• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.243-251
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• 2018

The gridded simulation of crop growth, which would be useful for shareholders and policy makers, often requires specialized computation tasks for preparation of weather input data and operation of a given crop model. Here we developed an automated system to allow for crop growth simulation over a region using the DSSAT (Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer) model. The system consists of modules implemented using R and shell script languages. One of the modules has a functionality to create weather input files in a plain text format for each cell. Another module written in R script was developed for GIS data processing and parallel computing. The other module that launches the crop model automatically was implemented using the shell script language. As a case study, the automated system was used to determine the maximum soybean yield for a given set of management options in Illinois state in the US. The AgMERRA dataset, which is reanalysis data for agricultural models, was used to prepare weather input files during 1981 - 2005. It took 7.38 hours to create 1,859 weather input files for one year of soybean growth simulation in Illinois using a single CPU core. In contrast, the processing time decreased considerably, e.g., 35 minutes, when 16 CPU cores were used. The automated system created a map of the maturity group and the planting date that resulted in the maximum yield in a raster data format. Our results indicated that the automated system for the DSSAT model would help spatial assessments of crop yield at a regional scale.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.267-272
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• 2007

Human embryonic stem (ES) cells are derived from the inner cell mass of the preimplantation embryo and have the capacity to differentiate into various types of cells in the body. Hence, these cells may potentially be an indefinite source of cells for cell therapy in various degenerative diseases including neuronal disorders. For clinical applications of human ES cells, directed differentiation of these cells would be necessary. The objective of this study is to develop the culture condition for the expansion of neural precursor cells derived from human ES cells. Human ES cells were able to differentiate into neural precursor cells upon a stepwise culture condition. Neural precursor cells were propagated up to 5000-fold in cell numbers over 12-week period of culture and evaluated for their characteristics. Expressions of sox1 and pax6 transcripts were dramatically up-regulated along the differentiation stages by RT-PCR analysis. In contrast, expressions of oct4 and nanog transcripts were completely disappeared in neural precursor cells. Expressions of nestin, pax6 and sox1 were also confirmed in neural precursor cells by immunocytochemical analysis. Upon differentiation, the expanded neural precursor cells differentiated into neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes. In immunocytochemical analysis, expressions of type III ${\beta}$-tubulin and MAP2ab were observed Presence of astrocytes and oligodendrocytes were also confirmed by expressions of GFAP and O4, respectively. Results of this study demonstrate the feasibility of long-term expansion of human ES cell-derived neural precursor cells in vitro, which can be a potential source of the cells for the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders.

• The Korean Journal of Pharmacology
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.75-86
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• 1994

To assess the role of adrenal medulla and renin-angiotensin system in the regulation of sympathetic neurotransmission, the pressor response to PNS was evaluated in pithed SHR and normotensive WKY or SDR with or without adrenal demedullation and/or enalapril pretreatment. Three weeks after adrenal demedullation, MAP and the heart rate of demedullated rats were similar to their corresponding sham-operated groups. The pressor response to PNS was frequency-dependent, and blocked by prazosin. In contrast to the normotensive rats, in SHR, the pressor response to PNS was attenuated in demedullated rats as compared with sham-operated rats. However, the attenuation of PNS-induced pressor responses in demedullated SHR was not observed in enalapril-treated SHR. The adrenal demedullation in SHR did not affect the plasma and aortic catecholamine contents in spite of the decreased catecholamine contents of adrenal gland, nor ACE activity in aortic strips. But, in WKY rats, the aortic catecholamines, especially epinephrine, contents as well as ACE activity were increased by adrenal demedullation. These results suggest that the facilitatory role of adrenal medulla in sympathetic neurotransmission depends upon the activation of renin-angiotensin system, and that the compensatory regulation of renin-angiotensin system takes place in normotensive rats but not in SHR.

• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.235-245
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• 2012

Nondestructive deterioration diagnosis has been carried out for the former ore dressing plant of the Yongwha mine in Yeongyang (Registered Cultural Property No. 255). Deterioration rates about organic contaminant and soil of the upper part (7 to 13 layer) indicate higher than the lower part (1 to 6 layer) of the ore dressing plants. By contrast, deterioration rates such as crack, break out and discoloration of the lower part indicate very higher than the upper part. It is estimated that the plants of the lower part that mechanical and chemical process had been done for flotation were damaged severely by physicochemical weathering with reaction of concrete and chemical solution. As results of ultrasonic velocity measurement, average p-wave velocity of plants were measured 2,462m/s (compressive strength $529kgf/cm^2$). As for the analytical results of surface contaminants and soil compositions using P-XRF, they were identical with major elements (Cu, Zn, Pb, Fe and As) of ore minerals from the Yongwha mine. Therefore, the ore dressing plant should be treated by phytoremediation with conservation because heavy metals could impinged upon plants and natural environment.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea CI
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.12-26
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• 2000

In this paper, we propose a post-processing algorithm to remove false minutiae which decrease the overall performance of an automatic fingerprint identification system by increasing computational complexity, FAR(False Acceptance Rate), and FRR(False Rejection Rate) in matching process. The proposed algorithm extracts candidate minutiae from thinned fingerprint image. Considering characteristics of the thinned fingerprint image, the algorithm selects the minutiae that may be false and located in recoverable area. If the area where the selected minutiae reside is thinned incorrectly due to noise and loss of information, the algorithm recovers the area and the selected minutiae are removed from the candidate minutiae list. By examining the ridge pattern of the block where the candidate minutiae are found, true minutiae are recovered and in contrast, false minutiae are filtered out. In an experiment, Fingerprint images from NIST special database 14 are tested and the result shows that the proposed algorithm reduces the false minutiae extraction rate remarkably and increases the overall performance of an automatic fingerprint identification system.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.217-228
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• 1999

The three methods of analysis (i) REV(representative elemental volume), (ii) non-REV and (iii) joint network analysis are introduced in this paper to analyze the groundwater flow in jointed rock mass and the inflow into underground excavations. The results from those methods are compared one another to reveal their characteristics by varying the number of joints and the diameter of the opening. The pre-processor, the so-called sequential analysis, is introduced to predict the equivalent hydraulic conductivity of a jointed rock mass having a number of intersecting joints. Using the finite element mesh, joint map and sequential analysis, the equivalent hydraulic conductivities are calculated for all 445 elements. The hydraulic inhomogeneity and the determination of the representative properties of jointed rock masses are discussed. In the REV analysis where the entire rock mass is homogenized through the representative properties, the inflow is increased regularly and consistently by increasing the joint density, the opening size and the conductivity contrast value. Though the non-REV analysis showed irregular variation of the inflow due to the local inhomogeneity allowed to individual elements, the inflow approached the REV results as the characteristic length increases. The joint network analysis showed the most sensitive reaction to the joint density, the opening size and the presence of the network crossing the opening. The reliability of the network analysis depends on the geometric data of individual joints. In view of the limited field data on joint geometry and possible uncertainty the REV and non-REV methods are considered more practical and rational than the joint network analysis.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea SP
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.58-66
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• 2012

Currently many devices reproduce electronic images in the various ways. However, the color that is reproduced in any device is different from the original color due to the differences in the gamut between devices. A recent trend in gamut mapping algorithms is the use of spatial information to compute the color transformation of pixels from the input to the output gamut. However, these techniques share the problem of preserving details, and avoiding halos, and hue shift. In this paper, spatial gamut mapping for preserving the details of the input image is proposed. Our approach improves visibility of detail that is not effectively represented with conventional spatial gamut mapping. In proposed method, initially, we gamut map the input image using gamut clipping and obtain a detail layer for both the input and the gamut mapped images. Next, we calculate the difference between the two detail layers, obtaining the details of the out of gamut region. Finally, we add the details of out of gamut region to the gamut mapped image. Since the resulting image has out of gamut colors, we obtain resulting image of proposed method by using a gamut clipping method. Consequently, the printed output image was more consistent with the corresponding monitor image.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.421-434
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• 1991

