Incorporating nanotechnology into cement composites significantly improves mechanical properties such as strength, toughness, and durability. Graphene, with high tensile strength and large surface area, shows great promise as a nanofiller, but its hydrophobicity complicates its dispersion in cement matrices. This study used a graphene-cellulose nanofiber (G@ CNF) hybrid filler to ensure a highly uniform dispersion within the cement microstructure. The hybrid filler acts as a bridge and efficiently fills voids within the matrix. The planar structure of graphene also provides nucleation sites for hydrated products, leading to a denser microstructure. The cement composite containing 0.01 wt.% graphene exhibited a compressive strength of 72.7 MPa, representing a 47.5% improvement over the plain cement. Furthermore, the resulting cement demonstrated enhanced water resistance compared to graphene oxide-reinforced-cement. This approach offers a cost-effective and sustainable way of producing high-strength, durable cement composite.

The medicinal fungus Cordyceps militaris is recognized for producing cordycepin, a bioactive nucleoside with anticancer, immunomodulatory, and antioxidant properties. However, conventional culture media often entail high production costs and limited sustainability, prompting the search for alternative nutrient sources. This study evaluated onion, green onion, and garlic peel extracts—agricultural by-products rich in flavonoids, phenolics, and sulfur-containing antioxidants—as sustainable substrates for enhancing mycelial biomass and cordycepin biosynthesis in C. militaris. Liquid cultures supplemented with peel extracts (1–5%) were assessed for growth, cordycepin production (HPLC), and antioxidant activity (DPPH assay). Onion peel extract (OPE) showed the strongest growth-promoting effect, yielding 8.2 g/L of biomass at 5% and achieving a 19% increase in cordycepin concentration at 3% compared with the control. Antioxidant activity strongly correlated with cordycepin accumulation (R = 0.96, p < 0.001), indicating that secondary metabolite production contributed significantly to radicalscavenging capacity. Response surface methodology using a Box–Behnken design revealed that extract concentration, pH, and incubation period significantly influenced cordycepin production (p < 0.05), with the quadratic model showing excellent fit (R² = 0.9924). Optimal conditions were identified as 3% extract concentration, pH 6.0, and 12 days of incubation, under which cordycepin reached 0.995 mg/L, substantially higher than the control (0.693 mg/L). These findings demonstrate that agricultural by-product extracts, particularly onion peel, can serve as effective and economical substrates for enhancing cordycepin biosynthesis while supporting sustainable bioprocessing strategies in C. militaris cultivation.

Covalent organic framework (COF) membranes have emerged as promising candidates for hydrogen purification due to their tunable pore sizes and robust structures. However, achieving high selectivity and permeability simultaneously remains a challenge due to the inherent pore size distribution of COF materials. In this study, we fabricated two distinct COF membranes, TpPa-1 and TpTGCl, with pore sizes of 1.8 nm and 0.39 nm, respectively, using tailored synthesis methods. The TpTGCl membrane, synthesized via room temperature interfacial polymerization and vacuum-assisted filtration, exhibits an ultrathin nanosheet structure with an interlayer π–π stacking distance of 0.33 nm. This unique architecture, combined with its affinity for CO2 adsorption, enables exceptional hydrogen separation performance, achieving a H2/ CO2 selectivity of 52.5 and a H2 permeability of 3.49 × 10– 7 mol m− 2 s− 1 Pa− 1. Molecular dynamics simulations confirmed the steric hindrance effect as the primary mechanism for the selective permeation of hydrogen. The TpTGCl membrane effectively sieves larger gas molecules ( CO2, N2, CH4, etc.) without the need for material modification or excessive membrane thickness. This study demonstrates the potential of COF membranes with tailored pore sizes for high-performance hydrogen purification and offers valuable insights for the development of advanced separation technologies.

The insulating nature of elemental sulfur has been regarded as a major challenge limiting the electrochemical performance of Li–S batteries. Consequently, previous efforts have focused on developing conductive porous materials to enhance sulfur contact. In this study, we review this conventional assumption and demonstrate that the insulating property of sulfur is not the primary factor affecting Li–S battery performance. Instead, we introduce a novel sulfur host design using polar mesoporous carbon (p-MC), which possesses ultra-low electrical conductivity (6.45 × 10− 7 S cm− 1) and functional groups. Our results demonstrate that all sulfur particles within the nearly insulating p-MC matrix actively participate in electrochemical reduction during the initial discharge. A comparative study with a nonpolar mesoporous carbon host, which features a similar porous structure but higher conductivity (1.07 × 10− 1 S cm− 1), showed that the p-MC host achieved superior cycling stability. This performance is attributed to the strong interaction between the polar functional groups of p-MC and lithium polysulfides, enabling effective and stable confinement of the active materials during cycling. Our findings highlight a paradigm shift in the design of sulfur host materials and the critical role of polar functionalities. This study offers a promising strategy for the development of durable and high-performance Li–S batteries.

