• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.10-18
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• 2011

This study presents a state of the art in evaluation on naturally occurring asbestos (NOA) areas and effective strategies for investigation and management of NOA areas in Korea. First of all, we defined and classified the NOA area as compiling various countries' regulations, then discussed the best methods for evaluation and management of NOA for reducing exposure of asbestos in the vicinity of NOA areas. According to the literature survey, a three-steps management strategy was suggested in this study. The first step is a confirmation stage of asbestos contamination possibility and the second step is an assessment stage of asbestos contamination using investigation, analysis, evaluation and reclamation. The final step is a following-up control stage. These three management steps for NOA area will give the maximum effectiveness of NOA control in Korea.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.52-60
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• 2010

The stone-dust is an unavoidable by-product of aggregate production, which is produced about 0.8~1.0 million $m^3$ annually. The stone-dust is currently regarded as a hazard material on environment because it is classified as an industrial waste in the Waste Management Law of Korea. At present, the stone-dust is considered as a environmentally hazardous material, and is classified as an industrial waste according to the Waste Management Law of Korea. In this study, we assessed the heavy-metal contamination of the stone-dust on surrounding environments by various leaching tests. Leaching experiments (such as Korea Standard Leaching Procedure (KSLP), Soil Environment Preservation Act of Korea (SEPAK), Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP), and Synthetic Precipitation Leaching Procedure (SPLP)) show that very low heavy metals (As, Cd, Cu, Pb, Zn, Hg) and CN are leached out, or much less than each regulatory thresholds. The resuts of the leaching test with time in acidic solution (initial pH 5 and 3) indicate that pH-buffering minerals are present in the stone-dust. These results suggest that the stone-dust can not potentially affect adverse impact on surrounding environments such as surface water, groundwater and soil etc..

• Particle and aerosol research
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.53-63
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• 2017

As semiconductor process was highly integrated, particle contamination became a major issue. Because particle contamination is related with process yields directly, particles with a diameter larger than half pitch of gate should be controlled. PBMS (Particle beam mass spectrometry) is one of powerful nano particle measurement device. It can measure 5~500 nm particles at ~ 100 mtorr condition in real time by in-situ method. However its usage is restricted to research filed only, due to its big device volume and high price. Therefore aperture changeable aerodynamic lenses (ACALs) which can control particle focusing characteristics by changing its aperture diameter was proposed in this study. Unlike conventional aerodynamic lenses which changes particle focusing efficiency when operating condition is changed, ACALs can maintain particle focusing efficiency. Therefore, it can be used for a multi-monitoring system that connects one PBMS and several process chambers, which greatly improves the commercialization possibility of the PBMS. ACALs was designed based on Stokes number and evaluated by numerical method. Numerical analysis results showed aperture diameter changeable aerodynamic lenses can focus 5 to 100 nm standard particles at 0.1 to 10 torr upstream pressure.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.121-129
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• 2000

In general. service life of the sea-shore concrete structures is largely influenced by the corrosion of reinforcing steel due to the chloride contamination, and the penetration of chloride ions into concrete is governed by concrete condition state as a micro-structure. In this study, characteristics of chloride diffusion in concrete are analyzed in accordance with the mixing properties and durability of concrete, by considering the facts that micro-structure of concrete varies with the mixing properties and can indirectly be analyzed by using the durability test. In order to predict the service life of existing concrete structures, chloride diffusion equation for the concrete structures under various service conditions and the major parameters used in that equation are formulated as the mathematical models. Based on the results of chloride diffusion analysis in accordance with the mixing properties and durability of concrete and mathematical models formulated in this study, a prediction system is developed to predict the corrosion initiation of reinforcing steel in the sea-shore concrete structures.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.82-94
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• 2021

Facilities for low impact development (LID) or groundwater recharge have the high potential spreading groundwater nitrate contamination because of the rapid infiltration. This study was initiated to remove nitrate from the waters using agricultural byproducts as organic sources for denitrification during infiltration. As the first step of this purpose, we experimentally tested the denitrifying efficiency of 4 organic materials (pine tree woodchips, cherry leaves, rice straws, and rice hulls) and tried to identify the key factors controlling the efficiency. For this study, we precisely investigated the change of chemical reactions during the experiment by analyzing various geochemical parameters. The result shows that the denitrification efficiency is not simply linked to the availability of the easily decomposable contents in the organic matter. It is found that avoiding the severe pH decrease due to the CO₂ generation is the essence to derive the efficient denitrifying conditions when organic matters were used.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.135-144
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• 2021

