• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.1173-1178
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• 2012

Water competition among domestic, industrial and agricultural sectors has been gradually heightened recently in Korea as the lack of water supply is expected in the near future. About 46% of nation's water use is consumed in paddy farming to produce rice. And the conservation of water resource and quality in agricultural sector is a pending issue in the nation's long term water management plan. New paddy rice farming techniques that use significantly less irrigation water are urgently required. System of Rice Intensification (SRI) that is now well known to produce more rice with less water consumption has not been tried in Korea yet. And environmental effect of SRI on greenhouse gases (GHGs) has not been well investigated. The objective of this study was to measure the effect of SRI on GHGs as well as water use and rice yield in a Korean paddy condition. Three experimental runoff plots $5{\times}15m$ in size were prepared at an existing paddy field. Runoff, GHGs emission and water quality were measured during the 2011 growing seasons while a Japonica rice variety was cultivated. Rice plants grew better and healthier in SRI plots than in continuously flooded (CF) and intermittently drained (ID) plots. Rice yield from SRI plots increased 112.8 (ID)~116.1 (CF)% compared with CF and ID plots. Irrigation requirement of SRI plots compared to CF plot reduced by 52.6% and ID plot reduced by 62.0%, meaning that about 37.9~47.4% of irrigation water could be saved. GHGs emission from SRI plots reduced by 71.8% compared to that from CF plot and by 18.4% compared to that from ID plot, meaning that SRI could help contribute to ease the greenhouse gas accumulation in the atmosphere. It was believed that SRI is a promising paddy farming technique that could increase rice yield, and reduce irrigation water requirement and GHGs emission not just in Korea but also other rice farming countries all over the world. However, it was recommended that long term studies under different conditions including rice variety, soil texture, water source, climate need to be conducted for reliable data for the development of environmental policies related to GHGs emission control and management.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.278-285
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• 2008

This research was performed to evaluate the landfilling method of organic sludge from mix of pre-treated organic sludge (OS) and municipal solid waste(MSW). Organic sludges were dried, composted, and solidified as pre-treatment and the OS and MSW were mixed in ratios of 2 to 8 and 4 to 6. Approximately 1,800$\sim$2,500 L of landfill gas(LFG) was generated in the lysimeter with solidified-OS, which was higher than 1,150$\sim$1,650 L of the dried- and composted- ones. Maximum H$_2$S concentration was found in the following order : Composted-20(80 ppmv) > Composted-40(55 ppmv) > Dried-20(30 ppmv) > Dried-40 $\fallingdotseq$ Solidified-20 $\fallingdotseq$ Solidified-40 (20 ppmv). BOD$_5$ at initial leachate generation period was 38,000 mg/L for Composted-40, 28,000 mg/L for Dried-40, 26,000 mg/L for Dried-20, 21,000 mg/L for Composted-20 and Solidified-40, and Solidified-20 for 17,000 mg/L. In the final period of experiment, BOD$_5$ was low as 300$\sim$500 mg/L in the lysimeter with solidified-OS and MSW and showed 2,000$\sim$3,500 mg/L in dried- and composted- ones. As the results, landfilling by mix of solidified-OS and MSW was evaluated as the most appropriate method for biodegradable organics. Direct landfilling of OS is permitted for landfill site with CDM facility. Therefore, mixed landfilling of solidified-OS and MSW should be considered for much more LFG generation as methane.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.882-888
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• 2005

