• Journal of Korean Society for Quality Management
• /
• v.47 no.1
• /
• pp.47-57
• /
• 2019

Purpose: This paper aims to investigate the concentration of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in the Seoul area by predicting unhealthy days due to PM2.5 and comparing the regional differences. Methods: The extreme value theory is adopted to model and compare the PM2.5 concentration in each region, and each best model is selected through the goodness of fitness test. The maximum likelihood estimation technique is applied to estimate the parameters of each distribution, and the fitness of each model is measured by the mean absolute deviation. The selected model is used to estimate the number of unhealthy days (above $75{\mu}g/m^3$ PM2.5 concentrations) in each region, with which the actual number of unhealthy days are compared. In addition, the level of PM2.5 concentration in each region is analyzed by calculating the return levels for periods of 6 months, 1 year, 3 years, and 5 years. Results: The Mapo (MP) area revealed the most unhealthy days, followed by Gwanak (GW) and Yangcheon (YC). On the contrary, the number of unhealthy days was low in Seodaemun (SDM), Songpa (SP) and Gangbuk (GB) areas. The return level of PM2.5 was high in Gangnam (GN), Dongjak (DJ) and YC. It will be necessary to prepare for PM2.5 than other regions. On the contrary, Gangbuk (GB), Nowon (NW) and Seodaemun (SDM) showed relatively low return levels for PM2.5. However, in most of the regions of Seoul, PM25 is generated at a very poor level ($75{\mu}g/m^3$) every 6months period, and more than $100{\mu}g/m^3$ PM2.5 occur every 3 years period. Most areas in Seoul require more systematic management of PM2.5. Conclusion: In this paper, accurate prediction and analysis of high concentration of PM2.5 were attempted. The results of this research could provide the basis for the Seoul Metropolitan Government to establish policies for reducing PM2.5 and measuring its effects.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.29 no.2
• /
• pp.248-255
• /
• 2019

This research confirmed the diversity and characterization of gut microorganisms isolated from the intestinal organs of Muraenesox cinereus, collected on the Samcheonpo Coast and Seocheon Coast in South Korea. To isolate strains, Marine agar medium was basically used and cultivated at $37^{\circ}C$ and pH7 for several days aerobically. After single colony isolation, totally 49 pure single-colonies were isolated and phylogenetic analysis was carried out based on the result of 16S rRNA gene DNA sequencing, indicating that isolated strains were divided into 3 phyla, 13 families, 15 genera, 34 species and 49 strains. Proteobacteria phylum, the main phyletic group, comprised 83.7% with 8 families, 8 genera and 26 species of Aeromonadaceae, Pseudoalteromonadaceae, Shewanellaceae, Enterobacteriaceae, Morganellaceae, Moraxellaceae, Pseudomonadaceae, and Vibrionaceae. To confirm whether isolated strain can produce industrially useful enzyme or not, amylase, lipase, and protease enzyme assays were performed individually, showing that 39 strains possessed at least one enzyme activity. Especially the Aeromonas sp. strains showed all enzyme activity tested. This result indicated that isolated strains have shown the possibility of the industrial application. Therefore, this study has contributed for securing domestic genetic resources and the expansion of scientific knowledge of the gut microbial community in Muraenesox cinereus of South Korea.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.29 no.5
• /
• pp.580-587
• /
• 2019

