Background: Older adults use different ankle muscle activation patterns during difficult static balance conditions. It has been suggested that this is related to a decline in proprioception with age, resulting in reduced postural balance. However, the association between proprioception and ankle muscle activity during quiet standing has not been directly assessed. Objects: This study aimed to investigate the effects of age and sensory condition on ankle muscle activity and the association between ankle proprioception and ankle muscle activity. Methods: We recruited 10 young women and 9 older women. Ankle proprioception was evaluated using joint position sense (JPS) and force sense (FS) divided by dorsiflexion and plantarflexion. The electromyographic activity of the tibialis anterior (TA) and gastrocnemius (GCM) muscles was collected during quiet standing. Results: Older women activated GCM muscle more than young during quiet standing and when performing difficult tasks. Older women had more errors in JPS dorsiflexion and FS plantarflexion than did young. The GCM muscle activity is related to JPS dorsiflexion and FS plantarflexion. Conclusion: Lower proprioception of the GCM with age leads to increased muscle activity, resulting in reduced postural balance. There was no difference in TA proprioception or muscle activity among older women with frequent physical activity.

We present the analysis of a planetary microlensing event OGLE-2019-BLG-0362 with a shortduration anomaly (∼0.4 days) near the peak of the light curve, which is caused by the resonant caustic. The event has a severe degeneracy with Δχ2 = 0.9 between the close and the wide binary lens models both with planet-host mass ratio q ≃ 0.007. We measure the angular Einstein radius but not the microlens parallax, and thus we perform a Bayesian analysis to estimate the physical parameters of the lens. We find that the OGLE-2019-BLG-0362L system is a super-Jovian-mass planet Mp = 3.26+0.83 −0.58 MJ orbiting an M dwarf Mh = 0.42+0.34 −0.23 M⊙ at a distance DL = 5.83+1.04 −1.55 kpc. The projected star-planet separation is a⊥ = 2.18+0.58 −0.72 AU, which indicates that the planet lies beyond the snow line of the host star.

The sorption of Eu on MX-80 bentonite in Na–Ca–Cl solutions is investigated at a molal proton concentration (pHm) range of 3 to 10 and an ionic strength (I) range of 0.1 to 6 m (mol·kgw−1). The sorption equilibrium of Eu on MX-80 is achieved within 14 to 21 d at I = 0.1 and 6 m. The sorption distribution coefficient (Kd) values of Eu for MX-80 increase as pHm increases from 3 to 6 for all I values, and they are independent of pHm between 8 and 10 at I ≥ 0.5 m. Meanwhile, at I = 0.1 m, the Kd value at pHm = 10 is slightly lower than those at pHm = 8 and 9. The Kd values are not affected by the I values between 0.5 m and 6 m, whereas the Kd value at I = 0.1 m is greater than those at I ≥ 0.5 m, except at pHm = 10. A two-site protolysis nonelectrostatic surface complexation and cation exchange sorption model is applied to the Eu sorption data for I ≤ 4 m, and the equilibrium constants of the sorption reactions are estimated.

Heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein A2/B1 (hnRNPA2/B1) is an N6-methyladenosine (m6A) RNA modification regulator and a key determinant of premRNA processing, mRNA metabolism and transportation in cells. Currently, m6A reader proteins such as hnRNPA2/B1 and YTHDF2 has functional roles in mice embryo. However, the role of hnRNPA2/B1 in porcine embryogenic development are unclear. Here, we investigated the developmental competence and mRNA expression levels in porcine parthenogenetic embryos after hnRNPA2/B1 knock-down. HhnRNPA2/B1 was localized in the nucleus during subsequent embryonic development since zygote stage. After hnRNPA2/B1 knock-down using double stranded RNA injection, blastocyst formation rate decreased than that in the control group. Moreover, hnRNPA2/B1 knock-down embryos show developmental delay after compaction. In blastocyste stage, total cell number was decreased. Interestingly, gene expression patterns revealed that transcription of Pou5f1, Sox2, TRFP2C, Cdx2 and PARD6B decreased without changing the junction protein, ZO1, OCLN, and CDH1. Thus, hnRNPA2/B1 is necessary for porcine early embryo development by regulating gene expression through epigenetic RNA modification.

