• Title/Summary/Keyword: Information Technology (IT)

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Analysis of Rice Blast Outbreaks in Korea through Text Mining (텍스트 마이닝을 통한 우리나라의 벼 도열병 발생 개황 분석)

  • Song, Sungmin;Chung, Hyunjung;Kim, Kwang-Hyung;Kim, Ki-Tae
    • Research in Plant Disease
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    • v.28 no.3
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    • pp.113-121
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    • 2022
  • Rice blast is a major plant disease that occurs worldwide and significantly reduces rice yields. Rice blast disease occurs periodically in Korea, causing significant socio-economic damage due to the unique status of rice as a major staple crop. A disease outbreak prediction system is required for preventing rice blast disease. Epidemiological investigations of disease outbreaks can aid in decision-making for plant disease management. Currently, plant disease prediction and epidemiological investigations are mainly based on quantitatively measurable, structured data such as crop growth and damage, weather, and other environmental factors. On the other hand, text data related to the occurrence of plant diseases are accumulated along with the structured data. However, epidemiological investigations using these unstructured data have not been conducted. The useful information extracted using unstructured data can be used for more effective plant disease management. This study analyzed news articles related to the rice blast disease through text mining to investigate the years and provinces where rice blast disease occurred most in Korea. Moreover, the average temperature, total precipitation, sunshine hours, and supplied rice varieties in the regions were also analyzed. Through these data, it was estimated that the primary causes of the nationwide outbreak in 2020 and the major outbreak in Jeonbuk region in 2021 were meteorological factors. These results obtained through text mining can be combined with deep learning technology to be used as a tool to investigate the epidemiology of rice blast disease in the future.

A Study of Fluoride Adsorption in Aqueous Solution Using Iron Sludge based Adsorbent at Mine Drainage Treatment Facility (광산배수 정화시설 철 슬러지 기반 흡착제를 활용한 수용액상 불소 흡착에 관한 연구)

  • Lee, Joon Hak;Kim, Sun Joon
    • Economic and Environmental Geology
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    • v.54 no.6
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    • pp.709-716
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    • 2021
  • In this study, an adsorbent prepared by natural drying of iron hydroxide-based sludge collected from settling basin at a mine drainage treatment facility located in Gangneung, Gangwon-do was used to remove fluoride in an artificial fluoride solution and mine drainage, and the adsorption characteristics of the adsorbent were investigated. As a result of analyzing the chemical composition, mineralogical properties, and specific surface area of the adsorbent used in the experiment, iron oxide (Fe2O3) occupies 79.2 wt.% as the main constituent, and a peak related to calcite (CaCO3) in the crystal structure analysis was analyzed. It was also identified that an irregular surface and a specific surface area of 216.78 m2·g-1. In the indoor batch-type experiment, the effect of changes in reaction time, pH, initial fluoride concentration and temperature on the change in adsorption amount was analyzed. The adsorption of fluoride showed an adsorption amount of 3.85 mg·g-1 16 hours after the start of the reaction, and the increase rate of the adsorption amount gradually decreased. Also, as the pH increased, the amount of fluoride adsorption decreased, and in particular, the amount of fluoride adsorption decreased rapidly around pH 5.5, the point of zero charge at which the surface charge of the adsorbent changes. Meanwhile, the results of the isotherm adsorption experiment were applied to the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm adsorption models to infer the fluoride adsorption mechanism of the used adsorbent. To understand the thermodynamic properties of the adsorbent using the Van't Hoff equation, thermodynamic constants 𝚫H° and 𝚫G° were calculated using the adsorption amount information obtained by increasing the temperature from 25℃ to 65℃ to determine the adsorption characteristics of the adsorbent. Finally, the adsorbent was applied to the mine drainage having a fluoride concentration of about 12.8 mg·L-1, and the fluoride removal rate was about 50%.

