• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.720-732
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• 2001

Skeletal muscle is of major economic importance since it is finally converted to meat for consumers. The increase in meat production with low costs of production may be achieved by optimizing muscle growth, whereas a high meat quality requires, among other factors, the optimization of intramuscular glycogen and fat stores. Thus, research in energy metabolism aims at controling muscle metabolism, but also liver and adipose tissue metabolism in order to optimize energy partitioning in favour of muscles. Liver is characterized by high anabolic and catabolic rates. Metabolic enzymes are regulated by nutrients through short-term regulation of their activities and long-term regulation of expression of their genes. Consequences of liver metabolic regulation on energy supply to muscles may affect protein deposition (and hence growth) as well as intramuscular energy stores. Adipose tissues are important body reserves of triglycerides, which result from the balance between lipogenesis and lipolysis. Both processes depend on the feeding level and on the nature of nutrients, which indirectly affect energy delivery to muscles. In muscles, the regulation of rate-limiting nutrient transporters, of metabolic enzyme activities and of ATP production, as well as the interactions between nutrients affect free energy availability for muscle growth and modify muscle metabolic characteristics which determine meat quality. The growth of tissues and organs, the number and the characteristics of muscle fibers depend, for a great part, on early events during the fetal life. They include variations in quantitative and qualitative nutrient supply to the fetus, and hence in maternal nutrition. During the postnatal life, muscle growth and characteristics are affected by the age and the genetic type of the animals, the feeding level and the diet composition. The latter determines the nature of available nutrients and the rate of nutrient delivery to tissues, thereby regulating metabolism. Physical activity at pasture also favours the orientation of muscle metabolism, towards the oxidative type. Consequently, breeding systems may be of a great importance during the postnatal life. Research is now directed towards the determination of individual tissue and organ energy requirements, a better knowledge of nutrient partitioning between and within organs and tissues. The discovery of new molecules (e. g. leptin), of new molecular mechanisms and of more powerful techniques (DNA chips) will help to achieve these objectives. The integration of the different levels of knowledge will finally allow scientists to formulate new types of diets adapted to sustain a production of high quality meat with lower costs of production.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.54 no.3
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• pp.247-256
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• 2021

Understanding the selective feeding behavior of zooplankton on phytoplankton is essential for evaluating the nutrient cycle and energy flow in the food web. Although many studies have been conducted regarding the feeding behaviors of zooplankton through gut content analyses, there are limitations in the visual identification of digested contents using a microscope. DNA techniques have been applied to overcome these limitations since they can detect and amplify small amounts of prey DNA remaining in the gut contents. We designed a method to extract prey DNA from the gut contents of the whole body of the copepod specimen and tested the resolution of DNA identification for the prey phytoplankton. The common brackish species, Sinocalanus tenellus, were collected from Saemangeum Reservoir in different sites and seasons, and gut content DNA was extracted using 2.5% bleach treatment for 2 min for removal of potential contamination sources existing in preserved specimens without dissolution of the body. The sequences of the extracted gut contents were confirmed using BLASTn suite based on the NCBI database. The phytoplankton species detected in the gut showed temporal and spatial differences. Although DNA analysis of small copepod gut contents has been suggested as an effective method to examine the dynamics of primary prey sources at the genus or species level, uncertainties such as misidentification and limitations in the detailed information of the composition still exist.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.20 no.7
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• pp.1049-1056
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• 2007

This study was conducted to compare the methane ($CH_4$) production estimated by in vivo (sulfur hexafluoride tracer technique ($SF_6$)) with that of two in vitro rumen simulation (RUSITEC) and gas production (IVGPT)) techniques. Four adult dry Holstein cows, aged $7.4{\pm}3.0$ years and weighing $697{\pm}70$ kg, were used for measuring methane production from five diets by the $SF_6$ technique. The experimental diets were alfalfa hay ($D_1$), corn silage + soybean meal (SBM) (910: 90, $D_2$), Italian rye grass hay +SBM (920: 80, $D_3$), rice straw +SBM (910: 90, $D_4$) and Sudan grass hay +SBM (920: 80, $D_5$). Each diet was individually fed to all 4 cows and 5 feeding studies of 17 d each were conducted to measure the methane production. In the RUSITEC, methane production was measured from triplicate vessels for each diet .In vitro gas production was measured for each of the diets in triplicate syringes. The gas produced after 24 and 48 h was recorded and gas samples were collected in vacuum vials and the methane production was calculated after correction for standard temperature and pressure (STP). Compared to the $SF_6$ technique, estimates of methane production using the RUSITEC were lower for all diets. Methane production estimated from 24 h in vitro gas production was higher (p<0.001) on $D_1$ as compared to that measured by $SF_6$, whereas on $D_2$ to $D_5$ it was lower. Compared to $SF_6$, methane production estimated from 48 h in vitro gas production was higher on all diets. However, methane estimated from the mean of the two measurement intervals (24+48 h/2) in IVGPT was very close to that of $SF_6$ (correlation 0.98), except on $D_1$. The results of our study confirmed that IVGPT is reflective of in vivo conditions, so that it could be used to generate a database on methane production potential of various ruminant diets and to examine strategies to modify methane emissions by ruminants.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.763-774
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• 2016

