• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
• /
• v.27 no.3
• /
• pp.171-179
• /
• 2020

Purpose: In Korea, seasonal influenza is an important respiratory illness afflicting children every year. We aimed to investigate the childhood epidemiology in Jeju during the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 seasons. Methods: Children aged <13 years, who were tested for influenza at the Jeju National University Hospital during the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 influenza seasons, were included. Demographics and the influenza test results were retrospectively reviewed from their medical records. Results: This study included 5,219 cases of influenza-like illness (ILI) (2017-2018: n=2,279; 2018-2019: n=2,940). The mean age of the eligible children was 2.85±2.79 years, and the most common age among ILI patients in each season was 1 year group. There were 902 (17.3%, 902/5,219) confirmed influenza cases during the 2 seasons. The rate of influenza confirmed by rapid influenza diagnostic test or polymerase chain reaction among ILI patients in the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 seasons was 10.4% (236/2,279) and 10.3% (303/2,940) for influenza A, and 9.1% (208/2,279) and 5.3% (155/2,940) for influenza B, respectively. The mean age of influenza-confirmed cases was 4.09 years and 5.05 years in the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 seasons, respectively (P<0.05). Weekly distribution of influenza was similar to that of ILI in the clinical sentinel surveillance system in both seasons. Conclusion: The difference in the influenza epidemic trend and age-group distribution between the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 seasons was distinct in Jeju. Steady epidemiological studies on influenza in Jeju are needed for comparison with other regions of Korea.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
• /
• v.38 no.5_1
• /
• pp.523-533
• /
• 2022

This paper presents a two-stage spatio-spectral fusion method (2SSFM) based on area-to-point regression kriging (ATPRK) to enhance spatial and spectral resolutions using multi-sensor satellite images with complementary spatial and spectral resolutions. 2SSFM combines ATPRK and random forest regression to predict spectral bands at high spatial resolution from multi-sensor satellite images. In the first stage, ATPRK-based spatial down scaling is performed to reduce the differences in spatial resolution between multi-sensor satellite images. In the second stage, regression modeling using random forest is then applied to quantify the relationship of spectral bands between multi-sensor satellite images. The prediction performance of 2SSFM was evaluated through a case study of the generation of red-edge and short-wave infrared bands. The red-edge and short-wave infrared bands of PlanetScope images were predicted from Sentinel-2 images using 2SSFM. From the case study, 2SSFM could generate red-edge and short-wave infrared bands with improved spatial resolution and similar spectral patterns to the actual spectral bands, which confirms the feasibility of 2SSFM for the generation of spectral bands not provided in high spatial resolution satellite images. Thus, 2SSFM can be applied to generate various spectral indices using the predicted spectral bands that are actually unavailable but effective for environmental monitoring.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
• /
• v.37 no.1
• /
• pp.7-14
• /
• 2016

Radiopharmaceutical agents for positron emission tomography (PET), such as $^{18}F$-FDG and $^{68}Ga$, have been used not only for whole-body PET imaging but also for intraoperative radionuclide-guided surgery due to their quantitative and sensitive imaging characteristics. Current intraoperative probes detect gamma or beta particles, but not both of them. Gamma probes have low sensitivities since a collimator has to be used to reduce backgrounds. Positron probes have a high tumor-to-background ratio, but they have a 1-2 mm depth limitation from the body surface. Most of current intraoperative probes produce only audible sounds proportional to count rates without providing tumor images. This research aims to detect both positrons and annihilation photons from $^{18}F$ using plastic scintillators and a GAGG scintillation crystal attached to silicon photomultiplier (SiPM). The depth-of-interaction (DOI) along the plastic scintillator can be used to obtain the 2-D images of tumors near the body surface. The front and rear part of the intraoperative probe consists of $4{\times}1$ plastic scintillators ($2.9{\times}2.0{\times}12.0mm^3$) for positron detection and a Ce:GAGG scintillation crystal ($12.0{\times}12.0{\times}9.0mm^3$) for annihilation photon detection, respectively. The DOI resolution of $4.4{\pm}1.6mm$ along the plastic scintillator was obtained by using the 3M enhanced specular reflector (ESR) with rectangular holes between the plastic scintillators, which showed the feasibility of a 2-D image pixel size of $2.9{\times}4.4mm^2$ (X-direction ${\times}$ Y-direction).

