• Korean Journal of Mineralogy and Petrology
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.409-421
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• 2022

Achieving a highly resolved spatial distribution of Mn-bearing minerals and elements in the natural ferromanganese nodules can provide detailed knowledge of the temporal variations of geochemical conditions affecting the formation processes of nodules. While a recent study utilizing Raman spectroscopy has reported the changes in the manganate mineral phases with growth for spherical nodules from the Arctic Sea, the distributions of minerals and elements in the nodules from the shallow Arctic Sea with non-spherical forms have not yet fully elucidated. Here, we reported the micro-laser Raman spectra with varying data acquisition points along three different profiles from the center to the outermost rim of the non-spherical ferromanganese nodules collected from the East Siberian Sea (~73 m). The elemental distributions in the nodule (such as Mn, Fe, etc.) were also investigated by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) analysis to observe the internal structure and mineralogical details. Based on the microscopic observation, the internal structures of a non-spherical nodule can be divided into three different regions, which are sediment-rich core, iron-rich substrate, and Mn-Fe layers. The Raman results show that the Mn-bearing mineral phases vary with the data acquisition points in the Mn-Fe layer, suggesting the changes in the geochemical conditions during nodule formation. In addition, we also observe that the mineral composition and structural characteristics depend on the profile direction from the core to the rim. Particularly, the Raman spectra obtained along one profile show the lack of Fe-(oxy)hydroxides and the noticeably high crystallinity of Mn-bearing minerals such as birnessite and todorokite. On the other hand, the spectra obtained along the other two profiles present the presence of significant amount of amorphous or poorly-ordered Fe-bearing minerals and the low crystallinity of Mn-bearing minerals. These results suggest that the diagenetic conditions varied with the different growth directions. We also observed the presence of halite in several layers in the nodule, which can be evidence of the alteration of seawater after nodule formation. The current results can provide the opportunity to obtain detailed knowledge of the formation process and geochemical environments recorded in the natural non-spherical ferromanganese nodule.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.189-197
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• 2022

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by recurring symptoms, airflow obstruction, and bronchial hyper-responsiveness. The onset of asthma for most patients begins early in life, and current asthma treatment with anti-inflammatory agents can have adverse effects, eventually leading to impaired quality of life. In the pathogenesis of asthma, macrophages and basophils play a vital role during progression. Macrophages not only induce inflammation by secreting inflammatory cytokines but also promote DNA damage and mucus production through nitric oxide (NO) production. Basophils enhance eosinophil recruitment and aggravate asthma through the FcεRIα receptor with high affinity for histamine and IgE. Therefore, in this study, we investigated whether the activation of macrophages and basophils is suppressed by the individual extracts of 28 natural products. RAW 264.7 cells (mouse macrophages) were treated with the natural products in LPS, and 4 natural product extracts resulted in decreased NO production. In β-hexosaminidase assay using RBL-2H3 cells (rat basophils), 19 natural product extracts decreased β-hexosaminidase production. In NO production and β-hexosaminidase assay using macrophages and basophils, 3 natural product extracts (Plantago asiatica, Centella asiatica, and Perilla frutescens var. japonica) significantly inhibited NO production and β-hexosaminidase release. Overall, we examined the inhibitory effects of 28 natural product extracts on macrophage and basophil activity, and the findings demonstrated the potential of natural product extracts for treating asthma and macrophage- and basophil-related diseases.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.60 no.3
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• pp.347-355
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• 2022

The safety valve (PSV) is a safety device that automatically releases a spring when the pressure generated by various causes reaches the set pressure, and is restored to a normal state when the pressure falls below a certain level. Periodic inspection and monitoring of safety valves are essential so that they can operate normally in abnormal conditions such as pressure rise. However, as the current safety inspection is performed only at a set period, it is difficult to ensure the safety of normal operation. Therefore, evaluation items were developed by finding failure modes and causative factors of safety valves required for safety management. In addition, it is intended to provide decision-making information for securing safety by deriving the priority of items. To this end, a Delphi survey was conducted three times to derive evaluation factors that were judged to be important in relation to the Failure Mode Cause Factor (FMCFs) of the safety valve (PSV) targeting 15 experts. As a result, 6 failure modes of the safety valve and 22 evaluation factors of its sub-factors were selected. In order to analyze the priorities of the evaluation factors selected in this way, the hierarchical structure was schematized, and the hierarchical decision-making method (AHP) was applied to the priority calculation. As a result of the analysis, the failure mode priorities of FMCFs were 'Leakage' (0.226), 'Fail to open' (0.201), 'Fail to relieve req'd capacity' (0.152), 'Open above set pressure' (0.149), 'Spuriously' 'open' (0.146) and 'Stuck open' (0.127) were confirmed in the order. The lower priority of FMCFs is 'PSV component rupture' (0.109), 'Fail to PSV size calculation' (0.068), 'PSV Spring aging' (0.065), 'Erratic opening' (0.059), 'Damage caused by improper installation and handling' (0.058), 'Fail to spring' (0.053), etc. were checked in the order. It is expected that through efficient management of FMCFs that have been prioritized, it will be possible to identify vulnerabilities of safety valves and contribute to improving safety.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.303-317
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• 2022

