• Resources Recycling
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.69-77
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• 2015

Heap bioleaching for detoxification of mine tailings is a promising technology; however, long-term studies that aim to understand the potential of this process are scarce. Therefore, this study assesses the feasibility of column bioleaching as an alternative technology for treatment of mine tailings with high concentrations of arsenic during a long-term experiment (436 days). To accomplish this objective, we designed a 350-mm plastic column that was packed with 750 g of mine tailings and inoculated with an acidophilic bacterial culture composed of A. thiooxidans and A. ferrooxidans. Redox potential, pH, ferric ion generation, and arsenic concentration of the off-solution were continuously monitored to determine the efficiency of the technology. After 436 days, we obtained up to 70% arsenic removal. However, several drops in removal rates were observed during the process; this was attributed to the harmful effect of arsenic on the bacteria consortium. We expect that this article will serve as a technical note for further studies on heap bioleaching of mine tailings.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.6 no.8
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• pp.817-824
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• 1996

Removal of Cu impurities on Si substrates using remote H-plasma was investigated. Si substrates were intentionally contaminated by 1ppm ${CuCI}_{2}$, standard chemical solution. To determine the optimal process condition, remote H-plasma cleaning was conducted varying the parameters of rf power, cleaning time and remoteness(the distance between the center of plasma and the surface of Si substrate). After remote H-plasma cleaning was conducted, Si surfaces were analysed by TXRF(total x-ray reflection fluorescence) and AFM(atomic force microscope). The concentration of Cu impurity was reduced by more than a factor of 10 and its RMS roughness was improved by more than 30% after remote H-plasma cleaning. TXRF analysis results show that remote H-plasma cleaning is effective in eliminating Cu impurity on Si surface when it is performed under the optimal process condition. AFM analysis results also verifies that remote H-plasma cleaning makes no damage to the Si surface. The deposition mechanism of Cu impurity may be explained by the redox potential(oxidation-reduction reaction potential) theory. Based on the XPS analysis results we could draw a conclusion that Cu impurities on the Si substrate are removed together with the oxide by a "lift-off" mechanism when the chemical oxide( which forms when Cu ions are adsorbed on the Si surface) is etched off by reactive hydrogen atoms.gen atoms.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.296-302
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• 2024

An ionic conjugated polymer-iron (III) chloride composite was prepared via in-situ quaternization polymerization of 2-ethynylpyridine (2EP) using iron (III) chloride. Various instrumental methods revealed that the chemical structure of the resulting conjugated polymer (P2EP)-iron (III) chloride composite has the conjugated backbone system having the designed pyridinium ferric chloride complexes. The polymerization mechanism was assumed to be that the activated triple bond of 2-ethynylpyridinium salt, formed at the first reaction step, is easily susceptible to the step-wise polymerization, followed by the same propagation step that contains the propagating macroanion and monomeric 2-ethynylpyridinium salts. The electro-optical and electrochemical properties of the P2EP-FeCl₃ composite were studied. In the UV-visible spectra of P2EP-FeCl₃ composite, the absorption maximum values were 480 nm and 533 nm, and the PL maximum value was 598 nm. The cyclic voltammograms of the P2EP-FeCl₃ composite exhibited irreversible electrochemical behavior between the oxidation and reduction peaks. The kinetics of the redox process of composites were found to be very close to a diffusion-controlled process from the plot of the oxidation current density versus the scan rate.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.79-89
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• 1995

Changes of microbial activity and physicochemical environment during composting of papermill sludge(PMS) in the pilot plant equipped with an agitated bed reactor were monitored for establishing the efficient composting system. Microbial activity determined as the evolution of $CO_2$ increased for the first 10 days after introduction of PMS to the reactor and decreased thereafter. Population changes of microorganisms in the reactor-PMS were not typical as in windrow system. The ratio of thermophilic bacteria to mesophilic bacteria, however, increased slowly even 23 days after introduction. Temperature of PMS increased rapidly from the first day and reached $62^{\circ}C$ at 7 days after introduction and decreased slowly thereafter. The acidity of PMS was pH 6.8 initially, increased to pH 8.0 after 7 days and decreased to pH 7.4 after 23 days. Redox potential(Eh) of PMS was -320mV at the beginning of composting, but it was increased with time to reach -15mV after 23 days composting. However, Eh of PMS pre-sterilized before measurement was average 50mV, regardless of composting periods indicating the major role of microorganisms during composting process. Water content of PMS was 67% initially and decreased to about 50% after 23 days composting in the reactor. Less than 13 days-old compost inhibited growth of radish in the container mixture with bed soil. Based on statistical analysis of microbial and physicochemical parameters of PMS during composting, an equation was developed for determining compost maturity. A number of experiments using various organic wastes are required before application of the formular to the practical use.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.327-337
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• 1999