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
• /
• v.47 no.2
• /
• pp.100-116
• /
• 2019

Urban green spaces, as a means to mitigate social problems and environmental risks, are getting more attention in evaluating urban environment. The inequity of green space distribution is becoming a major issue in urban planning and management. This study investigated the characteristics of green space in 3 districts (Jung-gu, Dongdaemun-gu, Seongdong-gu), that are composed of 46 administrative divisions in central Seoul, to analyze the environmental equity of urban green spaces. The correlations between the amount of green space, including the coverage of street trees, and the socioeconomic status of each administrative division were analyzed. To deduce the effects of plant coverage on the urban temperature regime, the relationship between the normalized difference of vegetation index (NDVI) and land surface temperature (LST) was analyzed. The research revealed that the mean NDVI of an administrative division was negatively correlated with the percentage of basic living recipients and disabled people. The LST of a division with low NDVI was higher due to the lack of green coverage. Such environmental inequities were closely related to residential building type, which was strongly affected by the economic status of residents. The LST of an apartment area was $2.0^{\circ}C$ lower than that of single-family houses and multi-housing areas. This is expected as the average NDVI of the apartment area was more than twice as high as the other environments considered in this study. The inequity can be exacerbated without urban planning which is deliberately designed to reduce it.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
• /
• v.41 no.1
• /
• pp.53-59
• /
• 2005

Influenza is an important public health problem which occurs almost every winter in temperate climates and is often associated with increased rates of hospitalization and death. In 1999, our influenza surveillance was initiated with 4 voluntary sentinel physicians and the Public Health Center. During the 2003-2004 influenza season, 124 influenza viruses were isolated from 401 clinical specimens, which were collected from patients with Influenza-like illness(ILI) in Seoul. The case definition of ILI is a case with fever more than $38^{\circ}C$ and systemic symptoms; cough, or sore throat. ILI was the highest at the 20-49 age $group(23\%)$ and the rate of virus isolation was the highest at the 7-19 age $group(50\%)$. Among 124 influenza viruses, isolates 83 were identified as A/H3N2 type and others were subtyped as influenza B viruses in 2003-2004 season. Influenza viruses were collected $39.1\%$ at Nowon-Gu, $13.5\%$ Gangnam-Gu and Seocho-Gu etc. and the isolate rate of virus had the area difference; Yongsan-Gu $66.7\%$, Gangnam-gu $50.0\%$, Nowon-Gu $39.9\%$, Kangbuk-Gu $36.8\%$, Seocho-Gu $27.8\%$, Dongjak-Gu $21.2\%$. Out of 401 individuals, 160 was vaccinated $(40\%)$ and the vaccination rate was the highest at the 20-49 age $group(32\%)$. These findings may contribute to the recommondation of the influenza vaccine formulation and the development of influenza control measure.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• /
• v.28 no.3
• /
• pp.283-291
• /
• 2018

Objectives: To monitor the radon concentration level in plants that handle phosphorus rock and produce gypsum board and cement, and evaluate the effective dose considering the effect of radon exposure on the human body. Methods: Airborne radon concentrations were measured using alpha-track radon detectors (${\alpha}$-track, Rn-tech Co., Korea) and continuous monitors (Radon Sentinel 1030, Sun Nuclear Co., USA). Radon concentrations in the air were converted to radon doses using the following equation to evaluate the human effects due to radon. H (mSv/yr) = Radon gas concentration x Equilibrium factor x Occupancy factor x Dose conversion factor. The International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) used $8nSv/(Bq{\cdot}hr/m^3)$ as the dose conversion factor in 2010, but raised it by a factor of four to $33nSv/(Bq{\cdot}hr/m^3)$ in 2017. Results: Radon concentrations and effective doses in fertilizer manufacturing process averaged $14.3(2.7)Bq/m^3$ ($2.0-551.3Bq/m^3$), 0.11-0.54 m㏜/yr depending on the advisory authority and recommendation year, respectively. Radon concentrations in the gypsum-board manufacturing process averaged $14.9Bq/m^3$ at material storage, $11.4Bq/m^3$ at burnability, $8.1Bq/m^3$ at mixing, $10.0Bq/m^3$ at forming, $8.9Bq/m^3$ at drying, $14.7Bq/m^3$ at cutting, and $10.5Bq/m^3$ at shipment. It was low because it did not use phosphate gypsum. Radon concentrations and effective doses in the cement manufacturing process were $23.2Bq/m^3$ in the stowage area, $20.2Bq/m^3$ in the hopper, $16.8Bq/m^3$ in the feeder and $11.9Bq/m^3$ in the cement mill, marking 0.12-0.63 m㏜/yr, respectively. Conclusions: Workers handling phosphorous gypsum directly or indirectly can be assessed as exposed to an annual average radon dose of 0.16 to 2.04 mSv or 0.010 to 0.102 WLM (Working Level Month).

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
• /
• v.42 no.2
• /
• pp.172-182
• /
• 2009

This study was to analyze characteristics based on tolerance and trophic guilds and to determine the level of total mercury in tissues of sentinel species, Zacco platypus at 3 sampling sites of the Mangyeong River in 2007. Total sampled fishes were 26 species and the most dominant species was Zacco temminckii (47%). Fish community analysis was resulted that eveness index and diversity index showed low value at S1. However, diversity index and richness index at other sites showed high. According to various guilds analysis, relative abundance of sensitive species was 70% and 42% at S1 and S2, respectively. While sensitive species were decreased (1%) and tolerant species were increased (60%) at S3. It was mainly carried to the impacts of wastewater treatment plants near the location. Relative abundance of insectivore species was decreased from up (S1) to midstream area (S3). In addition, chemical water quality, based on analyses of BOD, COD, TP, TN, EC, MPN and SS concentration showed similar trends. Qualitative Habitat Evaluation Index (QHEI) was averaged 164, judged as "good" habitat condition. Average concentrations of total [Hg] was 146.9 ${\mu}g$ $kg^{-1}$. In the muscles of total [Hg] was the highest, and then followed by kidney, vertebrae, liver, and gills. According to FDA standards (500 ${\mu}g$ $kg^{-1}$) of Korea, total [Hg] has not affected to the individual fish health.

