• Title/Summary/Keyword: Environmental issue

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A Study on Process Optimization for CSOs Application of Horizontal Flow Filtration Technology (수평흐름식 여과기술의 CSOs 적용을 위한 공정 최적화 연구)

  • Kim, Jae-Hak;Yang, Jeong-Ha;Lee, Young-Shin
    • Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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    • v.19 no.2
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    • pp.56-63
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    • 2018
  • The management of Combined Sewer Overflows(CSOs) and Separated Sewer Overflows(SSOs) discharge directly to the effluent system in an untreated state, which occurs when the facility capacity is exceeded due to heavy rain, has become an important issue in recent years as the heavy rain becomes a regular phenomenon. Despite the continuous development of filtration technology, targeting densely populated urban areas, CSOs are rarely applied. Therefore, this study was carried out to optimize the process to apply CSOs in a pilot-scale horizontal flow filtration system with a rope-type synthetic fiber. The research was carried out in two steps: a preliminary study using artificial samples and a field study using sewage. In the preliminary study using an artificial sample, head loss of the filter media itself was analyzed to be approximately 1.1cm, and the head loss was increased by approximately 0.1cm as the linear velocity was increased by 10m/hr. In addition, the SS removal efficiency was stable at 81.4%, the filtration duration was maintained for more than 6 hours, and the average recovery rate of 98% was obtained by air backwashing only. In the on-site evaluation using sewage, the filtration duration was approximately 2 hours and the average removal efficiency of 83.9% was obtained when belt screen (over 450 mesh) was applied as a pre-treatment process to prevent the premature clogging of filter media. To apply the filtration process to CSOs and SSOs, it was concluded that the combination with the pre-treatment process was important to reinforce the hydraulic dimension for the stable maintain of operation period, rather than efficiency. Compared to the dry season, the quality of incoming sewage was lower in the rainy season, which was attributed to the characteristics of the drainage area with higher sanitary sewerage. In addition, the difference in removal efficiency according to the influent quality of the wet season and dry season was small.

A Study on Ensuring Biosafety of Biotechnology Product under Debate about Trade and the Environment (DDA 무역-환경 논의와 생명공학제품의 안전성 확보)

  • Sung, Bong-Suk;Yoon, Ki-Kwan
    • Environmental and Resource Economics Review
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    • v.13 no.3
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    • pp.519-547
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    • 2004
  • This paper analyze problems about scope of specific trade obligations(STOs), principle of dispute settlement procedure, and non-parties in context of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety(POB), which based on sub-paragraph 31(i) of DDA WTO Ministrial Declaration. The implications based on result of this study are as follows. First, to accept the wider scope of STOs under POB in Korea, importing country, won't be harmful to LMOs and Bioindustry. Instead, it will ensure a high level of biosafety concerning the import of LMOs. Exporters can take different kinds of trade measures to countervail adverse effect on the export of LMOs in this case. Therefore importer will endure the aftereffect. However, if korea were in exporter's place, to accept the wider scope STOs under POB will not have a good influence on the export of LMOs. Korea, therefore, should devise scheme for responding to debate about the STOs in MEAs, which have to be based on cost-benefit analysis and scenarios taking into account of speed and level in biotechology progress, status and trend of LMOs R&D and production, and condition of other industries. Second, it is not easy to agree with applying to what's rule between the POB and WTO for settlement dispute. Because there is the incompatibility between the POB characterized according to social rationality and WTO's rules for safety and environmental protection characterized according to scientific rationality. This issue have to be discussed for long period due to gap like that. Accordingly Korea, one of major LMOs importing countries, should suggest continuously that the effort is needed to ensure an adequate level of protection in transboundary movements of LMOs and scientific, environmental and socio-economic study. Third, in case of dispute between party and non-party of the POB, the duties under the WTO of non-party of the POB(if WTO member country) is valid. The country, therefore, will try to settle dispute based on WTO's rules. However, international society have to ensure for sound and safe use of LMOs in the field of transboundary movements. Accordingly Korea should devise scheme for preventing the possibility of dispute between party and non-party of the POB(if WTO member country), which is supported by policy options under the POB.

