• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.627-642
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• 2022

The world's long reliance on fossil fuels (e.g., oil, coal, and natural gas) is severely changing its environment and climate. Energy research has focused on developing hydrogen as the most promising energy carrier and a key technology for sustainable energy development. Hydrogen can be classified as gray, blue, green, and otherwise according to the raw materials and methods used for production and processing. For the development of hydrogen energy, geologists are attempting to identify the mechanism of abiotic hydrogen generation by serpentinization or hydrothermal alteration. Teams in the United States, France, and Australia have researched laboratory-scale hydrogen production through water-rock interactions under various conditions, whereas there has been almost no research on abiotic hydrogen in South Korea. This paper reviews the current state of international research on hydrothermal alteration and offers suggestions for future investigations of abiotic hydrogen production in South Korea.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.280-285
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• 2015

Anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory activities of Cotoneaster horizontalis Decne ethanol extract (CHEE) were evaluated. CHEE possessed a potent scavenging activity against 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl, which was similar to the activity of ascorbic acid which was used as a positive control. CHEE also effectively suppressed hydrogen peroxide-induced reactive oxygen species on RAW 264.7 cells. Furthermore, CHEE induced the expression of the anti-oxidative enzyme heme oxygenase 1, and its upstream transcription factor, nuclear factor-E2-related factor 2. CHEE inhibited LPS induced nitric oxide (NO) formation as a consequence of inducible NO synthase (iNOS) down regulation. Taken together, these results provide us with an important new insight; that C. horizontalis possesses anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory activities. Therefore, C. horizontalis may be utilized as a promising material in the field of nutraceuticals.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.35 no.12
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• pp.3590-3594
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• 2014

Blue phosphorescent $(dfpypy)_2Ir(mppy)$, where dfpypy = 2',6'-difluoro-2,3'-bipyridine and mppy = 5-methyl-2-phenylpyridine, has been synthesized by newly developed effective method and its solid state structure and photoluminescent properties are investigated. The glass-transition and decomposition temperature of the compound appear at $160^{\circ}C$ and $360^{\circ}C$, respectively. In a crystal packing structure, there are two kinds of intermolecular interactions such as hydrogen bonding ($C-H{\cdots}F$) and edge-to-face $C-H{\cdots}{\pi}(py)$ interaction. This compound emits bright blue phosphorescence with ${\lambda}_{max}=472nm$ and quantum efficiencies of 0.23 and 0.32 in fluid and the solid state. The emission band of the compound is red-shifted by 40 nm relative to homoleptic congener, $Ir(dfpypy)_3$. The ancillary ligand in $(dfpypy)_2Ir(mppy)$ has been found to significantly destabilize HOMO energy, compared to $Ir(dfpypy)_3$, $(dfpypy)_2Ir(acac)$ and $(dfpypy)_2Ir(dpm)$, without significantly changing LUMO energy.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.77-83
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• 2023

Energy consumption is increased by rapid industrialization. As a result, climate change is accelerating due to the increase in CO₂ concentration in the atmosphere. Therefore, a shift in the energy paradigm is required. Hydrogen is in the spotlight as a part of that. Currently 95% of hydrogen is fossil fuel-based reforming hydrogen which is accompanied by CO₂ emissions. This is called gray hydrogen, if the CO₂ is captured and emission of CO₂ is reduced, it can be converted into blue hydrogen. There are 3 technologies to capture CO₂: absorption, adsorption and membrane technology. In order to select CO₂ capture technology, the analysis of the exhaust gas should be carried out. The concentration of CO₂ in the flue gas from the hydrogen production process is higher than 20%if water is removed as well as the emission scale is classified as small and medium. So, the application of the membrane technology is more advantageous than the absorption. In addition, if LNG cold energy can be used for low temperature CO₂ capture system, the CO₂/N₂ selectivity of the membrane is higher than room temperature CO₂ capture and enabling an efficient CO₂ capture process. In this study, we will analyze the flue gas from hydrogen production process and discuss suitable CO₂ capture technology for it.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.360-364
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• 2020

In this study, the colorimetric sensor, polyester (PET) fabric dyed with lead (II) acetate (Pb(C₂H₃O₂)₂), was fabricated and characterized for the detection of the hydrogen sulfide (H₂S). The surface morphology of the fabric was determined using scanning electron microscope and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The optical properties of the fabric were evaluated by measuring the variation in the blue value of an RGB sensor. The fabric showed a significant color change, high linearity (R² : 0.98256), and fast response time (< 1.0 s) when exposed to H₂S. This is because the sensor is highly porous and permeable to the gas. The fabric can not only be used as a hydrogen sulfide sensor but also be used to detect and prevent H₂S influx using sticky tape on pipelines.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.79-88
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• 2024

Modification of Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) hollow fiber membranes (HFMs) characteristics and performance were investigated via post treatment using different oxidants. sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl), hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) and potassium persulfate (KPS). Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and Proton nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H-NMR) results revealed no structural differences after post treatment. Cross-sectional micrographs show finger-like structures at the outer and inner walls of the HFMs and sponge-like structures in middle, where NaOCl and KPS post treated fibers exhibited a decrease in finger-like structures in addition to aggregates appearing on the surface, consequently leading to an increase in the surface roughness (Ra) from 48 nm to 52.8nm and 56 nm, respectively. Hydrogen peroxide post treatment only was observed to decrease the water contact angle from 98° to 81.4°. It was also observed that the elongation at break and the modulus deceased after NaOCl post treatment from 34.5 to 28.5% and from 19.3 Mpa to 16.6 Mpa, respectively. Moreover, pure water flux after H₂O₂ post treatment increased from 87.8 LMH/bar to 113 LMH/bar at 0.45 bar, while no changes were detected for the methylene blue dye rejection (74%) between raw and hydrogen peroxide post treated fibers at the same pressure. According to the findings hydrogen peroxide post treated PVDF HFMs have the most uniform surfaces, with almost no alterations in structural and mechanical properties or porosities with enhanced hydrophilicity and pure water flux maintaining appropriate rejection. Therefore, it is considered an efficient surface modifying agent for UF/NF membranes or low-pressure separators.

