• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.315-334
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• 2014

Wolsong Low- and Intermediate-level radioactive waste (LILW) disposal center has two different types of disposal facilities and interacts with the neighboring Wolsong nuclear power plant. These situations impose a high level of complexity which requires in-depth understanding of phenomena in the safety assessment of the disposal facility. In this context, multidimensional radionuclide transport model and hydraulic performance assessment model should be developed to identify more realistic performance of the complex system and reduce unnecessary conservatism in the conventional performance assessment models developed for the $1^{st}$ stage underground disposal. In addition, the advanced performance assessment model is required to calculate many cases to treat uncertainties or study parameter importance. To fulfill the requirements, this study introduces the development of two-dimensional integrated near-field performance assessment model combining near-field hydraulic performance assessment model and radionuclide transport model for the $2^{nd}$ stage near-surface disposal. The hydraulic and radionuclide transport behaviors were evaluated by PORFLOW and GoldSim. GoldSim radionuclide transport model was verified through benchmark calculations with PORFLOW radionuclide transport model. GoldSim model was shown to be computationally efficient and provided the better understanding of the radionuclide transport behavior than conventional model.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.393-403
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• 2013

Baicalein (BA), a plant-derived active flavonoid present in the root of Scutellaria baicalensis, has been widely used for the treatment of stress-related neuropsychiatric disorders including depression. Previous studies have demonstrated that repeated restraint stress disrupts the activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, resulting in depression. The behavioral and neurochemical basis of the BA effect on depression remain unclear. The present study used the forced swimming test (FST) and changes in brain neurotransmitter levels to confirm the impact of BA on repeated restraint stress-induced behavioral and neurochemical changes in rats. Male rats received 10, 20, or 40 mg/kg BA (i.p.) 30 min prior to daily exposure to repeated restraint stress (2 h/day) for 14 days. Activation of the HPA axis in response to repeated restraint stress was confirmed by measuring serum corticosterone levels and the expression of corticotrophin-releasing factor in the hypothalamus. Daily BA administration significantly decreased the duration of immobility in the FST, increased sucrose consumption, and restored the stress-related decreases in dopamine concentrations in the hippocampus to near normal levels. BA significantly inhibited the stress-induced decrease in neuronal tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactivity in the ventral tegmental area and the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) mRNA in the hippocampus. Taken together, these findings indicate that administration of BA prior to the repeated restraint stress significantly improves helpless behaviors and depressive symptoms, possibly by preventing the decrease in dopamine and BDNF expression. Thus, BA may be a useful agent for the treatment or alleviation of the complex symptoms associated with depression.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.15-29
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• 2020

The aims of this study is to improve physical properties of the sewage sludge and the process sludge generated in the leachate treatment by mixing the dry fuel, to develop the neutral solidifing agents that reduce oder, and to recycle the sewage and the process sludges as landfill cover materials. The mixing ratio (W/W) of sludges and dry fuel was appropriate at about 1:1, and the mixed materials were shown to be homogeneous at that ratio. We could know that when the sludges were mixed with dry fuel, moisture contents and viscosities are reduced, and air passages are formed between particles and particles. The various mixing tests and odor tests showed that the neutral solidifing agent was effective for the odor reduction. The main ingredient of the solidifing agent is the ash of sewage sludge, enabling it competitive in waste recycling and production costs. The landfill cover, using developed neutral solidification agent, improved physical properties to satisfy the quality standards and to increase the compressive strength. It also proved to reduce the value of complex oder and the usage of solidification agent to 1/3 (3,000 to 1,000) and to 1/8 (50% to 6%), respectively, from the comparative study with alkaline solidified landfill cover. Further research is under way to prove that this can be mixed with general soil to be used as a soil improvement agent for plant cultivation.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.50 no.6
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• pp.1056-1063
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• 2012

