Air conditioner filters purify the air of indoor environments by removing air pollutants and supporting the efficiency of the unit’s cooling function. However, an air conditioner filter can become a microenvironment in which some fungi can grow as dust continues to accumulate and favorable humidity conditions are formed. Fungal growth in air conditioner filters could lead to fungal allergies or fungal diseases, in addition to emitting a foul odor. In an effort to understand what species causes this malodorous problem, we investigated the diversity of fungi found in air conditioners. Fungi were sampled from the collected air conditioner filters and grown on DG18 agar media. After purification for pure isolates, species identification was undertaken. Colony morphology was observed on PDA, MEA, CYA, and OA media. Microstructures of fruiting body, mycelia, and spores were examined using a light microscope. Molecular identification was performed by PCR and sequencing of PCR amplicons, and molecular phylogenetic analysis of sequenced DNA markers, including the Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS), the 28S large subunit of the nuclear ribosomal RNA (LSU rDNA), the β-tubulin (BenA) gene, the Calmodulin (CaM) gene, and the DNA-directed RNA polymerase II subunit 2 (RPB2) gene. Through this identification process, we found two fungal species, Aspergillus miraensis and Dichotomopilus ramosissimus, which are unrecorded species in Korea. We will now report their morphological and molecular features.

KEPCO KPS is the contractor for the full system decontamination (FSD) of Kori Unit 1 and under preparation such as modification, lay out for equipment installation, setting up tie-in/out point for chemical injection and way to pressurize the system, of its successful performance. In this research, KPS introduced how KPS has designed and prepared for the FSD project and how will the chemical decontamination process be implemented. As described in the previous research, chemical decontamination process is planned to be conducted for three cycles and each cycle is consisted of oxidation, reduction, decomposition, and purification. Oxidation and reduction process were conducted at 90°C. Chemical decomposition and purification process were conducted at 40°C due to the damage of IX by the heat. If the decontamination result does not meet the target DF and the dose rate, additional cycle can be conducted. Expected volume of process water for FSD is 200 m3. Three systems have been designated as decontamination targets: reactor coolant system (RCS), residual heat removal system (RHRS), chemical volume control system (CVCS). For the steady flow rate, existed plant equipment such as reactor coolant pump (RCP) will be operated and modifications on some components will be conducted. Due to the limited space for installation, decontamination equipment and other resources are distributed to three different places. KPS designed the layout of equipment installed inside the containment vessel. The layout contains the information of shielding for highly radiated equipment such as IX and filter skid.

APro, developed in KAERI for the process-based total system performance assessment (TSPA) of deep geological disposal systems, performs finite element method (FEM)-based multiphysics analysis. In the FEM-based analysis, the mesh element quality influences the numerical solution accuracy, memory requirement, and computation time. Therefore, an appropriate mesh structure should be constructed before the mesh stability analysis to achieve an accurate and efficient process-based TSPA. A generic reference case of DECOVALEX-2023 Task F, which has been proposed for simulating stationary groundwater flow and time-dependent conservative transport of two tracers, was used in this study for mesh stability analysis. The relative differences in tracer concentration varying mesh structures were determined by comparing with the results for the finest mesh structure. For calculation efficiency, the memory requirements and computation time were compared. Based on the mesh stability analysis, an approach based on adaptive mesh refinement was developed to resolve the error in the early stage of the simulation time-period. It was observed that the relative difference in the tracer concentration significantly decreased with high calculation efficiency.

