• Atmosphere
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.599-615
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• 2016

This study investigates the accuracy of short-term ocean predictions during the development of ocean stratification for the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) Global Seasonal Forecast System version 5 (GloSea5) as well as the effect of atmosphere-ocean coupling on the predictions through a series of sensitive numerical experiments. Model performance is evaluated using the marine meteorological buoys at seas around the Korean peninsular (KP), Tropical Atmosphere Ocean project (TAO) buoys over the tropical Pacific ocean, and ARGO floats data over the western North Pacific for boreal winter (February) and spring (May). Sensitive experiments are conducted using an ocean-atmosphere coupled model (i.e., GloSea5) and an uncoupled ocean model (Nucleus for European Modelling of the Ocean, NEMO) and their results are compared. The verification results revealed an overall good performance for the SST predictions over the tropical Pacific ocean and near the Korean marginal seas, in which the Root Mean Square Errors (RMSE) were $0.31{\sim}0.45^{\circ}C$ and $0.74{\sim}1.11^{\circ}C$ respectively, except oceanic front regions with large spatial and temporal SST variations (the maximum error reached up to $3^{\circ}C$). The sensitive numerical experiments showed that GloSea5 outperformed NEMO over the tropical Pacific in terms of bias and RMSE analysis, while NEMO outperformed GloSea5 near the KP regions. These results suggest that the atmosphere-ocean coupling substantially influences the short-term ocean forecast over the tropical Pacific, while other factors such as atmospheric forcing and the accuracy of simulated local current are more important than the coupling effect for the KP regions being far from tropics during the development of ocean stratification.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.7 no.5
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• pp.319-326
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• 1998

Anodic half-reaction in the $Na^+$ ionic sensors using $Na_2CO_3$ and $MCO_3$ ($M=Cs_2,K_2,Li_2,Ca$) as a sensitive membrane is derived in continuous flow system to explain $CO_2$ sensing characteristics. For various gas-sensitive membranes, a well known overall reaction, $MCO_3\;=\;MO\;+\;CO_2$, cannot be applied for the EMF behaviors of these kinds of sensors. So, the anodic reaction is found to involve $Na_2CO_3$ and $M^{++}$-containing oxide phases by employing the ion exchange reaction at the interface of solid electrolyte and the sensitive membrane to maintain ionic balance in the whole cell. Based on the electrode reaction derived in flow system, differences of cell potentials between continuous and discontinuous flow systems were also discussed. These EMF differences were considerably caused by the partial pressures of oxygen and $CO_2$ as well as irreversible chemical reactions between electrode materials and $CO_2$ atmosphere.

• Korean Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
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• v.7 no.1 s.29
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• pp.168-175
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• 2006

Since the partly changed 'Private Investment Act for Social Infrastructure Projects' set forth in January 2005, the number of BTL(Build-Transfer-Lease) projects offered to the market has rapidly increased. The scope of BTL projects offered covers not only legally defined facilities but several facilities for the private schools. A BTL project, by definition, is a way of project management that includes the entire process of development such as planning, design, construction and operation over the period of 20-30 years. As a result, various types of risk may happen at each stage of the project and it is extremely important to efficiently control the sensitive factors that affect the risk profiles of the project. The examples of the sensitive factors are construction cost, interest rate, discount rate, lease amount, rental fee, O&M cost and so on. This study examines the characteristics of these sensitivity factors, analyzes their impact on the project feasibility and suggests the alternatives to manage them efficiently.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.237-241
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• 2013

Giardia lamblia is recognized as one of the most prevalent parasites in dogs. The present study aimed to establish a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay for rapid and specific detection of G. lamblia from dogs. The fecal samples were collected and prepared for microscopic analysis, and then the genomic DNA was extracted directly from purified cysts. The concentration of DNA samples of G. lamblia were diluted by 10-fold serially ranging from $10^{-1}$ to $10^{-5}ng/{\mu}l$ for LAMP and PCR assays. The LAMP assay allows the amplification to be finished within 60 min under isothermal conditions of $63^{\circ}C$ by employing 6 oligonucleotide primers designed based on G. lamblia elongation factor 1 alpha ($EF1{\alpha}$) gene sequence. Our tests showed that the specific amplification products were obtained only with G. lamblia, while no amplification products were detected with DNA of other related protozoans. Sensitivity evaluation indicated that the LAMP assay was sensitive 10 times more than PCR. It is concluded that LAMP is a rapid, highly sensitive and specific DNA amplification technique for detection of G. lamblia, which has implications for effective control and prevention of giardiasis.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.4-11
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• 2016