Ground magnetic surveys were conducted at four areas where the Yangsan fault, the most prominent lineament in the Kyeongsang basin, appears to be passed through. For data processing, IGRF correction, upward continuation and reduction-to-the-pole were performed. The automatic inversion by using a matrix computation method, which takes the depth to bottom layer of the horizontal two layer structure as the model parameter, has been attempted to delineate the subsurface structure. Upward continuation of the surface magnetic map to the same level of the aeromagnetic survey (KIER, 1989) resulted in very similiar patterns to those of aeromagnetic data. Subsurface modeling of eight profile data show that the strike and dip of the Yangsan fault in study areas are $N6^{\circ}-15^{\circ}E$, and near vertical to somewhat eastward, repectively, despite of the local lithological contrast of each study area. It seems that the magnetic effect of faulting in the study area 1, which locates in the most northern part of the survey areas, is disturbed by that of igneous intrusion. At study area 2, the possibility of volcanic or igneous intrusion, which is 200-300 meters wide along the fault plane was presented. At study area 3, unlike other study areas, distinct fracture zone of 500-700 meters in width was revealed along the surface fault line. The andesitic rocks of the study area 4 have very high susceptibilities and the fault line on surface of this area was shifted about 500 meter eastward, as compared with the inferred fault line by the previous study.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.21-31
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• 2007

Estuarine wetland, where freshwater meets saltwater, is a transitional ecosystem that is valuable ecologically for a variety of reasons, such as feeding and breeding sites for birds, fish, and wildlife. However, research on the spatial distribution and temporal dynamics of estuarine wetlands in Korea is rare. As a fundamental basis for wetland conservation, this study quantified the wetlands in three major estuaries, and evaluated the temporal dynamics of the wetlands since the 1910s. In particular, this study classified the wetland types into mud flat, sand, and emergent-plant types, and estimated the change of each wetland type, using topographic maps produced in the 1910s, 1970s, and 2000s. The wetlands in both the Han and Youngsan River estuaries have declined since the 1910s, but the rate of wetland decline was relatively low before the 1970s, compared to that since the 1970s. The impact of human activities, such as the Youngsan Watershed Comprehensive Development Project and the construction of estuary barrages, has disrupted the estuary cycles and destroyed huge amounts of wetland in the Youngsan estuary. By contrast, estuarine wetlands have been preserved in the small Gahwa estuary, and provide a variety of habitats for plants and wildlife. A special management strategy for wetlands should be established as soon as possible.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.219-230
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• 2013

Species distribution modeling is one of the most effective habitat analysis methods for wildlife conservation. This study was for evaluating the suitability of species distribution to distance between forest patches in Seoul city using tits. We analyzed the distribution of the four species of tits: varied tit (Parus varius), marsh tit (P. palustris), great tit (P. major) and coal tit (P. ater), using the landscape indexes and connectivity indexes, and compared the resulting suitability indexes from 100m to 1,000m. As factors affecting to the distribution of tits, we calculated landscape indices by separating them into intra-patch indices (i.e. logged patch area (PA), area-weighted mean patch shape index (PSI), tree rate (TR)) and inter-patch indices (i.e. patch degree (PD), patch betweenness (PB), difference probability of connectivity (DPC)), to analyze the internal properties of the patches and their connectivity by tits occurrence data using logistic regression modeling. The models were evaluated by AICc (Akaike Information Criteria with a correction for finite sample sizes) and AUC (Area Under Curve of ROC). The results of AICc and AUC showed DPC, PA, PSI, and TR were important factors of the habitat models for great tit and marsh tit at the level of distance 500~800m. In contrast, habitat models for coal tit and varied tit, which are known as forest interior species, reflected PA, PSI, and TR as intra-patch indices rather than connectivity. These mean that coal tit and varied tit are more likely to find a large circular forest patch than a small and long-shaped forest patch, which are higher rate of forest. Therefore, different strategies are required in order to enhance the habitats of the forest birds, tits, in a region that has fragmented forest patches such as Seoul city. It is important to manage forest interior areas for coal tit and varied tit, which are known as forest interior species and to manage not only forest interior areas but also connectivity of the forest patches in the threshold distance for great tit and marsh tit as adapted species to the urban ecosystem for sustainable ecosystem management.