• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.118-133
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• 2023

Background: Free-living amoebae (FLA) are widely distributed in freshwater, seawater, soil, and extreme environments, and play a critical role as feeders on diverse preys in the ecosystem. Also, some FLA can become opportunistic pathogens in animals including humans. The taxa Amoebozoa and Heterolobosea are important amoeboid groups associated with human pathogens. However, the identification and habitat of amoebae belonging to Amoebozoa and Heterolobosea remain poorly reported in the Republic of Korea. This study highlights the first record for identification and source of four amoebae including putative pathogens in the Republic of Korea. Results: In the present study, four previously reported FLA were isolated from freshwaters in Sangju Gonggeomji Reservoir (strain GO001), one of the largest reservoirs during the Joseon Dynasty period, and along the Nakdong River, the largest river in the Republic of Korea (strains NR5-2, NR12-1, and NR14-1) for the first time. Microscopic observations and 18S rDNA phylogenetic trees revealed the four isolated strains to be Acanthamoeba polyphaga (strains NR5-2 and NR12-1), Tetramitus waccamawensis (strain GO001), and Naegleria australiensis (strain NR14-1). Strains NR5-2 and NR12-1 might be the same species and belonged to the morphological Group 2 and the T4 genotype of Acanthamoeba. Strain GO001 formed a clade with T. waccamawensis in 18S rDNA phylogeny, and showed morphological characteristics similar to previously recorded strains, although the species' flagellate form was not observed. Strain NR14-1 had the typical morphology of Naegleria and formed a strongly supported clade with previously recorded strains of N. australiensis in phylogenetic analysis of 18S rDNA sequences. Conclusions: On the bases of morphological and molecular analyses, four strains of FLA were newly observed and classified in the Republic of Korea. Three strains belonging to the two species (A. polyphaga and N. australiensis) isolated from the Nakdong River have the potential to act as opportunistic pathogens that can cause fatal diseases (i.e. granulomatous amoebic encephalitis, Acanthamoeba Keratitis, and meningoencephalitis) in animals including humans. The Nakdong River in the Republic of Korea may provide a habitat for potentially pathogenic amoebae, but additional research is required to confirm the true pathogenicity of these FLA now known in the Republic of Korea.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.299-310
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• 2021

External fire spread has the potential to breach vertical compartmentation and violate the fire safety strategy of a building. The traditional design solution to this has been the use of non-combustible materials and spandrel panels but recent audits show that combustible materials are widespread and included in highly complex systems. Furthermore, most jurisdictions no longer require detailing of spandrel panels under many different circumstances. These buildings require rapid investigation using rational scientific methods to be able to adequately classify the fire risk. In this work, we use an extensive experimental campaign of material-scale data to explore the critical parameters driving upward flame spread. Two criteria are outlined using two different approaches. The first evaluates the time to ignition and the time to burnout to assess the ability for a fire to spread, and can be easily determined using traditional means. The second evaluates the preheated flame length as the critical parameter driving flame spread. A wide range of cladding materials are ranked according to these criteria to show their potential propensity to flame spread. From this, designers can use conservative approaches to perform fire risk assessments for buildings with combustible materials or can be used to aid decision-making. Precise estimates of flame spread rates within complex façade systems are not achievable with the current level of knowledge and will require a substantial amount of work to make progress.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.35-47
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• 2023

The transport system and its infrastructure are not only the fundamental means of sustaining the operation of contemporary cities, but also important drivers for the evolution of urban form. Rail transit, critical to improving the operational efficiency and optimizing the spatial layout in cities, is one of the critical conditions for high-density areas with limited land and concentrated resources to be compact to take on complex challenges. As a node element of infrastructure, rail transit entrances are the most important points connecting the rail transit system with urban space. Although influenced by urban form, their quantity and location also influence and shape the evolution of urban space form. Based on the development gap of high-density areas in various contexts, focusing on various rail transit stations in Asia, this research analyzes the correlation between rail transit entrances and peripheral high-density urban form in a delicate, dynamic and granular way. The research considers both horizontal and vertical perspectives, in combination with the urban evolution process in time series, to explore the development trend of high-density urban form in Asia from the aspect of correlation, and building a new foundation for research on urban form, suitable for different types of cities.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.986-995
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• 2016

