• Mineral and Industry
• /
• v.26
• /
• pp.1-12
• /
• 2013

In this study, an accelerated carbonation process was applied to stabilize hazardous heavy metals of industrial solid waste incineration (ISWI) bottom ash and fly ash, and to reduce $CO_2$ emissions. The most commonly used method to stabilize heavy metals is accelerated carbonation using a high water-to-solid ratio including oxidation and carbonation reactions as well as neutralization of the pH, dissolution, and precipitation and sorption. This process has been recognized as having a significant effect on the leaching of heavy metals in alkaline materials such as ISWI ash. The accelerated carbonation process with $CO_2$ absorption was investigated to confirm the leaching behavior of heavy metals contained in ISWI ash including fly and bottom ash. Only the temperature of the chamber at atmospheric pressure was varied and the $CO_2$ concentration was kept constant at 99% while the water-to-solid ratio (L/S) was set at 0.3 and $3.0dm^3/kg$. In the result, the concentration of leached heavy metals and pH value decreased with increasing carbonation reaction time whereas the bottom ash showed no effect. The mechanism of heavy metal-stabilization is supported by two findings during the carbonation reaction. First, the carbonation reaction is sufficient to decrease the pH and to form an insoluble heavy metal-material that contributes to a reduction of the leaching. Second, the adsorbent compound in the bottom ash controls the leaching of heavy metals; the calcite formed by the carbonation reaction has high affinity of heavy metals. In addition, approximately 5 kg/ton and 27 kg/ton $CO_2$ were sequestrated in ISWI bottom ash and fly ash after the carbonation reaction, respectively.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
• /
• v.36 no.4
• /
• pp.277-285
• /
• 2014

The usage of efficient microorganism (EM) is increasing in concern for server purposes including odor removal during carcasses degradation. In this study, we have studied the type of soil and its effect on efficient microorganisms for the removal of odorous gases during buried carcasses degradation in lab-scale reactor. The carcasses are buried in the reactor with various soil types such as normal soil, 20% sandy and 20% clay soil with the efficient microorganism KEM. The efficient microorganisms KEM have the ability to stabilize the degradation of carcasses of the burial site. We have focused on the analysis of odorous gases such tri-methylamine (TMA), hydrogen sulfide ($H_2S$), methyl mercaptan (MM), dimethyl sulfide (DMS), dimethyl disulfide (DMDS), carbon dioxide ($CO_2$), and methane ($CH_4$) along with the changes of microbial community changed during complete degradation of buried carcasses for a year. The results suggested that the 20% sandy soil contain lesser level of $H_2S$ and MM (0.09 and 0.35 mg) but 20% clay has higher nitrogen compound removing effect and leave only less amount of ammonia and TMA (0.31 and 2.06 mg). The 20% sandy soil also has the ability to breakdown the carcasses more quality compared with other types of soil. Based on the data obtained in this study suggesting that, the use of 20% sandy soil can effectively control sulfur compounds whereas 20% clay soil controls nitrogen compounds in the buried soil. Depending on the type of the soil, the dominant of microbial communities and the distribution was change.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.16 no.14
• /
• pp.5721-5726
• /
• 2015

Lung cancer is the leading contributor to cancer deaths in the developing world. Within countries, significant variability exists in the prevalence of lung cancer risk, yet limited information is available whether some of the observed variability is associated with differences in the consumption pattern of local tobacco products with differing potency. We recruited 606 lung cancer cases and 606 controls from the B.P. Koirala Memorial Cancer Hospital in Nepal from 2009-2012. We estimated odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for lung cancer risk associated with different tobacco products, using unconditional logistic regression. Unfiltered cigarettes tended to be the most frequently used products across ethnic subgroup with about 53.7% of Brahmins, 60.1% of Chettris, and 52.3% of Rai/Limbu/Magar/others. In contrast, about 39.9% of Madishe/Tharu smokers reported using bidi compared with only 27.7% who smoked unfiltered cigarettes. Among those who only smoked one type of product, choor/kankat smokers had the highest lung cancer risk (OR 10.2; 95% CI 6.2-16.6), followed by bidi smokers (OR 5.6; 95% CI 3.6-8.7), unfiltered cigarettes (OR 4.9; 95% CI 3.4-7.2), and filtered cigarettes (OR 3.4; 95% CI 2.2-5.3). A clear dose-response relationship was observed between increased frequency of smoking and lung cancer risk across all ethnic subgroups. These results highlight the important role of traditional tobacco products on lung cancer risk in the low income countries.

