• Journal of the Korean association of regional geographers
• /
• v.9 no.4
• /
• pp.519-533
• /
• 2003

The U.S. Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) resulted in the conversion of approximately 14.8 million ha(36.5 million acres) of cropland to grassland, woodland, and other conservation uses throughout the U.S. between 1986 and 1992. One of the major results of CRP has been the addition of millions of hectares of potential wildlife habitat. primarily as grassland. In this study, we examined regional changes in landscape structure caused by the introduction of CRP. Utilizing multi-seasonal Landsat Thematic Mapper imagery, we produced maps of cropland and grassland for the pre- and post- CRP enrollment periods for a six-county region in southwest Kansas. We then applied post-classification differencing to identify regions of cropland that had been converted to CRP. Using the FRAGSTATS spatial pattern analysis program, we calculated a variety of spatial statistics to analyze changes in landscape structure due to CRP. The major impact of CRP in the six-county study area has been the reversal of an overall trend of grassland habitat fragmentation. From the standpoint of potential wildlife habitat, the introduction of CRP has greatly increased the number of patches, mean patch size, and the interior or core area of grassland patches. In addition, CRP has increased connectivity and aggregation between grassland patches, potentially important factors for species of conservation interest, particularly those that require larger expanses of unbroken habitat. Finally, the distance between neighboring patches of grassland has decreased, reducing travel distance between patches. Clearly, the introduction of CRP has substantially modified the spatial structure of the southwest Kansas landscape, with important implications for wildlife habitat.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
• /
• v.33 no.5
• /
• pp.497-514
• /
• 2017

This study quantitatively analyzes the effects of emission inventory choices on the simulated particulate matter (PM) concentrations and the domestic/foreign contributions in the Seoul Metropolitan Area (SMA) with an air quality forecasting system. The forecasting system is composed of Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF)-Sparse Matrix Operator Kernel Emissions (SMOKE)-Community Multi-Scale Air Quality (CMAQ). Different domestic and foreign emission inventories were selectively adopted to set up four sets of emissions inputs for air quality simulations in this study. All modeling cases showed that model performance statistics satisfied the criteria levels (correlation coefficient >0.7, fractional error <50%) suggested by previous studies. Notwithstanding the apparently good model performance of total PM concentrations by all emission cases, annual average concentrations of simulated total PM concentrations varied up to $20{\mu}g/m^3$ (160%) depending on the combination of emission inventories. In detail, the difference in simulated annual average concentrations of the primary PM coarse (PMC) was up to $25.2{\mu}g/m^3$ (6.5 times) compared with other cases. Furthermore, model performance analyses on PM species showed that the difference in the simulated primary PMC led to gross model overestimation in general, which indicates that the primary PMC emissions need to be improved. The contribution analysis using model direct outputs indicated that the domestic contributions to the annual average PM concentrations in the SMA vary from 44% to 67%. To account for the uncertainty of the simulated concentration, the contribution correction factor method proposed by Bae et al. (2017) was applied, which resulted in converged contributions(from 48% to 57%). We believe this study shows that it is necessary to improve the simulated concentrations of PM components in order to enhance the accuracy of the forecasting model. It is deemed that these improvements will provide more accurate contribution results.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
• /
• v.34 no.2
• /
• pp.207-222
• /
• 2018

