• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.181-188
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• 2009

Pt catalyst was adsorbed on Carbon nanofiber (CNF) by modified polyol method after acid treatment of the carbon support with $HNO_3$ and $H_{2}SO_{4}$. As the time for acid treatment increases, more oxygen functional groups on carbon surface were produced which improve the loading amount and dispersion of Pt catalyst on carbon supports. In order to inspect the effect of CNF acid treatment time on electrochemical corrosion, constant potential of 1.4 V was applied to a single cell for 30 min and the amount of $CO_2$ emitted was monitored with on-line mass spectrometry. According to the results of our experiment, more $CO_2$ was produced with Pt/ oxidized-CNF catalyst in compared to that with unoxidized-CNF. Increasing acid treatment time also induces the more $CO_2$ emission. Besides, performance degradation after corrosion test expanded with severer carbon corrosion. From the observed results, it can be concluded that the acid treatment of CNF is beneficial to catalyst loading, but it also is a significant factor declining the fuel cell durability by accelerating electrochemical oxidation of carbon support.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.41-49
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• 2008

Background : The central physiological derangement of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) caused by hantaan virus (HTNV) is a vascular dysfunction, manifested by hemorrhage, impaired vascular tone and increased vascular permeability. Platelet activating factor (PAF), whose actions are mediated through a specific receptor, is a potent bioactive lipid. PAF has diverse biological functions in the vascular system, such as increasing vascular permeability, adhesion of leukocytes to the endothelium and reduction of cardiac output, which result in hypotension and shock. The goal of the present study was to investigate whether PAF is involved in the pathogenesis of HFRS. For this purpose, we evaluated the effect of HTNV on the expression of PAF receptor (PAF-R) and on the activity of PAF-acetylhydrolase (PAF-AH) instead of PAF because PAF is rapidly degraded by PAF-AH in vivo. Materials and methods : To evaluate the expression of PAF-R, we performed reverse-transcription PCR, western blot and FACS analyses using HTNV-infected human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and non-infected (control) HUVECs. In addition, we measured the activity of plasma PAF-AH in HFRS patients and normal healthy persons. Results : The mRNA and protein expression of PAF-R was increased in HTNV-infected HUVECs compared with control HUVECs at 2 and 3 days post-infection (d.p.i.). FACS analysis showed that HTNV induced the surface expression of PAF-R in HUVECs from 2 d.p.i. The activity of plasma PAF-AH was 2.5-fold lower in HFRS patients than in normal healthy persons. Conclusion : Increased PAF-R expression by HTNV might increase the responsiveness to PAF in endothelial cells. Reduced PAF-AH activity in the blood of HFRS patients might delay PAF degradation. These results suggest that changes in PAF-R and PAF-AH by HTNV might influence to PAF activity and might be involved in the vascular dysfunction of HFRS.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.12
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• pp.2171-2178
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• 2016

Polyester cloth (PC) was selected as a prospective inexpensive substitute separator material for microbial fuel cells (MFCs). PC was compared with a traditional Nafion proton exchange membrane (PEM) as an MFC separator by analyzing its physical and electrochemical properties. A single layer of PC showed higher mass transfer (e.g., for $O_2/H^+/ions$) than the Nafion PEM; in the case of oxygen mass transfer coefficient ($k_o$), a rate of $50.0{\times}10^{-5} cm{\cdot}s^{-1}$ was observed compared with a rate of $20.8{\times}10^{-5}cm/s$ in the Nafion PEM. Increased numbers of PC layers were found to reduce the oxygen mass transfer coefficient. In addition, the diffusion coefficient of oxygen ($D_O$) for PC ($2.0-3.3{\times}10^{-6}cm^2/s$) was lower than that of the Nafion PEM ($3.8{\times}10^{-6}cm^2/s$). The PC was found to have a low ohmic resistance ($0.29-0.38{\Omega}$) in the MFC, which was similar to that of Nafion PEM ($0.31{\Omega}$); this resulted in comparable maximum power density and maximum current density in MFCs with PC and those with Nafion PEMs. Moreover, a higher average current generation was observed in MFCs with PC ($104.3{\pm}15.3A/m^3$) compared with MFCs with Nafion PEM ($100.4{\pm}17.7A/m^3$), as well as showing insignificant degradation of the PC surface, during 177 days of use in swine wastewater. These results suggest that PC separators could serve as a low-cost alternative to Nafion PEMs for construction of cost-effective MFCs.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.28 no.12
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• pp.1061-1069
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• 2019

