• Title/Summary/Keyword: Critical study

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Effects of Attenuation and Scatter Corrections in Cat Brain PET Images Using microPET R4 Scanner (MicroPET R4 스캐너에서 획득한 고양이 뇌 PET 영상의 감쇠 및 산란보정 효과)

  • Kim, Jin-Su;Lee, Jae-Sung;Lee, Jong-Jin;Lee, Byeong-Il;Park, Min-Hyun;Lee, Hyo-Jeong;Oh, Seung-Ha;Kim, Kyeong-Min;Cheon, Gi-Jeong;Lim, Sang-Moo;Chung, June-Key;Lee, Myung-Chul;Lee, Dong-Soo
    • Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
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    • v.40 no.1
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    • pp.40-47
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    • 2006
  • Purpose: The aim of this study was to examine the effects of attenuation correction (AC) and scatter correction (SC) on the quantification of PET count rates. Materials and Methods: To assess the effects of AC and SC $^{18}F$-FDG PET images of phantom and cat brain were acquired using microPET R4 scanner. Thirty-minute transmission images using $^{68}Ge$ source and emission images after injection of FDG were acquired. PET images were reconstructed using 2D OSEM. AC and SC were applied. Regional count rates were measured using ROIs drawn on cerebral cortex including frontal, parietal, and latral temporal lobes and deep gray matter including head of caudate nucleus, putamen and thalamus for pre- and post-AC and SC images. The count rates were then normalized with the injected dose per body weight. To assess the effects of AC, count ratio of "deep gray matter/cerebral cortex" was calculated. To assess the effects of SC, ROIs were also drawn on the gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM), and contrast between them ((GM-WM)/GM was measured. Results: After the AC, count ratio of "deep gray matter/cerebral cortex" was increased by $17{\pm}7%$. After the SC, contrast was also increased by $12{\pm}3%$. Conclusion: Relative count of deep gray matter and contrast between gray and white matters were increased after AC and SC, suggesting that the AC would be critical for the quantitative analysis of cat brain PET data.

Assessment of Salt Damage for Upland-Crops in Dae-Ho Reclaimed Soil (대호 간척지 토양의 염농도별 밭작물의 염해 평가)

  • Lee, Seung-Heon;Yoo, Sun-Ho;Seol, Su-Il;An, Yeoul;Jung, Yeong-Sang;Lee, Sang-Mo
    • Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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    • v.19 no.4
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    • pp.358-363
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    • 2000
  • This study was carried out to obtain the basic data for selecting the applicable crops in reclaimed land during desalinization period. A pot experiment was conducted with 5 different electrical conductivities of the saturated extracts $(ECe\;1,\;3,\;9,\;14,\;and\;16\;dS{\cdot}m^{-1})$ of soils taken from the Dae-Ho reclaimed tidal lands. Eight crops (Chinese cabbage, radish, tomato, red pepper, buckwheat, soybean, sesame, and green perilla) were grown for 37days. Plant height and number of leaves were surveyed on 2 and 4 weeks after seeding, and on harvest time (5 weeks). After harvest, dry weights of harvested crops were measured and soil chemical properties were analyzed. Emergence rates of crops were comparatively high except sesame. For sesame, there was no emergence at ECe over $3\;dS{\cdot}m^{-1}$. Growth and dry weight decreased significantly as increasing ECe. The ECe which decreased 50% of dry weight index were $14.2\;dS{\cdot}m^{-1}$ for radish, $11.4\;dS{\cdot}m^{-1}$ for Chinese cabbage, $10.2\;dS{\cdot}m^{-1}$ for red pepper, $8.9\;dS{\cdot}m^{-1}$ for buckwheat and green perilla, $8.6\;dS{\cdot}m^{-1}$ for soybean, and $8.9\;dS{\cdot}m^{-1}$ for tomato. At higher ECe that start the growth inhibition, increasing $1\;dS{\cdot}m^{-1}$ in ECe, 7.7, 6.5, 5.9, 5.6, 5.2, and 4.9% of dry weight decreased for buckwheat, green perilla, Chinese cabbage, radish, soybean, and tomato (red pepper), respectively. The critical value of ECe for crop survival except sesame was $15.4\;{\sim}\;23.1\;dS{\cdot}m^{-1}$.

