• 한국표면공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국표면공학회 2018년도 춘계학술대회 논문집
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• pp.62-62
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• 2018

Pt is still considered as one of the most active electrocatalysts for ORR in alkaline fuel cells. However, the high cost and scarcity of Pt hamper the widespread commercialization of fuel cells. As a strong candidate for the replacement of Pt catalyst, silver (Ag) has been extensively studied due to its high activity, abundance, and low cost. Ag is more stable than Pt in the pH range of 8~14 as the equilibrium potential of Ag/Ag+ being ${\approx}200mV$ higher than that of Pt/PtO. However, Ag is the overall catalytic activity of Ag for oxygen reduction reaction(ORR) is still not comparable to Pt catalyst since the surface Ag atoms are approximately 10 times less active than Pt atoms. Therefore, further enhancement in the ORR activity of Ag catalysts is necessary to be competitive with current cutting-edge Pt-based catalysts. We demonstrate the architectural design of Ag catalysts, synthesized using plasma discharge in liquid phase, for enhanced ORR kinetics in alkaline media. An attractive feature of this work is that the plasma status controlled via electric-field could form the Ag nanowires or dendrites without any chemical agents. The plasma reactor was made of a Teflon vessel with an inner diameter of 80 mm and a height of 80 mm, where a pair of tungsten(W) electrodes with a diameter of 2 mm was placed horizontally. The stock solutions were made by dissolving the 5-mM AgNO3 in DI water. For the synthesis of Agnanowires, the electricfield of 3.6kVcm-1 in a 200-ml AgNO3 aqueous solution was applied across the electrodes using a bipolar pulsed power supply(Kurita, Seisakusyo Co. Ltd). The repetition rate and pulse width were fixed at 30kHz and 2.0 us, respectively. The plasma discharge was carried out for a fixed reaction time of 60 min. In case of Ag nanodendrites, the electric field of 32kVcm-1 in a 200-ml AgNO3 aqueous solution was applied and other conditions were identical to the plasma discharge in water in terms of electrode configuration, repetition rate and discharge time. Using SEM and STEM, morphology of Ag nanowires and dendrites were investigated. With 3.6 kV/cm, Ag nanowire was obtained, while Ag dendrite was constructed with 32 kV/cm. The average diameter and legth of Ag nanowireses were 50 nm and 3.5 um, and thoes values of Ag dendrites were 40 nm and 3.0 um. As a results of XPS analysis, the surface defects in the Ag nanowires facilitated O2 incorporation into the surface region via the interaction between the oxygen and the electron cloud of the adjacent Ag atoms. The catalytic activity of Ag for oxygen reduction reaction(ORR) showed that the catalytic ORR activity of Ag nanowires are much better than Ag nanodendrites, and electron transfer number of Ag nanowires is similar to that of Pt (${\approx}4$).

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• 제8권4호
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• pp.265-273
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• 2017

Solid-state alkaline water electrolysis is a promising method for producing hydrogen using renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power. Despite active investigations of component development for anion exchange membrane water electrolysis (AEMWE), understanding of the device performance remains insufficient for the commercialization of AEMWE. The study of assembled AEMWE devices is essential to validate the activity and stability of developed catalysts and electrolyte membranes, as well as the dependence of the performance on the device operating conditions. Herein, we review the development of catalysts and membranes reported by different AEMWE companies such as ACTA S.p.A. and Proton OnSite and device operating conditions that significantly affect the AEMWE performance. For example, $CuCoO_x$ and $LiCoO_2$ have been studied as oxygen evolution catalysts by Acta S.p.A and Proton OnSite, respectively. Anion exchange membranes based on polyethylene and polysulfone are also investigated for use as electrolyte membranes in AEMWE devices. In addition, operation factors, including temperature, electrolyte concentration and acidity, and solution feed methods, are reviewed in terms of their influence on the AEMWE performance. The reaction rate of water splitting generally increases with increase in operating temperature because of the facilitated kinetics and higher ion conductivity. The effect of solution feeding configuration on the AEMWE performance is explained, with a brief discussion on current AEMWE performance and device durability.

• 한국대기환경학회지
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• 제19권4호
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• pp.347-361
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• 2003

Sulfur dioxide (SO$_2$), ozone, total suspended particulates (TSP) and PM$_{2.5}$ were measured at Deokjeok Island in the Yellow Sea during April 1999 to June 2000. Although the emission amount of air pollutants is quite low in this small island of 36 km$^2$ with 1.4 thousand inhabitants, there are pollutant sources such as an oil -firing power plant and a wharf for ferryboat. The island is also influenced from the emissions from the greater Seoul area in the east and from China in the west. In order to characterize the pollutant variations due to interactions between transport and local emissions. the correlation between variations of SO$_2$ and ozone was investigated. Mass and ion concentrations of TSP and PM$_{2.5}$ were examined on selected episode days of positive and negative correlations between the two gaseous species in spring and winter. The effects of transport were pronounced on the days of positive correlation in spring with higher concentrations of ozone and PM$_{2.5}$. TSP concentrations were also high on these days because of high wind speeds. On the days of negative correlation in spring, frequent fog associated with low wind speeds facilitated SO$_2$ oxidation and increased sulfate accompanied with decrease in nitrate in PM$_{2.5}$ and chloride in TSP. This latter phenomena was noticeable since it showed that chemical composition of fine particles could be significantly altered not only during the transport but also by local environment.ronment.

