Alpha activities can be used for categorization, transportation, and disposal of radioactive waste generated from the operation of nuclear facilities including nuclear power plants. In order to transport and dispose of such low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste (LILW) to the Wolsong LILW Disposal Center (WLDC) at Gyeongju, the gross alpha concentration of an individual drum should be determined according to the acceptance criteria. In addition, when the gross alpha concentration exceeds 10 Bq/g, the inventory of the comprising alpha emitters in the waste is to be identified. Gross alpha measurements using a proportional counter are usually straightforward, inexpensive, and high-throughput, so they are broadly used to assay the total alpha activity for environmental, health physics, and emergency-response assessments. However, several factors are thoughtfully considered to obtain a reliable approximate for the entire alpha emitters in a sample, which include the alpha particle energy of a particular radionuclide, the radionuclide that is used as a calibration standard, the uniformity of film in a planchet, time between sample collection and sample preparation, and time between sample preparation and counting. Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) have evaluated the inventory of radionuclides in low-level radioactive waste drums to send every year hundreds of them to the WLDC. In this presentation, we revisit the gross alpha measurement results of the drums transported to WLDC in the past few years and compare them with the concentrations of alpha emitters measured from alpha spectrometry and gamma spectrometry. This study offers an insight into the gross alpha measurement for radioactive waste regarding calibration source, self-absorption effect, composition of alpha emitters, etc.

Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) is planning to disposal of the radioactive contaminated cement waste form to the final disposal facility. The final disposal facility require evaluation of immersion, compressive strength, and radionuclide inventory of radioactive wastes to meet the acceptance criteria for safe disposal. According to the LILW acceptance criteria of the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission ok Korea (NSSC), the disposal limit radioactivity of 129I (3.70×101 Bq/g) is lower than other radionuclides. 129I emits low energy as its disposal limit is low, so it is difficult to analyze in the presence of 137Cs and 60Co which emit high energy. Therefore, it is essential to an accurately separate and analyze iodine in radioactive waste. In this study, we focused on the determination of 129I in cement waste form containing 137Cs, 60Co. We added 1 g of 129I(11.084 Bg), 137Cs(1,300 Bq) and 60Co(402 Bq) to cement waste form, respectively. The separation of 129I in cement waste form was carried out using an acid leaching method. And, we confirmed the specific activity of 137Cs and 60Co at each separation step. It was observed that an acid leaching method showed the remove efficiency 137Cs(99.97%) and 60Co(99.94%), respectively. In addition, 129I was also analyzed at approximately 96.44% in simulated contaminated cement waste form. In conclusion, through this experiment, it was confirmed that 129I could be successfully separated and analyzed by using the acid leaching method in cement waste form containing excessive 137Cs and 60Co.

The decommissioning of nuclear facilities produces various types of radiologically contaminated waste. In addition, dismantlement activities, including cutting, packing, and clean-up at the facility site, result in secondary radioactive waste such as filters, resin, plastic, and clothing. Determining of the radionuclide content of this waste is an important step for the determination of a suitable management strategy including classification and disposal. In this work, we radiochemically characterized the radionuclide activities of filters used during the decommissioning of Korea Research Reactors (KRRs) 1 and 2. The results indicate that the filter samples contained mainly 3H (500–3,600 Bq·g−1), 14C (7.5–29 Bq·g−1), 55Fe (1.1– 7.1 Bq·g−1), 59Ni (0.60–1.0 Bq·g−1), 60Co (0.74–70 Bq·g−1), 63Ni (0.60–94 Bq·g−1), 90Sr (0.25–5.0 Bq·g−1), 137Cs (0.64–8.7 Bq·g−1), and 152Eu (0.19–2.9) Bq·g−1. In addition, the gross alpha radioactivity of the samples was measured to be between 0.32–1.1 Bq·g−1. The radionuclide concentrations were below the concentration limit stated in the low- and intermediatelevel waste acceptance criteria of the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, and used for the disposal of the KRRs waste drums to a repository site.

