• Environmental and Resource Economics Review
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.495-521
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• 2009

This paper measures welfare losses from beef consumption reduction, which might be resulted from psychological anxiety about potential outbreak of BSE (commonly known as "bad cow dieses") risks after announcement of resuming US-beef imports in April of 2008. Unlike the previous literature of utilizing the contingent valuation method or experimental market approach, this study estimated quality-differentiated consumer demand functions using the information of self-reported beef consumption quantity, individually constructed price indices of beef, and subjective perception of BSE risks. The empirical results based on a survey sample of 360 residents in Jeon Ju city were consistent with the anticipation from economic theory, in terms of coefficients of own prices, substitute prices and income variables. The announcement of resuming US-beef imports did not make significant differences in the sign and sizes of the main economic variables. However, the subjective perception variable about BSE risks had negative significant impacts on beef demand functions after the announcement but not significant before the announcement. The welfare losses in a form of equivalent variation (EV) corresponding to the increases in concerns about BSE risks were measured to be about 30 thousand won per household.

• Environmental and Resource Economics Review
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.593-619
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• 2004

This study analyzes the interfuel substitution of energy demand in Korean manufacturing sector using static and dynamic linear logit models. For the period of 1981~2002, this study uses petroleum, electricity, natural gas and coal as energy sources. According to the empirical results, firstly, the own-price elasticity of coal has been increased steadily even though its elasticity is smallest compared with those of other energy sources. On the other hand, price elasticity of natural gas is largest, but its value has been decreased after 1997. Price elasticities of petroleum and electricity are very stable over the sample period. One of the main features in trends of interfuel substitution is as follows. Substitution effect of a change in price of natural gas on both petroleum and coal has been increased especially after 1997. The implication of the empirical results is summarized as follows: First, the fact of inelastic own-price elasticity of petroleum implies that the dependency of Korean manufacturing sector on petroleum and coal will be persistent even in a sharp fluctuation of petroleum price. Second, the effects of price increase in natural gas on demand for petroleum and coal are very significant. Thus, price decline of natural gas rather than price declines of coal and petroleum could be more effective as an energy price policy for the reduction of $CO_2$ emission. The assessment on this implication will remain for future researches.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.43-51
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• 2015

Stresses from desolate urban environments cause illnesses and worsen health conditions of urban residents, while natural environments have a positive influence on human. Natural healing programs such as forest therapy and horticultural therapy can be differentiated by the characteristic of activity space. However, previous studies of healing programs have focused on either forest therapy or horticulture therapy and there is a limit to comprehending the effects of adopting and connecting various healing programs. This study compares and analyzes the physiological and psychological effects of forest therapy and horticultural therapy to identify the effects and differences by types of healing programs. The before and after effects of horticultural therapy and forest therapy are measured by experiment and survey for 5 days with 5 subjects in each program. For physiological reaction, blood pressure, pulse, and cortisol levels are measured and the profile of moods states(POMS) is used to measure psychological reaction. Collected data are analyzed with the analysis of variance(ANOVA) and Paired-Sample T-test in SPSS 18.0. The results of this study are as follows: 1) forest therapy and horticultural therapy show positive effects in physiological and physiological aspects, 2) forest therapy is more effective than horticultural therapy in physiological relaxation and stress mitigation, 3) horticultural therapy has a tendency to alleviate depression more effectively than forest therapy. In conclusion, this study contributes to providing fundamental information for the development of healing programs and design guidelines for healing spaces through identifying the characteristics of each healing program.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.1-16
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• 2000

This study was carried out to examine the process of plant succession through vegetation invasion and to select appropriate endemic plant species for rapid stabilization and good visual effect on cut-slopes of forest roads. Establishing total of sixty $1m{\times}1m$ sample plots. fifteen for each forest road constructed in the year of '93 (six-year-old), '95(four-year-old), '97(two-year-old), and '98(one-year-old), the ecological attributes of invading vegetation on cut-slopes were analyzed. The results are summarized as follows: 1. The rate of vegetation coverage was highly associated with soil hardness and aspect of cut-slope. Higher rate of vegetation coverage was caused by larger number of invading plant species. 2. The dominant woody species were Rubus crataegifolius, Rhus chinensis, Lespedeza bicolor, Salix hulteni, Alnus hirsuta, and Pinus densiflora. The visual attractive for the fruit of Rubus crataegifolius and the autumn coloration of Rhus chinensis was noteworthy. The dominant herbaceous species were Youngia sonchifolia, Spodiopogon sibiricus, and Lysimachia clethroides in all study forest roads. Spring flower of Potentilla freyniana and Viola rossii: summer flower of Lysimachia clethroides, Commelina communis, Glycine soja. Persicaria sieboldi, and Oenothera odorata: and autumn flower of Artemisia stolonifera and Impatiens textori were abundant and remarkable. 3. The diversity index of woody species tended to be increased as years passed after construction, and that of herbaceous species were decreased. 4. The dominance of Th of dormancy form was early high in the first year of construction, getting decreased thereafter. And that of MM + M + N was increased as years passed after construction. but that of Ch+H+G+Th+HH was decreased. 5. The degrees of succession were estimated by 359, 111, 97, and 87 for the construction year of '93, '95, '97, and '98. respectively, increased as years passed after construction.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.536-546
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• 2014

