In response to the ever-increasing global demand for viable energy-storage systems, sodium and potassium batteries appear to be promising alternatives to lithium ion batteries because of the abundance, low cost and environmental benignity of sodium/ potassium. Electrical energy storage via ion-intercalation reactions in crystalline electrodes is critically dependent on the sizes of the guest ions. Herein, we report on the use of a porous amorphous iron phosphate synthesized using ambient temperature strategies as a potential host that stores electrical energy through the feasible insertion of mono-/di-/tri-valent ions. A combination of ex situ studies reveals the existence of a reversible amorphous-to-crystalline transition in this versatile electrode during electrochemical reactions with monovalent sodium, potassium and lithium. This reconstitutive reaction contributes to realizing specific capacities of 179 and 156 mAhg − 1 versus sodium and potassium at current densities of 10 and 5 mAg − 1 , respectively. This finding facilitates the feasible development of several amorphous electrodes with similar phase behavior for energy-storage applications. NPG Asia Materials (2014) 6, e138; doi:10.1038/am.2014.98; published online 17 October 2014 INTRODUCTIONSince 1990, the global demand for electricity has increased twice as much as the demand for energy overall, and the demand for electricity is expected to further increase by more than two-thirds over the next 20 years. Energy storage/conversion technologies have therefore become a crucial research topic as we seek to make society sustainable. In particular, electrical energy storage is critical not only for supporting electronic, vehicular and load-leveling applications but also for efficiently commercializing renewable solar and wind power. Rechargeable Li-ion batteries with an output energy exceeding 90% have emerged as one of the most effective electrochemical energystorage technologies, and these batteries power most modern-day electronic devices. 1 Despite substantial research to enhance Li-ion batteries for high-power applications, aspects such as their availability, cost and safety still remain to be fully addressed. 2 The controversies surrounding the accessible global lithium reserves and the anticipated energy demand may greatly impact the cost of Li-ion batteries in the long term. 3 Although advancing Li-ion battery technologies for electric vehicle applications is attractive, the quest for alternative energy sources for smart grid-scale storage applications has recently gained significant momentum. Rechargeable sodium and potassium batteries offer tremendous potential because they utilize inexpensive, abundant and environmentally benign sodium/potassium elements. [4][5][6][7][8][9] However,

Pulsatilla tongkangensis, a perennial medicinal herb growing on the cliffs of Tongkang, Kangwon Province, Korea, is accordingly named as P. tongkangensis as a new Pulsatilla species. Due to sharing similar morphological characters with other Pulsatilla species, how to accurately discriminate P. tongkangensis becomes a critical, urgently needed-solved problem. To understand the truth of P. tongkangensis derivation and the phylogenetic relationship in Pulsatilla, the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of nuclear ribosomal DNA (nrDNA) as the most frequently used marker for distinguishing plant species was amplified from P. tongkangensis in this study. According to sequence alignment result, three P. tongkangensisspecific nucleotide sites were obtained to vary from other Pulsatilla species, particularly one at 417 bp showing completely homology among P. tongkangensis accessions and completely dissimilarity between P. tongkangensis and other Pulsatilla species. As known fungal contamination is common in herbal medicinal materials when improperly processed and stored, using universal primers of the ITS region could not only plant DNA but parasitic fungal DNA. Thus, to improve the amplification condition of the ITS region from P. tongkangensis and design plant-specific primer would the following focus of our study. This work will be useful for clearly understanding the phylogenetic relationship between P. tongkangensis and other species belonging to the genus Pulsatilla.

In the present study was surveyed the flora, vegetation structure, growing environment, and soil characteristics in the wild habitats of Vaccinium oldhamii and offered basic information for habitat conservation and restoration. Most of the wild habitats of V. oldhamii were located at altitudes between 5 and 1095 m with inclinations of 2-33 , Dense populations were found around the climbing routes of the north-facing mountain slopes and dry rocky areas along mountain ridges. Vascular plants identified in the surveyed V. oldhamii habitats (28 quadrats in 12 habitat areas) included 129 taxa (50 families, 94 genera, 115 species, 9 varieties, 2 subspecies and 3 forms), of which woody plants accounted for 31.1%. The flora identified in the habitat areas were classified into four community types: Community I (Pinus densiflora -Quercus mongolica), Community II (Pinus thunbergii), Community III (Pinus rigida), and Community IV (Castanea crenata). The differences among communities within V. oldhamii habitats were more dependent on the occurrence of species with high importance percentages than on the population sizes of the species observed. The soil characteristics of V. oldhamii habitats were as follows: mostly silty loams; well-drained; shallow available-soil depth; high acidity (pH 3.93-5.07, mean ¼ 4.63, lower than mean Korean forest soil pH of 5.5); and mean available phosphate (=9.485 mg/kg, lower than the mean Korean forest soil available phosphate of 26 mg/kg). Mean species diversity, evenness and dominance were calculated as 1.216, 0.954 and 0.046, respectively. ARTICLE HISTORY

Carbon-coated sodium iron pyrophosphate (Na 2 FeP 2 O 7) was prepared by a simple and low-cost pyro-synthesis route for further use as the cathode for Na-ion batteries. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern of the sample annealed at 650 o C confirmed the pure triclinic phase of Na 2 FeP 2 O 7. Electron microscopy studies revealed a cross linked plate shape morphology of the Na 2 FeP 2 O 7 sample. When tested for application in Na-ion battery, the Na 2 FeP 2 O 7 cathode showed two redox pairs in the potential window of 2.0-4.0 V. The cathode registered initial discharge and charge capacities of 80.85 and 90 mAh/g, respectively, with good cycling performance.

-In South Korea, Pinus pumila (Pall.) Regel (dwarf stone pine) has been designated as a critically endangered species by the Korea Forest Service. We have difficulties in obtaining the seeds of P. pumila because P. pumila grows only in the Daecheongbong area (1550-1700 m above sea level) of Mt. Seorak and almost all of its cones are damaged by birds and rodents. For establishing an ex situ conservation stand of P. pumila, this study was conducted to figure out the effects of wet cold (cold stratification, prechilling) and GA3 treatment on the germination of P. pumila seeds. After cold stratification (1, 2, 3, 4, 5 months), prechilling (1, 2, 3, 4, 5 months) and GA3 treatment (0, 100, 500, 1,000, 2,000, 3,000 ㎎/L), seeds were placed on petri-dishes at 25℃ under light condition. The percentage of germination, mean germination time and the germination rate were investigated. The results showed that both of the cold stratification and prechilling were effective in improving germination performances. However, there were no significant differences in performances between the two cold treatments. Within each treatment, the germination performances improved with the period of treatment. However, after three months of treatment, the performances showed no significant improvement. The gibberellin treatment was also effective in improving seed germination of P. pumila. The percentage of germination reached 79.0% in the seeds treated with 100 ㎎/L of GA3. However, the germination performances decreased at high concentration of GA3 treatments (over 2000 ㎎/L). In conclusion, cold stratification (over 3 months) or 100 ㎎/L of GA3 treatment was considered to be the appropriate method for seedling production of P. pumila.