• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.115-122
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• 2021

Aspilia africana (Pers) C.D.Adams, a plant used for centuries in many African countries to treat diseases such as osteoporosis, malaria, tuberculosis, and diabetes, is of great pharmaceutical interest, yet there is limited scientific literature on its germination and growth. This research paper describes the effects of different commercial soils on the germination, growth, and chlorophyll content of A. africana. The germination parameters assessed included final germination percentage (FGP), mean germination time (MGT), and germination index (GI). Shoot length, leaf number, and fresh and dry weights were some of the parameters used to assess A. africana growth. The FGP was low and did not vary significantly; the MGT was 7 ~ 10 days; and the GI was significantly higher in PPS soil at 4.61 ± 0.332 days. Aspilia africana plants in HS:PPS soil showed the best overall growth, producing the highest mean leaf number (18.00 ± 1.129), longest mean shoot length (202.43 ± 13.451 mm), and highest mean fresh and dry weights (7.08 ± 1.061 g and 0.629 ± 0.112 g, respectively). The highest chlorophyll content in leaves of A. africana under HS:PPS conditions suggested a higher photosynthetic potential of plants in this soil. The best growth performance of A. africana in the HS:PPS soil could be attributed to a higher amount of certain mineral nutrients such as nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus in the HS:PPS soil compared to the other soil categories. It is unclear why the FGP of A. africana was low and we recommend an exclusive study to investigate this further.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.137-142
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• 2008

This study was conducted to evaluate the humification grade of compost, based on physico-chemical property and phyto-toxicity during the composting with three kinds of livestock manures and saw dust. The ratios of the compost, which was mixed with pig manure(P) and sawdust(S) were 4 : 6(PS-1), 5 : 5(PS-2) and 6 : 4(PS-3); poultry manure(PO) and sawdust(S) were 4 : 6(POS-1), 5 : 5(POS-2) and 6 : 4(POS-3); cow manure(C) and sawdust(S) were 4 : 6(CS-1), 5 : 5(CS-2) and 6 : 4(CS-3) by volume to volume, and they were decomposed for 60 days. In the result, the temperature in all treatments during composting rapidly increased above $65.4^{\circ}C$, and then gradually decreased to around $40^{\circ}C$. At 60 day, after the treatment, pH 5.9 ~ 8.0 at the incipient stage increased to 7.6 ~ 8.5, and the C/N ratio was 13.8 ~ 21.1 at the final composting stage. Germination Index(G.I.) showed in the range of 75.1 ~ 94.6 in all treatments at day 60. Therefore, it is likely recommended to take the best humification grade when the temperature maintains above $65^{\circ}C$ longer than a day at minimum, in the range of pH 6.5 ~ 8.5 for the final compost, under 20 of C/N ratio, and G.I. above 80. The level of G.I. above 80 should be the mature compost which could be used in the field without gas demage to crops.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2005.08a
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• pp.100-113
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• 2005

Leaf color and plant vigor are key indicators of crop health. These visual plant attributes are frequently used by greenhouse managers, producers, and consultants to make water, nutrient, and disease management decisions. Remote sensing techniques can quickly quantify soil and plant attributes, but it requires humans to translate such data into meaningful information. Over time, scientists have used reflectance data from individual wavebands to develop a series of indices that attempt to quantify things like soil organic matter content, leaf chlorophyll concentration, leaf area index, vegetative cover, amount of living biomass, and grain yield. The recent introduction of active sensors that function independent of natural light has greatly expanded the capabilities of scientists and managers to obtain useful information. Characteristics and limitations of active sensors need to be understood to optimize their use for making improved management decisions. Pot experiments involving sand culture were conducted in 2003 and 2004 in a green house to evaluate corn and red pepper biomass. The rNDVI, gNDVI and aNDVI by ground-based remote sensors were used for evaluation of corn and red pepper biomass. The result obtained from the case study was shown that ground remote sensing as a non-destructive real-time assessment of plant nitrogen status was thought to be a useful tool for in season crop nitrogen management providing both spatial and temporal information.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.27 no.10
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• pp.1025-1029
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• 2005