Equine gastric ulcer syndrome is one of the most frequently reported diseases in thoroughbred racehorses. Although several risk factors for the development of gastric ulcers have been widely studied, investigation of microbiological factors has been limited. In this study, the presence of Helicobacter spp. and the gastric microbial communities of thoroughbred racehorses having mild to severe gastric ulcers were investigated. Although Helicobacter spp. were not detected using culture and PCR techniques from 52 gastric biopsies and 52 fecal samples, the genomic sequences of H. pylori and H. ganmani were detected using nextgeneration sequencing techniques from 2 out of 10 representative gastric samples. The gastric microbiota of horses was mainly composed of Firmicutes (50.0%), Proteobacteria (18.7%), Bacteroidetes (14.4%), and Actinobacteria (9.7%), but the proportion of each phylum varied among samples. There was no major difference in microbial composition among samples having mild to severe gastric ulcers. Using phylogenetic analysis, three distinct clusters were observed, and one cluster differed from the other two clusters in the frequency of feeding, amount of water consumption, and type of bedding. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the gastric microbiota of thoroughbred racehorses having gastric ulcer and to evaluate the microbial diversity in relation to the severity of gastric ulcer and management factors. This study is important for further exploration of the gastric microbiota in racehorses and is ultimately applicable to improving animal and human health.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.702-707
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• 2017

Insects and their extract have been traditionally used as medicinal resources in Asia. Recently, Gryllus bimaculatus and the larva of Tenebrio molitor, Protaetia brevitarsis, and Allomyrina dichotoma were enlisted as general food ingredients by Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. As the interest in these insects is growing, the detailed investigation is needed for the standardization of suitable and safe rearing techniques. This survey was conducted via personal interviews about edible insect rearing farms in Korea. The basic feed is fermented oak sawdust for P. brevitarsis and A. dichotoma and wheat bran for T. molitor. The various feed additives are blended with each farm's own recipes. The overall growth condition, including sawdust fermentation method, feeding period, and rearing density, varies among the investigated farms. It seems that weight of last instar larva was correlated with the rearing density and duration of the larval period. The heavy metal contents were analyzed after 48 hour starvation and they were very small amount or not detected in investigated insects. We believe that the present data will contribute to develop and standardize the safe rearing techniques of edible insects in Korea.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.67-84
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• 2023

In some areas of the Republic of Korea, the designation and management of conservation areas do not adequately reflect regional characteristics and often impose behavioral regulations without considering the local context. One prominent example is the Busan EDC area. As a result, conflicts may arise, including large-scale civil complaints, regarding the conservation and utilization of these areas. Therefore, for the efficient designation and management of protected areas, it is necessary to consider various ecosystem factors, changes in land use, and regional characteristics. In this study, we specifically focused on the Busan EDC area and applied machine learning techniques to analyze the habitat of regional species. Additionally, we employed Explainable Artificial Intelligence techniques to interpret the results of our analysis. To analyze the regional characteristics of the waterfront area in the Busan EDC district and the habitat of migratory birds, we used bird observations as dependent variables, distinguishing between presence and absence. The independent variables were constructed using land cover, elevation, slope, bridges, and river depth data. We utilized the XGBoost (eXtreme Gradient Boosting) model, known for its excellent performance in various fields, to predict the habitat probabilities of 11 bird species. Furthermore, we employed the SHapley Additive exPlanations technique, one of the representative methodologies of XAI, to analyze the relative importance and impact of the variables used in the model. The analysis results showed that in the EDC business district, as one moves closer to the river from the waterfront, the likelihood of bird habitat increases based on the overlapping habitat probabilities of the analyzed bird species. By synthesizing the major variables influencing the habitat of each species, key variables such as rivers, rice fields, fields, pastures, inland wetlands, tidal flats, orchards, cultivated lands, cliffs & rocks, elevation, lakes, and deciduous forests were identified as areas that can serve as habitats, shelters, resting places, and feeding grounds for birds. On the other hand, artificial structures such as bridges, railways, and other public facilities were found to have a negative impact on bird habitat. The development of a management plan for conservation areas based on the objective analysis presented in this study is expected to be extensively utilized in the future. It will provide diverse evidential materials for establishing effective conservation area management strategies.