In Korea, borated stainless steel (BSS) is used as a storage rack in spent fuel pools (SFP) to maintain the nuclear criticality of spent fuels. As the number of nuclear power plants and the corresponding amount of spent fuels increased, the density in SFP storage rack also increased. In this regard, maintaining subcriticality of spent nuclear fuels became an issue and BSS was selected as the structural material and neutron absorber for high density storage rack. Since it is difficult to replace the storage rack, corrosion resistance and neutron absorbency are required for long period. BSS is based on stainless steel 304 and is specified in the ASTM A887-89 standard depending on the boron concentration from 304B (0.20-0.29% B) to 304B7 (1.75-2.25% B). Due to the low solubility of boron in austenitic stainless steel, metallic borides such as (Fe, Cr) 2B are formed as a secondary phase. Metallic borides could cause Cr depletion near it, which could decrease the corrosion resistance of the material. In this paper, the long-term corrosion behavior of BSS and its oxide microstructures are investigated through accelerated corrosion experiment in simulated SFP conditions. Because the corrosion rate of austenitic stainless steel is known to be dependent on the Arrhenius equation, a function of temperature, the corrosion experiment is conducted by increasing the experimental temperature. Detail microstructural analysis is conducted using a scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope and energy dispersive spectrometer. After oxidation, a hematite structure oxide film is formed, and pitting corrosion occurs on the surface of specimens. Most of the pitting corrosion is found at the substrate surface because the corrosion resistance of the substrate, which has low Cr content, is relatively low. Also, the oxidation reaction of B in the secondary phase has the lowest Gibbs free energy compared to other elements. Furthermore, oxidation of Cr has low Gibbs free energy, which means that oxidation of B and Cr could be faster than other elements. Thus, the long-term corrosion might affect the boron content and the neutron absorption ability of the material. Using boron’s high cross-section for neutrons, the neutron absorption performance of BSS was evaluated through neutron transmission tests. The effect of the corrosion behavior of BSS on its neutron absorption performance was investigated. Samples simulated to undergo up to 60 years of degradation before corrosion through accelerated corrosion testing did not show significant changes in the neutron shielding ability before and after corrosion. This can be explained in relation to the corrosion behavior of BSS. Boron was only leached out from the secondary phase exposed on the surface, and this oxidized secondary phase corresponds to about 0.17% of the volume of the total secondary phase. This can be seen as a very small proportion compared to the total boron content and is not expected to have a significant impact on neutron absorption performance.

Various linear system solvers with multi-physics analysis schemes are compared focusing on the near-field region considering thermal-hydraulic-chemical (THC) coupled multi-physics phenomena. APro, developed at KAERI for total system performance assessment (TSPA), performs a finite element analysis with COMSOL, for which the various combinations of linear system solvers and multi-physics analysis schemes should to be compared. The KBS-3 type disposal system proposed by Sweden is set as the target system and the near-field region, which accounts for most of the computational burden is considered. For comparison of numerical analysis methods, the computing time and memory requirement are the main concerns and thus the simulation time is set up to one year. With a single deposition hole problem, PARDISO and GMRESSSOR are selected as representative direct and iterative solvers respectively. The performance of representative linear system solvers is then examined through a problem with an increasing number of deposition holes and the GMRES-SSOR solver with a segregated scheme shows the best performance with respect to the computing time and memory requirement. The results of the comparative analysis are expected to provide a good guideline to choose better numerical analysis methods for TSPA.

In this research, KPS manufactured Full System Decontamination (FSD) equipment, which is consisted of Oxidizing Agent Manufacturing System (OAMS), Chemical Injection System (CIS), RadWaste Treatment System (RWTS), Chemical Waste Decomposition & Treatment System (CWDS) and conducted demonstration test to prepare Decontamination and Decommissioning (D&D) project of Kori nuclear power plant in Korea. Each equipment of FSD was modularized due to the limited size of equipment hatch of Kori nuclear power plant. To simulate the expected circumstances in nuclear power plant such as usage of heater or position of each equipment, additional equipment was used. The chemical concentration and flow rate of process water for FSD were used as mentioned in the previous study by KHNP CRI. FSD was conducted for three cycles and each cycle was consisted of oxidation, reduction, chemical decomposition and purification. Oxidation and reduction process were conducted at 90°C. Chemical decomposition and purification process were conducted at 40°C due to the damage of UV lamp and IX by the heat. Total volume of process water for FSD demonstration test was 2.5 m2. KPS conducted decontamination performance review by calculating thickness reduction and weight loss of installed specimen. Operational review was conducted as if FSD test was conducted in the field based on the result of demonstration test. One of the most prioritized features is the workers’ safety. Also, the appropriate position of equipment needs to be considered to meet the required specification of component.

