Domestic commercial low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste storage containers are manufactured using 1.2 mm thick cold-rolled steel sheets, and the outer surface is coated with a thin layer of primer of 10~36 μm. However, the outer surface of the primer of the container may be damaged due to physical friction, such as acceleration, resonance, and vibration during transportation. As a result, exposed steel surfaces undergo accelerated corrosion, reducing the overall durability of the container. The integrity of storage containers is directly related to the safety of workers. Therefore, the development of storage containers with enhanced durability is necessary. This paper provides an analysis of mechanical properties related to the durability of WC (tungsten carbide)-based coating materials for developing low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste storage containers. Three different WC-based coating specimens with varied composition ratios were prepared using HVOF (high-velocity oxy-fuel) technique. These different specimens (namely WC-85, WC-73, and WC-66) were uniformly deposited on cold-rolled steel surfaces ensuring a constant thickness of 250 μm. In this work, the mechanical properties of the three different WCbased coaitng materials evaluated from the viewpoints of microstructure, hardness, adheision force between substrate and coating material, and wear resistance. The cross-sectional SEM-EDS (Scanning Electron Microscope-Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy) images revealed that elements W (tungsten), C (carbon), Ni (nickel), and Cr (chromium) were uniformly distributed within the each coating layers which was approximately 250 μm thick. The average hardness values of HWC-85 and HWC-73 were found to be 1,091 Hv (Vickers Hardness) and 1,083 Hv, respectively, while the HWC-66 exhibited relatively lower hardness value of 883 Hv. This indicates that a higher WC content results in increased hardness. Adhesion force between and substrates and coating materials exceeded 60 MPa for all specimens, however, there were no significant differences observed based on the tungsten carbide content. Furthermore, a taber-type abrasion tester was used for conducting abrasion resistance tests under specific conditions including an H-18 load weight at 1,000 g with rotational speed set at 60 RPM. The abrasion resistance tests were performed under ambient temperatures (RT: 23±2°C) as well as relative humidity levels (RH: 50±10%). Currently, the ongoing abrasion resistance tests will include some results in this study.

This study focuses on the development of coatings designed for storage containers used in the management of radioactive waste. The primary objective is to enhance the shielding performance of these containers against either gamma or neutron radiation. Shielding against these types of radiation is essential to ensure the safety of personnel and the environment. In this study, tungsten and boron cabide coating specimens were manufactured using the HVOF (High-Velocity Oxy Fuel) technuqe. These coatings act as an additional layer of protection for the storage containers, effectively absorbing and attenuating gamma and neutron radiation. The fabricated tungsten and boron carbide coating specimens were evaluated using two different testing methods. The first experiment evaluates the effectiveness of a radiation shielding coating on cold-rolled steel surfaces, achieved by applying a mixture of WC (Tungsten Carbide) powders. WC-based coating specimens, featuring different ratios, were prepared and preliminarily assessed for their radiation shielding capabilities. In the gamma-ray shielding test, Cs-137 was utilized as the radiation source. The coating thickness remained constant at 250 μm. Based on the test results, the attenuation ratio and shielding rate for each coated specimen were calculated. It was observed that the gammaray shielding rate exhibited relatively higher shielding performance as the WC content increased. This observation aligns with our findings from the gamma-ray shielding test and underscores the potential benefits of increasing the tungsten content in the coating. In the second experiment, a neutron shielding material was created by applying a 100 μm-thick layer of B4C (Boron Carbide) onto 316SS. The thermal neutron (AmBe) shielding test results demonstrated an approximate shielding rate of 27%. The thermal neutron shielding rate was confirmed to exceed 99.9% in the 1.5 cm thick SiC+B4C bulk plate. This indicates a significant reduction in required volume. This study establishes that these coatings enhance the gamma-ray and neutron shielding effectiveness of storage containers designed for managing radioactive waste. In the future, we plan to conduct a comparative evaluation of the radiation shielding properties to optimize the coating conditions and ensure optimal shielding effectiveness.