We established pretreatment method of solidified cement ion-exchange resin samples generated before 2003 in nuclear power plants for measurement of non-volatile radionuclide activity. A microwave digestion system (MDS) with mixed acid (HCl-HNO3-HF-H2O2) was used to dissolve cement and to desorb non-volatile elements such as Ce, Co, Cs, Fe, Nb, Ni, Re, Sr and U from mixed ion-exchange resin. The content of Ce, Co, Fe, Nb, Ni, Re, Sr, U and Cs after pretreatment of cement plus mixed ion-exchange resin was measured by ICP-AES and ICP-MS, respectively. As iron and strontium are also present in cement, their content after dissolving a certain amount of cement was measured by ICP-AES. All elements except Nb were quantitatively recovered. Especially since the Nb recovery was low at 72.0±2.5%, the MDS following addition of the mixed acid to the resin was operated once more for desorbing Nb from it. Finally the recovery of Nb was over 95%. This sample pretreatment method will be applied to solidified cement ion-exchange resin samples generated in nuclear power plants for assessment of radionuclide inventory.

The massive amount of radioactive waste will generated during decommissioning of nuclear. Among the radioactive waste from these disposal process, 50-55 million tons of concrete waste are included. For safe disposal, it is very important to accurately analyze the concentration of radionuclides, especially 129I and 131I, contaminated concrete. 129I, a long-lived radioisotope of iodine (t1/2=1.57 × 107 y), and 131I (t1/2=8.04 d) are generated from the fission of uranium in nuclear reactors. In Korea, according to the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC) radioactive clearance level guide, the limit for radioactive clearance level of 129I is less than 0.01 (Bq/g). Iodine can be absorbed, accumulate in organisms, and exhibit low energy emission compared with cesium, and cobalt. Therefore, it is essential to an accurately separate and analyze iodine radioactive waste. In this study, we focused on the determination of iodine in simulated cement waste form containing KI for the recovery of iodine. We performed cement waste form sieved through a different particle size (0.5 mm < ɸ < 6.35 mm). For the separation of iodine from solid samples with low iodine content, such as soil, sediment, and cement, for sample decomposition associated with solvent extraction using CHCl3 for separation of iodine from the matrix. The separation of iodine in cement waste particles was therefore carried out using an acid leaching method using KI containing cement particles. We observed that cement particle size decreased at 6.35 mm to 0.5 mm with iodine yield decrease at 0.840±0.011 to 0.582±0.010. Thus, in this study, the acid leaching method enables to determination Iodine in cement.

Resistance to extended-spectrum cephalosporin in Enterobacteriaceae is increasingly prevalent in South Korea. This study aims to explore the distribution of AmpC genes in Proteus mirabilis isolated from stray and hospital-admitted companion animals in South Korea. AmpC β-lactamases hold clinical significance due to its potential to facilitate antimicrobial resistance to cefoxitin, cefazolin, and most penicillins. A total of 163 bacterial isolates belonging to the Enterobacteriaceae family were collected from dogs (n = 158) and cats (n=5). Of them, 134 isolates were from hospital-admitted animals, while 29 isolates from stray animals. Boronic acid tests and antimicrobial susceptibility tests were conducted for an initial screening to detect AmpC β-lactamase resistant P. mirabilis. Gene-specific PCRs were conducted to identify the type of AmpC genes, which include six groups (MOXM, CITM, DHAM, ACCM, EBCM, and FOXM), in the resistant isolates. The boronic acid disk tests revealed 45 (27.6%) positive isolates out of 163 isolates tested. Of these 45 isolates, six were determined to harbor the EBCM gene, 13 for CITM, one for FOXM, and one for DHAM by single detection PCR. No isolates carried for ACCM or MOXM. Thus, a total of 21 out of 163 isolates (12.9%) were demonstrated to possess AmpC genes. No isolates contain more than one group of AmpC gene family. A significantly higher percentage of P. mirabilis was found to possess AmpC genes compared to past studies. Therefore, the increasing trend in antimicrobial resistance in P. mirabilis indicates a dire need to monitor antimicrobial prescription in the veterinary field.

