장미 ‘Sahara’는 국립원예특작과학원에서 2022년에 육성한 분홍톤 아이보리 스프레이 장미 품종으로 2013년 빨간색 스프레 이 품종 ‘Fangfare’에 아이보리색 스프레이 품종 ‘Vivien’을 부본으로 인공 교배 하였다. 총 73개의 교배 실생을 얻었으며 2015년부터 1, 2, 3차 특성검정을 통해,화색과 화형이 안정적이 며 생산성 및 절화 특성이 우수한 ‘원교 D1-360’을 최종 선발하 여 2022년 ‘Sahara’로 명명하고 국립종자원에 품종보호 출원· 등록하였다(등록번호 제9771호). 장미 ‘Sahara’ 품종은 분홍톤 크림색(155D)의 꽃잎수는 71.5매인 겹꽃으로 화폭과 화고는 각각 4.9, 3.1cm이며 소화수가 7.4개/줄기인 스프레이 장미이 다. 장미 ‘Sahara’ 품종의 절화장은 평균 73.8cm로 대조 품종 ‘Pink shin’56.9cm 대비 길며, 절화 수명은 약 17.8일로 ‘Pink shin’ 15.6일 보다 2일 정도 길다. ‘Sahara’는 절화 생산량은 연간 168본/m2로 ‘Pink Shine’ 140본 대비 생산량이 많다. 전자코를 이용한 PCA분석결과 주성분1과 2는 각각 99.3%와 0.6%로 전체 변이량의 99.9%를 반영하고 있다. Rader plot 분석결과 P10/2,P40/1 및 T30/1 센서 반응이 높았으며 총 6개 센서에서 모두 ‘Sahara’는 대조품종 ‘Pink Shine’에 비해 반응이 낮았다. 절화용 스프레이 장미 ‘Sahara’ 품종은 파스텔톤 의 중형 소화로, 균일한 절화 품질 및 우수한 수량으로 재배농가 의 선호도가 높아 국내에서 많이 재배될 것으로 기대된다.

Background: Hallux valgus (HV) is a common forefoot deformity that can lead to pain, altered gait, and musculoskeletal dysfunctions. Accurate severity assessment is essential for clinical decision-making, yet radiographic methods, though accurate—are costly and less accessible. Objects: This study aimed to develop and clinically validate an end-to-end artificial intelligence (AI)-based mobile application for HV severity classification from smartphone-captured dorsal foot photographs. Methods: The study comprised two phases. In Phase 1 (App & Model Development), we developed a mobile application integrating foot Red-Green-Blue (RGB) image capture, HV severity classification, and immediate reporting. Paired (weight-bearing anteroposterior foot) radiographs and smartphone dorsal foot photographs were collected from 180 adults with HV. Radiographic HV angle and intermetatarsal angle were measured to categorize severity (mild, moderate, severe) as ground truth. A MobileNetV2 convolutional neural network (CNN) was trained on dorsal foot images to predict severity. In Phase 2 (External Validation & Usability Assessment), 30 independent participants underwent both radiographic and app-based severity assessments. Diagnostic times were recorded for both assessments. Participants then completed a 10-item Likert-scale usability questionnaire, with internal consistency assessed using Cronbach’s α. Results: The CNN successfully classified HV severity based on radiographic ground truth and showed consistent performance on an external dataset. App-based assessment was on average approximately 12 minutes faster than radiographic evaluation (p < 0.001). Usability evaluation indicated positive user experience (overall mean = 3.84/5, Cronbach’s α = 0.706). Conclusion: This study presents fully operational mobile AI application that enables rapid, accurate, and user-friendly classification of HV severity directly from smartphone photographs. By combining machine learning with an accessible mobile platform, it can support point-ofcare screening, patient self-monitoring, and community-based care where radiographic evaluation is impractical.

