• Title/Summary/Keyword: Exposure scenarios

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A perspective of chemical treatment for cyanobacteria control toward sustainable freshwater development

  • Huh, Jae-Hoon;Ahn, Ji-Whan
    • Environmental Engineering Research
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    • v.22 no.1
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    • pp.1-11
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    • 2017
  • One of the most threatening consequences of eutrophic freshwater reservoirs is algal blooming which typically occur after the long a mega drought or/and irregular rainfall under influence of climate change. The long-term experiences of chemical treatment are known as a most practical effort to reduce health concerns from human exposure of harmful cyanobacteria as well as to preserve ultimate freshwater resources. Even though these conventional chemical treatment methods do not completely solve the algal residue problem in water treatment plant or directly in the water bodies, they still have big advantages as fast and efficient removal process of cyanobacteria due to cheaper, easier to manage. This review summarizes their chemical treatment scenarios of the representative coagulants, pre-oxidants and algaecides composed to chemical compounds which immediately may help to manage severe cyanobacteria blooms in the summer seasons.

CRITICALITY SAFETY OF GEOLOGIC DISPOSAL FOR HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES

  • Ahn, Joon-Hong
    • Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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    • v.38 no.6
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    • pp.489-504
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    • 2006
  • A review has been made for the previous studies on safety of a geologic repository for high-level radioactive wastes (HLW) related to autocatalytic criticality phenomena with positive reactivity feedback. Neutronic studies on geometric and materials configuration consisting of rock, water and thermally fissile materials and the radionuclide migration and accumulation studies were performed previously for the Yucca Mountain Repository and a hypothetical water-saturated repository for vitrified HLW. In either case, it was concluded that it would be highly unlikely for an autocatalytic criticality event to happen at a geologic repository. Remaining scenarios can be avoided by careful selection of a repository site, engineered-barrier design and conditioning of solidified HLW. Thus, criticality safety should be properly addressed in regulations and site selection criteria. The models developed for radiological safety assessment to obtain conservatively overestimated exposure dose rates to the public may not be used directly for the criticality safety assessment, where accumulated fissile materials mass needs to be conservatively overestimated. The models for criticality safety also require more careful treatment of geometry and heterogeneity in transport paths because a minimum critical mass is sensitive to geometry of fissile materials accumulation.

Insights from existing earthquake loss assessment research in Croatia

  • Hadzima-Nyarko, Marijana;Sipos, Tanja Kalman
    • Earthquakes and Structures
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    • v.13 no.4
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    • pp.365-375
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    • 2017
  • Seismic risk management has two main technical aspects: to recommend the construction of high-performance buildings and other structures using earthquake-resistant designs or evaluate existing ones, and to prepare emergency plans using realistic seismic scenarios. An overview of seismic risk assessment methodologies in Croatia is provided with details regarding the components of the assessment procedures: hazard, vulnerability and exposure. For Croatia, hazard is presented with two maps and it is expressed in terms of the peak horizontal ground acceleration during an earthquake, with the return period of 95 or 475 years. A standard building typology catalogue for Croatia has not been prepared yet, but a database for the fourth largest city in Croatia is currently in its initial stage. Two methods for earthquake vulnerability assessment are applied and compared. The first is a relatively simple and fast analysis of potential seismic vulnerability proposed by Croatian researchers using damage index (DI) as a numerical value indicating the level of structural damage, while the second is the Macroseismic method.

Spatiotemporal Patched Frames for Human Abnormal Behavior Classification in Low-Light Environment (저조도 환경 감시 영상에서 시공간 패치 프레임을 이용한 이상행동 분류)

  • Widia A. Samosir;Seong G. Kong
    • Proceedings of the Korea Information Processing Society Conference
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    • 2023.11a
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    • pp.634-636
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    • 2023
  • Surveillance systems play a pivotal role in ensuring the safety and security of various environments, including public spaces, critical infrastructure, and private properties. However, detecting abnormal human behavior in lowlight conditions is a critical yet challenging task due to the inherent limitations of visual data acquisition in such scenarios. This paper introduces a spatiotemporal framework designed to address the unique challenges posed by low-light environments, enhancing the accuracy and efficiency of human abnormality detection in surveillance camera systems. We proposed the pre-processing using lightweight exposure correction, patched frames pose estimation, and optical flow to extract the human behavior flow through t-seconds of frames. After that, we train the estimated-action-flow into autoencoder for abnormal behavior classification to get normal loss as metrics decision for normal/abnormal behavior.