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Effect of Genistein on the Onset of Puberty in Female Rats (암컷 흰쥐의 사춘기 개시에 미치는 Genistein의 효과)

  • Lee, Kyeung-Yeup;Lee, Sung-Ho
    • Development and Reproduction
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    • v.10 no.1
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    • pp.55-61
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    • 2006
  • There is growing concern that dietary soy intake is associated with protection of breast cancer. However, questions persist on the potential adverse effects of the main soy constituent genistein(GS) on female reproductive physiology. In this study, we examined whether prepubertal exposure to GS affected on the onset of puberty and the associated reproductive parameters such as hormone receptor expressions in female rats. GS(100mg/kg/day) was administrated daily from postnatal day 25(PND 25) to the day when the first vaginal opening(VO) was observed, and the animals were sacrificed on the day after VO occurred. Gross anatomy and tissue weight were compared to test the GS's effect on the cell proliferation. Furthermore, histological studies were performed to assess the structural alterations in tissues. Specific radioimmunoassay(RIA) were carried out to measure serum LH levels. To determine the transcriptional changes in progesterone receptors(PR), total RNAs were extracted from ovary and uterus and were applied to semi-quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR). As a results, advanced VO was shown in the GS group(PND $31.2{\pm}0.6$) compared to the vehicle group (PND $35.3{\pm}0.7$). GS treatment significantly increased wet weight of ovaries and uteri compared to the vehicle group. Increased serum LH levels were also shown in the GS group. Graafian follicles and corpora lutea(CL) were observed only in the ovaries from GS treated animals. Similarly, hypertrophy of luminal and glandular uterine epithelium were found only in the GS group. Collectively, these effects were probably due to the estrogenic effects of GS. In the semi-quantitative RT-PCR studies, the transcriptional activities of PR in both ovary and uterus from GS-treated group were significantly higher than those from the vehicle group. The present studies demonstrated that acute exposure to GS, at levels comparable to the ranges of human exposure, during the critical period of prepubertal stage activates the reproductive system resulting precocious puberty in immature female rats.

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Characterization of Groundwater Level and Water Quality by Classification of Aquifer Types in South Korea (국내 대수층 유형 분류를 통한 지하수위와 수질의 특성화)

  • Lee, Jae Min;Ko, Kyung-Seok;Woo, Nam C.
    • Economic and Environmental Geology
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    • v.53 no.5
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    • pp.619-629
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    • 2020
  • The National Groundwater Monitoring Network (NGMN) in South Korea has been implemented in alluvial/ bedrock aquifers for efficient management of groundwater resources. In this study, aquifer types were reclassified with unconfined and confined aquifers based on water-level fluctuation and water quality characteristics. Principal component analysis (PCA) of water-level data from paired monitoring wells of alluvial/bedrock aquifers results in the principal components of both aquifers showing similar water-level fluctuation pattern. There was no significant difference in the rate of water-level rises responding to precipitations and in the NO3-N concentrations between the alluvial and bedrock aquifers. In contrast, in the results classified with the hydrogeological type, the principal components of water level were different between unconfined and confined conditions. The water-level rises to precipitation events were estimated to be 4.6 (R2=0.8) in the unconfined and 2.1 (R2=0.4) in the confined aquifers, respectively, indicating less impact of precipitation recharge to the confined aquifer. The confined aquifers have the average NO3-N concentration below 3 mg/L, implying the natural background level protected from the sources at surface. In summary, reclassification of aquifers into hydrogeological types clearly shows the differences between unconfined and confined aquifers in the water-level fluctuation pattern and NO3-N concentrations. The hydrogeologic condition of aquifer could improve groundwater resource management by providing critical information on groundwater quantity through recharge estimation and quality for protection from potential contamination sources.

Flavonoid Profiles of Quercus mongolica Fisch. ex Ledeb. and Q. serrata Murray (Fagaceae) in Mt. Seorak, Korea: Taxonomical and Ecological Implications (설악산 신갈나무와 졸참나무의 플라보노이드 조성과 분류학적, 생태학적 의미)

