농촌진흥청 국립원예특작과학원에서는 2021년 분홍색계 소 형 호접란 ‘Arihong’을 육성하였다. 2014년 밝은 분홍색 소형 품종 Phalaenopsis ‘Wedding’와 백색 바탕에 분홍빛을 가지는 소형종 P. ‘[{KT1398-1×(KM-6)-4}×Chiangbeauty-88]-23’ 를 모본과 부본으로 교배하였다. 2018년 실생 120개체 중 잎자세, 화색, 화형, 꽃대수 등 특성이 우수한 ‘14104-1’ 개체를 선발하여 기내 화경배양을 통해 증식하였다. 2018년부터 2021년에까지 1차, 2차특성검정을 통해 품종의 안정성과 균일성을 확인한 후 ‘Arihong’로 명명하였다. 이 품종은 백색(WG155B) 바탕에 중앙 에는 보라빛 분홍색(PVG80B)을 띄며, 진한 자주색(PG78A) 순판 을 가지는 것이 특징이다. 꽃대가 2대씩 발생하고 꽃대 길이는 평균 42.1cm 소형 분화로 적절한 크기를 가지고 있다. 평피기 형태의 꽃은 길이와 폭이 각각 5.1, 5.7cm이며, 분지가 발생하여 1개의 꽃대에 13.0개의 소화가 착생한다. ‘Arihong’의 잎은 수평으로 자라며 길이와 폭이 각각 13.0cm, 4.9cm였다. 또한 초세가 우수하고 생육 속도가 빨라 엽수 확보가 용이한 특성을 보였다.

경상남도농업기술원 화훼연구소에서 2021년 화색이 연황 색이며 화심이 녹색인 미니 절화용 거베라 품종 ‘크림쿠키’ (Cream Cookie)를 육성하였다. ‘크림쿠키’ 품종은 2014년 황색 미니 ‘Sun City’를 모본으로, 백색 미니 ‘Blandy’를 부 본으로 인공교배를 실시하여 육성된 품종이다. 2021년까지 생육 및 개화 특성검정과 기호도 조사를 실시하였으며 ‘크림 쿠키’의 생육 및 개화특성을 대조품종인 ‘Sun City’와 비교하 였다. ‘크림쿠키’는 연황색(RHS 4C) 꽃잎과 녹색 화심을 가진 반겹꽃 거베라 품종이다. 화폭이 7.1cm인 작은 꽃이며, 화경 장은 58.9cm였다. 화경 직경은 상부 0.4cm, 하부 0.7cm 였 다. 외부설상화의 길이는 2.8cm이며 폭은 0.8cm였다. 개화 소요일수는 65.7일로 ‘Sun City’에 비하여 18.8일 빨랐으며, 첫 개화시 엽수는 22.4매였다. 연간 주당 절화수량은 102.3 본으로 ‘Sun City’의 82.0본에 비하여 20.3본이 많았다. 절 화수명은 17.8일로 ‘Sun City’보다 4.1일 더 길었다. ‘크림쿠 키’는 화폭이 7.1cm의 미니 품종으로 연간 주당 100본 이상 절화 생산이 가능하다. 또한 수확 후 꽃 캡 씌우기, 꽃목 보강 등 추가적인 작업을 생략할 수 있어 생산비 절감이 가능하므 로 농가보급 확대가 기대된다.

This study evaluated a potential sterilization process that uses calcium hypochlorite (Ca(ClO)2) as a disinfectant and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) as a neutralizing agent for monoculture processes of microalgae (Nannochloropsis oculata). The results showed that no contaminants (prokaryote) were present when the Ca(ClO)2 concentration was greater than 0.010%. The use of an equivalent amount of H2O2 completely neutralized Ca(ClO)2 and had an additional bactericidal effect because of the formation of singlet oxygen. No substantial difference was observed in the biomass accumulation and chlorophyll contents compared to those in cultures sterilized using conventional physical methods such as autoclaving. Therefore, chemical sterilization using Ca(ClO)2 and H2O2 has an excellent economic advantage, and we expect the proposed ecofriendly chemical sterilization method to become a critical culture technology for microalgae-related industrialization.

