• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.31 no.8
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• pp.445-449
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• 2021

Zintl compound Mg₃Sb₂ is a promising candidate for efficient thermoelectric material due to its small band gap energy and characteristic electron-crystal phonon-glass behavior. Furthermore, this compound enables fine tuning of carrier concentration via chemical doping for optimizing thermoelectric performance. In this study, nominal compositions of Mg_3.8Sb_2-xTe_x (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.03) are synthesized through controlled melting and subsequent vacuum hot pressing method. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) are carried out to investigate phase development and surface morphology during the process. It should be noted that 16 at. % of excessive Mg must be added to the system to compensate for the loss of Mg during melting process. Herein, thermoelectric properties such as Seebeck coefficient, electrical conductivity, and thermal conductivity are evaluated from low to high temperature regimes. The results show that Te substitution at Sb sites effectively tunes the majority carriers from holes to electrons, resulting in a transition from p to n-type. At 873 K, a peak ZT value of 0.27 is found for the specimen Mg_3.8Sb_1.99Te_0.01, indicating an improved ZT value over the intrinsic value.

• Journal of Species Research
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.12-22
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• 2021

During a comprehensive investigation of indigenous prokaryotic species in Korea, 25 and 10 bacterial strains assigned to the classes Alphaproteobacteria and Betaproteobacteria, respectively, were isolated from diverse environmental habitats, including soil, mud, tidal field, sea water, sand, rusted iron, and leaf. Based on their high 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities (>98.7%) and the formation of robust phylogenetic clades with type species, each strain was assigned to an independent and predefined bacterial species. Since there were no published or official reports regarding these 35 isolates in Korea, they - 25 species of 14 families in the 5 orders of Alphaproteobacteria and 10 species of 3 families in the two orders of Betaproteobacteria - have been reported as unrecorded species in Korea. In addition, Gram reaction, colony and cell morphology, basic biochemical characteristic, isolation source, and strain ID of each species are also described in the species description sections.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.131-145
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• 2022

Ceratocystis wilt disease has caused significant mortality in duku (Lansium domesticum) since 2014 and has now spread to all districts in South Sumatra, Indonesia. Recently, 16 isolates from duku representing populations from various districts in South Sumatra were isolated. Analysis for the morphological characteristic of the isolate showed that the population has a uniform morphology. Genetic analysis based on internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and β-tubulin sequences verified that the population has being dominated by the ITS5 haplotype of Ceratocystis fimbriata and a new ITS group, the ITS7b haplotype that was localized in Musi Banyuasin. Both haplotypes were highly pathogenic to duku. Inoculation tests on various forest and agroforestry plant hosts showed that both haplotypes were highly pathogenic to Acacia mangium, moderately pathogenic to Acacia carsicarpa, Eucalyptus urophylla, and Melaleuca cajuputi, but weakly pathogenic to Dyera costulata, Hevea brasiliensis, and Alstonia scholaris. Therefore, this pathogen becomes a serious threat to Indonesia's biodiversity due to its ability to infect forest and agroforestry plants, especially the indigenous ones.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.287-292
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• 2022

Magnesium-antimonide is a well-known zintl phase thermoelectric material with low band gap energy, earth-abundance and characteristic electron-crystal phonon-glass properties. The nominal composition Mg_3.8-xZn_xSb₂ (0.00 ≤ x ≤ 0.02) was synthesized by controlled melting and subsequent vacuum hot pressing method. To investigate phase development and surface morphology during the process, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were carried out. It should be noted that an additional 16 at. % Mg must be added to the system to compensate for Mg loss during the melting process. This study evaluated the thermoelectric properties of the material in terms of Seebeck coefficient, electrical conductivity and thermal conductivity from the low to high temperature regime. The results demonstrated that substituting Zn at Mg sites increased electrical conductivity without significantly affecting the Seebeck coefficient. The maximal dimensionless figure of merit achieved was 0.30 for x = 0.01 at 855 K which is 30% greater than the intrinsic value. Electronic flow properties were also evaluated and discussed to explain the carrier transport mechanism involved in the thermoelectric properties of this alloy system.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.61 no.3
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• pp.298-303
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• 2023

This study aimed to describe a rare case of gnathostomiasis in the vocal cord. A 54-yearold Chinese woman living in Korea visited with a chief complaint of voice change at the outpatient department of otorhinolaryngology in Hallym Sacred Heart Hospital, Hallym University on August 2, 2021. She had eaten raw conger a few weeks before the voice change developed, but her medical history and physical examinations demonstrated neither gastrointestinal symptoms nor other health problems. A round and red cystic lesion, recognized in the anterior part of the right vocal cord, was removed using forceps and scissors through laryngeal microsurgery. The histopathological specimen of the cyst revealed 3 cross-sections of a nematode larva in the lumen of the cyst wall composed of inflammatory cells and fibrotic tissues. They differ in diameter, from 190 ㎛ to 235 ㎛. They showed characteristic cuticular layers with tegumental spines, somatic muscle layers, and gastrointestinal tracts such as the esophagus and intestine. Notably, intestinal sections consisted of 27-28 lining cells containing 0-4 nuclei per cell. We tentatively identified the nematode larva recovered from the vocal cord cystic lesion as the thirdstage larva of Gnathostoma, probably G. nipponicum or G. hispidum, based on the sectional morphologies.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.333-341
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• 2006

