• Resources Recycling
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.38-44
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• 2023

Leaching tests were conducted using sulfuric acid and sodium hydroxide solutions to remove impurities from domestic graphite concentrate. As a result of the leaching experiment using sulfuric acid solution and sodium hydroxide solution, respectively, the difference of removal efficiency was insignificant when the concentration of sodium hydroxide or sulfuric acid was 2 mol/L or more. The fixed carbon content increased with increasing the temperature in the sulfuric acid solution leaching, while it remains constant above 150℃ in sodium hydroxide solution. For the repeated sequential leaching tests, the leaching conditions were 2 mol/L NaOH, 200℃, 1 hour in the sodium hydroxide solution leaching and 2 mol/L H₂SO₄, 100℃, 1 hour in the sulfuric acid solution leaching, respectively. When sulfuric acid leaching followed by sodium hydroxide solution leaching was repeated 5 times, the fixed carbon increased to 99.95% and ash content decreased to 0.048%, while the fixed carbon increased to 99.98% and ash content was reduced to 0.018 when sodium hydroxide solution leaching followed by sulfuric acid solution leaching was repeated 5 times.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.56 no.5
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• pp.619-628
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• 2023

In this study, we investigated the feasibility of calcium sulfate fertilizer as a stabilizing agent for As and Hg contaminated farmland soil and its stabilization characteristics in 3 different physical forms (particulate, powder, and solution) through a pot experiment including 34 days of lettuce growth. As and Hg contents of the lettuce grown in the stabilized soils were decreased by at least 70%. However the lettuce yield of the soil stabilized with the solution agent was decreased by 46% due to the overabundance of the nutrients from the solution agent. Thus, if a solution-type agent is planned for agricultural farmland soil stabilization, additional tests for optimal dosage are needed to preserve vegetation growth. In Hg fractionation, a lower concentration of elemental fractions and a higher concentration of residual/sulfide fractions were identified in the soils stabilized with the solution, powder, and pariculate agents in descending order while there were no significant changes in As fractionation. Overall results suggest that calcium sulfate fertilizer can be used as a stabilizing agent, and a solution-type agent could be used when the operation of heavy machinery for the soil stabilization process is impossible.

• Proceedings of the Plant Resources Society of Korea Conference
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• 2022.09a
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• pp.36-36
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• 2022

The molecular understanding of resistance and susceptibility of host plants to scab, a most threatful disease to pome fruit production worldwide, is very limited. Comparing resistant line '93-3-98' to susceptible one 'Sweet Skin' at seven time points of 0, 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 8 days post inoculation, RNA-sequencing data derived from infected and mock-inoculated young leaves were analyzed to evaluate the tolerant response and to mine candidate genes of pear to the scab pathogen Venturia nashicola. Analysis of the mapped reads showed that the infection of V. nashicola led to significant differential expression of 17,827 transcripts with more than 3-fold change in the seven pairs of libraries, of which 9,672 (54%) are up- and 8,155(46%) are down-regulated. These included mainly receptor (NB-ARC domains-containing, CC-NBS-LRR, TIR-NBS-LRR, seven transmembrane MLO family protein) and transcription factor (ethylene responsive element binding, WRKY DNA-binding protein) related gene. An arsenal of defense response of highly resistant pear accessions derived from European pear was probably supposed no sooner had V. nashicola infected its host than host genes related to disease suppression like Polyketide cyclase/dehydrase and lipid transport protein, WRKY family transcription factor, lectin protein kinase, cystein-rich RLK, calcium-dependent phospholipid-binding copine protein were greatly boosted and eradicated cascade reaction induced by pathogen within 24 hours. To identify transcripts specifically expressed in response to V. nashicola, RT-PCRs were conducted and compare to the expression patterns of seven cultivars with a range of highly resistant to highly susceptible symptom. A DEG belonging to the PR protein family genes that were higher expressed in response to V. nashicola suggesting extraordinary role in the resistance response were led to the identification. This study provides the first transcriptional profile by RNA-seq of the host plant during scab disease and insights into the response of tolerant pear plants to V. nashicola.

