• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.69-80
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• 2021

The new town in Korea, developed as a large-scale housing plan, has created urban ecological corridors to provide habitat and movement routes to wildlife and to promote natural ecological flow. This study aimed to investigate the use of wildlife in 10 ecological corridors in Gwanggyo New Town through camera trap technology and confirm effectiveness by identifying environmental factors affecting the use of wildlife's urban ecological corridors. Our researchers installed 20 unmanned sensor cameras at each the entrance and exit of the ecological corridors, and monitored urban wildlife for 10 weeks. According to the monioring results, the main species in Gwanggyo New Town were identified not only raccons, cats, water deer, korean hare and avain but also magpies, dove, eurasian tree sparrow, ring-necked pheasant, and eurasian jay. The number of uses ecological corridors of urban residents was 801(13.49%), as high as that of urban wildlife (1,140, 19.20%), which was judged to have disturbed the use of ecological corridors by wildlife. However, most dominant species of urban wildlife are nocturnal so that, it was judged that they share home range with urban residents at a time interval. In addition, according to the correlation analysis results between the mammal using rate of the urban ecological corridors and environmental factors(ecological corridor-specific length, ecological corridor-specific width, cover degree, shielding degree, connected green area, separation of movement routes, and presence of streetlights), environmental factors were not statistically significant. However, the more the area of green space connected to ecological corridors, the more increasing the mammal using rate of ecological corridor(r=0.71, p<0.05). Therefore, the area of green space connected to the ecological corridors that is associated with rate of wildlife using corridors should be considered as a priority when developing an urban ecological corridors. In the future, this study will extend the observation period of the ecological corridors and continuously accumulate data by adding the number of observation cameras. Furthermore, it is expected that the results of this study can be used as basic data for the standards for urban ecological corridors installation.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.165-175
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• 2022

Earthquakes have occurred owing to movements on a fault since several billion years ago. Research on the relationship between earthquakes and groundwater began in the 1960s in the United States, but related works, including hydrogeochemistry research, only began in the 2010s in South Korea. In this study, domestic studies on the relationship between earthquakes and groundwater until 2021 were collected from the Web of Science and characterized by subject area (groundwater level, hydrogeochemistry, combination of the two, and others). The results showed that the number of published articles per year was positively correlated with the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, 2016 Gyeongju earthquake, and 2017 Pohang earthquake, with the maximum numbers observed in 2011, 2018, 2019, and 2020. Most studies on the relationship between earthquakes and groundwater level addressed groundwater level fluctuations in the duration of the subject earthquake, with little consideration of the precursors. Groundwater level monitoring data, as well as hydrogeochemical information and microbial communities, may contribute to a more detailed understanding of groundwater flow and chemical reactions in bedrock caused by earthquakes. Therefore, the establishment of a national groundwater monitoring network for seismic monitoring and prediction is required.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.55 no.5
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• pp.345-356
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• 2022

A severe flooding occured at a small urban catchment in Daejeon-si South Korea on July 30, 2020 causing significant loss of property (inundated 78 vehicles and two apartments) and life (one casualty and 56 victims). In this study, a retrospective analysis of the inundation event was implemented using a physically-based urban flood model, H12 with high-resolution data. H12 is an integrated 1-dimensional sewer network and 2-dimensional surface flow model supported by hybrid parallel techniques to efficiently deal with high-resolution data. In addition, we evaluated the impact of the flooding barriers which were installed after the flood disaster. As a result, it was found that the inundation was affected by a combination of multiple components including the shape of the basin, the low terrain of the inundation area located in the downstream part of the basin, and lack of pipe capacity to drain discharge from the upstream during heavy rain. The impact of the flooding barriers was analyzed by modeling with and without barriers on the high-resolution terrain input data. It was evaluated that the flood barriers effectively lower the water depth in the apartment complex. This study demonstrates capability of high-resolution physically-based urban modeling to quantitatively assess the past inundation event and the impact of the reduction measures.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.307-324
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• 2022

This study examined the content diversity of seven authorized science textbooks by comparing the characteristics of the science concept description and the contents of inquiry activities in the "weight of objects" unit. For each textbook, the flow of concept description content and the uniqueness of the concept description process were analyzed, and the number of nodes and links and words with high connections were determined using language network analysis. In addition, for the inquiry activities described in each textbook, the inquiry subject, inquiry type, science process skill, and uniqueness were investigated. Results showed that the authorized textbooks displayed no more diversity than expected in their scientific concept description method or their inquiry activity composition. The learning elements, inclusion of subconcepts, and central words were similar for each textbook. The comparison of inquiry activities showed similarities in their contents, inquiry types, and scientific process skills. Specifically, these textbooks did not introduce any research topics or experimental methods that were absent in previous textbooks. However, despite the fact that the authorized textbook system was developed based on the same curriculum, some efforts were made to make use of its strengths. Since the sequence of subconcepts to explain the core contents differed across textbooks, this explanation process was divided into several types, and although the contents of inquiry activities were the same, the materials for inquiry activities were shown differently for each textbook to improve and overcome the difficulties in the existing experiments. These findings necessitate the continuation of efforts to utilize the strengths of certified textbooks.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.97-105
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• 2023

