• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.99-106
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• 2017

Background: Plants over-expressing Arabidopsis ABF3 (abscisic acid-responsive element-binding factor 3) have enhanced tolerance to various environmental stresses, especially drought. Using terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis, we compared the rhizosphere-associated structures of microbial communities for transgenic potato containing this gene and conventional "Jopoong" plants. Results: During a 2-year field experiment, fungal richness, evenness, and diversity varied by year, increasing in 2010 when a moderate water deficit occurred. By contrast, the bacterial richness decreased in 2010 while evenness and diversity were similar in both years. No significant difference was observed in any indices for either sampling time or plant line. Although the composition of the microbial communities (defined as T-RF profiles) changed according to year and sampling time, differences were not significant between the transgenic and control plants. Conclusions: The results in this study suggest that the insertion of ABF3 into potato has no detectable (by current T-RFLP technique) effects on rhizosphere communities, and that any possible influences, if any, can be masked by seasonal or yearly variations.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.287-298
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• 2005

This study was carried out to offer the raw data on conservation of land and natural environment by constructing groups of indicators to objectively and rationally assess the sustainable natural ecosystem and present the direction for establishing and planning the environmental policy. There were selected that four assessment items were biotic, abiotic, qualitative, and functional factor. And there were extracted fifty-six indicators including density, total nitrogen, hemeroby degree, and goods production. As assessment items and indicators were over 0.6, the design of questionnaire showed no great problem. In the results of correlation analysis of assessment indicators, sociality and dominance was highly correlative in biotic factor, soil property and aspect in abiotic factor, naturalized and urbanized index in qualitative factor, and protection of landslide and soil erosion were too correlative. In the results of deciding the dimension by multidimensional scaling, as stress values were from 0.042 to 0.133, index of fit over 0.9, there no statistical problems. In case of X axis, biotic factor was structure, viewpoint in abiotic factor, composition in qualitative factor, and object in functional factor, and Y axis was shaped Into form, range, structure, and activity.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.134-139
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• 2011

The mechanical equipments which are exposed to impure environment undergo significant reductions in their own lifetimes. Several environmental test procedures have been developed to analyze these phenomena. Moreover in the industry to require shorter development duration, accelerated life testers artificially add test containments into machines. In this research JIS Z 8901 test powder was added into internal gear pumps which are used as oil pumps in vehicles and thus the effects of the addition on the degradation of the pumps were examined. Three kinds of contaminants were selected. Two of the contaminants are identical in particle size but different in the composition of the ingredients. The other pair have identical ingredients and composition but different particle size. The quantity of contaminants was also an interesting factor in this study. The results show that each JIS contaminant caused notable degradation in the discharge flow characteristic of pumps while friction torque degradation did not have any tendency. Finally leakage rates were deduced and equivalent wear volume ratios were calculated.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.657-665
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• 2010

Carbon dioxide ($CO_2$) is known to be a major greenhouse gas partially emitted from waste combustion facilities. According to the greenhouse gas emission inventory in Korea, the quantity of the gas emitted from waste sector in 2005 represents approximately 2.5 percent of all domestic greenhouse gas emission. Currently, the emission rate of greenhouse gas from the waste sector is relatively constant partly because of both the reduced waste disposal in landfills and the increased amounts of waste materials for recycling. However, the greenhouse gas emission rate in waste sectors is anticipated to continually increase, mainly due to increased incineration of solid waste. The objective of this study was to analyze the property of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) and estimate $CO_2$ emissions from domestic MSW incineration facilities. The $CO_2$ emission rates obtained from the facilities were surveyed, along with other two methods, including Tier 2a based on 2006 IPCC Guideline default emission factor and Tier 3 based on facility specific value. The $CO_2$ emission rates were calculated by using $CO_2$ concentrations and gas flows measured from the stacks. Other parameters such as waste composition, dry matter content, carbon content, oxidation coefficient of waste were included for the calculation. The $CO_2$ average emission rate by the Tier 2a was 34,545 ton/y, while Tier 3 was 31,066 ton/y. Based on this study, we conclude that Tier 2a was overestimated by 11.2 percent for the $CO_2$ emission observed by Tier 3. Further study is still needed to determine accurate $CO_2$ emission rates from municipal solid waste incineration facilities and other various combustion facilities by obtaining country-specific emission factor, rather than relying on IPCC default emission factor.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.362-369
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• 2013

