• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.315-329
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• 2010

Characteristics of thermophilic bacteria and secondary materials on the pyrrhotite surface were investigated by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The thermophilic bacteria from an acid hot spring in Japan were incubated with pyrrhotite at $42^{\circ}C$, $52^{\circ}C$, and $62^{\circ}C$ respectively. SEM analysis of the reacted pyrrhotite showed that indigenous rod-shaped bacteria ranging from $0.4{\times}1.5{\mu}m$ to $0.3{\times}11.9{\mu}m$ in size were attached to the pyrrhotite surface at these temperatures with formation of secondary materials. Extracellular polymer substances were formed on the bacterial surface. We suggest that these polymers functioned as a capsule protecting bacteria from the extreme environment. Secondary materials such as elemental sulfur, Fe-hydroxide, S-Fe and O-P-Fe compounds were found on the pyrrhotite surface.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.31 no.8
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• pp.1045-1059
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• 2021

Various abiotic stressors like drought, salinity, temperature, and heavy metals are major environmental stresses that affect agricultural productivity and crop yields all over the world. Continuous changes in climatic conditions put selective pressure on the microbial ecosystem to produce exopolysaccharides. Apart from soil aggregation, exopolysaccharide (EPS) production also helps in increasing water permeability, nutrient uptake by roots, soil stability, soil fertility, plant biomass, chlorophyll content, root and shoot length, and surface area of leaves while also helping maintain metabolic and physiological activities during drought stress. EPS-producing microbes can impart salt tolerance to plants by binding to sodium ions in the soil and preventing these ions from reaching the stem, thereby decreasing sodium absorption from the soil and increasing nutrient uptake by the roots. Biofilm formation in high-salinity soils increases cell viability, enhances soil fertility, and promotes plant growth and development. The third environmental stressor is presence of heavy metals in the soil due to improper industrial waste disposal practices that are toxic for plants. EPS production by soil bacteria can result in the biomineralization of metal ions, thereby imparting metal stress tolerance to plants. Finally, high temperatures can also affect agricultural productivity by decreasing plant metabolism, seedling growth, and seed germination. The present review discusses the role of exopolysaccharide-producing plant growth-promoting bacteria in modulating plant growth and development in plants and alleviating extreme abiotic stress condition. The review suggests exploring the potential of EPS-producing bacteria for multiple abiotic stress management strategies.

• Journal of ILASS-Korea
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.57-65
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• 2022

The purpose of this study is to use machine learning to build a model capable of predicting the flash boiling spray characteristics. In this study, the flash boiling spray was visualized using Shadowgraph visualization technology, and then the spray image was processed with MATLAB to obtain quantitative data of spray characteristics. The experimental conditions were used as input, and the spray characteristics were used as output to train the machine learning model. For the machine learning model, the XGB (extreme gradient boosting) algorithm was used. Finally, the performance of machine learning model was evaluated using R² and RMSE (root mean square error). In order to have enough data to train the machine learning model, this study used 12 injectors with different design parameters, and set various fuel temperatures and ambient pressures, resulting in about 12,000 data. By comparing the performance of the model with different amounts of training data, it was found that the number of training data must reach at least 7,000 before the model can show optimal performance. The model showed different prediction performances for different spray characteristics. Compared with the upstream spray angle and the downstream spray angle, the model had the best prediction performance for the spray tip penetration. In addition, the prediction performance of the model showed a relatively poor trend in the initial stage of injection and the final stage of injection. The model performance is expired to be further enhanced by optimizing the hyper-parameters input into the model.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.259-268
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• 2022

Molten salt consisting primarily of eutectic LiCl-KCl is currently being used in electrorefiners in the Fuel Conditioning Facility at Idaho National Laboratory. Options are currently being evaluated for storing this salt outside of the argon atmosphere hot cell. The hygroscopic nature of eutectic LiCl-KCl makes is susceptible to deliquescence in air followed by extreme corrosion of metallic cannisters. In this study, the effect of occluding the salt into a zeolite on water sorption/desorption was tested. Two zeolites were investigated: Na-Y and zeolite 4A. Na-Y was ineffective at occluding a high percentage of the salt at either 10 or 20wt% loading. Zeolite-4A was effective at occluding the salt with high efficiency at both loading levels. Weight gain in salt occluded zeolite-4A (SOZ) from water sorption at 20% relative humidity and 40℃ was 17wt% for 10% SOZ and 10wt% for 20% SOZ. In both cases, neither deliquescence nor corrosion occurred over a period of 31 days. After hydration, most of the water could be driven off by heating the hydrated salt occluded zeolite to 530℃. However, some HCl forms during dehydration due to salt hydrolysis. Over a wide range of temperatures (320-700℃) and ramp rates (5, 10, and 20℃ min^-1), HCl formation was no more than 0.6% of the Cl^- in the original salt.