  • Park, Jin Hee
    • Journal of Life Science
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    • v.24 no.10
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    • pp.1092-1101
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    • 2014
  • In this study, the distribution patterns of Quercus mongolica and Q. serrata in Korea were investigated, and the possibility of introgressive hybridization and gene flow between Q. mongolica and Q. serrata in Mt. Seorak was inferred by flavonoid analyses. The most critical factor in the vertical and horizontal distribution patterns of Q. mongolica and Q. serrata was the temperature, in accordance with latitude and altitude. The species showed a zonal distribution, with a Q. mongolica zone in the upper area and a Q. serrata zone in the lower area. In Mt. Seorak, Central Korea, the range of the vertical distribution of Q. mongolica was generally above an altitude of 100 m, whereas that of Q. serrata was an altitude of 0-400 m (-500) and rarely above an altitude of 500 m. However, in Mt. Jiri, Southern Korea, Q. serrata was found up to an altitude of 1,000~1,200 m, whereas the frequency of Q. mongolica was reduced at lower elevations and the species was rare below an altitude of 300 m, although pure stands were found on higher mountain slopes above an altitude of 1,200 m. The altitudinal distribution of the two species overlapped, where the two species occurred together. The leaf flavonoid constituents of thirty-four individuals of Q. mongolica and Q. serrata in Mt. Seorak and Mt. Jiri, Korea were examined. Twenty-four flavonoid compounds were isolated and identified. These were glycosylated derivatives of flavonols kaempferol, quercetin, isorhamnetin, myricetin. Five compounds among the flavonoid compounds were acylated. Kaempferol 3-O-glucoside, quercetin 3-O-glucoside, quercetin 3-O-galactoside, and its acylated compounds were major constituents and present in all individuals. Quercus mongolica is distinguished from Q. serrata by the presence of quercetin 3-O-arabinosylglucoside, a high concentration of three acylated compounds (kaempferol 3-O-glucoside, quercetin 3-O-glucoside, and quercetin 3-O-galactoside), and a relatively low concentration or lack of rhamnosyl flavonol compounds. Intraspecific variations, however, were found in the flavonoid profiles of Q. mongolica and Q. serrata, and the flavonoid profiles of individuals belonging to the two species in a hybrid zone (sympatric zone) tended to be similar, qualitatively and quantitatively. These findings strongly suggest that gene exchange or gene flow occurs through introgressive hybridization between Q. mongolica and Q. serrata in Mt. Seorak.

Comparative Evaluation of Colon Cancer Stemness and Chemoresistance in Optimally Constituted HCT-8 cell-based Spheroids (적정 구성 배양 HCT-8 기반 대장암 스페로이드의 암 줄기세포능 및 항암제 내성 평가의 비교 평가 연구)

  • Lee, Seung Joon;Kim, Hyoung-Kab;Lee, Hyang Burm;Moon, Yuseok
    • Journal of Life Science
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    • v.26 no.11
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    • pp.1313-1319
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    • 2016
  • Cancer is a complex disease heterogeneously composed of various types of cells including cancer stem-like cells responsible for relapse and chemoresistance in the tumor microenvironment. The conventional two-dimensional cell culture-based platform has critical limitations for representing the heterogeneity of cancer cells in the three-dimensional tumor niche in vivo. To overcome this insufficiency, three-dimensional cell culture methods in a scaffold-dependent or -free physical environment have been developed. In this study, we improved and simplified the HCT-8 colon cancer cell-based spheroid culture protocol and evaluated the relationship between cancer stemness and responses of chemosensitivity to 5- Fluorouracil (5-FU), a representative anticancer agent against colon cancer. Supplementation with defined growth factors in the medium and the culture dish of the regular surface with low attachment were required for the formation of constant-sized spheroids containing $CD44^+$ and $CD133^+$ colon cancer stem cells. The chemo-sensitivities of $CD44^+$ cancer stem cells in the spheroids were much lower than those of $CD44^-$ non-stem-like cancer cells, indicating that the chemoresistance to 5-FU is due to the stemness of colon cancer cells. Taken together, the inflammation and oncogenic gut environment-sensitive HCT-8 cell-based colon cancer spheroid culture and comparative evaluation using the simplified model would be an efficient and applicable way to estimate colon cancer stemness and pharmaceutical response to anticancer drugs in the realistic tumor niche.

1-Methylcyclopropene and Carbon Dioxide Absorber Reduce Chilling Injury of Eggplant ($Solanum$ $melongena$ L.) during MAP Storage (1-Methylcyclopropene과 이산화탄소 제거제 처리에 의한 가지($Solanum$ $melongena$ L.) 과실의 MAP 저장 중 저온장해 경감)

