The Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) is a central African country, abundant with large and various agro-ecological landscapes suitable for the cultivation of various crops, water resources, and a young manpower. However, the country is facing a severe food crisis, exposing around 27 million people, among which 4 million undernourished children to famine according to the World Food Program. To better understand the paradox of the country with huge agricultural potential being one of the countries with the largest number of people in food distress in 2022, we reviewed the DR Congo's current agricultural potentials and challenges, and it was observed that the country's low agricultural productivity is mainly due to low governmental human and technological investment in agricultural research, which is characterized by insufficient training of researchers, limited research budget, and lack of updated technologies. Also, the country's immensity and poor transport infrastructures make the movement and commercialization of crops difficult in the country. Based on the data reviewed, the Korea-Africa Food & Agriculture Cooperation Initiative, an organization in which the DR Congo is a member country, proposes a reform of the country's agricultural policies 1) to set a proper vision for the country's Agricultural research and productivity, 2) to design a proper structure assigning the roles of every organization involved in agriculture at the national or provincial level, 3) to improve the government investment in young researchers' capacity building and motivation, 4) to define how cooperation with international organizations could contribute to the enhancement of the country's agricultural development.

In the past decade, there has been phenomenal progress in the field of nanomaterials, especially in the area of carbon nanotubes (CNTs). In this review, we have elucidated a contemporary synopsis of properties, synthesis, functionalization, toxicity, and several potential biomedical applications of CNTs. Researchers have reported remarkable mechanical, electronic, and physical properties of CNTs which makes their applications so versatile. Functionalization of CNTs has been valuable in modifying their properties, expanding their applications, and reducing their toxicity. In recent years, the use of CNTs in biomedical applications has grown exponentially as they are utilized in the field of drug delivery, tissue engineering, biosensors, bioimaging, and cancer treatment. CNTs can increase the lifespan of drugs in humans and facilitate their delivery directly to the targeted cells; they are also highly efficient biocompatible biosensors and bioimaging agents. CNTs have also shown great results in detecting the SARS COVID-19 virus and in the field of cancer treatment and tissue engineering which is substantially required looking at the present conditions. The concerns about CNTs include cytotoxicity faced in in vivo biomedical applications and its high manufacturing cost are discussed in the review.

In this work, we developed silver nanowires and a silicon based Schottky junction and demonstrated ultrafast broadband photosensing behavior. The current device had a response speed that was ultrafast, with a rising time of 36 μs and a falling time of 382 μs, and it had a high level of repeatability across a broad spectrum of wavelengths (λ = 365 to 940 nm). Furthermore, it exhibited excellent responsivity of 60 mA/W and a significant detectivity of 3.5 × 1012 Jones at a λ = 940 nm with an intensity of 0.2 mW cm2 under zero bias operating voltage, which reflects a boost of 50%, by using the AC PV effect. This excellent broadband performance was caused by the photon-induced alternative photocurrent effect, which changed the way the optoelectronics work. This innovative approach will open a second door to the potential design of a broadband ultrafast device for use in cutting-edge optoelectronics.

This study was conducted to understand the current status of regional health inequalities and nurse supply and demand policies, and to suggest ways to supply nurses to regions where nurses are scarce. Secondary data such as academic papers, government announcements, and related laws were analyzed, and the results were reviewed from various perspectives to derive policy proposals. Health professions were distributed around large cities including Seoul, and those regions had relatively high health levels. However, the number of hospital beds increased steadily, mainly in the non-metropolitan area. This seems to be one of the reasons why there is always a shortage of nurses in the local medical field despite the supply of nurses, and it can be a factor that aggravates regional inequalities. In order to solve the chronic shortage of nurses, supply-oriented policies such as increasing the admission quota and utilizing inactive nurses, and demand-oriented policies such as regulations on the nurse staffing level and improvement of the incentive scheme for quality evaluation of hospital service have been implemented. In the past, the focus was simply on the quantitative expansion of nurses, but recently, policies that emphasize the qualitative aspect of nursing are being promoted. However, the policy for the distribution aspect of nurses is still somewhat incomplete. Therefore, to solve this problem, strengthening the nurse staffing level in medical institutions, promoting nursing policies led by local governments, developing standard wage guidelines, and training nurses as public health personnel were proposed.

