• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.92-100
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• 2021

Purpose: Rapid detection of etiologic organisms is crucial for initiating appropriate therapy in patients with central nervous system (CNS) infection. This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic value of the BioFire^® Meningitis/Encephalitis (ME) panel in detecting etiologic organisms in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from febrile infants. Methods: CSF samples from infants aged <90 days who were evaluated for fever were collected between January 2016 and July 2019 at the Seoul National University Children's Hospital. We performed BioFire^® ME panel testing of CSF samples that had been used for CSF analysis and conventional tests (bacterial culture, Xpert^® enterovirus assay, and herpes simplex virus-1 and -2 polymerase chain reaction) and stored at -70℃ until further use. Results: In total, 72 (24 pathogen-identified and 48 pathogen-unidentified) CSF samples were included. Using BioFire^® ME panel testing, 41 (85.4%) of the 48 pathogen-unidentified CSF samples yielded negative results and 22 (91.7%) of the 24 pathogen-identified CSF samples yielded the same results (enterovirus in 19, Streptococcus agalactiae in 2, and Streptococcus pneumoniae in 1) as those obtained using the conventional tests, thereby resulting in an overall agreement of 87.5% (63/72). Six of the 7 pathogen-unidentified samples were positive for human parechovirus (HPeV) via BioFire^® ME panel testing. Conclusions: Compared with the currently available etiologic tests for CNS infection, BioFire^® ME panel testing demonstrated a high agreement score for pathogen-identified samples and enabled HPeV detection in young infants. The clinical utility and cost-effectiveness of BioFire^® ME panel testing in children must be evaluated for its wider application.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.491-501
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• 2022

Bentonite has been proposed as a buffer and backfill material for high-level radioactive waste repository. Under such repository environment conditions, bentonite is subjected to combined thermal, hydrological, mechanical, and chemical processes. This study evaluates the feasibility of applying X-ray CT technology on the characterization of bentonite under hydration conditions using a newly developed testing cell. The cylindrical cell is made of platic material, with a removable cap to place the sample, enabling to apply vertical pressure on the sample and to measure swelling pressure. The hydration test was carried out with a sample made of Gyeonju bentonite, with a dry density of 1.4 g/cm³, and a water content of 20%. The sample had a diameter of 27.5 mm and a height of 34 mm. During the test, water was injected at a constant pressure of 0.207 MPa, and lasted for 7 days. After one day of hydration, bentonite swelled and filled out the space inside the cell. Moreover, CT histograms showed how the hydration process induced an initial increase and later progressive decrease on the density of the sample. Detailed profiles of the mean CT value, CT standard deviation, and CT gradient provided more details on the hydration process of the sample and showed how the bottom and top regions exhibited a decrease on density while the middle region showed an increase, especially during the first two days of hydration. Later, the differences in CT values with respect to the initial state decreased, and were small at the end of testing. The formation and later reduction of cracks was also characterized through CT scanning.

• Journal of the Korean Orthopaedic Association
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.52-58
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• 2019

Purpose: Fungal periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) is a rare but devastating complication following total knee arthroplasty (TKA). On the other hand, a standardized procedure regarding an accurate treatment of this serious complication of knee arthroplasty is lacking. The clinical progress of staged reimplantation in patients who had fungus-related PJI after TKA was reviewed retrospectively. Materials and Methods: Ten patients who had a fungal related PJI after TKA between 2006 and 2017 using staged reimplantation surgery were reviewed. These patients were compared with 119 patients who had a PJI in the same period. The failure rate of infection control, intravenous antimicrobial using the period, and the clinical results were evaluated by comparing the range of motion and Korean knee score (KKS) between pre-staged reimplantation and the last follow-up. Results: In the fungal infection group, 7 out of 10 cases (70.0%) had failed in infection control using staged reimplantation and in the non-fungal group, 7 out of 119 cases (5.9%) had failed (p=0.04). In the non-fungal group, the mean duration of antibiotics was 6.2 weeks. In the fungus group, the mean duration of antibiotics was 15.3 weeks, which was 9.1 weeks longer (p<0.001). The range of motion of the knee was increased in the two groups (p=0.265). At the last follow-up, the KKS was 71.01 points in the non-fungal group and 61.3 points in the fungal group (p=0.012). Erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein (CRP) decreased in the two groups, but the CRP was significantly different in the two groups (p=0.007). Conclusion: The treatment of fungus-related PJIs using staged reimplantation showed uneven clinical progress and unsatisfactory clinical improvements compared to non-fungal PJI. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the use of an antifungal mixed cement spacer at resection arthroplasty and oral antifungal agent after reimplantation.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.61 no.3
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• pp.426-438
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• 2023