Recent rapidly growth in nanotechnolgies is promised novel benefits through the exploitation of their unique industrial and biomedical applications. With increasing utilization of nanomaterials in consumer products, the potential release of nanomaterials into the environment and their impacts on the ecosystem and human health have been the issues of concern. Nanomaterials that was exposed unintentionally in environment might be accumulated in various environmental media, and finally it will be influenced to human and ecosystems. Therefore, it is important to understand the fate and behavior of nanoparticles for understanding effects on environmental media (air, water, and soil phase). Therefore, in this work, we investigated the several cases for environmental exposure of nanomaterials and suggested the direction of further research. In workplace, exposure to air media is dominant, but finally waste and wastewater was moved to the water and soil phase. In addition, we found the existing sewage treatment plant was not suitable to remove completely nanomaterials in wastewater flow. To deeper study, environmental monitoring tool must be developed additionally and we suggested the several analyzing method for aged and pristine physicochemical properties of nanomaterials exposed into environmental media. This review for nanomaterials' exposure to environmental media will be helpful to investigate the environmental fate of nanomaterials and define the suitable treatment method for nano-waste.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.718-723
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• 1999

In order to treat of alkaline dye-processing wastewater, alkalophilic strains biodegrading azo dye, Acid red 1, is isolated from natural system, and optimal culture conditions are examined using response surface analysis, statistical analysis system program. 15 different species which grow in alkaline culture media are isolated from the effluent and river soil discharged from wastewater treatment plant in dye industrial complex. One strain which has the best decolorization efficiency is chosen, and named as AR-1. The result of the examination of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus sources which have influence on growth and decolorization reveals that optimum carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus sources are 1.0% fructose, 1.0% polypeptone, 1.0% yeast extract and 0.5% $K_2HPO_4$, respectively. In order to optimize of biodegradation conditions of dye by response surface analysis, the characteristics of decolorization and cell growth according to culture temperature and time are monitered. The result shows that the one is optimum 34.77$^{\circ}C$ for 12.97 hours; the other at 34.73$^{\circ}C$ for 12.96 hours. While, optimal conditions of culture that satisfy both cell growth and decolorization are the temperatures from 32.86$^{\circ}C$ to 36.36$^{\circ}C$ and the period of 10.96 to 15.75 hours, respectively.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.405-415
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• 2006

Sixteen soil samples around six areas (residental area, traffic area, power plant area, incineration area and factory area) where the stationary and mobile sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are estimated to be emitted in Jeju City, were collected during Feburuary to March, 2004, and analyzed for 16 PAHs recommended by US EPA as primary pollutants to investigate their distribution characteristics. The concentrations of total PAHs (t-PAHs) and total carcinogenic PAHs $(t-PAH_{CARC})$ in soils of Jeju City were in the range of $21.7\sim264.2ng/g$ on a dry weight basis with a mean value of 87.2 ng/g and $6.3\sim118.0ng/g$ with a mean value of 33.4 ng/g, respectively. The concentrations of t-PAHs were low in comparison with those in soils of other domestic and foreign countries. The mean concentrations of t-PAHs and $(t-PAH_{CARC})$ with area decreased in the following sequences: traffic area> incineration area > factory area > power generation area > harbor area enli residental area. The correlation between t-PAHs and $(t-PAH_{CARC})$ were very high $(\gamma^2=0.9701)$, indicating that $(t-PAH_{CARC})$ concentration increases in proportion with t-PAHs. Comparing the distribution ratio of ring PAHs with area among 16 PAHs, it decreased in the order of 4-ring > 5-ring > 6-ring > 3-ring > 2-ring in all the areas except for harbor area. whitens for harbor area it was similar among 3-, 4- and 5-ring with high value. Low and no correlations between t-PAHs and soil compositions (organic matter content and particle size distribution) were observed, which is considered to be caused by the complex factors, such as the loading and characteristics of PAHs and diverse soil environment change, etc. From the examination of the three PAH origin indices, such as LMW/HMW (low molecular weight $2\sim3$ ring PAHs over high molecular weight $4\sim6$ ring PAHs), phenanthrene/anthracene ratio and fluoranthene/pyrene ratio, it can be concluded that the soil PAH contaminations were ascribed to strong pyrogenic origin in ail areas except for harbor area and to both pyrogenic and petrogenic origins.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.259-266
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• 2015

