• Journal of Embryo Transfer
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.349-353
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• 2013

The objective of this study was to compare the effect of semen extenders on the sperm motility, viability, acrosome integrity and functional integrity of plasma membrane (HOST: hypo-osmotic swelling test) during liquid preservation of Korean Native boar semen. In this experiment, semen was diluted in Androhep plus, Beltsville Thawing Solution (BTS), ModenaTM, Seminark and Vitasem LD. Sperm-rich fractions were collected from three Korean Native boars and sub-samples were diluted ($30{\times}10^6$ spermatozoa/ml) in different semen extenders. Semen samples were stored at $17^{\circ}C$ for 96 hours. On everyday (0, 24, 48, 72, 96 h) after storage, the sperm characteristics relevant for fertility, such as sperm motility, viability, acrosome integrity and HOST positive were evaluated. The motility of spermatozoa stored in different extenders was no significantly different among other extenders (P>0.05). Also, no difference was observed among samples processed with different extenders in the percentage of sperm viability, acrosome integrity and HOST positive. All extenders maintained a high percentage (70%) of sperm motility, viability and acrosome integrity through 96 h of storage. The result of this study show that there was no significant differences among extenders in their capacity to preserve motility, viability and membrane integrity of spermatozoa from normal, fertile Korean Native boars for 96 h of liquid preservation at $17^{\circ}C$.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.166-176
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• 2022

Objective: Sperm is particularly susceptible to reactive oxygen species (ROS) stress. Glutathione (GSH) is an endogenous antioxidant that regulates sperm redox homeostasis. However, it is not clear whether boar sperm could utilize cysteine for synthesis GSH to protect sperm quality from ROS damage. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to elucidate the mechanism of how cysteine is involved in protecting boar sperm quality during liquid storage. Methods: Sperm motility, membrane integrity, lipid peroxidation, 4-hydroxyIlonenal (4-HNE) modifications, mitochondrial membrane potential, as well as the levels of ROS, GSH, and, ATP were evaluated. Moreover, the enzymes (GCLC: glutamate cysteine ligase; GSS: glutathione synthetase) that are involved in glutathione synthesis from cysteine precursor were detected by western blotting. Results: Compared to the control, addition of 1.25 mM cysteine to the liquid storage significantly increased boar sperm progressive motility, straight-line velocity, curvilinear velocity, beat-cross frequency, membrane integrity, mitochondrial membrane potential, ATP level, acrosome integrity, activities of superoxide dismutase and catalase, and GSH level, while reducing the ROS level, lipid peroxidation and 4-HNE modifications. It was also observed that the GCLC and GSS were expressed in boar sperm. Interestingly, when we used menadione to induce sperm with ROS stress, the menadione associated damages were observed to be reduced by the cysteine supplementation. Moreover, compared to the cysteine treatment, the γ-glutamylcysteine synthetase (γ-GCS) activity, GSH level, mitochondrial membrane potential, ATP level, membrane integrity and progressive motility in boar sperm were decreased by supplementing with an inhibitor of GSH synthesis, buthionine sulfoximine. Conclusion: These data suggest that boar sperm could biosynthesize the GSH from cysteine in vitro. Therefore, during storage, addition of cysteine improves boar sperm quality via enhancing the GSH synthesis to resist ROS stress.

• Proceedings of the Membrane Society of Korea Conference
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• 1998.06a
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• pp.25-48
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• 1998

Current topics related to membrane technology under the recent water environment are as follows: - Cryptosporidum Outbreak - Integrity Control System - Water re-use - Recycle Society - Biotreatment and Membrane - Slurry or Sludge Treatment I would like to introduce the actual examples regarding water re-use. mainly on the above 5 topics.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.253-263
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• 2022

This study suggests a guideline for designing unit process of wastewater reuse in terms of a maintenance of the process based on critical parameters to draw a high quality performance of RO unit. Defining the parameters was done by applying membrane integrity test (MIT) in pretreatment process utilizing lab-scale MF. SDI is utilized for judging whether permeate is suitable to RO unit. However, result said TOC concentration matching with particle count analysis is better for judging the permeate condition. When membrane test pressure (P_test) was measured to derive log removal value in PDT, virgin state of membrane fiber was used to measure dynamic contact angle utilizing surface tension of the membrane fiber. Actually, foulant affects to the state of membrane surface, and it decreases the P_test value along with time elapsed. Consequently, LRV_DIT is also affected by P_test value. Thus, sensitivity of direct integrity test descends with result of P_test value change, so P_test value should be considered not the virgin state of the membrane but its current state. Overall, this study focuses on defining design parameters suitable to MF pretreatment for RO process in wastewater reuse by assessing its impact. Therefore, utilities can acknowledge that the membrane surface condition must be considered when users conduct the direct integrity test so that P_test and other relative parameter used to calculate LRV_DIT are adequately measured.