Common reed (Phragmites australis) is widespread in reclaimed land and wetland habitats. Every year, the common reed produces extensive colonies by means of underground rhizomes and ground-surface stolons. From an agricultural point of view, the common reed's large biomass is a good material for supplying organic matter. However, it has not yet been studied in terms of seedling production, transplanting conditions, and decomposition characteristics in reclaimed land. Seeds were harvested from the native common reed in Saemangeum, South Korea, the previous year and stored on an open field. The seeds were sowed in the greenhouse at the beginning of April. Common reed decomposition was studied from June to September, with the use of coarse mesh (5 mm) stem litterbags, on three samping dates and with five replicate packs per sample. These packs were dug in five soil condition (low-salinity topsoil, subsoil, high-salinity topsoil, subsoil, paddy topsoil) to 0.2 m and 0.4 m depth. The highest germination rate of common reed seeds was observed in non-salt solution, but the exhibited germination rate was 70% at 9.38 dS m^-1. The plant height of young reed decreased steadily with increasing salinity, but leaf number did not decrease by 9.38 dS m^-1. The survival rate of the two-year-old reed was 83.3%, which was 35% higher than that of the one-year reed. The transplant success rate was 0% in the no vinyl mulching in the soil, but the first year and second year seedlings survived rates were 63% and 83.3%, respectively, in vinyl mulching. Common reed decomposition rates were faster low salinity than high salinity. All nutrient contents were found to fluctuate significantly with time by soil conditions. We also need to study the growth rate of reed transplanting seedlings by soil moisture contents and the comparison of degradation in common reed tissues.

• 한국해양학회지
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.15-28
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• 1989

A study on quantitative phytoplankton samples, hydrographic conditions (temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen), and nutrients has been performed in the southern waters of the Korean East Sea in early spring. Phytoplankton community showed close correlation with hydrographic conditions. This study area could be divided into three phytohydrographic regions; 1) East Korean Warm Water Region (a branch of Tsushima Current), 2) North Korean Cold Water Region, and 3) offshore water region not affected by other two water regions. Vertical distribution of phytoplankton is dependent upon stability of water column and nutrient concentration. Nutrient concentration shows characteristic distribution according to water masses. N/P ratio of ca. 3 in surface layer indicates that nitrogen is the major limiting nutrient in this area. N/P removal ratio was 12.54 ($r^2$ = 0.96), consistent with the Redified ratio. Primary nitrite maxima at the nitracline depths are thought to be formed by phytoplankton exudation. Secondary nitrite maximum was observed in coastal area with dissolved oxygen content of >5.2 ml/l much higher than <0.25 ml/l in other areas. The mechanism of secondary maximum is different from that of other regions, and whether it may be due to in situ degradation of organic matter by bacterial activity is still open to discuss.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.300-304
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• 1994

To predict quality change of Kochujang distributed in the market, physicochemical properties were observed during storage at $13^{\circ}C$, $27^{\circ}C$ and $37^{\circ}C$ for 240 days. Moisture, crude protein and capsaicin contents were nearly constant for storage at the selected temperatures. Amino nitrogen, value of surface color and pH were decreased during storage while ammonia nitrogen and titratable acidity were increased. Storage temperature affected quality change significantly as higher temperature showed clear increase or decrease phenomena of above factors. Number of total cell count was not changed significantly, and fungi was not detected. From the correlation coefficient among physicochemical properties and sensory evaluation scores, the highest correlation was obtained in amino nitrogen content and sensory score. Degradation of amino nitrogen was a first order reaction, and the $Q_{10}$ value calculated from reaction constant was 2.98. Also, activation energy for the destruction of amino nitrogen calculated from Arrhenius equation was 15.34 Kcal/mole.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.31-36
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• 2010

