• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.142-147
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• 2007

We optimized braising time to improve the storage quality of braised kidney beans. The beans were prepared with different heating times between 25 and 50 min. and then stored at $10^{\circ}C$ for 20 day. Physical, chemical, microbiological, and organoleptic quality indices were monitored throughout storage. Longer braising times yielded products with lower concentrated brine coverage. Bis resulted in higher soluble contents and slightly lower water activities. Excessive heating time exposed the kidney beans to air and caused rapid microbial growth on the surfaces of the beans, which negatively affected product quality. The longest heating time of 50 min. also resulted in a large increase in product hardness. A braising time of 30 min. was best for preservation, as good sensory quality was mainatained.

• Journal of Obesity & Metabolic Syndrome
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.238-247
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• 2018

Background: We aimed to estimate the proportion of patients with diabetes who achieved target glycemic control, to estimate diabetes-related costs attributable to poor control, and to identify factors associated with them in the United Arab Emirates. Methods: This retrospective cohort study used administrative claims data handled by Abu Dhabi Health Authority (January 2010 to June 2012) to determine glycemic control and diabetes-related treatment costs. A total of 4,058 patients were matched using propensity scores to eliminate selection bias between patients with glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) <7% and HbA1c ${\geq}7%$. Diabetes-related costs attributable to poor control were estimated using a recycled prediction method. Factors associated with glycemic control were investigated using logistic regression and factors associated with these costs were identified using a generalized linear model. Results: During the 1-year follow-up period, 46.6% of the patients achieved HbA1c <7%. Older age, female sex, better insurance coverage, non-use of insulin in the index diagnosis month, and non-use of antidiabetic medications during the follow-up period were significantly associated with improved glycemic control. The mean diabetes-related annual costs were $2,282 and $2,667 for patients with and without glycemic control, respectively, and the cost attributable to poor glycemic control was $172 (95% confidence interval [CI], $164-180). The diabetes-related costs were lower with mean HbA1c levels <7% (cost ratio, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.88-0.99). The costs were significantly higher in patients aged ${\geq}65$ years than those aged ${\leq}44$ years (cost ratio, 1.45; 95% CI, 1.25-1.70). Conclusion: More than 50% of patients with diabetes had poorly controlled HbA1c. Poor glycemic control may increase diabetes-related costs.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.385-392
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• 2023

Purpose: This study investigated the epidemiology, management, outcomes, and postoperative disabilities of degloving soft tissue injuries (DSTIs) treated at a tertiary care center in northern India. Methods: A prospective study of patients with DSTIs was conducted over 15 months. The type of degloving injury, the mechanism of injury, and any associated injuries were analyzed using the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS) 2.0 along with the management, outcomes, and disabilities at a 3-month follow-up. Results: Among 75 patients with DSTIs, the average age was 27.5 years, 80.0% were male, and 76.0% had been injured in traffic accidents. The majority (93.3%) were open degloving injuries. Lower limbs were affected most often (62.7%), followed by upper limbs (32.0%). Fractures were the most commonly associated injuries (72.0%). Most patients required more than two procedures, including secondary debridement (41.3%), split skin grafting (80.0%), flap coverage (12.0%), or vacuum-assisted closure (24.0%), while five patients underwent conservative management for closed degloving injuries. Postoperative complications included surgical site infections (14.7%) and skin necrosis (10.7%). Two patients died due to septic shock and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome. The mean length of hospital stay was 11.5±8.1 days, with injuries affecting the lower limbs and perineum requiring longer hospital stays. The mean WHODAS 2.0 disability score at 3 months was 19. Most patients had mild disabilities. Time away from work depended largely upon the site and severity of the injury. Approximately 75% of patients resumed their previous job or study, 14% changed their job, and 8% stopped working completely due to residual disability. Conclusions: DSTIs are common injuries in trauma and management is challenging. Although open DSTI are clinically evident at secondary survey, closed degloving injuries may be missed in the primary survey, necessitating a high index of suspicion, thorough clinical examination, and protocol-based management. Primary preventive strategies (e.g., road safety protocols, preplacement training, and proper protective equipment in industries) are also needed to reduce the incidence of these injuries.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.351-368
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• 2004

