According to previous studies, the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) does not appear to regulate TC activity over Korea. By dividing the TC season into two sub-seasons, i.e. summer and autumn, we found the opposite response of TC activity over Korea to ENSO phases between the sub-seasons. In summer, about 1.2 more TCs affect Korea during El Niño than during La Niña, while about 1.2 fewer TCs do so in autumn. The opposite responses to ENSO could reduce the statistical significance of the relationship between ENSO and TC activity over Korea when the entire TC season (July to October) is considered. In summer, the southerly anomaly over the southern sea of the Korean peninsula due to the eastward retreating subtropical high allows a greater number of TCs to approach Korea during El Niño compared to La Niña. On the other hand, in autumn, the northwesterly anomaly due to the westward extension of the subtropical high leads to a smaller number of TC approaches.

열대저기압이 한반도로 접근할 때 중심최대풍속이 34 knot보다 약해졌더라도(weak tropical cyclone; WTC) 수 도권 지역으로 상륙하면 상당한 피해를 일으키지만 WTC만 독립적으로 조사한 학술연구는 거의 없다. 본 연구에 따르 면 WTC 활동은 Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO)와 관련되어 있는 것으로 보인다. PDO가 음의 위상일 때는 양의 위상일 때보다 95% 신뢰구간에서 유의하게 더 많은 WTC가 한반도에 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났다. PDO 양의 위 상에 비해 음의 위상 시기에는 북서태평양 북부에서 양의 상대소용돌이 아노말리가 나타난 반면, 북서태평양 남부에서 는 강한 연직바람시어와 음의 상대소용돌이 아노말리가 나타났다. 이런 조건 하에서 열대저기압의 발생위치가 보다 북 쪽으로, 즉 동아시아 대륙에 더욱 근접할 수 있었던 것으로 보이며 이에 따라 열대저기압의 전체 생애가 짧아졌을 것 이다. 게다가 PDO 음의 위상 시기에 일본열도 상공에 자리한 고기압성 아노말리는 열대저기압의 진로를 좀 더 서쪽으 로 밀어내어 육지에 의한 마찰과 황해 저층 냉수대의 영향도 증가하였을 것이다. 이에 따라 열대저기압의 생애최대강도 와 상륙 시 강도가 약해져 PDO 음의 위상 때 WTC 활동이 한반도에서 증가한 것으로 분석된다.

A coagulation-flocculation (CF) process using aluminum sulfate as a coagulant was employed to treat highly suspended solids in tunnel wastewater. Response surface methodology (RSM) based on a Box-Behnken design was applied to evaluate the effects of three factors (coagulant dosage, pH and temperature) on total suspended solids (TSS) removal efficiency as well as to identify optimal values of those factors to maximize removal of TSS. Optimal conditions of coagulant dosage and pH for maximum TSS removal changed depending on the temperature (4 ~ 24°C). As temperature increased, the amount of coagulant dosage and pH level decreased for maximum TSS removal efficiency during the CF process. Proper adjustment of optimal pH and coagulant dosage to accommodate temperature fluctuations can improve TSS removal performance of the CF process.

Oxidative DNA damage negatively affects humans and the research is currently ongoing to find ways to reduce oxidative stress. Oxidative stress has been identified as a key factor in triggering various diseases. Thus, its alleviation is important for human health. Broussonetia kazinoki (B. kazinoki) has been used in traditional Korean medicine as a dermatological therapy to treat burns, pruritus, and acne. B. kazinoki is generally segregated into peeled root (PR), root bark (RB), peeled stem (PS), and stem bark (SB). To assess these components for their antioxidant activity and protection against DNA damage, their ethyl acetate fractions were examined by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2'-Azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt (ABTS) radical scavenging assay. As a result of confirming the expression of factors involved in attenuating DNA damage, the protective effect of SB on oxidative stress suppressed the expression of p-p53 and γ-H2AX. Additionally, the levels of p53 and H2AX mRNA were significantly downregulated. In conclusion, these results indicated that the SB component of B. kazinoki had the potential to be used as an effective natural antioxidant compared to the other parts of the plant.

In this study, we evaluated the whitening activity of prethanol A and water extracts from Abeliophyllum distichum Nakai. The extracts were prepared using 0, 50, 70, and 100% prethanol A at 121℃, 1.2 atm for 15 minutes. To confirm effective extraction, the acteoside content of each extract was analyzed with the HPLC-PDA method. The antioxidant activity was evaluated using DPPH and ABTS scavenging activity assays, and the whitening activity was evaluated based on inhibitory activities on the protein and mRNA expression of tyrosinase, tyrosinase-related protein 1 (TRP-1), tyrosinase-related protein 2 (TRP-2), and microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF) in B16 F10 cells. Each extract showed strong antioxidant and whitening activity. IC50 values of antioxidant activity from each extract were in order of 100%, 70%, 50%, and 0%. In addition, whitening activity inhibited the protein and mRNA expression of melanin synthesis factor, following the same pattern as antioxidant activity. In conclusion, water and prethanol A extracts of A. distichum showed effective antioxidant and whitening activity and are thus considered to be valuable materials for whitening cosmetics. The results of this study will also provide basic data for the safe and efficient production of A. distichum as a cosmetic material.

중공슬래브는 휨 성능에 영향을 미치지 않는 부분의 콘크리트 단면을 삭제하고 중공재로 치환함으로써 중공재 부피만큼 콘크리트가 줄어들어 자중 감소효과를 가져오는 장점이 있다. 또한, 콘크리트의 물량절감뿐 아니라 친환경적 측면에서 이산화탄소의 배출도 저감할 수 있어 효과적이다. 하지만, 중공재로 치환한 부분의 지압강도가 명확하지 현장 적용 시에 여러 가지 문제점이 발생한다. 이에 본 연구에서는 중공재가 포함된 중공슬래브를 제작하여 각 타입별(트럭 하중 적용 시, 동바리 하중 적용 시 및 잭 서포트 하중 적용 시)로 국부지압강도 실험을 수행하여 중공슬래브 국부 지압강도의 안전성을 평가하고자 한다. 트럭하중 적용 시, 동바리 하중 적용 시 및 잭 서포트 하중 적용 시의 실험결과 중공재 연결부위 및 중공재 상부의 지압강도는 모든 실험체에서 허용 하중 이상을 보유한 것으로 나타났다. 또한 데크 적용 유무에 따른 실험결과도 모두 허용 하중을 초과하여 안정성을 확보하는 것으로 나타났다.