• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.58 no.6
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• pp.627-634
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• 2020

Belitung district in Bangka-Belitung Province, Indonesia with a population of 0.27 million is endemic for Brugia malayi and 5 rounds of mass drug administration (MDA) were completed by 2010. Based on the results of 3 transmission assessment surveys (TAS), the district is declared as achieving elimination of lymphatic filariasis (LF) in 2017. The findings of an independent survey conducted by the National Institute of Health Research and Development (NIHRD) in the same year showed microfilaria (Mf) prevalence of 1.3% in this district. In 2019, NIHRD conducted microfilaria survey in 2 villages in Belitung district. Screening of 311 and 360 individuals in Lasar and Suak Gual villages showed Mf prevalence of 5.1% and 2.2% with mean Mf density of 120 and 354 mf/ml in the respective villages. Mf prevalence was significantly higher among farmers and fishermen compared to others and the gender specific difference was not significant. The results of a questionnaire based interview showed that 62.4% of the respondents reported to have participated in MDA in Lasar while it was 57.7% in Suak Gual village. About 42% of the Mf positive cases did not participate in MDA. Environmental surveys identified many swampy areas supporting the breeding of Mansonia vector species. Persistence of infection is evident and in the event of successful TAS3 it is necessary to monitor the situation and plan for focal MDA. Appropriate surveillance strategies including xenomonitoring in post-MDA situations need to be developed to prevent resurgence of infection. Possible role of animal reservoirs is discussed.

• Explosives and Blasting
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.1-14
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• 2021

Recently, with the development of high-performance processing devices such as GPGPU, a three-dimensional dynamic analysis technique that can replace expensive rock material impact tests has been actively developed in the defense and aerospace fields. Experimentally observing or measuring fracture processes occurring in rocks subjected to high impact loads, such as blasting and earth penetration of small-diameter missiles, are difficult due to the inhomogeneity and opacity of rock materials. In this study, a three-dimensional dynamic fracture process analysis technique (3D-DFPA) was developed to simulate the fracture behavior of rocks due to impact. In order to improve the operation speed, an algorithm capable of GPGPU operation was developed for explicit analysis and contact element search. To verify the proposed dynamic fracture process analysis technique, the dynamic fracture toughness tests of the Straight Notched Disk Bending (SNDB) limestone samples were simulated and the propagation of the reflection and transmission of the stress waves at the rock-impact bar interfaces and the fracture process of the rock samples were compared. The dynamic load tests for the SNDB sample applied a Pulse Shape controlled Split Hopkinson presure bar (PS-SHPB) that can control the waveform of the incident stress wave, the stress state, and the fracture process of the rock models were analyzed with experimental results.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.31 no.8
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• pp.755-760
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• 2021

Swine diarrhea is a livestock disease that causes huge economic losses to pig farms. In general, diarrhea occurs because of the proliferation of pathogenic Escherichia coli (E. coli). The toxins produced by the proliferated E. coli cause edema in pigs. Although the proliferation of these coliforms can be prevented by using a vaccine, the vaccines containing chemically produced dead bacteria are not very effective, making it difficult to control the proliferation of E. coli. Therefore, there is a need to develop new, more effective vaccines. In this study, we prepared killed F4+ and F18ab+ E. coli, which induce diarrhea and edema in pigs, using the extracts of immune-induced silkworms containing antimicrobial peptides and examined their availability as a killed-bacteria vaccine. First, the antimicrobial activity analysis of the prepared immune-induced silkworm extract was conducted using the radial diffusion assay. The results showed high activity against both F4+ and F18ab+ E. coli. The production efficiency of E. coli dead cells was determined using the colony-counting method. The concentration of the E. coli dead cells was the highest (50 mg/ml) when treated at 4℃. In addition, the analysis of the prepared dead cells using a transmission electron microscope confirmed that E. coli leaked out of the cytoplasm and the cell membrane remained intact. Therefore, F4+ and F18ab+ E. coli produced using immune-induced silkworms extract are considered to be highly available as bacterial ghost vaccines that can help prevent swine diarrhea and the resulting edema.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.38 no.6_1
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• pp.1479-1488
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• 2022