Following the previous experiments, a starvation experiment was conducted to determine the influence of feeding and starvation on the histological and biochemical changes, the morphormetric changes in the sectioned body and the morphometric changes in Rhynchocypris oxycephalus (Sauvage and Dabry). The influence of starvation on nutritional conditions of the histological changes of hepatocyte and intestinal epithelium as hepatosmatic index (HSI), protein, RNA and DNA concentrations of liver in R. oxycephalus was tested. Although the starved group showed higher concentrations of protein, DNA and RNA than the fed group, food deprivation resulted in a decrease in the HSI, hepatocyte nucleus size and nuclear height of the intestinal epithelium. The RNA - DNA ratio appears to be a useful index of nutritional status in R. oxycephalus and may be useful for determining if R. oxycephalus is in a period of rapid or slow growth at the time of sampling. Additionally, the data have been interpreted in detail and some biologically important relationships discussed. The effects of starvation on the morphometrical changes in sectioned body traits, condition factor, viscera index and dressing percentage were determined for evaluating nutritional conditions of R. oxycephalus. Starvation for nine weeks resulted in a decrease in most sectioned traits as well as in condition factor and viscera index (P<0.05). These findings suggest that nutritional parameters used in this study appear to be a useful index for nutritional status in this species. The data has been interpreted in detail and some important body sectioned values of interest to commercial growers discussed. A 75-day study was conducted to determine the effect of starvation on classical and truss parameters in R. oxycephalus. Truss dimensions of almost the entire head and trunk region as well as the abdomen were increased significantly through feeding or starvation (P<0.05). Truss dimensions of the caudal region generally decreased through feeding or starvation, particularly those dimensions at the hind part of the trunk. There were some significant decreases in classical dimensions of the head region during feeding, in relation to body depth characteristics in the trunk and caudal region during starvation, whereas there was only one decreasing classical dimension in the caudal region during feeding. The results of this study indicate that application of the truss network as a character set enforces classical coverage across the body form, discrimination among experimental groups thus being enhanced. Considering that the dimension of the lower part of the head and some truss and classical dimensions were least affected by feeding and starvation, these dimensions may then be useful as a taxonomical indicator to discriminate the species of Rhynchocypris sp. The value of trunk region dimensions with a large component of body depth in R. oxycephalus is most likely to be compromised by variability related to differences in feeding regimes of fish in different habitats.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.53-61
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• 2015

Habitat creation for endangered species Menyanthes trifoliata L. using planting module represents a habitat type such as the rhizome grows horizontally to open water at the margin of the lake. The objectives of this mesocosm experiment are habitat creation with easy construction and low management effort, and to investigate the potential of providing a habitat for aquatic macroinvertebrates. Planting modules had three different substrates of bed soil, perlite and K-SOIL (artificial lightweight soil using bottom ash). These modules were established in two different size of the tub($1170{\times}2250{\times}300mm^3$, $900{\times}1360{\times}190mm^3$). According to the monitoring results, number of leaves and coverage of M. trifoliata showed significant difference with substrate and tub size. The number of leaves showed similar growth responses in bed soil (mean 22.979) and K-SOIL (mean 28.042) substrates but growth was poor in perlite substrate (mean 1.667). The number of leaves in the large tub was more than small tub (p=0.015). Similar responses were obtained with the coverage, the length of rhizome and the number of rhizome in M. trifoliata. A total of 21 taxa of aquatic macroinvertebrates including 1,145 individuals was found in the mesocosm. The Shannon diversity index and colonization index in the mesocosm were similar to the previous studies. These results suggest that the experimental mesocosm could provide sufficient habitats for aquatic macroinvertebrates. If planting modules use bed soil or K-SOIL by planting substrate, establish that taking into account open water surfaces for M. trifoliata growth and manage about 30cm of water depth control, then habitat creation for M. trifoilata will be successful.

• Journal of Cadastre & Land InformatiX
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.161-178
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• 2017

Whereas the demand for development of forested areas covering more than 60% of Korean territory, permission on the forest development has been still given from the perspective of effective land utilization rather than conservation. As the assessment of large forested areas usually focuses more on forest structure, it has its limitation of observing and analyzing the interior change in forest in this way. This study was aimed at computing landscape metrics using a presence vegetation map and FRAGTSTATS 4.2 and analyzing vegetation mosaics. Colonies in native vegetation were classified into a series of major groups and sub-groups based on the native species within the colonies. The colonies were investigated by analyzing a suite of landscape metrics - Core Area, Percentage of Landscape, Number of Patches, Patch Density, Largest Patch Index, Total Edge, Edge Density, Landscape Shape Index, Mean Patch Area, Euclidean Nearest Neighbor. In the Chungnam province major groups and sub-groups of colonies classified based on the proportion of pine and oak species, and pine species was the principal one in terms of distribution area. As for the competition between pines and oaks, while the coverage of pine-centered colonies were three times larger than those of oak-centered ones, pine colonies showed the greater number of patches and therefore higher fragmentation than oaks at the major group level. For the sub-groups, the largest coverage colonies were not only indicated by Pinus densiflora-Quesrcus mongolica colonies among P. densiflora-centered colonies, Q. accutissima colonies among Q. accutissima-centered ones, Q. accutissima-P. densiflora colonies among Q. accutissima-centered ones, Q. mongolica colonies among Q. mongolica-centered ones, P. thumbergii colonies among P. thumbergii-centered ones, and Q. serrata-Q. acutissima colonies among Q. serrata-centered ones, but also revealed more severely mosaicked than other smaller colonies. The overall mosaicking degree estimated by landscape metrics was considered useful for monitoring and investigating vegetation. However, in order to develop management strategy based on analyzing the reason for the mosaicking process and anticipating a trend in vegetation succession, it is essential to further study about ecological characteristics of each colony in the vegetation.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.109-123
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• 2014