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Development and Application of Okara-based Adhesives for Plywood Panels (두부비지를 이용한 합판용 접착제의 개발 및 적용)

  • Oh, Sei-Chang;Ahn, Sye-Hee;Choi, In-Gyu;Jeong, Han-Seob;Yoon, Young-Ho;Yang, In
    • Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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    • v.36 no.3
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    • pp.30-38
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    • 2008
  • Petroleum-based resin adhesives have extensively been used for the production of wood panels. However, with the increase of manufacturing cost and the environmental issue, such as the emission of volatile organic compounds, of the adhesive resins, it is necessary to be developed new adhesive systems. In this study, the potential of okara, which is a residue wasted from the production of tofu, for the development of bio-based adhesives was investigated. At first, the physical and chemical properties of okara were examined. After okara was hydrolyzed in acidic and/or alkaline solutions, okara-based adhesive resins were formulated with the mixtures of the okara hydrolyzates and phenol formaldehyde (PF) prepolymer. The adhesive resins were used for the fabrication of plywood panels, and then the adhesive strength and formaldehyde emission of the plywood panels were measured to examine the applicability of the resin adhesives for the production of plywood panels. The solids content and pH of the okara used in this study were around 20% and weak acidic state, respectively. In the analysis of its chemical composition, the content of carbohydrate was the highest, and followed by protein. The shear strengths of plywood fabricated with okara-based resin adhesives exceeded a minimum requirement of KS standard for ordinary plywood, but its wood failure did not reach the minimum requirement. In addition, the formaldehyde emissions of all plywood panels were higher than that of E1 specified in the KS standard. Based on these results, okara has the potential to be used as a raw material of environmentally friendly adhesive resin systems for the production of wood panels, but further researches - biological hydrolysis of okara and various formulations of PF prepolymer - are required to improve the adhesive strength and formaldehyde emission of okara-based resin adhesives.

Analysis of Climate Change Researches Related to Water Resources in the Korean Peninsula (한반도 수자원분야 기후변화 연구동향 분석)

  • Lee, Jae-Kyoung;Kim, Young-Oh;Kang, Noel
    • Journal of Climate Change Research
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    • v.3 no.1
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    • pp.71-88
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    • 2012
  • The global warming is probably the most significant issue of concern all over the world and according to the report published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the average temperature and extent of global warming around the globe have been on the rise and so have the uncertainty for the future. Such effects of global warming have adverse effects on basic foundation of the mankind in numerous ways and water resource is no exception. The researches on water resources assessment for climate change are significant enough to be used as the preliminary data for researches in other fields. In this research, a total of 124 peer-reviewed publications and 57 reports on the subject of research on climate change related to water resources, that has been carried out so far in Korea has been reviewed. The research on climate change in Korea (inclusive of the peer-reviewed articles and reports) has mainly focused on the future projection and assessment. In the fields of hydrometeorology tendency and projection, the analysis has been carried out with focus on surface water, flood, etc. for hydrological variables and precipitation, temperature, etc. for meteorological variables. This can be attributed to the large, seasonal deviation in the amount of rainfall and the difficulty of water resources management, which is why, the analysis and research have been carried out with focus on those variables such as precipitation, temperature, surface water, flood, etc. which are directly related to water resources. The future projection of water resources in Korea may differ from region to region; however, variables such as precipitation, temperature, surface water, etc. have shown a tendency for increase; especially, it has been shown that whereas the number of casualties due to flood or drought decreases, property damage has been shown to increase. Despite the fact that the intensity of rainfall, temperature, and discharge amount are anticipated to rise, appropriate measures to address such vulnerabilities in water resources or management of drainage area of future water resources have not been implemented as yet. Moreover, it has been found that the research results on climate change that have been carried out by different bodies in Korea diverge significantly, which goes to show that many inherent uncertainties exist in the various stage of researches. Regarding the strategy in response to climate change, the voluntary response by an individual or a corporate entity has been found to be inadequate owing to the low level of awareness by the citizens and the weak social infrastructure for responding to climate change. Further, legal or systematic measures such as the governmental campaign on the awareness of climate change or the policy to offer incentives for voluntary reduction of greenhouse gas emissions have been found to be insufficient. Lastly, there has been no case of any research whatsoever on the anticipated effects on the economy brought about by climate change, however, there are a few cases of on-going researches. In order to establish the strategy to prepare for and respond to the anticipated lack of water resources resulting from climate change, there is no doubt that a standardized analysis on the effects on the economy should be carried out first and foremost.

Analysis on Socio-cultural Aspect of Willingness to Pay for Air Quality (PM10, PM2.5) Improvement in Seoul (서울지역 미세먼지 문제 개선을 위한 사회문화적 지불의사액 추정)

  • Kim, Jaewan;Jung, Taeyong;Lee, Taedong;Lee, Dong Kun
    • 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.

