• Title/Summary/Keyword: energy awareness

Search Result 284, Processing Time 0.029 seconds

From Radon and Thoron Measurements, Inhalation Dose Assessment to National Regulation and Radon Action Plan in Cameroon

  • Saidou;Shinji Tokonami;Masahiro Hosoda;Augustin Simo;Joseph Victor Hell;Olga German;Esmel Gislere Oscar Meless
    • Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
    • /
    • v.47 no.4
    • /
    • pp.237-245
    • /
    • 2022
  • Background: The current study reports measurements of activity concentrations of radon (220Rn) and thoron (220Rn) in dwellings, followed by inhalation dose assessment of the public, and then by the development of regulation and the national radon action plan (NRAP) in Cameroon. Materials and Methods: Radon, thoron, and thoron progeny measurements were carried out from 2014 to 2017 using radon-thoron discriminative detectors (commercially RADUET) in 450 dwellings and thoron progeny monitors in 350 dwellings. From 2019 to 2020, radon track detectors (commercially RADTRAK) were deployed in 1,400 dwellings. It was found that activity concentrations of radon range in 1,850 houses from 10 to 2,620 Bq/㎥ with a geometric mean of 76 Bq/㎥. Results and Discussion: Activity concentrations of thoron range from 20 to 700 Bq/㎥ with a geometric mean of 107 Bq/㎥. Thoron equilibrium factor ranges from 0.01 to 0.6, with an arithmetic mean of 0.09 that is higher than the default value of 0.02 given by UNSCEAR. On average, 49%, 9%, and 2% of all surveyed houses have radon concentrations above 100, 200, and 300 Bq/㎥, respectively. The average contribution of thoron to the inhalation dose due to radon and thoron exposure is about 40%. Thus, thoron cannot be neglected in dose assessment to avoid biased results in radio-epidemiological studies. Only radon was considered in the drafted regulation and in the NRAP adopted in October 2020. Reference levels of 300 Bq/㎥ and 1,000 Bq/㎥ were recommended for dwellings and workplaces. Conclusion: Priority actions for the coming years include the following: radon risk mapping, promotion of a protection policy against radon in buildings, integration of the radon prevention and mitigation into the training of construction specialists, mitigation of dwellings and workplaces with high radon levels, increased public awareness of the health risks associated with radon, and development of programs on the scientific and technical aspects.

Eating Behaviors by Breakfast Frequency of High School Students in Yongin Area (용인 일부지역 고등학생의 아침식사 섭취빈도에 따른 식행동)

  • Woo, Lee Jin;Kim, Seong Yeong
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
    • /
    • v.44 no.1
    • /
    • pp.66-75
    • /
    • 2015
  • This study investigated eating behaviors (life-style, breakfast pattern, eating environment, snack pattern, and awareness of breakfast) by breakfast frequency (0~2 times, 3~6 times, and 7 times per week) of high school students (146 males and 165 females) in the Yongin region. The percentage of 'mother' as breakfast preparer increased with elevated breakfast frequency, whereas 'myself' was lower for females (P<0.001). Regarding reasons for skipping breakfast, 'getting more sleep' increased with elevated breakfast frequency, whereas 'loosing appetite' decreased in males (P<0.001). Regarding family reaction to skipping breakfast, 'advising' increased with elevated breakfast frequency in females (P<0.001). Skipping breakfast by eating snacks was higher in females (51.6%) than in males (35.6%), and skipping dinner was higher (53.4%) in females. Awareness of breakfast importance increased with elevated breakfast frequency in males (P<0.05) and females (P<0.001). Perception of correlation between health and breakfast was higher in females (54.8%) compared to males (43.9%), and the most important reason was 'energy supplement'. 'Eating now and will eat' increased with elevated breakfast frequency in males (P<0.001) and females (P<0.001), whereas sum of 'not eating now and will not eat' and 'eating now but will not eat' were 19.2% and 14.2% in males and females, respectively. Therefore, appropriate education programs emphasizing importance of eating breakfast and environmental improvement for regularly eating breakfast for high school students are highly required.

