• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.259-266
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• 2002

It is crucial to know spatial soil variability for precision farming. However, it is time-consuming, and difficult to measure spatial soil properties. Therefore, there are needs fur sensing technology to estimate spatial soil variability, and for electronic mapping technology to store, manipulate and process the sampled data. This research was conducted to develop a real-time soil organic matter sensor and an electronic mapping system. A soil organic matter sensor was developed with a spectrophotometer in the 900∼1,700 nm range. It was designed in a penetrator type to measure reflectance of soil at 15cm depth. The signal was calibrated with organic matter content (OMC) of the soil which was sampled in the field. The OMC was measured by the Walkeley-Black method. The soil OMCs were ranged from 0.07 to 7.96%. Statistical partial least square and principle component regression analyses were used as calibration methods. Coefficient of determination, standard error prediction and bias were 0.85 0.72 and -0.13, respectively. The electronic mapping system was consisted of the soil OMC sensor, a DGPS, a database and a makeshift vehicle. An algorithm was developed to acquire data on sampling position and its OMC and to store the data in the database. Fifty samples in fields were taken to make an N-fertilizer dosage map. Mean absolute error of these data was 0.59. The Kring method was used to interpolate data between sampling nodes. The interpolated data was used to make a soil OMC map. Also an N-fertilizer dosage map was drawn using the soil OMC map. The N-fertilizer dosage was determined by the fertilizing equation recommended by National Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology in Korea. Use of the N-fertilizer dosage map would increase precision fertilization up to 91% compared with conventional fertilization. Therefore, the developed electronic mapping system was feasible to not only precision determination of N-fertilizer dosage, but also reduction of environmental pollution.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.245-249
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• 1998

White blood cells (WBCs) are present in most human ejaculates, but abnormally high concentration of seminal leukocytes may reflect an underlying pathological condition. The World Health Organization (WHO) has defined leukocytospermia as status of more than $10^6$ WBC/mL of semen. The purpose of this study was firstly, to compare the outcomes between conventional IVF and ICSI in leukocytospermia, and secondly, to investigate whether ICSI may be an alternative treatment for patients with leukocytospermia. Total 121 cycles of conventional IVF and ICSI candidates underwent IVF cycles at PL Infertility Clinic. Semen Parameters including concentration, motility, morphology of spermatozoa and concentration of leukocytes were assessed from the raw ejaculates. There was no difference in sperm concentration, motility and morphology. The rates of fertilization and good embryo development from ICSI were significantly higher than those from conventional IVF in leukocytospermia (63.9% & 48.6%, respectively for ICSI group and 33.4% & 24.1%, respectively for IVF group, p<0.001). The pregnancy rate after ICSI was also higher than that from conventional IVF (34.3% vs 21.6%, p<0.05). These results indicate that the presence of seminal leukocytes ($>1\times10^6$ WBC/mL of semen) is adversely related with fertilization, embryo development and pregnancy rate. Therefore the measurement of seminal leukocytes in routine semen analysis appears to be of prognostic value with regard to male fertilizing potential. In conclusion, it is suggested that ICSI is an alternative choice of treatment for patients with leukocytospermia.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.61-68
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• 1976

For the artificial precocious breeding of abalone effects of changes in environmental parameters, water temperature and light period, on the induction of spawning have been studied. Subtidal specimens of Haliotis discus hannai were collected irregularly for 6 times from April to June 1975 in Chungmu Bay near Jukdo Island, the southern coast of Korea. One hundred and fifty specimens were reared in 4 aquarium tanks in the laboratory and in a creel submerged in the sea during the period of 60 days from April 24 to June 23, 1975. The all groups kept in the four tanks and a creel showed very high spawning rates $(70\~100\%)$, compared to those inhabited the natural environment at sea until right before the spawning time $(0\~50\%,\;average\;16.4\%)$. From the results of the present induced spawning, the parameters can be discussed as follows: It seems likely that photoenvironment may stimulate to produce and secrete some internal substances which may concern to giving the fertilizing ability to the eggs before spawning and to inducing spawning, but the temperature may not be a factor for this concern. For effective precocious breeding, it seems to require that abalones are to be realoed under controlled conditions of darkness below 2,000 lux even during day time for more than 60 days before inducing spawning.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.69-75
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• 2009

