• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.66 no.4
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• pp.419-427
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• 2021

In South Korea, direct seeding of rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) is difficult during spring cultivation in early March because of the low yield production associated with late flowering and poor seed quality. To compare the period of direct sowing, the present study investigated the growth characteristics of rapeseed according to planting dates. Specifically, 35 day-old seedlings were transplanted or directly sown on four different dates (late February, early March, late March, and early April) in 2020 and 2021. As the planting date was delayed, the days to flowering of rapeseed decreased. Similarly, the plant height, seed set percentage, and seed yield of rapeseed were reduced upon delay in planting. The seed yield of rapeseed through direct seeding in late February was the highest, 2.76 ton·ha^-1. On all seeding dates, except for late February, the transplanted rapeseed produced a higher yields than the directly seeded rapeseed. The crude oil and oleic acid content, which is related to the quality of rapeseed, decreased with the delay in planting dates, and this decrease was greater, with the direct seeding of rapeseed depending on the sowing time. In the correlation analysis, the planting date was significantly and negatively correlated with the yield, crude oil content, and oleic acid content of the transplanted rapeseed, while the sowing date was negatively correlated with the plant height, silique size, yield, and seed quality of the directly seeded rapeseed. Finally, the effect of planting date on rapeseed growth was stronger in direct seeding than in transplanting. Therefore, during spring cultivation after late February to early March, transplanting, rather than direct seeding, in more advantageous in terms of seed quality and yield.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.374-390
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• 2021

Growth and yield of field vegetable crops would be affected by climate conditions, which cause a relatively large fluctuation in crop production and consumer price over years. The yield prediction system for these crops would support decision-making on policies to manage supply and demands. The objectives of this study were to compile literatures related to onion and garlic and to perform data-mining analysis, which would shed lights on the development of crop models for these major field vegetable crops in Korea. The literatures on crop growth and yield were collected from the databases operated by Research Information Sharing Service, National Science & Technology Information Service and SCOPUS. The keywords were chosen to retrieve research outcomes related to crop growth and yield of onion and garlic. These literatures were analyzed using text mining approaches including word cloud and semantic networks. It was found that the number of publications was considerably less for the field vegetable crops compared with rice. Still, specific patterns between previous research outcomes were identified using the text mining methods. For example, climate change and remote sensing were major topics of interest for growth and yield of onion and garlic. The impact of temperature and irrigation on crop growth was also assessed in the previous studies. It was also found that yield of onion and garlic would be affected by both environment and crop management conditions including sowing time, variety, seed treatment method, irrigation interval, fertilization amount and fertilizer composition. For meteorological conditions, temperature, precipitation, solar radiation and humidity were found to be the major factors in the literatures. These indicate that crop models need to take into account both environmental and crop management practices for reliable prediction of crop yield.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.85 no.1
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• pp.37-46
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• 2022

Background: Although respiratory tract infection is one of the most important factors triggering acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AE-COPD), limited data are available to suggest an epidemiologic pattern of microbiology in South Korea. Methods: A multicenter observational study was conducted between January 2015 and December 2018 across 28 hospitals in South Korea. Adult patients with moderate-to-severe acute exacerbations of COPD were eligible to participate in the present study. The participants underwent all conventional tests to identify etiology of microbial pathogenesis. The primary outcome was the percentage of different microbiological pathogens causing AE-COPD. A comparative microbiological analysis of the patients with overlapping asthma-COPD (ACO) and pure COPD was performed. Results: We included 1,186 patients with AE-COPD. Patients with pure COPD constituted 87.9% and those with ACO accounted for 12.1%. Nearly half of the patients used an inhaled corticosteroid-containing regimen and one-fifth used systemic corticosteroids. Respiratory pathogens were found in 55.3% of all such patients. Bacteria and viruses were detected in 33% and 33.2%, respectively. Bacterial and viral coinfections were found in 10.9%. The most frequently detected bacteria were Pseudomonas aeruginosa (9.8%), and the most frequently detected virus was influenza A (10.4%). Multiple bacterial infections were more likely to appear in ACO than in pure COPD (8.3% vs. 3.6%, p=0.016). Conclusion: Distinct microbiological patterns were identified in patients with moderate-to-severe AE-COPD in South Korea. These findings may improve evidence-based management of patients with AE-COPD and represent the basis for further studies investigating infectious pathogens in patients with COPD.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.85 no.1
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• pp.56-66
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• 2022