Analysis of media trends related to spent nuclear fuel treatment technology using text mining techniques (텍스트마이닝 기법을 활용한 사용후핵연료 건식처리기술 관련 언론 동향 분석)

  • Jeong, Ji-Song;Kim, Ho-Dong
    • Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
    • /
    • v.27 no.2
    • /
    • pp.33-54
    • /
    • 2021
  • With the fourth industrial revolution and the arrival of the New Normal era due to Corona, the importance of Non-contact technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data research has been increasing. Convergent research is being conducted in earnest to keep up with these research trends, but not many studies have been conducted in the area of nuclear research using artificial intelligence and big data-related technologies such as natural language processing and text mining analysis. This study was conducted to confirm the applicability of data science analysis techniques to the field of nuclear research. Furthermore, the study of identifying trends in nuclear spent fuel recognition is critical in terms of being able to determine directions to nuclear industry policies and respond in advance to changes in industrial policies. For those reasons, this study conducted a media trend analysis of pyroprocessing, a spent nuclear fuel treatment technology. We objectively analyze changes in media perception of spent nuclear fuel dry treatment techniques by applying text mining analysis techniques. Text data specializing in Naver's web news articles, including the keywords "Pyroprocessing" and "Sodium Cooled Reactor," were collected through Python code to identify changes in perception over time. The analysis period was set from 2007 to 2020, when the first article was published, and detailed and multi-layered analysis of text data was carried out through analysis methods such as word cloud writing based on frequency analysis, TF-IDF and degree centrality calculation. Analysis of the frequency of the keyword showed that there was a change in media perception of spent nuclear fuel dry treatment technology in the mid-2010s, which was influenced by the Gyeongju earthquake in 2016 and the implementation of the new government's energy conversion policy in 2017. Therefore, trend analysis was conducted based on the corresponding time period, and word frequency analysis, TF-IDF, degree centrality values, and semantic network graphs were derived. Studies show that before the 2010s, media perception of spent nuclear fuel dry treatment technology was diplomatic and positive. However, over time, the frequency of keywords such as "safety", "reexamination", "disposal", and "disassembly" has increased, indicating that the sustainability of spent nuclear fuel dry treatment technology is being seriously considered. It was confirmed that social awareness also changed as spent nuclear fuel dry treatment technology, which was recognized as a political and diplomatic technology, became ambiguous due to changes in domestic policy. This means that domestic policy changes such as nuclear power policy have a greater impact on media perceptions than issues of "spent nuclear fuel processing technology" itself. This seems to be because nuclear policy is a socially more discussed and public-friendly topic than spent nuclear fuel. Therefore, in order to improve social awareness of spent nuclear fuel processing technology, it would be necessary to provide sufficient information about this, and linking it to nuclear policy issues would also be a good idea. In addition, the study highlighted the importance of social science research in nuclear power. It is necessary to apply the social sciences sector widely to the nuclear engineering sector, and considering national policy changes, we could confirm that the nuclear industry would be sustainable. However, this study has limitations that it has applied big data analysis methods only to detailed research areas such as "Pyroprocessing," a spent nuclear fuel dry processing technology. Furthermore, there was no clear basis for the cause of the change in social perception, and only news articles were analyzed to determine social perception. Considering future comments, it is expected that more reliable results will be produced and efficiently used in the field of nuclear policy research if a media trend analysis study on nuclear power is conducted. Recently, the development of uncontact-related technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data research is accelerating in the wake of the recent arrival of the New Normal era caused by corona. Convergence research is being conducted in earnest in various research fields to follow these research trends, but not many studies have been conducted in the nuclear field with artificial intelligence and big data-related technologies such as natural language processing and text mining analysis. The academic significance of this study is that it was possible to confirm the applicability of data science analysis technology in the field of nuclear research. Furthermore, due to the impact of current government energy policies such as nuclear power plant reductions, re-evaluation of spent fuel treatment technology research is undertaken, and key keyword analysis in the field can contribute to future research orientation. It is important to consider the views of others outside, not just the safety technology and engineering integrity of nuclear power, and further reconsider whether it is appropriate to discuss nuclear engineering technology internally. In addition, if multidisciplinary research on nuclear power is carried out, reasonable alternatives can be prepared to maintain the nuclear industry.

