• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.204-213
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• 2022

Background: The accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant increased the level of anxiety related to the radioactive contamination of various foods sourced in Japan. Particularly, after the accident, the detection of artificial radionuclides in locally produced foods raised food safety concerns. In this study, the radioactivity concentrations and annual ingestions of ⁴⁰K and ¹³⁷Cs in food products commonly and frequently consumed by the general public were investigated, and the annual effective dose of each was evaluated. Materials and Methods: The 2016-2018 data from the Radiation Safety Management Report released by the Korea Nuclear Safety Technology Center was referenced for the evaluation of the amounts of ⁴⁰K and ¹³⁷Cs contained in food. Using the food-ingestion survey mentioned above as a reference, we selected 62 foods to include in our radioactivity concentration and dose assessment. We also developed a questionnaire and evaluated the responses from the subjects who answered the questionnaire. Results and Discussion: The radioactivity concentration of ¹³⁷Cs was found to be close to or below the level of minimum detectable activity. Additionally, the annual ingestion of 62 foods was 294.77 kg/yr, the effective doses from ⁴⁰K and ¹³⁷Cs were 136.4 and 0.163 μSv/yr, respectively. Conclusion: Thus, the findings confirmed that the effective dose from ⁴⁰K and ¹³⁷Cs in food tends to be lower than the effective dose limit of 1 mSv/yr suggested by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) Publication 60. The questionnaire developed in this study is expected to be useful for estimating the annual effective dose status of Korean adults who consume foods containing ⁴⁰K and ¹³⁷Cs.

• Korean Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.31-39
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• 2023

To reduce facility management costs and safety concerns due to aging of facilities, it is important to estimate the future facilities' condition based on facility management data and utilize predictive information for management decision making. To this end, this study proposed a methodology to estimate facility elements' condition using XGBoost. To validate the proposed methodology, this study constructed sample data for road bridges and developed a model to estimate condition grades of major elements expected in the next inspection. As a result, the developed model showed satisfactory performance in estimating the condition grades of deck, girder, and abutment/pier (average F1 score 0.869). In addition, a testbed was established that provides data management function and element condition estimation function to demonstrate the practical applicability of the proposed methodology. It was confirmed that the facility management data and predictive information in this study could help managers in making facility management decisions.

• The Journal of The Korea Institute of Intelligent Transport Systems
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.200-215
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• 2023

With the rapid advance of autonomous driving technology, the related vehicle market is experiencing explosive growth, and it is anticipated that the era of fully autonomous vehicles will arrive in the near future. However, along with the development of autonomous driving technology, questions regarding its safety and reliability continue to be raised. Concerns among technology adopters are increasing due to media reports of accidents involving autonomous vehicles. To promote the improvement of the safety of autonomous vehicles, it is essential to analyze previous accident cases and identify their causes. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to analyze the factors influencing the severity of autonomous vehicle accidents using previous accident cases and related data. The data used for this research primarily comprised autonomous vehicle accident reports collected and distributed by the California Department of Motor Vehicles (CA DMV). Spatial information on accident locations and additional traffic data were also collected and utilized. Given that the primary data used in this study were accident reports, a Poisson regression analysis was conducted to model the expected number of accidents. The research results indicated that the severity of autonomous vehicle accidents increases in areas with low lighting, the presence of bicycle or bus-exclusive lanes, and a history of pedestrian and bicycle accidents. These findings are expected to serve as foundational data for the development of algorithms to enhance the safety of autonomous vehicles and promote the installation of related transportation infrastructure.

