• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.52 no.2
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• pp.179-188
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• 2024

It has been widely documented that stress conditions in aquatic ecosystems could trigger the release of stress hormone (dopamine) in fishes. Such hormone could attract pathogens (such as Aeromonas hydrophila) to initiate its infection in fishes. The major focus of this study was to investigate the effect of the catecholamine derived stress hormone (dopamine) on the motility and hemolytic activity associated with the virulence of A. hydrophila ATCC AH-1N, the causative agent of Motile Aeromonas Septicemia (MAS). The density of bacterial cells used in this study was adjusted at 106 cells/ml. The results showed that dopamine increased swimming motility of A. hydrophila ATCC AH-1N and was proportional to both dopamine hormone concentration and the incubation period. Dopamine concentration of 100 µM in the medium resulted in the highest increment of swimming ability of A. hydrophila ATCC AH-1N. The dopamine hormone was also found to affect the hemolytic activity of A. hydrophila ATCC AH-1N. The optimum hemolytic activity of the pathogen was found at 50 µM dopamine concentration in the medium, and this hemolytic activity was found to decrease when the concentration of dopamine at greater than 50 µM. It can be concluded from this study that dopamine hormone increased the motility and hemolysis capability, as well as the growth rate of A. hydrophila, and hence increased its virulence.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.318-335
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• 2024

Objectives: Despite the growing market share of online grocery shopping, there is a need to understand customer perceived value due to the ongoing advancements in information technology. This study explores the connections between attributes, consequences, and values. Additionally, it conducts a cross-country comparison of consumers' online grocery shopping behaviors to gain a deeper understanding of consumer market segments and any potential variations among them. Methods: Data was collected through an online questionnaire survey conducted from May 1 to 15, 2024, targeting 400 consumers in Seoul, Korea, and Shanghai, China, who have experience with online grocery shopping. The survey utilized the Means-End Chain theory and association pattern technique hard laddering. Data collation and analysis were conducted using the IBM SPSS Statistics 28.0 program. The LadderUX software was employed to analyze the links between attributes, consequences, and values and create the consumer purchasing process's implication matrix and hierarchical value map (HVM). Results: The study identified key attributes that influence online grocery shopping decisions, including delivery service, price, freshness, and quality. Korean consumers demonstrated a higher sensitivity to price (19.0%) and delivery service (17.0%). In contrast, Chinese consumers prioritized delivery service (15.0%) and after-sales service (14.8%). Commonly cited consequences included time saving (12.6% for Koreans, 11.3% for Chinese), whereas prevalent values encompassed convenience (36.8% for Koreans, 19.6% for Chinese) and economic value (26.6% for Koreans, 14.7% for Chinese). The HVM underscored these insights, highlighting diverse consumer preferences and country-specific nuances. Conclusions: The findings highlight the current state of online food consumption and consumers' value systems, revealing variations among countries. These findings offer empirical insights that can be used to create customized global marketing strategies that resonate with various consumer preferences and market dynamics.

• The Journal of the Institute of Internet, Broadcasting and Communication
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.19-24
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• 2024

Global climate change is causing an increase in natural disasters around the world due to long-term temperature increases and changes in rainfall. Among them, forest fires are becoming increasingly large. South Korea experienced an average of 537 forest fires over a 10-year period (2013-2022), burning 3,560 hectares of forest. That's 1,180 soccer fields(approximately 3 hectares) of forest burning every year. This paper proposed an artificial intelligence based wildfire detection method using image and text information. The performance of the proposed method was compared with YOLOv9-C, RT-DETR-Res50, RT-DETR-L, and YOLO-World-S methods for mAP50, mAP75, and FPS, and it was confirmed that the proposed method has higher performance than other methods. The proposed method was demonstrated as a forest fire detection model of the early forest fire detection system in the Gangwon State, and it is planned to be advanced in the direction of fire detection that can include not only forest areas but also urban areas in the future.

• Journal of Climate Change Research
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• v.34 no.8
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• pp.3103-3127
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• 2021

Wind gusts represent one of the main natural hazards due to their increasing socioeconomic and environmental impacts on, for example, human safety, maritime-terrestrial-aviation activities, engineering and insurance applications, and energy production. However, the existing scientific studies focused on observed wind gusts are relatively few compared to those on mean wind speed. In Australia, previous studies found a slowdown of near-surface mean wind speed, termed "stilling," but a lack of knowledge on the multidecadal variability and trends in the magnitude (wind speed maxima) and frequency (exceeding the 90th percentile) of wind gusts exists. A new homogenized daily peak wind gusts (DPWG) dataset containing 548 time series across Australia for 1941-2016 is analyzed to determine long-term trends in wind gusts. Here we show that both the magnitude and frequency of DPWG declined across much of the continent, with a distinct seasonality: negative trends in summer-pring-autumn and weak negative or nontrending (even positive) trends in winter. We demonstrate that ocean-atmosphere oscillations such as the Indian Ocean dipole and the southern annular mode partly modulate decadal-scale variations of DPWG. The long-term declining trend of DPWG is consistent with the "stilling" phenomenon, suggesting that global warming may have reduced Australian wind gusts.