• The Journal of Korean Institute of Electromagnetic Engineering and Science
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.286-291
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• 2013

In this paper, a compact rectenna system is designed using a circular sector antenna with harmonic-rejecting characteristics and a direct impedance matching method. The system is designed with bandpass filtering performed by the harmonic-rejection of the circular sector antenna and without impedance matching circuit for the diodes by the direct impedance matching technique. Therefore, while the rectifying circuit of the proposed system can be implemented without a bandpass filter and a impedance matching circuit, it is integrated on the back side of the antenna using precise fabrication techniques for coaxial feedings without degrading the system performances corresponding to the feeding points. From the experimental results, the optimized rectenna system has presented excellent performances of a conversion efficiency of more than 52 % and a conversion voltages of more than 1.5 V at 2.5 GHz.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.55 no.4
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• pp.325-330
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• 2013

Providing an adequate environment for horses is important to minimize the level of stress for domesticated horses. The objectives of this study were 1) to evaluate the effect of living conditions on stress level of horses, 2) to observe the effect of one month confinement on self-maintenance behavior and stereotypic behavior of horses. The experiment was conducted at National Institute of Animal Science, Equine Field Station (Seonghwan-eup, Korea). Horses were staying in the paddock prior to the experiment. On day 1, five horses were randomly selected and housed in metal fence panels stall. Six horses remained in the same paddock. The ratio of neutrophil to lymphocyte (on day 15) and cortisol (on day 1 and 29) from stalled horses were significantly higher than horses in the paddock. Duration or frequency of self-maintenance behaviors such as feeding, drinking, resting, walking was not significantly different between day 1 and day 29. However, the frequency of urination significantly decreased (p<0.05) on day 29 compared with day 1. The frequency of stereotypic behaviors was not different between day 1 and 29. Our data indicate that horses may be more stabled when they are staying in the paddock rather than staying in the stall, but the stress level of horses in the stall during one month confinement was not effective for horses to adapt stereotypic behavior. In conclusion, providing an adequate environment and stress-less horse management techniques can minimize the stress level of horses.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.66-74
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• 2017

This study was conducted to examine infectivity (penetration and gall and egg-mass formations) of the root-knot nematodes, Meloidogyne incognita and M. hapla, on carrots grown in soil conditions of 5 different soil textures consisting of bed-soil (b) and sand (s) mixtures (b-s mixtures) at the ratios of 10:0, 7:3, 5:5, 3:7, and 0:10. For M. incognita, the nematode penetration rates in b-s of 0:10 (100% sand) were significantly higher than in the other b-s mixtures, more greatly at 2 and 5 days after inoculation than at 10 DAI, while no significant differences in the penetration rates were mostly shown for M. hapla at the above DAI. However, for both nematodes, gall and egg-mass formations were remarkably increased in the b-s mixture of 0:10, compared to the other b-s mixtures, which is coincided with the general aspects of severe nematode infestations in sandy soils. This suggests the increased gall and egg-mass formations of M. incognita should be derived from the increased penetration rates in the sandy soil conditions, which provide a sufficient aeration due to coarse soil nature for the nematodes, leading to their mobility increased for the enhanced root penetration. For M. hapla, it is suggested that the sandy soil conditions affect positively on the healthy plant growth with little accumulation of the inhibitory materials and sufficient aeration, enhancing the nematode growth and feeding activities. All of these aspects provide information reliable for the development screening techniques efficient for the evaluation of the nematode resistance in the breeding programs.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.95-103
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• 2013

Purpose: Iron deficiency remains a very common nutritional problem despite the improvement in nutrition and increased understanding of methods for its prevention. Thus, we try to create a new method for screening iron nutrition through infant nutrition history. Methods: Among the children who visited Inha University Hospital from March 2006 to July 2012, 181 children with iron deficiency anemia (IDA) and 52 children without IDA ranging from 6 to 36 months of age were reviewed in this study. We used the age when they began to wean food, the type of sort weaning foods, the time required for successful weaning, iron content in weaning foods, and the duration of breastfeeding for scoring infant nutrition history based on a questionnaire. Results: The mean score of the IDA group was $7.8{\pm}2.6$ points, which was significantly higher than that of the control group ($5.6{\pm}2.1$) (p=0.000). If we set up the cutoff value at 6 points, this screening has 86.8% sensitivity and 36% specificity. In addition, as the IDA score increased, there was a falling trend of hemoglobin. Conclusion: The IDA score does not have high specificity or high sensitivity. However, this study conveys that those patients who record a high score have low hemoglobin. Therefore, we suggest this score system for screening more IDA patients via nonpainful techniques.