Background: Hyperactivated airway mucosa cells overproduce mucin and cause severe breathing complications. Here, we aimed to identify the effects of saponins derived from Panax ginseng on inflammation and mucin overproduction. Methods: NCI-H292 cells were pre-incubated with 16 saponins derived from P. ginseng, and mucin overproduction was induced by treatment with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA). Mucin protein MUC5AC was quantified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and mRNA levels were analyzed using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Moreover, we performed a transcriptome analysis of PMA-treated NCI-H292 cells in the absence or presence of Rg5, and differential gene expression was confirmed using qPCR. Phosphorylation levels of signaling molecules, and the abundance of lipid droplets, were measured by western blotting, flow cytometry, and confocal microscopy. Results: Ginsenoside Rg5 effectively reduced MUC5AC secretion and decreased MUC5AC mRNA levels. A systematic functional network analysis revealed that Rg5 upregulated cholesterol and glycerolipid metabolism, resulting in the production of lipid droplets to clear reactive oxygen species (ROS), and modulated the mitogen-activated protein kinase and nuclear factor (NF)-kB signaling pathways to regulate inflammatory responses. Rg5 induced the accumulation of lipid droplets and decreased cellular ROS levels, and N-acetyl-ⳑ-cysteine, a ROS inhibitor, reduced MUC5AC secretion via Rg5. Furthermore, Rg5 hampered the phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase and p38 proteins, affecting the NF-kB signaling pathway and pro-inflammatory responses. Conclusion: Rg5 alleviated inflammatory responses by reducing mucin secretion and promoting lipid droplet-mediated ROS clearance. Therefore, Rg5 may have potential as a therapeutic agent to alleviate respiratory disorders caused by hyperactivation of mucosa cells.

• Korean Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.3-11
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• 2023

Building information modeling (BIM) can help to visualize and manage the building-related information at the object-based level, and it is possible to help link the tasks in the network of Hanok construction. While many studies have significant interest in using BIM for modern construction, there is only few studies to observe the use of BIM for traditional construction, commonly called Hanok construction in South Korea. Hence, the main goal of this study is to develop a system dynamic model for investigating how the BIM can be widely used for Hanok construction. To this end, this study identified the factors influencing the BIM uses for the Hanok construction, developed a causal loop diagram (CLD) to investigate the interrelationships among the factors, and provided a final model based on the mathematical definitions. Based on the scenario analysis, it is demonstrated that the support to building Hanok and education cost for BIM positively influence activating and using the BIM for the Hanok construction. Based on the dynamics of the factors identified in this study, it is important to consider expanding support for Hanok construction and education cost for BIM to successfully integrate and utilize BIM in the construction industry.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.55 no.spc1
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• pp.1283-1293
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• 2022

The purpose of this study is to predict residual chlorine in order to maintain stable residual chlorine concentration in sedimentation basin by using artificial intelligence algorithms in water treatment process employing pre-chlorination. Available water quantity and quality data are collected and analyzed statistically to apply into mathematical multiple regression and artificial intelligence models including multi-layer perceptron neural network, random forest, long short term memory (LSTM) algorithms. Water temperature, turbidity, pH, conductivity, flow rate, alkalinity and pre-chlorination dosage data are used as the input parameters to develop prediction models. As results, it is presented that the random forest algorithm shows the most moderate prediction result among four cases, which are long short term memory, multi-layer perceptron, multiple regression including random forest. Especially, it is result that the multiple regression model can not represent the residual chlorine with the input parameters which varies independently with seasonal change, numerical scale and dimension difference between quantity and quality. For this reason, random forest model is more appropriate for predict water qualities than other algorithms, which is classified into decision tree type algorithm. Also, it is expected that real time prediction by artificial intelligence models can play role of the stable operation of residual chlorine in water treatment plant including pre-chlorination process.

