Glutamine has been used to treat canine patients with parvoviral enteritis. However, little is known about the effect of L-alanyl-L-glutamine (Ala-Gln) supplementation in dogs with parvoviral enteritis. The objective of this study was to determine whether Ala-Gln supplementation can improve dog survival and ameliorate clinical signs without adverse effects. We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial involving 39 client-owned dogs. The dogs were randomly assigned to two groups and administered either an Ala-Gln solution (Dipeptiven, 0.4 g/kg, n = 20) or an equivalent volume of placebo (n = 19) orally twice daily. Of the 39 dogs, 17 were vaccinated (n = 9 in the Ala-Gln-treated group and n – 9 in the placebo group). All dogs received standard treatment while hospitalized. The dogs were monitored according to a clinical scoring system and evaluated diagnostically daily for 11 days. Survival rates in both groups were quantified using Kaplan‒Meier survival curves and statistically compared using the log-rank test. The total score for clinical signs did not differ between the groups, except on day 2. The survival rates differed significantly (p=0.038). Three Ala-Gln-treated dogs (15.0%) died during the study, whereas eight dogs in the placebo group died (42.1%). No adverse effects were found to be associated with Ala-Gln treatment. Oral administration of Ala-Gln improves survival in dogs with parvoviral enteritis without causing adverse effects.

A large amount of small and medium-sized metal waste is generated during the decommissioning of nuclear power plants (NPPs). Metal waste is mostly contaminated with low-level radioactive, so it needs decontamination for self-disposal and recycling. A large amount of Organic Decontamination Liquid Waste during decontamination will be generated. The generated organic liquid waste is low in concentration, so the decomposition efficiency is low in the decomposition process. A conditioning process is necessary to concentrate at a high concentration. For effective treatment for Organic Decontamination Liquid Waste, the composition of organic liquid waste and conditioning process were analyzed. Organic acids, metal ions, radioactive nuclides, surfactants, etc. are present in the Organic Decontamination Liquid Waste, and suspended solids are sometimes generated by various reactions. According to previous studies, the concentration of organic acids including surfactants obtained results from several tens of ppm to a maximum of 1,000 ppm, so the maximum value of 1,000 ppm was assumed. For the composition and total amount of metal ions, the average value (52.7wt% Fe, 16.3wt% Ni, 15.1wt% Cr, 15.9wt% Mn) of the distribution of metal species removed by the actual decontamination process is applied, and the total amount is 1,000 ppm was assumed. As for the radionuclides, only 60Co and 137Cs, which are expected to be mainly present, were considered, and 60Co was assumed to be 2,000 Bq/g and 137Cs to be 360 Bq/g by referring to the literature. The amounts of suspended solids were assumed to be 500 ppm by referring to the characteristics of the liquid waste generated in the decontamination process of the NPPs. Based on the estimated value, a reaction formula was established and a simulated Organic Decontamination Liquid Waste was prepared. As a result of measurement using an analysis device, the composition of the estimated and simulated Organic Decontamination Liquid Waste had similar values. The conditioning and treatment process largely consists of pretreatment, conditioning, decomposition processes. Organic Decontamination Liquid Waste goes through a pretreatment process to remove impurities with large particles. In the conditioning process, treated water that has passed through the UF/RO membrane system is discharged into the environment. At this time, Concentrated water goes through a decomposition process for processing the Organic Decontamination Liquid Waste, and is discharged to the environment through a secondary RO membrane system. The conditioning process is the low-concentration Organic Decontamination Liquid Waste in the UF membrane system is forming a micelles in an RO membrane system, concentrating it to a high concentration and then go through a recirculation process in the UF membrane system. An experiment was conducted to confirm whether the concentration of surfactants occurred during the conditioning process. As a result of the experiment confirmed that the highly concentrated surfactant formed micelles and was filtered out in the UF membrane system.