Benthic macroinvertebrates were analyzed in March, June, September, and December 2018 to evaluate water quality in the Songji River in Sacheon-ci, Korea. The identified benthic macroinvertebrates included 447 individuals belonging to 20 species, 18 families, 12 orders, 5 classes, and 3 phyla. Various ecological parameters were estimated for evaluation of the river status. The total ecological score of benthic macroinvertebrate community (TESB) varied from 17 (Station D) to 41 (Station A). The saprobic index and ecological score of benthic macroinvertebrate community (ESB) for the evaluation of river status revealed a water quality evaluation at Station A of II (oligosaprobic), indicating some satisfactory water protection. The benthic macroinvertebrate index (BMI) varied from 25.207 (Site C) to 39.348 (Station A). The evaluation of the river status at Stations C and D was polysaprobic, and sensitive taxa were absent. The mean Shannon-Weaver index (H') of diversity varied from 1.288 (Station D) to 2.250 (Station A). The classification of saprobity based on H' was ${\beta}$-mesosaprobic at Station A and ${\alpha}$-mesosaprobic at the other stations. The value of geometric density was varied from 1.229 (Station A) to 2.071 (Station D), with a mean of 1.582. An artificial load is being added to this river. One of load is the rectal river construction which flows straight through the river physics. Thus, the environment of living organisms deteriorates due to insufficient water. In order to secure the quality of the Songji River and a good environmental habitat, several low-height stepped-beam structures are required.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
• /
• v.23 no.3
• /
• pp.163-168
• /
• 2021

The growth experiment under shading condition has been performed to understand the eco-physiological responses of crops to light in terms of photosynthesis. There are two types of shading: overall shading and partial shading. In this study, the chlorophyll fluorescence of soybean was observed under the overall shading of the box made by polyresin and the partial shading at agrivoltaic system. The overall shading condition during vegetative growth induced lower SPAD and Electron transport rate (ETR). These lower values recovered after removal of shading box. However, the Non-photochemical fluorescence quenching (NPQ) became lower under overall shading and higher under partial shading. Such increase in NPQ limited crop photosynthesis even though the ETR was almost same to the control without shading treatment. Under the condition of partial shading, the values of SP AD and ETR for soybean did not change. However, the NPQ was higher than control condition. This suggests that the crop photosynthesis under both types of shading would be decreased by different eco-physiological processes which are the lower ETR in overall shading and the higher NP Q in partial shading despite the reduced light under shading conditions.

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
• /
• v.24 no.3
• /
• pp.1-13
• /
• 2020

Objectives : The objective of this survey was to examine students' perception of the clinical performance examination (CPX) in college of traditional Korean medicine using student standardized patients. Methods : College of traditional Korean medicine students who completed the first-semester clinical practice education were selected as the subjects, and they participated in a survey asking questions about the following matters: satisfaction with CPX, self-evaluation, difficulties experienced during the CPX course, level of prior knowledge of clinical practice education, and usefulness of and intimacy with Student Standardized Patients (SSP). Results : Satisfaction with CPX was calculated to be 4.10 (5 being the perfect score), and self-evaluation of CPX was calculated to be 4.12. The subjects chose physical examination as the most difficult item relating to CPX. 80.5% responded positively to the question relating to diverse experiences in practice education, and 52.8% responded positively to the question relating to prior knowledge of diverse standardized patients. 55.6% responded positively to the question relating to performance proficiency of SSP, 63.9% responded positively to the question relating to usefulness of SSP to prepare for CPX, and 69.4% responded positively to the question relating to usefulness of SSP in evaluating CPX, and 55.6% responded positively to the questions relating to intimacy with SSP. It was confirmed that there was a strong quantitative correlation between prior knowledge of clinical practice education and usefulness of SSP, and that there was a strong quantitative correlation between performance proficiency of SSP and usefulness of SSP. It was confirmed that there was a middle-level correlation between performance proficiency of SSP and intimacy with SSP, and that there was a middle-level quantitative correlation between intimacy with SSP and usefulness of SSP. Conclusions : It was confirmed that senior students enrolled in college of traditional Korean medicine were mostly satisfied with the clinical performance examination in college of traditional Korean medicine using SSP, and that usefulness of SSP had a quantitative correlation with prior knowledge of diverse clinical practice educations, performance proficiency of SSP, and intimacy with SSP.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
• /
• v.27 no.6
• /
• pp.848-854
• /
• 2011

