• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
• /
• v.38 no.1
• /
• pp.1-15
• /
• 2020

This study was conducted to determine whether invasive muskrats settle in the natural ecosystem of Korea. The study also aimed to provide information on the selection of target areas, basic behavioral characteristics, and habitat use-related data, all of which are essential for effective management strategy establishment and site management. To this end, a trend in international muskrat management was identified to examine the management direction according to the settlement stage. We also secured the location of 72 domestic farmers and classified five regions in Gyeonggi-do, Chungcheongnam-do, Gyeongsangbuk-do, and Sejong Special Self-governing City into regions with high potential for natural leakage to raise the need for a quick survey. We determined that muskrats successfully settled in the natural ecosystem of Korea, based on the fact that we consistently identified a muskrat habitat at the same point for three years, from 2016 to 2018, the age of the captured population was estimated to be 1.2 years, and there had been no additional make-up factors near the habitat since 2012. The muskrats that settled in Korea showed a small home range of 0.0027 ㎢ (MCP 95%) and were estimated to show regular mobility before Spring and Autumn. Also, the areas where the muskrat habitat was observed had a high level of habitat environment disturbance and their ecological and food intake characteristics reflected that disturbance. Muskrat traces were high in hydrophyte vegetation, which can be used as a hideout in open waters and where the growth of both floating leaved plants and floating plants are prevalent. Since international invasive muskrats have already settled in the domestic ecosystem and there is concern about their proliferation in the future, the government must consider a preemptive response and scientific management.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
• /
• v.25 no.4
• /
• pp.213-218
• /
• 2007

Purpose: To analyze retrospectively the outcome of postoperative radiation therapy with or without concurrent chemotherapy for curatively resected stage II pancreatic cancer with T3 or N1 disease. Materials and Methods: Between January 1996 and December 2005, twenty-eight patients completed adjuvant radiation therapy at Ajou University Hospital. The patients had either pathologic T3 stage or N1 stage. The radiation target volume encompassed the initial tumor bed identified preoperatively, resection margin area and celiac nodal area. In the case of N1 patients, the radiation field extended to the lower margin of the L3 vertebra for covering both para-aortic lymph nodes bearing area. The median total radiation dose was 50 Gy. Ten patients received concurrent chemotherapy. Results: Thirteen patients (46%) showed loco-regional recurrences. The celiac axis nodal area was the most frequent site (4 patients). Five patients showed both loco-regional recurrence and a distant metastasis. Patients with positive lymph nodes had a relatively high probability of a distant metastasis (57.1%). Patients that had a positive resection margin showed a relatively high local failure rate (57.1%). The median disease-free survival period of all patients was 6 months and the 1-and 2-year disease free survival rates were 27.4% and 8.2%, respectively. The median overall survival period was 9 months. The 2-and 3-year overall survival rates were 31.6% and 15.8%, respectively. Conclusion: The pancreatic cancer patients with stage II had a high risk of local failure and a high risk of a distant metastasis. We suggest the concurrent use of an effective radiation-sensitizing chemotherapeutic drug and adjuvant chemotherapy after postoperative radiation therapy for the treatment of patients with stage II pancreatic cancer.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• v.43 no.5
• /
• pp.720-727
• /
• 1996

