The large copper butterfly Lycaena dispar (Haworth, 1803; Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) has been categorized as a near-threatened species (NT) in South Korea from 2012 mainly due to limited distribution. In this study, we visited 36 sites spread across all South Korean provinces to verify the distributional range of the species and sequenced mitochondrial COI for 53 individuals from nine sites. We observed L. dispar at 15 sites in six provinces, including the two previously known provinces, indicating a southward range expansion. The in-field monitoring and genetic data collectively suggested that L. dispar does not have a limited distribution nor is it isolated, indicating that it should be reclassified as less vulnerable. Our study demonstrates that the combination of field and genetic data can provide a more reliable assessment of the stability of a species.

When occurring at a nuclear power plant (NPP) by accidents, accurate prediction and identification of the process of radioactive material dispersing into atmosphere is important to protect public and environment. Atmosphere dispersion of radioactive materials is significantly influenced by wind direction and wind speed. The government and nuclear operator continuously monitor wind data at nuclear sites through meteorological tower to prepare for such accidents involving the release of radioactive materials. The purpose of this study is to construct wind rose diagrams at 5 NPP sites (Kori, Saewool, Wolsong, Hanbit, Hanul). Wind roses serve as invaluable tool for identifying wind patterns in each region and visualizing wind directions. This can be utilized to predict the dispersion pathway and extent range of radioactive materials carried by the wind. This program will take on the role of establishing appropriate evacuation routes or shelter locations for residents when reliable wind data is not immediately available during an NPP accident. The wind data used in the study was collected from a meteorological tower located at the NPP site, and measurements were taken at 1-hour intervals for each operation over a period of ten years. The collected data underwent preprocessing, followed by the development of Python code to render the wind rose diagrams in an interpretable format. The future direction of this study will be focused on enhancing this program by integrating geographical mapping capabilities. With these advancements, it will become feasible to superimpose shelter positions on a map in accordance with prevailing wind directions. These improvements will contribute to the development of additional protective measures for residents and the proposal of alternative shelter options in response to potential radioactive material releases.

EU taxonomy requires to solve problems for safe management of radioactive waste and disposal of spent fuel, which is a precondition for growing demand for nuclear power plant. Currently, Korea manages about 18,000 tons of high-level radioactive waste at temporary storage facilities in nuclear power plant sites, but such temporary storage facilities are expected to become saturated sequentially from 2031. Therefore, it is necessary to secure a permanent disposal facility to safely treat high-level radioactive waste. In accordance with the second basic plan for high-level radioactive waste management in 2021, it is necessary to establish requirements for regulatory compliance for the site selection and site acquisition, investigation and evaluation, and construction for the establishment of a deep geological disposal facility. In this study, we analyzed the regulatory policies and cases of leading foreign countries related to deep geological disposal facilities for high-level radioactive waste disposal waste such as IAEA, USA, Sweden, and Finland using data analysis methodology. To analyze a large amount of textbased document data, text mining is applied as a major technology and a verification standard that secures validity and safety based on the regulatory laws described so far is developed to establish a regulatory base suitable for domestic deep geological disposal status. Based on the collected data, preprocessing and analysis with Python were performed. Keywords and their frequency were extracted from the data through keyword analysis. Through the measured frequency values, the contents of the objects and elements to be regulated in the statutory items were grasped. And through the frequency values of words co-occurring among different sections through the analysis of related words, the association was obtained, and the overall interpretation of the data was performed. The results of analyzing regulations of major foreign countries using text mining are visualized in charts and graphs. Word cloud can intuitively grasp the contents by extracting the main keywords of the contents of the regulations. Through the network connection graph, the relationship between related words can be visually structured to interpret data and identify the causal relationship between words. Based on the result data, it is possible to compare and analyze the factors to be supplemented by analyzing domestic nuclear safety case and regulations.

마늘은 백합과 알리움속에 속하는 영양체작물로 누대재배시 수확량이 감소하는 특성을 보인다. 마늘의 화경 끝에는 주아가 생성되는데, 주아를 파종하여 2년이상 누대재배시 수확량이 약 15% 이상 증가하기 때문에 주아재 배를 통한 종구 갱신이 필요하다. 마늘 주아를 수확 후 저장시 파총채벌레, 파좀나방 등이 발생하며, 저장 중 주아 는 매년 평균 20% 이상의 부패한다. 주아재배를 원활히 하기 위해 주아 저장 시 해충의 방제를 통해 부패율을 줄이는 것이 중요하다. 본 연구에서 주아에서의 해충 발생밀도 및 방제방법에 대한 연구를 진행하였다. 연구결과 주아에서 파총채벌레는 7월 3주차, 파좀나방은 7월 2주차에 각각 발생최성기를 보였으며, 약제 침지시 방제가가 90% 이상 관찰되었다. 약제 침지된 주아 파종시 약해는 발생하지 않아, 주아 해충 방제시 침지법을 활용하여 해충의 밀도를 조절 할 수 있을 것으로 판단된다.