Background: Because the etiologies of bronchiectasis and related diseases vary significantly among different regions and ethnicities, this study aimed to develop a diagnostic bundle for bronchiectasis in South Korea. Methods: A modified Delphi method was used to develop expert consensus statements on a diagnostic bundle for bronchiectasis in South Korea. Initial statements proposed by a core panel, based on international bronchiectasis guidelines, were discussed in an online meeting and two email surveys by a panel of experts (≥70% agreement). Results: The study involved 21 expert participants, and 30 statements regarding a diagnostic bundle for bronchiectasis were classified as recommended, conditional, or not recommended. The consensus statements of the expert panel were as follows: A standardized diagnostic bundle is useful in clinical practice; diagnostic tests for specific diseases, including immunodeficiency and allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis, are necessary when clinically suspected; initial diagnostic tests, including sputum microbiology and spirometry, are essential in all patients with bronchiectasis, and patients suspected with rare causes such as primary ciliary dyskinesia should be referred to specialized centers. Conclusion: Based on this Delphi survey, expert consensus statements were generated including specific diagnostic, laboratory, microbiological, and pulmonary function tests required to manage patients with bronchiectasis in South Korea.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.74-81
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• 2022

Brassica napus, an oil crop that produces rapeseed oil, is an allotetraploid (AACC, 2n = 38) produced by natural hybridization between B. rapa and B. oleracea. In this study, microspore was cultured using the F₁ developed from a cross between 'EMS26' line with high oleic acid content and 'J8634-B-30' lines. The flower bud size showing the nuclear development at the late uninucleate and binucleate stage with high embryogenesis rate was 2.6 ~ 3.5 mm. Microspores were cultured using only this size and after then most microspore embryo developed into secondary embryos and then regeneration plants obtained from the developed multilobe. The analysis of the ploidy of the plants revealed that 66.7% and 27.8% of the total lines were tetraploids and octoploids, respectively. The sizes of stomatal cells in tetraploids, octoploids, and diploids were 25.5, 35.6, and 19.9 ㎛, respectively, indicating that ploidy level was positively correlated with cell size. Furthermore, 62 tetraploid doubled haploid (DH) lines were selected. The average oleic acid (C18:1) and linolenic acid (C18:3) concentrations of DH were 72.3% and 6.2%, respectively. Oleic acid and linolenic acid concentrations exceeded the two parental values in 5 and 14 DH lines, respectively, suggesting that these two fatty acids had transgressive segregation. Therefore, the DH population can be utilized for the biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids in rapeseed and related genes. It can also be used as a breeding material for varieties with high oleic acid concentrations.

• Journal of Korea Port Economic Association
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.117-128
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• 2021

In order for the users (shipping firms and shippers) and suppliers (stevedoring firms) in the container terminal industry to win-win, it is necessary to have some appropriate diverse market conditions for the industry. This study analyses the basic conditions and demand and supply characteristics of the industry and investigates the market performance of Busan container ports. First, this article analyses the basic characteristics of demand and supply. As the demand characteristics, there are five ones such as 1) exogeneity of demand, 2) function as export/import transportation and hub for transshipment, 3) increase of users' bargaining power, 4) high substituting elasticity, 5) reduction of volume growth. As the supply characteristics, there are seven ones such as 1) inelasticity of supply, 2) homogeneity of stevedoring services, 3) over-supply, 4) adoption of cutting-edge stevedoring technology, 5) scale economy and impossibility of storage, 6) labor market rigidity, 7) enhancing port's role in SCM. In addition, this study conducts the so-called structure-conduct-performance analysis. For the structure analysis, 1) lacks of scale economy in stevedoring companies, 2) high entry barrier, 3) strengthening of shipping firms' bargaining power, 4) transitory permission scheme for tariff are analyzed. For the conduct analysis, 1) price discrimination between export/import and transshipment, 2) mid-term length of terminal use contract, 3) continuous investment in equipment, 4) low level of cooperation among terminal operating firms are derived. For the performance analysis, 1) inequality in profitability, 2) reduction of export/import cost, 3) delay in adopting cutting-edge technology, 4) idle equipment are analyzed. Following this logical flow, the hypothesis that the market structure influences the market conduct is tested based on the actual dataset. As a future agenda in the conclusion, this article recommends the so-called port industrial policy.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.164-178
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• 2022

Uncertainties in weather forecasts would affect the reliability of yield prediction using crop models. The objective of this study was to compare uncertainty in crop yield prediction caused by the use of the weather forecast data. Daily weather data were produced at 10 km spatial resolution using W eather Research and Forecasting (W RF) model. The nearest neighbor method was used to downscale these data at the resolution of 5 km (W RF5K). Parameter-elevation Regressions on Independent Slopes Model (PRISM) was also applied to the WRF data to produce the weather data at the same resolution. W RF5K and PRISM data were used as inputs to the CROPGRO-SOYBEAN model to predict crop yield. The uncertainties of the gridded data were analyzed using cumulative growing degree days (CGDD) and cumulative solar radiation (CSRAD) during the soybean growing seasons for the crop of interest. The degree of agreement (DOA) statistics including structural similarity index were determined for the crop model outputs. Our results indicated that the DOA statistics for CGDD were correlated with that for the maturity dates predicted using WRF5K and PRISM data. Yield forecasts had small values of the DOA statistics when large spatial disagreement occured between maturity dates predicted using WRF5K and PRISM. These results suggest that the spatial uncertainties in temperature data would affect the reliability of the phenology and, as a result, yield predictions at a greater degree than those in solar radiation data. This merits further studies to assess the uncertainties of crop yield forecasts using a wide range of crop calendars.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.31 no.12
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• pp.1110-1119
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• 2021