Bentonite, which mostly consists of montmorillonite, is considered as a suitable buffer material for disposal of high-level radioactive wastes in deep geological repository due to its high swelling capacity, low permeability, and strong retention capacity of radionuclide migration. Alkaline and saline solutions originated from degradation of cementitious material and seawater intrusion, respectively, may cause the changes in mineralogical and chemical properties of montmorillonite with various processes such as cation exchange within the interlayer, dissolution of montmorillonite, and precipitation of second minerals. In this study, montmorillonite alteration under alkaline and saline environments and its influences on retention of cesium and iodide by bentonite buffer were investigated. The reactions of bentonite (Bentonil-WRK) with alkaline solutions (0.1 M KOH and NaOH) and simulated saline solution were performed for 7 days in batch experiments at 25°C. After the experiments, reacted bentonite samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, Short Wavelength Infrared (SWIR) spectrometry. The concentrations of cesium and iodide dissolved in the solutions were analyzed using an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP–MS). The XRD patterns showed significant decrease in the interlayer space of montmorillonite after the reaction with alkaline solution due to cation exchange and change in hydration status at the interlayer. The retention of cesium and iodide in alkaline and saline solutions were affected by montmorillonite alteration and ion competition. Therefore, the montmorillonite alteration affecting the nuclide retention capacity and long-term stability of bentonite buffer should be considered in the safety assessment of long-term geological disposal performance.

Bentonite has been considered as a buffer material in a deep geological repository for high-level radioactive waste (HLW). Bentonite may come into contacted with various chemical solutions during the long-term storage. In particular, solutions containing K+ can affect stability of bentonite (e.g., illitization). The bentonite can be gradually saturated with the inflow of groundwater, and the temperature can rise simultaneously due to the decay of HLW. This study aimed to evaluate the bentonite stability in contacted with very highly concentrated K+ solutions with different pHs at 150°C. Batch reaction tests using KJ-II bentonite were performed for 30–150 days in teflon-stainless steel reactors. De-ionized (DI) water (pH = 6.0) and 1 M KCl (pH = 6.0), and 1 M KOH (pH = 12.5) solutions were used as reaction solutions. After completing batch reaction tests, the reacted samples were analyzed using various analytical techniques. For DI water, chemical, mineralogical, and physicochemical properties of reacted samples were similar to those of unreacted samples. For 1 M KCl solutions, cation exchage for Ca by K and slight changes in mineralogical properties of reacted samples were observed, but there are no significant changes in the physicochemical properties. In contrast, for 1 M KOH solutions, changes in chemical, mineralogical, and physicochemical properties of reacted samples were observed. Results of X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis indicated dissolution of montmorillonite and formation of zeolite minerals, which were confirmed by thermogravimetricdifferential thermal analysis (TGA-DTA) and fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis. These results suggest that highly concentrated K+ (1 M) solution combined with high pH (12.5) and high temperate (150°C) may affect bentonite alteration. These prelimiary experiments were intended to qualitatively evaluate the mechanism and influncing factors of the buffer material alteration under extreme experimental conditions, and it is revealed that the conditions do not reflect the actual repository environment.

Global climate change and increased international travel have affected the transmission of mosquito-borne diseases. In South Korea, uncommon diseases such as Dengue, chikungunya and Zika virus could be transmitted by potent mediator like Aedes albopictus. In order to cope with the risk of mosquito-borne diseases, rapid mosquito monitoring system is needed. Current mosquito monitoring procedures include installation of outdoor traps-mosquito collection-species classification-analysis of disease detection – upload of information to government research institutes – disease alert. In this process, species classification takes a lot of time, and if we reduce the time, we can cope with the disease outbreak more quickly. In this study, we developed automate species classification system target for 5 mosquito species (Culex pipiens, Cx. tritaeniorhynchus, Ae. albpictus, Ae. vexans, Anopheles spp.) disease vector live in South Korea. After modeling the morphology of each mosquito species, machine learning was carried out using DenseNet (Densely Connected Networks), one of the models of Artificial Neural Network. Using the learned model, we tested the classification of 5 species of mosquitoes and showed the accuracy from 97.35% to 99.48% at the maximum. Future research will focus on increasing the number of identifiable mosquito species and reducing the time spent on species classification. The autonomous classification of mosquito species using Deep Learning technology will contribute to the development of mosquito monitoring system and public health.