Application of Environmental Friendly Bio-adsorbent based on a Plant Root for Copper Recovery Compared to the Synthetic Resin (구리 회수를 위한 식물뿌리 기반 친환경 바이오 흡착제의 적용 - 합성수지와의 비교)

  • Bawkar, Shilpa K.;Jha, Manis K.;Choubey, Pankaj K.;Parween, Rukshana;Panda, Rekha;Singh, Pramod K.;Lee, Jae-chun
    • Resources Recycling
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    • v.31 no.4
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    • pp.56-65
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    • 2022
  • Copper is one of the non-ferrous metals used in the electrical/electronic manufacturing industries due to its superior properties particularly the high conductivity and less resistivity. The effluent generated from the surface finishing process of these industries contains higher copper content which gets discharged in to water bodies directly or indirectly. This causes severe environmental pollution and also results in loss of an important valuable metal. To overcome this issue, continuous R & D activities are going on across the globe in adsorption area with the purpose of finding an efficient, low cost and ecofriendly adsorbent. In view of the above, present investigation was made to compare the performance of a plant root (Datura root powder) as a bio-adsorbent to that of the synthetic one (Tulsion T-42) for copper adsorption from such effluent. Experiments were carried out in batch studies to optimize parameters such as adsorbent dose, contact time, pH, feed concentration, etc. Results of the batch experiments indicate that 0.2 g of Datura root powder and 0.1 g of Tulsion T-42 showed 95% copper adsorption from an initial feed/solution of 100 ppm Cu at pH 4 in contact time of 15 and 30 min, respectively. Adsorption data for both the adsorbents were fitted well to the Freundlich isotherm. Experimental results were also validated with the kinetic model, which showed that the adsorption of copper followed pseudo-second order rate expression for the both adsorbents. Overall result demonstrates that the bio-adsorbent tested has a potential applicability for metal recovery from the waste solutions/effluents of metal finishing units. In view of the requirements of commercial viability and minimal environmental damage there from, Datura root powder being an effective material for metal uptake, may prove to be a feasible adsorbent for copper recovery after the necessary scale-up studies.

Research Trends and Future Directions for R&D Vitalization of Domestic Dairy Industry (국내 유가공산업의 R&D활성화를 위한 연구 동향과 방향)

  • Yoon, Sung-Sik
    • Journal of Dairy Science and Biotechnology
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    • v.29 no.1
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    • pp.23-31
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    • 2011
  • Domestic dairy industry is now standing at the crossroad for planning next fifty years, mainly because economic and environmental situations surrounding Korean peninsula are fast changing. For the aspects of dairy consumption, fresh milk consumed less, while consumption of the other milk and dairy products is slightly increasing every year. In 2010, it is approximately estimated that 1,939,000 tons of raw milk was used and the supply would be short by about 35,000 tons, based on the amounts in the previous year. Currently, multilateral negotiations against US and EU are underway. When it will be in effect in the future, significant damage would be expected in the dairy and livestock sectors, leading to cut domestic milk supply. Quality of farm-gate milk is graded as 1A on average 90% or more, loaded with very low in microbial and somatic cell counts. Therefore, policy implications have to be placed toward switch currently the UHT processing method to Pasteurization or the LTLT technology, by which natural flavors and nutrients in milk mostly remain after heat treatment. Domestic cheese products comprise only 10% and the rest is occupied by the various kinds of imported natural products. The market size keeps increasing up to 65,423,000 tons last year. When it comes to vitalization of our natural cheese industry, cheese whey, which is a main by-product in cheese manufacture, is a critical issue to be solved and also "On-Farm Processing" would be combined with a growth of big dairy companies when few immediate issues among the relevant regulations will be eased and alleviated in the near future. Fermented milk market is recorded as a single area of gradual increase in the past 10 years, Korea. Fermented yogurts with health claims targeted stomach, liver, and intestine are popular and has grown fast in sales amounts. In this context, researches on beneficial probiotic lactic acid bacteria are one of the important projects for domestic milk and dairy industries. Labelling regulations on efficacy or health-promoting effects of functional dairy products, which is the most important issue facing domestic dairy processors, should be urgently examined toward commercial expression of the functionality by lawful means. Colostrum, a nutrition-rich yellowish fluid, is roaded with immune, growth and tissue repair factors. Bovine colostrum, a raw material for immune milk preparations and infant formula, can be used to treat or prevent infections of the gastrointestinal tract. Nanotechnology can be applied to develop new milk and dairy products such as micro-encapsulated lactase milk for consumers suffering lactose intolerance. Raw milk is suggested to be managed by its usage in the processing line because imbalance of supply and demand is structural problem in every country and thus the usage systems as in the advanced dairy countries is worth of bench-marking to stabilize milk supply and demand. Raw milk produced is desirable to divide into the three parts; domestic, import, and buffering purposes. It is strongly recommended that a domestic dairy control center as an institutional framework should be urgently established as is Dairy Board in New Zealand and Australia. Lastly, government policy should be directed to foster the highly-educated people who are majoring in Dairy Sciences or working in the dairy industry by means of financial support in studying and training abroad as well.

