• The Journal of the Korean bone and joint tumor society
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.66-73
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• 2014

Purpose: Various diagnostic imaging modalities have been used to evaluate the effect of neoadjuvant chemotherapy for osteosarcoma early and noninvasively. We evaluated the effectiveness of imaging studies of plain radiographs and positron-emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) in predicting neoadjuvant chemotherapy effect for osteosarcoma and tried to establish a general principle in interpretation of PET/CT parameters. Materials and Methods: Eighteen patients who underwent two cycles of neoadjuvant chemotherapy and surgical excision for osteosarcoma were enrolled. There were 13 males and 5 females, with a median age of 19 (11-63) years. Fifteen patients of 18 had the American Joint Committe on Cancer (AJCC) stage IIB. They had plain radiographs and PET/CT before and after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The resected tumor specimens were pathologically examined to determine histological response grade using a conventional mapping method. Statistical analysis was performed to evaluate the correlation between histopathological necrosis rate, and radiographic finding category, post-chemotherapy maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax), average standardized uptake value and metabolic tumor volume (MTV) as well as reduction rates of them. Results: Eight patients were good responders to neoadjuvant chemotherapy based on histological evaluation. Median SUVmax reduction rate was 73 (23-77) % in good responders and 42 (-32-76) % in poor responders. Median MTV reduction rate was 93.5 (62-99) % in good responders and 46 (-81-100) % in poor responders. While radiographic finding category was not different according to histological response (p=1.0), SUVmax reduction rate was significantly different (p=0.041). Difference in MTV reduction rates approached statistical significance as well (p=0.071). Conclusion: While radiographic finding category was not reliable to assess neoadjuvant chemotherapy effect for osteosarcoma, reduction rate of SUVmax was a useful indicator in this study. As parameters of PET/CT can be influenced by various factors of settings, different centers have to make an effort to establish their own standard of judgement with reference of previous studies.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.111-120
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• 2023

The nucleation mechanism was studied using a calcium ion selective electrode (Ca ISE) to observe the formation of CaCO₃, a representative mineral in the CO2 cycle, and to analyze the effect of the Mg/Ca-ratio and temperature on the formation of pre-nucleation cluster (PNC) and CaCO₃. As a result of the experiment, a small amount of crystal was formed. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) was used for surface element analysis, and a field emission scanning-electron microscope (FE-SEM) was used for the morphology analysis of synthesized carbonates. These results showed that various shapes of crystalline CaCO₃ (calcite, aragonite, etc.) were observed for each Mg/Ca ratio and temperature. In addition, the calibration plot obtained from Ca ISE showed information on the formation process of CaCO₃. Our results showed that as magnesium ions interfered with the binding of calcium and carbonate ions and delayed the aggregation between PNCs, the nucleation and formation of CaCO₃ were delayed. On the other hand, the temperature showed an opposite trend as compared to the effect of magnesium under our experimental conditions, indicating that temperature accelerated the formation of CaCO₃. Furthermore, the morphology of CaCO₃ clearly changed according to the Mg/Ca ratio and temperature, and it was confirmed that the two factors are very important for CaCO₃ formation in that they could affect the overall process.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.17-26
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• 2010

