• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
• /
• v.49 no.5
• /
• pp.262-274
• /
• 2023

Background: Exposure levels for heavy metals such as lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), and cadmium (Cd) have increased due to human activities. They are known to be a public health concern. Objectives: This study aimed to determine the exposure levels to heavy metals in the blood and urine of South Korean adults and to present the contribution rate of exposure pathways using an exposure algorithm for men aged 19~64, women aged 19~64, and all seniors aged 65 or older. Methods: We analyzed data from the Korean National Environmental Health Survey (KoNEHS) Cycle 4 (2018~2020). A total of 2,646 participants aged ≥19 years were included. Multiple regression analysis was performed to determine the factors affecting heavy metal concentrations. The contribution rate was calculated by applying three exposure algorithms for ingestion, inhalation, and dermal exposure. Results: Factors that commonly affect heavy metal concentrations in blood and urine were gender and age. The main influencing factors for Pb and Cd were education level and smoking status, while frequency of fish consumption and of alcohol consumption were indicated to be the main influencing factors for mercury. The contribution rates of lead and cadmium from food ingestion were 78.03~79.62% and 88.39~92.89%, respectively. Additionally, the highest contribution for mercury was accounted for by food at 81.69~85.77%. As a result of the risk assessment, cadmium was found to pose a potential health risk a with total cancer risk (TCR) of more than 1×10^-6. Conclusions: The KoNEHS could be an important study for determining the level of exposure to heavy metals and their influencing factors. Integrated exposure to heavy metals could assess the main exposure pathways, and this methodology could be applied to exposure management of heavy metals.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
• /
• v.51 no.6
• /
• pp.46-60
• /
• 2023

This study examines the appropriateness of indicators and methodologies through the evaluation of cultural services in border areas and uses them as basic data for the ecosystem service-based management of border areas, which are key domestic ecological assets. Accordingly, in this study, seven border cities and counties were evaluated and compared based on the evaluation indicators and methods presented by the National Institute of Ecology. As a result of the cultural service evaluation, it was found that Paju City was superior in leisure and tourism, Inje-gun was best in scenic beauty and heritage, and Yanggu-gun was strongest in education, and Inje-gun in heritage. Accordingly, through this study, future tasks for comprehensive cultural service evaluation were presented as follows. First, in order to evaluate ecosystem services at the national and regional levels, it is necessary to establish an indicator system for cultural service evaluation and monitoring. Second, when building a cultural service evaluation index system, it is necessary to review upper and lower conceptual units and the consistency between indicators according to the scale of the evaluation region. Third, a specific review of DB utilization for cultural service evaluation should be conducted depending on the type of ecosystem. Lastly, given the significant lack of domestic cultural service research, additional basic research must be conducted to evaluate cultural services including non-material and qualitative perceptions. In order to evaluate cultural services in the future, additional basic research is needed for each ecosystem type, and a process of finding appropriate evaluation indicators and methods through research is necessary.

• Journal of Internet Computing and Services
• /
• v.24 no.6
• /
• pp.73-80
• /
• 2023

The recent steep increase in the minimum hourly wage has increased the burden of labor costs, and the share of unmanned stores is increasing in the aftermath of COVID-19. As a result, theft crimes targeting unmanned stores are also increasing, and the "Just Walk Out" system is introduced to prevent such thefts, and LiDAR sensors, weight sensors, etc. are used or manually checked through continuous CCTV monitoring. However, the more expensive sensors are used, the higher the initial cost of operating the store and the higher the cost in many ways, and CCTV verification is difficult for managers to monitor around the clock and is limited in use. In this paper, we would like to propose an AI image processing fusion algorithm that can solve these sensors or human-dependent parts and detect customers who perform abnormal behaviors such as theft at low costs that can be used in unmanned stores and provide cloud-based notifications. In addition, this paper verifies the accuracy of each algorithm based on behavior pattern data collected from unmanned stores through motion capture using mediapipe, object detection using YOLO, and fusion algorithm and proves the performance of the convergence algorithm through various scenario designs.