To thoroughly analyze the mechanical properties and surface conditions of HF50S carbon fibers, the tensile properties, surface morphology, surface chemical element, surface energy, sizing agent properties, and Naval Ordnance Laboratory (NOL) ring of their composites were characterized. Furthermore, the aforementioned properties were exhaustively compared with those of T1000G carbon fibers. The results showed that the tensile strength, modulus, and elongation of the HF50S carbon fibers were 6638 MPa, 297 GPa, and 2.2%, respectively, thus demonstrating that the mechanical properties of the HF50S carbon fibers were on par with those of the T1000G carbon fibers, in addition, the coefficient of variation (Cv) indices of HF50S carbon fiber were below 3%, indicating good stability. The HF50S carbon fibers have a smooth surface without grooves, which is analogous to that of the T1000G carbon fibers prepared by the typical dry jet–wet spinning process. The main component of the sizing agent of the HF50S carbon fibers is an epoxy resin, which is also used for the preparation of epoxy matrix composites. Because the HF50S carbon fiber surface has greater O and N contents than the T1000G carbon fiber surface, the HF50S carbon fibers have more active functional groups and higher surface activity. The surface energy of the HF50S carbon fibers is 30.13 mJ/m2, which is higher than that of the T1000G carbon fibers (28.42 mJ/m2). Owing to the higher strength and surface activity of the HF50S carbon fibers than those of the T1000G carbon fibers, the strength and strength conversion of NOL ring based on the former are slightly higher than those of that prepared using the latter.

The main objective of the research was to deposit thin films of silver on a graphite carbon paste in a phosphate buffer medium using an electrochemical method. To construct a nitrofurazone detection sensor that is highly sensitive. Different manufacturing parameters, such as electrodeposition potential, pH effect, potential scan rate effect, and number of scan cycles, were examined in this section. The parameters were optimized to improve the deposited silver layers various electrocatalytic characteristics. The Nitrofurazone reduction process is diffusion controlled, as seen by the linear variation of Epc with log(v). The constructed Ag-NPs@CPE electrod has excellent electrical characteristics a large active surface area and low background with extremely high electrical conductivity, according to structural and electrochemical characterizations such as Scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and cyclic voltammetry. The constructed sensor has a very remarkable analytical performance for nitrofurazone molecule identification, with a very low detection limit of about 10– 8 M. The detection of nitrofurazone using our Ag-NPs@CPE sensors in real samples contaminated with the antibiotic nitrofurazone, such as tap water and urine. In the selected sample, the electroanalytical findings reveal a very satisfactory recovery rate of more than 94 percent.

The introduction of autonomous underwater gliders (AUGs) specifically addresses the reduction of operational costs that were previously prohibited with conventional autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) using a "scaling-down" design philosophy by utilizing the characteristics of autonomous drifters to far extend operation duration and coverage. Long-duration, wide-area missions raise the cost and complexity of in-water testing for novel approaches to autonomous mission planning. As a result, a simulator that supports the rapid design, development, and testing of autonomy solutions across a wide range using software-in-the-loop simulation at faster-than-real-time speeds becomes critical. This paper describes a faster-than-real-time AUG simulator that can support high-resolution bathymetry for a wide variety of ocean environments, including ocean currents, various sensors, and vehicle dynamics. On top of the de facto standard ROS-Gazebo framework and open-sourced underwater vehicle simulation packages, features specific to AUGs for ocean mapping are developed. For vehicle dynamics, the next-generation hybrid autonomous underwater gliders (Hybrid-AUGs) operate with both the buoyancy engine and the thrusters to improve navigation for bathymetry mappings, e.g., line trajectory, are is implemented since because it can also describe conventional AUGs without the thrusters. The simulation results are validated with experiments while operating at 120 times faster than the real-time.

