• Clean Technology
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.313-320
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• 2023

In order to increase the usability of H₂-SCR, the NOx removal characteristics with catalyst powder of PtNi/CeO₂-W-TiO₂ using Ce as a co-catalyst was synthesized and coated on a porous metal structure (PMS) were evaluated. Catalyst powder of PtNi/CeO₂-W-TiO₂(PtNi nanoparticles onto W-TiO₂, with the incorporation of ceria (CeO₂) as a co-catalysts) was synthesized and coated onto a porous metal structure (PMS) to produce a Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) catalyst. H₂-SCR with CeO₂ as a co-catalyst exhibited higher NOx removal efficiency compared to H₂-SCR without CeO₂. Particularly, at a 10wt% CeO₂ loading ratio, the NOx removal efficiency was highest at 90℃. As the amount of catalyst coating on PMS increased, the NOx removal efficiency was improved below 90℃, but it was decreased above 120℃. When the space velocity was changed from 4,000 h^-1 to 20,000 h^-1, the NOx removal efficiency improved at temperatures above 120℃. It was expected that the use of the catalyst could be reduced by applying the PMS with excellent specific surface area as a support.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.218-228
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• 2023

Invasive predators are one of the most damaging species groups to biodiversity. In the Nakdong River, the lake skygazer Chanodichthys erythropterus is a dominant species that is fiercely carnivorous and a concern for commercial fish. Although it is important to understand the ecological characteristics related to the feeding habit, studies on the diets of lake skygazer in Nakdong River have been limited to studies of gut contents. In this study, the trophic position (TP) and feeding habits of C. erythropterus were studied by calculating TPs using samples collected from 13 sites throughout the Nakdong River. Compound-specific isotopic analysis of amino acids provided reliable TPs from the muscle of Lake skygazer C. erythropterus without any isotope baseline. The results were approximately 3 to 3.6 and suggesting a carnivorous but size-dependent prey variation. In particular, the TP variability of C. erythropterus observed in the Nakdong River showed that it had a selective feeding habit compared to carnivorous fish species of relatively similar trophic levels.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.66-72
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• 2024

Background: Vibrio vulnificus is a serious opportunistic human pathogen that has a worldwide distribution in a variety of marine and estuarine environments. Objectives: For this reason, we investigated the distribution of Vibrio vulnificus in coastal areas of Gyeonggido Province from 2018 to 2022. Also, we analyzed the correlation between V. vulnificus leading to infection and two marine environmental factors (water temperature and salinity). Methods: We collected a total of 266 samples from six coastal area points (i.e., seawater, mudflats). Specimens were isolated using selective plating media and isolated strains were identified by a VITEK 2 system. To find the relevance of the isolation rates of V. vulnificus and number of cases of V. vulnificus infection, we summarized the data on 48 cases of V. vulnificus infection from the open data of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. Results: Among the 266 samples taken during the investigation period, 47 strains were isolated, and the separation rates of V. vulnificus were 17.7%. The monthly isolation rates of V. vulnificus were ranked in the order of August (53.8%), September (33.3%), June (28.6%), and July (21.1%). There was a positive correlation with the temperature of seawater, but salinity was not significant. The number of cases of V. vulnificus infection reported in Gyeonggi-do Province were 18 (37.5%) in September, 14 (29.2%) in August, and eight (16.7%) in October. The proportion was 83.3%. It was relevant to the isolation rates of V. vulnificus in the marine environmental sources. Conclusions: Our data showed that the number of V. vulnificus infection cases could be affected by changes in the distribution of V. vulnificus due to rise the temperature of seawater in the marine environment.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.58-69
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• 2024

Reverse electrodialysis (RED) is an electro-membrane process employing ion-exchange membranes (IEMs) that can harvest electric energy from the concentration difference between seawater and river water. Multivalent ions contained in seawater and river water bind strongly to the fixed charge groups of the IEM, causing high resistance and reducing open-circuit voltage and power density through uphill transport. In this study, a pore-filled anion-exchange membrane (PFAEM) with excellent monovalent ion selectivity and electrochemical properties was fabricated and characterized for RED application. The monovalent ion selectivity of the prepared membrane was 3.65, which was superior to a commercial membrane (ASE, Astom Corp.) with a selectivity of 1.27 under the same conditions. Additionally, the prepared membrane showed excellent electrochemical properties, including low electrical resistance compared to ASE. As a result of evaluating RED performance under seawater of 0.459 M NaCl/0.0510 M Na₂SO₄ and river water of 0.0153 M NaCl/0.0017 M Na₂SO₄, the maximum power density of 1.80 W/m² was obtained by applying the prepared membrane, which is a 40.6% improved output performance compared to the ASE membrane.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.982-992
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• 2024

Objective: Jining Grey goat is a local Chinese goat breed that is well known for its high fertility and excellent meat quality but shows low meat production performance. Numerous studies have focused on revealing the genetic mechanism of its high fertility, but its highlighting meat quality and muscle growth mechanism still need to be studied. Methods: In this research, an integrative analysis of the genomics and transcriptomics of Jining Grey goats compared with Boer goats was performed to identify candidate genes and pathways related to the mechanisms of meat quality and muscle development. Results: Our results overlap among five genes (ABHD2, FN1, PGM2L1, PRKAG3, RAVER2) and detected a set of candidate genes associated with fatty acid metabolism (PRKAG3, HADHB, FASN, ACADM), amino acid metabolism (KMT2C, PLOD3, NSD2, SETDB1, STT3B, MAN1A2, BCKDHB, NAT8L, P4HA3) and muscle development (MSTN, PPARGC1A, ANKRD2). Several pathways have also been detected, such as the FoxO signaling pathway and Apelin signaling pathway that play roles in lipid metabolism, lysine degradation, N-glycan biosynthesis, valine, leucine and isoleucine degradation that involving with amino acid metabolism. Conclusion: The comparative genomic and transcriptomic analysis of Jining Grey goat and Boer goat revealed the mechanisms underlying the meat quality and meat productive performance of goats. These results provide valuable information for future breeding of goats.