• Korea and Global Affairs
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.171-208
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• 2017

This paper is to analyze the type characteristics and prospects of the North Korean nuclear strategy. To this end, the paper is composed of 5 chapters titled introduction; the concept and type of nuclear strategy; the nuclear capabilities of North Korea and the declarative nuclear strategy; the operational characteristics and prospects of the North Korean nuclear strategy; and conclusion. Recently, the deployment of nuclear weapons and the enhancement of nuclear capabilities in North Korea have raised serious problems in our security and military preparedness. Nuclear strategy means military strategy related to the organization, deployment and operation of nuclear weapons. The study of North Korea's nuclear strategy begins with a very realistic assumption that the nuclear arsenal of North Korea has been substantiated. It is a measure based on North Korea's nuclear arsenal that our defense authorities present the concepts of preemptive attack, missile defense, and mass retaliation as countermeasures against the North Korean nuclear issue and are in the process of introducing and deploying them. The declared nuclear declaration strategy of the DPRK is summarized as: (1)Nuclear deterrence and retaliation strategy under the (North Korea's) Nuclear Weapons Act, (2)Nuclear preemptive aggression, (3)The principle of 'no first use' of nuclear weapons in the 7th Congress. And the intentions and operational characteristics of the North Korean nuclear strategy are as follows: (1)Avoiding blame through imitation of existing nuclear state practices, (2)Favoring of nuclear strategy through declarative nuclear strategy, (3)Non-settlement of nuclear strategy due to gap between nuclear capability and nuclear posture. North Korea has declared itself a nuclear-weapon state through the revised Constitution(2012.7), the Line of 'Construction of the Nuclear Armed Forces and the Economy'(2013.3), and the Nuclear Weapons Act(2013.4). However, the status of "nuclear nations" can only be granted by the NPT, which is already a closed system. Realistically, a robust ROK-US alliance and close US-ROK cooperation are crucial to curbing and overcoming the North Korean nuclear threat we face. On this basis, it is essential not only to deter North Korea's nuclear attacks, but also to establish and implement our own short-term, middle-term and long-term political and military countermeasures for North Korea's denuclearization and disarmament.

• Journal of the Korean association of regional geographers
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.107-120
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• 2001

This study is concerned with providing a reliable procedure of calibrating a set of places specific distance parameters and with applying it to U.S. inter-State migration flows between 1985 and 1900. It attempts to conform to recent advances in quantitative geography that are characterized by an integration of ESDA(exploratory spatial data analysis) and local statistics. ESDA aims to detect the spatial clustering and heterogeneity by visualizing and exploring spatial patterns. A local statistic is defined as a statistically processed value given to each location as opposed to a global statistic that only captures an average trend across a whole study region. Whereas a global distance parameter estimates an averaged level of the friction of distance, place-specific distance parameters calibrate spatially varying effects of distance. It is presented that a poisson regression with an adequately specified design matrix yields a set of either origin-or destination-specific distance parameters. A case study demonstrates that the proposed model is a reliable device of measuring a spatial dimension of migration, and that place-specific distance parameters are spatially heterogeneous as well as spatially clustered.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.322-335
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• 2000

Purpose: For quantitative estimation of cerebrovascular reserve (CVR), we estimated the cerebral blood flow (CBF) using Lassen's nonlinearity correction algorithm and Tc-99m HMPAO brain SPECT images acquired with consecutive acquisition protocol. Using the values of CBF in basal and acetaBolamide (ACZ) stress states, CBF increase was calculated. Materials and Methods: In 9 normal subjects (age; $72{\pm}4$ years), brain SPECT was performed at basal and ACZ stress states consecutively after injection of 555 MBq and 1,110 MBq of Tc-99m HMPAO, respectively. Cerebellum was automatically extracted as reference region on basal SPECT image using threshold method. Assuming basal CBF of cerebellum as 55 ml/100g/min, CBF was calculated lot every pixel at basal states using Lassen's algorithm. Cerebellar blood flow at stress was estimated comparing counts of cerebellum at rest and ACZ stress and Lassen's algorithm. CBF of every pixel at ACZ stress state was calculated using Lassen's algorithm and ACZ cerebellar count. CVR was calculated by subtracting basal CBF from ACZ stress CBF for every pixel. The percent CVR was calculated by dividing CVR by basal CBF. The CBF and percentage CVR parametric images were generated. Results: The CBF and percentage CVR parametric images were obtained successfully in all the subjects. Global mean CBF were $49.6{\pm}5.5ml/100g/min\;and\;64.4{\pm}10.2ml/100g/min$ at basal and ACZ stress states, respectively. The increase of CBF at ACZ stress state was $14.7{\pm}9.6ml/100g/min$. The global mean percent CVR was 30.7% and was higher than the 13.8% calculated using count images. Conclusion: The blood flow at basal and ACZ stress states and cerebrovascular reserve were estimated using basal/ACZ Tc-99m-HMPAO SPECT images and Lassen's algorithm. Using these values, parametric images for blood flow and cerebrovascular reserve were generated.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.184-190
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• 2016