Single OLED and tandem OLED was manufactured to analyze the electroluminescence characteristics of DC driving, AC driving, and full-wave rectification driving. The threshold voltage of OLED was the highest in DC driving, and the lowest in full-wave rectification driving due to an improvement of current injection characteristics. The luminance at a driving voltage lower than 10.5 V (8,534 cd/m2) of single OLED and 20 V (7,377 cd/m2) of a tandem OLED showed that the full-wave rectification drive is higher than that of DC drive. The luminous efficiency of OLED is higher in full-wave rectification driving than in DC driving at low voltage, but decrease at high voltage. The full-wave rectification power source may obtain higher current density, higher luminance, and higher current efficiency than the AC power source. In addition, it was confirmed that the characteristics of AC driving and full-wave rectification driving can be predicted from DC driving characteristics by comparing the measured values and calculated values of AC driving and full-wave rectification driving emission characteristics. From the above results, it can be seen that OLED lighting with improved electroluminescence characteristics compared to DC driving is possible using full-wave rectification driving and tandem OLED.

The serendipitous uncovering of carbon dot (CQDs) as budding candidate of carbonaceous nanomaterial has become now one of the hot topics in the research of material science and technology. The unique features of CQDs such as photo-physical properties, excellent biocompatibility, ease of synthesis, good aqueous dispersity, high chemical stability, and accessible functional groups for further modification make them one of the promising competitors in biological, photonic and energyrelated applications. Although some review articles on CQDs have been published, they typically cover all areas of CQDs applications, and no particular evaluation on the advancement of doped CQDs (D-CQDs) has been reported so far. In this review, we demonstrated characteristic features of D-CQDs focusing on doping strategies, discussion on recently adopted various synthesis processes, its applications and its qualitative comparison with each other. The recently developed concept on understanding the structure and optical properties of D-CQDs are also briefly described followed by their application on various fields primarily concentrated on bio-imaging and sensing applications. We also speculate its use in a variety of intriguing fields and its perspectives in near future.

Soybean is an important crop widely grown in the northern region of Nigeria for human and animal consumption. Commercial production of soybean in Nigeria has existed for eight decades. Current malnutrition and nutrient health problems in Nigeria warranted the introduction of high nutritive and affordable food sources such as soybean in the Nigerian diet. The high demand for soybean and its products has led to the rise in the cultivation of soybean in Nigeria. Although an increase in production has been recorded, the region of production has failed to achieve the potential yield per hectare. In improving soybean production in Nigeria, it is paramount to understand the factors that contribute to the process of production. This review paper provides information on factors affecting soybean production across the regions of production in Nigeria. The identified factors responsible for the yield gap include the impact of climate change on the agroecology shift, nutrient depletion and soil fertility, sowing date, the emergence of pests and diseases, and limited improved soybean cultivars. Adoption of improved soybean variety suitable in agroecology and sowing, at the appropriate sowing date by Nigerian farmers, can guarantee optimum soybean production. Further soybean breeding improvement studies are needed to provide more improved varieties with superior performance in Nigeria’s agroecology to achieve yield potential.

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is one of the most popular horticultural crops cultivated globally. Since the 1950s, the National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science (NIHHS) of Rural Development Administration (RDA) has been conducting research on developing Korean tomato cultivars. Recently, the objectives of breeding have been diversified according to the rapidly changing market trends. To meet such demands, various cultivars with distinct characteristics have been made: rootstock tomato, ornamental tomato, sweet cherry tomato, and virus resistant tomato. In 2022, a total of 20 cultivars were registered for variety protection in the Korea Seed and Variety Service (KSVS) and two cultivars with high temperature tolerance have been under field trials for application. In this paper, the breeding history and major characteristics of eight representative tomato cultivars are discussed. Since each tomato has its own valuable feature, they are expected to be used in diverse places from garden to farm.

This research aims to investigate and analyze the development status of Chinese-language media operated by overseas Chinese in Korea, mainly to analyze the existing development problems, and to put forward constructive opinions and suggestions for the sustainable development of Chinese-language media in the future. This paper conducts an in-depth investigation and research on the development background, current situation and development dilemma of Korean Chinese-language media in East Asia under the overall background of the general development of overseas Chineselanguage media through the methods of literature research and mobile interview survey, grasps and analyzes the current development difficulties: (1) Insufficient operating funds; (2) Single service content; (3) Unstable user group; (4) Lack of professional teams and low content quality; (5) The existence of national identity problems; (6) Government policies and systems not open enough. In the conclusion, four opinions and suggestions for sustainable development are given : (1) The necessity of diversified and innovative development; (2) The expansion of the cooperation model; (3) The support of the government; (4) The necessity of concentrating the development of new media. Finally, the insufficiency of this thesis and future research directions are clarified.

