• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.191-196
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• 2007

Indoor air differs from outdoor atmosphere since it contains chemical and physical contaminants from building materials. This study deals with the biological effects of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released from synthetic fiber carpet materials. One group of Tradescantia inflorescence was exposed to VOCs from the carpet sample in the environmental test chamber, while the other inflorescence group was exposed to a TO-14 standard gas mixture (1 ppm) for comparison. After the exposure, VOCs from the carpet were analysed by the desorber/GC/MS method, and micronuclei in the pollen mother cells of Tradescantia were scored under a microscope $({\times}400)$ to evaluate the genotocixicity induced by the exposure to VOCs. The chemical analysis confirmed that a total of 12 VOCs were released from the carpet materials, among which stylene $(71.9{\mu}g\;m^{-3})$ and toluene $(49.6{\mu}g\;m^{-3})$ were in the highest concentration. Twenty four hours of exposure to VOCs from the carpet in the environmental test chamber resulted in a micronucleus frequency as high as $7.73{\pm}0.75MCN$ per 100 tetrads, which was similar to that induced after exposure to the TO-14 standard gas mixture (1 ppm) for 4 hours. Meanwhile, two hours of exposure to the standard gas mixture did not cause a significant increase in the genotoxicity compared to the spontaneous micronucleus frequency. This result indicates that exposure for a long time to the air contaminated with VOCs from the carpet materials causes a genotoxic effect. The biological-chemical combination analyses in the study proved to be an effective tool for monitoring the indoor air contaminants.

• Clinics in Shoulder and Elbow
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.105-110
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• 2011

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to identify and understand the complications of RTSA and to review the current methods of preventing and treating this malady. Materials and Methods: Previous constrained prostheses (ball-and-socket or reverse ball-and-socket designs) have failed because their center of rotation remained lateral to the scapula, which has limited of the motion of the prostheses and produced excessive torque on the glenoid component, and this leads to early loosening. The Grammont reverse prosthesis imposes a new biomechanical environment for the deltoid muscle to act, thus allowing it to compensate for the deficient rotator cuff muscles. Results: The clinical experience does live up to the lofty biomechanical concept and expectations: the reverse prosthesis restores active elevation above $90^{\circ}$ in patients with a cuff-deficient shoulder. However, external rotation often remains limited and particularly in patients with an absent or fat-infiltrated teres minor. Internal rotation is also rarely restored after a reverse prosthesis. Failure to restore sufficient tension in the deltoid may result in prosthetic instability. Conclusion: Finally, surgeons must be aware that the results are less predictable and the complication/revision rates are higher in revision surgery than that in the first surgery. A standardized monitoring tool that has clear definitions and assessment instructions is surely needed to document and then prevent complications after revision surgery.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.7-11
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• 2014

Malondialdehyde (MDA), used as an oxidative stress marker, is commonly assayed by measuring the thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) using HPLC, as an indicator of the MDA concentration. Since the HPLC method, though highly specific, is time-consuming and expensive, usually it is not suitable for the rapid test in large-scale environmental epidemiologic surveys. The purpose of this study is to develop a simple and rapid method for estimating TBARS levels by using a multiple regression equation that includes TBARS levels measured with a microplate reader as an independent variable. Twelve hour urine samples were obtained from 715 subjects. The concentration of TBARS was measured at three different wavelengths (fluorescence: ${\lambda}-_{ex}$ 530 nm and ${\lambda}-_{em}$ 550 nm; ${\lambda}-_{ex}$ 515 nm and ${\lambda}-_{em}$ 553 nm; and absorbance: 532 nm) using microplate reader as well as HPLC. 500 samples were used to develop a regression equation, and the remaining 215 samples were used to evaluate the validity of the regression analysis. The induced multiple regression equation is as follows: TBARS level (${\mu}M$) = -0.282 + 1.830 ${\times}$ (TBARS level measured with a microplate reader at the fluorescence wavelengths ${\lambda}-_{ex}$ 530 nm and ${\lambda}-_{em}$ 550 nm, ${\mu}M$) -0.685 ${\times}$ (TBARS level measured with a microplate reader at the fluorescence wavelengths ${\lambda}-_{ex}$ 515 nm and ${\lambda}-_{em}$ 553 nm, ${\mu}M$) + 0.035 ${\times}$ (TBARS level measured with a microplate reader at the absorbance wavelength 532 nm, ${\mu}M$). The estimated TBARS levels showed a better correlation with, and are closer to, the corresponding TBARS levels measured by HPLC compared to the values obtained by the microplate method. The TBARS estimation method reported here is simple and rapid, and that is generally in concordance with HPLC measurements. This method might be a useful tool for monitoring of urinary TBARS level in environmental epidemiologic surveys with large sample sizes.

• Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.344-351
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• 2009

Purpose: Optical imaging is providing great advance and improvement in genetic and molecular imaging of animals and humans. Optical imaging system consists of optical imaging devices, which carry out major function for monitoring, tracing, and imaging in most of molecular in-vivo researches. In bio-luminescent imaging, small animals containing luciferase gene locally irradiate light, and emitted photons transmitted through skin of the small animals are imaged by using a high sensitive charged coupled device (CCD) camera. In this paper, we introduced optical imaging system for the image acquisition of bio-luminescent signals emitted from small animals. Materials and Methods: In the system, Nikon lens and four LED light sources were mounted at the inside of a dark box. A cooled CCD camera equipped with a control module was used. Results: We tested the performance of the optical imaging system using effendorf tube and light emitting bacteria which injected intravenously into CT26 tumor bearing nude mouse. The performance of implemented optical imaging system for bio-luminescence imaging was demonstrated and the feasibility of the system in small animal imaging application was proved. Conclusion: We anticipate this system could be a useful tool for the molecular imaging of small animals adaptable for various experimental conditions in future.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.40 no.7
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• pp.503-510
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• 2007

In the area of such a nature-friendly stream improvement, it is not established yet which engineering method is suitable for stream environment, due to lack of technology. Therefore, although nature-friendly stream improvement was done with expensive engineering method, the effect has not been fully confirmed, which results from the absence of overall valuation tool of stream improvement. In this regard, it is necessary to develop and apply comprehensive and diverse valuation methods covering stream functions to the analysis of stream improvement. In this study, we collected data from years' of monitoring on the Gyeongcheon river, which is located in Sunchang-eup, Jeollabuk-do and recently underwent an nature-friendly stream improvement work. Based on the data, we developed a series of valuation methods such as stream naturalness evaluation, life cycle evaluation, amenity evaluation, and economic benefit analysis to consider the environmental function of stream from a comprehensive perspective. Stream naturalness evaluation is a quantitative analysis of how natural a stream is, and includes additional valuation items such as ecosystem and water quality for the purpose of overall valuation, unlike existing research focusing on physical elements and structural characteristics of a stream. We developed a method of stream valuation with life cycle assessment to river reorganization project. Amenity evaluation method was developed as a means to analyze residents' satisfaction with stream improvement through questionnaires. Economic benefit analysis was developed as a means to determine the attributes of environmental water supply, ecosystem, river maintenance, and water quality and predict economic benefits using contingent valuation method (CVM) and multi-attribute utility analysis (MAUA) method in order to analyze economic benefits brought in by stream improvement. It is considered that the four methods developed in this study make possible to conduct an overall and quantitative analysis of stream improvement.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.62 no.1
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• pp.1-16
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• 2020

The APEX model has been developed for assessing agricultural management efforts and their effects on soil and water at the field scale as well as more complex multi-subarea landscapes, whole farms, and watersheds. Recently, a key component of APEX application, named APEX-Paddy, has been modified for simulating water quality by considering paddy rice management practices. In this study, the performance of the APEX-Paddy model was evaluated using field data at Iksan experimental paddy sites in Korea. The discharge and pollutant load data during 2013 and 2014 were used to both manually and automatically calibrate the model. The APEX auto-calibration tool (APEX-CUTE 4.1) was used for model calibration and sensitivity analysis. Results indicate that APEX-Paddy reasonably performs in predicting runoff discharge rate and nitrogen yield. However, sediment and phosphorus yield is not correctly predicted due to the limitation of model schemes. With APEX-Paddy, the performance in reproducing the discharge and nitrogen yield is found to be a satisfactory level after manual calibration. The manually calibrated model performed better than the automatically calibrated model in nearly all comparisons. For runoff, manual calibration reduced PBIAS while R² and NSE values of the automatically calibrated model were the same as the manual calibration. For T-N, NSE and PBIAS were reduced when using manual calibration, whereas R² value was the same as manual calibration. The limitation of the APEX-Paddy model for predicting sediment, as well as the phosphorous yield, was discussed in this study.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.194-204
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• 2020