Background: Reactive oxygen species are involved in multi-stage process of carcinogenesis. The moot of cancer cell lines and cancer cells in tumor tissue produce reactive oxygen species and on the other hand, the activities of catalase, Mn- and CuZn-superoxide dismutase in tumor cells are usually low. These persistent oxidative stress in tumor tissue facilitates tumor invasion and metastasis. 12-kDa thioredoxin, which regulates the intracellular redox potential with glutathione and glutaredoxin is involved in cell activation, proliferation, differentiation and redox-mediated apoptosis. It is also purified as 14-kDa and 10-kDa eooinophilic cytotoxic enhancing factor(ECEF) from human histiocytic cell(U937) and 10-kDa ECEF has more than 20 times eosinophilic stimulation activity than 14-kDa ECEF. It has been reported that adult T-cell leukemia, squamous cell carcinoma of uterine cervix, and hepatocellular carcinoma show increased amounts of human thioredoxin and thioredoxin mRNA is increased in lung cancer. In this study, we investigated the expression of conventional antioxidant enzymes such as catalase, CuZn-SOD, and glutathione peroxidase and thioredoxin in lung cancer tissue compared to adjacent normal lung tissue and the induction of thioredoxin in macrophage cells after treatment of oxidative stress and endotoxin Methods: We measured the amount of conventional antioxidant enzymes such as catalase, CuZn-SOD, and glutathione peroxidase and thioredoxin in lung cancer tissue compared to adjacent normal lung tissue by immunoblot analysis and the induction of thioredoxin in mouse monocyte-macrophage cells(RAW 264.7) by treatment of 5 ${\mu}M$ menadione and 1 ${\mu}g/ml$ endotoxin Results: On immunoblot analysis, the expression of 12-kDa thioredoxin was increased in lung cancer tissue compared to paired normal lung tissue. but the expression of catalase and CuZn-SOD were decreased in lung cancer tissue compared to paired normal tissue and the expression of glutathione peroxidase in lung cancer was variable. The expression of truncated thioredoxin was also increased in lung cancer. When mouse monocyte-macrophage cells were treated with 5 ${\mu}M$ menadione and 1 ${\mu}g/ml$ endotoxin, the expression of thioredoxin was peaked at 12 hrs and sustained to 48 hrs. Conclusion: In contrast with other conventional antioxidants, the expression of 12-kDa and truncated thioredoxin in lung cancer were increased and it is closely associated with persistent oxidative stress in tumor microenvironment. Considering especially the biological functions of truncated thioredoxin, the increased amount of truncated thioredoxin has significant role in tumor growth through cell proliferation.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information and Communication Engineering
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• v.10 no.9
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• pp.1663-1670
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• 2006

Single crystal Fe thin films were grown directly onto n-Si(111) substrates by pulsed electrodeposition. Cyclic Voltammogram(CV) indicated that the $Fe^{2+}/n-Si(111)$ interface shows a good diode behavior by forming a Schottky barrier. From Mott-Schottky (MS) relation, it is found that the flat-band potential of n-Si(111) substrate and equilibrium redox potential of $Fet^{2+}$ ions are -0.526V and -0.316V, respectively. The nucleation and growth kinetics at the initial reaction stages of Fe/n-Si(111) substraste was studied by current transients. Current transients measurements have indicated that the deposition process starts via instantaneous nucleation and 3D diffusion limited growth. After the more deposition, the deposition flux of Fe ions was saturated with increase of deposition time. from the as-deposited sample obtained using the potential pulse of 1.4V and 300Hz, it is found that Fe nuclei grows to three dimensional(3D) islands with the average size of about 100nm in early deposition stages. As the deposition time increases, the sizes of Fe nuclei increases progressively and by a coalescence of the nuclei, a continuous Fe films grow on the Si surface. In this case, the Fe films show a highly oriented columnar structure and x-ray diffraction patterns reveal that the phase ${\alpha}-Fe$ grows on the n-Si(111) substrates.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.18 no.11
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• pp.1513-1520
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• 2008

