• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.283-290
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• 2005

Objectives : The aim of this paper was to examine the relationship between the summertime (June to August) heat index, which quantifies the bioclimatic apparent temperature in sultry weather, and the daily disease-related mortality in Seoul for the period from 1991 to 2000. Methods : The daily maximum (or minimum) summertime heat indices, which show synergetic apparent temperatures, were calculated from the six hourly temperatures and real time humidity data for Seoul from 1991 to 2000. The disease-related daily mortality was extracted with respect to types of disease, age and sex, etc. and compared with the time series of the daily heat indices. Results : The summertime mortality in 1994 exceeded the normal by 626 persons. Specifically, blood circulation-related and cancer-related mortalities increased in 1994 by 29.7% (224 persons) and 15.4% (107 persons), respectively, compared with those in 1993. Elderly persons, those above 65 years, were shown to be highly susceptible to strong heat waves, whereas the other age and sex-based groups showed no significant difference in mortality. In particular, a heat wave episode on the 22nd of July 2004 ($>45^{\circ}C$ daily heat index) resulted in double the normal number of mortalities after a lag time of 3 days. Specifically, blood circulation-related mortalities, such as cerebral infraction, were predominant causes. Overall, a critical mortality threshold was reached when the heat index exceeded approximately $37^{\circ}C$, which corresponds to human body temperature. A linear regression model based on the heat indices above $37^{\circ}C$, with a 3 day lag time, accounted for 63% of the abnormally increased mortality (${\geq}+2$ standard deviations). Conclusions : This study revealed that elderly persons, those over 65 years old, are more vulnerable to mortality due to abnormal heat waves in Seoul, Korea. When the daily maximum heat index exceeds approximately $37^{\circ}C$, blood circulation-related mortality significantly increases. A linear regression model, with respect to lag-time, showed that the heat index based on a human model is a more dependable indicator for the prediction of hot weather-related mortality than the ambient air temperature.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.26
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• pp.9.1-9.9
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• 2011

Objectives: In order to evaluate which temperature index is the best predictor for the health impact assessment of heat stress in Korea, several indexes were compared. Methods: We adopted temperature, perceived temperature (PT), and apparent temperature (AT), as a heat stress index, and changes in the risk of death for Seoul and Daegu were estimated with $^1{\circ}C$ increases in those temperature indexes using generalized additive model (GAM) adjusted for the non-temperature related factors: time trends, seasonality, and air pollution. The estimated excess mortality and Akaike's Information Criterion (AIC) due to the increased temperature indexes for the $75^{th}$ percentile in the summers from 2001 to 2008 were compared and analyzed to define the best predictor. Results: For Seoul, all-cause mortality presented the highest percent increase (2.99% [95% CI, 2.43 to 3.54%]) in maximum temperature while AIC showed the lowest value when the all-cause daily death counts were fitted with the maximum PT for the $75^{th}$ percentile of summer. For Daegu, all-cause mortality presented the greatest percent increase (3.52% [95% CI, 2.23 to 4.80%]) in minimum temperature and AIC showed the lowest value in maximum temperature. No lag effect was found in the association between temperature and mortality for Seoul, whereas for Daegu one-day lag effect was noted. Conclusions: There was no one temperature measure that was superior to the others in summer. To adopt an appropriate temperature index, regional meteorological characteristics and the disease status of population should be considered.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.179-183
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• 1980

The efficiency of energy transfer by a population of the farmed pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas was studied during culture period of 10 months July 1979-April 1980, in Geoje-Hansan Bay near Chungmu City. Energy use by the farmed oyster population was calculated from estimates of half-a-month unit age specific natural mortality rate and data on growth, gonad output, shell organic matter production and respiration. Total mortality during the culture period was estimated approximate $36\%$ from data on survivor individual number per cluster. Growth may be dual consisted of a curved line during the first half culture period (July-November) and a linear line in the later half period (December-April). The first half growth was approximated by the von Bertalanffy growth model; shell height, $SH=6.33\;(1-e^{0.2421(t+0.54)})$, where t is age in half-a-month unit. In the later half growth period shell height was related to t by SH=4.44+0.14t. Dry meat weight (DW) was related to shell height by log $DW=-2.2907+2.589{\cdot}log\;SH,\;(2, and/or log $DW=-5.8153+7.208{\cdot}log\;SH,\;(5. Size specific gonad output (G) as calculated by condition index of before and after the spawning season, was related to shell height by $G=0.0145+(3.95\times10^{-3}{\times}SH^{2.9861})$. Shell organic matter production (SO) was related to shell height by log $SO=-3.1884+2.527{\cdot}1og\;SH$. Size and temperature specific respiration rate (R) as determined in biotron system with controlled temperature, was related to dry meat weight and temperature (T) by log $R=(0.386T-0.5381)+(0.6409-0.0083T){\cdot}log\;DW$. The energy used in metabolism was calculated from size, temperature specific respiration and data on body composition. The calorie contents of oyster meat were estimated by bomb calorimetry based on nitrogen correction. The assimilation efficiency of the oyster estimated directly by a insoluble crude silicate method gave $55.5\%$. From the information presently available by other workers, the assimilation efficiency ranges between $40\%\;and\;70\%$. Twenty seven point four percent of the filtered food material expressed by energy value for oyster population was estimated to have been rejected as pseudofaeces : $17.2\%$ was passed as faeces; $35.04\%$ was respired and lost as heat; $0.38\%$ was bounded up in shell organics; $2.74\%$ was released as gonad output, $2.06\%$ was fell as meat reducing by mortality. The remaining $15.28\%$ was used as meat production. The net efficiency of energy transfer from assimilation to meat production (yield/assimilation) of a farm population of the oyster was estimated to be $28\%$ during culture period July 1979-April 1980. The gross efficiency of energy transfer from ingestion to meat production (yield/food filtered) is probably between $11\%\;and\;20\%$.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.60 no.2
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• pp.75-84
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• 2018

Thermal stress of livestock has been issued due to recent climate change trends and this causes reproductive disorders, decreased feed consumption, immunosuppression, and increased mortality of animals. Concept of THI has been widely used to quantitatively evaluate the degree of thermal stress for animals, however use of this concept is restricted for animals living in the enclosed facilities such as mechanically ventilated broiler houses. In this study, time-based internal energy flow and variation trends of temperature and humidity were analyzed based on BES technique. Local weather data, insulation characteristics of building materials, heat and moisture generation rate from broilers according to age, algorithm of ventilation operation were adopted for boundary condition of the model to accurately compute THI values inside the mechanically ventilated broiler house. From the BES computation, excess frequency of THI threshold in Jeju city was highest on the assumption that air conditioning equipments were not installed. When general raising density ($39kg\;m^{-2}$) was adopted, total 2,191 hours were exceeded. Excess hours of THI threshold were strongly related to the cumulative air temperature ($R^2=0.87$).