Cultivar parameters, which are key inputs to a crop growth model, have been estimated using observation data in good quality. Observation data with high quality often require considerable labor and cost, which makes it challenging to gather a large quantity of data for calibration of cultivar parameters. Alternatively, data in sufficient quantity can be collected from the reports on the evaluation of cultivars by region although these data are of questionable quality. The objective of our study was to assess the quality of crop and management data available from the reports on the regional adaptation trials for rice cultivars. We also aimed to propose the measures for improvement of the data quality, which would aid reliable estimation of cultivar parameters. DatasetRanker, which is the tool designed for quantitative assessment of the data for parameter calibration, was used to evaluate the quality of the data available from the regional adaptation trials. It was found that these data for rice cultivars were classified into the Silver class, which could be used for validation or calibration of key cultivar parameters. However, those regional adaptation trial data would fall short of the quality for model improvement. Additional information on management, e.g., harvest and irrigation management, can increase the quantitative quality by 10% with the minimum effort and cost. The quality of the data can also be improved through measurements of initial conditions for crop growth simulations such as soil moisture and nutrients. In addition, crop model improvement can be facilitated using crop growth data in time series, which merits further studies on development of approaches for non-destructive methods to monitor the crop growth.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.244-252
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• 2001

A comprehensive analytical method of endocrine distruptors[i.e., nonylphenol(NP), octylphenol(OP), bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate(BEHP)] is fish samples was developed using two internal standards. This method employed closed culture tube extraction with dichloromethane and solvent exchange to iso-hexane and SPE(2g) aminopropyl column, followed by determination on gas chromatograph linked to mass spectrometer(GC/MS) operated in the single ion monitoring(SIM) mode. The recoveries of nonylphenol and octyphenol in the range of $0.2{\sim}20{\mu}g/g$ using 1-phenyl decanol as one internal standard were over 75%, and recovery of bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate in the range of $0.4{\sim}40{\mu}g/g$ using bis(2-ethylbutyl)phthalate(BEBP) as the other internal standards was showed over 102%. The present method was applied to fish samples from Korea and UK. The range of concentrations for nonylphnol(NP) and bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate in Korean fish were $0.02{\sim}0.06{\mu}g/g$ in 2 samples and $0.18{\sim}2.03{\mu}g/g$ in 9 samples respectively, but bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate(BEHP) in UK samples was found $2.99{\mu}g/g$ in just 1 sample. But octylphenol(OP) was not dected in any samples by this method. This two internal standard method provides a more precise analytical tool to investigate endocrine disruptors in a biological matrices of limited quantity.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.50 no.5
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• pp.363-373
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• 2017

In the present study, adaptability of cyber-physical system (CPS) for risk management of $CO_2$ storage site is examined and the subagging regression (SBR) method is proposed as a key component of the cyber-twin to estimate the risk due to potential $CO_2$ leakage. For these purposes, $CO_2$ concentration data monitored from a controlled $CO_2$ release field experiment is employed to validate the potentialities of the SBR method. From the validation study, it is found that the SBR method has robust estimation capability by showing minimal influence from anomalous measurements, and makes stable and sound predictions for the forthcoming $CO_2$ concentration trend. In addition, the method is found to be well suited as a tool of operational risk assessment based on real-time monitoring data due to the computational efficiency. The overall results suggest that the SBR method has potential to be an important component comprising the cyber twin of CPS for risk management of $CO_2$ storage site.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.101-105
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• 2008

Enterobacter sakazakii is implicated in severe forms of neonatal infections such as meningitis and sepsis. This organism has been isolated from a wide range of foods, including cheese, vegetables, grains, herbs, and spices, but its primary environment is still unknown. Generally, dried infant milk formula has been epidemiologically identified as the source of E. sakazakii. Sunsik (a powdered mixture of roasted grains and other foodstuffs) is widely consumed in Korea as a side dish or energy supplement. Sunsik is consumed without heat treatment; thus, lacking an additional opportunity to inactivate foodborne pathogens. Therefore, its microbiological safety should be guaranteed. In this study, the prevalence of E. sakazakii was monitored in 23 different sunsik component flours, using FDA recommended methods; but E. sakazakii medium (Neogen) and Chromogenic E. sakazakii medium (Oxoid) were used as the selective media. In total, presumptive E. sakazakii strains were isolated from 8 different sunsik powders. Subsequently, an API 20E test was conducted, and 15 strains from 5 different sunsik flours (sea tangle, brown rice, non-glutinous rice, cheonggukjang, dried anchovy) were confirmed as E. sakazakii. Fifteen strains were again confirmed by PCR amplification, using three different primer sets (tDNA sequence, ITS sequence, 16S rRNA sequence), and compared to ATCC strains (12868, 29004, 29544, 51329). They were once again confirmed by their enzyme production profiles using an API ZYM kit. Finally, RAPD (random amplified polymorphic DNA)-genotyping was carried out as a monitoring tool to determine the contamination route of E. sakazakii during processing.