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli는 신생 및 이유기 돼지 설사의 주요 원인체로서 전세계적으로 양돈산업에 큰 경제적 손실을 끼치고 있다. 그러나 현재 국내에는 이러한 E. coli가 보유하는 다양한 병원성유전자의 분포 및 특성에 대한 정보가 부족한 실정이다. 이에 본 연구에서는 2013년부터 2016년까지 국내 163개 양돈농장에서 이유기 설사증 개체로부터 면봉스왑 샘플을 채취하여 동일 농장의 개체일 경우 5개에서 10개 정도를 혼합한 후, MacConkey agar에 배양하여 최종 API 32E system을 통하여 동정하였다. 분리된 모든 균주에 대해서 3가지의 다른 multiplex PCR을 수행하여 총 13종의 병원성유전자의 분포를 확인하였다. 이를 통하여 총 172개의 최소 한가지 이상의 병원성 유전자를 가지는 E. coli 균주를 확인하였고, 그 결과 병원성 유전자의 분포는 (1) fimbrial adhesins (43.0%): F4 (16.9%), F5 (4.1%), F6 (1.7%), F18 (21.5%), and F41 (3.5%); (2) toxins (90.1%): LT (19.2%), STa (20.9%), STb (25.6%), Stx2e (15.1%), EAST1 (48.3%); and (3) nonfimbrial adhesin (19.6%): EAE (14.0%), AIDA-1 (11.6%) and PAA (8.7%)로 나타났다. 결론적으로 본 연구결과는 국내 양돈농장의 이유기 설사증에 관연하는 E. coli는 다양한 종류의 병원성 유전자를 가지고 있으며 그러한 병원성 유전자의 조합도 매우 다양하게 분포하고 있음을 나타낸다.

The aim of this study was to investigate effect of heat stress on expression levels of plasminogen activators (PAs) related mRNAs and proteins, and changes of PAs activity in porcine endometrial explants. The endometrial explants (200 ± 50 mg) were isolated from middle part of uterine horn at follicular phase (Day 19-21) and were pre-incubated in serum-free culture medium at 38.5oC in 5% CO2 for 18 h. Then, the tissues were transferred into fresh medium and were cultured at different temperature (38.5, 39.5, 40.5 or 41.5oC) for 24 h. The expression level of urokinase-type PA (uPA), type-1 PA inhibitor (PAI-1), type-2 PAI (PAI-2), and heat shock protein-90 (HSP-90) mRNA were analysis by reverse-transcription PCR and proteins were measured by western blotting. The supernatant were used for measurement of PAs activity. In results, mRNA and protein levels of HSP-90 was higher in 41.5oC treatment groups than other treatment groups (p < 0.05). The expression of uPA, PAI-1, and PAI-2 mRNA were slightly increased by heat stress, however, there were no significant difference. Heat stress condition suppressed expression of active uPA and PAI-2 proteins (p < 0.05), whereas PAI-1 protein was increased (p < 0.01). Although PAI-1 protein was increased and active uPA was decreased, PAs activity was greatly enhanced by exposure of heat stress (p < 0.05). These results suggest that heat stress condition could change intrauterine microenvironment through regulation of PAs activity and other factors regarding with activation of PAs might be regulate by heat stress. Therefore, more studies regarding with regulatory mechanism of PAs activation are needed.

In our previous study, exogenous plasminasminogen activators (PAs) influenced to fertility of boar spermatozoa via reduction of zona pellucida (ZP) resistance against protease and number of sperm binding ZP. plasminasmin (plasmin), is converted by PAs, is an important enzyme to degrade extracellular matrix and it is closely associated with fertilization process. Therefore, the aim of present study was to confirm changes of sperm penatration and ZP solubility by plasmin during in vitro fertilization (IVF). The cumulus-oocyte complasminexes (COCs) were aspirated from the antral follicles 3-6 mm in diameter and matured for 44 hours. Then, the cumulus cells were removed and denuded oocytes were co-incubated with spermatozoa for 18-20 hours in IVF medium containing 100 ng/ml plasmin. The number of sperm binding ZP and ZP solubility were measured using hoechst 33342 and 0.5% (w/v) pronase, respectively. Aceto-orcein stain was used to assess fertilization parameters. In results, sperm penetration did not affect by plasmin treatment during fertilization. Hoewever, treatment of plasmin decreased monospermic fertilization and IVF efficiency compared with control group (p<0.05). Furthermore, the number of penetrated sperm and pronucleus formation per zygote in plasmin group was significantly increased compared with control group (p<0.05). Despite of reduced monospermic fertilization by plasmin treatment, the number of sperm binding ZP was significantly higher in non-treated zygote than plasmin-treated zygote (p<0.05). Similar with previous study, ZP digestion time was reduced by plasmin treatment (p<0.05). These findings shown that plasminasmin during fertilization enhance the penetration of spermatozoa into ZP via increasing of ZP solubility and it was correspond with our previous results that fertility of spermatozoa during IVF was increased by exogenous urokinase-type PA treatment via sperm-ZP binding and increase of ZP solubility. Therefore, during the fertilization process, plasmin that is converted by PAs from oviduct epithelial cells might be closely associated with degradation of ZP proteins for penetration of sperm. This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (Ministry of Education) (2016R1D1A1B03931746).