In this study, light absorption of carbonaceous species in $PM_{2.5}$ was investigated using a dual-spot 7-wavelength Aethalometer(model AE33) with 1-min time interval between January 01 and September 30, 2017 at an urban site of Gwangju. During the study period, two Asian dust (AD) events occurred in April (AD I) and May (AD II), respectively, during which light absorption in total suspended particles was observed. Black carbon (BC) was the dominant light absorbing aerosol component at all wavelengths over the study period. Light absorption coefficients by aerosol particles were found to have 2.7~3.3 times higher at 370 nm than at 880 nm. This would be attributed to light absorbing organic aerosols, which is called brown carbon (BrC), as well as BC as absorbing agents of aerosol particles. Monthly average absorption ${{\AA}}ngstr{\ddot{o}}m$ exponent ($AAE_{370-950nm}$) calculated over wavelength range of 370~950 nm ranged from 1.10 to 1.35, which was lower than the $AAE_{370-520nm}$ values ranging from 1.19~1.68 that was enhanced due to the presence of BrC. The estimated $AAE_{370-660nm}$ of BrC ranged from 2.2 to 7.5 with an average of 4.22, which was fairly consistent to the values reported by previous studies. The BrC absorption at 370 nm contributed 10.4~28.4% to the total aerosol absorption, with higher contribution in winter and spring and lower in summer. Average $PM_{10}$ and $PM_{2.5}$ concentrations were $108{\pm}36$ and $24{\pm}14{\mu}g/m^3$ during AD I, respectively, and $164{\pm}66$ and $43{\pm}26{\mu}g/m^3$ during AD II, respectively, implying the greater contribution of local pollution and/or regional pollution to $PM_{2.5}$ during the AD II. BC concentration and aerosol light absorption at 370 nm were relatively high in AD II, compared to those in AD I. Strong spectral dependence of aerosol light absorption was clearly found during the two AD events. $AAE_{370-660nm}$ of both light absorbing organic aerosols and dust particles during the AD I and II was $4.8{\pm}0.5$ and $6.2{\pm}0.7$, respectively. Higher AAE value during the AD II could be attributed to mixed enhanced urban pollution and dust aerosols. Absorption contribution by the light absorbing organic and dust aerosols estimated at 370 nm to the total light absorption was approximately 19% before and after the AD events, but it increased to 32.9~35.0% during the AD events. In conclusion, results from this study support enhancement of the aerosol light absorption due to Asian dust particles observed at the site.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
• /
• v.18 no.2
• /
• pp.173-182
• /
• 2016

Although the ecosystem extends numerous functions for the benefit of humankind, construction of horticultural facilities can potentially lead to the degeneration of some of these functions owing to the expansion of impervious regions and loss of habitats. Thus, this study aimed to examine the effect of construction of horticultural facilities on plant biodiversity. Analysis of the vegetation distribution characteristics showed that horticultural facilities had significantly lower plant diversity than did rice paddies. Hence, the proposed approach involved low-impact development, arrangement of habitat space, plant preservation, restricted use of chemical fertilizer, habitat creation, and reduced preservation cost. Lifestyle analysis suggested the importance of developing favorable environments for the growth of annual plants and aquatic plants. In all, 20 species of naturalized plants belonging to 10 families were identified. Furthermore, the proportion of these naturalized plants was higher in glass greenhouses and multi-span greenhouses, suggesting the advantages of employing natural soil mulching while avoiding concrete mulching. Statistical analysis was performed to validate the results, which suggested that impervious regions be converted to natural soils. Collectively, the findings of this study are expected to be used for establishing policies for the construction of eco-friendly and ecological horticultural facilities; this may aid the maintenance of sustainable agricultural landscapes and large-scale development of the reclaimed lands.

• Environmental Sciences Bulletin of The Korean Environmental Sciences Society
• /
• v.4 no.1
• /
• pp.31-42
• /
• 2000

