• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.55 no.6
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• pp.661-669
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• 2022

The need for miniaturization, high efficiency, and green energy resources as an energy storage device through the development of various electronic device has emerged. Accordingly, nanomaterials with excellent electrochemical properties, such as graphene and graphene hybrids, are attracting attention as promising materials. In particular, in the electric vehicle industry, cost reduction of secondary batteries is a key factor that can determine the spread of related industries, and it is most important to analyze R&D trends for battery material technology and respond to future technological development directions. Therefore, in this study, we tried to suggest a direction for R&D activities in the future by analyzing patent trends for graphene anode material technology for secondary batteries and deriving implications. As a result, in the case of anode material technology, the proportion of foreigners in the US and European patent markets was higher than in the Korean and Japanese patent markets, which means that the US and European marketability is high. In addition, Japanese applicants are filing high-level applications not only in the Japanese patent market but also in other countries suggests that Japan is leading the technology in this field. Lastly, the proportion of research institutes in the patent market of Korea and the US remains high compared to that of Japan and Europe, indicating that the commercialization of technology is still slow in those countries. Therefore research institutes and companies in Korea will have to establish their own strategies for developing and securing materials using the results of patent trends in major countries and major companies analyzed in this study.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.101-112
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• 2007

In order to examine the short-term variations of phytoplankton and heterotrophic protozoa community structures with bloom events, water samples were collected every other day at one site in the coastal water off Incheon, Korea, from August 15-September 30, 2001. $Chlorophyll-{\alpha}$ concentrations varied widely from 1.8 to $19.3\;{\mu}g\;l^{-1}$ with the appearances of two major peaks of $Chlorophyll-{\alpha}$ concentration during the study period. Size-fractionated $Chlorophyll-{\alpha}$ concentration showed that net-size fraction ($>20\;{\mu}m$) comprised over 80% of total $Chlorophyll-{\alpha}$ during the first and second bloom periods, nano-size fraction ($3{\sim}20\;{\mu}m$) comprised average 42% during the pre- (before the first bloom) and post-bloom periods (after the second bloom), and pico- size fraction ($<3\;{\mu}m$) comprised over 50% during inter-bloom periods (i.e. between the first and second bloom periods). Dominant phytoplankton community was shifted from autotrophic nanoflagellates to diatom, diatom to picophytoplankton, picophytoplankton to diatom, and then diatom to autotrophic nanoflagellates, during the pre-, the first, the inter, the second, and the post-bloom periods, respectively. During the blooms, Chaetoceros pseudocrinitus and Eucampia zodiacus were dominant diatom species composed with more than 50% of total diatom. Carbon biomass of heterotrophic protozoa ranged from 8.2 to $117.8\;{\mu}gC\;l^{-1}$ and showed the highest biomass soon after the peak of the first and second blooms. The relative contribution of each group of the heterotrophic protozoa showed differences between the bloom period and other periods. Ciliates and HDF were dominant during the first and second bloom periods, with a contribution of more than 80% of the heterotrophic protozoan carbon biomass. Especially, different species of HDF, thecate and athecate HDF, were dominant during the first and the second bloom periods, respectively. Interestingly, Noctiluca scintillans appeared to be one of the key organisms to extinguish the first bloom. Therefore, our study suggests that heterotrophic protozoa could be a key player to control the phytoplankton community structure and biomass during the study period.

• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.427-446
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• 2008

A review on the papers published in the Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering in 2006 has been accomplished. Focus has been put on current status of research in the aspect of heating, cooling, ventilation, sanitation and building environments. The conclusions are as follows. (1) The research trends of fluid engineering have been surveyed as groups of general fluid flow, fluid machinery and piping, etc. New research topics include micro heat exchanger and siphon cooling device using nano-fluid. Traditional CFD and flow visualization methods were still popular and widely used in research and development. Studies about diffusers and compressors were performed in fluid machinery. Characteristics of flow and heat transfer and piping optimization were studied in piping systems. (2) The papers on heat transfer have been categorized into heat transfer characteristics, heat exchangers, heat pipes, and two-phase heat transfer. The topics on heat transfer characteristics in general include thermal transport in a cryo-chamber, a LCD panel, a dryer, and heat generating electronics. Heat exchangers investigated include pin-tube type, plate type, ventilation air-to-air type, and heat transfer enhancing tubes. The research on a reversible loop heat pipe, the influence of NCG charging mass on heat transport capacity, and the chilling start-up characteristics in a heat pipe were reported. In two-phase heat transfer area, the studies on frost growth, ice slurry formation and liquid spray cooling were presented. The studies on the boiling of R-290 and the application of carbon nanotubes to enhance boiling were noticeable in this research area. (3) Many studies on refrigeration and air conditioning systems were presented on the practical issues of the performance and reliability enhancement. The air conditioning system with multi indoor units caught attention in several research works. The issues on the refrigerant charge and the control algorithm were treated. The systems with alternative refrigerants were also studied. Carbon dioxide, hydrocarbons and their mixtures were considered and the heat transfer correlations were proposed. (4) Due to high oil prices, energy consumption have been attentioned in mechanical building systems. Research works have been reviewed in this field by grouping into the research on heat and cold sources, air conditioning and cleaning research, ventilation and fire research including tunnel ventilation, and piping system research. The papers involve the promotion of efficient or effective use of energy, which helps to save energy and results in reduced environmental pollution and operating cost. (5) Studies on indoor air quality took a great portion in the field of building environments. Various other subjects such as indoor thermal comfort were also investigated through computer simulation, case study, and field experiment. Studies on energy include not only optimization study and economic analysis of building equipments but also usability of renewable energy in geothermal and solar systems.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.42 no.5
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• pp.423-433
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• 2009

