• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• 제59권1호
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• pp.6-10
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• 2021

PEMFC(Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell) 고분자 막의 shorting 저항(Shorting Resistance, SR)은 고분자 막의 내구성에 관한 중요한 지표다. SR이 감소하면 shorting 전류(Shorting Current, SC)가 증가하여 내구성과 성능이 감소하고, SR이 약 0.1 kΩ·㎠ 이하가 되면 shorting이 발생하여 온도가 급상승하고 MEA(Membrane Electrode Assembly)를 연소시켜 스택 구동이 종료된다. Shorting 현상을 방지하기 위해서는 SR을 제어해야 하므로 SR에 영향을 주는 조건들에 대해서 연구하였다. SR 측정방법들에서도 차이가 있어서 DOE(Department of Energy)와 NEDO(New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization) 방법을 개선한 SR 측정법을 제시하였다. 상대습도와 온도, 셀 체결 압이 상승하면 SR이 감소함을 확인하였다. 고분자 막의 가속내구 평가과정에서 마지막 단계에서 SR이 0.1 kΩ·㎠ 이하로 급감해 수소투과전류밀도가 15 mA/㎠ 이상이 되었고, 이 MEA를 해체 후 SEM(Scanning Electron Microscope) 분석한 결과 고분자 막 내부에 백금이 많이 분포함을 보였다.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제32권10호
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• pp.1325-1334
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• 2022

Global warming has accelerated in recent decades due to the continuous consumption of petroleum-based fuels. Cyanobacteria-derived biofuels are a promising carbon-neutral alternative to fossil fuels that may help achieve a cleaner environment. Here, we propose an effective strategy based on the large-scale cultivation of a newly isolated cyanobacterial strain to produce phycobiliprotein and biodiesel, thus demonstrating the potential commercial applicability of the isolated microalgal strain. A native cyanobacterium was isolated from Goryeong, Korea, and identified as Pseudanabaena mucicola GO0704 through 16s RNA analysis. The potential exploitation of P. mucicola GO0704 was explored by analyzing several parameters for mixotrophic culture, and optimal growth was achieved through the addition of sodium acetate (1 g/l) to the BG-11 medium. Next, the cultures were scaled up to a stirred-tank bioreactor in mixotrophic conditions to maximize the productivity of biomass and metabolites. The biomass, phycobiliprotein, and fatty acids concentrations in sodium acetate-treated cells were enhanced, and the highest biodiesel productivity (8.1 mg/l/d) was achieved at 96 h. Finally, the properties of the fuel derived from P. mucicola GO0704 were estimated with converted biodiesels according to the composition of fatty acids. Most of the characteristics of the final product, except for the cloud point, were compliant with international biodiesel standards [ASTM 6761 (US) and EN 14214 (Europe)].

• Composites Research
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• 제35권6호
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• pp.425-430
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• 2022

수소가스용 압력용기의 안전성 평가를 위해 다양한 내구성 시험이 요구된다. 고온 정압 시험은 고압(875 bar) 하에 고온(85℃ 이상)에서 장시간(1,000시간) 유지하여 수소 용기의 내구성을 시험하는 방법이며 승용차용 용기에 한정되어 있다. 하지만 대용량 수소버스용 용기와 관련된 고온 정압 시험의 국제 기준은 논의 초기 단계이며, 시험의 효율성 및 신뢰성 측면에서 가속시험 기준 제시 등의 현실적 보완이 필요하다. 본 연구에서는 수소버스용 내압용기의 고온 정압 시험 기준을 정립하기 위해 열적환경에 노출된 내압용기 복합재의 기계적 물성평가를 진행하였다. 복합재의 인장강도는 수지의 유리전이온도에 가까워질수록 수지의 열화로 인해 강도가 감소한다. 또한 장시간 유지 시 수지의 후경화로 인해 인장강도의 재상승을 확인할 수 있었다. 따라서 대용량 수소버스용 압력용기의 고온 정압 시험은 탄소섬유 복합재의 에폭시 수지 물성을 바탕으로 시험 조건을 설정해야 한다.

