• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.32 no.10
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• pp.1630-1639
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• 2019

Objective: Sixty Pengbo semi-wool sheep ewes (approximately 1.5-years-old; $31.33{\pm}0.43kg$) were randomly assigned to two groups, either grazing (G) or dry lot feeding (D), to examine the effects of traditional daily grazing and dry lot feeding on performance and blood metabolites during the cold season in Tibetan Plateau. Methods: The ewes in the G group were grazed continuously each day and housed in one shed each evening, while the ewes in the D group were housed in another shed all day. All animals were fed 400 g/d of commercial concentrate, and grass hay was available freely throughout the experimental period. Results: Compared with the G group, the ewes in the D group had higher (p<0.05) live weight and weight gain. The D group ewes had greater (p<0.05) numbers of white blood cells and platelets, while they had lower (p<0.05) platelet-large cell ratios, cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and glutathione peroxidase, as compared with the G group ewes. Additionally, three serum metabolites, abscisic acid, xanthoxin and 3,4-dihydroxy-5-polypren, were upregulated (p<0.05) in the G group in comparison with the D group. Conclusion: In conclusion, a dry lot feeding regime during the winter and spring period will increase the productivity of sheep and improve blood physiological and biochemical profiles.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.55 no.5
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• pp.415-423
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• 2022

Economic evaluations in the healthcare are used to assess economic efficiency of pharmaceuticals and medical interventions such as diagnoses and medical procedures. This study introduces the main concepts of economic evaluation across its key steps: planning, outcome and cost calculation, modeling, cost-effectiveness results, uncertainty analysis, and decision-making. When planning an economic evaluation, we determine the study population, intervention, comparators, perspectives, time horizon, discount rates, and type of economic evaluation. In healthcare economic evaluations, outcomes include changes in mortality, the survival rate, life years, and quality-adjusted life years, while costs include medical, non-medical, and productivity costs. Model-based economic evaluations, including decision tree and Markov models, are mainly used to calculate the total costs and total effects. In cost-effectiveness or costutility analyses, cost-effectiveness is evaluated using the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio, which is the additional cost per one additional unit of effectiveness gained by an intervention compared with a comparator. All outcomes have uncertainties owing to limited evidence, diverse methodologies, and unexplained variation. Thus, researchers should review these uncertainties and confirm their robustness. We hope to contribute to the establishment and dissemination of economic evaluation methodologies that reflect Korean clinical and research environment and ultimately improve the rationality of healthcare policies.

• Economic Analysis
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.98-136
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• 2020

We empirically investigate the determinants of a firm's exit from exporting, using Korean manufacturing firm-level data for the period from 2006 to 2014. Specifically, we estimate the effects of not only firm-level and industry-level characteristics, but also macroeconomic variables on the probability that a firm stops exporting by applying a Complementary Log-Log Model analysis. The results of our estimation suggest that firm-level heterogeneity, such as workforce size, capital intensity, intangible assets and foreign ownership, industry-level variation, such as the labor displacement rate, and macroeconomic variables, such as domestic demand and world demand, significantly affect the possibility of a firm ceasing exports. Also, we show that market interest rates increase the possibility of an export cessation and that the effects of market interest rates are more pronounced on firms with a higher debt ratio. In the primary exporting industries, the probability of a firm ceasing exports decreases as productivity at the firm rises.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.421-428
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• 2022

Background: The exposure to solar ultraviolet radiation is a significant risk factor generally underestimated by outdoor workers and employers. Several studies have pointed out that occupational solar exposure increased eye and skin diseases with a considerable impact on the lives and productivity of affected workers. The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness against ultraviolet radiation of some measures recently undertaken for the protection of lifeguards in a coastal area of Tuscany. Methods: Different shading structures (gazebos and beach umbrella) were tested during a sunny summer's day on a sandy beach by means of two radiometers; the UV protection offered by some T-shirts used by lifeguards was also tested in the laboratory with a spectrophotometer. Results: The analysed shading structures strongly reduced the ultraviolet radiation by up to 90%, however a not always negligible diffuse radiation is also present in the shade, requiring further protective measures (T-shirt, sunglasses, sunscreen, etc.); the tested T-shirts showed a very good-excellent protection according to the Australian/New Zealand standard. Conclusion: Results obtained in this study suggest how the adoption and dissemination of good practices, including those tested, could be particularly effective as a primary prevention for lifeguards who are subjected to very high levels of radiation for long periods.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.36 no.11
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• pp.1727-1737
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• 2023