Low energy high resolution (LEHR) collimator is the most widely used collimator in SPECT imaging. LEHR has an advantage in terms of image resolution but has a difficulty in acquiring high sensitivity due to the narrow hole size and long septa height. Throughput in SPECT can be improved by increasing counts per second with the use of high sensitivity collimators. The purpose of this study is to develop a system model in iterative image reconstruction to recover the resolution degradation caused by high sensitivity collimators with bigger hole size. We used fan-beam model instead of parallel-beam model for calculation of detection probabilities to accurately model the high sensitivity collimator with wider holes. In addition the weight factors were calculated and applied onto the probabilities as a function of incident angle of incoming photons and distance from source to the collimator surface. The proposed system model resulted in the equivalent performance with the same counts (i.e. in shortened acquisition time) and improved image quality in the same acquisition time. The proposed method can be effectively applied for resolution improvement of pixel collimator of next generation solid state detectors.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.161-167
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• 2008

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT)-reinforced poly(ethylene-co-ethyl acrylate) (EEA) nanocomposites were prepared by both melt and solution mixing methods. The mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties were investigated as a function of type and loading of CNT. The tensile strength and modulus increased, while elongation at break decreased with increasing MWCNT content. The hollow-type MWCNT showed an improved tensile strength and elongation at break compared with a conventional MWCNT. The thermal degradation temperature was increased by around $40^{\circ}C$ with increasing the amount of MWCNT. The melt-mixed composites showed the highest volume resistivity. In the case of solution-mixed composites, the conventional MWCNT was estimated to show much lower volume resistivity than that of hollow MWCNT. The number and length of extruded CNT onto the fractured surface increased by both increasing the content of CNT and employing the tensile strain to the sample. The melt-mixed specimens showed much smaller number and shorter length of extruded CNT.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.557-561
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• 2007

Polypropylene (PP)/corn starch master batch (starch-MB) blends with different PP compositions of 40, 50, 60, and 80 wt% were prepared by melt compounding at $200^{\circ}C$, using lab scale Brabender mixer. The chemical structures and thermal properties of the PP/starch-MB blends were investigated by FT-IR, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA). The chemical structure was confirmed by the existence of hydroxy group. There was no district change in melting temperature and melting enthalpy, and TGA curve indicated a decrease in degradation temperature with starch-MB content. The porosity change of blend was measured by scanning electron microscope (SEM), the degree of porosity on the blend surface increased with the starch-MB content. The rheological properties indicated an increase in complex viscosity, shear thinning tendency and elasticity with the starch-MB concentration. These effects were confirmed by an oscillatory viscometer at $200^{\circ}C$. From these results, it is found that 40 wt% is the optimum starch-MB concentration. The fiber was fabricated from PP60/MB40 with 40 wt% starch-MB and the porosity and tensile properties were investigated.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.73-79
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• 2017

Maleic anhydride (MAH) grafted polypropylene (PP-g-MAH) copolymers were prepared by changing MAH and styrene monomer (SM) content, using a twin screw extruder at $190^{\circ}C$. The grafting degree was measured by non-aqueous back titration method. The grafting degree of PP-g-MAH-SM copolymer was higher than that of PP-g-MAH at the same MAH content. PP-g-MAH-SM/kenaf fiber (KF) composites were also prepared by using a PP-g-MAH as a matrix at $200^{\circ}C$ and the KF content was fixed at 20 wt%. Based on the degradation temperature investigated by TGA, the thermal stability of PP-g-MAH-SM/KF composites was more enhanced than that of PP-g-MAH only. Mechanical properties of the composites were also improved when MAH and SM applied together. The adhesion degree between the copolymer and KF was confirmed by both SEM pictures of the fractured surface and contact angles.