The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC) and the Korea Institute of Nuclear Nonproliferation and Control (KINAC) operate the Nuclear Export and Import Control System (NEPS), an online comprehensive export and import control management system to guide the domestic nuclear export and import control regime and efficiently process the application, processing, and issuance of various civil complaints required for compliance. This paper analyzes the results of NEPS functional improvements made in 2022. First, NSSC and KINAC launched a nuclear plant technology follow-up system. Since establishing the Nuclear Plant Technology Export License (Plant License) system in 2015, large-scale nuclear power plant projects with a large amount of technology transfer have been issued a Plant License, allowing them to transfer technology without a separate individual export license. The recipient of a Plant License is not required to obtain an additional export license but to follow up on the transferred technology, such as checking whether it is a strategic technology and reporting quarterly transfer details. A dedicated system has been established to facilitate the follow-up of plant license projects. That has improved work efficiency for both the regulated and the regulator. Second, we have improved the procedures for retrieving and supplementing civil petitions. We added a function allowing civil petitioners to directly retrieve a civil petition to cancel a previously filed civil petition or to revise it themselves. In addition, we improved the procedure for supplementing a civil petition by setting a supplementation deadline for a reviewer’s request to modify a civil petition and sending a reminder before the expiration of the supplementation deadline. That enhances the convenience of the complainant and the examiner. Finally, we have changed the numbering system for export and import control reviews. Previously, the application number was a 15-digit system with an 8-digit date and 7-digit serial number. We have simplified the number by changing the three unused digits in the serial number to a single symbol that separates the type of application. That made it possible to utilize the number for relevant searches in the future. Also, simplifying the number has improved the efficiency of applying, processing, and consulting for civil affairs. In the future, NSSC and KINAC will continue to upgrade NEPS and make various functional improvements, and there will be many changes in system operation through cloud transfer in a few years.

For the export of nuclear materials (NM), the NSG guidelines require governmental assurance from the importing State that the NM will be used for peaceful purposes, safeguards and physical protection will be applied, and prior consent will be obtained for retransfer. By providing this assurance, the importing State (recipient) is responsible for fulfilling the obligations required by the exporting States (supplier). If the Nuclear Cooperation Agreement (NCA) has been concluded between the supplier and recipient, it may be replaced by implementing the procedures under the NCA. In the case of NM subject to this obligation, continuous management at the national level is required because prior consent from the supplier may be required for retransfer to a third party under the assurance or may be subject to annual reporting. The obligation swaps are the exchange of obligations of NM without the physical movement of it. Since the physical movement of NM is costly and risky, its obligations are often exchanged for commercial reasons. The basis for obligation swaps is the fungibility and equivalence of NM. The fungibility allows that the inventories of NM need not physically identify the particular NM originally obligated but identify an equivalent quantity of the same isotopic composition. In addition, under the principle of equivalence, even if NM loses its unique physical properties, it can be exchanged by another obligated or nonobligated NM. That is, the principles of equivalence and proportionality allow the comparison of quantities of uranium in different forms. Therefore, it is theoretically possible not only to exchange obligations between NM in same physical form, but also different physical forms of same composition (with the same enrichment), e.g., UO2 powder and its pellets. In U.S., it appears that there are obligation swaps of NM between different enrichment levels, but according to the NCA and its Administrative Arrangement between ROK and U.S., Canada and Australia, the principle of fungibility and equivalence shall not be used to reduce the quality of a quantity of NM. In other words, swaps between NM of different enrichment levels are not allowed under the NCA and AA. However, according to the Supplementary Arrangement between ROK and Canada, the replacement of NM by lower quality NM may only occur where the two States so decide following consultation. The U.S., Canada, and Australia, which are major suppliers of NMs, allow internal obligation swaps within the U.S. and the EU through NCA. The NCA between ROK and these countries does not address whether internal swaps are possible. Since governmental assurance does not impose restrictions on swaps, it can be considered if necessary. Although there is no actual practice of obligation swaps in ROK, research will be necessary regarding the extent to which swaps in ROK should be allowed and the need for government approval or permission.

The Internal Compliance Program (ICP) is a framework for promoting compliance with laws and regulations and minimizing violations. It aims to prevent law breaches, by raising awareness of the compliance within the organization, which leads to enhance the credibility of the organization, and to prepare for audits. From the perspective of nuclear export control, ICP can be used to verify the company’s credibility by following NSG Guidelines and is expected to contribute to preventing the vertical and horizontal proliferation of nuclear weapons in the international community. However, ICP system is not globally established, and the NSG does not provide official guidelines for ICP. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the “Good Practices for Internal Compliance Programs for Nuclear and Nuclear-Related Exports” provided by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to find ways to apply and activate ICPs for domestic exporters. The form of ICP could vary depending on company’s size and internal environments, but it should be organized as follows. First, an internal department should be established so as to implement the ICP, and an executive who has export control knowledge should be assigned as the Chief Export Control Officer (CECO). The CECO, establish and revise ICP operating procedures and manual, organize contact point to communicate internally and externally. Second, measures should be established minimize risks in the export process, including business development transaction screening, supply chain, research and development, human resource, and intangible technology transfer risks. Third, internal control system should be established for export control compliance. The CECO should conduct regular assessments to ensure compliance and strengthen the organization’s internal export compliance processes. Fourth, an export-related training program should be periodically conducted for employees. In addition, as soon as the CECO becomes aware of, CECO should review the matter, take corrective action, and report to the relevant national authorities, when a violation of domestic export control laws or suspicious circumstances are captured. Nuclear export control plays an important role in ensuring nuclear nonproliferation. Republic of Korea has been implementing the ICP system for Dual-Use Items under the Foreign Trade Act, but not for Trigger List Items. Therefore, introduction of ICP for Trigger List Items is expected significantly contribute to nuclear nonproliferation. The subjects of ICP will be initially targeted to major nuclear enterprises, then gradually expanded to all nuclear enterprises. Further researches are needed to introduce on ICP for Trigger List Items.

