• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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• 2002.10a
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• pp.454-459
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• 2002

We have developed a new method to visualize river networks in tropical rain forests from JERS-1 SAR images. This method compresses river information in an original SAR image to a small image displaying wide rivers as dark objects in real size and narrower rivers as bright objects showing brightness level as an indicator of the discharge. We applied this method to 476 images of Amazon forests, 13 observations for path 415 data and 11 observations for path 416 data between 1993 and 1997. We confirmed that a change observed in a preliminary experiment was certainly a part of seasonal changes. The changes roughly correspond to the monthly precipitation changes. Through a simple digital analysis although qualitative, we also detected subtle but consistent regional differences among minor tributaries that belong to a major tributary basin.

• Proceedings of the Zoological Society Korea Conference
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• 1999.10b
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• pp.20-20
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• 1999

No Abstract, See Full Text

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.266-272
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• 2021

The aboveground biomass (AGB) was estimated in mixed dipterocarp forests (MDF), peat swamp forests (PSF), and heath forests (HF) in Brunei Darussalam. A total of 81 (20 m×20 m) plots were established for MDF, PSF, and HF in three regions. The diameter at breast height(DBH) of all live trees (DBH≥10 cm) was measured within the plots. The AGB was calculated using an allometric equation with the measured DBH. The AGB(Mg ha^-1) for MDF, PSF, and HF was 603.3±159.9, 305.9±23.4, and 284.3±19.3, respectively, and was significantly different among the forest types (p<0.05). The greater AGB in MDF than those in PSF and HF was due to the presence of emergent trees in MDF. The results showed that the number of emergent trees varied by forest type. Consequently, the appearance of the emergent trees could be one of the main factors affecting AGB in Southeast Asia's tropical rain forests.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.170-178
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• 2012

Dipterocarps or Dipterocarpaceae is a commercially important timber producing and dominant keystone tree family in the rain forests of Borneo. Borneo's landscape is changing at an unprecedented rate in recent years which affects this important biodiversity. This paper attempts to model the natural occurrence (distribution including those areas with natural forests before being converted to other land uses as opposed to current distribution) of dipterocarp species in Sarawak which is important for forest biodiversity conservation and management. Local modeling method of Inverse Distance Weighting was compared with commonly used statistical method (Binary Logistic Regression) to build the best natural distribution models for three genera (12 species) of dipterocarps. Database of species occurrence data and pseudoabsence data were constructed and divided into two halves for model building and validation. For logistic regression modeling, climatic, topographical and edaphic parameters were used. Proxy variables were used to represent the parameters which were highly (p>0.75) correlated to avoid over-fitting. The results show that Inverse Distance Weighting produced the best and consistent prediction with an average accuracy of over 80%. This study demonstrates that local interpolation method can be used for the modeling of natural distribution of dipterocarp species. The Inverse Distance Weighted was proven a better method and the possible reasons are discussed.

• Journal of Marine Bioscience and Biotechnology
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.42-47
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• 2008

Sudan is the largest country in Africa with an area of $2,505,810km^2$, of water constitutes $129,810km^2$, and cultivable land is 34%. Sudan has a total land boundary of 7,687 km with 9 border countries. This vast country embraces different vegetation patterns reflecting various climatic zones, grading from tropical rain forests in the south through semi-tropical savannah to arid zone in the extreme north, with annual rainfall ranging from 1,600 mm in the south to 25 mm in the north. The aquaculture industry is not developed as yet. Because of their basic characteristics, the Sudan inland and marine capture fisheries are of a small-scale and semi-industrial nature. The demand for fish and fish preparations is growing steadily. The animal resources sector (which includes fisheries) contributes 21% of Sudan GDP. The contribution of fisheries to Sudanese GDP is currently marginal. The per caput supply is only 1.6 kg/year, which is mostly obtained by capture fish landings. Despite the fact that fisheries GDP is extremely low, fish and fish preparations contribute to the food security of a wide sector of the rural and urban communities. Fisheries also provide work opportunities in the form of secondary employment as a source of income that indirectly contributes to household food security.