Water stress has become a major concern in agriculture. Korea suffers from limited agricultural water supply, and wastewater reuse has been recommended as an alternative solution. A study was performed to examine the effects of microorganism concentration in the ponded-water of a paddy rice field with reclaimed-water irrigation for evaluating the microbial risk to farmers and neighborhood children. Most epidemiological studies were performed based on an upland field, and they may not directly applicable to paddy fields. Beta-Poisson model was used to estimate the microbial risk of pathogen ingestion. Their risk value increased significantly high level after irrigation and precipitation. It implies that agricultural activities such as plowing, and fertilizing, and precipitation need be practiced a few days after irrigation considering health risks. The results about field application of the microbial risk assessment using E. coli showed difference according to monitoring time and treatment plot. Result of the microbial risk assessment showed that risk values of ground-water and reclaimed secondary wastewater irrigation were lower than directly use of wastewater treatment plants' effluent. This paper should be viewed as a first step in the application of quantitative microbial risk assessment of E. coli to wastewater reuse in a paddy rice farming.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.72-80
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• 2020

Background: Antibiotics are widely used to treat animals from infections. After fertilizing, antibacterials can remain in the soil while adversely affecting the soil microorganisms. The concentration of oxytetracycline (OTC) in the soil and its effect on the soil microbial community was assessed. To assess the impact of OTC on the soil microbial community, it was added to the soil at concentrations of 50, 150, and 300 mg kg^-1 and incubated for 35 days. Results: The concentration of OTC added to the soil decreased from 150 to 7.6 mg kg^-1 during 30 days of incubation, as revealed by LC-MS. The deviations from the control values in the level of substrate-induced respiration on the 5th day of the experiment were, on average, 26, 68, and 90%, with OTC concentrations at 50, 150, and 300 mg kg^-1, respectively. In samples with 150 and 300 mg kg^-1 of OTC, the number of bacteria from the 3rd to 14th day was 2-3 orders of magnitude lower than in the control. The addition of OTC did not affect the fungal counts in samples except on the 7th and 14th days for the 150 and 300 mg kg^-1 contaminated samples. Genes tet(M) and tet(X) were found in samples containing 50, 150, and 300 mg kg^-1 OTC, with no significant differences in the number of copies of tet(M) and tet(X) genes from the OTC concentration. Conclusions: Our results showed that even after a decrease in antibiotic availability, its influence on the soil microbial community remains.

• Journal of Aquaculture
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.67-75
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• 1998

Experiments were performed to obtain cryopreservation techniques of black seabream (Acanthopagrus schlegeli) sperm. For sperm collection, brood stock reared in recirculating seawater system and fed with the commercial feed during experimental period. The results indicated that following cryopreservation method in block seabream sperm could be employed. Post-thaw survival rate of sperm revealed the highest value ($80{\pm}1.4$%) in 3% sodium citrate as a diluent for the cryopreservation. Cryopreserved sperm diluted with 5.4% glucose showed the highest fertilization rate to the ovulated eggs. Glycerol was a better cryoprotectant than dimethyl sulfoxide in sperm cryopreservation : survival rate and fertilizing capacity of cryopreserved sperm were decreased according to increase of glycerol concentration and varied in renges of 0.8~59.3% and 32.5~69.4% with 5~30% glycerol, respectively. A few of cryopreserved spermatozoa showed the enlarged head with granulated chromatin and ruptured plasma membrane by freezing and thawing injuries compared with unfrozen normal spermatozoa.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.558-565
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• 2008

Although the fertilizing ability of spermatozoa is greatly reduced after freezing, complete understanding of alterations induced by cryopreservation has not been elucidated. The present study evaluates the effects of cryopreservation on the $Ca^{2+}$ handling of boar spermatozoa using several sperm activators. Intracellular $Ca^{2+}$ signals from single spermatozoa were measured using confocal $Ca^{2+}$ imaging of unfrozen samples and of other spermatozoa after having been frozen. Elevation of the external $K^{2+}$ concentration elicited a three times larger $Ca^{2+}$ increase in fresh spermatozoa than in cryopreserved spermatozoa. Caffeine elicited $Ca^{2+}$ transients with some oscillations in the fresh spermatozoa, but not in the thawed spermatozoa. Depletion of the $Ca^{2+}$ store with thapsigargin induced a rapid rise in $Ca^{2+}$ in the control but generated a smaller increase of $Ca^{2+}$ after thawing. Exposure to progesterone induced a biphasic rise of the $Ca^{2+}$ level in the fresh spermatozoa only. Sperm viability was reduced by cryopreservation. Resting $Ca^{2+}$ levels in fresh and cryopreserved spermatozoa were similar. Longer incubation (2.5 h) of thawed spermatozoa partly recovered the $Ca^{2+}$ response to the interventions. These results suggest that cryopreservation reduces the responsiveness of spermatozoa to depolarization, modulators of the internal $Ca^{2+}$ store and progesterone in terms of the $Ca^{2+}$ signal, thus providing a possible mechanism for reduced fertility observed in cryopreserved boar spermatozoa.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.81-87
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• 1991