Recently concerns have been raised due to the unbalanced supply of crops: the price of crops has been unstable and at one point the price went up so high that the word Agflation(agriculture+ inflation) was coined. Korea, in particular, is a small-sized country and needs to secure the stable supply of crops by investing in the produce importation at a national level. Investment in foreign produce importation is becoming more important as a measure for sufficient supply of crops, limited supply of domestic crops, weakened farming conditions worldwide, as well as recent changes in the use of crops due to the development of bio-fuels, influence of carbon emission on crops, the price increase in crops, and influx of foreign hot money. However, there are many problems with investing in foreign produce importation: lack of support from the government; lack of farming information and technology; difficulty in securing the capital; no immediate pay-off from the investment and insufficient management. Although foreign produce is originally more price-competitive than domestic produce, it loses its competiveness in the process of importation (due to high tariffs) and poor distribution system, which makes it difficult to sell in Korea. Therefore, investment in foreign produce importation is being questioned for feasibility; to make it possible, foreign produce must maintain the price-competitiveness. Especially, harvest of agricultural products depends on natural and geographical conditions of each country and those products have indigenous properties, so distribution system according to import and export of agricultural products should be treated more carefully than that of other industries. Distribution costs are differentiated into each item and include cost of sorting and wrapping, cost of wrapping materials, cost of domestic transport, cost of international transport and cost of clearing customs for import and export. So transporting and storing agricultural products generates considerable costs compared with other products. Also, due to upgrade of dietary life, needs for stability, taste and visible quality toward food including agricultural products are being raised and wrong way of storage causes decomposition of food and loss of freshness, making the storage more difficult than that in room temperature, so storage and transport in distribution of agricultural products needs specialty. In addition, because lack of specialty in distribution and circulation such as storage and wrapping does not solve limit factors in distance, the distribution and circulation has been limited to a form of import and export within short-distant region. Therefore, need for distribution out-sourcing which can satisfy specialty in managing distribution and circulation and it is needed to establish more effective distribution system. However, existing distribution system of agricultural products is exposed to various problems including problems in distribution channel, making distribution and strategy for distribution and those problems are as follows. First, in case of investment in overseas agricultural industry, stable supply of the products is difficult because areas of production are dispersed widely and influenced by outer factors due to including overseas distribution channels. Also, at the aspect of quality, standardization of products is difficult, distribution system is quite complicated and unreasonable due to long distribution channels according to international trade and financial and institutional support is not enough. Especially, there are quite a lot of ineffective factors including multi level distribution process, dramatic gap between production cost and customer's cost, lack of physical distribution facilities and difficulties in storage and transport due to lack of wrapping containers. Besides, because import and export of agricultural products has been manages under the company's own distribution according to transaction contract between manufacturers and exporting company, efficiency is low due to excessive investment in fixed costs and lack of specialty in dealing with agricultural products causes fall of value of products, showing the limit to lose price-competitiveness. Especially, because lack of specialty in distribution and circulation such as storage and wrapping does not solve limit factors in distance, the distribution and circulation has been limited to a form of import and export within short-distant region. Therefore, need for distribution out-sourcing which can satisfy specialty in managing distribution and circulation and it is needed to establish more effective distribution system. Second, among tangible and intangible services which promote the efficiency of the whole distribution, a function building distribution environment which includes distribution information, system for standard and inspection, distribution finance, system for diversification of risks, education and training, distribution administration and tax system is wanted. In general, such a function building distribution environment is difficult to be changed and supplement innovatively because its effect compared with investment does not appear immediately despite of its necessity. Especially, in case of distribution of agricultural products, as a function of collecting and distributing is performed individually through various channels, the importance of distribution information and standardization is getting more focus due to the problem of repetition of work and lack of specialty. Also, efficient management of distribution is quite difficult due to lack of professionals in distribution, so support to professional education is needed. Third, though effort to keep self-sufficiency ratio of staple food, rice is regarded as important at the government level, level of dependency on overseas of others crops is high. Therefore, plan for stable securing food resources aside from staple food is also necessary. Especially, governmental organizations of agricultural products distribution in Korea are production-centered and have unreasonable structure whose function at the aspect of distribution and consumption is quite insufficient. And development of new distribution channels which can deal with changes in distribution environment and they do not achieve actual results of strategy for distribution due to non-positive strategy for price distribution. That is, it implies the possibility that base for supply will become vulnerable because it does not mediate appropriate interests on total distribution channels such as manufacturers, wholesale dealers and vendors by emphasizing consumer protection excessively in the distribution of agricultural products. Therefore, this study examined fundamental concept and actual situation for our investment to overseas agriculture, drew necessities, considerations, problems, etc. of overseas agricultural investment and suggested improvements at the level of distribution for price competitiveness of agricultural products cultivated in overseas under five aspects; government's indirect support, distribution's modernization and distribution information function's strengthening, government's political support for distribution facility, transportation route, load and unloading works' improvement, price competitiveness' securing, professional manpower's cultivation by education and training, etc. Here are some suggestions for foreign produce importation. First, the government should conduct a survey on the current distribution channels and analyze the situation to establish a measure for long-term development plans. By providing each agricultural area with a guideline for planning appropriate production of crops, the government can help farmers be ready for importation, and prevent them from producing same crops all at the same time. Government can sign an MOU with the foreign government and promote the importation so that the development of agricultural resources can be stable and steady. Second, the government can establish a strategy for an effective distribution system by providing farmers and agriculture-related workers with the distribution information such as price, production, demand, market structure and location, feature of each crop, and etc. In order for such distribution system to become feasible, the government needs to reconstruct the current distribution system, designate a public organization for providing distribution information and set the criteria for level of produce quality, trade units, and package units. Third, the government should provide financial support and a policy to seek an efficient distribution channel for foreign produce to be delivered fresh: the government should expand distribution facilities (for selecting, packaging, storing, and processing) and transportation vehicles while modernizing old facilities. There should be another policy to improve the efficiency of unloading, and to lower the cost of distribution. Fourth, it is necessary to enact a new law covering exceptional cases for importing produce in order to maintain the price competitiveness; currently the high tariffs is keeping the imported produce from being distributed domestically. However, the new adjustment should be made carefully within the WTO regulations since it can create a problem from giving preferential tariffs. The government can also simplify the distribution channels in order to reduce the cost in the distribution process. Fifth, the government should educate distributors to raise the efficiency and to modernize the distribution system. It is necessary to develop human resources by educating people regarding the foreign agricultural environment, the produce quality, management skills, and by introducing some successful cases in advanced countries.