Development of Summer Leaf Vegetable Crop Energy Model for Rooftop Greenhouse (옥상온실에서의 여름철 엽채류 작물에너지 교환 모델 개발)

  • Cho, Jeong-Hwa;Lee, In-Bok;Lee, Sang-Yeon;Kim, Jun-Gyu;Decano, Cristina;Choi, Young-Bae;Lee, Min-Hyung;Jeong, Hyo-Hyeog;Jeong, Deuk-Young
    • Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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    • v.31 no.3
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    • pp.246-254
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    • 2022
  • Domestic facility agriculture grows rapidly, such as modernization and large-scale. And the production scale increases significantly compared to the area, accounting for about 60% of the total agricultural production. Greenhouses require energy input to create an appropriate environment for stable mass production throughout the year, but the energy load per unit area is large because of low insulation properties. Through the rooftop greenhouse, one of the types of urban agriculture, energy that is not discarded or utilized in the building can be used in the rooftop greenhouse. And the cooling and heating load of the building can be reduced through optimal greenhouse operation. Dynamic energy analysis for various environmental conditions should be preceded for efficient operation of rooftop greenhouses, and about 40% of the solar energy introduced in the greenhouse is energy exchange for crops, so it should be considered essential. A major analysis is needed for each sensible heat and latent heat load by leaf surface temperature and evapotranspiration, dominant in energy flow. Therefore, an experiment was conducted in a rooftop greenhouse located at the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials to analyze the energy exchange according to the growth stage of crops. A micro-meteorological and nutrient solution environment and growth survey were conducted around the crops. Finally, a regression model of leaf temperature and evapotranspiration according to the growth stage of leafy vegetables was developed, and using this, the dynamic energy model of the rooftop greenhouse considering heat transfer between crops and the surrounding air can be analyzed.

Predicting the Effects of Rooftop Greening and Evaluating CO2 Sequestration in Urban Heat Island Areas Using Satellite Imagery and Machine Learning (위성영상과 머신러닝 활용 도시열섬 지역 옥상녹화 효과 예측과 이산화탄소 흡수량 평가)

  • Minju Kim;Jeong U Park;Juhyeon Park;Jisoo Park;Chang-Uk Hyun
    • Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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    • v.39 no.5_1
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    • pp.481-493
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    • 2023
  • In high-density urban areas, the urban heat island effect increases urban temperatures, leading to negative impacts such as worsened air pollution, increased cooling energy consumption, and increased greenhouse gas emissions. In urban environments where it is difficult to secure additional green spaces, rooftop greening is an efficient greenhouse gas reduction strategy. In this study, we not only analyzed the current status of the urban heat island effect but also utilized high-resolution satellite data and spatial information to estimate the available rooftop greening area within the study area. We evaluated the mitigation effect of the urban heat island phenomenon and carbon sequestration capacity through temperature predictions resulting from rooftop greening. To achieve this, we utilized WorldView-2 satellite data to classify land cover in the urban heat island areas of Busan city. We developed a prediction model for temperature changes before and after rooftop greening using machine learning techniques. To assess the degree of urban heat island mitigation due to changes in rooftop greening areas, we constructed a temperature change prediction model with temperature as the dependent variable using the random forest technique. In this process, we built a multiple regression model to derive high-resolution land surface temperatures for training data using Google Earth Engine, combining Landsat-8 and Sentinel-2 satellite data. Additionally, we evaluated carbon sequestration based on rooftop greening areas using a carbon absorption capacity per plant. The results of this study suggest that the developed satellite-based urban heat island assessment and temperature change prediction technology using Random Forest models can be applied to urban heat island-vulnerable areas with potential for expansion.

The Effect of Consumption Value and Consumers' Need for Cognition on Satisfaction through the Mediating Role of Trust in Online Shopping Websites (소비가치와 소비자의 인지욕구가 온라인 쇼핑 웹사이트에 대한 신뢰성을 매개로 만족도에 미치는 영향)

  • Lee, Yun-sun
    • Journal of Venture Innovation
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    • v.6 no.4
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    • pp.99-111
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    • 2023
  • This study aims to confirm that consumers' satisfaction with online shopping websites has changed to a phenomenon different from the past. In other words, in a situation where the use of e-commerce is expanding worldwide after the pandemic and various types of commerce such as mobile commerce and social commerce are formed, the consumer's information processing and decision-making process are meaningful in examining the behavior that has been changed based on the perceived motivation level of consumers by the new environment according to the consumption value and personal characteristics perceived by the consumer. In other words, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of consumption value and need for cognition on the satisfaction toward online websites as a mediating role in the trust of the website. As a result of testing Hypothesis 1, not only the hedonic value of the consumer for the website but also the utilitarian value had a positive influence on the satisfaction toward the website, and in particular, the utilitarian value showed a relatively greater influence than the hedonic value. However, the negative relationship between the need for cognition and satisfaction was found to be at a significant level under one-sided verification. In Hypothesis 2, only the utilitarian value among the consumption values of 2-1 showed a positive effect on satisfaction through a mediating role of trust. It was confirmed that the utilitarian value among the consumption values was an important factor in the satisfaction toward the website. The significance of this study is that, unlike previous research results, not only consumption value based on senses and emotions but also utilitarian value has a greater influence. Therefore, utilitarian value and need for cognition have a stronger influence on satisfaction if they play a mediating role based on the trust of the website used by consumers. These findings reflect the current market trend of online consumption, and they are helpful in the management and strategy of online websites based on consumer behavior understanding and major factors.