Climate change caused by increased greenhouse gas emissions can alter the natural ecosystem, including the pollination ecosystem and agricultural ecology, which are ecological interactions between potted insects and plants. Many studies have reported that populations of wild bees, including bees and wasps (BW), which are the key pollinators, have gradually declined due to climate change, leading to adverse impacts on overall biodiversity, ultimately with agribusinesses and the life cycle of flowering plants. Therefore, we could infer that the rising temperature in Korean Peninsula (South Korea) due to global warming has led to climate change and influenced the wild bee's ecosystem. In this study, we surveyed the distributional pattern of BW (Superfamily: Apoidea, Vespoidea, and Chrysidoidea) at 51 sites from 2017 (37 sites) to 2018 (14 sites) to examine the effects of climatic factors on the nationwide distribution of BW in South Korea. Previous literature has confirmed that their distribution according to forest climate zones is significantly correlated with mean and accumulative temperatures. Based on the result, we predicted the effects of future climate changes on the BW distribution that appeared throughout South Korea and the species that appeared in specific climate zones using Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs). The distributions of wild BW predicted by the SSP scenarios 2-4.5 and 5-8.5 according to the BIOMOD species distribution model revealed that common and endemic species will shift northward from the current habitat distribution by 2050 and 2100, respectively. Our study implies that climate change and its detrimental effect on the ecosystem is ongoing as the BW distribution in South Korea can change, causing the change in the ecosystem in the Korean Peninsula. Therefore, immediate efforts to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions are warranted. We hope the findings of this study can inspire further research on the effects of climate change on pollination services and serve as the reference for making agricultural policy and BW conservation strategy

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.41-59
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• 2022

In accordance with the enactment of 'the Paris Agreement' in 2015 and 'the Framework Act on Carbon Neutrality and Green Growth for Response to the Climate Crisis' in 2021, each local government has set appropriate reduction target of greenhouse gas to achieve the nationally determined contribution (NDC, the reduction target of 40% compared to 2018) of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2030. In this study, the current distribution of GHG emissions was analyzed in a time series centered on the Chungbuk region for the period from 1990 to 2018, with the aim of reducing GHG emissions in Chungbuk by 2030 based on the 2030 NDC and scenario. In addition, the prospected reduction by 2030 was estimated considering the projected emissions according to Busines As Usual in order to achieve the target reduction of GHG emissions. Our results showed that GHG emissions in Chungbuk and Korea have been increasing since 1990 owing to population and economic growth. GHG emissions in 2018 in Chungbuk were very low (3.9 %) relative to the national value. Moreover, emissions from fuel combustion, such as cement and lime production, manufacturing and construction industries, and transportation industries, were the main sources. Furthermore, the 2030 target of GHG emission reduction in Chungbuk was set at 40.2% relative to the 2018 value, in accordance with the 2030 NDC and 2050 carbon-zero national scenario. Therefore, when projected emissions were considered, the prospected reduction to achieve the target reduction of GHG emissions was estimated to be 46.8% relative to 2018. The above results highlight the importance of meeting the prospected reduction of GHG emissions through reduction means in each sector to achieve the national and local GHG reduction target. In addition, to achieve the 2030 NDC and 2050 carbon zero, the country and each local government, including Chungbuk, need to estimate projected emissions by year, determine reduction targets and prospect reductions every year, and prepare specific means to reduce GHG emissions.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.150-164
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• 2022