Accidents in which oil spills occur intermittently in the ocean due to ship collisions and sinkings. In order to prepare prompt countermeasures when such an accident occurs, it is necessary to accurately identify the current status of spilled oil. To this end, the Coast Guard patrols the target area with a fixed-wing airplane or helicopter and checks it with the naked eye or video, but it was difficult to determine the area contaminated by the spilled oil and its exact location on the map. Accordingly, this study develops a technology for direct ortho-rectification by automatically geo-referencing aerial images collected by the Coast Guard without individual ground reference points to identify the current status of spilled oil. First, meta information required for georeferencing is extracted from a visualized screen of sensor information such as video by optical character recognition (OCR). Based on the extracted information, the external orientation parameters of the image are determined. Images are individually orthorectified using the determined the external orientation parameters. The accuracy of individual orthoimages generated through this method was evaluated to be about tens of meters up to 100 m. The accuracy level was reasonably acceptable considering the inherent errors of the position and attitude sensors, the inaccuracies in the internal orientation parameters such as camera focal length, without using no ground control points. It is judged to be an appropriate level for identifying the current status of spilled oil contaminated areas in the sea. In the future, if real-time transmission of images captured during flight becomes possible, individual orthoimages can be generated in real time through the proposed individual orthorectification technology. Based on this, it can be effectively used to quickly identify the current status of spilled oil contamination and establish countermeasures.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.60 no.4
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• pp.241-246
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• 2022

Felids are the unique definitive host of Toxoplasma gondii. The intestine of felid is the only site for initiating Toxoplasma gondii sexual reproduction. T. gondii excretes millions of infectious oocysts from the intestine, which are the primary source of infection. There are many difficulties in developing vaccines and drugs to control oocyst excretion due to the lack of an appropriate experimental model. Here, we established an in vitro feline intestinal epithelial cell (IEC) infection system and an efficient animal model of T. gondii Chinese 1 genotype, Wh6 strain (TgCtwh6). The Kunming mice brain tissues containing TgCtwh6 cysts were harvested 42-day post-infection. The bradyzoites were co-cultured with cat IECs in vitro at a ratio of 1:10. Five 3-month-old domestic cats were orally inoculated with 600 cysts each. The oocysts were detected by daily observation of cat feces by microscopy and polymerase chain reaction. We found that the parasite adhered and invaded cat IECs in vitro, transformed into tachyzoites, and then divided to form rose-like structures. These parasites eventually destroyed host cells, escaped, and finished the asexual reproduction process. Schizonts associated with sexual reproduction have not been observed during development in vitro cultured cells. However, schizonts were detected in all infected cat intestinal epithelial cells, and oocysts were presented in all cat feces. Our study provides a feasible cell model and an efficient infection system for the following studies of T. gondii sexual reproduction, and also lays a foundation to develop drugs and vaccines for blocking excretion and transmission of oocysts.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.54 no.3
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• pp.179-191
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• 2022

Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) poses an increasing public health threat and has limited treatment options with high associated mortality. Genotypes of carbapenemase that threaten public health (bla_KPC, bla_NDM, bla_IMP, and bla_VIM) and bla_OXA-48-like genes were detected by phenotypic and molecular diagnosis, and related gene distribution patterns were investigated. Phenotypic testing using the modified Hodge test confirmed positivity in all 41 strains examined, and carbapenemase inhibitory testing using meropenem+phenyl boronic acid or meropenem+EDTA confirmed positivity in 18 and 8 strains, respectively. Polymerase chain reaction revealed the presence of amplification products in 28 strains of bla_KPC, 25 strains of bla_NDM, 5 strains of bla_IMP, 1 strain of bla_VIM, and 13 bla_OXA-48-like strains. In addition, 7 strains of bla_KPC+bla_NDM, 1 strain of bla_KPC+bla_IMP, 1 strain of bla_NDM+bla_OXA-48-like, 1 strain of bla_NDM+bla_VIM, 4 strains of bla_KPC+bla_NDM+bla_IMP, and 4 strains of bla_KPC+bla_NDM+bla_OXA-48-like were identified. Melting curve analysis using real-time PCR was wholly consistent with PCR results. The study shows genetic identification of highly specific CRE by real-time PCR could be used to provide early diagnoses and infection control, improve surveillance, and prevent the transmission of CRE.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.41 no.5
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• pp.507-517
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• 2022

