• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.35-43
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• 2021

Human Sapovirus (HuSaV) is one of the major causes of acute gastroenteritis in humans, and it is used as a molecular diagnostic technique based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) from humans, food, shellfish, and aquatic environments. In this study, the HuSaV diagnosis technique was used in an aquatic environment where a number of PCR inhibitors are included and pathogens, such as viruses, are estimated to exist at low concentration levels. HuSaV-specific primers are improved to detect 38 strains registered in the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). The established optimal condition and the composition, including the RT-nested PCR primers and SL® Non-specific reaction inhibitor, were found to have 100 times higher sensitivity based on HuSaV plasmid than the previously reported methods (100 ag based on HuSaV plasmid 1 ng/μL). Through an artificial infection test, the developed method was able to detect at least 1 fg/μL of HuSaV plasmid contaminated with total nucleic acid extracted from groundwater. In addition, RT-nested PCR primer sets for HuSaV detection can react, and a positive control is developed to verify false positives. This study is expected to be used as a HuSaV monitoring method in the future and applied to the safety response to HuSaV from water environments.

• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
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• 2020.06a
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• pp.31-31
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• 2020

가뭄 발생 시 국내 농어촌 지자체 대부분은 추가 수원공 확보를 위한 긴급 대책으로 신규 관정을 개발하거나, 저수지와 하천을 준설하여 가뭄 수요에 대응하는 편이다. 이러한 방법은 즉시 대응에는 효과가 있지만, 고가의 비용이 소요되고, 무엇보다도 국지적으로 가뭄이 빈번하게 발생하는 지역에는 적용에 한계가 있다. 이러한 한계를 극복하기 위하여, 최근 기설 관정을 연계 이용하여 지하수 공급 극대화를 도모하는 기술이 제안되었다. 그런데 기설 관정 연계 이용 시 가장 중요한 사항은 모든 관정에서 최대 양수량을 유지하며 지하수를 공급할 수 있도록 관리해야 하는 점이며, 특히 암반관정의 과잉양수로 인한 간섭현상으로 충적관정이 고갈되어 공급가능한 지하수 수량이 오히려 감소되는 것을 사전에 방지하여야 한다. 이 연구에서는 가뭄 발생 시 암반관정(양수정)에서 최대로 양수했을 때에도 주변 충적관정의 양수능이 유지되는 최소 지하수위를 「지하수위 저하 한계치」로 지정하여 관정 연계 이용의 최적화를 도모하였다. 지하수위 저하 한계치 산정을 위하여, Theis의 자유면 대수층 정상류 우물수리 방정식과 지하수영향반겅 설정에 관한 경험식(Schultz, Weber, Kozeny 및 Jacob 경험식)을 이용하였다. 그런데 지정된 지하수위 저하 한계치는 충적관정의 지하수위이므로, 암반관측공만 소재하는 지역에 대해서는 충적층 지하수위 변동과 암반층 지하수위 변동 간의 상관분석을 통해 암반 관측공의 지하수위 저하 한계치를 추정하였다. 이후, 양수시험 자료(양수정과 주변 관측공의 수위변동 자료)를 이용하여 지하수 대수층의 이방성을 확인하였고, 이를 통해 암반관정의 양수에 따른 간섭을 크게 받는 충적관정과 그렇치 않은 충적관정을 구분하여 이방성에 따른 지하수위 저하 한계치를 수정하고, 상습가뭄 발생지역의 암반관정과 충적관정의 최적 지하수 양수를 도모하였다.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.56-66
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• 2023

Safety accidents are increasing, such as changes in groundwater levels due to construction work or natural influences, or ground cave-ins caused by soil runoff from old water supply and sewage pipes. In addition, underground facility management agencies must make efforts to improve the accuracy of underground information through continuous investigation and exploration in accordance with the Special Act on Enhanced Underground Safety Management. Accordingly, in this study, we defined the configuration of equipment and data processing method to collect 3D precise exploration underground facility information and developed 3D underground facility information collection technology to ensure accuracy of underground facilities. As a result of verifying the developed technology, the horizontal accuracy improved by an average of 6cm compared to the existing method, making it possible to acquire 3D underground facility information within the error range of the public survey work regulations.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.55-64
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• 2024