Objective: The poultry industry is a primary source of animal protein worldwide. The gut microbiota of poultry birds, such as chickens and ducks, is critical in maintaining their health, growth, and productivity. This study aimed to identify longitudinal changes in the gut microbiota of laying hens from birth to the pre-laying stage. Methods: From a total of 80 Hy-Line Brown laying hens, birds were selected based on weight at equal intervals to collect feces (n = 20 per growth) and ileal contents (n = 10 per growth) for each growth stage (days 10, 21, 58, and 101). The V4 regions of the 16S rRNA gene were amplified after extracting DNA from feces and ileal contents. Amplicon sequencing was performed using Illumina, followed by analysis. Results: Microbial diversity increased with growth stages, regardless of sampling sites. Microbial community analysis indicated that Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, and Bacteroidetes were the dominant phyla in the feces and ileal. The abundance of Lactobacillus was highest on day 10, and that of Escherichia-shigella was higher on day 21 than those at the other stages at the genus level (for the feces and ileal contents; p<0.05). Furthermore, Turicibacter was the most abundant genus after changing feed (for the feces and ileal contents; p<0.05). The fecal Ruminococcus torques and ileal Lysinibacillus were negatively correlated with the body weights of chickens (p<0.05). Conclusion: The gut microbiota of laying hens changes during the four growth stages, and interactions between microbiota and feed may be present. Our findings provide valuable data for understanding the gut microbiota of laying hens at various growth stages and future applied studies.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.33-46
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• 2023

In this study, carbon storage in the aboveground biomass, litter layer, and soil layer was calculated for abandoned mining restoration areas to determine the level of carbon storage after the restoration project through comparison with the ecological reference. Five survey sites were selected for each abandoned mining restoration area in Boryeong-si, Chungcheongnam-do, and the ecological reference that can be a goal and model for the restoration project. The carbon storage in the restoration area was 0~21.3Mg C ha^-1, the deciduous layer 3.3~6.0Mg C ha^-1, and the soil layer(0-30cm) 8.3~35.1Mg C ha^-1, showing a significant difference in carbon storage by target site. The total carbon storage was between 6.1 and 35.3% of the ecological reference, with restoration area ranging from 14.0 to 62.4 Mg C ha^-1. The total carbon storage in the restoration area and the ecological reference differed the most in the aboveground biomass and was less than 12%. Based on these results, forest restoration area need to improve the carbon storage of forests through continuous management and monitoring so trees can grow and restore productivity in the early stages of the restoration project. The results of this study can be used as primary data for preparing future forest restoration indicators by identifying the storage of abandoned mining restoration areas.

• Proceedings of the Plant Resources Society of Korea Conference
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• 2020.12a
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• pp.64-64
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• 2020

Bakanae disease, caused by several Fusarium species, imposes serious limitations to the productivity of rice across the globe. The incidence of this disease has been shown to increase, particularly in major rice-growing countries. Thus, the use of high resistant rice cultivars offers a comparative advantage, such as being cost effective, and could be preferred to the use of fungicides. In this research, we used a tropical japonica rice variety, Zenith, a bakanae disease resistant line selected as donor parent. A RIL population (F_8:9) composed of 180 lines generated from a cross between Ilpum and Zenith was used. In primary mapping, a QTL was detected on the short arm of chromosome 1, covering about 3.5 Mb region flanked by RM1331 and RM3530 markers. The resistance QTL, qBK1^Z, explained about 30.93% of the total phenotype variation (PVE, logarith of the odds (LOD) of 13.43). Location of qBK1^Z was further narrowed down to 730 kb through fine mapping using additional RM markers, including those previously reported and developed by Sid markers. Furthermore, there is a growing need to improving resistance to bakanae disease and promoting breeding efficiency using MAS from qBK1^Z region. The new QTL, qBK1^Z, developed by the current study is expected to be used as foundation to promoting breeding efficiency with an enhanced resistance against bakanae disease. Moreover, this study provides useful information for developing resistant rice lines carrying single or multiple major QTLs using gene pyramiding approach and marker-assisted breeding.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.167-175
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• 2014

