• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.38 no.6_1
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• pp.1301-1314
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• 2022

Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) is utilized as an indicator to represent the vegetation condition on the land surface in various applications such as land cover, crop yield, agricultural drought, soil moisture, and forest disaster. However, satellite optical sensors for visible and infrared rays cannot see through the clouds, so the NDVI of the cloud pixel is not a valid value for the land surface. This study proposed a real-time correction of the underestimation noise for GEO-KOMPSAT-2A (GK2A) daily NDVI and made sure its feasibility through the quantitative comparisons with Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) NDVI and the qualitative interpretation of time-series changes. The underestimation noise was effectively corrected by the procedures such as the time-series correction considering vegetation phenology, the outlier removal using long-term climatology, and the gap filling using rigorous statistical methods. The correlation with MODIS NDVI was higher, and the difference was lower, showing a 32.7% improvement compared to the original NDVI product. The proposed method has an extensibility for use in other satellite products with some modification.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.38 no.6_1
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• pp.1069-1080
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• 2022

The tropospheric ozone is a pollutant that causes a great deal of damage to humans and ecosystems worldwide. In the event that ozone moves downwind from its source, a localized problem becomes a regional and global problem. To enhance ozone monitoring efficiency, geostationary satellites with continuous diurnal observations have been developed. The objective of this study is to derive the Tropospheric Ozone Movement Vector (TOMV) by employing continuous observations of tropospheric ozone from geostationary satellites for the first time in the world. In the absence of Geostationary Environmental Monitoring Satellite (GEMS) tropospheric ozone observation data, the GEOS-Chem model calculated values were used as synthetic data. Comparing TOMV with GEOS-Chem, the TOMV algorithm overestimated wind speed, but it correctly calculated wind direction represented by pollution movement. The ozone influx can also be calculated using the calculated ozone movement speed and direction multiplied by the observed ozone concentration. As an alternative to a backward trajectory method, this approach will provide better forecasting and analysis by monitoring tropospheric ozone inflow characteristics on a continuous basis. However, if the boundary of the ozone distribution is unclear, motion detection may not be accurate. In spite of this, the TOMV method may prove useful for monitoring and forecasting pollution based on geostationary environmental satellites in the future.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.38 no.6_1
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• pp.1315-1328
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• 2022

Sinduri beach is a typical sedimentary landform that forms sand dunes due to the influence of the northwest wind in winter. Due to the its large scale and well-developed nature, it has been recognized for conservation value and is currently designated as Natural Monument No. 431, and continuous monitoring is required in terms of the preservation of topographical values. In this study, aerial images, drone images, and drone-based LiDAR data during 36 years were used for long-term topographical change observation of the Sinduri coastal sand dunes located in Taean-gun, Chungcheongnam-do. To implement this, the amount of change in elevation and volume for each period was calculated by applying the difference of Digital Elevation Model (DEM) based on raster calculation using the numerical elevation model generated from the raw data. Also, the amount of change in volume based on probability was calculated using the error propagation law for the intrinsic error of each data source. As a result, it can be seen that from 1986 to 2022, deposition of 35,119 m³ occurred in region of interest A (area: 17,960 m²) and 54,954 m³ of deposition occurred in region of interest B (area: 17,686 m²).

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.38 no.6_3
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• pp.1847-1859
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• 2022

Wildfires in North Korea can have a directly or indirectly affect South Korea if they go south to the Demilitarized Zone. Therefore, this study calculates the regional optimized Forest Fire Danger Index (FFDI) based on Local Data Assessment and Prediction System (LDAPS) weather data to obtain forest fire risk in North Korea, and applied it to the cases in Goseong-gun and Cheorwon-gun, North Korea in April 2022. As a result, the suitability was confirmed as the FFDI at the time of ignition corresponded to the risk class Extreme and Severe sections, respectively. In addition, a qualitative comparison of the risk map and the soil moisture map before and after the wildfire, the correlation was grasped. A new forest fire risk index that combines drought factors such as soil moisture, Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), and Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI) will be needed in the future.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.282-289
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• 2022

