infected with this echinostome, and the number of flukes collected was 48 in total with average 6.9 (1-17) worms per duck. The adult flukes were 7.2 (6.1-8.5) mm in length and 1.2 (1.0-1.4) mm in width (pre-ovarian or testicular level) and characterized by having a head collar armed with 37 collar spines (dorsal spines arranged in 2 alternating rows), including 5 end group spines, and variable morphology of the testes, irregularly or deeply lobed (3-5 lobes) at times with horizontal extension. The eggs within the worm uterus were 93 (79-105) ㎛ long and 62 (56-70) ㎛ wide. These morphological features were consistent with both E. miyagawai and Echinostoma robustum, for which synonymy to each other has been raised. Sequencing of 2 mitochondrial genes, cox1 and nad1, revealed high homology with E. miyagawai (98.6-100% for cox1 and 99.0-99.8% for nad1) and also with E. robustum (99.3-99.8% for nad1) deposited in GenBank. We accepted the synonymy between the 2 species and diagnosed our flukes as E. miyagawai (syn. E. robustum) with redescription of its morphology. Further studies are required to determine the biological characteristics of E. miyagawai in Aceh Province, Indonesia, including the intermediate host and larval stage information.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.639-645
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• 2020

Among the components of redox flow battery (RFB), the electrode serves as a diffusion layer of an electrolyte and a path for electrons and also is a major component that directly affects the RFB performance. In this paper, chloric/sulfuric mixed acidwas used as a supporting electrolyte in RFB system with Fe2+/Fe3+ and V2+/V3+ as redox couple. The optimum electrode and activation temperature were suggested by comparing the capacity, coulombic efficiency and energy efficiency according to the electrode type and activation temperature. In the RFB single cell evaluation using 5 types of carbon electrodes used in the experiments, all of them showed close to the theoretical capacity to retain the reliability of the evaluation results. GFD4EA showed relatively excellent energy efficiency and charge/discharge capacity. In order to investigate the electrochemical performance according to the activation temperature, GFD4EA electrode was activated by heat treatment at different temperatures of 400, 450, 500, 600 and 700 ℃ under an air atmosphere. Changes in physical properties before and after the activation were observed using electrode mass retention, scanning electron microscope (SEM), XPS analysis, and electrochemical performance was compared by conducting RFB single evaluation using electrodes activated at each temperature given above.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.58 no.5
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• pp.551-558
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• 2020

The flaviviruses are small single-stranded RNA viruses that are typically transmitted by mosquitoes or tick vectors and are etiological agents of acute zoonotic infections. The viruses are found around the world and account for significant cases of human diseases. We investigated population of culicine mosquitoes in central region of Korean Peninsula, Incheon Metropolitan City and Hwaseong-si. Aedes vexans nipponii was the most frequently collected mosquitoes (56.5%), followed by Ochlerotatus dorsalis (23.6%), Anopheles spp. (10.9%), and Culex pipiens complex (5.9%). In rural regions of Hwaseong, Aedes vexans nipponii was the highest population (62.9%), followed by Ochlerotatus dorsalis (23.9%) and Anopheles spp. (12.0%). In another rural region of Incheon (habitat of migratory birds), Culex pipiens complex was the highest population (31.4%), followed by Ochlerotatus dorsalis (30.5%), and Aedes vexans vexans (27.5%). Culex pipiens complex was the predominant species in the urban region (84.7%). Culicine mosquitoes were identified at the species level, pooled up to 30 mosquitoes each, and tested for flaviviral RNA using the SYBR Green-based RT-PCR and confirmed by cDNA sequencing. Three of the assayed 2,683 pools (989 pools without Anopheles spp.) were positive for Culex flaviviruses, an insect-specific virus, from Culex pipiens pallens collected at the habitats for migratory birds in Incheon. The maximum likelihood estimation (the estimated number) for Culex pipiens pallens positive for Culex flavivirus was 25. Although viruses responsible for mosquito-borne diseases were not identified, we encourage intensified monitoring and long-term surveillance of both vector and viruses in the interest of global public health.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.16-34
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• 2021

Water supplies are decreasing in comparison to increasing clean water demands. Using nanofiltration is one of the most effective and economical methods to meet the need for clean water. Common methods for desalination are reverse osmosis and nanofiltration. However, pristine membranes lack the essential features which are, stability, economic efficiency, antibacterial and antifouling performances. To enhance the properties of the pristine membranes, graphene oxide (GO) is a promising and widely researched material for thin film composites (TFC) membrane due to their characteristics that help improve the hydrophilicity and anti-fouling properties. Modification of the membrane can be done on different layers. The thin film composite membranes are composed of three different layers, the top filtering active thin polyamide (PA) layer, supporting porous layer, and supporting fabric. Forward osmosis (FO) process is yet another energy efficient desalination process, but its efficiency is affected due to biofouling. Incorporation of GO enhance antibacterial properties leading to reduction of biofilm formation on the membrane surface. Pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) is an excellent process to generate clean energy from sea water and the biofouling of membrane is reduced by introduction of GO into the active layer of the TFC membrane. Different modifications on the membranes are being researched, each modification with its own advantages and disadvantages. In this review, modifications of nanofiltration membranes and their composites, characterization, and performances are discussed.