This study was conducted to quantify a carbon budget of major vegetation types established in the campus of the National Institute of Ecology (NIE). Carbon budget was measured for Pinus thunbergii and Castanea crenata stands as the existing vegetation. Net Primary Productivity (NPP) was determined by applying allometric method and soil respiration was measured by EGM-4. Heterotrophic respiration was calculated as 55% of total respiration based on the existing results. Net Ecosystem Production (NEP) was determined by the difference between NPP and heterotrophic respiration (HR). NPPs of P. thunbergii and C. crenata stands were shown in $4.9ton\;C\;ha^{-1}yr^{-1}$ and $5.3ton\;C\;ha^{-1}yr^{-1}$, respectively. Heterotrophic respirations of P. thunbergii and C. crenata stands were shown in $2.4ton\;C\;ha^{-1}yr^{-1}$ and $3.5ton\;C\;ha^{-1}yr^{-1}$, respectively. NEPs of P. thunbergii and C. crenata stands were shown in $2.5ton\;C\;ha^{-1}yr^{-1}$ and $1.8ton\;C\;ha^{-1}yr^{-1}$, respectively. Carbon absorption capacity for the whole set of vegetation types established in the NIE was estimated by applying NEP indices obtained from current study and extrapolating NEP indices from existing studies. The value was shown in $147.6ton\;C\;ha^{-1}yr^{-1}$ and it was calculated as $541.2ton\;CO_2ha^{-1}yr^{-1}$ converted into $CO_2$. This function corresponds to 62% of carbon emission from energy that NIE uses for operation of various facilities including the glass domes known in Ecorium. This carbon offset capacity corresponds to about five times of them of the whole national territory of Korea and the representative rural area, Seocheongun. Considered the fact that ongoing climate change was originated from imbalance of carbon budget at the global level, it is expected that evaluation on carbon budget in the spatial dimension reflected land use pattern could provide us baseline information being required to solve fundamentally climate change problem.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.53 no.6
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• pp.427-436
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• 2020

It is uncertain how global climate change will influence future drought characteristics over the Korean peninsula. This study aims to project the future droughts using climate change and land use change scenarios over the Korean peninsula with the land surface modeling system, i.e., Weather Research and Forecasting Model Hydrological modeling system (WRF-Hydro). The Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) 2.6 and 8.5 are used as future climate scenarios and the Shared Socio-economic Pathways (SSPs), specifically SSP2, is adopted for the land use scenario. The using Threshold Level Method (TLM), we identify future hydrological and ecological drought events with runoff and Net Primary Productivity (NPP), respectively, and assess drought characteristics of durations and intensities in different scenarios. Results show that the duration of drought is longer over RCP2.6-SSP2 for near future (2031-2050) and RCP8.5-SSP2 (2080-2099) for the far future for hydrological drought. On the other hand, RCP2.6-SSP2 for the far future and RCP8.5-SSP2 for the near future show longer duration for ecological drought. In addition, the drought intensities in both hydrological and ecological drought show different characteristics with the drought duration. The intensity of the hydrological droughts was greatly affected by threshold level methods and RCP2.6-SSP2 for far future shows the severest intensity. However, for ecological drought, the difference of the intensity among the threshold level is not significant and RCP2.6-SSP2 for near future and RCP2.6-SSP2 for near future show the severest intensity. This study suggests a possible future drought characteristics is in the Korea peninsula using combined climate and land use changes, which will help the community to understand and manage the future drought risks.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.395-407
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• 2002

A 3D hydrodynamic-ecological coupled model was applied to estimate a food supply to oysters in Geoje-Hansan Bay where is one of the oyster culturing sites in Korea, In this study, the primary productivity (PP) was adopted as an index of food supply, and the spatial patterns of average chlorophyll a concentration during a culturing seasons from September to May of the following year were simulated by the model, The numerical result showed that PP was high in the inner part of the bay and the adjacent areas of Hwado island, but low in the outer. This result indicates that PP is essentially influenced by anthropogenic nutrient loadings in the system. The model was calibrated using the field data in May which is non culturing season of oysters and a simulated phytoplankton biomass agreed fairly well with the observed data ($R^{2}=0.70$, $RE=10.3\%$). The computed food supply varied from 0.19 to $1.27\;gC/m^{2}/day$ with a mean value of $0.62 gC/m^{2}/day$ from September to May. The highest value was showed in May ($1.27 gC/m^{2}/day$) and the lowest was in February ($0.19 gC/m^{2}/day$).