In Korea, borated stainless steel (BSS) is used as spent fuel pool (SFP) storage rack to maintain nuclear criticality of spent fuels. As number of nuclear power plants and corresponding number of spent fuels increased, density in SFP storage rack also increased. In this regard, maintain subcriticality of spent nuclear fuels was raised as an issue and BSS was selected as structural material and neutron absorber for high density storage rack. Because it is difficult to replace storage rack, corrosion resistance and neutron absorbency are required for long period. BSS is based on stainless steel 304 and it is specified in the ASTM A887-89 standard depending on the boron concentration from 304B (0.20-0.29% B) to 304B7 (1.75-2.25% B). Due to low solubility of boron in austenitic stainless steel, metallic borides such as (Fe, Cr)2B are formed as secondary phase metallic borides could make Cr depletion near it which could decrease the corrosion resistance of material. In this paper, long-term corrosion behavior of BSS and its oxide microstructures are investigated through accelerated corrosion experiment in simulated SFP condition. Because corrosion rate of austenitic stainless steel is known to be dependent on the Arrhenius equation, a function of temperature, corrosion experiment is conducted by increasing the experimental temperature. Detail microstructural analysis was conducted with scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope and energy dispersive spectrometer. After oxidation, hematite structure oxide film is formed and pitting corrosions occur on the surface of specimens. Most of pitting corrosions are found at the substrate surface because corrosion resistance of substrate, which has low Cr content, is relatively low. Also, oxidation reaction of B in the secondary phase has the lowest Gibbs free energy compared to other elements. Furthermore, oxidation of Cr has low Gibbs free energy which means that oxidation of B and Cr could be faster than other elements. Thus, the long-term corrosion might affect to boron content and the neutron absorption ability of the material.

Domain decomposition method (DDM) has been widely employed for the numerical analysis of large-scale problems due to its applicability to parallel computing. DDM divides the modeling domain into a set of subdomains and obtains the entire solution iteratively until the values of each subdomain which are shared with other subdomains, such as boundary values, are converged. Therefore, in general, DDM is a memory-efficient iterative algorithm with inherent parallelism on the geometric level. APro, the process-based total system performance assessment model, aims for simulating the radionuclide transport considering coupled multi-physics phenomena occurring in large-scale geological disposal system, which are inevitably accompanied by huge memory burden. Therefore, DDM is applicable for the large-scale problem of APro and its performance in parallel computing needs to be examined. The DDM solvers provided by COMSOL which constitute APro can be classified into two methods. One is the overlapping Schwarz method that each subdomain overlaps its neighboring domains and the other is the Schur complement method that subdomains are non-overlapping and separated by boundary domains. For the Schwarz method, the additive, hybrid, multiplicative and symmetric methods can be selected according to the solution update scheme. And for the Schur method, the additive and multiplicative ordering options can be chosen for solving Schur complement system. In this study, the calculation efficiency of the DDM solvers in COMSOL and the applicability to the cluster environment were examined. In aspect of efficiency, the memory requirements with different number of subdomains and calculation schemes were compared in a single node. Then, the memory requirements with increasing number of disposal tunnels and deposition holes were investigated in multiple nodes. As a result, on the cluster environment, with the help of distributed memory architecture which enables efficient memory usage, the applicability of DDM solvers to the large-scale problem of APro was confirmed.

Cryopreservation of bovine embryos is used to efficiently implant surrogate mothers. It has been widely accepted that high lipid content in the oocyte interrupts its survival during freeze-thaw cycles. Serum component in the culture medium is thought to increase the embryo`s lipid contents. Conversely, L-carnitine stimulates lipid metabolism by transporting long chain fatty acids into the mitochondria. Objective of this study was to analyze the effect of L-carnitine supplementation in IVM medium and defined IVC medium on the development, lipid contents and the cryosurvival of bovine IVF embryos. 0.0, 1.5, 3.0 and 6.0 mM L-carnitine was supplemented in IVM medium, respectively (IVM-LC 0.0, LC 1.5, LC 3.0 and LC 6.0). Development rate from the 2cell to the morula stages was higher in IVM-LC 3.0 groups than those of IVM-LC 6.0 (p<0.05). But there were no significant differences among the other groups in the blastocyst rates and lipid content results. When 0.0, 1.5, 3.0 and 6.0 mM L-carnitine were supplemented in IVC medium (IVC-LC 0.0, LC 1.5, LC 3.0 and LC 6.0), development competence was not significantly different between those embryos. Lipid contents of embryos treated L-carnitine (IVC-LC 1.5, 3.0 and 6.0) were significantly lower than embryos of non-treated group. L-carnitine was supplemented 0.0, 1.5, 3.0, 6.0 mM during IVM and 3.0 mM during IVC (LC 0.0 - 3.0, LC 1.5 – 3.0, LC 3.0 – 3.0, LC 6.0 – 3.0) and cryosurvival of blastocysts confirmed after freezing-thawing. There were no significant differences on development, but LC 3.0 – 3.0 was significantly lower lipid contents than other groups. And LC 3.0 – 3.0 had better survival rates and hatched rates of blastocysts than LC 0.0 – 0.0. In conclusion, supplementation of L-carnitine in defined IVC medium decreases lipid contents. And L-carnitine supplementation improves cryosurvival and developmental ability of bovine IVF embryos.