  • Veasna, Hay;Hwang, Yong-Soo;Choi, Jong-Myung;Ahn, Young-Jik;Lim, Byung-Sun;Chun, Jong-Pil
    • Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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    • v.21 no.1
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    • pp.50-56
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    • 2012
  • This study was conducted to extend the postharvest life of eggplant ($Solanum$ $melongena$ L.) by modified atmosphere packaging using a OPP bag with 1-MCP to evaluate the alleviation effects of that treatment on external chilling injury during at low temperature. 1-MCP treatment at the level of $1.0{\mu}L{\cdot}L^{-1}$ were very effective in delaying the progress of surface bronzing of eggplant during 10 days of storage at $8^{\circ}C$, but not significant at $1^{\circ}C$. Also, the treatment of 1-MCP at the levels of $0.1{\sim}1.0{\mu}L{\cdot}L^{-1}$ are beneficial to complement low temperature storage and maintain quality indices such as higher firmness and lower weight loss than untreated control even at a critical low temperature 4 to $8^{\circ}C$. The treatment of carbon dioxide using dry ice (DI, 5 g/3 fruits) significantly promoted chilling injury of eggplant stored at $4^{\circ}C$, symptoms were appeared from 3 days after treatment and combination treatment of 1-MCP did not block the development of chilling injury symptom. Meanwhile, single treatment of $CO_2$ absorber (CA, 5 g/3 fruits) or combination treatment with 1-MCP at the level of $1.0{\mu}L{\cdot}L^{-1}$ prevented effectively the external and internal chilling injury at $4^{\circ}C$ during 6 days and 15 days of MAP storage, respectively. Results suggest that 1-MCP and carbon dioxide absorber treatments delay fruit deterioration and are beneficial to broaden storage temperature of eggplant fruits.

Monitoring on Microbiological Contamination of Packed Ice Creams from Manufacturing Factories in Korea (국내 제조공장에서 생산된 아이스크림류의 미생물학적 오염실태 조사)

  • Heo, Eun-Jeong;Ko, Eun-Kyung;Kim, Young-Jo;Seo, Kun-Ho;Park, Hyun-Jung;Wee, Sung-Hwan;Moon, Jin San
    • Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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    • v.29 no.3
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    • pp.202-206
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    • 2014
  • In this study, the bacteriological survey was examined on ice creams at manufacturing factories in Korea during the summer season of 2011. The nineteen selected among 166 samples by preliminary test were collected from 11 different manufacturing factories in four major manufacturers in May 2011. Samples from ice milk, ice creams, sherbets, and non milk fat ice creams were tested for the total aerobic bacteria, coliform bacteria, and five food borne pathogens, respectively. The results showed that the coliforms including E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella spp., Staphylococcus aureus, Clostridium perfringens, and Listeria monocytogenes were not detected on all the ice creams. The total aerobic bacteria of the packed samples examined ranged between $2.5{\times}10^3$ and $5.5{\times}10^5cfu/g$. One ice cream, two sherbets, and four ice milk samples exceeded the acceptable limits of total aerobic bacteria according to the Korean standards for ice cream ($1.0{\times}10^5cfu/g$) and others ($5.0{\times}10^4cfu/g$). The levels of these microorganisms from ice creams were higher in three original equipment manufacturers than seven self-manufacturers. Three of ten ice creams (30.0%), three of six ice milks (50.0%), and one of two sherbets (50%) exceeded the acceptable limits of total aerobic bacteria, respectively. The personnel hygiene procedures with chocolate and vanilla chip addition from the manufacturing process were the main sources of the microbial contamination of stick-bar type ice creams when being produced in a factory. Improvement of the hazard analysis critical control points (HACCP) system should be introduced into the ice cream factory to improve the microbial quality of the ice cream products in Korea.

Seasonal Variation in Water Quality of Mankyeong River and Groundwater at Controlled Horticulture Region (만경강과 그 인근 시설재배지 지하수의 시기별 수질변화)

  • Lee, Kyeong-Bo;Lee, Deog-Bae;Kang, Jong-Gook;Kim, Jae-Duk
    • Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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    • v.32 no.3
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    • pp.223-231
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    • 1999
  • This study was carried out to investigate the factors influencing water quality of the river (Mankyeong River) and groundwater in controlled horticulture region from 1994 to 1998. Water quality of Mankyeong River was monitored at 13 sites along main stream for 6 months from April to September from 1994 to 1997. Monthly average concentrations of $NH_4-N$, $SO{_4}^{2-}$ and $Cl^-$ were highest in April, while that of $NO_3-N$ was highest in August. Monthly average concentrations of COD was highest in September Concentrations of $NH_4-N$ and $SO{_4}^{2-}$ in many sites of Mankyeong River exceeded the water quality criteria of agricultural water for irrigation. Water quality of Mankyeong River was not suitable for the irrigation source excepted the sites such as Hari, Gosan and Soyang stream. The floodgates of Mokcheon, Yocheon, Jeonju and Samcheon streams were rapidly polluted by the municipal sewage, otherwise the Iksan stream was rapidly polluted by the sewage of swine. The sum of inorganic ion concentrations in Mankyeong River was highest at floodgate of Yocheon due to the sewages municipal and industrial. The order of the major anions and canons concentration in Mankyeong River- stream were $SO{_4}^{2-}$ > $Cl^-$ > $NO{_3}^-$ > $PO{_4}^{3-}$ and $Na^+$ > $Ca^{2+}$ > $NH{_4}^+$ > $Mg^{2+}$ > $K^+$, respectively. The geoundwater quality at controlled horticulture region was surveyed 4 sites from 1994 to 1998. Concentrations of $NH_4-N$ and $NO_3-N$ were lower at the deeper groundwater. However there was no difference between the concentrations of $SO{_4}^{2-}$ and $Na^+$, and the groundwater depth below 15m. Contents of $NH_4-N$, $NO_3-N$, $PO{_4}^{3-}$, $SO{_4}^{2-}$, $Na^+$ and $Cl^-$ in groundwater were the highest at dry season. Nitrate-N level, exceeded $20mg\;l^{-1}$, the critical level for agricultural usage, at Yongjinmyeon Wanju and $PO{_4}^{3-}$ concentration were higher at Seogtandong Iksan than the other places.