Objectives: The major objective of this paper is compare the exposure work hours and experieence of ill health symptoms among under and over employment and matched group. Workers with over employment have more exposed to hazards than that with under employment because that workers with over employment work more than those with ender employment. Methods: This study as heuristics one used the third Korean Working Conditions Survey done by Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute in 2011. The sample size is 50,023 economic active persons. Over and under employment were measured by matching method of preferred and actual work hours. The exposed work hours to hazards were measured according to 13 hazardous factors and the experience of ill health symptoms were scaled by the number of experienced 14 ill health symptoms. To compare the exposure and the symptoms experience were compared by mean difference test with F test. Results: The proportion of over employment in male employees is 32.1% and that in female employees is 29.3% and under employment rate is 11.2% in mae and 13.9% in female employees. There is significant difference of the rate of over and under emplyment among age groups, industrial sectors, occupational groups and the state of employment. The difference of the exposed work hours to hazards among under, over and matched group were statistically significant in all hazards by gender. The exposed work hours to hazards in over employment were more than those in under employment. The number of experienced symptoms in over employment is statistically significantly more than that in under employment. Conclusions: Workers with over employment may be vulnerable group in the criteria of hazard exposure and health status. The results have some implications and limitations because that this study is heuristic one. The mismatch of preferred and actual working hours may be unfavorable work condition that has impact on safety and health of workers. The impact mechanism may be investigated as future study, Because that this study used cross sectional survey data, some causal relationships cannot be evaluated.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.221-230
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• 2015

Ground bed cultivation method for shiitake mushroom (Phogo; Lentinula edodes) has been advanced to use the oak-sawdust composted by microorganisms. This method has some advantages in saving the labors and improving productivity. The aim of this study is to analyze microbial community in oak sawdust and to provide the information for efficient cultivation of shiitake mushroom. In process of composting, the proportions of thermophiles increased from 10% to 80%. This results show the microbial community succession from mesophilic bacteria to thermophilic bacteria. T-RFLP analysis and nucleotide sequencing of 16S rRNA gene demonstrated that the change of dominant bacteria coupled with shifts in each stages. The family of Enterobacteriaceae as a mesophilic bacteria were dominant (100%) in oak sawdust sample, but Amycolatopsis (49.0%) and Saccharopolyspora (26.5%) as a thermophilic Actinomycetes were dominant in the last day of composting. In hyphal growth stage, Leuconostoc (psychrophilic bacteria) was dominant (75.0%). The composting process of sawdust is very important for growth of mushroom mycelium. Therefore, there is need for the further study for the Amycolatopsis as thermophilic Actinomycetes.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.27 no.10
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• pp.35-43
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• 2011

The area to be studied is the place where the main line rail way will be constructed in accordance with the scheduled construction project of Yeongju dam, and is a fold and mylonite zone over several km that is formed by ductile-shearing effect. The ductile shear zone, which has been transformed by faulting for long geological time, shows a complicated geological structure. Due to the recrystallization of mineral caused by transformation in deep underground (>8km), a mylonite zone with lamellar structure has properties distinguished from other fault zones formed by transformation near earth surface <2km). To see the properties of mylonite, this study analyzed the transformation rate of sample rocks and the shape of constriction structure accompanied with transformation. While the transformation of fault zone shows a round oblate, the mylonite zone shows a prolate form. Transformation rate in fault zone was measured to be less than 1.2 compared to the state before transformation while the measured rate in mylonite zone was 2.5 at most. Setting the surface of discontinuity as the base, the unconfined compressive strength of slickenside can be categorized in sedimentary rocks, and a change of strength was observed after water soaking over certain time. Taking into account that the weathering resistance of the rock based on mineral and chemical organization is relatively higher, its engineering properties seems to result from the shattered crack structure by crushing effect. When undertaking tunnel construction in mylonite zone, there should be a special care for the expansion of shattered cracks or the fall of strength by influx of ground water.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.3443-3447
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• 2013