• Korean Journal of Mineralogy and Petrology
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.259-271
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• 2023

Since the short-wave infrared spectrum has a significant range of variation depending on the production environment, countries with advanced resource exploration are collecting the spectrum and building a database. Representative organizations include the USGS and CSIRO, and they are currently carrying out a project in China that can synthesize and use a large number of existing data. The USGS library provides a total of 2,457 spectra targeting not only minerals but also various materials that respond to infrared radiation. Among these, there are 1,276 mineral spectra, which are about half of the total. The spectrum title includes information, such as analysis devices (NIC4, BECK, ASDNG, etc.), purity codes (a, b, c, d, u), and measurement methods (AREF, RREF, RTGC, TRAN). Analyzed raw data are provided in ASCII and GIF format. The CSIRO library has a total of 502 spectra, of which the majority, 493, correspond to mineral spectra. The USGS library is a free, publically available resource, while the CSIRO library is bundled with TSG8 or must be purchased separately. Among these, when comparing the eight spectra whose spectral shapes can be analyzed with the spectra of domestic illite, the positions of the absorption peaks are significantly different from those of domestic illite, except for one Japanese illite. Additional research will be needed to determine the causes of such differences, and the domestically relevant databases should be established as well.

• Korean Journal of Mineralogy and Petrology
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.345-353
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• 2023

This study aimed to investigate the differences in the commercial powder products of the Yeongdong illite based on sales specifications, specifically examining the mineralogical composition, particle size, and chemical composition according to mesh size. The goal was to understand the characteristics of illite powder products and utilize them as a mineralogical database for exploring various applications. Commercial illite powder samples obtained from two mines were subjected to various experiments, including X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, laser diffraction particle size analysis, and scanning electron microscopy analysis, X-ray fluorescence analysis. The XRD analysis revealed that the illite powder products from the two mines mainly consisted of illite/muscovite, quartz, and feldspar, indicating similar constituent minerals matching with those of ores for each mine. Laser diffraction particle size analysis indicated the difference in particle size distribution depending on the product specifications, with particle size uniformity tending to increase with increasing mesh sizes. Scanning electron microscopy analysis showed variations in particle shape and size based on specifications. The size of illite particles did not vary significantly with product specifications, with noticeable changes observed mainly in the particle sizes of quartz and feldspar. Furthermore, although there were some differences in chemical composition among the samples from different mines, no significant variations were observed according to specifications. Based on these results, when considering the application of commercial illite powder, it is essential to carefully select it with the consideration of its specifications to account for characteristic variations. The findings of this study present support the great potential of various application fields of commercial illite powder, contributing to industrial utilization and the development of new technologies.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.920-929
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• 2024

As a pivotal defensive line against multitudinous malignant tumors, natural killer (NK) cells exist in the tumor microenvironment (TME). RAD18 E3 Ubiquitin Protein Ligase (RAD18) has been reported to foster the malignant progression of multiple cancers, but its effect on NK function has not been mined. Here, the study was designed to mine the mechanism by which RAD18 regulates the killing effect of NK cells on colorectal cancer (CRC) cells. Expression of E2F Transcription Factor 7 (E2F7) and RAD18 in CRC tissues, their correlation, binding sites, and RAD18 enrichment pathway were analyzed by bioinformatics. Expression of E2F7 and RAD18 in cells was assayed by qRT-PCR and western blot. Dual-luciferase assay and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assay verified the regulatory relationship between E2F7 and RAD18. CCK-8 assay was utilized to assay cell viability, colony formation assay to detect cell proliferation, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) test to assay NK cell cytotoxicity, ELISA to assay levels of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interferon-γ (IFN-γ), and immunofluorescence to detect expression of toxic molecules perforin and granzyme B. High expression of RAD18 and E2F7 was found in CRC tissues and cells. Silencing RAD18 could hamper the proliferation of CRC cells, foster viability and cytotoxicity of NK cells, and increase the secretion of GM-CSF, TNF-α, IFN-γ as well as the expression of perforin and granzyme B. Additionally, ChIP and dual-luciferase reporter assay ascertained the binding relationship between RAD18 promoter region and E2F7. E2F7 could activate the transcription of RAD18, and silencing RAD18 reversed the inhibitory effect of E2F7 overexpression on NK cell killing. This work clarified the inhibitory effect of the E2F7/RAD18 axis on NK cell killing in CRC, and proffered a new direction for immunotherapy of CRC in targeted immune microenvironment.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.103-114
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• 2015