The early-onset familial Alzheimer's disease (EOFAD/ FAD), the less common type of Alzheimer's disease (AD) currently affects a vast number of individuals worldwide. This type is being inherited as an autosomal dominant fashion. Missense mutations on Amyloid precursor protein (APP) and Presenilins 1 and 2 (PSEN1 & PSEN2) are known as major genetic factors in FAD. Conversely, missense mutations on microtubule-associated protein tau (MAPT) are also thought to involve. Up to date, several triple-transgenic animal models with muted forms of the human APP, PSENs and MAPT have been reported. Compared to other animals, canines are more emotional and their disease signs can be easily diagnosed. This attempt was to develop a triple transgenic canine model for the AD. We have obtained the coding sequences of APP, PSEN1 and MAPT from Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center DNA resource core at HMS and incorporated several common AD mutations. The transgenic construct is composed of hNSE (ENO2) promoter-driven three AD genes fused together with modified 2A sequences. It was transfected into the canine fetal fibroblasts which were then used to perform somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). The viable transgenic embryos were obtained after in vitro culture and the GFP was detected. In this study, we have successfully produced viable triple transgenic canine cloned embryos using SCNT technique. These transgenic canine embryos will be further developed into canines with FAD. The transgenic canines will be a good candidate in the AD research field.

The infrastructure that man absolutely needs creates a lot of environmental load. The environmental load is quantified global environment pollution. So we can use LCA method for assess and control environmental load. In this study, we developed the environmental load estimating model to evaluate quickly in design stage when maintaining infrastructures facilities. Especially, we chose NATM tunnel because it is economical and there are many example of construction on public roads and expressway. First, we made a list of the breakdown cost by using collected unit cost of Korea Expressway Corporation and Seoul-Si about tunnel maintenance. So we chose major work classification. We selected the major classification such as pavement repairing inside tunnel, leaked surface treatment of tunnel, attached tile repairing inside tunnel and tunnel cleaning etc. We excluded concrete repairing because it is not easy to define maintenance factor about concrete repairing. Next, we made data bases of standard supply and resources need by specialist work classification. Using data bases, we was able to estimate environmental load by designating an input variable such as lane, pavement, length, tile repairing, leaked surface treatment and cleaning method. Lastly, we made environmental load estimating model after it is verified by comparing the results with the actual environmental load and estimated environmental load. Finally, our goal of this study is to develop the methodology that easily estimates the environmental load. Accordingly, the environmental load will be decreased by using this model in stage of planning, design and maintenance. Also, it is expected that the maintenance management estimating model developed from this study will be possible to do eco-friendly management of the road and tunnel construction.

최근 봄철 기온이 높아짐에 따라 마늘 뿌리응애 피해가 늘어나고 있는 실정이다. 이러한 뿌리응애 피해를 최소하 하고자 발생양상과 22종의 약제에 대하여 살비효과를 조사하였다. 마늘 재배시기 중 뿌리응애의 발생은 충북 보은 등 5지역에서 2015년부터 2017년까지 3년간 3월부터 6월까지 뿌리응애 발생밀도를 조사하여 발생양상을 확인하였다. 뿌리응애는 2016년에 가장 많이 발생하였으며, 발생시기는 월동 후 3월 상순부터 발생하여 6월 중순경까지 지속적으로 밀도가 높아지는 양상을 나타내었다. 조사된 5지역 중 가장 높은 밀도로 조사된 보은지역은 6월 상순경 주당 13.3마리가 발생하였다. 뿌리응애에 대하여 우수한 살비효과를 나타낸 약제는 분무처리시 약제처리 10일 후에서 dimethoate, azocyclotin, abamectin, hexythiazox, cabosulfan, spirotetramat, benfuracarb가 90% 이상의 살비효과를 나타내었다

