scholarly journals The impact of environmental variables on the spread of COVID-19 in the Republic of Korea

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong Kwan Lim ◽  
Oh Joo Kweon ◽  
Hye Ryoun Kim ◽  
Tae-Hyoung Kim ◽  
Mi-Kyung Lee

AbstractCorona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been declared a global pandemic and is a major public health concern worldwide. In this study, we aimed to determine the role of environmental factors, such as climate and air pollutants, in the transmission of COVID-19 in the Republic of Korea. We collected epidemiological and environmental data from two regions of the Republic of Korea, namely Seoul metropolitan region (SMR) and Daegu-Gyeongbuk region (DGR) from February 2020 to July 2020. The data was then analyzed to identify correlations between each environmental factor with confirmed daily COVID-19 cases. Among the various environmental parameters, the duration of sunshine and ozone level were found to positively correlate with COVID-19 cases in both regions. However, the association of temperature variables with COVID-19 transmission revealed contradictory results when comparing the data from SMR and DGR. Moreover, statistical bias may have arisen due to an extensive epidemiological investigation and altered socio-behaviors that occurred in response to a COVID-19 outbreak. Nevertheless, our results suggest that various environmental factors may play a role in COVID-19 transmission.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong Kwan Lim ◽  
Oh Joo Kweon ◽  
Hye Ryoun Kim ◽  
Tae-Hyoung Kim ◽  
Mi-Kyung Lee

Abstract Background: Corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been declared a global pandemic and is a major concern of public health worldwide. In this study, we aimed to determine the role of environmental factors such as climate and air pollutants in the transmission of COVID-19 in the Republic of Korea.Methods: We collected epidemiological and environmental data from two regions of the Republic of Korea, namely Seoul metropolitan region (SMR) and Daegu-Gyeongbuk region (DGR) from February, 2020 to July, 2020. Further, we analyzed the data to identify the correlation of each environmental factor with the confirmed cases of COVID-19 on a daily basis.Results: Among the various environmental parameters, duration of sunshine and ozone level were found to be positively correlated with COVID-19 in both regions. However, the association of temperature variables with COVID-19 transmission showed contradictory results upon comparing the data from SMR and DGR.Conclusions: In conclusion, our results suggest that the environmental factors could play a crucial role in the transmission of COVID-19. However, it should be noted that statistical bias could arise due to the disease outbreak being confined to a specific area and extensive epidemiological investigation.


Hydrobiologia ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Saponari ◽  
I. Dehnert ◽  
P. Galli ◽  
S. Montano

AbstractCorallivory causes considerable damage to coral reefs and can exacerbate other disturbances. Among coral predators, Drupella spp. are considered as delayer of coral recovery in the Republic of Maldives, although little information is available on their ecology. Thus, we aimed to assess their population structure, feeding behaviour and spatial distribution around 2 years after a coral bleaching event in 2016. Biological and environmental data were collected using belt and line intercept transects in six shallow reefs in Maldives. The snails occurred in aggregations with a maximum of 62 individuals and exhibited a preference for branching corals. Yet, the gastropods showed a high plasticity in adapting feeding preferences to prey availability. Drupella spp. were homogenously distributed in the study area with an average of 9.04 ± 19.72 ind/200 m2. However, their occurrence was significantly different at the reef scale with the highest densities found in locations with higher coral cover. The impact of Drupella spp. appeared to be minimal with the population suffering from the loss of coral cover. We suggest that monitoring programs collect temporal- and spatial-scale data on non-outbreaking populations or non-aggregating populations to understand the dynamics of predation related to the co-occurrence of anthropogenic and natural impacts.


Pathogens ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 691
Author(s):  
Dae-Sung Yoo ◽  
Byungchul Chun ◽  
Kyung-Duk Min ◽  
Jun-Sik Lim ◽  
Oun-Kyoung Moon ◽  
...  

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus is one of the most virulent and infectious pathogens of poultry. As a response to HPAI epidemics, veterinary authorities implement preemptive depopulation as a controlling strategy. However, mass culling within a uniform radius of the infection site can result in unnecessary depopulation. Therefore, it is useful to quantify the transmission distance from infected premises (IPs) before determining the optimal area for preemptive depopulation. Accordingly, we analyzed the transmission risk within spatiotemporal clusters of IPs using transmission kernel estimates derived from phylogenetic clustering information on 311 HPAI H5N6 IPs identified during the 2016–2017 epidemic, Republic of Korea. Subsequently, we explored the impact of varying the culling radius on the local transmission of HPAI given the transmission risk estimates. The domestic duck farm density was positively associated with higher transmissibility. Ring culling over a radius of 3 km may be effective for areas with high dense duck holdings, but this approach does not appear to significantly reduce the risk for local transmission in areas with chicken farms. This study provides the first estimation of the local transmission dynamics of HPAI in the Republic of Korea as well as insight into determining an effective ring culling radius.


