The secondary growth model for Salmonella was developed based on the artificial neural network (ANN) with data collected from ComBase and FoodData Central. In addition to the existing secondary model variables (temperature, pH, Na+, and water contents), more input variables (sugar, carbohydrate, lipid, and protein contents) were considered. The output variables were microbial growth parameters (lag phase duration [l] and maximum growth rate [mmax]). A commercial ANN program (NeuralWorks Predict) was utilized with training at 80%, validation at 10%, and test data at 10%. ANN models were created using all data and cleansed data. Using the cleansed data, the training/testing root mean square error (RMSE) for mmax improved from 0.14/0.16 to 0.11/0.14, whereas the RMSE for l was still not acceptable, from 11.94/33.03 to 7.09/4.18. The l data were divided into two ranges with high and low goodness of fit, whereas the ANN model for each field was built, resulting in an optimally low RMSE.

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.

To achieve permanent disposal of radioactive waste drums, the radionuclides analysis process is essential. A variety of waste types are generated through the operation of nuclear facilities, with dry active waste (DAW) being the most abundant. To perform radionuclides analysis, sample pretreatment technology is required to transform solid samples into solutions. In this study, we developed a dry ashing-microwave digestion method and secured the reliability of the analysis results through a validity evaluation. Additionally, we conducted a comparative analysis of the radioactivity of 94Nb nuclides with and without the chemical separation process, which reduced the minimum detectable activity (MDA) level by more than 65-fold for a certain sample.

In nuclear power plant environments, the analysis of gamma-emitting waste materials with complex shapes can be challenging. ISOCS (In-Situ Objective Counting System) is employed to measure the gamma-emitting radionuclide concentrations. However, it is crucial to validate the accuracy of ISOCS measurements. This study aims to validate the accuracy of ISOCS measurement results for spent filters. The ISOCS measurement process begins with modeling and efficiency calculations of the target spent filters using ISOCS software. ISOCS offers the advantage of direct measurement assessment by incorporating shielding materials and collimators into the detector efficiency calculation during the modeling process, without the need for separate efficiency correction sources. To validate the accuracy of ISOCS measurement results, the measured radioactivity values were used as input data for the MicroShield computer code to derive dose rates. These dose rates were then compared to the dose rates measured on-site, confirming the reliability of ISOCS measurements. In the field, ISOCS gamma measurements and surface dose rates were measured for three Cavity filters and four RCP Seal Injection filters. The measured dose rate for the Cavity filters was around 270 Svhr, and the computed values using MicroShield showed an error of approximately 12%. Despite modeling and calculation errors in computer analysis and potential uncertainties in the measurement environment and instrument, the computed values closely matched the measured values. However, the measured dose rate for the RCP Seal Injection filters ranged 2.9~8 Svhr, which is very low and close to background levels. When compared to the results of computer analysis, an error ranging from 27% to 97% was observed. It is concluded that validating the accuracy in the low dose rate range close to background levels is challenging through a comparison of calculated and measured dose rates.

Until now, in case of Palaearctic region, only one species, Nesendaeus monochrous in this genus was recorded from China. but the biology and life cycle are not clearly known, yet. This species collected from the bud of Glochidion chodoense in Korea for the first time and closely related to Heterochyromera imerodeus Kojima & Morimoto which was recorded only in Japan,. But Nesendaeus monochrous is easily distinguishable from H. imerodeus by the relatively longer elytra with bisinuately round apices. Heterochyromera imerodeus Kojima & Morimoto can be found from Eurya emarginata and Glochidion obovatum in Japan. So, this two species are closely related each other and need more taxonomic study about the generic synonymy or changing the generic position.

The cherry tree borer, Synanthedon bicingulata (Staudinger, 1887), is considered as a tree boring pest boring into cambium layer and weakens the tree. Cherry trees, the host species of S. bicingulata, are the most abundant ornamental trees in South Korea. However, there has been insufficient study conducted on ornamental trees compared to orchards. The study aimed to investigate the injury patterns caused by their larvae based on height and direction they faced. Since life cycle of S. bicingulata in Gangwon province had not been surveyed, occurrence pattern was also investigated using sex attractant. Injury patterns of 253 cherry trees in Chuncheon, were surveyed in April 2023. As a result, the injury occuring under 1 m in height was 2.61 times more extensive than injury between 1m and 2m in height of trunk. Also, the injury on the south-faced trunks was 2.68 times larger than on the north-faced trunks.

기존에는 생산되는 키틴과 키토산의 대부분이 게, 새우등 갑각류 껍질에서 유래하였다. 하지만 어업에 의존하 는 기존 갑각류 비해 친환경적이며 품질 유지에 이점을 가지는 곤충으로부터 유래한 키틴이 최근 주목 받기 시작 하며 연구가 활발해지고 있다. 이에 키토산이 남조류의 응집을 통해 녹조 제거 효과를 가지며 기존에 녹조를 억제하기 위해 널리 사용되던 살조제들이 독성을 띠어 환경에 악영향을 미치는 문제를 해결할 수 있다는 연구를 참고하여 매미 탈피각으로부터 추출한 키토산을 녹조 방제에 활용해 보고자 하였다. 매미 탈피각으로부터 키토 산을 추출하고 대표적인 녹조 원인종인 Microcystis aeruginosa 배양 후 추출한 키토산을 처리하여 녹조의 응집 효과를 관찰하였다. 본 연구에서 새로운 키토산 추출 원으로서 매미 탈피각의 가능성을 제시하였으며 이를 녹조 방제에 활용함으로써 버려지는 자원인 매미 탈피각의 활용 방안을 제시하였다.