Phytoplankton and zooplankton communities were investigated from 8 weir sites of the Nakdong River system to provide basic information on plankton community after weir construction and to estimate its effects on major water quality parameters. The relationship between plankton community structure and environmental factors was analysed with CCA (Canonical Correspondence Analysis). The results suggested that discharge and total phosphorus and nitrogen concentrations are important factors determining the phytoplankton species composition. For zooplankton community, the difference in discharge between September and October induced different distribution pattern of zooplankton community with more homogeneous distribution with extreme dominance of rotifers during the high discharge season. Chlorophyll a concentration representing phytoplankton biomass has been suggested as the main environmental factor affecting zooplankton community followed by COD and total nitrogen concentration.

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.342-345
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• 2015

The n -type Hf_0.25Zr_0.25Ti_0.5NiSn_0.998Sb_0.002 Half-Heusler (HH) alloy composition was prepared by using the induction melting method in addition to the mechanical grinding, annealing, and spark plasma sintering processes. Analysis of X-ray diffraction (XRD) results indicated the formation of a pure phase HH structured compound. The electrical and thermal properties at temperatures ranging from room temperature to 718 K were investigated. The electrical conductivity increased with increasing temperatures and demonstrated nondegenerate semiconducting behavior, and a large reduction in the thermal conductivity to the value of 2.5 W/mK at room temperature was observed. With the power factor and thermal conductivity, the dimensionless figure of merit was increased with temperature and measured at 0.94 at 718 K for the compound synthesized by the induction melting process.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.16-37
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• 2018

In this study, difference in chemical composition of $PM_{2.5}$ observed between the year 2013 and 2015 at six air quality intensive monitoring stations (Bangryenogdo (BR), Seoul (SL), Daejeon (DJ), Gwangju (GJ), Ulsan (US), and Jeju (JJ)) was investigated and the possible factors causing their difference were also discussed. $PM_{2.5}$, organic and elemental carbon (OC and EC), and water-soluble ionic species concentrations were observed on a hourly basis in the six stations. The difference in chemical composition by regions was examined based on emissions of gaseous criteria pollutants (CO, $SO_2$, and $NO_2$), meteorological parameters (wind speed, temperature, and relative humidity), and origins and transport pathways of air masses. For the years 2013 and 2014, annual average $PM_{2.5}$ was in the order of SL ($${\sim_=}DJ$$)>GJ>BR>US>JJ, but the highest concentration in 2015 was found at DJ, following by GJ ($${\sim_=}SJ$$)>BR>US>JJ. Similar patterns were found in $SO{_4}^{2-}$, $NO_3{^-}$, and $NH_4{^+}$. Lower $PM_{2.5}$ at SL than at DJ and GJ was resulted from low concentrations of secondary ionic species. Annual average concentrations of OC and EC by regions had no big difference among the years, but their patterns were distinct from the $PM_{2.5}$, $SO{_4}^{2-}$, $NO_3{^-}$, and $NH_4{^+}$ concentrations by regions. 4-day air mass backward trajectory calculations indicated that in the event of daily average $PM_{2.5}$ exceeding the monthly average values, >70% of the air masses reaching the all stations were coming from northeastern Chinese polluted regions, indicating the long-range transportation (LTP) was an important contributor to $PM_{2.5}$ and its chemical composition at the stations. Lower concentrations of secondary ionic species and $PM_{2.5}$ at SL in 2015 than those at DJ and GJ sites were due to the decrease in impact by LTP from polluted Chinese regions, rather than the difference in local emissions of criteria gas pollutants ($SO_2$, $NO_2$, and $NH_3$) among the SL, DJ, and GJ sites. The difference in annual average $SO{_4}^{2-}$ by regions was resulted from combination of the difference in local $SO_2$ emissions and chemical conversion of $SO_2$ to $SO{_4}^{2-}$, and LTP from China. However, the $SO{_4}^{2-}$ at the sites were more influenced by LTP than the formation by chemical transformation of locally emitted $SO_2$. The $NO_3{^-}$ increase was closely associated with the increase in local emissions of nitrogen oxides at four urban sites except for the BR and JJ, as well as the LTP with a small contribution. Among the meterological parameters (wind speed, temperature, and relative humidity), the ambient temperature was most important factor to control the variation of $PM_{2.5}$ and its major chemical components concentrations. In other words, as the average temperature increases, the $PM_{2.5}$, OC, EC, and $NO_3{^-}$ concentrations showed a decreasing tendency, especially with a prominent feature in $NO_3{^-}$. Results from a case study that examined the $PM_{2.5}$ and its major chemical data observed between February 19 and March 2, 2014 at the all stations suggest that ambient $SO{_4}^{2-}$ and $NO_3{^-}$ concentrations are not necessarily proportional to the concentrations of their precursor emissions because the rates at which they form and their gas/particle partitioning may be controlled by factors (e.g., long range transportation) other than the concentration of the precursor gases.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.177-191
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• 2015