Author(s):  
Muammar

The impact of globalization has penetrated throughout the civilization of the nations of the world, running so fast. Especially very influential on changes in various lines of life. Related to this is the issue of increasing narcotics abuse and narcotics illicit trafficking which has created conditions that have hindered the development process and weakened civilization. Eradication of narcotics distribution is a national problem, because it has a negative impact that can damage and threaten the lives of the people, nation and state and can hamper the national development process. The rise of narcotics abuse does not only occur in big cities, but has reached small cities in all ten regions of the Republic of Indonesia, including East Aceh Regency. The increasingly diverse lifestyle of the people due to the influence of globalization also contributes to the increasing circulation of narcotics in East Aceh District. This certainly must receive serious attention, because if we look at what is happening in East Aceh District and several other regions in Indonesia, the crime of narcotics distribution from time to time always increases which in the end is increasingly unsettling the community, so before these things increase In East Aceh District, an effective solution must be found to eradicate it. Factors that cause a person to commit a narcotics crime in East Aceh Regency are due to economic factors where a person needs money to live and the difficulty of getting work, family environmental factors, social environmental factors and availability / lack of supervision factors. Efforts in tackling narcotics circulation in East Aceh district involve many parties, including: firstly, pre-emptive efforts by providing counseling in the community and schools about narcotics carried out by the police in tackling narcotics crime in East Aceh District. Second, preventive measures (prevention) by conducting raids and patrols routinely, providing oversight of the association and positive activities carried out by the police, prosecutors, religious leaders, community leaders and youth organizations. The third repressive effort (action) which aims to provide a deterrent effect on the perpetrators of drug trafficking crimes involving all law enforcement officials ranging from the Police, Attorney and District Courts and Detention Houses.Keywords: Crimonology, Narcotics Circulation. 


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 4042 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyo Soung Koo ◽  
Soorim Song ◽  
Jae Hyeok Choi ◽  
Ha-Cheol Sung

Globally, an increase in the transportation and expansion of the pet market is the most important cause of the invasion of non-native species. Invasion of non-native species disturbs native ecosystems and leads to socio-economic problems. The pet trade involving turtles has been globally recognized as the route through which non-native species enter ecosystems. As a result, the invasion of non-native turtles worldwide is causing problems such as competition, predation, transmission of parasites, and hybridization with native turtles. Every year, both the number of non-native turtles imported as pets in the Republic of Korea and the number of introduced species found in the wild is increasing. However, the current status of non-native turtles in the wild is not well known, posing major challenges to their management. In this study, we aimed to determine the current status of non-native turtles introduced into the wild in Korea. We analyzed the factors associated with the detection and distribution of non-native turtles. In total, 1587 of non-native turtles (three families, six genera, and 13 species including subspecies) were found in 648 sites in Korea: Chelydra serpentina, Mauremys sinensis, Chrysemys picta bellii, Graptemys ouachitensis, G. pseudogeographica pseudogeographica, G. p. kohni, Pseudemys concinna, P. nelsoni, P. peninsularis, P. rubriventris, Trachemys scripta elegans, T. s. scripta, and T. s. troostii. There was relationship between the distribution of non-native turtles and environmental factors such as precipitation and temperature. Moreover, human factors such as number of human populations and size of region were significantly related with the distribution and number of non-native turtles. In conclusion, it is likely that human factors are associated with the influx of invasive turtles to the natural habitat, while the possibility of survival and adaption for the turtles is associated mainly with environmental factors. Our result will be an essential guideline not only for understanding the current status of non-native turtles in Korea, but also for establishing strategies for management and control.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (18) ◽  
pp. 6185-6195 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Nankali ◽  
Norouz Mohammad Nouri ◽  
Mahdi Navidbakhsh ◽  
Nima Geran Malek ◽  
Mohammad Amin Amindehghan ◽  
...  

The impact of environmental parameters on the sensing behavior of carbon nanotube–elastomer nanocomposite strain sensors has been investigated, revealing significant effect of temperature and humidity variations on the sensing performance.


