• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.52 no.6
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• pp.519-528
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• 2019

In 2017, Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM) has excavated a trench at Yongjang-li in the city of Gyeongju to examine the evidence of fault movement related with the 2016 earthquake in unconsolidated sediments. In the trench profile, the author has observed the features of ongoing soil-forming processes and groundwater movement overlapped on the sedimentary layers. The soil formation was in its initial stage, and most of the original sedimentary layers could be observed. The color changes depending on the redox conditions and by the Mn/Fe oxide precipitation, however, were the most significant features obscuring sedimentary records. The dark Mn oxide precipitates formed at the groundwater levels often concealed the sedimentary unit boundaries. The groundwater levels varied depending on the particle sizes of the sedimentary layers contacting the groundwater, and the Mn oxide precipitates have formed at varying depths. The groundwater could move upward along the narrow pores in the fine-textured sedimentary layer more than a few meters showing the gray color indicating a reducing condition for iron.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.137-144
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• 2012

Soil pan typically presents the problems in soil water movement or in aeration which is not appropriate for a plant root growth, In this study physico-chemical characteristics of soils and micromorphological characteristic of clay accumulated zone were investigated to identify redox characteristic and evolution of a fragipan of Gangreung series commonly developed in coastal terraces. Gangreung series is classified as Aquic Fragiudalfs according to the USDA soil taxonomy. It is known that sedimentary ocean floor results in soil pan having parallel liner soil structure due to landscape evolution around 200 to 250 million years ago. it is considered that illite, kaolinite, and vermiculite are major clay minerals contained in a fragipan of Gangreung series. Mixed gray and reddish brown colored band around soil pores was found and would be the redoxmorphic features of fragipan. It is possibly due to accumulated illuvial clay and ferriargillans in soil pores and aggregates in reducing conditions eluding ferrous material. Therefore, mixed colored band around pores in soils of Gangreung series would be developed from the eluted ferrous materials which were accumulated in fragipan during the emerged land formation.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.129-138
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• 2013

River bank filtration has been considered as a promising alternative water management scheme, in which groundwater is extracted from an aquifer near a river after infiltration of the river water into the aquifer, thereby improving and maintaining the quality of water recovered. Iron (Fe) associated with sediment in contact with groundwater and infiltrating surface water is an important factor in determining the quality of water recovered from the pumping wells in river bank filtration. This study reports the results of Fe speciation in the aquifer sediment samples collected from different depths at the river bank filtration site in Changwon, studied using four different chemical extraction methods, namely, ferrozine, oxalate, HCl, and DCB methods. Overall, the results show that Fe(II) as well as the total Fe content decreases with depth down to ~20 m and then increases further below. This trend is consistent with the redox characteristics suggested by visual observation. The silt/clay size fraction (${\phi}$ < 62.5 ${\mu}M$) has up to 2~10 times more Fe compared with the sand size fraction (62.5 ${\mu}M$ < ${\phi}$ < 2 mm), depending on the extraction method. Of the four extraction methods, DCB solution extracted the most Fe from the sediment samples. The amounts of Fe extracted by the different extraction methods can be a good indicator of the redox conditions along the depth of the aquifer.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2013.08a
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• pp.91-91
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• 2013