• Proceedings of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea Conference
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• 2000.04a
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• pp.18-20
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• 2000

At 1:47 a.m, local time on September 21, 1999, a strong earthquake measured 7.3 on the Richter scale struck central Taiwan evoking another two earthquakes a few seconds late to wake up unprepared people of this small island. It caused 2,465 people killed 11,305 injured about 10,000 buildings collapsed and around 41,000 severely damaged, The major concerns after the earthquake are how to have learned from this natural disaster and how to rebuild earthquake-proof buildings without rendering up safety within reasonable costs. Inevitable actions for redrafting the building codes have been taken to re-strengthen the existing and new structures. Structural analysis tools and computer programs adopted by most practicing engineers have been re-examined to take into account the effects of the vertical component of ground shakings on structural responses. Most private structures were repaired by traditional methods without considering upgrading seismic resistibility because of economical reasons. Buildings open to the public are under consideration possibly enforced by making regulations to be upgraded to satisfy revised building codes. In addition new rehabilitation technologies such as structural control have been moving much faster than before and have become accepted by the public due to frequent reports by media and specialists. Building codes related to base isolators and energy absorption systems are still under legislation and expected to be published soon. Most of the new structures under construction designed by the building codes promulgated before the earthquake have been reconsidered to comply with the new codes even though it is not compulsory. Efforts have been made by the government engineering and research communities and universities in an attempt to reduce structural damage for future earthquakes and to construct if possible Taiwan as an earthquake-proof island.

• International Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.87-100
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• 2012

Smart wear integrates computing technology into fabric or a garment for additional functionality. This research explored the attitudes and opinions of the use of smart wear from the viewpoint of caregivers. Thirty two individuals including care providers of children and adult family members with health problems participated in focus group interviews. Participants reported being interested in smart wear because of the potential to detect the location (GPS) of a dependent (e.g., child, elderly) and to monitor vital signs. Participants indicated perceived advantages of smart wear such as identifying geographical location and effectiveness. Perceived concerns mentioned were privacy/security issues and accuracy of data. Participants taking care of dependents without a specific disease were hesitant to adopt and pay for smart wear. However, caregivers of elderly individuals expressed positive adoption intentions and willingness to reasonably pay for smart wear. They indicated expectations that potential insurance would provide coverage for cost savings. Caregivers expressed the need of specific requirements for future adoption such as customizability, and comfort/safety. Specific to smart wear clothing, most respondents preferred it be an undershirt or a jacket with a sensor located in the shoulder area. The findings from this study can be used in product development, promotion and marketing of smart wear.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.130-138
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• 2016

The use of antibiotics in aquaculture raises environmental and food safety concerns because chronic exposure of an aquatic ecosystem to antibiotics can result in the spread of antibiotic resistance, bioaccumulation of antibiotics in the organisms, and transfer of antibiotics to humans. In an attempt to overcome these problems, high-concentration red clay was applied as an alternative antibiotic against the following common fish pathogens: Aeromonas salmonicida, Vibrio alginolyticus, and Streptococcus equinus. The growth of A. salmonicida and V. alginolyticus was retarded by red clay, whereas that of S. equinus was promoted. Phase contrast and scanning electron microscopy analyses confirmed the attachment of red clay on cell surfaces, resulting in rapid gravitational removal and cell surface damage in both A. salmonicida and V. alginolyticus, but not in S. equinus. Different cell wall properties of grampositive species may explain the unharmed cell surface of S. equinus. Significant levels of oxidative stress were generated in only the former two species, whereas significant changes in membrane permeability were found only in S. equinus, probably because of its physiological adaptation. The bacterial communities in water samples from Oncorhynchus mykiss aquacultures supplemented with red clay showed similar structure and diversity as those from oxytetracycline-treated water. Taken together, the antibiotic effects of high concentrations of red clay in aquaculture can be attributed to gravitational removal, cell surface damage, and oxidative stress production, and suggest that red clay may be used as an alternative for antibiotics in aquaculture.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.12 no.8
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• pp.229-234
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• 2014

Vehicular electronic communication system has continued to develop in favor of high performance and user convenience with the evolution of auto industry. Yet, due to the nature of communication system, concerns over intruder attacks in transmission sections have been raised with a need for safe and secure communication being valued. Any successful intruder attacks on vehicular operation and control systems as well as on visual equipment could result in serious safety and privacy problems. Thus, research has focused on hardware-based security and secure communication protocols. This paper proposed a safe and secure vehicular communication protocol, used the formal verification tool, Casper/FDR to test the security of the proposed protocol against different types of intruder attacks, and verified that the proposed protocol was secure and ended without problems.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information Security & Cryptology
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.97-106
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• 2014