Investment Priorities and Weight Differences of Impact Investors (임팩트 투자자의 투자 우선순위와 비중 차이에 관한 연구)

  • Yoo, Sung Ho;Hwangbo, Yun
    • Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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    • v.18 no.3
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    • pp.17-32
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    • 2023
  • In recent years, the need for social ventures that aim to grow while solving social problems through the efficiency and effectiveness of commercial organizations in the market has increased, while there is a limit to how much the government and the public can do to solve social problems. Against this background, the number of social venture startups is increasing in the domestic startup ecosystem, and interest in impact investors, which are investors in social ventures, is also increasing. Therefore, this research utilized judgment analysis technology to objectively analyze the validity and weight of judgment information based on the cognitive process and decision-making environment in the investment decision-making of impact investors. We proceeded with the research by constructing three classifications; first, investment priorities at the initial investment stage for financial benefit and return on investment as an investor, second, the political skills of the entrepreneurs (teams) for the social impact and ripple power, and social venture coexistence and solidarity, third, the social mission of a social venture that meets the purpose of an impact investment fund. As a result of this research, first of all, the investment decision-making priorities of impact investors are the expertise of the entrepreneur (team), the potential rate of return when the entrepreneur (team) succeeds, and the social mission of the entrepreneur (team). Second, impact investors do not have a uniform understanding of the investment decision-making factors, and the factors that determine investment decisions are different, and there are differences in the degree of the weighting. Third, among the various investment decision-making factors of impact investment, "entrepreneur's (team's) networking ability", "entrepreneur's (team's) social insight", "entrepreneur's (team's) interpersonal influence" was relatively lower than the other four factors. The practical contribution through this research is to help social ventures understand the investment determinant factors of impact investors in the process of financing, and impact investors can be expected to improve the quality of investment decision-making by referring to the judgment cases and analysis of impact investors. The academic contribution is that it empirically investigated the investment priorities and weighting differences of impact investors.

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Development of Root Media Containing Pine Bark for Cultivation of Horticultural Crops (소나무 수피를 포함한 원예작물 재배용 혼합상토의 개발)

  • Park, Eun Young;Choi, Jong Myung
    • Horticultural Science & Technology
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    • v.32 no.4
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    • pp.499-506
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    • 2014
  • This research was conducted to develop root media containing ground and aged pine bark (GAPB) and ground and raw pine bark (GRPB). After analysis of physico chemical properties, the pine barks were blended with peat moss (PM) or coir dust (CD) in various ratios to formulate 12 root media. Then, two out of 12 root media were chosen based on the physical properties for further experiments. The pre-planting nutrient charge fertilizers (PNCF) were incorporated into two root media and chemical properties were analysed again. The total porosity (TP), container capacity (CC), and air-filled porosity (AFP) of GAPB were 78.7%. 39.4%, and 38.3%, respectively, while those of GRPB were 74.7%, 41.2%, and 33.4%, respectively. The percentage of easily available water (EAW, from CC to 4.90 kPa tension) and buffering water (BW, 4.91-9.81 kPa tension) in GAPB were 12.7% and 8.5%, respectively, which were a little lower than the 13.5% and 8.8% in GRPB. The pH and EC were not different significantly, but cation exchange capacity was different between the two pine barks (GAPB: pH 5.26, EC $0.61dS{\cdot}m^{-1}$, CEC $15.7meq{\cdot}100g^{-1}$; GRPB: pH 5.19, EC $0.32dS{\cdot}m^{-1}$, CEC $9.32meq{\cdot}100g^{-1}$). The concentrations of exchangeable cations in GAPB were Ca 0.32, K 0.05, Mg 0.27 and $0.12cmol+{\cdot}kg^{-1}$, whereas those in GRPB were Ca 0.28, K 0.08, Mg 0.25 and $0.09cmol+{\cdot}kg^{-1}$. The concentrations of $PO_4$-P, $NH_4$-N and $NO_3$-N were 485.8, 0.62 and $0.91mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$ in GAPB and 578, 1.00 and $0.82mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$ in GRPB, respectively, when those were analyzed in the solution of the saturated paste. The TP, CC and AFP in the two selected media were 89.3 and 76.3, and 13.0% in PM+GAPB (8:2, v/v) and 88.2, 68.2 and 20.0% in CD+GRPB (8:2), respectively. The pHs and ECs were 3.8 and $0.24dS{\cdot}m^{-1}$ in PM+GAPB which were a little lower than 5.8 and $0.65dS{\cdot}m^{-1}$ in CD+GRPB. However, the pHs analysed before and after incorporation of PNCF in the two root media did not show large differences. This is because the solubility of dolomitic lime is very low, and the pH it is expected to rise gradually when crops are cultivated int he root media. The information obtained in this study should facilitate effective formulation of root media containing pine bark.