Imagine a world where we could biomanufacture hybrid nanomaterials having atomic-scale resolution over functionality and architecture. Toward this vision, a fundamental challenge in materials science is how to design and synthesize protein-like material that can be fully self-assembled and exhibit information-specific process. In an ongoing effort to extend the fundamental understanding of protein structure to non-natural systems, we have designed a class of short peptides to fold like proteins and assemble into defined nanostructures. In this talk, I will talk about new strategies to drive the self-assembled structures designing sequence of peptide. I will also discuss about the specific interaction between proteins and inorganics that can be used for the development of new hybrid solar energy devices. Splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen is one of the promising pathways for solar to energy convertsion and storage system. The oxygen evolution reaction (OER) has been regarded as a major bottleneck in the overall water splitting process due to the slow transfer rate of four electrons and the high activation energy barrier for O-O bond formation. In nature, there is a water oxidation complex (WOC) in photosystem II (PSII) comprised of the earthabundant elements Mn and Ca. The WOC in photosystem II, in the form of a cubical CaMn4O5 cluster, efficiently catalyzes water oxidation under neutral conditions with extremely low overpotential (~160 mV) and a high TOF number. The cluster is stabilized by a surrounding redox-active peptide ligand, and undergo successive changes in oxidation state by PCET (proton-coupled electron transfer) reaction with the peptide ligand. It is fundamental challenge to achieve a level of structural complexity and functionality that rivals that seen in the cubane Mn4CaO5 cluster and surrounding peptide in nature. In this presentation, I will present a new strategy to mimic the natural photosystem. The approach is based on the atomically defined assembly based on the short redox-active peptide sequences. Additionally, I will show a newly identified manganese based compound that is very close to manganese clusters in photosystem II.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.13-19
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• 2012

The long-lived fission products $^{79}Se$ and $^{99}Tc$ have been considered as the major concern nuclides for the disposal of radioactive waste because of their high solubilities and the existence of anionic species in natural water. In this study, the solubilities of $FeSe_2(s)$ and $TcO_2(s)$, known as respective Solubility Limiting Solid Phase (SLSP) of selenium and technetium, were measured in the KURT (KAERI Underground Research Tunnel) groundwater under various pH and redox conditions. And their solubilities and major species were also calculated using geochemical codes under conditions similar to experimental solutions. Experimental results and calculation for $FeSe_2$ show that the solubility of selenium was found to be below $1{\times}10^{-6}mol/L$ under the condition of pH 8~9.5 and Eh=-0.3~-0.4 V while the dominant species was identified as $HSe^-$. For $TcO_2$, the solubility of technetium was found to be $5{\times}10^{-8}{\sim}1{\times}10^{-9}mol/L$ in the solutions of pH 6~9.5 and Eh<-0.1 V, while the dominant species was $TcO(OH)_2$. However, when the Eh of the solution is -0.35 V, $TcO(OH)_3^-$ and $TcO_4^-$ are calculated as the dominant species at pH 10.5~12 and pH>12, respectively.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.267-272
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• 2009

During a dilute acid hydrolysis, degradation products are formed or liberated by pre-treatment of lignocelluloses depend on both the biomass and the pretreatment conditions such as temperature, time, pressure, pH, redox conditions, and addition of catalysts. In lignocellulosic biomass, sugars can be degraded to furfural which is formed from pentoses and 5-hydroxymethulfurfural (HMF) from hexoses. 5-HMF can be further degraded, forming levulinic acid and formic acid. Acetate is liberated from hemicellulose during hydrolysis. Some decomposed compounds hinder the subsequent bioconversion of the solubilized sugars into desired products, reducing conversion yields and rates during fermentation. In the present work, samples of rapeseed strawwere hydrolyzed to study the optimal pretreatment condition by assessing yields of sugars and decomposed products obtained under different reaction conditions ($H_2SO_4$ 0.5-1.25% (w/w), reaction time 0-20 min and temperature range 150-220 C). A careful analytical investigation of acid hydrolyzate of rapeseed straw has not yet been undertaken, and a well-closed mass balance for the hydrolyzate in general is necessary to verify the productivity and economic predictions for this process.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.316-322
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• 2007