PVP-protected Ag, Pd and $Pt_{50}-Ru_{50}$ colloids were prepared independently by using ${\gamma}$-irradiation and electron beam (EB) at ambient temperature. UV-visible spectra of these colloids show the characteristic bands of surface resonance and give evidence for the formation of nanoparticles. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) experiments were used to know the morphology of nanoparticles prepared by ${\gamma}$-irradiation and EB. The size of Ag, Pd, and $Pt_{50}-Ru_{50}$ nanoparticles prepared by ${\gamma}$-irradiation was ca. 13, 2-3, 15 nm, respectively. While, the size of Ag, Pd, and $Pt_{50}-Ru_{50}$ nanoparticles prepared by EB was ca. 10, 6, and 1-3 nm, respectively. Cyclic voltamograms (CV) were recorded for the Au electrodes immobilized with these nanoparticles. CVs indicated the modifications in the surface as a result of immobilization.

• Journal of Species Research
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• v.12 no.spc2
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• pp.15-22
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• 2023

During a comprehensive investigation of indigenous prokaryotic species in Korea, 20 and one bacterial strains assigned to the phyla Bacillota and Verrucomicrobiota, respectively, were isolated from diverse environmental habitats, including soil, mud, tidal flat, seawater, sand, sediment, brackish water, and healthy human urine. Based on their high 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities (>98.7%) and the formation of robust phylogenetic clades with their closest related reported species, each strain was assigned to an independent and predefined bacterial species. Since there were no published or official reports regarding these 21 isolates in Korea, they - 20 species of four families in two orders of the phylum Bacillota and one species of the phylum Verrucomicrobiota - have been reported as unrecorded species in Korea. In addition, Gram staining, colony and cell morphology, basic biochemical characteristic, isolation source, and strain ID of each species are also described in the species description sections.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.197-208
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• 2023

Rate-dependent mechanical response of sand, subjected to loading of medium to high strain rate range, is of interest for several civilian and military applications. Such rate-dependent response can vary significantly based on the initial density state of the sand, applied confining pressure, considered strain rate range, drainage condition and sand morphology. A numerical study has been carried out employing a recently proposed visco-plastic constitutive model to explore the rate-dependent mechanical behaviour of Toyoura sand under drained triaxial loading condition. The model parameters have been calibrated using the experimental data on Toyoura sand available in published literature. Under strain rates higher than a reference strain rate, the simulation results are found to be in good agreement with the experimentally observed characteristic shearing behaviour of sand, which includes increased shear strength, pronounced post-peak softening and suppressed compression. The rate-dependent response, subjected to intermediate strain rate range, has further been assessed in terms of enhancement of peak shear strength and peak friction angle over varying initial density and confining pressure. The simulation results indicate that the rate-induced strength increase is highest for the dense state and such strength enhancements remain nearly independent of the applied confinement level.

• BMB Reports
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• v.57 no.2
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• pp.116-121
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• 2024

We investigated the therapeutic potential of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cell-conditioned medium (BMSC-CM) on immortalized renal proximal tubule epithelial cells (RPTEC/TERT1) in a fibrotic environment. To replicate the increased stiffness characteristic of kidneys in chronic kidney disease, we utilized polyacrylamide gel platforms. A stiff matrix was shown to increase α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) levels, indicating fibrogenic activation in RPTEC/TERT1 cells. Interestingly, treatment with BMSC-CM resulted in significant reductions in the levels of fibrotic markers (α-SMA and vimentin) and increases in the levels of the epithelial marker E-cadherin and aquaporin 7, particularly under stiff conditions. Furthermore, BMSC-CM modified microRNA (miRNA) expression and reduced oxidative stress levels in these cells. Our findings suggest that BMSC-CM can modulate cellular morphology, miRNA expression, and oxidative stress in RPTEC/TERT1 cells, highlighting its therapeutic potential in fibrotic kidney disease.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.38 no.5
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• pp.381-398
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• 2024

This study presents a mode analysis of 3D turbulent velocity data around a square-section building model to identify the dynamic system for Kármán-type vortex shedding. Proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) was first performed to extract the significant 3D modes. Magnitude-squared coherence was then applied to detect the phase consistency between the modes, which were roughly divided into three groups. Group 1 (modes 1-4) depicted the main vortex shedding on the wake of the building, with mode 2 being controlled by the inflow fluctuation. Group 2 exhibited complex wake vortexes and single-sided vortex phenomena, while Group 3 exhibited more complicated phenomena, including flow separation. Subsequently, a third-order polynomial regression model was used to fit the dynamics system of modes 1, 3, and 4, which revealed average trend of the state trajectory. The two limit cycles of the regression model depicted the two rotation directions of Kármán-type vortex. Furthermore, two characteristic periods were identified from the trajectory generated by the regression model, which indicates fast and slow motions of the wake vortex. This study provides valuable insights into 3D mode morphology and dynamics of Kármán-type vortex shedding that helps to improve design and efficiency of structures in turbulent flow.