Structural Adjustment of Domestic Firms in the Era of Market Liberalization (시장개방(市場開放)과 국내기업(國內企業)의 구조조정(構造調整))

  • Seong, So-mi
    • KDI Journal of Economic Policy
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    • v.13 no.4
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    • pp.91-116
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    • 1991
  • Market liberalization progressing simultaneously with high and rapidly rising domestic wages has created an adverse business environment for domestic firms. Korean firms are losing their international competitiveness in comparison to firms from LDC(Less Developed Countries) in low-tech industries. In high-tech industries, domestic firms without government protection (which is impossible due to the liberalization policy and the current international status of the Korean economy) are in a disadvantaged position relative to firms from advanced countries. This paper examines the division of roles between the private sector and the government in order to achieve a successful structural adjustment, which has become the impending industrial policy issue caused by high domestic wages, on the one hand, and the opening of domestic markets, on the other. The micro foundation of the economy-wide structural adjustment is actually the restructuring of business portfolios at the firm level. The firm-level business restructuring means that firms in low-value-added businesses or with declining market niches establish new major businesses in higher value-added segments or growing market niches. The adjustment of the business structure at the firm level can only be accomplished by accumulating firm-specific managerial assets necessary to establish a new business structure. This can be done through learning-by-doing in the whole system of management, including research and development, manufacturing, and marketing. Therefore, the voluntary cooperation among the people in the company is essential for making the cost of the learning process lower than that at the competing companies. Hence, firms that attempt to restructure their major businesses need to induce corporate-wide participation through innovations in organization and management, encourage innovative corporate culture, and maintain cooperative labor unions. Policy discussions on structural adjustments usually regard firms as a black box behind a few macro variables. But in reality, firm activities are not flows of materials but relationships among human resources. The growth potential of companies are embodied in the human resources of the firm; the balance of interest among stockholders, managers, and workers of the company' brings the accumulation of the company's core competencies. Therefore, policymakers and economists shoud change their old concept of the firm as a technological black box which produces a marketable commodities. Firms should be regarded as coalitions of interest groups such as stockholders, managers, and workers. Consequently the discussion on the structural adjustment both at the macroeconomic level and the firm level should be based on this new paradigm of understanding firms. The government's role in reducing the cost of structural adjustment and supporting should the creation of new industries emphasize the following: First, government must promote the competition in domestic markets by revising laws related to antitrust policy, bankruptcy, and the promotion of small and medium-sized companies. General consensus on the limitations of government intervention and the merit of deregulation should be sought among policymakers and people in the business world. In the age of internationalization, nation-specific competitive advantages cannot be exclusively in favor of domestic firms. The international competitiveness of a domestic firm derives from the firm-specific core competencies which can be accumulated by internal investment and organization of the firm. Second, government must build up a solid infrastructure of production factors including capital, technology, manpower, and information. Structural adjustment often entails bankruptcies and partial waste of resources. However, it is desirable for the government not to try to sustain marginal businesses, but to support the diversification or restructuring of businesses by assisting in factor creation. Institutional support for venture businesses needs to be improved, especially in the financing system since many investment projects in venture businesses are highly risky, even though they are very promising. The proportion of low-value added production processes and declining industries should be reduced by promoting foreign direct investment and factory automation. Moreover, one cannot over-emphasize the importance of future-oriented labor policies to be based on the new paradigm of understanding firm activities. The old laws and instititutions related to labor unions need to be reformed. Third, government must improve the regimes related to money, banking, and the tax system to change business practices dependent on government protection or undesirable in view of the evolution of the Korean economy as a whole. To prevent rational business decisions from contradicting to the interest of the economy as a whole, government should influence the business environment, not the business itself.

