• Atmosphere
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.299-314
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• 2007

The purpose of this study is to summarize tropical cyclone activity in 2006. Twenty three tropical cyclones of tropical storm (TS) intensity or higher formed in the western North Pacific and the South China Sea in 2006. The total number is less than the thirty-year (1971~2000) average frequency of 26.7. Out of twenty three tropical cyclones, fifteen cyclones reached typhoon (TY) intensity, while the rest eight cyclones only reached severe tropical storm (STS) and tropical storm (TS) intensity - three STS and five TS storms. The tropical cyclone season in 2006 began in May with the formation of CHANCHU (0601). The convective activity was slightly inactive around the Philippines from late June to early August. In addition, subtropical high was more enhanced than normal over the south of Japan from May to early August. Consequently, most tropical cyclones formed over the sea east of the Philippines after late June, and many of them moved westwards to China. CHANCHU (0601), BILIS (0604), KAEMI (0605), PRAPIROON (0606) and SAOMI (0608) brought damage to China, the Philippines, and Vietnam. On the other hand, EWINIAR (0603) moved northwards and hit the Republic of Korea, causing damage to the country. From late August to early September, convective activity was temporarily inactive over the sea east of the Philippines. However, it turned active again after late September. Subtropical high was weak over the south of Japan after late August. Therefore, most tropical cyclones formed over the sea east of the Philippines and moved northwards. WUKONG (0610) and SHANSHAN (0613) hit Japan to bring damage to the country. On the other hand, XANGSANE (0615) and CIMARON (0619) moved westwards in the South China Sea, causing damage to the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. Another special feature in 2006 tropical cyclone activity is that IOKE (0612) formed in the central North Pacific crossed 180 degree longitude and moved into the western North Pacific. It has been four years since HUKO (0224) in 2002.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.45 no.5
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• pp.588-598
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• 2017

Currently, bioethanol, a fuel additive for transportation, is produced mainly by using biomass (first generation) such as corn and sugar canes. First generation biomass can cause various problems in terms of increase in agricultural prices and ethical reasons. To address these problems, a nonedible lignocellulosic biomass can be utilized. Agricultural byproducts such as straw, bagasse, and forest byproducts from the wood processing industry. Therefore, production of wood based bioethanol can be an effective utilization route of second generation biomass, and its raw materials are more abundant than first generation resources. Furthermore, it is possible to secure cheap raw materials. One of the biggest advantages of using biofuels is that it contributes to the reduction of greenhouse gases by minimizing the environmental impact, unlike fossil fuels. In this study, we investigated the greenhouse gas reduction effects that can be achieved through the use of Lignocellulosic bioethanol and government policies on renewable energy currently being implemented in ASEAN countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines). In these four countries, policies and incentives related to biofuels have been developed. It is expected that the reduction ratio of carbon dioxide emission and the mixed biofuel will be gradually increased in the future.

• Journal of Crop Science and Biotechnology
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.17-22
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• 2008

Aromatic rice has become popular owing to its aroma. Growing demand for aromatic rice has spurred interest in the development of domestic cultivars that offer similar combinations of grain attributes such as texture, cooking characteristics, aroma, and taste. In this study, the most important agronomic attributes and aroma of 26 cultivars from Afghanistan, Iran, and Uzbekistan, and controls from Japan, Thailand, and India were characterized. Also $F_2$ populations derived from the cross between(Jasmine 85 aromatic$\times$Nipponbare non-aromatic) and(Jasmine 85$\times$Basmati 370 aromatic) were obtained. Tasting individual grains, cooking test, 1.7% KOH sensory test, and molecular marker analysis have been applied to distinguish between aromatic and non-aromatic rice. Diversity for some traits of agronomic importance, such as plant height was detected among countries, e.g. Afghan cultivars classified as tall, and Iranian and Uzbek intermediate and short, respectively. Differentiations of panicle, grain, leaf, basal internode, and culm dimension among rice cultivars, indicating the source of rice diversity in Central Asia. According to the results, 6 of 10, 2 of 7, and 0 of 6 of Afghan, Iranian, and Uzbek rice cultivars were scored as aromatic, respectively. Therefore, Afghan cultivars are a good source of aromatic rice germplasm for Central Asia. The expression between aromatic and non-aromatic, and aromatic and aromatic combinations has been evaluated. The observed segregation ratio of these crosses in the $F_2$ populations was tested by $x^2$ analysis against the expected ratio for a single gene. A segregation ratio of 3:1 between non-aromatic and aromatic combination has been detected, while segregation has not been detected between the aromatic and aromatic combinations. Also, parallel results were obtained from the tested aromatic rice cultivars. Thus, our results suggest that a single recessive gene controls aroma in all aromatic rice cultivars.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.10
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• pp.1723-1735
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• 2016