Folate and vitamin $B_{12}$ are essential cofactors for homocysteine (Hcy) metabolism. Homocysteinemia has been related with cardiovascular and neurodegenerative disease. We examined the effect of folate and/or vitamin $B_{12}$ deficiency on biomarkers of one carbon metabolism in blood, liver and brain, and analyzed the correlation between vitamin biomarkers in mild and moderate homocysteinemia. In this study, Sprague-Dawley male rats (5 groups, n = 10) were fed folatesufficient diet (FS), folate-deficient diet (FD) with 0 or 3 g homocystine (FSH and FDH), and folate-/vitamin $B_{12}$-deficient diet with 3 g homocystine (FDHCD) for 8 weeks. The FDH diet induced mild homocysteinemia (plasma Hcy 17.41 ${\pm}$ 1.94 nmol/mL) and the FDHCD diet induced moderate homocysteinemia (plasma Hcy 44.13 ${\pm}$ 2.65 nmol/mL), respectively. Although liver and brain folate levels were significantly lower compared with those values of rats fed FS or FSH (p < 0.001, p < 0.01 respectively), there were no significant differences in folate levels in liver and brain among the rats fed FD, FDH and FDHCD diet. However, rats fed FDHCD showed higher plasma folate levels (126.5 ${\pm}$ 9.6 nmol/L) compared with rats fed FD and FDH (21.1 ${\pm}$ 1.4 nmol/L, 22.0 ${\pm}$ 2.2 nmol/L)(p < 0.001), which is the feature of "ethyl-folate trap"by vitamin $B_{12}$ deficiency. Plasma Hcy was correlated with hepatic folate (r = -0.641, p < 0.01) but not with plasma folate or brain folate in this experimental condition. However, as we eliminated FDHCD group during correlation test, plasma Hcy was correlated with plasma folate (r = -0.581, p < 0.01), hepatic folate (r = -0.684, p < 0.01) and brain folate (r = -0.321, p < 0.05). Hepatic S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) level was lower in rats fed FD, FDH and FDHCD than in rats fed FS and FSH (p < 0.001, p < 0.001 respectively) and hepatic S-adenosylhomocysteine (SAH) level was significantly higher in those groups. The SAH level in brain was also significantly increased in rats fed FDHCD (p < 0.05). However, brain SAM level was not affected by folate and/or vitamin $B_{12}$ deficiency. This result suggests that dietary folate- and vitamin B12-deficiency may inhibit methylation in brain by increasing SAH rather than decreasing SAM level, which may be closely associated with impaired cognitive function in nutritional homocysteinemia.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.47-56
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• 2008

Temporal changes of metal solubility have been repeatedly observed in soils equilibrated with metal salt solutions. This phenomenon is known as aging, yet factors that affect the degree of metal aging remain largely unexamined. In this study, we compared the extent of aging on metal partitioning depending on soil, metal, and metal loading. Five soils spiked with four levels of Cd (2.5-20 mg ${kg}^{-1}$), Cu, and Zn (50-400 mg ${kg}^{-1}$) salt solutions were aged in the laboratory up to 1 year. The partitioning coefficient ($K_d$) of each metal was calculated from the ratio of total to dissolved metal concentration in samples collected at times ranging from 1 day to 1 year. The highest $K_d$ values for Cd, Cu and Zn were recorded in a Histosol, Andisol, and fine-textured Alfisol, respectively, whereas the lowest $K_d$ was recorded for an Oxisol and coarsetextured Alfisol. For all soils, a pattern of increasing Kd with aging was evident for Cd and Zn, but not Cu. Rapid Cu sorption was limited when dissolved organic matter was high in soils. In highly-retentive soils, $K_d$ values seemed to be insensitive to metal loading, although a longer period was required for the higher metal loadings to reach the same degree of metal aging as the lower loadings. In soils with low sorption capacity, the $K_d$ values were determined more by metal loading than by aging. Therefore, marked differences can be expected in the degree of metal aging in spiked soils by the soil type, metal and amount of metal added.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.302-307
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• 2014

To examine the trophic ecology of the ascidian Styela clava in an aquaculture system of Korea, stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes were analyzed monthly in S. clava, coarse ($>20{\mu}m$, CPOM) and fine particulate organic matters ($0.7<<20{\mu}m$, FPOM). CPOM (means: $-18.5{\pm}1.2$‰, $9.3{\pm}0.7$‰) were significantly higher ${\delta}^{13}C$ and ${\delta}^{15}N$ values than those ($-20.5{\pm}1.5$‰, $8.4{\pm}0.5$‰) of FPOM. S. clava had mean ${\delta}^{13}C$ and ${\delta}^{15}N$ values of $-18.9({\pm}1.7)$‰ and $11.6({\pm}0.7)$‰, respectively. S. clava were more similar to seasonal variations in ${\delta}^{13}C$ and ${\delta}^{15}N$ values of FPOM than those of CPOM, suggesting that they rely largely on the FPOM as a dietary source. In addition, our results displayed that the relative importance between CPOM and FPOM as dietary source for the ascidians can be changed according to the availability of each component in ambient environment, probably reflecting their feeding plasticity due to non-selective feeding irrespective of particle size. Finally, our results suggest that dynamics of pico- and nano-size plankton (i.e., FPOM) as an available nutritional source to S. clava should be effectively assessed to maintain and manage their sustainable aquaculture production.