Objectives: $^{201}TI$ - chloride, $^{99m}Tc$ - MIBI, $^{99m}Tc$(V) - DMSA SPECT has been used in distinguishing lung cancer from benign lesion. To compare the diagnostic efficacy of SPECT with these tumor - seeking agents, we perfonned three consecutive SPECT using $^{201}TI$, $^{99m}Tc$ - MIBI, $^{99m}Tc$(V) - DMSA in same subjects with a solitary pulmonary lesion. Methods: SPECT was carried out at 10min and 3hr for $^{201}TI$ after injection of 20mCi, and 2hr for $^{99m}Tc$ - MIBI and $^{99m}Tc$(V) - DMSA after injection of 20mCi, respectively, in 37 patients with a solitary pulmonary lesion(27 lung cancer and 10 benign diseases). In patients showing visual uptake on lesion site, we obtained the lesion - to - background(target lesion/contralateral normal lung) uptake ratio from transverse slice for each radionuclide and also calculated the retention index for $^{201}TI$. Results: The diagnostic sensitivity of $^{201}TI$, $^{99m}Tc$ - MIBI and $^{99m}Tc$(V) - DMSA SPECT to lung cancer was 100%, 96% and 73%, and the specificity was 40%, 70% and 70%, respectively. The low specificities for these agents were mainly due to high positive uptake in patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis. There were no significant differences in uptake ratios and retention index between malignant and benign lesions, and among the histologic types of lung cancer. Conclusion : $^{201}TI$ and $^{99m}Tc$ - MIBI showed higher sensitivity than $^{99m}Tc$(V) - DMSA for detecting lung cancer, but was of limited usefulness in distinguishing lung cancer from benign lesion due to low specificity, especially in area with a high prevalence of active pulmonary tuberculosis.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Traditional Landscape Architecture
• /
• v.38 no.1
• /
• pp.142-151
• /
• 2020

This study is designed to deduce an implication for an effective implementation of the Special Act for Conservation, Management and Utilization of World Heritage in Korea which was legislated in February, 2020. To draw an implication, which is regarded as highly valuable for preparing for the implementation of the act, several case studies were performed focusing on four World Natural Heritage sites in Japan, and the result is as follows. First, it is enormously crucial for the central administration agencies and the local government to have a system through which they communicate one another regularly. All the target areas in Japan consist of three national parks and a prefectural park with natural monuments, and the national forest covers a tremendously large proportion of the areas. The Japanese central agencies including Ministry of the Environment, Forestry Agency and Agency for Cultural Affairs have communication with the local government through a system named Regional Liaison Committee in order to manage the sites effectively. Also, in the case of Japan, de facto administrating agencies involving non-profit organizations and the tourism association also participate in the regular conferences to communicate. Second, a specific committee consisting of academic advisers is strongly needed. In the case of Japan, Scientific Committee provides academic grounds for the management plan established by the members of Regional Liaison Committee, and an active system which allows the members to organize consultative committees and subcommittees has been established. Scientific Committee plays an important role in preventing the local government, which tends to manage the world natural heritage in more economically profitable ways, from damaging the environment of the site. The establishment of this type of committee is thought to be extremely desirable because the World Natural Heritage requires comprehensive and sustainable management plans on the ecosystem. Third, establishment of comprehensive management plan based on continuous monitoring on the environment and detailed action plan is exceedingly needed. To sum up, it is vital to establish a management plan considering environmental aspect, and detailed guidelines, which help execute the plan both properly and effectively, are required for systematic and sustainable management.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.23 no.5
• /
• pp.609-615
• /
• 2013

Glyceollin I has gained attention as a useful therapy for various dermatological diseases. However, the binding property of glyceollin I to the mammalian adenylyl cyclase (hereafter mAC), a critical target enzyme for the down-regulation of skin melanogenesis, has not been fully explored. To clarify the action mechanism between glyceollin I and mAC, we first investigated the molecular docking property of glyceollin I to mAC and compared with that of SQ22,536, a well-known mAC inhibitor, to mAC. Glyceollin I showed superiority by forming three hydrogen bonds with Asp 1018, Trp 1020, and Asn 1025, which exist in the catalytic site of mAC. However, SQ22,536 formed only two hydrogen bonds with Asp 1018 and Asn 1025. Secondly, we confirmed that glyceollin I effectively inhibits the formation of forskolin-induced cAMP and the phosphorylation of PKA from a cell-based assay. Long term treatment with glyceollin I had little effect on the cell viability. The findings of the present study also suggest that glyceollin I may be extended to be used as an effective inhibitor of hyperpigmentation.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
• /
• v.99 no.3
• /
• pp.380-390
• /
• 2010

