• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 1997.05b
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• pp.341-344
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• 1997

A vitrification process is under development in KEPRI for the treatment of low-and medium-level radioactive waste. Although the project is for developing and building Vitrification Pilot Plant in Korea, one of KEPRI's concerns is the quality control of the vitrified glass. This paper discusses a methodology for the estimation of glass composition by on-line measurement of molten glass properties, which could be applied to the plant for real-time quality control of the glass product. By remotely measuring viscosity and density of the molten glass, the glass characteristics such as composition can be estimated and eventually controlled. For this purpose, using the database of glass composition vs. physical properties in isothermal three-component system of SiO$_2$-Na$_2$O-B$_2$O$_3$, a software TERNARY has been developed which determines the glass composition by using two known physical properties(e.g. density and viscosity).

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.367-372
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• 2000

Objective: This study was performed to evaluate whether vitrification method could be used for the cryopreservation of human blastocysts derived from IVF program. Methods: Surplus embryos were obtained from consented IVF patients. Controlled ovarian hyperstimulation was done with midluteal GnRH agonist, gonadotropin and hCG. After oocyte retrieval and insemination, fresh embryo transfer was done at $4{\sim}8$ cell stage. The surplus embryos after ET were cultured in blastocyst medium up to 6 days after oocyte retrieval. Obtained blastocysts were cryopreserved with our vitrification method. Blastocysts were exposed to 1.5 Methylene glycol (EG) in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) for 2.5 minutes, followed by 5.5 M EG plus 1 M sucrose for 20 seconds. Then 1 to 3 blastocysts were mounted on electron microscope (EM) grid and the grid was plunged into liquid nitrogen for storage. For thawing, blastocyst-containing EM grids were sequentially transferred in 1.0 M, 0.5 M, 0.25 M, 0.125 M and 0 M sucrose solution at the intervals of2.5 minutes. And blastocysts were cultured for about 6 hours and only re-expanded blastocysts were transferred to uterus of the patients on 4 to 5 days after ovulation in natural cycle or on 18 to 19 day of artificial cycle. Results: From Oct. 1998 to Jul. 1999, 34 patients were agreed to participate in this study. The mean age and duration of infertility of the patients were 31.6 years and 4.1 years, respectively. Among 34 cycles. replacements could be done in 20 cycles (58.8%). A total 93 blastocysts were thawed and 48 (51.6%) of them survived. Thirty-eight blastocysts, mean 1.9 embryos per patient, were transferred, resulting in 5 clinical pregnancies which consisted of 1 triplet, 2 sets of twins and 2 singleton pregnancies. The pregnancy rate per transfer was 25% and implantation rate was 23.6%. Five patients delivered 7 healthy babies including 2 sets of twins at term. Conclusion: Successful pregnancies and deliveries were established after transfer of vitrified human blastocysts. Vitrification using ethylene glycol as cryoprotectant and electron microscope grid is a rapid and simple method that can be effectively applied for the cryopreservation of human blastocysts.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.482-496
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• 2003

effectiveness of the PAM graphite-electrode technology for the treatment of many types of low-level radioactive waste including : combustible material, solidified resins in cement, inorganic materials, steel, glass, and solidified boric acid cement. The objectives of PAM-200 evaluation were to verify that 1) the facility meets air emission regulations, 2) the facility can be safely operated when processing hazardous and radioactive materials and 3) satisfactory final waste forms can be produced. Results, derived from KAERI's(Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute) analyses for samples of vitrified product, scrubbing solution and offgas collected during test period, show that PAM-200 can treat radioactive wastes as well as hazardous wastes with toxic constituents and radionuclides contained in the offgas exiting from the stack to the environment controlled to be far lower than the limit regulated by air conservation law and atomic law.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.46 no.9
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• pp.538-544
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• 2023

The formation of uniform vitreous ice is a crucial step in the preparation of samples for cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM). Despite the rapid technological progress in EM, controlling the thickness of vitreous ice on sample grids with reproducibility remains a major obstacle to obtaining high-quality data in cryo-EM imaging. The commonly employed classical blotting process faces the problem of excess water that cannot be absorbed by the filter paper, resulting in the formation of thick and heterogeneous ice. In this study, we propose a novel approach that combines the recently developed nanowire self-wicking technique with the classical blotting method to effectively control the thickness and homogeneity of vitrified ice. With simple procedures, we generated a copper oxide spike (COS) grid by inducing COSs on commercially available copper grids, which can effectively remove excess water during the blotting procedure without damaging the holey carbon membrane. The ice thickness could be controlled with good reproducibility compared to non-oxidized grids. Incorporated into other EM techniques, our new modification method is an effective option for obtaining high-quality data during cryo-EM imaging.

• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.311-324
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• 2010

The purpose of this study aims to reveal characteristics of reproduced potteries which made with clays of various chemical compositions in different firing temperatures and thereafter to provide comparative samples for identifying the manufacturing techniques of earthenwares from archaeological excavation by reproducing and characterizing sample under controlled conditions. For this study, various samples of earthenware are reproduced using different types of raw clays at several different firing temperature, followed by physical and structural characterization. Chemical specification were varied from different types of clay, which were calculated by Seger formula, and four different types of clay were selected based on different mole ratio of acidic oxide. The temperatures of firing of 7 samples were varied between $600^{\circ}C$ to $1200^{\circ}C$ at the interval of $100^{\circ}C$ for each sample. The result of analysis revealed that each reproduced earthenware has different chemical compositions divided into two groups: 1. Sample Y(6.10) and Sample G(5.85) clay; 2. Sample H(3.41) and Sample S(2.85) clay. The former which has higher mole ratio of acidic oxide than the latter, shows higher level of rockwell hardness at the same firing temperature. In addition, all four samples presented that as the firing temperature was increased, absorption rates of Y and G were abruptly dropped at $1200^{\circ}C$. Furthermore the more mole ratio of acidic oxide increase, the more microtexture of samples were vitrificated. Such result reveals that mole ratio of acidic oxide influence physical and microtextural characteristics of earthenwares, and it can be used as the comparison data in the understanding of manufacture techniques for the earthenwares of similar chemical composition.