본 연구는 경기지역 도축돈 및 도축우의 폐렴병변에서 Mycoplasma spp.의 발생 분포를 조사하고자 수행하였다. 부천 소재 도축장에 출하된 소와 돼지의 폐에 대하여 육안적 검사를 하고, 이 중 병변을 보인 소 192두와 돼지 257두의 폐에 대한 PCR 검사 결과, Mycoplasma spp.는 소에서 147두(76.5%), 돼지에서는 203두(80.9%) 에서 각각 검출되었다. 소, 돼지 각각의 Mycoplasma spp.에 대한 세부 primer를 이용한 검사 결과에서는 소에서 M. agalactiae가 16두(8.3%)에서 검출되었으나, M. dispar, M. bovis 및 M. bovirhinis는 검출되지 않았다. 돼지에서는 M. hyo-pneumoniae가 74두(28.8%), M. hyorhinis가 13두(5.1%) 검출되었다. M. hyosynoviae는 검출되지 않았다. 본 연구를 통해 경기지역 도축우 및 도축돈에서 Mycoplasma성 폐렴이 상재하고 있음을 확인하였다.

그래핀 기반 소재는 높은 가공성과 초박성으로 인하여 분리막 소재로서 각광받고 있다. 본 연구에서는, 스핀 코팅 법을 이용하여 제조된 산화그래핀 분리막의 기체 투과 거동을 평가하였다. 산화그래핀 분리막의 구조는 산화그래핀의 크기와 산화그래핀 용액의 pH 조절을 통하여 조절될 수 있다. 산화그래핀의 크기가 작을수록 굴곡률이 작아짐에 따라 분리막의 기 체 투과도 및 선택도가 증가하는 경향을 보인다. 또한 산화그래핀에서의 기체 투과 거동은 적층된 산화그래핀 사이의 채널 크기에 따라 영향을 받는다. 특히 산화그래핀 분리막의 좁은 기공과 이산화탄소 선택적인 산화그래핀 자체의 특성으로 인하 여 산화그래핀 분리막은 이산화탄소에 대한 높은 투과도 및 선택성을 가지며, 이는 이산화탄소 포집에 적합한 특성을 가진다. 이러한 산화그래핀 분리막의 특이한 기체 투과 거동은 흡착-촉진 확산 거동(표면 확산 기작)으로 설명될 수 있다. 본 연구를 통하여 이산화탄소 선택성 분리막 소재 설계와 슬릿 형태의 기공과 적층 구조를 가진 분리막을 통한 기체 투과 거동 연구가 활발히 이루어질 것으로 기대한다.

식품 포장, 전자 기기 등에 활용되고 있는 고분자 기반 기체 차단성 필름은 경량성, 낮은 제조 원가, 높은 가공성 으로 인하여 많은 주목을 받고 있다. 특히 전자기기에 활용되기 위하여, 기체 차단 필름은 매우 높은 수준의 기체 차단성을 요구받고 있다. 하지만 현재 수준의 고분자 기반 기체 차단 필름은 다른 소재와 비교하여 상대적으로 높은 수준의 기체 투과 유량을 보이고 있다. 따라서 기존의 고분자 필름이 가지고 있는 장점을 유지하면서 더 높은 수준의 기체 차단성을 부여하기 위한 요구가 증대되고 있다. 최근 그래핀 소재는 기체 차단을 위한 2차원 소재로서 각광받고 있다. 그러나 그래핀 소재의 낮 은 가공성과 어려운 대면적화 문제 때문에 산화그래핀이 그 대안으로서 떠오르고 있다. 산화그래핀은 높은 종횡비를 가지는 2차원 층상구조의 그래핀에 산소관능기를 함유한 형태로서, 수용성 혹은 극성 용매에 잘 분산되는 성질을 가지며, 따라서 대 량 생산에 용이한 특성을 가지고 있다. 본 연구에서는, 산화그래핀이 함유된 폴리이미드 나노복합막을 제조하였다. 폴리이미 드는 현재 널리 이용되고 있는 기체 차단성 고분자 중의 하나로서 높은 기계적 강도, 열적 안정성 및 내화학성을 가지고 있 다. 본 연구를 통하여 산화그래핀이 함유된 폴리이미드 나노복합막이 기체 차단성을 가지고 있음을 확인하였다. 더 나아가, Triton X-100이나 sodium deoxycholate (SDC) 등의 계면활성제를 나노복합막에 도입함으로써 산화그래핀의 고분자 매트릭스 내에서의 분산성을 향상시켜 기체 차단성을 높이고자 하였다. 그 결과로서, Triton X-100이 도입된 나노복합막이 예상치와 유 사한, 향상된 기체 차단성을 보임을 확인하였다. 본 연구를 기반으로 고분자 기반 나노복합막의 기체 차단성 분야로의 활용성 이 증대될 것으로 기대한다.