This research was conducted to investigate the consciousness of demander on National Forest Management System and to seek for solution to activate it by measuring the variables such as the extent of goal achievement on the system, the extent of importance on function of national forest, benefit for participation of the system, and the extent of importance on the system as well as the extent of demander recognition and intention of participation on the system like, Cooperative Forest Program and People's Forest Program. The target of this investigation is to categorize consumers of National Forest Management System (NFMS) into four types such as environmental organization that do not participate in the system, environmental organization that participate in the team, company to publish a white paper on environmental and local government. As a result, the intention of participation was showed in C Type (62.7%), among fields that respondents interested in participation were tree planting and forest tending (56.2%). However, the rest of the participants were reluctant participate in the NFMS due to more benefit (72.2%) of corporate social responsibility from other fields than those from the field utilizing forestry. If only, diverse facilities related to national forest and active supporting policy are provided by Korea Forest Service, social participation using forest resources would be considered. Although 61% among A Type recognized NFMS in advance, the prime reason for not utilizing are the problems with reserving place for participates in and the inconvenience to participate in on-site. Type D shows slightly high interest in People's Forest Program (3.69). Also, it shows high interest in Forest Recreation (4.15) and Forest Reports (3.90). Particularly, it indicates that GyeongGi-Do and GangWon-Do local government prefers Forest Experience, and Cheolla, ChungCheong and GyeongSang local government prefer Forest Reports. Based on the above study, we finally suggest that legal alignment of the system, and the provision of incentive for inducement of voluntary participation by Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), and establishment of new exclusive nongovernmental organization be able to operate the system as the solution to activate NFMS in terms of the consumer.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• v.64 no.3
• /
• pp.194-199
• /
• 2008

Background: Early identification of pathogens can improve the prognosis of patients with ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP). In the present study, we evaluated the feasibility of performing multiplex PCR for endotracheal aspirates to detect three important pathogens (P. aeruginosa, K. pneumoniae and MRSA) in patients with VAP. Methods: The endotracheal aspirates of 24 patients were collected within 24 hours of the diagnosis of VAP for performing multiplex PCR. Forward and reverse primers were designed to target the specific site of each pathogen (the oprL gene for P. aeruginosa, 16S rRNA for K. pneumoniae and the mec gene for MRSA). We analyzed the clinical data of the VAP patients, including the culture reports for the endotracheal aspirates. Results: Twenty-four patients (M:F=18:6, mean age=$70{\pm}11$) with VAP were enrolled. Pathogens were isolated from 11 patients (P. aeruginosa in 2, K. pneumoniae in 1, MRSA in 2, other enteric Gram negative bacilli in 3, S. pneumoniae in 2 and mixed infection in 1). Multiplex PCR detected three cases of P.aeruginosa (2 cases coincided with the culture reports) and four cases of K. pneumoniae (1 matched with the culture report). PCR detected two MRSA cases, which did not coincide with the culture reports. Conclusion: Multiplex PCR of the endotracheal aspirate showed some ability to detect Gram negative bacilli, although caution is required when interpreting the results.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
• /
• v.22 no.2
• /
• pp.173-183
• /
• 2008

This research was aimed at looking into the vegetation structure of Abies holophylla forest distributed between Iljumun of Woljeong Temple and Keumgang bridge in Odaesan National Park. It was found that existed a total of 977 tree of Abies holophylla which are more than 20cm in DBH within the target site, and in 2006 when the survey was made, the number of fallen trees and poor growth trees was about 96, accounting for 9.8% of all. The age of Abies holophylla ranged from 41 years to 135 years($11\sim82cm$ in DBH). The number of Abies holophylla over 100cm in DBH was 8 and the largest Abies holophylla was 175cm in DBH and 31m in height. Its density was 5.9 individuals per $400m^2$. As a result of the analysis of the plant community structure using the TWINSP AN classification, Abies holophylla was divided into four community types. Firstly, Pinus densiflora-Abies holophylla community was predicted to vary into Abies holophylla community. In case of other three other communities, Abies holophylla communities were predicted to compete with deciduous broadleaf trees, such as Tilia amurensis and Acer pictum subsp. mono. Abies holophylla forest adjacent to Woljeong Temple of Odaesan National Park has a high value as sustainable resources for culture, landscape and tourism. Thus, it is necessary to clarify the reason for the incidence of poor growth trees and fallen trees among all trees of Abies holophylla and take counter-measures against it for the preservation and management of Abies holophylla forest. In addition, a more aggressive managrment like getting rid of the deciduous broadleaf trees, such as Tilia amurensis and Acer pictum subsp. mono, which appear mostly on understory layer or shrub layer within Abies holophylla, and continuous management is also needed for the young trees of Abies holophylla which are feared to be pressurized outside from their neighboring trees because their initial growth after germination is very slow.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• v.58 no.4
• /
• pp.359-366
• /
• 2005