• Environmental and Resource Economics Review
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.457-493
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• 2009

This paper evaluates major issues of Post-Kyoto negotiation of UNFCCC and conducted economic analysis by utilizing a computable general equilibrium(CGE) model(GTEM-KOR). It points three major agendas of the negotiation to be settled : (1) return of the US to GHG abatement commitment; (2) participation of developing countries in GHG abatement commitment; and (3) development of a comprehensive approach for post-Kyoto period. It also emphasizes the differentiation of developing countries and the type and strength of commitment as the negotiation issues for settlement of those agendas. The analysis by using GTEM-KOR shows the differentiation between developing countries based on per capita GDP and/or per capita emissions is inefficient in terms of global GHG emission reduction and it will exposure Korea to strong pressure of commitment relative to other developing countries. It also shows that the participation of developing countries such as China and India is one of the most important factors for the environmental effectiveness of the Post-Kyoto regime. It emphasizes that the relative strength of commitment and the scope of country participation rather than type of commitment are major components determining the economic and environmental effectiveness of the Post-Kyoto regime.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.311-320
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• 2008

Reusing livestock manure have various advantages in securing soil organic resources, and since the costs needed for converting them into liquefied fertilizers are relatively moderate compared to normal treatment, such methods are necessary. In this study, the Recycling Capacity Assessment of Gyeonggi-do was carried out by comparing between the fertilizer demands for specific crops based on the cultivation areas and the amount of fertilizer resources that are generated from livestock manure. From this assessment, the possibility of obtaining resources by converting livestock manure into fertilizers were evaluated. The amount generated of Livestock Manure in Gyeonggi-do were evaluated by applying the emission units to the number of livestock manure. And from the amount generated of Livestock Manure, the amount of fertilizer produced from Livestock Manure were calculated by using the fertilizer a component rate. When considering the amount of fertilizer produced from Livestock Manure based on the type of livestock, N 6,626 ton/year, $P_2O_5$ 1,824 ton/year, $K_2O$ 4,480 ton/year were produced from milk cow manure, while N 5,247 ton/year, $P_2O_5$ 2,772 ton/year, $K_2O$ 2,879 ton/year, were produced from beef cattle manure. N 14,924 ton/year, $P_2O_5$ 7,205 ton/year, $K_2O$ 6,750 ton/year were produced from pigs and N 12,651 ton/year, $P_2O_5$ 4,458 ton/year, $K_2O$ 5,542 ton/year were produced by chickens. So the total amount of fertilizers that can be obtained from livestock manure were 3,668 ton/year Nitrogen, 16,259 ton/year phosphate and 19,651 ton/year kalium. And the total fertilizer demands in Gyeonggi-do were Nitrogen 27,200 ton/year, Phosphate 8,853 ton/year, and kalium 13,211 ton/year respectively. Nitrogen which had higher demands than production quantities were considered as limitation factors in crop growth. So the Recycling Capacity Assessment was carried out mainly based on Nitrogen. Since the Nitrogen quantities that can be provided by recycling livestock manure were 3,532 ton/year lesser than the Nitrogen demands, it is estimated that it would be desirable to convert livestock manure into resources. But in order to properly convert the entire livestock manure into organic resources, the seasonal situation that effects the nitrogen demands of crops along with the regional effects due to the industrial structures should be seriously analyzed. In addition, a system that can effectively produce and manage fertilizer should be established.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.376-387
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• 2020