Honey bees are crucial pollinators for agricultural and natural ecosystems, but are experiencing heavy mortality in Korea due to a complex suite of factors. Extreme winter losses of honey bee colonies are a major threat to beekeeping but the combinations of factors underlying colony loss remain debatable. Finding solutions involves knowing the factors associated with high loss rates. To investigate whether loss rates are related to Varroa control and climate condition, we surveyed beekeepers in korea after wintering (2021–2022 to 2022–2023). The results show an average colony loss rate of 46%(2022) and 17%(2023), but over 40% colony loss before wintering at 2022. Beekeepers attempt to manage their honey bee colonies in ways that optimize colony health. Disentangling the impact of management from other variables affecting colony health is complicated by the diversity of practices used and difficulties handling typically complex and incomplete observational datasets. We propose a method to 1) Varroa mite population Control by several methods , and 2) Many nursing bee put in hive before wintering.

Social networking sites (SNS) is an image-oriented sharing platform and can form social relationships among users. This allows individuals to create and share the contents which include their stories, ideas, reviews, opinions, and evaluations, etc. Consumers who sympathize with and trust these contents will follow them and form the relationships. Contents created and shared by individual users is more effective than advertisements delivered by brands in generating electronic word of mouth (e-WOM). Accordingly, opinion leaders and influencers who influence potential customers based on their opinions and style related contents have emerged in various fields such as health, fitness, fashion, beauty, food, and high-tech.

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.

Wolsong unit 1, the first PHWR (Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor) in Korea, was permanent shut down in 2019. In Korea, according to the Nuclear Safety Act, the FDP (Final Decommissioning Plan) must be submitted within 5 years of permanent shutdown. According to NSSC Notice, the types, volumes, and radioactivity of solid radioactive wastes should be included in FDP chapter 9, Radioactive Waste Management, Therefore, in this study, activation assessment and waste classification of the End shield, which is a major activation component, were conducted. MCNP and ORIGEN-S computer codes were used for the activation assessment of the End shield. Radioactive waste levels were classified according to the cooling period of 0 to 20 years in consideration of the actual start of decommissioning. The End shield consists of Lattice tube, Shielding ball, Sleeve insert, Calandria tube shielding sleeve, and Embedment Ring. Among the components composed for each fuel channel, the neutron flux was calculated for the components whose level was not predicted by preliminary activation assessment, by dividing them into three channel regions: central channel, inter channel, and outer channel. In the case of the shielding ball, the neutron flux was calculated in the area up to 10 cm close to the core and other parts to check the decrease in neutron flux with the distance from the core. The neutron flux calculations showed that the highest neutron flux was calculated at the Sleeve insert, the component closest to the fuel channel. It was found that the neutron flux decreased by about 1/10 to 1/20 as the distance from the core increased by 20 cm. The outer channel was found to have about 30% of the neutron flux of the center channel. It was found that no change in radioactive waste level due to decay occurred during the 0 to 20 years cooling period. In this study, activation assessment and waste classification of End Shield in Wolsong unit 1 was conducted. The results of this study can be used as a basis for the preparation of the FDP for the Wolsong unit 1.

CANDU Spent Fuel (CSF) dry storage system, SILO, has been operated from 1992 at Wolsung under 50 year operating license. As of 2023, this system has been operated for over 30 years and its licensed remaining operation time is less than 20 years. When it faces the final stage of operation, it has only two options; moving to a centralized away-from-reactor storage or extending its license atreactor. These two options have an inevitable common duty of confirming the CSF integrity by a “demonstration test”. Since the degradation of CSF and structural materials in the SILO are critically dependent on temperature, two important goals of the ‘DEMO test’ were set as follows. 1. Design of ‘DEMO SILO’: Development of internal monitoring technology by transforming SILO design. 2. Accurate measurement and evaluation of the three-dimensional temperature distribution in the ‘DEMO SILO’ Based on operating real commercial SILO dimension, a conceptual “DEMO SILO” design has been developed from 2022. Because, unlike with commercial Silo, ‘Demo Silo’ must be disassembled and assembled, and have penetration holes. Safety evaluation technologies like structural, thermal and radiation protection analysis also have been developed with design work. ‘Demo SILO’ should evaluate an accurate 3D temperature distribution with minimal number of thermocouples and penetration holes to avoid disruption of internal flow and temperature distribution. For this reason, a ‘Best Estimate Thermal-Hydraulics evaluation system for SILO’ is under development and it will be essential for ensuring temperature prediction accuracy. Construction of a full-scale test apparatus to validate this technology will begin in 2024. In order to supply power to many heaters and monitor temperature gradient inside of this apparatus, it has modular design concept by dividing its whole body to axial 9 sub-bodies which looks like a donut containing a basket at center position.