• Applied Microscopy
• /
• v.34 no.1
• /
• pp.13-21
• /
• 2004

The high voltage electron microscope (HVEM) newly installed in KBSI is an advanced transmission electron microscope capable of atomic resolution (${\leq}1.2{\AA}$ point-to-point resolution) together with high titling function (${\pm}60^{\circ}$), which are suitable to do 3-dimensional atomic imaging of a specimen. In addition, the instrument can be controlled by remote operation system, named as 'FasTEM' for the HVEM, which is favorable to overcome some environmental obstacles resulting from the direct operation. The FasTEM remote operation system has been established between the headquarter of KBSI in Daejeon and the Seoul branch. The server system in the headquarter has been connected with a portable client console system in the Seoul branch using an advanced internet resource, 'KOREN' of 155 Mbps grade. Most of the HVEM functions essential to do remote operation are available on the portable client console. The experiment to acquire the high resolution image of [001] Au has been achieved by excellent transmission of control signals and communication with the HVEM. Real-time reaction like direct operation, such as controls of the illumination and projection parameters, acquisition and adjustment of each detector signal, and electrical steering of each motor-driven system has been realized in remote site. It is positively anticipated that the first remote operation of HVEM in conjunction with IT infraengineering plays a important role in constructing the network based e-Science Grid in Korea for national user s facilities.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
• /
• v.21 no.3
• /
• pp.187-195
• /
• 2019

The needs for precise diagnostics and farm management-decision aids have increased to reduce the risk of climate change and environmental stress. Crop simulation models have been widely used to search optimal solutions for effective cultural practices. However, limited knowledge on physiological responses to environmental variation would make it challenging to apply crop simulation models to a wide range of studies. Advanced research facilities would help investigation of plant response to the environment. In the present study, the sunlit controlled environment chambers, known as Korean SPAR (Soil-Plant-Atmosphere-Research) system, was developed by renovating existing SPAR system. The Korean SPAR system controls and monitors major environmental variables including atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration, temperature and soil moisture. Furthermore, plants are allowed to grow under natural sunlight. Key physiological and physical data such as canopy photosynthesis and respiration, canopy water and nutrient use over the whole growth period are also collected automatically. As a case study, it was shown that the Korean SPAR system would be useful for collection of data needed for understanding the growth and developmental processes of a crop, e.g., soybean. In addition, we have demonstrated that the canopy photosynthetic data of the Korean SPAR indicate the precise representation of physiological responses to environment variation. As a result, physical and physiological data obtained from the Korean SPAR are expected to be useful for development of an advanced crop simulation model minimizing errors and confounding factors that usually occur in field experiments.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.16 no.11
• /
• pp.4705-4710
• /
• 2015

Background: Though a large proportion of cancer survivors are assumed to be commonly affected by sleep disturbance, few studies have focused on short sleep problems and its correlates among Korean cancer survivors. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of short sleep in adult cancer survivors from a nationwide population-based sample and to identify risk factors for short sleep duration. Materials and Methods: Based on the fourth and fifth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (2007-2012), 1,045 cancer survivors and 33,929 non-cancer controls were analyzed. The prevalence of short sleep was compared between these two groups. Associations between short sleep and its correlates were evaluated using multiple logistic regression among cancer survivors: odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs) were estimated after adjusting for sociodemographic factors, lifestyle factors, psychological conditions, and cancer-related factors. Results: About 8.1% of cancer survivors slept for less than 5 hours per day (6.2% men and 9.3% women), whereas this was the case for only 3.7% of non-cancer controls. Cancer survivors who had the lowest household income level showed a significantly higher likelihood for short sleep (adjusted OR 2.82, 95%CI 1.06-7.54). Self-reported poor health and depressive symptoms were found to be associated with significantly increased likelihood for short sleep in cancer survivors (adjusted OR 3.60, 95%CI 1.40-9.26 and adjusted OR 2.00, 95%CI 1.17-3.42). Gastric cancer survivors had a 3.97-fold increased risk for short sleep (95%CI 1.60-9.90). Conclusions: The prevalence of short sleep occurs at a high rate among the Korean cancer survivors, which may indicate a poorer quality of life and a higher risk of future complications in survivorship. Targeted interventions that can assist cancer survivors to cope with sleep disturbances as well as ensuring psychological stability are warranted to reduce the latent disease burden.

• Anxiety and mood
• /
• v.3 no.2
• /
• pp.116-122
• /
• 2007

Objective : The purpose of this study was to investigate the strategies used to cope with stress and the cognitive characteristics of somatic symptom perception in patients with panic disorder. Methods : A total of 101 patients who met the DSM-IV criteria for panic disorder and 60 normal controls were recruited for participation in this study. We evaluated the subjects using The Way of Stress Coping Questionnaire (SCQ), Somato-Sensory Amplification Scale (SSAS), Symptom Interpretation Questionnaire (SIQ), and the Panic Disorder Severity Scale (PDSS). We analyzed the data using an independent t-test and Pearson correlation analysis (p<0.05). Results : The patients who used emotionally focused coping strategies scored significantly lower on the SCQ. The patients with panic disorder showed greater amplification of body sensations in the SSAS, a significantly higher score on the physical interpretation subset of the SIQ, and a lower score on the environmental interpretation subset of the SIQ than the normal controls. The PDSS scores were positively correlated with the SSAS score and physical interpretation score on the SIQ. Conclusion : These results show that patients with panic disorder have poor emotionally focused strategies for coping with stress, greater amplification of body sensations, and a tendency towards a physical interpretation of somatic symptoms.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
• /
• 2017.06a
• /
• pp.159-159
• /
• 2017

