During the decommissioning of a nuclear power plant, the structures must be dismantled to a disposal size. Thermal cutting methods are used to reduce metal structures to a disposal size. When metal is cut using thermal cutting methods, aerosols of 1 μm or less are generated. To protect workers from aerosols in the work environment during cutting, it is necessary to understand the characteristics of the aerosols generated during the cutting process. In this study, changes in aerosol characteristics in the working environment were observed during metal thermal cutting. The cutting was done using the plasma arc cutting method. To simulate the aerosols generated during metal cutting in the decommissioning of a nuclear power plant, a non-radioactive stainless steel plate with a thickness of 20 mm was cut. The cutting condition was set to plasma current: 80 A cutting speed: 100 mm/min. The aerosols generated during cutting were measured using a highresolution aerosol measurement device called HR-ELPI+ (Dekati®). The HR-ELPI+ is an instrument that can measure the range of aerodynamic diameter from 0.006 μm to 10 μm divided into 500 channels. Using the HR-ELPI+, the number concentration of aerosols generated during the cutting process was measured in real-time. We measured the aerosols generated during cutting at regular intervals from the beginning of cutting. The analyzed aerosol concentration increased almost 10 times, from 5.22×106 [1/cm3] at the start of cutting to 6.03×107 [1/cm3] at the end. To investigate the characteristics of the distribution, we calculated the Count Median Aerodynamic Diameter (CMAD), which showed that the overall diameter of the aerosol increased from 0.0848 μm at the start of cutting to 0.1247 μm at the end of the cutting. The calculation results were compared with the concentration by diameter over time. During the cutting process, particles with a diameter of 0.06 μm or smaller were continuously measured. In comparison, particles with a diameter of 0.2 μm or larger were found to increase in concentration after a certain time following the start of cutting. In addition, when the aerosol was measured after the cutting process had ended, particles with a diameter of 0.06 μm or less, which were measured during cutting, were hardly detected. These results show that the nucleation-sized aerosols are generated during the cutting process, which can explain the measurement of small particles at the beginning of cutting. In addition, it can be speculated that the generated aerosols undergo a process of growth by contact with the atmosphere. This study presents the results of real-time aerosol analysis during the plasma arc cutting of stainless steel. This study shows the generation of nucleation-sized particles at the beginning of the cutting process and the subsequent increase in the aerosol particle size over time at the worksite. The analysis results can characterize the size of aerosol particles that workers may inhale during the dismantling of nuclear power plants.

During the treatment of spent nuclear fuel, radioactive iodine is generated in a liquefied or gaseous form in a specific process. In the case of iodine 129, it is a long-lived nuclide with a very long halflife and has high groundwater mobility under repository conditions. Despite showing a low radioactivity value, research on the management of radioactive iodine from a long-term perspective is continuously being performed. Although research has been conducted using borosilicate glass as a medium for solidifying iodine, compatibility of I in borosilicate glass is very small and the volatility is high in the solidification process. So it is not suitable as a solidified substance of iodine. Therefore, studies on other solidification media to replace them are continuously being conducted. Our research team tried to develop a new medium that can contain iodine in a solidified body stably through a simple heat treatment process and can improve problems such as volatility and waste loading. Iodine is captured as AgI in the Ag ion-exchanged zeolite. So, TeO2, Ag2O, and Bi2O3 having a high AgI loading rate were used as main components. It was named TAB after taking the first letter of each element. In previous studies, the physical properties, structure, and chemical stability of TAB materials were confirmed. PCT (Product Consistent test) was performed to confirm chemical stability. It is mainly used to compare the chemical stability of glass materials with other glass materials, but there are limitations in evaluating the long-term chemical stability of materials. In this experiment, we tried to evaluate the long-term stability of TAB and compare it with borosilicate, which is conventionally used to treat radioactive waste. In addition, we tried to understand the leaching behavior inside the TAB medium. For this purpose, ASTM C1308 test was performed for 365 days, and distilled water and KURT groundwater were used as leachates to examine the effect of ions in the groundwater on the solidified body. To analyze the leaching behavior, ICP-MS and ICP-OES analyses were performed, and the cross-section of the sample after leaching was observed through SEM.

