• Journal of Animal Reproduction and Biotechnology
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.193-201
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• 2022

Subgroups of sperm which share similar motility features documented in mammals indicate between-subject variations that might be related to fertilizing potential of the respective ejaculates. The objectives of this study were to define subpopulations of motile sperm in Gyr falcon semen using kinematic parameters driven by Computer Assisted Semen Analysis (CASA) and to investigate the subject-related variations in these subpopulations. A total of 24 fresh ejaculates from 6 falcons were used to assign each of the 20473 sperms into 3 subpopulations by a multivariate cluster analysis. The proportion of sperms in different sub-populations were compared among subjects by a generalized linear model and repeatability of sperm frequency in different subpopulations was investigated by corelation analysis. The resulting 3 categories of sperm indicated significant differences in all kinematic parameters (p < 0.05). Subpopulation 1 (15.91%) contained sperms with the highest velocity and progressiveness of movement trajectory while subpopulation 3 (6.4%) included the least progressively motile sperms. Proportion of rapid and medium progressive sperm were consistently higher in the ejaculate of three falcons compared to the two other birds which also had the highest proportion of slow non-progressive sperms (p < 0.05). Respective proportion of sperms in each subpopulations indicated significant repeatability over multiple measurements (p < 0.05). In conclusion, subpopulations of motile sperm in Gyr falcon can be identified using kinematic parameters generated by CASA. Individual differences in the proportion of these subpopulations might have potential application for identifying the males with higher fertilizing capacity.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.173-177
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• 1989

Defective or inadequate semen quality, usually presenting as low sperm count or poor sperm motility , is recognizable by semen analysis. However, the ability of spermatozoa to fertilize an ovum is not determined used in various experiments. In this study, hamster oocyte sperm penetration assay was used to determine the fertilizing capacity of sperms in 20 subjects which divided into two groups, group A with 10 normal fertile men, and group B with 10 infertile men. The % penetration in group A and group B were 61% and 35% respectively, which showed statistically not significant but fertilization index was significantly different between group A(FI=2.24) and group B(FI=O.05). Additionally it seemed that the percentage of sperm penetraton was influenced more by the motility of spermatozoa than by the number.

• KCID journal
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.25-32
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• 2011

The 21 livestock farms considering future installation of biogas systems were studied. These farms were examined how to raise the livestock, to treat manure, to operate facility with respect to manure characteristics. The 15 farms out of 21 farms have applied to the marine dumping and consignment treatment for treating manure and even farms which have equipped liquid fertilizing system have less capacity facility than legal standards. Characteristics of manure were affected by the scale of swine barn, clean water usage, frequency of cleaning, cleaning method, feces-urine separating method, etc. Retention time in storage (over 20 days) has resulted in lower concentration of organic matter which could reduce biogas production. This indicates that systematic barn management system is required. Inhibition tests showed that disinfectant and citric acid did not affected digestion rates at 10 times higher concentration than recommendation. However hypochlorous acid is likely to affect the anaerobic microbial activity.

• Journal of Embryo Transfer
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.7-12
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• 2002

This study was carried out to investigate the possibility of porcine artificial insemination (A·I) on fertilizing capacity using intrauterine inseminator (IUI) method and conventional A·I (CAI) method. Number of sows used in this study was 15 far IUI and 59 fur (CAI), respectively. The results obtained are as fellows: 1 . The frozen and liquid semen used for A·I showed the higher farrowing rate in liquid semen (86.4%) than frozen semen (67%). Number of pigs born per semen type showed the higher values of number of piglets with no statistical significance using frozen semen (9.7) than liquid semen (9.3). 2. The farrowing rate per parity was highest in the 3∼5th parities (100%), f311owe4 by 0∼ 2th parities (60%), and was the smallest in 6 ∼ 10th parities (25%). Number of pigs born per litter was highest in 0∼2th parities (11.3), followed by 3 ∼ 5th parities (9.2) and lowest in 6∼ 10th parities. In the number of pigs bort per litter, the sow s in the high parities delivered lower number of piglets than those in low parities with no significant difference. These results indicated that fertilizing capacity could be improved by using IUI method.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2011.05a
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• pp.200.1-200.1
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• 2011