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Analysis of a Cross-cutting Issue, 'Access to Genetic Resources and Benefit-sharing' of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (생물다양성협약 당사국회의의 핵심논제인 '유전자원에 대한 접근과 이익의 공유'에 관한 고찰)

  • Park, Yong-Ha
    • Journal of Environmental Policy
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    • v.6 no.1
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    • pp.41-60
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    • 2007
  • Attempts were made to define the elements of debates, impact of decisions of the Access to Genetic Resources and Benefit-sharing(ABS) of the Conference of the Parties(COP) to the Convention on Biological Diversity(CBD) In Korea. Providing policy suggestions to cope with ABS, a cross-cutting issue of the meetings of the COP, was also undertaken. Meetings concerning ABS deal with several key matters such as an international regime, which is a legally binding implementation tool of the Bonn Guidelines, an international certificate of genetic resources' origin/source/legal provenance, and disclosure of origin of genetic resources, compliance measures with prior informed consent of the Contracting Parties providing such resources and with mutually agreed terms on which access was granted. Developing countries, rich in biodiversity and genetic resources, use the CBD as a major tool to maximize their national profits. They demand for national sovereign rights for the genetic resources and indigenous communities providing associated traditional knowledge. At the meetings of the COP, in addition, they requested that developed countries should transfer technologies and provide a financial mechanism for resource conservation to them. On the contrary, the developed countries argue that facilitating access to genetic resources is essential for scientific research and development, and that both Intellectual Property Rights and biotechnology using genetic resources should be protected to maximize their national benefits. Decisions of the COP concerning the Bonn Guidelines and compliance measures with ABS will affect on various socioeconomic fields of Korea, a country which is short of genetic resources. Especially, the importation of genetic resources and land development which might damage genetic resources will be limited seriously. Consequently, overall expenses will increase for the securing genetic resources from the foreign countries and developing biotechnology for conservation and sustainable uses of genetic resources. To minimize the adverse impacts, we endeavor to establish our clear standpoint and to lead the international trends, which are favorable for us. In order to achieve these objectives, government needs i) to proceed researches to lead the international ABS debates actively and to prepare the expected decisions of the future meetings of the COP, ii) to establish a national implementation plan to cope with the ABS and its related decisions, iii) to examine and improve the efficiencies of the national implementation plan with a proper monitoring system, and iv) cope with the other international meetings including the meetings of Trade Related Intellectual Properly Rights and International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture actively.

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Water-Blooms (Green-Tide) Dynamics of Algae Alert System and Rainfall-Hydrological Effects in Daecheong Reservoir, Korea (대청호 조류경보제의 녹조현상 동태와 강우-수문학적 영향)