CNT/epoxy composite film (CECF) was prepared and used to fabricate the interlayer stiffened and reinforced photothermal synergistic curing glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) composites, and the influence of the photothermal effects of CECF on compressive strength and failure mechanism of the composite was investigated. Compared to GFRP composite, the uniform and wide temperature distribution in the in-plane and thickness direction was exhibited due to the heat from the lattice vibrations induced by photothermal conversions of CECF, thereby facilitating the decomposition of the thermal initiator and the increase of the curing degree in the CECF/GFRP composite. The in-plane shear modulus and interlaminar shear strength (ILSS) of the CECF/GFRP composite were 12.2% and 13.7% higher than those of the GFRP composite, respectively, indicating the enhanced deformation resistance and interfacial adhesion of the interlayer region. The compressive strength of the CECF/GFRP composite was increased by 14.1% relative to the GFRP composite, which was ascribed to restricted kink-band and delayed delamination damage during the compression process of composite.

Conductive polymeric composites (CPC) incorporating carbon nanotubes (CNT) and carbon fibers (CF) offer promising potential in self-heating applications due to their superior electrical and thermal properties. This study investigates the synergistic effects of CNT and CF on the electrical conductivity and heat-generation capabilities of CNT/polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) nanocomposites. Three CF lengths (0.1 mm, 3 mm, and 6 mm) were systematically evaluated to establish hierarchical conductive networks. The incorporation of 6 mm CF into CNT/PDMS composites resulted in a 72% increase in electrical conductivity compared to composites with 0.1 mm CF. Despite these enhancements in electrical performance, the heat-generation capabilities, based on simulations and experimental validation, showed minimal dependence on CF length. A micromechanics-based numerical approach was used to compare and validate the experimental findings, identifying limitations in current analytical models, especially in predicting the heat-generation behavior.

Cordyceps militaris is widely used in China, Korea, and other Asian countries as both a traditional medicinal ingredient and an edible fungus. This study aimed to optimize the growth conditions and fruiting body production of C. militaris by investigating various culture media and physical parameters such as pH, aeration, illumination, temperature, spawn materials, and oat–sawdust-based substrate formulations. After a 7-day incubation period, oats with a pH of 6.0, under sealed and illuminated conditions at 32°C, demonstrated the most effective mycelial growth. Substrates consisting of 70% oat and 30% sawdust had the shortest incubation time of 30.5 days for fruiting body formation. The basidiospores showed a typical germination pattern where the sporidium produced a single germ tube that elongated, and branched to form monokaryotic primary mycelia. In conclusion, using oats as a substrate in the cultivation of C. militaris could reduce production costs and help protect the environment.

We studied the effects of initial pH, different nitrogen sources, and cultivation methods (shake flask and static culture) on biomass production, exopolysaccharides (EPS), and adenosine by Paecilomyces tenuipes. Relatively low pH levels were optimal for mycelial growth and EPS production. Yeast extract was the most effective organic nitrogen source for EPS production, whereas soybean extract was the best for adenosine production. A high C/N ratio was beneficial for adenosine production; however, excessively high C/N ratios reduced adenosine production. Static fermentation significantly increased adenosine production. A Box-Behnken design was used to optimize adenosine production; the optimal conditions for adenosine production by P. tenuipes were pH 7.0, soybean concentration of 3%, and a static culture period of 20 days, with the maximum adenosine production of 141.10 mg/L (predicted value: 128.05 mg/L).