This study was conducted to provide comprehensive information on the current status, constraints, and policy responses regarding rice cultivation in Uzbekistan for researchers and policymakers engaged in rice production in Central Asia. Despite annual fluctuations, Uzbekistan’s rice cultivation area has consistently exceeded 100,000 hectares each year. The yield per unit area improved by 19.2%, increasing from 4.21 t/ha in 2021 to 5.02 t/ha in 2024. In terms of cultivation methods, the proportion of doub le c ropping rose f rom 50.7% t o 71.6%, a lthough productivity remained h igher in s ingle cropping (5.35 t/ha) compared to double cropping (4.88 t/ha). Rice demonstrated an economic advantage of 2-5 times per hectare compared to major crops such as wheat, corn, and cotton. However, domestic production growth has not kept pace with rising consumption demands, leading to a sharp increase in imports, from 9,000 tons in 2019 to 108,800 tons in 2023. The structure of rice imports is shifting from a heavy reliance on Kazakhstan (90%) toward diversification, including partnerships with Pakistan, Thailand, and other countries. Major constraints to rice production in Uzbekistan include an arid climate, chronic irrigation water shortages, and soil salinization, which affects 50-70% of irrigated farmland. In response, the government established a comprehensive development strategy through Cabinet Resolution No. 986 in 2019 and is currently promoting economies of scale by establishing 42 clusters across 8 provinces (covering 41,440 hectares, or 29.7% of the total area). To address water scarcity, laser land leveling technology has been implemented on over 700,000 hectares as of 2024, aimed at reducing irrigation water usage and increasing yields, with plans to further expand water-saving cultivation technologies. In terms of international cooperation, the KOPIA project is enhancing quality seed production and distribution, as well as establishing machine transplanting cultivation technology. Partnerships with IRRI and participation in the Council for Partnership on Rice Research in Asia (CORRA) are strengthening the development of climate- adaptive varieties and international networks. Overall, Uzbekistan’s rice industry has the strategic potential to contribute significantly to food security, rural economic development, and regional trade activation through systematic policy implementation and enhanced international cooperation.

Pine wilt disease (PWD), caused by the pine wood nematode (Bursaphelenchus xylophilus), is a major threat to Pinus thunbergii forests in South Korea. Although climatic conditions are known to affect the spread of PWD, the specific influences of temperature and geography on nematode density and tree mortality remain unclear. This study assessed monthly PWN density and black pine mortality across three regions—two coastal (Geoje and Sacheon) and one inland (Jinju)—from 2021 to 2023. Nematode density and tree mortality consistently peaked in autumn across all regions. A strong positive correlation was observed between nematode density and tree mortality (r = 0.7468, p < 0.01), while temperature showed no significant correlation with either variable. These results indicate that PWD severity is more closely tied to nematode activity than to temperature alone, and that regional and seasonal variability must be considered in disease assessment. The findings highlight the need for region-specific monitoring and management strategies that prioritize high-risk periods, particularly autumn, when nematode activity and disease expression are most pronounced. This research provides essential data to support adaptive PWD control programs under changing climatic conditions.

Efficient yet realistic ship routing is critical for reducing fuel consumption and greenhouse-gas emissions. However, conventional weather-routing algorithms often produce mathematically optimal routes that conflict with the paths mariners use. This study presents a hybrid approach that constrains physics-based weather routing within an AISderived maritime traffic network (MTN) built from one year of global Automatic Identification System data. The MTN represents common sea lanes as a graph of approximately 10,956 waypoints (nodes) and 17,561 directed edges. Using this network, an optimal low-emission route is computed via graph search and then compared against both a traditional unconstrained route and an advanced weather-routing model (VISIR-2). In a May transitionseason case (Busan–Singapore voyage), the AIS-constrained route reduced fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions by about 1.9% relative to the fastest feasible route, while closely following real traffic corridors (over 90% overlap with actual 2024 AIS tracks). While this 1.9% saving does not reach the high-end potential of an unconstrained, state-of-the-art model like VISIR-2 (which can demonstrate double-digit savings in certain conditions), it is achieved with an increase in transit time of ~6.5 h (≈3.2%). This represents a crucial trade-off, prioritizing operational realism and adherence to real-world traffic corridors over maximum theoretical efficiency.