A simple analysis of atmospheric sulfur dioxide($SO_2$) pollution in industrial region was investigated using badge type passive samplers. It were set up in 76 locations and the $SO_2$ distribution evaluated along the boundary of land use type. It changed considerably both monthly and seasonally. Soil samples were also collected in 120 locations to investigate influence of sulfur dioxide pollution on soil and heavy metal distribution in the study area, where the sulfur dioxide pollutants from industrial area could affect the soil environment of near residential and green areas. The relationship between the $SO_2$ concentrations in the atmosphere and heavy metal(Cu, Pb) concentrations in the soil were analyzed, by using the correlation coefficient values and the results were 0.17 and 0.08 in industrial area. And this study indicated that the atmospheric pollution in industrial region affect the level of the soil pollution adjacent to the residential and green area. The study result may be used to define correlativity for establishing an exposure index. It will subsequently be used for a more precise assessment measuring the exposure of plants and inhabitants, for the purposes of a study en effects on health.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 2005.04a
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• pp.397-401
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• 2005

Acid mine drainage and waste of abandoned mine area have caused serious water pollution and destruction of an ecosystem because of exposing to environment without an appropriate treatment. Gwang-yang mine area also has a serious problem in the nearby residential area and waterway ecosystems. The objectives of this research are to develop the most suitable remediation system for acid mine drainage by using waste materials, and to diagnose stream environments impacted by acid mine drainage through the new ecological health assessment methodology, and thus ultimately providing a restoring methodology to mining regions. In the water system health assessment, the result of ESHI model, RBP and Karr suggested by US EPA is revised by ecological features of our country, come to ESHI score 13; 'Very poor' at some points. Together with pH value and heavy metal concentration, it's the aggravation of ecological health index caused by chemical disturbances. In the acid mine drainage treatment, we apply marine shells and slags to this system. Slags had the best removal ability for heavy metals, but pH value was more than 10 exceeding the standard for drain water. In case of marine shells, pH of treated water maintained 7 to 8, and concentrations of Fe and Zn decreased significantly after treatment.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.295-306
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• 2009

The risk assessment of groundwater and soil in Sasang industrial complex in Busan Metropolitan City was carried out in order to estimate risks to human health and the environment. The carcinogenic risk (CR) of receptors to soil and air was not identified. However, the CRs for TCE and PCE were 6.7E-6 and 1.0E-5, respectively. Hazard quotient (HQ) and hazard index (HI) did not appear through air exposure pathways. Yet the HQ and HI of soil were 3.4E-5 and 5E-5, respectively, and lower than the critical value (1.0). On the contrary, HQ and HI with respect to groundwater were calculated as 0.7 (not hazardous) and 1.4 (hazardous). The constituent reduction factor (CRF) for TCE in the study area was determined as 2.5, and thus remediation work is demanded. As a result of sensitivity analysis for 18 exposure factors, eight exposure factors (life time of carcinogens, age, body weight, exposure duration, exposure frequency, dermal exposure frequency, water ingestion rate, and soil ingestion rate) varied with the variation of risk.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.430-440
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• 2020

The application contents, process, and its limitations are discussed for the setting of Korean legal guides & criteria for water cycle and ecological condition in development project of land use by thorough comparison and examination of prerequisites and credits of water cycle and soil+vegetation by USA's SITES (Sustainable Sites Initiative). In the case of SITES, due to the implementation procedure operated as a non-governmental independent assessment system by Green Business Certification, Inc, the natural condition of water cycle and soil-vegetation items-the key element of ecosystem services can be quantitatively assessed, well along with its legal and institutional guidelines and regulations. On the other hand, in the case of Korea, as a part of the national certification procedure for green building, the ecological area ratio system still have very limited role as an only amenity resource in the creation of artificial green spaces and insufficiency of management system for rain water. In conclusion, it was understood as an urgent situation in necessary for prompt establishment of site's sustainability certification system at the national level, based on management of water circulation and natural soil & vegetation in developed area with consideration of various land uses and types of development projects.

• Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2005

Assessing health condition of crop in the field is one of core operation in precision fanning. A sensing system was proposed to remotely detect the crop health condition in terms of SP AD readings directly related to chlorophyll contents of crop using a multispectral camera equipped on ground-based platform. Since the image taken by a camera was sensitive to changes in ambient light intensity, it was needed to convert gray scale image data into reflectance, an index to indicate the reflection characteristics of target crop. A reference reflectance panel consisting of four pieces of sub-panels with different reflectance was developed for a dynamic calibration, by which a calibration equation was updated for every crop image captured by the camera. The system performance was evaluated in a field by investigating the relationship between com canopy reflectance and SP AD values. The validation tests revealed that the com canopy reflectance induced from Green band in the multispectral camera had the most significant correlation with SPAD values $(r^2=0.75)$ and NIR band could be used to filter out unwanted non-crop features such as soil background and empty space in a crop canopy. This research confirmed that it was technically feasible to develop a ground-based remote sensing system for assessing crop health condition.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.87-94
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• 2019

Background: Lead (Pb) exposure in shooting ranges has been reduced by various measures such as jacketed ammunition and lead-free primers. Nevertheless, this may lead to exposure to other metals, potentially resulting in adverse health effects. Methods: In a cross-sectional study, 35 subjects from seven different shooting ranges were studied: four shooting instructors, 10 police officers, 15 Special Forces, and six maintenance staff members. Metals and metalloids were determined in blood and urine by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. Results: The concentrations of most elements did not differ significantly between groups or compared to reference values, except for Sb and Pt in urine and Pb in blood. Mean values for Sb were considerably higher in urine from the Special Forces ($0.34{\mu}g/L$), the maintenance staff ($0.13{\mu}g/L$), and shooting instructors ($0.32{\mu}g/L$) compared to the police officers before shooting ($0.06{\mu}g/L$) and a Belgian reference value ($0.04{\mu}g/L$). For Pt, the Special Forces showed higher mean urinary concentrations ($0.078{\mu}g/L$) compared to a Belgian reference value (<$0.061{\mu}g/L$). Mean values for blood lead were markedly higher in the Special Forces ($3.9{\mu}g/dL$), maintenance staff ($5.7{\mu}g/dL$), and instructors ($11.7{\mu}g/dL$) compared to police officers ($1.4{\mu}g/dL$). One instructor exceeded the biological exposure index for blood Pb ($38.8{\mu}g/dL$). Conclusion: Since both Pb and Sb were found to be higher in shooting range employees, especially among frequent shooters, it is advisable to provide appropriate protective equipment, education, and medical follow-up for shooting range personnel in addition to careful choice of ammunition.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.7
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• pp.2388-2394
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• 2023

The radioactivity concentration of environmental radionuclides was analyzed for soil and sand at eight locations within a radius of 255 m centered on the Dongnam Institute of Radiological & Medical Science (DIRAMS), Korea. The average activity concentrations of ⁴⁰K, ¹³⁷Cs, ²²⁶Ra, and ²³²Th were 661.1 Bq/kg-dry, 0.9 Bq/kg-dry, 21.9 Bq/kg-dry, and 11.1 Bq/kg-dry, respectively. The activity of ⁴⁰K and ¹³⁷Cs was lower than the 3-year (2017-2019) average reported by the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety, respectively. Due to the nature of granite-rich soil, the radioactivity of ⁴⁰K was 0.6-fold higher than in other countries, while ¹³⁷Cs was in the normal fluctuation range (15-30 Bq/kg-dry) of the concentration of radioactive fallout from nuclear tests. The activity of ²²⁶Ra and ²³²Th was lower than in Korean soils reported by the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR). The average activity concentrations of ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K for the soil and sand samples from DIRAMS were within the range specified by UNSCEAR in 2000. The radium equivalent activity and internal and external hazard index values were below the recommended limits (1 mSv/y). These radionuclide concentration (²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th, ⁴⁰K, and ¹³⁷Cs) data can be used for regional environmental monitoring and ecological impact assessments of nuclear power plant accidents.