Background: Hospital admissions for ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSCs), which are widely used as an indicator of poor access to primary care, can be used as an efficiency indicator of healthcare use in countries providing good access to health care. Korea, which has a national health insurance (NHI) system and a good supply of health care resources, is one such country. To quantify admission rates of ACSC and identify characteristics influencing variation in Korean health care institutions. Methods: By using NHI claims data, we computed the mean ACSC admission rate for all institutions with ACSC admissions. Results: The average ACSC admission rate for 4,461 institutions was 1.45%. Hospitals and clinics with inpatient beds showed larger variations in the ACSC admission rate (0%-87.9% and 0%-99.6%, respectively) and a higher coefficient of variation (7.96 and 2.29) than general/tertiary care hospitals (0%-19.1%, 0.85). The regression analysis results indicate that the ACSC admission rate was significantly higher for hospitals than for clinics (${\beta}=0.986$, p<0.05), and for private corporate institutions than public institutions (${\beta}=0.271$, p<0.05). Conclusion: Substantial variations in ACSC admission rates could suggest the potential problem of inefficient use of healthcare resources. Since hospitals and private corporate institutions tend to increase ACSC admission rates, future health policy should focus on these types of institutions.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.357-363
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• 2013

The fungus Venturia nashicola is the causal agent of scab on Asian pears. For the rapid and reliable identification as well as sensitive detection of V. nashicola, a PCR-based technique was developed. DNA fingerprints of three closely related species, V. nashicola, V. pirina, and V. inaequalis, were obtained by random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis. Two RAPD markers specific to V. nashicola were identified by PCR, after which two pairs of sequence characterized amplified region (SCAR) primers were designed from the nucleotide sequences of the markers. The SCAR primer pairs, designated as D12F/D12R and E11F/E11R, amplified 535-bp and 525-bp DNA fragments, respectively, only from genomic DNA of V. nashicola. The specificity of the primer sets was tested on strains representing three species of Venturia and 20 fungal plant pathogens. The nested PCR primer pair specific to V. nashicola was developed based on the sequence of the species-specific 525-bp DNA fragment amplified by primer set E11F/E11R. The internal primer pair Na11F/Na11R amplified a 235-bp fragment from V. nashicola, but not from any other fungal species tested. The nested PCR assay was sensitive enough to detect the specific fragment in 50 fg of V. nashicola DNA.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.149-158
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• 2017

The opsin family of light sensitive proteins family makes up are the universal photoreceptor molecules of all visual systems in the vertebrates including teleosts. They can change their conformation from a resting state to a signaling state upon light absorption, which activates the G-protein coupled receptor, thereby resulting in a signaling cascade that produces physiological responses. However, this species is poorly characterized at molecular level due to little sequence information available in public databases. We have investigated the opsin family of nocturnal cutlass fish using the whole transcriptome sequencing method. The opsin genes were cloned and its expression in the tissues and organs were examined by qPCR. We cloned 6 opsin genes (RRH, Opn4, Rh1, Rh2, VA-opsin, and Opn3) in retina and brain tissue. It contained the seven presumed transmembrane domains that are characteristic of the G-protein-coupled receptor family. However, short wavelength sensitive pigment (SWS) and long wavelength sensitive pigment (LWS) were not detected in this study. The mRNA expression of the 6 photoreceptor genes were detected in retina and peripheral tissue. Our studies will lead to further investigation of the photic entrainment mechanism at molecular and cellular levels in cutlass fish and can be used in comparative studies of other fishes.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.397-408
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• 2004