Procedure for analysis of methylmercury in fish was developed, involving addition of HCl, extraction with toluene, and clean-up using L-cystein solution. Obtained extract is analyzed by gas chromatography with electron capture detector using Ulbon HR-Thermon-Hg column. Detection limit and recovery of the method were 0.005mg/kg (expressed as Hg), 98-107 (103%), respectively. Total mercury and methylmercury concentrations in 175 commercial fish samples ranged from [mean-max (mean), unit: mg/kg]: 0.014-1.200 (0.270) and 0.006-0.901 (0.168) in tuna-fish, 0.020-0.934 (0.323) and 0.012-0.553 (0.149) in martin-fish, 0.082-0.782 (0.391) and 0.040-0.436(0.201) in shark, 0,023-0.031 (0.026) and 0,013-0.018 (0.015) in salmon, 0.098-0.193 (0.133) and 0.031-0.015(0.090) in tilefish, and 0,031-0.214 (0.089) and 0.016-0.093 (0.042) in canned tuna respectively. No sample of analyzed fish exceeded 1.0mg/kg wet wt., limit for methylmercury established by Codex. In all species examined, estimated weekly intake was lower than Provisional Tolerable Weekly Intake recommended by the JECFA (the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives).

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.41 no.6
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• pp.399-407
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• 2008

Importance of climate change and its impact on agriculture and environment has increased with a rise of greenhouse gases (GHGs) concentration in Earth's atmosphere, which had caused an increase of temperature in Earth. Greenhouse gas emissions such as methane($CH_4$) and nitrous oxide($N_2O$) in the field need to be assessed. GHGs fluxes using chamber systems in the fields(2004~2005) with pepper cultivation were monitored at the experimental plots of National Academy of Agricultural Science(NAAS), Rural Development Administration(RDA) located in Suwon city. $N_2O$ emission during pepper growing period was reduced to 74.0~82.1% in sandy loam soil compared with those in clay loam soil. Evaluating $N_2O$ emission at different levels of soil water conditions, $N_2O$ emission at -50 kPa were lowered to 13.2% in clay loam soil and 40.2% in sandy loam soil compared with those at -30 kPa. $CH_4$ emission was reduced to 45.7~61.6% in sandy loam soil compared with those in clay loam soil. Evaluating $CH_4$ at different levels of soil water conditions, $CH_4$ emission at -50 kPa was lowered to 69.6% in clay loam soil and 55.8% in sandy loam soil compared with those at -30 kPa. It implied that -50 kPa of soil water potential was effective for saving water and reducing GHG emissions. From the path analysis as to contribution factors for $N_2O$ emission, it appeared that contribution rate was in the order of mineral N(51.2%), soil temperature (25.8%), and soil moisture content(23.0%) in clay loam soil and soil moisture content(39.3%), soil temperature (36.4%), and mineral N(24.3%) in sandy loam soil.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.33 no.12
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• pp.913-921
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• 2011

This study examined the overall feasibility of low carbon green village formed in rural area. The check method is analyzing its environmental and economic feasibility and energy self-reliance. The biomass of the villages was set as 28 ton/day of livestock feces and 2 ton/day of cut fruit tree branches which make up the total of 30 ton/day. The facility consisted of a bio gasfication facility using wet (livestock feces) biomass and combined heat power generator, composting facility and wood boiler using dry (cut fruit tree branches) biomass. When operating the system, 540,540 kWh/yr of electricity and 1,762 Gcal/yr of heat energy was produced. The region's electricity energy and heat energy self-reliance rate will be 100%. The economic feasibility was found as a loss of 140 million won where the facility installation cost is 5.04 billion won, operation cost is 485.09 million won and profit is 337.12 million won. There will be a loss of about 2.2 billion won in 15 years but in the environmental analysis, it was found that crude replacement effect is about 178 million won, greenhouse gas reduction effect is about 92 million won making up the total environmental benefit of 270 million won. This means, there will be a yearly profit of about 130 million won. In terms of its environmental and economic feasibility and energy self-reliance, this project seemed to be a feasible project in overall even if it manages to get help from the government or local government.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.27-34
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• 2008