The dry deposition velocities and fluxes of air pollutants such as SO2(g), O3(g), HNO3(g), sub-micron particulates, NO3(s), and SO42-(s) were estimated according to local meteorological elements in the atmospheric boundary layer. The model used for these calculations was the multiple layer resistance model developed by Hicks et al.1). The meteorological data were recorded on an hourly basis from July, 1990 to June, 1991 at the Austin Cary forest site, near Gainesville FL. Weekly integrated samples of ambient dry deposition species were collected at the site using triple-fiter packs. For the study period, the annual average dry deposition velocities at this site were estimated as 0.87$\pm$0.07 cm/s for SO2(g), 0.65$\pm$0.11 cm/s for O3(g), 1.20$\pm$0.14cm/s for HNO3(g), 0.0045$\pm$0.0006 cm/s for sub-micron particulates, and 0.089$\pm$0.014 cm/s for NO3-(s) and SO42-(s). The trends observed in the daily mean deposition velocities were largely seasonal, indicated by larger deposition velocities for the summer season and smaller deposition velocities for the winter season. The monthly and weekly averaged values for the deposition velocities did not show large differences over the year yet did show a tendency of increased deposition velocities in the summer and decreased values in the winter. The annual mean concentrations of the air pollutants obtained by the triple filter pack every 7 days were 3.63$\pm$1.92 $\mu\textrm{g}$/m3 for SO42-, 2.00$\pm$1.22 $\mu\textrm{g}$/m-3 for SO2, 1.30$\pm$0.59 $\mu\textrm{g}$/m-3 for HNO3, and 0.704$\pm$0.419 $\mu\textrm{g}$/m3 for NO3-, respectively. The air pollutant with the largest deposition flux was SO2 followed by HNO3, SO42-(S), and NO3-(S) in order of their magnitude. The sulfur dioxide and NO3- deposition fluxes were higher in the winter than in the summer, and the nitric acid and sulfate deposition fluxes were high during the spring and summer.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.15 no.1 s.68
• /
• pp.124-131
• /
• 2005

The regulation of gene expression plays an important rolet in cell cycle controls. In this study, a novel $mas3^+$ (mitosis associated protein) gene, a homolog of human SMARCADl, was isolated and characterized from a fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. The overall homology between the helicase proteins of the two species is $87\%$. This DEAD/H box-containing molecule has seven highly conserved sequence regions that allow us to place it in the SNF2 family of the helicase superfamily. Knock-out cell of $mas3^+$ gene was constructed using kanMX6 as a selection marker. Survival of mas3 null mutant exposed to UV or MMS was similar to those of wild type cells. $mas3^+$ expression was lowest at $G_2$ and gradually increased. Cytokinesis of mas3 null mutant was abnormal at $26^{\circ}C\;and\;35^{\circ}C$ and a large number of multi-septate cells were produced. These results indicate that the $mas3^+$ is involved in cytokinesis and cell shape control.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
• /
• v.37 no.2
• /
• pp.204-216
• /
• 2019

To evaluate the biological integrity of aquatic ecosystems, we developed Korean multimetric diatom index (KMDI) using metrics that many researchers have been previously described, and compared to single-metric diatom index such as trophic diatom index (TDI) and diatom assemblage index to organic pollution (DAIpo). For the biological and environmental data, we investigated the epilithic diatoms, water quality and the land-use for 923 sites in Korean streams between 2013-2017, and estuaries between 2010-2017, respectively. Five appropriate metrics were selected according to the following steps; 1) extraction of 300 potential metrics (biological, chemical, physical, and geographical) based on previous references, of these, 2) 46 samples having high separation power were selected, 3) the selected metrics were each tested for variability, redundancy, and sensitivity to the environments, finally 4) construction of multi-metric diatom index comprising single type metrics such as TDI, DAIpo, % motile diatoms, % Achnanthes / (Achnanthes+Navicula), and % number of Gomphonema species. The biological integrity of the 233 sites from the Geum River basin were independently investigated using KMDI. Collectively, the new KMDI showed high sensitivity and explanatory power for environmental factors such as land-use, biochemical oxygen demand, total nitrogen, and electric conductivity. However, it had slightly higher biological integrity for the same sites as compared to single type diatom metrics. Finally, more data accumulation from all over Korea and the development of acceptable diatom metrics were required.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
• /
• v.21 no.10
• /
• pp.137-143
• /
• 2020