• Proceedings of the Microbiological Society of Korea Conference
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• 2001.11a
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• pp.39-45
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• 2001

Extremophiles are unique microorganisms that are adapted to survive in ecological niches such as high or low temperatures, extremes of pH, high salt concentrations and high pressure. These unusual microorganisms have unique biochemical features which can be exploited for use in the biotechnological industries. Due to the high biodiversity of extremophilic archaea and bacteria and their existence in various biotopes a variety of biocatalysts with different physicochemical properties have been discovered. The extreme molecular stability of their enzymes, membranes and the synthesis of unique organic compounds and polymers make extremophiles interesting candidates for basic and applied research. Some of the enzymes from extremophiles, especially hyperthermophilic marine microorganisms (growth above $85^{\circ}C$), have already been purified in our laboratory. These include the enzyme systems from Pyrococcus, Pyrodictium, Thermococcus and Thermotoga sp. that are involved in polysacharide modification and protein bioconversion. Only recently, the genome of the thermoalkaliphilic strain. Anaerobranca gottschalkii has been completely sequenced providing a unique resource of novel biocatalysts that are active at high temperature and pH. The gene encoding the branching enzyme from this organism was cloned and expressed in a mesophilic host and finally characterized. A novel glucoamylase was purified from an aerobic archaeon which shows optimal activity at $90^{\circ}C$ and pH 2.0. This thermoacidophilic archaeon Picrophilus oshimae grows optimally at pH 0.7 and $60^{\circ}C$. Furthermore, we were able to detect thermoactive proteases from two anaerobic isolates which are able to hydrolyze feather keratin completely at $80^{\circ}C$ forming amino acids and peptides. In addition, new marine psychrophilic isolates will be presented that are able to secrete enzymes such as lipases, proteases and amylases possessing high activity below the freezing point of water.

• Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.1-8
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• 2023

Space exploration is at the forefront of human scientific endeavors, and planetary exploration rovers play a critical role in studying planetary surfaces. Rover performance is especially vital for safely navigating steep terrain and delicate landscapes found on planets like Mars and the Moon. This paper offers a comprehensive overview of a landing testbed designed to simulate challenging extraterrestrial terrain and loose regolith. The paper briefly outlines lunar crater region topographical features and highlights the importance of these simulations in rover testing. It then explores previous landing testbed developments and describes the design process for a landing testbed to be installed in the dirty thermal vacuum chamber at the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology. Once realized, this proposed landing testbed will enable precise evaluations of rover mobility and exploration capabilities under lunar-like conditions, including high vacuum and extreme temperatures.

• Journal of Integrative Natural Science
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.33-41
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• 2024

Abnormal climate is a phenomenon in which meteorological factors such as temperature and precipitation are significantly higher or lower than normal, and is defined by the World Meteorological Organization as a 30-year period. However, over the past 30 years, abnormal climate phenomena have occurred more frequently around the world than in the past. In Korea, abnormal climate phenomena such as abnormally high temperatures on the Korean Peninsula, drought, heatwave and heavy rain in summer are occurring in March 2023. Among them, heatwaves are expected to increase in frequency compared to other abnormal climates. This suggests that heatwave should be recognised as a disaster rather than just another extreme weather event. According to several previous studies, greenhouse gases and meteorological factors are expected to affect heatwaves, so this paper uses logistic regression and discriminant analysis on meteorological element data and greenhouse gas data in Gwangju from 2008 to 2022. We analyzed the impact of heatwaves. As a result of the analysis, greenhouse gases were selected as effective variables for heatwaves compared to the past, and among them, chlorofluorocarbons were judged to have a stronger effect on heatwaves than other greenhouse gases. Since greenhouse gases have a significant impact on heatwaves, in order to overcome heatwaves and abnormal climates, greenhouse gases must be minimized to overcome heatwaves and abnormal climates.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.261-266
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• 2012

