• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
• /
• v.44 no.4
• /
• pp.726-740
• /
• 2023

Objectives: This review investigated the research on warm herbal foot bath therapy (WHFT) for insomnia. Methods: A search was conducted on the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) database to collect relevant studies published up to August 29, 2023. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing WHFT and sleeping pills in patients with insomnia were included. The methodological quality of the included studies was assessed using the Cochrane risk-of-bias assessment tool. The results of the meta-analysis were presented as risk ratios (RRs) or mean differences (MDs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: A total of 11 RCTs were included. WHFT as monotherapy resulted in a significantly higher total effective rate (TER) (RR, 1.25; 95% CI, 1.15 to 1.36; I²=25%) and an improved Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) global sore (MD, -3.10; 95% CI, -4.24 to -1.95; I²=73%) compared to benzodiazepines. Additionally, WHFT as a combined therapy with benzodiazepines resulted in a significantly higher TER (RR, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.04 to 1.27; I²=0%) and an improved PSQI global score (MD, -2.23; 95% CI, -4.09 to -0.38; I²=80%) compared to benzodiazepines alone. In network analysis visualizing the components of HWFT, four clusters were discovered, and Polygoni Multiflori Ramuls and Ziziphi Spinosae Semen were the key herbs used in WHFT. Overall, the methodological quality of the included studies was poor. Conclusions: There was limited evidence that WHFT as a monotherapy or combined therapy was effective in improving insomnia. The findings can be used as basic data for future WHFT research in South Korea.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
• /
• v.39 no.6_2
• /
• pp.1565-1576
• /
• 2023

An atmospheric correction algorithm based on the radiative transfer model is required to obtain remote-sensing reflectance (R_rs) from the Geostationary Ocean Color Imager-II (GOCI-II) observed at the top-of-atmosphere. This R_rs derived from the atmospheric correction is utilized to estimate various marine environmental parameters such as chlorophyll-a concentration, total suspended materials concentration, and absorption of dissolved organic matter. Therefore, an atmospheric correction is a fundamental algorithm as it significantly impacts the reliability of all other color products. However, in clear waters, for example, atmospheric path radiance exceeds more than ten times higher than the water-leaving radiance in the blue wavelengths. This implies atmospheric correction is a highly error-sensitive process with a 1% error in estimating atmospheric radiance in the atmospheric correction process can cause more than 10% errors. Therefore, the quality assessment of R_rs after the atmospheric correction is essential for ensuring reliable ocean environment analysis using ocean color satellite data. In this study, a Quality Assurance (QA) algorithm based on in-situ R_rs data, which has been archived into a database using Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) Bio-optical Archive and Storage System (SeaBASS), was applied and modified to consider the different spectral characteristics of GOCI-II. This method is officially employed in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)'s ocean color satellite data processing system. It provides quality analysis scores for R_rs ranging from 0 to 1 and classifies the water types into 23 categories. When the QA algorithm is applied to the initial phase of GOCI-II data with less calibration, it shows the highest frequency at a relatively low score of 0.625. However, when the algorithm is applied to the improved GOCI-II atmospheric correction results with updated calibrations, it shows the highest frequency at a higher score of 0.875 compared to the previous results. The water types analysis using the QA algorithm indicated that parts of the East Sea, South Sea, and the Northwest Pacific Ocean are primarily characterized as relatively clear case-I waters, while the coastal areas of the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea are mainly classified as highly turbid case-II waters. We expect that the QA algorithm will support GOCI-II users in terms of not only statistically identifying R_rs resulted with significant errors but also more reliable calibration with quality assured data. The algorithm will be included in the level-2 flag data provided with GOCI-II atmospheric correction.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
• /
• v.30 no.4
• /
• pp.771-782
• /
• 2016

For basic information collection for the ecological management of forest vegetation in Korean island areas, forest vegetation between inhabited(Daemodo) and uninhabited(Gudo) island was classified in the Z-M phytosociological method and their ecological characteristics in terms of both floristic composition and structure analyzed. Forest vegetation of Daemodo and Gudo were divided into a total of 11 units and 8 units, respectively. Total cover and species diversity index(H') of forest vegetation showed significant differences between the two island, Daemodo has a high value in the tree layer, but, Gudo has a high value in the shrub layer. Composition of Life forms, Daemodo was N-$R_5-D_2$-e and Gudo MM-$R_5-D_2$-e. Family importance value(FIV), Daemdo has a high value in Theaceae(12.2) and Pinaceae(12.0) and Gudo in Lauraceae(16.5) and Fagaceae (11.6). The percentage of the total number of species in the family level, Daemodo is Asteraceae(4.5%) was the highest and Gudo is Liliaceae(7.3%). Indicator species of forest vegetation of the two islands, Daemodo is Nanophanerophytes(N) including Smilax china, Ligustrum japonicum and Eurya japonica was significant inicator species and Gudo is Megaphanerophytes(MM) including Dendropanax morbiferus, Castanopsis sieboldii and Actinodaphne lancifolia.