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Gender Differences in Pain in Cancer Patients (성별에 따른 암환자의 통증 차이)

  • Kim, Hyun-Sook;Lee, So-Woo;Yun, Young-Ho;Yu, Su-Jeong;Heo, Dae-Seog
    • Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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    • v.4 no.1
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    • pp.14-25
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    • 2001
  • Purpose : To determine whether there exist gender differences in pain in Korean cancer patients and whether the depression and performance that are often expressed differently between men and women with cancer interact with pain. Method : The results of survey were collected from 140 in- and out-patients (78 male and 62 female) who had cancer treatment at one of the university hospital in Seoul for four months from February of 1999. The severity and interference of pain were examined with the self-reported survey based on Korean version of Brief Pain Inventory (BPI-K). Demographic and clinical information for all patient were compiled by reviewing their medical records, and the level of depression was examined with the Korean version of Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-K). Usual statistical methods, e.g., frequences, means and SDs were used to characterize the sample. The chi-square tests for categorical data and t-test for numerical data were used for group comparison. And the correlation between variables were performed using Pearson correlation coefficient. Resuts : 1) The mean scores of the worst pain for last 24-hours measured with the pain severity of BPI-K were 5.77 in male and 6.45 in female. The pain interference of BPI-K in men was in the order of mood (5.49), enjoy (5.36), and work (5.00), and in women were work (7.48), enjoy (7.16), and mood (6.53). 2) In pain severity, significant difference was found between men and women in the average pain for last 24-hours (t=-2.130, P=.035). In pain interference, significant difference was found between men and women in activity (t=-2.450, P=.015), mood (t=-2,321, P=.022), walk (t=-2.762, P=.007), work (t=-4.946, P=.000), relate (t=-2.595, P=.010), sleep (t=-2.071, P=.040), enjoy (t=-3.198, P=.001). 3) It was found that the items of pain and depression are significantly correlated in men but not in women. Men also exhibited higher correlation in the items of pain and performance status than women. Conclusions : Women report significantly greater average pain for last 24-hours and for all items of pain interference than men. Pain and depression are significantly correlated in men. The results of this study suggest that gender differences in pain should be considered for planning effective pain management program.

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The State Hermitage Museum·Northwest University for Nationalities·Shanghai Chinese Classics Publishing House Kuche Art Relics Collected in Russia Shanghai Chinese Classics Publishing House, 2018 (아라사국립애이미탑십박물관(俄羅斯國立艾爾米塔什博物館)·서북민족대학(西北民族大學)·상해고적출판사(上海古籍出版社) 편(編) 『아장구자예술품(俄藏龜玆藝術品)』, 상해고적출판사(上海古籍出版社), 2018 (『러시아 소장 쿠차 예술품』))