• Quality Improvement in Health Care
• /
• v.27 no.2
• /
• pp.57-72
• /
• 2021

Purpose: At present, there are a variety of serious patient safety incidents related to problems in health information technology (HIT), specifically involving electronic medical records (EMRs). This emphasizes the need for an enhanced electronic medical record system (EMRS). As such, this study analyzed both the nature of and potential to prevent incidents associated with HIT/EMRS based on data from the Korea Patient Safety Reporting and Learning System (KOPS). Methods: This study analyzed patient safety incidents submitted to KOPS between August 2016 and December 2019. HIT keywords were used to extract HIT/EMRS incidents. Each case was reviewed to confirm whether the contributing factors were related to HIT/EMRS (HIT/EMRS-related incidents) and if the incident could have been prevented (HIT/EMRS-preventable incidents). The selected reports were summarized for general clarity (e.g., incident type, and degree of harm). Results: Of the 25,515 obtained reports, 2,664 incidents (10.4%) were HIT-related, while 2,525 (9.9%) were EMRS-related. HIT/EMRS-related incidents were the third largest type of incident followed by 'fall' and 'medication incidents.' More than 80% of HIT/EMRS-related incidents were medication-related, accounting for approximately one-third of the total number of medication incidents. Approximately 10% of HIT/EMRS-related incidents resulted in patient harm, with more than 94% of these deemed as preventable; further, sentinel events were wholly preventable. Conclusion: This study provides basic data for improving EMR use/safety standards based on real-world patient safety incidents. Such improvements entail the establishment of long-term plans, research, and incident analysis, thus ensuring a safe healthcare environment for patients and healthcare providers.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
• /
• v.22 no.2
• /
• pp.116-122
• /
• 2013

We investigated characteristics and self-incompatibility genotypes of 11 crabapple cultivars to introduce a new pollinizer of 'Fuji' apple tree in Korea. Flowering dates of eleven crabapples were two to seven days earlier than that of 'Fuji'. The rate of pollen germination in vitro was ranged from 85.6% to 98.0% except 'Virginia'. Controlled pollination treatment with each crabapples to 'Fuji' increased fruit set rate about 20.4% to 34.4%, the number of seed per fruit about 13.8% to 42.3% and fruit weight about 7.4% to 16.7% compared to open pollination. Tested crabapples were resistant to peach fruit moth, brown leaf spot and sooty blotch in general. A PCR amplification method using S-RNase primers was carry out in eleven crabapples. S-alleles, $S_3$, $S_5$, $S_9$, $S_{10}$, $S_{20}$, $S_{26} from six crabapples were determinated. Through sequencing analysis, $S_5$ ('Manchurian', 'Virginia') and $S_9$ ('Yantaishagou') showed 100% homologous to previous result. Based on our results, it was recommended that 'Manchurian', 'Hopa A', 'Hanyaehanakaidou', 'Spectabilis' could be promising pollinzers for 'Fuji' apple cultivar.

• Journal of The Geomorphological Association of Korea
• /
• v.27 no.1
• /
• pp.1-19
• /
• 2020

A river bed which is submerged in water at high flow and becomes part of the river at low flow, serves as a bridge between the river and the land. The channel bar creates a unique ecosystem with vegetation adapted to the particular environment and the water pool forms a wetland that plays a very important role in the environment. To evaluate anthropogenic impacts on the river bed in the Middle Yeongsangang River, the fluvial landforms in the stream channel were analyzed using multi-temporal remotely-sensed images. In the aerial photograph of 2005 taken before the construction of the large weirs, oxbow lakes, mid-channel bars, point bars, and natural wetlands between the artificial levees were identified. Multiple bars divided the flow of stream water to cause the braided pattern in a particular section. After the construction of the Seungchon weir, aerial photographs of 2013 and 2015 revealed that most of the fluvial landforms disappeared due to the dredging of its riverbed and water level control(maintenance at 7.5El.m). Sentinel-2 images were analyzed to identify differences between before and after the opening of weir gate. Change detection was performed with the near infrared and shortwave infrared spectral bands to effectively distinguish water surfaces from land. As a result, water surface area of the main stream of the Yeongsangang River decreased by 40% from 1.144km² to 0.692km². A large mid-channel bar that has been deposited upstream of the weir was exposed during low water levels, which shows the obvious influence of weir on the river bed. Newly formed unvegetated point bars that were deposited on the inside of a meander bend were identified from the remotely sensed images. As the maintenance period of the weir gate opening was extended, various habitats were created by creating pools and riffles around the channel bars. Considering the ecological and hydrological functions of the river bed, it is expected that the increase in bar areas through weir gate opening will reduce the artificial interference effect of the weir.