• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.55 no.4
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• pp.314-323
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• 2023

This study assessed the desired wage guidelines for medical technologists (MTs), mainly primary care providers and those in secondary medical institutions, in 16 cities and provinces in Korea. A survey of 1,327 MTs was conducted using a structured Google questionnaire from August 1, 2022, to September 30, 2022. The wage levels differed according to gender, age, education, career, region, and employment status. There were differences in wage levels according to gender and region with less than one year of career, and the wage gap was relatively larger for woman than man. An awareness of wage compensation appropriate for work performance, and technology value compensation were low at 2.01, 2.23, and 2.30, respectively. This study suggests that primary and secondary medical institutions should provide reasonable wages compensation for MTs' work in order to create an environment where MTs can receive stable jobs and work. Moreover, the Korean Association of Medical Technologists should establish a cooperative system so that the starting wage of MTs in primary and secondary medical institutions can receive the desired wage of 34 million won.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.57 no.2
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• pp.185-196
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• 2024

Objectives: Excess mortality associated with long-term exposure to fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) has been documented. However, research on the disease burden following short-term exposure is scarce. We investigated the cause-specific mortality burden of short-term exposure to PM_2.5 by considering the potential non-linear concentration-response relationship in Korea. Methods: Daily cause-specific mortality rates and PM_2.5 exposure levels from 2010 to 2019 were collected for 8 Korean cities and 9 provinces. A generalized additive mixed model was employed to estimate the non-linear relationship between PM_2.5 exposure and cause-specific mortality levels. We assumed no detrimental health effects of PM_2.5 concentrations below 15 ㎍/m³. Overall deaths attributable to short-term PM_2.5 exposure were estimated by summing the daily numbers of excess deaths associated with ambient PM_2.5 exposure. Results: Of the 2 749 704 recorded deaths, 2 453 686 (89.2%) were non-accidental, 591 267 (21.5%) were cardiovascular, and 141 066 (5.1%) were respiratory in nature. A non-linear relationship was observed between all-cause mortality and exposure to PM_2.5 at lag0, whereas linear associations were evident for cause-specific mortalities. Overall, 10 814 all-cause, 7855 non-accidental, 1642 cardiovascular, and 708 respiratory deaths were attributed to short-term exposure to PM_2.5. The estimated number of all-cause excess deaths due to short-term PM_2.5 exposure in 2019 was 1039 (95% confidence interval, 604 to 1472). Conclusions: Our findings indicate an association between short-term PM_2.5 exposure and various mortality rates (all-cause, non-accidental, cardiovascular, and respiratory) in Korea over the period from 2010 to 2019. Consequently, action plans should be developed to reduce deaths attributable to short-term exposure to PM_2.5.

• Journal of Animal Environmental Science
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.155-162
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• 2004

The livestock liquid manure is one of important source for production of friendly environmental crops and have been used widespreadly in recent years. This survey is to eventually investigate the actual conditions of liquid manure utilization for cultivation of crops in the agricultural farm, based on the survey for 61 selected farms in 8 provinces(except Jeju province) included 22 counties in Korea. The results obtained in this survey were summarized as follow; $72.1\%$ of liquid manure storage tank(44) was located in the farmland and $27.9\%$(17) was in the fm. Most of liquid manure tank volume and material were 200 M/T($67.2\%$) and Polyethylene Double Frame panel($44.3\%$). The pro-portions of liquid manure application land were $45.9\%$ for rice paddy, $36.1\%$ for dry field, $16.4\%$ for orchard and $1.6\%$ for other, respectively. The controversial points of liquid manure utilization were malodor($60.7\%$), equipment possession($22.9\%$), no problem($13.1\%$) and farmland possession ($2.3\%$), respectively.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.65-76
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• 1982

This survey was conducted to investigate the status of repair and maintenance of 4 wheel tractor for a basic reference to the improvement of quality and proper utilization of tractors. Thirty two counties from eight provinces, except Jeju, were covered in this study in order to investigate annual break-down and repair of tractor in 1980. The analyzed results are summarized as follows; 1. The average number of break-down of large size tractors(47ps) was 5.0 times in a year and it was about twice of that of small size tractors(19-23ps). The break-down frequency per 100 hours of use was 1.11 times in the large size and 0.65 times in the small size tractors. 2. 75.6 percent of total break-down was occured in main body of tractor and 24.4 percent in attachments. In particular, the break-down of plow and rotavator was more than 80 percent of total break-down of the small size tractor attachments. 3. The large size tractors which were occured more than one times of break-down a year was 75 percent and its rate of the small size tractor was 62 percent. But 9 percent of tractor surveyed had more than ten times of break-down in a year 4. The frequency of break-down had a peak in May, and it was directly proportional to the hours of use. 5. The causes of break-down were poor maintenance and operation by 29.8 precent, old parts by 30.2 percent, poor quality of parts by 20.6 percent, poor field condition by 16.3 percent and others by 3.1 percent. 6. Annual number of repair was 5.5 times and among them 55.6 percent was done by shop and 44.4 percent by operator. 7. Total required repair time was 30.6 hours a year in the large size tractor and 19.9 hours in the small size tractor. Average repair time was 3.62 hours a time. 8. Annual repair cost was 278 thousand won in the large size tractor and 70 thousand won in the small size tractor. The repair cost per hour of use was 621 won in the large size and 198 won in the small size tractor. 9. The repair cost rate of tractor(Y) was regulated with tractor age (X) as follow; Y=0.752X In case of the service life of tractor was 10 years, the total repair cost rate was 64 percent.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.57 no.3
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• pp.127-135
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• 2018