This study was carried out in order to investigate the effect of MA packaging material on quality and shelf life of ferulae mushroom (Pleurotus ferulae) at 1, 8, and $24^{\circ}C$ storage temperatures. We found that the fresh weight loss was less than 1.5% in all temperatures (1, 8, and $24^{\circ}C$) and non-perforated breathable films (1,300 cc, 3,000 cc, 5,000 cc, 7,000 cc, 10,000 cc, 15,000 cc, 20,000 cc, and $40,000cc/m^2{\cdot}day{\cdot}atm$ oxygen transmission rate) treatments. The proper MA packaging material of ferulae mushroom was 1,300 cc and 3,000 cc films at $1^{\circ}C$ storage. Because 1,300 cc and 3,000 cc films showed proper level, 15% carbon dioxide and 5% oxygen concentration for MA storage, although the shelf life was higher in 1,300 cc (42 days) than 3,000 cc (38 days), and the ethylene concentration as well as off-order showed lower in 3,000 cc than 1,300 cc film. The 3,000 cc film was the most suitable for ferulae mushroom storage at $8^{\circ}C$, because atmosphere composition in package was not statistically significantly different among the film treatments. In addition, 3,000 cc film showed the second low ethylene concentration and the longest shelf-life of 19 days. The ferulae mushroom stored at $25^{\circ}C$ showed a vigorous respiration and resulted in an extreme CA condition in package at $5^{th}$ day after storage, and showed the highest visual quality in 1,300 cc film. As the shelf life of ferulae mushroom at $1^{\circ}C$ and $8^{\circ}C$ storage were 8 times and 4 times longer than at $25^{\circ}C$ storage respectively, so the ferulae mushroom should be stored and distributed in cold chain system.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.39 no.7 s.264
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• pp.520-526
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• 2006

Background: The clinical application of cryosurgery the management of lung cancer is limited because the response of lung at low temperature is not well understood. The purpose of this study is to investigate the response of the pulmonary tissue at extreme low temperature. Material and Method: After general anesthesia the lungs of twelve Mongrel dogs were exposed through the fifth intercostal space. Cryosurgical probe (Galil Medical, Israel) with diameter 2.4 mm were placed into the lung 20 mm deep and four thermosensors (T1-4) were inserted at 5 mm intervals from the cryoprobe. The animals were divided into group A (n=8) and group B (n=4). In group A the temperature of the cryoprobe was decreased to $-120^{\circ}C$ and maintained for 20 minutes. After 5 minutes of thawing this freezing cycle was repeated. In group B same freezing temperature was maintained for 40 minutes continuously without thawing. The lungs were removed for microscopic examination on f day after the cryosurgery. In four dogs of the group A the lung was removed 7 days after the cryosurgery to examine the delayed changes of the cryoinjured tissue, Result: In group A the temperatures of T1 and T2 were decreased to the $4.1{\pm}11^{\circ}C\;and\;31{\pm}5^{\circ}C$ respectively in first freezing cycle. During the second freezing period the temperatures of the thermosensors were decreased lower than the temperature during the first freezing time: $T1\;-56.4{\pm}9.7^{\circ}C,\;T2\;-18.4{\pm}14.2^{\circ}C,\;T3\;18.5{\pm}9.4^{\circ}C\;and\;T4\;35.9{\pm}2.9^{\circ}C$. Comparing the temperature-distance graph of the first cycle to that of the second cycle revealed the changes of temperature-distance relationship from curve to linear. In group B the temperatures of thermosensors were decreased and maintained throughout the 40 minutes of freezing. On light microscopy, hemorrhagic infarctions of diameter $18.6{\pm}6.4mm$ were found in group A. The infarction size was $14{\pm}3mm$ in group B. No viable cell was found within the infarction area. Conclusion: The conductivity of the lung is changed during the thawing period resulting further decrease in temperature of the lung tissue during the second freezing cycle and expanding the area of cell destruction.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.103-110
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• 2019

Recently, Korea has been affected by extreme weather events including extended summers and increased temperatures caused by global warming and climate change. Environmental temperature is especially important to the livestock industry because it is closely related to livestock productivity. This study was conducted to investigate the influence of different environmental temperatures on respiration rate, rectal temperature and body-surface temperature in finishing pigs. Pigs ($98.3{\pm}6.6kg$) were housed in individual cages inside an experimental chamber and exposed continuously to one of five environmental treatments ($22^{\circ}C$, $24^{\circ}C$, $26^{\circ}C$, $28^{\circ}C$, $30^{\circ}C$) for 10 days without providing additional rest time. Feed and water intake, respiration rate, rectal temperature and body-surface (head, ear, neck, back, side) temperature were measured two times daily during the experimental period. A significant increase in respiration rate from $26^{\circ}C$ and in body-surface temperature from $24^{\circ}C$ (p<0.05) was observed. At $30^{\circ}C$, the respiration rate had almost doubled and the body-surface temperature increased by about $5^{\circ}C-7^{\circ}C$. Moreover, ear skin temperature was very sensitive to environmental temperature. However, feed intake, water intake and rectal temperature did not change significantly during the experiment.