High-risk microbial pathogens are handled in a biosafety laboratory. After experiments, the pathogens may remain as contaminants. To safely manage a biosafety laboratory, disinfection of microbial contaminants is necessary. This study was carried out to evaluate the effect of UV-C irradiation for the disinfection of a high-risk plant pathogenic bacterium Erwinia amylovora in a laboratory setting. For the test, the bacterium (8.7 × 106 CFU/ml) was embedded on the surface of PDA and placed on the work surface in a biosafety cabinet (Class 2 Type A1), and on the three different surfaces of the laboratory bench, laboratory bench shelf, and the floor which were positioned in a straight line from the UV lamp installed in the ceiling of the biosafety laboratory (BSL 2 class). UV-C irradiation was administered for 10min, 30min, 1 hr, 2hr, 3 hr, and 4hr, respectively. The reduction rate of bacteria ranged from 95% to 99% in regard to 10 min irradiation, from 97% to 99% in regard to 30 min irradiation, from 99.8% to 99.9% in regard to 1 hr irradiation, and higher than 99.99% in regard to 2 hr irradiation. The bacterium was completely inactivated after 3 hr irradiation. A similar UV-C irradiation effect was obtained when the bacterium was placed at a distance of 1 m from the three different surface points. Bacterial reduction by UV-C irradiation was not significantly different among the three different surface points.

This study was conducted to obtain basic information for the use of the ATP fluorescence detection method in consideration of the most common and frequent contamination situation that occurs in laboratories dealing with fire blight causing bacterium, Erwinia amylovora. ATP luminescence measurements (Relative Light Unit, RLU) were tested against these pathogen cells (CFU/cm2) which were artificially introduced on the disinfected surface of a bench floor of a biosafety cabinet (Class 2 Type A1), on a part of the disinfected surface of a lab experimental bench, on a part of the disinfected floor, and on a part of the disinfected floor of an acryl chamber for bioaerosol studies in a biosafety laboratory (BSL 2 class) using two different ATP bioluminometers. RLU values were not much increased with the bacterial cells from 2.15 × 102/cm2 to 2.15 × 106/cm2. RLU values varied among the four different surfaces tested. RLU values measured from the same number of bacterial cells differed little between the two different ATP bioluminometers used for this study. RLU values obtained from bacterial cells higher than 2.15 × 107/cm2 indicated the presence of bacterial contamination on the four different surfaces tested. The R2 values obtained based on the correlation data for the RLU values in response to different E. amylovora cell numbers (CFU/ cm2) on the surfaces of the four test spots ranged from 0.9827 to 0.9999.

In high-level radioactive waste disposal, a high temperature is generated from the canister containing the waste in the engineered barrier, while groundwater flows into the buffer system from the host rock. The temperature increase and groundwater inflow result in the water phase change and saturation variation. Saturation change is related to the thermal conductivity of buffer material; hence the phase change and saturation strongly interact with the temperature evolution. The complex coupled behavior affects the stability of the whole disposal system, and the security of the repository is critical to human-being life. However, it is difficult to predict the long-term coupled behavior in the disposal system due to the considerable field-test scale, and therefore a numerical simulation is a suitable method having repeatability and cost-effectiveness. DECOVALEX is an international cooperating project for developing numerical methods and models for thermo-hydro-mechanical-chemical (THMC) interaction. DECOVALEX has a four-year cycle with various topics. At the current phase, Task C aims to simulate the full-scale emplacement (FE) experiment performed at Mont Terri underground rock laboratory. Nine research groups are participating in the task, and among them, KAERI simulates the experiment using OGS-FLAC. The simulator combines OpenGeoSys for TH simulation and FLAC3D for M simulation. Through the benchmark simulation, we verified OGS-FLAC for the two-phase flow analysis in the disposal system and finally modeled the FE experiment with a three-dimensional grid. We performed a simple sensitivity analysis to investigate the effect of input parameters on the two-phase flow system and confirmed that the compressibility and permeability affected the flow behavior. We also compared the simulation results to the field data and obtained well-matched results from a series of simulation.

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.

