• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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• 2003.11a
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• pp.1224-1226
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• 2003

Dust-storm is one of the heaviest hazardous weather which frequently affects most part of northern China in spring. Satellite multi-spectral observations can provide significant information for detecting and quantitative determining the property of dust-storm . An algorithm to monitor dust-storm automatically was developed based on satellite observation. The algorithm utilizes split widows technique and spectral classification technique and also developed a new dust remote sensing product Infra -red Difference Dust Index (IDDI) proxy dust-loading dataset using GMS-5.

• Atmosphere
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.267-277
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• 2008

The occurrence and strength of the Asian Dust over the Korea Peninsular have been increased by the expansion of the desert area. For the continuous monitoring of the Asian Dust event, the geostationary satellites provide useful information by detecting the outbreak of the event as well as the long-range transportation of dust. The Infrared Optical Depth Index (IODI) derived from the MTSAT-1R data, indicating a quantitative index of the dust intensity, has been produced in real-time at Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) since spring of 2007 for the forecast of Asian dust. The data processing algorithm for IODI consists of mainly two steps. The first step is to detect dust area by using brightness temperature difference between two thermal window channels which are influenced with different extinction coefficients by dust. Here we use dynamic threshold values based on the change of surface temperature. In the second step, the IODI is calculated using the ratio between current IR1 brightness temperature and the maximum brightness temperature of the last 10 days which we assume the clear sky. Validation with AOD retrieved from MODIS shows a good agreement over the ocean. Comparison of IODI with the ground based PM10 observation network in Korea shows distinct characteristics depending on the altitude of dust layer estimated from the Lidar data. In the case that the altitude of dust layer is relatively high, the intensity of IODI is larger than that of PM10. On the other hand, when the altitude of dust layer is lower, IODI seems to be relatively small comparing with PM10 measurement.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.58 no.2
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• pp.109-119
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• 2020

Soil-transmitted helminths and Schistosoma haematobium affect more than 3 billion people globally and mainly occur in sub-Saharan Africa. The present study assessed the overall infection status of a 1716-student cohort of schoolchildren in Zanzibar and applied mass drug administration (MDA) to the cohort from 2007 to 2009. Schools in Pemba, Zanzibar, had a much higher prevalence of soil-transmitted helminth infections than those in Unguja, and the Chaani, Ghana, and Machui schools of Unguja exhibited high S. haematobium infection rates. The MDA program only partially controlled parasite infections, owing to high rates of re-infection. The infection rate of S. haematobium across all 10 schools, for example, was only reduced by 1.8%, and even this change not significant, even though the S. haematobium infection rates of the Chaani and Mzambarauni schools were significantly reduced from 64.4 and 23.4%, respectively, at the first screening, to 7.3 and 2.3% at the last screening. The overall infection rate of Ascaris lumbricoides was reduced from 36.0% at the first screening to 22.6% at the last screening. However, the infection rates for both Trichuris trichiura and hookworm were generally unaffected by MDA. In the future, parasite control programs should involve strategically designed MDA schedules and holistic intervention (e.g., sanitation improvement, hygiene behavior changes, and control of intermediated hosts).