• Proceedings of the SCSK Conference
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• 2003.09b
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• pp.213-217
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• 2003

Antioxidants have been used in cosmetic industry for treatment of aged skin and recently have been also introduced as additives in photoprotection products. In order to determine among the Brazilian botanical species presenting interesting antioxidant activities we have screened several extracts from plants from Rain and Amazonical Tropical Forests, as well as some endemic species, using both TBARs and DPPH methods. Extracts with antioxidant activities were found with Jacaranda caroba, Veloso DL, Spilanthes oleracea (Spilanthes acmella var. oleracea), Orbignya phalerata, Pothomorphe umbellata, Chiococca brachiata and Polypodium lepidopteris. Other extracts such as Camelia sinensis, Sambucus australis, Rosmarinus officinalis L. were also studied, and showed some antioxidant activity.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.127-136
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• 2015

This study aims to quantify the stand-level above ground biomass in intact tropical rain forest of Brunei using airborne LiDAR data. Twenty four sub-plots with the size of 0.09ha ($30m{\times}30m$) were located in the 25ha study area along the altitudinal gradients. Field investigated data (Diameter at Breast Height (DBH) and individual tree position data) in sub-plots were used. Digital Surface Model (DSM), Digital Terrain Model (DTM) and Canopy Height Model (CHM) were constructed using airborne LiDAR data. CHM was divided into 24 sub-plots and 12 LiDAR height metrics were built. Multiple regression equation between the variables extracted from the LiDAR data and biomass calculated by using a allometric equation was derived. Stand-level biomass estimated from LiDAR data were distributed from 155.81 Mg/ha to 597.21 Mg/ha with the mean value of 366.48 Mg/ha. R-square value of the verification analysis was 0.84.

• English & American cultural studies
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.1-31
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• 2018

It is needless to say that America's indiscriminate artillery and chemical attacks have worsened the conditions of Vietnam's tropical rain forests, causing war-torn combat troops and civilians to suffer more from the participation and aftermath of the Vietnam war. Around two decades after the Vietnam War, American and Vietnamese writers dealing with the destruction of the human and nature of the Vietnam War and the following traumatic experience commonly report the horrors of inhumane warfare, but some differences among them appear in the reception of the ecocide consciousness. For American writers who had been involuntarily involved or who had stayed in the back area as interpreters and counter-intelligence force, the Vietnam War was often a kind of exotic "addicted adventure" which their American hometown could not provide. But apart from overcoming postwar post-traumatic stress by writing of healing which was shared with American war writers, Vietnamese writers have been able to overcome the scars of war as the communal memorial, which Jonathan Shay emphasized as the necessary comforting ritual by community members showing the sign of honor and care. On the other hand, American war writers were on the side of "separate peace," as Jeong stressed, and the Vietnam War to them was more racist like the case of "body count." Nevertheless, it is fortunate that the hideous experience of war could turn them all into the creativity pool, just as the 5,000 square mile of bomb creators have been used as the postwar fish ponds.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.432-441
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• 2016

Machaerium cuspidatum, a canopy liana, is a species of genus legume in the Fabaceae family and contributes to the total species richness in the tropical rain forests. In the present study, we investigated the antioxidative and anti-cancer effects of M. cuspidatum and its mode of action. The methanol extract of M. cuspidatum (MEMC) exhibited anti-oxidative activity with an $IC_{50}$ value of $1.66{\mu}g/ml$, and this was attributable to its 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging capacity. MEMC also exhibited a cytotoxic effect and induced morphological changes in a dose-dependent manner in several cancer cell lines including human lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells, human hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 cells, and human colon carcinoma HT29 cells. Moreover, MEMC treatment induced the accumulation of subG1 population, which is indicative of apoptosis in A549 and HepG2 cells. MEMC-induced apoptosis was confirmed by the increase in Annexin V-positive apoptotic cells and apoptotic bodies using Annexin-V staining and DAPI staining, respectively. Further investigation showed that MEMC-induced apoptosis was associated with the increase in p53 and Bax expression, and the decrease in Bcl-2 expression. In addition, MEMC treatment led to proteolytic activation of caspase-3, 8, and 9 and degradation of poly-ADP ribose polymerase (PARP). Taken together, these results suggest that MEMC may exert a beneficial anti-cancer effect by inducing apoptosis via both the extrinsic and intrinsic pathways in A549 and HepG2 cells.