According to the article 18 of NSSC notice “Regulations on the delivery of low-and intermediatelevel radioactive wastes”, the consignor shall establish and implement the quality assurance program about waste management to ensure conformity with the criteria set forth in the regulations and detailed criteria proposed by the disposal facility operator, including matters related to characterization of the waste concerned. To meet the above requirement, commercially available laboratory information management system, STARLIMS from Abbott Informatics was introduced in the late of 2019 and was customized to our standardized test method in 2020. In that time, Electronic Lab Notebook (ELN), which is an electronic system to create, store, retrieve, and share fully electronic records, was tailored to replace paper lab notebook. Scientific Data Management System (SDMS), which is computer system used to capture, centrally store, catalog, and manage data, was installed. Due to the parsing ability of SDMS, human error like mistake while data entry was reduced by extracting data from measurement sheet and exporting measurement data to designated area of ELN and this feature made work efficiency improved. Afterward, validation of STARLIMS was conducted following the procedure of user acceptance testing including Operational Qualification and Performance Qualification. As a result of these activities, STARLIMS has been officially operated and applied to means to manage test results since 2021. In 2021, for user-friendly environment, updating STARLIMS was also conducted by applying SDMS to import data from other radiometric measurements including gas proportional counter (GPC), liquid scintillation counter (LSC), and low-energy Ge detector (LEGe) besides HPGe detector for gamma measurement. From implementation to operation, it is confirmed that STARLIMS has been providing reliable and stable platforms to manage laboratory information regarding measurement records and playing a significant role in tool to meet the quality assurance required.

Dry storage cask facilities are considered for temporary storage of spent nuclear fuels before their final disposal. According to relevant domestic laws and regulations, the integrity and gross defects of the PWR spent fuel must be inspected before they are transferred to the dry cask from a wet storage pool of a nuclear power plant. To meet nuclear safeguards requirements for a spent fuel transportation, the KINAC has been working to develop a simple and convenient Non-destructive Testing (NDT) equipment to verify the integrity and gross defects of the spent fuel assembly. This study was conducted in two processes. The first stage is to review the current NDT techniques conducted in the nuclear fuel manufacturing process. During the manufacturing process, the Ultrasonic testing (UT) and Eddy Current Testing (ECT) technique are used for detecting the cracks or foreign materials in a cladding of a fresh fuel. During an over-haul period after an end of one fuel cycle, the sipping test of the spent fuel is performed for detecting the failed fuel assemblies. If it is determined through the sipping test whether any fuel assembly contains a failed fuel rod, the failed fuel rod of lots of fuel rods in the assembly is found out using the UT instrument. The ECT is used for detecting the internal defects and oxide layer thickness of a fuel cladding. Because the UT and ECT are the wellknown technique and has already been employing for the spent fuel inspection, we adopted the UT and ECT technique for development of a new instrument for nuclear safeguards verification. The second stage is to design the UT and ECT equipment in consideration of nuclear safeguards activities in the spent fuel pool. For nuclear safeguards inspection, irradiated fuel or non-fuel items are distinguished. Thus, verification equipment newly designed using the UT and ECT should detect not only a failed rod, but also a false tube, or a false rod, or a different material from a cladding. New probe and signal processing methods are developed to achieve these goals. The design of UT and ECT probes are preferentially carried out according to technical requirements – the probe thickness including a damper material should be less than 1.0 mm - and the study on analyzing signal distortion caused from material difference will be conducted for development of the safeguards inspection equipment. Detailed results of our study will be discussed in this conference.

The License on Technology Export of Nuclear Plant is a system that permits the export of strategic technologies for large-scale NPP projects collectively during the project period. So, an issuance of the export license could be omitted for each transfer of technology, but Post Strategic Items Confirmation must be performed before the transfer as a follow-up obligation. Sometimes, transfers of technology have been urgently required during the project. As Post Strategic Items Confirmation process takes up to 15 working days, it may be difficult to respond to urgent situations timely, which may cause setbacks on the project. Therefore, Urgent Technology Transfer System, which allows to transfer technology without prior Post Strategic Items Confirmation, was established to reduce a burden on licensee and improve the efficiency of regulation. This system applies only to the License on Technology Export of Nuclear Plant. In other words, the technology transferred through Urgent Technology Transfer System (hereinafter referred as Urgent Transfer Technology) does not pose any problem with regard to export control because it is already licensed. In addition, the Urgent Transfer Technology should be considered as a strategic technology until Post Strategic Items Confirmation, which means that the Urgent Transfer Technology is more strictly controlled than the generally transferred technology. Also, the Urgent Technology Transfer System does not apply to intangible technology transfers such as technical support through personnel dispatch. The system could be only used in specific conditions which are stipulated for each licensed project in advance in order to prevent indiscriminate abuse of the system by licensee. Licensees are required to report quarterly the stipulated condition corresponding to each Urgent Technology Transfer case, and it would be checked through post-site inspection whether the actual reason for the transfer meets the consulted condition. Moreover, the deadline of application on Post Strategic Items Confirmation after the Urgent Technology Transfer is stipulated for licensee so as not to omit the classification procedure. This Urgent Technology Transfer System does not apply to dual-use items. If the Urgent Transfer Technology is classified as a non-Trigger List Item through the Post Strategic Items Confirmation, it is outside the scope of the NSSC’s export license. In this case, the technology may be subject to an export license of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE). However, if the technology is classified to be a dual-use item after Urgent Technology Transfer, it may result in unauthorized transfer because it has already been transferred. Licensee must apply to classification of MOTIE before Urgent Technology Transfer if the technology being transferred may be related with Dual-use Items. It is easy for licensee to overlook due to the low awareness about this system. Therefore, outreach activities are necessary to raise licensee’s awareness by explaining the Urgent Technology Transfer System and current issues in detail. Consultation with MOTIE may be needed for the improvement on issues.