Exposure and Risk Assessments of Multimedia of Arsenic in the Environment (환경 중 비소의 매체통합 노출평가 및 위해성평가 연구)

  • Sim, Ki-Tae;Kim, Dong-Hoon;Lee, Jaewoo;Lee, Chae-Hong;Park, Soyeon;Seok, Kwang-Seol;Kim, Younghee
    • Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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    • v.28 no.2
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    • pp.152-168
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    • 2019
  • The element arsenic, which is abundant in the Earth's crust, is used for various industrial purposes including materials for disease treatment and household goods. Various human activities, such as the disposal of soil waste, metal mining and smelting, and combustion of fossil fuels, have caused the pollution of the environment with arsenic. Recently, guidelines for arsenic in rice have been adopted by the Korean ministry of food and drug safety to prevent health risks based on rice consumption. Because of the exposure to arsenic and its accumulation in the human body through various channels, such as air inhalation, skin contact, ingestion of drinking water, and food consumption, integrated multimedia risk assessment is required to adopt appropriate risk management policies. Therefore, integrated human health risk assessment was carried out in this study using integrated exposure assessment based on multimedia (e.g., air, water, and soil) and multi-route (e.g., oral, inhalation, and dermal) scenarios. The results show that oral uptake via drinking water is the most common pathway of arsenic into the human body, accounting for 57%-96% of the total arsenic exposure. Among various age groups, the highest exposures to arsenic were observed in infants because the body weight of infants is low and the surface areas of infant bodies are large. Based on the results of the exposure assessment, the cancer and non-cancer risks were calculated. The cancer risk for CTE and RME is in the range of 2.3E-05 to 6.7E-05 and thus is negligible because it does not exceed the cancer probability of 1.0E-04 for all age groups. On the other hand, the cancer risk for RME varies from 6.4E-05 to 1.8E-04 and from 1.3E-04 to 1.8E-04 for infants and preschool children, exceeding the excess cancer risk of 1.0E-04. The non-cancer risks range from 5.4E-02 to 1.9E-01 and from 1.5E-01 to 6.8E-01, respectively. They do not exceed the hazard index 1 for all scenarios and all ages.

Effects of Integrated Nursing Practice Simulation-based Training on Stress, Interest in Learning, and Problem-Solving Ability of Nursing Students (통합적 간호실무 시뮬레이션 기반 훈련이 간호대학생의 스트레스, 학습흥미, 문제해결능력에 미치는 영향)

  • Park, Sun-Nam;Chu, Min-Sun;Hwang, Yoon-Young;Kim, Sun-Hee;Lee, Sun-Kyoung
    • Journal of Korean Academy of Fundamentals of Nursing
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    • v.22 no.4
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    • pp.424-432
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    • 2015
  • Purpose: In this study the time point of effects that repeat exposure to simulation-based nursing training has on stress, interest in learning, and problem-solving abilities were identified. Methods: Participants for this study were 75 nursing college students in Seoul. In a preliminary survey data were collected and measured for the general characteristics, stress, interest in learning, and problem-solving abilities of the students. Then, stress was assessed before performance of each of four-rounds of simulation training scenarios. After each simulation round, interest in learning and problem-solving abilities were assessed. Results: With respect to stress, no significant differences were found when comparing the results of the preliminary survey to those of each of the simulation-based training exercises. For the sub-items of interest in learning, interest in nursing knowledge and interest in clinical training significantly increased between the preliminary survey and the $4^{th}$ survey. Interest in lab training increased significantly at the $1^{st}$ survey. Problem solving abilities showed a significant increase from the preliminary at each of the survey points. Conclusion: Increasing the exposure of nursing students to simulation-based training enhances their interest in learning and problem-solving abilities. Therefore it is necessary to have education strategies that includes various simulation experiences for students.

Risk Assessment on Carcinogenic Pesticides of Vegetables in Korea (채소류 중 발암성 농약의 위해성 평가)

  • Yoon, Jae-Hong;Chung, Yong;Shin, Dong-Chun;Lee, Jong-Tae
    • Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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    • v.32 no.2
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    • pp.155-161
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    • 1999
  • Objectio ostinato the carcinogenic risks from the ingestion of some carcinogenic pesticides (CPs) in vegetables sampled at a local agricultural product market in Seoul. Methods: After applying a hazard identification step, we selected four pesticides, such as DDT, dieldrin, folpet, and heptachlor epoxide, for this risk assessment. Concentrations of each pesticide were measured from randomly sampled vegetables. In order to estimate the human exposure levels, we combined the concentration of pesticides in the vegetables with consumption rate of those vegetables. Three scenarios were hypothesized for human exposure assessment. Scenario I was the most conservative which supposed the undetected CPs would be the detection limit values. Scenario II was assumed that the undetected CPs would be a half of the detection limit values, and finally scenario III merely considered only values greater than the detection limit values. We finally presented the estimated carcinogenic risks on the basis of the traditional risk assessment procedure suggested by U.S. EPA. Results: Pesticides including DDT, dieldrin, folpet and heptachlor epoxide were detected in 9 samples (6%) in the range of $0.0006\sim0.09ppm$. The daily intake levels of carcinogenic pesticides were estimated in the range of $0.0009\sim0.0079{\mu}g/day$. As we expected, excess cancer risks based on scenario I was also the highest $(1.1\times10^{-8}\sim5.5\times10^{-5})$. Conclusions: We found that the estimated risks from the pesticides we investigated were not serious. We, however, propose that a continuos monitoring is needed to make sure for the protection of public health.