Recently, as the level of treatment at animal hospitals has improved, there has been tremendous growth in the number and types of laboratory tests for accurate diagnosis. Laboratory testing is critical for disease diagnosis, follow-up, and appropriate treatment implementation in veterinary hospitals. It occupies an important aspect not only in the diagnostic aspect but also in the income of hospitals. Accordingly, the role of veterinary nurse in conducting clinical pathological tests is emphasized, and they must be performed in the quality control and accurate methods of various laboratory equipment, and maintain a safety laboratory environment, medical waste treatment, quality control of test value, and record keeping. Institutions that train veterinary nurse should focus on nursing and medical assistance and other hospital management tasks such as guardian counseling, management of supplies, drug management, waste management, and various clinical pathological tests to help diagnose, so increase their treatment efficiency of animal hospitals and veterinarians.

PURPOSES : Given that large-scale repair works of expressway bridge pavements have high maintenance cost and long traffic blocking time, the thin overlay method that maintains the existing pavement is attracting attention. In this study, because the bridge thin overlay has not been introduced in Korea yet, the basic physical properties of the epoxy thin overlay, which is mainly used for the bridge thin overlay, were investigated, and the skid resistance and bond performance were analyzed. METHODS : Basic physical property tests were performed on each of the epoxy binders, aggregates, and mixtures used in epoxy thin overlay. They were also compared and reviewed against foreign standards. The epoxy binders were tested for viscosity, gel time, and thermal compatibility. The aggregates were tested in terms of water absorption, specific gravity, and gradation. The compressive and flexural strengths of the mixtures were investigated. The epoxy thin overlay has the possibility of detachment of aggregates, so the skid resistance was tested according to the paving phase. In addition, to investigate the bond performance, which is the most important performance of the epoxy thin overlay, the bond strength test was performed by varying the moisture condition and treatment condition of the existing layer surface. RESULTS : The basic physical properties of the materials used in the epoxy thin overlays satisfied foreign standards except for the gradation of aggregates. The skid resistance did not satisfy the standard when the epoxy was exposed, whereas the skid resistance did satisfy the standard when the aggregates were exposed, even after the abrasion test. The bond strength of the epoxy thin overlay satisfied the standard in all cases. The bond strength was the highest when the relative humidity of the existing layer surface was 60%. CONCLUSIONS : The materials of epoxy thin overlay that could be obtained in Korea satisfied the basic physical property standards except for aggregate gradation. Given that the aggregate gradation could be adjusted, it can be concluded that the epoxy thin overlay could be introduced in Korea. In addition, it was confirmed that the skid resistance and bond strength of the epoxy thin overlay were high enough to be used in general road conditions. It was determined that the existing layer surface should maintain an optimal relative humidity of approximately 60% because the moisture condition affects the bond strength.

본 연구는 스트렙토조토신에 의해 유도한 당뇨병, 알코올성 간 손상 실험용 랫드에서 혈액 지질 감소, 당뇨병 및 알코올성 간 손상 예방에 미치는 지장김치 추출물의 경구투여 효과를 조사하였다. 당뇨병 모델동물에서, 혈액 지질 프로파일, ALT, AST 수준은 DC (당뇨병 대조군)와 비교할 때 김치추출물 투여군에서 낮아졌으며 혈당은 DCJK (DC+지장김치 추출물 경구투여군)가 DCCK (DC+일반김치 추출물 경구투여군)에 비해 낮았다. 인슐린 수준은 NC (정상대조군), DCJK > DCCK > DC 순서로 높게 나타났다. 알코올성 간 손상 모델동물에서, 혈액 ALT, AST, 빌리루빈 농도는 AC (알코올 대조군, 일일 소주 1병 섭취군) > ACCK (AC+일반김치 추출물 경구투여군) > ACJK (AC+지장김치 추출물 경 구투여군) > NC 순서로 낮았다. 간 조직의 임상병리학적 소견은 AC에서 가장 심각한 손상을 보였으나 소주1병과 김치 추출물 특히, 지장김치 추출물 경구투여군은 일반김치 추출물 경구투여군에 비해서 회복되는 속도가 개선되었다. 결과는 당뇨병 및 알코올성 간 손상 모델동물에서 지장김치의 섭취가 혈액 지질 프로파일, 혈당, ALT, AST 수준을 낮추고 인슐린 분비능력을 개선하여 줌으로써 항당뇨 및 알코올성 간 손상 보호효과를 갖는다는 사실을 보여준다.