• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.127-133
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• 2014

North Korea's uranium enrichment facility is a matter of international concern. It is of particular alarming to South Korea with regard to the security and safety of the country. This situation requires continuous monitoring of the DPRK and emergency preparedness on the part of the ROK. To assess the detectability of an undeclared uranium enrichment plant in North Korea, uranium concentrations in the air at both a short and a long distance from the enrichment facility were estimated. $UF_6$ source terms were determined by using existing information on North Korean facility and data from the operation experience of enrichment plants from other countries. Using the calculated source terms, two atmospheric dispersion models (Gaussian Plume Model and HYSPLIT models) and meteorological data were used to estimate the uranium particle concentrations from the Yongbyon enrichment facility. A maximum uranium concentration and its location are dependent upon the meteorological conditions and the height of the UF6 release point. This study showed that the maximum uranium concentration around the enrichment facility was about $1.0{\times}10^{-7}g{\cdot}m^{-3}$. The location of the maximum concentration was within about 0.4 km of the facility. It has been assumed that the uranium sample of about a few micrograms (${\mu}g$) could be obtained; and that few micrograms of uranium can be easily measured with current measurement instruments. On the contrary, a uranium concentration at a distance of more than 100 kilometers from the enrichment facility was estimated to be about $1.0{\times}10^{-13}{\sim}1.0{\times}10^{-15}g{\cdot}m^{-3}$, which is less than back-ground level. Therefore, based on the results of our paper, an air sample taken within the vicinity of the Yongbyon enrichment facility could be used to determine as to whether or not North Korea is carrying out an undeclared nuclear program. However, the air samples taken at a longer distance of a few hundred kilometers would prove difficult in detecting a clandestine nuclear activities.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.378-384
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• 2009

There are differences of Cadmium (Cd) urinary concentration which is considered as indicator of renal tubular dysfunction in other countries, so we have reviewed domestic epidemiological data and suggested Korean health based guidance value (HBGV) for Cd to improve an efficiency of risk management. We decided to apply the WHO calculation model which considered the relationship between dietary intake and Cd concentration in urine sample. It is determined that Cd concentration 2.5 ug/g creatinine in urine as the prevalence of renal tubular dysfunction based on epidemiological data, because there is no renal tubular dysfunction and injury/lesion such as proteinuria at the concentration of 11.63 ug/g creatinine which is the highest Cd concentration in urine from the domestic epidemiological data. It is identified that the ratio between the Cd dietary consumption (8.3~10.4 ug/day) and Cd urinary concentration (0.38 ug/g creatinine) in Korean adult who predicting never been exposed to Cd are 21.8~27.3 and then it is applied to the corresponding model suggested by WHO. Also it is applied that 10% of bioavailability and 50% of excretion rate of absorbed to body (the ratio is 24) were assumed. The estimate of daily Cd consumption level which begins tubular dysfunction is 1 ug/kg bw/day, so we suggest the Korean provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI) as 7 ug/kg bw/week.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.59 no.2
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• pp.151-161
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• 2014

Sesame lignan, including sesamin and sesamolin has been reported to have various content according to accessions and environmental factors. The objective of this study were to analyze the lignan variation of 143 sesame accessions from core collection in Korea and to test the effects of growing years and locations on lignan and lipid content of Korea sesame elite lines. The results showed that the core sesame germplasm in Korea has broad variation of lignan content from 2.33 to 12.17 mg/g with an average 8.18 mg/g. Among tested sesame accessions, the IT184615 had the highest lignan content of as 12.17 mg/g. So this accession will be a good genetic resource for developing a high lignan sesame variety. The sesamin and sesamolin content for sesame accessions across origin had significant difference. The average lignan content of accessions collected from Russia (10.0 mg/g) and Nepal (9.08 mg/g) were relatively higher than other countries. The sesamin and sesamolin content for sesame accessions across seed coat color had significant difference. The average lignan content of sesame with white, brown and black seed coat color was 8.61, 7.51, and 5.49 mg/g, respectively. The variation of lignan and lipid content was significantly different across elite lines, locations and growing years. Therefore, it is important to find sesame accessions having high lignan content with environmental stability.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.324-332
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• 2019

