• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2020

Objectives: The purpose of this case study is to assess workers' exposure to carbon nanotubes(CNTs) and characterize particles aerosolized during the process of producing CNT-enabled polytetrafuoroethylene(PTFE) composites at a worksite in Korea. Methods: Personal breathing zone and area samples were collected for determining respirable concentrations of elemental carbon(EC) using NIOSH(National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) Method 5040. Personal exposure to nano-sized particles was measured as the number concentration and mean diameter using personal ultrafine particle monitors. The number concentration by particle size was measured using optical particle sizers(OPS) and scanning mobility particle sizers(SMPS). Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) area samples were collected on TEM grids and analyzed to characterize the size, morphology, and chemistry of the particles. Results: Respirable EC concentrations ranged from 0.04 to 0.24 ㎍/㎥, which were below 23% of the exposure limit recommended by NIOSH and lower than background concentrations. Number concentrations by particle size measured using OPS and SMPS were not noticeably elevated during CNT-PTFE composite work. Instant increase of number concentrations of nano-sized particles was observed during manual sanding of CNT-PTFE composites. Both number concentrations and mean diameters did not show a statistically significant difference between workers handing CNT-added and not-added materials. TEM analyses revealed the emission of free-standing CNTs and CNT-PTFE aggregate particles from the powder supply task and composite particles embedded with CNTs from the computer numerical control(CNC) machining task with more than tens of micrometers in diameter. No free-standing CNT particles were observed from the CNC machining task. Conclusions: Significant worker exposure to respirable CNTs was not found, but the aerosolization of CNTs and CNT-embedded composite particles were observed during handing of CNT-PTFE powders and CNC machining of CNT-PTFE composites. Considering the limited knowledge on the toxicity of CNTs and CNT composite particles to date, it seems prudent to take a precautionary approach for the protection of workers' health.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.183-192
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• 2018

It is imperative to inject carbon dioxide($CO_2$) into an aquifer for alleviating the emission of $CO_2$. However, faults in the aquifer can be reactivated due to pressure increasement. Analyses of pressure change of the aquifer is necessary to prevent the fault reactivation. In this research, we assess the stability of an aquifer in Pohang Yeongil bay by investigating the pressure variation of faults EF1 and EF2. Two scenarios, which repeat $CO_2$ injection and suspension during two years, are simulated. Each scenario includes cases of injection rates of 20, 40, and 100 tons/day. In addition, we analyze planned and predicted injection rates for each case. In case of 20 tons/day, the maximum pressure of faults is 65% of the reactivation pressure. Even if daily injection rates are increased to 40 and 100 tons/day, the maximum pressures are 71% and 80% of the reactivation pressures, respectively. For 20 and 40 tons/day cases, planned injection rates almost accord with predicted injection rates during whole simulation period. On the other hand, predicted injection rates are smaller than planned injection rates for the 100 tons/day case due to bottom-hole pressure limit of the injection well.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.437-443
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• 2005

A rapid, selective and sensitive reversed-phase HPLC method for the determination of a major metabolite of terfenadine, fexofenadine, in human serum was developed, validated, and applied to the pharmacokinetic study of terfenadine. Fexofenadine and internal standard, haloperidol were extracted from human serum by liquid-liquid extraction with acetonitrile and analyzed on a $Symmetry^{TM}$ C8 column with the mobile phase of 1% triethylamine phosphate (pH 3.7)-acetonitrile (67:33, v/v, adjusted to pH 5.6 with triethylamine). Detection wavelength of 230 nm for excitation, 280 nm for emission and flow rate of 1.0 mL/min were fixed for the study. The assay robustness for the changes of mobile phase pH, organic solvent content, and flow rate was confirmed by $3^{3}$ factorial design using a fixed fexofenadine concentration (50 ng/mL) with respect to its peak area and retention time. In addition, the ruggedness of this method was investigated at three different laboratories using same quality control (QC) samples. This method showed linear response over the concentration range of 10-500 ng/mL with correlation coefficients greater than 0.999. The lower limit of quantification using 0.5 mL of serum was 10 ng/mL, which was sensitive enough for the pharmacokinetic studies of terfenadine. The overall accuracy of the quality control samples ranged from 95.70 to 114.58% for fexofenadine with overall precision (% C.V.) being 3.53-14.39%. The relative mean recovery of fexofenadine for human serum was 90.17%. Stability studies (freeze-thaw, short-term, extracted serum sample and stock solution) showed that fexofenadine was stable during storage, or during the assay procedure in human serum. However, the storage at $-70^{\circ}C$ for 4 weeks showed that fexofenadine was not stable. The peak area and retention time of fexofenadine were not significantly affected by the changes of mobile phase pH, organic solvent content, and flow rate under the conditions studied. This method showed good ruggedness (within 15% C.V.) and was successfully used for the analysis of fexofenadine in human serum samples for the pharmacokinetic studies of orally administered Tafedine tablet (60 mg as terfenadine) at three different laboratories, demonstrating the suitability of the method.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.119-125
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• 2002