A Study on Nutrition Knowledge, Dietary Behaviors and Evaluation of Nutrient Intakes of High School Female Students in Chuncheon Area by Frequency of Breakfast (춘천지역 여고생의 아침식사 빈도에 따른 영양지식, 식행동 및 영양소 섭취 평가에 대한 연구)

  • Kim, Yoon-Sun;Kim, Bok-Ran
    • Journal of Korean Home Economics Education Association
    • /
    • v.24 no.4
    • /
    • pp.91-104
    • /
    • 2012
  • The purpose of this study was to examine a questionnaire survey on nutrition knowledge, dietary behaviors and the evaluation of nutrient intakes in regard to frequency of eating breakfast for a total 383 high school female students in Chuncheon area. The subjects were categorized into 3 groups according to frequency of breakfast : eating breakfast group (6-7 times/week, 49.1%), sometimes eating breakfast group (3-5 times/week, 22.2%), skipping breakfast group (${\leq}2$ times/week, 28.7%). The eating breakfast group and sometimes eating breakfast group have better grades on nutrition knowledge related to breakfast than the skipping breakfast group. The skipping breakfast group have a smattering of nutrition knowledge like, the importance of having breakfast, maintaining calories, and the brain's energy resource. There was a strong correlation between the frequency of breakfast and dietary behavior grades. The students who skip breakfast have irregular eating habits and their eating speed was improper. Also, their frequency of taking in cereals, proteins, fruits, vegetables, and dairy products was poor. The results of the survey on nutrition intake show that while, students who eat breakfast are consuming only folate, calcium and iron at a less than recommend intake, the students who skip breakfast are consuming vitamin $B_2$, niacin, vitamin C, vitamin $B_1$ as well as folate, calcium, and also iron at a less than recommended intake. Based on these results, it is necessary to develop an awareness program that emphasizes the importance of breakfast and accurate nutrition knowledge for students.

  • PDF

A Study on Domestic Policy Framework for Application of Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage(CCS) (이산화탄소 포집 및 저장 실용화를 위한 국내 정책 연구)

  • Chae, Sun-Young;Kwon, Suk-Jae
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
    • /
    • v.18 no.6
    • /
    • pp.617-625
    • /
    • 2012
  • This study examines the current status and policy development of Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage(CCS), which is a technology to mitigate climate change, in Korea and foreign countries. It also analyzes IEA CCS regulatory framework as a guideline and provides limitations and implications for marine geological storage in the Republic of Korea. Although CCS master plan is established at national level, related laws are not amended and detailed polices are not yet provided. Established 'Intergovernmental CCS committee' lacks its cooperative mechanism and flexibility. Only limited and segmented economic analyses are performed and funding for large scale of CCS project is not secured. In addition, information sharing is limited and public awareness activities are insufficient. Therefore, this paper provides some policy suggestions on establishing a legal framework based on the 'Marine Environmental Management Act', strengthening the role of intergovernmental CCS committee, conducting CCS economic analysis based on various scenarios, providing economic incentives and public participation strategies, and establishing a specialized agency for information sharing.

Power saving in Kand-held multimedia systems using MPEG-21 Digital Item Adaptation (MPEG-21 디지털 아이템 적응을 이용한 휴대용 멀티미디어 시스템의 전력 소모 절감 기법)

  • Shim Hojun;Cho Youngjin;Kim Jaemin;Chang Naehyuck
    • Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea SD
    • /
    • v.43 no.2 s.344
    • /
    • pp.60-75
    • /
    • 2006
  • The MPEG-21 Multimedia Framework initiative aims to support a wide range of networks and devices in the delivery and consumption of multimedia resources. One of the primary goals of MPEG-21 is universal multimedia access (UMA) through Digital Item Adaptation (DIA), which supports multimedia streaming to heterogeneous devices ensurung the same readability and seamlessness. We pioneer power saving of luminal devices with MPEG-21 DIA, so that the MPEG-21 DIA can also be used to support power saving, even though the framework is not primarily designed for power reduction and only limited power awareness is defined by DIA. We introduce several power-saving techniques conforming to MPEG-21 DIA specifications and show the dependency relation among introduced techniques. We achieve energy savings of up to $66\%$ in hand-held multimedia devices with minor QoS (quality of service) degradation.