Due to the growing impact of non-point source pollution and limitation of water treatment technology, a new policy of water quality management, called a source protection, is now becoming more important in drinking water supply. The source protection means that the public agency purchases the pollution sensitive area, such as riparian zone, and prohibit locations of point and non-point sources. Many studies have reported that this new policy is more economical in drinking water supply than the conventional one. However, it is very difficult to determine location and size of the pollution sensitive zone in the watershed. In this paper, we presented the scientific criteria for the priority of the pollution sensitive zone, along with a case study of the upstream watershed of the Paldang Reservoir, Han River. This study includes applications of the analytical hierarchy process(AHP) and a watershed-based land prioritization(WLP) model. After major criteria affecting water quality were selected, the AHP and geographic analysis were performed. The WLP model allowed us to include both quantity and quality criteria, using AHP as the multi-criteria method in making decision and reflecting local characteristics and various needs. By adding a travel-time function, which represents the prototype effectively, the results secured adaptability and scientific objectivity as well. As such, the WLP model appeared to provide reasonable criteria in determining the prioritization of land acquisition. If the tested data are used with a validated travel-time and AHP method is applied after further discussion among experts in such field, highly reliable results can be obtained.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.115-125
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• 1994

In this study, we try to establish the rapid and specific detection system for Salmonella species. The PhoE gene of Salmonella species was amplified with two specific primers, ST5 and ST8c, using PCR. The probe prepared from the amplified PhoE gene was sequenced and applied for Southern blot analysis. After PCR with ST5 and ST8c primers for PhoE gene, DNA bands of expected size(365bp) from 7 different Salmonella species were detected, but not from 12 enterobacteriaceae and 3 gram positive bacteria. PCR was highly sensitive to detect up to 10fg of purified DNA template and to identify Salmonella species with only 320 heat-lysed bacterial cells. The inhibition of PCR amplification from stool specimen was occurred with 50-fold dilution but disappeared over 100 fold dilution of samples. It was confirmed that the PhoE genes were amplified and cloned with over 97% nacleotide sequence homology of PCR products compared with that of S. typhfmurium LT2. The DNA probe derived from S. typhimurium TA 3,000 showed highly specific and sensitive reaction with PCR products of all tested Salmonella species. These results indicate that PCR was rapid and sensitive detection method for Salmonella species and DNA probe prepared from S. typhimurium TA 3,000 was specific to identify PCR products of different Salmonella species.

• Journal of Crop Science and Biotechnology
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.257-264
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• 2007

Rice is one of the world's staple crops and is a major source of carbohydrate. Rice is exported from several countries, providing a major source of income. There are many documents reporting that rice is a salt-sensitive crop in its developmental stages. The objective of this investigation is to evaluate the effective salt-tolerance defense mechanisms in aromatic rice varieties. Pathumthani 1(PT1), Jasmine(KDML105), and Homjan(HJ) aromatic rice varieties were chosen as plant materials. Rice seedlings photoautotrophically grown in-vitro were treated with 0, 85, 171, 256, 342, and 427 mM NaCl in the media. Data, including sodium ion$(Na^+)$ and potassium ion$(K^+)$ accumulation, osmolarity, chlorophyll pigment concentration, and the fresh and dry weights of seedlings were collected after salt-treatment for 5 days. $Na^+$ in salt-stressed seedlings gradually accumulated, while $K^+$ decreased, especially in the 342-427 mM NaCl salt treatments. The $Na^+$ accumulation in both salt-stressed root and leaf tissues was positively related to osmolarity, leading to chlorophyll degradation. In the case of the different rice varieties, the results showed that the HJ variety was identified as being salt-tolerant, maintaining root and shoot osmolarities as well as pigment stabilization when exposed to salt stress or $Na^+$ enrichment in the cells. On the other hand, PT1 and KDML105 varieties were classified as salt-sensitive, determined by chlorophyll degradation using Hierarchical cluster analysis. In conclusion, the HJ-salt tolerant variety should be further utilized as a parental line or genetic resource in breeding programs because of the osmoregulation defensive response to salt-stress.