Stemflow (SF) is essential for water resources within forest ecosystems and can constitute up to half of the gross rainfall (GR), depending on the forest stand structures in coniferous plantations. Although numerous studies on SF yield have been reported globally for various forest types, very few studies on SF have been reported to examine the influence of forest stand structures on SF in Korea. This study aimed to quantify the relationship between SF and forest stand structures in unmanaged Japanese cypress plantations. Two study plots were established (10 m × 10 m each) in plantations with the same stem density (SD: 2500 stems ha-1) (hereafter P1 and P2). Almost all forest stand structures (canopy projection area, tree height, diameter at breast height (DBH), number of live and dead branches, and ratio of canopy length to canopy width), including canopy volume using mobile LiDAR devices, were investigated. To evaluate the efficiency of funneling rainwater for the effect of tree biomass on SF, a funneling ratio (FR) was used. The present SF ratios (20.7% in P1 and 22.3% in P2) were much higher than those reported in previous studies of various forest types in Korea (SF ratios: 0.2–5.8% with a mean of 2.0%). This is due to the interaction between the high SD and many under-canopy dead branches. Individual-scale FR was correlated with DBH (R2 = 0.43). The present stand-scale FRs (FRstand) (22.3 in P1 and 29.2 in P2) were much higher than those reported in the previous studies (FRstand: 1.0–33.3 with a mean of 7.8) because of the negative relationship between FRstand and mean DBH (R2 = 0.78, p = 0.02). Our results provide useful information for understanding changes in SF caused by forest stand structures.

This study analyzes the fragmented landscape of global loot box regulations, which have emerged from a discourse predominantly focused on negative aspects such as gambling. The analysis reveals a variety of coexisting regulatory models—including prohibition under gambling law, mandatory disclosure, and self-regulation—that lack a unified standard and raise issues of practical effectiveness and reverse discrimination. Consequently, this paper argues for an urgent shift beyond a problem-solving approach toward balanced research that examines the positive functions of loot boxes for players and the industry ecosystem to inform rational policymaking.

산림자원 조사에서 입목의 측정은 조사원이 직접 측정 도구를 사용하여 수행되지만, 측정값의 일관성과 정확성 문제로 인한 오차가 발생할 수 있다. 이러한 문제를 해결하기 위해 최근 LiDAR(Light Detection and Ranging) 기술이 산림자원 조사에 응용되고 있다. 본 연구는 단순림의 산림자원 조사에서 지상 LiDAR 기술의 활용 가능성을 평가하고자 하였다. 연구는 한국의 전주에 위치한 전북대학교 학술림 내의 편백림과 굴참나무 림을 대상으로 수행되었다. 조사원이 측정한 입목의 흉고직경과 수고 측정값을 기준으로, 휴대형 및 고정형 LiDAR 장비를 사용한 측정값을 비교 분석하였다. 결과적으로, 편백 임분의 흉고직경 측정에서는 측정 방법 간 높은 일치도가 나타났으며, 평균의 차이는 유의미하지 않았다. 그러나 수고 측정에서는 낮은 일치도가 관찰되었고, 평균의 차이는 유의미하였다. 특히, 3점 이동 평균 수고에서 휴대형 LiDAR 장비는 수고를 0.3m 과대 측정하였으며, 고정형 LiDAR 장비는 1.2m 과소 측정하였다. 굴참나무 임분의 경우, 흉고직경 측정에서 높은 일치도가 나타났고, 수고 측정에서 도 비교적 높은 일치도를 보였다. 또한, 흉고직경과 수고 모두에서 평균의 차이는 유의미하지 않았다. 이러한 결과는 편백 임분과 굴참나무 임분에서 흉고직경 측정과 굴참나무 임분의 수고 측정에 있어 지상 LiDAR 기술이 높은 정확도를 제공할 수 있음을 시사하지만, 편백 임분의 수고 측정에서는 개선의 여지가 있음을 나타낸다. 본 연구는 지상 LiDAR 기술이 단순림의 산림자원 조사에 활용될 수 있는 초기 단계의 연구로서, 다양한 수종 및 환경 조건에 관한 추가 연구의 필요성을 강조한다.