• 한국가시화정보학회지
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• 제14권1호
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• pp.57-61
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• 2016

We report a finding of fast(exceeding 2,000 K/s) heating of polydimethylsiloxane(PDMS), one of the most commonly-used microchannel materials, under cyclic loadings at high(~MHz) frequencies. A microheater was created based on the finding. The heating mechanism utilized vibration damping of sound waves, which were generated and precisely manipulated using a conventional surface acoustic wave(SAW) microfluidic system, in PDMS. The penetration depths were measured to range from $210{\mu}m$ to $1290{\mu}m$, enough to cover most microchannel heights in microfluidic systems. The energy conversion efficiency was SAW frequency-dependent and measured to be the highest at around 30 MHz. Independent actuation of each interdigital transducer(IDT) enabled independent manipulation of SAWs, permitting spatiotemporal control of temperature on the microchip. All the advantages of this microheater facilitated a two-step continuous flow polymerase chain reaction(CFPCR) to achieve the billion-fold amplification of a 134 bp DNA amplicon in less than 3 min. In addition, a technique was developed for establishing dynamic free-form temperature gradients(TGs) in PDMS as well as in gases in contact with the PDMS.

• 한국진공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국진공학회 2013년도 제44회 동계 정기학술대회 초록집
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• pp.263-263
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• 2013

This work examines the dynamic properties of ice surfaces in vacuum for the temperature range of 140~180 K, which extends over the onset temperatures for ice sublimation and the phase transition from amorphous to crystallization ice. In particular, the study focuses on the transport processes of excess protons and chloride ions in ice and their segregative behavior to the ice surface. These phenomena were studied by conducting experiments with a relatively thick (~100 BL) ice film constructed with a bottom $H_2O$ layer and an upper $D_2O$ layer, with excess hydronium and chloride ions trapped at the $H_2O$/$D_2O$ interface as they were generated by the ionization of hydrogen chloride. The migration of protons, chloride ions, and water molecules to the ice film surface and their H/D exchange reactions were measured as a function of temperature using the methods of low energy sputtering (LES) and Cs+ reactive ion scattering (RIS). Temperature programmed desorption (TPD) experiments monitored the desorption of water and hydrogen chloride from the surface. Our observations indicated that both hydronium and chloride ions migrated from the interfacial layer to segregate to the surface at high temperature. Hydrogen chloride gas desorbs via recombination reaction of hydronium and chloride ions floating on the surface. Surface segregation of these species is driven by thermodynamic potential gradient present near the ice surface, whereas in the bulk, their transport is facilitated by thermal diffusion process. The finding suggests that chlorine activation reactions of hydrogen chloride for polar stratospheric ice particles occur at the surface of ice within a depth of at most a few molecular layers, rather than in the bulk phase.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• 제11권2호
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• pp.84-90
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• 2006

UV-catalytic oxidation technique was applied for the treatment of bio-refractory character of the leachate, which is generally present in the form of adsorbable organic halogens (AOX). Destruction of AOX was likely to be governed by pH adjustment, quantitative measurement of oxidants, and the selection of oxidation model type. Peroxide induced degradation ($UV/H_2O_2$) facilitated the chemical oxidation of organic halides in acidic medium, however, the system showed least AOX removal efficiency than the other two systems. Increased dosage of hydrogen peroxide (from 0.5 time to 1.0 time concentration) even did not contribute to a significant increase in the removal rate of AOX. In ozone induced degradation system ($UV/O_3$), alkaline medium (pH 10) favored the removal of AOX and the removal rate was found 11% higher than the rate at pH 3. Since efficiency of the $UV/O_3$ increases with the increase of pH, therefore, more OH-radicals were available for the destruction of organic halides. UV-light with the combination of both ozone and hydrogen peroxide ($UV/H_2O_2$ 0.5 time/$O_3$ 25 mg/min) showed the highest removal rate of AOX and the removal efficiency was found 26% higher than the removal efficiency of $UV/O_3$. The system $UV/H2O_2/O_3$ got the economic preference over the other two systems since lower dose of hydrogen peroxide and relatively shorter reaction time were found enough to get the highest AOX removal rate.