In the late 80s, non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear, chemical, and biological, became an internationally important issue, and in order to keep pace with the international situation, Korea amended the Foreign Trade Act in 1992 to legislate the export control of strategic goods. In addition, Korea joined the NSG, one of the international export control regimes, in 1995, and nuclear power operators are required to obtain export licenses in accordance with the NSG export control guidelines. In the nuclear export business, technical documents, equipment, materials, SW, etc. are exported to the importer, and the export items may include strategic items designated by the NSG, so operators must check whether they are strategic items and, if so, obtain an export license in accordance with foreign trade laws that reflect the NSG export control guidelines. In the case of processing and exporting goods or materials imported from another country, exporters must fulfill complex nuclear export control procedures, including obtaining the original supplier’s consent for re-transfer. In recent years, the international situation on export control has been more sensitive than ever, including the Russo-Ukrainian war, the U.S.-China semiconductor supremacy dispute, and U.S. lawsuits against domestic companies related to original technologies. In the worst-case scenario, a company may not be able to fulfill a contract due to export control issues. In order to facilitate the smooth export business of operators when exporting nuclear energy, ‘Nuclear Export Control Pre-Consulting’ is proposed to check compliance with export control requirements in advance and provide operators with customized export control implementation plans reflecting business characteristics. Through the pre-consultation, issues, requirements, and preparatory documents related to nuclear export control can be checked before the export business starts in earnest, i.e., when the decision to participate in the business is made, and the business can be supported to export smoothly by complying with the export control system. The most important aspect of pre-consultation is that domestic nuclear exporters need to know and apply for the program. To this end, the program will be actively promoted online and offline, and support will be provided for easy application through NEPS. In addition, procedures and outcomes will be continuously refined to ensure that the program is a means of ensuring full compliance with international nuclear non-proliferation norms for nuclear exports.

Under the Foreign Trade Act, an export license from the Nuclear Safety Commission is required to export items specified in Part 10 of Schedule 2 of the Public Notice of Exportation and Importation of Strategic Items (Trigger List Items). In the case of nuclear materials, deuterium, and heavy water, its cumulative amount determines whether it is trigger list item. An export license is required only if the cumulative amount exported to a single end-user country from January 1st to December 31st exceeds the regulation criteria. The reason for this cumulative control is to exclude small amounts of materials from the scope of control as they are considered less important in view of nuclear proliferation, but to prevent the possibility of acquiring large quantities of materials by importing small amounts several times. As a result, export control of nuclear material, deuterium, and heavy water requires different considerations than other Trigger List Items. First, materials exported by different companies must be consolidated to manage the cumulative amount. Second, it is necessary to continuously follow up the actual export status. If the material is not exported after it was classified as ‘non-Trigger List Items’, it should not be included in the cumulative amount. Third, there may be a difference between the accumulated quantities aggregated at the time of the classification and the time of the actual export. The classification should be changed if an export of the classified material is postponed or another export of same materials occurs before the export of the classified material. Fourth, the classification result of these materials should not be reused. Generally, the classification result could be reused within the expiration date (2 years) but in the case of substances. However, the reuse of classification result for materials should be limited as the classification results could be change depending on the cumulative amount. In addition, the sharing of classification results between different entities should also be restricted. The government approval procedures are required even for export of small amounts of nuclear materials which are less than the regulation criteria. The cumulative quantities of nuclear materials are systematically managed in the Nuclear Export & imPort control System (NEPS) through these procedures. NEPS is also linked to the custom clearance system of Korea Customs Service, which enables to track actual exports and the time of exports. However, cumulative quantities for the heavy water and deuterium are managed individually by classification reviewers. The annual export plans are received in advance from major entities which deal with the materials for nuclear uses, and the cumulative quantities for each application are managed manually. The systematic management has not been required as there were a few cases of exporting small quantities. However, systematic management may be required in the future as overseas expansion attempts from various companies in the nuclear field has been increasing. In addition, further study is needed on the criteria and system for calculating the cumulative amount. The time of aggregate the cumulative amount should be clarified by considering the difference between the time of classification and actual export. It is required to devise an efficient way to follow up the actual export.