In this study, antibody responses after vaccination against equine influenza were investigated among 1,591 horses in the Republic of Korea using the hemagglutination inhibition (HI) test. Equine influenza has not occurred since 2011 and a commercial vaccine against H3N8 has been used. The equine influenza virus, A/equine/South Africa/4/03 (H3N8), was used as the antigen in the HI assay. The mean seropositive rate was 90.5% in 2019. Except for stallion whose seropositive rate was 78.5%, all seropositive rates of other horse types were over 90%. Regionally, except for Gangwon-do and Jeju-do whose seropositive rates were 89.0% and 87.1%, all seropositive rates in other provinces were over 90%. In the future, more through vaccination against equine influenza needs to be done based on this investigation result.

This study was conducted to estimate the effect of home or hetero fermentative lactic acid bacteria(LAB) on chemical composition, fermentation quality, and aerobic stability of rye silage. Rye forage was harvested at dough stage(28.9% of dry matter), chopped to 3-5 cm length, and divided into 4 piles for different inoculations as treatment, following 1) No additives(CON); 2) Lactobacillus plantarum at rate of 1.5 x 105 cfu/g of fresh forage(LP); 3) L. buchneri at rate of 1.2 x 105 cfu/g of fresh forage(LB); and 4) Mixture of LP and LB at 1:1 ratio(MIX). Rye silage was ensiled into 20 L bucket silo in quadruplicate for 0, 1, 4, 7, and 100 day periods. After 100 days of ensiling, the silage treated with LB had lower acid detergent fiber content(p<0.05), but higher in vitro dry matter digestibility(p<0.05). The LB and MIX reduced (p<0.05) pH more rapidly than CON and LP across the ensiling days, but had no difference on 100 days. Silage treated LP had lowest(p<0.05) acetic acid, but highest(p<0.05) propionic acid. In contrast, LB treated silage had highest(p<0.05) acetic acid, but lowest(p<0.05) propionic acid with the absence of butyric acid. On microbial count, LP treated silage had lowest(p<0.05) LAB, yeast, and aerobic stability, whereas LB and MIX treated silages had highest(p<0.05). Mold was not detected across all silages. Therefore, it could be concluded that heterofermentative LAB solely or combo with homofermentative LAB might improve in vitro dry matter digestibility, fermentation characteristics, and aerobic stability of rye silage harvested at dough stage.

Most patients with chronic low back pain experience functional disability of trunk muscle, and limitations in physical activity. While there are many types of exercise programs available, in recent years sling exercise has been emerging as the exercise program for spinal stabilization. It has been supported by a great amount of research with positive findings on its effectiveness. This research studies the effects of bridging exercise, conducted on a sling, on pain level and trunk muscle activation in supine, sidelying, and prone positions during a 4 weeks period. 10 healthy people(normal group, n=10) and 28 patients with low back pain participated in this study. 28 patients were divided into two groups; one group participated in exercise with the sling(experimental group, n=14) and the other group exercised without the sling(control group, n=14). They were asked to use the Numerical Rating Scale(NRS) to answer to the level of their pain they felt (no pain: 0 point, severe pain: 10 points). During sling bridging exercises, the muscle activity level in each muscle measured in each position was standardized as three seconds of EMG signals during five seconds MVIC. In conclusion, the experimental group with four weeks of sling bridging exercise experienced a statistically significant reduction in the pain level(p<.05) and increase in the muscle activities of erector spinae when in supine position, internal oblique when in sidelying position, and rectus abdominis in prone position(p<.05). Regular sling bridging exercise reduces the low back pain and enhances other trunk muscle activation, thereby positively affect spinal stabilization.

Recently there are increasing numbers of people participating in sports activities. Accordingly, the rate of sports injuries is increasing as well. In this light, this study was conducted to investigate the extent of acute damage and its forms by examining the current state of patients with sports injuries. This research study was conducted between January of 2008 and December of 2010 in Chosun University Hospital through retrospective review of the medical records of patients with sportsrelated injuries. The total number of patients with sports injuries who visited the emergency center was 887. The number of male patients was 726 (81.85%), far more than the number of female patients (18.15%). More than half of the patients, accounting for 419 (47.23%), had injuries on their face; second and common parts, in which injuries occurred, were upper and lower body, accounting for 146 (16.45%) and 193 (21.75%), respectively. The majority of patients did not undergo surgical treatment. Only 113 (12.73%) patients underwent surgical treatment. In addition, more than 80% of them were not hospitalized but 170 of them needed to be hospitalized. Most sports injuries occurred in young male patients. This can interrupt participation in sports activities for a long time and result in lower quality of life. Hence proper preventative measures and scientific treatment methods are needed.