• Journal of Adhesion and Interface
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.169-274
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• 2024

Recent attention has been drawn to materials that undergo reversible expansion and contraction in response to external stimuli, leading to morphological changes. These materials hold potential applications in various fields including soft robotics, sensors, and artificial muscles. In this study, a novel material capable of responding to high temperatures for protection or encapsulation is proposed. To achieve this, liquid crystal elastomer (LCE) with nematic-isotropic transition properties and polyimide (PI) with high mechanical strength and thermal stability were utilized. To utilize a solution process, a dope solution was synthesized and introduced into micro-printing techniques to develop a two-dimensional pattern of LCE/PI bilayer structures with sub-millimeter widths. The honeycomb-patterned LCE/PI bilayer mesh combined the mechanical strength of PI with the high-temperature contraction behavior of LCE, and selective printing of LCE facilitated deformation in desired directions at high temperatures. Consequently, the functionality of selectively and reversibly encapsulating specific high-temperature materials was achieved. This study suggests potential applications in various actuator fields where functionalities can be implemented across different temperature ranges without the need for electrical energy input, contingent upon molecular changes in LCE.

• Clean Technology
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.145-156
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• 2024

Carbon has a large specific area and excellent chemical stability, so research on its use as a catalyst support is actively conducted. When using carbon as a support, the pretreatment process is essential. Through pretreatment of carbon, the growth of metal nanoparticles can be controlled and the bonding strength between the support and metal particles can be improved. In this study, carbon was pretreated for surface modification and 5 wt% Pd/C catalysts were synthesized using it as a support. Catalytic activity was evaluated through phenol hydrogenation. To compare with nitric acid, which is commonly used in carbon pretreatment, carbon pretreatment was performed using organic acid. Pd/C treated with gluconic acid showed the highest activity, with 94.93% phenol conversion and 92.76% cyclohexanone selectivity. Therefore, it is expected that pretreatment of the carbon support using organic acid will not only overcome the disadvantages of inorganic acid treatment but also improve catalyst performance.

• Clean Technology
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.105-112
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• 2024

Globally, the demand for electric vehicles has surged due to greenhouse gas regulations related to climate change, leading to an increase in the production of used batteries as a consequence of the battery life issue. This study aims to selectively leach and recover valuable metal lithium from the cathode material of spent LFP (LiFePO₄) batteries among lithium-ion batteries. Generally, the use of inorganic acids results in the emission of toxic gases or the generation of large quantities of wastewater, causing environmental issues. To address this, research is being conducted to leach lithium using organic acids and other leaching agents. In this study, selective leaching was performed using the organic acid methane sulfonic acid (MSA, CH₃SO₃H). Experiments were conducted to determine the optimal conditions for selectively leaching lithium by varying the MSA concentration, pulp density, and hydrogen peroxide dosage. The results of this study showed that lithium was leached at approximately 100%, while iron and phosphorus components were leached at about 1%, verifying the leaching efficiency and the leaching rates of the main components under different variables.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.154-162
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• 2024

Anion exchange membranes (AEMs) are essential components in water electrolysis systems, serving to physically separate the generated hydrogen and oxygen gases while enabling the selective transport of hydroxide ions between electrodes. Key characteristics sought in AEMs include high ion conductivity and robust chemical and mechanical stability in alkaline. In this study, quaternized Poly(terphenyl piperidinium)/cellulose nanocrystals (qPTP/CNC) mixed matrix membrane was fabricated. The polymer matrix, PTP, was synthesized via super-acid polymerization, known for its excellent ion conductivity and alkaline durability. The qPTP/CNC membrane showed a dense and uniform morphology without significant voids or large aggregates at the polymer-nanoparticle interface. The qPTP/CNC membrane containing 2 wt% CNC demonstrated a high ion exchange capacity of 1.90 mmol/g, coupled with low water uptake (9.09%) and swelling ratio (5.56%). Additionally, the qPTP/CNC membrane showed significantly lower resistance and superior alkaline stability (384 hours at 50℃ in 1 M KOH) compared to the commercial FAA-3-50 membrane. These results highlight the potential of hydrophilic additive CNC in enhancing ion conductivity and alkaline durability of ion exchange membranes.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.53-63
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• 2024

The purpose of this study was to analyze radiological technologists' (RT) task perceptions of intravenous injection behavior of contrast medium and use it as basic data for future workforce response plans. We surveyed a total of 172 RT using questionnaire terms consisting of demographic characteristics, job priorities, and RT' task perceptions of intravenous injection behavior. Statistical analysis was performed using descriptive statistics, frequency analysis, independent samples T-test, and ANOVA analysis. As a result, first, current clinical RT were highly aware of the need for intravenous injection behavior as a response to the future workforce of them, and the workload burden resulting from this was evaluated as low. Second, the fear of intravenous injection behavior was found to be significant, so it is judged to be useful to perform them as selective job actions rather than all RT' task. Third, the need for training courses and certification for RT' intravenous injection behavior is being raised, and additional specific research on this is required. Last, RT' positive perception of intravenous injection behavior could be expected as a foundation for improving national medical services, strengthening RT expertise, and expanding tasks.