A rapid, selective and reproducible high-performance liquid chromatographic method has been developed for the determination of terazocin in human plasma. Terazocin plus the internal standard, prazocin hydrochloride, were extracted from alkalified plasma with tert-butylmethyl ether, back-extracted into 0.05% phosphoric acid. Fifty ${\mu}l-portions$ of extract were injected onto a octadecylsilane column and eluted with a mixture of acetonitrile, water and triethylamine (30 : 70 : 0.1 v/v, adjusted to pH 5.0 with dilute phosphoric acid) at a flow rate of 1.0 ml/min. The fluorescence intensity of column eluents was monitored at excitation wavelength of 250 nm and emission wavelength of 370 nm. No interference peaks were observed. The practical limit of quantitation was 5 ng/ml for terazocin. The average intraday and interday coefficients of variation were 4.15 and 3.54%, respectively. Also intraday and interday precisions over the range $5{\sim}60\;ng/ml$ were $0.49{\sim}2.92\;and\;0.38{\sim}5.12%$, respectively. The bioequivalence of two terazosin tablets, the $Hytrine^{\circledR}$ (Il Yang Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.) and the $Teratonin^{\circledR}$ (Sam-A Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.), was evaluated according to the guideline of Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA). Sixteen healthy male volunteers $(24.6{\pm}2.0\;years\;old)$ were divided into two groups and a randomized $2{\times}2$ cross-over study was employed. After one tablet containing 2 mg of terazosin was orally administered, blood was taken at predetermined time intervals and the concentration of terazosin in plasma was determined with a HPLC method using spectrofluorometric detector. AUC was calculated by the linear trapezoidal method. $C_{max}\;and\;T_{max}$ were compiled from the plasma drug concentration-time data. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was utilized for the statistical analysis of the parameters. The results showed that the differences in $AUC_t,\;C_{max}\;and\;T_{max}$ between the two preparations were 0.21 %, 5.53% and 8.82%, respectively. The powers $(1-{\beta})\;for\;AUC_t,\;C_{max}\;and\;T_{max}$ were >99%, 97.49%, and 33.26%, respectively. Minimum detectable differences $({\Delta},\;%)\;at\;{\alpha}=0.1\;and\;1-{\beta}=0.8$ and the 90% confidence intervals were all less than ${\pm}20%$ except for $T_{max}.\;AUC_t\;and\;C_{max}$ met the criteria of KDFA for bioequivalence, indicating that $Teratonin^{circledR}$ tablets are bioequivalent to $Hytrine^{circledR}$ tablets.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.38 no.9
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• pp.513-520
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• 2016

It is well known that volatile compounds including disinfection by-products as well as emissive dissolved gas in water can be removed effectively by air stripping. The micro-bubbles of flotation unit are so tiny as microns while the diameter of fine bubbles applied to air stripping is ranged from hundreds to thousands of micrometer. Therefore, the micro-bubbles in flotation can supply very wide specific surface area to transfer volatile matters through gas-liquid boundary. In addition, long emission time also can be gained to emit the volatile compound owing to the slow rise velocity of micro-bubbles in the flotation tank. There was a significant difference of the THMs species removal efficiency between air stripping and flotation experiments in this study. Moreover, the results of comparative experiments on the removal characteristics of THMs between air stripping and flotation revealed that the mass transfer coefficient, $K_La$ showed obvious differences. To overcome the limit of low removal efficiency of dissolved volatile compounds such as THMs in flotation process, the operation range of bubble volume concentration is required to higher than the operation condition of conventional particle separation.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.79-89
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• 2007

