• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.142-149
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• 1983

Epidemiological studies on the reinfetion pattern of Ascaris lumbricoides were undertaken by means of blanket mass chemotherapy and worm collection in a rural village in Korea, during 1977~1980. The study objectives were to determine the age (sex)-specific reinfection rate during 2, 4, 6 and 12 months through repeated mass chemotherapy with pyrantel pamoate, and to observe the familial aggregation tendency of the reinfected cases. The results obtained are as follows: 1. The age (sex)-reinfection curve revealed that the reinfection rate is much higher in younger individuals than in olders in all of 4 kinds of interval chemotherapy groups. The highest reinfection rate and the highest burden of reinfected worms were observed in preschool children, followed by primary school students. Such fluctuation in the age-specific reinfection rates was more pronounced in males than in females. 2. There was noted a significant tendency of familial aggregation among the reinfected cases. It is suggested that reinfection occurs never randomly but preferably to the members of certain household families. From these reinfection analyses, it is inferred that the principal mode of A. lumbricoides transmiSSIOn in the surveyed rural area is likely to be of 'dooryard type', in which case children and certain family members are more preferably reinfected. It is also suggested that the preschool children should be included in the primary targets of mass control programme.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.161-170
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• 2001

We conducted both the small subunit ribosomal DNA (SSU rDNA) polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and mitochondrial (mt) DNA RFLP analyses for a genetic characterization of Acanthamoeba isolates from contact lens storage cases of students in Seoul, Korea. Twenty-three strains of Acanthamoeba from the American Type Culture Collection and twelve clinical isolates from Korean patients were used as reference strains. Thirty-nine isolates from contact lens storage cases were classified into seven types (KA/LS1 , KA/LS2, KA/LS4, KA/LS5, KA/LS7 KA/LS18, KA/LS31). Four types (KA/LS1 , KA/LS2, KA/LS5, KA/LS18) including 33 isolates were regarded as A. castellanii complex by riboprints. KA/LS1 type was the most predominant (51.3%) in the present survey area, followed by KA/LS2 (20.9%), and KA/LSS (7.7%) types. Amoebae of KA/LS1 type had the same mtDNA RFLP and riboprint patterns as KA/E2 and KA/E12 strains, clinical isolates from Korean keratitis patients. Amoebae of KA/LS2 type had the identical mtDNA RFLP patterns with A. castellanii Ma strain, a corneal isolate from an American patient as amoebae of KA/LS5 type, with KA/E3 and KA/E8 strains from other Korean keratitis patients. Amoebae of KA/LS 18 type had identical patterns with JAC/E1, an ocular isolate from a Japanese patient. Three types , which remain unidentified at species level, were not corresponded with any clinical isolate in their mtDNA RFLP and riboprint patterns. Out of 39 isolates analyzed in this study, mtDNA RFLP and riboprint patterns of 33 isolates (84.6%) were identical to already known clinical isolates, and therefore, they may be regarded as potentially keratopathogenic. These results suggest that contact lens wearers in Seoul should pay more attention to hygienic maintenance of contact lens storage cases for the prevention of Acanthamoeba keratitis.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.139-148
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• 2002

In order to study the range of flight and feeding activity of Anopheles sinensis, the dispersal experiment was conducted in Paju city, located in the northern part of Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea, during the period of 7th to 28th September 1998. Unfed females An. sinensis were collected in cowshed and released after being marked with fluorescent dye at 23:00 hours on the same day. Released female mosquitoes were recaptured everyday during 21 days using light traps, which were set at 10 sites in the cowsheds located 1, 3, 6, 9 and 12 km north-northwest and north-northeast and at 3 sites located 1, 6 and 9 km toward south-west from the release point. In addition, to study the longest flight distance in one night, we set the light traps at 16 and 20 km toward north-northeast from the release site. All the collected mosquitoes were placed on filter papers and observed on UV transilluminator after treatment with one drop of 100% ethanol. Out of 12,773 females of An. sinensis released, 194 marked females mosquitoes were recaptured, giving 1.52% recapture rate. Of 194, 72 mosquitoes (37 1%) were recaptured in light traps from three places set at 1 km from the release point, 57 mosquitoes (29.4%) from two places at 1-3 km, 41 mosquitoes (21.1%) from three places at 3-6 km, 20 mosquitoes (10.3%) from three places at 6-9 km, and 4 mosquitoes (2.1%) from two places at 9-12 km. Since 170 female mosquitoes (87.6%) out of 194 marked mosquitoes were captured within 6 km from the release point, this flight radius represents the main activity area. An. sinensis was found to be able to fly at least 12 km during one night.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.51-57
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• 2000

