• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.101-112
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• 2019

Over the last few years, air pollution ($PM_{10}$, $PM_{2.5}$) in the Seoul metropolitan area (SMA) has emerged as one of the most concerned and threatening environmental issues among the residents. It brings about various harmful effects on human health, as well as ecosystem and industrial activities. Governments and individuals pay various costs to mitigate the level of air pollutants. This study aims to empirically find the willingness to pays (WTP) among the parents from different socio-cultural groups - international and domestic groups to mitigate air pollution ($PM_{10}$, $PM_{2.5}$) in their residential area. Contingent Valuation Methods (CVM) is used with employing single-bounded dichotomous choice technique to elicit the respondent's WTP. Using tobit (censored regression) and probit models, the monthly mean WTP of the pooled sample for green electricity which contributes to improve air quality in the region was estimated as 3,993 KRW (3.58 USD). However, the mean WTP between the international group and domestic group through a sub-sample analysis shows broad distinction as 3,325KRW (2.98 USD) and 4,449 KRW (3.98 USD) respectively. This is because that socio-cultural characteristics of each group such as socio-economic status, personal experience, trust in institutions and worldview are differently associated with the WTP. Based on the results, the society needs to raise awareness of lay people to find a strong linkage between the current PM issue and green electricity. Also, it needs to improve trust in the government's pollution abatement policy to mobilize more assertive participation of the people from different socio-cultural background.

• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.194-204
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• 2018

In order to minimize the damage on the red sea bream Pagrus major by a harmful dinoflagellate Cochlodinium polykrikoides, we investigated the effect of feeding, starvation and stocking density on the survival rate, growth, growth restoration and physiological response of P. major exposure to C. polykrikoides. The experimental groups were divided into three groups such as F-HD (feeding and high density with $6.4kg/m^3$), S-HD (starvation and high density with $6.4kg/m^3$) and S-LD (starvation and low density with $3.2kg/m^3$) according to stocking density and starvation in marine cage ($11m{\times}11m{\times}5m$). The F-HD was fed throughout the experiment for 9 weeks, whereas S-HD and S-LD were not fed for 5 weeks and then refeeding for 4 weeks. Survival rate was the lowest in F-HD (85.5%) and S-LD was the highest (97.3%). The growth rates of S-HD and S-LD were significantly lower than F-HD during starvation period for 4 weeks, but rapidly recovered after feeding. The nutritional status such as ALB, TP, TCH, TG were similar to tendency of growth data. Ht, Hb, AST, ALT and GLU levels were significantly higher in the F-HD than in the starvation groups at the same time (in 3 week) during starvation period. But starvation groups did not differ during starvation period. As a result, F-HD is more sensitive to stress than S-HD and S-LD. Thus, during C. polykrikoides bloom period, starvation and stocking density control can help survival and growth restoration of the red sea bream.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.245-265
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• 2019

Biotope, which represents the characteristic habitats of living organisms, need to be identified as essential for the efficient creation and sustainable management of urban ecosystems. This study was carried out to provide the basic information for ecological urban planning by analyzing types and attributes of the biotop established throughout the whole area of the Pohang city, a representative industrial city in Korea. The biotop established in Pohang city is composed of 12 types including forests (coniferous, deciduous, and mixed forests), agricultural fields (rice paddy and upland field), green facilities, river, reservoir, bare ground, residential area, public facilities, commercial area, industrial area, roads, and schools. As a result of analyzing the properties according to biotop types, industrial, commercial and residential areas, which represent urban areas, was dominated by introduced vegetation. Moreover the introduced vegetation is usually composed of exotic plants or modified forms for landscape architecture and horticulture rather than native plants, which reflects ecological property of both region and site. As the distance from the urban center increases, the agricultural field showed a form of typical farmland, whereas the closer it is, the more form of greenhouse farming. Natural green spaces were divided into riparian vegetation established along the stream and forest vegetation. Forest vegetation is consisted of secondary forests (seven communities) and plantations (three communities). The urban landscape of Pohang city is dominated by the industrial area. Among them, the steel industry, which occurs large amounts of heat pollution and carbon dioxide, occupies a large proportion. On the other hand, green space is very insufficient in quantity and inferior in quality. This study proposed several restoration plans and further, a green network, which ties the existing green spaces and the green space to be restored as a strategy to improve the environmental quality in this area.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.170-177
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• 2019

