• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.353-360
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• 2015

Boiling is an efficient removal method to reduce radon in groundwater when ventilating indoor air. 13 groundwater samples with various radon concentrations were used to evaluate the reduction rate of radon with heating temperature and time. The groundwater samples were obtained by Bladder pump and on-situ measurements such as dissolved oxygen (DO) and hydrogen concentration (pH) and so on were carried out by a flow cell system isolated from the ambient atmosphere environment. All samples for measuring radon in groundwater were analyzed by liquid scintillation counter (LSC). The experiment result showed that increasing groundwater temperature enhanced radon removal rate but the initial radon concentration with high level lowered the removal rate. This means that radon reduction in groundwater by heating needs more heating energy and longer heating time with radon concentrations. Radon removal rate in groundwater, therefore, mainly depends on the initial radon concentration, heating temperature, and heating time.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.15 no.10
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• pp.1412-1421
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• 2002

To examine the feasibility of using a sperm vector system for gene transfer, we have investigated the binding and the uptaking of foreign DNA into the sperm nucleus by PCR, in situ hybridization and LSC. We have also examined the transportation of exogenous DNA into oocytes by immunofluorescene via PCR. Sperm cells were incubated with DNA/liposome complexes (1:4 ratio) in fertilization medium with BSA or without BSA. In situ hybridization demonstrated that the transfection rate of sperm cells with and without BSA was 41 and 68% respectively, when the cells were treated with liposome/DNA complexes and 13% for DNA alone. LSC analysis showed that the binding of exogenous DNA was greatly reduced by DNase I treatment which digests DNA bound onto spermatozoa, suggesting that some of the DNA was internalized into the sperm membrane. To find out whether transfected DNA was internalized into sperm intracytomembrane, sperm DNA was amplified by inverse PCR. No PCR products were detected from sperm cells, indicating that the foreign DNA was simply bound onto the sperm membrane. To investigate transfer rates of exogenous DNA into oocytes via sperm cells, we used immunofluorescene method to follow the distribution of foreign DNA via spermatozoa: a few exogenous DNA was located in the cytoplasm of early embryos (13/60, 21.7% for DNA+/liposome+/BSA) and was not located in the pronucleus and/or nucleus. These results suggest that most of the transfected sperm cells could carry the foreign DNA into the egg by in vitro fertilization, but that the transferred DNA is degraded in the developing embryos without stable integration into the zygote genome. Therefore, we have directly injected with transfected sperm cell into oocyte cytoplasm and observed that some of the exogenous DNA was detected in preimplantation embryonic cytoplasm and expressed at preimplantation stages, suggesting that exogenous DNA in early zygote has their integrity. In this study, we have not identified a noble mechanism that interfering transportation of foreign DNA into zygote genome via spermatozoa. Our data, however, demonstrated that inverse PCR and immunofluorescene methods would be used as a new tool for follow-up of gene distribution in oocyte via sperm cells.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.121-126
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• 2004

3-PM liquid scintillation counting using the geometry-efficiency variation technique has been applied to the activity measurement of $^{204}T1$, which decays to $^{204}Hg\;and\;^{204}Pb\;by\;{\beta}^-$ and E.C., respectively. The TDCR values K have been derived over a wide range, 0.78 < K < 0.97, by displacing the detectors up to 50 mm away from an unquenched liquid scintillation sample $^{204}Tl$. The derived plots of the logic sums of double coincidences $N_D(K)$ very K vary linearly in the observed regions. The fractions of losses due to electron capture decay have been taken into account by employing a PENELOPE Monte Carlo simulation. The calibrated activity is 102.3 kBq at a reference date of July 1st, 2002 (UT) with a combined uncertainty of $0.63\%$. This is consistent with the value determined by means of the CIEMAT/NIST method at KRISS.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.339-347
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• 2011