The PhotoAcoustic Microscopy (PAM) has been proved to be a useful tool for biological and medical applications due to its high spatial and contrast resolution. PAM is based on transmission of laser pulses and reception of PA signals. Since the strength of PA signals is generally low, not only are high-performance optical and acoustic modules required, but high-performance electronics for imaging are also particularly needed for high-quality PAM imaging. Most PAM systems are implemented with a combination of several pieces of equipment commercially available to receive, amplify, enhance, and digitize PA signals. To this end, PAM systems are inevitably bulky and not optimal because general purpose equipment is used. This paper reports a PA signal receiving system recently developed to attain the capability of improved Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) and Contrast to Noise Ratio (CNR) of PAM images; the main module of this system is a low noise, wideband signal receiver that consists of two low-noise amplifiers, two variable gain amplifiers, analog filters, an Analog to Digital Converter (ADC), and control logic. From phantom imaging experiments, it was found that the developed system can improve SNR by 6.7 dB and CNR by 3 dB, compared to a combination of several pieces of commercially available equipment.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.117-124
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• 2022

In the event of an outbreak of a livestock epidemic, it has been considered that the existing burial-centered carcass disposal method should be improved ecofriendly for prevention of leachate and odors from burial basically in regard of pathogen inactivation. Therefore, the aim of this study is whether it was possible to treat the carcass of cattle and chickens using the chemical carcass treatment method. It was conducted to establish detailed treatment standards for the chemical treatment method of cattle and chicken carcasses based on the results of the proof of the absence of infectious diseases in cattle chickens. After inoculating cattle carcass with 10 pathogens (foot and mouth disease virus, bovine viral diarrhea virus, Mycobacterium bovis, Mycobacterium avium subsp. Paratuberculosis, Brucella abortus, Bacillus anthracis, Clostridium chauvoei, Clostridium perfringens, Escherichia coli, and Salmonella Typhimurium) and chicken carcasses with low pathogenic avian influenza virus, Clostridium perfringens type C, E. coli and Salmonella Typhimurium, these were treated at 90℃ for 5 hours in a potassium hydroxide liquid solution corresponding to 15% of the body weight. This method liquefies all cadaveric components and inactivates all inoculated pathogens by PCR and culture. Based on these results, it was possible to prove that chemical treatment of cattle and chicken carcasses is effective in killing pathogens and is a safe method without the risk of disease transmission. The chemical treatment method of livestock carcasses can be suggested as an alternative to the current domestic burial-centered livestock carcass treatment method, preventing environmental pollution, and contributing to public health.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.56 no.4
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• pp.160-189
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• 2023

The Cheonjeon-ri petroglyph is inscribed with shale formation belonging to the Daegu Formation of the Gyeongsang Supergroup in the Cretaceous of the Mesozoic Era. This rock undergoes thermal alteration to become hornfels, and has a high hardness and dense texture. Rock-forming minerals have almost the same composition as quartz, alkali felspar, plagioclase, calcite, mica, chlorite and opaque minerals, but calcite is rarely detected in the weathered zone. The petroglyph forms a weathered zone with a certain depth, and there is a difference in mineral and chemical composition between weathered and unweathered zones, respectively. The CaO contents of the weathered zone were reduced by more than 90% compared to that of the unweathered zone, because calcite reacted with water and dissolved. As a result of calculating the surface weathering depth for the petroglyph with the transmission characteristics of X-rays, depth of the parts in falling off and exfoliation showed a depth of about 0.5 to 1 mm, but the weathering depth in most areas was calculated to be about 3 to 4 mm. This can be proved by the contents and changes of Ca and Sr. The surface discolorations of the petroglyph are distributed with different color density, and the yellowish brown discoloration is alternated with a thin biofilm layer, showing a coverage of 79.6%. Therefore, periodic preservation managements and preventive conservation monitoring that can effectively control the physicochemical and biological damages of the Cheonjeonri petroglyph will be necessary.

• Journal of Internet Computing and Services
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.157-166
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• 2024

The Army TIGER System, which is being deployed to implement a future combat system, is expected to bring innovative changes to the army's combat methods and comabt execution capability such as mobility, networking and intelligence. To this end, the Army will introduce various systems using drones, robots, unmanned vehicles, AI(Artificial Intelligence), etc. and utilize them in combat. The use of various unmanned vehicles and AI is expected to result in the introduction of equipment with new technologies into the army and an increase in various types of transmitted information, i.e. data. However, currently in the military, there is an acceleration in research and combat experimentations on warfigthing options using Army TIGER forces system for specific functions. On the other hand, the current reality is that research on cyber threats measures targeting information systems related to the increasing number of unmanned systems, data production, and transmission from unmanned systems, as well as the establishment of cloud centers and AI command and control center driven by the new force systems, is not being pursued. Accordingly this paper analyzes the structure and characteristics of the Army TIGER force integration system and makes suggestions for necessity of building, available cyber defense solutions and Army TIGER integrated cyber protections system that can respond to cyber threats in the future.