Glutaredoxins (Grxs), also known as thioltransferases (TTases), are thiol oxidoreductases that regulate cellular redox state in a variety of organisms. In the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Grx1 and 2 are cytosolic dithiol Grxs, while Grx3, 4 and 5 are monothiol Grxs. A gene encoding a new monothiol Grx, Grx6, was cloned from the genomic DNA of S. cerevisiae by PCR. Its DNA sequence contains 1,080 bp, and encodes a putative protein of 203 amino acid residues containing Cys-Phe-Tyr-Ser at the active site. Grx6 is similar to other monothiol Grxs in the same organism and to Grx3 in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. and its predicted three-dimensional structure resembles that of S. pombe Grx3. S. pombe cells harboring plasmid pFGRX6 containing the Grx6 gene had about 1.3-fold elevated Grx activity in the exponential phase, and grew better than the control cells under some stressful conditions. Synthesis of ${\beta}$-galactosidase from a Grx6-lacZ fusion gene in S. pombe was enhanced by potassium chloride, aluminum chloride and heat ($37^{\circ}C$) treatment. S. pombe cells harboring plasmid pFGRX6 had elevated ROS levels whereas S. pombe cells harboring extra copies of Grx3 had reduced ROS levels.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.533-544
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• 2002

In order to investigate the relative mobility (RM) of dissolved elements during processes controlling major and trace element content, the concentrations of major, minor and trace elements were reviewed from the previous data of $CO_2$-rich waters and granites from Kangwon Province. The relative mobility of elements dissolved in $CO_2$-rich waters is calculated from $CO_2$-rich water/granite ratio with normalizing by sodium. The results show that gaseous input of magmatic volatile metals into the aquifer is negligible in this study area, being limited by cooling of the rising fluids. Granite leaching by weakly acidic, $CO_2$-charged water is the overwhelming source of metals. Poorly mobile element (Al) is preferentially retained in the solid residue of weathering, while alkalis, alkaline earth and oxo-hydroxo anion forming elements (especially As and U) are mobile and released to the aqueous system. Transition metals display an intermediate behavior and are strongly dependent on either the redox conditions (Fe and Mn) or solid surface-related processes (adsorption or precipitation) (V, Zn and Cu).

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.1-4
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• 2013

The present study evaluated the systemic oxidative stress status during major orthopedic surgery in dogs. Sixteen dogs presented with various orthopedic diseases involving fractures or luxation of limbs. All patients underwent orthopedic surgery for treatment of fractures or luxation of limbs. A significant increase in the plasma total oxidant status (TOS) and oxidative stress index (OSI) levels in dogs after surgery was observed. Plasma total antioxidant status (TAS) levels were significantly decreased in dogs after surgery. The results of this study suggested that association or relationship in serum between TOS or TAS levels and redox imbalance were caused by surgical trauma in orthopedic disease conditions.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2013.02a
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• pp.130-131
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• 2013

Nanostructured oxides are widely used in heterogeneous catalysis where their catalytic properties are closely associated with the size and morphology at nanometer level. The effect of particle size has been well decumented in the past two decades, but the shape of the nanoparticles has rarely been concerned. Here we illustrate that the redox and acidic-basic properties of oxides are largely dependent on their shapes by taking $Co_3O_4$, $Fe_2O_3$, $CeO_2$ and $La_2O_3$ nanorods as typical examples. The catalytic activities of these rod-shaped oxides are mainly governed by the nature of the exposed crystal planes. For instance, the predominant presence of {110} planes which are rich in active $Co^{3+}$ on $Co_3O_4$ nanorods led to a much higher activity for CO oxidation than the nanoparticles that mainly exposed the {111} planes. The simultaneous exposure of iron and oxygen ions on the surface of $Fe_2O_3$ nanorods have significantly enhanced the adsorption and activation of NO and thereby promoted the efficiency of DeNOx process. Moreover, the exposed surface planes of these rod-shaped oxides mediated the reaction performance of the integrated metal-oxide catalysts. Au/$CeO_2$ catalysts exhibited outstanding stability under water-gas shift conditions owing to the strong bonding of gold particle on the $CeO_2$ nanorods where the formed gold-ceria interface was resistant towards sintering. Cu nanoparticles dispersed on $La_2O_3$ nanorods efficiently catalyzed transfer dehydrogenation of primary aliphatic alcohols based on the uniue role of the exposed {110} planes on the support. Morphology control at nanometer level allows preferential exposure of the catalytically active sites, providing a new stragegy for the design of highly efficient nanostructured catalysts.