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Ecological Risk Assessment of Chemicals Migrated from a Recycled Plastic Product

  • Roh, Ji-Yeon;Kim, Min-Hyuck;Kim, Woo Il;Kang, Young-Yeul;Shin, Sun Kyoung;Kim, Jong-Guk;Kwon, Jung-Hwan
    • Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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    • v.28
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    • pp.13.1-13.5
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    • 2013
  • Objectives: Potential environmental risks caused by chemicals that could be released from a recycled plastic product were assessed using a screening risk assessment procedure for chemicals in recycled products. Methods: Plastic slope protection blocks manufactured from recycled plastics were chosen as model recycled products. Ecological risks caused by four model chemicals - di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), diisononyl phthalate (DINP), cadmium (Cd), and lead (Pb)-were assessed. Two exposure models were built for soil below the block and a hypothetic stream receiving runoff water. Based on the predicted no-effect concentrations for the selected chemicals and exposure scenarios, the allowable leaching rates from and the allowable contents in the recycled plastic blocks were also derived. Results: Environmental risks posed by slope protection blocks were much higher in the soil compartment than in the hypothetic stream. The allowable concentrations in leachate were $1.0{\times}10^{-4}$, $1.2{\times}10^{-5}$, $9.5{\times}10^{-3}$, and $5.3{\times}10^{-3}mg/L$ for DEHP, DINP, Cd, and Pb, respectively. The allowable contents in the recycled products were $5.2{\times}10^{-3}$, $6.0{\times}10^{-4}$, $5.0{\times}10^{-1}$, and $2.7{\times}10^{-1}mg/kg$ for DEHP, DINP, Cd, and Pb, respectively. Conclusions: A systematic ecological risk assessment approach for slope protection blocks would be useful for regulatory decisions for setting the allowable emission rates of chemical contaminants, although the method needs refinement.

Misclassification Adjustment of Family History of Breast Cancer in a Case-Control Study: a Bayesian Approach

  • Moradzadeh, Rahmatollah;Mansournia, Mohammad Ali;Baghfalaki, Taban;Ghiasvand, Reza;Noori-Daloii, Mohammad Reza;Holakouie-Naieni, Kourosh
    • Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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    • v.16 no.18
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    • pp.8221-8226
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    • 2016
  • Background: Misreporting self-reported family history may lead to biased estimations. We used Bayesian methods to adjust for exposure misclassification. Materials and Methods: A hospital-based case-control study was used to identify breast cancer risk factors among Iranian women. Three models were jointly considered; an outcome, an exposure and a measurement model. All models were fitted using Bayesian methods, run to achieve convergence. Results: Bayesian analysis in the model without misclassification showed that the odds ratios for the relationship between breast cancer and a family history in different prior distributions were 2.98 (95% CRI: 2.41, 3.71), 2.57 (95% CRI: 1.95, 3.41) and 2.53 (95% CRI: 1.93, 3.31). In the misclassified model, adjusted odds ratios for misclassification in the different situations were 2.64 (95% CRI: 2.02, 3.47), 2.64 (95% CRI: 2.02, 3.46), 1.60 (95% CRI: 1.07, 2.38), 1.61 (95% CRI: 1.07, 2.40), 1.57 (95% CRI: 1.05, 2.35), 1.58 (95% CRI: 1.06, 2.34) and 1.57 (95% CRI: 1.06, 2.33). Conclusions: It was concluded that self-reported family history may be misclassified in different scenarios. Due to the lack of validation studies in Iran, more attention to this matter in future research is suggested, especially while obtaining results in accordance with sensitivity and specificity values.

Cue-Exposure Therapy using Virtual Reality for alcohol Addicts (가상현실을 이용한 알코올중독자의 단서노출 치료)

  • Kwon, Hyo-Seok;Roh, Sung-Won;Choi, Joon-Ho;Yang, Byung-Hwan;Lee, Jang-Han
    • 한국HCI학회:학술대회논문집
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    • 2006.02b
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    • pp.639-645
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    • 2006
  • During abstinence from alcohol, craving is elicited by the cues and contexts previously associated with alcohol, and contributes to relapse. To prevent the craving and relapse experienced by alcoholics, cue-exposure therapy (CET) has been used to extinguish the association between alcohol and alcohol-related cues and contexts. This study applied CET, using a virtual reality (VR) system, to eight members of an Alcoholics Anonymous group, in eight sessions. Cues and contexts most likely to elicit an urge to drink were selected through a preliminary survey in order to compose VR-CET scenarios: a glass, bottle, food, and a bar were judged to be the most tempting for people in alcohol dependence and abstinence. By these cues and contexts, a Japanese style pub and a western bar were composed. Each session was administered for 30 minutes by a psychiatrist and included an introduction, immersion, VR navigation, interviews about feelings, and self-report questionnaires about cravings. The eight sessions consisted of initial and closing sessions, and six cue- and context-focused sessions. As a result, a reduction in cue-elicited craving after VR-CET was reported. A mean score of 15.75 (SD = 10.91) on the Alcohol Urge Questionnaire in the first session decreased to 11.57 (SD = 6.88) in the final session.

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