• Macromolecular Research
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2004

The structural changes occurring in the isothermal crystallization processes of polyethylene (PE), poly-oxymethylene (POM), and vinylidene fluoridetrifluoroethylene (VDFTrFE) copolymer have been reviewed on the basis of our recent experimental data collected by the time-resolved measurements of synchrotron-sourced wide-angle (WAXS) and small-angle X-ray scatterings (SAXS) and infrared spectra. The temperature jump from the melt to a crystallization temperature could be measured at a cooling rate of 600-1,000 $^{\circ}C$/min, during which we collected the WAXS, SAXS, and infrared spectral data successfully at time intervals of ca. 10 sec. In the case of PE, the infrared spectral data clarified the generation of chain segments of partially disordered trans conformations immediately after the jump. These segments then became transformed into more-regular all-trans-zigzag forms, followed by the formation of an orthorhombic crystal lattice. At this stage, the generation of a stacked lamella structure having an 800-${\AA}$-long period was detected in the SAXS data. This structure was found to transfer successively to a more densely packed lamella structure having a 400-${\AA}$-long period as a result of the secondary crystallization of the amorphous region in-between the original lamellae. As for POM, the formation process of a stacked lamella structure was essentially the same as that mentioned above for PE, as evidenced from the analysis of SAXS and WAXS data. The observation of morphology-sensitive infrared bands revealed the evolution of fully extended helical chains after the generation of lamella having folded chain structures. We speculate that these extended chains exist as taut tie chains passing continuously through the neighboring lamellae. In the isothermal crystallization of VDFTrFE copolymer from the melt, a paraelectric high-temperature phase was detected at first and then it transferred into the ferroelectric low-temperature phase at a later stage. By analyzing the reflection profile of the WAXS data, the structural ordering in the high-temperature phase and the ferroelectric phase transition to the low-temperature phase of the multi-domain structure were traced successfully.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.821-827
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• 2008

The unicellular green alga Dunaliella salina is a halotolerant eukaryotic organism. Its halophytic properties provide an important advantage for open pond mass cultivation, since D. salina can be grown selectively. D. salina was originally described by E. C. Teodoresco in 1905. Since that time, numerous isolates of D. salina have been identified from hypersaline environments on different continents. The new Dunaliella strain used for this study was isolated from the salt farm area of the west coastal side of South Korea. Cells of the new strain were approximately oval- or pear-shaped (approximately $16-24\;{\mu}m$ long and $10-15\;{\mu}m$ wide), and contained one pyrenoid, cytoplasmatic granules, and no visible eyespot. Although levels of $\beta$-carotene per cell were relatively low in cells grown at salinities between 0.5 to 2.5 M NaCl, cells grown at 4.5 M NaCl contained about a ten-fold increase in cellular levels of $\beta$-carotene, which demonstrated that cells of the new Korean strain of Dunaliella can overaccumulate $\beta$-carotene in response to salt stress. Analysis of the ITS1 and ITS2 regions of the new Korean isolate showed that it is in the same clade as D. salina. Consequently, based on comparative cell morphology, biochemistry, and molecular phylogeny, the new Dunaliella isolate from South Korea was classified as D. salina KCTC10654BP.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.22 no.10
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• pp.562-568
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• 2012

Metal nanowires can be coated on various substrates to create transparent conducting films that can potentially replace the dominant transparent conductor, indium tin oxide, in displays, solar cells, organic light-emitting diodes, and electrochromic windows. One issue with these metal nanowire based transparent conductive films is that the resistance between the nanowires is still high because of their low aspect ratio. Here, we demonstrate high-performance transparent conductive films with silver nanofiber networks synthesized by a low-cost and scalable electrospinning process followed by two-step sequential thermal treatments. First, the PVP/$AgNO_3$ precursor nanofibers, which have an average diameter of 208 nm and are several thousands of micrometers in length, were synthesized by the electrospinning process. The thermal behavior and the phase and morphology evolution in the thermal treatment processes were systematically investigated to determine the thermal treatment atmosphere and temperature. PVP/$AgNO_3$ nanofibers were transformed stepwise into PVP/Ag and Ag nanofibers by two-step sequential thermal treatments (i.e., $150^{\circ}C$ in $H_2$ for 0.5 h and $300^{\circ}C$ in Ar for 3 h); however, the fibrous shape was perfectly maintained. The silver nanofibers have ultrahigh aspect ratios of up to 10000 and a small average diameter of 142 nm; they also have fused crossing points with ultra-low junction resistances, which result in high transmittance at low sheet resistance.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.117-124
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• 2014