An administrative agreement (AA) was signed between NSSC and UAE FANR in January 2023 under Article 5 of the ROK-UAE Nuclear Cooperation Agreement. The AA aims to enhance regulatory efficiency in safeguards and export control. This study reviewed the export control measures for the items subject to the agreement (ISA) and implementation procedures under ROK-UAE AA by comparing them with other countries cases. First of all, the ROK-UAE AA distinguishes between ISA and the inventory management target items. Technology is divided into two categories, one requiring consent for retransfer and the other, considering the characteristics of technology that is free to be copied and deleted, and thus less useful for inventory management. Only the former is included in the annual report, which differs from the ROK-Canada or ROK-Japan NCA, which includes all technologies subject to the agreements in the annual report. When ROK notifies export information, it is mandatory to specify whether the technology requires consent for retransfer. Furthermore, some technologies should be controlled as strategic information, even if excluded from the annual report, so efforts to prevent confusion are required. Secondly, the ROK-UAE AA covers all items in INFCIRC/254/rev.9/part1, unlike the ROK-U.S. and ROK-Canada NCA, which listed equipment subject to them. This is significant because it clarifies the criteria for regulation by increasing the consistency between the trigger list items in the domestic law and the ISA. However, the expanded ISA scope could result in some changes in export control procedures. For example, when importing nuclear material (NM) from the US, only uranium was controlled as ISA, and the packages were not considered. In contrast, when exporting fuel assemblies (FA) for UAE, both uranium and zirconium cladding should be treated as ISA. To this end, NEPS was improved to implement the features of the ROK-UAE AA. Consideration of the criteria and methods for imposing obligations under the agreement is essential because this is the first case of Korea concluded AA under exporting NPP and as a supplier of FA. Generally, the obligations for NM are imposed by the country of origin, conversion, and enrichment countries. Canada and EU recognize the fuel fabrication process as a substantial transformation and impose customs origin where the process takes place. Hence, NM fabricated from Canadian equipment is also subject to the same obligations as NM of Canadian origin. From this perspective, it would be appropriate to ensure ROK acts as a supplier and controls when exporting domestically manufactured FA. Moreover, a proper national obligation code system will be required to specify Korea’s control rights.

This study aims to develop a multi-functional cage for dogs as a house to reduce their anxiety when they go out using cages. This study investigates the types and characteristics of cages and cage preference by surveying men and women in their 20s who use them. The cage product reviews are also analyzed. The research results are as follows: First, domestic dog cages are classified into crate, shoulder, cross (sling bag), backpack, carrier, and stroller types. The crate type is easy to clean and can be used as a house, but it is bulky and therefore inconvenient to carry when using public transportation. The shoulder type is a fabric material with good air permeability but has the disadvantage of being easily soiled. It can be used as a house and is light weight, making it convenient when using public transportation. Second, as a result of consumer research, respondents prefer the shoulder-type fabric over the crate-type plastic material. Third, from the shoulder-type product review, the shape stability, companion dogs’ psychological safety, the wearability of companions, and management convenience are derived. Fourth, based on the survey results, a multifunctional cage is developed taking into account the companion dog, companion person, and functional factors.

Chicken embryonic stem (ES) cells have great potential and provide a powerful tool to investigate embryonic development and to manipulate genetic modification in a genome. However, very limited studies are available on the functional characterization and robust expansion of chicken ES cells compared to other species. Here, we have developed a method to generate chicken embryonic stem cell-like cells under pluripotent culture conditions. The chicken embryonic stem cell-like cells were cultivated long-term over several passages of culture without loss of pluripotency in vitro and had the specific expression of key stem cell markers. Furthermore, they showed severe changes in morphology and a significant reduction in pluripotent genes after siRNA-mediated NANOG knockdown. Collectively, these results demonstrate the efficient generation of chicken embryonic stem cell-like cells from EGK stage X blastoderm-derived singularized cells and will facilitate their potential use for various purposes, such as biobanking genetic materials and understanding stemness in the fields of animal biotechnology.

