Yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) has a low thermal conductivity, high thermal expansion coefficient, and excellent mechanical properties; thus, it is used as a thermal barrier coating material for gas turbines. However, during long-time exposure of YSZ to temperatures of 1200oC or higher, a phase transformation accompanied by a volume change occurs, causing the YSZ coating layer to peel off. To solve this problem, YSZ has been doped with trivalent and tetravalent oxides to obtain coating materials with low thermal conductivity and suppressed phase transformation of zirconia. In this study, YSZ is doped with trivalent oxides, Nd2O3, Yb2O3, Al2O3, and tetravalent oxide, TiO2, and the thermal conductivity of the obtained materials is analyzed according to the composition; furthermore, the relative density change, microstructure change, and m-phase formation behavior are analyzed during long-time heat treatment at high temperatures.

Mechanical stimulation has been reported to improve cell growth in bone and cartilage regeneration. Various research groups have described their own bioreactors that stimulate cell-seeded scaffolds. We have developed a bioreactor capable of applying controlled compressive loading to a cell-encapsulated agarose hydrogel. To compare the effect of mechanical stimulation on agarose hydrogel, we used one control group (static mode) and five experimental groups. The results show that the intermittent_3sec conditions improve proliferation of cells better than the other conditions studied.

Tropical fire ant, Solenopsis geminata (Fabricius) is distributed over the tropical and temperate areas. It is a polyphagous pest attacking to various plant and causes the pain to the people doing outdoor work. So it is known for a hygienic pest to human being, especially the people doing outdoor activities. It can cause severe pain to human, even with just a bite. Of particular concern is the possibility of its settlement in this country, if it invade to the farmlands and/or forests of Jeju Island and southern part in Korea. It is listed as a regulated pest in Plant Quarantine Act of Korea. This ant is usually imported through a ship and early settled in the port area where it is already distributed. Recently its distribution is rapidly spreading into Southeast Asia and southern part of China. In Korea, it was detected the one time in 1990s, but was detected the ten times from 2000 to 2006 by an imported plant quarantine process. Therefore, we would like to provide some information on the species, including morphology, distribution, host plant, damaged symptom and its general bionomics, which will be useful data for plant quarantine process and control.

한국산 최서남단에 위치하는 소흑산도일대에 분포하는 개미상을 조사하기 위하여 1994년 4월과 7월 조사한 결과 537 colony의 표본을 채집하여 동정함으로서 소흑산도에 분포하는 37종의 개미상이 처음으로 밝혀졌다. 37종중 긴털톱니비늘개미(신칭) Smithistruma inceria Brown와 나도네눈개미(신칭) Camponotus nawai lto는 한반도에서는 처음으로 그 분포가 밝혀졌다.