• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.48 no.11
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• pp.995-1002
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• 2010

This study investigated the effect of process temperature on the alloying process during synthesis of $Sm_2Fe_{17}$ powder from ball-milled samarium oxide ($Sm_2O_3$) powders and a solid reducing agent of calcium hydrides ($CaH_2$) using iron nanopowder (n-Fe powder) by a reduction-diffusion (R-D) process. The $n-Fe-Sm_2O_3-CaH_2$ mixed powders were subjected to heat treatment at $850{\sim}1100^{\circ}C$ in $Ar-H_2$ for 5 h. It was found that the iron nanopowders in the mixed powders are sintered below $850^{\circ}C$ during the R-D process and the $SmH_2$ is synthesized by a reduced Sm that combines with $H_2$ around $850^{\circ}C$. The results showed that $SmH_2$ is able to separate Sm and $H_2$ respectively depending on an increase in process temperature, and the formed $Sm_2Fe_{17}$ phase on the surface of the sintered Fe nanopowder agglomerated at temperatures of $950{\sim}1100^{\circ}C$ in this study. The formation of the $Sm_2Fe_{17}$ layer is mainly due to the diffusion reaction of Sm atoms into the sintered Fe nanopowder, which agglomerates above $950^{\circ}C$. We concluded that nanoscale $Sm_2Fe_{17}$ powder can be synthesized by controlling the diffusion depth using well-dispersed Fe nanopowders.

• Mycobiology
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.308-318
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• 2019

Bio-sulfur can be produced in the process of desulfurization from a landfill and collected by some microorganism such as Thiobacillus sp. as a sulfur element. In order to investigate practical use of bio-sulfur as an agent for controlling plant disease, in vitro antifungal activity of bio-sulfur was tested against Colletotrichum orbiculare known to cause cucumber anthracnose. Efficacy of bio-sulfur for suppressing anthracnose disease was also evaluated in vivo using cucumber leaves. Mycelial growth of C. orbiculare on medium containing bio-sulfur was inhibited. Disease severity of cucumber leaves pre-treated with bio-sulfur was significantly decreased compared to that of untreated ones. To illustrate how bio-sulfur could suppress anthracnose disease, structures of cucumber leaves infected with C. orbiculare were observed under a fluorescent microscope and a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Cucumber leaves pre-treated with bio-sulfur showed a low rate of appressorium formation whereas untreated ones showed abundant appressoria. Shrunk fungal hyphae were mostly observed on bio-sulfur-pretreated leaves by SEM. Similar results were observed on leaves pre-treated with a commercial fungicide Benomyl(R). These results suggest that inhibition of appressorium formation of C. orbiculare by bio-sulfur may contribute to its suppression of cucumber anthracnose.

• International Area Studies Review
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.29-49
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• 2009

We examine the effects of information transparency, lender identity, and credit rating on the commitment fees of syndicated loans originated in Japan, employing a sample of 331 facilities. A syndicated loan is a financing instrument offered to a single borrower by multiple lenders, and Japanese syndicated loan volume increased 36% to a record-high of $283 billion in 2008 compared to 2007. We find that the more informational opaque the borrower, the higher the commitment fees the lender charges to the Japanese borrowers. There is evidence that a syndicate involving a Japanese lead agent is able to extract rents through higher commitment fees. We document that there is a significant relation between the credit rating of the borrower and the commitment fee cost of syndicated loans originated in Japan. Most importantly, our results provide evidence that banks in Japan extract higher returns on syndicated loans through the commitment fees in addition to higher loan spreads. Using a micro-level of Japanese borrowers, we contribute to existing literature by providing our empirical evidence after controlling for borrowing spread.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.77-83
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• 2019