This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the present status of several environmental problems caused by emerging toxic substances such as persistent organic pollutants (POPs), endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), and arsenic in various environmental media in Vietnam. Monitoring data reported during the 1990s demonstrated elevated contamination of DDTs in most of these compartments in Vietnam. Studies in frame of the Asia-Pacific Mussel Watch Program revealed that fish, mussels and resident birds from Vietnam contained higher concentrations of DDTs as compared to other countries in region, suggesting the role of Vietnamese environment as a significant emission source of DDT in the Southeast Asian region. The estimated dietary intakes of PCBs and DDTs for Vietnamese were relatively high among Asian developing countries, suggesting potential risk for humans posed by thesechemicals. Widespread contamination of some endocrine active compounds such as alkylphenols and phthalates was observed at various sites along the coasts of northern and middle Vietnam. The presence of significant source of bisphenol-A along Red River estuary was revealed with the concentrations comparable to those reported for developed nations. A case study on seasonal variation of alkylphenols and phthalates in surface water of river delta and estuary of north and middle Vietnam indicated the differences in distribution of these compounds between dry and rainy seasons. Higher concentrations of alkylphenols and phthalates were found in dry season in estuary; while the contrasting pattern was observed in the river delta, showing elevated residues in rainy season. This result suggests the different behavior of alkylphenols and phthalates in river delta and coastal environment. From ecotoxicological perspectives, concentrations of bis-phenol A and di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalates [DEHP] in surface water from some locations in Vietnam exceeded the guideline values for Ecotoxicological Effects and the Environmental Risk Limit, respectively, suggesting potential for toxic implications on aquatic wildlife. Widespread and elevated arsenic contamination was discovered inour recent surveys in groundwater in a large area of suburban areas of Hanoi city, the capital of Vietnam. The most recent investigation in 4 villages showed about more than 50 % of groundwater samples contained As concentrations exceeding 50 g/L (the WHO and Vietnamese standard). In particular, in Son Dong villages, 58 % of samples analyzed contained As concentrations higher than 200 g/L. Good correlations were found in As concentrations in water and hair and urine of peoples in corresponding families, suggesting the chronic exposure to As by people living in As-contaminated ground water areas. In Son Dong village, As levels in hair (mean: 1.7 mg/kg dry wt) and urine (g/g creatinine) exceeding the reference values recommended by WHO, suggesting potential for human risk posed by long term accumulation of As in human body. Future studies should be focused on the time trends of POPs and EDCs in biota in Vietnam in order to predict future trend of contamination and to reveal new clues for understanding possible toxic impacts on aquatic organisms. The issues of arsenic contamination in groundwater and their chronic toxic implications on human health should be systematically investigated in the future.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.251-260
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• 2011

$TiO_2$- and $SiO_2$-supported $Co_3O_4$, Pt and $Co_3O_4$-Pt catalysts have been studied for CO and $C_3H_8$ oxidations at temperatures less than $250^{\circ}C$ which is a lower limit of light-off temperatures to oxidize them during emission test cycles of gasoline-fueled automotives with TWCs (three-way catalytic converters) consisting mainly of Pt, Pd and Rh. All the catalysts after appropriate activation such as calcination at $350^{\circ}C$ and reduction at $400^{\circ}C$ exhibited significant dependence on both their preparation techniques and supports upon CO oxidation at chosen temperatures. A Pt/$TiO_2$ catalyst prepared by using an ion-exchange method (IE) has much better activity for such CO oxidation because of smaller Pt nanoparticles, compared to a supported Pt obtained via an incipient wetness (IW). Supported $Co_3O_4$-only catalysts are very active for CO oxidation even at $100^{\circ}C$, but the use of $TiO_2$ as a support and the IW technique give the best performances. These effects on supports and preparation methods were indicated for $Co_3O_4$-Pt catalysts. Based on activity profiles of CO oxidation at $100^{\circ}C$ over a physical mixture of supported Pt and $Co_3O_4$ after activation under different conditions, and typical light-off temperatures of CO and unburned hydrocarbons in common TWCs as tested for $C_3H_8$ oxidation at $250^{\circ}C$ with a Pt-exchanged $SiO_2$ catalyst, this study may offer an useful approach to substitute $Co_3O_4$ for a part of platinum group metals, particularly Pt, thereby lowering the usage of the precious metals.