Jinsan gold deposit is a hydrothermal vein type deposit consisting of several fissure filling quartz veins developed within the Changri Formation of the Ogcheon Supergroup in Geumsan, Chungnam. This study is to provide an efficient exploration and development strategies based on the characteristics of the geology, geological structure, core logging, and ore vein occurrence and grade for the four pits (New pit, Main pit, Yanghapan pit and Teugho pit). Quartz veins are mostly developed with the strike of $N10^{\circ}-25^{\circ}W$ and $N5^{\circ}-20^{\circ}E$, and the thickness is in the range of 0.1~0.5 m, sometimes extending to over 1m. Although the quartz veins commonly form massive shape, they sometimes show zonal structure, comb structure as well as brecciated texture. Major ore minerals are pyrite and chalcopyrite, and pyrrhotite, sphalerite, galena, marcasite, electrum and chalcocite are also accompanied as minor phases. Gray and milky white quartz veins, which are occasionally crosscut by calcite vein, also include fluorite. Ore evaluations for the 22 samples revealed that the samples from the pits generally have very low Au contents, lower than 1 g/t, but some clay samples of drilled core show very high Au concentrations, up to 141 g/t, indicating that Au content is much higher within fault gouges rather than within fresh quartz veins. This may represent that gold might have been reworked and reprecipitated by hydrothermal fluids in association with reactivation of the faults, and thus suggest that ore occurrence in this deposit is very complex and irregular and therefore more precise and systematic exploration is required.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.270-279
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• 2005

Under the research project supported by Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), we have conducted the development of GPR systems for landmine detection. Until 2005, we have finished development of two prototype GPR systems, namely ALIS (Advanced Landmine Imaging System) and SAR-GPR (Synthetic Aperture Radar-Ground Penetrating Radar). ALIS is a novel landmine detection sensor system combined with a metal detector and GPR. This is a hand-held equipment, which has a sensor position tracking system, and can visualize the sensor output in real time. In order to achieve the sensor tracking system, ALIS needs only one CCD camera attached on the sensor handle. The CCD image is superimposed with the GPR and metal detector signal, and the detection and identification of buried targets is quite easy and reliable. Field evaluation test of ALIS was conducted in December 2004 in Afghanistan, and we demonstrated that it can detect buried antipersonnel landmines, and can also discriminate metal fragments from landmines. SAR-GPR (Synthetic Aperture Radar-Ground Penetrating Radar) is a machine mounted sensor system composed of B GPR and a metal detector. The GPR employs an array antenna for advanced signal processing for better subsurface imaging. SAR-GPR combined with synthetic aperture radar algorithm, can suppress clutter and can image buried objects in strongly inhomogeneous material. SAR-GPR is a stepped frequency radar system, whose RF component is a newly developed compact vector network analyzers. The size of the system is 30cm x 30cm x 30 cm, composed from six Vivaldi antennas and three vector network analyzers. The weight of the system is 17 kg, and it can be mounted on a robotic arm on a small unmanned vehicle. The field test of this system was carried out in March 2005 in Japan.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.405-420
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• 2014