• Journal of Internet Computing and Services
• /
• v.24 no.6
• /
• pp.137-144
• /
• 2023

Cyberattack technology is evolving to an unpredictable degree, and it is a situation that can happen 'at any time' rather than 'someday'. Infrastructure that is becoming hyper-connected and global due to cloud computing and the Internet of Things is an environment where cyberattacks can be more damaging than ever, and cyberattacks are still ongoing. Even if damage occurs due to external influences such as cyberattacks or natural disasters, intelligent self-recovery must evolve from a cyber resilience perspective to minimize downtime of cyber assets (OS, WEB, WAS, DB). In this paper, we propose an intelligent self-recovery technology to ensure sustainable cyber resilience when cyber assets fail to function properly due to a cyberattack. The original and updated history of cyber assets is managed in real-time using timeslot design and snapshot backup technology. It is necessary to secure technology that can automatically detect damage situations in conjunction with a commercialized file integrity monitoring program and minimize downtime of cyber assets by analyzing the correlation of backup data to damaged files on an intelligent basis to self-recover to an optimal state. In the future, we plan to research a pilot system that applies the unique functions of self-recovery technology and an operating model that can learn and analyze self-recovery strategies appropriate for cyber assets in damaged states.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
• /
• v.39 no.6_1
• /
• pp.1371-1388
• /
• 2023

Floods are becoming more severe and frequent due to global warming-induced climate change. Water disasters are rising in Korea due to severe rainfall and wet seasons. This makes preventive climate change measures and efficient water catastrophe responses crucial, and synthetic aperture radar satellite imagery can help. This research created 1,423 water body learning datasets for individual water body regions along the Han and Nakdong waterways to reflect domestic water body properties discovered by Sentinel-1 satellite radar imagery. We created a document with exact data annotation criteria for many situations. After the dataset was processed, U-Net, a deep learning model, analyzed water body detection results. The results from applying the learned model to water body locations not involved in the learning process were studied to validate soil water body monitoring on a national scale. The analysis showed that the created water body area detected water bodies accurately (F1-Score: 0.987, Intersection over Union [IoU]: 0.955). Other domestic water body regions not used for training and evaluation showed similar accuracy (F1-Score: 0.941, IoU: 0.89). Both outcomes showed that the computer accurately spotted water bodies in most areas, however tiny streams and gloomy areas had problems. This work should improve water resource change and disaster damage surveillance. Future studies will likely include more water body attribute datasets. Such databases could help manage and monitor water bodies nationwide and shed light on misclassified regions.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
• /
• v.39 no.6_2
• /
• pp.1541-1551
• /
• 2023

Radiometric calibration is a fundamental step in ocean color remote sensing since the step to derive solar radiance spectrum in visible to near-infrared wavelengths from the sensor-observed electromagnetic signals. Generally, satellite sensor suffers from degradation over the mission period, which results in biases/uncertainties in radiometric calibration and the final ocean products such as water-leaving radiance, chlorophyll-a concentration, and colored dissolved organic matter. Therefore, the importance of radiometric calibration for the continuity of ocean color satellites has been emphasized internationally. This study introduces an approach to improve the radiometric calibration algorithm for the visible bands of the Geostationary Ocean Color Imager-II (GOCI-II) satellite with a focus on stability. Solar Diffuser (SD) measurements were employed as an on-orbit radiometric calibration reference, to obtain the continuous monitoring of absolute gain values. Time series analysis of GOCI-II absolute gains revealed seasonal variations depending on the azimuth angle, as well as long-term trends by possible sensor degradation effects. To resolve the complexities in gain variability, an azimuth angle correction model was developed to eliminate seasonal periodicity, and a sensor degradation correction model was applied to estimate nonlinear trends in the absolute gain parameters. The results demonstrate the effects of the azimuth angle correction and sensor degradation correction model on the spectrum of Top of Atmosphere (TOA) radiance, confirming the capability for improving the long-term stability of GOCI-II data.

• Journal of Venture Innovation
• /
• v.6 no.3
• /
• pp.165-184
• /
• 2023

Since municipal welfare institutions operate for different purposes from general companies or public enterprises, ESG practice items and model construction should be conducted through various and comprehensive social welfare studies. Since there are not many studies available in domestic welfare institutions yet and there are no suitable ESG management utilization indicators, the Cheonan Welfare Foundation's strategy and management strategy system were established to spread the model to other welfare institutions and become a leading foundation through education and training. The foundation and front-line welfare institutions selected issues identification and key issues through the foundation's empirical analysis and criticality analysis, focusing on understanding ESG management and ways to establish a practice model that positively affects institutional image and business performance. Based on this, the promotion system was examined by establishing a performance management plan after deriving appropriate strategies and establishing a strategic system for social welfare institutions. Environmental and social responsibility, transparent management, safety management system establishment, emergency and prevention, user (customer) satisfaction system establishment, anti-corruption prevention and integrity ethics monitoring and evaluation, responsible supply chains, and community contribution programs. This study attempted to specifically present efforts to settle ESG management through the consideration of the Cheonan Welfare Foundation. Therefore, it is considered to be useful data for developing ESG management by referring to the systematic development process of the Cheonan City Restoration Foundation to develop ESG measurement indicators.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
• /
• v.66 no.6
• /
• pp.726-734
• /
• 2023