The effect of environmental variables on the presence and abundance of tree species in a tropical lowland undisturbed limestone and non-limestone forest in Ben En National Park, Vietnam was investigated. The relationships between 13 environmental variables and 29 tree species with a DBH ${\geq}10cm$, as well as between six 6 physical variables with 26 species of seedling and sapling communities were assessed by canonical correspondence analysis (CCA). Data concerning all tree species ${\geq}10cm$ DBH were collected from eighteen $400m^2$ sample plots, while the abundance of regeneration (all individuals ${\leq}5cm$ DBH) was counted in fifty $2{\times}20m$ strip-plots. The significance of species-environments correlations were tested by distribution-free Monte Carlo tests. The CCA of the 29 examined tree species and 13 environmental variables indicated that the presence and abundance of the tree species were closely related to topographic factors. We may confirm that soil properties including pH, soil moisture content, and soil textures, were the most crucial factor in tree species composition and their distribution. Several species including Pometia pinnata, Amesiodendron chinense, Gironniera cuspidate, Cinnamomum mairei, and Caryodaphnopsis tonkinensis were not controlled by soil properties and topographic variables. The CCA also indicated that the abundance of regeneration tree species at all sites had positive and significant correlations with soil depth, while the occurrence of several other tree species (such as Koilodepas longifolium and Aglaia dasyclada) was positively correlated with a higher slope and rocky outcrop.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.282-293
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• 2012

This study aimed to show the chemical characteristics of $PM_{10}$ and $PM_{2.5}$ during Asian dust (AD) events and high PM episodes observed in Seoul. Time-resolved chemical composition of $PM_{10}$ or $PM_{2.5}$ was monitored in 1 hour interval using ambient ion monitor, semi-continuous carbon monitor, and on-line XRF spectrometer at Seoul intensive monitoring site in 2009. Considering that AD events were classified into three different cases according to the source area and pathway, the concentrations of ammonium-sulfate and trace metal components were relatively high when the AD were occurred in Gobi and inner-mongolia and transported across the Bohai bay. In addition, the influence of alkaline dust, which carried from saline land located in the northeastern China, was observed when the AD was originated from Gobi, inner-mongolia, and Manchuria. Except AD events, the high PM episodes observed in Seoul were impacted by various anthropogenic sources such as biomass burning, motor vehicle, oil combustion and road dust.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.32 no.10
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• pp.1275-1283
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• 2022

Understanding soil microbial community structure in the Arctic is essential for predicting the impact of climate change on interactions between organisms living in polar environments. The hypothesis of the present study was that soil microbial communities and soil chemical characteristics would vary depending on their associated plant species and local environments in Arctic mature soils. We analyzed soil bacterial communities and soil chemical characteristics from soil without vegetation (bare soil) and rhizosphere soil of three Arctic plants (Cassiope tetragona [L.] D. Don, Dryas octopetala L. and Silene acaulis [L.] Jacq.) in different local environments (coal-mined site and seashore-adjacent site). We did not observe any clear differences in microbial community structure in samples belonging to different plant rhizospheres; however, samples from different environmental sites had distinct microbial community structure. The samples from coal-mined site had a relatively higher abundance of Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes. On the other hand, Acidobacteria was more prevalent in seashore-adjacent samples. The relative abundance of Proteobacteria and Acidobacteria decreased toward higher soil pH, whereas that of Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes was positively correlated with soil pH. Our results suggest that soil bacterial community dissimilarity can be driven by spatial heterogeneity in deglaciated mature soil. Furthermore, these results indicate that soil microbial composition and relative abundance are more affected by soil pH, an abiotic factor, than plant species, a biotic factor.