• Molecules and Cells
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• 제45권9호
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• pp.660-672
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• 2022

The target of rapamycin complex (TORC) plays a key role in plant cell growth and survival by regulating the gene expression and metabolism according to environmental information. TORC activates transcription, mRNA translation, and anabolic processes under favorable conditions, thereby promoting plant growth and development. Tomato fruit ripening is a complex developmental process promoted by ethylene and specific transcription factors. TORC is known to modulate leaf senescence in tomato. In this study, we investigated the function of TORC in tomato fruit ripening using virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) of the TORC genes, TOR, lethal with SEC13 protein 8 (LST8), and regulatory-associated protein of TOR (RAPTOR). Quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction showed that the expression levels of tomato TORC genes were the highest in the orange stage during fruit development in Micro-Tom tomato. VIGS of these TORC genes using stage 2 tomato accelerated fruit ripening with premature orange/red coloring and decreased fruit growth, when control tobacco rattle virus 2 (TRV2)-myc fruits reached the mature green stage. TORC-deficient fruits showed early accumulation of carotenoid lycopene and reduced cellulose deposition in pericarp cell walls. The early ripening fruits had higher levels of transcripts related to fruit ripening transcription factors, ethylene biosynthesis, carotenoid synthesis, and cell wall modification. Finally, the early ripening phenotype in Micro-Tom tomato was reproduced in the commercial cultivar Moneymaker tomato by VIGS of the TORC genes. Collectively, these results demonstrate that TORC plays an important role in tomato fruit ripening by modulating the transcription of various ripening-related genes.

• 한국재료학회지
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• 제32권5호
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• pp.264-269
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• 2022

Ti₃C₂T_x MXene, which is a representative of the two-dimensional MXene family, is attracting considerable attention due to its remarkable physicochemical and mechanical properties. Despite its strengths, however, it is known to be vulnerable to oxidation. Many researchers have investigated the oxidation behaviors of the material, but most researches were conducted at high temperatures above 500 ℃ in an oxidation-retarding environment. In this research, we studied changes in the structural and electrical properties of Ti₃C₂T_x MXene induced by low-temperature heat treatments in ambient conditions. It was found that a number of TiO₂ particles were formed on the MXene surface when it was mildly heated to 200 ℃. Heating the material to higher temperatures, up to 400 ℃, the phase transformation of Ti₃C₂T_x MXene to TiO₂ was accelerated, resulting in a TiO₂/Ti₃C₂T_x hybrid. Consequently, the metallic nature of pure Ti₃C₂T_x MXene was transformed to semiconductive behavior upon heat-treating at ≥ 200 ℃. The results of this research clearly demonstrate that Ti₃C₂T_x MXene may be easily oxidized even at low temperatures once it is exposed to air.

• 한국압력기기공학회 논문집
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• 제20권1호
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• pp.49-55
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• 2024

Stainless 630 (or 17-4PH) is a precipitation-hardening martensitic stainless steel that has excellent mechanical properties and corrosion resistance. These characteristics make the STS630 to be used as a consisting material for various components such as spider, pin, spring, and spring retainer, of the control rod drive mechanism (CRDM) in pressurized water reactors (PWRs). In general, it is well known that the oxide layer of stainless steel consists of a duplex layer, a compact inner layer of FeCr₂O₄ spinel, and a coarse-grained outer layer of Fe₃O₄ spinel in PWR primary coolant condition. However, the characteristics of the oxide layer can be sensitively influenced by various water chemistry conditions such as temperature, dissolved oxygen, dissolved hydrogen, pH, pH adjuster type, and exposure time. In this work, we investigate the corrosion properties of the STS630 as a function of coolant temperature in an NH3 alkaline solution for its boron-free application in a small modular reactor, to confirm the feasibility for usage as a boron-free SMR structural material. As a result, oxide layer of corroded STS630 is consist of double-layer oxides consisting of a Cr-rich dense inner oxide and a Fe-rich polyhedral outer particles like as that in commercial PWR primary coolant. The corrosion rate of STS630 increases with increase in test time and temperature and the corrosion rate-time model equation was developed based on experimental data. Overall, it is expected that the results in this study provides useful data for the corrosion behavior of STS630 in alkaline environments, contributing to the development of selecting suitable materials for SMRs.

• Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
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• 제35권
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• pp.29.1-29.10
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• 2023

Background: Lone workers are generally defined as individuals who work alone without supervision, including self-employed people. While lone workers are considered a vulnerable group in some countries, there is a lack of research on their health status in domestic studies. Globally, the number of lone workers has been increasing, and this trend has been further accelerated since the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic with the rise of remote work. Methods: The study analyzed data from 44,281 participants, excluding unpaid family workers, soldiers, and those with missing data. Lone workers were defined as individuals who reported having no colleagues with the same job at their current workplace. Self-rated health status was categorized as "good" or "poor." Results: This study found a statistically significant higher number of lone workers among women compare to men. The largest occupational category for lone workers was service and sales workers, followed by agriculture and fisheries workers. A majority of non-lone workers reported working 40 hours or less per week, while the majority of lone workers reported working 53 hours or more per week. In addition, lone workers had significantly poorer health status evaluations compared to non-lone workers (odds ratio: 1.297; 95% confidence interval: 1.165-1.444). Conclusions: Further research is needed to investigate the causal relationship between lone work and health, using data collected after the COVID-19 pandemic.