The objective of this research was to experimentally test the effect of rice straw mats on the reduction of runoff, sediment and discharge under a laboratory scale with different rainfall intensity and slopes. We used the small runoff plots of $1m{\times}1m{\times}0.65m$ ($L{\times}W{\times}H$) in size were filled with loamy sand. Experimental treatments were bare (control), rice straw mats + PAM(SP), rice straw mats + PAM + sawdust(SPS) and rice straw mats + PAM + rice husks(SPR); slope of 10% or 20%; and rainfall intensity of 30 or 60 mm/hr. Runoff volume and coefficient from covered plots were significantly lower than those from control plots. Under the 30 mm/hr and 10% simulations, average runoff coefficient of covered plots decreased more than 92%. Under 60 mm/hr and 20% simulations, the ratios were between 39.8~58.1%. Under the condition of 30 mm/hr rainfall and 10% slope, sediment discharge from covered plots was practically zero. And at 20% plots, sediment reduction ratio was more than 95%. Under the condition of 60 mm/hr rainfall, sediment reduction ratio of 10 and 20% plots ranged between 86.3~95.3% and between 79.8~86.5%, respectively. The differences in initial runoff time, runoff and sediment discharge among different cover materials were not significant. Rainfall intensity showed higher impact on initial runoff time, runoff, and sediment discharge than slope. It was also shown that even if runoff reduction by surface cover were low, sediment discharge reduction could be very significant and contribute to improve the water quality of streams in sloping agricultural regions. It was concluded that the use of straw mat and PAM on sloping agricultural fields could reduce soil erosion and muddy runoff significantly and help improve the water quality and aquatic ecosystem in receiving waters.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
• /
• v.36 no.1
• /
• pp.34-41
• /
• 2021

The purpose of this research is to improve analysis methods of determining the contents of fatty acids in infant formulas and follow-up formulas. A gas chromatography (GC) method was performed on a GC system coupled to flame ionization detector, with a fused silica capillary column (SP2560, 100 m×0.25 mm, 0.20 ㎛). The method was validated using standard reference material (SRM, NIST 1849a). Performance parameters for method validation such as specificity, linearity, limits of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ), accuracy and precision were examined. The linearity of standard solution with correlation coefficient was higher than 0.999 in the range of 0.1-5 mg/mL. The LOD and LOQ were 0.01-0.06 mg/mL and 0.03-0.2 mg/mL, respectively. The recovery using standard reference material was confirmed and the precision was found to be between 0.8% and 2.9% relative standard deviation (RSD). Optimized methods were applied in sample analysis to verify the reliability. All the tested products had acceptable contents of fatty acids compared with component specification for nutrition labeling. The result of this research will provide efficient experimental information and strengthen the management of nutrients in infant formula and follow-up formula.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
• /
• v.29 no.2
• /
• pp.234-247
• /
• 2021

We used a heterozygous gene deletion library of fission yeasts comprising all essential and non-essential genes for a microarray screening of target genes of the antifungal terbinafine, which inhibits ergosterol synthesis via the Erg1 enzyme. We identified 14 heterozygous strains corresponding to 10 non-essential [7 ribosomal-protein (RP) coding genes, spt7, spt20, and elp2] and 4 essential genes (tif302, rpl2501, rpl31, and erg1). Expectedly, their erg1 mRNA and protein levels had decreased compared to the control strain SP286. When we studied the action mechanism of the non-essential target genes using cognate haploid deletion strains, knockout of SAGA-subunit genes caused a down-regulation in erg1 transcription compared to the control strain ED668. However, knockout of RP genes conferred no susceptibility to ergosterol-targeting antifungals. Surprisingly, the RP genes participated in the erg1 transcription as components of repressor complexes as observed in a comparison analysis of the experimental ratio of erg1 mRNA. To understand the action mechanism of the interaction between the drug and the novel essential target genes, we performed isobologram assays with terbinafine and econazole (or cycloheximide). Terbinafine susceptibility of the tif302 heterozygous strain was attributed to both decreased erg1 mRNA levels and inhibition of translation. Moreover, Tif302 was required for efficacy of both terbinafine and cycloheximide. Based on a molecular modeling analysis, terbinafine could directly bind to Tif302 in yeasts, suggesting Tif302 as a potential off-target of terbinafine. In conclusion, this genome-wide screening system can be harnessed for the identification and characterization of target genes under any condition of interest.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
• /
• v.38 no.1
• /
• pp.16-31
• /
• 2021