The effect of various process variables on the powder properties of recycled $U_3O_8$ from MnO-$Al_2O_3$ doped large grain $UO_2$ pellets and the effect of those recycled $U_3O_8$ powders on the sintered density and grain size of MnO-$Al_2O_3$ doped large grain $UO_2$ pellets have been investigated. The evolution of morphology, size, and BET surface area of the recycled $U_3O_8$ powders according to the respective variation of the thermo-mechanical treatment variables of oxidation temperature, powder milling, and sequential cyclic heat treatment of oxidation and then reduction was examined. The correlation between the BET surface area of recycled $U_3O_8$ powder and the sintered pellet properties of MnO-$Al_2O_3$ doped pellets showed that the pellet density and grain size of doped pellets were increased and then saturated by increasing the BET surface area of the recycled $U_3O_8$ powder. The density and grain size of the pellets were maximized when the BET surface area of the recycled $U_3O_8$ powder was in the vicinity of $3m^2/g$. Among the process variables applied in this study, the cyclic heat treatment followed by low temperature oxidation was a potential process combination to obtain the sinter-active $U_3O_8$ powder.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Heat Treatment
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.168-174
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• 2019

The microstructural features and relative room temperature mechanical properties were investigated in various compositions of Mg-xAl-yZn alloys by thxiomolding process. The microstructure was composed of ${\alpha}$-Mg particles and mixture of ${\alpha}$-Mg and ${\beta}-Mg_{17}Al_{12}$ eutectic phase. The amount of ${\beta}-Mg_{17}Al_{12}$ eutectic phase in mixture was increased with increasing Al and Zn contents without grain refinement. After adding Ti content, however, the morphology of ${\beta}-Mg_{17}Al_{12}$ eutectic phase transformed from net-like to discontinuous shape and the average grain size reduced. To determine the relationship between microstructural features and their mechanical properties, a tensile test was performed at room temperature. As a result, it was found that the mechanical properties were improved in all of Ti contained alloys due to increased elongation and the mechanisms are discussed in terms of microstructural evolution.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.112-125
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• 2021

The new emerging "High entropy materials" attract the attention of the scientific society because of their simpler structure and spectacular applications in many fields. A novel nanocrystalline high entropy (Be,Mg,Ca,Sr,Zn,Ni)3O4 oxide has been successfully synthesized through mechanochemical treatment followed by sintering and air quenching. The present research work focuses on the possibility of single-phase formation in the aforementioned high entropy oxide despite the great difference in the atomic sizes of reactant alkaline earth and 3d transition metal oxides. Structural properties of (Be,Mg,Ca,Sr,Zn,Ni)3O4 high entropy oxide were explored by confirmation of its single-phase Fd-3m spinel structure by x-ray diffraction (XRD). Further, nanocrystalline nature and morphology were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Among thermal properties, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) revealed that the (Be,Mg,Ca,Sr,Zn,Ni)3O4 high entropy oxide is thermally stable up to a temperature of 1200℃. Whereas phase evolution in (Be,Mg,Ca,Sr,Zn,Ni)3O4 high entropy oxide before and after sintering was analyzed through differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Electrochemical studies of (Be,Mg,Ca,Sr,Zn,Ni)3O4 high entropy oxide consists of a comparison of thermodynamic and kinetic parameters of water and hydrazine hydrate oxidation. Values of activation energy for water oxidation (9.31 kJ mol-1) and hydrazine hydrate oxidation (13.93 kJ mol-1) reveal that (Be,Mg,Ca,Sr,Zn,Ni)3O4 high entropy oxide is catalytically more active towards water oxidation as compared to that of hydrazine hydrate oxidation. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy is also performed to get insight into the kinetics of both types of reactions.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.17-35
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• 2021

We study galaxies undergoing ram pressure stripping in the Virgo cluster to examine whether we can identify any discernible trend in their star formation activity. We first use 48 galaxies undergoing different stages of stripping based on H i morphology, H i deficiency, and relative extent to the stellar disk, from the VIVA survey. We then employ a new scheme for galaxy classification which combines H i mass fractions and locations in projected phase space, resulting in a new sample of 365 galaxies. We utilize a variety of star formation tracers, which include g - r, WISE [3.4]-[12] colors, and starburstiness that are defined by stellar mass and star formation rates to compare the star formation activity of galaxies at different stripping stages. We find no clear evidence for enhancement in the integrated star formation activity of galaxies undergoing early to active stripping. We are instead able to capture the overall quenching of star formation activity with increasing degree of ram pressure stripping, in agreement with previous studies. Our results suggest that if there is any ram pressure stripping induced enhancement, it is at best locally modest, and galaxies undergoing enhancement make up a small fraction of the total sample. Our results also indicate that it is possible to trace galaxies at different stages of stripping with the combination of H i gas content and location in projected phase space, which can be extended to other galaxy clusters that lack high-resolution H i imaging.

• Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.226-237
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• 2022

Arcuospathidium is a haptorian ciliate genus composed of 18 species, and only one species has been reported in Korea. Here, we identify two unrecorded Arcuospathidium subspecies by morphological observation of both living and protargol-impregnated specimens with the small subunit ribosomal RNA (18S rRNA) gene sequence. These subspecies, Arcuospathidium cultriforme cultriforme (Penard, 1922) Foissner, 1984 and A. cultriforme scalpriforme (Kahl, 1930) Foissner, 2003, were isolated from various terrestrial habitats in July and August 2013, respectivley. Arcuospathidium cultriforme cultriforme is similar to A. cultriforme scalpriforme by a knife-shaped body, a twisted-shaped macronucleus, number of dorsal brushes, position of dorsal brushes, and shape of macronucleus but former mainly differs from the body length to oral bulge length ratio (27-38% vs. 41-53%), extrusome (one types vs. three types), cyst shape (roughly faceted wall vs. smooth surface and thin wall) and number of somatic kinety rows(18-30 vs. 30-44). Additionally, we analyzed the 18S rRNA gene sequences of two A. cultriforme subspecies and compared them with the sequences from GenBank to confirm their identification at the molecular level. As the results of genetic analysis, the 18S rRNA gene sequence of the Korean A. cultriforme cultriforme population is most similar to that of Austrian population. Also, the sequence of the Korean A. cultriforme scalpriforme population is most similar to that of another population with some nucleotide differences.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.8
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• pp.2582-2590
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• 2021

The high-energy milling is one of the most extended techniques to produce Oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) powder steels for nuclear applications. The consequences of the high energy mill process on the final powders can be measured by means of deformation level, size, morphology and alloying degree. In this work, an ODS ferritic steel, Fe-14Cr-5Al-3W-0.4Ti-0.25Y₂O₃-0.6Zr, was fabricated using two different mechanical alloying (MA) conditions (M_std and M_act) and subsequently consolidated by Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS). Milling conditions were set to evidence the effectivity of milling by changing the revolutions per minute (rpm) and dwell milling time. Differences on the particle size distribution as well as on the stored plastic deformation were observed, determining the consolidation ability of the material and the achieved microstructure. Since recrystallization depends on the plastic deformation degree, the composition of each particle and the promoted oxide dispersion, a dual grain size distribution was attained after SPS consolidation. M_act showed the highest areas of ultrafine regions when the material is consolidated at 1100 ℃. Microhardness and small punch tests were used to evaluate the material under room temperature and up to 500 ℃. The produced materials have attained remarkable mechanical properties under high temperature conditions.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.283-288
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• 2020

Although the evolution of Arabidopsis thaliana and humans diverged approximately 1.6 billion years ago, recent studies have demonstrated that protein function and cellular processes involved in disease response remain remarkably conserved. Particularly, γ-secretase, a multisubunit protein complex that participates in intramembrane proteolysis (RIP) regulation, is also known to mediate the cleavage of more than 80 substrates including the amyloid precursor protein (APP) and the Notch receptor. Although the genes (PS1/2, APH-1, PEN-2, and NCT) coding for the γ-secretase complex components are present in plant genomes, their function remains largely uncharacterized. Given that the deposition of 42 amino acid long amyloid-β peptides (hAβ₄₂) is thought to be one of the main causes of Alzheimer's disease, we aimed to examine the physiological effects of hAβ₄₂ peptides on plants. Interestingly, we found that Arabidopsis protoplast death increased after 24 h of exposure to 3 or 5 µM hAβ₄₂ peptides. Furthermore, transgenic Arabidopsis plants overexpressing the hAβ₄₂ gene exhibited changes in primary root length and silique phyllotaxy. Taken together, our results demonstrate that hAβ₄₂ peptides, a metazoan protein, significantly affect Arabidopsis protoplast viability and plant morphology.