Lithium-sulfur batteries, recently attracting attention as next-generation batteries, have high energy density but are limited in application due to sulfur's insulating properties, shuttle phenomenon, and volume expansion. This study used an economical and simple vacuum filtration method to prepare a freestanding electrode without a binder and collector. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are used to improve the electrical conductivity of sulfur, where CNT also acts as both collector and conductor. In addition, metal oxides (MO_x, M=Ni, Mg), which are easy to adsorb lithium polysulfide, are added to the CNT/S electrode to suppress the shuttle reaction in lithium-sulfur batteries, which is a result of suppressing the loss of active sulfur material due to the excellent adsorption of lithium polysulfide by metal oxides. The MO_x@CNT/S electrode exhibited higher capacity characteristics and cycle stability than the CNT/S electrode without metal oxides. Among the MO_x@CNT/S electrodes, the NiO@CNT/S electrode displayed a high discharge capacity of 780 mAh g^-1 at 1 C and an extreme capacity decrease to 134 mAh g^-1 after 200 cycles. Although the MgO@CNT/S electrode exhibited a low discharge rate of 544 mAh g^-1 in the initial cycle, it showed good cycle stability with 90% of capacity retention up to 200 cycles. Further, to achieve high capacity and cycle stability, the Ni_0.7Mg_0.3O@CNT/S electrode, mixed with Ni:Mg in the ratio of 0.7:0.3, manifested an initial discharge rate of 755 mAh g^-1 (1 C) and a capacity retention rate of more than 90% after 200 cycles. Therefore, applying binary metal oxides to CNT/S provides a freestanding electrode for developing economical and high-performance Li-S batteries, effectively improving lithium polysulfide's high capacity characteristics and dissolution.

• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.91-100
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• 2023

The early life history of Silurus microdorsalis living in Jahocheon Stream was studied by observing egg and morphological development. Live fish were captured in June 2018, then reared in a circulating filtration system under a 14L : 10D photoperiod with a water temperature of 18℃. To artificially induce spawning, females were injected with 0.5 mL of Ovaprim (Syndel, Nanaimo, BC, Canada) per kg of body weight, and males were injected with 10,000 IU/kg body weight of human chorionic gonadotropin. Approximately 15 h later, eggs were artificially inseminated by the dry method. Mature eggs were light pale yellow, which separated them from immature eggs. Fertilized eggs were 2.16±0.06 mm (n=8) in diameter and fully hatched at 181 h after fertilization. The fertilization rate was 63.1±2.2%, and 10.0±3.7% of the embryos were malformed at 18℃. The rates of development were 181 h at 18℃, 109 h at 21℃, and 76 h at 24℃. The larval size immediately after hatching was 4.64±0.22 mm (n=8), and the larvae displayed negative phototaxis at 1 day after hatching. The total larval length on 7 days after hatching was 12.47±0.53 mm, with 25~30 basal anal fin rays and 14~16 basal caudal fin rays observed. The total larval length was 14.13±0.51 mm on 9 days after hatching, and approximately 90% of the black endoplasmic reticulum was deposited on the head and body. The dorsal fin had formed, and a single basal body was observed. On 15 days after hatching, the total larval length was 16.69±0.31 mm; the number of basal caudal fin rays (18 poles) was an integer because 2 dorsal fin basal rays and 60~63 anal fin basal rays were observed. The total larval length was 28.96±1.10 mm on 50 days after hatching; the numbers of caudal fins (n=18), dorsal fins (n=3), pectoral fins (n=11), and anal fin basal rays (n=67~73) were integers.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.34 no.7
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• pp.500-508
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• 2024

Recently, there has been increasing interest in enhancing the indoor air quality, particularly in response to the growing utilization of public facilities. The focus of this study was on assessing the efficacy and safety of an air sterilizer equipped with electrolytic salt catalysts. To that end, we evaluated the antimicrobial activity of the vapor spraying from the air sterilizer and its cytotoxicity in condensed form on human cell lines (HaCaT, BEAS-2B, and THP-1). Against the test organisms, which comprised five bacterial strains (Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhimurium) and one fungal strain (Candida albicans), the air sterilizer exhibited relatively high antimicrobial activities ranging from 10.89 to 73.98% following 1 and 3 hr of vapor spraying, which were notably time-dependent. Importantly, cytotoxicity assessments on human cells indicated no significant harmful effect even at a 1.0% concentration. Comprehensive safety evaluations included morphological observations, gene expression (Bcl-2, Bax) tests, and FACS analysis of intracellular ROS levels. Consistent with previous cytotoxicity findings, these estimates demonstrated no significant changes, highlighting the air sterilizer's safety and antimicrobial activities. In a simulated 20-hr operation within an indoor environment, the air sterilizer not only showed an 89.4% removal of total bacteria but also a 100.0% removal of Escherichia sp. and fungi. This research outlines the potential of the developed electrolytic salt catalyst air sterilizer to effectively remove indoor microbial pollutants without compromising human safety, underscoring the solution that it offers for improving indoor air quality.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.88-98
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• 2024