Objectives: This study is aimed at offering basic data for making plans for offensive odor management after researching offensive odor occurrence and characteristics in Gangwon Province. Methods: The data used in the study is based on offensive odor data analyzed by the Gangwon Institute of Health and Environment from 2012 to 2019. The data were reclassified by year, month, facility, and region to identify characteristics of occurrence. Finally, a distribution map of offensive odors was created using ArcGIS. Results: The highest monthly frequency of offensive odor occurrence falls in June, August, and July, and the summer season and third quarter are the highest. According to the latest eight-year data for Gangwon Province, complaints about offensive odors in county areas are more frequent than those in city areas. There are many offensive odor complaints in Wonju, Cheorwon, and Heongsung. The main offensive odor emission facilities are livestock and waste treatment (recycling) facilities. Complaints about offensive odors are relatively lower the Yeongdong area than Yeongseo area, which is considered to be the result of characteristics of land-sea breezes and geographical factors. Offensive odors from livestock facilities count for an average of 53.9% of the total, and the inadequacy rate of livestock facilities averages 36.9%. Conclusions: To maintain a clean environment in Gangwon Province, it is strongly recommended that an offensive odor reduction plan for livestock facilities be established. Areas with a high density of offensive odor occurrence should be identified and systematically managed with short- and mid-term measures. If offensive odors is managed using GIS, it is possible to identify the characteristics of occurrence by time and space and also by facility. In addition, since systematic data management is possible, it is believed that a rapid response to offensive odors, prediction of their spread, and efficient management are possible.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.575-582
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• 2016

Seoul city has high population density as well as high traffic congestion, which are vulnerable to exposure of environmental pollutions caused by car traffic. However, recent studies are only on local regions about road traffic and air pollution or health effect of road traffic on residents. Thus, comprehensive study data are needed in terms of overall Seoul regions. In this study utilized the nitrogen dioxide concentration through the national air pollution monitoring network data, 2012 to 2013. It also divided regions into high and low exposure districts via the Origin destination data developed by the Korea transport institute to quantify and evaluate the effect of transport policies and analyzed a correlation of asthma symptoms with high and low exposure districts through raw data of community health survey from the Korea centers for disease control and prevention. Based on the collected data, the pearson's correlation analysis was conducted between air pollution substance concentration and high exposure district and multiple logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine the effect of traffic environment and factors on asthma symptoms of residents. Accordingly, the following results were derived. First, the high exposure district was higher concentrations of nitrogen dioxide ($NO_2$) as per time compared to those of the low exposure district (p<0.01). Second, analysis on correlation between average daily environmental concentration in the air pollution monitoring network and road traffic showed that nitrogen dioxide had a significant positive correlation (p<0.01) with car traffic and total traffic as well as with truck traffic (p<0.05) statistically. Third, an adjusted odds ratio about asthma doctor's diagnosis in the high and low exposure districts was analyzed through the logistic regression analysis. With regard to an adjusted model 2 (adjusted gender, age, health behavior characteristics, and demographic characteristics) odds ratio of asthma doctor's diagnosis in the high exposure district was 1.624 (95% CI: 1.269~2.077) compared to that of the low exposure district, which was significant statistically (p<0.001).

