• Journal of Appropriate Technology
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.37-44
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• 2020

Medical waste is any kind of waste that contains infectious material and recommended not to be transferred for infection control. As a means of disposal, incineration has better points than dumping or landfill in the quantity reduction, odorless and nonhazardous. However, open burning and incineration of health care wastes under bad circumstances, can result in the emission of environmental pollutants to air. A burial of biological waste brings pollution of soil and water. Most of sub divisional hospitals in Fiji transfer their medical wastes to divisional hospitals for incineration. In 2011, 62,518 kg of medical waste was incinerated in the three divisional hospitals. However, some medical wastes are considered as general waste and burnt or sent to landfill site, some are buried on site in some sub-divisional hospitals. In this regards, urgent education is necessary for awareness promotion to relevant personnel in medical waste treatment. On site incineration using small scale incinerator is more recommended than transportation of medical wastes treatment in Fiji. Moreover, remotely controllable and fixable small scale of incinerator is more desirable in sub-divisional hospitals. It is recommended that Fiji government to set up a legal framework for medical waste management (MWM), to develop specific guidelines for MWM, to set up a training system for MWM to ensure that all relevant personnel are trained, to develop a monitoring and supervision system for MWM, to clarify the future financing of MWM activities, and to improve the MWM infrastructure.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.295-303
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• 2018

Inland wetlands in the Republic of Korea provide key breeding and wintering habitats, while coastal wetlands provide nutrient-rich habitats for stopover sites for East Asia/Australasia Flyway(EAAF) migrants. However, since the 1960's, Korea has reclaimed these coastal wetlands gradually for agriculture and urban expansion. The habitat loss has rippled across global populations of migrant shorebirds in EAAF. To protect a similar loss, the United States, specifically Missouri, developed the moist-soil management technique. Wetland impoundments are constructed from levees with water-flow control gates with specific soils, topography, available water sources, and target goals. The impoundments are subjected to a combination of carefully timed and regulated flooding and drawdown regimes with occasional soil disturbance. This serves a dual purpose of removing undesirable vegetation, while maximizing habitat and forage for wildlife. Flooding and drawdown schedules must be dynamic with constantly shifting climate conditions. Korea's latitude ($N33^{\circ}25^{\prime}{\sim}N38^{\circ}37^{\prime}$) is comparable to Missouri ($N36^{\circ}69^{\prime}{\sim}N40^{\circ}41^{\prime}$); as such, moist-soil management could prove to be an effective wetland restoration technique for Korea. In order to meet specific conservation goals (i.e. shorebird staging site restoration), it is necessary to test the proposed methodology on a site that can meet the required specifications for moist-soil management. Moist-soil management has the potential to not only create key habitat for endangered wildlife, but also provide valuable ecosystem services, including water filtration.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.13-35
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• 2023

Ocean currents play the most important role in causing and controlling global climate change. The water depth of the Yellow Sea is very shallow compared to the East Sea, and the circulation and currents of seawater are quite complicated owing to the influence of various wind fields, ocean currents, and river discharge with low-salinity seawater. The Yellow Sea Warm Current (YSWC) is one of the most representative currents of the Yellow Sea in winter and is closely related to the weather of the southwest coast of the Korean Peninsula, so it needs to be treated as important in secondary-school textbooks. Based on the 2015 revised national educational curriculum, secondary-school science and earth science textbooks were analyzed for content related to the YSWC. In addition, a questionnaire survey of secondary-school science teachers was conducted to investigate their perceptions of the temporal variability of ocean currents. Most teachers appeared to have the incorrect knowledge that the YSWC moves north all year round to the west coast of the Korean Peninsula and is strong in the summer like a general warm current. The YSWC does not have strong seasonal variability in current strength, unlike the North Korean Cold Current (NKCC), but does not exist all year round and appears only in winter. These errors in teachers' subject knowledge had a background similar to why they had a misconception that the NKCC was strong in winter. Therefore, errors in textbook contents on the YSWC were analyzed and presented. In addition, to develop students' and teachers' data literacy, class materials on the YSWC that can be used in inquiry activities were developed. A graphical user interface (GUI) program that can visualize the sea surface temperature of the Yellow Sea was introduced, and a program displaying the spatial distribution of water temperature and salinity was developed using World Ocean Atlas (WOA) 2018 oceanic in-situ measurements of water temperature and salinity data and ocean numerical model reanalysis field data. This data visualization materials using oceanic data is expected to improve teachers' misunderstandings and serve as an opportunity to cultivate both students and teachers' ocean and data literacy.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.28-41
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• 2024

