• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
• /
• v.32 no.3
• /
• pp.157-165
• /
• 2023

In Korea, a major contaminant of farmland soils in the vicinity of abandoned mines is arsenic, for which the general soil reclamation method is contaminated soil stabilization and cover the stabilized soil with clean soil at a thickness of 40 cm. In a previous pot experiment study we confirmed the feasibility of a lower thickness (20 cm) of covering soil for such reclamation in abandoned coal mines, where arsenic contamination levels are generally lower than in metal mines. In this subsequent study a field experiment including rice plant cultivation in field test plots was conducted. For over 4 months, the transfer of arsenic from the contaminated soil to the unpolished rice grains was reduced by 44% when a clean soil covering with a thickness of 20 cm was applied. The maximum decrease (56%) was shown when the stabilization process was performed before the covering. These results reveal a lower thickness of clean soil covering has a high feasibility and it can increase cost-efficiency in the reclamation of an abandoned coal mine.

• Analytical Science and Technology
• /
• v.22 no.5
• /
• pp.376-385
• /
• 2009

In our study, the accuracy for measurement of seventeen 2,3,7,8-substituted PCDDs/PCDFs in certified reference material (CRM) which is the sample of homogeneous sediment matrix taken from an area known to have significant chemical contamination, particularly PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), was evaluated. Though the methodology in this study followed the official method of unintentionally produced persistent organic pollutants (UPOPs) announced by the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Korea in 2007, there were slight changes using additional purification step by activated carbon column because the interferences of sample were not sufficiently removed when only multi-silica column and alumina column have been used for purification. The |En| number proposed by the Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science was used for a valuation basis of the accuracy. The |En| numbers of seventeen 2,3,7,8-substituted PCDDs/PCDFs have been indicated as 1 and below, they were decided "Pass" in this test, when DB-5MS column and SP-2331 column were used together. Because 1,2,3,7,8-PeCDD and #169-HxCB were not separated on DB-5MS column, the ions of 1,2,3,7,8-PeCDD were selected at M/M+2 instead of M+2/M+4 suggested by EPA 1613. It is possible to distinguish them in HRGC/HRMS analysis.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
• /
• v.26 no.6C
• /
• pp.385-393
• /
• 2006

Soil nailing is a reinforcement method used for stabilizing excavated walls or slopes. Due to its much advantages such as ease of construction and economical efficiency, use of soil nailing is increased. However, the soil nail has much disadvantages for use in urban area. The soil nail needs to be installed inevitably beyond private land boundary, which causes rent for use. For this reason, removable soil nailing system was developed. However, the removal rate of this system is just about 50￠¦70%. To resolve this problem, the Fiber Reinforced Plastic (FRP) soil nailing system which does not need to be removed and allows for the installation beyond private land, is developed. In this paper, through theoretical and experimental studies in laboratory and field such as prototype tests, pullout tests, we evaluate the stability and behavior characteristics of the FRP soil nailing system. And, numerical analyses using FLAC2D were performed with respect to various soil conditions, where prototype test for excavation wall and pullout tests were carried out. As a result of this study, the FRP soil nailing systems show similar behavior characteristics with those of removable soil nailing system. Finally, considering the serviceability and mechanical stability of FRP soil nailing systems, it is enough to be used as a good alternative of general soil nailing system.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
• /
• v.11 no.2
• /
• pp.175-188
• /
• 2009

When a new tunnel is excavated by the drill and blast method near pre-existing underground structures or tunnels due to the region restricted condition such as urban area, the ground will be relaxed by the excavation. In this case, issues can be created in terms of stability of pre-existing underground structures. One of major factors determining the stability of pre-existing underground structures can be a separation distance between pre-existing underground structures and a newly excavated tunnel. The region of ground relaxation defined by the plastic zone due to new excavation can be varied by separation distance. In this study, in other to estimate an influence of new tunnel excavation in terms of separation distance on the stability of pre-existing large pipelines, two-dimensional scaled model tests using plaster were performed for six models which have a different separation distance, The results show that based on the analysis of induced displacement during tunnel construction, the displacement decreases as the separation distance between large pipeline and new tunnel is increased until the distance is 2.5 times of pipeline diameter. Beyond this point, however, the displacement has become stabilized.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Rural Health Nursing
• /
• v.18 no.2
• /
• pp.80-91
• /
• 2023

Purpose: The purpose of the study quantitatively investigates the experience of unmet healthcare service utilization by rural populations in vulnerable areas during the COVID-19 pandemic based on Andersen's behavior model. At the same time, this study attempts to describe the experiences of unmet healthcare service utilization among participants in vulnerable rural areas by analyzing qualitative contents through open-ended question. Methods: Data were collected from October to November 2022 using Qualtrix, a web-based survey platform. A total of 863 participants completed an online survey. Quantitative data were analyzed using 𝑥² test and logistic regression analysis. Qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis. Results: The factors affecting participants' unmet healthcare service utilization were type of residential area and underlying disease. The qualitative analysis identified; four categories and nine sub-categories. Conclusion: Based on these findings, it is necessary to develop a disaster nursing response model according to the type of residential areas and the number of people.