최근 국내외 화장품과 식품산업에서 다양하게 사용되어 지고 있는 콜라겐 단백질 제품은 점차 그 용도와 특성에 따라 보다 고도화, 기능화 되어 가고 있다. 피부 건강의 지표인 콜라겐은 다양한 용도로 개발되어 사용되고 있으 며, 콜라겐의 소비가 증가함에 따라 용도에 적합한 최적 화된 콜라겐 제품의 개발이 중요한 연구 분야이다. 특히 여러 기업과 연구기관들에 의해서 콜라겐의 흡수율을 높 이기 위한 다양한 노력이 이루어지고 있다. 따라서 본 연 구에서는 프란즈(Franz) 세포 시스템을 이용하여 국내에서 판매되는 다양한 분자량별 콜라겐 제품의 경피 및 구강 상피세포 투과성을 비교하였다. 그 결과, 피부 표피/진피 조직과 비교하여 구강점막 조직의 콜라겐 흡수율이 분자 량 500달톤과 1,000달톤의 경우 모두 통계적으로 유의하 게(각각 약 10배, 2배) 높은 것으로 확인되었다. 또한, 분 자량별 구강점막 조직 흡수율을 비교한 결과, 분자량 500 달톤의 콜라겐이 분자량 1,000달톤 제품에 비해 흡수율이 2-3배 증가함을 확인하였다. 분자량 500달톤의 경우 Cmax 와 AUCt 값이 가장 높게 나타났으며, 피부 표피/진피 세 포에 비해 구강점막세포 시험군의 모든 지표가 높은 것으 로 나타났다. 본 연구 결과는 피부 흡수보다는 구강 점막 세포를 통한 콜라겐의 흡수방법이 콜라겐 체내 흡수증가 에 유효한 수단임을 시사하며, 분자량 1,000달톤 이하에서 도 보다 더 작은 500달톤의 저분자 콜라겐의 흡수율이 증 가되는 것으로 보아 콜라겐의 분자량이 흡수율 증가의 주 요한 요소임을 확인할 수 있었다.

Ethanol production from various agricultural and forest residues has been widely researched, but there is limited information available on the use of mixed hardwood for ethanol production. The main objective of this study is to assess the impact of time on the steam explosion pretreatment of waste wood (mixed hardwood) and to determine the convenience of a delignification step with respect to the susceptibility to enzymatic hydrolysis of the cellulose residue and the recoveries of both cellulose and hemicellulosic sugars. Delignification did enhance enzymatic hydrolysis yields of steam exploded waste wood. For steam explosion pretreatment times of 3 and 5 min, the recovery yield of hemicellulosic-derived sugars decreased. The effective hemicellulose solubilization does not always result in high recoveries of hemicellulose-derived sugars in the liquid fractions due to sugar degradation. In the steam explosion pretreatment times of 3 and 5 min, where hemicellulose solubilization exceeded 95%, but sugar recoveries in the liquid fraction remained below 30%. Cellulose to glucose yield losses were less significant than hemicellulosic-sugar losses, with a maximum loss of 24% at 5 min. Up to 80% of the lignin in the original wood was solubilized, leaving a cellulose-rich residue that led to a concentrated cellulose to glucose yield solution (about 50 g/L after 72 h enzymatic hydrolysis in the best case). The maximum overall process yield, taking into account both sugars present in the liquid from steam explosion pretreatment and cellulose to glucose yield from the steam exploded, delignified and hydrolyzed solid was obtained at the lowest steam explosion pretreatment time assayed.

CO2 photocatalytic reduction is a carbon–neutral renewable energy technology. However, this technology is restricted by the low utilization of photocatalytic electrons. Therefore, to improve the separation efficiency of photogenerated carriers and enhance the performance of CO2 photocatalytic reduction. In this paper, g-C3N4/Pd composite with Schottky junction was synthesized by using g-C3N4, a two-dimensional material with unique interfacial effect, as the substrate material in combination with the co-catalyst Pd. The composite of Pd and g-C3N4 was tested to have a strong localized surface plasmon resonance effect (LSPR), which decreased the reaction barriers and improved the electron utilization. The combination of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) created a π–π conjugation effect at the g-C3N4 interface, which shortened the electron migration path and further improved the thermal electron transfer and utilization efficiency. The results show that the g-C3N4/ rGO/Pd (CRP) exhibits the best performance for photocatalytic reduction of CO2, with the yields of 13.57 μmol g− 1 and 2.73 μmol g− 1 for CO and CH4, respectively. Using the in situ infrared test to elucidate the intermediates and the mechanism of g-C3N4/rGO/Pd (CRP) photocatalytic CO2 reduction. This paper provides a new insight into the interface design of photocatalytic materials and the application of co-catalysts.