The objective of this study is to analyze the biodiversity changes and characteristics of the benthic macroinvertebrate community in the Nakdong River with eight weirs, which was constructed as one of the Four Major River Restoration Projects from May to October 2020. The study also includes the analysis of changes in the major groups of benthic macroinvertebrates for about ten years, from 2010 to 2020. The surveys collected 97 species of benthic macroinvertebrates belonging to 83 genera, 52 families, 18 orders, five classes, three phyla, and 128.1 individuals/m². Chironomidae sp. and Tubificidae spp., which are pollutant indicators, dominated throughout the sections. The community analysis result shows the average dominant index and the diversity index of 0.62±0.20 and 1.87±0.63, respectively, and indicated the most stability of the freshwater ecosystem in the upper stream of the Nakdong River. The survey showed dominance by Chironomidae sp. at the center of the Nakdong River weir and the most unstable community in Chilgok and Gangjeong Goryeong weirs. The results of the community stability analysis showed a high distribution of the characteristic group I with high resilience and resistance and small distribution of characteristic group III with low resistance and resilience, indicating a very unstable condition of communities in the Nakdong River weir section. Predators were relatively abundant among the functional feeding groups (FFGs), whereas shredders, gathering-collectors, and filtering-collectors were relatively lower. Among the habitat orientation groups (HOGs), burrowers and climbers were dominant, indicating a wide distribution of groups in ecosystems with low dissolved oxygen. An endangered species level II of Macromia daimoji was found in Sangju and Nakdan weirs. The analysis results for 10 years from 2010 showed that the number of species and populations increased immediately after the dam construction but plummeted in 2016 and are now stabilizing. Chironomidae spp. has been dominant in all sections over the past 10 years, and they are currently maintained at a rate of about 50%. The EPT groups have decreased significantly since 2011, and the Plecoptera and Trichoptera of the group have not yet been restored. The population of Tubificidae spp. showed an increase after construction was completed in 2012 and drastically increased in 2015 and 2020. The species of Cristaria plicata, designated as endangered species level I, has not been observed since 2011 in Hapcheon Changnyeong weir. Moreover, Macromia daimoji was rarely observed in seven weirs until 2015, and it has been confirmed that the current distribution habitat has decreased rapidly.

• Journal of Korea Entertainment Industry Association
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• v.14 no.7
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• pp.429-437
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• 2020

This study is aimed at exploring the current state, necessity and activation of curriculum related to image making program in domestic colleges. To achieve this, an empirical survey was carried out to college students to provide basic data for the development of image making education program in the college curriculum as a measure to guide job interviews with them and improve interpersonal skills of employees-to-be. To achieve this, a survey was carried out to 400 college students in Gwangju and Jeonnam areas. The analysis was conducted to verify the collected data using SPSS v. 21.0 through the process of data coding and data cleaning. The results are as follows. First, the necessity of image making program curriculum showed that they needed the image making program in the college curriculum, the image making program curriculum to get a job and manage an image of employees-to-be after graduation, and other people's help to figure out the images objectively. Second, the educational importance of image making program showed that attitude (behavior) was the highest, followed by manners & greeting, look, speech, relationship, clothes, hairstyle, and makeup. In terms of the important educational factors of image making program, look was the highest, followed by makeup, hairstyle, attitude (behavior), relationship, speech, clothes, and manners & greeting, which look was the most important. Third, the educational influence of image making program showed that the influence on employment was the highest, followed by the influence on relationship, and the influence on life. Fourth, the educational activation of image making program showed that the appropriate educational time for image making program they want was from the second year. Education hours they want were once a week for one semester. And the curriculum they want was liberal arts or an optional course of liberal arts. In terms of image making program-related curriculum contents, manner & greeting was the highest, followed by makeup & coordination, job fair, education to acquire a skill qualification, and training for domestic companies, which their biggest wish was manner & greeting. And image making program leaders they want were major professors. In terms of image making program-related education, speech or voice was the highest, followed by education to analyze communication, education to analyze and practice matching hairstyles and makeup, Education on corporate interviews, and education on walking or posture correction, which their biggest wish was speech or voice and education to analyze communication.

• Journal of Korea Entertainment Industry Association
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• v.14 no.7
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• pp.599-608
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• 2020

This study aims to investigate the performance and satisfaction of occupational therapists at the Dementia Relief Center for health care of the elderly in local communities, and to provide basic data necessary for role establishment by checking occupational therapists' tasks according to the priority. The subjects of this study were occupational therapists in dementia care centers in the Honam area and Gwangju Metropolitan City, who were surveyed via mail and e-mail. The survey had a total of 54 items covering the general characteristics of the therapists and current state of the centers (n=8), performance and satisfaction with the service areas and task content of the centers (n=45), and tasks that were considered important (one short-answer question). It was found that occupational therapists at the Dementia Relief Center were mainly carrying out the "Dementia Prevention Management Projects", which provided the programs for the patients, and they showed the highest satisfaction. Although the 'MMSE-DS' is occupational therapists' own area with high performance and satisfaction, it was not assigned to the occupational therapists at the Dementia Relief Center, indicating that the role was insufficient. The tasks related "administrative works and strengthening community capacities" showed low performance and satisfaction, but they are essential for the operation of the Dementia Relief Center and the management of the patients, so the plans to increase the occupational therapists' performance should be established. The categories of projects that occupational therapists consider important were also consistent with those they had to perform. It means the occupational therapists at the Dementia Relief Center recognized their unique roles. In this context, to establish the role of occupational therapist at the Dementia Relief Center, it is necessary to amend the operating guidelines based on the performance, satisfaction, and priorities of the projects, and to develop the curriculums and programs that can improve the tasks with insufficient performance and low satisfaction.