This study provides basic data on the growth and production of seedlings produced in plant factories with artificial lighting by comparing seedling quality, growth and fruit characteristics, and production after transplanting cucumber seedlings according to environmental differences between plant factories with artificial lighting and conventional nurseries in greenhouse. The control group consisted of greenhouse seedlings (GH) grown in the conventional nursery before transplanting. Plant factory to greenhouse seedlings (PG) were grown for 9 days in a plant factory with artificial lighting and for 13 days in an conventional nursery. Plant factory seedlings (PF) were grown in a plant factory with artificial lighting for 22 days until planting. In terms of seedling quality, PFs had the highest relative growth rate and compactness and the best root zone development. After transplanting PFs tended to grow faster, the first harvest date was 2 days earlier than that of GHs, and the growing season ended 1 day earlier. The female flower flowering rate of the PFs was high, and the fruit set rate was of PF the lowest. The production per unit area was highest for PFs at 10.23kg Performance index on the absorption basis, the most sensitive chlorophyll fluorescence parameter, was highest at 4.14 for PFs at 4 weeks after transplantation. By comparing the maximum quantum yield of primary PS II photochemistry and dissipated energy flux per PS II reaction center electron at 4 weeks after transplantation, PFs tended to be the least stressed. PFs had the best seedling quality, growth, and production after planting, and fruit quality was consistent with that of greenhouse seedlings. Therefore, plant factory seedlings can be used in the field.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.27 no.7
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• pp.924-942
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• 2021

The expansion of the Changjiang Diluted Water (CDW) plume during summer is known to be a major factor influencing phytoplankton diversity, community structure, and the regional marine environment of the northern East China Sea (ECS). The discharge of the CDW plume was very high in the summer of 2020, and cruise surveys and stationary monitoring were conducted to understand the dynamics of changes in environmental characteristics and the impact on phytoplankton diversity and community structure. A cruise survey was conducted from August 16 to 17, 2020, using R/V Eardo, and a stay survey at the Ieodo Ocean Research Station (IORS) from August 15 to 21, 2020, to analyze phytoplankton diversity and community structure. The southwestern part of the survey area exhibited low salinity and high chlorophyll a fluorescence under the influence of the CDW plume, whereas the southeastern part of the survey area presented high salinity and low chlorophyll a fluorescence under the influence of the Tsushima Warm Current (TWC). The total chlorophyll a concentrations of surface water samples from 12 sampling stations indicated that nano-phytoplankton (20-3 ㎛) and micro-phytoplankton (> 20 ㎛) were the dominant groups during the survey period. Only stations strongly influenced by the TWC presented approximately 50% of the biomass contributed by pico-phytoplankton (< 3 ㎛). The size distribution of phytoplankton in the surface water samples is related to nutrient supplies, and areas where high nutrient (nitrate) supplies were provided by the CDW plume displayed higher biomass contribution by micro-phytoplankton groups. A total of 45 genera of nano- and micro-phytoplankton groups were classified using morphological analysis. Among them, the dominant taxa were the diatoms Guinardia flaccida and Nitzschia spp. and the dinoflagellates Gonyaulax monacantha, Noctiluca scintillans, Gymnodinium spirale, Heterocapsa spp., Prorocentrum micans, and Tripos furca. The sampling stations affected by the TWC and low in nitrate concentrations presented high concentrations of photosynthetic pico-eukaryotes (PPE) and photosynthetic pico-prokaryotes (PPP). Most sampling stations had phosphate-limited conditions. Higher Synechococcus concentrations were enumerated for the sampling stations influenced by low-nutrient water of the TWC using flow cytometry. The NGS analysis revealed 29 clades of Synechococcus among PPP, and 11 clades displayed a dominance rate of 1% or more at least once in one sample. Clade II was the dominant group in the surface water, whereas various clades (Clades I, IV, etc.) were found to be the next dominant groups in the SCM layers. The Prochlorococcus group, belonging to the PPP, observed in the warm water region, presented a high-light-adapted ecotype and did not appear in the northern part of the survey region. PPE analysis resulted in 163 operational taxonomic units (OTUs), indicating very high diversity. Among them, 11 major taxa showed dominant OTUs with more than 5% in at least one sample, while Amphidinium testudo was the dominant taxon in the surface water in the low-salinity region affected by the CDW plume, and the chlorophyta was dominant in the SCM layer. In the warm water region affected by the TWC, various groups of haptophytes were dominant. Observations from the IORS also presented similar results to the cruise survey results for biomass, size distribution, and diversity of phytoplankton. The results revealed the various dynamic responses of phytoplankton influenced by the CDW plume. By comparing the results from the IORS and research cruise studies, the study confirmed that the IORS is an important observational station to monitor the dynamic impact of the CDW plume. In future research, it is necessary to establish an effective use of IORS in preparation for changes in the ECS summer environment and ecosystem due to climate change.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.64 no.1
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• pp.11-19
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• 1984