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate of various material of pillows by using biomechanical variables such as the cervical stability, head pressure distribution, and muscle activity. Method: Eight subjects participated in the experiment. Three different materials such as polyester sponge, memory foam and the buckwheat shell used for Korean traditional pillow were tested. Electro-goniometer, six channels of electromyography(EMG), ten channels of the head pressure sensors were used to measure the biomechanical responses. Surface electrodes were attached to the right/left semispinals capitis(RSC, LSC), the right/left sternocleidomastoid(RSM, LSM), the right/left upper trapezius(RUT, LUT). The cervical stability was evaluated by the angle deviated from the standing neck position. The head pressure distribution was evaluated by the pressure per unit area recorded on the sensors and the intensity of peak pressure. Electromyography(EMG) data were analyzed by using root mean square(RMS) and mean power frequency(MPF). Results: The buckwheat shell material showed a higher stability in the cervical spine then the other pillows during spine position. In terms of head pressure distribution, the memory form indicated the lowest pressure at supine position, buckwheat shell material indicated the lowest pressure during lying down to side, and polyester cushion recorded the highest pressure at all postures. Conclusion: The buckwheat shell material has a biomechanical advantage to maintain a healthy neck angle and reduce the pressure on the head, which means the buckwheat shell is a potential material for ergonomic pillow design. The pillow with memory form showed second best biomechanical performance in this study. Application: The shape of the buckwheat shell pillow and the characteristics of materials can be used to design the pillow preventing neck pain and cervical disk problems.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.87-92
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• 2006

The rocket grade hydrogen peroxide has been widely used as a monopropellant in propulsion systems. In the present paper, we described an experimental study of a catalytic reactor that employs two stage catalyst beds to enhance the low temperature performance of the reactor inlet. $K_2MnO_4$ was chosen as the catalyst for the initial stage of the reactor bed for its superior behavior in the low temperature regime. Alumina sol-gel method was successfully applied for coating $K_2MnO_4$ on a reactor bed of cordierite monolith. LSC was used for the catalyst of the second stage of the reactor. The reactor with combined catalyst beds was built and tested to exhibit superior performance in low temperature regime and high decomposition efficiency.

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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• 2012.05a
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• pp.70.1-70.1
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• 2012

In-situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and infrared (IR) spectroscopy studies of SOFC cathode materials will be discussed in this presentation. The mixed conducting perovskites (ABO3) containing rare and alkaline earth metals on the A-site and a transition metal on the B-site are commonly used as cathodes for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC). However, the details of the oxygen reduction reaction are still not clearly understood. The information about the type of adsorbed oxygen species and their concentration is important for a mechanistic understanding of the oxygen incorporation into these cathode materials. XPS has been widely used for the analysis of adsorbed species and surface structure. However, the conventional XPS experiments have the severe drawback to operate at room temperature and with the sample under ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) conditions, which is far from the relevant conditions of SOFC operation. The disadvantages of conventional XPS can be overcome to a large extent with a "high pressure" XPS setup installed at the BESSY II synchrotron. It allows sample depth profiling over 2 nm without sputtering by variation of the excitation energy, and most importantly measurements under a residual gas pressure in the mbar range. It is also well known that the catalytic activity for the oxygen reduction is very sensitive to their electrical conductivity and oxygen nonstoichiometry. Although the electrical conductivity of perovskite oxides has been intensively studied as a function of temperature or oxygen partial pressure (Po2), in-situ measurements of the conductivity of these materials in contact with the electrolyte as a SOFC configuration have little been reported. In order to measure the in-plane conductivity of an electrode film on the electrolyte, a substrate with high resistance is required for excluding the leakage current of the substrate. It is also hardly possible to measure the conductivity of cracked thin film by electrical methods. In this study, we report the electrical conductivity of perovskite $La_{0.6}Sr_{0.4}CoO_{3-{\delta}}$ (LSC) thin films on yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) electrolyte quantitatively obtained by in-situ IR spectroscopy. This method enables a reliable measurement of the electronic conductivity of the electrodes as part of the SOFC configuration regardless of leakage current to the substrate and cracks in the film.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.47 no.6
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• pp.397-404
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• 2019

