• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.555-565
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• 2021

Bacteriophages infecting Acidovorax citrulli, the causal agent of bacterial fruit blotch, have been proven to be effective for the prevention and control of this disease. However, the occurrence of bacteriophage-resistant bacteria is one of hurdles in phage biocontrol and the understanding of phage resistance in this bacterium is an essential step. In this study, we aim to investigate possible phage resistance of A. citrulli and relationship between phage resistance and pathogenicity, and to isolate and characterize the genes involved in these phenomena. A phage-resistant and less-virulent mutant named as AC-17-G1 was isolated among 3,264 A. citrulli Tn5 mutants through serial spot assays and plaque assays followed by pathogenicity test using seed coating method. The mutant has the integrated Tn5 in the middle of a cupin protein gene. This mutant recovered its pathogenicity and phage sensitivity by complementation with corresponding wild-type gene. Site-directed mutation of this gene from wild-type by CRISPR/Cas9 system resulted in the loss of pathogenicity and acquisition of phage resistance. The growth of AC-17-G1 in King's B medium was much less than the wild-type, but the growth turned into normal in the medium supplemented with D-mannose 6-phosphate or D-fructose 6-phosphate indicating the cupin protein functions as a phosphomannos isomerase. Sodium dodecyl sulfa analysis of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) extracted from the mutant was smaller than that from wild-type. All these data suggest that the cupin protein is a phosphomannos isomerase involved in LPS synthesis, and LPS is an important determinant of pathogenicity and phage susceptibility of A. citrulli.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.55-59
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• 2022

In this paper, we compared the electric field and absorptance of nano particles in nanostructures by amplifying the electric field around the nanoparticles through plasmon resonance and comparing the structure that can increase the absorptance with the nanostructure by using the Finite Different Time Domain (FDTD) simulation. In addition, the width of the nanostructure was adjusted to 240 nm ~ 300 nm, and the light absorptance rate was higher as the gap between the particles was short. In addition, a study was conducted on the formation of nanoparticles and nanostructures on the surface through UV imprint. In order to form particles in the structure, the nano particles were first arranged in the mold used for the fabrication of the structure using spray coating, and then fabricated through UV imprinting. The nanostructure and particles were formed together by scanning electron microscopy.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.456-470
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• 2021

In this study, polyetherimide-based hollow fiber membranes were manufactured using the NIPS (nonsolvent induced phase separation) method. THF, Ethanol, and LiNO₃ were used as additives to control the morphology of the PEI-hollow fiber membranes. Furthermore, for the development of a high hydrogen separation membrane, the spinning conditions were optimized through the characterization of SEM and gas permeance. As a result, as the content of THF increased, the hydrogen/carbon dioxide selectivity increased. However, the permeance decreased due to the trade-off relationship. When ethanol was added, a finger-like structure was shown, and when LiNO₃ was added, a sponge structure was shown. In particular, in the case of a hollow fiber membrane with an optimized PDMS coating layer, the permeance was 40 GPU and the hydrogen/carbon dioxide selectivity was 5.6.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.52-58
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• 2004

Oak is one of major species in this country as well as pine, but has been less utilized because of its refractory properties. The purpose of this study is to develope an effective method for drying the boards and disks of Quercus variabilis. Among four end-coaters used in this study thick coating with polyvinyl acetate chrolide glue (PVAc) was proved as the most effective. The average air-drying rate of boards was 1.2%MC/day, which did not exceed the safe drying rate recommended by United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The kiln drying schedule used in this study gave a good result in drying the air-dried boards to 8%MC without any internal checks. An attempt to prevent oak disks from V-cracking during air-drying using special pallet-type stickers was not successful.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.581-601
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• 2022

The main objective of this research work is to investigate the free vibration behavior of annular sandwich plates resting on the Kerr foundation at thermal conditions. This sandwich configuration is composed of two FGM face sheets as coating layer and a porous GPLRC (GPL reinforced composite) core. It is supposed that the GPL nanofillers and the porosity coefficient vary continuously along the core thickness direction. To model closed-cell FG porous material reinforced with GPLs, Halpin-Tsai micromechanical modeling in conjunction with Gaussian-Random field scheme is used, while the Poisson's ratio and density are computed by the rule of mixtures. Besides, the material properties of two FGM face sheets change continuously through the thickness according to the power-law distribution. To capture fundamental frequencies of the annular sandwich plate resting on the Kerr foundation in a thermal environment, the analysis procedure is with the aid of Reddy's shear-deformation plate theory based high-order shear deformation plate theory (HSDT) to derive and solve the equations of motion and boundary conditions. The governing equations together with related boundary conditions are discretized using the generalized differential quadrature (GDQ) method in the spatial domain. Numerical results are compared with those published in the literature to examine the accuracy and validity of the present approach. A parametric solution for temperature variation across the thickness of the sandwich plate is employed taking into account the thermal conductivity, the inhomogeneity parameter, and the sandwich schemes. The numerical results indicate the influence of volume fraction index, GPLs volume fraction, porosity coefficient, three independent coefficients of Kerr elastic foundation, and temperature difference on the free vibration behavior of annular sandwich plate. This study provides essential information to engineers seeking innovative ways to promote composite structures in a practical way.