Underground air is a special energy source in Jeju and distributes lava cave, pyroclastic, open joint, and crushing zone. A possible area to utilize underground air is 85% of Jeju except to the nearby area of Sambang Mt. and 25m high coastal area from sea level. In Jeju, underground air is used for heating agricultural facilities such as greenhouse cultivated mangos, Hallbong and mandarin orange, pigsty, mushroom cultivation house, etc. and fertilizing natural $CO_2$ gas by suppling directly into agricultural facilities. But this heating method causes several problem because the underground air has over 90% relative humidity and is inadequate in heating for crops. Mangos are the most widely grown tropical fruit trees and have been cultivated since 1993 in Jeju. In Jeju, the cultivating area is about 20ha and amount of harvest is 275ton/year in 2010. In this study, the heat pump system using underground air as heat source was installed in mangos greenhouse which area is $495m^2$. The capacity of heat pump system and heat storage tank was 10RT, 5ton respectively and heating effect and heating performance of the system were analysed.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.33 no.11
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• pp.1763-1769
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• 2020

Objective: This study was conducted to investigate the effect of L-carnitine on the pig semen characteristics during storage. Methods: Spermatozoa samples were examined for spermatozoa quality and then randomly divided into 5 groups: 0 (control), 12.5, 25, 50, and 100 mM L-carnitine. Sperm motility, plasma membrane integrity and antioxidant parameters (total reactive oxygen species, total antioxidant capacity, and malondialdehyde) were evaluated after 0, 3, 5, and 10 day cooled-storage at 17℃. Moreover, ATP content, mitochondria activity as well as sperm-binding and in vitro fertilizing ability of preserved boar sperm were also investigated. Results: Supplementation with 50 mM L-carnitine could effectively maintain boar sperm quality parameters such as sperm motility and membrane integrity. Besides, we found that L-carnitine had positive effects on boar sperm quality mainly through improving antioxidant capacities and enhancing ATP content and mitochondria activity. Interestingly, by assessing the effect of L-carnitine on sperm fertility and developmental potential, we discovered that the extender containing L-carnitine could improve sperm quality and increase the number of sperms bounding to zona pellucida, without improving in vitro fertility and development potential. Conclusion: These findings suggested that the proper addition of L-carnitine to the semen extender improved boar sperm quality during liquid storage at 17℃.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.27-34
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• 2006

This study was conducted to compare the reproduction ability of the wild type boar and recombinant human erythropoietin (hEPO) transgenic boar semen. Ejaculated boar semen was analyzed by flow cytometry, Elisa and IVF methods. In experiment 1, flow cytometric analysis showed that the live sperm ratio of transgenic boar sperm significantly lower (P<0.05) than that of wild type boar after incubation at 20, 22, 24 and 26 hr. In experiment 2, the presence and levels of various cytokines (IL-6, IL-10 and $TNF-{\alpha}$) to related animal reproduction in the seminal and blood plasma were examined using specific enzyme immunoassay. There was no significant difference between both groups. In experiment 3, the fertilizing capacity and developmental ability of both boar sperm were compared. The transgenic boar sperm had a significantly low capacity of penetration, sperm-zona binding, embryo development, and blastocyst formation compared to wild type sperm (P<0.05). These results suggest that transgenic boar sperm harboring hEPO gene has low sperm viability than wild type boar, and it is a reason to decrease of fertility and litter size.

