• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.112 no.1
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• pp.57-70
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• 2023

In recent years, the frequency of warnings about particulate matter (PM) has gradually increased in Korea, along with an increase in its intensity. Because of their vast surface area, reactivity to external particles, and characteristics of their leaves, urban trees can act as biofilters, reducing PM pollution. However, the air pollutant PM can cause various types of damage not only to human health but also to vegetation. Studies performed to date on the responses of trees to PM are still insufficient. Here, we analyzed the correlation between PM adsorption and physiological and biochemical responses of four major street tree species, namely, Abies holophylla, Acer buergerianum, Pinus densiflora, and Quercus variabilis, under conditions of approximately 300 ㎍ m^-3 of fly ash emissions using a phytotron. The results showed that the physiological and biochemical responses and PM adsorption differed depending on the tree species. In correlation analysis, it was confirmed that there were positive correlations between physiological factors, and PM adsorption on adaxial leaf surfaces negatively impacted the physiological characteristics. This study provides fundamental information for selecting tree species to reduce PM pollution and develop sustainable urban forests.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.311-330
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• 2023

Development of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technique is becoming increasingly important as a method to mitigate the strengthening effects of global warming, generated from the unprecedented increase in released anthropogenic CO₂. In the recent years, the characteristics of basaltic rocks (i.e., large volume, high reactivity and surplus of cation components) have been recognized to be potentially favorable in facilitation of CCS; based on this, research on utilization of basaltic formations for underground CO₂ storage is currently ongoing in various fields. This study investigated the feasibility of underground storage of CO₂ in basalt, based on the examination of the CO₂ storage mechanisms in subsurface, assessment of basalt characteristics, and review of the global research on basaltic CO₂ storage. The global research examined were classified into experimental/modeling/field demonstration, based on the methods utilized. Experimental conditions used in research demonstrated temperatures ranging from 20 to 250 ℃, pressure ranging from 0.1 to 30 MPa, and the rock-fluid reaction time ranging from several hours to four years. Modeling research on basalt involved construction of models similar to the potential storage sites, with examination of changes in fluid dynamics and geochemical factors before and after CO₂-fluid injection. The investigation demonstrated that basalt has large potential for CO₂ storage, along with capacity for rapid mineralization reactions; these factors lessens the environmental constraints (i.e., temperature, pressure, and geological structures) generally required for CO₂ storage. The success of major field demonstration projects, the CarbFix project and the Wallula project, indicate that basalt is promising geological formation to facilitate CCS. However, usage of basalt as storage formation requires additional conditions which must be carefully considered - mineralization mechanism can vary significantly depending on factors such as the basalt composition and injection zone properties: for instance, precipitation of carbonate and silicate minerals can reduce the injectivity into the formation. In addition, there is a risk of polluting the subsurface environment due to the combination of pressure increase and induced rock-CO₂-fluid reactions upon injection. As dissolution of CO₂ into fluids is required prior to injection, monitoring techniques different from conventional methods are needed. Hence, in order to facilitate efficient and stable underground storage of CO₂ in basalt, it is necessary to select a suitable storage formation, accumulate various database of the field, and conduct systematic research utilizing experiments/modeling/field studies to develop comprehensive understanding of the potential storage site.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.301-310
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• 2023

Ferrihydrite is an iron oxide mineral that is easily found in the natural environment, including acid mine drainage, and has a low crystallinity and high specific surface area, resulting in high reactivity with other ions, and can remove environmentally hazardous substances. However, because ferrihydrite is a metastable mineral, there is a possibility of releasing adsorbed ions by phase transformation to other minerals having low surface area and high crystallinity. In this study, the adsorption characteristics of arsenate, chromate, and selenate on ferrihydrite and the oxyanion removal efficiency of ferrihydrite were studied considering mineral phase transformation. At both pH 4 and 8, the adsorption of oxyanions used in the study were in good agreement with both Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption models except for selenate at pH 8. Due to the difference in surface charge according to pH, at pH 4 a higher amount of ions were adsorbed than at pH 8. The adsorption amount were in the order of arsenate, chromate, and selenate. These different adsorption models and adsorption amounts were due to different adsorption mechanisms for each oxyanions on the surface of ferrihydrite. These adsorption characteristics were closely related to changes in the mineral phase. At pH 4, a phase transformation to goethite or hematite was observed, but only a phase transformation to hematite was observed at pH 8. Among the oxyanion species on ferrihydrite, arsenate showed the highest adsorption capacity and hardly caused phase transformation during the experimental period after adsorption. Contrary to this, chromate and selenate showed faster mineral phase transformation than arsenate, and selenate had the lowest retardation effect among the three oxyanions. Ferrihydrite can effectively remove arsenate due to its high adsorption capacity and low phase transformation rate. However, the removal efficiency for other two oxyanions were low by the low adsorption amount and additional mineral phase transformation. For chromate, the efficient removal is expected only at low concentrations in low pH environments.