A Ni-Ti-B alloy powder prepared by mechanical alloying (MA) of individual Ni, Ti, and B components is examined with the aim of elucidating the phase transitions and crystallization during heat treatment. Ti and B atoms penetrating into the Ni lattice result in a Ni (Ti, B) solid solution and an amorphous phase. Differential thermal analysis (DTA) reveals peaks related to the decomposition of the metastable Ni (Ti, B) solid solution and the separation of equilibrium Ni3Ti, TiB2, and τ-Ni20Ti3B6 phases. The exothermal effects in the DTA curves move to lower temperatures with increasing milling time. The formation of a TiB2 phase by annealing indicates that the mechanochemical reaction of the Ni-Ti-B alloy does not comply with the alloy composition in the ternary phase diagram, and Ti-B bonds are found to be more preferable than Ni-B bonds.

As a one of unsaturated fatty acid, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) have multiple actions: as precursor of prostaglandins (PGs), steroid hormone synthesis and energy production in animal reproduction. PUFAs, which include omega-3 (n-3) and omega-6 (n-6), are derived from the diet and changed by diet, species, breed and season. The plasma membrane of spermatozoa in mammals contain various PUFAs. These composition of PUFAs regulate the membrane fluidity and cause lipid peroxidation via generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Induced lipid peroxidation by ROS decreased viability and motility of spermatozoa, and it is reduced by addition of antioxidant and low concentration of PUFAs. Because oocytes of animal have a high lipid components, process of oocyte maturation and embryo development are influenced by PUFAs. In in vitro study, oocyte maturation, embryo development, intracellular cAMP and MAPK activity were increased by treatment of n-3 α-linolenic acid (ALA) during maturation, whereas n-6 linoleic acid (LA) negatively influenced. Also, inhibition of fatty acid metabolism in oocyte influenced blastocyst formation of cattle. PGs are synthesized from PUFAs and various PUFAs influence PGs via regulation of PG-endoperoxide synthase (PTGS). Steroid hormone synthesis from cholesterol is regulated by expression of steroid acute regulator (StAR) protein and mRNA. Exogenous n-3 and n-6 PUFAs altered sex hormone in animal through stimulate or inhibit StAR activity. Because PUFAs altered PG and steroid hormone synthesis, follicular development was influenced by PUFAs. This effect of unsaturated fatty acid could provide information for improvement of reproductive ability in animals.

Bi2Te3 related compounds show the best thermoelectric properties at room temperature. However, n-type Bi2Te2.7Se0.3 showed no improvement on ZT values. To improve the thermolectric propterties of n-type Bi2Te2.7Se0.3, this research has Cu-doped n-type powder. This study focused on effects of Cu-doping method on the thermoelectric properties of n-type materials, and evaluated the comparison between the Cu chemical and mechanical doping. The synthesized powder was manufactured by the spark plasma sintering(SPS). The thermoelectric properties of the sintered body were evaluated by measuring their Seebeck coefficient, electrical resistivity, thermal conductivity, and hall coefficient. An introduction of a small amount of Cu reduced the thermal conductivity and improved the electrical properties with Seebeck coefficient. The authors provided the optimal concentration of Cu0.1Bi1.99Se0.3Te2.7. A figure of merit (ZT) value of 1.22 was obtained for Cu0.1Bi1.9Se0.3Te2.7 at 373K by Cu chemical doping, which was obviously higher than those of Cu0.1Bi1.9Se0.3Te2.7 at 373K by Cu mechanical doping (ZT=0.56) and Cu-free Bi2Se0.3Te2.7 (ZT=0.51).