• Journal of the Society of Disaster Information
• /
• v.19 no.4
• /
• pp.788-805
• /
• 2023

Purpose: This study aimed to verify the impact of Habitat for Humanity Korea's disaster risk reduction intervention on the mental health and satisfaction with life among residents of southern Bangladesh who had constantly suffered from disaster stress due to perennial flooding. Method: The target group was 138 residents who were pre-surveyed in August 2020 and post-surveyed in November 2021. The interventions consisted of individual incremental housing, public facilities for evacuation, and disaster response training for capacity development. The data were analysed using paired sample t-tests for pre-post changes and one-way analysis of variance to identify differences between treatment groups. Result: The results showed significant improvements in residents' depression, anxiety, somatisation and satisfaction with life after the intervention, with significant differences in mental health levels between the intervention treatments. Specifically, relatively higher disaster mitigation effects were found for individual infrastructure improvements and employment facilities compared to disaster response drills. Conclusion: These results demonstrate the positive role of Habitat for Humanity Korea's disaster risk reduction interventions on the mental health recovery of disaster victims and suggest practical approaches that can be applied in disaster risk areas.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
• /
• v.62 no.1
• /
• pp.7-12
• /
• 2024

The durability of the catalyst support has a significant effect on the durability of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC). The accelerated durability evaluation of the catalyst support is performed at a high voltage (1.0 to 1.5 V), and the catalyst and ionomer binder in the catalyst layer are also deteriorated, hindering the evaluation of the durability of the support. The existing protocol (DOE protocol) was improved to find conditions in which the support, which is a durability evaluation target, deteriorates further. A protocol (MDOE) was developed in which the relative humidity was lowered by 35% and the number of voltage changes was reduced. After repeating the 1.0 ↔ 1.5 V voltage change cycle, the catalyst mass activitiy (MA), electrochemical active area (ECSA), electrical double layer capacity (DLC), Pt dissolution and particle growth were analyzed. Reaching 40% reduction in mass activity, the MDOE protocol took only 500 cycles, reducing the number of voltage changes compared to the DOE method and increasing the degradation of the carbon support by 50% compared to the DOE protocol.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
• /
• v.25 no.3
• /
• pp.243-256
• /
• 2024

Objective: We aimed to investigate whether 2-[¹⁸F]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (2-[¹⁸F]FDG PET/CT) can aid in evaluating the risk of malignancy in ampullary tumors detected by endoscopy. Materials and Methods: This single-center retrospective cohort study analyzed 155 patients (79 male, 76 female; mean age, 65.7 ± 12.7 years) receiving 2-[¹⁸F]FDG PET/CT for endoscopy-detected ampullary tumors 5-87 days (median, 7 days) after the diagnostic endoscopy between June 2007 and December 2020. The final diagnosis was made based on histopathological findings. The PET imaging parameters were compared with clinical data and endoscopic features. A model to predict the risk of malignancy, based on PET, endoscopy, and clinical findings, was generated and validated using multivariable logistic regression analysis and an additional bootstrapping method. The final model was compared with standard endoscopy for the diagnosis of ampullary cancer using the DeLong test. Results: The mean tumor size was 17.1 ± 7.7 mm. Sixty-four (41.3%) tumors were benign, and 91 (58.7%) were malignant. Univariable analysis found that ampullary neoplasms with a blood-pool corrected peak standardized uptake value in earlyphase scan (SUVe) ≥ 1.7 were more likely to be malignant (odds ratio [OR], 16.06; 95% confidence interval [CI], 7.13-36.18; P < 0.001). Multivariable analysis identified the presence of jaundice (adjusted OR [aOR], 4.89; 95% CI, 1.80-13.33; P = 0.002), malignant traits in endoscopy (aOR, 6.80; 95% CI, 2.41-19.20; P < 0.001), SUVe ≥ 1.7 in PET (aOR, 5.43; 95% CI, 2.00-14.72; P < 0.001), and PET-detected nodal disease (aOR, 5.03; 95% CI, 1.16-21.86; P = 0.041) as independent predictors of malignancy. The model combining these four factors predicted ampullary cancers better than endoscopic diagnosis alone (area under the curve [AUC] and 95% CI: 0.925 [0.874-0.956] vs. 0.815 [0.732-0.873], P < 0.001). The model demonstrated an AUC of 0.921 (95% CI, 0.816-0.967) in candidates for endoscopic papillectomy. Conclusion: Adding 2-[¹⁸F]FDG PET/CT to endoscopy can improve the diagnosis of ampullary cancer and may help refine therapeutic decision-making, particularly when contemplating endoscopic papillectomy.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
• /
• v.24 no.5
• /
• pp.395-405
• /
• 2023