The regulation of flowering time has crucial implications for plant fitness. MicroRNA156 (miR156) represses the floral transition in Arabidopsis thaliana, but the mechanisms regulating its transcription remain unclear. Here, we show that two AGAMOUS-like proteins, AGL15 and AGL18, act as positive regulators of the expression of MIR156. Small RNA northern blot analysis revealed a significant decrease in the levels of mature miR156 in agl15 agl18 double mutants, but not in the single mutants, suggesting that AGL15 and AGL18 co-regulate miR156 expression. Histochemical analysis further indicated that the double mutants showed a reduction in MIR156 promoter strength. The double mutants also showed reduced abundance of pri-miR156a and pri-miR156c, two of the primary transcripts from MIR156 genes. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays demonstrated that AGL15 directly associated with the CArG motifs in the MIR156a/c promoters. AGL18 did not show binding affinity to the CArG motifs, but pull-down and yeast two-hybrid assays showed that AGL18 forms a heterodimer with AGL15. GFP reporter assays and bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) showed that AGL15 and AGL18 co-localize in the nucleus and confirmed their in vivo interaction. Overexpression of miR156 did not affect the levels of AGL15 and AGL18 transcripts. Taking these data together, we present a model for the transcriptional regulation of MIR156. In this model, AGL15 and AGL18 may form a complex along with other proteins, and bind to the CArG motifs of the promoters of MIR156 to activate the MIR156 expression.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.21 no.8
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• pp.1183-1189
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• 2011

The present study is aimed at examining the effects of the physico-chemical environmental factors of water systems on water bloom at Homin and Gagok reservoirs in Pungcheon-Myeon, Andong, Gyeongsangbuk-do. The mean water temperature and the contents of chlorophyll-a, total-nitrogen, total-phosphorus and phosphate-phosphorus were higher at the Gagok reservoir. On the other hand, the pH mean value was higher at the Homin reservoir. The mean value of microelements (Na, K, Mg, Fe, Si) was higher at the Gagok reservoir. The cyanobacteria which was considered to be the cause of water bloom at the two reservoirs was Microcystis aeruginosa. It started to grow in May and showed the highest standing crop in August. Between the increase of standing crop of M. aeruginosa and the water quality, correlation values of $Na^+$ (r=-0.910, p<0.05), $Fe^{2+}$ (r=-0.855, p<0.05) and $Si^{4+}$ (r=0.989, p<0.01) at the Homin reservoir increased amount of standing crop. Meanwhile, at the Gagok reservoir, the contents of $Na^+$ (r=-0.776, p<0.05), $Si^{4+}$ (r=0.899, p<0.05) were highly related to the increase of standing crop. Interestingly, Si, which is the limiting factor for diatoms, has a high correlation with standing crop of cyanobacteria. In conclusion, the water blooming is caused not by a simple factor but a synergistic effect due to complex actions including high concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus ions and many other environmental factors.

• Journal of Korean Society of Coastal and Ocean Engineers
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.225-243
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• 2014

As the economic matters are involved, applying the WEC, which is used for controlling waves as well as utilizing the wave energy on existing breakwater, is preferred rather than installing exclusive WEC. This study examines the OWC mounted on a pressurized air chamber floating breakwater regarding the functionality of both breakwater and wave-power generation. In order to verify the performance as a WEC, the velocity of air flow from pressurized air chamber to WEC has to be evaluated properly. Therefore, numerical simulation was implemented based on BEM from linear velocity potential theory as well as Boyle's law with the state equation to analyze pressurized air flow. The validity of the obtained values can be determined by comparing the previous results from numerical analysis and empirically obtained values of different shapes. In the actual numerical analysis, properties of wave deformation around OWC system mounted on fixed type and floating type breakwaters, motions of the structure with air flow velocities are investigated. Since, the wind power generating system can be hybridized on the structure, it is expected to be applied on complex power generation system which generates both wind and wave power energy.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.75-80
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• 2000

The predicted results of INDAC code were compared with measured $^3H$ concentrations in air and pine-needle around the Wolsung site. The optimal sets of input data to INDAC were in addition selected by comparing the measured values with the predicted values of INDAC based on various conditions such as the release modes of effluents into the environment, the classification of wind classes, and the consideration of terrain. The predicted $^3H$ concentrations in air and pine-needle were shown to have good agreement with measured values, although there are some limitations such as uncertainties in measured values, complex topology around the site, and the land-sea breeze effects. The assumption on the $^3H$ behavior in vegetables or plants that the ratio of $^3H$ concentration in plant water to $^3H$ concentration in atmospheric water is 1/2 was shown to be conservative in terms of the audit calculation performed by the regulator. It was also found that data sets based on mixed mode and no terrain data were not appropriate for the audit calculation ensuring the compliance with regulations. Thus, if the mixed mode is considered as the release mode of effluents into the environment, meteorological data measured at 58 m height and terrain data should be used to evaluate the atmospheric dispersion factor.