Follow-up studies have been conducted every three years on the endemicity of Gymnophalloides seoi infection in a small coastal village of Chollanam-do (Province), Korea, since it was first known as an endemic area in 1994. Special attention was given to its egg laying capacity in the human host. In fecal examinations, the overall helminth egg and/or cyst positive rate was 78.7% (74/94) in 1997 and 76.6% (82/107) in 2000. Among them G. seoi eggs showed the highest rate; 71.3% (67/94) in 1997 and 72.0% (77/107) in 2000. The average number of eggs per gram of feces (EPG) was 1,015 in 1997, while a reduced rate of 353 was observed in 2000. In 1997, total of 320,677 adult flukes of G. seoi (av. 10,344/person, 94-69,125 in range) were collected from the diarrheic stools of 31 treated patients. The EPG/worm obtained from 21 cases ranged from 0.04 to 0.77 (av. 0.23), suggesting density-dependent constraints on the worm fecundity. The relationship between the worm burden (X) and EPG/worm (Y) can be expressed as $Y=0.42{\cdot}e{\cdot}^{-l.2x}(r=0.49)$. The results showed that G. seoi infection is persistently endemic in this village.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.69-79
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• 2013

This paper presents a two-stage geostatistical integration approach that aims at downscaling of coarse scale remote sensing data. First, downscaling of the coarse scale sedoncary data is implemented using area-to-point kriging, and this result will be used as trend components on the next integration stage. Then simple kriging with local varying means that integrates sparse precise observation data with the downscaled data is applied to generate thematic information at a finer scale. The presented approach can not only account for the statistical relationships between precise observation and secondary data acquired at the different scales, but also to calibrate the errors in the secondary data through the integration with precise observation data. An experiment for precipitation mapping with weather station data and TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) data acquired at a coarse scale is carried out to illustrate the applicability of the presented approach. From the experiment, the geostatistical downscaling approach applied in this paper could generate detailed thematic information at various finer target scales that reproduced the original TRMM precipitation values when upscaled. And the integration of the downscaled secondary information with precise observation data showed better prediction capability than that of a conventional univariate kriging algorithm. Thus, it is expected that the presented approach would be effectively used for downscaling of coarse scale data with various data acquired at different scales.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.33-40
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• 1985

Two cases of human Erhinostoma hortense infection and their probable infection source were identified by prasiqantel (Distocide) treatment of the patients and by examining two kinds of fresh water fish which were eaten raw by them. The result of the research can be summarized as follows: 1. The patients, each aged 31 and 30, were residing in the same house in Wonju City, Kangwon Province. The first case was hospitalized due to epidemic hemorrhagic fever (E.H. fever) and the second case was healthy but had slight degree of abdominal pain and diarrhea from time to time. In the stool examination, eggs of 5. hortense ($114.3{\times}71.0{\mu\textrm{m}}$) average from the first case and $119.1{\times}68.3{\mu\textrm{m}}$ average from the second) were found. By administering single dose of praziquantel (10~15mg/kg) and purgation with magnesium salt to them. sin adults of 5. hortense were collected from the diarrheal stools of the second case. 2. By examining 8:k Moroco oxycephalus and 20 Carassius carassius which were captured at the place where the two patients had captured and eaten the fresh water fish, the metacercariae of Echinostoma sp. were found from 3 (3.5%) M. oxycephalus. 3. After the experimental infection of 3 isolated metacercariae to one albino rat three adults of 5. hortense were recovered. By the present study, the two patients revealing the echinostomatid eggs in their stools were proven to be infected with 5. hortense and to be the second and third human cases of this luke infection in Korea. Mcroco oxycephalus harboured the metacercariae of E. hortense and appeared to be a new second intermediate host.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.69-78
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• 2007