• Journal of Embryo Transfer
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.265-271
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• 2013

Cryopreservation and in vitro fertilization (IVF) protocols are important in genetic studies and applications to transgenic animals. Various studies about boar sperm cryopreservation have been studied for a long time. Those were about the use of extenders, the choice of sugars, the cooling and warming rates. The factors that influence the boar sperm are the dramatic changes in temperatures, osmotic and toxic stresses, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. Among these factors, ROS generation is the main damage to DNA which is a principal genetic material and the most important for the practical applications. So we wondered whether ROS generation could be reduced. In previous study, monothioglycerol (MTG) was essential for the culture of embryo stem cells. Therefore we added MTG in the freezing extender based on lactose-egg yolk (LEY) with trehalose. For the assessment of the frozen-thawed sperm, we focused onmotility, membrane integrity and DNA damage. First, we used a computer-aided sperm analysis system for overall conditions of sperm such as motility and viability. Then we performed the sperm chromatin structure assay for DNA integrity and hypo-osmotic swelling test for membrane integrity. And our result showed the existence of MTG in the freezing extender caused less damage to DNA and higher motility in frozen-thawed boar sperm. Also we checked a relative antioxidant activity of MTG in modified Modena B extender. We concluded that this reagent can activate sperm mitochondria at MTG $0.2{\mu}M$, contribute to sperm motility and DNA integrity but there was no significant difference on membrane integrity. Also antioxidant activity of MTG in modified Modena B extender was proved.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.793-800
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• 2008

Recently domestic drinking water industry has recognized membrane-based technology as a promising alternative for water treatment. To ensure successful application of membrane processes, the integrity of membrane systems should be maintained. According to US EPA guidance, the pressure decay test based on the bubble point theory is recommended to detect any membrane defection of which size is close to the smallest diameter of Cryptosporidium oocysts, $3{\mu}m$. Proper implementation of the pressure decay test is greatly affected by initial test pressure, and the interpretation of the test results is associated with upper control limit. This study is conducted to investigate various factors affecting determination of initial test prtessure and upper control limit, including membrane-based parameters such as pore shape correction factor, surface tension and contact angle, and system-based parameters, such as volumetric concentration factor and total volume of system. In this paper, three different hollow fibers were used to perform the pressure decay test. With identical initial test pressure applied, their pressure decay tendency were different from each other. This finding can be explained by the micro-structure disparity of those membranes which is verified by FESEM images of those membranes. More specifically, FESEM images revealed that three hollow fibers have asymmetry, deep finger, shallow finger pore shape, respectively. In addition, sensitivity analysis was conducted on five parameters mentioned above to elucidate their relation to determination of initial test pressure and upper control limit. In case of initial pressure calculation, the pore shape correction factor has the highest value of sensitivity. For upper control limit determination, system factors have greater impact compared to membrane-based parameters.

• Mycobiology
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.25-30
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• 2017

Metal-based drugs, such as 1,10-phenanthroline, have demonstrated anticancer, antifungal and antiplasmodium activities. One of the 1,10-phenanthroline derivatives compounds (1)-N-2-methoxybenzyl-1,10-phenanthrolinium bromide (FEN), which has been demonstrated an inhibitory effect on the growth of Candida spp. This study aimed to explore the in vitro antifungal activity of FEN and its effect on the membrane integrity of Candida albicans. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and the minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) of FEN against planktonic C. albicans cells were determined using the broth microdilution method according to the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute guidelines. Cell membrane integrity was determined with the propidium iodide assay using a flow cytometer and were visualized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Planktonic cells growth of C. albicans were inhibited by FEN, with an MIC of $0.39-1.56{\mu}g/mL$ and a MFC that ranged from 3.125 to $100{\mu}g/mL$. When C. albicans was exposed to FEN, the uptake of propidium iodide was increased, which indicated that membrane disruption is the probable mode of action of this compound. There was cells surface changes of C. albicans when observed under SEM.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.367-373
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• 2017

Pressurized membrane module systems, including hollow fiber type of Microfiltration (MF) and Ultrafiltration (UF) membranes are being increasingly used in drinking water treatment due to their high removal efficiency of pathogen. However, when fibers are damaged in pressurized membrane system, the pathogen will be able to penetrate the membrane. Therefore, it is essential to guarantee the regulatory requirements for water quality by an effective on-line or off-line condition integrity monitoring methods. Recently, pressure decay test (PDT) which is one of membrane integrity tests has been reflected to drinking water treatment plants using pressurized membrane module. In this paper, three different method were used to perform PDT and three different sensitivity values were analyzed through experiments. Three types of direct integrity test methods were applied to pressure feed side, filtrate side and bidirectional pressure decay test. The results of these experiments show that the sensitivity was increasing when the volume of pressurized gas was decreasing. The sensitivity is inversely proportional to the gas volume. Furthermore, it is desirable to increase pressure difference between feed side and permeate side in order to achieve higher sensitivity in the PDT by membrane damage.

• Proceedings of the KSAR Conference
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• 2004.06a
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• pp.278-278
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• 2004

The purpose of this study was to establish the convenient freezing method for more cheap and simple. Semen quality was evaluated the motility, viability, abnormality, acrosome intactness and membrane integrity. And there were also examined the developmental rates of IVM/IVF embryos using frozen-thawed boar semen in each treatment group. (omitted)

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.171-179
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• 2014

In this study, a novel method was proposed to test the integrity of water treatment system specifically equipped with membrane filtration process. We applied the silica particles coated with a fluorescent agent (rhodamine B isothiocyanate) as a surrogate to detect a membrane process integrity and evaluate the reliability of effluent quality in the system. Additionally, a series of experiments was conducted to evaluate the sensitivity of the method through the laboratory scale experiment. The laboratory scale experiments showed that the feasibility of application of proposed method to detect a breach or damaged part on the membrane surface. However, the sensitivity on predicting the area of a breach was significantly influenced by the testing conditions such as a concentration of surrogate, filtration flux, and detection time. The lowest error of predicting the area of breach was 3.5% at the testing condition of surrogate concentration of 80 mg/L injected with flux of $20L/m^2/hr$ for 10 minutes of detection time for the breach having the actual area of $7.069mm^2$. However, the error of estimation was increased at the small breach with area less than $0.785mm^2$. A future study will be conducted to estimate a damaged area with more accuracy and precision.