To investigate geochemical characteristics of soil and atmospheric environments by anthropogenic source, we have analyzed and determined heavy metal concentrations of the surface soils beneath roadside trees and leaves of Platanus occidentalis from 52 points in Seoul during autumn 2001. For comparison of the contents of heavy metal for the soil and leaf, we have analyzed heavy metal contents of the surface soils beneath roadside trees and leaves from 2 points in rural area of Yesan during the same time period. The composition of heavy metals of soils are relatively high for Cd, Co, Cr and Ni in industrial area (IA, Industrial Area) and high for Cu, Pb and Zn in heavy traffic area (HTA, Heavy Traffic Area). The heavy metal contents of rural area in Seoul are higher than those in Yesan. The differences of chemical compositions between the washed and unwashed leaves are high for Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn in the HTA. The element couples of Cd-Co, Cr-Ni and Pb-Zn for the soils had shown a good correlation and their contamination sources could be similar. The relationship for Pb-Cu and Cu-Zn showed good correlation in Platanus leaves. The relationship between soils and unwashed leaves show a good correlation for Cr, Cu, Pb and Zn but low correlation for Cd, Co, Fe, Mn and Ni. It is thought that the Cr, Cu, Pb and Zn were derived from contaminants of soils, whereas Cd, Co, Fe, Mn and Ni were originated from atmospheric source. From the spatial variations of elements for soils and leaves, Ni and Cr were dominant in the soils of IA and Cd, Cu and Zn were dominant in those of HTA. The Contamination by Cd-Pb and Cu-Zn in unwashed leaves were analyzed to show similar patterns. Using the enrichment factors (EF) of heavy metals in unwashed leaves, the EF sequences were to be Cu, Zn, Pb, Mn, Co, Ni, Cd and Cr. We identified that Cu, Zn, Pb and Mn were most problematic of environmental hazard in Seoul.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.505-517
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• 1997

Lead and zinc mineralization of the Kwangsin mine was formed in quartz and carbonate veins that filled fault-related fractures in the limestone-rich Samtaesan Formation of the Chosun Supergroup and the phyllite-rich Suchangni Formation of unknown age. A K-Ar date of alteration sericite indicates that the Pb-Zn mineralization took place during Late Cretaceous (83.5 Ma), genetically in relation to the cooling of the nearby Muamsa Granite (83~87 Ma). Mineral paragenesis can be divided into three stages (I, II, III): (I) the deposition of barren massive white quartz, (II) the main Pb-Zn mineralization with deposition of white crystalline quartz and/or carbonates (rhodochrosite and dolomite), and (III) the deposition of post-ore barren calcite. Mineralogic and fluid inclusion data indicate that lead-zinc minerals in middle stage II (IIb) were deposited at temperatures between $182^{\circ}$ and $276^{\circ}C$ from fluids with salinities of 2.7 to 5.4 wt. % equiv. NaCl and with log $fs_2$ values of -15.5 to -11.8 atm. The relationship between homogenization temperature and salinity data indicates that lead-zinc deposition was a result of fluid boiling and later meteoric water mixing. Ore mineralization occurred at depths of about 600 to 700 m. Sulfur isotope compositions of sulfide minerals (${\delta}^{34}S_{CDT}=9.0{\sim}14.5$ ‰) indicate a relatively high ${\delta}^{34}S_{{\Sigma}S}$ value of ore fluids (up to 14 ‰), likely indicating an igneous source of sulfur largely mixed with an isotopically heavier sulfur source (possibly sulfates in surrounding sedimentary rocks). There is a remarkable decrease of calculated ${\delta}^{18}O$ value of water in hydrothermal fluids with increasing paragenetic time: stage I, 14.6~10.1 ‰; stage IIa, 5.8~2.2 ‰; stage IIb, 0.8~2.0 ‰; stage IIc, -6.1~-6.8 ‰, This indicates a progressive increase of meteoric water influx in the hydrothermal system at Kwangsin. Measured and calculated hydrogen and oxygen isotope values indicate that the Kwangsin hydrothermal fluids was formed from a circulating (due to intrusion of the Muamsa Granite) meteoric waters which evolved through interaction mainly with the Samtaesan Formation (${\delta}^{18}O=20.1$ to 24.9 ‰) under low water/rock ratios.