• 대한인간공학회지
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• 제34권2호
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• pp.191-198
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• 2015

Objective: As a cue for desired mood, we attempted to identify types of sitting postures when people are involved in various tasks during their working hours. Background: Physical behaviors in reaction to user contexts were studied, such as automated posture analysis for detecting a subject's emotion. Sitting postures have high feasibility and can be detected robustly with a sensing chair, especially when it comes to an office. Method: First, we attached seven sensors, including six pressure sensors and one distance sensor, to an office chair. In Part 1, we recorded participants' postures while they took part in four different tasks. From the seven sensors, we gathered five sets of data related to the head, the lumbar, the hip, thigh pressure and the distance between the backrest and the body. We classified them into four postures: leaning forward, upright, upright with the lumbar supporting, and leaning backward. In part 2, we requested the subjects to take suitable poses for the each of the four task types. In this way, we compared the matches between postures and tasks in a natural setting to those in a controlled situation. Results: We derived four types of sitting postures that were mapped onto the different tasks. The comparison yielded no statistical significance between Parts 1 and 2. In addition, there was a significant association between the task types and the posture types. Conclusion: The users' sitting postures were related to different types of tasks. This study demonstrates how human emotion can interact with lighting, as mediated through physical behavior. Application: We developed a posture-based lighting system that manipulates the quality of office lighting and is operated by changes in one's posture. Facilitated by this system, color temperatures ranging between 3,000K and 7,000K and illuminations ranging between 300lx and 700lx were modulated.

• 생명과학회지
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• 제20권2호
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• pp.176-182
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• 2010

벼의 생산에 있어 가장 큰 문제 요인 중 하나인 벼도열병의 발생 원인균인 벼도열병균은 다양한 기작에 의해 방제 약제에 대한 내성을 가지는 것으로 알려져 있다. 막 운반단백질인 ABC transporter의 경우 환경으로부터의 다양한 독성 물질들을 배출하는 것으로 알려져 있다. 이미 알려진 벼도열병균의 게놈 서열로부터 생물정보학적 분석을 통하여 ABC transporter 단백질의 도메인 특성을 보이는 33개의 유전자군 서열을 예측하였다. 이중 3개의 경우는 이미 알려진 유전자로 판명되었다. Southern Hybridization 분석에 적용한 20개의 유전자들이 모두 게놈상에 단일 copy로 존재함을 확인하였다. 새로 예측된 30개의 유전자중 11개는 RT-PCR을 통하여 전사단계에서의 유전자 발현이 확인되었다.

• 대한한의학회지
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• 제32권2호
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• pp.1-13
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• 2011

Background and Objective: Coptidis Rhizoma is a medicinal herb known for its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effect. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of CR on the experimental burn elicitation in vitro and in vivo. Material and Methods: In order to know the antioxidant effect on skin cell of mice after burn elicitation, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity was measured. In vitro, the RAW 264.7 macrophage cells were treated with lipopolysaccharides for experimental inflammation. iNOS mRNA expression was observed after CR-treatment. In order to know effects on the skin regeneration in the burned mice, we counted the nitric oxide (NO) in blood. We also observed the histological structure in the epidermal basal layer and the dermal section, and we studied changes of angiogenesis in the capillaries surrounding the basal layer and dermal papilla. The changes of transcription of iNOS mRNA (inducible nitric oxide synthase mRNA) and changes of NF-${\kappa}$B (nuclear factor ${\kappa}$B) p65 positive reaction were also observed to investigate the changes of the stress in the skin. Results: The results indicated that CR has significant effects on the antioxidant effect on skin cells of mice after burn elicitation by increasing SOD activity in the in vitro test. It seemed that CR decreased the amount of NF-${\kappa}$B which induced the iNOS mRNA dose-dependently and suppress activating NO and angiogenesis. Furthermore, CR facilitated the process of skin recovery after experimental burn. Conclusion: CR can be applied for burned skin via antioxidant effect and skin regeneration.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제14권2호
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• pp.284-289
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• 2004

A PCR assay for the rapid detection of Vibrio vulnificus strains was developed using a virulence gene for elastase found in various Vibrio species. The DNA sequences in the elastase gene facilitated the identification of a species-specific probe for pathogenic V. vulnificus strains from both clinical and environmental sources. Using an elastase gene-based PCR reaction, a species-specific 507-bp PCR product was visualized by agarose gel electrophoresis. Three different DNA extraction methods were then compared to improve the simplicity and rapidity of detection. A PCR assay using the conventional DNA extraction or boiling method was able to detect as few as 25 V. vulnificus cells, making the detection limits at least 1-log-scale lower than that for the EDT A-treated DNA extraction method. In particular, the boiling method, which does not require purification of the chromosomal DNA, was very effective in terms of simple and rapid detection. Meanwhile, the detection limit in a mixed bacterial culture that included other bacteria, such as Escherichia coli or Bacillus subtilis, was two V. vulnificus cells, which was 1-log-scale lower than that for the control. Accordingly, when coupled with a new DNA extraction method, the elastase gene-based PCR can provide a rapid, specific, and sensitive method for identifying V. vulnificus in clinical and environmental samples.