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.411-421
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• 2014

The purpose of this study is to analyze the key factors that contribute to landslide causes through swelling clay minerals and terrain analysis in landslide sites taken place of in Yongin city, Gyeonggi-do, 2011. The study was conducted based on field survey by XRD (X-ray Diffraction), XRF (X-ray fluorescence), spectroscopic analysis on soil samples obtained from landslide sites and ASTER satellite image. Illite shows absorption features; $Fe^{2+}$ and $Fe^{3+}$ at 0.9 and $1.0{\mu}m$, broad water absorption features near 1.4 and $1.9{\mu}m$, and additional Al-hydroxyl features at 2.2, 2.3 and $2.4{\mu}m$, respectively. These absorption features are consistent with the bands 5, 6, and 7 of ASTER (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer) satellite image. Illite image was extracted using band math of $SWIR_{Illite}$. From these results, we confirmed the applicability of ASTER satellite image using identification of swelling clay minerals to landslide study.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.160-167
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• 2018

The role played by reservoirs in the biogeochemical cycles of elements is a subject of ongoing debate. Recent research has revealed that reservoirs emit significant levels of greenhouse gases. To assess the importance of reservoirs in monsoon climate areas as a source of methane gas into the atmosphere, we investigated variations in organic carbon (OC) input into the reservoir, oxic state changes, and finally the amount of methane emitted (focusing on the ebullition pathway) in Lake Soyang, which is the largest reservoir in South Korea. Total organic carbon (TOC) concentrations were higher during summer after two years of heavy rainfall. The sedimentation rates of particulate organic carbon (POC) and particulate organic nitrogen (PON) were higher in the epilimnion and hypolimnion than the metalimnioin, indicating that autochthonous and allochthonous carbon made separate contributions to the TOC. During stratification, oxygen depletion occurred in the hypolimnion due to the decomposition of organic matter. Under these conditions, $H_2S$ and $CH_4$ can be released from sediment. The methane emissions from the reservoir were much higher than from other natural lakes. However, the temporal and spatial variations of methane ebullition were huge, and were clearly dependent on many factors. Therefore, more research via a well-organized field campaign is needed to investigate methane emissions.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.61-70
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• 2012

Recently, the government has been working feverously to save energy and reduce greenhouse gas emission by enacting Basic Act on Low Carbon Green Growth at the national level. Improving the insulation performance of building exterior and insulator can reduce the energy in the building sector. This study is about developing light-weight foamed concrete insulation panel that can be applied to buildings to save energy and to find the optimal condition for the development of insulation materials that can save energy by enhancing its physical, kinetic and thermal characteristics. Various experimental factors and conditions were considered in the study such as foam agent types (AES=Alcohol Ethoxy Sulfate, AOS=Alpha-Olefin Sulfonate, VS=Vegetable Soap, FP=Fe-Protein), foam agent dilution concentration (1, 3, 5%), and foam percentage (30, 50, 70%). Experiment results indicated that the surface tension of aqueous solution including foam agent, was lower when AOS was used over other foam agents. FP produced relatively stable foams in 3% or more, which produced unstable foams containing high water content and low surface tension when diluted at low concentration. Depending on foam agent types, compressive strength and thermal conductivity were similar at low density range but showed some differences at high concentration range. In addition, when concentrations of foam agent and foaming ratio increased, pore size increased and open pores are formed. In all types of foam agent, thermal conductivity were excellent, satisfying KS standards. The most outstanding performance for insulation panel was obtained when FP 3% was used.