• Proceedings of the KSR Conference
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• 2010.06a
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• pp.1603-1614
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• 2010

As the Kyoto protocol and Bali road-map, our country is expected to be included to the emission reduction controlled country of greenhouse gas, so we are now urgent situation to take an action in the level of government. In this research, environment friendly rail logistics and combined transport were treated to meet with the green growth policy of our government. Major problems of Ui-wang ICD suggested in this research are short of yards, unutilized public CY, inconvenience use by non-share holders. It is necessary to improve rail logistic infrastructure, that is, additional expansion of yard, direct operation by KORAIL and regular unloading system are needed. such improvement can not be solved just by the endeavor of business body. Rail logistic infra & Integrated freight terminal has a tendency of SOC, which require tremendous amount of investment, so there are some limit in doing by private sector itself, now it's time to do by the government level. The improvement of rail logistic infrastructure in the level of government is possible by the policy of environment friendly green logistic support which is related with Logistic Policy Basic Law, so government should prepare detailed directives to activate Integrated freight terminal.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.213-232
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• 2009

This document was prepared to review and summarize the analytical methods for airborne and bulk asbestos. Basic principles, shortcomings and advantages for asbestos analytical instruments using phase contrast microscopy(PCM), polarized light microscopy(PLM), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), transmission electron microscopy(TEM), scanning electron microscopy(SEM) were reviewed. Both PCM and PLM are principal instrument for airborne and bulk asbestos analysis, respectively. If needed, analytical electron microscopy is employed to confirm asbestos identification. PCM is used originally for workplace airborne asbestos fiber and its application has been expanded to measure airborne fiber. Shortcoming of PCM is that it cannot differentiate true asbestos from non asbestos fiber form and its low resolution limit ($0.2{\sim}0.25{\mu}m$). The measurement of airborne asbestos fiber can be performed by EPA's Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA) method, World Health Organization (WHO) method, International Standard Organization (ISO) 10312 method, Japan's Environmental Asbestos Monitoring method, and Standard method of Indoor Air Quality of Korea. The measurement of airborne asbestos fiber in workplace can be performed by National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) 7400 method, NIOSH 7402 method, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) ID-160 method, UK's Health and Safety Executive(HSE) Methods for the determination of hazardous substances (MDHS) 39/4 method and Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (KOSHA) CODE-A-1-2004 method of Korea. To analyze the bulk asbestos, stereo microscope (SM) and PLM is required by EPA -600/R-93/116 method. Most bulk asbestos can be identified by SM and PLM but one limitation of PLM is that it can not see very thin fiber (i.e., < $0.25{\mu}m$). Bulk asbestos analytical methods, including EPA-600/M4-82-020, EPA-600/R-93/116, OSHA ID-191, Laboratory approval program of New York were reviewed. Also, analytical methods for asbestos in soil, dust, water were briefly discussed. Analytical electron microscope, a transmission electron microscope equipped with selected area electron diffraction (SAED) and energy dispersive X-ray analyser(EDXA), has been known to be better to identify asbestiform than scanning electron microscope(SEM). Though there is no standard SEM procedures, SEM is known to be more suitable to analyze long, thin fiber and more cost-effective. Field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) imaging protocol was developed to identify asbestos fiber. Although many asbestos analytical methods are available, there is no method that can be applied to all type of samples. In order to detect asbestos with confidence, all advantages and disadvantages of each instrument and method for given sample should be considered.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.64.1-64.1
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• 2018

SNe light curves have been used to understand the expansion history of the universe, and a lot of efforts have gone into understanding the overall shape of the radioactively powered light curve. However, we still have little direct observational evidence for the theorized SN progenitor systems. Recent studies suggest that the light curve of a supernova shortly after its explosion (< 1 day) contains valuable information about its progenitor system and can be used to set a limit on the progenitor size, R*. In order to catch the early light curve of SNe explosion and understand SNe progenitors, we are performing a ~8hr interval monitoring survey of nearby galaxies (d < 50 Mpc) with 1-m class telescopes around the world. Through this survey, we expect to catch the very early precursor emission as faint as R=21 mag (~0.1 Rsun for the progenitor). In this poster, we outline this project, and present a few scientific highlights, such as the early light curve of SN 2015F in NGC 2442.