• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.7-13
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• 2014

Phosphate rock, phosphogypsum, and products in phosphate processing facility contain naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM). Therefore, they may give rise to enhanced radiation dose to workers due to inhalation of airborne particulates. Internal dose due to particle inhalation varies depending on particle properties. The objective of the present study was to characterize particle properties at the largest phosphate processing facility in Korea. A cascade impactor was employed to sample airborne particulates at various processing areas in the plant. The collected samples were used for characterization of particle size distribution, particle concentration in the air, and shape analysis. Aerodynamic diameters of airborne particulates ranged 0.03-100 ${\mu}m$ with the highest concentration at the particle size range of 4.7-5.8 ${\mu}m$ (geometric mean = 5.22 ${\mu}m$) or 5.8-9.0 ${\mu}m$ (geometric mean = 7.22 ${\mu}m$). Particle concentrations in the air varied widely by sampling area up to more than two orders of magnitude. The large variation resulted from the variability of mechanical operations and building ventilations. The airborne particulates appeared as spheroids or rough spherical fragments across all sampling areas and sampled size intervals. Average mass densities of phosphate rocks, phosphogypsums, and fertilizers were 3.1-3.4, 2.1-2.6, and 1.7 $gcm^{-3}$, respectively. Radioactivity concentration of uranium series in phosphate rocks varied with country of origin, ranging 94-866 $Bqkg^{-1}$. Among the uranium series, uranium was mostly concentrated on products, including phosphoric acid or fertilizers whereas radium was concentrated on byproducts or phosphogypsum. No significant radioactivity of $^{226}Ra$ and $^{228}Ra$ were found in fertilizer. However, $^{40}K$ concentration in fertilizer was up to 5,000 Bq $g^{-1}$. The database established in this study can be used for the accurate risk assessment of workers due to inhalation of airborne particles containing NORM. In addition, the findings can be used as a basic data for development of safety standard and guide and for practical radiation safety management at the facility.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.127-132
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• 2013

The position of the internal organs can change continually and periodically inside the body due to the respiration. To reduce the respiration induced uncertainty of dose localization, one can use a respiratory gated radiotherapy where a radiation beam is exposed during the specific time of period. The main disadvantage of this method is that it usually requests a long treatment time, the massive effort during the treatment and the limitation of the patient selection. In this sense, the combination of the real-time position management (RPM) system and the volumetric intensity modulated radiotherapy (RapidArc) is promising since it provides a short treatment time compared with the conventional respiratory gated treatments. In this study, we evaluated the accuracy of the respiratory gated RapidArc treatment. Total sic patient cases were used for this study and each case was planned by RapidArc technique using varian ECLIPSE v8.6 planning machine. For the Quality Assurance (QA), a MatriXX detector and I'mRT software were used. The results show that more than 97% of area gives the gamma value less than one with 3% dose and 3 mm distance to agreement condition, which indicates the measured dose is well matched with the treatment plan's dose distribution for the gated RapidArc treatment cases.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.34-42
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• 2010

With the expanded use of radiation in modern medical practices, the most important issue in regards to efforts to reduce individual exposure dose is quality assurance. Therefore in order to study the present condition of quality assurance, the Gwangju Metropolitan City area was divided into five districts each containing ten hospitals. Four experiments were conducted: a reproducibility experiment for kVp, mA, and examination time (sec) intensity of illumination; half-value layer (HVL) measurement; and beam perpendicularity test matching experiment. The tube voltage reproducibility experiment for all fifty hospitals resulted in a 95.33% passing rate and mA and examination time both resulted in a 77.0% passing rate. The passing rate for intensity of illumination was 86.0% and 52.0% for HVL, which was the lowest passing rate of all four factors. For the beam perpendicularity test matching experiment, generally the central flux is matched to within $1.5^{\circ}$. Of all fifty hospitals 30.0% were beyond $3^{\circ}$. The results of the survey showed that 58% responded that they knew about quality assurance cycle. All fifty respondents stated that they have not received any training in regards to quality assurance at their current place of employment. Although quality assurance is making relative progress, the most urgent issue is awareness of the importance of quality assurance. Therefore, the implementation of professional training focusing on safety management and accurate quality assurance of radiation will reduce the exposure to radiation for radiologists and patients and higher quality imaging using less dosage will also be possible.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.63 no.2
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• pp.120-130
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• 2018