Drought, a common environmental constraint, induces a range of physiological, biochemical and molecular changes in plants, and can cause severe reductions in crop yield. Consequently, understanding the molecular mechanisms of drought tolerance is an important step towards crop biotechnology. Here, we report that the rice (Oryza sativa) homeodomain-leucine zipper class IV transcription factor gene, ${\underline{R}ice}$ ${\underline{o}utermost}$ ${\underline{c}ell-specific}$ gene 10 (Roc10), enhances drought tolerance and grain yield by increasing lignin accumulation in ground tissues. Overexpression of Roc10 in rice significantly increased drought tolerance at the vegetative stages of growth and promoted both more effective photosynthesis and a reduction in water loss rate, compared with non-transgenic controls or RNAi transgenic plants. Importantly, Roc10 overexpressing plants had a higher drought tolerance at the reproductive stage of growth and a higher grain yield compared with the controls under field-drought conditions. Roc10 is mainly expressed in outer cell layers including the epidermis and the vasculature of the shoots, which coincides with areas of cell wall lignification. Roc10 overexpression elevated the expression levels of lignin biosynthetic genes in shoots, with a concomitant increase in the accumulation of lignin, while the overexpression and RNAi lines showed opposite patterns of lignin accumulation. We identified downstream target genes of Roc10 by performing RNA-seq and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP)-seq analyses of shoot tissues. Roc10 was found to directly bind to the promoter of PEROXIDASEN/PEROXIDASE38, a key gene in lignin biosynthesis. Together, our findings suggest that Roc10 confers drought stress tolerance by promoting lignin biosynthesis in ground tissues.

• Toxicological Research
• /
• v.24 no.4
• /
• pp.273-280
• /
• 2008

The single intratracheal instillation (ITI) of bleomycin (BLM) is a widely used method for inducing experimental pulmonary fibrosis in rat model. In the present study, pulmonary function tests (PFTs) of tidal volume ($V_T$), minute volume ($V_M$), and respiratory frequency ($F_R$) have been applied to study their possibility as a tool to monitor the progress of BLM-induced lung injury in rat model. Rats were treated with a single ITI of BLM (2.5 mg/kg) or saline (control). Animals were euthanized at 3, 7, 14, 21, and 28 days post-ITI. Lung toxicity effects were evaluated by inflammatory cell count, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), and light microscopic examination of lung injury. The PFT parameters were measured immediately before the animals were sacrificed. BLM treatment induced significant cellular changes in BALF-increase in number of total cells, neutrophils, and lymphocytes along with sustained increase in number of macrophages compared to the controls at days 3, 7, and 14. BALF LDH level was significantly increased compared to that in the controls up to day 14. On day 3, infiltration of neutrophils was observed in the alveolar spaces. These changes developed into marked peribronchiolar and interstitial infiltration by inflammatory cells, and extensive thickening of the interalveolar septa on day 7. At 14, 21, and 28 days, mild peribronchiolar fibrosis was observed along with inflammatory cell infiltration. The results of PFT show significant consistencies compared to the results of other toxicity tests. These data demonstrate that the most suitable time point for assessing lung fibrosis in this model is 14 days post-ITI of BLM based on the observation of fibrosis at 14, 21, and 28 days. Further, the progress of lung injury can be traced by monitoring the PFT parameters of $F_R$, $V_T$, and $V_M$.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.15 no.13
• /
• pp.5249-5252
• /
• 2014

Nogo protein, encoded by gene reticulon-4 (RTN4), includes three major isoforms by different splicing, named Nogo-A Nogo-B and Nogo-C. Nogo proteins play an important role in the apoptosis of cells, especially in tumor cells. RTN4 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) can influence the efficiency of transcription and translation thus being related with an individual's predisposition to cancer. The CAA insertion/deletion polymorphism (rs34917480) within RTN4 3'-UTR has been reported to be associated with many cancer types. In order to investigate the relationship between this polymorphism and susceptibility to non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in the Chinese population, we conducted the present case-control study including 411 NSCLC patients and 471 unrelated healthy controls. The genotype distributions were significantly different between cases and controls (p=0.014). We found that the del allele could significantly increase NSCLC risk (ins/ins vs ins/del: p=0.007, OR 1.46, 95%CI=1.11-1.93; dominant model: p=0.004, OR 1.47, 95%CI=1.13-1.92 and allele model: p=0.008, OR 1.35, 95%CI=1.08-1.67). This association was stronger in participants over 60 years old, males and smokers. We therefore conclude that the CAA insertion/deletion polymorphism (rs34917480) contributes to non-small cell lung cancer risk in Chinese population. Age, sex and environmental exposure are also related to carcinogenic effects of rs34917480.