• The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine
• /
• v.25 no.1
• /
• pp.72-81
• /
• 2011

Backgrounds: Sticking warm and hot herbs to acupoint in Dog-Days where the strongest Yangqi takes place, Acupoint sticking in Dog-Days is one of Oriental medical treatment to cure winter diseases in the summer. This treatment is widespread in China and Taiwan, and is becoming popular in South Korea nowadays. Objectives: The research has been conducted to evaluate the influencial factors and efficacy in Acupoint sticking in Dog-Days. Methods: We visited one kindergarten in Dog-Days of 2010, and attached pills which are made of Sinapis Semen(白芥子), Corydalis Tuber(玄胡索), Asari Herba Cum Radix(細辛), Juice of Zingiber Officinale(薑汁) to BL-13(肺兪), BL-15(心兪), BL-17(膈兪) of 56 children for 4-6 hours(34 boys, 22 girls, $52.64{\pm}16.85$ months, 19-78 months). Exacerbating effect or non-significant changes in respiratory symptoms before and after the treatment were ified.. The influentialfactors of efficacy were analyzed by Pearson's $x^2$-test and Fisher's exact test. In addition, the efficacy and satisfaction among once, twice, and three times treatment groups were verified by ANOVA. Results: 27 children (48.2%) were effective, but efficacy felt by parents is 45 cases (80.4%). Sex, perspiration, stool, urine, sleep, cold of hands and feet, cold sensitivity, and frequency of Acupoint sticking in Dog-Days has no relation to efficacy(p>0.05). However, the efficacy is poor in 1 and 2 age(p=0.030). Difference among efficacy of once, twice, and three times treatment groups is not significant(p=0.069), whereas there are linear association in frequency of Acupoint sticking in Dog-Days and efficacy(p=0.030). 36 parents (64.3%) are satisfied with Acupoint sticking in Dog-Days, and we observed significant difference among once, twice, three times treatment groups(p=0.041). 19 parents (33.9%) had been known about Acupoint sticking in Dog-Days, but 53 parents (94.6%) wanted repetition, and 41 parents (73.2%) intended to recommend it to acquaintance. Side effects are minor itching in two cases. Twenty seven participants showed positive effect, and forty five people (80.4%) felt beneficial. Sex, perspiration, stool, urine, sleep, cold hands and feet, sensitivity in cold, and frequency of Acupoint sticking in Dog-Days has no relation to the efficacy(p>0.05). Though the efficacy was poor in one and two year old infants, it was linearly correlated with the frequency count and responses from the treatment (p=0.030). Thirty six participants (64.3%) satisfied with the treatment, and so did the first, second, and third participant groups (p=0.041). Even though, only nineteen participants (33.9%) were familiar with Acupoint sticking in Dog-Days, fifty three participants (94.6%) preferred to repeat the treatment, and 41 parents were preferable to recommend the treatment to others. Side effects of minor itching has been reported in a couple cases. Conclusions: Acupoint sticking in Dog-Days is effective in children older than three year old. The effect would be greater when going through the treatment three times. Based on significant satisfaction, intention of repetition and recommendation, strong promotion on Dog-Days are needed to make a better use of Acupoint sticking in Dog-Days for the effective treatment.

• The Korean Journal of Quaternary Research
• /
• v.16 no.1
• /
• pp.1-16
• /
• 2002