Kaloula borealis is the species of Amphibia which belongs to Kaloula genus and it is the only species inhabiting in Korea. The population size and habitat of Kaloula borealis have been significantly decreased on a national scale due to the diversified developments and the uses of agricultural pesticides. Accordingly, the Ministry of Environment has designated and managed them as the class II of endangered species, in accordance with "Endangered Species Protection and Management Act"; however, a particular study focused on the ecological restoration of Kaloula borealis is desperately needed to prevent their extinction. This study was conducted to propose the HSI (Habit Suitability Index) of Kaloula borealis based on literature survey on ecology and habitats of Kaloula borealis, as well as their HSI. Factors to be investigated in HSI include: space, feed, cover, water(breeding) and threatening factors and the variables of each factor were also proposed. The distance from wetland, grassland, farm, stream and rice paddy, as well as the altitude of spawning pond were proposed as the variables of space, whereas the bed structure of forest and low-rise grassland were proposed as the variables of feeding. The variables of water (breeding) include the area of permanent and temporary wetlands, coverage of emerged pants (ratio of open water), water depth, water temperature, water quality, pH level, etc., whereas the presence of predator, distance from street and pollutants were proposed as the variables of threatening factor. The sub-standards by HSI factor of Kaloula borealis have been drawn from in-depth consultation with experts and based on this, the final HSI of Kaloula borealis was developed.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.151-157
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• 2003

This research was conducted to investigate about structural characteristics of vegetation by change of the environmental factors for prolific open-pollinated progeny forest in Pinus koraiensis stands. Stand slope of Kapyung area was slower than Youngdong area. On the other hand, contents rate of the soil chemical properties in Kapyung was lower than Youngdong area. And relative intensity of light was higher Youngdong than Kapyung area. On the whole, growth of the Pinus koraiensis was more dominant Kapyung area than Youngdong. Analysis result of the relative density, - frequency, - coverage and importance value to shrub layer in each local stands, Quercus mongolica and Quercus acutissima were dominant species in Kapyung area. Dominant species In Youngdong area was Quercus acutissima. In Kapyung area, appearance species of the vegetation layer was consisted that live in moist soil and shaded lot. Youngdong area showed fewer species than Kpyung area. Species diversity of shrub and vegetation layer in Kapyung and Youngdong area was higher than Youngdong. This result was judged by slope difference between each areas. Kapyung area need enforce thinning and Youngdong area conduct tending management on shrub layer.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.36 no.2_1
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• pp.179-197
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• 2020

Topographic normalization reduces the terrain effects on reflectance by adjusting the brightness values of the image pixels to be equal if the pixels cover the same land-cover. Topographic effects are induced by the imaging conditions and tend to be large in high mountainousregions. Therefore, image analysis on mountainous terrain such as estimation of wildfire damage assessment requires appropriate topographic normalization techniques to yield accurate image processing results. However, most of the previous studies focused on the evaluation of topographic normalization on satellite images with moderate-low spatial resolution. Thus, the alleviation of topographic effects on multi-temporal high-resolution images was not dealt enough. In this study, the evaluation of terrain normalization was performed for each band to select the optimal technical combinations for rapid and accurate wildfire damage assessment using PlanetScope images. PlanetScope has considerable potential in the disaster management field as it satisfies the rapid image acquisition by providing the 3 m resolution daily image with global coverage. For comparison of topographic normalization techniques, seven widely used methods were employed on both pre-fire and post-fire images. The analysis on bi-temporal images suggests the optimal combination of techniques which can be applied on images with different land-cover composition. Then, the vegetation index was calculated from the images after the topographic normalization with the proposed method. The wildfire damage detection results were obtained by thresholding the index and showed improvementsin detection accuracy for both object-based and pixel-based image analysis. In addition, the burn severity map was constructed to verify the effects oftopographic correction on a continuous distribution of brightness values.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.252-259
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• 2013

Purpose: To report the results of dosimetric comparison between intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) using Tomotherapy and four-box field conformal radiotherapy (CRT) for pelvic irradiation of locally advanced rectal cancer. Materials and Methods: Twelve patients with locally advanced rectal cancer who received a short course preoperative chemoradiotherapy (25 Gy in 5 fractions) on the pelvis using Tomotherapy, between July 2010 and December 2010, were selected. Using their simulation computed tomography scans, Tomotherapy and four-box field CRT plans with the same dose schedule were evaluated, and dosimetric parameters of the two plans were compared. For the comparison of target coverage, we analyzed the mean dose, $V_{nGy}$, $D_{min}$, $D_{max}$, radical dose homogeneity index (rDHI), and radiation conformity index (RCI). For the comparison of organs at risk (OAR), we analyzed the mean dose. Results: Tomotherapy showed a significantly higher mean target dose than four-box field CRT (p = 0.001). But, $V_{26.25Gy}$ and $V_{27.5Gy}$ were not significantly different between the two modalities. Tomotherapy showed higher $D_{max}$ and lower $D_{min}$. The Tomotherapy plan had a lower rDHI than four-box field CRT (p = 0.000). Tomotherapy showed better RCI than four-box field CRT (p = 0.007). For OAR, the mean irradiated dose was significantly lower in Tomotherapy than four-box field CRT. Conclusion: In locally advanced rectal cancer, Tomotherapy delivers a higher conformal radiation dose to the target and reduces the irradiated dose to OAR than four-box field CRT.