• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.53-57
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• 2009

Heavy metal pollution may be one of the most serious challenges confront crop production and human health. Therefore, the selection of heavy metal tolerance cultivars which adapted to the contaminated fields will introduced a suitable solution for management this critical environmental risk. The objectives of this research is to assess human health risk using geochemical analyses and exposure assessment of heavy metals in rice cultivars. Risk for inhabitants in the closed mine area was comparatively assessed for As, Cd, Cu and Pb in 10 rice varieties as a major exposure pathway. The average daily dose (ADD) of each heavy metal was estimated by analyzing the exposure pathways to rice and soil. For the non-carcinogenic risk characterization, Hazard Quotient (HQ) and Hazard Index (HI) were calculated using toxicity indices provided by US-EPA IRIS. The different rice varieties revealed a wide range of HI values from 23.6 to 34.3, indicating that all rice varieties have a high potential toxic risk. The DA rice variety showed the lowest HI value while the TB rice variety the highest. The probabilities of cancer risk for As via rice consumption were varied with rice varieties ranging from 2.0E-03 to 3.5E-03 which exceeded the regulatory acceptable risk of 1 in 10,000 set by US-EPA. The DA rice variety also showed the lowest value while the TB rice variety gave the highest value. Our results indicate that risk assessment can be contribute to screen the pollution safe rice cultivars in paddy fields affected by the mining activity.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.419-428
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• 2021

In order to develope a mobile-based greenhouse energy calculation program, firstly, the overall thermal transmittance of 10 types of major covers and 16 types of insulation materials were measured. In addition, to estimate the overall thermal transmittance when the cover and insulation materials were installed in double or triple layers, 24 combinations of double installations and 59 combinations of triple installations were measured using the hotbox. Also, the overall thermal transmittance value for a single material and the thermal resistance value were used to calculate the overall thermal transmittance value at the time of multi-layer installation of covering and insulating materials, and the linear regression equation was derived to correct the error with the measured values. As a result of developing the model for estimating thermal transmittance when installing multiple layers of coverings and insulating materials based on the value of overall thermal transmittance of a single-material, the model evaluation index was 0.90 (good when it is 0.5 or more), indicating that the estimated value was very close to the actual value. In addition, as a result of the on-site test, it was evaluated that the estimated heat saving rate was smaller than the actual value with a relative error of 2%. Based on these results, a mobile-based greenhouse energy calculation program was developed that was implemented as an HTML5 standard web-based mobile web application and was designed to work with various mobile device and PC browsers with N-Screen support. It had functions to provides the overall thermal transmittance(heating load coefficient) for each combination of greenhouse coverings and thermal insulation materials and to evaluate the energy consumption during a specific period of the target greenhouse. It was estimated that an energy-saving greenhouse design would be possible with the optimal selection of coverings and insulation materials according to the region and shape of the greenhouse.

• Journal of the Korean Orthopaedic Association
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• v.54 no.5
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• pp.427-434
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• 2019

Purpose: This study evaluated the long term clinical and radiographic results and the survival rates of unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA). In addition, the factors affecting the survival of the procedure were analyzed and the survival curve was compared according to the affecting factors. Materials and Methods: Ninety-nine cases of UKA performed between December 1982 and January 1996 were involved: 10 cases with Modular II, 44 cases with Microloc, and 45 cases with Allegretto prostheses. The mean follow-up period was 16.5 years. Clinically, the hospital for special surgery (HSS) scoring system and the range of motion (ROM) were evaluated. Radiographically, the femorotibial angle (FTA) was measured. The survival rate was analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method. Cox regression analysis was used to identify the factors affecting the survival according to age, sex, body mass index, preoperative diagnosis, and type of implant. The Kaplan-Meier survival curves were compared according to the factors affecting the survival of UKA. Results: The overall average HSS score and ROM was 57.7 and 134.3° preoperatively, 92.7 and 138.4° at 1 year postoperatively, and 79.1 and 138.4° at the last follow-up (p<0.001, respectively). The overall average FTA was varus 0.8° preoperatively, valgus 4.1° at postoperative 2 weeks, and valgus 3.0° at the last follow-up. The overall 5-, 10-, 15- and 20-year survival rates were 91.8%, 82.9%, 71.0%, and 67.0%, respectively. The factors affecting the survival were the age and type of implant. The risk of the failure decreased with age (hazard ratio=0.933). The Microloc group was more hazardous than the other prostheses (hazard ratio=0.202, 0.430, respectively). The survival curve in the patients below 60 years of age was significantly lower than those of the patients over 60 years of age (p=0.003); the survival curve of the Microloc group was lower compared to the Modular II and Allegretto groups (p=0.025). Conclusion: The long-term clinical and radiographic results and survival of UKA using old fixed bearing prostheses were satisfactory. The selection of appropriate patient and prosthesis will be important for the long term survival of the UKA procedure.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.153-165
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• 2023