A total of 4 muddy sediment samples collected from the Central Yellow Sea were analyzed for chemical composition. The results are compared with the previously published Huanghe, Changjiang and Keum River geochemical data in order to understand provenance and sedimentation of fine-grained mud, and the sediment accumulation rates estimated. The sandy sediment facies is distributed in the eastern area, a patch of fine-grained mud exists in the western central prat, and the sandy mud and clay sedimentary facies shot. north to south zonal distribution in the central region. The content of calcium carbonate ranges from 2.8 to 10.5%, and its distributional trends to be more concentrated on the western muddy sediments near toward the China side rather than on the eastern sandy sediments. The accumulation rates obtained using Pb-210 geochronologies for the muddy sediments in the Central Yellow Sea showed ranges from 0.21 to 0.68 cm/yr or 0.176 to 0.714 g/$\textrm{cm}^2$. yr. The sedimentation rate from core CY96010 located in the eastern near side of Shandong Peninsula which is affected by the Huanghe River shows 0.68 cm/yr or 0.714 g/$\textrm{cm}^2$ . yr. The sediment cores CY96008 and CY96002 in the Central Yellow Sea, the estimated of sediment accumulation rates shows 0.21~0.23cm1yr or 0.176~0.220 9/$\textrm{cm}^2$.Vr respectively, which are much lower than above samples. These indicate that the muddy sediments in central area of the Yellow Sea may have received influence of the sediment discharge from the Huanghe River. The concentrations of Ca, Na, Sr, Ho, La, Tb, Ta and Ca/Ti ratio of the muddy sediments in the Central Yellow Sea are higher than those of the Changjiang sediments and lower than those of the Huanghe sediments. However, these element values showed similar concentration patterns than those of the Huanghe sediment. The element contents such as Fe, Ti, Nl, Co, Cr, Cu, Pb, Sc, Ce, Nd, Sm, Eu, Cd and Dy in the study area are higher than those of the Huanghe sediments and lower than the Changjiang River sediments, but these values showed close to resemblance content trends those of the Changjiang sediment. The concentration of Mn, K and Sr in sediments of the study area are similar to those of the Keum River and eastern Yellow Sea sediment. They are rich in Zn, Rb, Cd, U, Cs and Li than those of the other comparison legions. Therefore, the terrigenous materials sources of the muddy sediment in the Central Yellow Sea comes mainly from Huanghe River in the past and present, and also have party derived from the Changjiang and Keum River, while the biological deposit in this area are carried by the Yellow Sea Warm Current.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
• /
• v.31 no.5
• /
• pp.385-394
• /
• 2015

Pine wilt disease has greatly damaged pine forests not only in East Asia including South Korea and China, but also in European region. The damage caused by pine wood nematode (Bursaphelenchus xylophilus) is expressed in bundles within stands and rapidly spreading, however, present field survey methods have limitations to detecting damaged trees at regional level. This study extracted the damaged trees by pine wilt disease using time series hyperspectral aerial photographs, and analyzed their distribution characteristics. Hyperspectral aerial photographs of 1 meter spatial resolution were obtained in June, September, and October. Damaged trees by pine wilt disease were extracted using Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Vegetation Index green (VIgreen) of the September photograph. Among extracted damaged trees, dead trees with leaves and without leaves were classified, and the spectral reflectance values from the photographs obtained in June, September, and October were compared to extract new outbreaks in September and October. Based on the time series dispersion of extracted damaged trees, nearest neighbor analysis was conducted to analyze distribution characteristics of the damaged trees within the region where hyperspectral aerial photographs were acquired. As a result, 2,262 damaged trees were extracted in the study area, and 604 dead trees (dead trees in last year) with leaves in relation to the damaged time and 300 and 101 newly damaged trees in September and October were classified. The result of nearest neighbor analysis using the data shows that aggregated distribution was the dominant pattern both previous and current year in the study area. Also, 80% of the damaged trees in current year were found within 60 m of dead trees in previous year.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
• /
• v.37 no.2
• /
• pp.275-290
• /
• 2021

Sulfur dioxide (SO2) in the atmosphere is mainly generated from anthropogenic emission sources. It forms ultra-fine particulate matter through chemical reaction and has harmful effect on both the environment and human health. In particular, ground-level SO2 concentrations are closely related to human activities. Satellite observations such as TROPOMI (TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument)-derived column density data can provide spatially continuous monitoring of ground-level SO2 concentrations. This study aims to propose a 2-step residual corrected model to estimate ground-level SO2 concentrations through the synergistic use of satellite data and numerical model output. Random forest machine learning was adopted in the 2-step residual corrected model. The proposed model was evaluated through three cross-validations (i.e., random, spatial and temporal). The results showed that the model produced slopes of 1.14-1.25, R values of 0.55-0.65, and relative root-mean-square-error of 58-63%, which were improved by 10% for slopes and 3% for R and rRMSE when compared to the model without residual correction. The model performance by country was slightly reduced in Japan, often resulting in overestimation, where the sample size was small, and the concentration level was relatively low. The spatial and temporal distributions of SO2 produced by the model agreed with those of the in-situ measurements, especially over Yangtze River Delta in China and Seoul Metropolitan Area in South Korea, which are highly dependent on the characteristics of anthropogenic emission sources. The model proposed in this study can be used for long-term monitoring of ground-level SO2 concentrations on both the spatial and temporal domains.