Constructed wetlands and other aquatic systems have been successfully used for waste and wastewater treatment in either temperate or tropical regions. To treat waste or wastewater in a sustainable manner, the integrated eco-engineering designs are explained in this paper with 2 case studies: (i) a combination of vertical-flow constructed wetland (CW) with plant irrigation systemfor fecal sludge management and (ii) integrated CW units with landscaping at full-scale application for domestic wastewater treatment. The pilot-scale study of fecal sludge management employed 3 vertical-flow CW units, each with a dimension of $5{\times}5{\times}0.65m$ (width ${\times}$ length ${\times}$ media depth) and planted with cattails (Typha augustifolia). At the solid loading rate of 250 kg total solids (TS)/$m^2.yr$ and a 6-day percolate impoundment, the CW system could achieve chemical oxygen demand (COD), TS and total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN) removal efficiencies in the range of 80 - 96%. The accumulated sludge layers of about 80 - 90 cm was found at the CW bed surface after operating the CW units for 7 years, but no clogging problem has been observed. The CW percolate was applied to 16 irrigation Sunflower plant (Helianthus annuus) plots, each with a dimension of $4.5{\times}4.5m$ ($width{\times}length$). In the study, the CW percolate were fed to the treatment plots at the application rate of 7.5 mm/day but the percolate was mixed with tap water at different ratio of 20%, 80% and 100%. Based on a 1-year data of 3-crop plantation were experimented, the contents of Zn, Mn and Cu in soil of the experimental plots were found to increase with increasing in CW percolate ratios. The highest plant biomass yield and oil content of 1,000 kg/ha and 35%, respectively, were obtained from the plots fed with 20% or 50% of the CW percolate, whereas no accumulation of heavy metals in the plant tissues (i.e. leaves, stems and flowers) of the sunflower is found. In addition to the pilot-scale and field experiments, a case study of the integrated CW systems for wastewater treatment at Phi Phi Island (a Tsunami-hit area), Krabi province, Thailand is illustrated. The $5,200-m^2$ CW systems on Phi Phi Island are not only for treatment of $400m^3/day$ wastewater from hotels, households or other domestic activities, but also incorporating public consultation in the design processes, resulting in introducing the aesthetic landscaping as well as reusing of the treated effluent for irrigating green areas on the Island.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.1151-1159
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• 2014

In this study, two global simple indices are used to investigate climate variability and change in observations. Land-Ocean Contrast (LOC) is an index of area-averaged surface temperature contrast between land and ocean. Meridional Temperature Gradient (MTG) is defined as the mean meridional temperature gradient in the Northern Hemisphere from mid to high latitude and sub-tropical zonal bands. These indices have direct or indirect effects on changing in atmospheric circulations and atmospheric moisture transport from north-south or east-west into East Asia (EA). In addition, warm season hydrometeorology in EA is highly associated with water supplies for coupled human and natural systems including drinking water, irrigation, hydropower generation as well as fisheries. Therefore, in this study, we developed an empirical separation approach for summer rainfall from typhoon and monsoon. An exploratory analysis was also conducted to identify the regional patterns of summer monsoon precipitation over the Korean peninsula within the context of changes in different types of temperature gradients. The results show significant and consistent changes in summer monsoon rainfall during the summer season (June-September) in South Korea.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.233-238
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• 2007

Intestinal helminths and schistosomiasis among school children were investigated in an urban and some rural communities of Ogun State, southwest Nigeria. Fecal samples of 1,059 subjects (524 males, 535 females) aged 3-18 years were examined using direct smear and brine concentration methods between June 2005 and November 2006. The pooled prevalence of infection was 66.2%. Ascaris lumbricoides showed the highest prevalence (53.4%) (P < 0.001) followed by hookworms (17.8%), Trichuris trichiura (10.4%), Taenia sp. (9.6%), Schistosoma mansoni (2.3%), Strongyloides stercoralis (0.7%), Schistosoma haematobium (0.6%), and Enterobius vermicularis (0.3%). The prevalences of A. lumbricoides, hookworms, Taenia sp., S. mansoni, and S. stercoralis in the urban centre were similar (P > 0.05) to those in the rural communities. The fertile and infertile egg ratios of A. lumbricoides in the urban centre and the rural communities were 13: 1 and 3.7: 1, respectively. Each helminth had similar prevalences among both genders (P > 0.05). The prevalence of A. lumbricoides increased significantly with age (P < 0.001). The commonest double infections were Ascaris and hookworms, while the commonest triple infections were Ascaris, hookworms, and Trichuris. The study demonstrates the need for urgent intervention programmes against intestinal helminthiases and schistosomiasis in the study area.

• Korean Journal of Plant Taxonomy
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.252-262
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• 2013

During the floristic survey on Phnom Bokor National Park, Kampot, Cambodia, we encountered Balanophora fungosa var. indica, which is a tropical holoparasitic plant. To identify its host species, we collected host roots and trees nearby and tried to identify them using DNA barcoding approach. We applied plastid rbcL and matK gene regions as DNA barcode markers, and successfully amplified and sequenced the markers from 15 host roots and seven tree samples. Obtained host root sequences were identified as Primulaceae, Celastraceae, Myrtaceae, and Oleaceae, while trees nearby are Oleaceae, Myrtaceae, Sapindaceae, Rosaceae, Clusiaceae, Ericaceae, and Lauraceae. At genus level, host species are identified as Myrsine, Euonymus, Syzygium, and Olea, but failed in species discrimination. Myrsine (Primulaceae) and Olea (Oleaceae) are reported here as host species of B. fungosa var. indica for the first time. Further sampling and comparative work, and DNA barcoding will help recognize the biodiversity of the area and host species of Balanophora, together with their evolution.