Salacca peel-based porous carbon (SPPC) with high surface area (1945 m2 g−1) and large specific pore volume (1.68 cm3 g−1) was prepared by pre-carbonization and K2CO3 activation method. Based on the TGA results, it can be estimated that up to 70 wt% of sulfur-active materials could be infiltrated into the pores of SPPC to form SPPC/S composite cathode for LiS battery. The porous structure of SPPC could act as a buffer layer against volume expansion and minimize the shuttle effect due to the penetration of intermediate polysulfides during cycle tests. Optimization on sulfur loading (50, 60 and 70 wt%) in SPPCC/S composite was also investigated. It was found that the SPPC/S composites with 60 wt% of sulfur loading had the best electrochemical performances. With 60 wt% of sulfur loading, SPPC/S composite electrodes showed excellent electrochemical performances in terms of high initial specific discharge capacity of 1006 mAh g− 1 at 0.5 C and capacity retention of 71% until the 100th cycle. For both cases of low and high sulfur loading, they caused much worse electrochemical performances. Based on the experimental results, it can be concluded that porous carbons derived from the salacca peel were promising materials for sulfur loading in LiS battery.

Listeria monocytogenes and L. ivanovii are important food-pathogens for human and animal. The diagnostic of Listeria in food using culture medium requires time and laborwork, because there are many other nonpathogenic species like L. innocua, L. welshimeri, L. seeligeri and L. grayi in Genus Listeria. For these reasons, Lismix multiplex PCR method was developed as a rapid method for the detection and identification of Listeria. In this study we developed a practical system of Lis-mix PCR detection for the application to food samples and new developed Siw-mix III PCR system. Using this Lis-mix PCR system overall 69 listerial strains were successful species-identified and confirmed. Also, the Siw-mix III PCR system allows the species-specific identification among L. ivanovii, L. welshimeri and L seeligeri in a single PCR.

Monochoria vaginalis is one of the most troublesome resistant weeds in Korean rice culture. Thus, the objectives of this study were to evaluate the response of M. vaginalis resistant to sulfonylurea(SU) herbicides and to determine alternative herbicides for the control of resistant M. vaginalis in direct seeded and transplanted rice culture in Korea. In greenhouse studies, the resistant biotype was 31-, 38-, 3172-, and 7-fold more resistant to ben-sulfuron-methyl, cyclosulfamuron, imazosulfuron, and pyrazosulfuron-ethyl, respectively, than the susceptible biotype, indicating cross-resistance to the SU herbicides used in this study. Non-SU herbicides, butachlor, carfentrazone-ethyl, mefenacet, pretilachlor, pyrazolate, and thiobencarb, several SU herbicide-based mixtures, ethoxysulfuron plus fentrazamide, pyrazosulfuron-ethyl plus pyrazolate plus simetryn, and non-SU herbicide-based mixtures, pyrazolate plus butachlor, pyrazolate plus pretilachlor, simetryn plus molinate, carfentrazone-ethyl plus butachlor, and carfentrazone-ethyl plus thiobencarb can be used to control both the resistant and susceptible biotypes of M. vaginalis when applied before the second leaf stage. In the field experiment, the resistant biotype of M. vaginalis that survived from the paddy fields treated with a SU herbicide-based mixture could effectively be controlled by using mixtures of bentazone plus MCPA, bentazone plus mecoprop-P, and bentazone plus 2,4-D when applied at 2 or 4 main leaves. Our results suggest that the SU-resistant M. vaginalis had not developed multiple resistances to herbicides with different modes of action. In particular, bentazone plus MCPA and bentazone plus mecoprop-P were effective control measures after failure to control resistant M. vaginalis in Korean rice culture.