Improvement in rice grain yield has been approached by means of genetic amendment, cultural management, and environmental adaptation. Subjecting the plant during the grain filling period to an appropriate environment plays a key role in achieving a high grain yield in temperate rice. Field experiments were conducted for two consecutive years with two planting times to assess the relations among grain filling traits, loss of leaf activity during the ripening period, and the grain yield of temperate japonica rice with wide environmental variation. Higher grain yields were attained in 2017 than in 2016 and with late planting than with early planting. The high grain yield accompanied a comparatively lesser increase in grain weight at the early filling stage but more gain in grain weight occurred during the late filling stage. Final grain weight correlated positively with grain filling duration but negatively with grain filling rate. Extended grain filling duration was associated with higher cumulative temperature and cumulative solar radiation for an effective grain filling period. The reduction in SPAD value ${\times}$ leaf dry weight from heading to harvest significantly correlated with final grain dry weight in a positive manner. No significant relation was found between grain filling duration and the decrease in SPAD value ${\times}$ leaf dry weight during the grain filling period. The results suggest that grain filling duration and loss of leaf activity during ripening independently contribute to environmentally induced yield improvement in temperate japonica rice.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2017.06a
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• pp.316-316
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• 2017

The objective of this study is to estimate quantitatively soil salinity and soil loss at upland soils in agriculture land region in Saemangeum reclaimed land on the south Korea coasts. Soil loss and soil salinity are the most critical problem at reclaimed tidal saline soil in Korea. The several thematic maps of research area such as land cover map, topographic and soil maps, together with tabular precipitation data used for soil erosion and soil salinity calculation. Meteorological data were measured directly as air temperature, wind speed, solar radiation, and precipitation. The experiment was conducted 2% sloped lysimeter ($5.0m{\times}20.0m$) with 14 treatments and it were separated by low salinity division (LSD) and high salinity division (HSD) install. The cation content in ground water increased during time course, but in the case of land surface water the content was variable, and $K^+$ was lower than that of $Na^+$ and $Mg^{2+}$. At the LSD under rainproof condition, the salinity was directly proportional to soil water content, but at the HSD the tendency was no reversed. In condition of rainproof, the amount of soil salinity was higher at the HSD than at the LSD. Positive correlation was obtained between the soil water content and available phosphorous content at the rainfall division, but there was no significance at the surface soil of the rainproof division. Sodium adsorption ratio and anion contents in soil were repressed in the order of vinyl-mulching > non-mulching > bare field. According to the result of analyzing soil loss, soil loss occurred in a vinyl-mulching, a non-mulching and a bare field in size order, and also approximately 11.2 ton/ha soil loss happened on the reclaimed land area. The average soil loss amount by the unit area takes place in a non-mulching and bare field a lot. Our results indicate that soluble salt control and soil erosion are critical at reclaimed tidal saline soil and the results can provide some useful information for deciding management plans to reduce soil loss and salt damage for stable crop production and diverse utilization or cultivation could be one of the management options to alleviate salt damage at reclaimed tidal saline soil in Korea.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.187-197
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• 2015

This study analysed the effectiveness of aluminium(Al) filter in the added compound filtration for the removal of characteristic radiation by energy spectrum and image evaluation. 0.1, 0.2, 0.3 mm copper with and without 1 mm Al were evaluated. The energy spectrum was measured using the GATE and evaluated separately by each energy. Image quality was evaluated by PSNR, MAE, MSE, CNR, SNR and qualitative analysis was performed by seven items for resolution and contrast from chest x-ray criteria of National Cancer Screening and Cardiovascular evaluation table. In the analysis of the quality of the energy per photon spectrum with the exception of a low energy region, without Al were superior in all area. PSNR MAE, MSE, CNR, SNR and qualitative analysis were the same or slightly better. PSNR was over 30 dB and all significant and the p>0.05 in the T-test of qualitative analysis. The energy spectrum and image quality have little difference between before and after use of Al filter. Therefore, it is effective to use the Al filter for the radiation dose management with the compensation capability of DR system.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.195-203
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• 2022

