• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.49-62
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• 2019

Environmental changes can affect life-history traits, such as growth rate and reproduction, and organisms adapt on a given environmental condition to maximize ecological fitness. This study shows the effects of water temperature and dissolved oxygen level on early growth and accumulated damage in fish using a dynamic-state-dependent model. I have hypothesized that the level of foraging activity is related to growth and stress and so the optimal level can maximize reproductive success - ultimately, fitness. The critical temperature and dissolved oxygen (DO) is also defined as inducing the maximum growth rate at the level. So, the model predicts the highest growth rate at oxygen saturation and lower growth rate at lower or higher level of DO in water. Lower DO (i.e., hypoxia) causes slower growth rate through higher amount of accumulated stress whereas higher DO (i.e., hyperoxia) induces faster growth rate, but smaller body size. In addition, I show that there is lower impact when considering simple or independent environmental factors on environmental assessment. My findings suggest that multiple environmental factors as physiological ecology approach should be considered to improve impact assessment in environmental changes and a further study is needed to develop advanced assessment tools considering multiple environmental factors.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.20 no.7
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• pp.203-210
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• 2019

A recent earthquake on the Korean Peninsula caused much damage to masonry buildings, and research on performance evaluation has been underway. A masonry building is generally constructed using wet construction and is affected by temperature, which reduces the efficiency of the construction. In this study, we propose a dry construction technique for assembling concrete blocks without using mortar and evaluated its performance through experimental and analytical research. To evaluate the performance, experiments were carried out for the prismatic compressive strength, direct terminal strength, and diagonal tensile strength of the dry construction wall. The adequacy of the cross section shape was also reviewed through FEM analysis. The results show that the compressive strength and diagonal tensile strength could exert a certain intensity or higher. Furthermore, the H-type module of a key block acted as a shear key for the entire concrete block, which resulted in excellent shear strength performance. In addition, the shape and thickness of the main block have a major effect on the strength performance of each block. Therefore, an optimal shape and the proposed dry construction method could be applied to replace the wet method by studying the construction or seismic performance of the proposed method.

• Journal of the Society of Disaster Information
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2019

Purpose: This study intends to determine how disaster prevention characteristics of important state-designated wooden cultural properties in Gyeongsangnam-do vary according to the surrounding environments and to examine disaster prevention measures for wooden cultural properties that fit their surrounding environments accordingly. Method: The designation status and characteristics of cultural properties in Gyeongsangnam-do and Gyeongsangbuk-do were identified, and the damage status of cultural properties in Gyeongsangnam-do and Gyeongsangbuk-do was reviewed based on the history of disasters. Also, the disaster prevention environments for 58 state-designated wooden cultural properties in Gyeongsangnam-do and Gyeongsangbuk-do were analyzed separately into mountainous area, rural area and urban area, topographic characteristics were drawn. Results: For cultural properties located in urban areas, it was found that security guards were arranged properly and disaster prevention training was carried out well. In addition, access condition to the cultural properties was adequate; prompt access to such properties was possible. In rural areas, flame retardant works have been undertaken properly and many cultural properties were found to be located on a flat ground. Mountainous areas had highly inadequate access condition to cultural properties and disasters occurred most frequently in these areas in the past. Conclution: First, for wooden cultural properties located in urban areas, it is necessary to secure the self-defense fire service manpower for an initial response and reinforce the disaster prevention education. Second, for wooden cultural properties located in rural areas, prevention projects such as insect control project and disaster prevention insurance should be carried out in order to protect the cultural properties. Third, as for wooden cultural properties located in mountainous areas, it is necessary to prepare establish to reinforce self-response capability.