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A Study on Lyricism Expression of Color & Realistic Expression reflected in Oriental Painting of flower & birds (전통화조화의 사실적(寫實的) 표현과 시정적(詩情的) 색채표현)

  • Ha, Yeon-Su
    • Journal of Science of Art and Design
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    • v.10
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    • pp.183-218
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    • 2006
  • Colors change in time corresponding with the value system and aesthetic consciousness of the time. The roles that colors play in painting can be divided into the formative role based on the contrast and harmony of color planes and the aesthetic role expressed by colors to represent the objects. The aesthetic consciousness of the orient starts with the Civility(禮) and Pleasure(樂), which is closely related with restrained or tempered human feelings. In the art world of the orient including poem, painting, and music, what are seen and felt from the objects are not represented in all. Added by the sentiment laid background, the beauty of the orient emphasizes the beauty of restraint and temperance, which has long been the essential aesthetic emotion of the orient. From the very inception of oriental painting, colors had become a symbolic system in which the five colors associated with the philosophy of Yin and Yang and Five Forces were symbolically connected with the four sacred animals of Red Peacock, Black Turtle, Blue Dragon, and White Tiger. In this color system the use of colors was not free from ideological matters, and was further constrained by the limited color production and distribution. Therefore, development in color expression seemed to have been very much limited because of the unavailability and unreadiness of various colors. Studies into the flow in oriental painting show that color expression in oriental painting have changed from symbolic color expression to poetic expression, and then to emotional color expression as the mode of painting changes in time. As oriental painting transformed from the art of religious or ceremonial purpose to one of appreciation, the mast visible change in color expression is the one of realism(simulation). Rooted on the naturalistic color expression of the orient where the fundamental properties of objects were considered mast critical, this realistic color expression depicts the genuine color properties that the objects posses, with many examples in the Flower & Bird Painting prior to the North Sung dynasty. This realistic expression of colors changed as poetic sentiments were fused with painting in later years of the North Sung dynasty, in which a conversion to light ink and light coloring in the use of ink and colors was witnessed, and subjective emotion was intervened and represented. This mode of color expression had established as free and creative coloring with vivid expression of individuality. The fusion of coloring and lyricism was borrowed from the trend in painting after the North Sung dynasty which was mentioned earlier, and from the trend in which painting was fused with poetic sentiments to express the emotion of artists, accompanied with such features as light coloring and compositional change. Here, the lyricism refers to the artist's subjective perspective of the world and expression of it in refined words with certain rhythm, the essence of which is the integration of the artist's ego and the world. The poetic ego projects the emotion and sentiment toward the external objects or assimilates them in order to express the emotion and sentiment of one's own ego in depth and most efficiently. This is closely related with the rationale behind the long-standing tradition of continuous representation of same objects in oriental painting from ancient times to contemporary days. According to the thoughts of the orient, nature was not just an object of expression, but recognized as a personified body, to which the artist projects his or her emotions. The result is the rebirth of meaning in painting, completely different from what the same objects previously represented. This process helps achieve the integration and unity between the objects and the ego. Therefore, this paper discussed the lyrical expression of colors in the works of the author, drawing upon the poetic expression method reflected in the traditional Flower and Bird Painting, one of the painting modes mainly depending on color expression. Based on the related discussion and analysis, it was possible to identify the deep thoughts and the distinctive expression methods of the orient and to address the significance to prioritize the issue of transmission and development of these precious traditions, which will constitute the main identity of the author's future work.

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