This laboratory study was conducted to evaluate the effects of oyster shell by-product (OSB) on the characteristics of Hanwoo cow manure and emitted gases. For the treated groups, 0.5% and 1% OSB were applied to 200 g of Hanwoo cow manure in a container box with three replications each per group with a group without OSB (0%) as a control group. All samples were stored at room temperature to analyze pH, volatile basic nitrogen (VBN), volatile fatty acid (VFA), and gas emissions (NH3 and H2S) from Hanwoo manure on 0, 2, 4, and 8 days. No group exhibited a significant (p>0.05) effect on VBN, acetate, and propionate values during the 8 days. On day 0, pH increased by 1% OSB application, but no effects on the other days. Iso-butyrate concentration increased (p<0.05) on day 0 by OSB application, but deceased (p<0.05) on day 8. The NH3 gas emission on day 2 decreased (p<0.05) in all treatments applied OSB. However, either NH3 or H2S gases in all treatments were below 0.25 ppm on days 4 and 8, which were no differences (p>0.05) among treatments. Thus, this lab study indicated that the inclusion of OSB application in Hanwoo cow manure had a beneficial effect on NH3 gas emission, but no longer than for 2 days.

Expression changes of stress-induced peroxidase (swpa2 and swpa4) and storage root-specific sporamin (spo-A and spo-B) genes were examined using qRT-PCR after treatment with wounding and bacterial pathogens on leaves of sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas) plants. As a result of examining the expression change in the wounding treatment condition for 48 hours after treatment, which is a representative physical stress, the expression of all genes increased after 12 hours of wounding treatment, but the expression pattern of each gene group showed distinct differences thereafter. Expression levels of swpa2 and swpa4 strongly increased up to 36 or 48 hours after wounding treatment, whereas spo-A and spo-B expression levels strongly decreased after 24 or 36 hours after wounding treatment. Peroxidase and sporamin genes are involved in the early response after wounding treatment and, in particular, the peroxidase swpa2 and swpa4 genes are also involved in the late response after wounding treatment. Gene expression analysis after infection with P. chrysanthemi, which causes softness in sweetpotato, showed that the swpa2 and swpa4 genes were weakly induced after 8 hours and then strongly induced after 20 hours during pathogen infection. Expression of the spo-A gene was weakly induced in the pathogen-treated group after 20 hours, whereas spo-B showed an expression pattern similar to that of the peroxidase genes. The above results indicate that expression of the stress-induced peroxidase gene used in this study is induced not only by abiotic stress but also by biological stress caused by bacterial pathogen invasion and that peroxidase plays an important function in the initial defense response.

To address the need for a suitable thermoplastic resin-based sizing agent for accommodating the increasing demands of carbon fiber-reinforced plastic, in this work, alcohol-soluble polyamide 6 (PA6) and silane were chemically combined in a certain ratio to improve the mechanical interface properties of the carbon fiber/PA6 composite, and the enhancement in the mechanical interface strength of the final composite according to the treatment time was confirmed. Carbon fiber surface properties were analyzed through ultrahigh-resolution field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectrometry. The tensile strength of carbon fibers before and after hybrid sizing treatment and the mechanical interfacial shear strength of the final composite were analyzed using tensile and universal testing machines, respectively. After the hybrid sizing treatment, the introduction of the sizing agent to the carbon fiber surface was confirmed through FE-SEM, and a simultaneous increase in the surface roughness was observed. Moreover, the interfacial adhesion was confirmed to increase significantly, as compared to that of the desized carbon fiber. Therefore, this modified sizing agent treatment serves as an effective method for improving the mechanical interfacial adhesion between the carbon fiber and the PA6 matrix.

The oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is very sluggish compared to the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Considering this difference is essential when designing and developing a cost-effective and facile synthesis method for a catalyst that can effectively perform OER activity. The material should possess a high surface area and more active sites. Considering these points, in this work we successfully synthesized sheets of cobalt phosphate hydrate (CP) and sulphurated cobalt phosphate hydrate (CPS) material, using simple successive ionic layered adsorption and reaction (SILAR) methods followed by sulfurization. The CP and CPS electrodes exhibited overpotentials of 279 mV with a Tafel slope of 212 mV dec1 and 381 mV with a Tafel slope of 212 mV dec1, respectively. The superior performance after sulfurization is attributed to the intrinsic activity of the deposited well-aligned nanosheet structures, which provided a substantial number of electrochemically active surface sites, speeded electron transfer, and at the same time improved the diffusion of the electrolyte.

Cereal grains are the dietary staple in many countries, including the Republic of Korea. These grains are usually consumed cooked. Korean grown raw and cooked brown non-glutinous rice (BNR), white non-glutinous rice (WNR), oats, and barley were analyzed to assess the effects of cooking on dietary fiber and free sugar content. The largest decrease in total dietary fiber (TDF) after cooking was observed in barley (11.62±1.26 to 2.96± 0.90 g/100 g), and the smallest decrease was observed in oats (8.1±0.34 to 8.1±0.32 g/100 g). Soluble dietary fiber decreased in oats (3.35±0.94 to 1.25±0.03 g/100 g) while insoluble dietary fiber increased (4.76±0.78 to 6.90±0.30 g/100 g) after cooking. TDF content was not changed. Of the six free sugars routinely assessed, only sucrose was detected in BNR and WNR. Sucrose decreased by about 0.6 g/100 g in BNR, and was not detected in WNR, after cooking. Fructose, sucrose, and raffinose were detected in oats (0.08, 0.83, and 0.19 g/100 g) and barley (0.09, 0.58, and 0.22 g/100 g) Maltose was also detected in barley (0.09 g/100 g). Total sugar content decreased in every cereal grain sample after cooking. This research reveals that dietary fiber and free sugar content can be reduced by cooking cereal grains.