• The Korean Journal of Zoology
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.51-60
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• 1975

The present study was performed histologically and histochemically to observe the cutaneous mucous glands in the frog, Rana nigromaculata during metamorphosis. The cutaneous thssues including dermal plicae in the dorsal portions of the frog tadpoles at each metamorphosis stage were fixed in 10% buffered formalin at$4^{\circ}C$, embedded in paraffin wax, sectioned 4 $\mu$m thickness and stained with periodic acid-Schiff(PAS) and alcian blue (AB) at both pH 2.5 and pH 1.0. The results of observation were as follows: 1. The developments of cutaneous mucous glands of the frog tadpole were begun with appearance of gland cell nest in the dermis at metamorphosis XV stage and significant numerical increases could be seen at metamorphosis XX, XXIII and XXIV stages. 2. This cutaneous mucous gland of the frog tadpole could be divided into two types; A-type glands showed strong positivities to both PAS and AB at pH 2.5 in the gland body cells and to PAS in the gland neck cells, and B-type glands at AB pH 2.5 in the gland body cells. 3. In the A-type mucous glands, the reactivities of the glandular epithelial cells to both PAS and AB stain could be first seen at the metamorphosis XIX stage of frog tadpole. The reactivities of the glandular epithelial cells to both PAS and AB pH 2.5 were gradually increased according to the process of metamorphosis after XX stage of metamorphosis. 4. The B-type mucous glands were first seen at the XX stage and the reactivity of the glandular epithelial cells to AB at pH 2.5 was gradually increased according to the process of metamorphosis after XX stage. 5. The A-type and the B-type mucous glands were in the ratio of 99 : 1, 7 : 3 and 5.5 : 4.5 for each of metamorphosis XX, XXI-XXII and XXIII-XXV stages. 6. The remarkable development of the cutaneous mucous glands of the frog tadpoles might be needed to maintain water and electrolyte balances according to the change of way from aquatic life to amphibious.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.54-62
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• 2024

SICM (Scanning Ion Conductivity Microscopy) is a technique for measuring surface topography in an environment where electrochemical reactions occur, by detecting changes in ion conductivity as a nanopipette tip approaches the sample. This study includes an investigation of the current response curve, known as the approach curve, according to the distance between the tip and the sample. First, a simulation analysis was conducted on the approach curves. Based on the simulation results, then, several measuring experiments were conducted concurrently to analyze the difference between the simulated and measured approach curves. The simulation analysis confirms that the current squeezing effect occurs as the distance between the tip and the sample approaches half the inner radius of the tip. However, through the calculations, the decrease in current density due to the simple reduction in ion channels was found to be much smaller compared to the current squeezing effect measured through actual experiments. This suggests that ion conductivity in nano-scale narrow channels does not simply follow the Nernst-Einstein relationship based on the diffusion coefficients, but also takes into account the fluidic hydrodynamic resistance at the interface created by the tip and the sample. It is expected that SICM can be combined with SECM (Scanning Electrochemical Microscopy) to overcome the limitations of SECM through consecutive measurement of the two techniques, thereby to strengthen the analysis of electrochemical surface reactivity. This could potentially provide groundbreaking help in understanding the local catalytic reactions in electroless plating and the behaviors of organic additives in electroplating for various kinds of patterns used in semiconductor damascene processes and packaging processes.

• The Korean Journal of Pharmacology
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.323-334
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• 1996

Male Mongolian gerbils $(60{\sim}80g)$ were given DL-difluoromethylornithine (DFMO; 250mg/kg, ip) and methylglyoxal bis(guanylhydrazone) (MGBG; 50 mg/k, ip), respectively, 1 h prior to transient (7 min) occlusion of bilateral common carotid arteries (OBC7) and a daily dose of one of them for 6 days after recirculation, and the polyamine contents, activities of ornithine and S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylases (ODC and SAM-DC), and light microscopic findings of the hippocampus were evaluated. The hippocampal putrescine (PT) levels of the control gerbils treated with saline (STGr), markedly increased after OBC7, showing a peak level at 24 h after recirculation. The peak PT level was reduced in DFMO treated gerbils (DTCr) and in MGBG treated gerbils (MTGr). And 7 days after recirculation, the PT level of DTGr was decreased to about 75% of the PT level in the sham operated group (nonTGr) and to about 55% of the STGr level, respectively. The hippocampal spermidine (SD) level of STGr tended to decline, showing the lowest value at 8 h after recirculation. But the spermidine (SD) level of DTGr was somewhat higher at 8 h after OBC7 than those of STGr and MTGr The hippocampal spermine (SM) levels of all the experimental groups were little changed for 7 days after OBC. OBC7 markedly increased the hippocampal ODC activity. reaching a maximum (about 3 times higher than preischemic level) at 8 h and rapidly recovered to the control value by 24 h in STGr gerbils, and the OBC7-induced increase of ODC activity was significantly attenuated by DFMO or MGBG treatment. Whereas OBC7 induced a rapid decrease of the hippocampal SAMDC activity follwed by gradual recovery to the preischemic level, and the decrease of the SAMDC activity was slightly attenuated by DFMO or MGBG treatment. 7 Days after OBC7 the histological finding of the hippocampal complex stained with cresyl violet showed an extensive delayed neuronal damage in the CA1 region and to a lesser extent, in the dentate gyrus, sparing the CA3 region. And the neuronal death was aggevated by DFMO but significantly attenuated by MGBG. The immunochemical reactivity of hippocampus to anti-GFAP antibody was significantly increased in the CA1 region and to a lesser extent, in the dentate gyrus 7 days after OBC7, but was little changed in the CA3. And the increase of the anti-GFAP immunoreactivity was moderately enhanced by DFMO and significantly suppressed by MGBG. These results suggest that the polyamine metabolism may play a modulatory role in the ischemic brain damage.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.45 no.5
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• pp.1012-1021
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• 1998