Climate change can affect variables related to the life cycle of insects, including growth, development, survival, reproduction and distribution. As it encourages alien insects to rapidly spread and settle, climate change is regarded as one of the direct causes of decreased biodiversity because it disturbed ecosystems and reduces the population of native species. Hypera postica caused a great deal of damage in the southern provinces of Korea after it was first identified on Jeju lsland in the 1990s. In recent years, the number of individuals moving to estivation sites has concerned scientists due to the crop damage and national proliferation. In this study, we examine how climate change could affect inhabitation of H. postica. The MaxEnt model was applied to estimate potential distributions of H. postica using future climate change scenarios, namely, representative concentration pathway (RCP) 4.5 and RCP 8.5. As variables of the model, this study used six bio-climates (bio3, bio6, bio10, bio12, bio14, and bio16) in consideration of the ecological characteristics of 66 areas where inhabitation of H. postica was confirmed from 2015 to 2017, and in consideration of the interrelation between prediction variables. The fitness of the model was measured at a considered potentially useful level of 0.765 on average, and the warmest quarter has a high contribution rate of 60-70%. Prediction models (RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5) results for the year 2050 and 2070 indicated that H. postica habitats are projected to expand across the Korean peninsula due to increasing temperatures.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.33 no.5_3
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• pp.867-878
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• 2017

Recent interest in geological heritage has been increased in that it can be used as a basic data onto predicting the global environmental change of its containing information about past global environment. In addition, due to the characteristics of the geological heritage, it is easy to damage and difficult to recover without continuous preservation and management. However, there are more damages occurring because of the sporadic spatial distribution and ambiguous management authority of geological heritage. Therefore, an integrated management system is needed by determining the spatial distribution of geological heritage preferentially. In this study, the detailed criteria for assessment of value from the preliminary studies were applied and the geological heritage grade distribution map was generated by using geospatial data in Seoul metropolitan area. For this purpose, the list of geological heritage sites in the Seoul metropolitan area, which is the study area, were complied through a literature review. The geospatial database was designed and constructed by applying the detailed criteria for assessment of value from the preliminary studies. After the construction of the spatial database, a grade map of the geological heritage was created. As a result of the geological heritage grade map in the Seoul metropolitan area, there were more than 35% of the geological heritage in northern Gyeonggi provinces such as Yeoncheon city (18.8%), Pocheon city (10.6%) and Paju city (6.3%). It is followed by 18.1% in Incheon and 8.1% in Ansan, which is approximately 26.2% in western Gyeonggi Province. The geological age of the geological heritage was the highest at in the fourth stage of the Cenozoic era of 16.9%. Through the results of this study, the geological heritage data of the Seoul metropolitan area were extracted from existing literature data and converted into spatial information. It enables comparing the geological features with the spatial distribution of geological heritage. In addition, a management system has been established based on spatial information of constantly building geological heritage data. This provides the integrated management system of the geological heritage to manage authority so that it can be used as a basis for the development of the geological park. Based on the results of this study, it is considered to be possible to systematically construct and utilize the geological heritage across the country.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.480-489
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• 2021

Climate change poses great threats to wildlife populations by decreasing their number and destroying their habitats, jeopardizing biodiversity conservation. Asiatic salamander (Hynobiidae) species are particularly vulnerable to climate change due to their small home range and limited dispersal ability. Thus, this study used one salamander species, the Korean clawed salamander (Onychodactylus koreanus), as a model species and examined their habitat characteristics and current distribution in South Korea to predict its spatial distribution under climate change. As a result, we found that altitude was the most important environmental factor for their spatial distribution and that they showed a dense distribution in high-altitude forest regions such as Gangwon and Gyeongsanbuk provinces. The spatial distribution range and habitat characteristics predicted in the species distribution models were sufficiently in accordance with previous studies on the species. By modeling their distribution changes under two different climate change scenarios, we predicted that the distribution range of the Korean clawed salamander population would decrease by 62.96% under the RCP4.5 scenario and by 98.52% under the RCP8.5 scenario, indicating a sharp reduction due to climate change. The model's AUC value was the highest in the present (0.837), followed by RCP4.5 (0.832) and RCP8.5 (0.807). Our study provides a basic reference for implementing conservation plans for amphibians under climate change. Additional research using various analysis techniques reflecting habitat characteristics and minute habitat factors for the whole life cycle of Korean-tailed salamanders help identify major environmental factors that affect species reduction.