Most countries including Korea and Indonesia have strong policy for implementing biofuels like biodiesel. Shortage of the oil feedstock is the main barrier for increasing the supply of biodiesel fuel. In this study, in order to improve the stability of feedstock supply and lower the biodiesel production cost, the feasibility of biodiesel production using two types of Indonesian tropical crop oils, pressed at different harvesting times, were investigated. R. Trisperma oils, a high productive non-edible feedstocks, were investigated to produce biodiesel by esterification and transesterification because of it's high impurity and free fatty acid contents. the kindly provided oils from Indonesia were required to perform the filtering and water removal process to increase the efficiency of the esterificaton and transesterification reactions. The esterification used heterogeneous acid catalyst, Amberlyst-15. Before the reaction, the acid value of two types oil were 41, 17 mg KOH/g respectively. After the pre-esterification reaction, the acid value of oils were 3.7, 1.8 mg KOH/g respectively, the conversions were about 90%. Free fatty acid content was reduced to below 2%. Afterwards, the transesterification was performed using KOH as the base catalyst for transesterification. The prepared biodiesel showed about 93% of FAME content, and the total glycerol content was 0.43%. It did not meet the quality specification(FAME 96.5% and Total glycerol 0.24%) since the tested oils were identified to have a uncommon fatty acid, generally not found in vegetable oils, ${\alpha}$-eleostearic acid with much contents of 10.7~33.4%. So, it is required to perform the further research on reaction optimization and product purification to meet the fuel quality standards. So if the biodiesel production technology using un-utilized non-edible feedstock oils is successfully developed, stable supply of the feedstock for biodiesel production may be possible in the future.

• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.120-128
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• 2013

The concentration and composition of particulate matter (PM) in the atmosphere can directly reflect the environmental pollution. The atmospheric pollution in some Cameroonian cities is increasing with the industrial development and urbanization. Air pollution is inherently complex, containing PM of varied size and composition. This PM exists as a dynamic cloud interacting with sunlight and is modified by the meteorology. The reflectometer and the EDXRF spectrometry are applied to determine the concentration of some specific elements at four sites in the city of Yaound$\acute{e}$. The particular aim of the present work is to put in place data base on air pollution in urban area and elaborate regulations on the emissions issued to industrial and vehicle activities. This study provides an overview of the concentration of black carbon and some specific elements in the air, which have impacts on human health. The measurement was done by distinguishing the size of particle. So that, the particle with aerodynamic diameter between $2.5-10{\mu}m$ (so-called coarse particle) and aerodynamic diameter < $2.5{\mu}m$ (so-called fine particle) were considered to obtain more information about levels of the inhalable fraction of the location. The results obtained in four locations of the city of Yaound$\acute{e}$ show that the black carbon concentration is very considerable, the element sulfur is a major pollutant and the concentration of fine particle is very greater. The results obtained of fine and coarse filters range from $5-17{\mu}g/m^3$ and $10-18{\mu}g/m^3$ for the black carbon. S, Cu, Zn, Pb, Cd, As, Se and Hg are the specific findings of this work. The pollutants with a greater concentration are S, Pb, and Zn. These later seem to be non-uniformly, non-regular in some location and high compared to other countries. This work allows us to make a potential relation between pollutants and emission sources. In this framework, some suggestions have been proposed to reduce emissions for an improvement of the air quality in the environment and thus, the one of the city of Yaound$\acute{e}$.

• Advances in Traditional Medicine
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• v.7 no.5
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• pp.494-500
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• 2008

Ginseng has been traditionally used to recover vital energy from Qi deficiency in oriental countries. Recent reports suggested that ginseng could regulate blood pressure (BP), but much controversy still remain. Therefore, we intended to assess the anti-hypertensive effect of some ginseng species on Koreans and Chinese. This is a randomized, double blinded controlled clinical trial. The study subjects were recruited from the mild hypertensive patients who belonged prehypertension(120/80 to 139/89 mmHg) and stage I hypertension (140/90 to 159/99 mmHg) in Korea and China. After assigning the subjects into a Korean, a Chinese, and an American ginseng group by randomization, we prescribed ginseng with the dose of 4.5 g per a day for 4 w. To assess the anti-hypertensive effect, we compared the mean of systolic and diastolic BP between before and after ginseng medication by 24 h Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitor (24 h ABPM). We also monitored adverse effect and laboratory findings to secure the subjects' safety. There were 64 subjects treated with Korean ginseng, 58 treated with Chinese ginseng, and 64 treated with American ginseng. All of the ginseng species reduced subjects' BP. Especially, Korean and Chinese ginseng showed more excellent effects. The secondary analysis on the subjects' nationality revealed that all of the ginseng species showed more significant anti-hypertensive effect in Chinese than in Koreans. We suggest ginseng could be useful for mild hypertension regardless of its species. And it would be safe within the dosage of 4.5 g per a day.

• The Journal of the Institute of Internet, Broadcasting and Communication
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.7-18
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• 2021

Recently, various connected industrial parks (CIPs) architectures using new technologies such as cloud computing, CPS, big data, fifth-generation mobile communication 5G, IIoT, VR-AR, and ventilation transportation AI algorithms have been proposed in Korea. Korea's small and medium-sized enterprises do not have the upper hand in technological competitiveness than overseas advanced countries such as the United States, Europe and Japan. For this reason, Korea's small and medium-sized enterprises have to invest a lot of money in technology research and development. As a latecomer, Korean SMEs need to improve their profitability in order to find sustainable growth potential. Financially, it is most efficient for small and medium-sized Korean companies to cut costs to increase their profitability. This paper made profitability improvement by reducing costs for small and medium-sized enterprises located in CIPs in Korea a major task. VJP (Vehicle Action Program) was noted as a way to reduce costs for small and medium-sized enterprises located in CIPs in Korea. The method of achieving minimum logistics costs for small businesses through the Korean CIPs payment system was analyzed. The details of the new Korean CIPs payment system were largely divided into four types: "Business", "Data", "Technique", and "Finance". Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) was used as a performance analysis method for CIPs payment systems.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.20 no.11
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• pp.30.1-30.10
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• 2017