Background: Airborne fungi are ubiquitous in the air and exposure to an airborne fungus can be a significant risk factor. The composition of fungi has been potentially important for human health, especially for respiratory diseases like asthma and atopic dermatitis. Therefore, we attempted to ascertain what kind of airborne fungi affect human health at a nationwide level. Objectives: This study was carried out to provide information on indoor fungi distribution at multi-use facilities throughout South Korea. Methods: We classified our data by region and public facility after collection, cultivation, and identification via the sequencing of the ITS (internal transcribed spacer) region. We investigated whether or not the proliferation of HaCaT cells was affected by the identified airborne fungi. Results: In our data, the most isolated airborne fungi by region were Penicillium spp (Seoul, Daegu), Periconia sp (Gyeonggi-do), Iprex sp (Gangwon-do), Phanerochaete sp (Busan), Bjerkandera sp (Gwangju), and Aspergillus sp (Jeju-do). In the public facilities, the most detected fungi were Cladosporium sp (public transport), Penicillium sp (apartment house, retail market, financial institution, karaoke room), Bjerokandera sp (underground parking lot, public toilet, medical institution), Periconia sp (retail store), and Fusarium sp (general restaurant). Next, we selected twenty airborne fungi to examine their cytotoxicity and proliferation of human skin cells. In this experiment, the proliferation of the cells was influenced by most of the identified fungi. In case of the cytotoxicity test, most genera except for Rhodotorula sp and Moesziomyces sp showed cytotoxicity in HaCaT cells. Conclusions: The distribution of mold in the indoor air in multi-use facilities in South Korea differs from region to region, and this is an indicator that should be considered in future health impact studies. In addition, as a result of culturing about 20 types of bacteria dominant in indoor air, it was found that most (90%) inhibit the growth of skin cells, which can be harmful to health. An in-depth study of the health effects of floating fungi is needed.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.42 no.5
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• pp.617-626
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• 2022

In Korea, annual precipitation and its variability have gradually increased since modern meteorological observations began, and the risk of disasters has also been increasing due to significant regional variations and recent abnormal climate conditions. Given that damage from storms and floods mainly occurs around rivers, it is crucial to determine the appropriate design frequency for river-related projects. This study examined existing design practices used to determine hydrological design frequencies and suggested a new method to determine appropriate design frequencies. The study collected available data pertaining to seven evaluation factors, specifically the basin areas, shape parameters, channel slopes, stream orders, backwater effect reaches, extreme rainfall frequencies, and urbanized flood inundation areasfor 413 local rivers in Chungcheongnam-do in Korea. The estimated weights for areas of extreme rainfall frequencies and urbanized flood inundation were found to be 18, having a great effect on determining the design frequency. Compared with the established design frequency in previous government reports, the estimated design frequency increased for 255 rivers and decreased for 158 rivers.

• Journal of the Korean Crystal Growth and Crystal Technology
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.175-182
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• 2022

Rare-earth elements were doped with Mg to enhance the temperature stability of dielectric properties of BaTiO₃ for its application to MLCC (Multi-Layer Ceramic Capacitor). The additives strongly affect both grain growth and densification behaviors during sintering, and hence dielectric properties. The additive effects therefore should be examined in each system with different additives. This study investigated the crystal structure, grain growth and densification behaviors and related variations in dielectric constant with respect to sintering temperature. Dielectric constant appears to be varied with grain size in a temperature range between 1200 and 1300℃, suggesting the importance of grain size control. The temperature dependence of grain size variation was well explained by an established theory correlating the grain growth behavior with grain boundary structure. This accordance provides a basis for sintering technique to control grain growth thus to improve dielectric constant in rare-earth doped BaTiO₃.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.65 no.6
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• pp.790-800
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• 2022