CCTV(Closed Circuit television) is one of the widely used physical security technologies and video acquisition device installed at specific point with various purposes. Recently, as the CCTV capabilities improve, facial recognition from the information collected from CCTV video is under development. However, in case these technologies are exploited, concerns on major privacy infringement are high. Especially, a computer connected to a particular space images taken by the camera in real time over the Internet has emerged to show information services. In the privacy law, safety measures which is related with biometric template are notified. Accordingly, in this paper, for the protection of privacy video information in the video surveillance system, the technical and managerial requirements for video information security are suggested.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.105-110
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• 2014

Purpose: The advantages of totally laparoscopic surgery in early gastric cancer (EGC) are unproven, and some concerns remain regarding the oncologic safety and technical difficulty. This study aimed to evaluate the technical feasibility and clinical benefits of totally laparoscopic distal gastrectomy (TLDG) for the treatment of gastric cancer compared with laparoscopy-assisted distal gastrectomy (LADG). Materials and Methods: A retrospective review of 211 patients who underwent either TLDG (n=134; 63.5%) or LADG (n=77; 36.5%) for EGC between April 2005 and October 2013 was performed. Clinicopathologic features and surgical outcomes were analyzed and compared between the groups. Results: The operative time in the TLDG group was significantly shorter than that in the LADG group (193 [range, 160~230] vs. 215 minutes [range, 170~255]) (P=0.021). The amount of blood loss during TLDG was estimated at 200 ml (range, 100~350 ml), which was significantly less than that during LADG, which was estimated at 400 ml (range, 400~700 ml) (P<0.001). The hospital stay in the TLDG group was shorter than that in the LADG group (7 vs. 8 days, P<0.001). One patient from each group underwent laparotomic conversion. Two patients in the TLDG group required reoperation: one for hemostasis after intraabdominal bleeding and 1 for repair of wound dehiscence at the umbilical port site. Conclusions: TLDG for distal EGC is a technically feasible and safe procedure when performed by a surgeon with sufficient experience in laparoscopic gastrectomy and might provide the benefits of reduced operating time and intraoperative blood lossand shorter convalescence compared with LADG.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.166-174
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• 2012

Introduction: After 17 years since the first production of humidifier disinfectants in Korea, Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) announced that the odds ratio of lung injury related with humidifier disinfectant usage was 47.3 (95% confidence interval 6.0-369.7) according to a case-control study with 18 adult cases, including 8 pregnant women at a university hospital in Seoul. Results: From September 2011 to April 2012, one-hundred and seventy four victim cases have been reported to an environmental non-governmental group (NGO). We summarized timetable of humidifier disinfectants accidents, analyzed health outcomes (death, lung or lung and heart transplantation, pulmonary disease) of reported victims, and classified some information for humidifier disinfectants with health outcomes, and government action for this accident. Among the victims, number of death cases are 52 (30.0%), including 26 babies less than 3 years old. Sixty-nine victims come from twenty-seven family with 2 to 4 members per family. About twenty types of humidifier disinfectant products and about 600,000 product items a year have been sold. Fifty-two death cases used 7 different types of disinfectant products, including imported goods and some private brands of well-known supermarkets. KCDC confirmed inhalation toxicity of 6 products through an animal experimental test, and based on this observation recalled disinfectants containing PHMG (polyhexamethylene guanidine) and PGH (Oligo(2-(2-ethoxy)ethoxyethyl guanidinium chloride). Discussions: The use of these biocides involved highly fatal consequences among biologically vulnerable victims, such as pregnant women, several family member victims after semi-acute exposure. This is the first biocide disaster in Korea with non-specific targets, and unknown scale of victims, warranting concerns on use of biocides in the living environment. Conclusions: Special administrative agency for chemical safety and compensation act for environmental health victims are needed to prevent similar problems.