Background : IGFBP-3 inhibits the mitogenic and anti-apoptotic activity of IGF by blocking the binding of IGF to its receptor. However, under certain circumstances, IGFBP-3 can enhance the activity of IGF by protecting IGF from its degradation. More than half of the interindividual variations in IGFBP-3 levels are known to be genetically determined by the polymorphism at -202 locus of IGFBP-3 gene. Method : We attempted to ascertain whether A-202C polymorphic variation of IGFBP-3 gene constitutes a risk factor for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), using PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). Our study included 104 NSCLC patients and 104 age-, gender-, and smoking status-matched control subjects. Result : In the 104 NSCLC subjects, the genotypic frequencies at the -202 site were as follows: AA = 67 (64.4%), AC = 35 (33.7%), and CC = 2 (1.9%). We did detect significant differences in the genotypic distribution between the NSCLC and the control subjects (p<0.05), and the NSCLC risk correlated significantly with AA genotype at the -202 locus (AA>AC>CC). Using CC genotype as a reference, the odds ratio (OR) for the subjects with AC genotype was 2.60 (95% CI: 0.89 - 8.60), and the OR associated with AA genotype was 5.89 (95% CI: 1.92 - 21.16). Conclusion : These results indicate that the dysregulation of IGF axis should now be considered as another important risk factor for NSCLC, and a potential target for novel antineoplastic therapies and/or preventative strategies in high-risk groups.

• Korean Journal of Weed Science
• /
• v.16 no.3
• /
• pp.187-193
• /
• 1996

To supply seeds with a good quality as plant materials for herbicide screening and to know whether the germination characteristics could be associated with a differential response to herbicides, germination characteristics and differential responses to herbicides were investigated with 3 species of a genus Setaria ; Yellow foxtail(Setaria glauca P. Beauv, SETGL), Giant foxtail(Setaria faberi Hetrm, SETFA), and Green foxtail(Setaria viridis P. Beauv, SETVI). Degree of dormancy was high in the order of SETGL, SETVI and SETFA. The dormancy of SETGL seed was relatively well removed by room temperature and drying storage, but SETFA and SETVI by low temperature and wetting storage(stratification). For breaking dormancy of SETGL, SETVI and SETFA, it was necessary for being kept under the above storage conditions for at least 2, 4 and 4-5 months, respectively. When the dormancy-breaked seeds were transfered to low temperature($4^{\circ}C$) and drying condition, SETGL showed germination rate of 96% even after 2 month storage. However, SETVI and SETFA showed a decreased germination of 54% and 69%, respectively, with a decreased velocity of germination, indicating that secondary dormancy might be induced. On the other hand, a significant change in germination rate was not observed as the seeds were transfered to room temperature($25^{\circ}C$) and drying condition. The germinability of SETGL seed began to decline from 6th year after storage in room temperature and drying condition. All of 3 species showed relatively high germination rate at alternating temperature of $30^{\circ}C$/$20^{\circ}C$(14hr/10hr) and their germination were not increased by light. All of 3 species exhibited similar responses to cycloxydim, sethoxydim and primisulfuron in greenhouse experiment. In contrast, SETVI and SETFA were relatively susceptible to fenoxapropethyl, SETFA to fluazifop-butyl, SETGL and SETFA to clorimuron-ethyl, and SETGL to EK-2612. The difference in herbicidal response among 3 species was the highest in the treatment of EK-2612. These results suggest that there is no a consistent tendency in responses of 3 species to herbicides which have the same target site. And the relationship between germination characteristics and differential responses to herbicides was not found.