  • Min, Byung-Hoon
    • MISULJARYO - National Museum of Korea Art Journal
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    • v.98
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    • pp.226-241
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    • 2020
  • Located on the right side of the third floor of the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, the "Art of Central Asia" exhibition boasts the world's finest collection of artworks and artifacts from the Silk Road. Every item in the collection has been classified by region, and many of them were collected in the early twentieth century through archaeological surveys led by Russia's Pyotr Kozlov, Mikhail Berezovsky, and Sergey Oldenburg. Some of these artifacts have been presented around the world through special exhibitions held in Germany, France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Korea, Japan, and elsewhere. The fruits of Russia's Silk Road expeditions were also on full display in the 2008 exhibition The Caves of One Thousand Buddhas - Russian Expeditions on the Silk Route on the Occasion of 190 Years of the Asiatic Museum, held at the Hermitage Museum. Published in 2018 by the Shanghai Chinese Classics Publishing House in collaboration with the Hermitage Museum, Kuche Art Relics Collected in Russia introduces the Hermitage's collection of artifacts from the Kuche (or Kucha) region. While the book focuses exclusively on artifacts excavated from the Kuche area, it also includes valuable on-site photos and sketches from the Russian expeditions, thus helping to enhance readers' overall understanding of the characteristics of Kuche art within the Buddhist art of Central Asia. The book was compiled by Dr. Kira Samosyuk, senior curator of the Oriental Department of the Hermitage Museum, who also wrote the main article and the artifact descriptions. Dr. Samosyuk is an internationally renowned scholar of Central Asian Buddhist art, with a particular expertise in the art of Khara-Khoto and Xi-yu. In her article "The Art of the Kuche Buddhist Temples," Dr. Samosyuk provides an overview of Russia's Silk Road expeditions, before introducing the historical development of Kuche in the Buddhist era and the aspects of Buddhism transmitted to Kuche. She describes the murals and clay sculptures in the Buddhist grottoes, giving important details on their themes and issues with estimating their dates, and also explains how the temples operated as places of worship. In conclusion, Dr. Samosyuk argues that the Kuche region, while continuously engaging with various peoples in China and the nomadic world, developed its own independent Buddhist culture incorporating elements of Gandara, Hellenistic, Persian, and Chinese art and culture. Finally, she states that the culture of the Kuche region had a profound influence not only on the Tarim Basin, but also on the Buddhist grottoes of Dunhuang and the central region of China. A considerable portion of Dr. Samosyuk's article addresses efforts to estimate the date of the grottoes in the Kuche region. After citing various scholars' views on the dates of the murals, she argues that the Kizil grottoes likely began prior to the fifth century, which is at least 100 years earlier than most current estimates. This conclusion is reached by comparing the iconography of the armor depicted in the murals with related materials excavated from the surrounding area (such as items of Sogdian art). However, efforts to date the Buddhist grottoes of Kuche must take many factors into consideration, such as the geological characteristics of the caves, the themes and styles of the Buddhist paintings, the types of pigments used, and the clothing, hairstyles, and ornamentation of the depicted figures. Moreover, such interdisciplinary data must be studied within the context of Kuche's relations with nearby cultures. Scientific methods such as radiocarbon dating could also be applied for supplementary materials. The preface of Kuche Art Relics Collected in Russia reveals that the catalog is the first volume covering the Hermitage Museum's collection of Kuche art, and that the next volume in the series will cover a large collection of mural fragments that were taken from Berlin during World War II. For many years, the whereabouts of these mural fragments were unknown to both the public and academia, but after restoration, the fragments were recently re-introduced to the public as part of the museum's permanent exhibition. We look forward to the next publication that focuses on these mural fragments, and also to future catalogs introducing the artifacts of Turpan and Khotan. Currently, fragments of the murals from the Kuche grottoes are scattered among various countries, including Russia, Germany, and Korea. With the publication of this catalog, it seems like an opportune time to publish a comprehensive catalog on the murals of the Kuche region, which represent a compelling mixture of East-West culture that reflects the overall characteristics of the region. A catalog that includes both the remaining murals of the Kizil grottoes and the fragments from different parts of the world could greatly enhance our understanding of the murals' original state. Such a book would hopefully include a more detailed and interdisciplinary discussion of the artifacts and murals, including scientific analyses of the pigments and other materials from the perspective of conservation science. With the ongoing rapid development in western China, the grotto murals are facing a serious crisis related to climate change and overcrowding in the oasis city of Xinjiang. To overcome this challenge, the cultural communities of China and other countries that possess advanced technology for conservation and restoration must begin working together to protect and restore the murals of the Silk Road grottoes. Moreover, centers for conservation science should be established to foster human resources and collect information. Compiling the data of Russian expeditions related to the grottoes of Kuche (among the results of Western archaeological surveys of the Silk Road in the early twentieth century), Kuche Art Relics Collected in Russia represents an important contribution to research on Kuche's Buddhist art and the Silk Road, which will only be enhanced by a future volume introducing the mural fragments from Germany. As the new authoritative source for academic research on the artworks and artifacts of the Kuche region, the book also lays the groundwork for new directions for future studies on the Silk Road. Finally, the book is also quite significant for employing a new editing system that improves its academic clarity and convenience. In conclusion, Dr. Kira Samosyuk, who planned the publication, deserves tremendous praise for taking the research of Silk Road art to new heights.