• International Journal of Stem Cells
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.78-92
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• 2023

Background and Objectives: This study aims to clarify the systems underlying regulation and regulatory roles of hydrogen combined with 5-Aza in the myogenic differentiation of adipose mesenchymal stem cells (ADSCs). Methods and Results: In this study, ADSCs acted as an in vitro myogenic differentiating mode. First, the Alamar blue Staining and mitochondrial tracer technique were used to verify whether hydrogen combined with 5-Aza could promote cell proliferation. In addition, this study assessed myogenic differentiating markers (e.g., Myogenin, Mhc and Myod protein expressions) based on the Western blotting assay, analysis on cellular morphological characteristics (e.g., Myotube number, length, diameter and maturation index), RT-PCR (Myod, Myogenin and Mhc mRNA expression) and Immunofluorescence analysis (Desmin, Myosin and 𝛽-actin protein expression). Finally, to verify the mechanism of myogenic differentiation of hydrogen-bound 5-Aza, we performed bioinformatics analysis and Western blot to detect the expression of p-P38 protein. Hydrogen combined with 5-Aza significantly enhanced the proliferation and myogenic differentiation of ADSCs in vitro by increasing the number of single-cell mitochondria and upregulating the expression of myogenic biomarkers such as Myod, Mhc and myotube formation. The expressions of p-P38 was up-regulated by hydrogen combined with 5-Aza. The differentiating ability was suppressed when the cells were cultivated in combination with SB203580 (p38 MAPK signal pathway inhibitor). Conclusions: Hydrogen alleviates the cytotoxicity of 5-Aza and synergistically promotes the myogenic differentiation capacity of adipose stem cells via the p38 MAPK pathway. Thus, the mentioned results present insights into myogenic differentiation and are likely to generate one potential alternative strategy for skeletal muscle related diseases.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.239-251
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• 2024

In this study, a hydrogen fuel cell process based on methanol was developed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In Case1, the methanol fuel engine system was designed to investigate the emission of exhaust gas when methanol was supplied as fuel instead of gasoline to the engine. In Case2, a hydrogen fuel cell system was designed by adding a methanol reforming system to Case1. This hybrid system produced gray hydrogen and combined the output of the engine and fuel cell to drive the ship. However, gray hydrogen emits carbon in the process of producing hydrogen. To address this problem, a carbon capture and utilization (CCU) system was added to Case3. The CO2 of the flue gas discharged from Case2 was synthesized with gray hydrogen to produce blue methanol. The results of the case studies revealed that the optimal operating conditions were 220 ℃, 500 kPa, SCR = 1.0, and flow ratio = 0.7. The system of Case3 reduced carbon emissions by 42% compared with that Case1. Thus, the hybrid system of Case3 could considerably reduce the ship's CO2 emissions.

• Rapid Communication in Photoscience
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2015

For understanding molecular mechanisms of photochemical reactions, in particular reactions of proteins with biological functions, it is important to elucidate both the initial reactions from the photoexcited states and the series of subsequent chemical reactions, e.g., conformation, intermolecular interactions (hydrogen bonding, hydrophobic interactions), and inter-protein interactions (oligomer formation, dissociation reactions). Although time-resolved detection of such dynamics is essential, these dynamics have been very difficult to track by traditional spectroscopic techniques. Here, relatively new approaches for probing the dynamics of protein photochemical reactions using time-resolved transient grating (TG) are reviewed. By using this method, a variety of spectrally silent dynamics can be detected and such data provide a valuable description about the reaction scheme. Herein, a blue light sensor protein TePixD is the exemplar. The initial photochemistry for TePixD occurs around the chromophore and is detected readily by light absorption, but subsequent reactions are spectrally silent. The TG experiments revealed conformational changes and changes in inter-protein interactions, which are essential for TePixD function. The TG experiments also showed the importance of fluctuations of the intermediates as the driving force of the reaction. This technique is complementary to optical absorption detection methods. The TG signal contains a variety of unique information, which is difficult to obtain by other methods. The advantages and methods for signal analyses are described in detail in this review.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.143-148
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• 2004

In the present study, $TiO_2$ imbedded composite powders have been successfully prepared from the (Cu. Zn)/$TiO_2$ composite salt solution. The composite (Cu, Zn)/$TiO_2$ powders were formed by drying the solution at 200~$600^{\circ}C$ in the hydrogen atmosphere. Photocatalytic characteristics was evaluated by detecting the decomposition ratio of aniline blue with UV-visible spectrophotometer(Shimazu Co., UV-1601). Phase analysis of (Cu, Zn)/$TiO_2$ composite powders was carried out by XRD and DSC, and powder size was measured with TEM. The mean particle size of composite powders was about 100mm. As the reduction temperature increases, a few zinc sulfide and oxide phases was formed and copper oxide phase was reduced. The decomposition ratio of aniline blue was about 80％ under the UV irradiation by the TiO$_2$ phase in the composite (Cu, Zn)/$TiO_2$ powders and similar decomposition ratio of 80％ was obtained at the UV lightless condition by virtue of Cu and Zn compounds.