마늘은 백합과 알리움속에 속하는 작물로 약용, 양념채소로 많이 소비되어져 왔다. 마늘은 6월에 수확하여 1개월 간의 건조과정을 거치게 되는데 보통 장마기와 겹치게 되어 연평균 부패율은 5%이상으로 높다. 마늘의 저장중 병해충은 뿌리응애, 마늘혹응애, 마른썩음병 등으로 섭식에 따른 부패를 유발하며, 건조시기를 단축하고 효율적인 건조를 통하여 감모율을 줄이는 것이 중요하다. 마늘의 병해충 피해를 줄이기 위해 개발한 열풍 흡기식 건조장치를 포함하여 관행, 열풍 건조기, 흡기식 건조 등 4가지 방법으로 마늘을 건조하였으며, 방법별 건조소요 일수, 부패율 등을 조사하였다. 연구결과 열풍-흡기식 건조장치의 순환 공기의 온습도는 외기대비 7.8℃ 높았고, 28.6% 낮았으며, 건조 소요일수는 관행건조 대비 31% 수준으로 우수하였다. 또한 병해충 피해 양상은 관행 건조 대비 4.4%p낮아 건조 기간 및 정상품율이 관행 대비 우수하여, 관행 건조를 대체 가능할 것으로 생각된다.

Since high-level radioactive wastes contain long-lived nuclides and emit high energy, they should be disposed of permanently through a deep geological disposal system. In Korea, the first (2016.07) and the second (2021.12) basic plans for the management of high-level disposal systems were proposed to select sites for deep geological disposal facilities and to implement business strategies. Leading countries such as Finland, Sweden and France have developed and applied safety cases to verify the safety of deep geological disposal systems. By examining the regulatory status of foreign leading countries, we analyze the safety cases ranging from the site selection stage of the deep geological disposal system to the securing of the permanent disposal system to the investigation, analysis, evaluation, design, construction, operation, and closure. Based on this analysis, we will develop safety case elements for long-term safety of deep geological disposal systems suitable for domestic situation. To systemically analyze data based on safety cases, we have established a database of deep geological disposal system regulations in leading foreign countries. Artificial intelligence text mining and data visualization techniques are used to provide database in dashboard form rather than simple lists of data items, which is a limitation of existing methods. This allows regulatory developers to understand information more quickly and intuitively and provide a convenient interface so that anyone can easily access the analyzed data and create meaningful information. Furthermore, based on the accumulated bigdata, the artificial intelligence learns and analyzes the information in the database through deep learning, and aims to derive a more accurate safety case. Based on these technologies, this study analyzed the legal systems, regulatory standards, and cases of major international leading countries and international organizations such as the United States, Sweden, Finland, Canada, Switzerland, and the IAEA to establish a database management system. To establish a safety regulation base suitable for the domestic deep geological disposal environment, the database is provided as data to refer to and apply systematic information management on regulatory standards and regulatory cases of overseas leading countries, and it is expected that it will play a key role as a forum for understanding and discussing the level of safety of deep geological disposal system among stakeholders.

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.