• Composites Research
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.406-411
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• 2021

PEM (proton exchange membrane) fuel cells generate only water as a by-product, and thus are in the spotlight as an eco-friendly energy source. Among the various components composing the stack of the fuel cell, research on the bipolar plate that determines the efficiency of the fuel cell is being actively conducted. The composite bipolar plate has high strength, rigidity and corrosion resistance, but has the disadvantage of having a relatively low electrical conductivity. In this study, to overcome these shortcomings, a gas diffusion layer (GDL)-composite bipolar plate assembly was developed and its performance was experimentally verified. The graphite foil coating method developed in the previous study was applied to reduce the contact resistance between the bipolar plate and the GDL. In addition, in order to improve electron path in the stack and minimize the contact resistance between the GDL and the bipolar plate, a GDL-bipolar plate assembly was fabricated using a thin metal foil. As a result of the experiment, it was confirmed that the developed GDL-bipolar plate assembly had 98% lower electrical resistance compared to the conventional composite bipolar plate.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.312-317
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• 2022

Piezoelectric energy harvesting has attracted increasing attention over the last decade as a means for generating sustainable and long-lasting energy from wasted mechanical energy. To develop self-powered wearable devices, piezoelectric materials should be flexible, stretchable, and bio-eco-friendly. This study proposed the fabrication of stretchable piezoelectric composites via dispersing perovskite-structured BaTiO₃ nanoparticles inside an Ecoflex polymeric matrix. In particular, the stretchable piezoelectric sensor array was fabricated via a simple and cost-effective spin-coating process by exploiting the piezoelectric composite comprising of BaTiO₃ nanoparticles, Ecoflex matrix, and stretchable Ag coated textile electrodes. The fabricated sensor generated an output voltage of ~4.3 V under repeated compressing deformations. Moreover, the piezoelectric sensor array exhibited robust mechanical stability during mechanical pushing of ~5,000 cycles. Finite element method with multiphysics COMSOL simulation program was employed to support the experimental output performance of the fabricated device. Finally, the stretchable piezoelectric sensor array can be used as a self-powered touch sensor that can effectively detect and distinguish mechanical stimuli, such as pressing by a human finger. The fabricated sensor demonstrated potential to be used in a stretchable, lead-free, and scalable piezoelectric sensor array.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.337-342
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• 2022

Hydrogen (H₂) gas is widely preferred for use as a renewable energy source owing to its characteristics such as environmental friendliness and a high energy density. However, H₂ can easily reverse or explode due to minor external factors. Therefore, H₂ gas monitoring is crucial, especially when the H₂ concentration is close to the lower explosive limit. In this study, metal oxide materials and their p-n heterojunctions were synthesized by a hydrothermal-assisted dip-coating method. The synthesized thin films were used as sensing materials for H₂ gas. When the H₂ concentration was varied, all metal oxide materials exhibited different gas sensitivities. The performance of the metal oxide gas sensor was analyzed to identify parameters that could improve the performance, such as the choice of the metal oxide material, effect of the p-n heterojunctions, and operating temperature conditions of the gas sensor. The experimental results demonstrated that a CuO/ZnO gas sensor with a p-n heterojunction exhibited a high sensitivity and fast response time (134.9% and 8 s, respectively) to 5% H₂ gas at an operating temperature of 300℃.

• The korean journal of orthodontics
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• v.53 no.1
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• pp.16-25
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• 2023

Objective: We aimed to evaluate the cell viability and antimicrobial effects of orthodontic bands coated with silver or zinc oxide nanoparticles (nano-Ag and nano-ZnO, respectively). Methods: In this experimental study, 30 orthodontic bands were divided into three groups (n = 10 each): control (uncoated band), Ag (silver-coated band), and ZnO (zinc oxide-coated band). The electrostatic spray-assisted vapor deposition method was used to coat orthodontic bands with nano-Ag or nano-ZnO. The biofilm inhibition test was used to assess the antimicrobial effectiveness of nano-Ag and nano-ZnO against Streptococcus mutans, Lactobacillus acidophilus, and Candida albicans. Biocompatibility tests were conducted using the 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay. The groups were compared using oneway analysis of variance with a post-hoc test. Results: The Ag group showed a significantly higher reduction in the number of L. acidophilus, C. albicans, and S. mutans colonies than the ZnO group (p = 0.015, 0.003, and 0.005, respectively). Compared with the control group, the Ag group showed a 2-log₁₀ reduction in all the microorganisms' replication ability, but only S. mutants showed a 2-log₁₀ reduction in replication ability in the ZnO group. The lowest mean cell viability was observed in the Ag group, but the difference between the groups was insignificant (p > 0.05). Conclusions: Coating orthodontic bands with nano-ZnO or nano-Ag induced antimicrobial effects against oral pathogens. Among the nanoparticles, nano-Ag showed the best antimicrobial activity and nano-ZnO showed the highest biocompatibility.

• Progress in Superconductivity and Cryogenics
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.20-23
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• 2008

[ $La_2Zr_2O_7$] (LZO) buffer layers were deposited on biaxially textured Ni-W substrates by chemical solution deposition method (CSD). In this study, the effect of $B_2O_3$ addition on texture and surface roughness of LZO films was investigated. The alkoxide-based precursor solution was employed to synthesize the precursor solution of LZO and the solution was coated on biaxially textured Ni-W substrates and subsequently annealed at $900^{\circ}C$ for crystallization. The pure LZO film without $B_2O_3$ addition showed a (222) reflection in the X-ray diffraction (XRD) profile. The intensity of (222) reflection was enhanced and more rough surface was obtained after further repetition of coating. Contrary to this, the LZO film prepared by $B_2O_3$ added precursor solution shows well-developed (400) reflection peak in the XRD profile and excellent biaxial texture (${\Delta}{\theta}=4.3^{\circ}$, ${\Delta}{\phi}=6.8^{\circ}$). The surface roughness of LZO films were also improved by addition of $B_2O_3$ even after multicoating ($R_{rms}{\sim}3.1nm$). It was shown that the LZO film with smooth surface and biaxial texture was grown on the biaxially textured Ni-W substrates with addition of $B_2O_3$ in the precursor solution.