Linear Shaped Charge (LSC) that is widely used as separation system in aerospace system has to charge lots of explosives due to lack of uniformity. In addition, it is hard to optimize shape of liner and explosives because of manufacturing process. In order to overcome aforementioned drawbacks, Precision Linear Shaped Charge (PLSC) is currently under development. PLSC is made in two steps: prepare liner independently and charge explosive uniformly. In this study, PLSC is designed to have proper amount of explosives and penetration test of PLSC with different stand-off distance from liner to target is conducted to confirm penetration performance. Based on the penetration test results of PLSC, the numerical analysis method using AUTODYN is established and verified. Penetration mechanism and characteristics of PLSC is analyzed from the numerical and experimental results.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.146-151
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• 2012

An analytical method was developed for the measurement of uranium isotope in ground water using the liquid scintillation counting technique. A LKB Wallac Quantulus 1220 liquid scintillation counter (LSC) equipped with pulse shape analyzer (PSA) and a solvent extraction method were used for the measurement of uranium isotope in ground water samples. The effect of solution volume on the extraction efficiency was evaluated for 100 to 1000 mL solutions using a NIST standard reference material (NIST SRM 4321C). The effect of groundwater pH on the extraction efficiency was also investigated for pH ranging from 0.5 to 10. It was found that the extraction efficiency had a strong dependence on pH showing a maximum at pH 2. In contrast, the effect of groundwater volume on the extraction efficiency was negligible in the range investigated. According to the method, the extraction efficiency of uranium isotopes was near 96% and the lower detection limit for uranium was 0.018 Bq/L with the counting time of 300 min. The result of this study was also verified by the conventional ICP-MS measurement. It is demonstrated that the suggested method is valuable to the determination of the optimum extraction and measurement conditions for uranium in ground water. The method was successfully applied to the ground water at four locations near the Daejeon province. It was found that the uranium content and the isotopic ratio of $^{234}U/^{238}U$ at the locations ranged 0.59~6.69 Bq/L and 0.72~1.40, respectively.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.193-200
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• 2005

[ $^{14}C$ ] and $^{3}H$ in the evaporator bottom (EB) discharged from the Nuclear power plant (NPP) were extracted simultaneously into a gaseous $^{14}CO_{2}$ and liquefied HTO by using the chemical oxidation, which is the method to oxidize samples completely using potassium persulfate and sulfuric acid. The extracted $^{14}C$ and $^{3}H$ were counted by the liquid scintillation counter (LSC) after the quench correction. To examine the recovery of $^{14}C$ using the radioactive standards, $Na_{2}^{14}CO_{3}$, $^{14}C-alcohol$, and $^{14}C-toluene$ as $^{14}C$, and HTO as $^{3}H$ were used. Also, the most suitable method for oxidizing $^{14}C-toluene$, which is difficult to be oxidized, was investigated through FT-IR spectra according to the concentration of sulfuric acid. With the identical method, $^{14}C$ and $^{3}H$ in the EB generated in the NPP were assayed in the range of $8.35{\sim}l.38{\times}10^3$ Bq/g and $2.46{\times}10^2{\sim}1.40{\times}10^4$ Bq/g, respectively.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.223-229
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• 2011

Ba is the most useful element to get the $Ba(Ra)SO_4$ precipitate. However, when the high concentrations of ions such as sulfate, calcium are existed in the leachate of phosphogypsum stack, it is difficult to get the $Ba(Ra)SO_4$ precipitate. Since this reason, the developed method for the Ba coprecipitate using EDTA was performed to determine the $^{226}Ra$ concentration in the high sulfate sample. The average concentration of $^{226}Ra$ in a leachate of phosphogypsum using this method was 0.102 $Bq{\cdot}kg^{-1}$ and the minimal detectable activity is 3.4 $mBq{\cdot}kg^{-1}$. The $mBq{\cdot}kg^{-1}$ method was 0.102 $Bq{\cdot}kg^{-1}$ and the minimal detectable activity is 3.4 $mBq{\cdot}kg^{-1}$. The $^{226}Ra$ stock solution and the CRM (Certified Reference Material) were analyzed to verify this method. In analyzed $^{226}Ra$ stock solution, bias with added concentration was approximately 1% and the correlation curve between $^{226}Ra$ concentration in simulated standard sample and measured $^{226}Ra$ concentration showed good agreement with a correlation coefficient ($R^2$) of 0.99. In analyzed CRM, maximum bias with reference value was 5.8% (k=1) and the analytical results were in good agreement with the reference value.