Nuclear security event involving nuclear and other radioactive materials outside of regulatory control (MORC) has the potential to cause severe consequences for public health, the environment, the economy and society. Each state has a responsibility to develop national nuclear security measures including nuclear forensics to respond to such events. In Japan, national nuclear forensics capability building efforts mainly based on research and development (R&D) have been conducted since 2010, in accordance with national statement of Japan at the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington DC. Most of that work is undertaken at the Integrated Support Center for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Nuclear Security (ISCN) of the Japan Atmic Energy Agency (JAEA) in close cooperation with other competent authorities. The ISCN has made increased contributions to the enhancement of international nuclear security by establishing technical capabilities in nuclear forensics and sharing the achievements with the international community. The ISCN has mainly engaged in R&Ds for establishing and enhancing nuclear forensics technical capability. As for the laboratory capability, several new pieces of analytical equipment have been introduced for nuclear forensics R&D purposes. High-precise measurement techniques validated in the past nuclear forensics incidents have been established, and novel techniques that can contribute to the more timely and confident nuclear forensics signature analysis have been developed. The ISCN has been also developed a proto-type nuclear forensics library based on the data of nuclear materials possessed for past nuclear fuel cycle research in JAEA. These technical capability developments have been conducted based on the cooperation with international partners such as the U.S. Department of Energy and EC Joint Research Center, as well as participation in exercises organized by Nuclear Forensics International Technical Working Group (NF-ITWG). Recent R&D works have been mainly based on the needs of domestic competent authorities, such as first responders and investigators, and aim to develop technologies covering the entire spectrum of nuclear forensics processes from crime scene investigation to laboratory analysis and interpretation. One important key issue is the enhancement of technical capability for post-dispersion nuclear forensics. For instance, the ISCN has carried out the development of radiation measurement equipment coupled with the low-cost and mobile radiation detectors that uses machine-learning algorithms for quick and autonomous radioisotope identification to support first responders during crime scene investigations. Laboratory measurement techniques for samples collected at a post-dispersion crime scene are also among the important technical issues studied at the ISCN. The application of emerging technologies to nuclear forensics has also been studied. This includes the application of deep leaning models to nuclear forensics signature interpretation that could provide more confident results, as well as the development of contamination imaging technology that could contribute to the analytical planning on the samples in collaboration with conventional forensics. Many analytical techniques have been developed and the capability to analyze nuclear and other radioactive materials for nuclear forensics purposes has been considerably matured over the past decade. The challenges of post-dispersion samples, collaboration with conventional forensics and the development of novel signatures will be more important in the near future. Therefore, the ISCN will promote the R&Ds to further enhance the technical capabilities solving these issues. In addition, the ISCN is also promoting to expand the nuclear forensics research into universities and other research institutes in Japan. This is expected to contribute to the establishment of a domestic nuclear forensics network that enables to respond timely and flexibly to the MORC incidents, and to the maturation of nuclear forensics as a new academic field.

The purpose of this paper was to analyze domestic patents for food using edible insects. From January 1, 1980 to December 31, 2021, patents filed with the Korean Intellectual Property Office were searched, and a total of 242 valid patents were selected. The trend of Korean patent applications for edible insect food has increased since 2015, with 57 cases (the highest number) in 2017. As for the edible insects used in food, Bombyx mori L. were the most common with 127 cases, followed by Tenebrio molitor L. with 118 cases. By type of applicant, individuals accounted for the most, with 132 cases. As a result of grouping patents by food classification, 67 cases of edible insects were used in snacks, breads, and rice cakes. As a result of patent analysis, an effort was made to supplement insufficient nutrients by adding nutritionally excellent edible insects to existing foods, and efforts were made to improve the sensory properties of insect foods. It is expected that this study will contribute to establishing future R&D directions and patent application strategies related to edible insect food.