Background: During postural control, older adults are more dependent on proprioception than are young adults. Ankle proprioception, which plays an important role in maintaining postural balance, decreases with age. Published studies are insufficient to establish a significant age difference in postural sway resulting from the known age-related decrease in ankle proprioception and do not examine various detailed test conditions. Objects: The present study aimed to compare ankle proprioception between older and younger groups along dimensions of position vs. force proprioception and dorsiflexion vs. plantarflexion. The present study also aimed to compare postural sway between young and older women during quiet standing under two sensory conditions. Methods: We recruited seven young women aged 21–24 and seven older women aged 60–63. Ankle proprioception was assessed as the accuracy of the joint position sense (JPS) and the force sense (FS). Postural sway was assessed using center-of-pressure measurements recorded during quiet standing under two sensory positions: eyes open and eyes closed with head tilted back. Results: Older women had lower JPS in dorsiflexion and lower FS in plantarflexion than did younger women. We found no significant age differences in JPS in plantarflexion or in FS in dorsiflexion. We observed a main effect of group on postural sway in two sway parameters out of three. We observed significant differences in JPS with dorsiflexion, and in FS with plantarflexion. Conclusion: Proprioception for ankle plantar flexor decreased more significantly with aging than did that for ankle dorsiflexor, accounting for the impaired postural balance observed in older women.

RADTRAN is a code that assesses the radiation risk of radioactive material transportation. RADTRAN assumes that the package is a point source or a line source regardless of package type and corrects the external dose rate using a shape factor which depends on the critical dimension of the package. However, the external dose rate calculated using a shape factor may be different from the actual external dose rate. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze the effect of the shape factor on the external dose rate. In this study, the effect of the shape factor on the external dose rate in RADTRAN was analyzed by comparison with MCNP. This study analyzed change in external dose rate depending on the distance from the package and the critical dimension. The distance from the package was in the range of 1–800 m. The shape of the package was assumed to be cylindrical with a radius of 1 m, and the critical dimensions of the package were assumed to be 2, 4, and 8 m. Attenuation and build-up in the air were not considered to consider only the effect on the shape factor. When simulating the exposure situation using MCNP, the package was assumed to be a volume source, and flux by distance from the package was calculated using F5 tally. The dose rate at 1 m from the package was normalized to 2 mSv·hr−1. As a result of the analysis, the external dose rates of the package were higher in RADTRAN than in MCNP. For the critical dimension of 2, 4, and 8 m, when the distance from package is 1–10 m, the RADTRAN was 1.83, 4.08, and 5.27 times higher on average than MCNP, respectively. And when the distance from the package was 10–100 m and 100–800 m, RADTRAN was 1.10, 2.02, 3.01 times and 1.04, 1.92, 2.43 times higher than MCNP, respectively. It was found that the larger the distance from the package is and the smaller the critical dimension of the package is, the less conservatively RADTRAN assessed. It is because the shape of the package gets closer to the point source as the distance from the package increases, and the shape factor decreases as the critical dimension of the package decreases. The result of this study can be used as the basis for radiation risk assessment when transporting radioactive materials.

Self-Powered Neutron Detector (SPND) is one of devices for in-core fluxes detecting without external electricity source. SPND consisted with emitter, insulator and collector. When neutrons reacted with emitter material, it generates electrons and these electrons cross insulator area to make electric signal in collector area. For calculating sensitivity of SPND with Monte-Carlo code such as MCNP, many physical components must be considered. Cobalt shows that prompt signal and relatively low signal comparing with other delayed signal SPNDs. Initial sensitivity was calculated as 4.28×10−22 A/nv-cm for one electron. Due to Cobalt’s complex decay chain and maintaining high efficiency of SPND, it is necessary to analysis the effect of activation of emitter. Therefore, the DPA (Displacements Per Atom) assessment and activation analysis of the detector components have been evaluated with MCNP 6.2 and ORIGEN-S. With these activation analysis results, that is expected to be used to determine the shielding thickness of the storage system.

Starting with the permanent shutdown of Kori Unit 1, the first waste treatment facility in Korea will be built on the Kori site. In this facility, major process such as decontamination, cutting, radiation measurement and volume reduction of decommissioning waste are performed, and radioactive liquid waste is generated by the waste treatment process and personnel decontamination. The generated liquid waste is finally discharged to the sea through radioactive monitoring system after sufficient treatment to meet the standard radiological effluent control. Whereas the treated liquid waste is additionally diluted through the circulation water discharge conduit and discharged to the sea in the operating nuclear power plants, there is no circulation water in the waste treatment facility. Therefore, a new discharging method for dilution after treatment should be considered. In this paper, the treatment concept and discharge method of radioactive liquid waste system in waste treatment facility are reviewed.