• The Southeast Asian review
• /
• v.28 no.1
• /
• pp.21-51
• /
• 2018

This article takes several approaches in explaining recent developments in Vietnam. First, it draws upon an array of sources that idealize Vietnam's embrace of capitalism and integration into the global market in order to sketch out its economy's progress in 2017. Second, it observes, evaluates, and diagnoses recent changes in the Vietnamese economy in the medium to long term by incorporating conflicting perspectives on Vietnam's performance as a capitalist country. Third, this article traces the power shifts that have risen from internal struggles in the Communist Party over political and social issues. Fourth, it elaborates on the aforementioned impact that foreign relations have had on socio-political developments in Vietnam, as well as the government's response. In so doing, it also attempts to evaluate, however briefly, the significance of the 25th anniversary of South Korea-Vietnam relations. Finally, it examines the public's reaction to the post-reform transitions in light of recent sociocultural changes. 2017 was a memorable year for Vietnam: a continuous march toward capitalism; the resulting expansion of the Vietnamese people's demands; political controversies and government control; the looming instability of United States-China relations and various attempts to address the situation. These events will inevitably replicate themselves in the future as the ostensibly socialist Vietnam adopts a capitalist model. The problem is that it is unclear whether these experiences will continue with the consent of the people of socialist Vietnam or engender resistance. It is difficult to achieve meaningful consent in the status quo of worsening inequalities, widespread corruption, monopoly on power, and sustained use of unskilled low-wage workers. In other words, when concerns such as welfare, public health, and the environment are set aside in favor of economic development and commercialization as they have been, discontent, rather than consent, will prevail. It is thus important to keep a watchful eye on the viability of the nominal economic growth, surface-level political stability, and strategic responses to foreign relations that took place in 2017.

• The Southeast Asian review
• /
• v.27 no.2
• /
• pp.245-271
• /
• 2017

The purpose of this study is to examine and assess the major characteristics and changes of politics, economy, and diplomacy in Thailand in 2016. Specifically, it reviewed the New Constitution that was passed in 2016, the confrontation between different political forces and the trend of military regime around the New Constitution, and the political instability caused by the accession of the new king to the throne. This study also set out to figure out changes to the economy and foreign relations of the country, including its relations with South Korea, under the military regime and make predictions for the impact and future prospects of King Bhumibol Adulyadej's death on the politics and economy of the country. In 2016, the politics of Thailand took a step further toward the transfer of power to civil government and established a foundation for an authoritarian system. The draft of the New Constitution, which does not seem to be democratic, was approved by a referendum and enabled the military authorities to continue their political interventions, even after the general election. The New Constitution, in particular, reduces the power of political parties itself in addition to simply keeping the Thaksin's party in check; thus, anticipating ongoing conflicts between the military authorities and political parties. In this situation, the absence of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who used to play a decisive role in promoting the political stability of the country, and the accession of the new king to the throne raise concerns about the acceleration of political instability, which has continued after the coup and influenced the diplomatic relations of the country. Today, Thailand is distancing itself from Western nations that do not recognize the current military regime including the U.S.A. and EU member states and instead maintains a rapidly friendly and close relation with China. In 2016, the economy of Thailand made a gradual recovery rather than high growth. The death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej has exerted limited direct economic impacts only on individual consumption and tourism and is not likely to cause a recession. An economic crisis will, however, be unavoidable if the political confrontations escalate before the general election to transfer power to the civil government.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
• /
• v.54 no.2
• /
• pp.271-283
• /
• 2021

The Imjingang Belt in the middle-western Korean Peninsula has tectonically been correlated with the Permo-Triassic Qinling-Dabie-Sulu collisional belt between the North and South China cratons in terms of collisional tectonics. Within the belt, crustal-scale extensional ductile shear zones that were interpreted to be formed during collapsing stage with thrusts and folds were reported as evidence of collisional events by previous studies. In this study, we tried to understand the nature of deformation along the southern boundary of the belt in the Munsan area based on the interpretations of recently conducted structural analyses. To figure out the realistic geometry of the study area, the down-plunge projection was carried out based on the geometric relationships between structural elements from the detailed field investigation. We also conducted kinematic interpretations based on the observed shear sense indicators from the outcrops and the oriented thin-sections made from the mylonite samples. The prominent structures of the Munsan area are the regional-scale ENE-WSW striking thrust and the N-S trending map-scale folds, both in its hanging wall and footwall areas. Shear sense indicators suggest both eastward and westward vergence, showing opposite directions on each limb of the map-scale folds in the Munsan area. In addition, observed deformed microstructures from the biotite gneiss and the metasyenite of the Munsan area suggest that their deformation conditions are corresponding to the typical mid-crustal plastic deformation of the quartzofeldspathic metamorphic rocks. These microstructural results combined with the macro-scale structural interpretations suggest that the shear zones preserved in the Munsan area is mostly related to the development of the N-S trending map-scale folds that might be formed by flexural folding rather than the previously reported E-W trending crustal-scale extensional ductile shear zone by Permo-Triassic collision. These detailed examinations of the structures preserved in the Imjingang Belt can further contribute to solving the tectonic enigma of the Korean collisional orogen.