• 대한생식의학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2000.06a
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• pp.13-28
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• 2000

Human spermatozoa exhibit a capacity to generate ROS and initiate peroxidation of the unsaturated fatty acids in the sperm plasma membrane, which plays a key role in the etiology of male infertility. The short half-life and limited diffusion of these molecules is consistent with their physiologic role in key biological events such as acrosome reaction and hyperactivation. The intrinsic reactivity of these metabolites in peroxidative damage induced by ROS, particularly $H_2O_2$ and the superoxide anion, has been proposed as a major cause of defective sperm function in cases of male infertility. The number of antioxidants known to attack different stages of peroxidative damage is growing, and it will be of interest to compare alpha-tocopherol and ascorbic acid with these for their therapeutic potential in vitro and in vivo. Both spermatozoa and leukocytes generate ROS, although leukocytes produce much higher levels. The clinical significance of leukocyte presence in semen is controversial. Seminal plasma confers some protection against ROS damage because it contains enzymes that scavenge ROS, such as catalase and superoxide dismutase. A variety of defense mechanisms comprising a number of antioxidants can be employed to reduce or overcome oxidative stress caused by excessive ROS. Determination of male infertility etiology is important, as it will help us develop effective therapies to overcome excessive ROS generation. ROS can have both beneficial and detrimental effects on the spermatozoa and the balancing between the amounts of ROS produced and the amounts scavenged at any moment will determine whether a given sperm function will be promoted or jeopardized. Accurate assessment of ROS levels and, subsequently, OS is Vital, as this will help clinicians both elucidate the fertility status and identify the subgroups of patients that respond or do not respond to these therapeutic strategies. The overt commercial claims of antioxidant benefits and supplements for fertility purposes must be cautiously looked into, until proper multicentered clinical trials are studied. From the current data it appears that no Single adjuvant will be able to enhance the fertilizing capacity of sperm in infertile men, and a combination of the possible strategies that are not toxic at the dosage used would be a feasible approach.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.83-93
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• 2008

In order to save labor and cost, direct seeding has been considered as an important alternative to the machine transplanting in rice cultivation. Current direct seeding machines for rice in Korea drill irregularly under various operating conditions. This study was conducted to develope a precision seeder which enables the accurate, even-spaced in row placement of rice seeds at uniform depths of 3-4 cm on dry paddy. Design, construction and performance evaluation of the precision seeder were carried out. The tractor rear-mounted type 8-rows precision seeder which performs seeding in addition to fertilizing, ditching, and rotary tilling works on dry paddy was developed. Main components of the seeder were ditcher and leveller, rotary tiller, powered roller type furrow opener, seeding device, powered roller type furrow covering and firming device, hydraulic unit, seeding speed control system, power transmission system, hitch and frame. Ditching, furrow opening, and seed covering and firming performances were good and seeding depths of 2-4 cm could be maintained. Planting accuracies and planting precisions were within 13.6%, and 31.2%, respectively, for planting space of 15 cm, and seeding velocity of 0.5 m/s. These mean variations of average planting space were within 2.1 cm, and 90% of seeds in a hill were seeded within 4.7 cm of hill length, respectively. Error ratios between setting planting space and measured average planting space were shown within 6.7%. Therefore the seeder showed good planting performance up to seeding velocity of 0.5 m/s in field tests. And field capacity of the seeder was about 0.28 ha/hour.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.55 no.4
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• pp.249-255
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• 2013

Intercellular interactions are important for the proper development and regulation of tissue function. This is especially necessary in the epididymis, a part of male reproductive tract where sperm become mature and acquire their fertilizing capacity. The caput region of the epididymis consists of several types of cells, including principal, basal, and apical cells. Direct intercellular communication is thus required to precisely regulate the functions of the caput epididymis. In this regard, connexin (Cx) is a molecule that forms channels, which allow the direct exchange of small molecules between cells, enabling intercellular communication. In this study, the expression of Cx isoforms in the caput epididymis at different postnatal ages was determined by using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis. Nine of 13 Cx isoforms were detected. The transcript levels of Cx30.3, 31, 31.1, 32, and 40 were highest at 45 days of age, while the expression of Cx43 and 45 gradually decreased with age. A substantial fluctuation of Cx26 expression was detected, with significant decreases before and during puberty, followed by a transient increase at adult-hood and rapid decreases at an old age. A significant increase in Cx37 transcript was observed at 25 days of age, followed by gradual decreases at adult and old ages. These results indicate the significant differential expression of various Cx isoforms in the caput epididymis during postnatal development. It further suggests that the functional regulation and developmental maturation of the caput epididymis are highly related to the postnatal age-related differential expression of Cx isoforms.