Electrochemical water splitting is an important process for next generation of eco-friendly energy systems. The oxygen evolution reaction (OER), which occurs at an anode during the process, requires efficient electrocatalysts to reduce activation energies. Although Ru- or Ir-containing materials show excellent electrocatalytic activities, their high cost is a critical drawback. Consequently, the development of efficient electrocatalysts composed of low-cost metal components is a great challenge. In this study, we develop a new route to produce a hybrid material (Fe–NC) containing Fe3C particles dispersed on the surface of N-doped carbon (NC) materials by heat treatment of a mixture of urea and Fe(II)Cl2(H2O)4. Microscopic analyses prove that the Fe3C particles are placed on the surfaces of thin NC materials. Additionally, various characterizations reveal that the particles contain Fe3C structure. Fe–NC shows good electrocatalytic properties with onset and overpotentials of 1.57 V and 545 mV, respectively, for OER in KOH electrolyte. This study suggests the possibility of the use of Fe3C- based composites as OER electrocatalysts.

한국의 대기업들이 적극적인 글로벌전략을 추구하면서 다양한 국가에서 현지채용인들을 관리하는 이슈가 중요해지고 있다. 본 연구는 한국의 A글로벌 기업에서 49개국에 위치하고 있는 해외법인의 현지채용인 9,072명을 대상으로 진행되었다. 구체적으로 현지채용인을 대상으로 절차공정성이 조직동일시에 어떤 영향을 미치는지를 살펴보았다. 또한, 해외지사의 현지채용인들이 속한 국가문화가치의 다양성이 조직동일시와 절차공정성에 미치는 효과에 대해서 검증하고자 하였다. 구체적으로 본 연구에서는 Hofstede가 제안하는 각 나라의 문화가치수준이 조직동일시에 직접적으로 영향을 미치는지 그리고 절차공정성과 조직동일시와의 관계를 조절하는지를 살펴보고자 하였다. 본 연구에서는 문화가치에 대한 국가수준 분석을 위해서 다수준분석(Hierarchical Linear Modeling) 을 시도하였다. 분석 결과, 첫째, 현지채용인의 절차공정성 지각이 조직동일시에 미치는 정(+)의 영향이 유의한 것으로 확인 되었고, 조직동일시의 총 변량 중 67%는 개인수준, 33%는 국가수준에서 설명할 수 있어, 국가수준의 영향요인 이 개인수준에서 조직동일시의 변화에 영향을 미친다는 것을 알 수 있었다. 둘째, Hofstede의 4가지 문화가치 차원중 불확실성회피수준은 현지채용인의 조직동일시에 유의미한 정적인 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났다. 마지막으로, 집단주의 문화가치 수준은 절차공정성과 조직동일시의 관계를 조절하는 것으로 나타났다. 구체적으로 집단 주의 수준이 낮은 나라에서는 집단주의 수준이 높은 나라에 비해 절차공정성과 조직동일시의 정의 관계가 더 강 한 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났다. 나머지 문화가치차원의 조절효과는 유의하지 않았다. 본 연구의 의의는 한국의 글로벌기업의 현지채용인들에게 있어서 절차공정성의 중요성과 문화가치의 중요성을 확인한 점을 들 수 있다. 특히, 한국의 글로벌기업이 해외지사의 인력을 관리하는데 있어서 각 해외지사의 집단주의 수준에 따라서 특별히 더 절차공정성 확보에 주시해야한다는 실무적인 시사점을 제공한다.

Indoor Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are classified as known or possible toxicants and odorants. This study characterized VOC levels in 11 homes in an area in the capital of Seoul by using two different methods of VOCs sampling, which are the active sampling using a thermal sorption tube and the passive sampling using a diffusion sampler. When using the active sampling method, the total target VOC concentration ranged from 41.7 to 420.7 μg/ m3 (mean 230.4 μg/m3; median 221.8 μg/m3) during winter and 21.3 to 1,431.9 μg/m3 (mean 340.1 μg/m3; median 175.4 μg/m3) during summer. When using the passive method, 29.6 to 257.5 μg/m3 (mean 81.8 μg/m3; median 49.4 μg/m3) during winter and 1.2 to 5,131.1 μg/m3 (mean 1,758.8 μg/m3; median 1,375.1 μg/m3) during summer. Forty-nine VOCs were quantified and toluene showed the highest concentration regardless of the season and the sampling method studied. The distribution of VOCs was relatively varied by using the active method. However, it showed a low correlation with indoor environmental factors such as room temperature, humidity and ventilation time. The correlation between indoor environmental factors and VOCs were relatively high in the passive method. In particular, these characteristics were confirmed by principal component analysis.

The aim of this study was to investigate the change in women’s somatotype with aging. The subjects were 1,123 women aged 40~69. Their anthropometric data were from the 6th Size Korea. The data were analyzed by factor analysis and cluster analysis. Seven factors were extracted: body mass, body length, back shoulder, arm length factor, front interscye factor, body rise factor, and shoulder angle. The upper body types of middle-aged and elderly women were classified into five types: skinny, short stout body type with forward posture, composite, tall & full body type, and short & skinny. The skinny and composite body type appeared more often than the short stout body type in the early 40s of Korean women. Starting in the mid-50s, composite body type was less often found. However, the number of women with short stout body type increased. In the 60s, the number of women with short stout and tall & full body types decreased. These results reveal that the body types of middle-aged and elderly women changed with some pattern with aging. And women in their early 40s, mid-50s, and 60s women had different body shapes and postures.

Oil spills have occurred throughout the years of industrialization and represent a global challenge as they affect vast areas of the ocean. The toxicity of crude oil to aquatic organisms has been extensively investigated, but the potential impacts of crude oil on vertebrate development remain largely unknown. Here, we investigated the effects of dispersants used in treating a recent oil spill, as well as that of crude oil, on vertebrates by using the zebrafish (Danio rerio) model species, which has been widely used in empirical studies of both early embryonic development and adult physiology. Chronic exposure to crude oil resulted in marked developmental abnormalities, including pericardial edema, abnormal trunk vessel development, retardation of axonal branching, and abnormal jaw development. Embryonic development was affected more severely by exposure to the oil-dispersant combination than to the oil alone. Thus, the zebrafish in vivo model system suggests that dispersant treatment can have detrimental developmental effects on vertebrates and its potential impact on marine life, as well as humans, should be carefully considered in clean-up efforts at the site of an oil spill.