Context Awareness Model using the Improved Google Activity Recognition (개선된 Google Activity Recognition을 이용한 상황인지 모델)

  • Baek, Seungeun;Park, Sangwon
    • KIPS Transactions on Software and Data Engineering
    • /
    • v.4 no.1
    • /
    • pp.57-64
    • /
    • 2015
  • Activity recognition technology is gaining attention because it can provide useful information follow user's situation. In research of activity recognition before smartphone's dissemination, we had to infer user's activity by using independent sensor. But now, with development of IT industry, we can infer user's activity by using inner sensor of smartphone. So, more animated research of activity recognition is being implemented now. By applying activity recognition system, we can develop service like recommending application according to user's preference or providing information of route. Some previous activity recognition systems have a defect using up too much energy, because they use GPS sensor. On the other hand, activity recognition system which Google released recently (Google Activity Recognition) needs only a few power because it use 'Network Provider' instead of GPS. Thus it is suitable to smartphone application system. But through a result from testing performance of Google Activity Recognition, we found that is difficult to getting user's exact activity because of unnecessary activity element and some wrong recognition. So, in this paper, we describe problems of Google Activity Recognition and propose AGAR(Advanced Google Activity Recognition) applied method to improve accuracy level because we need more exact activity recognition for new service based on activity recognition. Also to appraise value of AGAR, we compare performance of other activity recognition systems and ours and explain an applied possibility of AGAR by developing exemplary program.

Non-linear Preferences on Bioethanol in South Korea (국내 바이오에탄올에 대한 비선형적 선호에 관한 연구)

  • Bae, Jeong Hwan
    • Environmental and Resource Economics Review
    • /
    • v.23 no.3
    • /
    • pp.515-551
    • /
    • 2014
  • Recently, there has been a debate as to whether bioethanol should replace some portion of gasoline for fuels in South Korea, as energy security as well as climate change issues are rising as a significant national agenda. However, a considerable amount of subsidy will be required to compensate for the higher price of bioethanol-blended gasoline. In this context, government subsidy will obtain justification only when the positive social gains from consuming bioethanol for fuels can exceed the negative social costs. Through a nation-wide choice experimental survey, we examine if South Koreans have a positive value as well as non-linear preferences on substituting bioethanol for gasoline. The results reveal that the willingness to pay for purely domestic bioethanol-blended gasoline within 10% is about 52 KRW; Koreans have concave preferences on the blending ratio of bioethanol to gasoline. The turning point of the blending ratio of bioethanol was 6.5%. Also, we found inverse U-shaped curve between income and bioethanol choice probability and the turning point of the income was calculated as 250~299million KRW. Politically conservative propensity advocates uses of bioethanol blended gasoline, but awareness on bioethanol or more weights on environmental conservation have significantly negative effects on the choice of bioethanol. However, the design of the survey questionnaire is incompatible with the RFS of Korea and assumes orthogonality among the following four interrelated attributes: (i) domestic or offshore procurement of feedstocks in the case of domestic production, (ii) domestic production or import of bioethanol, (iii) the blending ratios, and (iv) the retail price increases. In addition, the results of model estimation and of model selection test are not definite. Hence, the results in this study should not be directly applied to the design of the specifics of the Korean RFS. Hence, the results in this study require cautions in applying to the design of the Korean RFS policy.

Relationship among Frequency of Coffee Consumption, Metabolic Biomarkers, and Nutrition Intake in Adults - From the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, 2007~2009 - (한국 남녀 성인에서 커피 섭취빈도와 건강 관련 대사적 지표 및 영양섭취와의 관련성 - 2007~2009 국민건강영양조사 자료를 바탕으로 -)