The carbon balance serves as a valuable indicator of a plant's physiological status under diverse environmental conditions. We investigated the photosynthetic and respiratory responses of the Asian surfgrass Phyllospadix iwatensis along the northeast coast of the Korean peninsula in response to changing water temperature (ranging from 5℃ to 30℃) to estimate the seasonal whole-plant carbon balance through a series of incubation experiments. The maximum gross photosynthetic rate (P_max) showed a significant difference among the temperature treatments, while there was no significant difference in photosynthetic efficiency (α). The maximum gross photosynthetic rate of P. iwatensis reached its peaks at 20℃ treatment (101.65 μmol O₂ g^-1 DW h^-1) but decreased rapidly at 30℃. The saturation irradiance (I_k), compensation irradiance (I_c), and respiration rate (R) of P. iwatensis exhibited significant differences among the temperature treatments. The saturation irradiance increased up to 20-25℃ (121.59-124.50 μmol photons m^-2 s^-1) and sharply decreased at 30℃. The compensation irradiance and respiration rate increased steadily with rising water temperature. The ratio of P_max to R (P_max:R ratio) was the highest at 5℃ but dramatically decreased at 30℃. The whole-plant carbon balance, calculated based on photosynthetic parameters, respiration rates, and biomass, exhibited distinct seasonal variation, increasing during winter and spring and decreasing during summer and fall, which is consistent with the highest in situ growth in spring and severely limited growth at the highest water temperature conditions. Phyllospadix iwatensis displayed a negative carbon balance during late summer, fall, and winter, but demonstrated a positive carbon balance during spring and early summer. Our findings suggest that the rising seawater temperatures associated with climate change may lead to significant alterations in the seagrass ecosystem functioning along the rocky shores of the Korean east coast.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.47 no.6
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• pp.12-23
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• 2019

The purpose of this study was to develop and study an experiential natural education program that could emphasize the importance of the natural environment by providing natural experience opportunities using the natural resources of the urban forest parks using Youngheung Park in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province as a target site. The research target was limited to Suwon Yeongheung Park, which had the potential to become a place for education, where urban forest conservation and sustainable use already coexist. The natural education resources derived by surveying and analyzing the basic environment and the ecology of plants and animals in Suwon Yeongheung Park were organized to establish program goals, directions, and themes. Suwon Yeongheung Park is a water-rich forest that forms an ecological system of wetlands, including rice paddies, muknon wetlands, and dungbun, near a valley area. The U-shaped walkway was smoothly formed along the ridge and includes Doran-gil, which is among the Palochrome Road, designated by the city of Suwon. The soil is acidic, with a pH 4.40, due to urban pollution and acid rain, and is not good for plant growth. Most of the artificial forests, natural forests, and arable land were found using land use and extant life surveys. Old trees were distributed in artificial forests, the oak clusters in natural forests, and the fields and darrinones were distributed in the arable areas. As the forest vegetation declined, the cedar forest was underway, and the cedar trees and red bean pear trees were cultivated due to their adaptability to the urban environment. There are 13 large of 180 sacks, one being 109 centimeters in diameter, the largest silvery tree, and 105 oak trees, provide food and shelter for animals. Six species of waterfowl that used the 22 kinds of forest wetlands, while four species of amphibians and two species of reptiles reside in the wetlands. Natural Monument No. 327, Mauryuk, Class II Endangered Wildlife, was also observed in the wetlands. Eight other species of surface dragonflies and three species of butterflies were observed. By systemizing the resources, members, and characteristics of the forest ecosystems in Suwon Yeongheung Park based on five criteria, the program for a hands-on natural education was presented with the aim of understanding the urban forest ecosystem in Suwon Yeongheung Park, having an affinity with the city, and recognizing its relationship with the community and society. However, further research is needed as there are limitations of research on programs characterized by different ages and classes.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.34 no.7
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• pp.459-466
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• 2012

In order to improved treatment performance of dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma, plasm + UV process and gas-liquid mixing method has been investigated. This study investigated the degradation of N, N-Dimethyl-4-nitrosoaniline (RNO, indicator of the generation of OH radical). The basic DBD plasma reactor of this study consisted of a plasma reactor (consist of quartz dielectric tube, titanium discharge (inner) and ground (outer) electrode), air and power supply system. Improvement of plasma reactor was done by the combined basic plasma reactor with the UV process, adapt of gas-liquid mixer. The effect of UV power of plasma + UV process (0~10 W), gas-liquid mixing existence and type of mixer, air flow rate (1~6 L/min), range of diffuser pore size (16~$160{\mu}m$), water circulation rate (2.8~9.4 L/min) and UV power of improved plasma + UV process (0~10 W) were evaluated. The experimental results showed that RNO degradation of optimum plasma + UV process was 7.36% higher than that of the basic plasma reactor. It was observed that the RNO decomposition of gas-liquid mixing method was higher than that of the plasma + UV process. Performance for RNO degradation with gas-liquid mixing method lie in: gas-liquid mixing type > pump type > basic reactor. RNO degradation of improved reactor which is adapted gas-liquid mixer of diffuser type showed increase of 17.42% removal efficiency. The optimum air flow rate, range of diffuser pore size and water circulation rate for the RNO degradation at improved reactor system were 4 L/min, 40~$100{\mu}m$ and 6.9 L/min, respectively. Synergistic effect of gas-liquid mixing plasma + UV process was found to be insignificant.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.352-363
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• 2021