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the inflammatory response in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated RAW 264.7 macrophages could be promoted by particulate matter 2.5 (PM_2.5) stimulation. To this end, the levels of inflammatory parameters, reactive oxygen species (ROS) and inflammation-regulating genes were investigated in RAW 264.7 cells treated with PM_2.5 in the presence or absence of LPS. Our results showed that the production levels of pro-inflammatory mediators (nitric oxide and prostaglandin E₂) and cytokines (interleukin-6 and -1β) were significantly increased by PM_2.5 stimulation in LPS-treated RAW 264.7 cells, which was correlated with increased expression genes involved in their production. In addition, when LPS-treated RAW 264.7 cells were exposed to PM_2.5, nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-κB) expression was further increased in the nucleus, and the expression of inhibitor of NF-κB as well as NF-κB in the cytoplasm was decreased. These results suggest that the co-treatment of PM_2.5 and LPS further increases the activation of the NF-κB signaling pathway compared to each treatment alone, thereby contributing to the promotion of transcriptional activity of inflammatory genes. Furthermore, although the generation of ROS was greatly increased by PM_2.5 in LPS-treated RAW 264.7 cells, the NF-κB inhibitor did not reduce the generation of ROS. In addition, when the generation of ROS was artificially suppressed, the production of inflammatory mediators and the activation of NF-κB were both abolished. Therefore, our results suggest that the increase in the NF-κB-mediated inflammatory response induced by PM_2.5 in LPS-treated RAW 264.7 macrophages was a ROS generation-dependent phenomenon.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.256-266
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• 2022

Empirical models including the Angstrom-Prescott (AP) model have been used to estimate solar radiation at sites, which would support a wide use of crop models. The objective of this study was to estimate two sets of solar radiation estimates using the AP coefficients derived for climate zone (AP_Frere) and specific site (AP_Choi), respectively. The daily solar radiation was estimated at 18 sites in Korea where long-term measurements of solar radiation were available. In the present study, daily solar radiation and sunshine duration were collected for the period from 2012 to 2021. Daily weather data including maximum and minimum temperatures and rainfall were also obtained to prepare input data to a process-based crop model, CERES-Rice model included in Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT). It was found that the daily estimates of solar radiation using the climate zone specific coefficient, SFrere, had significantly less error than those using site-specific coefficients S_Choi (p<0.05). The cumulative values of S_Frere for the period from march to September also had less error at 55% of study sites than those of S_Choi. Still, the use of S_Frere and S_Choi as inputs to the CERES-Rice model resulted in slight differences between the outcomes of crop growth simulations, which had no significant difference between these outputs. These results suggested that the AP coefficients for the temperate climate zone would be preferable for the estimation of solar radiation. This merits further evaluation studies to compare the AP model with other sophisticated approaches such as models based on satellite data.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.379-386
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• 1990

Varietal difference of protein content in forty eight Korean recommended rice cultivars and environmental Variation in protein content of milled rice harvested at six sites of the middle and/or southern plain and four locations of mid-mountainous and/or alpine area in 1989 were investigated. Also, the composition of amino acid in milled rice was compared among three rice varieties: a high-protein japonica rice, Nongbaek, a high-protein Tongil-type rice, Yongjubyeo, and a low-protein japonica rice, Hwaseongbyeo. Korean recommended rice varieties showed 7.93% of average protein content with varietal variation from 5.5% to 10.2% for milled rice harvested in 1988, and 9.17% of mean protein content with the variation from 6.3% to 12.0% for milled rice harvested in 1989. Tongil-type rice was about 1% higher in protein content of milled rice than japonica. The low-protein japonica rice, Hwaseongbyeo exhibited lower content of essential amino acids per g of rice flour sample than the high-protein japoinica, Nongbaek and/or Tongil-type rice, Yongjubyeo, but the relative content of essential amino acids per 16.8g of nitrogen in milled rice of the former was not so different with those of the latters. Among amino acids the content of glutamic acid was highest and among essential amino acids the content of leucine was highest while methionine was lowest. The protein content of milled rice was negatively correlated with days from seeding to heading, K/Mg ratio, alkali digestion value(l-7) and amylose content, but it was positively correlated with translucency and magnesium content of milled rice. The protein content of milled rice harvested in the southern plain paddy field was about 1% higher compared with those harvested in the Middle plain. Also, the protein content of milled rice harvested in the southern mid-mountainous and alpine area was about 0.8% higher compared with those harvested in the resemble altitude area of the middle-northern part of Korea. The contribution of environmental variation to total in plain area was about 28.1% while that in mid-mountainous and alpine area was about 56.4%.