  • Shin, Jae-Ki;Kang, Bok-Gyoo;Hwang, Soon-Jin
    • Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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    • v.49 no.3
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    • pp.153-175
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    • 2016
  • Daecheong Reservoir has suffered eutrophication and water-blooms by blue-green algae from initial impoundment, and algae alert system (AAS) was introduced in 1997. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of rainfall and hydrological factors in increase or decrease variability of green-tide and prolonged AAS, studied and analyzed the current situation of AAS has been operating for 19 years (1997~2015) in Daecheong Reservoir. The total issued number of AAS was 46 times, the most frequent period in August and September were 22 times (752 days) and 16 times (431 days), respectively, it accounted for 82.6%. Many number and frequency during this period were significantly associated with rainfall, various discharge and water level. Rainfall and hydrological events are associated with the rainy season of monsoon-Changma and the typhoon, it was concentrated in June~September, total rainfall in this period accounted for 69.9% of the annual rainfall. An increase in inflows was dependent on the intensity, frequency and the amount of rainfall. Accounted for 68.4% of the total annual inflow, it was a time when the most rapidly changing hydrological variability in the reservoir. The total outflow was closely related to rainfall, and compared the distinctive characteristics of hydropower generation and watergate-spillway discharge. In addition, the upreservoir zone of Daecheong Reservoir could be vulnerable to green-tide by regulating discharge of the upstream dam. The issue of AAS was strongly related to the with and without of watergate-spillway discharge. The watergate-spillway discharge had a total of 25 times, it was maximum 17 days from July to September in the year. And the opening times and each duration of the watergate were 1~4 times and the range of 3~37 days, respectively. When the watergate opened, the issue of AAS was maintained to 13 years and the movement of water bodies and green-tide was great about five times than that of non-open, had a profound effect on prolonged AAS within reservoir. In Daecheong Reservoir, Chusori (CHU) area of the So-ok Stream was still showing serious symptoms green-tide levels in the summer, but Janggye (JAN) waters of the main reservoir was pointed out that more important. AAS will be operated by an absolutely consider the rainfall and hydrological effects around the watergate-spillway discharge. The measures of green-tide will be included in the limnological studies more suited to the characteristics of the watershed and reservoir of the our country. Finally, from now on, we will prepare the systematic management and guidelines for vulnerable zone water-blooms that are the source within the reservoir before the monsoon rather than waiting for the arrival of green-tide on the operating stations of AAS.

Inferential Structure and Reality Problem in Diagnosis of Oriental Medicine (한의 진단의 추론형식과 실재성)

  • Park, Geong-Mo;Choi, Seong-Hoon;Ahn, Gyu-Seok
    • Journal of The Association for Neo Medicine
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    • v.2 no.1
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    • pp.55-84
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    • 1997
  • Inferential structure and reality problem is a serious issue to O.M.(oriental medicine). The study will analyze this issue through a philosophical and historical comparative study of W.M.M(Western modern medicine) and O.M. First, I presuppose some basic ideas. The first is the division of the 'the philosophy of medicine' and 'the medicine itself'. Second, there is a 'visibility' that discriminate between 'the abstractive concept' and 'the concrete object' in diagnostic terminology. The third is the separation of disease, the entity and disease, the phenomenon. Finally, the distinction between the cause of disease and the nature of disease. Through these basic concepts, this study will analyze O.M's diagnostic methodology, 'Pattern identification of the S.A.S(sign and symptom)'. The results are follows: 1. O.M's views disease as a phenomenon. So, the S.A.S, which is visible, is the disease itself. Tough the analysis and inference of the S.A.S, 證(zheng) the essence is derived. 2. 證(zheng) can be considered as 'the abstractive concept' reflecting the essence of a disease. 3. 證(zheng) is not arrived through causal sequence reasoning but rather by analogical reasoning. 4. 證(zheng) is 'the non-random correlative combination of S.A.S', pattern. These patterns secure the abstractive deduction in reality. that is, The causality, the positivism, the view of disease as entity, and anatomical knowledge are the traits peculiar to W.M.M. But, these properties can not be applied universally to every medical systems. Also, these properties do not indicate the superiority or inferiority of any medical system. 5. 證(zheng) summarizes the patients condition simultaneously with the S.A.S. However, 證(zheng) doesn't necessarily indicate the knowledge about the actual internal organ. That is, Early in O.M.'s history, the diagnostic terminologies including 證(zheng) were analogical reflections of a naive knowledge of internal organs and external environmental factors. Later, the naive knowledge in 證(zheng) changed int new nature, an abstractive concept. The confusion of the concept of disease, the indiscriminate acceptance of Western anatomical knowledge, and the O.M.'s theoretical evolution et are the challenge facing modern O.M. To find solutions, this study looks at the sequence of the birth of W.M.M. and then compares it's system with the O.M. system. The confusion of the concept of disease, the indiscriminate acceptance of Western anatomical knowledge, and the O.M.'s theoretical evolution et are the challenge facing modern O.M. To find solutions, this study looks at the sequence of the birth of W.M.M. and then compares it's system with the O.M. system. It is recommended that O.M. diagnostics should pay close attention to the ambiguity of the diagnostic methodology in order to further development. At present time, the concept and the system peculiar to O.M. can not be explained by common language. but O.M.'s practitioner can not persist in this manner an: longer. Along with the internal development of O.M., the adjustment of O.M.'s diagnostic terminology needs to be adopted.

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