Purpose: Many recent studies have reported on the feasibility and usefulness of laparoscopy assisted distal gastrectomy (LADG) for treating early gastric cancer. On the other hand, there has been few reports about laparoscopy assisted total gastrectomy (LATG) because upper located gastric cancer is relatively rare and the surgical technique is more difficult than that for LADG, We now present our procedure and results of performing LATG for the gastric cancer located in the upper or middle portion of the stomach. Materials and Methods: From Jan 2005 to Sep 2007, 96 patients underwent LATG by four surgeons at the Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea. Among them, 48 consecutive patients who were operated on by asingle surgeon were analyzed with respect to the clinicopathological features, the surgical results and the postoperative courses with using the prospectively collected laparoscopy surgery data. Results: There was no conversion to open surgery during LATG. For all the reconstructions, Roux-en Y esophago-jejunostomy and D1+beta lymphadenectomy were the standard procedures. The mean operation time was $212{\pm}67$ minutes. The mean total number of retrieved lymph nodes was $28.9{\pm}10.54$ (range: $12{\sim}64$) and all the patients had a clear proximal resection margin in their final pathologic reports. The mean time to passing gas, first oral feeding and discharge from the hospital was 2.98, 3.67 and 7.08 days, respectively. There were 5 surgical complications and 2 non-surgical complications for 5 (10.4%) patients, and there was no mortality. None of the patients needed operation because of complications and they recovered with conservative treatments. The mean operation time remained constant after 20 cases and so a learning curve was present. The morbidity rate was not different between the two periods, but the postoperative course was significantly better after the learning curve. Analysis of the factors contributing to the postoperative morbidity, with using logistic regression analysis, showed that the 8MI is the only contributing factor forpostoperative complications (P=0.029, HR=2.513, 95% CI=1.097-5.755). Conclusions: LATG with regional lymph node dissection for upper and middle early gastric cancer is considered to be a safe, feasible method that showed an excellent postoperative course and acceptable morbidity. BMI should be considered in the patient selection at the beginning period because of the impact of the BMI on the postoperative morbidity.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.293-300
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• 2011

This study is conducted to develop an efficient transformation system via particle bombardment with PLBs (Protocorm-like bodies) in Cymbidium. For this, pCAMBIA3301 vector which carries a herbicide-resistant bar gene and gus gene as a reporter gene was used for transformation with Cymbidium cultivars 'Youngflower ${\times}$ masako' line. To select transformants, proper concentration of herbicide, PPT (phosphinotricin), should be determined. As a result, 5 mg/l of PPT was selected as a proper concentration. Further, proper conditions for particle bombardment were determined to obtain a high frequency of transformation. Results showed that 1.0 ${\mu}g$ of DNA concentration, 1,100 and 1,350 psi for helium gas pressure, 1.0 ${\mu}m$ of gold particle and 6 cm of target distance showed the best result for the particle bombardment experiment. Also, pre-treatment with combination 0.2 M sorbitol and 0.2 M mannitol for 4 hrs prior to genetic transformation increased the transformation efficiency up to 2.5 times. Using transformation system developed in this study, 3.2 ~ 4.0 transgenic cymbidium plants can be produced from 100 bombarded PLBs on average. Putative transgenic plants produced in this system confirmed the presence of the bar gene by PCR analysis. Also, leaves from randomely selected five transgenic lines were applied for Basta solution (0.5% v/v) to check the resistance to the PPT herbicide. As a result, three of them showed resistance and one of them showed the strongest resistance with the maintenance of green color as non-transformed plants showed. Using this established transformation system, more genes of interests can be introduced into Cymbidium plants by genetic transformation in the future.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.834-844
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• 2014

