• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.31 no.12
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• pp.657-664
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• 2021

To build a highly active photocatalytic system with high efficiency and low cast of TiO₂, we report a facile hydrothermal technique to synthesize Ag₂Se-nanoparticle-modified TiO₂ composites. The physical characteristics of these samples are analyzed by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray analysis, transmission electron microscopy and BET analysis. The XRD and TEM results show us that TiO₂ is coupled with small sized Ag₂Se nanoplate, which has an average grain size of about 30 nm in diameter. The agglomeration of Ag₂Se nanoparticles is improved by the hydrothermal process, with dispersion improvement of the Ag₂Se@TiO₂ nanocomposite. Texbrite BA-L is selected as a simulated dye to study the photodegradation behavior of as-prepared samples under visible light radiation. A significant enhancement of about two times the photodegradation rate is observed for the Ag₂Se@TiO₂ nanocomposite compared with the control sample P25 and as-prepared TiO₂. Long-term stability of Ag₂Se@TiO₂ is observed via ten iterations of recycling experiments under visible light irradiation.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.77-88
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• 2022

This study aims to understand the relationship between the distribution of fish species in the two water ecosystems and the habitat factors according to the survey period targeting Gwanggyo Lake Park in the city. There are studies on the appearance and distribution of species by applying eDNA to freshwater ecosystems. However, in the domestic, streams are the target, and studies on the relationship between species distribution and habitat environment in two water environments are lacking. We conducted to analyze the species list and relationship with habitat factors using eDNA research in May and October at 21 points in Gwanggyo Lake Park, Suwon City, which were connected to lakes and streams. As a result, there was no species difference in the water environment according to the survey period. However, the total number of reads during the spawning season(May) was 3,126,482, which was more than double that after the spawning season(October). Tolerant species appeared in Woncheon Lake with a slow or stagnant flow, but there was no significant correlation between species and habitat factors depending on the survey period. On the other hand, intermediate and sensitive species appeared in the Woncheon stream with high flow. There was a significant correlation between the low temperature during the spawning season and the high dissolved oxygen content after the spawning season(P<0.001, Tem.: 20.7±2.6℃, DO: 8.6±1.7). It is expected that environmental DNA will be used to survey species and suggest monitoring methods according to the survey period.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.32 no.9
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• pp.1195-1208
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• 2022

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have potential applications in medicine, photocatalysis, agriculture, and cosmetic fields due to their unique physicochemical properties and strong antimicrobial activity. Here, AgNPs were synthesized using actinobacterial SL19 strain, isolated from acidic forest soil in Poland, and confirmed by UV-vis and FTIR spectroscopy, TEM, and zeta potential analysis. The AgNPs were polydispersed, stable, spherical, and small, with an average size of 23 nm. The FTIR study revealed the presence of bonds characteristic of proteins that cover nanoparticles. These proteins were then studied by using liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) and identified with the highest similarity to hypothetical protein and porin with molecular masses equal to 41 and 38 kDa, respectively. Our AgNPs exhibited remarkable antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The combined, synergistic action of these synthesized AgNPs with commercial antibiotics (ampicillin, kanamycin, streptomycin, and tetracycline) enabled dose reductions in both components and increased their antimicrobial efficacy, especially in the case of streptomycin and tetracycline. Furthermore, the in vitro activity of the AgNPs on human cancer cell lines (MCF-7, A375, A549, and HepG2) showed cancer-specific sensitivity, while the genotoxic activity was evaluated by Ames assay, which revealed a lack of mutagenicity on the part of nanoparticles in Salmonella Typhimurium TA98 strain. We also studied the impact of the AgNPs on the catalytic and photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange (MO). The decomposition of MO was observed by a decrease in intensity of absorbance within time. The results of our study proved the easy, fast, and efficient synthesis of AgNPs using acidophilic actinomycete SL19 strain and demonstrated the remarkable potential of these AgNPs as anticancer and antibacterial agents. However, the properties and activity of such particles can vary by biosynthesized batch.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.438-452
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• 2022