• Journal of Korean Society of Coastal and Ocean Engineers
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.235-241
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• 2018

In this study, we collected cases of accidents caused by swell in the east coast of Korea from 2013 to 2017. The location of the accident, the season, the type of coast and the type of damage were classified and the correlation between the accident and the wave data was analyzed by collecting the observation data of the nearby area at the time of the accident. Also, based on the results of the coastal disaster vulnerability assessment of Korea Hydrographic and Oceanographic Agency, the vulnerability grades of swell accidents area were evaluated. In swell accident area, the average grade of the wave exposure index was 4.91, the wave sensitivity index was 3.87, and the wave impact index was 4.90. As a result, most of the swell accidents occurred in the 5 grade (very vulnerable level) of the wave impact index, and the area of the east coast (78.7%) of the same 5 grade was classified into five types according to the wave sensitivity index result. Finally, a countermeasures was taken for characteristics of each type.

• Journal of The Korean Society For Urban Railway
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.383-392
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• 2018

This study investigated the change of additional axial stress of rail and reaction force at bridge bearings due to the track-bridge interaction when laying CWR on non-ballasted railway bridges including truss bridges with relatively long span. According to the results of the present study, additional axial stresses of rail and reaction forces at bridge bearings showed a large increase when CWR is installed on the non-ballasted railway bridge. The additional axial stress of rail can be acceptable if sufficient lateral resistance can be obtained. However, if the reaction force increases, there is a risk of damage of the bearing or pier, and therefore, it is necessary to take measures to mitigate the reaction force. It is found that additional axial stress of rail decreases when considering the frictional resistance of the bridge movable support, but its effect on the bearing reaction force is very small. On the other hand, when the longitudinal track restraint decreases, both additional axial stress of rail and bearing reaction force are reduced to a large extent. Also, when the ZLR fastening devices are applied to the region where the additional axial stress of rail is highest, bearing reaction force as well as additional axial stress of rail greatly decreased. Therefore, the application of ZLR fastening devices with the reduction of the longitudinal track restraints is very effective for installing CWR on non-ballasted railway bridges.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.319-328
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• 2021

Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) is one of the most destructive viruses worldwide, which causes severe damage to economically important crops, such as pepper and tomato. In this study, we examined the molecular and biological characterization of a TSWV isolate (SW-TO2) infecting tomato and compared it to the recently reported isolates from boxthorn, butterbur, and angelica plants. The phylogenetic analysis based on the complete genome sequences confirmed that SW-TO2 was clustered with those of isolates from boxthorn and pepper in Korea with the maximum nucleotide identities ranging from 98% to 99%. We developed the bioassay method for screening TSWV resistance and tested some commercial pepper and tomato cultivars for resistance evaluation of four isolates of TSWV. TSWV resistance was evaluated as TSWV resistance when all the following three conditions were satisfied: first, when symptoms of necrotic spots or no symptoms were present in the inoculated leaves; second, when there were no symptoms in the upper leaves; and third, when the upper leaves were negative as a result of RT-PCR diagnosis.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.685-696
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• 2021

In this study, we investigated the inhibitory effect of 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA), a heme precursor, on inflammatory and oxidative stress activated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in RAW 264.7 macrophages by estimating nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), cytokines, and reactive oxygen species (ROS). We also evaluated the molecular mechanisms through analysis of the expression of their regulatory genes, and further evaluated the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant efficacy of ALA against LPS in the zebrafish model. Our results indicated that ALA treatment significantly attenuated the LPS-induced release of pro-inflammatory mediators including NO and PGE2, which was associated with decreased inducible NO synthase and cyclooxygenase-2 expression. ALA also inhibited the LPS-induced expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-1β, and IL-6, reducing their extracellular secretion. Additionally, ALA abolished ROS generation, improved the mitochondrial mass, and enhanced the expression of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and the activation of nuclear translocation of nuclear factor-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages. However, zinc protoporphyrin, a specific inhibitor of HO-1, reversed the ALA-mediated inhibition of pro-inflammatory cytokines production and activation of mitochondrial function in LPS-treated RAW 264.7 macrophages. Furthermore, ALA significantly abolished the expression of LPS-induced pro-inflammatory mediators and cytokines, and showed strong protective effects against NO and ROS production in zebrafish larvae. In conclusion, our findings suggest that ALA exerts LPS-induced anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects by upregulating the Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway, and that ALA can be a potential functional agent to prevent inflammatory and oxidative damage.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.226-236
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• 2021