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of different concentrations of chlorine dioxide ($ClO_2$) on sterilization and deodorization of food-holding cabinets under different exposure times. For the measuring sterilization and deodorization, a 6.5 L chamber and a 625 L cabinet with circulation systems were used. Two bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus KCTC1916 and Escherichia coli KCTC 1682) that were artificially inoculated in the plate respectively were put into the 6.5 L chamber and the 625 L cabinet. The $ClO_2$ gas was produced by ampules. In the 6.5 L chamber, neither of the two bacteria was detected after 24 hours treatment by $ClO_2$ gas. Moreover, the deodorization rate against ammonia and phenol was 94% and 70%, respectively, but deodorization against formaldehyde was not effective. When the concentration reached maximum (6 ampule, 4.6 ppm) levels in the cabinet, it lasted for approximately 2 h and then decreased slowly. When a circulator was used, the gas concentration was very low (6 ampule, 0.8 ppm) and the antibacterial activity against S. aureus and E. coli was low. The level of reduction against S. aureus and E. coli was 2.98 log CFU/plate and 6.06 log CFU/plate, respectively, in the cabinet after 24 h without a circulator. The reduction against S. aureus KCTC1916 and E. coli KCTC1682 was 2.69 log CFU/plate and 4.41 log CFU/plate for 24 h, respectively.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.117-125
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• 2019

This study compared the temperature and humidity measured by an aspirated radiation shield (ARS), the accuracy of which has been recently verified, and those measured by a system developed by the parent company (Company A) to investigate and improve the performance of the developed system. The results are as follows. Overall, the two-plate system had a lower radiation shielding effect than the one-plate system but showed better performance results when excluding the effect of strawberry vegetation on the systems. The overall maximum temperature ranges measured by company A's system and the ARS were $20.5{\sim}53.3^{\circ}C$ and $17.8{\sim}44.1^{\circ}C$, respectively. Thus, the maximum temperature measured by company A's system was $2.7{\sim}9.2^{\circ}C$ higher, and the maximum daily temperature difference was approximately $12.2^{\circ}C$. The overall average temperature measured by company A's system and the ARS was $12.4{\sim}38.6^{\circ}C$ and $11.8{\sim}32.7^{\circ}C$, respectively. Thus, the overall average temperature measured by company A's system was $0.6{\sim}5.9^{\circ}C$ higher, and the maximum daily temperature difference was approximately $6.7^{\circ}C$. The overall minimum temperature ranges measured by company A's system and the ARS were $4.2{\sim}28.6^{\circ}C$ and $2.9{\sim}26.4^{\circ}C$, respectively. Thus, the minimum temperature measured by company A's system was $1.3{\sim}2.2^{\circ}C$ higher, and the minimum daily temperature difference was approximately $2.9^{\circ}C$. In addition, the overall relative humidity ranges measured by company A's system and the ARS were 52.9~93.3% and 55.3~96.5%, respectively. Thus, company A's system showed a 2.4~3.2% lower relative humidity range than the ARS. However, there was a day when the relative humidity measured by company A's system was 18.0% lower than that measured by the ARS at maximum. In conclusion, there were differences in the relative humidity measured by the two company's devices, as in the temperature, although the differences were insignificant.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.54 no.5
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• pp.534-546
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• 2021