There studies were carried for evaluation of the efficiency of freezing of hamster oocytes for use in a human sperm penetration assay. The hamster oocytes fully equilibrated in various cryoprotectant agents and inseminated with human sperm. After insemination with hamster oocytes, there was no difference in penetrated rates. Cumulus free oocytes equilibrated in 1.5M various cryoprotective agents and slowely cooled to temperature $-30^{\circ}C$ before rapid cooling and storage in nitrozen tank. After rapid thawing, survival rates of frozen oocytes according to cryo-protective agents were examined and the human sperm penetration assay with zona free hamster oocytes was conducted. 1. Survival rates of oocytes after cryoprotectants exposure have no significant difference (range 88-91%) and peneration rate was 51.1%. 2. Recovery and survival rate of frozen-thawed oocytes were 85.1 and 66.8%. There was no significant difference on cryoprotective agents. 3. Penetration rates of the frozen-thawed and intact oocytes were 69.0 and 77.0%, respectively. 4. Hamster oocytes cryopreservation provides a convenient way of supplying and trans-porting hamster oocytes for the assessment of the fertilizing potential of human spermatozoa.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.433-443
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• 2006

With treatment of Kitosan, Wood vinegear and EM(effective microoganism) which farmers call it as substance in fertilizing, conditioning and disease control substances, authors in vestigated on microorganisms change in soil and ealy growth characteristics of tomato. The results were summarized as follows: Among foliar application of kitosan, wood vinegear and EM(effective microoganism) treatments diluted by chitosan 500 times solution level was effective considering growth of tomato as compared other dilutions and control plot. Change of microorganism number in the soil for cultivation of tomato was increased with microorganism treatment plot as compared with control plot. Specially chitosan 500 times solution level showes the most significant effect.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.303-311
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• 2015

This study aimed to assess the effects of tree manures in comparison with NPK fertilizer on growth of Acacia senegal seedlings. It was conducted in the nursery of the Faculty of Forestry, University of Khartoum, Shambat (Lat.: $15^{\circ}$ 39' 387" N and Long.: $32^{\circ}$ 30' 871" E), during August 2008 and January 2009. The growing media were prepared by mixing ground foliage of trees with sandy soil (weight/volume) as follows, Albizia lebbeck (AL): 25 g, 50 g and 75 g; Azadirachta indica (AZ): 25 g, 50 g and 75 g; Khaya senegalensis (KH): 25 g, 50 g and 75 g; NPK fertilizer: 30 g per seedling. Albizia lebbeck and Azadirachta indica manures and NPK fertilizer have stimulated the Acacia senegal seed germination percentage in comparison with the control, with respective values of 89, 82.7, 81 and 71%. Khaya senegalensis manure has suppressed the Acacia senegal seed germination percentage with a value of only 49%. Effects of treatments on the seedlings growth parameters varied in the following percentages, in comparison to the control, shoot height: AZ 62.9%, AL 46%, KH 9.9% and NPK 27.8%; root length: AZ 25.8%, AL 31.5%, KH 30.6% and NPK 4.4%; diameter: AZ 75.2%, AL 37.1%, KH 34.3% and NPK 20%; Shoot biomass: AZ 319%, AL 195.2%, KH 57.1% and NPK 42.9%; root biomass: AZ 288.9%, AL 116.7%, KH 55.6% and NPK 16.7%%;. Thus, the effectiveness of the used substrates on the growth performance of Acacia senegal seedlings occurred in the following descending order: Azadirachta indica> Albizia lebbeck>Khaya senegalensis>NPK fertilizer. These results assert clearly the ameliorative and fertilizing characteristics of tree manures that can be reliably used for raising seedlings stocks in the nurseries.