The purpose of this study was to effectively purify U-contaminated soil-washing effluent using a precipitation/distillation process, reuse the purified water, and self-dispose of the generated solid. The U ions in the effluent were easily removed as sediments by neutralization, and the metal sediments and suspended soils were flocculated–precipitated by polyacrylamide (PAM). The precipitate generated through the flocculation–precipitation process was completely separated into solid–liquid phases by membrane filtration (pore size < 45 μm), and Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions remaining in the effluent were removed by distillation. Even if neutralized or distilled effluent was reused for soil washing, soil decontamination performance was maintained. PAM, an organic component of the filter cake, was successfully removed by thermal decomposition without loss of metal deposits including U. The uranium concentration of the residual solids after distillation is confirmed to be less than 1 Bq·g−1, so it is expected that the self-disposal of the residual solids is possible. Therefore, the treatment method of U-contaminated soil-washing effluent using the precipitation/distillation process presented in this study can be used to effectively treat the washing waste of U-contaminated soil and self-dispose of the generated solids.

The feasibility study of synthesizing graphene quantum dots from spent resin, which is used in nuclear power plants to purify the liquid radioactive waste, was conducted. Owing to radiation safety and regulatory issues, an uncontaminated ion-exchange resin, IRN150 H/OH, prior to its use in a nuclear power plant, was used as the material of experiment on synthesis of graphene quantum dots. Since the major radionuclides in spent resin are treated by thermal decomposition, prior to conducting the experiment, carbonization of ion-exchange resin was performed. The experiment on synthesis of graphene quantum dots was conducted according to the general hydrothermal/solvothermal synthesis method as follows. The carbonized ion-exchange resin was added to a solution, which is a mixture of sulfuric acid and nitric acid in ratio of 3:1, and graphene quantum dots were synthesized at 115°C for 48 hours. After synthesizing, procedure, such as purifying, filtering, evaporating were conducted to remove residual acid from the graphene quantum dots. After freeze-drying which is the last procedure, the graphene quantum dots were obtained. The obtained graphene quantum dots were characterized using atomic force microscopy (AFM), Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The AFM image demonstrates the topographic morphology of obtained graphene quantum dots, the heights of which range from 0.4 to 3 nm, corresponding to 1–4 graphene layers, and the step height is approximately 2–2.5 nm. Using FT-IR, the functional groups in obtained graphene quantum dots were detected. The stretching vibrations of hydroxyl group at 3,420 cm−1, carboxylic acid (C=O) at 1,751 cm−1, C-OH at 1,445 cm−1, and C-O at 1,054 cm−1. The identified functional groups of obtained graphene quantum dots matched the functional groups which are present if it is a graphene quantum dot. In Raman spectrum, the D and G peaks, which are the characteristics of graphene quantum dots, were detected at wavenumbers of 1,380 cm−1 and 1,580 cm−1, respectively. Thus, it was verified that the graphene quantum dots could be successfully synthesized from the ionexchange resin.

Currently, the Gyeongju disposal facility is planned to be operated as a complex disposal facility with three types: cave disposal, surface disposal, and landfill disposal. Approximate method and arrangement have been decided up to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd stage disposal facilities, but the optimal method for the arrangement of the entire complex disposal facility has not been established. When establishing the subsequent disposal facility arrangement plan, the generation prospect and disposal capacity setting plan for each level of radioactive waste was established, and the disposal capacity of the subsequent disposal facility, the disposal facility method, etc. were reviewed and reflected. Among the items for deriving an efficient management plan, KEPCO E&C is going to first derive a site arrangement plan for each disposal facility of 800,000 drums of radioactive waste, and has drawn up a plan for each scenario through collaboration with other organizations. When establishing the subsequent disposal facility arrangement plan, the generation prospect and disposal capacity setting plan for each level of radioactive waste was established, and the disposal capacity of the subsequent disposal facility, the disposal facility method, etc. were reviewed and reflected.