Objective : Chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH) patients using antithrombotic agents (AT) at high risk for cardiovascular disease are increasing. The authors aimed to analyze the factors influencing outcome by targeting patients using AT and to establish a desirable treatment strategy. Methods : A retrospective analysis was performed on data from 462 patients who underwent burr hole trephination (BHT) surgery for CSDH at five hospitals from March 2010 to June 2021. Outcomes included incidence of postoperative acute bleeding, recurrence rate, and morbidity or mortality rate. Patients were divided into the following four groups based on their history of AT use : no AT. Only antiplatelet agents (AP), only anticoagulants (AC), both of AP and AC. In addition, a concurrent literature review was conducted alongside our cohort study. Results : Of 462 patients, 119 (119/462, 25.76%) were using AT. AP prescription did not significantly delay surgery (p=0.318), but AC prescription led to a significant increase in the time interval from admission to operation (p=0.048). After BHT, AP or AC intake significantly increased the period required for an in-dwelling drain (p=0.026 and p=0.037). The use of AC was significantly related to acute bleeding (p=0.044), while the use of AP was not (p=0.808). Use of AP or AC had no significant effect on CSDH recurrence (p=0.517 and p=1.000) or reoperation (p=0.924 and p=1.000). Morbidity was not statistically correlated with use of either AP or AC (p=0.795 and p=0.557, respectively), and there was no significant correlation with mortality for use of these medications (p=0.470 and p=1.000). Conclusion : Elderly CSDH patients may benefit from maintenance of AT therapy during BHT due to reduced thromboembolic risk. However, the use of AC necessitates individualized due to potential postoperative bleeding. Careful post-operative monitoring could mitigate prognosis and recurrence impacts.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
• /
• v.25 no.3
• /
• pp.117-128
• /
• 2023

Tree dieback in Geumgang pine forest has occurred in Uljin and Bonghwa since the 2010s. In order to identify status of tree dieback and prevent further damages, a monitoring project for tree dieback in Geumgang pine forest had been launched by Southern regional office of forest service in 2020. This study was conducted to understand the characteristics of tree dieback occurrence and assess the high risk areas using the occurrence data in the project. Pine tree dieback occurred frequently in areas with mountain ridges in high elevation, dry south-facing slopes, mature stands, and high temperature rise in winter. Furthermore, the result of risk assessment showed that 6.2 percent(5,294ha) of Geumgang pine forest(85,000 ha) in total study area are at high risk of tree dieback. As the pine trees in the high risk area are prone to experience the dieback due to temperature and drought-related extreme weather events, regular forest management activities are needed to reduce the drought stress of pine trees. Forest health management for the pine forest with high protection priority can be also useful strategy to counter the risk of decline. This results can be used as the basic information for the adaptive forest management to climate change.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.56 no.5
• /
• pp.467-474
• /
• 2023

Objectives: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a serious public health issue that places a heavy financial, social, and health-related burden on individuals, families, and healthcare systems. Self-reported health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is extensively used for monitoring the general population's health conditions and measuring the effectiveness of interventions. Therefore, this study investigated HRQoL and associated factors among patients with type 2 DM at a primary healthcare center in Indonesia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Klaten District, Central Java, Indonesia, from May 2019 to July 2019. In total, 260 patients with DM registered with National Health Insurance were interviewed. HRQoL was measured with the EuroQol Group's validated Bahasa Indonesia version of the EuroQoL 5-Dimension 5-Level (EQ-5D-5L) with the Indonesian value set. Multivariate regression models were used to identify factors influencing HRQoL. Results: Data from 24 patients were excluded due to incomplete information. Most participants were men (60.6%), were aged above 50 years (91.5%), had less than a senior high school education (75.0%), and were unemployed (85.6%). The most frequent health problems were reported for the pain/discomfort dimension (64.0%) followed by anxiety (28.4%), mobility (17.8%), usual activities (10.6%), and self-care (6.8%). The average EuroQoL 5-Dimension (EQ-5D) index score was 0.86 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.83 to 0.88). In the multivariate ordinal regression model, a higher education level (coefficient, 0.08; 95% CI, 0.02 to 0.14) was a significant predictor of the EQ-5D-5L utility score. Conclusions: Patients with diabetes had poorer EQ-5D-5L utility values than the general population. DM patients experienced pain/discomfort and anxiety. There was a substantial positive relationship between education level and HRQoL.