Sulfamonomethoxine (SMM) is widely used to inhibit Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, and improper use of SMM is detrimental to human health and ecological stability. Therefore, a sensitive determination method is of great importance for monitoring SMM residues in water, meat, milk, eggs, etc. Herein, a Pt-functionalized S-doped graphitic carbon nitride (Pt/Sg- C3N4) was constructed for the electrochemical determination of SMM. The as-developed Pt3/ S3-g-C3N4 sensor showed a significant SMM determination performance. The electrochemical oxidation of SMM on Pt3/ S3-g-C3N4/GCE involves two electron transference and was limited by a diffusion process. The as-developed Pt3/ S3-g-C3N4/GCE sensor has good linearity in a wide range of 0.1–120 μmol/L and a remarkably low limit of detection (LOD) of 0.026 μmol/L for SMM determination. In addition, the sensor has high selectivity and anti-interference properties for SMM detection. Furthermore, this Pt3/ S3-g- C3N4/GCE sensor has good reproducibility and stability. Moreover, the recoveries were in the range of 89.6–112.2% for the detection of the SMM in a real sample of egg. The proposed Pt3/ S3-g-C3N4/GCE sensor shows great potential for practical applications in detecting trace amounts of antibiotics.

The objective of this study was to determine the ultrasonication-assisted extraction conditions that maximize the DPPH radical scavenging activity of extracts obtained from the stems of Lespedeza bicolor Turcz through the application of the Response Surface Methodology (RSM). Before delving into the analysis of extraction conditions using the RSM model, we conducted efficiency validation of ultrasonication-assisted extraction and executed single-factor experiments for ethanol concentration, extraction time, and extraction temperature. The data obtained from these single-factor experiments were employed to construct the Box-Behnken Design (BBD). In these results, in the single-factor experiments, it was evident that the parameters for ethanol concentration, extraction time, and extraction temperature exhibited quadratic trends. The single-factor experiments allowed us to discern the trends for each parameter leading to the maximum antioxidant capacity, and this data was subsequently applied to the BBD. Following the completion of initial experiments, a Response Surface Methodology (RSM) model was constructed based on Box-Behnken Design (BBD). According to the predictive model developed in this study, it was anticipated that performing ultrasonic-assisted extraction for 85.0412 minutes at an ethanol concentration of 32.573% and an extraction temperature of 51.5608°C will result in a DPPH radical scavenging activity of 79.7146%. The predictive results were statistically verified through a comparative analysis with actual measurements and ANOVA analysis, confirming the statistical significance of the model. The finding of this study underscore the significance of optimizing extraction conditions in the precise quantification of the antioxidant potential for economic advantages in both experimental and industrial contexts.

수염풍뎅이(Polyphylla laticollis manchurica)는 과거에는 흔히 발견되었으나, 1970년대 이후 한반도 내 개체수 가 급격히 감소하여 2005년 환경부에 의해 멸종위기 야생생물 Ⅰ급으로 지정되었다. 또한 해당종의 분자생물학적 연구는 멸종위기종이라는 특성으로 인해 제한적으로 진행되었다. 그로 인해 NCBI 등 공공 데이터베이스에서 제공되는 서열정보들 또한 부족한 실정이다. 이 연구는 이러한 한계를 극복하고 수염풍뎅이의 유전적 특성을 규명하기 위해 생물정보학적 기술을 활용하여 전사체 분석을 진행하였다. Illumina HiSeq 2500 플랫폼을 사용하여 53,433,048개의 RNA reads를 얻었으며, Trinity와 TGICL을 이용한 De novo 어셈블리 분석을 통해 18,172개의 unigenes를 생성하였다. 생성된 unigenes는 GO, KOG, KEGG, PANM DB를 활용하여 annotation을 진행하였다. 그 결과, GO 분석에서는 ‘binding and catalytic activities’와 관련된 항목이 높은 발현을 보였으며, KOG 분석의 경우 ‘Cellular Processes and Signals’ 범주가 높은 비율을 나타내었다. KEGG 분석을 통해 2,118개의 unigenes가 metabolic 카테고리에 annotation된 것을 확인하였다. SSR 모티프 분석에서는 AT/AT (42.90%) 모티프, AAT/ATT (13.13%) 모티프 순으로 많이 나타나는 것을 확인하였다. 이 연구를 통해 분석한 결과 들을 이용하여 유전자원 및 종 정보를 실시간 제공 및 정보 공유가 가능하도록 Database 및 web-interface를 구축하 였으며, 이러한 자료들은 국내 멸종위기종인 수염풍뎅이의 고유한 유전적 특성을 발굴 및 확보할 수 있는 기반자 료로써 활용될 수 있을 것으로 사료된다.