The objective of this experiment was to investigate the effect of drip irrigation volume on tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum L.) grown in a greenhouse using perlite medium. Plants were treated by three different irrigation treatment I0, I25, and I50 (where irrigation volume of I25 and I50 was 25% and 50% higher than I0, having limited or no leaching). Growth characteristics of plants, yield and water use efficiency were measured. The result showed that plant height, leaf length and leaf width were lowest in the I0 treated plants. However, these parameters were not statistically significant differences between the plants that were grown in the I25 and I50 treatment. Soluble solids content, acidity and dry matter of 111th, 132nd, and 143rd days harvested tomato were higher in the plants irrigated with lowest volume (I0) than the higher volume (I25 or I50). In addition, water content was lower in the 111th and 132nd days of harvested tomatoes from the I0 treatment. The number of big-size tomatoes (>180 g) was significantly higher in the I25 irrigated plants. There was no significant difference in the total number of harvested fruits among the treatments. The average fruit weight and total yield of harvested tomatoes were lowest in the I0 treated plants. The water consumption of tomato was not significantly different amongst the treatments but water use efficiency was lowest in the I0 treatment. Principal component analysis revealed that total soluble solid and acidity of tomato showed a positive correlation between each other. These results suggest that I25 was the optimum irrigation treatment for tomato based on its measured growth characteristics, yield and water use efficiency.

Republic of Korea (ROK) is operating the Integrated Environmental Radiation Monitoring Network (IERNet) in preparation for a radioactive emergency based on Article 105 of the Nuclear Safety Act (Monitoring of Nationwide Radioactive Environment). 215 radiation monitoring posts are monitoring a wide area, but their location is fixed, so they can’t cover areas where the post is not equipped around the Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs). For this, a mobile radiation monitoring system was developed using a drone or vehicle. However, there are disadvantages: it is performed only at a specific cycle, and an additional workforce is required. In this study, a radiation monitoring system using public transportation was developed to solve the above problems. Considering the range of dose rates from environmental radiation to high radiation doses in accidents, the detector was designed by combining NaI (TI) (in the low-dose area) and GM detector (in the high-dose area). Field test was conducted by installed on a city bus operated by Yeonggwang-gun to confirm the performance of the radiation monitoring system. As a result of the field test, it was confirmed that data is transmitted from the module to the server program in both directions. Based on this study, it will be possible to improve the radiation monitoring capability near nuclear facilities.

When decommissioning a nuclear power plant, the structure must be made to a disposable size. In general, the cutting process is essential when dismantling a nuclear power plant. Mainly, thermal cutting method is used to cutting metal structures. The aerosols generated during thermal cutting have a size distribution of less than 1 μm. The contaminated structures are able to generate radioactive aerosols in the decommissioning. Radioactive aerosols of 1 μm or less are deposited in the respiratory tract by workers’ breathing, causing the possibility of internal exposure. Therefore, workers must be protected from the risk of exposure to radioactive aerosols. Prior knowledge of aerosols generated during metal cutting is important to ensure worker safety. In this study, the physical and chemical properties of the aerosol were evaluated by measuring the number and mass concentrations of aerosols generated when cutting SUS304 and SA508 using the laser cutting method. High-resolution aerosol measuring equipment (HR-ELPI+, DEKATI) was used to measure the concentration of aerosols. The HR-ELPI+ is an impactor-type aerosol measuring equipment that measures the aerosol number concentration distribution in the aerodynamic diameter range of 6 nm to 10 um in real-time. And analyze the mass concentration of the aerosol according to the diameter range through the impactor. ICP-MS was used for elemental mass concentration analysis in the aerosol. Analytical elements were Fe, Cr, Ni and Mn. For the evaluation of physical and chemical properties, the MMAD of each element and CMAD were calculated in the aerosol distribution. Under the same cutting conditions, it was confirmed that the number concentration of aerosols generated from both materials had a uni-modal distribution with a peak around 0.1 um. CMAD was calculated to be 0.072 um for both SUS304 and SA508. The trend of the CMAD calculation results is the same even when the cutting conditions are changed. In the case of MMAD, it was confirmed that SUS304 had an MMAD of around 0.1 μm in size for only Fe, Cr and Mn. And SA508, Fe, Cr, Ni and Mn were all confirmed to have MMAD around 0.1 μm in size. The results of this study show that a lot of aerosols in the range of less than 1 μm, especially around 0.1 μm in size, are generated when metal is cut using laser cutting. Therefore, in order to protect the internal exposure of workers to laser metal cutting when decommissioning NPPs, it is necessary to protect from nano-sized aerosols beyond micron size.

Polarimetric measurements of the lunar surface from lunar orbit soon will be available via Wide-Field Polarimetric Camera (PolCam) onboard the Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO), which is planned to be launched in mid 2022. To provide calibration data for the PolCam, we are conducting speckle polarimetric measurements of the nearside of the Moon from the Earth’s ground. It appears that speckle imaging of the Moon for scientific purposes has not been attempted before, and there is need for a procedure to create a “lucky image” from a number of observed speckle images. As a first step of obtaining calibration data for the PolCam from the ground, we search for the best sharpness measure for lunar surfaces. We then calculate the minimum number of speckle images and the number of images to be shift-and-added for higher resolution (sharpness) and signal-to-noise ratio.

Veronica L., the largest genus in the family Plantaginaceae, is widespread in various habitats. Due to their long-blooming flowers, Veronica species have high horticultural value as indoor potted, garden, and landscape plants. Furthermore, Veronica plants are extremely important owing to their notable diversity in habitat usage, ploidy level, and evolution. Several native taxa, which are of key interest in breeding programs and phylogenetic studies, have been identified in Korea. The genome sizes and chromosomal characteristics are basic cytogenetic features of all taxa, and their knowledge is a prerequisite when commencing genome sequencing projects. It can provide essential information for cytogenetic, taxonomic, phylogenetic, and evolutionary studies. Thus, cytogenetic analysis and genome size estimation of seven Veronica taxa native to Korea were conducted in this study. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) karyotype analysis and chromosome counting was conducted using metaphase chromosomes probed with 5S and 45S rDNA. Nuclear DNA content and genome size were determined using flow cytometry. FISH karyotype analysis revealed a common number of 5S loci and varying 45S signals that create distinctive rDNA distribution patterns in each taxon. The results indicated that the seven investigated Veronica taxa have calculated genome sizes (1C values) ranging from 517.1 to 862.0 Mbp. This study is the first to report the chromosome number and karyomorphology of seven Veronica taxa native to Korea, as well as the use of rDNA markers for identifying individual chromosomes. These findings contribute to the crucial understanding the genomic characteristics of species within the genus Veronica, serve as a basis for studying Veronica phylogeny and evolution, and provide valuable information for future breeding programs.