Kori-1, the nuclear power plants in South Korea, first started operation in April 1978 and was suspended permanently in 2017. The saturation rate time of spent nuclear fuel generated by major nuclear power plants operating in Korea are getting closer. If we fail to dispose spent nuclear fuel, which is equivalent to high-level radioactive waste, the nuclear power plants will have to be shutdown. High-level radioactive waste is permanently disposed through a deep geological disposal system because it contains long-term half-life nuclides and emits high energy. To select the deep geological disposal site and construct the disposal facilities, it is necessary to establish appropriate regulatory policies accordingly. The status of database construction in OECD-NEA, NRC, SITEX, and IAEA, which provides safety regulations for deep geological disposal system, stipulates each requirement for dismantling nuclear power plants. However, details such as specific figures are not specified, and guidelines for the disposal of high-level radioactive wastes are not clearly distinguished. In Korea, the CYPRUS program, an integrated database system, has been developed to support comprehensive performance evaluation for high-level waste disposal. However, due to several difficult situations, maintenance and upgrades have not been performed, so the research results exist only in the form of raw data and the new research results have not been reflected. Other than that, there is no preemptive basis for regulating the deep geological disposal system. With real-time database, we can develop a regulatory system for the domestic deep disposal system by systematically analyzing the regulatory condition and regulatory case data of international organizations and foreign leading countries. The database system processed and stored primary data collected from nuclear safety reports and other related data. In addition, we used relational database and designed table to maximize time and space efficiency. It is provided in the form of a web service so that multiple users can easily find the data they want at the same time. Based on these technologies, this study established a database system by analyzing the legal systems, regulatory standards, and cases of major foreign leading countries such as Sweden, Finland, the United States, and Japan. This database aims to organize data for each safety case component and further prepare a safety regulatory framework for each stage of development of disposal facilities suitable for the domestic environment.

Background: The oxygen uptake efficiency slope (OUES) is the most important index for accurately measuring cardiopulmonary function in patients with acute ischemic heart disease. However, the relationship between the OUES variables and important cardiopulmonary function parameters remain unelucidated for patients with acute ischemic heart disease, which accounts for the largest proportion of heart disease. Objects: The present cross sectional clinical study aimed to determine the multiple relationships among the cardiopulmonary function variables mentioned above in adults with acute ischemic heart disease. Methods: A convenience sample of 110 adult inpatients with ischemic heart disease (age: 57.4 ± 11.3 y; 95 males, 15 females) was enrolled at the hospital cardiac rehabilitation center. The correlation between the important cardiopulmonary function indicators including peak oxygen uptake (VO2 peak), minute ventilation (VE)/carbon dioxide production (VCO2) slope, heart rate recovery (HRR), and ejection fraction (EF) and OUES was confirmed. Results: This study showed that OUES was highly correlated with VO2 peak, VE/VCO2 slope, and HRR parameters. Conclusion: The OUES can be used as an accurate indicator for cardiopulmonary function. There are other factors that influence aerobic capacity besides EF, so there is no correlation with EF. Effective cardiopulmonary rehabilitation programs can be designed based on OUES during submaximal exercise in patients with acute ischemic heart disease.

At high temperatures, molten salt has heat transfer properties like water. Molten salt has the characteristics of a strong natural circulation tendency, large heat capacity, and low thermal conductivity. Unlike sodium, molten salt does not react explosively exothermically with air. However, molten salt has a strong tendency to corrode materials, and its properties are easily changed by a sensitive reaction to oxygen and moisture. Therefore, it is necessary to study material corrosion properties and chemical control methods for nuclear fuel salts, which are eutectic mixtures. In this study, the optimal operation method of the thermal convection loop is established to perform the experiments on the molten salt. The process describes briefly as follows. The operation step consists of preparation, purification, transportation, and operation. In the preparation, the step checks the entire structure and equipment (TC, blower, vacuum pump, etc.). And melt the salt mixture at a high temperature (670°C) slowly in the purification step. Before injecting the molten salt, the surface temperature of the entire loop must retain temperature (about 500°C) constantly. Completely melted molten salt in the melting pot is flow along the pipe of the thermal convection loop in the transportation step. Lastly, the convection of molten salt goes to keep by the temperature difference. The thermal convection loop can be utilized for various experiments such as corrosion tests, component analyses, chemistry control, etc.

Molten salt used in the multipurpose molten salt experiment must be of high purity. Depending on the purpose of the experiment, only the base component of the molten salt be used, or a component simulating a nuclear fission product be added to the base component and used. In all cases, an increase in the concentration of impurities such as oxygen and moisture may lead to an erroneous interpretation when analyzing the experimental results. Therefore, molten salt should be purified before use. In this study, the purification of molten salt is described for multi-purpose molten salt experiments. The salt mixture is selected as MgCl2-NaCl and is quantified at a mixing ratio of 43mol%:57mol%. The salt mixture is treated in a glove box environment because of must minimize the reaction of adsorbing oxygen and moisture when the salt mixture is exposed to the atmosphere. MgCl2 is more likely to contain water than NaCl, the purification of the NaCl-MgCl2 mixture is established according to the purification process for removing water from MgCl2. A process for purifying the salt mixture briefly consists as follows: drying moisture, melting salts, purification, removing HCl, and stabilization. Through the process be able to obtain high-purity molten salt and more accurate experiment results.

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.