For cuboid and ellipsoid crystallites of LiFePO₄ powders, by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and microscopic (TEM) studies, it is possible to determine the anisotropic parameters of the crystallite size distribution functions. These parameters were used to describe the cathode rate capability within the model of averaging the diffusion coefficient D over the length of the crystallite columns along the [010] direction. A LiFePO₄ powder was chosen for testing the developed model, consisting of big cuboid and small ellipsoid crystallites (close to them). When analyzing the parts of big and small rate capabilities, the fitting values D = 2.1 and 0.3 nm²/s were obtained for cuboids and ellipsoids, respectively. When analyzing the results of cyclic voltammetry using the Randles-Sevcik equation and the total area of projections of electrode crystallites on their (010) plane, slightly different values were obtained, D = 0.9 ± 0.15 and 0.5 ± 0.15 nm²/s, respectively. We believe that these inconsistencies can be considered quite acceptable, since both methods of determining D have obvious sources of error. However, the developed method has a clearly lower systematic error due to the ability to actually take into account the shape and statistics of crystallites, and it is also useful for improving the accuracy of the Randles-Sevcik equation. It has also been demonstrated that the shape engineering of crystallites, among other tasks, can increase the cathode capacity by 15% by increasing their size correlation coefficients.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Industry Convergence
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• v.25 no.6_2
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• pp.1055-1062
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• 2022

In this study, the mechanical properties of 80% cold-rolled austenitic 316L stainless steel were evaluated using specimens subjected to reverse transformation at 500-750℃ for 20 minutes and reverse transformation at 700℃ for 2-60 minutes. Also, for the elastic wave obtained from the tensile test, the dominant frequency according to the reverse transformation condition was investigated by time-frequency analysis. The SEM image of the 80% cold-rolled material was transformed into martensite and showed line and cross shapes. The TEM image showed that line shapes were shown at the grain, and grain boundary of martensite. The higher the heat treatment temperature and the longer time, the larger the grain. Tensile strength decreased as the heat treatment temperature and time increased, but elongation increased. Hardness was proportional to tensile strength. This is because the grain with different directions showed the same direction due to reverse transformation. The dominant frequency was decreased and then increased as the temperature and time increased. This is because the direction of the grain is different at a low temperature and the same direction is shown at a high temperature.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.492-498
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• 2022

N-doped Na₂Ti₆O₁₃@TiO₂ (denoted as N-NTO@TiO₂) composites are successfully synthesized using a simple two-step process: 1) ball-milling of TiO₂ with Na₂CO₃ followed by heat treatment at 900℃; 2) mixing of the prepared Na₂Ti₆O₁₃ with titanium isopropoxide and calcining with urea at 500℃. The prepared composites are characterized using XRD, SEM, TEM, FTIR, and BET. The N-NTO@TiO₂ composites exhibit well-defined crystalline and anatase TiO₂ with exposed {101} facets on the external surface. Moreover, dopant N atoms are uniformly distributed over a relatively large area in the lattice of the composites. Under visible light irradiation, ~51% of the aqueous methylene blue is photodegraded by N-NTO@TiO₂ composites, which is higher than the values shown by other samples because of the coupling effects of the hybridization of NTO and TiO₂, N-doping, and presence of anatase TiO₂ with exposed {101} facets.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.33 no.7
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• pp.895-908
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• 2023

Disposal of waste containing heavy metals into the environment is a major threat to human health and can result in toxic or chronic poisoning in aquatic life. In the current study, metal-resistant Raoultella ornithinolytica was isolated from metal-contaminated samples collected from the Tanjaro River, located southwest of Sulaymaniyah, Iraq. R. ornithinolytica was identified by partial amplification of 16S rRNA. The uptake potency of heavy metals was assessed using inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) and indicated that R. ornithinolytica removed 67, 89, 63.4, 55.6, 56.5, 65, and 61.9% of Cd, Pb, Cr, Ni, Zn, Co, and Fe, respectively. These removal rates were influenced by temperature, pH, and contact time; at 35℃ and pH 5 with a change in the incubation time, the reduction rate improved from 89 to 95% for Pb, from 36.4 to 45% for Cu, and from 55.6 to 64% for Ni. Gene analysis indicated that R. ornithinolytica contained pbrT, chrB, nccA, iroN, and czcA genes, but the pcoD gene was absent. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) images showed evidence of metal ion binding on the cell wall surface with different rates of binding. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) detected different mechanisms for metal particle localization; cell surface adsorption was the main mechanism for Pb, Zn, and Co uptake, while Cd, Ni, and Fe were accumulated inside the cell. The current study describes, for the first time, the isolation of R. ornithinolytica from metal-contaminated water, which can be used as an eco-friendly biological expedient for the remediation and detoxification of metals from contaminated environments.