While shield tunneling has demonstrated stability in international cases, the new Austrian tunneling method (NATM) encounters challenges in urban environments with shallow cover, weathered ground, and high groundwater levels. This paper introduces two typical collapse scenarios observed in urban areas, specifically within weathered bedrock and uncemented sandy soil layers. The collapses are analyzed using six stability evaluation methods, and the results are synthesized to assess the excavation face stability through a hexagonal diagram. The study finds a consistent agreement between the analysis results of the two collapsed tunnel sites and the evaluation outcomes. The employment of the stability evaluation diagram, a comprehensive method that considers the ground characteristics of the target tunnel, proves crucial for ensuring barrier stability during the tunnel design stage. This method is essential for a holistic evaluation, especially when addressing challenging ground conditions in urban settings.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.315-326
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• 2024

In this study, the Delphi method and AHP (analytic hierarchy process) were used to evaluate tunnel collapse risk from a comprehensive and multifaceted perspective. Influence factors were established through literature reviews, previous studies, and brainstorming sessions with expert groups, resulting in the construction of five main classification systems. A panel of 21 experts was formed, and three rounds of Delphi surveys were conducted to prevent errors and biases in the expert judgment process, thereby enhancing reliability. Ultimately, 14 influence factors were identified through CVR (content validity ratio) and COV (coefficient of variation) analyses of the experts' responses. Subsequently, the AHP method was applied to assess the relative importance of each influence factor and calculate the final composite weights. The timing of support and reinforcement had the highest priority, followed by groundwater inflow, joint conditions, support pattern levels, and auxiliary methods. These findings help identify the key factors affecting tunnel collapse risk and provide a foundation for developing strategies to improve tunnel safety.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.25 no.8
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• pp.5-11
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• 2024

Due to the high proportion of mountainous terrain in Korean territory and the concentration of heavy rainfall during the summer season, concerns arise about the potential decrease in slope stability caused by rainfall. Installing slope drainage facilities mitigates the rise in groundwater levels due to infiltration, thus enhancing slope stability. Horizontal drains, classified as auxiliary facilities among drainage systems, lack established installation standards and related research. Slopes with installed horizontal drains have been confirmed to exhibit higher safety factors compared to those without. Furthermore, the safety factor of mimicking horizontal drains by increasing the permeability coefficient of the surrounding ground was compared with that of the conventional simulation method using the Drain function. As a result of the comparison, it was confirmed that the installation length showed better drainage performance than the installation angle in the drainage performance of the horizontal drainage hole, and it was judged that the installation length was a more important factor.

• Journal of Korea Soil Environment Society
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.127-145
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• 1998

Unlike water or air quality standards that have been established by legislation using potential human health impact as the primary criterion, soil quality depends on the soils primary function and its relevant environmental factors, which is much more site- and soil specific. A properly characterized soil quality assessment system should serve as an indicator of the soil capacity to produce safe and nutritious food, to enhance human and animal health, and to overcome degrative processes. For our proposed example, a high quality soil with regard to maintaining an adequate soil productivity as a food production resources must accommodate soil and water properties, food chain, sustainability and utilization, environment, and profitability, that (i) facilitate water transfer and absorption, (ii) sustain plant growth, (iii) resist physical degradation of soil, (iv) produce a safe food resources, (v) cost-effective agricultural management. Possible soil quality indicators are identified at several levels within the framework for each of these functions. Each indicator is assigned a priority or weight that reflects its relative importance using a multi-objective approach based on principles of systems to be considered. To do this, individual scoring system is differentiated by the several levels from low to very high category or point scoring ranging from 0 to 10, And then weights are multiplied and products are summed to provide an overall soil quality rating based on several physical and chemical indicators. Tlne framework and procedure in developing the soil quality assessment are determined by using information collected from an alternative and conventional farm practices in the regions. The use of an expanded framework for assessing effects of other processes, management practices, or policy issues on soil quality is also considered. To develop one possible form for a soil quality index, we should permit coupling the soil characteristics with assessment system based on soil properties and incoming and resident chemicals. The purpose of this paper is to discuss approaches to defining and assessing soil quality and to suggest the factors to be considered.