Objectives : This study analyzed the differences of body mass index(BMI) in Korean patients with Alzheimer's diseases(AD), Mild Cognitive Impairment(MCI), and healthy controls to verify whether low BMI is associated with cognitive impairment. Furthermore, this study also sought to examine any association between BMI and Mini Mental State Examination-Korean version(MMSE-K), Clinical Dementia Rating(CDR), and Global Deterioration Scale(GDS). Methods : A total of 257 subjects were included in the study. History taking, mental status examination, physical examination and neurocognitive function test were carried out for the diagnosis of AD and MCI. The subjects' demographic data and presence of diseases were also surveyed. The overall cognitive function and severity of diseases were assessed using MMSE-K, GDS, and CDR. Results : The order of BMI was found to be healthy controls>MCI>AD, with statistically significant differences among the groups. The order of MMSE-K scores was similar, with healthy controls>MCI>AD in statistically significant differences. The healthy controls had the lowest CDR and GDS scores, and AD patients had the highest scores. There was a significant positive correlation between BMI and MMSE scores(r=0.238, p=0.000). BMI was negatively correlated with CDR(r=-0.174, p=0.008) as well as with GDS(r=-0.233, p= 0.000). Conclusions : Measuring BMI of patients with AD or MCI is expected to be meaningful in that BMI could be a clinical indicator of AD. We expect this to be beneficial for the diagnosis, prevention, and therapeutic approach of AD and also expect large-scale, long-term longitudinal studies to follow.

• Journal of Arbitration Studies
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.33-52
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• 2014

Although climate change is a global scale question, some concerns have been raised that principles of investment arbitration may not adequately address the domestic implementation of climate change measures. A recent ICSID investment arbitration of Vattenfall v. Germany with regard to the investor's alleged damages from the phase-out of nuclear plants is a salient climate change case. The 2005 Kyoto Protocol was made to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and it provides a number of flexible mechanisms such as Joint Implementation (JI) and Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). Implementation of the Kyoto Protocol allows dispute settlement through investor-state arbitration. Any initiation of stricter emission standards can violate the prohibition on expropriations in investment agreements, regardless of the measures created to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The effect-based expropriation doctrine can charge changes to existing emission standards as interference with the use of property that goes against the legitimate expectation of a foreign investor. In regulatory chill, threat of investor claims against the host state may preclude the strengthening of climate change measures. Stabilization clauses also have a freezing effect on the hosting state's regulation and a new law applicable to the investment. In the fair and equitable standard, basic expectations of investors when entering into earlier carbon-intensive operations can be affected by a regulation seeking to change into a low-carbon approach. As seen in the Methanex tribunal, a non-discriminatory and public purpose of environmental protection measures should be considered as non-expropriation in the arbitral tribunal unless its decision would intentionally impede a foreign investor's investment.

• Korean Security Journal
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• no.26
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• pp.29-58
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• 2011

Since 11 September 2001, warnings of risk in the nexus of terrorism and nuclear weapons and materials which poses one of the gravest threats to the international community have continued. The purpose of this study is to analyze the aim, principles, characteristics, activities, impediments to progress and developmental recommendation of the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism(GICNT). In addition, it suggests implications of the GICNT for the ROK policy. International community will need a comprehensive strategy with four key elements to accomplish the GICNT: (1) securing and reducing nuclear stockpiles around the world, (2) countering terrorist nuclear plots, (3) preventing and deterring state transfers of nuclear weapons or materials to terrorists, (4) interdicting nuclear smuggling. Moreover, other steps should be taken to build the needed sense of urgency, including: (1) analysis and assessment through joint threat briefing for real nuclear threat possibility, (2) nuclear terrorism exercises, (3) fast-paced nuclear security reviews, (4) realistic testing of nuclear security performance to defeat insider or outsider threats, (5) preparing shared database of threats and incidents. As for the ROK, main concerns are transfer of North Korea's nuclear weapons, materials and technology to international terror groups and attacks on nuclear facilities and uses of nuclear devices. As the 5th nuclear country, the ROK has strengthened systems of physical protection and nuclear counterterrorism based on the international conventions. In order to comprehensive and effective prevention of nuclear terrorism, the ROK has to strengthen nuclear detection instruments and mobile radiation monitoring system in airports, ports, road networks, and national critical infrastructures. Furthermore, it has to draw up effective crisis management manual and prepare nuclear counterterrorism exercises and operational postures. The fundamental key to the prevention, detection and response to nuclear terrorism which leads to catastrophic impacts is to establish not only domestic law, institution and systems, but also strengthen international cooperation.