Background: The aim of the present study was to determine radioactive concentrations in fertilizers known to contain essential nutrients. Results of this study could be used as basic data to monitor the impact of chemical fertilizers on the environment and public health. Nitrogen fertilizers, calcium fertilizers, sulfur fertilizers, phosphate acid fertilizers, and potassium chloride fertilizers were used in this study. Materials and Methods: Five chemical fertilizers were pulverized, placed in polyethylene containers, and weighed. The time to measure each specimen was set to be 3,600 seconds for a scintillator-based gamma-ray spectroscopy system. Concentration of gamma radionuclide was analyzed based on obtained spectra. At the end of the measurement, the spectrum file was stored and used to calculate radioactive concentrations using a gamma-ray spectrometer software. Results and Discussion: In the nitrogen fertilizer, 3.49 ± 5.71 Bq/kg of ¹³⁷Cs, 34.43 ± 7.61 Bq/kg of ¹³⁴Cs, and 569.16 ± 91.15 of ⁴⁰K were detected whereas ¹³¹I was not detected. In the calcium fertilizer, 5.74 ± 4.40 Bq/kg of ¹³⁷Cs (the highest concentration among all fertilizers), 22.37 ± 5.39 Bq/kg of ¹³⁴Cs, and 433.67 ± 64.24 Bq/kg of ⁴⁰K were detected whereas ¹³¹I was not detected. In the sulfur fertilizer, 347.31 ± 55.73 Bq/kg of ⁴⁰K, 19.42 ± 4.53 Bq/kg of ¹³⁴Cs, 2.21 ± 3.49 of ¹³⁷Cs, and 0.04 ± 0.22 Bq/Kg of ¹³¹I were detected. In the phosphoric acid fertilizer, 70,007.34 ± 844.18 Bq/kg of ⁴⁰K (the highest concentration among all fertilizers) and 46.07 ± 70.40 Bq/kg of ¹³⁴Cs were detected whereas neither ¹³⁷Cs nor ¹³¹I was detected. In the potassium chloride fertilizer, 12,827.92 ± 1542.19 Bq/kg of ⁴⁰K was and 94.76 ± 128.79 Bq/kg of ¹³⁴Cs were detected whereas neither ¹³⁷Cs nor ¹³¹I was detected. The present study examined inorganic fertilizers produced by a single manufacturer. There might be different results according to the country and area from which fertilizers are imported. Further studies about inorganic fertilizers in more detail are needed to create measures to reduce ⁴⁰K. Conclusion: Measures are needed to reduce radiation exposure to ⁴⁰K contained in fertilizers including phosphoric acid and potassium chloride fertilizers.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.37-55
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• 1996

This study attempts to analyze the factors affecting the intention of transferring to another hospitals among radiology technologists. 344 cases were reviewed in 5 university hospitals and 1 general hospital. Self-administered questionaire were given to study the socioeconomic characteristics, working conditions, job satisfaction level, and the reasons for transfer among the technologists. The major findings were as follows : 1. Job position and hospital characteristics had a statistically significant relationship with the intention of transferring to another hospital. 2. Those who were not satisfied with their salaries and promotional opportunity showed a higher tendency towards to transfer. 3. Those who were less satisfied with the opportunity for developing the personal ability and had the negative attitude on their job showed a higher tendency to transfer. 4. Those who did not sustain good relationship with their superiors and co-workers scored high on the tendency to transfer. 5. In the result of mutiple regression, recognition of radiation hazard, job satisfaction, satisfaction with salary levels, job attitude were significantly related to transfer. The above indicate that besides economic incentives, job satisfaction and organizational culture to promote their ability and form a good relationship with organization members were very important to decrease the intention of transfer. Since these results represent only 6 hospitals from a limited area, more hospitals nationwide, especially small and medium-sized institutions where there is a high turnover rate of employment, need to be examined in order to investigate the various factors that affect the intention of transferring.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.115-120
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• 2012

According to the development of laser technology, applications of laser in medical area, and the resulting risks are increasing. To ensure the safe use of laser, it is necessary to assign a person who has the knowledge of laser safety as MLSO(medical laser safety officer). In many countries, the system of laser safety officer management is operating. MLSO has the responsibilities and duties of the operation of the laser safety program, training, and education. In this study, we analyzed the adoption of MLSO through the investigation of the MLSO management status in United States.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.313-318
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• 2017

Background Jeju Island is geographically and socioeconomically distinct from the mainland of South Korea. Thus, the presentation and management of non-melanocytic skin cancers (NMSC) of the head and neck may differ from those in other regions of the country. We compared the clinical characteristics and treatment modalities of NMSC on Jeju Island with the findings of similar regional studies. Methods Patient data, including age, sex, diagnosis, tumor site, treatment, and recurrence, were obtained from the medical and pathology records of patients diagnosed with NMSC between January 2010 and June 2015. Results In total, 190 patients (57 men) with a mean age of 75 years (range, 42-97) were assessed. Overall, 203 NMSCs were diagnosed, including 123 basal cell carcinomas and 80 squamous cell carcinomas. The tumor sites included the nose, cheeks, periorbital area, and lips (n=55, 54, 25, and 20, respectively). We identified 92 T1-stage and 60 T2-stage tumors, and 120 cases were treated with wide surgical resection and 17 cases were treated with radiation therapy at the medical center. Of the 120 cases treated surgically, 69 required reconstructive surgery using a local skin flap, 22 required full-thickness skin grafting, and 12 underwent primary closure. Basal and squamous cell carcinomas recurred in 2 and 1 cases, respectively. Conclusions Compared to the reports from other regions, the average patient age was 10 years higher, with a marked female preponderance. While the proportion of squamous cell carcinoma was higher than in other regions, the tumor distribution and surgical management profiles were similar.