Objective : EID3 (EP300-interacting inhibitor of differentiation) was identified as a novel member of EID family and plays a pivotal role in colorectal cancer development. However, its role in glioma remained elusive. In current study, we identified EID3 as a novel oncogenic molecule in human glioma and is critical for glioma cell survival, proliferation and invasion. Methods : A total of five patients with glioma were recruited in present study and fresh glioma samples were removed from patients. Four weeks old male non-obese diabetic severe combined immune deficiency (NOD/SCID) mice were used as transplant recipient models. The subcutaneous tumor size was calculated and recorded every week with vernier caliper. EID3 and AMP-activated protein kinase α1 (AMPKα1) expression levels were confirmed by real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blot assays. Colony formation assays were performed to evaluate cell proliferation. Methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assays were performed for cell viability assessment. Trypan blue staining approach was applied for cell death assessment. Cell Apoptosis DNA ELISA Detection Kit was used for apoptosis assessment. Results : EID3 was preferentially expressed in glioma tissues/cells, while undetectable in astrocytes, neuronal cells, or normal brain tissues. EID3 knocking down significantly hindered glioma cell proliferation and invasion, as well as induced reduction of cell viability, apoptosis and cell death. EID3 knocking down also greatly inhibited tumor growth in SCID mice. Knocking down of AMPKα1 could effectively rescue glioma cells from apoptosis and cell death caused by EID3 absence, indicating that AMPKα1 acted as a key downstream regulator of EID3 and mediated suppression effects caused by EID3 knocking down inhibition. These findings were confirmed in glioma cells generated patient-derived xenograft models. AMPKα1 protein levels were affected by MG132 treatment in glioma, which suggested EID3 might down regulate AMPKα1 through protein degradation. Conclusion : Collectively, our study demonstrated that EID3 promoted glioma cell proliferation and survival by inhibiting AMPKα1 expression. Targeting EID3 might represent a promising strategy for treating glioma.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.117-137
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• 2022

Today, the medical system is changing into a comprehensive health care system in which collaborative relationships between medical professionals and non-medical personnels in neighboring occupational areas. The current medical act brands such "collaboration" as unlicensed medical practice, and punishes non-medical personnel who acted in the risk management of doctors as well as doctors collaborated with non-medical personnel as unlicensed medical practice. In order to narrow the gap between the legal system that regulates unlicensed medical practices and the medical reality, it is necessary to overcome the structural limitations of dualistic, nationalistic, and identity-oriented regulation of unlicensed medical practices. The legal interests of unlicensed medical practice have a dual nature as a personal legal interest of "human life and body" as well as a national legal interest of "maintenance and protection of the nation's medical license system", and it should be noted that the criteria for judging the legal interests protected by the regulations of criminal punishment should be found in "personal legal interest theory." In addition, when determining which behavior is a medical practice and evaluating its risk, the dimension of behavior and measures should be considered in a fair manner without being biased against the subject (identity) of the action. In other words, judging unlicensed medical practice should depend on whether the risk of side effects that may result from the act is reasonably managed. Considering the prospect of therapeutic dialogue between medical professionals and patients, it would be desirable for medical law policies to move in a way that does not fundamentally block the possibility of collaboration among pluralistic medical personalities.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.249-258
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• 2022

The specific muscular structure of the tongue greatly affects margin shrinkage and tumor invasion, making the optimal surgical margin controversial. This study investigated surgical margin correlated prognosis of TSCC (tongue squamous cell carcinoma) according to margin location and its value, and the histopathologic factors which are suggestive of tumor invasion. And we would like to propose defining of the surgical margin for TSCC via prognosis according to location and margin values. We reviewed 45 patients diagnosed with TSCC who visited Seoul National University Dental Hospital (SNUDH) (Seoul, Republic of Korea) from 2010 to 2019, who were managed by a single surgical team. Patient clinical and pathological data of patients were retrospectively reviewed, and in 36 out of 45 patients, the pathologic parameters including the worst pattern of invasion (WPOI) and tumor budding were investigated via diagnostic histopathology slide reading. When standardized with as 0.25 cm anterior margins, as 0.35 cm deep margin, there was no significant difference in disease specific survival (DSS) or loco-regional recurrence-free survival (LRFS). Additionally, there was a non-significant difference in DSS and LRFS at the nearest margin of 0.35 cm (P_DSS=0.276, P_LRFS=0.162). Aggressive WPOI and high tumor budding showed lower survival and recurrence-free survival, and there were significant differences in close margin and involved margin frequencies. In TSCC, the value and location of the surgical margin did not have a significant relationship with prognosis, but WPOI and tumor budding suggesting the pattern of muscle invasion affected survival and recurrence-free survival. WPOI and tumor budding should be considered when setting an optimal surgical margin.