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the load of nutrients contained in the drainage discharged from the facility horticultural complex and to use them for re-use of fluids and design for introduction of water treatment plants. Representative hydroponic cultivation crops were selected as tomato, paprika, cucumber, and strawberry, and the total number of samples analyzed for water quality was 80. As a result of the analysis, since various fertilizer components such as N, P, K⁺, Na⁺, Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺, Si₄⁺, HCO₃^-, Cl^-, S^2-, Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, Mo and B are contained at very high concentrations in the drainage, the need for water treatment was confirmed. Through statistical analysis, it was analyzed that the drainage concentration of strawberries was lower than that of tomatoes, paprika, and cucumbers. In the case of tomatoes, these essential ion concentrations are the highest, so it was confirmed that they are subject to valuable resources in terms of reuse of fertilizers. The load of N and P of the drainage discharged from the facility horticultural complex 1m² was analyzed. For N, the daily processing capacity of 4.0 kg of tomatoes, 3.3 kg of paprika, 3.0 kg of cucumbers, and 1.5 kg of strawberries was calculated based on 1 ha. It was suggested that the P concentration needs a scale and capacity that can handle 0.5 kg of tomatoes, 0.6 kg of paprika, 0.4 kg of cucumber, and 0.2 kg of strawberries per day. Through this study, the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus contained in the drainage discharged from the greenhouse of each crop was evaluated to analyze the economy. In addition, it was expected to be used as basic data that can be used to calculate the treatment capacity to be reflected when introducing water treatment facilities in facility horticultural complexes for sustainable agriculture.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.1155-1162
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• 2002

Food waste in school foodservices is an important factor in managing expense or evaluating the acceptance of served meals and a serious environmental hazard factor in all countries. In this study, the perception and attitude towards food waste reduction and the recognition of environmental pollution of students from elementary school foodservices in Busan, Korea were investigated. The questionnaire was responded by 519 students (boy: 255, girl: 264) in the third and sixth grades. School lunch programs were proved to contribute to the improvement of students' food intake habits. The perception and attitude towards food waste reduction of the third grade students (3.61/3.73) were significantly higher than those of the sixth grade students (3.46/3.59) (P<0.01). Food waste education made a significant impact on the perception and attitude on food waste (p<0.01). When dislike food was supplied the students having the higher perception and attitude towards food waste reduction ate it more than those having the lower perception and attitude. The major reason for plate waste was shown to be influenced by the taste and amount of foods supplied in school lunch programs. Most of students recognized that food waste pollution (4.22) was one of the severest problems among the environmental pollutions, followed by air (4.13), tap water (4.09) soil (3.78), noise (3.55) pollution. The students separated the garbage in the house (72.6%) better than in school and the outside (55.2%). The perception of food waste was positively correlated with the attitude toward reduction of food waste and the recognition of environmental pollution (p<0.01). The attitude toward reduction of food waste was also positively correlated with meal quantity taken (p<0.01).

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.175-188
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• 2008

The purposes of this study were to develop an Earth systems-based earth science module and to investigate the effects of field application. The module was applied to two classrooms of a total of 76 second-year high schoolers, in order to investigate the effectiveness of the developed module. Data was collected from observations in earth science classrooms, interviews, and questionnaires. The findings were as follows. First, the Earth systems-based earth science module was designed to be associated with the aims of the national Earth Science Curriculum and to improve students' Earth science literacy. The module was composed of two sections for a total of seven instructional hours for high schoolers. The former sections included the understanding of the Earth system through the understanding of each individual component of the system, its characteristics, properties and structure. The latter section of the module, consisting of 4 instructional hours, dealt with earth environmental problems, the understanding of subsystems changing through natural processes and cycles, and human interactions and their effects upon Earth systems. Second, the module was helpful in learning about the importance of understanding the interactions between water, rock, air, and life when it comes to understanding the Earth system, its components, characteristics, and properties. The Earth systems-based earth science module is a valuable and helpful instructional material which can enhance students' understanding of Earth systems and earth science literacy.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.15-32
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• 2003

The ecological study on seven wetlands of Haman area in Kyungsangnamdo, Korea, was carried out. In especial, the biological data of the sites were unknown. In this study, water quality including water temperature, pH, DO, COD, T-N, T-P, SS were tested. On the survey of plants and animals, vegetation and flora were investigated and the fauna of insects, fish, and amphibians were studied on each wetland. Water of wetland Oksu was heavily polluted and wetlands Pyungy and Dodulyangy were relatively clean. The water pollution was most severe in winter at all of the wetlands. Plant communities were classified into 9 natural communities and 1 artificial community. On the vegetation, wetland Sugok showed the highest plant taxa, and 41 families, 78 species and 16 varieties were classified. There was remarkable difference in number of plant taxa. The difference may be caused by the variances of wetland sizes, the influence from terrestrial environment. Wetland Sugok showed most rich insect fauna, and 10 orders, 76 families 224 species and 1082 individuals were identified. The species diversity was 2.05 and the species richness was 73.49. Wetland Ddun showed poor insect fauna, and 6 orders, 23 families, 29 species and 81 individuals were identified. Total collected fish were 4 orders, 7 families and 11 species. The fish fauna was most rich in wetlands Oksu and Pyungy, but poor in wetland Unan. Total collected amphibians were 2 orders, 3 families and 4 species.