• Strategy21
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• s.32
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• pp.192-221
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• 2013

In order to deal with the current economic crisis, the U.S. government, as a part of its austerity fiscal policy, implemented a budget sequester. The sequester will hit the U.S. defense budget the hardest, and as a result will most likely put the security of the international community in jeopardy. The U.S. will have to cut 46 billion dollars from its original 525 billon defense spending in 2013. And by the year 2022, will have to cut 486.9 billion dollars. Such an astronomical decrease in the U.S. defense spending will inevitably burden the friendly nations. According to recent studies, pirate related incidents in Somalia, where piracy is most active, has declined from its 226 incidents to 76 incidents per year in 2012, a 66% drop from previous years'. However, piracy threats as well as those related to firearms still remain and thus participants of anti-piracy operations, namely the U.S., U.K., France, Canada, NCC, EUNAVFOR, and NATO, are facing a problem of declining forces. Considering the current situation as well as rising expectations from the international community, Republic of Korea, a supporter of NCC's maritime security operation, not to mention its foremost duty of securing its sea, is at a stage to re-examine its operational picture. Such action will be a good opportunity for Republic of Korea to build the trust and live up to the international community's expectation. To quote from the network theory, although in relation to other friendly nations participating in the anti-piracy operation, Republic of Korea currently remains at a single cell level, this opportunity will certainly develop Korea to a 'node' nation in which power and information would flow into. Through this expansion of operational capability, Republic of Korea will be able to exert more influence as a more developed nation. Currently however, not only is the single 4,500 ton class destroyer deployed in Somalia a limited unit to further expand the scale and amount of force projection in the area, but also the total of six 4,500 ton class destroyers ROK feet possess is at a high fatigue degree due to standard patrolling operations, midshipman cruise and the RIMPAC exercise. ROK fleet therefore must consider expanding the number of ships deployed along with either deploying combat support ships or constructing logistics support site in the African region. Thus, by expanding its operational capabilities and furthermore by abiding to the rightful responsibilities of a middle power nation, Republic of Korea will surely earn its respect among the members of the international community.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.56 no.8
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• pp.485-496
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• 2023

Recently, South Korea has been making efforts to mitigate the risk of water scarcity during droughts by utilizing various drought response measures in dam operations. While various studies have been conducted on this topic, there is currently a lack of research on the economic effects of drought response measures. In this study, we evaluated the economic effects of drought response measures on nationwide multipurpose dams by using a long-term simulated inflow model based on ARIMA and Copula and a dam operation model that reflects drought response measures. The results showed that the expected benefits per unit flow rate were highest for coordinated operation and alternative water supply measures, at KRW 1,176 and KRW 1,139, respectively, while the benefits of emergency water supply utilization and water supply adjustment were estimated at KRW 956 and KRW 875, respectively. Additionally, when we examined the changes in the economic benefits of drought response measures based on the assumption of increased drought severity in the future, the changes in the drought risk resulting from reduced inflow increased the economic benefits of all drought response measures. The economic benefits of water supply adjustment increased by 2.6% compared to the baseline, while the economic benefits of coordinated operation and alternative water supply measures increased by 11.7% compared to the baseline. This suggests that dam-network-based measures, such as coordinated operation and alternative water supply measures, are crucial as drought risk increases. This study is expected to serve as a fundamental reference for selecting and utilizing drought response measures in the future.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.39.1-39.15
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• 2023

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination may non-specifically alter the host immune system. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of COVID-19 vaccination on hepatitis B surface Ag (HBsAg) titer and host immunity in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients. Consecutive 2,797 CHB patients who had serial HBsAg measurements during antiviral treatment were included in this study. Changes in the HBsAg levels after COVID-19 vaccination were analyzed. The dynamics of NK cells following COVID-19 vaccination were also examined using serial blood samples collected prospectively from 25 healthy volunteers. Vaccinated CHB patients (n=2,329) had significantly lower HBsAg levels 1-30 days post-vaccination compared to baseline (median, -21.4 IU/ml from baseline), but the levels reverted to baseline by 91-180 days (median, -3.8 IU/ml). The velocity of the HBsAg decline was transiently accelerated within 30 days after vaccination (median velocity: -0.06, -0.39, and -0.04 log₁₀ IU/ml/year in pre-vaccination period, days 1-30, and days 31-90, respectively). In contrast, unvaccinated patients (n=468) had no change in HBsAg levels. Flow cytometric analysis showed that the frequency of NK cells expressing NKG2A, an NK inhibitory receptor, significantly decreased within 7 days after the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine (median, -13.1% from baseline; p<0.001). The decrease in the frequency of NKG2A⁺ NK cells was observed in the CD56^dimCD16⁺ NK cell population regardless of type of COVID-19 vaccine. COVID-19 vaccination leads to a rapid, transient decline in HBsAg titer and a decrease in the frequency of NKG2A⁺ NK cells.