The purpose of this study is to propose effective scenarios for green areas in apartment complexes that can improve the connection between green spaces considering wind flow, thermal comfort, and mitigation of the urban heat island effect. The study site was an apartment complex in Godeok-dong, Gangdong-gu, Seoul, Korea. The site selection was based on comparing temperatures and discomfort index data collected from June to August 2020. Initially, the thermal and wind environment of the current site was analyzed. Based on the findings, three scenarios were proposed, taking into account both green patches and corridor elements: Scenario 1 (green patch), Scenario 2 (green corridor), and Scenario 3 (green patch & corridor). Subsequently, each scenario's wind speed, wind flow, and thermal comfort were analyzed using ENVI-met to compare their effectiveness in mitigating the urban heat island effect. The study results demonstrated that green patches contributed to increased wind speed and improved wind flow, leading to a reduction of 31..20% in the predicted mean vote (PMV) and 68.59% in the predicted percentage of dissatisfied (PET). On the other hand, green corridors facilitated the connection of wind paths and further increased wind speed compared to green patches. They proved to be more effective than green patches in mitigating the urban heat island, resulting in a reduction of 92.47% in PMV and 90.14% in PET. The combination of green patches and green corridors demonstrated the greatest increase in wind speed and strong connectivity within the apartment complex, resulting in a reduction of 95.75% in PMV and 95.35% in PET. However, patches in narrow areas were found to be more effective in improving thermal comfort than green corridors. Therefore, to effectively mitigate the urban heat island effect, enhancing green areas by incorporating green corridors in conjunction with green patches is recommended. This study can serve as fundamental data for planning green areas to mitigate future urban heat island effects in apartment complexes. Additionally, it can be considered a method to improve urban resilience in response to the challenges posed by the urban heat island effect.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.39 no.6_1
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• pp.1321-1330
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• 2023

Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) is the most widely used remote sensing data in the agricultural field and is currently provided by most optical satellites. In particular, as high-resolution optical satellite images become available, the selection of optimal optical satellite images according to agricultural applications has become a very important issue. In this study, we aim to define the most optimal optical satellite image when monitoring NDVI in rice fields in Korea and derive the resolution-related requirements necessary for this. For this purpose, we compared and analyzed the spatial distribution and time series patterns of the Dangjin rice paddy in Korea from 2019 to 2022 using NDVI images from MOD13, Landsat-8, Sentinel-2A/B, and PlanetScope satellites, which are widely used around the world. Each data is provided with a spatial resolution of 3 m to 250 m and various periods, and the area of the spectral band used to calculate NDVI also has slight differences. As a result of the analysis, Landsat-8 showed the lowest NDVI value and had very low spatial variation. In comparison, the MOD13 NDVI image showed similar spatial distribution and time series patterns as the PlanetScope data but was affected by the area surrounding the rice field due to low spatial resolution. Sentinel-2A/B showed relatively low NDVI values due to the wide near-infrared band area, and this feature was especially noticeable in the early stages of growth. PlanetScope's NDVI provides detailed spatial variation and stable time series patterns, but considering its high purchase price, it is considered to be more useful in small field areas than in spatially uniform rice paddy. Accordingly, for rice field areas, 250 m MOD13 NDVI or 10 m Sentinel-2A/B are considered to be the most efficient, but high-resolution satellite images can be used to estimate detailed physical quantities of individual crops.

• Korean Circulation Journal
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.254-267
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• 2023

Background and Objectives: Although the shortage of donor is a common problem worldwide, a significant portion of unutilized hearts are classified as marginal donor (MD) hearts. However, research on the correlation between the MD and the prognosis of heart transplantation (HTx) is lacking. This study was conducted to investigate the clinical impact of MD in HTx. Methods: Consecutive 73 HTxs during 2014 and 2021 in a tertiary hospital were analyzed. MD was defined as follows; a donor age >55 years, left ventricular ejection fraction <50%, cold ischemic time >240 minutes, or significant cardiac structural problems. Preoperative characteristics and postoperative hemodynamic data, primary graft dysfunction (PGD), and the survival rate were analyzed. Risk stratification by Index for Mortality Prediction after Cardiac Transplantation (IMPACT) score was performed to examine the outcomes according to the recipient state. Each group was sub-divided into 2 risk groups according to the IMPACT score (low <10 vs. high ≥10). Results: A total of 32 (43.8%) patients received an organ from MDs. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation was more frequent in the non-MD group (34.4% vs. 70.7, p=0.007) There was no significant difference in PGD, 30-day mortality and long-term survival between groups. In the subgroup analysis, early outcomes did not differ between low- and high-risk groups. However, the long-term survival was better in the low-risk group (p=0.01). Conclusions: The outcomes of MD group were not significantly different from non-MD group. Particularly, in low-risk recipient, the MD group showed excellent early and long-term outcomes. These results suggest the usability of selected MD hearts without increasing adverse events.