• Journal of Animal Environmental Science
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.141-150
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• 2006

To optimise the efficient use of nutrients in pig slurry is to cultivate friendly environmental crops. This field survey is to investigate the actual conditions of pig slurry utilization for cultivation of crops in the agricultural farm, based on the survey for 407 selected farms in 9 provinces included 78 counties in Korea. The results obtained in this survey were summarized as follow ; The motive which came to use pig slurry in the agricultural farm were production of friendly environmental crops (29.7%), economy of chemical fertilizer (25.1%), spontaneously (19.2%), inducement of neighboring farmhouse (16.0%), increase of soil fertility (9.3%), and the others (0.7%), respectively. The proportions of pig slurry application land were 56.5% for.ice paddy, 22.6% for dry field, 13.3% for orchard, 4.4% for controlled agriculture and 3.2% for other, respectively. The number of times of pig slurry utilization per year were once (48.9%), twice (31.9%), thrice (14.0%), and the others (5.2%), respectively. The controversial points of pig slurry utilization were malodor (54.1%), insufficiency of spread equipment (22.1%), inconvenience (14.5%), over application (3.4%), over cost (2.9%), heavy metal (1.7%), sanitation (1.0%) and the other (0.2%), respectively. The results indicated that pig slurry could be used as fertilizer source of friendly environmental crops, but further studies are needed to determine the application method and value of the pig slurry for crop cultivation.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.141-147
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• 2012

The present survey was conducted to provide basic information on Hanwoo calf management. Eight hundred and sixty-two Hanwoo breeding farms from all nine provinces were surveyed via personal interviews. The percentages of farms categorized by herd size were 30.5%, 32.8%, 26.0% and 10.7% for <50 heads, 51-100 heads, 101-200 heads, and >200 heads, respectively. More than 50% of farms offered calf starter at 6-10 days of age, showing that calf starter was offered relatively at an earlier age. Calf starter was replaced every three days by 30.1% of farms. The percentages of farms replacing starter weekly (19.2%) were even higher than those of replacing starter daily (18.8%), suggesting that the frequency of replacing starter needs to be increased to maintain starter freshness and to increase starter intake. About one-third of farms offered forage at 6-10 days of age and 21% of farms offered even at 1-5 days of age although it has been well known that forage does not contain either nutrient density or nutrient profile necessary to stimulate rumen papillae development, especially before weaning. Furthermore, about half of farms used rice straw with calf starter. Water was offered relatively at an earlier age (1-5 days of age) by 55% of farms. Deciding when to wean calves should be based on starter intake rather than age but less than 50% of farms decided weaning age by starter intake. In conclusions, to reduce weaning age of Hanwoo calves by rapid rumen papillae development it is necessary to provide fresh starter and water by increasing frequency of starter replacing and water trough cleaning and not to feed forage before weaning.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.205-217
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• 2014

As Mt. Backdu is expected to erupt, the social and economic impacts of the eruption on the Korean peninsula as well as on the world become a research topic of interest. If the volcano erupts, South Korea can be directly impacted by volcanic ash, which will bring out secondary damages in various ways. Given that the direct damage is a basis to estimate indirect and secondary damages, this paper was to review a method to estimate direct damages, called catastrophe risk models, and estimate the direct damages of available eruption scenarios of Mt. Baekdu. Based on the results, the damages by volcanic ash will occur mostly around Gangwon province if the Mt. Backdu erupts. Thus the inventory lists and their damage functions of Gangwon provinces were collected. In particular agricultural and forestry products were surveyed based on the land use. Direct damages were estimated using volcanic ash distribution of eruption scenarios, inventory information and their damage functions. In result, a scenario in winter caused the damage of 299.8 billion KRW (20.4% of total agricultural production in 2010) and 28.9 billion KRW (9.0% of total forestry production in 2010) in agriculture and forestry, respectively. The damages in agriculture was larger, and it is due to the damage functions which show the agricultural products are more vulnerable to volcanic ash than forestry products. Also the agricultural production (1,471.7 billion KRW in 2010) are more than 4.5 times the forestry production (322.3 billion KRW in 2010) in Gangwon province. Inje and Gangnung had the most damages in the scenario in winter. Inje had the most damage due to the thick ash deposit (8.5 mm in average) despite the low production. On the other hand, Goseong had a low damage compared to the ash thickness larger than 20mm, owing to the low production. The direct damage estimated through this process can be used to estimate indirect damages.