Postharvest browning of mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) reduces the shelf life of harvested mushrooms. Here, mushrooms were dipped in various solutions (distilled water; DW, 0.25% rice bran extract; RB, 0.1% ascorbic acid; AA, RB + AA) for 3 min. After air-drying at room temperature, the dipped mushrooms were packaged in a polypropylene (PP) films and stored at 4 or $15^{\circ}C$. The quality changes of mushrooms were measured in terms of color, gas composition, firmness, and sensory evaluation during storage. Rice bran extract was measured for total polyphenol content, total flavonoid content, DPPH, ABTS radical scavenging, chelating activity and PPO inhibition activity. No difference in firmness were found in the mushroom samples regardless of dipping solution or storage temperature. At both 4 and $15^{\circ}C$ storage temperatures, RB + AA solution-dipped samples showed the highest L value and lowest delta E value. During the storage period, sensory evaluation showed that overall acceptability of mushrooms treated with RB and RB + AA solution was higher than that of the untreated mushrooms. Total polyphenol and flavonoid contents of 0.25% rice bran extract were $36.42mg\;GAE{\cdot}g^{-1}$ and $4.85mg\;QE{\cdot}g^{-1}$, respectively. The DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activity of 0.1% ascorbic acid was higher than that of 0.25% rice bran extract. The highest copper ($Cu^{2+}$) chelating activity was found in the 0.25% rice bran extract. The PPO inhibition activity of 0.1% ascorbic acid was higher than that of 0.25% rice bran extract. Our results suggest that 0.25% rice bran extract with 0.1% ascorbic acid is effective anti-browning agent for maintaining quality of Agaricus bisporus during storage.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.1079-1085
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• 2003

Modified atmosphere packaging was applied to oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus) to study the effect of storage temperatures and packaging materialso. Whole mushrooms (200g) were package with polyethylene film $(PE,\;60{\mu}m\;thickness)$, ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), or ceramic film (containing 5% zeolite) and stored at 0, 5, 10 and $20^{\circ}C$. Weight loss, color, firmness, gas composition $(O_2,\;CO_2)$ inside the film package and ethanol content in the tissue of MA packaged mushrooms were examined. Mushroom that were packed unwrapped in a conventional hardboard box (2 kg) lost marketability at a very early stage of storage due to weight loss, shrinkage, browning, and spore formation. During storage, film packaging prevented or retarded the deterioration of the mushrooms in the aspects of appearance, texture, and discoloration. Firmness slightly decreased with storage time. Total color difference was much higher in the control than in the film-packaged mushroom and rapidly increased at the early of storage. Correlation analysis showed a high correlation between total color difference and b values. These results were characterized by the reduced respiration rate resulting from elevated carbon dioxide and reduced oxygen levels in the package. At all storage temperatures, ethanol content in the tissue increased slightly at the early part of storage and rose considerably towards the end of the storage period. Ethanol content in the oyster mushrooms was higher in the stipe than in pileus tissues. The shelf life of the oyster mushrooms was about $8{\sim}11$ days at $0^{\circ}C$, about $4{\sim}6$ day at $5^{\circ}C$, about $2{\sim}3$ days at $10^{\circ}C$, and about $1{\sim}2$ days at $20^{\circ}C$.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.278-285
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• 2016

BACKGROUND: Uptake patterns of ${\alpha}$-, ${\beta}$-isomers and sulfate metabolite of endosulfan (ED) by radishes grown in treated soils with ED concentrations of 2 and 10 mg/kg were investigated to establish soil management guidelines for ensuring the safety of radishes from ED residues. METHODS AND RESULTS: All samples of soils and radish plants separated into shoot and root parts were analyzed for ED residues using a gas-chromatography mass spectrophotometer, and the results were used to calculate the bioconcentration factor (BCF), indicating the ratio of ED concentrations between radishes and soils. During the experimental period, uptake and distribution rates of ED-sulfate in radishes were the highest, followed by ${\alpha}$- and ${\beta}$-ED. The BCF values to initial ED concentrations in soils were greater for root parts (0.0077 to 0.2345) than for shoot parts (0.0002 to 0.0429) and used to obtain regression equations by time. Long-term BCFs estimated by the obtained equations ($R^2$ of 0.86 to 1.00) were evaluated with the maximum residue limit (0.1 mg/kg) of ED for radishes, in order to suggest safe management guidelines of ED for radish-cultivating soils. CONCLUSION: Suggested guidelines showed the significant dependency on duration for radish cultivation and exposed concentration of ED in soil.