• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.33-42
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• 2018

The tropical peatlands have been deforested and converted to agricultural and plantation areas in Indonesia. To manage water levels and increase the overall productivity of crops, canals have been constructed in tropical peatlands. The canals destructed the structure of the tropical peatlands, and increased the subsidence and fire hazard risks in the region. The Indonesian government enacted regulations and a moratorium on tropical peatlands, in order to reduce degradation. A practical method under the regulations of rewetting tropical peatlands was to permit a canal blocking. In this study, four canal blocking projects were investigated regarding their planning, construction priority, design, building material, construction, monitoring, time and costs associated with the canal blockings. In the protected areas, regulations restricted the development of the tropical peatlands areas that were noted as deeper than 3 m, and the administration stopped issuing new concessions for future work projects for this noted criteria of land use. A noted purpose of canal blockings in these areas was to effectuate the restoration of the lands in the region. The main considerations of the restoration efforts were to maintain a durability of the blockings, and to encourage the participation of the area stakeholders. In the case of a concession area, regulations were set into place to restrict clear-cutting and shifting cultivation, and to maintain groundwater level in the tropical peatland. The most significant priorities identified in the canal blocking project were the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the project. Nevertheless, the drainage of tropical peatlands has been continued. On the basis of a literature review on regulations and rewetting methods in tropical peatlands of Indonesia, we discussed the improvements of the regulations, and adequate canal blockings to serve the function to rewet the tropical peatlands in Indonesia. Our results would help establishing an adequate direction and recommended guideline on viable rewetting methods for the restoration of drained tropical peatlands in Southeast Asia.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.113-121
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• 2013

Objectives : This study aimed to find out whether acupuncture at various acupoints shows any effects on appetite by regulating neurotransmitters in the hypothalamus through the expression of NPY and LR in the PVN via immunohistochemistry. Methods : Male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into eight groups of five mice each. The rats in the acupuncture groups were treated with acupuncture at respective acupoints, twice per a day for 3 days. The animals were sacrificed 72 h after commencement of the experiment, the brains being dissected into serial coronal sections. Expressions of neuropeptide Y and leptin receptor in the hypothalamus were assessed by immunohistochemistry. Results : NPY expression in the PVN was enhanced and LR expression in the PVN was decreased by food deprivation. NPY immunoreactivity in the PVN of the food-derived rats was decreased by acupuncture at the auricular acupoint, Zusanli-acupoint, a and non-acupoint. However, acupuncture at the auricular acupoint showed most potent suppressing effect on NPY expression in the PVN of food-deprived rats. LR expression in the PVN decreased following food deprivation, and auricular acupuncture increased LR expression in the PVN of food-deprived rats. In normal conditions (fed state), LR expression in the PVN was not changed by acupuncture treatment at several sites. Conclusions : From this study, we have shown that acupuncture at the auricular acupoint exerts the most potent appetite suppressing effect on the food restriction state.

• International Journal of Highway Engineering
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.17-23
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• 2010

Since the relatively stiff binder shows a higher tensile strength as well as higher rutting resistance, it is believed that the binder stiffness is an important factor for rutting and tensile strength of asphalt mixtures. The typical tensile property is measured by indirect tensile strength (ITS) test at $25^{\circ}C$ and the rutting resistance is most widely measured by wheel tracking (WT) test at $60^{\circ}C$. The deformation strength ($S_D$) is newly developed property to estimate rut resistance of asphalt concretes at $60^{\circ}C$. The ITS and $S_D$ are very simple to measure by static test techniques, but the WT is measured by repeated loading procedure which requires relatively longer time and more efforts. Since these three properties are highly dependent upon the binder stiffness, it may be possible to estimate one property from another. Therefore, this study investigate the possibility of estimating the rutting characteristics (measured by WT test) by ITS or $S_D$ test, and the ITS by $S_D$. Because of binder stiffness effect, in the WT estimation by ITS, a tendency was observed for the higher ITS mixture to have the lower rut depth, giving $R^2{\fallingdotseq}$0.6, on the average. The ITS estimation by $S_D$ showed $R^2{\fallingdotseq}$0.64, and the WT estimation by SD showed $R^2{\fallingdotseq}$0.84, which is highest correlation among the three. Therefore, it was concluded that there is relatively good possibility of estimating WT result by $S_D$, and even though $R^2$ is somewhat low, there is some correlation between WT and ITS.