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to investigate the current status of clinical practice for gout in Korean Medicine (KM). Methods : On-line survey was adopted for this study, targeted at KM Doctors who were registered in the Association of Korean Medicine. The questionnaire included the general status of treatment, pattern identification and treatment method according to three stages given: acute, chronic and asymptomatic hyperuricemia stage. Results : Data from a total of 384 respondents was analyzed. Participants who responded most were in their 40s, working in KM clinics located in Seoul. Acupuncture and herbal medicines were the top priority treatments in preparing recommendations in clinical practice guidelines for gout, and where clinical trials were considered essential. As of the past year, the average number of first visits per month was 86.7%, and the average treatment duration was less than 1 month, accounting for 72.9%. As for the diagnostic method used for gout patients, the "diagnosed by clinical pattern" response was the highest, and the "blood and urine test" response was the highest as the diagnostic equipment used. As for the evaluation scale being used, the "VAS/NRS" response was the highest. Regardless of the gout stage, acupuncture was the most commonly used treatment method for gout patients, and bee venom pharmacopuncture was the highest for the pharmacopuncture used. In the case of herbal medicine, it was found that a wider variety of herbal medication uninsured in health insurance and herbal prescription were used for the staged treatment of gout than herbal medication in national health insurance coverage. In clinical practice, "acupuncture treatment three times a week" was the most common, and the "acupoints in the limb" were the most frequently used; LR3 and SP3 were the most frequently used acupoints. Conclusions : It is suggested that this survey should be helpful to develop clinical practice guideline for gout that reflects actual clinical practice.

• ALGAE
• /
• v.36 no.1
• /
• pp.25-36
• /
• 2021

The mixotrophic dinoflagellate Tripos furca causes red tides in the waters of many countries. To understand its population dynamics, mortality due to predation as well as growth rate should be assessed. Prior to the present study, the heterotrophic dinoflagellates Noctiluca scintillans, Polykrikos kofoidii, Protoperidinium steinii, and mixotrophic dinoflagellate Fragilidium subglobosum were known to ingest T. furca. However, if other common heterotrophic protists are able to feed on T. furca has not been tested. We explored interactions between T. furca and nine heterotrophic dinoflagellates and one naked ciliate. Furthermore, we investigated the abundance of T. furca and common heterotrophic protists in coastal-offshore waters off Yeosu, southern Korea, on Jul 31, 2020, during its red tide. Among the tested heterotrophic protists, the heterotrophic dinoflagellates Aduncodinium glandula, Luciella masanensis, and Pfiesteria piscicida were able to feed on T. furca. However, the heterotrophic dinoflagellates Gyrodiniellum shiwhaense, Gyrodinium dominans, Gyrodinium jinhaense, Gyrodinium moestrupii, Oblea rotunda, Oxyrrhis marina, and the naked ciliate Rimostrombidium sp. were unable to feed on it. However, T. furca did not support the growth of A. glandula, L. masanensis, or P. piscicida. Red tides dominated by T. furca prevailed in the South Sea of Korea from Jun 30 to Sep 5, 2020. The maximum abundance of heterotrophic dinoflagellates in the waters off Yeosu on Jul 31, 2020, was as low as 5.0 cells mL-1, and A. glandula, L. masanensis, and P. piscicida were not detected. Furthermore, the abundances of the known predators F. subglobosum, N. scintillans, P. kofoidii, and Protoperidinium spp. were very low or negligible. Therefore, no or low abundance of effective predators might be partially responsible for the long duration of the T. furca red tides in the South Sea of Korea in 2020.