To ensure safety of raw materials for military foods, hazard assessment and monitoring of residual pesticides was conducted on agricultural products consumed by 9 companies based in Gyeongin and Gangwon. Residual pesticides were analyzed for 142 different products, by applying the multi-species pesticide polycomponent analysis method. Of the 36 samples analyzed, residual pesticides were detected in 7 samples, representing a detection rate of 19.4%. One particular pesticide residue was detected in peanuts, green onions, and red pepper powder, and 20 types of pesticide residues were detected in red pepper powder used in combat foods. However, all residues were found to be below the permissible level. Moreover, the hazard assessment results for Cypermethrin, Tebuconazole and EPN showed the highest concentration among the residual pesticides detected. Since the estimated intake was less than 100% as compared to the ingestion limit, it was considered to be safe. I have suggested the edit as per my understanding. Please review for accuracy, and revise appropriately if required. This is the first pesticide Risk Assessment study encompassing military requirements. Considering the results, we expect further application research, including research on reducing hazardous materials.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.23 no.8
• /
• pp.1064-1072
• /
• 2013

Circadian rhythm is controlled by hormonal oscillations governing the physiology of all living organisms. In mammals, the main function of the pineal gland is to transform the circadian rhythm generated in the hypothalamic suprachiasmatic nucleus into rhythmic signals of circulating melatonin characterized by a largely nocturnal increase that closely reflects the duration of night time. The pineal gland has lost direct photosensitivity, but responds to light via multi-synaptic pathways that include a subset of retinal ganglion cells. Rhythmic control is achieved through a tight coupling between environmental lighting and arylalkylamine-N-acetyltransferase (AANAT) expression, which is the rhythm-controlling enzyme in melatonin synthesis. Previous studies on the nocturnal expression of AANAT protein have described transcriptional, post-transcriptional, and post-translational regulatory mechanisms. Molecular mechanisms for dependent AANAT expression provide novel aspects for melatonin's circadian rhythmicity. Extensive animal research has linked pineal melatonin for the expression of seasonal rhythmicity in many mammalian species to the modulation of circadian rhythms and to sleep regulation. It has value in treating various circadian rhythm disorders, such as jet lag or shift-work sleep disorders. Melatonin, also, in a broad range of effects with a significant regulation influences many of the body's physiological functions. In addition, this hormone is known to influence reproductive, cardiovascular, and immunological regulation as well as psychiatric disorders.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
• /
• 2011.02a
• /
• pp.240-240
• /
• 2011

The first neutral beam injector (NBI-1) has been developed for the Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research (KSTAR) tokamak. A first long pulse ion source (LPIS-1) has been installed on the NBI-1 for an auxiliary heating and current drive of KSTAR core plasmas. Performance of ion and neutral beam extractions in the LPIS-1 was investigated initially on the KSTAR NBI-1 system, prior to the neutral beam injection into the main plasmas. The ion source consists of a JAEA magnetic bucket plasma generator with multi-pole cusp fields and a set of KAERI prototype-III tetrode accelerators with circular apertures. The inner volume of plasma generator and accelerator column in the LPIS-1 is approximately 123 liters. Final design requirements for the ion source were a 120 kV/ 65 A deuterium beam and a 300 s pulse length. The extraction of ion beams was initiated by the formation of arc plasmas in the LPIS-1, called as an arc-beam extraction method. A stable ion beam extraction of LPIS-1 has been achieved up to an 100 kV/42 A for a 4 s pulse length and an 80 kV/25 A for a 14 s pulse length. Optimum beam perveance of 1.21 microperv has been found at an accelerating voltage of 80 kV. Neutralization efficiency has been measured by using a water flow calorimetry (WFC) method of calorimeter and an operation of bending magnet. The full-energy species of ion beams have been detected by using the diagnostic method of optical multichannel analyzer (OMA). An arc efficiency of the LPIS was 0.6~1.1 A/kW depending on the operating conditions of arc discharge.