Potted, germinating Pinus rigida ${\times}$ P. taeda seedlings were inoculated with Pisolithus tinctorius (Pt) ectomycorrhizal fungus to test the effectiveness of Pt in relation to organic amendment and changes in soil fertility and soil texture. Pt was cultured as mycelia in vermiculite-peat moss mixture with nutrients and added to sterilized pot soils with or without organic amendment (fully fermented compost) at three soil texture levels (sand, loamy sand, and sandy loam) in a factorial design. Plants were grown in a greenhouse for 4 months and harvested to compare their growth with non-mycorrhizal plants and plants infected by natural fungi. Regardless of sod texture, soil fertility, or organic amendment, seedlings inoculated with Pt were better in dry weight and height than non-mycorrhizal plants or those infected by natural fungi. An exception was observed in the most fertile soil (0.075% N and 1.32% organic matter content in sandy loam with organic amendment), where non-mycorrhizal plants were slightly bigger (8%) and heavier (18%) than Pt-inoculated plants. In over-all average, Pt-inoculated seedlings were 30% taller and 107% heavier than those infected by natural fungi and 31 % taller and 60% heavier than non-mycorrhizal plants. Growth stimulation of seedlings by Pt was more pronounced in less fertile sand soil when organic was not amended. Mycorrhizal frequency of Pt (% of mycorrhizal root tips) was reduced to about half (from 84 to 33% in sandy loam and from 77 to 40% in loamy sand) by organic amendment, while that of natural fungi was not significantly affected. Severe nitrogen deficiency was observed in the needles of non-mycorrhizal plants (1.38% N), while both Pt-inoculated plants (1.68% N) and those infected by natural fungi (1.89% N) did not develop symptom, suggesting an active role of mycorrhizae in absorption of soil nitrogen. Top to root ratio increased with organic amendment to non-mycorrhizal plants, but was not significantly affected by fungal treatment. It was concluded from this study that relative effectiveness of Pt was determined by soil fertility. Organic amendment to less fertile sand soil increased effectiveness of Pt, while the same amendment to more fertile loamy sand and sandy loam decreased effectiveness of Pt. Benefits of Pt mycorrhizae would be expected most either when organic was not added to the soil, or when soil nutrients were not abundant.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.13-26
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• 1968

To establish the most efficient method of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilization in paddy rice a series of internationally coordinated research using $N^{15}\;P^{32}$ isotopes were carried out from the year 1962 through 1967, supervised by the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Atomic Energy in Agriculture under the auspicies of FAO, UN. In Korea College of Agriculture, Seoul National University had been participated in the Coordinated Research Programme from the year 1963 through the last year, arid the results obtained through the six years' researches are summarized as follows: 1. In the application of superphosphate broadcasting or placement at the surface of paddy as basal dressing was most efficient. 2. Split or late application of superphosphate did not affect the grain yield of the rice, but its efficiency in the rice plant uptake was less than in the case of basal dressing of whole amounts. 3. The contents of available soil phoshorus of the experimental sites in Korea were above 60 ppm, and the efficiency of phosphorus utilization of the rice from the fertilizer was approximately 10 per cent. The grain yield response of the rice to phosphorus application in Korea was rather small comparing to those of other countries. 4. The nitrogen uptake of the rice plants from the fertilizer was most efficient when the fertilizer was applied at the time of ear prime growth. However, the most efficient utilization of nitrogen did not necessarily accompany the maximum yield of the rice and basic application of adequate amount of nitrogen was required to secure proper number of panicles. 5. In the application of nitrogenous fertilizer shallow placement at 5 cm depth was most efficient. The effect of split application of nitrogen was not so noticeable. It seemed due to the fact that total application amount of nitrogen, 60 kg N/ha, was smaller than that of usual dosage in Korea. 6. The efficiency of nitrogen utilization of the rice from the fertilizer was about 40 percent in Korea, and the yield reponse of the rice plant to nitrogen application was remarkable comparing to those of other countries, showing the marked differences in the fertilizer efficiency and grain yield according to the application method. 7. The nitrogen uptake of the rice plant was not likely affected by the time and the rate of phosphorus application whereas the efficiency of phosphorus utilization was affected to some degree by the method of nitrogen application.