Chlorine dioxide ($ClO_2$) can be used as an alternative disinfectant for controlling fungal contamination during postharvest storage. In this study, we tested the in vitro and in vivo inhibitory effects of gaseous $ClO_2$ against Diaporthe batatas SP-d1, the causal agent of sweetpotato dry rot. In in vitro tests, spore suspensions of SP-d1 spread on acidified potato dextrose agar were treated with various $ClO_2$ concentrations (1-20 ppm) for 0-60 min. Fungal growth was significantly inhibited at 1 ppm of $ClO_2$ treatment for 30 min, and completely inhibited at 20 ppm. In in vivo tests, spore suspensions were drop-inoculated onto sweetpotato slices, followed by $ClO_2$ treatment with different concentrations and durations. Lesion diameters were not significantly different between the tested $ClO_2$ concentrations; however, lesion diameters significantly decreased upon increasing the exposure time. Similarly, fungal populations decreased at the tested $ClO_2$ concentrations over time. However, the sliced tissue itself hardened after 60-min $ClO_2$ treatments, especially at 20 ppm of $ClO_2$. When sweetpotato roots were dip-inoculated in spore suspensions for 10 min prior to treatment with 20 and 40 ppm of $ClO_2$ for 0-60 min, fungal populations decreased with increasing $ClO_2$ concentrations. Taken together, these results showed that gaseous $ClO_2$ could significantly inhibit D. batatas growth and dry rot development in sweetpotato. Overall, gaseous $ClO_2$ could be used to control this fungal disease during the postharvest storage of sweetpotato.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.630-634
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• 2020

We developed a processing recipe to synthesize flexible polyurethane foam with a pore size of 335 ± 107 ㎛. The gelling reaction time was varied from 0 to 30 minutes and the physical properties of the foam were evaluated. The gelling reaction where the polypropylene glycol and tolylene 2,4-diisocyanate (TDI) were reacted to form urethane prepolymer, proceeded until a chemical blowing agent, deionized water, was introduced. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra showed that the composition of the foam did not change but the foam height reached a peak value when the gelling reaction time was 10 minutes. We found that increasing the gelling time lessened the coalescence and helped the formation of cells. Lastly, the repeatability of polyurethane foam was confirmed by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) by synthesizing ten identical polyurethane foams under the same experimental conditions, including the gelling reaction time. Overall, the new time parameter in-between the gelling and blowing reactions will give extra stability in manufacturing identical polyurethane foams and can be applied to various polyurethane foam processes.

• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.143-151
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• 2020

Streptococcus mutans and Streptococcus sobrinus play important roles in dental caries. Coptis chinensis is a natural product with antimicrobial activity against enterobacteria; however, its effects on oral streptococci are still unknown. Therefore, the effects of C. chinensis on the growth and biofilm formation of the representative cariogenic bacteria S. mutans and S. sobrinus were investigated for the possible use of C. chinensis as an anticaries agent. The C. chinensis extract was diluted with sterile distilled water, and 0.1-2.5% of the extract was used in the experiment. The effects of the C. chinensis extract on the growth and glucan formation of S. mutans and S. sobrinus were measured by viable cell counting and spectrophotometry at 650 nm absorbance, respectively. Crystal violet staining was also carried out to confirm the C. chinensis extract's inhibitory effect on biofilm formation. The C. chinensis extract significantly inhibited the growth of S. mutans and S. sobrinus at concentrations of ≥ 0.3% as compared with the control group. The viable cell count of colonies decreased by 1.7-fold and 1.2-fold at 2.5% and 1.25%, respectively, compared with the control group. The biofilm formation of S. mutans and S. sobrinus was inhibited by > 20-fold at C. chinensis extract concentrations of ≥ 1.25% as compared with the control group. In summary, the C. chinensis extract inhibited the growth and biofilm and glucan formation of S. mutans and S. sobrinus. Therefore, C. chinensis might be a potential candidate for controlling dental caries.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.241-246
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• 2022