Aim: Esophageal cancer is the eighth most common cancer and sixth leading cause of cancer associated death worldwide. The 5 year survival rate for esophageal cancer patients is very poor and accounts for only 12.3%. Besides environmental risk factors, genetic factors might play an important role in the esophageal cancer carcinogenesis. Methods: We conducted a hospital based case-control study to evaluate the genetic effects of functional single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs): interleukin 9 (IL9) rs31563 C>T, IL9 rs31564 G>T, IL10 rs1800872 T>G, IL12A rs2243115 T>G, IL12B rs3212227 T>G and IL13 rs1800925 C>T on the development of esophageal cancer. A total of 380 esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) cases and 380 controls were recruited for this study. The genotypes were determined using a custom-by-design 48-Plex SNPscan$^{TM}$ Kit. Results: The IL10 rs1800872 T>G polymorphism was associated with an increased risk of ESCC. However, there were no significant links with the other five SNPs. Stratified analyses indicated no significant risk of ESCC associated with the IL10 rs1800872 T>G polymorphism evident among any subgroups. Conclusion: These findings indicated that functional polymorphism IL10 rs1800872 T>G might contribute to ESCC susceptibility. However, our results were obtained with a limited sample size, so that the power of our analysis was low. Future larger studies with more rigorous study designs of other ethnic populations are required to confirm the current findings.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.46-56
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• 2018

A mcyB-specific Ultra-Rapid quantitative PCR was developed for the quantitative detection of Microcystis aeruginosa, which is often a dominant species in green tide. McyB-specific UR-qPCR was optimized under extremely short times of each step in thermal cycles, based on the specific primers deduced from the mcyB in microcystin synthetase of M. aeruginosa. The M. aeruginosa strain KG07 was used as a standard for quantification, after the microscopic counting and calculation by mcyB-specific UR-qPCR. The water samples from the river water with the Microcystis outbreak were also measured by using both methods. The $1.0{\times}10^8$ molecules of mcyB-specific DNA was recognized inner 4 minutes after beginning of UR-qPCR, while $1.0{\times}10^4$ molecules of mcyB-specific templates was detected inner 7 minutes with quantitative manner. From the range of $1.0{\times}10^2$ to $1.0{\times}10^8$ initial molecules, quantification was well established based on $C_T$ using mcyB-specific UR-qPCR (Regression coefficiency, $R^2=0.9977$). Between the numbers of M. aeruginosa cell counting under microscope and calculated numbers using mcyB-specific UR-qPCR, some differences were often found. The reasons for these differences were discussed; therefore, easy compensation method was proposed that was dependent on the numbers of the cell counting. Additionally, to easily extract the genomic DNA (gDNA) from the samples, a freeze-fracturing of water-sample using liquid nitrogen was tested, by excluding the conventional gDNA extraction method. It was also verified that there were no significant differences using the UR-qPCR with both gDNAs. In conclusion, the mcyB-specific UR-qPCR that we proposed would be expected to be a useful tool for rapid quantification and easy monitoring of M. aeruginosa in environmental water.

• Korean journal of food and cookery science
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.656-663
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• 2016

Purpose: This study was aimed to compare the nutritional content of the life stages of Tenebrio molitor. Methods: Nutritional element analysis comprised 12 minerals, 18 amino acids, 4 vitamins, and 12 fatty acids in larval, pupal, and adult stages. Nutritional element content was expressed as a percentage of 100 g of sample and determined in raw and freeze-dried samples to assess the food value of the insect. Results: Moisture, crude protein, and crude fat contents in raw samples were 63.5%, 23.19%, and 3.96%, respectively. Moisture content was significantly higher in the adult stage than in larval and pupal stages, whereas crude fat and crude ash contents were lower. Mineral composition of the mealworm showed K, P, and Mg in decreasing order of content, with no differences among life stages. Total amino acid content increased from adult, pupal to larval stages, in order with each stage's growth, without difference in amino acid composition. Seventy-six to 78% of total fatty acid corresponded to unsaturated fatty acids, with oleic acid as the most abundant. In addition, fatty acid content was high in the adult stage, and clear differences were observed between life stages. Finally, vitamins B1 and B3 showed similar content between life stages, whereas vitamin B2 showed a higher content the adult than larval and pupal stages. A higher folate content was observed in pupal and adult stages than in the larval stage. Although freeze-dried samples showed a higher nutritional content than raw samples, both samples were similar in composition and content between life stages, suggesting the suitability of freeze-dried samples for use as food materials. Conclusion: These results may provide a basis for more diversified industrial applications of the Tenebrio molitor.