• Journal of Korea Soil Environment Society
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.87-101
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• 1999

This study has been carried out to examine the feasibility of washing technique for reducing the heavy metal contamination level of tailing wastes and agricultural soil surrounding abandoned metal mines. Some organic acids with low molecular weight were used as washing solution. Initial contamination levels of copper and lead for some soil samples were found to exceed the standard levels of countermeasure and concern, and those of cadmium to approach the standard level of countermeasure. Experimental results using sequential extraction method revealed that more than half of copper and lead existing in tailing wastes are adsorbed forms available for plants. There are some proportional relationships between metal concentrations determined by using 0.1N HCI solution and those determined by sequential extractions. Citric acid was turned out to be superior to oxalic acid and acetic acid with low molecular weight in washing above three metals. When citric acid is used for washing heavy metals from soil, it is desirable to operate at pH less than 5.5 for better washing effect. Metal removal effect by citric acid solution has been proved to depend upon solution concentration and the mass ratio of solution to soil. Addition of SDS(Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate) to citric acid improved the washing effect of cadmium among three metal most significantly. while copper removal did not change. Washing technique using citric acid for removal of heavy metals from agricultural soil or tailing wastes is recognized to be an effective remediation method.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.53 no.3
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• pp.193-200
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• 2020

Hydrological drought is directly associated with lack of available water in rivers, reservoirs, and groundwater. It is important to analyze hydrological drought for efficient water resource management because most of rainfall is concentrated in wet seasons and water supply is highly dependent on dams and reservoirs in South Korea. Generally, a threshold level method is useful for defining hydrological droughts. However, this method causes interdependent problems between drought events which result in skewed results in further statistical analysis. Therefore, it is necessary to determine a proper threshold level to represent regional drought characteristics. In this study, applying 50~99 percentiles of daily flow-duration curve, hydrological drought events were extracted, and independence tests were conducted for 12 watersheds. The Poisson independence test showed that 87~99 percentiles were available for most stations except for Yeoju and Pyeongtaek. The generalized Pareto independence test showed that 80~90 percentiles were the most common. Mean excess plot showed that 80 ~ 90 percentiles were the most common. Therefore, the common ranges of the three independent tests were determined for each station and proper threshold levels were recommended for large river basins; 70~76 percentiles for the Han River basin, 87~91 percentiles for the Nakdong River basin, 86~98 percentiles for the Geum River basin, and 85~87 percentiles for the Youngsan and Seomjin River basin.

• Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.85-96
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• 2023

The study involved the categorization of domestic lakes located in South Korea into three groups based on their salinity levels: upstream reservoirs with salinity less than 0.3 psu, estuarine reservoirs with salinity ranging from 0.3 to 2 psu, and brackish lagoons with salinity exceeding 2 psu. Subsequently, the research assessed variations in the concentrations of total nitrogen (T-N) and total phosphorus (T-P) in the sediment of these lakes using statistical analysis, specifically one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Additionally, a laboratory core incubation test was conducted to investigate the benthic nutrient fluxes in Songji lagoon (salinity: 11.80 psu), Ganwol reservoir (salinity: 0.73 psu), and Janggun reservoir (salinity: 0.08 psu) under both aerobic and anoxic conditions. The findings revealed statistically significant differences in the concentrations of T-N and T-P among sediments in the lakes with varying salinity levels (p<0.05). Further post-hoc analysis confirmed significant distinctions in T-N between upstream reservoirs and estuarine reservoirs (p<0.001), as well as between upstream reservoirs and brackish lagoons (p<0.01). For T-P, a significant difference was observed between upstream reservoirs and brackish lagoons (p<0.01). Regarding benthic nutrient fluxes, Ganwol Lake exhibited the highest diffusive flux of NH₄⁺-N, primarily due to its physical characteristics and the inhibition of nitrification resulting from its relatively high salinity. The flux of NO₃^--N was lower at higher salinity levels under aerobic conditions but increased under anoxic conditions, attributed to the impact of salinity on nitrification and denitrification. Additionally, the flux of PO₄^3--P was highest in Songji Lake, followed by Ganwol Lake and Janggun Reservoir, indicating that salinity promotes the diffusive flux of phosphate through anion adsorption competition. It's important to consider the influence of salinity on microbial communities, growth rates, oxidation-reduction processes, and nutrient binding forms when studying benthic diffusive nutrient fluxes from lake sediments.