The 4-Hydroxynonenal (HNE) affects vascular dysfunctions probably through the interruption of the cellular redox balance. To better understand vascular abnormalities resulting from the accumulation of HNE, we delineated mechanism by which mitochondrial apoptosis occurs in the YPEN-1 endothelial cells. HNE treatment led to the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (${\delta}{\Psi}_m$), resulting in the release of cytochrome c. Data showed decreased Bcl-2 and increased Bax protein levels in HNE-treated cells. NAC, a reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenger, and penicillamine, the peroxynitrite scavenger, blocked HNE-mediated ROS generation, thereby thwarting the cytochrome c release and apoptosis. The treatment of the cells with zVAD-fmk, a broad range caspase inhibitor did not suppress HNE-induced apoptosis, suggesting that the apoptosis might be the possibility of caspase-independent process. Our findings delineate the underlying mechanism of the HNE induced endothelial apoptosis by triggering depolarization of mitochondria membrane potential that can lead to the deterioration of vasculature homeostasis and subsequent vascular dysfunction with aging.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.38 no.5 s.174
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• pp.513-523
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• 2005

The contamination of soils and groundwaters in the Dalcheon mine area, Ulsan, is investigated, and a natural attenuation capacity on redox and pH is evaluated. Arsenopyrite, the major source of arsenic pollution in the Dalcheon mine area, is contained up to $2\%$ in tailings. Furthermore, As-bearing minerals such as loellingite, nicolite, rammelsbergite, gersdorffite cobaltite and pyrite are also source of arsenic contamination, which show various concentration of arsenic each other. Surface of pyrite and arsenopyrite in tailings partly oxidized into Fe-arsenates and Fe-oxides, which means a progressive weathering process. There is no relationship between pH and arsenic content in groundwaters, otherwise Eh and arsenic concentration in unsaturated and saturated groundwater shows positive relationship. RMB (Red Mud Bauxite) could be useful as a trigger on natural attenuation due to superior ability of removal capacity of arsenic when contaminated soil and groundwater in the Dalcheon mine area are remediated.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.267-272
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• 2009

During a dilute acid hydrolysis, degradation products are formed or liberated by pre-treatment of lignocelluloses depend on both the biomass and the pretreatment conditions such as temperature, time, pressure, pH, redox conditions, and addition of catalysts. In lignocellulosic biomass, sugars can be degraded to furfural which is formed from pentoses and 5-hydroxymethulfurfural (HMF) from hexoses. 5-HMF can be further degraded, forming levulinic acid and formic acid. Acetate is liberated from hemicellulose during hydrolysis. Some decomposed compounds hinder the subsequent bioconversion of the solubilized sugars into desired products, reducing conversion yields and rates during fermentation. In the present work, samples of rapeseed strawwere hydrolyzed to study the optimal pretreatment condition by assessing yields of sugars and decomposed products obtained under different reaction conditions ($H_2SO_4$ 0.5-1.25% (w/w), reaction time 0-20 min and temperature range 150-220 C). A careful analytical investigation of acid hydrolyzate of rapeseed straw has not yet been undertaken, and a well-closed mass balance for the hydrolyzate in general is necessary to verify the productivity and economic predictions for this process.

• Journal of the Optical Society of Korea
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.705-710
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• 2015

The fabrication process of thin boron-doped nanocrystalline diamond (B-NCD) microelectrodes on fused silica single mode optical fiber cladding has been investigated. The B-NCD films were deposited on the fibers using Microwave Plasma Assisted Chemical Vapor Deposition (MW PA CVD) at glass substrate temperature of 475 ℃. We have obtained homogenous, continuous and polycrystalline surface morphology with high sp³ content in B-NCD films and mean grain size in the range of 100-250 nm. The films deposited on the glass reference samples exhibit high refractive index (n=2.05 at λ=550 nm) and low extinction coefficient. Furthermore, cyclic voltammograms (CV) were recorded to determine the electrochemical window and reaction reversibility at the B-NCD fiber-based electrode. CV measurements in aqueous media consisting of 5 mM K₃[Fe(CN)₆] in 0.5 M Na₂SO₄ demonstrated a width of the electrochemical window up to 1.03 V and relatively fast kinetics expressed by a redox peak splitting below 500 mV. Moreover, thanks to high-n B-NCD overlay, the coated fibers can be also used for enhancing the sensitivity of long-period gratings (LPGs) induced in the fiber. The LPG is capable of measuring variations in refractive index of the surrounding liquid by tracing the shift in resonance appearing in the transmitted spectrum. Possible combined CV and LPG-based measurements are discussed in this work.