During a long-term operation of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells(PEMFCs), the fuel cell performance may degrade due to severe agglomeration and dissolution of metal nanoparticles in the cathode. To enhance the electrochemical durability of metal catalysts and to prevent the particle agglomeration in PEMFC operation, this paper proposes a hybrid catalyst structure composed of PtCo alloy nanoparticles encapsulated by porous carbon layers. In the hybrid catalyst structure, the dissolution and migration of PtCo nanoparticles can be effectively prevented by protective carbon shells. In addition, O2 can properly penetrate the porous carbon layers and react on the active Pt surface, which ensures high catalytic activity for the oxygen reduction reaction. Although the hybrid catalyst has a much smaller active surface area due to the carbon encapsulation compared to a commercial Pt catalyst without a carbon layer, it has a much higher specific activity and significantly improved durability than the Pt catalyst. Therefore, it is expected that the designed hybrid catalyst concept will provide an interesting strategy for development of high-performance fuel cell catalysts.

In anion exchange membrane fuel cells, Pd nanoparticles are extensively studied as promising non-Pt catalysts due to their electronic structure similar to Pt. In this study, to fabricate Pd nanoparticles well dispersed on carbon support materials, we propose a synthetic strategy using mixed organic ligands with different chemical structures and functions. Simultaneously to control the Pd particle size and dispersion, a ligand mixture composed of oleylamine(OA) and trioctylphosphine(TOP) is utilized during thermal decomposition of Pd precursors. In the ligand mixture, OA serves mainly as a reducing agent rather than a stabilizer since TOP, which has a bulky structure, more strongly interacts with the Pd metal surface as a stabilizer compared to OA. The specific roles of OA and TOP in the Pd nanoparticle synthesis are studied according to the mixture composition, and the oxygen reduction reaction(ORR) activity and durability of highly-dispersed Pd nanocatalysts with different particles sizes are investigated. The results of this study confirm that the Pd nanocatalyst with large particles has high durability compared to the nanocatalyst with small Pd nanoparticles during the accelerated degradation tests although they initially indicated similar ORR performance.

Basic reproductive biology of the daggertooth pike conger, Muraenesox cinereus were investigated based on the samples from August 2015 to December 2017 in Korean waters. A total of 2,328 samples was collected (1,593 females and 735 males) during the study period. The mean anal lengths (AL) were 33.5 ± 9.2 cm in females and 26.2 ± 7.3 cm in males respectively. The females were larger than males in AL (p < 0.05). Sex ratio was 2.2:1 in female to male (p < 0.05). The gonadosomatic index (GSI) varied monthly. GSI of female reached the maximum in July 2016 and June 2017 and the minimum in October 2016 and September 2017 respectively. The spawning period was from June to October. The size at sexual maturity (L50) of females was estimated at 24.9 cm in AL (63.5 cm in TL).

Coffee is a commonly consumed beverage that contains anti-inflammatory compounds such as caffeine, chlorogenic acid, cafestol, trigonelline, and kahweol. Lactobacillus plantarum is a lactic acid bacterium most frequently used in the fermentation of food products of plant origin. L. plantarum is able to degrade some food phenolic compounds and provide high value-added compounds such as powerful antioxidants or food additives approved as flavouring agents. In this study, we investigated the anti-inflammatory effects of coffee extract fermented by L. plantarum on RAW264.7 macrophages. In lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW264.7 cells, these coffee extracts exhibited antiinflammatory activities through the reduction of nitric oxide (NO) production and inducible NO synthase expression. Fermented coffee extracts significantly decreased the expression of inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor α, interleukin 1β, interleukin 6, and interferon γ. Cyclooxygenase-2, which is one of the key biomarkers for inflammation, was significantly suppressed. These results might be helpful for understanding the anti-inflammatory mechanism of fermented coffee extract on immune cells and, moreover, suggest that fermented coffee extract may be a beneficial anti-inflammatory agent.

We conducted a questionnaire survey to analyze the current status of the coastal composite fisheries, as well as the improvement point in designing a new type coastal composite fishing boat suitable for Korean fishing environments from April to August 2017. The questionnaire composed of 20 questions about the features of the coastal composite fishing boat and fishing work. The survey sites were selected to cover all parts of the country by considering the geographical position. The significance testing for the response results was accessed by  test and ANOVA. The results revealed that more than half (59.1%) of the fishermen operated one day per voyage and operating alone topped with 22.5% in the number of crews, followed by 2 persons (20.3%) and 5 persons (22.1%). The navigation devices had a high rate of installation and GPS plotter ranked first in the devices. In addition, fish finder ranked first in fishing equipment, followed by net hauler. The most inconvenient work that they felt during the fishing operation was fish handing at 49.8% and other general fishing works like setting and hauling line, deck cleaning accounted for about 25%. The hardest work was the accident by ropes wrapped around propeller and the engine trouble came in second. The most inconvenient facilities to the present design of fishing boat was wheelhouse (76.7%), followed by fish hold (38.5%), and deck (35.1%). Furthermore, inconvenient points related to the movement of fishing gear, noise and vibration of engine, slippery deck and small fish hold exceeded 50%.

The main purposes of this study were to identify the factors affecting the supercooling property and to improve the possibility of supercooling storage of fruits and vegetables. Freezing point and nucleation temperature, moisture content, hardness, sugar content, and pH of nineteen fruits and vegetables were measured and Pearson correlation analysis was performed. Freezing point showed a statistically significant correlation with moisture content and sugar content (p<0.01), while ice nucleation temperature showed a correlation (p<0.05) only for sugar content. In particular, the water content and sugar content did not show any correlation with the freezing supercooling difference (FSD). From the correlation analysis between FSD, aerobic bacteria, lactic acid bacteria, yeast, and mold, FSD showed a correlation (p<0.01) with aerobic bacteria. The experiments of the saline solutions inoculated with aerobic bacteria at different concentrations showed FSDs of about 2 for saline inoculated with 9.4 log CFU/mL and about 6 for saline inoculated lower than 5 log CFU/mL. Therefore, the aerobic bacteria concentration was determined to be a key factor affecting the supercooling storage of fruits and vegetables.

In recent years, interest in halal authentication from the domestic food and cosmetics field has been growing for advances into the overseas halal market. For halal authentication, the product must not contain haram ingredients derived from pig, dog, human, GMO, etc. In this study, the presence of haram ingredients in plant extracts (carrot, oyster mushroom, and pine needle) treated with papain and bromelain and cosmetics (mask pack and cream) containing these extracts were analyzed by PCR to confirm whether these cosmetics were suitable for halal authentication. Detection limits of the PCR method that specifically detected template DNA of human, pig, dog, and GMO were 1.29×103, 1.14×103, 1.24×102 and 2.02×103 copies/tube, respectively. PCR was not inhibited by the plant extracts or cosmetic ingredients. Results of PCR for the plant extracts or cosmetics containing these extracts were all negative. This PCR method could be used to rapidly identify the presence of haram ingredients in raw materials or final products during the manufacturing process of food and cosmetics.