Small-scale fish farmers in developing countries are faced with challenges owing to their limited information on aquaculture management. Nile tilapia farmers in Teso North Sub-County recorded lower yields than expected in 2009 despite having been provided with required inputs. Water quality was suspected to be the key factor responsible for the low yields. This study sought to assess the effects of earthen pond water physico-chemical parameters on the growth of Nile tilapia in six earthen fish ponds under semi-intensive culture system in Teso North Sub-County. The study was longitudinal in nature with pond water and fish being the units of analysis. Systematic sampling was used to select five ponds while a control pond was purposively selected based on its previously high harvest. Four ponds were fed by surface flow and two by underground water. Each pond was fertilized and stocked with 900 fry of averagely 1.4 g and 4.4 cm. Physico-chemical parameters were measured in-situ using a multi-parameter probe. Sixty fish samples were randomly obtained from each pond fortnightly for four months using a 10 mm mesh size and measured, weighed and returned into the pond. Mean range of physico-chemical parameters were: dissolved oxygen (DO) 4.86-10.53 mg/l, temperature $24-26^{\circ}C$, pH 6.1-8.3, conductivity $35-87{\mu}S/cm$ and ammonia 0.01-0.3 mg/l. Temperature (p = 0.012) and conductivity (p = 0.0001) levels varied significantly between ponds. Overall Specific Growth Rate ranged between 1.8% (0.1692 g/day) and 3.8% (1.9 g/day). Ammonia, DO and pH in the ponds were within the optimal levels for growth of tilapia, while temperature and conductivity were below optimal levels. As temperature and DO increased, growth rate of tilapia increased. However, increase in conductivity, pH and ammonia decreased fish growth rate. Temperature and DO ranging between 27 and $30^{\circ}C$ and 5-23 mg/l, respectively, and SGR of 3.8%/day and above are recommended for higher productivity.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.43 no.9
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• pp.1342-1348
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• 2014

Seeds of Korean pine cone (Pinus koraiensis) have long been consumed as an edible food in countries located in North-East Asia, On the other hand, Korean pine cone, containing various polyphenols, is discarded as a useless garbage after removing seeds. This study investigated the lipolytic effects of pine cone extract in differentiated 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Intracellular lipid accumulation was measured by Oil red O staining, free glycerol release by colorimetric reaction, and expression of genes related to lipid metabolism by real-time PCR. Compared to control, pine cone extract reduced intracellular lipid accumulation by 8.8% and increased free glycerol release by 8.2% a concentration of $5{\mu}g/mL$ in differentiated 3T3-L1 adipocytes. mRNA levels of fatty acid synthesis were not significantly different between control and pine cone extract, but mRNA levels of lipoprotein lipase (LPL) and hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL) significantly increased by 38.7% and 94.1% at a concentration of $5{\mu}g/mL$, respectively. Thus, pine cone extract is suggested to have lipolytic effects through induction of LPL and HSL gene expression.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.321-327
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• 2004

Cortex of Ulmus davidiana var. japonica N. and Hemipteleae davidii P. have been used without classification according to countries as oriental medicine for treatment of various disorders. This study was conducted to elucidate the difference in antioxidant activity and total phenol content of these medicinal materials. Root cortex and trunk cortex of two medicinal plants were extracted with 80% ethanol $(at\;85^{\circ}C)$ and water (at room temperature), respectively. All of the extracts at $200{\sim}5\;{\mu}g/ml$, showed more effective scavenging activity on superoxide radical than ascorbic acid, and 80% ethanol and water extracts of Ulmus root cortex (URC) was more effective. Scavenging activities on DPPH radical of 80% ethanol extracts from URC and Ulmus trunk cortex (UTC) at 10 ${\mu}g/ml$, (41.4, 35.6%) were higher than those of the other six extracts and ${\alpha}-tocopherol\;(2.3{\sim}24.0%)$. Inhibitory activities on human low density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation of 80% ethanol extracts from UTC and URC (84.3, 81.7%) at $10\;{\mu}g/ml\;(31.3{\sim}78.2%)$ were higher than those of the other six extracts and ${\alpha}-tocopherol$. However, antioxidant activities on linoleic acid peroxidation of all of the extracts were relatively lower than that ${\alpha}-tocopherol$. Total phenol content of 80% ethanol extract from URC was the highest value as 50.8% and that of water extract from HRC was the lowest as 5.6% among the extracts. From these results, it is suggested that Ulmus root cortex was the most effective in antioxidant activity.