[en] This study was conducted to evaluate the potential applicability of an in situ biological reactive barrier system to treat nitrate-contaminated bank filtrate. The reactive barrier consisted of sulfur granules as an electron donor and autotrophic sulfur-oxidizing bacteria as a biological component. Limestone was also used to provide alkalinity. The results showed that the autotrophic sulfur oxidizers were successfully colonized on the surfaces of the sulfur particles and removed nitrate from synthetic bank filtrate. The sulfur-oxidizing activity continuously increased with time and then was maintained or slightly decreased after five days of column operation. Maximum nitrate removal efficiency and sulfur oxidation rate were observed at near neutral pH. Over 90% of the initial nitrate dissolved in synthetic bank filtrate was removed in all columns tested with some nitrite accumulation. However, nitrite accumulation was observed mainly during the initial operation period, and the concentration markedly diminished with time. The nitrite concentration in effluent was less than 2 mg-N/l after 12 days of column operation. When influent nitrate concentrations were 30, 40, and 60 mg-N/l and sulfur content in column was 75%, half-order autotrophic denitrification reaction rate constants were 31.73x10^-3, 33.3x10^-3, and 36.4x10^-3 mg^1/2/l^1/2min, respectively. Our data on the nitrate distribution profile along the column suggest that an appropriate wall thickness of a reactive barrier for autotrophic denitrification may be 30 cm when influent nitrate concentration is less than 60 mg-N/l. - An in situ biological reactive barrier system treating nitrate-contaminated bank filtrate is evaluated

[en] The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a toothpaste containing bamboo salt on fluorine uptake in bovine enamel and to compare the efficiency of fluorine uptake between sodium monofluorophosphate(SMFP) toothpaste and sodium fluoride (NaF) mouthrinsing solution using proton induced γ-ray emission analysis. 30 bovine tooth enamel specimens were prepared and assigned to 5 groups as follows: specimens without any treatment, specimens which were treated with a toothpaste containing dicalcium phosphate dihydrate (DCPD) only, specimens which were treated with a toothpaste containing DCPD and SMFP, specimens which were treated with a toothpaste containing DCPD, SMFP and 2% bamboo salt, specimens which were treated with 0.05% NaF mouthrinsing solution. After 5 and 10 hours of treatment, fluorine concentration was measured at the depth of 263, 625, 2530 nm from the surface of the specimens. The surface concentration of fluorine was markedly increased using SMFP dentifrice. Bamboo salt did not encourage the uptake of fluorine into the enamel surface. NaF mouthrinsing solution showed a considerably higher uptake of fluoride in the intact enamel surface than the SMFP dentifrices. (author)

[en] The remineralization effect of fluoride has been measured by surface microhardness on tooth enamel. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between microhardness and fluorine concentration on tooth enamel. Twelve sound bovine enamel specimens were prepared and immersed in 0.05% NaF solution for 1, 3, 6, 24 and 36 hours, respectively. The concentration of fluorine in specimens were measured by PIGE analysis and surface microhardness of each specimen was measured by surface microhardness tester. Fluorine concentration was increased by immersing time. There was no change in microhardness of each specimen by fluorine content. The results of this study suggest that there was no relationship between the fluorine concentration and surface microhardness in sound tooth enamel. PIGE analysis can be used effectively to assess the remineralization effect of fluorine content in tooth enamel. (author)

[en] The adiabatic following and the optimal detuning methods are applied for an effective photon momentum transfer in the five-level atomic system which may be considered as the transition of ⁸⁷Rb D1-line F=1, 2 to F'=1. The dynamics of the transfer is explained by representing the Bloch vector and the torque vector. When the initial populations are coherently distributed in two ground levels, conditions sufficient for complete population transfers are obtained. In both methods, it is shown that for the transfer to be highly efficient, the atomic system should be retrained in dark states during the interaction with the laser light. The obtained analytic solution is confirmed by numerical calculations

[en] A study has been performed to evaluate the radiological safety and feasibility associated with reuse of NaF(Sodium Fluoride) and HF(Hydrofluoric Acid) which are generated as byproducts from the nuclear fuel fabrication process. The investigation of oversea's experience reveals that the byproduct materials are most often used in the metal and glass industries. For the radiological safety evaluation, the uranium radioactivities in the byproduct materials were examined and shown to be less than radioactivities in natural materials. The radiation doses to plant personnel and the general public were assessed to be very small and could be ignored. The Korea nuclear regulatory body permits the reuse of NaF in the metal industry on the basis of associated radioactivity being open-quote below regulatory concern close-quote. HF is now under review for reuse acceptability in the steel and glass industries

[en] Biodegradation potentials of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were determined with soil samples collected from various depths of a PAH-contaminated site and of a site nearby where PAHs were not found. Putative dioxygenase genes were amplified by a primer set specific for initial dioxygenases and identified by web-based database homology search. They were further categorized into several groups of which four dioxygenases were selected as probes for DNA hybridization. The hybridization signals according to the presence of putative dioxygenases were positively related to the extent of PAH contamination. However, the signal intensities varied depending on the probes hybridized and moreover were not consistent with PAH biodegradation activities determined by CO₂ evolution. Despite widely accepted advantages of molecular biodegradation assessment, our data clearly present the variations of assessment results depending on the genetic information used and suggest that the methodology may tend to underestimate the real biodegradation capacity of a site probably due to the limited dioxygenase database available at the moment. Therefore, the molecular assessment of biodegradation potential should involve a very careful primer and probe design and an extensive microbiological examination of a site of interest to accurately delineate the biodegradation potential of the site. - Biodegradation potential of PAHs in contaminated soils is determined by two culture-independent methods and recommendations made on best approaches