Pyrosequencing analysis of intestinal microflora from healthy Thai vegetarians and non-vegetarians exhibited 893 OTUs covering 189 species. The strong species indicators of vegetarians and non-vegetarians were Prevotella copri and Bacteroides vulgatus as well as bacteria close to Escherichia hermanii with % relative abundance of 16.9 and 4.5-4.7, respectively. Core gut microbiota of the vegetarian and non-vegetarian groups consisted of 11 and 20 different bacterial species, respectively, belonging to Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, and Proteobacteria commonly found in both groups. Two species, Faecalibacterium prausnitzii and Gemmiger formicilis, had a prevalence of 100% in both groups. Three species, Clostridium nexile, Eubacterium eligens, and P. copri, showed up in most vegetarians, whereas more diversity of Collinsella aerofaciens, Ruminococcus torques, various species of Bacteroides, Parabacteroides, Escherichia, and different species of Clostridium and Eubacterium were found in most non-vegetarians. Considering the correlation of personal characters, consumption behavior, and microbial groups, the age of non-vegetarians showed a strong positive correlation coefficient of 0.54 (p = 0.001) to Bacteroides uniformis but exhibited a moderate one to Alistipes finegoldii and B. vulgatus. Only a positive moderate correlation of body mass index and Parabacteroides distasonis appeared. Based on the significant abundance of potential pathogens, the microbiota of the non-vegetarian group showed an abundance of potential pathogen varieties of Bilophila wadsworthia, Escherichia coli, and E. hermannii, whereas that of the vegetarian group served for only Klebsiella pneumoniae. These results implied that the microbiota of vegetarians with high abundance of P. copri and low potential pathogen variety would be a way to maintain good health in Thais.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.426-431
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• 2018

This study examines exchange rate volatility spillovers that affect the exchange rate volatility of Korean currency. For this study, the Japanese yen, British pound, Euro, and Canadian dollar are used as the currencies of developed countries, and the Thai baht, Indonesian rupiah, Singapore dollar, and Australian dollar are used as the currencies of the areas near Korea. The GARCH(1.1) model is employed for weekly data covering the period from January 2009 to December 2017. This study finds that the volatility spillovers from the Canadian dollar, Singapore dollar, and Australian dollar to the Korean won are significant, while the volatility spillovers from the Japanese yen, British pound, Euro, Thai baht, and Indonesian rupiah to the Korean won are insignificant. In terms of the economic system and structure, Japan, Britain, and European countries are at a higher level than Korea, while Thailand and Indonesia are at a lower level than Korea. Canada, Singapore, and Australia are almost at the same level as Korea. Therefore, these results appear to be derived from the phenomenon of exchange rate spillovers among countries with a similar economic system and structures, and contradict the literature, which has argued that exchange rates volatility spillovers occur among countries that are in the same area geographically.

• Asian Journal of Turfgrass Science
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.89-95
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• 2012

Korean lawn grass, which belongs to Zoysia genus in Gramineae family, is one of the major turfgrass which is widely adapted to its native niches in the temperate region of the north east Asia through tropical regions including Philippine, Thailand and Australia. The Turfgrass Information Center' database provides 5,340 descriptive records including 638 referred papers and 1,370 technical reports concerning 'Zoysia'. The database focused on researches on golf courses and lawn care industries. The researches provide informations on seed technology and use of plant protectant for pest management in turf management industries. The purpose of this study is to analyze and classify the research contents of zoysiagrasses which have been published in Korean journals. The total number of research papers published in Korean journals were 274 including 102, 38, and 134 in the 'Botanical', 'Environmental' and 'Cultural' researches, respectively. Publication in foreign journals by Korean investigators were not counted in this research. Research fields concerning golf course maintenance and plant protectant are believed to be necessary when compared to international trends. Moreover, advanced research efforts for the development of new cultivars with various environmental and disease resistance should be accomplished.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.22
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• pp.9823-9829
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• 2014

Background: High-dose methotrexate (HD-MTX) is recognized as an efficient component of therapy against pediatric osteosarcoma in combination with other drugs such as cisplatin (CDP), carboplatin (CBDCA), doxorubicin (ADM), etoposide (VP-16) and ifosfamide (IFO). Objectives: To demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the HD-MTX/CDP/DOX/VP-16/IFO [MTX(+)] protocol comparable to CDP/ADM/CBDCA/IFO [MTX(-)] for treating childhood osteosarcoma at Ramathibodi Hospital (1999-2014). Materials and Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted of osteosarcoma patients aged less than 18 years treated with two chemotherapeutic regimens between 1999 and 2014. A total of 45 patients received the MTX(-) and 21 the MTX(+) protocol. Results: Overall limb-salvage and amputation rate were 12.9% and 77.7%, respectively. Kaplan-Meier analysis results for 3-year disease free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) regardless of treatment regimens were $43.4{\pm}6.0%$ and $53.2{\pm}6.1%$ respectively. The 3-year DFS and OS were improved significantly with the MTX(+) protocol compared to MTX(-) protocol (p=0.010 and p=0.009, log rank test) [$69.8{\pm}10.5%$, $79.8{\pm}9.1%$ for MTX(+) and $31.1{\pm}6.9%$, $42.2{\pm}7.4%$ for MTX(-) protocol, respectively]. Patients with metastatic osteosarcoma treated with the MTX(+) protocol had statistically significant higher 3-year DFS and OS than those treated with the MTX(-) protocol ($66.7{\pm}13.6%$ and $15.0{\pm}8.0%$ for 3-year DFS, p=0.010, $73.3{\pm}13.2%$ and $20{\pm}8.9%$ for 3-year OS, p=0.006, respectively). The independent risk factors for having inferior 3-year DFS and OS were poor histological response (tumor necrosis <90%) and treatment with the MTX(-) protocol. The multivariate analysis identified only the treatment with the MTX(-) protocol as an independent predictor of inferior OS with a hazard ratio (HR) of 3.53 (95% confidence interval of 1.2-10.41, p=0.022). Conclusions: Our study demonstrated the tolerability, feasibility and efficacy of the HDMTX-based regimen improving the survival rate in pediatric osteosarcoma cases, in line with reports from developed countries.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.16
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• pp.6811-6817
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• 2014