Background : It is known that airway inflammation is present in most patients with asthma, but the relationship between symptoms and the severity and nature of airway inflammation has not been established. Cough variant asthma is defined as an asthma in which the dominant symptom is cough, and the condition can be successfully treated with inhaled steroids. This study was performed to evaluate the time course of bronchial responsiveness according to an inhaled anti-inflammatory therapy and the factors which affect the resolution of bronchial responsiveness, and an efficacy of nedocromil to cough asthma. Method: A prospective study for the investigation of bronchial responsiveness according to an inhaled anti-inflammatory treatment in sixty-one cough asthmatics was performed. Twenty-three entered budesonide ($400{\mu}g{\times}2/day$), twenty-two entered nedocromil ($4mg{\times}2/day$) and sixteen patients entered combined group. The bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR) was estimated by methacholine challenge test using counted breath method. The symptom was estimated by 'symptom score'. Reevaluation of BHR and symptom was performed at 2 month after treatment, and if BHR was not resoluted at this time, regarded as a non-responder, and then follow-up of BHR and symptom was performed at 4- and/or 6 month after treatment. Results: The improvement of BHR and symptom was significant in 2 month (p<0.05), but there was no change of them during follow-up period of 4- and/or 6 month in non-responders. In comparison of allergic markers such as serum total IgE, peripheral eosinophil count and skin test reactivity between responders and non-responders, there was no difference in each other. However, in comparison of other factors such as cumulative pack-years, symptom duration, age, gender, and the initial degree of PC20, there was a significant difference in each other(p<0.05). The percent of patients with the resolution of BHR in 2 month was not different in each group(p=0.95). There was no significant difference in the degree of improvement of BHR and symptom in each group. Conclusion: Bronchial responsiveness and symptom was not significantly improved in non-responders during follow-up period of 4- and/or 6 month. The effect of inhaled nedocromil was equivalent to that of inhaled steroid in cough asthmatics, and the response to combined treatment is not superior to that achieved by either of these agents used alone.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.79-85
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• 2023

A novel low-temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) dielectric, composed of (1-4x)Bi_1.5Zn_1.0Nb_1.5O₇-3xBi₂Zn_2/3Nb_4/3O₇-2xLiZnNbO₄ (x=0.03-0.21), was synthesized through reactive liquid phase sintering of Bi_1.5Zn_1.0Nb_1.5O₇-xLi₂CO₃ ceramic at temperatures ranging from 850℃ to 920℃ for 4 hours. During sintering, Li₂CO₃ reacted with Bi_1.5Zn_1.0Nb_1.5O₇, resulting in the formation of Bi₂Zn_2/3Nb_4/3O₇, and LiZnNbO₄. The resulting sintered body exhibited a relative sintering density exceeding 96% of the theoretical density. By altering the initial Li₂CO₃ content (x) and consequently modulating the volume fraction of Bi_1.5Zn_1.0Nb_1.5O₇, Bi₂Zn_2/3Nb_4/3O₇, and LiZnNbO₄ in the final sintered body, a sample with high dielectric constant (ε_r), low dielectric loss (tan δ), and the temperature coefficient of dielectric constant (TCε) characterized by NP0 specification (TCε ≤ ±30 ppm/℃) was achieved. As the Li₂CO₃ content increased from x=0.03 mol to x=0.15 mol, the volume fraction of Bi₂Zn_2/3Nb_4/3O₇ and LiZnNbO₄ in the composite increased, while the volume fraction of Bi_1.5Zn_1.0Nb_1.5O₇ decreased. Consequently, the dielectric constant (εr) of the composite materials varied from 148.38 to 126.99, the dielectric loss (tan δ) shifted from 5.29×10^-4 to 3.31×10^-4, and the temperature coefficient of dielectric constant (TCε) transitioned from -340.35 ppm/℃ to 299.67 ppm/℃. A dielectric exhibiting NP0 characteristics was achieved at x=0.09 for Li₂CO₃, with a dielectric constant (ε_r) of 143.06, a dielectric loss (tan δ) value of 4.31×10^-4, and a temperature coefficient of dielectric constant (TCε) value of -9.98 ppm/℃. Chemical compatibility experiment with Ag electrode revealed that the developed composite material exhibited no reactivity with the Ag electrode during the co-firing process.