This study determined the antibiotic resistance patterns of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus from the raw meat and feces of three game species from three different farms across South Africa. The Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method was used according to the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute 2018 guidelines. E. coli was tested against ampicillin, ceftazidime, chloramphenicol, streptomycin, sulphafurazole and tetracycline. S. aureus was tested against tetracycline, erthromycin, vancomycin, penicillin, oxacillin and cefoxitin. There were no significant differences in the E. coli antibiotic resistance profiles between the meat and fecal samples (except towards ceftazidime where 5% of the meat isolates were resistant and 0% of the fecal isolates). The S. aureus meat isolates showed high (75%) resistance towards penicillin and on average, 13% were resistant to oxacillin/ cefoxitin, indicating methicillin resistance. The results from this study indicate that there is incidence of antibiotic resistant bacteria from the feces and meat of wildlife species across South Africa, suggesting that cross contamination of the meat occurred during slaughter by antibiotic resistant bacteria from the abattoir personnel or equipment and or from carcass fecal matter. In addition, the results highlight the importance of food safety and hygiene procedures during slaughter to prevent cross-contamination of antibiotic resistant bacteria, as well as pathogens, onto raw meat.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.277-287
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• 2023

Since the first discovery of antibiotics, introduction of new antibiotics has been coupled with the occurrence of antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Rapid dissemination of ARB and ARGs in the aquatic environments has become a global concern. ARB and ARGs have been already disseminated in the aquatic environments via various routes. Main hosts of most of ARGs were found to belong to Gammaproteobacteria class, including clinically important potential pathogens. Transmission of ARGs also occurs by horizontal gene transfer (HGT) mechanisms between bacterial strains in the aquatic environments, resulting in ubiquity of ARGs. Thus, a few of ARGs and MGEs (e.g., strA, sul1, int1) have been suggested as indicators for global comparability of contamination level in the aquatic environments. With ARB and ARGs contamination, the occurrence of critical pathogens has been globally issued due to their widespread in the aquatic environments. Thus, active surveillance systems have been launched worldwide. In this review, we described advancement of methodologies for ARGs detection, and occurrence of ARB and ARGs and their dissemination in the aquatic environments. Even though numerous studies have been conducted for ARB and ARGs, there is still no clear strategy to tackle antibiotic resistance (AR) in the aquatic environments. At least, for consistent surveillance, a strict framework should be established for further research in the aquatic environments.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.32 no.9
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• pp.627-634
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• 2023

Tire wear particles(TWPs), regarded as a microplastic, is generated in significant quantities each year and exist in various spaces and have a negative impact on the surrounding environment. Particularly, roadside environments fall within the direct influence of TWPs, necessitating proactive investigation for contamination management and response. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the soil acidity and electrical conductivity(EC) and TWPs in the roadside soil of six sites based on traffic volume. The analysis revealed that the soil in all sites exhibited subacidity, and there were no significant differences in EC. Microscopic and FT-IR analysis revealed the presence of microscopic particles in soil samples that exhibited common visual characteristics of TWPs. In the road with the highest traffic volume, 48,300 TWPs were detected per unit area. Furthermore, a proportional relationship between traffic volume and TWPs particles was established. However, influences other than traffic volume on TWPs particle count within the soil were observed. Therefore, for the management of TWPs contaminated roadside soil, a proactive response is necessary in areas with high traffic volumes. However, in order to effectively address the factors contributing to the generation and dispersion of TWPs, further research is required with a multidimensional approach.

• Journal of muscle and joint health
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.263-272
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• 2023

Purpose: The aim of this study was to provide a scientific basis for shelf life and re-establish the shelf life in a hospital environment by investigating the validity periods of various packaging materials. Methods: We selected six departments to store sterilized items, prepared 482 sterilized items, and stored them for 12 months. Each sample was tested using a microbiological culture in the laboratory every two weeks. When the result was positive, the sample was considered contaminated. The temperature and relative humidity were measured using an automatic control system to investigate the storage environment during the study period. Results: Except for two samples, which were positive in the 22nd and 28th weeks, 480 samples were negative. The temperature and relative humidity of the sample storage area were measured every week. The annual average temperature was 23.6±1.6℃, and the mean relative humidity was 35.1±15.2%. The cabinets used in this study were the two-open and four-closed types. Conclusion: This study confirmed the validity of the expiration date in a hospital environment. Based on the results, the nonwoven fabric remained sterile for more than nine months. No case of contamination of the paper-plastic pouch packaging was observed, owing to the microbial culture for two months.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.56-63
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• 2024

In high radiation fields, gamma cameras suffer from pulse pile-up, resulting in poor energy resolution, count losses, and image distortion. To overcome this problem, various methods have been introduced to reduce the size of the aperture or pixel, reject the pile-up events, and correct the pile-up events, but these technologies have limitations in terms of mechanical design and real-time processing. The purpose of this study is to develop a real-time gamma camera to evaluate the radioactive contamination in high radiation fields. The gamma camera is composed of a pinhole collimator, NaI(Tl) scintillator, position sensitive photomultiplier (PSPMT), signal processing board, and data acquisition (DAQ). The pulse pile-up is corrected in real-time with a field programmable gate array (FPGA) using the start time correction (STC) method. The STC method corrects the amplitude of the pile-up event by correcting the time at the start point of the pile-up event. The performance of the gamma camera was evaluated using a high dose rate ¹³⁷Cs source. For pulse pile-up ratios (PPRs) of 0.45 and 0.30, the energy resolution improved by 61.5 and 20.3%, respectively. In addition, the image artifacts in the ¹³⁷Cs radioisotope image due to pile-up were reduced.