2017 ◽  
Vol 145 (7) ◽  
pp. 1320-1325 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. RYU ◽  
C. L. LAU ◽  
B. C. CHUN

SUMMARYLeptospirosis is a zoonotic disease that the pathogen can be transmitted to humans through the excretions of infected animals. In the Republic of Korea, the Livestock Manure Control Act was enforced in September 2007 to improve underground water hygiene. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of Livestock Manure Control Policy on the incidence and the trend of human leptospirosis. An interrupted time series analysis using the monthly incidence of leptospirosis was conducted based on data derived from the Korean National Surveillance System between January 1999 and January 2015. We used a Spearman correlation method to compare the level of leptospirosis incidence decrease between the metropolitan cities and rural provinces. The annual incidence of leptospirosis in South Korea decreased by 33% after policy enforcement of the policy. A significant change in the slope of human leptospirosis cases was observed after the policy enforcement (β = −0·09, P < 0·001). Moreover, we detected a clear association between the size of the rice paddy fields and the decrease in leptospirosis incidence in provinces (r = 0·817, P = 0·01). This study shows that the Livestock Manure Control Policy had significantly reduced human leptospirosis incidence in the Republic of Korea, in particular, in rural regions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 46-58
Author(s):  
Anwar Hidayat ◽  
Budiman

Perkembangan pandemi Covid-19 saat ini sangat mengkhawatirkan dimana terjadinya suatupeningkatan kasus corona khusus di Indonesia. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahuidan menganalisis kebijakan yang diambil pemerintah dalam penanganan pandemi Covid-19serta langkah-langkah yang diambil pemerintah untuk menganggulangi dampak-dampak, terutama dampak dari segi ekonomi dan sosial akibat pandemi Covid-19. Metode penelitianhukum yang digunakan yakni metode penelitian hukum normatif. Adapun pendekatan yangdigunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah pendekatan perundang-undangan dan pendekatankonseptual. Penelitian ini berlandaskan pengaturan perundang-undangan yang mengaturmengenai penanganan dan penganggulangan pandemi Covid-19 serta analisis atas konseppenetapan peraturan perundang-undangan tersebut. Hasil dari penelitian ini adalah dalamrangka penanganan Covid-19, berawal dari pemerintah tmengeluarkan kebijakan tentangPembatasan Sosial Berskala Besar yang merujuk pada Undang-Undang Nomor 6 Tahun2018 tentang Kekarantinaan Kesehatan. Peraturan pelaksanaannya yaitu PeraturanPemerintah Nomor 21 Tahun 2020 tentang Pembatasan Sosial Berskala Besar, sertaKeputusan Presiden tentang Kedaruratan Kesehatan sampai dengan saat ini pemerintah telahmengeluarkan kebijakan PPKM yang dimana dilakukan secara berkala. Untukmenganggulangi dampak Covid-19 dari segi ekonomi dan sosial pemerintah mengambilbeberapa kebijakan-kebijakan, yang diantaranya adalah: Peraturan Menteri KeuanganRepublik Indonesia Nomor 23/Pmk.03/2020 tentang Insentif Pajak Untuk WajibPajakTerdampak Wabah Virus Corona; Peraturan Otoritas Jasa Keuangan Republik Indonesia Kata Kunci : Kebijakan, Penanganan, Covid-19 The current development of the Covid-19 pandemic is very worrying where there is anincrease in special corona cases in Indonesia. This study aims to identify and analyze thepolicies taken by the government in handling the Covid-19 pandemic and the steps taken bythe government to mitigate the impacts, especially the economic and social impacts of theCovid-19 pandemic. The legal research method used is the normative legal research method. The approach used in this research is a statutory approach and a conceptual approach. Thisresearch is based on the legislation governing the handling and handling of the Covid-19pandemic as well as an analysis of the concept of establishing these laws and regulations. The results of this study are in the context of handling Covid-19, starting with thegovernment issuing a policy on Large-Scale Social Restrictions which refers to Law Number6 of 2018 concerning Health Quarantine. The implementing regulations are GovernmentRegulation Number 21 of 2020 concerning Large-Scale Social Restrictions, as well as thePresidential Decree on Health Emergencies. Until now, the government has issued a PPKMpolicy which is carried out regularly. To address the economic and social impact of Covid- 19, the government has taken several policies, including: Regulation of the Minister ofFinance of the Republic of Indonesia Number 23/Pmk.03/2020 concerning Tax Incentives forTaxpayers Af ected by the Corona Virus Outbreak; Regulation of the Financial ServicesAuthority of the Republic of Indonesia Number 11 /Pojk.03/2020 concerning NationalEconomic Stimulus as a Countercyclical Policy for the Impact of the Spread of Corona VirusDisease2019; and Instruction of the President of the Republic of Indonesia Number 4 of2020 concerning Refocussing of Activities, Reallocation of Budgets, and Procurement ofGoods and Services in the Context of Accelerating Handling of Corona Virus Disease 2019(Covid-19). Keyword : Policy, Handling, Covid-19


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