Objectives: Concerns have been raised about the possible health effects of radon on both workers and consumers with the spread of social attention to the impact of radon exposure. Thus, an entire raw material handling workshop was investigated, and standards for radon levels in the workplace were newly established at 600 Bq/m³. However, regulations on the management of workers exposed to radon are still insufficiently developed. Therefore, by comparative analysis of overseas and domestic radon-related regulations for workplaces, this study aims to suggest improvement plans of protection regulations under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) for the prevention of health disorders of radon-exposed workers. Methods: For overseas case studies, we consulted radon-related laws and reports officially published on the websites of the European Union (EU), the United States (U.S.) and the United Kingdom (UK) government agencies. Domestic law studies were conducted mainly on the Act on Protective Action Guidelines against Radiation in the Natural Environment and the OSH Act. Results: In Europe, the basic safety standards for protection against risks arising from radon (Council Directive 2013/59/EURATOM of 5 December 2013) was established by the EU. They recommend that the Member States manage radon level in workplaces based on this criterion. In the U.S., the standards for workplaces are controlled by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). Action on radon in the UK is specified in "Radon in the workplace" published by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Conclusions: The Act on Protective Action Guidelines against Radiation in the Natural Environment mainly refers to the management of workplaces that use or handle raw materials but does not have any provisions in terms of protecting naturally exposed workers. In the OSH Act, it is necessary to define whether radon is included in radiation for that reason that its current regulations have limitations in ensuring the safety workers who may be exposed to naturally occurring radon. The management standards are needed for workplaces that do not directly deal with radon but are likely to be exposed to radon. We propose that this could be specified in the regulations for the prevention of health damage caused by radiation, not in Article 125 of the OSH Act.

• Journal of Korean Society of Coastal and Ocean Engineers
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.187-194
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• 2021

The damage caused by typhoons is gradually increasing due to the climate change recently. Hence, many studies have been conducted over a long period of time on various factors that determine the characteristics of storm surge, and most of relationships have been discovered. Because storm surge is complexly determined by various factors, it often show different results and draw different conclusions. For this reason, this study was conducted to understand the various characteristics of storm surge caused by changes in the forward speed of typhoons. This study was carried out with a numerical model, and the effect of forward speed could be analyzed by simplifying other factors as much as possible. When forward speed is increased, storm surges caused by typhoons tended to increase gradually. The storm surge showed a wide and gentle increase at a slow speed, but a narrow and steep one at a fast speed. In the case of the same forward speed, it was found that the storm surge was significantly influenced by the water depth of actual sea area. It was confirmed that the change in forward speed after passing Jeju Island did not significant affect on the storm surge in the south coast of Korea.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Building Construction
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.483-493
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• 2021

Urban overcrowding has created an explosive supply and demand for high-rise buildings. High-rise buildings are contributing to enhancing the image of the city by serving as focal points, but due to the stack effect, malfunction of elevator doors, difficulties in opening and closing the doors and windows of the outer wall, smoke and odors spreading to the upper floors, noise, energy loss, fire and pollutants have been causing various unexpected problems such as rapid spread of fire. This study classified high-rise buildings according to their vertical zoning, analyzed the causes of and solutions to the stack effect, and derived design and construction methods. Through the initial plan to block the outside air and securing airtightness through precise construction, we sought ways to secure the airtightness inside and outside the building by actively blocking the airflow from the lower floors. In addition, the facility solution can be a measure to reduce the specific phenomena caused by the stack effect, but it should only be applied to the minimum extent because the potential for secondary damage is high. This study emphasized the need for systematic stack effect management by suggesting design and construction measures for each vertical zoning of the causes and countermeasures of the stack effect. It is expected that this study will be helpful not only for design and construction, but also for building maintenance.