Recently, unmanned logistics delivery systems, such as UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, written as drone below) and autonomous robot delivery systems, have been implemented in many countries due to the rapid development of autonomous driving technology. The development of these new types of advanced unmanned logistics delivery systems is essential not only to become a leading logistics company but also to secure national competitiveness. In this paper, the application of the unmanned logistics delivery system was investigated in terms of market trends, overall technology level of last mile delivery drone and autonomous delivery robot. The direction of response to changes in the last mile delivery service market was checked through a comparison of the technological level between domestic companies that produce last mile devices and advanced foreign companies. As a result of this technology level analysis, the difference between domestic companies and advanced companies was shown using tables and figures to show their relative levels. The results of this analysis reflect the opinions of experts in the field of last-mile delivery technology. In addition, the technology level of unmanned logistics delivery systems for each country was analyzed based on the number of related technology patents. Lastly, insights for the technology level analysis of unmanned last mile delivery systems were proposed as a conclusion.

Though many treatment technologies of contaminated water have been developed for a long time, it is still difficult to find a suitable method for large volumes of low radioactivity tritium-contaminated water. For this reason, most of the tritium-contaminated water been discharged to the biosphere or been stored in a special control area as radioactive waste. Activated carbon is a common material, but since there are few data on the treatment of tritium-contaminated water, its adsorption behavior to HTO is worth studied. In our study, for the tritium-contaminated water having a low radioactivity concentration (350-480 Bq/g), adsorption experiments were performed with activated carbon. The effects on the selective adsorption of HTO were investigated for temperature (5-55°C), hydrogen peroxide (1-10wt%) and activated carbon reuse (1-6 times) under non-equilibrium conditions. The treatment of activated carbon significantly reduced the radioactivity of tritium-contaminated water around 60 minutes of adsorption time. In order to clearly analyze the experimental results, positive factors and negative factors on the HTO selectivity were separately evaluated according to the adsorption time. Temperature and the reuse of activated carbon were evaluated as negative factors for HTO selectivity of activated carbon, whereas hydrogen peroxide (> 5wt%) was evaluated as a positive factor. By the evaluation method of separating the influencing factors into two types, the adsorption experimental results of HTO could be understood more clearly.

Organic waste generated by small and medium-sized (S&M-sized) metal decontamination in NPP decommissioning. To lower the concentration of these organic substances for a level acceptable at the disposal site, the project of “Development of Treatment Process of Organic Decontamination Liquid Wastes from Decommissioning of Nuclear Power Plants” is being carried out. The conditioning and treatment process of organic liquid waste was designed. Also, the literature was investigated to make simulated organic liquid waste, and the composition of these waste was analyzed and compared. As the decontamination agent, organic acids such as EDTA, oxalic acid, citric acid are used. The sum of the concentrations of these organic materials was set to a maximum value of 1,000 ppm. The major metal ions of the decontamination liquid waste estimated are 59Fe, 51Cr, 54Mn, 63Ni, and the concentrations are respectively 527, 163, 161, 159 ppm. Additional major metal ions are 60Co, 58Co, 137Cs. 58Co is replaced by 60Co because it has the same chemical properties as 60Co. Unlike the HLW, the contamination level of S&M-sized metal in primary system was quite low, so 60Co is set to 2,000 Bq/g. Considering the contribution of fission and gamma ray dose constant, 137Cs was estimated to 360 Bq/g. Also, suspended solids of decontamination liquid waste were set at 500 ppm. Under these assumptions, the simulated organic liquid waste was made, and then organic substances and metal ions were analyzed with TOC analyzer and ICP-OES. The TOC analysis value was expected to 392 ppm in consideration of the equivalent organic quantity. the test result was 302 ppm. Some of organics appears to have been decomposed by acid. The values of metal ions (Fe3+, Cr3+, Mn2+, Ni2+) analyzed by ICP-OES are 139, 4, 152, 158 ppm, respectively. A large amount of Cr3+ and Fe3+ were expected to exist as ions, but they existed in the form of suspended solid. Mn2+ and Ni2+ came out similar to the expected values. The designed conditioning and treatment process is largely divided into pretreatment, conditioning, and decomposition processes. After collecting in the primary liquid waste storage tank, large particulate impurities and suspensions are removed through a pretreatment process. In the conditioning process, treated liquid waste passes through UF/RO membrane system, and pure water is discharged to the environment after monitoring. Concentrated water is decomposed in the electrochemical catalyst decomposition process, then this water secondarily passes through the RO membrane system and then discharged to the environment after monitoring. Through an additional experiment, the conditioning and treatment process will be verified.