• 한국구조물진단유지관리공학회 논문집
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• 제13권1호통권53호
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• pp.97-105
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• 2009

건설산업에서 혼합콘크리트의 개발 및 사용은 내구성 측면에서의 공극구조개선 및 투수성 감소등의 확장 연구를 통해 나날이 증가하고 있는 실정이다. 한편, 콘크리트내의 균열은 투수성, 염해 침투속도 및 압축강도등을 결정하는 중요한 인자이며, 이는 철근의 부식과도 밀접한 관련을 가지는 것으로 알려져 있다. 더욱이 콘크리트 구조물의 피복두께에 균열이 발생한 경우, 이를 통해 철근 부식이 가속화됨은 주지의 사실이다. 최근에 콘크리트내의 침투를 고려한 균열효과와 관련하여 다수의 연구가 수행되어져 온 것이 사실이며, 그에 따라 내구성을 고려한 균열 혼합콘크리트의 사용수명 평가에 관한 연구도 필요한 것이 사실이다. 본 연구에서는 0.3mm의 균열을 변수로 두고, OPC, 30% PFA, 60% GGBS 및 10% SF의 결합재를 혼입하여 사용한 혼합콘크리트보의 부식평가를 자연 및 인공 환경조건에 맞추어 반전지전위측정시험, 갈바닉전류측정시험, 무게감량법등으로 측정 및 비교분석하였다.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• 제48권3호
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• pp.308-318
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• 2024

Background: Many plants compensate for the damage caused by herbivorous insects through tolerance responses. Besides directly causing plant tissue loss and seed production reduction, herbivory causes phenological changes in the host plant. However, little is known about the fitness costs of phenological changes caused by tolerance responses to herbivorous attacks. Results: The girdling beetle Phytoecia rufiventris caused a short-term decrease in the number of flowers of the host plant Erigeron annuus. However, accelerated growth restored the number of flowers, but after a 2-week delay. With an objective to examine whether the tolerance response with such a delay fully compensates the fitness, we experimentally reproduced a 2-week delay in germination under greenhouse and field settings. Under both conditions, intraspecific competition resulted in serious defects in the growth and reproduction of E. annuus plants which of germination was delayed. However, delayed germination (DG) resulted in better growth when competition and herbivory were eliminated from the field. Thus, we showed that the tolerance response to restore reproductive production does not fully compensate for the fitness loss caused by insect attack; rather, the delay in seed production in attacked plants leads to DG and subsequent inferiority in intraspecific competition. Conclusions: Our results imply that compensation for floral production after an herbivore attack does not fully restore offspring fitness in the presence of intraspecific competition and herbivory. Assessing the ecological consequences of defense traits in an appropriate layer of interaction is critical to interpreting adaptive values.

• 한국식품위생안전성학회지
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• 제15권2호
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• pp.144-150
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• 2000

Phosphamidon의 가수분해속도상수는 25。C, pH 4, 7 및 9에서 각각 0.0020, 0.0022 및 0.0049이었고, 40。C에서 각각 0.0040, 0.0050및 0.0150으로 측정되었다 같은 pH에서 온도가 높을수록 촉진되었으며, pH 9의 염기성조건에서는 15。C상승에 반감기가 약 3배 정도 빨랐다. 또한 같은 온도에서 산성(pH 4)과 중성조건(pH 7)에 비해 염기성조건에서 가수분해반응이 약 2∼4배 정도 빨랐다. Profenofos의 가수분해속도상수는 25。C, pH 4, 7 및 9에서 각각 0.0022, 0.0047 및 0.0860이었고, 40。C에서 각각 0.0031, 0.0086 및 0.1245로 측정되었다. Profenofos의 가수분해는 phosphamidon과 마찬가지로 같은 pH에서 온도가 높을수록 촉진되었으며, 같은 온도에서 산성과 중성조건에 비해 염기성조건에서 가수분해반응이 약 15∼40배 정도 빨랐고 반감기가 모두 8시간 이내로 가수분해반응이 현저하게 일어났다. Profenofos의 가수분해속도가 phosphamidon보다 빠른 것을 알 수 있었다. 가수분해에 의한 분해산물을 확인하고자 GC/MS분석을 한 결과 phosphamidon의 분해생성물은 m/z=153의 O, O-dimethyl phosphate(DMP)와 m/z=149의 N, N-diethylchloro acetamide로 추정된다. Profenofos의 분해생성물은 m/z=208로 4-bromo 2-chloro phenol과 m/z=240으로 O-ethyl S-propyl phosphate로 추정된다.