Objective: This study aimed to develop and validate models using radiomics features on a native T1 map from cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) to predict left ventricular reverse remodeling (LVRR) in patients with nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy (NIDCM). Materials and Methods: Data from 274 patients with NIDCM who underwent CMR imaging with T1 mapping at Severance Hospital between April 2012 and December 2018 were retrospectively reviewed. Radiomic features were extracted from the native T1 maps. LVRR was determined using echocardiography performed ≥ 180 days after the CMR. The radiomics score was generated using the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator logistic regression models. Clinical, clinical + late gadolinium enhancement (LGE), clinical + radiomics, and clinical + LGE + radiomics models were built using a logistic regression method to predict LVRR. For internal validation of the result, bootstrap validation with 1000 resampling iterations was performed, and the optimism-corrected area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was computed. Model performance was compared using AUC with the DeLong test and bootstrap. Results: Among 274 patients, 123 (44.9%) were classified as LVRR-positive and 151 (55.1%) as LVRR-negative. The optimism-corrected AUC of the radiomics model in internal validation with bootstrapping was 0.753 (95% CI, 0.698-0.813). The clinical + radiomics model revealed a higher optimism-corrected AUC than that of the clinical + LGE model (0.794 vs. 0.716; difference, 0.078 [99% CI, 0.003-0.151]). The clinical + LGE + radiomics model significantly improved the prediction of LVRR compared with the clinical + LGE model (optimism-corrected AUC of 0.811 vs. 0.716; difference, 0.095 [99% CI, 0.022-0.139]). Conclusion: The radiomic characteristics extracted from a non-enhanced T1 map may improve the prediction of LVRR and offer added value over traditional LGE in patients with NIDCM. Additional external validation research is required.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
• /
• v.26 no.4
• /
• pp.17-34
• /
• 2023

Camera trapping has been used as a non-invasive survey method that minimizes anthropogenic disturbance to ecosystems. Nevertheless, it is labor-intensive and time-consuming, requiring researchers to quantify species and populations. In this study, we aimed to improve the preprocessing of camera trapping data by utilizing an object detection algorithm. Wildlife monitoring using unmanned sensor cameras was conducted in a forested urban forest and a green space on a university campus in Cheonan City, Chungcheongnam-do, Korea. The collected camera trapping data were classified by a researcher to identify the occurrence of species. The data was then used to test the performance of the YOLO-X object detection algorithm for wildlife detection. The camera trapping resulted in 10,500 images of the urban forest and 51,974 images of green spaces on campus. Out of the total 62,474 images, 52,993 images (84.82%) were found to be false positives, while 9,481 images (15.18%) were found to contain wildlife. As a result of wildlife monitoring, 19 species of birds, 5 species of mammals, and 1 species of reptile were observed within the study area. In addition, there were statistically significant differences in the frequency of occurrence of the following species according to the type of urban greenery: Parus varius(t = -3.035, p < 0.01), Parus major(t = 2.112, p < 0.05), Passer montanus(t = 2.112, p < 0.05), Paradoxornis webbianus(t = 2.112, p < 0.05), Turdus hortulorum(t = -4.026, p < 0.001), and Sitta europaea(t = -2.189, p < 0.05). The detection performance of the YOLO-X model for wildlife occurrence was analyzed, and it successfully classified 94.2% of the camera trapping data. In particular, the number of true positive predictions was 7,809 images and the number of false negative predictions was 51,044 images. In this study, the object detection algorithm YOLO-X model was used to detect the presence of wildlife in the camera trapping data. In this study, the YOLO-X model was used with a filter activated to detect 10 specific animal taxa out of the 80 classes trained on the COCO dataset, without any additional training. In future studies, it is necessary to create and apply training data for key occurrence species to make the model suitable for wildlife monitoring.