Purpose: This study aimed at understanding meal kit purchasing behavior and investigating its relationship with the Nutrition Quotient (NQ) of young adults. Methods: We conducted a survey on adults in their 20s and 30s covering their meal kit purchase experience, satisfaction, recognition, and purchase intention, and examined the relationship between the meal kit purchase and their NQ from February to March 2021. Results: Among the 404 subjects, 37.9% of males and 48.0% of females had experience in purchasing a meal kit (p < 0.001). The highest response indicated that the purchase cost of meal kits was 10,000-20,000 Won at a time, and the frequency of purchase was less than once a month. The convenience of cooking was the main reason for the purchase of meal kits, which were consumed mainly in the evening with family. The satisfaction with the purchase experience of a meal kit was rated 3.6 points for males and 3.7 points for females out of 5 points, and the satisfaction experienced by women was significantly higher than men in terms of freshness of ingredients, packaging design, and adequacy of the quantity of content (p < 0.05). Recognition of the meal kit was rated 3.5 points for males and 3.7 points for females out of 5 points. The purchase intention of the meal kit was rated 3.8 points for those with prior purchase experience, 3.2 points for the non-experienced, 3.3 points for males, and 3.6 points for females out of 5 points each (p < 0.001). The NQ score of dietary behavior in females with experience of meal kit purchases was significantly higher than non-experience (p < 0.05). Conclusions: The dietary behavior of female showed a significant difference by the meal kit purchase experience. It is necessary to understand the consumers' meal kit purchasing behavior to enable the development of various health-oriented meal kit products.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.345-353
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• 2022

A wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) is a major gateway for the engineered nano-particles (ENPs) entering the water bodies. However existing studies have reported that many WWTPs exceed the No Observed Effective Concentration (NOEC) for ENPs in the effluent and thus they need to be designed or operated to more effectively control ENPs. Understanding and predicting ENPs behaviors in the unit and \the whole process of a WWTP should be the key first step to develop strategies for controlling ENPs using a WWTP. This study aims to provide a modeling tool for predicting behaviors and removal efficiencies of ENPs in a WWTP associated with process characteristics and major operating conditions. In the developed model, four unit processes for water treatment (primary clarifier, bioreactor, secondary clarifier, and tertiary treatment unit) were considered. Additionally the model simulates the sludge treatment system as a single process that integrates multiple unit processes including thickeners, digesters, and dewatering units. The simulated ENP was nano-sized TiO₂, (nano-TiO₂) assuming that its behavior in a WWTP is dominated by the attachment with suspendid solids (SS), while dissolution and transformation are insignificant. The attachment mechanism of nano-TiO₂ to SS was incorporated into the model equations using the apparent solid-liquid partition coefficient (Kd) under the equilibrium assumption between solid and liquid phase, and a steady state condition of nano-TiO₂ was assumed. Furthermore, an MS Excel-based user interface was developed to provide user-friendly environment for the nano-TiO₂ removal efficiency calculations. Using the developed model, a preliminary simulation was conducted to examine how the solid retention time (SRT), a major operating variable affects the removal efficiency of nano-TiO₂ particles in a WWTP.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.42-50
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• 2021

Along with the rapid growth of the food service industry, food safety requirements and hygiene are increasing in importance in restaurants and hotels. Accordingly, there is a need for quick and practical monitoring techniques to determine hygiene status in the field. In this study, we investigated 5 domestic 5-star hotels specifically, personal hygiene (hands of workers), cooking utensils (knife, cutting board, food storage container, slicing machine blade, ice-maker scoop) and other facilities (refrigerator handle, sink). In addition, we examined the hygiene management status of customer contact points (tongs for buffet, etc.) to derive the correlation between the ATP values as a, a verification method. As a result of our five-hotel survey, we found that cooking utensils and personal hygiene were relatively sanitary compared to other inspection items (cookware 92.2%, personal hygiene 91.4%, facilities and equipment 76.19%, customer contact items 88.6%). According to our ATP-based mothod, kitchen utensils (51 ± 45 RLU/25㎠) were relatively clean compared to other with facilities and equipment (167 ± 123 RLU/25㎠). In the present study, we also evaluated the usefulness of the ATP bioluminescence method for monitoring surface hygiene at hotel restaurants. After correlation analysis of surveillance of hygienic status points and ATP assay, most results showed negative and high correlation (-0.64--0.89). Our ATP assay (92 ± 67 RLU/25㎠) of each item after cleaning showed signigicantly reduced results compared to the ATP assay (1020 ± 1254 RLU/25㎠) for normal status, thereby indicating its suitability as a tool to verify the validity of cleaning. By our results, ATP bioluminescence could be used as an effective tool for visual numerical evaluation of invisible contaminants.