Antibiotic resistance is a serious problem to food safety as well as human healthcare. To avoid this, there are several approaches for a new class of antibiotic agents that target only production of virulence factors such as biofilm without bacterial growth defect. The objective of this study was to investigate the antibiofilm activity of tuberostemonine in Staphylococcus aureus. Tuberostemonine significantly reduced the biofilm formation (26.07-47.02%) in the crystal violet assay whereas there were no effect on S. aureus growth. The dispersion in preformed biofilm was also observed by confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). Quantification real-time PCR revealed that the icaA and agrA expression having an important role in biofilm production of S. aureus were strongly affected with tuberostemonine. These results suggest that tuberostemonine has potential for controlling biofilm formation and dispersion by effect on virulence regulation of S. aureus.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.334-344
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• 2022

Bacterial wilt is a re-emerging disease on dry bean and can affect many other crop species within the Fabaceae. The causal agent, Curtobacterium flaccumfaciens pv. flaccumfaciens (CFF), is a small, Gram-positive, rod-shaped bacterium that is seed-transmitted. Infections in the host become systemic, leading to wilting and economic loss. Clean seed programs and bactericidal seed treatments are two critical management tools. This study characterizes the efficacies of five bactericidal chemicals against CFF. It was hypothesized that this bacterium was capable of forming biofilms, and that the cells within biofilms would be more tolerant to bactericidal treatments. The minimum biocide eradication concentration assay protocol was used to grow CFF biofilms, expose the biofilms to bactericides, and enumerate survivors compared to a non-treated control (water). Streptomycin and oxysilver bisulfate had EC95 values at the lowest concentrations and are likely the best candidates for seed treatment products for controlling seed-borne bacterial wilt of bean. The results showed that CFF formed biofilms during at least two phases of the bacterial wilt disease cycle, and the biofilms were much more difficult to eradicate than their planktonic counterparts. Overall, biofilm formation by CFF is an important part of the bacterial wilt disease cycle in dry edible bean and antibiofilm bactericides such as streptomycin and oxysilver bisulfate may be best suited for use in disease management.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information and Communication Engineering
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• v.25 no.11
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• pp.1663-1669
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• 2021

This paper considers the cooperative control problem for multiple leaders and a single follower with interactions. The leaders are controllable, and the follower has interactions with all leaders and is controlled by the interactions. Then, we study the cooperative control problem that achieves the consensus by controlling the leaders. The leaders and the follower are modeled by the single-integrator and the double-integrator, respectively, and it is assumed that the interactions have the nonlinearities. The leaders can estimate the interaction between the follower and exchange the estimated information with neighbors. Then, this paper proposes the consensus-based cooperative control algorithm using the information exchange of the estimated interactions and the virtual velocity variables to achieve the velocity consensus. We analyze the convergence of the agents to the common state based on the Lasalle's Invaraince Principle. Finally, we provide the numerical example to validate the theoretical results.

• Maxillofacial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
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• v.42
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• pp.16.1-16.8
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• 2020

Background: Cyst enucleation, which extracts only the tumor with the application of Carnoy's solution (CS), has been suggested as a conservative treatment with a low recurrence rate and morbidity. However, there has been a concern that CS's contact with inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) can cause neurons to degenerate and cause sensory dysfunction. The purpose of this retrospective cohort study aimed to investigate the neurosensory function after surgical treatment with or without the application of CS. Methods: While controlling the effects of sex, age, follow-up period, and invasion size of the tumor, we performed the binary logistic regression analysis to examine whether or not the sensory function of the patients who were treated with CS (n = 19) for the cyst enucleation procedure was significantly different from those who were not treated with CS (n = 58) at the end of the follow-up period. Results: The logistic regression result showed that the use of CS was not significantly related to the normalness of sensory function at the end of the follow-up period. Rather, the invasion size of the cyst was significantly associated with sensory dysfunction. Conclusions: CS may be used for patients who are diagnosed with OKC and UAM without much fear of its impact on sensory dysfunction. However, a small number of patients who were treated with CS experienced severe sensory damage and did not recover at the end of the follow-up period, suggesting the need for further analysis of these patients.