The objective of this study was to analyze the distribution of endangered fish species and elucidate their relations on chemical water quality, physical habitat conditions and ecological stream health. The dominant species in the watershed was Pseudopungtungia nigra (Pn), Gobiobotia macrocephala (Gm), Gobiobotia brevibarba (Gb), Liobagrus obesus (Lo), and Iksookimia choii (Ic) in the order. The species of Pn designated as "critical endangered species (I) (CER)", was most widely distributed species among the endangered species, so the designation of the species should be re-evaluated. The endangered species was most popular (4 species, 384 individuals) in the Cho-River region of eighteen lotic regions. According to the analysis of chemical tolerance limits in the habitats with endangered fish species, biological oxygen demand (BOD) and total phosphorus (TP) was analyzed as "very good" (Ia) and "good condition" in the chemical criteria of the Ministry of Environment, Korea. Also, chemical conditions, based on ammonia-N ($NH_{4+}$), total nitrogen (TN), phosphate-P ($PO_{4^-}P$) were much better in the habitat with endangered species (Hw) than the habitat without endangered species (Ho). In the meantime, the species of Ic showed wide ranges on the chemical tolerance, so physical habitat conditions, such as the size of substrate particles (sand) and hydrological regime, were considered as more important factors than the chemical water quality, if the water quality is not largely degraded. The endangered species were also more distributed in the high-order (4-6) streams than the low-order (1-3) streams. The evaluation of ecological stream health, based on multi-metric model of the Index of Biological Integrity (IBI), showed the large difference between the Hw (21.6, fair condition)and Ho (30.5, good condition), indicating that the habitat maintained well chemically and physically had higher distributions of endangered species. Overall, the designation of CER on the Pn should be re-evaluated due to wide-distributions, and the protections from water pollution and the habitat conservations on the endangered species are necessary in the watershed.

• Korean Journal of Plant Taxonomy
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.239-246
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• 2020

Carex nakasimae Ohwi (Cyperaceae) is an endemic species on the Korean peninsula. This study reports a new locality of the species, updating the distribution map. A new population of the species was found during field surveys in 2014 in a small swamp in Haman-gun, Gyeongsangnam-do province, located in the southeastern part of the Korean peninsula. In the flowering and fruiting periods of the species, the population is associated with ca. 91 vascular plant taxa from 40 families. To conserve the endemic species, maintaining the habitat is critical. Furthermore, taxonomic and phylogenetic positions of the species should be clarified to establish biological conservation strategies for the rare, endemic C. nakasimae.

• ALGAE
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.207-216
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• 2015

Caloglossa species occurs in freshwater streams around Southest Asia. We report it from 2 different riverine sites in Kerala, India. Tetrasporangiate plants were observed in field collections from the Periyar River and Chalakkudy River. The Chalakkudy isolate did not reproduce in culture but the Periyar isolate developed abundant tetrasporangial sori in culture. Many spores were discharged and most were abortive, but some germinated normally, sporelings forming male gametophytes with numerous spermatangial sori and females with many procarps, viable carposporophytes and some nonfunctional (no carpospores) pseudocystocarps. Some carpospores germinated forming new tetrasporophytes. Molecular evidence (28S rDNA and rbcL) placed the Indian specimens close to C. beccarii and C. fluviatilis. Considering the freshwater habitat and morphology of vegetative thalli (blade shape, rhizoid arrangement, and number of rhizoid filament per cell), the Indian specimens should be assigned to C. beccarii.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.199-204
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• 2014

W-Project is 70-story mixed-use residential building complex project in Busan, the second biggest city in South Korea. As it is a high rise building complex located at the coast, the residents have great ocean view from the height. Though, there were many difficult challenges to be solved to secure structural safety and meet the serviceability requirements. As it is located on the reclaimed land, securing the foundation bearing capacity on soft soil is the first issue to be solved for the stable structure. W-Project. Busan on the way usual track of typhoon, wind load on structure is also critical for structural safety and serviceability for occupants due to wind vibration. This paper will address process of lateral load resisting structural system of W-Project.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.129-138
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• 2013

A spatio-temporal models as systems of ODE which describe two-species Beddington - DeAngelis type predator-prey system living in a habitat of two identical patches linked by migration is investigated. It is assumed in the model that the per capita migration rate of each species is influenced not only by its own but also by the other one's density, i.e. there is cross diffusion present. We show that a standard (self-diffusion) system may be either stable or unstable, a cross-diffusion response can stabilize an unstable standard system and destabilize a stable standard system. For the diffusively stable model, numerical studies show that at a critical value of the bifurcation parameter the system undergoes a Turing bifurcation and the cross migration response is an important factor that should not be ignored when pattern emerges.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.135-142
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• 2015

As the skyscraper matures as a building type, its role in actively connecting to, and reinforcing, major threads of urban fabric becomes increasingly more important. The creation of public spaces inside of and adjacent to tall buildings allows for significant additions to the public realm, facilitating better connections between varied uses, providing needed access to critical transportation functions. In this more integrated version of the tall building type, the density afforded by a vertical structure is complemented by strategically devised porosity of plan and section. This paper examines three major tower projects which exemplify a progressive approach to permeable design: the recently completed Jingan Kerry Centre in Shanghai, the Lotte Supertower in Seoul, now half completed, and the One Vanderbilt tower being proposed next to Grand Central Terminal in New York City. These projects suggest possibilities for innovative approaches to private development strategies, public planning processes, and architectural design.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.93-96
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• 2013

Greenhouse gas emissions and excessive energy consumption have been an on-going world issue nowadays. We can find that the majority portion is caused by high-rise office buildings. In order to resolve these problems, it is extremely important to implement various active or passive strategies in a building design. To successfully meet these design goals and energy reduction approaches, a project building must utilize an efficient design process from the early start. One of the most effective project delivery process called Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) will be implemented in a case study project building (KEPCO) during design phase and show how important it is to plan a project's green environmental performance goal together through an early collaboration from all key project participants, which helps to construct an successful green building design without any critical construction pitfalls.