소화관에서 주로 발생하는 반지세포암은 대부분은 위에서 발생하며, 담낭에서 원발성으로 발생하는 경우는 극히 드물어 지금까지 국내에서는 1예만 보고되고 있다. 본 증례는 58세의 남자가 5일 전부터 발생한 상복부 통증을 주소로 내원하여 복부 전산화단층촬영과 복부 자기공명 담췌관 촬영술에서 담낭 결석을 동반한 담낭염 및 담관 결석으로 진단되었다. 내시경 역행 췌담관 시술을 시행하여 담관석을 제거한 후 복강경하 담낭절제술을 시행하였다. 절제된 담낭의 조직검사에서 반지 세포암으로 진단되어, 항암 치료 및 방사선 치료를 시행받았으나, 1년 후 전이성 병변 및 복수가 진행되어 현재 보존적 치료 중이다. 이에 저자들은 담낭염으로 오인된 담낭의 원발성 반지세포암 1예를 경험하여 문헌고찰과 함께 보고한다.

Nanoemulsions are actively used in several applications for pharmaceutical, cosmetic and chemical industries. In this study, we propose the use of microfluidizer known as high pressure homogenizer to prepare lipid nanoemulsion as a potent cosmetic delivery carrier. The lipid nanoemulsions were prepared by O/W emulsion with hydrogenated lecithin and different type of oils. Effects of oil type on the stability of the lipid nanoemulsion were investigated with Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) and Zeta-potential. Arbutin was used as model drug for transdermal administration through hairless mouse skin. Transdermal arbutin delivery using the lipid nanoemulsions was studied with HPLC method.

현재 인간이 일반적으로 이용하는 의료용 단백질은 대개 동물세포 배양기술에 의하여 생산되고 있다. 그러나 제한된 특정 시설에서 생산되기 때문에 생산 단가가 높아서 전세계의 수요가 증가함에도 불구하고 일반화하는 데는 한계가 있는 실정이다. 이러한 문제를 극복하기 위하여 오래전부터 식물시스템을 이용하여 의료용 단백질을 생산하는 연구가 관심을 끌고 있다. 즉 쉽게 규모화할 수 있고 생산비용 효과도 경제적이고 동물세포보다 더 안전하게 의료용 단백질 생산할 수 있는 수단이 될 수 있기 때문이다. 이를 위하여 식물에 안정적으로 유전자를 핵 게놈과 엽록체 게놈에 형질전환 시키는 기술과 바이러스 운반체를 이용하여 일시적 발현을 유도함으로 의료용 단백질을 생산하는 기술이 개발되고 있다. 최근 해체 바이러스 기반의 운반체 개발은 재조합 단백질을 빠르고 일시적 발현으로 대량생산을 가능하게 하고 있다. 따라서 이 바이러스 발현시스템이 적절한 식물기반의 대량생산을 위한 플렛폼을 제공하고 있다. 따라서 본 총설은 식물로부터 의료용 단백질을 생산하는데 있어서 식물 바이러스발현 시스템 개발 및 이용에 대하여 기술하였다.

Articles in one domestic journal, English Teaching (ET), and one international journal, TESOL Quarterly (TQ) from 2011 to 2013 were surveyed in order to analyze current research trends and to suggest better orientation toward future research focusing on participants, research methods, target language skills, and research topics. The results show that university students have participated most in both of the journal articles, indicating that they are practically available to the researchers in higher educational settings. The proportion of quantitative and qualitative research methods was well balanced in TQ, while, in ET, more than 50 percent of the articles relied on quantitative research methodology along with a relatively larger proportion of mixed method research in ET. In terms of target language skills, writing has been studied most in ET and speaking in TQ, showing growing interest in productive language skills nowadays. As for research topics, articles based on socio-cultural factors have been published most in TQ and articles based on classrooms pedagogy in ET, which reflects that English learning is performed mostly in classroom settings in Korea. Pedagogical implications and suggestions are made based on the findings