• Journal of the Korean Magnetics Society
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.61-68
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• 1992

Structural, magnetic and magneto-optical(1.0~3.2eV) properties of rare earth (Ce, Pr, Eu), transition metal(Ni, Co), and Al substituted polycrystalline Ba ferrite films grown by rf sputtering have been investigated. TEM studies revealed that crystal grains in the films were reduced in size from several hundred nm to the order of 1 nm with the decrease of rf power density during sputtering. By substituting Al, square hysteresis loops have successfully been obtained. It has been found that Niions strongly enhances Faraday rotation of the films in the visible range. It has been confirmed that Co ions also strongly enhances Faraday rotation of the films in the near infrared. En- hancement in Faraday rotation by Ce, Pr, and Eu ions has not been observed. The origin of the enhancement in magnetic and magneto-optical properties of the films is discussed.

• Journal of the Korean Vacuum Society
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• v.7 no.s1
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• pp.57-77
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• 1998

Heteroepitaxial $Y_2O_3$ films were grown on a Si(111) substrate by ionized cluster beam deposition(ICBD) in ultra high vacuum, and its qualities such as crystllitnity, film stress, and morphological characteristics were investigated using the various measurement methods. The crystallinity was investigated by x-ray diffraction (XRD) and reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED). Interface crystallinity was also examined by Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy(RBS) channeling, transmission electron microscopy(TEM). The stress of the films was measured by RBS channeling and XRD. Surface and interface morphological characteristics were investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and x-ray scattering method. Comparing the interface with the surface characteristics, we can conclude that many defects at the interface region were generated by interface reaction between the yttrium metal and SiO2 layer and by ion beam characteristic such as shallow implantation, so that they influenced the film qualities. The film quality was dominantly depended on the characteristic temperature range. In the temperature range from $500^{\circ}C$ to $600^{\circ}C$, the crystallinity was mainly improved and the surface roughness was drastically decreased. On the other hand, in the temperature range from $600^{\circ}C$ to $700^{\circ}C$, the compressive stress and film density were dominantly increased, and the island size was more decreased. Also the surface morphological shape was transformed from elliptical shape to triangular. The film stress existed dominantly at the interface region due to the defects generation.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.65 no.3
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• pp.652-663
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• 2023

The rumen fluids contain a wide range of bacteria, protozoa, fungi, and viruses. The various ruminal microorganisms in the rumen provide nutrients by fermenting the forage they eat. During metabolic processes, microorganisms present in the rumen release diverse vesicles during the fermentation process. Therefore, in this study, we confirmed the function of rumen extracellular vesicles (EVs) and their interaction with the host. We confirmed the structure of the rumen EVs by transmission electron microscope (TEM) and the size of the particles using nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA). Rumen EVs range in size from 100 nm to 400 nm and are composed of microvesicles, microparticles, and ectosomes. Using the Caenorhabditis elegans smart animal model, we verified the interaction between the host and rumen EVs. Exposure of C. elegans to rumen EVs did not significantly enhance longevity, whereas exposure to the pathogenic bacteria Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Staphylococcus aureus significantly increased lifespan. Furthermore, transcriptome analysis showed gene expression alterations in C. elegans exposed to rumen EVs, with significant changes in the metabolic pathway, fatty acid degradation, and biosynthesis of cofactors. Our study describes the effect of rumen EV interactions with the host and provides novel insights for discovering biotherapeutic agents in the animal industry.