  • Bae, Yun-Jung;Lee, Eun-Ju;Yeon, Jee-Young
    • The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
    • /
    • v.29 no.4
    • /
    • pp.547-556
    • /
    • 2016
  • The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between frequency of coffee consumption, metabolic biomarkers, and nutrition intake in adult participants in the combined 2007~2009 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). Subjects (2,095 males and 3,297 females) were classified according to sex and frequency of coffee consumption (${\leq}1$ time/month, ${\geq}2$ times/month and ${\leq}6$ times/week, 1 time/day, 2 times/day, 3 times/day) using food frequency questionnaires. Nutrition intake was analyzed using 24 h recall data. The 3 times/day coffee consumption group had a significantly higher age, and frequency of smokers and drinkers compared to the ${\leq}1$ time/month coffee consumption group in both male and female participants. Males in the 3 times/day coffee consumption group had a significantly lower HDL-cholesterol level, but females had a higher waist circumference compared with the ${\leq}1$ time/month coffee consumption group. Males in the 3 times/day coffee consumption group had a significantly lower nutrient density of fiber, vitamin B2, vitamin C, calcium and phosphorus compared with the ${\leq}1$ time/month coffee intake group. Females in the 3 times/day coffee consumption group had a significantly higher nutrient density of fat and niacin, but lower nutrient density of carbohydrate, calcium, phosphorus, and iron compared with the ${\leq}1$ time/month coffee intake group. In males, the frequency of coffee consumption was not associated with the levels of metabolic biomarkers. In females, the frequency of coffee consumption was positively associated with diastolic blood pressure after adjustments for multiple confounding factors, including age, BMI, smoking status, alcohol consumption, physical activity and energy intake. Coffee consumption was associated with decreased diastolic blood pressure in females. These findings suggest the importance of an awareness of the association between coffee consumption and metabolic risk.

Directions towards sustainable agricultural systems in Korea

  • Kim, Chang-Gil
    • Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
    • /
    • 2017.06a
    • /
    • pp.3-3
    • /
    • 2017
  • The question of how to establish sustainable agricultural systems has become as prominent as questions related to water, energy and climate change. High input/high output agriculture has brought with it many adverse effects; the massive deterioration of soil and water in both quantity and quality, increased greenhouse gas emissions and an increased prevalence of unsafe foods. Additionally, urbanization and climate change has worsened the shortage of farmland and reduced the supply of agricultural water. Given these challenges, maintaining, conserving and efficiently using agri-environmental resources, through fostering of sustainable agriculture, have emerged as key tasks in solving these problems. What is needed therefore is research, based on systematic and comprehensive empirical analyses, that can propose plans and methods for establishing an appropriate sustainable agricultural system. The empirical analysis of sustainable agricultural system is approached separately from economic, environmental and social aspects. An analysis of environment effect reveals that the available phosphate level is 1.3~2.1 times greater than the optimal amount in rice paddies, upland fields and orchards. Further examination has revealed that the excess nutrient is polluting both ground water and surface water. Analytical results for economic feasibility show that factors of production have been invested heavily in the rice crop. Under these conditions, sustainable agriculture, including low-input agriculture, appears to be a possible alternative that will facilitate simultaneous improvements in both economic feasibility and environment effects. Analysis results for sociality reveal that social factors include the value of producer, association and interior networks. Social conditions are comprised of leadership, consumers' awareness, education and conflict solutions. In addition, analysis as to the degree investments contribute to improving agricultural value added has revealed that the direct payment program is the most effective instrument. Experts confirm that economic feasibility can be improved by scientific and well-reasoned nutrient management on the basis of soil testing. Farmers pointed to 'economic factors' as being the largest obstacle to switching to the practice of sustainable agriculture. They also indicate 'uncertainty with regards to sustainable agriculture technology' as an impediment to practicing sustainable agriculture. Even so, farmers who believe environmental and regional issues to be the most pressing problems have expanded their practice of sustainable agriculture. The keys to establishing sustainable agriculture system are classified into the following four aspects. Firstly, from an economic aspect, the research indicates that agricultural policy needs to be integrated with environmental policy and that the function of market making based on the value chain needs to be revitalized. Secondly, from an environmental aspect, there is a need for an optimal resource management system to be established in the agricultural sector. In addition, sustainable agriculture practice will need to be extended with attendant environmentally-friendly and sustainable intensive technology also requiring further development. Thirdly, from a social aspect, green agriculture management needs to be fostered, technology and education extended, and social conflict mediated. Lastly, from a governance aspect, it will be necessary to strengthen good governance, assign and share suitable roles and responsibilities, build a cooperation system and utilize community supported agriculture.

  • PDF