Background: Breast cancer risk prediction models are widely used in clinical practice. They should be useful in identifying high risk women for screening in limited-resource countries. However, previous models showed poor performance in derived and validated settings. Therefore, we aimed to develop and validate a breast cancer risk prediction model for Thai women. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study consisted of derived and validation phases. Data collected at Ramathibodi and other two hospitals were used for deriving and externally validating models, respectively. Multiple logistic regression was applied to construct the model. Calibration and discrimination performances were assessed using the observed/expected ratio and concordance statistic (C-statistic), respectively. A bootstrap with 200 repetitions was applied for internal validation. Results: Age, menopausal status, body mass index, and use of oral contraceptives were significantly associated with breast cancer and were included in the model. Observed/expected ratio and C-statistic were 1.00 (95% CI: 0.82, 1.21) and 0.651 (95% CI: 0.595, 0.707), respectively. Internal validation showed good performance with a bias of 0.010 (95% CI: 0.002, 0.018) and C-statistic of 0.646(95% CI: 0.642, 0.650). The observed/expected ratio and C-statistic from external validation were 0.97 (95% CI: 0.68, 1.35) and 0.609 (95% CI: 0.511, 0.706), respectively. Risk scores were created and was stratified as low (0-0.86), low-intermediate (0.87-1.14), intermediate-high (1.15-1.52), and high-risk (1.53-3.40) groups. Conclusions: A Thai breast cancer risk prediction model was created with good calibration and fair discrimination performance. Risk stratification should aid to prioritize high risk women to receive an organized breast cancer screening program in Thailand and other limited-resource countries.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.34-43
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• 2014

Young Chinese audience can select and watch TV dramas, movies and entertainment programs from many different nations, such as Korea, America, Japan, England, Thailand, India, and so on, through multiple channels, such as online video sites - iQiyi, Youku, LeTV, PPTV, and many others - which were induced by changes in media environment. Various genres of Korean popular culture have recently become popular in China, but this phenomenon differs from the early Korean Wave. During the earlier period (from 1997 to the early 2000s) of the Korean Wave, soap operas were popular among middle-aged women, but now various other genres, such as K-pop, entertainment programs, etc., are also popular in China. The purpose of this study is to explore how young Chinese audiences use foreign pop culture, including their preferred genres, reasons for preferring these genres, and the relationship between the preferred pop culture and national image in Korean, American, and Japanese pop culture were analyzed. According to the study results, similarities and differences between preferred genres and the reasons for preferring these genres, and also a close correlation between preferred pop culture and national image were found. These findings will be fundamental for supporting the continual development of the Korean Wave in China.

• Journal of Navigation and Port Research
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.155-164
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• 2017

While many countries are implementing various policies regarding the logistics network in Eurasia, China has presented "the Belt and Road" Initiative, a development strategy that focuses on connectivity and close cooperation between China and Eurasia. With more than 60 countries participating in the project, China is expected to have a major influence on logistical infrastructure development in Eurasia. This study analyzed the railway stations network using social network analysis (SNA) methodology. We collected data from major railway lines in Eurasia (TAR, TEN-T, TRACECA, GMS) and established a network of 994 railway stations in 65 countries. This study presented the general characteristics of major railway stations from the perspective of SNA and compared the Chinese network with Eurasian networks. To review the railway networks in China and Eurasia, the top 30 stations were selected based on degree centrality and betweenness centrality. Top "degree centrality" stations included Bangkok (Thailand), Tbilisi (Georgia), Baku (Azerbaijan), Kunming (China), and Bucharest (Romania). Top "betweenness centrality" stations were Baku and Alyat (Azerbaijan), Baoji and Turpan (China), Qarshi (Uzbekistan), and Kas (Turkey). In China, Kunming, Nanning, and Gejiu stations have higher degree centrality while betweenness centrality was higher in Baoji, Kunming, and Lanzhou stations. "The Belt and Road" project advocated by China envisions expansion of transportation infrastructure connections throughout Eurasia, but more emphasis is likely to be placed on connectivity that benefits China. In this regard, studies on key bases of international logistics need to consider relative significance within the Chinese network.