We studied the infection rate of and various metacercariocidal approaches to controlling Gymnophalloides seoi for prevention of human infection in cultured and natural oysters in Korea. The selected survey areas were Aphae-do (Shinan-gun, Jeollanam-do), which is an endemic area for G. seoi, and Tongyeong (Geonsangnam-do), which is the main production area of oysters in Korea. In the Tongyeong area, the metacercariae of G. seoi were not detected in cultured oysters (0/201) or wild oysters (0/134). Seventy-two G. seoi metacercariae were observed in 33 of 265 natural oysters collected from Aphae-do; however, metacercariae were not detected in the cultured oysters (0/1101) purchased from the Daejeon Fish Market. To investigate the viability of G. seoi metacercariae, various metacercariocidal treatments were used with 3.5% saline and oyster juice used as positive controls. The metacercariae survived for 75.4 h in 3.5% saline and 112.6 h in oyster juice. After the metacercariocidal treatment, G. seoi metacercariae were survived for 13.29 min in tap water, < 20 sec in 4.3% vinegar, no effect in a rinse of the whole oyster body in 70°C water for 1 sec, but 1 sec in a rinse of the whole oyster body in 90°C water for 1 sec. The greatest metacercariocidal effect on G. seoi was from rinsing oysters in 90°C water followed by those from treatment with 20% ethyl alcohol, 4.3% vinegar, and tap water. However, we suggest that the most actual prevention to G. seoi human infection is rinsing the oysters with tap water for at least 30 min.

The screening of effective lethal genes was conducted via the systemic delivery of dsRNA for the RNAi-based management of Tetranychus urticae. Six candidate genes (COPI coatmer, T_COPI; ESCRT III_Snf7, T_SNF7; Ribosomal protein S4, T_RPS4; v-ATPase A subunit 2, T_V-ATPase; Aminopeptidase N, T_APN3; Acetylcholinesterase, T_AChE) and two reference genes (EGFP and T_AChEintron) were tested for the experiment. The permeated dsRNA to the leaf disc (ca. 30 mm diameter) was detected at 6 h after treatment, indicating that dsRNA could move through veins on the leaf. In the reference gene selection, the T_AChEintron was chosen for its low mortality compared with EGFP gene. In the evaluation of mortality, the T_COPI, T_V-ATPase and T_RPS4 exerted higher toxicities at 24 hour after treatment among six genes tested. Interestingly, T_APN3 showed toxicity after 72 hour. In summary, the dsRNA delivery via leaf disc was effective in screening lethal genes and some genes, such as COPI, V-ATPase and RPS4, can be applicable for establishing a RNAi-based control system against T. urticae.

The resistance levels against carbamates (CB) and organophosphates (OP) were determined through bioassay and quantitative sequencing (QS) methods in 16 field populations of Nilaparvata lugens. The resistance levels to CB and OP by bioassay were 1.3~47.5-fold and 1.4~14.4-fold higher than a susceptible strain, respectively. The QS protocol was established to determine the allele frequencies of eight point mutations on acetylcholinesterase putatively associated CB and OP resistance. The allele frequencies of four mutations in local populations (G119A, F/S330Y, F331H and I332L) ranged from ca. 0.0~51.7%, 1.0~44.3%, 8.5~57.3% and 7.12~56.6%, respectively. The average prediction limits were –9.6±5.1~7.7±2.9%. The F330Y, F331H and I332L were tightly linked each other, suggesting these mutations may occur simultaneously. In the correlation analysis, G119A was not well correlated with both insecticides (r2= less 0.25), whereas F/S330Y, F331H and I332L showed better correlation with the resistance levels of carbamate (r2=0.590) than organophosphate (r2=0.235). This finding indicates that F/S330Y, F331H and I332L mutation frequencies are suitable for detecting carbamate resistance in N. lugens. QS will be applicable for the rapid monitoring of resistance levels to CB insecticides in N. lugens.

본 연구에서는 poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC)가지형 공중합체 전해질과 헤테로폴리산(HPA)을 이용하여 유무기 합성 전해질막을 제조하였다. poly(vinyl chloride)-g-poly(styrene sulfonic acid) (PVC-g-PSSA)는 PVC의 이차 염소의 직접적인 개시를 이용한 atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP)로 합성하였다. 이때, HPA 나노입자는 수소 결합을 통해 PVC-g-PSSA 가지형 공중합체와 결합하는 것을 FT-IR spectroscopy를 통하여 확인하였다. 전해질막의 수소이온 전도도는 HPA의 질량 분율이 0.3이 될 때까지 상온에서 0.049에서 0.068 S/cm로 증가하였다. 이것은 HPA 나노입자 고유의 전도도와 가지형 공중합체가 가지고 있는 술폰산의 강화된 산도 때문이라고 추정된다. 합습률은 HPA의 질량 분율이 0.45까지 증가할수록 130에서 84%로 감소하였다. 이것은 HPA나노입자와 고분자 메트릭스 사이의 수소 결합의 상호작용 때문에 물을 흡수하는 site의 수가 감소한 결과라고 볼 수 있다. 열중량 분석결과 HPA의 농도가 증가할수록 전해질막의 열적 안정성이 강화된다는 것을 알 수 있었다.

We report on a unique case of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma of the cecum, which presented as a subepithelial tumor. A 62- year-old woman with abdominal pain underwent a colonoscopy, resulting in detection of a subepithelial tumor measuring 2 cm in the cecum. We performed a right hemicolectomy with diagnostic and curative intent; histological examination and immunohistochemical staining of the resected tumor indicated a diagnosis of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. The patient achieved complete remission with combination chemotherapy.