In this study, the glass-forming ability and mechanical properties of newly developed Fe-Mn-Cr-Mo-B-C-P-Si-Al bulk amorphous alloys were investigated, and metalloid elements such as B, C, and P were found to have a strong influence on the properties of the Fe-based amorphous alloys. When the total metalloid content (B, C, and P) is less than 5%, only the crystal phase is formed, but the addition of more than 10% metalloid elements enhances the glass forming ability. In particular, the alloys with 10 % metalloid content exhibit the best combination of very high compressive strength (~2.8 GPa) and superior fracture elongation (~30 %) because they consist of crystal/amorphous composite phases.

When relations improve between North and South Korea, there will be demand for North Korean edible plants because of the low labor cost and similar environmental conditions. However, there is no reliable information about trace elements, metals, and metalloids in edible plants from North Korea. Selenium (Se) and germanium (Ge) have positive effects on basic human health and are therapeutical in diverse illnesses. Metal and metalloid (Cd, Pb) poisoning, on the other hand, can cause many health problems. Plants collected from North Korea had higher selenium content than those from South Korea. Although none of the collected species exceeded the permissible levels of cadmium and lead, their content in plants was significantly higher in North Korea than in South Korea. The high metal contents in plants collected from North Korea may be associated with the soil physicochemical properties as well as the accumulated amounts of elements in the soil.