• Journal of the Korean Burn Society
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.21-29
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• 2021

Purpose: Frostbite is a hazard to people exposed to cold environments. With the progression of modern industrial development and change of leisure behavior encountering cold environments, frequent accidental exposure to frostbite injury during work and human behavior is increasing, and the predisposing factors of frostbite were greatly changed than before. The purpose of this study was to make epidemiological analysis, and to review the treatment outcomes of frostbite. Methods: From March 2010 to February 2021, this study has included 27 patients with second- to third-degree frostbite injuries in Advanced Burn Reconstruction Center, Bundang Jesaeng Hosptial. A retrospective study was made about the distribution of age, gender, predisposing factors, prevalent area, type of managements, and the length of treatment period. Results: In our institution, acute management of frostbite patients has included rewarming, anticoagulation therapy (acetylsalicylic acid), and agents to improve vascular perfusion (lipo-prostaglandin E1 [Eglandin^®]). The 25 frostbite patients with second-degree frostbite (92.6%) were successfully managed by the conservative treatment alone with a mean of 20.3 days healing time. Two patients with third-degree frostbite (7.4%) also showed good outcomes after surgical reconstruction with a mean of 59 days healing time. In our clinical experiences of third-degree frostbite, definitive surgical reconstruction should be recommended to wait for more than 4~6 weeks for identification of clear demarcation of necrotic tissue caused by frostbite. In this study, 43 frostbite injuries site in 27 frostbite patients occurred. Among them, 15 patients (55.6%) had multiple-site frostbite injury. The most common predisposing cause of frostbite was refrigerant gas accidents (44.4%), followed by outdoor activity in cold environments (40.8%), misapplying ice pack for treatment purposes (7.4%), barefoot walking on the cold ground (3.7%), and loss of consciousness in cold grounds (3.7%). The most prevalent sites of frostbite injuries revealed as the hand (58.1%), followed by the foot (32.6%), face (7.0%), and abdomen (2.3%). And in the winter season from the November to March, the incidence rate of frostbite injuries was high at 74.1%. Conclusion: This study included 27 frostbite patients with 43 frostbite sites since last decade in a single institution at the community hospital. The frostbite patients with second-degree frostbite (92.6%) were successfully healed by the conservative treatment alone with a mean of 20.3 days healing time. The most common predisposing cause of frostbite was refrigerant gas accidents (44.4%), followed by outdoor activity in cold environments, etc. The most prevalent site of frostbite injuries was the hand (58.1%). And the most prevalent seasonal incidence of frostbite was from November to March (74.1%).

• KIPS Transactions on Computer and Communication Systems
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• v.11 no.9
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• pp.317-322
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• 2022

The rapid development of information technology is also bringing about many changes in the medical environment. In particular, it is leading the rapid change of medical image information systems using big data and artificial intelligence (AI). The prescription delivery system (OCS), which consists of an electronic medical record (EMR) and a medical image storage and transmission system (PACS), has rapidly changed the medical environment from analog to digital. When combined with multiple solutions, PACS represents a new direction for advancement in security, interoperability, efficiency and automation. Among them, the combination with artificial intelligence (AI) using big data that can improve the quality of images is actively progressing. In particular, AI PACS, a system that can assist in reading medical images using deep learning technology, was developed in cooperation with universities and industries and is being used in hospitals. As such, in line with the rapid changes in the medical image information system in the medical environment, structural changes in the medical market and changes in medical policies to cope with them are also necessary. On the other hand, medical image information is based on a digital medical image transmission device (DICOM) format method, and is divided into a tomographic volume image, a volume image, and a cross-sectional image, a two-dimensional image, according to a generation method. In addition, recently, many medical institutions are rushing to introduce the next-generation integrated medical information system by promoting smart hospital services. The next-generation integrated medical information system is built as a solution that integrates EMR, electronic consent, big data, AI, precision medicine, and interworking with external institutions. It aims to realize research. Korea's medical image information system is at a world-class level thanks to advanced IT technology and government policies. In particular, the PACS solution is the only field exporting medical information technology to the world. In this study, along with the analysis of the medical image information system using big data, the current trend was grasped based on the historical background of the introduction of the medical image information system in Korea, and the future development direction was predicted. In the future, based on DICOM big data accumulated over 20 years, we plan to conduct research that can increase the image read rate by using AI and deep learning algorithms.