• Journal of Ginseng Culture
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• v.3
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• pp.54-73
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• 2021

The Natural Products Research Institute (NPRI, 生藥硏究所), an institution affiliated with Keijo Imperial University (京城帝國大學), was the predecessor of the NPRI at Seoul National University and a comprehensive research institute that focused on ginseng research during the Japanese colonial era. It was established under the leadership of Noriyuki Sugihara (杉原德行), a professor of the second lecture in pharmacology at the College of Medicine in Keijo Imperial University. Prof. Sugihara concentrated on studying Korean ginseng and herbal medicine beginning in 1926 when the second lecture of pharmacology was established. In addition to Prof. Sugihara, who majored in medicine and pharmacology, Kaku Tenmin (加來天民), an assistant professor who majored in pharmacy; Tsutomu Ishidoya (石戶谷勉), a lecturer who majored in agriculture and forestry; and about 36 researchers actively worked in the laboratory before the establishment of the NPRI in 1939. Among these personnel, approximately 14 Korean researchers had basic medical knowledge, derived mostly from specialized schools, such as medical, dental, and pharmaceutical institutions. As part of the initiative to explore the medicinal herbs of Joseon, the number of Korean researchers increased beginning in 1930. This increase started with Min Byung-Ki (閔丙祺) and Kim Ha-sik (金夏植). The second lecture of pharmacology presented various research results in areas covering medicinal plants in Joseon as well as pharmacological actions and component analyses of herbal medicines. It also conducted joint research with variousinstitutions. Meanwhile, in Gaesong (開城), the largest ginseng-producing area in Korea, the plan for the Pharmaceutical Industry Complex was established in 1935. This was a large-scale project aimed at generating profits through research on and the mass production of drugs and the reformation of the ginseng industry under collaboration among the Gaesong Ministry, Kwandong (關東) military forces, Keijo Imperial University, and private organizations. In 1936 and 1938, the Gyeonggi Provincial Medicinal Plant Research Institute (京畿道立 藥用植物硏究所) and the Herb Garden of Keijo Imperial University (京城帝國大學 藥草園) and Pharmaceutical Factory were established, respectively. These institutions merged to become Keijo Imperial University's NPRI, which wasthen overseen by Prof. Sugihara as director. Aside from conducting pharmacological research on ginseng, the NPRI devoted efforts to the development and sale of ginseng-based drugs, such as Sunryosam (鮮麗蔘), and the cultivation of ginseng. In 1941, the Jeju Urban Test Center (濟州島試驗場) was established, and an insecticide called Pancy (パンシ) was produced using Jeju-do medicinal herbs. However, even before research results were published in earnest, Japanese researchers, including Prof. Sugihara, hurriedly returned to Japan in 1945 because of the surrender of Japanese forces and the liberation of Korea. The NPRI was handed over to Seoul National University and led by Prof. Oh Jin-Sup (吳鎭燮), a former medical student at Keijo Imperial University. Scholars such as Woo Lin-Keun (禹麟根) and Seok Joo-Myung (石宙明) worked diligently to deal with the Korean pharmaceutical industry.

• Journal of Appropriate Technology
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.127-135
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• 2021

To respond to the threat of global warming, countries around the world are promoting the spread of renewable energy and reduction of carbon emissions. In accordance with the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goal to combat climate change and its impacts, global automakers are pushing for a full transition to electric vehicles within the next 10 years. Electric vehicles can be a useful means for reducing carbon emissions, but in order to reduce carbon generated in the stage of producing electricity for charging, a power generation system using eco-friendly renewable energy is required. In this study, we propose a smart electric mobility operating system integrated with off-grid solar power plants established in Tanzania, Africa. By applying smart monitoring and communication functions based on Arduino-based computing devices, information such as remaining battery capacity, battery status, location, speed, altitude, and road conditions of an electric vehicle or electric motorcycle is monitored. In addition, we present a scenario that communicates with the surrounding independent solar power plant infrastructure to predict the drivable distance and optimize the charging schedule and route to the destination. The feasibility of the proposed system was verified through test runs of electric motorcycles. In considering local environmental characteristics in Tanzania for the operation of the electric mobility system, factors such as eco-friendliness, economic feasibility, ease of operation, and compatibility should be weighed. The smart electric mobility operating system proposed in this study can be an important basis for implementing the SDGs' climate change response.