Deep geological disposal (DGD) of spent nuclear fuels (SNF) at 500 m–1 km depth has been the mainly researched as SNF disposal method, but with the recent drilling technology development, interest in deep borehole disposal (DBD) at 5 km depth is increasing. In DBD, up to 40SNF canisters are disposed of in a borehole with a diameter of about 50 cm, and SNF is disposed of at a depth of 2–5 km underground. DBD has the advantage of minimizing the disposal area and safely isolating highlevel waste from the ecosystem. Recently, due to an increasing necessity of developing an efficient alternative disposal system compared to DGD domestically, technological development for DBD has begun. In this paper, the research status of canister operation technology and plans for DBD demonstration tests, which subjects are being studied in the project of developing a safety-enhancing high-efficiency disposal system, are introduced. The canister operation technology for DBD can be divided into connection device development and operation technology. The developing connection device, emplacing and retrieving canisters in borehole, adopted the concept of a wedge thus making replacement equipment at the surface unnecessary. The new connection device has the advantage of being well applied with emplacement facilities only by simple mechanical operation. The technology of operating a connection device in DBD can be divided into drill pipe, coiled tubing, free-drop, and wireline. The drill pipe is a proven method in the oil industry, but requiring huge surface equipment. The coiled tubing method uses a flexible tube and shares disadvantages as the drill pipe. The free-drop is a convenient method of dropping canister into a borehole, but has a weakness in irretrievability in an accident. Finally, the wireline method can be operational on a small scale using hydraulic cranes, but the number of operated canisters at once is limited. The test facility through which the connection device is to be tested consists of dummy canister, borehole, lifting part, monitoring part, and connecting device. The canister weight is determined according to the emplacement operation unit. The lifting part will be composed following wireline consisting of a crane, a wire and a winding system. The monitoring part will consist of an external monitoring system for hoists and trolleys, and an internal monitoring system for the connection device’s location, pressure, and speed. In this project, a demonstration test will be conducted in a borehole with 1km depth, 10 cm diameter provided by KAERI to verify operation in the actual drilling environment after design improvement of the connecting device. If a problem is found through the demonstration test, the problem will be improved, and an improved connection device will be tested to an extended borehole with a 2 km depth, 40 cm diameter.

Collagen is one of the most widely used biological materials in medical design. Collagen extracted from marine organisms can be a good biomaterial for tissue engineering applications due to its suitable properties. In this study, collagen is extracted from fish skin of Ctenopharyngodon Idella; then, the freeze drying method is used to design a porous scaffold. The scaffolds are modified with the chemical crosslinker N-(3-Dimethylaminopropyl)-N'-ethyl carbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC) to improve some of the overall properties. The extracted collagen samples are evaluated by various analyzes including cytotoxicity test, SDS-PAGE, FTIR, DSC, SEM, biodegradability and cell culture. The results of the SDS-PAGE study demonstrate well the protein patterns of the extracted collagen. The results show that cross-linking of collagen scaffold increases denaturation temperature and degradation time. The results of cytotoxicity show that the modified scaffolds have no toxicity. The cell adhesion study also shows that epithelial cells adhere well to the scaffold. Therefore, this method of chemical modification of collagen scaffold can improve the physical and biological properties. Overall, the modified collagen scaffold can be a promising candidate for tissue engineering applications.

Non-destructive estimation of leaf area is a more efficient and convenient method than leaf excision. Thus, several models predicting leaf area have been developed for various horticultural crops. However, there are limited studies on estimating the leaf area of strawberry plants. In this study, we predicted the leaf areas via nonlinear regression analysis using the leaf lengths and widths of three-compound leaves in five domestic strawberry cultivars (‘Arihyang’, ‘Jukhyang’, ‘Keumsil’, ‘Maehyang’, and ‘Seollhyang’). The coefficient of determination (R2) between the actual and estimated leaf areas varied from 0.923 to 0.973. The R2 value varied for each cultivar; thus, leaf area estimation models must be developed for each cultivar. The leaf areas of the three cultivars ‘Jukhyang’, ‘Seolhyang’, and ‘Maehyang’ could be non-destructively predicted using the model developed in this study, as they had R2 values over 0.96. The cultivars ‘Arihyang’ and ‘Geumsil’ had slightly low R2 values, 0.938 and 0.923, respectively. The leaf area estimation model for each cultivar was coded in Python and is provided in this manuscript. The estimation models developed in this study could be used extensively in other strawberry-related studies.